Archive of Our Own ^beta

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They were both jocks in high school, natural athletes. Neither had thought they would pursue sports in college but found themselves drawn to the Harvard Rugby team. In Alice’s case, She had found a group of people who could compete with her Earp Holliday genes in the drinking department and was recruited over a long night of drinking with some members of the team. She fell in love immediately.

And not just with rugby.

Kelley was a year ahead of Alice and had already established herself at wing (sometimes fullback). She was on the small side but she made up for it in badassery and form. She was, by all accounts, the best tackler on the team. The forward pack would sometimes joke that they were the “guts” and the backs were the “glory” and that the wings especially were mostly there to look pretty and run fast. It was a joke of course, at the end of the day, everyone on the pitch was a rugby player and had mad respect for each other. Still, on more than one occasion Alice found herself thinking that if wings really were there to look pretty and run fast then Kelley Walsh should be the starting wing for US national team.

Rugby is a very social sport. You spend 80 grueling minutes literally destroying each other then you go to the bar and drink together. It’s meant as an opportunity to socialize with each other but most days Alice and Kelley found themselves tucked in a corner, just the two of them, falling madly and deeply in love with each other.

They were together all through undergrad with the exception of one 1 1/2 month period when they took a “break” at the suggestions of their friends who convinced them they might regret never being single for a while or sleeping with anyone else in College. Neither of them slept with anyone else and, in fact, they had slept with each other 4 times during that time. At the end of the 6th week they decided that a “break” sucked and their friends were just jealous and resumed their relationship.

They saw each other regularly on school breaks. Kelley’s family was wealthy, like ridiculously wealthy so money was never an obstacle for them to travel to each other. Wynonna would teasingly congratulate Alice on scoring a hot sugar mama as a girlfriend.

Kelley was 1 1/2 years into Med School when Alice started law school. Alice tended bar (what she jokingly referred to as “the family business”) for a while to pay bills and rent but when things got really intense in Law school Kelley convinced her to quit the bar and move in with her so she could focus on her studies. The extra time for studying was great but the living together sex was stellar. Domesticity suited them.

Their career paths wreaked of rich white privilege but they themselves were working hard to be better than that. Alice graduated near the top of her class, passed the bar first try and landed a job with one of Boston’s top Human Rights firms. She was putting in the work. Long hours and exhausting dedication had her poised to be successful and she had decided very early on that success for her meant fighting for positive change more than it did monetary reward.

Kelley finished Med School and was completing her residency on her way to becoming a Psychiatrist. She believed society and the medical field were failing the mentally ill and the addicted and was set to dedicate her life to changing that. Her brother had long suffered from mental health issues and addiction. She had loved him without prejudice as did their parents right up to (and well beyond) the moment she found him dead in his room on New Years Day. The needle was on the floor beside him. Desperate, she started CPR but he had been there way too long. Her Father had to physically stop her from continuing CPR after the Paramedics declared him too far gone for resuscitation. She wasn’t able to help him but maybe she could help others.

One night, after they had been dating for almost a year Kelley shared her brothers story of life and death with Alice (and only ever Alice). Alice had woken her from a particularly bad nightmare and Kelley found she wanted Alice to know everything about her and the darkness she kept inside. They cried and laughed and cried some more in each other’s arms before finally succumbing to sleep just before dawn. When they awoke around midday they made love and afterwards Kelley tentatively asked Alice if she was going to leave her now that she knew her deep, dark story. Alice just held her and promised that she wasn’t going anywhere, ever again, without her and she never loved her more.

Alice had stopped by the Walsh residence on a rainy Saturday while Kelley was at the hospital. She told the Walsh’s that their daughter was like oxygen and that she needed her to breath and she planned to ask her to marry her. It wasn’t asking for permission and she didn’t show them the ring (it was important to her that the first person to see it was Kelley herself) but she felt compelled to tell them her intentions. She had shared the same information with her parents and her Aunts on her last trip home.

The proposal was nothing fancy, just the two of them on a blanket in a park near their home where they often spent what little free time they had together. Alice got down on bended knee and Kelley responded with an emphatic yes. It was so perfectly them.

Joy would be a fitting word to describe family and friend reactions to the news. They were both highly regarded and genuinely loved by all who knew them and their finding each other and falling in love was regarded by all as being some much needed light in an otherwise dark world.

Kelley’s parents threw them a big, fancy and embarrassingly expensive engagement party. They both spent most of their time prior to the party absolutely dreading it but, at the end of the night, they admitted to having had a really good time. The only down side had been the very noticeable absence of one Nicole Haught. Aunt Waverly had come as had Alice’s cousins Rachel, Gus, Kate and Wynonna. Of course Aunt Waverly repeatedly expressed how sorry Aunt Nicole was that she had to miss it but it simply couldn’t be helped. Aunt Nicole face timed with them early in the evening to wish them well and tell them how proud she was of them and how very much she loved them both. Alice always had a special place in her heart for her Aunt Nicole and was visibly upset when the call ended prompting Kelley to give her hand an extra squeeze and place a soft, tender kiss to her lips in an effort to console her.

Alice and Kelley had spoken on several occasions about Aunt Nicole’s conspicuous absence on family trips. Their Aunt had always been passionately dedicated to her job but both suspected there had to be more to it. Many of the details of her family’s history were purposely kept muddy by her parents and her Aunts. Her mother assured her she would share their story with her someday but not just yet. Alice’s life felt so far removed from Purgatory and it’s shady secrets that she was willing to accept her mother’s words. Something inside of her told her not to press, that maybe she was better off not knowing yet. The one thing she couldn’t accept was her Aunt Nicole’s continued absence for her most important moments as an adult. Moving away to school, graduation from undergrad and law school, her “I passed the bar so tonight I won’t pass a bar” (named so by her mother) party and now her engagement party. It was weighing on her extra heavily ever since the Walsh’s offered to rent out the hall at their country club in Boston for the wedding.

It was Kelley who first suggested (jokingly?) that it was as though Nicole COULDN’T leave Purgatory.

Alice thought about that concept…a lot. So much so that she found herself convinced that it had to be true. There was lots of weird things always happening in Purgatory. Lots of whispers and looks exchanged between the adults in her life as she was growing up. Things that, if she allowed herself to admit it, seemed otherworldly. Against her better judgement and half afraid that Kelley would call it all off at her admission she shared her suspicions with Kelley. To Alice’s surprise Kelley admitted she always kind of thought the same when she was with her family and especially when they were all together in Purgatory. It was Kelley’s turn to promise not to run.

The Walsh’s offer regarding their wedding venue was very generous but neither of them wanted a wedding without their family and friends surrounding them. If Aunt Nicole was somehow bound to Purgatory then that would have to be where the wedding would take place. Ever since they had seen Aunt Waverly’s wedding album they had both always spoken about how beautiful their wedding on the homestead was. It was simple and felt like home and there was plenty of room.

So, it was settled, they knew what was most important to them and what they wanted. All that was left to do was to ask permission and that required Alice to take a trip home.

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To say her family was happy to have her home was a gross understatement. Nicole especially had not stopped flashing her dimpled smile for the entire 2 days. Alice decided to allow herself a few days to settle in before she would bring up anything about the wedding. Kelley gently mocked Alice for being so nervous about the whole thing.

“Relax baby” Kelley said. “I really think this will make them super happy. Especially your aunt if what we suspect is true.”

“My heart knows you are right but my mind is still trying to wrap itself around all the cuckoo bananas stuff we have been talking about.”

“Oh, I totally get it. I wonder what my patients would think if they knew their Psychiatrist was planning her wedding around the possibility that a beloved family member was supernaturally bound to one location.”

They both got a good long laugh at that thought.

“Ok” Alice said.”No sense putting it off any longer. I’m going to go downstairs for coffee and find out if my family is possessed by angels or demons. I love you.”

Kelley returned the sentiment and they ended the call.

Alice was surprised to find her Mother gone when she got downstairs leaving only her aunts sitting at the table.

“Where did Mom go?” Alice asked.

“She and your Dad had some errands to run and they wanted to get it all done so they can enjoy their time with you later. They waited to say goodbye but you were taking a long time and you know your Mom…” Waverly explained. “Was that your beautiful fiancé you were talking to all that time?”

“It was indeed. She’s pretty sad she couldn’t come with me. She misses you all, especially you Aunt Nicole. It seems like forever since we’ve seen you.”

“Awww…I miss you all too. You got yourself a great one in that woman. I’m so happy for you both.” Nicole replied. “Are you as happy as you seem to be because you seem to be floating on a cloud?”

“I am so, so happy. It’s almost scary.” She paused, “We kind of need to start talking about the wedding. Kelley’s parents want to throw some big fancy gay wedding at the Country Club they belong to in Boston.”

Alice watched intently as her aunts threw each other a concerned look. She pretended not to notice it but it confirmed her suspicions, something is definitely off.

“Wow, that sounds amazing.” Waverly says with a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “Have you talked to your mom about it?”

In that moment, Alice decides not to ask about the homestead just yet. She feels like she has to talk to her Aunt Nicole alone first and then she will share her plans with the rest of her family.

“I haven’t actually. It’s kind of why I’m here.”

“ Mmm…So, What do you think?” Waverly presses. “It sounds pretty amazing.”

Nicole remains palpably silent.

“I mean yeah, it sounds amazing, I guess.” Alice replies as she sips her coffee.

“You guess?”

“Yeah, I guess. It also sounds big and pretentious and like everything Kelley has been running from her whole life but…you know…it SOUNDS amazing. I don’t know, I think we both know what we want we just haven’t felt the need to start really discussing it yet. We just got engaged a few months ago. We kind of just want to enjoy all the hot fiancé sex for a while. No need to rush anything. You know?”

“Oh, yeah…we know.” Waverly places her hand over Nicole’s as she speaks. “I mean, we kind of don’t know, we were pretty rushed through the engagement part but yeah, we get it. Im sure whatever you decide will be beautiful.”

“Awww…thanks best aunts ever.” Alice says blowing kisses in the air in their direction.

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Wynonna is sitting at the table eating the pancakes Nicole just made for Waverly while Nicole makes more pancakes for Waverly. Waverly is knee deep in a crossword puzzle and in the living room Wyn and Kate are watching TV and perusing social media on their phones oblivious to anyone else in the house.

“Im going to ask Alice to get married somewhere in the Triangle.” Wynonna blurts out.

Nicole turns and Waverly looks up from her crossword. They share a look to each other then back to Wynonna.

“Its just not right. Its not right for Nicole to not be able to be there and there are plenty of beautiful places here. Hell, she could have it on the Homestead. You two did and it was beautiful. If we tell her…if we tell her about Nicole and the shield and that she can’t leave I…I just know she would want to have it here so Nicole can be there. They both would.”

They never told Alice the whole truth. The plan was to wait until she turned 27 then tell her everything there was to know just in case she ever actually needed to know it. They knew she wasn’t stupid and had to have noticed and or heard about some of the fucked up shit that they lived through and it was clear that she had noticed and was maybe even a little hurt by Nicole’s absence from many significant moments in her life like her college graduations and her engagement party. She had asked questions in the past and, since she was related to Waverly, she had no doubt done a fair share of research into the matter of their family history and the Ghost River Triangle. They had never told Alice but surely she knew and they would just be confirming her suspicions a year before planned.

Waverly spoke up first, “I think maybe that wouldn’t be the worst idea.” She squinted and looked up to Nicole. “I can’t stand the thought of you not being there for her and with me. I want you to hold me when I start to cry at seeing her be so happy. It breaks my heart to think of you not there.”

“Plus” Wynonna adds. “How the fuck are we going to explain to her why you aren’t going? It would break her heart to have you tell her you won’t be there for the most important moment of her life. You know she has a special thing going with you.”

“Absolutely not.” Nicole asserts, shaking her head. “She needs to make this decision with her fiancé and it has to be everything THEY want. No one is telling them anything. We will let them decide and if its outside the Triangle so be it. We will go along with business as usual and at the last minute I will back out with some good excuse. I knew what I was accepting when I said yes to being the shield. I knew what it meant and now I have to live with it. Sometimes being the Shield really sucks but I did it for a great reason, the best reason.”

“What if she never forgives you for missing it?” Wynonna asks.

“She will, she’s Alice. She’s the best of us.” Nicole replied, her heart quietly breaking.

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Nicole and Alice often joined each other for a drink whenever Alice was in town. They enjoyed each others company and often came to each other for advice or sometimes to just get away from all things Earp sister related. So, while it was a bit of a surprise that Alice was back in town, it was no surprise when she stopped by the station to invite her Aunt Nicole for a drink or two at Shorty’s.

“So, how is Kelley? You ladies loving the whole fiancé introduction thing?” Nicole says as she takes the first sip of her beer.

“Fiancé introduction thing? What’s that?”

“You know, the thing where you go around introducing her to random people just so you can say, this is my fiancé Kelley.”

They both laugh.

“Oh, that’s a real thing? Cause yeah, we totally do that but we didn’t know it was a thing.”

“Totally a thing. Your Aunt and I weren’t engaged for long before we got married but in that time we introduced each other to everyone we met. Neither one of us knew it was a thing until I introduced her to the bartender at the gay bar just outside of town one night. Like 3 times. The bartender rolled her eyes, laughed and said, “Oh, you two are doing the newly engaged thing where you introduce your ‘fiance’ to everyone. Adorable.” Then she made a fake gag noise and served up free shots.” She beamed at the memory. “It only gets worse after you’re married too. Saying the words, ‘this is my WIFE, Waverly’ just never gets old.”

Ok, that may be the best story you’ve ever told me, I love that you took Aunt Waverly to a gay bar. I love thinking about the two of you young and in love and also...gag.” Alice says as they both crack up.

An hour or so of small talk later Nicole finally asks about the wedding. Its been weighing on her, knowing she will have to lie and eventually break Alice’s heart as well as her own.

“ Yeah, about that…Ive been meaning to talk to you. To ask a few favors actually.” Alice replies.

“Yeah of course..ask away.”

“Ok, favor number one. Kelley and I would really like to get married on the homestead where you and Aunt Waverly got married. Its so special to me, to us and we were hoping it would be ok with you and Aunt Waverly.”

Nicole works mightily to check her emotions and choke back tears. “My Gosh, of course you could use the Homestead…but…I mean, are you sure? That offer from Kelley’s parents seemed pretty awesome. Like a dream wedding type thing.”

“Well, I kind of lied when I said we hadn’t talked about it much. Kelley and I have talked about it…a lot actually. We discussed our priorities for our wedding. What we want, what we NEED most is to be surrounded by our family and our friends and everyone that we love most in this world.” She looks into her aunts eyes and repeats, “EVERYONE that we love most.”

Both of them are struggling. Their eyes occasionally meet but it quickly becomes too much to maintain so they nervously look back to their beers. Alice steadies her voice and continues…

“Aunt Nicole, you have been a part of everything great in my life. You keep me and my family safe and happy sometimes at the expense of your own safety and happiness. You have always been there for me, to listen and help me. When I was little I remember you always picking me up from school, all my friends thought I lived in jail for a while, it was cool as hell…no one was going to mess with a hardened criminal.” The mood lightened briefly as the both laughed.

“As I got older you protected me from myself and my family genes. I know you always knew exactly where I was and what I was doing but you stayed in the background, far enough to let me fuck up but do it safely. I remember calling you drunk off my ass and you picking me up 2 blocks away from whatever party I was attending so I wouldn’t be embarrassed and delivering me home safe and sound on several occasions. You always asked if I was ok and expressed concern but you never lectured me. I trusted you, I will always trust you. You were the first person I told when I figured out I was a Lesbian and the first person I told about Kelley. Its because of you I became a Lawyer. Seeing your commitment to justice and the law helped me know I had to be involved in it some way. I knew I never wanted to point a gun at someone but I also knew I wanted to be a part of justice being served because of you.”

She pauses, aware of the pain the next part of the conversation carries with it.

“I know you can’t leave the Triangle Aunt Nicole. I don’t know exactly why but I know you can’t and I know my wedding, the start of my life with the love of my life, would feel less than and wrong if you weren’t there for it. If you weren’t by my side.”

They both lose their battle against their emotions as Alice reaches out to take Nicole’s shaking hands in hers. Alice offers a small smile and takes a deep, shaky breath before she proceeds.

“Which leads me to favor number two. Aunt Nicole will you be by my side on my wedding day? Will you stand up for me and be my Matron of Honor?”

Through tears Nicole nods her head and answers a resounding, “yes, yes, of course, it would be my honor. I am so proud of you and I love you so much. Ever since the first moment I saw you I knew I would always be there for you if you needed me. You are one of my absolute favorite people on this earth Alice. I’m so happy that you found someone to love, someone to share your life with and I will be proud beyond words to stand by your side when you marry Kelley.” She says as she pulls Alice into a hug that lasts embarrassingly long. Neither of them cares.

“Yay!” Alice beams as she wipes away the last of her tears and does a happy little shimmy that is so much her Aunt Waverly that Nicole has to blink hard to be sure its not.

“I love you Aunt Nicole”

“I love you too Alice.”

Taking note of the time they agree to finish their beer and head out to the homestead where Waverly is preparing dinner for them all. There was still a lot of conversations to be had during this visit but for now Alice was as happy as she has ever been.

Once she was in her car she dialed her fiancé’s number. Kelley picked up on the second ring.

“Hey there my love. I miss you so much. How’s it going?”

“Hi Baby, I miss you too and I have great news…”