Archive of Our Own ^beta

Alice Michelle Gibson grew up in a nice house. It was painted blue and was in the middle of the woods, hidden by the trees and shrubbery, on the outskirts of a small town. It was nice, but it was lonely, and the house belonged to her and her alone.

Well, her and Gus.

She didn’t know much about Gus. She was a good cook. She loved to garden, was a good teacher, clearly loved her, but Gus didn’t tell her much. Like Gus never told her why they lived in the middle of the woods, why Alice wasn’t allowed to go into town alone, why Gus jumped and grabbed her shotgun the second the house creaked or shifted….

She one time mistook Gus to be her mother. It was innocent and instinctive, and it slipped from her lips, and the second she said it, she regretted it.

“I’m not your mom, kid,” Gus had said sternly. “I’m your aunt. Your Aunt Gus. We clear?” The sharp look in her eyes… It was evident she had struck a nerve.

Alice visibly shrunk. “Yes, ma’am,”

“Don’t ‘ma’am’ me. I’m not that old,” Gus smirked, and then she ruffled Alice’s hair with an affectionate smile.

They never talked about it again.

---

When she got older, the idea of “mother” fascinated her. If Gus were her aunt, that had to mean that she had a mother? That she had a family? The secrecy and the avoidance was getting on her nerves, and she couldn’t help but annoy Gus with her questions at any chance she got.

“Do I have a mother?”

“Well, of course you do. You have to come from somewhere, kid,” Gus snorted as she worked on the pasta.

“Is she alive?”

Gus paused at that and lowered her bowl. Something dark flashed in her eyes. “Yeah, kid. Yeah, she’s alive. Girl’s too stubborn to die, thankfully,”

Alice took a moment to take in the sudden tension in the air, the somber mood, the sadness…

“Does she miss me?”

“Every damn day, Alice. Every damn day. And don’t you forget that,” Gus told her with great conviction that it made tears well in her eyes. She couldn’t help it.

“When will I see her, Gus?”

Gus picked up the pasta bowl and returned to mixing. “When the seventy-seven are dead,” And that was the end of that discussion.

---

That’s how it always was. “When the seventy-seven are dead”. It was the go-to. Some people’s guardians say “because I said so”, but nope. Not Gus. Nope. Her go-to parenting catch phrase was “when the seventy-seven are dead”.

“Gus, can I go to town alone?”

“When the seventy-seven are dead,”

“Gus, can I go to normal school? I’m sick of being homeschooled,”

“When the seventy-seven are dead,”

Or even -

“Gus, can I have the last piece of cake?”

“When the seventy-seven are dead,”

It was never ending and so goddamn infuriating. And she never explained what it meant. Once, Alice asked and Gus responded, “I’ll tell you when the seventy-seven are dead”.

Alice came up with a series of conspiracy theories over it. She had a theory that the “Seventy-Seven” were a gang out to get her and her family. Another theory was the “seventy-seven” was a law somehow preventing her mother from getting out of prison to get her.

She came up with so many theories, but they all got debunked three weeks after her tenth birthday.

---

It was a rainy day, and together, Gus and Alice, went into town, holding hand, and got the ingredients for a cake. They baked together all day, and at the end, they ate at opposite ends of the small, rounded table. It was quiet day filled with small little, pointless conversations.

Alice was telling Gus about her theories for the movie The Shining. She was enamored by the supernatural, naturally drawn and curious to it. So she told Gus all about her convoluted theory when the phone started to ring.

The phone never rang. It’s sound was loud and unique and startled Alice, but Gus didn’t move at first. She just sat there with wide eyes and mouth agape.

“Are you going to get it?” Alice whispered. It seemed to jolt Gus from whatever trance she was in, because she stood up with a start and race to the phone. She put it to her ear and waited silently. Her face morphed from confusion to fear to shock to pride… “Okay. We’ll be ready,” she said into the phone. She paused a moment to listen to more instruction and let out a loud exhale as she put the phone down.

“Holy shit,” she murmured incredulously. “Holy shit,”

Alice leapt forward to her aunt’s aid. “What? What is it? What’s wrong?”

But Gus turned toward her - eyes watery and wide. And it was so startling to see that Alice bounced back just at the sight of the vulnerability.

“They did it. Holy shit, Alice. They did!” Gus grabbed her forearm and gave it a squeeze.

“What? What’s going on?

“Alice! The seventy-seven are dead. We’re going home,”

---

Before Alice was a born, a plan was set in motion. Alice Michelle would live in isolation, on the outskirts of a small town, with her Aunt Gus until the seventy-seven were dead. It had been ten years. Ten long years. It felt like forever. It felt like it was never going to happen. But now, it had. Now, Alice was going home, and things had never moved faster.

One moment, she was trying to figure out what she was going to do for the next ten years of her life, and now, she was packing everything.

Alice didn’t realize how quickly this house was designed for Gus and her to just pack up and leave. The pictures of lakes and farm houses and all the knickknacks had no sentimental value they were placed around the house to make it feel cozy like props to a set. Gus already had bags under their beds full of clothes and food. There was a machete under her floorboards and a shotgun in the linen closet.

“She’ll be here soon so you better eat quick,” Gus said, slinging her gun over her shoulder like it was a normal accessory to carry around.

“Who?”

“The loyal soldier,”

“The loyal soldier?” Alice scrunched her face up. “Are you ever going to stop being so cryptic?”

“When the seventy-seven - “

“They’re already dead, Gus!”

Gus rolled her eyes. “Just eat your damn food,”

---

It was weird to see someone on their property. Nobody ever came on their property. The only people Alice ever saw were the same ole folks in town. They were good people, but they never, ever looked like her.

She was tall. Hell, Alice didn’t know people could even be that tall. She was tall, and her hair was a sharp red. It was cut short - a pixie cut - but that wasn’t even the most interesting part. No, she was dressed like the FBI agents in all the shows - dark uniform, dark pants, kevlar. Hell, she even had a small piece in her ear that served for communication with her superiors, no doubt. There was a gun strapped to her hip, one strapped to her ankle too. Her belt seemed heavy, but her hands naturally rested on it. Her eyes were concealed with the classic “cop”, aviator glasses. She was a badass.

She walked to the door, knocked, and the second Gus opened the door, she lowered her glasses and the all too serious demeanor she was holding fell apart as a dimpled smile shined through.

“It’s really great to see you, ma’am, after all these years,” she gushed, but Gus rolled her eyes.

“Don’t call me ‘ma’am’. We’re family, Haught,”

“Right,” the agent ducked her head slightly, grin growing.

“Now, don’t take offense, Haught, but - “ Gus pointed her shotgun to the agent’s Kevlar-covered chest. “We have to follow protocol,”

A normal person might have seen the gun pointing at them and get concerned - even if said person was wearing a bulletproof vest - but the agent looked down at the gun and seemed unnaturally too calm like this situation had happened way too many times before.

“I am the loyal soldier. Wife of Waverly Earp. Best friend of Wynonna Earp. Protector of Alice Michelle. I am Agent Nicole Haught with the BBD. And I’m here to bring Alice home,” Nicole recited the mantra like she had said it dozen of times. “That sufficient?” She looked down at the gun again, looked up at Gus, and tilted her head.

Damn, Alice though, this girl was a human puppy.

“Hm. Alright then,”

Nicole pushed the gun away with two fingers without second thought and took a step toward Alice. “Wow,” she breathed, ignoring the irritated glare from Gus. “Wow, you look exactly like your mom. Except… Your eyes. You have your father’s eyes,”

Alice couldn’t help but grow uncomfortable from the intensity of Nicole’s gaze. She was just so fascinated, but Gus knew right away and grabbed the agent and tugged her away. “You want a drink, Haught?”

“Oh, I’m driving so - “

“Coffee?”

“I could have a coffee,” Nicole nodded. She moved to the chair and sat down.

It was weird. It was very weird to see someone else sit at their little round table that wasn’t Gus or herself. But Gus didn’t seem to mind. She placed the coffee cup in front of the agent and leaned against the counter as she watched the agent drink.

Alice sat down opposite of her.

“So you’re the loyal soldier?”

Nicole nodded.

“What does that mean exactly?”

Nicole regarded her for a moment. “It’s a codename. In case of possession, of course,” She said that so matter of factly that Alice almost overlooked it.

“Wait. Wait. Possesion?”

The whole room froze at the blunder. And Alice could practically hear Nicole’s inner monologue of her berating herself for the slip up as she screwed her face up tight and cursed under her breath.

“Shit, Haught,” Gus gasped, exasperated. “You couldn’t keep your mouth closed for a second!”

“She asked!” Nicole yelped. She quickly kept her eyes glued to the cup to avoid Gus’s wrath. “Look, all the parenting books say to never lie to children and to be honest and forthcoming to promote - “

“Yeah, well, the books don’t know shit about our…little situation,” Gus snapped, but she hesitated a moment and all the anger she was holding on to disappointed with a sigh. “Don’t tell Waverly that,”

“I won’t,”

“Wait, who’s Waverly?” Alice piped up again.

“My wife,” Nicole told her. “She’s wonderful. And she’s so excited to meet you,”

Alice paused for a moment and looked Nicole over - the lovesick, puppy dog eyes, the dimpled smile. And then there was the Kevlar, the outfit that made her look like she was part of the Feds. The gun on her hip and ankle. And, there were also the smaller details - the tiny scars that littered around what portions of flesh that were available to see, the dark bags under Nicole’s eyes indicative of a lack of sleep, the way she kept toying with the wedding band on her long finger….

She never pictured this woman. She didn’t share any resemblance in the slightest, but maybe she was… She could be… Was it possible?

And Alice took it all in for a moment and before she could help herself, she blurted, “Are you my mom?”

Nicole nearly choked on her coffee.

“Are you my mom?” Alice repeated.

Nicole blinked rapidly, clearly taken aback, but then she took in a deep breath. “Uh, no. I’m sorry, Alice. I’m not. But I’m your aunt and your godmother. And I am a mom. I’m just not yours,” She hesitated a moment but then she reached forward and took Alice’s hand. And it was strange and weird, and Alice had every intention to rip away, but there was something about this woman. Something familiar and warm. And when she looked into Nicole’s eyes and saw the love, she stood still. “I promise I’m going to get you to your mother though. She’s waiting for us,”

Alice blinked, glued on Nicole’s eyes, but the redhead blinked as if reality had just struck her.

“We should get go,” she decided suddenly. She took her hands back, and Alice couldn’t help but crave the warmth and the comfort again. Nicole finished her coffee, chugging the rest no matter how scalding hot it was. “Need help carrying anything, Gus?”

“Take my bag,” Gus ordered her. Nicole obeyed being the giant puppy she was. She held it with ease and took off toward the black truck parked in the front.

Alice followed in excited yet nervous silence.

---

They sat in the car listening to country, and before long, Gus was asleep. Alice sat in the passenger's seat. Her fingers restlessly danced on the armrest as the sound of country was drowned out by her thoughts, so it was Nicole was who listening.

Yet while it was obvious she was listening by the way her fingers would strum slightly on the steering wheel. She was tense and her eyes were pulling apart the road ahead of her as if she was expecting a surprise, someone to slam into them, or someone to attack…

Alice looked at Nicole carefully. Her sleeves were rolled up, revealing more tiny little scars, but there was something else. On her forearm was a deep, silvery crescent moon that looked like -

“Is that a bite?” Alice gasped.

Nicole hesitated for a moment before rolling her sleeves back up subconsciously. “Yeah. Damn widows,”

“Widows? Did you interrupt their funeral or something?”

Nicole didn’t respond. She get her eyes narrowed on the road like she had seen something in the woods.

“What are you looking for?” Alice asked.

“It’s important to be a safe driver,” was all Nicole said. But that wasn’t good enough. Her whole life she had been waiting for this moment, and now it was happening, and she was still being left in the dark…

“I know that. I just never seen someone drive so…intensely, I guess,” She paused. “So, what about the possessions?”

Nicole frowned. “I don’t think I’m supposed to talk about that with you,”

“I just want answers,” Alice looked out the window at the trees that passed by. “You owe me at least that,” Nicole didn’t respond, but Alice persisted. “So why do you have two guns strapped to you and a bulletproof vest if you’re just going to pick up a little girl?”

Nicole smirked. “You’re just like her,” But the smile faded as weariness came upon her. It slowly crept and crept until it engulfed her. And for the first time, she looked her age - mid-thirties. Her hair seemed a little duller. The bags were more pronounced. It was like suddenly all the baggage of all the hard years just slammed into her.

“You’re mom is a hero. Let’s just start of with that. She’s not the type of heroes that you typically see with the capes or the military outfits, but she’s a hero. Her cape is a leather jacket. And she’s the most badass woman there is,” Nicole said. “We fight…” She swallowed thickly. “We fight demons,”

“Demons?” Alice parroted back with wide eyes. “They’re real?”

“Yeah. Unfortunately. Seventy-seven demons - well, Revenants as they say. They die and come back with each Earp heir. We send them away - the BB - I mean, the Black Badge Division. There’s a small team of us. And we hunt them down, and we send them away,”

“Is that why she couldn’t get me?”

“Only the Earp heir can kill them, Alice. That’s your mom - making you the next one,” Nicole let out a loud sigh and a small smile creeped along her lips. “But I guess you’re not anymore. Your mom is the last Earp heir. Because, your mom did it. What no Earp could. With some help of course, but she broke the curse, Alice, so you could live a better life than her. It’s over now,” Nicole looked like she couldn’t even believe it herself. Her eyes were wide with disbelief and excitement.

“So it’s safe now?”

Nicole shook her head. “Safer,” She corrected. “There are more creepy crawlies that go bump in the night, but they aren’t Revenants. They’re not after Earps with the same intensity that the Revenants were,”

“So, I’m not a Gibson… I’m an Earp,”

“Alice Michelle Earp,” Nicole smiled. She had a warm smile that made you feel like you could do anything.

It was easy to feel safe with Nicole, and it wasn’t just the fact that she was armed and dangerous, but she had this energy. Maybe it was fragments of memories from when she was merely an infant in the redhead's arms, the safety and security she felt wrapped in the blue blanket. Or maybe it was Nicole as a person was warm and comfortable so she inspired others to be the same.

Alice wasn’t sure, but she couldn’t help realize the woman beside her - how instantly they clicked, how instantly she was sure this woman was family, even though she was practically a stranger. And she leaned her head against the glass, enjoying the security and the difference and the excitement and the energy, and fell asleep in the truck.

---

When Alice was younger, she would venture into the basement of the house. There wasn’t much to do, and the basement was off limits so Alice would sneak down there when Gus went into town, on the rare occasions, by herself.

She found boxes. Old, cardboard boxes with dates and things scribbled on them in dark Sharpie. She opened one to find a white wedding dress. She danced in it and twirled but made sure to stow it away before Gus noticed it was missing.

The next time she went down, she opened another box and found old textbooks that were practically falling apart. She opened them up and found a named inside written into swooping, over dramatic cursive.

“Waverly,” she had said aloud as she read it. She traced her fingers along it.

She read the textbooks. There wasn’t much to do a small house but read, and thankfully, she found Latin interesting enough to take on. There were notes in the margin. Tiny little notes that were scrawled. They spoke of case numbers and highlighted certain old names. It was a book of history, but the notes made it feel young and relevant. Once, Alice found a little marking that read “Found a unicorn today. I think she’s the one” with the date etched beside it. Alice spent the night imagining a land of unicorns. She wondered how this one looked.

Some kids had story books with pictures or their parents told them stories. But all Alice had were those books. Those books were her way out, her escape.

Now, she was next to Waverly’s wife. Now, she was going to meet the elusive Waverly. Waverly was her aunt.

It was like puzzle pieces sliding into place so that the pieces that were once lonely and isolated aren’t so alone anymore.

---

They stopped at a motel on the side of a highway. It was small and a little unsettling as the “VACANCY” sign flickered and the floor groaned under her weight, but Alice was happy to be anywhere other than her old blue home in the middle of the woods.

Nicole pushed the door open with her gun in hand. She had been on edge since the car stopped, but this seemed excessive. Still, Alice didn’t say anything. She knew better. Besides, she’d never encountered a demon before. Nicole, on the other hand, with all the scars and the marks probably had a few war stories she could pick from.

Nicole checked the mirrors, under the bed, the shower - everywhere, before she let them inside.

Gus took a step into the room with a sort of concerned look to her. “Is it just me or did you get more paranoid?” she called out.

“We had some close calls,” was all Nicole said. She looked around. There was a restless energy to her. “I’m going to get us some food. Stay with her,”

“I have no intention of leaving this girl, Haught,” Gus swore. She patted her shotgun that was still on her shoulder. “I’ll protect her with my life,”

Nicole seemed a little hesitant to leave. She had these puppy dog eyes to her that seemed to be wrestling with an internal dilemma but eventually she nodded and ducked out.

---

Nicole recited her mantra before she was let back into the room. She returned with bread, cheese, baloney, and milk, and without another word, set to work making sandwiches.

“Crust or no crust?” she asked.

Alice pried her eyes from the television. “No crust,”

“Crust for me though, Haught,” Gus called out. She was cleaning her gun on the couch with the calmness that most old ladies showed knitting.

Nicole set to work and passed out the sandwiches according.

“You’re such a mom,” Alice snickered, taking it from Nicole.

“Well,” Nicole sat down in front of her, chewing thoughtfully for a moment before swallowing. “I am a mom,” And then she smiled and tilted her head - like a puppy dog. “And, you’re such a child,”

The two regarded each other for a moment before Alice let go of breath she had been holding.

“Do you think my mom will be disappointed when she meets me?”

“Disappointed?” Nicole gawked. She nearly dropped her sandwich. “For what?”

“For...how I turned out?”

“You’re extraordinary, Alice Michelle Earp. Your mom is going to love you no matter what. Cause, she’s pretty extraordinary too,” Nicole assured her. She leaned back and took another bite. “Now, eat up and get some rest,”

---

In the middle of the night, Alice could hear murmuring. She was so used to sleeping with absolute silence in nature that the littlest human disturbance made her awake with the start.

It was Nicole. She was running her fingers through her hair, anxiously pacing as she held the phone.

“I know. I know. I’ll be home soon, baby,” There was some murmuring coming from the other end. “This won’t take long. I have her. Yeah. Yeah. I know,” She paused and listened to the person on the other line before saying, “Yeah, she’s beautiful. Inside and out. And she’s smart too. How is Wyn? She miss me?” More murmuring. More mumbles. “She okay?” She paused again. “I know, but I… Yeah. We’ll be home soon. Tell her not to worry,” Nicole nodded vigorously even if the person on the other line couldn’t see or tell. “Yup. I love you too, baby. Good night,”

She turned around and instantly connected with Alice’s eyes. She looked like a deer caught in headlights - wide eyed and cheeks red.

“Waverly,” was all Nicole said as if it was a sufficient enough explanation. She tossed the phone on the couch and headed outside.

---

When she awoke the next time, it was morning. There were scrambled eggs on the little table and milk out. Gus was already eating happily while Nicole paced.

If Alice thought Nicole was stressed yesterday, she was in for a rude surprise. Nicole couldn’t stop pacing as she texted. Every muscle she had was tensed, and her face was screwed up into a pout. She relaxed a bit when she noticed Alice though, and Alice couldn’t help but wonder if it was a facade she had built to keep Alice calm and think things were fine.

“You’re awake. We made eggs,”

“Thanks, Nicole,” It felt weird to say her first name. It sounded unnatural really on her lips. They both could tell. She got up from the bed, changed and used the bathroom, and when she returned she plopped herself down on the couch and ate her eggs as the news played.

“Who you texting?” Gus finally piped up. She was giving Nicole a funny look. A concerned look.

“Waverly,”

“Something wrong?”

“Hm, well, I don’t know. We talked last night, but…” Nicole ran her fingers through her hair. “What if something happened? She isn’t texting back. And I texted Wynonna, but no one is responding,” She resumed her pacing and the conversation turned from communicating with Gus to communicating with herself. “God, what was I thinking? I’m such an idiot. How could I be so stupid? Leaving my pregnant wife in Purgatory!”

Gus nearly spat out of her drink. “Your what?”

“You didn’t know?” Nicole froze.

“That you knocked Waverly up again? No! We didn’t exactly get good WiFi or service up on the mountains, and it wasn’t like we were emailing or Snapchatting or Twittering as the kids do. Just those damn progress reports, but nothing in there said that you were popping out another Haught-Earp, charismatic Devil,” Gus explained. “God, well, I guess congratulations are in order. Congrats on the second kid,”

“Uh, third, Gus,”

“THIRD?”

Alice smiled to herself. “Well, it's good to know I wasn’t the only one kept in the dark,” she whispered to no one in particular.

---

“How come your kids didn’t have to go into the woods with Gus for ten years?” Alice asked abruptly once they returned to the car.

Nicole was taken aback for a moment. “Uh, well, it’s complicated,”

“Complicated? Explain it then. We seem to have all the time in the world,”

Nicole drummed her fingers against the steering wheel. “Well, my kids aren’t technically Earps by blood. They’re Waverly and my kid’s, but, uh, Waverly isn’t an Earp by blood. But she’s still an Earp,” Nicole took a moment to regain her composure. “It’s just… The Revenants really just wanted to hurt Wynonna. And yeah, sometimes, there were some close calls where they would use me or Waverly. And, yes, they tried to get to my kids, but we never let them. But they knew the real way to hurt her, the real goal, was to get you. My kids aren’t Earp heirs. They’re heirs to my house and my cat and all of Waverly’s old books, but you’re the child of the curse. That’s what mattered to them. That’s why you had to leave,”

“She regret it?”

“Your mom? No. I don’t think so. She missed you. She missed you like Hell, but I don’t think she ever regretted making your safety the priority,”

Alice took some comfort out of that.

---

They pulled into the driveway of a big white house with blue shutters. There was a white picket fence around the property. It was cliche. It was what Alice would have dreamed about when she was younger. Her and her family in a white picket fence house in a nice town. But after hearing stories about her mom, connecting the badass hero to a suburban dream house was hard.

“This is my house,” Nicole informed her when she saw the gears spinning in Alice’s small head. “And that - “ she motioned to the pregnant woman with the hair for days standing on the porch, impatiently tapping her foot. “ - is my wife and your aunt, Waverly Earp,” She hesitated a moment as she placed the car in the park. “You think she’s angry? Does she look angry?”

“I don’t know,” Alice said, squinting. “I think, but I’m not sure,”

“Damn,” Nicole frowned.

Gus just laughed. “You are so whipped, Haught,”

The second they took a step out of the car, Waverly was there embracing Nicole. The two were like magnets, Alice realized. Always just drawn to each other.

“Jesus, Waverly. Look at you,” Gus whistled. “You grew up so damn well. I’m so proud of you,”

“Gus!” Waverly gave the older woman a long, tight hug. “I’ve missed you so much. It’s been too long!” And then she pulled back and the second she saw Alice, she broke into tears.

It wasn’t silent tears either. It was loud, messy, sobs.

Alice stood painfully still as Waverly, her aunt took her in.

“Baby, this is Alice,” Nicole introduced her - despite the fact her wife was sobbing. She held her wife in her arms. “Baby, try not to spook her out too much,”

“Sorry,” Waverly sniffled.

And Nicole laughed softly. “No. It’s fine,”

“It’s hormones and I was just looking at pictures of baby animals so I was already in a mood and - God, look at her face, Nicole. That’s Wynonna in there,”

Alice couldn’t help but grow uncomfortable as the tears didn’t cease nor did the sobbing. Nicole held her wife like this was completely normal while Gus was admiring their house without a care to the drama unfolding.

But Alice couldn’t do that, because she was standing in front of her family. This was her family. She was reuniting with them. And they all had memories of her, but she had nothing of them in her brain. Yes, they felt warm and familiar, but she didn’t look into their faces and find a home. Or look into their eyes and instantly realize the bond.

She felt like a failure. A disappointment. People were so happy to see her, and she couldn’t feel the same back.

“I’m sorry,” were the first words out of Alice’s lips.

“No! No!” Waverly yelped. “These are happy tears! It’s just so great to meet you! Nicole and I - “ She looked at her wife who was staring at her like she was a goddess, so fondly and so sickly sweet that Alice had to hold back the urge to make a face. “We were there when we gave you to Perry to bring to Gus. We were the last ones to see you,”

“Us and Doc, of course,” Nicole corrected.

“Who’s Doc?”

The two exchanged looks. “That’s more of your mother’s story,” Gus explained for them with a roll of her eyes.

“Come inside! I made lasagna!”

---

The house was full of love. There was a wall with little mark etched in showing as two people grew. Nicole and Waverly’s kid, Alice realized. There were toys everywhere, pictures too. Alice’s favorite picture was the one she saw just as she entered the house. It was of Nicole and Waverly, several years younger, with sun-kissed skin kissing on the beach. It was beautiful.

“It’s the first time she saw the ocean,” Nicole told Alice.

“I’ve never seen the ocean,” Alice said. “Is it pretty?”

Nicole’s smile softened. “The prettiest. I’ll take you sometime,” She squeezed Alice’s shoulder and Alice smiled. It was nice to have a godmother, she decided to herself. They were pretty cool.

The two caught up with Waverly and Gus who were side by side as Waverly showed off her prized collections - pictures of her kids. They seemed to line the walls of the blue halls.

“They’re at school right now, but look at their face, Gus! Aren’t they just adorable?” Waverly cooed. She turned the picture down to show Alice. “Those are your cousins, Alice. That’s William,” She pointed to the ginger-headed boy who was smiling unabashedly. He had to be around Alice’s age. “And that’s Natalie,” She was a year or three younger than Alice with brown hair and eyes looking more like a mirror of Waverly than Nicole.

“I can’t wait to meet them,” Alice said with a smile plastered onto her face, but it felt force. Fake.

“Waverly,” Nicole cut in, placing a hand on Alice’s shoulder. “Could you maybe show Alice here a picture of Wynonna?”

God, it was like Nicole had read her thoughts. Alice was instantly grateful for the redhead.

Waverly jumped like she hadn’t thought of that. “Oh stupid pregnancy brain! That should have been the first thing I did! I’m sorry! I have a ton to pick from! Here! I’ll go get the photo album!”

“Just no pictures from the time we went to Vegas, baby! Alright?” Nicole shouted out. Alice gave her an inquisitive look. “When youre older,” Nicole added with a sigh.

“Do y'all smell something burning?” Gus frowned.

“The lasagna!” Waverly gasped, nearly dropping the photo album.

Gus sighed loudly. “I’ll get it,” she said.

“Thank you. Kitchen’s right through there,” Nicole pointed as she led Alice in the direction of the photo albums. Alice was grateful Nicole never left her side. A part of her felt like at any moment this could all be ripped away. Nicole. Waverly. The sweet suburbia. It would all disappear, and she would wake up alone in the little house in the woods.

Waverly opened up the albums and right away Alice noted the sweet, pretty cursive in all the old journals she found. Instinctively, Alice rubbed the pad of her fingers along the ink. “You wrote in those old textbooks in my basement,”

Waverly looked a little taken aback. Her eyes went to Nicole for a moment before they fell down to Alice. “I… I did. Yeah. I’m a researcher. Or, well, part-time. I’m also a professor. For online schools - “

“But still a professor,” Nicole interjected.

Waverly smiled and looked down at her handwriting fondly. Like she was going somewhere else. “I used to write little notes from time to time. B-But most of them were in - “

“Latin,” Alice answered. “It actually helped me learn it. There really wasn’t much to do, and it was fun,”

“Stupet balls!” Waverly gasped in Latin. “That’s amazing!”

“I thought they were stories. I just assumed. But then Nicole told me about Revenants and - “

“NICOLE HAUGHT-EARP!”

The tiny, very pregnant woman before them went from a little ball of sunshine and sugar to a flaming ball of anger in an instant. It was actually the most terrifying thing Alice had ever seen. Even Nicole, who Alice was certain was a badass, instantly paled.

“Uh, Waves. Really, it was an - “

“WE AGREED WYNONNA WAS GOING TO TELL - “

“It’s not her fault!” Alice yelped, sticking her hands up in surrender. “I forced it out of her!”

Waverly took a deep breath, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “So, let me get this straight. You can survive an eight hour interrogation by Bulshar cult members as they torture you, but you can’t handle a conversation with a ten year old without spilling the beans?”

“W-Well, I mean,” Nicole stammered lamely. “She’s… Look at her! She’s a Little Wynonna. And I’m sorry. And I love you. And I didn’t mean to do it. And please don’t kill me,”

Waverly sighed. She looked at the two for a long moment. Her eyes jumped from one to the other before she landed on Nicole. “You’re lucky I love you,”

“I love you too,”

Waverly kissed her quickly, and Alice pretended to gag in the background.

“No more spilling secrets,” Waverly said. “Okay?”

“Okay. Okay. My bad,” Nicole agreed. She looked down at Alice, resting her hand on her heavy belt. Her eyes were soft and warm. “Your mom will be here soon. She’s an hour away,”

“She had to wrap up a case,” Waverly added helpfully.

“But when she gets here,” Nicole continued. “She’s going to tell you everything you want to know. Okay? No more secrets,”

“No more secrets,” Alice repeated. “I like that,”

They showed her pictures from the photo album. There was one of a young Nicole and Wynonna leaned against each other with matching suits. “That was at our wedding,” Nicole said fondly pointing to the picture. “She was my best man,”

“I don’t understand why we didn’t just make her the maid of honor,”

“She was both. We’re unconventional,” Nicole shrugged.

The next picture was an even younger one. Nicole was in a blue uniform with a white stetson. She wasn't smiling at all. Frowning, actually. And beside her was the same woman. Wynonna, Nicole had said. But this was the best picture of her. She was smiling goofily. Her eyes were big and bright. She was in a leather jacket and her brown hair was all over the place.

Nicole was right. They looked alike. This one was far better than the matching suit pictures. Although, she missed the fact that Nicole wasn’t smiling in this one.

“We were friends, but this one was taken during a complicated time,” Nicole told her. “Doc took this one when he had gotten his first phone. They were trying to annoy me while I was on duty,”

“Doc,” Alice repeats, sounding out the name. It was another person she didn’t know. Another secret she couldn’t grasp just yet.

They flipped the page and it was of Wynonna again and Waverly. The two were standing side by side with Wynonna pointing to her stomach and her tongue sticking out.

“This when she was pregnant with me?” Alice whispered, amazed.

Waverly nodded. “Nicole took this picture. She wanted to make sure there were memories,”

“It was a bleak time. There was a lot of Revenant, evil stuff going on. But I thought it was important to hold on to the happy times,” Nicole said.

“You’re really sappy, huh?” Alice said bluntly.

Nicole blushed and quickly look down before she mumbled, “I swear, it’s like talking to another Wynonna,”

There were pictures of an Indian man holding a rainbow flag next to Nicole and Waverly as the two were pimped out in Pride merchandise with Nicole in a rainbow tank top and glitter on her face and Waverly in a shirt that read “BISEXUAL AND PROUD”.

“Our first pride,” Waverly mused. “Good times,”

“That’s your Uncle Jeremy. He’s a lot of fun,”

There were pictures of a cowboy looking man with startling blue eyes and a Stetson and dark moustache. And he was just glaring at the camera, confused and bewildered.

“And….” Nicole took a deep breath. “That’s Doc,”

“Doc,” Alice said again. “Will I meet him too?”

“Of course, honey,” Waverly said. “In just a little bit,” She checked her phone. “They’re heading here as fast as possible. They’re so excited to meet you,”

The next one of just Nicole. Red hair all mussed up and brown eyes sparkling. She was sitting on a messy bed with a ginger cap on her lap, a white PSD shirt and blue shorts, and she looked so happy.

“My favorite picture of you,” Waverly admitted, looking at her wife like she was looking at the most beautiful thing on Earth. It was nauseating how much they were in love, but if Alice was being honest this was the family life she had always wanted. Having two parents who were just in love and care free who loved her. She wondered if her mom was still with her dad. Was her mom happy?

Waverly turned back to the photo and tapped it. “I took this one. It was my background for months,”

“Now, it’s the kids and me,”

“You still have a cat?” Alice asked. She had never seen a cat before.

“We do. He comes in at night. You’ll get to see him. But this one, Calamity Jane, passed unfortunately a few years ago,”

“The funeral was very touching,” Waverly said with a nod.

Gus entered the room, holding the lasagna in two red mittens. She placed it down on white oak table. With a sigh, she walked toward them and wrapped a protective arm around Alice as she leered over her shoulder to look at the pictures.

Alice enjoyed the touch. It was nice to have a familiar face be around. Everything was so new and unfamiliar. There was a photo album in front of her of memories she should have been a part of. Of things she should have known. But she was kept from. All because of some stupid curse. But no matter what, she had Gus. At least, she had Gus. And her mom. And these new people now.

They flipped the page, but Alice didn’t get time to enjoy the pictures because suddenly there was the sound of feet slamming on the porch outside. And then the doorknob shook. Nicole instantly reached for her gun and pulled it out without hesitation.

“Wait here, baby. Protect Alice,” Nicole strode forward, gun raised.

“Nicole,” Waverly scolded. “It could be - “

The door slammed forward, and, with dark hair waving and brown eyes filled with tears and a dark jacket, Wynonna Earp came barreling down the hall, ignoring the gun, ignoring Nicole, passing them all, and going straight to Alice like a man on a mission.

But she stopped just a foot in front of Alice. Afraid to move. Frozen. Tears dripping down her face. Like she couldn’t believe what was happening.

Alice couldn’t move either. Stuck in a trance. Staring into those brown eyes. Because there it was. There was the connection. The bond she had craved. There it was. There it was in those big brown sad eyes. There is was. Her home.

“M-Mom?” she croaked, afraid to speak, afraid she would be told again otherwise, afraid she would get laughed out or scolded.

But the woman in front of her let out a sob of relief and bounded forward, wrapping her in a deep embrace, digging her chin in Alice shoulder. “Yeah, kid. Yeah. I’m your mom. I’m your mom,” And she sounded so in disbelief. And she sounded so happy. And Alice didn’t know what to do, because her whole life she had waited for this moment. And now it was happening. Her mom was hugging her.

So she hugged back. So she hugged back with all her strength willing her mom to stay.

“Please don’t leave,” she whispered. She hadn’t meant to. It just slipped out. But Wynonna laughed. A sad, watery laugh.

“Never, kid. You’re never getting rid of me,”

---

Wynonna sat in the big brown chair in Waverly’s office.

“You guys should talk,” Nicole said, leading them to the private room. It was full of bookcases that went from the ceiling to the floor filled with books with a big brown desk filled with papers and held a computer. And there were a desk chair which Alice happily sat in and across from it in the corner of the room was a big brown chair. That’s where Wynonna sat, her leg bouncing. Like she wasn’t used to staying still.

“I’m sorry I had to send you away,” Wynonna said. Her voice cracked and she let out a sharp, pained noise from the back of her throat. “I’m sorry. I… I don’t do good with emotion. I’m not a walking-talking-bumper-sticker like Haught. And I’m not happy and cutesy like my sister,”

“I don’t think I’m like that either,” Alice said. Gus and her didn’t exactly hold hands and sing Kumbaya. This is new for me too,”

Wynonna smiled gratefully and took a deep breath. “Okay. So, Nicole told you about the Revenants, huh?”

“Yeah. And the Earp curse,”

“Damn, Haughtstuff really can’t say no to an Earp,”

“It was almost too easy,”

“That’s my girl,” And Wynonna’s smile faltered. “Sorry, I don’t know if I should say things like - “

“It’s okay. You can,” Alice said quickly. Almost too quickly. Almost too desperately. She took a deep breath. “I mean, you’re my mom. You’re my family. Why can’t you say things like that?”

“Okay. Good to know. So, uh, how are you feeling?” Wynonna asked a little uncomfortably. “Were you mad? Growing up, I mean,”

“I’m not mad. I never was. Well, maybe a little, but not at you. I was mad at the seventy-seven, but mainly I was just...confused. Lonely, really. Sad. But Gus always told me you missed me, that you loved me, that you were coming for me. I missed you. Which is weird cause I’ve never met you until now, but I missed you. And I know you missed me. And I know you love me. I just feel it. Like this connection. Do you feel it?”

“Yeah, kid,” Wynonna laughs a little breathlessly. “Yeah, I feel it,”

Alice didn’t know what to say. This woman was still a stranger, regardlessly of the connection, the warmth, the comfortable feeling she had. She didn’t know what to say. “Gus said you never regretted giving me up,”

“Never. Cause the alternative would mean you dead or being raised by demons,” Wynonna rubbed her hands together, looking at the floor instead of Alice. “It hurt like Hell. Like someone physically cut and removed something deep within me. I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat, couldn’t breathe without thinking of you. But I’d go through that all again to have this moment. This moment. This moment of looking at my daughter’s face and knowing she’s absolutely fine and alive and okay,” Her brown eyes now were locked on Alice. And Alice felt her heart swell.

“Mom?” Alice said. It felt like such a relief to finally use the word.

Wynonna looked relieved to finally hear it. “Yeah, Alice?”

“Who’s Doc?”

“Oh, um. Well, that would be your daddy, kid,”

---

Dinner was uncomfortable and loud and fun. There was a new face at the table. A man by the name of Xavier Dolls. He had dark skin and was always wearing a grimace. And he seemed confused and unsure of how to hold himself around Alice and around Wynonna. Like he didn’t know how to function, what to do, what to say. Alice just ignored him. She focused more on Nicole and Waverly and Wynonna who were quite the opposite. They weren’t uncomfortable in the slightest. In fact, they were overjoyed and overly excited, if Alice might add, about their latest guest.

Wynonna was glued to her side like she was afraid of losing her daughter all over again. Alice didn’t mind. She had the same fear. In fact, it was nice. Wynonna sat beside her and slowly ran her fingers up along Alice’s hand like she was trying to reassure both of them that this was happening, this was real. Waverly, on the other hand, kept trying to impress Alice with fun, adventure-filled stories that Nicole kept interrupting to give more facts on tone it down.

“Then the demon launched at Nicole and tore her arm open!” Waverly exclaimed.

“Whoa!”

“I was fine and perfectly safe. I was wearing my police-duty Kevlar and, afterwards, got my stitches and was able to resume work. It wasn’t that big of a deal,” Nicole assured Alice quickly.

“Oh,”

“So Wynonna whirls around and fires Peacemaker right at the monster. And then flames opened up and swallowed the monster whole as your momma sent that creature right where it belongs!”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah,” Wynonna said with a big shit-eating smile. “Your mom is kind of a badass,”

“Okay. That part is very true,” Nicole said. The two gave each other fist-bumps like they were the biggest bros in the world. Waverly snorted and rolled her eyes. It was a very different dynamic than the one photographed in that old picture with the stoic Nicole and the goofy Wynonna, but Alice found this dynamic much, much better. No wonder Nicole was her godmother.

As the conversation dulled and everyone continued eating at the lasagna, Alice finally found the courage to speak up. “So monsters are still around here, huh?” she asked.

“Yes,” Dolls said. It was the only thing he had said all night. He had just been uncomfortably standing just out of her frame of vision the whole time. Wynonna nudged him and he continued. “But we all work to stop them from hurting civilians like yourself. And - “

Everyone froze as the sound of footsteps outside on the porch caught them off-guard. Immediately, Nicole pulled her gun out followed by Dolls and Wynonna. They each stood and moved toward the door slowly.

“Guys!” Waverly called out. She stood up and waddled toward them. “It’s only - “

The door swung open and a red-haired boy came running in followed by a little brown-haired girl. Thankfully, Nicole put her gun away in an instant and extended her hands out like she had been waiting for a hug and not about to attack an intruder. Her kids rushed up to her without hesitation and then to Waverly. “Momma! Mom!” they cried out in unison.

“Hey, babies!” Nicole cried out, hugging them and kissing them.

Then someone else entered through the doorway. Wynonna and Dolls lifted their guns up again.

“Now, why is this always the welcome I get when I come to visit Purgatory’s sweetest couple?”

Wynonna and Dolls lowered the guns simultaneously and tucked them into their belts.

“Doc,” Wynonna greeted. “There’s someone you need to meet,” She led him by the hand to the dining room and the second Alice saw him she felt her breath catch in her throat.

They had the same startling blue eyes. It was so clear, so evident.

Slowly, Doc removed his hat, pinning to his chest. “Well, my, my, it is an absolute pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Alice Michelle Earp,”

“You’re my…” Alice couldn’t even speak.

“He’s your dad,” Wynonna said, giving the man a little push forward.

“Can I…” She didn’t know if this was weird or not. Maybe it was, but she had to ask. “Can I give you a hug?”

She could have sworn his big blue eyes began to well with tears, but if she told anyone she knew he’d vehemently deny it.

“Well, I would certainly love nothing more in the world, little lady,” And Alice - who had no family two days ago - was now hugging her father as her mother placed a hand on her shoulder, as her aunts and her cousins watched, as her Aunt Gus laughed as she sat at the head of the table, as Xavier Dolls, whoever he was, stood with the ghost of a smile along his lips. And everything, every puzzle piece just slid together.

This was the whole picture. This was it. These were the pieces she had been missing. Finally, they were together.

---

Sometime during dinner, as the adults got drunker off of wine with the exception of Waverly who was now playing video games with kids in the living room, Gus excused herself outside and Alice immediately followed. For a moment, she thought her mom would follow too, but she heard Nicole whisper a little too loud, “Let her go,” And Wynonna sat right back down with a grumble.

Gus was sitting on the porch, mulling over red wine, and she was wearing a look that Alice knew well from their ten years of living together. A look of pensive, deep thought. Gus would go into these looks whenever Alice spoke Latin out loud or got in trouble. It was a look that Alice associated with remembrance, with deja vu, but today it was sadder and more melancholy. Like the memories were just adding to this red wine-induced depression.

“Aunt Gus?” Alice squeaked, making her presence known. She sat down beside her aunt. “You okay?”

“It feels weird to be back,” she said simply. She sighed and took a long sip and sighed again. “I had to raise Waverly when Wynonna got sent away and your granddaddy died. Raising you felt like I got to get that back. But time doesn’t stand still, does it? You can’t go back. Never can. Nights like this is when it hits me. Soon I’ll be alone again. No Curtis. No Waverly. No Wynonna. And no Alice,” She sighed.

Alice didn’t know what to say. She stared up at the stars. No matter where she went, they were always there looking down on her. “Gus, I need to thank you. You helped give me a chance. A chance to have this craziness,” Alice motioned to the house. “I know you think this will be over and you’ll be off and I’ll be with my new family. Well, my new-to-me family, but you’ll always be my Aunt Gus. I’ll never forget what you’ve done for me and my mom,”

Aunt Gus smiled. “You really did get the best parts of her, huh,”

Alice smiled and pressed a kiss to her aunt’s forehead. “Honestly, Gus, I might be crazy, but I think you still have them too,” She motioned to the house again where now she could hear Doc roaring with drunken laughter. Her dad was roaring with drunken laughter. God, she couldn’t believe it.

“You’re sweet, Alice,” Gus’s eyes twinkled. “I love you,”

---

Dinner ends when the Haught-Earps start getting tired which is at nine. Natalie and William, who had barely said a word to Alice but shared some smiles, had already gone off to their respective rooms. And Waverly passed out on the couch shortly after, so Nicole rushes to her side.

“It’s time to get the wife to bed. You guys could stay over if you want. We got plenty of room. More than the homestead that’s for sure,”

“I will sleep outside. The stars are mighty beautiful tonight and I cannot help but admit I’ve grown accustomed to a certain lifestyle,” Doc shrugs. He looks to Alice for a moment. And his eyes go soft. “Maybe the little lady can sleep with one of her cousins,”

“Only if you want,” Wynonna adds. “You could always sleep with Gus o-or me or or whoever your comfortable with,”

“William does have a spare twin bed in his room,” Nicole offers. “Would you want to take it?”

Alice doesn’t see why not. Although, she hates that she sees a little bit of sadness in her mom’s eyes as she hugs her goodnight. “I’ll see you in the morning?”

“Yeah, kid,” Wynonna nods. There are tears swimming in her eyes again. “Yeah. I-I’ll be there. Always,”

“Okay,”

“I’ll be in the room across of your’s,”

“But that’s...my room,” Nicole frowns. And then realization hits her. “Alright then. Guess I got the couch. Gus, you can take the guest room,”

“Thank you, because I was not about to offer to take the couch. My back isn’t young anymore,”

“Mine either,” Nicole grumbles, but Alice sees the amusement in her brown eyes so she knows Nicole isn’t too serious.

“I’ll stay down here with you, Haught,” Dolls says. Alice is surprised to hear him speak. She had almost forgotten what his voice had sounded like. He had been so quiet the whole evening, just looking intently at either Alice or Wynonna and sipping his wine, lost in thought, unsure of how to approach the situation. It made Alice strangely uncomfortable and a little annoyed, really. But she just tried to ignore him and his weird looks at her.

Nicole woke Waverly who swatted at her and mumbled something that causes Nicole to laugh and helps her pregnant wife up the stairs and tucks her into bed. Alice trailed behind, not close enough to interfere but close enough to understand where exactly she’s sleeping. When Nicole’s done telling Waverly she’ll be sharing a bed with Wynonna tonight and not her, she crept out of bedroom, carefully shuts the door behind her, and gives Alice a nice smile. Nicole is the epitome of nice. Especially when she’s a little tipsy on red wine. Her cheeks are as red as her hair, Alice mused.

“You’ll be sleeping here,” Nicole said. She slowly opened her son’s bedroom. “William?” she whispered.

“Hm?”

“Is it cool if your Cousin Alice sleeps in the bed next to yours?”

“Hm,”

Nicole smiled. “Okay. Close your eyes. Lights are turning on in three….two….one,” She flipped the lights on but as she did so her son was already burying his face in pillows and blankets to avoid the harsh adjustment of his eyes. “Here you are Alice,” Nicole led her to the bed. “You have fun tonight?”

“Yeah,”

“Overwhelmed?”

“Yeah, actually,”

“Trust me. I know better than anyone about joining the Earp family, but they’re good people. Especially your mom. She’s my best friend and probably one of the best people I know,” Nicole admitted. “Well, best person I know beside my wife, of course. You can borrow some pajamas from Natalie. I’ll go get some. They might be a little small but - “

“It’s fine. I can sleep in this,” She motioned to her sweater and jeggings.

“You sure?”

“Yeah. Thank you though, Aunt Nicole,”

“Aunt Nicole,” Nicole laughs to herself. “I like that. I’m really happy you’re here,” She turned to her son now who’s red hair peeked through his blankets as he slowly removed the barriers. “Will, be nice to your cousin,”

“I will,” he said.

“Promise?”

“Promise,”

“Come get me or Waverly or Wynonna or anyone really if you need anyone. Okay, Alice?” Nicole voice is so soft. “Night, you two,”

“Night,” they said in unison.

---

It had to be about three when Alice woke up to find a ginger haired boy poking at her. For a long moment, Alice thought she was back in the house in the woods. She thought her only family was Gus and that she was still waiting for her mom, waiting for the seventy-seven to be dead, but then she saw red hair and the days came rushing back.

“...William?” Alice said groggily. She closed her eyes. “Just let me sleep,”

She felt hands rock her again and none of her swatting ended the torture.

“Come on,” he says. “I want to show you something. It’ll be quick,”

---

William Haught-Earp was nine years old with sharp red hair and gangly limbs and a curious glint in his eyes. He led her down the stairs, walking carefully, and then he slowly pulled the door open. It creaked and for a moment Alice couldn’t help but grow angry that this kid woke her up for some fresh air, but then a black cat bounded into the house.

“Whoa,” Alice yelped.

“Oakley,” William said, introducing the cat to her. “He’s awesome, isn’t he? Mom said you’ve never seen a cat before. That true?”

“Yeah,” Alice said. She bent down and massaged the cat’s temple as it rubbed against her legs. “They’re pretty cute,”

“Yeah. They are. Wait until you see a dog,”

Alice nodded. She had seen dogs before. There had been some in town, but she didn’t want to tell William that. He seemed so happy to be sharing something with her and, judging by the fact that he barely said more than two words to her during dinner, Alice was fearful of losing the current connection they were sharing. She looked up from the cat and peered outside. There were tall dark pine trees, the sky was dark and menacing, the lawn was freshly cut, and in the distance, at the edge of their property, stood a building.

“What’s over there?” She pointed to the dark shed in the distance. It looked a bit like a barn - rustic and old with a soft glow of light emitting from the old windows.

“That’s my mom’s office,”

“I thought they had an office in here,” Alice definitely recalled sitting in a library-esque room and having an uncomfortable but nice heart to heart with her biological mother.

“But that’s one for special BBD stuff,” William said. “For, like, experiments and research… We’re not allowed to go in that one,”

“BBD…” Alice said. Her eyes lit up. “That’s the demon hunting agency, isn’t it? God, and it’s right outside your house too? That’s awesome. You’ve ever been inside?”

“No. Momma said it was off limits,”

“Aren’t you curious?”

“Yeah,” William snorted.

“Well then why don’t we just check it out?”

“Alice, I don’t think - “

“Come on! You can’t honestly tell me you woke me up just to see your cat,”

William’s cheeks went pink. God, of course this kid woke Alice up to see a cat. He was a big old goody two shoes, Alice noted, just like his parents.

“I’ve never seen a demon before, Will,”

“I’ve never either,”

“It’s our birthright,” Alice assured him, slapping him hard on the shoulder. “That building and it’s BBD stuff is our birthright. What’s the harm? It’s just an office, right?”

She could see the gears turning in Will’s head. Slowly, she raised her hand. “Come on,” she said again. “What’s the harm?” And just as slowly as she had extended her hand, William slowly grabbed it. Alice grinned from ear to ear. She swung the backdoor open and took off in a sprint, pulling William along for the ride. Unsurprisingly, the redhead was impossibly fast. His long legs let him tear from Alice’s grip and arrive at the barn before she did. Panting, they stood looking up.

“This is a bad idea,” William said. “My moms are going to kill me,”

“It’s a great idea,” Alice corrected. “And they won’t kill you if they never find out,”

“Why do you want to look at this so badly?”

“I thought they were just stories, Will. I read your mom’s textbooks and it was old history and there was scribbled notes and I thought it was all stories. And then I find out the seventy-seven are demons. Actual demons. There are demons that prevented me from my family, that wanted to kill me without even knowing me,” She blinked and turned to William. “If you were in my shoes, wouldn’t you be curious?”

William cocked his head to the side. “You read some of my mom’s textbooks?”

“Yeah. I’ll lend them to you sometime. They’re in my basement,”

“Hm,” William strode forward to the door but frowned instantly. “We need a five digit number code to get in,”

“Try your parents’ wedding anniversary?”

“Nope,”

“Try your birthday?”

“Nope,” William said again a little bitterly.

“Um, your moms’ birthdays?”

“Nope and….nope,”

“Wynonna’s birthday?”

“Nothing,”

“How about…” Alice hesitated. She almost didn’t want to say it aloud, scared of the answer, of the sting of rejection that Will was no doubt feeling. “How about my birthday?”

Will nodded and started pushing the buttons. And for a long agonizing moment, nothing happened, and then there was a beeping noise, a green light flashed, and the door to the barn was unlocked. The two kids pulled the door open.

---

The barn was the coolest and scariest thing that Alice had ever seen. There was a corkboard of crime pictures, there was cabinets of files, there was a table in the center that was full of papers and a computer, there was some sort of science equipment in the corner, guns hanging on the wall, axes too, and a skull mounted on the wall, crystals hanging down on the doorway, and pictures, old and new, pinned to the walls in dark frames. But the coolest thing, that thing that caught Alice’s eye, was a certain gun just casually sitting on the table.

“We shouldn’t be here. This was a mistake,” William whimpered. His brown eyes had widened into saucers the moment they had seen the gory crime pictures on the corkboard, but Alice didn’t mind it. She was too focused on the gun.

“Alice, that’s - Oh God. That’s Peacemaker. Aunt Wyn is attached to the hip to that thing. She must be here. We need to leave! We need to leave!”

Alice kept walking. Slowly, she picked the gun up. It felt warm in her hands. Comfortable. Familiar.

“Put that down!” Will yelped. “You can’t be touching that!”

“Why not?” Alice said. She tilted it, eyeing the inscriptions. “It’s so…cool. Man, my mom used this to kill the seventy-seven, huh?”

“And other creatures. Okay? Fulfilled your lifetime fantasy? Great. Can we go now?”

“What happens if I - “

“Put the gun down!”

Both kids froze instantly. William paled ridiculously, but the voice was not who they expected. Instead of Wynonna, when they turned, it was the oddly quiet man at the table Xavier Dolls.

“Uncle Dolls,” Will squeaked. “I’m so, so, so sorry, but I was just giving Alice a tour and - “

“Put the gun down, Earp,” Dolls said again.

“O-Okay,” She placed it down on the table. “Sorry. I was just curious,”

“Peacemaker isn’t a toy,”

“I know that,” Alice said stubbornly. “You think I spent my whole time with Aunt Gus and didn’t learn that guns aren’t toys. It’s was probably the first thing I learned right after I mastered my ABCs,” She didn’t know why she was being so snippy with Dolls. Maybe it was late. Maybe it was the fact that she was trying to goad him into reacting, into expressing some sort of emotion, into caring. Maybe it was the fact that his silence and his stoic attitude kind of annoyed her.

“You two should go back to bed,” Dolls said.

“Yup. Okay. Can you just not tell my parents?” Will asked, but when he was met with nothing but a dead glare, he sighed and hung his head, accepting his fate. “Okay. Alright,” He walked out of the barn, but Alice didn’t feel the same pressure to follow, to obey.

“Who are you?” Alice asked.

“Xavier Dolls,”

“I mean, to my mom and my dad. Why does Will call you uncle? Why did you even show up to dinner?”

Dolls said nothing. He just stared down at her. “You should go to bed,” he finally said. His voice was low and husky.

“You’re the only one that’s not happy to see me,” Alice snapped. “And it kind of sucks. So if you’d like to drop the robot act, I’d really appreciate it,” She stormed out without another word.

“Are you alright?” Will asked. Tears were falling down her bright blue eyes. She mopped them up with her sleeve and sniffled.

“Yeah,” she lied. It seemed like all the emotions of the night were hitting her now. She wished her cousin had never woken her up to see the dumb cat. She wished she could blink and be in bed, but William was still beside her, looking at her with big eyes.

“He didn’t yell at you, did he? He once yelled at me for shattering his mug. It was a mistake. I tripped, but – ”

“No. He didn’t yell. I just don’t think he likes me,”

“Oh. I always think people don’t like me. Momma says that’s just my anxiety, and it’s all in my head,”

“Well, this isn’t all in my head,” Alice grumbled. “He’s been acting weird around me. It freaks me out,”

“Maybe he’s nervous? I was nervous tonight, so I didn’t say much,”

“All the other adults spoke to me. He just gave me weird looks all night. Who even is he?”

“Deputy Marshal Uncle Dolls,” Will says like it’s an explanation.

Alice is too tired to care anymore about this or the distant robot man.

---

Waking up in the little slice of suburbia that was the Haught-Earp’s two-story family home was probably the greatest thing in the world. As she opened her eyes, the sun leaking in, she saw William’s snoring form with his red hair all over and spread across his pillow and drool leaking from his mouth. She smelt nothing but waffles and eggs and bacon, and her mouth started to water. And she could hear her mom laughing. And that probably was the best part, because a while ago, that thought would have felt like nothing but a fantasy, but she knew her mom’s laugh. She had heard it at dinner when Nicole had made a joke and Wynonna had just started cackling. And there it was. That laugh. That laugh.

Alice tore the covers off of her and escaped the room and ran down the stairs and headed to the kitchen where Wynonna was leaned against the counter laughing, Waverly was smiling brightly flipped pancakes, and the two sisters were in this bubble of happiness.

“Can you believe our kids are getting in trouble together?” Wynonna snickered, not yet seeing Alice. She pressed herself to the wall to avoid being seen, interested in the conversation.

“It’s a dream come true,” Waverly teased. “But if my little Willie is corrupted - “

The two started laughing again.

“William is just like Nicole. Oh my God. Did Dolls tell you he tried to say he was giving her a ‘tour’,”

“Hey! I think it’s sweet that’s he’s so…Nicole,”

“There’s not a rebel bone in that kid’s body. He’s gonna become a cop just like his mom,”

“Nicole would love that. She’s been teaching him police codes, you know,” Waverly mused. “But hey, give my son a little credit. He did break into a barn he wasn’t supposed to. That’s a very Earp-y thing to do,”

“Alice probably forced him to do it,” Wynonna said. And she didn’t sound angry or pissed or disappointed. She sounded proud. “Now that’s an Earp-y thing to do,”

“You think it’s going to be like this from now on?” Waverly asked after a beat of silence. “The two of us teasing each other about our kids, our kids getting into Earp-y trouble together…”

“I hope so,” Wynonna said. “It’s a lot more fun than before,” And there was something about the way she said it that Alice just knew what she meant. The before. The before Alice was here. The before when Wynonna could barely function and every moment her thoughts were on Alice. The before when the seventy-seven were alive and Alice was gone. The before.

Alice swallowed thickly. She hated her mom was in so much pain. But a part of her felt comforted in the fact that she meant that much to her mom. Was that an awful thing to think? She didn’t know. She didn’t want to know.

Alice tiptoed around the corner, avoiding the kitchen all together, and entering the living room. On the floor was Dolls, sweaty and in a black tank top, as he did push-ups one after the other with little difficulty. Nicole was still sleeping on the couch, snoring like her son, with her red hair blocking her face. And there was Doc, in a sleeping bag pressed against the couch, with his cowboy hat over his face. It seemed he did come inside to sleep last night. Alice was grateful, losing her dad to hypothermia right after she just got him would suck pretty bad.

Dolls slowly raised his head and stopped his exercises for a moment as he regarded her carefully. Alice wanted to run. She had intended to just peek inside and see if Nicole or anyone else was up other than the Earp sisters, but now she had just gotten herself trapped in a conversation with the one person she wanted to avoid. Great.

“Uh, morning,” she said.

He said nothing. He just watched her carefully.

“Sorry for last night. I was...tired and I took it out on you,”

Dolls tilted his head to the side with his eyes narrowed. “It’s okay. Just don’t touch Peacemaker,”

“Yeah. Okay…” She played with her hands nervously, but he never spoke up. He never said anything else. He just stared at her. It was the same weird look. The same I-don’t-know-what-say-to-you look. She nodded and ducked out of the room as quickly as possible.

---

Wynonna nearly dropped her mug of coffee the moment she saw Alice. Her eyes got all wide and filled with disbelief and it made Alice’s heart swell.

“Hey, babygirl,”

Waverly smiled secretly to herself, pressing her palm on her stomach, and giving the two some space.

“Hey, mom,” It feels foreign on her tongue, but she enjoys it. The change.

“We’re going to eat and then we’re going to head out,” Wynonna said. She tilted her head. “That okay?”

“Yeah, but where are we going?”

“The homestead,” Wynonna said with a smile. “Our home, babygirl. You’re going to get your own room and everything,”

Alice liked the idea of that. Alice liked the idea of having a home. Her whole life the cabin in the woods was always temporary. That’s what Gus made abundantly clear. It was a place to stay until the seventy-seven were dead, until Wynonna came, until life was able to resume and the world was safe. But now, Alice was going to have a home. She was giddy with excitement.

“My own room?”

“Yeah, and you’ll get to decorate it and everything!” Wynonna grinned. “We can go shopping and get you some new clothes too and some toys and whatever you need,”

“Okay,” Alice’s grin widened. “Okay. I’d like that. I’d really like that,”

---

Waverly and Wynonna are setting the table. Nicole is still snoring, Dolls is MIA, and Doc is buying more eggs for breakfast. And that’s when Gus came down the stairs, holding her suitcase.

“You’re leaving,” Alice said. It’s a statement. Not a question. “Am…I…” But she didn’t want to ask. She was too scared of knowing. So she never finished her question, but Gus knew her well. Gus knew her well as she shook her head.

“You need to be with your family,”

“But you’re my family too,”

Gus eyes were shinning. She bent down and she kissed Alice’s head.

“You come visit, okay?” Gus whispered.

“Okay,” Alice nodded. “I will,”

“And tell your mom to pick up the damn phone and give me a call sometime. I want to make sure she’s still breathing,” Gus grinned. She kissed Alice’s forehead once more before she started walking away.

“Gus?”

“Hm?”

“Aren’t you going to say goodbye to the others?”

Gus smiled sadly. “I’ve already done my goodbyes, girl. I’ll see you around,”

Alice nodded and watched her aunt leave with tears shinning in her eyes.

---

They eat breakfast. Alice sits across from her cousins – William and Natalie. Natalie’s pancakes are in the design of a face, but the younger girl doesn’t even enjoy it, she inhales her breakfast. And Alice can’t help but feel a twinge of resentment, because she never got her breakfast in a funny, weird, cute design. But here’s a girl who got it everyday and she didn’t even appreciate it.

Nicole has an arm wrapped around her wife the entire meal. She’s half-asleep and keeps blinking wildly to stay away. Which Alice couldn’t help but find funny, because her son was across the table practically doing the same thing.

Dolls sat at the head of the table, eating his waffles silently. While Doc and Wynonna are chattering, and simply being the life of the breakfast table. Alice is glad out of everyone here Wynonna and Doc are her parents. They seem fun. They seem nice. They seem like they would make smiley faces out of syrup and tuck her into bed at night and really love her. She just wish she got all of that sooner.

---

Saying goodbye to Nicole is a bit harder than Alice expected it to be.

Nicole stood in front of her with that puppy dog face and Alice gave her a tight hug. “Thanks for finding me,” she whispered against Nicole’s shirt.

“Always. I’m your Loyal Soldier, after all,”

Alice backed away with a smile pressed on her lips.

“You know, I’m always going to be around. And I mean, always. The Earps are pretty tight knit. I’m over at the homestead at least every day,” Nicole told her.

“Okay,” Alice nodded, and she can’t help but feel relief slowly pour into her chest like something cold, chilling her system. She took a deep breath. Alice didn’t think she could handle saying goodbye to anyone else. It’s been for so long just Gus and her, and now that her world has expanded she doesn’t want to let go.

“Good luck with your mom,” Nicole grinned. She ruffled Alice’s hair and it’s such a simple gesture, but Alice smiled. She looked behind her and there were her parents and Dolls, standing side-by-side.

“You ready, babygirl?” Wynonna asked. She’s leaned against Dolls with Doc’s hand on her shoulder, and the three of them looked like they just stepped off of a poster for some action movie.

“Yeah,” Alice nodded. “Yeah, I’m ready,”

---

Alice’s home smells of whiskey. There’s clothes all over. And there’s a room with Waverly’s name written on a little sign hanging from a door and sock on the doorknob like the room exist in a complete shrine for the people that once live there, untouched and in memory of. Things are messy. There’s nothing really in kitchen except the empty bottles. And there’s an ashtray with old cigarettes poking out. And there are bullet marks in the walls. And the place is a mess, but it’s home.

“I know it isn’t much,” Wynonna admitted sheepishly as they entered. “But, you know, we had a busy couple of weeks so the place got kind of…fucked up,”

“Wynonna,” Doc piped up.

“I mean. Sorry. I mean, screwed up. I mean, screwed up,” Wynonna flinched. “Sorry. I didn’t realize I have to childproof my language,”

“You don’t,” Alice said, far too quickly. “You can swear. It’s fine,”

Wynonna looked at her and her smile is both sad and warm, and it’s confusing. It’s confusing, because Alice had never seen a smile like that.

“It’s no problem. Waverly’s been telling to clean up my language for a while,” Wynonna shrugged. She sat down on the couch. And honestly, the couch is dotted in crimson and there’s a big gash like someone took a knife to it, and Alice wondered why the place was so trash. Was it because of demons? The seventy-seven? They must had a battle here. “My daddy used to swear all the time. He would grab Waves real close and shout all this…garbage. He said some things to me too. I never really minded, because, well, words are words. But when you’re a kid, I don’t think you should be ever called such nasty things or hear them. I wish my daddy cared enough to childproof his tongue, you know,”

“So your dad…is my…grandfather,” And it’s wild cause Alice never had a grandfather.

“He was a good man,” Wynonna said, but there’s something in her eyes that dark and sad and Alice wondered if Wynonna was really saying the truth. “Well, he was. Deep down. Real deep down,”

Alice nodded.

“You know, Waverly grew up with Gus. I never got to, but Waverly said she had good childhood. She made prom queen, was head cheerleader. You get that kind of stuff?”

“I’m ten,” Alice said. “I’m not in high school yet,”

“Oh,” Wynonna nodded. “So school? You do that?”

“Yeah, but it was online. I didn’t talk to anyone. I just got messages and texts and stuff,”

“Do you want to go to school? Like a normal people-going kind of place?” Wynonna asked. “Cause if not, I’ll talk to Gus and we’ll see if we can get some WiFi in this place and rig up the homestead, so you can…um…skype with your teachers or whatever,”

“Normal school,” Alice said. “Normal school sounds good,”

“Okay,” And Wynonna smiled softly. “Sounds good. We’ll enroll you,” She stood up, getting off the couch, and strode toward the stairs. “Waves’ old room will be yours,”

“The one with sock on the doorknob?”

“Yeah. We’ll…uh…talk about that when you’re older,” Wynonna cleared her throat. “But the whole room is pretty nice. It’s the nicest one. It needs to be cleaned up and given a good Alice Earp touch, but it’s nice,”

They go up the stairs and push the door open and the room is nice. There’s a queen bed and there’s fairy lights hanging up and there are pictures all around of Nicole and Waverly and then there’s one of a baby with a mop of red hair and there’s dust everywhere, and Alice realized no one had been here since the Haught-Earps moved out to raise William in their little slice of suburbia.

“You like it?”

“Yeah,” Alice nodded. “I like it. Thank you. This is… It’s perfect,”

“Here,” Wynonna started picking up photos and taking them, pushing them in her pockets and stacking them up. “I’ll just get these out of – “

“I like this one,” Alice said. She grabbed it out of her mom’s hands. It’s a small one. But it’s of everyone. It’s Nicole leaned Wynonna, the two wrapped up in each other’s arms laughing, with Waverly in front of them looking both amused and annoyed. And there’s Doc and the kid Jeremy, that Waverly had shown her in the pictures, and there’s even Dolls. They’re all smiling. They all look happy. “When did you take this?”

“I’m not…” Wynonna looked at it closely. “I’m not too sure. I think that’s when… Oh! That’s Nicole and Waverly’s bachelorette party. Good times. Nicole got wasted,” Wynonna laughed and her eyes crinkled and Wynonna suddenly looks older, like the years had worn her down. She sighed and handed the photo back to Alice. “Keep it. That’s your family, kid. All of them,”

“All of them?” Alice looked to Dolls. “Even him?”

“He’s family,” Wynonna said and she’s sounds so sure. “We wouldn’t have gotten the seventy-seven without him. Without any of them,”

“Okay,” Alice said. She pinned the photograph up against the mirror. Her first item. Her first belonging. Her first decoration. And she’s sure of it.

---

Wynonna bought her new bedspreads and blankets that are bright and purple. It’s Alice’s favorite color. And Alice got to buy anything she wanted at the store, so she picked up some candy and a new book. This one was written in English, but it seemed fun. And it seemed meant for teens and maybe it wasn’t up to her Lexile score, but the characters seemed intriguing.

“A book? You sure you’re not Waverly’s kid?” Wynonna teased.

“I like reading,” she said. “It’s fun to just disappear, you know. Go into a whole new world. Leave this one. It’s a relief. It’s like… The world is so crowded, so noisy. And sometimes, being with Gus, being alone in that small house, it was just…hard. So leaving it all behind, hiding in some words, it feels good. It’s an escape. Do you ever… Do you ever just want to escape?”

Wynonna looked at her for a long moment, still clutching the new pillows and blankets. She lowered them slowly. “Never mind. You are definitely my kid,” she whispered. “Come on. I owe you lunch,”

---

Doc came with them to lunch, and, for some reason, Wynonna picked a seedy bar called Shorty’s. Alice wasn’t sure why, but when they enter, Doc greeted with a smile and two plates of burgers.

“Shorty’s?” Alice squeaked in confusion.

“I own this fine establishment,” Doc boasted. “It’s a fine monument of Purgatory and the wonders of this beautiful, beautiful town,” He sat down on a bar stool beside them both, and Alice looked at her father, and then at her mother, and she couldn’t help but smile because lunch with her parents in gross, sticky bar was exactly the thing she always wanted. Well, perhaps, not the seedy bar part, but she found it charming.

“How’d you enjoy the shopping, little lady?”

“It was fun. Mom – “ It still feels weird to say. Wrong, almost. But right too. It’s weird. “ – bought me some new stuff for my bed so my room can feel more like…my room and less – “

“Waverly and Nicole’s weird sex memorial,”

“Wynonna,” Doc snapped but he’s got a smile under that moustache. Alice laughed.

“Sorry. Sorry. I know. I got make my quips more PG, kid-friendly, but it’s a process. We’re starting slow. Baby steps,”

Doc nodded and turned to Alice, and Alice felt her heart squirm. Because those blue eyes… She had those blue eyes. She had them. They both did, and it made her feel warm just to know. This wasn’t all in her head. This wasn’t some elaborate dream or whatever, because they had the same blue eyes. “I really hope you don’t take after your mother and her absurd language,” he said, but they both know he’s lying. Alice didn’t know her father much at all, but she knew he loved Wynonna. Those big blue eyes were easy to read.

---

Nicole was right. The Earps were really tight-knit.

Dinner took place at the homestead and Nicole and Waverly were over with her whole clan. And then there was Jeremy. He said hi to the little Haught-Earps first, shaking Natalie and William’s hands. Then, he walked over to Alice.

“You’re her, aren’t you? You’re Wynonna’s little girl. Wow. That’s bonkers. I mean, that’s really crazy. That’s super crazy. You’re an actual kid,” Jeremy laughed nervously. He walked around her, looking at her up and down. “Man, I mean we got pictures. When you were a baby. We got all these cute little pictures. And Nicole was holding you and Waverly, and they were smiling. And I guess I didn’t picture you like this. Like a kid. You’re a kid. All grown up,”

“Not fully grown up,” Alice corrected. “You’re Jeremy, right?”

“Oh right. I didn’t introduce myself. That’s embarrassing,” Jeremy stuck his hand out. “Jeremy. I’m friends with your parents and your godmom and your aunt and…everyone that’s here, basically,”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Alice said, because that’s what Gus always said to say. Even when the person you’re meeting is a bit of a goofy weirdo.

William ran up to Alice next. “Natalie and I are playing tag. Wanna play?”

Alice looked around. The adults were all chattering amongst themselves, and there was Dolls stepping in. He was holding a bottle of alcohol and he greeted Wynonna with a hug and then he went up and hugged Waverly.

“What’s he doing here?”

“Deputy Marshall Uncle Dolls is family,” William shrugged. “He’s always here. He’s your mom’s boyfriend,”

“Boyfriend?” Alice squeaked. “What? I didn’t – “

“It’s not really said. Momma said that they’re a will-they-won’t-they couple,” William frowned. “Things are confusing when it comes to Aunt Wynonna. I always thought she was dating Doc,” he shrugged. Of course, he shrugged, because he can shrug. Because for him, this his normal. But this isn’t Alice’s normal. She doesn’t know who this man is. Is he her mom’s boyfriend? Is he some family friend? She doesn’t know him well at all.

“I think I’ll play tag,” Alice said. “Except, uh, can you just tell me one thing?”

“What?”

“How exactly do you play tag?”

---

It’s late and everyone left. Everyone except Doc and Dolls and Wynonna. The three are at the table, and they’re talking. And Alice wished she could stay up, because she can’t help it. She wants to know everything about her mom. Who is Doc to her? Who is Dolls to her? Alice, though, feels the exhaustion. It tugs at her. It makes time slip away and darkness blur the edges.

“Come on,” Wynonna said. She picked Alice up like she was nothing, and Alice never had this happened before. No one has ever carried Alice to bed before. “It’s time for you to get some sleep,”

“Five more minutes?”

“No,” Wynonna said. And she sounds motherly. Is she mimicking Waverly or is the maternal instincts kicking in? Alice has no idea. And Wynona looked like she had no idea either. “You need sleep, babygirl. I’ll be here in the morning. I promise,”

“Mhm’kay,”

“I love you,”

And Alice isn’t sure whether she dreamt it or not, but as her head hits the pillows, those three little words are all she can think about.

---

Alice woke up to the smell of breakfast, but this time it isn’t coming from the little suburbia of the Haught-Earps, it’s coming from the homestead. Breakfast is probably the last smell she would expect in a place that looks like this, but last night Nicole and Waverly had promised they were going to come by and help patch the place up. Still, it didn’t exactly look very pretty. But there’s the smell of breakfast, and Alice rushed down the stairs.

“Hey, kid,” Wynonna said. Her voice is raspy, probably from a late night of drinking.

There was Dolls. He was sitting across the table from Wynonna, and he stiffened the moment he saw Alice. He nearly coughed up his coffee.

“Morning,” he grunted.

Wynonna gave him an odd look, and it’s like she noticed it too. She noticed it too. Alice wasn’t crazy.

“That for me?” Alice pointed to the waffles. They were severely burnt, and nothing like the ones Waverly made, but for some reason, it warmed Alice’s heart much more than Waverly’s breakfast had. No offense to Waverly, of course.

“Uh, yeah. I tried something new. I don’t really do the kitchen, housewife thing, but I figure I could try. So yeah. Hope you like crunchy waffles,” Wynonna said. And she almost sounded scared, nervous.

“I love it. Thanks,” Alice said. She sat down, right in the middle from Dolls and Wynonna. “I’ll honestly eat anything,” And that isn’t a lie. She’s not picky at all. Not in the slightest. She took a bite, and it tastes horrible, but Wynonna is looking at her with big eyes. “Delicious,” she lied. “So…freaking good,”

“I have to go down to the BBD office, but I was wondering if you wanted to come with. Just for a bit,”

“Wynonna, I don’t think that’s a good – “ Dolls started, but Wynonna gave him a look.

“If you don’t remember, I’m very good friends with the Sheriff. Alice will be fine. Relax, Dolls,”

“Earp, kids shouldn’t be – “

“You didn’t say that when Nicole and Waves brought their little redhead, ginger spawn to the office,”

“Their kid didn’t enter the BBD office. They just stayed in the Sheriff’s office,”

Dolls said nothing. He just crossed his arms and glared, but he shrugged. “As long as Alice isn’t around the BBD – “

“Relax, Dolls!” Wynonna stood up. She took Alice’s hand. “Come on, babygirl. I just gotta check in with Haughtie, and then we can enjoy some mom-and-daughter fun,”

“Okay,” Alice said. She can’t help but stare at Dolls though.

---

Dolls drove them to the office, and he said nothing the whole time. He just drove. Wynonna stepped out for a second, and Alice just sat there. In the back seat.

“Come on, Earp,” he said, looking at her.

“Do you like me?” Alice asked.

“Y-yeah. I like you,”

“Well, you don’t act like it,”

“I don’t really act like I like anyone if we’re being honest,”

“Who are you to my mom?”

“Can we not do twenty questions when your mother is standing right outside?”

Right on que, Wynonna started knocking on the glass. “GUYS! GUYS! The key is to get out of the car. That’s how you get places,”

Alice nodded. She popped the door open and jumped out. She followed her mother inside.

---

Nicole Haught with a dark tie hanging from her neck and a black Stetson on the top of her head was the first thing they saw when they entered. “I didn’t know it was bring your kid to work day, Earp,” And for saying something so passive aggressive, Nicole has this big smile on her face.

“Well, I didn’t want to leave Alice at the homestead. Place isn’t exactly childproof,”

The two stepped forward and give each other a quick hug.

“You smell like smoke,” Nicole frowned.

“Were you sniffing my hair, Haught?”

“What? No!”

But Wynonna laughed. Wynonna seemed to like whenever she Nicole all flustered and annoyed. “Hey, can you take my kid for a tour of the place? I just need to chat with Doc and Waves about a case. The wifey here today?”

“Yup. She couldn’t stop talking about the case last night. You Earps better stay safe,” Nicole said. “Looks like it’s you and me, Alice,”

---

Alice enjoyed spending her morning shadowing Nicole. Nicole her a bunch of funny stories. Times where she and Waves got on crazy adventures or times when Wynonna got them in trouble.

“So, Nicole, what’s the case?” Alice asked. And when Nicole gives her an odd look, she continued, “The one that my mom is looking into, the one your wife is obsessed with. What is it?”

“No clue. When I get weird cases, we just hand them off to BBD,” Nicole said.

“So you’re not a part of BBD?”

“Nope. I can help out sometimes. Or when a case is really bothering Waves, but I focus on the everyday citizen. The non-werewolf folk,” Nicole said. “Once a really important man to me said that there has to be someone to look out for the normal man. They can get forgotten in all this hijinks,”

“But don’t you get bored?”

“How can I when I’m married into the Earp family?” Nicole laughed. “You know, Alice, demon-hunting is in your blood. I get it. You feel like you’ve inherited it all. But here’s the thing, you don’t have to be a part of this world if you don’t want to. You’ll get your share of it just by being an Earp, but you don’t have to be in it. You know?”

Alice nodded. “But what if I want to be? In it, I mean. What if I want to be a part of this world?”

“Well, I’ll support you. Always, but you’re too young right now. You stay in school. You study hard. You do kid things like read and play tag and have fun. And when you’re older, I promise you, if demon-hunting is your dream job, I’ll help you get there,”

“But when I’m older?”

“When you’re older. They don’t exactly hire ten-year-olds at BBD,”

“Okay,” Alice said. “Okay,”

“And no breaking into my wife’s office until then. Okay?”

“You heard about that?”

“I hear about everything. I’m Sheriff,” Nicole grinned. She patted Alice’s upper arm. “Come on. I think William left some snacks around here that are more…kid-friendly,”

---

Alice enjoyed her time in Purgatory. She spent mornings with her mom, listening to her, talking to her. Her father came by with dinner. Nicole and Waverly were usually over by then too. And she spent most of her time in school. She was placed in the same class as William. He apparently was bumped up a grade cause he was so smart. A detail that Waverly brought up during dinner at least three times by now.

William was actually fun to hang with. He was funny. He was smart. He was a bit of a teacher’s pet which was annoying as Hell for Alice. And he got annoyed that Alice didn’t do her homework, but she couldn’t help it. Homework was boring. Why do homework when she could sit and read and get things done?

She loved her mom. She loved her dad. She loved her aunts. She loved her mom’s weird scientist friend. She loved her dad’s bar. She loved everything. Dolls was still acting weird, but she tried not to let it get to her. This was what she always wanted. This was it. A family. A home. Stability. People. Love. It’s what she wanted.

She heard a lot of stories. A lot of stories. A lot of things about Wynonna kicking ass. A lot of things about Peacemaker. And the more she heard the stories, the more her curiosity started to grow. She couldn’t help it. She’d listen to her mom talk about demons while twisting that magic gun, nervously, in her hands. And curiosity just kept growing, just kept eating at Alice. If she used it, would it work? Did she inherit this world, like Nicole said? Or was that over now that the seventy-seven were dead?

Alice asked about stories about demons. She took Waverly’s old books she found in her room and read them. She read the notes in the margins. Nicole said this world was hers. It would be there for her when she was older, when she was ready, but Alice couldn’t wait. She couldn’t wait.

---

William came over for homework. They sat, side by side.

“You ever hear about Peacemaker?” Alice asked.

“Yeah,” William said with a laugh. “It’s all I hear ‘Peacemaker did this…’ or ‘Peacemaker did that…’. From what I know, it’s a magic gun that can send demons to Hell. It’s probably the coolest thing in existence,”

“Well,” Alice grinned, leaning against the table. “I found it. Mom left it here,”

“She never leaves Peacemaker. That doesn’t just happen,”

“Well, it kind of did,” Alice said. “She went over to my Dad’s, and when she does…she’s typically not exactly fully sober and so she may have been looking one way and I grabbed it,”

“You grabbed it? Why?” William squeaked. “Didn’t my mom say you need to wait until your older for this stuff?”

“Yeah. Yeah,” Alice said. “But come on, Will! I just want to try it out. If it’s right, if everything is right, then this gun… It should work for me, shouldn’t it? I’m an Earp. It should work for me,”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Cause…” Alice sighed. “It’s a long story, but you honestly cannot tell me you aren’t curious too. This whole world used to be fantasy, and now I’m holding a magic gun. How cool is that?”

William looked at the gun. “You’re going to get me in so much trouble,” He dropped his books and stood up. “Come on. We should go out to the edge of the homestead’s land. If we break anything in here – “

“Dolls will know,”

“Exactly,” William nodded. “But after this, you return it,”

“I will! I promise! I just want to know if I can use it! That’s it!” Alice said. And she knows her curiosity is wrong. She knows she shouldn’t listen to it. She knows she could keep the gun in the right hands. She should listen to Dolls and to Nicole. But she just had to know. She just had to know if it worked. If it was going to work. She just had to know if would work for her. Her curiosity was eating at her.

“Fine. But only if I can try too,” William grinned. “I’m an Earp. It should work for me too, right?”

Alice shook her head. “Your mom mentioned your mom isn’t an Earp by blood,”

William laughed again, nervously. “No. No, I’m an Earp,” He pulled at a string on his sleeve. “Look, let’s just head out," He opened the door. “Let’s go see if the magic gun works,”

---

Alice picked up the gun and headed out into the fields. It was a relatively clear day, and it felt calm. It felt tranquil. It felt good. Alice picked up the gun and pointed it, pulled the trigger, and nothing. Nothing happened. She pulled it again. And….nothing. Lot of nothing. Too much nothing.

“Stupid gun,” Alice said, frustrated.

“Can I try?”

She turned and as she was handing the gun. The gun… It started to glow.

“Holy shit,” Alice raised the gun up. It was glowing. It was glowing, the shaft of it glowing, but only because it was pointed… It was pointed at William.

“Whoa!” William jumped back. “W-Why is it glowing? Why is it doing that?”

“ALICE EARP!” Alice dropped the gun in an instant like it had burned her. But it hadn’t. It hadn’t at all.

She turned around. “Dolls, what are you? What are you doing here?”

“Stopping you from killing your cousin, it seems!”

“I wasn’t going to kill my cousin!”

“You shouldn’t be playing with the gun!”

“I had to see!” Alice shouted. “I had to see if it was all real for my own eyes!”

“Will anyone tell me why the gun glowed when it was pointed at me? Am I the only who noticed that?” William whimpered.

“God, just leave me alone, Dolls!”

“No! You shouldn’t have this!” He grabbed the gun, and Alice knew she shouldn’t give in. But there was anger in her. Anger at the seventy-seven. Anger at her mom, at Dolls, at Doc, at Nicole, at Waverly. Because sure, they did the right thing. Sure, they were the good guys. But Alice didn’t deserve to be left. Alice didn’t deserve to be abandoned. Alice didn’t deserve to be locked away in a little house in the woods. Alice didn’t deserve to grow up thinking she was a Gibson when she was an Earp.

“THAT’S MINE!” she shouted. She jumped, and she went to grab the gun. She went to grab the gun, but Dolls moved back, quickly.

“THAT’S MINE! I’M THE EARP! THAT’S MY GUN! THAT MY BIRTHRIGHT!”

“You don’t own this gun, Alice! It’s Wynonna’s!” Dolls snapped. “Now, come on. Back into the house!”

“NO!” Alice shouted. “No! Okay? No! I don’t know who you are! I don’t know what you are! So no! Okay? No! I don’t want to go! I’m not going anywhere with you! I’m waiting here until my mom comes home!”

“Earp,” Dolls growled.

“Alice, you’re being unreasonable,” William squeaked.

And Alice knew she was being unreasonable. She knew she was just taking all her anger and frustration out on Dolls, but she couldn’t help it. She owned that gun. She owned that birthright. She owned it. The seventy-seven were dead. She owned it now.

“Alice!”

“No, Dolls! No!”

“Why are you so obsessed with this – “

“BECAUSE WHAT IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN?” Alice bellowed. Her voice echoed throughout the land. And there were tears welling in her eyes, and she couldn’t stop them from falling. “What if it happens again, Dolls? What if my mom decides to send me away again to protect me? I can’t…” She took a deep breath. “I can’t go through that again,”

“You won’t, Alice. Your mom and your dad love you so much. They will always protect you,”

“And to protect me they sent me away,” Alice said. And she hated how bitterly she said it, but the anger was coursing through her, poisoning her throat. “No. I won’t let that happen again. If I can use Peacemaker, if I can kill demons, I can help. Right? I can stay. I can stay and fight so it’ll never happen again,”

“You’re too young for this, Alice!” Dolls insisted.

“I’m not! I’m not!” Alice shouted. She wiped her tears away angrily. She just wanted her mom. She just wanted her dad. She just wanted Aunt Nicole or Aunt Waverly. She just didn’t want Dolls. She didn’t want him. She wanted him to leave. She wanted him to go. “Just go! Leave me alone! You don’t even care about me!”

Dolls sighed loudly and dramatically. He took a deep breath and puffed out his chest and he stared just above Alice’s eyes level. “I am the Deputy Marshall. Boyfriend of Wynonna Earp. Best friend of Doc Holiday. Godfather of Alice Michelle. I am Deputy Marshall Xavier Dolls with the BBD. And I’m here to protect Alice. Always,”

And silence fell. Thick and suffocating. Thick and swallowing every ounce of sound, every heartbeat, every cricket in the grass. Like the world had just become Alice and Dolls. Alice and Dolls as the two stared at each other.

“You’re my godfather?” Alice whispered.

“That’s what my mantra says. And what the papers say,” Dolls said. “I don’t do good with feelings,”

“You have that in common with my mother,”

“But I know that I love your mom. And that I love you. Because you’re spunky and funny and loud and smart. And I don’t know how to be a good godfather to you. I don’t know how to be a parental figure. I didn’t have practice like Nicole or Waverly. I’m not childlike like Jeremy. I don’t share blood with you like Wynonna and Doc. And I don’t know my place. But I know I will always protect you. And I know that,” Dolls said. “And I know that you need to come home, stop playing with guns, and don’t point them at your cousin,”

“Yes, please,” William’s yelped.

“I’ll try to be better,” Dolls continued. “I am trying, but this is new for me too. You’re new for me too. I’m trying my best. So can you try your best? To be patient?”

“Okay,” And Alice felt the anger slowly leaving her. Now, she just felt stupid. “Okay,” she said again.

---

Wynonna sat down beside Alice. The two are under the same, thick red blanket. They sit in front of a fire.

“Did you really try to shoot William?”

“I didn’t try to shoot William. I just… I may have pointed the gun accidentally, and then it glowed, and just…” Alice stuttered. “I’m sorry,”

“You can’t play with this gun, Alice. One time, I touched this gun when I wasn’t supposed to and bad shit happened,” Wynonna said. “I don’t want you dealing with bad shit,” She raised the gun so the shaft glowed in the warm firelight. “This gun brings up bad shit. It’s like a beacon for it,”

“I’m sorry,” Alice said. “I just wanted to know if it would work for me…”

Wynonna looked over. “Well?”

“It doesn’t. Well, it did once. Only once. When I was pointing at William. Why William?”

“Supernatural blood tends to spook her. She must have been protecting you,”

“William is supernatural? Peacemaker is a her?”

“Yes and yes,” Wynonna smiled. “Alice, this world… It’s scary. It’s not just fun magic-gun, crazy-chick, demon-killing. Okay? We had to keep you away to keep you safe from this world,”

“But I can’t help it! I’m interested,”

“You were supposed to be normal,” Wynonna mumbled, but there’s a flicker of amusement in her eyes like she had been through this before. Like she didn’t expect anything else. Like she was seeing herself in Alice’s eyes.

“I can’t help it. I’m like you,” Alice said.

“Dolls said there was another reason why you were so curious. You want to tell me what it is?” Wynonna asked. “Or do I have to pull Uncle Dolls out here? Hm?”

Alice looked down at the fire. Crackling. Bright. Angry. “You promised you were never going to leave me again,”

“I did. I did, babygirl. And I stand by that promise,”

“But… But if something happened, if the seventy-seven came back, or some big bad… Would you do it again?”

Wynonna’s eyes widened. And they filled with pain. Like a dam had broken and flooded her eyes with it. “You’re scared of losing me again,” she whispered. “Oh, kid, I – “ And she doesn’t finish that thought. She just grabbed Alice by the shoulders and squeezed her tight. And Alice grabbed her mom, clutching to the back of her leather jacket, clutching to her mother. And she pressed her face against her mother’s chest, and she tried to keep the tears to herself but they fell. They fell and fell.

And when they pulled apart, tears were spilling from her mom’s eyes too.

“Alice Michelle Earp, you are surrounded by some badass people. Your aunt survived a cult and is the sheriff. Your other aunt survived, well, growing up with me and all my shit and being kidnapped like every five seconds. Your uncle is a top secret, scary dragon agent. Your cousins are supernatural. Your other uncle is a fu – freaking genius. Your dad is an immortal cowboy. And you’re mom? She will kill anything. She will fight anything that threatens your safety. She will always protect you. And she will never let you go ever again,”

“You promise?”

“Oh, babygirl. I promise with every fiber of my being. And I will spend every moment of my life keeping it and making sure you start to believe it,”

“Okay,”

“Okay?”

“Okay,”

“I love you,” Wynonna said. She rubbed her hand against Alice’s face, wiping away the tears.

“I love you too, mom,”

“Alright. Well, this was super sappy and sentimental so I think we deserve a little fun. Just don’t tell Aunt Nicole, okay?” Wynonna pulled out Peacemaker. “Now, come on, babygirl. You want to see this girl in action?”

Alice’s whole face lit up. “Really?”

“Just no touching. Just watching,”

“Just watching,” Alice repeated obediently. She jumped from the chair and followed her mother out.

She probably had the coolest mother on the planet. Perhaps, with a mother like Wynonna, she wouldn’t need to worry so much about things, worry about the future, wanting to fast-forward to days of adventure. She would have plenty adventures with Wynonna. And her eyes flickered to the left, and in the homestead, she could see Dolls, watching. He smiled. A genuine, nice smile. Yes, she realized. She would have thousands of adventures, and every step of the way she’d be protected and loved by her family.

She finally had a family. And she wasn’t going to lose it ever again. Although with a family like this, she certainly didn’t see a way she could ever lose them.

“Can we go shoot up a demon?” Alice asked.

“Okay. Now, you’re pushing it,” Wynonna said. She waited a beat. “But if we see one, yeah totally,”

Alice laughed as she followed her mom. Family. Mother. Love. It took ten years, but finally Alice had what she always wanted and she promised herself she would always cherish it.