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Nicole was exhausted. She’d had a very long day. She’d been stuck at the station all day doing paperwork, and she didn’t even get very much done. And even worse, no one had gotten any leads on any of the station’s most important cases.
She just wanted to go home, cuddle with her spouse for the rest of the day, and fall asleep watching something on Netflix.
When she pulled up to the homestead, she was very happy to see that Waverly’s red jeep was already there, so when she made her way inside, she had expected to see Waverly in the kitchen making dinner, but they weren’t there.
“Wave?” Nicole called out into the house, but she didn’t get a response.
She saw that Waverly’s shoes were by the door, so they had to be in the house somewhere.
“Waverly?” she called out again, now a little concerned. She looked around everywhere downstairs, but Waverly was nowhere to be seen. She slowly made her way upstairs and into their bedroom, letting out a sigh of relief seeing Waverly sitting on the bed.
“Hey! Why didn’t you answer when I called out?” Nicole asked when Waverly looked up and gave her a smile.
“Did you?” Waverly asked, “I’m sorry. I guess I was kinda zoned out.”
Nicole took off her jacket and shoes and sat next to Waverly on the bed.
“What are you looking at?” she asked, looking at what was spread out on the bed in front of Waverly.
“Oh, uh, just our wedding photos,” they said.
“Aww,” Nicole said, picking up a photo of her and Waverly standing in front of the arch, looking at the camera, smiling, “Happiest day of my life,” she said, kissing Waverly’s temple.
“Ya. Mine too,” Waverly responded, though Nicole saw that, although they were smiling, they looked sad.
“Hey. What’s wrong?” she asked.
“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it,” Waverly said as they quickly started putting the photos back in the photo album. They went to put it back on the shelf before Nicole gently grabbed their arm.
“Hey! Don’t shut me out. Please talk to me,” she said gently.
“No, really, there’s nothing to talk about,” Waverly said, pulling their arm out of Nicole’s grasp and putting the photo album back on the shelf, “What do you want for dinner?” they asked as they started walking towards the door.
“Um...I don’t care. Whatever you want,” Nicole said, slightly dumbfounded by Waverly’s response.
Nicole took a shower and put on a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie and made her way downstairs. She looked around to see that Waverly was in the kitchen preparing tacos (seitan instead of meat) and Rachel and Billy were talking in the living room. She made her way over to them.
“Hey guys,” she said as she approached.
“Hi Nicole,” Billy said. He and Rachel had been cuddling, but when Nicole approached he quickly sat up.
“No need to be so formal Billy, you’re good,” Nicole said with a laugh as she sat down in a chair across from the couch.
“So what’s up?” Rachel asked. Nicole leaned forward.
“Has Waverly seemed off to you at all?” she asked in a whisper.
“Not really. Why?” Rachel asked.
“We were looking at our wedding photos earlier and they got really weird really randomly,” Nicole explained.
“Weird how?” Billy asked.
“I don’t know. They just looked really sad all of a sudden and I have no clue why,” Nicole said.
“Maybe they were just thinking about Wynonna,” Rachel suggested, “You know, ‘cause they’re still sad that she hasn’t come home yet, and because we haven’t been FaceTiming with her because of Waverly’s hair.”
“That makes sense,” Billy said.
“Ya maybe,” Nicole responded, thinking about it. There were photos of Wynonna in the album, but she didn’t see any laid out on the bed. Maybe they were looking at them before Nicole got home, “I’ll ask them about it later.”
“Okay,” Rachel said as Nicole got up to go into the kitchen.
“Smells really good,” Nicole said, sitting down at the table.
“Good,” Waverly said.
“So how was your day?” Nicole asked.
“Good,” Waverly said, again.
“Huh. That’s uh...that’s good. Did anything exciting happen?” Nicole asked.
“Nope,” Waverly responded.
“Okay,” Nicole said, now very confused, “Did anything worth mentioning happen?”
“No,” Waverly said.
“So was it actually good or was it just boring?” Nicole asked.
“Boring,” Waverly said.
“Okay…” Nicole said, trailing off, “Are you mad at me?”
“What?” Waverly asked, seeming to have snapped out of their daze, “No of course not!”
“Okay,” Nicole said, slightly irritated, “then can you please not act like it?” Waverly sighed.
“I’m sorry. I was just zoned out,” Waverly said, looking down at the ground. Nicole felt bad about snapping at them.
“It’s okay. I’d just like to be in the loop, you know?” Nicole asked.
“Uh huh,” Waverly said.
“So what’s got you so zoned out?” she asked.
“Um nothing,” Waverly said, taking plates out of the cupboard, “Guys, dinner’s ready!”
Nicole sighed. She hated how closed off Waverly could get. She wished they would understand that all Nicole wanted was for them to be happy.
As the small group ate their dinner, they all talked excitedly, but Nicole could tell that Waverly was faking their excitement.
“So did everyone like the tacos?” Waverly asked as everyone cleared the table after finishing their food.
“They were really good,” Rachel said as everyone agreed.
“You have dessert right?” Billy asked, earning a laugh from Waverly.
“Of course, but we should all let our dinner settle first,” Waverly said.
“Okay fine,” Billy said.
“Let’s go watch TV,” Rachel said to Billy as the two of them made their way into the living room. Leaving Nicole sitting at the table as Waverly started washing the dishes.
Nicole slowly stood up and made her way over to Waverly. She slowly moved her hand to turn the water off before wrapping her arms around Waverly’s waist and kissing their shoulder and resting her chin there.
“I can tell that something is bothering you,” she started, “You don’t have to be embarrassed, or ashamed. You just have to talk to me. That’s why I’m here, to make your life easier. I know you’re having a hard time accepting help, but you need to understand that I am more than happy to help. Because I love you.”
Waverly quickly turned around and wrapped their arms around Nicole’s waist, putting their face against her chest and breathing in her scent. Nicole wrapped her arms around Waverly’s shoulders tightly and kissed the side of their head.
“I love you too,” Waverly said, the words slightly muffled because their mouth was pressed against Nicole’s shirt.
“Well that’s good. I was getting worried,” Nicole said, giggling a little.
“Shut up,” Waverly said as they pinched Nicole’s side.
“Okay okay,” Nicole said as she and Waverly both laughed. Waverly leaned away a little to look Nicole in the eye.
“Why don’t you go upstairs, let me finish with the dishes, and then I’ll tell you, okay?” they asked.
“Okay,” Nicole said as she leaned in to kiss Waverly before going upstairs to their bedroom.
Waverly appeared a few minutes later, wearing one of their new sweaters. Nicole knew that Waverly wore the sweater when they were feeling vulnerable. Waverly had said a few times that it felt like a nice hug when they didn’t want to be touched by anyone.
Waverly sat down on their side of the bed and sat facing Nicole with their legs crossed. Nicole got up and mirrored the position before Waverly started talking.
“So I’ve been feeling really sad today. I haven’t really been able to pinpoint why exactly, so when I got home, I remembered this thing my mom told me when I was little. She said to find something that reminds you of the favorite day you’ve had so far, and just look at it and you’ll start feeling better. That would usually help me, of course not one hundred percent, but enough that I would feel a little better. So today, I went and looked at our wedding photos. Because that day was honestly the greatest day of my life. But instead of making me feel better, I actually realized what was bothering me,” Waverly said.
“What was it?” Nicole asked.
“Basically every memory I have of life in general before coming out is bittersweet now because, even though I have happy memories, I was always suffering. That day, I was so happy. I was marrying the love of my life, finally. But I was wearing something that I wasn’t happy in. And we were declared wives. Not spouse and wife. So even though that day was the greatest day of my life, it’s tainted with the thought that I was actually suffering all day,” Waverly finished.
“I’m so sorry baby,” Nicole said as she leaned in to give her spouse a hug, “If I could go back and do something so that you could have figured it out sooner, I absolutely would.”
“I know,” Waverly said, kissing Nicole’s shoulder, “I’m so happy and grateful that you’ve been so supportive. I’ve just gotta get used to the fact that all of my memories are bittersweet now. But you know the solution?”
“What?” Nicole asked, leaning back to look at Waverly.
“Making new memories,” Waverly said, smiling.
“Well then we’d better get to it,” Nicole said before kissing Waverly.
And that night, they did make new memories. They ate cake with Rachel and Billy and played card games, making jokes, laughing, and having fun. Waverly felt that they could safely say that this was one of the happiest memories they had.
But they had no idea what Nicole was planning.
The next morning, Waverly woke up to the smell of vegan pancakes. They opened their eyes and saw that a whole meal had been prepared for them and was sitting on a tray on the couch.
What was odd though, was the fact that Nicole was nowhere to be seen.
Even so, Waverly got up and retrieved the food, got back in bed and started eating, expecting Nicole to join them eventually.
About halfway through the meal, Waverly realized that there was something underneath the plate. They picked it up to see that it was a note that said:
Eat your pancakes and go to the bathroom.
Now very curious as to what was going on in the bathroom, Waverly finished the food as fast as they could and went to the bathroom.
They walked in to find a suit hanging on the rod that the shower curtain went on. There was also a pair of dress shoes on the floor.
Waverly turned their attention to the mirror to find another note which said:
Do your regular morning routine, take a shower, make yourself smell good, make yourself presentable, yada yada yada, and put on the suit and come downstairs.
Now very confused and very curious, Waverly went through their morning routine as fast as they could. Once they got to the suit, they put it on very slowly, trying to enjoy the moment, considering they had never worn a suit like this one before. They were very happy to see that the tie had been pre tied for them.
Once everything was on, from the jacket to the shoes, although they were very curious as to what was going on, they gave themself a minute to admire themself in the mirror. They buttoned up the jacket and ran their hands down all of the creases before smiling.
Realizing they had wasted a minute, they quickly ran down the stairs to find Billy and Rachel standing in the living room wearing the same outfits from the wedding.
“What the hell?” Waverly asked.
“Come on,” Rachel said as she and Billy both held their arms out for Waverly to take. Once they were all standing arm in arm, the two teens walked Waverly outside. The sight in front of them immediately brought tears to their eyes.
Although it was a little messy, Waverly and Nicole’s wedding day had been recreated. The arch that they had gotten married under was there, with Jeremy standing underneath. All of the flowers were out, as were the chairs with the names of the people they had lost. On a table sat two cakes. Neither one big enough to be a wedding cake, but on top of one sat a cake topper of a person in a suit, with a sign that said “vegan” in front of it. The other cake also had a person with a suit, but the suit had been painted pink, and it had a sign that said “not vegan”.
Once again though, Nicole was missing.
“Let’s go,” Rachel said, tugging on their arm.
Waverly was walked down the aisle by Billy and Rachel until they reached Jeremy. Billy and Rachel both stood off to the side before looking over at the barn. Waverly turned to see what they were looking at, and once again, tears were brought to their eyes.
Walking out of the barn was Nicole and Nedley, arm in arm, Nicole wearing the same outfit from the wedding. Nedley may have been too but Waverly really didn’t notice. All of their attention was on Nicole.
Once the two of them got to the arch, Waverly broke down. They bowed their head, covered their eyes with their hand, and knelt down on the ground, beginning to cry.
Nicole immediately knelt down next to them, putting her hand on their back.
“Woah woah woah! Are you okay? Did I take it too far? I’m so sorry. I thought it’d be nice. I should have asked you first. I’m so sorry. Do you wanna go inside? Should I-” Nicole’s rambling was cut short by Waverly suddenly grabbing her face and kissing her passionately.
“I love you so fucking much,” Waverly said as they pulled away.
“So you’re not mad?” Nicole asked.
“No. You are so incredible, thank you,” Waverly said.
Nicole kissed Waverly again before she held out her hand and helped Waverly to their feet. After that, Waverly just had to say it:
“Haught as hell.”
Everyone laughed as Nicole looked down at Waverly’s hand.
“Oh shit. I forgot!” Nicole quickly said.
“What?” Waverly asked. Nicole quickly grabbed their left hand and took their ring off, quickly followed by her own ring, and handed them both to Rachel.
“I suppose I should ask now, does your ring make you feel okay? You know, in terms of your gender?” Nicole asked. Waverly could not believe how lucky they had gotten to marry someone like Nicole.
“Yes Nicole, I love my ring,” they told her.
“Okay good,” Nicole said, laughing a little bit, “Okay Jeremy, go ahead.”
Jeremy cleared his throat.
“We are here today to celebrate the union of Waverly Earp and Nicole Haught,” he started, staring at a note card. Waverly laughed. They assumed he didn’t remember his speech perfectly, “Two elements, maybe working in a bar, or a small town police department, minding their own business, when one day, boom. They connect. And if the right amount of magic is involved, they become something stronger than they were before. They become love. Please hold hands and say your vows,” he finished, beginning to tie a piece of string, Waverly thought it might be the same one, around their hands, “Nicole?”
Rachel quickly stepped forward and held a note card in front of Nicole’s eyes. Waverly laughed, but they could see that Nicole was crying just as much as the day of their original wedding.
“My beautiful angel. You are the smartest, and the kindest person I know. I promise to stand by your side for all of life’s adventures, and to always pack a safety harness just in case. I promise to hold your hand when the fire light grows dim, and that my love never will,” Nicole finished.
Just like the original day, Waverly let their love know just how much they loved her.
“Waverly?” Jeremy said.
“Uh I don’t remember my vows,” Waverly said through tears and laughter.
“Billy!” Nicole quickly said,
“Shit, sorry,” Billy said, stepping forward to put a note card in front of Waverly, once again, causing Waverly to laugh.
“Nicole, I thank goodness everyday for that bullet proof vest,” Waverly started before lifting up their hand to push the note card away and looking into Nicole’s eyes. It all came flooding back with that simple sentence, “Without it, I would never have known a love so strong and mighty. I promise to love you. I promise to stand beside you as equals for the rest of our lives.”
“Waverly,” Jeremy started again, “do you promise to love and respect Nicole for as long as you both shall live?”
“I do.”
“Nicole, do you promise to love and respect Waverly for as long as you both shall live?”
“I do.”
“Then I now pronounce you, wife,” Jeremy paused as he looked at Waverly, “and spouse.”
That was all it took for the floodgates to open right back up. They managed to stay on their feet this time, but they cried even harder than before, their tears pouring onto Nicole’s and their joined hands. They very faintly heard Jeremy say, “You may now kiss one another.”
They felt the string get pulled off of their hands, they felt Nicole’s hand lift their chin up, and they felt Nicole’s lips connect with their own. The pair wrapped their arms around each other as they continued to kiss, and Waverly’s tears never stopped pouring down their face.
Once they finally pulled apart, they rested their foreheads together and Waverly whispered “Thank you.”
“Anytime, spouse,” Nicole said.
“Uh guys, should I have added something about the rings?” Jeremy asked. Nicole laughed.
“No, it's fine. Here, Rachel give me Waverly’s,” Nicole said, before Rachel handed her Waverly’s ring. Nicole gently slipped the ring onto Waverly’s finger, “Now give Waverly mine,” Rachel handed Nicole’s ring to Waverly, who also gently put the ring on her finger before lifting up her hand to kiss it.
The wedding proceeded pretty much the same way as before, Rachel singing her song, the group all dancing together, people giving speeches, everyone drinking and eating cake. Around the middle of the festivities, Damon showed up. He went to give the pair hugs before taking a camera out of his car and going around taking candid shots of everyone.
A little while later, Nicole and Waverly were slow dancing to My Girl by The Temptations with their foreheads resting against each other. That’s when Nicole realized that Waverly still looked sad. She lifted Waverly’s chin with her hand and looked in their eyes.
“Hey. What’s with the frown?” she asked. Waverly sighed.
“I don’t wanna be a Debbie downer,” Waverly told her.
“Nonsense. Tell me,” Nicole responded.
“I wish Wynonna and Doc were here,” Waverly said. It was Nicole’s turn to sigh.
“I know. I do too, but you know what?” she asked.
“What?” Waverly asked.
“When they get back, they get to brag about travelling across the country with their daughter, thinking that we were all super boring, when in reality, we had an awesome wedding, arguably more awesome than the first one, without them,” she said, earning laughs from Waverly.
“That is true. Doc will be super jealous he didn’t get to dress up again and Wynonna will be jealous she didn’t get to make an embarrassing speech about you,” Waverly said. Nicole laughed and moved so that she and Waverly were hugging each other as they continued to dance.
“I know this day couldn’t be perfect. I’m sorry,” Nicole said.
“Hey. You gave me a do over of our wedding, where I could be comfortable with what I was wearing and be happy with my title. You are in no position to be apologizing,” Waverly said.
Just then, they heard a click from next to them. They turned to see Damon with his camera.
“Oh come on Damon!” Nicole said, “we were having a moment!”
“I know, I know. I’m sorry, but your guests are complaining about the fact that it’s getting cold, and it’s getting dark, so I was thinking, we should recreate the picture from the arch, and then we should get the fuck inside,” Damon said. Waverly and Nicole laughed before agreeing and going over to the arch.
They did a few different poses. A couple from in front of Waverly where Nicole was holding them from behind, a few of the same but from the side of the pair, a few from the side where Waverly was holding Nicole, and then a few from in front of Nicole where Waverly was holding her and comically peeking out from behind her shoulder.
And of course, they recreated the original picture to the best of their ability.
After a few more hours of partying inside, Nedley, Jeremy, Damon, and Billy all made their way home. Waverly and Nicole talked as Rachel went off to do her own thing.
“I probably smell but I really don’t wanna take this suit off,” Waverly said. They were lying on the couch with Nicole leaning against their chest, sitting in between their legs.
“I know honey. But you do really smell,” Nicole said.
“Be quiet,” Waverly said with a smile.
“I’m sorry,” Nicole said with a laugh, “we’ll just have to go to some fancy event sooner than later.”
“I guess so,” Waverly said.
“I have something that’ll make you feel better though,” Nicole said, getting up from the couch, “Stay there.”
Nicole disappeared into the kitchen and returned a few seconds later holding a picture.
“Damon printed this out before he left,” she said, walking over to the mantle above the fireplace. Waverly couldn’t see the picture, but judging by the fact that Nicole picked up the picture frame from their wedding day, Waverly assumed it was the picture from in front of the arch.
Nicole took the original picture out, put the new picture in, put the old picture on top of it, and replaced the frame on the mantle.
“Perfect,” she said.
Waverly got up and put their arm around Nicole’s waist as the two of them looked at the new picture, Waverly looking a million times happier than in the first one.
“Have I mentioned how much I love you?” Waverly asked.
“Hmm, I’m not so sure,” Nicole said as she turned to face Waverly, putting her arms on their shoulders. Waverly turned and put their arms around Nicole’s waist, “Maybe you should again, just in case.”
“I love you so much Nicole Haught,” Waverly said, leaning in to kiss Nicole passionately. Nicole separated from them briefly to say one quick statement.
“I love you too Waverly Earp,” she said, leaning right back in to kiss Waverly again.
Waverly was ready for the lifetime of new memories they were going to make with this wonderful woman by their side.