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18 days
3 hours
4 minutes
It had been 18 days 3 hours and 4 minutes since Waverly ran away from Wynonna and Nicole.
18 days since they lost the light in both their lives.
3 hours since they heard her laughter or saw her smile.
4 minutes since that witch left with shit eating grin on her face as Wynonna, Nicole, and Doc chased after her. Later joined by Dolls when he finished the pain process.
18 days of finding her and then looking at them with no recognition in her eyes and before they could even think to try and stop her, she would rush off further into the woods.
3 hours since Wynonna swallowed her guilt like whiskey, bitter and burning all the way down.
4 minutes since Nicole curled up on Waverly’s with tears in her eyes and Waverly’s lavender smelling perfume in the air.
18 days of Wynonna dealing with Lucado, who didn't care that Waverly was out in the wilderness, alone.
3 hours of Wynonna and Nicole spending all of their free tim in the woods trying to track down their angel.
4 minutes of Wynonna dodging Dolls every time he wanted to talk, she still didn't trust him.
18 days spent trying to find the witch in order to get her to undo the spell.
3 hours of telling everyone that Waverly would be fine. They were starting to not believe the lie anymore.
4 minutes of pain, despair, and anger swirled together in a cocktail of loss.
18 days, 3 hours, and 4 minutes without her laughter, her smile, and her love. The team was lost without her. But they would find her, they would bring her home, and they would undo the spell the witch cast upon her.
BBD didn’t care. Lucado especially.
“You must focus on the revenants, I don't care what happened to the bar wretch. I am to observe you as the royal family and the revenants” Lucado said, she was tired and angry. She wanted to go home but it seemed all these people wanted to do was look for their missing team member.
“What did you just call my sister!” Wynonna snarled as she began to charge at Lucado.
“Wynonna clam yourself” Dolls ordered, or tried to anyway.
“Did you not hear what she just called my sister!? No, I am tired of letting you or her for that matter tell me what to do. I am the god damn High Alpha, I will do what I please, go where I want to and look for my sister over whatever the hell it is you want me to do. Am I clear?” Wynonna asked, not really looking for an answer because she didn't care what they thought. She walked out to the bullpen, towards Nicole.
Nicole hadn't slept in days–at least, not the kind of sleep that offered rest. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw it again: Waverly stepping in front of her, the sharp flash of magic, the image burned into her mind something she could never forget. It should have been her, it was supposed to be her. Instead, all she had left was the echo of that moment, replaying until it hollowed her out.
The only time she managed a few hours was when she crawled into Waverly’s bed. Her scent still lingered there, faint and fading, clinging to the sheets like a ghost. Nicole wrapped herself in it as though it could hold her, but the chill never left. A reminder that Waverly was lost.
“Nicole?” Wynonna asks as she snaps her fingers in front of her face.
“W-what?” Nicole blinked, dragging herself back from the shadows of memory. Her eyes, red-rimmed and hollow, met Wynonna’s, and for a heartbeat Wynonna wished she hadn’t seen the raw pain there. It mirrored her own too closely.
“You with me Haught? We have a lead on where Waverly is” Nicole jumped up from her desk to follow Wynonna.
“Where are we headed?” Nicole asked, the slight feeling of hope rose in her chest, but the feeling was muted due to so many false trails.
“The Swan Reservoir, BBD has been getting a lot of calls about a beast running around down there” she explained. “So it’s either our girl or a really, really big cat. I’m hoping for option one”
“Ok, so what is the plan?” Nicole asked as she watched Wynonna pick up one of the station issued Tranquilizer guns. “You can't possibly be thinking about using that on Waverly!?”
Wynonna’s jaw clenched as she loaded a dart into the gun. “I don’t like it either, Haught. But if that witch’s spell has her thinking she’s some kind of… monster, she’s had 18 days of nothing but wilderness so we can’t just walk up and offer her tea and crumpets. She’ll bolt again. Or worse, she’ll hurt herself”
Nicole’s chest tightened. “She’s not a monster,” she snapped, voice cracking on the last word. “She’s Waverly. She’s still in there—we just have to reach her. Get her to remember us”
“I know,” Wynonna said quietly, softer than Nicole expected. “But every time we try to talk to her, she looks at us like we’re strangers and right now we are… I don’t know how much longer I can keep watching her disappear into those damn woods without doing something”
“Alirght, if we are going to tranquilize her than don't we need a place to keep her until we can figure out a way to get her memories back?”
“Way ahead of you, come on slowpoke we have a baby girl to catch. I’ll explain everything on the way”
The two headed out, determination finally outweighing exhaustion. Neither noticed Lucado’s eyes following them, sharp and cold.
“They are too worried about the wretch, I came here to…”
“Yeah you’ve already said why you are here but I don't think they really care what you came to see or what you came to observe” Dolls laughed. “You really think you can tell Wynonna Earp, High alpha what to do? At the moment they are not gonna worry about any of the revenants, not when one of their own is missing”
“Well then you will give me what I want. Blood samples, urine, bone marrow, and anything else I think of. Unless you want me to go after the Earps” Lucado order.
Dolls just laughed. “Oh I’ll give all of that but if you think you can put one finger on any of them then you have another thing coming” he said as he headed towards the Science lab in the corner of the room that Jeremy had set up. He took his shirt off and looked at her expensively. “You get all the blood you want”
— — — — — — — — — — —
The drive was quiet. Nicole stared out the window, lost. Wynonna drummed her fingers on the wheel, chewing on words she couldn’t say.
“So, uh, once we get her down we can put her in the back of the truck and get her home. Once we get her into the barn, we’ll need to figure out a way to get her to human and then get her memories back”
Nicole’s hands tightened on her knees. “The barn?” she asked, her voice low.
“It’s the only place I trust to hold her until we can figure some things out. No way in hell would I want to keep her at BBD, no. The barn is far enough away from anything where she can't hurt anyone or herself” Wynonna explained.
“I don’t like it. The barn makes it sound like she’s some… wild animal.”
“She’s not,” Wynonna said quickly, eyes flicking toward Nicole before returning to the road. “She’s my baby sister. She’s your…” Wynonna’s voice caught, but she forced it steady. “She’s ours. But we both know she’s not herself right now. Until we break that spell, we can’t risk her running off again. Or worse—”
“Don’t,” Nicole cut in sharply, hands balling into fists in her lap. “Don’t finish that sentence.”
The truck lapsed back into silence, the crunch of gravel under the tires was the only sound until Wynonna pulled the vehicle to the edge of the reservoir’s clearing. The two got out, grabbed the Tranquilizer gun and started their trek.
“Ok, so reports describe something big and fluffy but also really scary. Which again could mean it’s Waverly or a really big cat” Wynonna said as she stepped over a fallen tree and readjusted the Tranquilizer gun on her shoulder.
“It’s her” Nicole said with confidence and determination, it had to be Waverly.
As if conjured by the thought, a sound echoed through the trees—a rustle, quick and light.
Nicole froze. “Did you hear that?” she whispered.
“Yeah, she’s close” the two turned to follow the sound, a break in the trees revealed a small river. On the other side was a 7 foot wolf drinking from the flowing water. Waverly, who didn't have any memories as her sister and girlfriend/mate stood opposite of her. Her head snapped up as Wynonna’s foot came down on a tree branch, making a loud crunch.
“Shit” Wynonna whispered. They froze as Waverly’s wolf-eyes locked onto them. For a moment, there was nothing human there, only the sharp glint of wilderness, of instinct. Wynonna’s hand slipped to the tranquilizer gun, slow and deliberate, not daring to spook her.
“Easy, Waves…” Wynonna whispered, she exhaled, lifted the gun, and fired. The dart whizzed across the river—then thudded into the trunk of a tree two feet to Waverly’s left.
“Son of a—” Wynonna cursed, snapping the chamber open only to find what she already knew. Empty. “Dammit, dammit, dammit—”
“You only grabbed one dart!?” Nicole whispered angrily.
“Usually I'm a really good shot. I thought we would only need one!” Wynonna replied hurriedly as she racked her brain on what they could do.
They both watched as Waverly snarled, hackles raised, teeth bared. Her body lowered into a crouch, ready to spring.
“No—don’t—” Nicole’s voice cracked. Her chest burned with the helplessness of the last 18 days, the failure coiled too tight inside her. And then, before she even thought, before Wynonna could stop her, she leapt.
Her boots left imprints in the mud as she flew over the small river. Her body shifted effortlessly into her wolf. In the blink of an eye she was on the other side. Instincts took over both of them and Nicole growled loud and powerful, so powerful that it shook the ground.
The effect was instant.
Waverly froze. Muscles trembling. Ears flat. Then—slowly—she dropped to her belly, throat bare.
Nicole padded forward, careful and deliberate, until her larger body stood over Waverly’s. She pressed her muzzle gently into the ruff of Waverly’s fur, a rumble of reassurance vibrating from her chest.
And for the first time in 18 days, the wilderness inside Waverly stilled.
The smell of vanilla dipped donuts
It clung to her like a ghost of familiarity, soft and loving, but sealed behind memories she could not reach.
A whimper broke from Waverly. Small. Fragile. But Wynonna’s breath caught across the river.
“She’s wild right now, you're bigger than her so she kneels to you. Just keep doing what you're doing” Wynonna whispered. splashing across the shallows. She yanked the dart from the tree, slammed it into the chamber, and aimed. “Hold her steady”
The dart struck true. Waverly gave a soft, pained whine as the sedative began to take hold. Wynonna could only watch as her sister’s head slowly lowered to the ground.
Nicole shifted back and they watched as Waverly’s eyes dropped closed and her body slowly loosened and relaxed. “Ok, did you happen to have a plan to get her back to the truck?”
“Well I was thinking we would just carry her,” Wynonna said.
Nicole nodded. “Ok, you get her head and I’ll get her back half”
“What, you don't want to carry her head?”
“I mean, I do—but I don’t have the energy to argue over who gets to carry what part of her. You’re her sister. I’m just… the girlfriend.” She dropped her gaze, shoulders heavy.
“You do know you are more than ‘just’ her girlfriend right?” Wynonna said softly.
“Oh really? And what exactly am I, then?”
Wynonna’s mouth curved into a grin. “My Haught friend”
“Your Haught friend?” she echoed, raising a brow.
“Yup”
“Oh yippy, does that mean I’m stuck with you now?”
“Stuck like glue baby” they shared a smile together. The weight between them lifted, just a little, as they shared a smile that said more than either of them could. They were together, they would stick together and work together to get their girl’s memories back.
Together they bore Waverly’s limp form between them, the effort clumsy and awkward. Every few steps one of them faltered on the uneven ground of the Swan Reservoir, nearly dropping her, before forcing themselves onward toward the waiting truck.
By the time they reached the truck, it’d started to rain. Drenching both Wynonna and Nicole, soaking through Waverly's fur making the trek ten times harder due to the dead weight.
NOPE!
No.
Not dead weight.
Definitely not dead weight.
Just their girl.
The rain pelted hard against their skin as they hefted Waverly’s limp wolf form into the back of the truck. Wynonna grunted, pushing wet hair out of her face.
“Damn, Waves, you’ve been eating too many donuts. This is like carrying a very fluffy, very wet anvil,” she muttered, though her voice cracked on the edges of humor.
“She hasn't touched a donut in at least 18 days, maybe you are just out of shape”
“Out of shape?” Wynonna gasped, genuinely offended. “Me out of shape. I don't think so. I chase revenants for cardio, thank you very much. I’m basically a professional athlete. I am very in shape thank you very much”
“Whatever you say, donut destroyer. Which is a name the other deputies at the station gave you when one of them caught you devouring a dozen donuts a couple months back” Nicole laughed. “That’s the only lifting you do by the way, lifting donuts to your mouth”
“Donut Destroyer?... It actually sounds pretty good. I like it, I think I'll put it on all my business cards”
“Wynonna, you don't have any business cards”
“I will now”
The moment came to an end when Wynonna slammed the truck bed shut. Nicole decided to sit in the bed of the truck, in the rain and cold with Waverly. She readjusted her head to have it laying across her lap. She gently brushed her fingers through Waverly’s fur, the familiar action caused the raging storm of worry and fear to clam sprinkle—still there, but way less now that she had her girl in her arms. The world outside might have been wet, harsh, and uncertain, but right here, with Waverly’s warmth pressed close and her soft breaths rising and falling, Nicole finally felt like she could breathe again too.
The truck rolled over the little bridge of the Earp property, tires splashing in the mud. Wynonna parked as close to the barn as she could get. She hopped out of the truck, mud ruining the brand new pair of jeans she’d just bought but she didn't care as she made her way to the truck bed.
Wynonna and Nicole worked to gently get Waverly in the barn and out of the rain. Once inside, they dried her off with towels as best they could, then bundled her up in a heap of blankets.
“What do we do if she wakes up and decides to bolt again?” Nicole asked, worry etched into her features.
Wynonna rubbed at the back of her neck. “I have a plan but you're not gonna like it” she said as she moved over to the corner, there she picked up a heavy chain that was one side cuff and other side bolted to the floor.
“No, no way in hell are you chaining her up”
“Hey, I don't like it either but it’s not like we have any other choice. She can yell at us about this when she has her memories back but as for right now I am gonna do everything in my power not to lose her again…please Nicole, just let me make sure she stays” the pain in her voice was almost as visible as the pain in her eyes. Every word dripping with desperation.
The pain mirrored itself in Nicole’s own eyes and she had to admit the chains were a surefire way to make sure Waverly couldn't wander off. “Alright fine, but you take the fury that is Waverly Earp when she remembers that we her sister and her girlfriend did this”
“sure, sure whatever… hold on a sec are you afraid of my sister? Tiny ball of sunshine, nicest person in purgatory? Could never hurt a fly, Waverly Earp?” Wynonna asked as she tried to keep a straight face.
Red tinted Nicole’s cheeks, making it almost the same color as her hair. “Yes, I will admit that when your sister gets angry she can be hella scary. Also, she might be tiny but have you seen her muscles add to that her werewolf strength and she is one strong, beautiful, scary Omega”
“Fair point”
A short while later they sat across the barn cross legged and their eyes glued to Waverly. Both watching the steady rise and fall of her chest. For a long time neither said a word, just listening to the sound of Waverly’s breathing and to the raging storm that beat against the barn.
“You should try to get some rest,” Wynonna said, her voice so soft that if Nicole wasn't sitting right next to her then she doubted she would have heard her over the storm.
“I can't, I dont…”
“I know, you don't want to close your eyes because you fear that when you open them again she’ll be gone” Wynonna perfectly explained the fear that gripped Nicole so tight, she could hardly breath.
“How di…”
“Because I fear the same thing,” Wynonna admitted, almost whispering. “I didn’t protect her. Not from our sister, not from Dad… not even from me. I thought teasing her was harmless, but looking back, I just made it worse. I should’ve been the one to shield her, and instead I failed her.” Wynonna paused, turning her remorseful gaze to her slumbering sister. “I didn't protect her then, I won't make the same mistake now. So yes I fear that when I open my eyes she’ll be gone, if I have to stay up all night and day to make sure she will stay then that is what I will do. Are you with me, Haught?”
Nicole’s chest ached at Wynonna’s words. She wanted to argue, to tell Wynonna she hadn’t failed, but the raw pain in the older Earp’s voice made her throat close up. Instead, she reached across the hay-strewn floor and laid her hand over Wynonna’s.
“I’m with you,” she said, steady and sure.
“Good,” Wynonna muttered. “Because something tells me this is only going to get messier before it gets better”
The storm ragged on outside, the harsh wind beat against the walls like a fist. The mountain of blankets rose and fell with Waverly’s steady breathing. The two waited and watched, looking for any sign that she was waking up so they could figure out how to get her memories back. Hours bled into one another, they were sitting together as sleep tugged at their bones, Nicole was the first to be claimed by sleep. head fell to the side, rolling off the barn support beam she was using. Wynonna lasted longer, but not by much. As the minutes ticked by she slumped further into Nicole’s side, the three lost to sleep as the storm continued.
— — — — — — — — — — —
As the sun climbed over the horizon a few hours later, the storm’s fury had quieted into uneasy peace.
Nicole stirred first. She rolled her neck and winched, her body was stiff from the awkward angle she’d fallen asleep in. She tried to get up to check on Waverly but found Wynonna had draped almost her entire body over her.
“Five more minutes…” Wynonna groaned, when Nicole tried to push her off.
She rolled her eyes and smiled, which almost immediately fell when a noise from the other side of the barn made her eyes snap to the pile of blankets.
“Waves,” she whispered, voice raw with sleep and worry. The name, combined with the worry in her voice, seemed to send a jolt through Wynonna.
“Hnn—what? Did she—?” Wynonna sat up quickly, hair sticking up in every direction. When her eyes found her sister still curled up beneath the blankets, her chest deflated with relief. “She’s still here”
Nicole’s lips curved into the faintest smile. “Yeah. Still here”
Wynonna couldn't hold the urge to actually see her sister instead of a mountain of blankets. So she slowly rose to her feet and crossed the distance from one side of the to the other. She peeled away layer after layer of the blankets, the need to see her sister, whether it was her human form or wolf it didn't matter, she just needed to see that her baby sister was truly okay. After what seemed like forever the last blanket was removed and the sight of her still slumbering sister brought tears to the corners of her eyes.
“She’s filthy,” Wynonna murmured, voice rough. “Mud, twigs, God knows what else in that fur. Can’t let her stay like this—she’ll end up with fleas or something”
“You do know that we can't get fleas right?”
“Well, Waverly would be the first”
“Let's clean her up. She deserves to wake up comfortably, not… like this” she said.
Together they worked slowly, carefully. Wynonna worked a washcloth over her fur as gently as she could while Nicole brushed the dried mud, sticks, and leaves out of her fur as gently as she could. Neither of them spoke much, but the silence wasn’t empty. Every swipe of cloth, every untangled knot, carried with it an unspoken promise: We’ve got you. We’re not letting you go again.
After a lot of dirty rags later Waverly’s coat gleamed in the dim barn light—fluffy, soft, her natural scent of Lavender, warmth finally breaking through the layers of dirt and wilderness. Wynonna sat back on her heels, wiping her hands on her jeans with a long exhale.
“There’s our girl,” Wynonna whispered.
“We found her,” Nicole added in the same whispered tone.
“And we won't ever let her go again” Wynonna promised with Nicole nodding along. The promise wasn't just to each other or to Waverly. It was to the universe, the gods, and whoever would listen that they fulfilled that promise. That the universe wouldn't take her away from them again. That they wouldn't lose her. She was their angel, they were gonna be her shields.
Waverly began to stir, her ears flicked once, then twice. Her tail gave a faint, restless sweep across the blankets. Finally, her eyelids fluttered open—first just a sliver, then wide, revealing eyes sharp with a feral gleam. Not the soft hazel Nicole longed for, but wild, unrecognizing gold. The eyes of the wolf were unfocused as they looked around the small space they were in before settling on the two women in front of her.
Waverly’s gaze darted around, frantic, nostrils flaring. Her chest heaved as she sniffed at the air, searching.
“She’s looking for the wolf from last night” Wynonna observed with an excited glint in her eyes. “She's looking for you. Quick shift!”
Nicole froze in surprised hope. “Do you… do you think if she sees me, like that again. That she’ll remember” her voice dropped with longing and desperation.
“One way to find out, now hurry before she Usain Bolt’s out of here”
Nicole didn't wait a second more before she let the shift over take her. The shift blew over her like a cool breeze in the summer air, confronting against the harsh heat of the sun.
Waverly froze. Her ears flicked forward, golden eyes locking on Nicole’s. The tension in her muscles quivered, like a bowstring pulled too tight. Their eyes met and everything stilled.
Nicole padded forward, step by deliberate step. Each movement was a step towards hope, towards love, towards the girl she refused to lose. The girl who she loved, who could power the entire town when she smiled. The girl who pulled her into her orbit without even trying. The girl who now held her heart.
Waverly’s nostrils flared. The storm of wild confusion in her eyes faltered as her nose twitched, catching the scent of Vanilla dipped donuts. A scent that brought with it a sense of peace and love, things she didn't remember ever feeling but when she smelled it and as she looked into the eyes of the red furred wolf she Instinctly knew she was home.
Nicole lowered herself to the ground until her chest brushed the hay. She let out a growl, low and coaxing, then pressed her muzzle into the space between them.
Slowly—achingly slowly—Waverly crept forward. Her paws dragged across the floor, hesitation in every line of her body. She stopped just short of Nicole, sniffing, staring. For a long heartbeat, nothing moved. Then Waverly collapsed against her, a desperate, trembling weight as her muzzle buried itself in Nicole’s fur.
Nicole let out a sound that was half-growl, half-sob. She wrapped her larger body around the smaller wolf, shielding her, holding her.
“Hey, baby girl,” Wynonna said softly, stepping forward. “It’s me. It’s your sister. I promise you’re safe” Fortunately Wynonna wanting to be in the dog pile wasn't going to happen, as soon as she took a small step forward Waverly began to growl. And not in a friendly way.
Nicole licked gently across Waverly’s ear, the grooming instinct as natural as breathing. She started at her ear, then along her ruff, each stroke unhurried, soothing. Every flick of her tongue carried a message: you're here, you’re safe, that’s your sister you can't eat her.
At first, Waverly stayed tense, her body vibrating with that wild edge that had ruled her for eighteen long days. Her growl stayed low, a warning in her throat, her golden eyes still darting to Wynonna like she was a threat. But Nicole didn’t stop. She groomed her with patience, with tenderness, with the steady rhythm of love.
Gradually, the sound began to fade. The rigid line of Waverly’s body softened, her ears flicked back in submission, and a tiny whine slipped from her throat. She pressed closer, burying her face against Nicole’s chest like a pup seeking shelter.
“There you go, Waves,” Wynonna whispered from where she stayed back, hands raised in peace. Her voice broke with the sight, but she didn’t dare step closer again. Not yet.
Nicole kept up the grooming, her wolf form wrapping tighter around Waverly until she felt the smaller wolf’s trembling begin to ebb. She nosed into Waverly’s neck, breathing her in, pressing reassurance into every inch of contact. Her growl shifted into a deep, steady rumble of comfort.
Wynonna exhaled a long, shaky breath and slumped back against the barn wall. “Well,” she muttered, voice breaking but laced with the barest thread of humor. “I guess I can put a check mark next to the first part of our plan” Nicole gave her a look: Shut up unless you want Waves to growl at you again. But Wynonna continued as if she didn't see it.
“Part one: find Waves and bring her home. Check
Part two: keep her safe until we find the witch.
Part three: find the witch who cast the spell and shoot her a couple of times before she undoes it” Wynonna muttered as if she were reading from a grocery list.
A low, rolling growl rumbled out of Waverly’s chest. Both Wynonna and Nicole tensed instantly—until the sound hit them fully. It wasn’t sharp, not hostile, not a warning. It was steady. Purposeful.
Agreement.
“It seems babygirl likes my plan,” Wynonna smirked. Nicole shot her a flat wolf-glare over Waverly’s shoulder. Wynonna threw up her hands in mock surrender but couldn't keep the smile off her face.
“Oh I forgot the most important part of our plan… donuts. Always donuts”
Nicole’s ears twitched at Wynonna’s last words, and she gave a huff, nudging Waverly’s side like a wolfish eye-roll. Waverly whined softly, burying her muzzle deeper into Nicole’s fur, as though the sound of laughter was something both foreign and familiar—something she wanted to hold onto, even if she didn’t quite know why.
“See?” Wynonna grinned, hands resting on her hips. “She gets it. Donuts make everything better”
Before Wynonna could start listing more “steps” to her plan, her phone buzzed loudly in her back pocket, shattering the fragile quiet. Waverly flinched hard at the sound, ears flattening against her skull as a whine rose in her throat. Nicole instantly pressed her muzzle against Waverly’s ruff, rumbling reassurance, blocking out the noise with her body.
“Shit, sorry, baby girl,” Wynonna muttered, fumbling for the phone. She glanced at the screen—Dolls. Of course. With a sigh, she stepped back toward the barn door and swiped to answer.
“What, Dolls?” she snapped, keeping her voice low but sharp, the strain clear in her tone. She stopped at the door, as far away from her sister as she dared go, she kept her eyes on her sister and her ears tuned into the phone call she wished she didn't answer but knew that if she hadn't Dolls would have stormed over with Lucado hot on his heels and Wynonna wanted to keep that woman as far away from her little sister as she could.
“Yeah, well, unless you’ve got a witch ready to undo a memory spell, I don’t care about Lucado’s orders!” Wynonna hissed into the phone, pacing a few steps toward the door. “You can tell her the High Alpha said to shove it—”
“Look, I’m not abandoning my sister. End of story. I don't care what power Lucado thinks she has but this is my town and I’ll do what I want, go after the Revenants when I want, and protect my sister above all else” Wynonna growled. She hung up before she crashed her phone into bits, shoving the phone deep into her pocket before stomping back across the barn. Her sharp expression instantly vanished when she saw Nicole and Waverly curled together, Waverly trembling but quieter now.
“Sorry,” Wynonna muttered, running a hand over her face. “Didn’t mean to spook her”
Wynonna crouched a few feet away, elbows resting on her knees. She studied her sister, the wildness still present but diluted by the echo of memories. She felt at home but didn't understand why. She felt protected but couldn't recall why the two people in the room brought that feeling to her, the feeling of safety. Love. Wynonna’s chest tightened. They’d gotten her back physically, but emotionally? Spiritually? She was still gone.
“Okay,” Wynonna said finally, breaking the silence. “So, wolf cuddles are clearly working—which, hey, good job Haught but it would be so much easier if she were in her human form, at least then we would be able to communicate with her” Wynonna paused and leaned back on her heels, a thought rolled around once in her mind, twice, three times before it rolled right out her mouth. “I think we should try to get her to shift back”
Nicole gave her another look as if to say: how do you suggest we do that?
“I think… no I hope that if she sees you shift back that she'll follow suit”
Nicole paused as she looked between the woman standing in front of her and the wolf she was wrapped around before she nodded and tried to extract herself from Waverly. Who immediately whined, starting to panic being separated from the wolf that brought her so much peace after the 18 days of wilderness.
The whine made Nicole pause mid stride but with an almost desperate look from Winona she continued on. She took a few steps away from both Earp sisters before changing back. In the span of a few seconds she was back to two legs and the only hair she had resided on her head instead of all over her body. Her attention was drawn back to Waverly as her whining intensified as she watched the red furried wolf disappear. Confusion written clear across her face.
Nicole slowly stepped towards the whining wolf, her hands held up in a hopeful sign of peace. “It’s okay, baby. It’s still me. The red furred wolf. There's nothing to fear, you're safe” She repeated the words in different ways, her voice soft and steady, each variation meant to calm the panicked creature.
“Shift back” Wynonna loosely ordered.
“Why?” Nicole asked without taking her eyes off of Waverly.
“Well she’s freaking out about seeing human you. Maybe if she sees you shift enough times she’ll realize that you and wolfie are that same person. She might catch on that she can do that same” she explained.
“That makes…” Nicole paused and finally tore her eyes away from Waverly to give a quick look to Wynonna. “That actually makes a lot of sense,” she said, sounding a little bit amazed.
“I sometimes make sense,” Wynonna replied, looking a little offended. “Come on now shift”
Nicole exhaled deeply, grounding herself before letting the shift ripple through her again. In less than a breath, the red-furred wolf stood where the woman had been. The younger wolf’s panic eased immediately at the sight of her again. Ears pricked, tail sweeping in a hesitant wag, Waverly nosed at Nicole’s fur, searching, confirming.
The two wolves stood together for a few minutes before Nicole shifted back. This time, she stayed kneeling on the hay, her hands open and empty.
Waverly whines picked up again, but this time she was so close that when the wolf disappeared the scent of vanilla dip donuts still clung to her calming her mind even as confusion battled with it.
Nicole shifted again.
The whining stopped.
The two things continued to happen over and over again for the next half hour.
Human equaled wolf whining.
Wolf equaled wolf cuddling.
Wynonna pinched the bridge of her nose. “Okay, I’m all for interpretive dance, but this is getting ridiculous. We need progress, not a wolfy version of peekaboo”
“This was your idea” Nicole said, sweat dripping down her temple as she shifted back again. “How about you give it a go?”
“She doesn’t like me, remember?” Wynonna’s voice cracked just enough to betray the sadness under her sarcasm. “My own sister trusts you more than she trusts me”
“Well maybe because I had to dominate her in order to keep her from running. She hasn't seen your wolf, maybe that's why she doesn't trust you. She doesn't seem to like our human forms”
“Fine,” Wynonna said, voice rough. “But if I do this, and she freaks out because I'm not you and bites me I am turning around and biting you in the ass”
“Ok, one she wont bite you and two you’re not my type, only your sister gets that option if she wanted it” Nicole smiled as Wynonna gagged.
“Gross” Wynonna gagged, rolled her eyes and shifted in the span of a single breath. It was so fast that if Nicole would have blinked she would have missed it.
Where Wynonna Earp had stood, now stood her wolf. She was massive—easily matching Nicole’s height at eight feet at the shoulder, if not edging taller by a hair. Her form was broad, taking up a lot of the space in the small barn. Her fur was so dark it looked black, but as the light from outside caught it, it revealed itself as a very dark shade of brown.
Muscle rippled under that coat, taut and effortless, the kind of power that didn’t need to be proven—it simply was. Her broad shoulders and long frame made her presence nearly overwhelming, pressing against the walls of the barn as though the space itself couldn’t quite contain her.
Wynonna padded forward slowly, the weight of each step deliberate, careful. She wanted to comfort her sister, not scare her.
Waverly stiffened, her golden eyes narrowing, the growl in her chest low and uncertain. For a heartbeat Wynonna froze, letting her sister see her. She didn’t posture or dominate, didn’t try to force her will. She simply stood. Present. Solid.
Leather. Gunpowder. Whiskey.
The scents rolled off Wynonna in waves, rich and grounding. Waverly’s ears flicked, her nose twitching. The sound in her throat softened, less growl and more a hum of recognition she didn’t quite understand.
Minutes stretched, long and fragile. Wynonna’s chest rumbled, a steady, protective growl—not a threat, but a promise. I’m here. I won’t hurt you. No one will hurt you.
Waverly’s paws shuffled against the hay, unsure and confused and having no clue what to do. For a long moment, Waverly’s entire body remained stiff, quivering with instinct that screamed fight or flee. But then she moved.
Tentative steps carried her forward until her fur brushed against Wynonna’s. She pressed her side against the larger wolf, leaning into her the way a cub leans into the shield of its protector.
Wynonna froze for only a breath, stunned, before she let her head dip low and nudge against Waverly’s ruff. Her massive body curved instinctively, sheltering the smaller wolf as though she could block out the entire world with her presence alone.
The two earp sisters stood wrapped around each other. One finally at peace with her little sister back with her. The other trembling, still feral, but letting instinct guide her closer to the bond she didn’t remember but couldn’t ignore.
Wynonna felt rather than saw Nicole join their little huddle. the two of them wrapping around Waverly's smaller body. After an unknown amount of time, the three pulled away. Wynonna and Nicole looked at each other before they shifted hoping that with the both of them, Waverly would finally catch on.
The shift back to human left Wynonna and Nicole kneeling in the hay, each having a hand in Waverly’s fur. Waverly’s head tilted, ears perked forward, golden eyes darting from one to the other. Her chest heaved, her nose working overtime as if she could piece together what her mind couldn’t yet reach.
“It’s okay, Waves,” Wynonna murmured, “It’s still me. Your favoritest person in the whole wide world”
“Hey, you are not her favoritest person. I am” Nicole Interjected.
“You wish Haught head” Wynonna smiled. “I’m her favorite sister, favorite Revenant Slayer, favorite crazy chick with a gun. basically her favorite everything” Wynonna declared.
Nicole snorted, crossing her arms. “Please. She’s told me a hundred times that I’m her favorite person. You? You’re her pain-in-the-ass sister. There’s a difference”
“Favorite pain-in-the-ass sister, thank you very much” Wynonna smirked.
“You keep telling yourself that,” Nicole fired back, but her eyes softened, a flicker of something warm breaking through the exhaustion and tension.
Neither of them noticed it at first.
Waverly finally shifting.
As she watched both of her mysterious angels shift from wolf to human, she finally understood—she could do the same. Though confusion clouded her, she surrendered and let the change overtake her.
Nicole and Wynonna froze mid-bicker.
“Waves?” Wynonna whispered, her hand instinctively rising halfway before she stopped, terrified to scare her off again.
Her lips parted, dry and chapped. At first, only a croak escaped, too weak to form. Then, a scratchy, quiet word passed her lips.
“Hello?”