Finally Home: Wayhaught

With wide eyes, Nicole tilted her head to look at her fiancé, her hands flexing under Waverly’s tight grip. She wet her lips slightly, shivering at how adorably dishevelled Waverly looked with her hair in a messy bun, loose and disrupted from sleep; Nicole's pyjama shirt hung comically large against her tiny frame. The bunny slippers just made the look, with Waverly’s slender, toned legs ending in huge pink fluffy slippers with bunny ears, causing Nicole to take her bottom lip between her teeth, forgetting for a moment that Waverly had practically pinned her down in their living room before she’d even had her morning coffee.

“Touch what? I was just going to open the blinds?” Nicole asked, wriggling her hands a little bit to silently ask Waverly to loosen her grip which the smaller girl instantly did, resting her hands on her hips instead. The soft fabric of Nicole’s oversized ice hockey jersey bunching around them.

“The boards, you can’t touch the boards.” Waverly raised one hand, gesturing behind Nicole to the myriad of boards and diagrams standing on her old art stands and pinned to the wall.

“I wasn’t going to, I was just-“

“If you knock them I have to start all over again!” Nicole turned her head to look over her shoulder at the boards briefly; they looked exactly the same as they had a few days ago when Waverly had last presented them to her. Mood boards for colours, flowers, meal ideas, cocktail names, music choices, seating plans, decoration, dress ideas were all pinned with strings connecting some and a colour coded system, which gave Nicole a headache, ranking best to worst options.

Nicole remembered lying on the couch five months ago when Waverly had stumbled through the front door, dragging cardboard through the house before tripping over Whiskey as she hoisted the stands from the garden shed. She remembered sitting cross legged on the living room floor, covering the boards in white paper and cutting up pictures Waverly had brought home from the office. She sat there until the early hours of the morning whilst Waverly excitedly spread everything around on the floor, humming happily. She wanted to prove she cared and was excited, but had absolutely no idea how Waverly’s key and plan worked, so instead had offered to help with the more artistic and physical stuff and leave the arrangement to her fiancé. Since then the boards had expanded each week, Waverly adding new photos and switching out other ones, new phone numbers and pricing plans finding their way onto the walls and new boards being added alongside other ones. As much as Nicole wanted to complain that it was now taking up half of the room, the colourful blush on Waverly’s cheeks as she animatedly spoke about them and the delicacy of her hands as she treated the boards like works of art, melted the redhead. She was convinced she would let Waverly leave the boards there for the rest of their lives if she got to keep watching the vision that was Waverly Earp planning their wedding.

Waverly continued, stepping past Nicole, her hands dancing lightly in front of them, her eyes sparkling with a combination of pride, excitement and exhaustion. “The seating plan is all in perfect order and the colours are grouped here and I’ve already started contacting people about food and decorations and-“

“Woah baby, okay breathe.” Nicole stepped back to move Waverly away from the boards slowly, resting her hands on the small girl’s toned biceps and squeezing slightly to ground her. “It’s early and we just woke up, I wasn’t going to touch the boards. I know how important they are to you, I won’t go near them - cross my heart.” She winked and moved one hand to cross her heart dramatically, tilting her head to smile down at Waverly whose shoulders sagged a little.

“9am isn’t early.” The brunette mumbled and Nicole snorted slightly, pulling Waverly closer with her hands around her waist. She leant down so their lips were brushing and grinned as Waverly’s breath caught in her throat audibly.

“It is after everything we did last night.” She breathed out, her lips pressing against Waverly’s for a second, before doing the same on her cheek and then her jaw, letting her hands flex against Waverly’s lower back naturally.

Waverly smirked, her hands walking gently up Nicole’s back, under the cotton of her blue vest top and scratching lightly against bare skin. “Well then why don’t we go back to bed?” She raised her brow and Nicole growled a little, kissing her neck softly and inhaling the sweet smell of rose and strawberry from her fiancé.

Neither of them noticed Calamity Jane leap at Whiskey from her perch on the back of the couch as the dog darted forwards crashing into them and knocking them back into two of the boards. Instantly, Nicole felt Waverly tense under her hands and she pushed them forward, jumping slightly to not stand on anything which had fallen. Once away from the boards, she risked looking back and saw paper photos and pins scattered around their feet. Whiskey had bolted into the kitchen at the clatter and CJ upstairs. Nicole bit her lip, her face wincing as she looked over at Waverly who was perfectly still except for the minor shaking which Nicole could see running through her entire body.

For the past few weeks, Nicole had been able to tell something had been off, but had let it go, mostly because she’d been busy at work and with - a now very pregnant - Wynonna Earp. When she’d come home each day with Waverly she’d just wanted to relax and not talk about anything stressful. But now she could see the little bags under Waverly’s eyes and the way they were slightly glazed over from tiredness and stress. If she’d been busy with work and Wynonna, she couldn’t imagine how exhausted Waverly was with both of those things and all the planning on top of it. 

Nicole ran her hand down Waverly’s back before turning to face the small girl who was still staring at the board. “Waves it’s okay, we can re-do it. I’ll help, I’m sure if you explain it to me again I can get it. I took pictures of them all so we could remember them in case this happened-“ she cut herself off as some tears began to spill down Waverly’s cheeks.

“Hey, hey, hey.” Nicole pulled Waverly into her chest, running her hand softly through her hair and massaging the back of her head gently. “What’s really going on? They’re just boards Waverly, we can fix it-“

“They’re not just boards.” Waverly sobbed out against her shoulder and Nicole falters for a second, taking Waverly’s head between her hands and pulling her back to look at her. She was crying more than Nicole realised, her cheeks were red and her eyes puffy. Nicole felt her heart shatter amongst the pieces of the board all over the floor. Every part of her wanted to go back and realise Whiskey was heading their way, to prepare for the impact and not knock the board, but she also knew that this was bound to happen at some point because the boards were just the physical manifestation, holding everything together.

“Okay, they’re not just boards…” Nicole bit her lip, toying with what to say.

“They’re not just boards, they’re the plan.” Waverly raised her brows, the act causing a few more tears to fall which Nicole brushed away gently with her thumbs.

“I know they’re the plan.” Nicole confirmed sweetly, her hands brushing Waverly’s cheeks and pushing her hair away from where it had stuck to the tears on her face.

Waverly shook her head aggressively. “They got damaged. They’re the plan. They’re the plan and they got damaged Nicole.”

Narrowing her eyes, Nicole shook her own head in confusion, softening her face and trying to will Waverly to explain without antagonising her. “Yeah they got damaged, but we can fix them. I promise we can fix them baby.”

A choked sob came from Waverly who squeezed her eyes shut, breathing heavily. “I don’t think we can Nicole.” She shook her head even more violently. “They broke and we couldn’t stop it, I don’t think we can fix it.” 

Nicole’s eyebrows instinctively raised at the dramatics from the small girl. Sure, Waverly was dramatic, both Earp sisters were, but usually it was within the realm of cohesive thought, not like this - never like this.

“Of course we can, I’ll look at the photo and figure out the order, we have spare pins and- oh.” Nicole’s face fell in realisation.

“What?” Waverly shifted defensively and Nicole ran her thumb under her right eye, the hazel sparkling with tears and morning sunshine.

“This isn’t about the boards, this is about the wedding.” Nicole stated instead of asking, but her tone was soft and concerned, inviting Waverly to continue.

Waverly didn’t continue though. “What do you mean it’s about the wedding?” She bit back, harsher than intended. Her hands which had been wrapped around the taller girls waist dropped back to her sides.

Nicole swallowed hard, considering her options. “I’m nervous about it too. Of course I am, but I’m not nervous to marry you because I love you.” She ran her hands through Waverly’s hair now, settling them on her shoulders. “Wait you do still want to, right?” Usually, Nicole had a fair amount of self confidence, especially with Waverly, but she was still human and everyone has their moment of weakness and concern.

“What?! God yes of course I want to marry you, why would you even think that, I’ve never wanted anything more in my life ever. That’s the problem!”

Nicole’s mouth fell open and she gaped for a second wordlessly. “Wha- what?”

“Everything always goes wrong.” Waverly shook her head. Before Nicole could even answer, the panic started tumbling from Waverly’s lips as though she’d been running it through her mind for days which she probably had been. “Daddy and Willa died and I was just starting to feel better about it all and then Mamma left us. I met you and I was happy for the first time in ages and then we had to leave and then Wynonna went missing.” She shook her head, panicking more with each sentence. “Then we got back together and it was great but you got shot and you died and I felt like I couldn’t even breathe until you were okay. It was all fine and I was so happy and then we broke up, we broke up.” She widened her eyes before continuing. “But we got back together and it was great and then he came back and he shot Rosie!”

Throughout the entire thing, Nicole stood silently, holding Waverly’s hands gently, but enough to keep her still and grounded whilst letting her speak. “Waves-“

“I want to marry you, I really do, more than anything, but if we don’t have everything perfect then it’s going to go wrong, I know it. What if-“

Nicole leant down and kissed Waverly briefly to cut off the rambling. Usually she would let Waverly ramble, either because she thought it was adorable or because she knew it helped to get it all out, but it was obvious to her that this ramble was starting to spiral. Pulling away, she cupped Waverly’s jaw, giving the best reassuring smile she could. “Waverly nothing is going to go wrong and even, worst case scenario, if it did, it wouldn’t change anything.” She ran her hands through Waverly’s hair, pushing it back out of her face so she could see the little worry lines on Waverly’s forehead and her watery eyes. “We’re going to get married and it’s going to be fine, because I love you.” She paused for a moment, letting a smirk form on her face. “I remember you told me once that everything happens for a reason and through everything, we always ended up back together. So maybe…” Nicole traced her hands up Waverly’s arms tucking her fingers under the baggy sleeves of the jersey and rubbing softly. “Maybe this is the reason all of that happened. We’re both here, together, alive and we’re going to get married and it’s going to be perfect.”

“Can we still fix the board?” Waverly asked with her head tilted up slightly, sparking a soft laugh from Nicole.

“Yes, of course we can.” Kissing Waverly’s temple, she wrapped her hands around the small girls waist and pulled her in close. “But first will you help me make breakfast, I want to spend time with my little planner.” She led Waverly by the hand into the kitchen and they simultaneously moved to fill the food and water bowls of the pets. Once done, Nicole slid up behind Waverly who span in her arms and let the taller girl lift her onto the countertop.

“I thought you wanted me to help make breakfast?” Waverly hummed softly against Nicole’s lips.

“I want to make you breakfast, but I also want to spend time with you.” Nicole replied without hesitation, leaning in to kiss Waverly, pressing her hands into the counter to hold herself up.

“So you want me to just sit here?” Waverly giggled lightly and Nicole pulled back, softening her eyes and gave a little pout, instantly sending a warmth through Waverly’s entire body. “Okay.” She paused. “I’ll be in charge of music.” Nicole’s face wrinkled up for a second, but there was the same sparkle in her eye, despite her pretend annoyance.

“That wasn’t the deal.” She moaned, pressing her forehead against Waverly’s neck who was already looking at her phone, flicking through her morning playlist.

“I thought you were trying to cheer me up?” Waverly teased, tilting her head to rest her cheek on the back of Nicole’s head.

“You’re pushing it.” Nicole mumbled against her shoulder before standing up; Waverly could have sworn she saw her face shift from mild frustration to pure love. The sight caused a blush to rise up her neck and spread on her cheeks. To hide her infatuation she looked down and clicked play, the music instantly filtering through the speaker. “You’re lucky you’re cute.” She muttered, kissing Waverly and turning to walk away but being caught by the hand by Waverly who pulled her back and kissed her again.

“Okay, now you can make breakfast.” Waverly grinned, swinging her legs and leaning back against her hands as she hummed along to the song, happily watching Nicole open the fridge and pull out vegan sausages, mushrooms, tomatoes and tofu. Every Saturday the tradition had been made that they would make a vegan fry up and take time to sit and have breakfast, chatting about the week before going on a long dog walk. They both lived such busy lives that it had been Nicole’s idea that they promised this time to each other so they couldn’t forget to take time for themselves. Today was slightly different though, the dog walk had needed to be delayed until the evening because Wynonna had a check up booked and Waverly had been adamant she wouldn’t go alone. 

“Hey, have you spoken to Wynonna about today?” Waverly mused, running her hands over the grain in the wood of the countertop.

Nicole tossed away the packaging of the sausages, setting them in the grill. Beginning to cut the tomatoes, she looked over her shoulder briefly, smiling at the adorable sight of Waverly in her shirt with her hair messy and legs dangling above the ground. “No, she doesn’t really talk about scans or checkups.” Nicole shrugged.

“True, I just get nervous each time we have to go. I know it’s silly and she’s fine, but I can’t help it.” Waverly paused, her eyes scanning the exposed muscles of Nicole’s shoulders and back. “She didn’t want this at first, but it’s been 7 months now  and even if she won’t say it to anyone, I know she’s attached to that little one in there.”

Nodding, Nicole moved in front of Waverly and reached over her to grab the olive oil from the cabinet. “Honestly, I think she feels the same. I think that’s the reason she didn’t want to know the sex.” She replied, standing in front of Waverly for a second to study her expression and let her response sink in.

“What do you mean?” Waverly tilted her head, squinting her eyes.

Nicole placed the oil down beside Waverly for a second, resting her hands on her thighs as she replied. “Well maybe she’s also worried something will go wrong and it’s easier to handle if she doesn’t know the sex. Almost like she can pretend it isn’t in there.” She smiled weakly and picked up the oil, crossing back to the other side of the kitchen and pouring some into a pan with garlic powder, the mushrooms and the tomatoes. Waverly hummed softly to Fleetwood Mac’s ‘go your own way’, her thumbs instinctively tapping the beat against the counter.

“Yeah I guess you’re right. Everything will be okay, only a few more months now. I can’t believe it.” Waverly shook her head breathlessly.

Looking over her shoulder, Nicole grinned and stirred the tofu scramble mindlessly. “You’re gonna be an aunt.

“So are you.” Waverly replied, hopping down from the counter and padding over to Nicole, kissing her neck before reaching into the drawer and pulling out cutlery.

“What are you doing?” Nicole mused, turning the heat on everything down to let them cook as she turned towards Waverly. 

“I’m setting the table.” The brunette replied, stopping and holding two forks in one hand and two knives in the other.

Nicole walked towards her and wrapped her hands around Waverly’s wrists dropping them down to her sides. “You’re supposed to be letting me make breakfast.” She smirked, raising one brow.

Waverly bounced on her toes a little. “I don’t like sitting doing nothing, I get bored.” She pouted and Nicole grinned leaning down.

“Oh I'm sorry, am I not entertaining enough for you.” Nicole raised a brow and deliberately ran her hands up the back of Waverly’s thigh, causing the small girl to swallow hard.

“No no you definitely are. I just, uh figured we could um finish- eating - finish eating breakfast quicker if I helped.” She rambled, clearing her throat at the end as Nicole’s smirk turned into a full on grin.

“You make a very good point.” Nicole started, whispering in Waverly’s ear softly. “But I’m still making you breakfast.” She replied, grabbing the cutlery from Waverly’s hands and brushing past her to the table. Waverly’s eyes widened as she spun on her heel and watched Nicole set the table quickly before moving back to the cooker to finish everything. “Waverly I can see you moving toward the fridge.” She didn’t even turn to look, knowing Waverly had been going to get fresh juice for them both.

“Fine. I will sit and wait.” Waverly strolled back to the counter and pressed her palms in, jumping back up with a little more difficulty than she would care to admit. With a smirk, she flicked through the songs, finding one she knew Nicole hated and then cutting off the end of Elvis and replacing it with Baby by Justin Bieber.

Nicole’s head snapped back from the cooker to look at her. “No.” She stated plainly, shaking her head and putting the wooden spoon down.

“I need to entertain myself whilst you cook.” Waverly shrugged, her eyes sparkled as she started to sing.

“You know you love me, I know you care.” She sang the first line loudly as Nicole turned off two of the rings, leaving the sausages on.

“Jokes on you, I actually like it when you sing it.” The redhead replied, leaning up to push Waverly’s hair from her face and grinning at the blush which spread on her fiancé’s face. She let herself forget everything for a second, loosing herself in Waverly’s kiss, before standing upright and remembering the breakfast. “Everything’s finished anyway.” She smiled proudly and lifted Waverly off the countertop suddenly, setting her on the floor and laughing at the little squeak which escaped her lips.

“Baby baby baby ohhhhh.” Waverly sang loudly spinning round Nicole as the redhead walked slowly to serve up the food. Nicole huffed, trying to pretend she hated it, but the smile which twitched at her lips gave her away and Waverly knew it. “I thought you’d always be mine, mine.” The small girl sang more softly, wrapping her hands around Nicole’s waist and inhaling the soft vanilla scent, close enough to loose the scent of breakfast for a second as she pressed her face into Nicole’s back.

“No, they’ve been in there less than ten minutes Waves.” Nicole laughed softly, resting her foot on her knee.

“I don’t understand why they wouldn’t let me go in with them, every other time I could! I don’t like the new doctor, I’m asking to change back.” She complained and Nicole bit her lip, looking at the floor, desperately willing herself not to laugh at the small girl’s rage.

“It’s good Doc is with her, she needs to know they’re in it together.” Nicole replied, squeezing Waverly’s shoulder, very impressed with how controlled her answer had been when she could the laughter fighting to escape her.

“Yeah you’re right, I just want to be there too. The one person rule is stupid, I don’t understand why-“ 

Before she could finish, Doc came round the corner, hat in his hand and Wynonna pushing past him out through the front doors. Instantly both Waverly and Nicole shot up out of their seat, Waverly springing forward after her sister and Nicole glaring at Doc as if he’d done something wrong. They followed the two sisters outside and stopped when they watched Waverly haul herself up into the blue truck next to her sister. The small girl pulled the keys from Wynonna's hand, stopping Wynonna from driving away.

“Wynonna, what is going on?” Waverly looked out the front windshield, noticing Doc and Nicole leant against the entrance, the older man clearly explaining to her fiancé what had happened. She turned her gaze back to her sister, eyebrows furrowed and mouth in a tight line. “Is it the baby? Is the baby okay?” She didn’t even think about what she shouldn't ask or about pushing too far, she was terrified something had happened.

To her surprise, Wynonna snorted, closing her eyes and tensing her jaw. “Babies Waverly. Are the babies okay.”

“Oh woaaaaaaah, that’s uh, that’s a lot.” Waverly’s eyes widened as she looked back out the front wind shield to find Nicole’s face mirroring her own as she stared with wide eyes at Doc.

“Yeah tell me about it.” Wynonna muttered, not having anything else to say. It became quickly obvious to Waverly that her sister was more upset about this than she’d realised and she shifted in her seat to face her. 

“It’s not a bad thing though.” Waverly tried. “I just wasn’t expecting it, but it’s not a bad thing.”

Wynonna raised a brow at her and Waverly swallowed, preparing for the outburst. “Of course it’s a bad thing! I didn’t even want one kid and now I’m going to have two of them! How am I supposed to look after two babies Waverly! They’re going to have the worst life ever!”

“You did want a child though. I know you weren’t originally trying, but when we spoke about it you said you did want a child. Just because you’re going to have two doesn’t make you any less capable and you have all of us - me, Nicole, Doc, Jer and Robin - even Chrissy and Rosita will help. Between us we fight supernatural things, run a police station, a bar and a cat shelter, I think the lot of us we can figure out how to raise two little Earp’s. You’re not alone in this, we’re all here with you.” She promised, knowing all Wynonna needed was to know she had her family and that she could do it. Sometimes even the strongest things need reinforcing.

"I hope you're right." Wynonna mumbled. "Because there's nothing I can do about it now.

"You wouldn't have done anything anyway." Waverly said with assertion as she leant across the car and pulled Wynonna close, hugging her over the gear box.

"I guess we'll never know now." Wynonna replied, running her hand through Waverly's hair softly.

"How did they not know, you've had loads of scans." Waverly pulled back, tilting her head.

Wynonna shrugged, letting go of her sister and leaning back into the chair. "I'm not sure, honestly I blacked out after she said twins. Doc asked and she said something about one being smaller and how hidden babies were a thing."

Waverly smiled and nodded, a small laugh tumbling from her lips, knowing her sister would appreciate a distraction. "Definitely your child then."

"What's that supposed to mean!" Wynonna feigned offence, but Waverly noted the way her lips twitched the way they always did when she said something silly.

"You spent your entire childhood hiding from our parents!" Waverly teased, knowing there was a very good reason for that sometimes and others it was just Wynonna wanting to sneak out to parties.

"I actually think she's a Waverly because she's so tiny we couldn't even see her." 

The height comment didn't even register with Waverly, whose mouth dropped open. "Wait... she?"

Wynonna pressed her lips together firmly and nodded. "A girl and a boy." She replied calmly and Waverly couldnt even hide her smile anymore - she'd been trying to convince her sister to find out the gender for weeks.

"I thought, I thought you weren't finding out!" Waverly squeaked excitedly as her sister shrugged.

"I put it off as long as possible, but I'm curious and besides, they're pretty big now."

Waverly felt her eyes sparkle with tears as she looked at Wynonna. Growing up she'd always looked up to her older sister, she'd always thought she was so cool and carefree and everything Waverly didn't feel like she could be. Now though, she looked up to her even more. Since Mamma had left, Wynonna had pushed everything aside for her sister, she'd been her own badass self, whilst settling into an almost maternity position. Waverly knew straight away if anyone could raise twins it was her sister, because Mamma had left when she was 12 and Wynonna had been the support she'd needed as a teenager. Hearing her sister speak so openly now about her children and finally accepting it felt like a huge jump to her. 

"We're gonna have an Earp boy!" Waverly screamed in realisation and Wynonna clapped her hands over her ears in pretend annoyance.

"Well he can't be any more reckless than me. Although he does keep waking me up in my sleep." Wynonna complained as Waverly giggled, reaching for her phone which had just buzzed.

"It's Nicole, she wants to know if I'm going with you or if she should wait."

An idea flashed across Wynonna's face, sparkling in her eyes. "Tell her you're coming with me, but so is she. Oh and call Jeremy, Robin, Chrissy and Sexy Rosie. We're having takeout. But NO drinks!" She warned, wiggling her finger and Waverly nodded, replying to Nicole quickly.

"Yeah I know, no drinks around you, which is why we delayed the wedding, because Nicole wants you at her hen night and you want to be drunk to deal with 'drunk Haught'." Waverly rolled her eyes, reciting the conversation they'd all had a million times before.

"Great, well let's go then." Wynonna snatched the keys from Waverly's lap and turned on the gas. The small girl dropped her phone into her lap and looked up as Nicole gave her a thumbs up and a wink, walking to her car with Doc. Waverly beamed and waved at them as they rolled out of the hospital carpark.

Jeremy yelped and shoved his face into Robin's shoulder as someone took a drill to the head on screen.

"You're never picking the film again. Ever." He mumbled into his boyfriend's shoulder. From across the room on the floor, Waverly lifted her head from Nicole’s stomach and nodded.

“Yeah I agree.” She mumbled before dropping her head back, tilting to look at the screen slightly, but deciding against it when she saw all of the blood. She shoved her face back into Nicole’s side. The redhead laughed and stroked her fiancé’s hair gently.

“Waves you haven’t watched for the past 15 minutes.” She teased, winking at Robin who knew Jeremy was the same way.

“Aren’t you two supposed to be badass demon hunters?” Rosita smirked from beside Chrissy on the armchair.

“Nope.” Waverly mumbled, looking up again. “Demon hunters, not badass.” She replied, shifting so she could see the screen and getting a gentle grunt from Nicole as she pressed in her side too hard.

“I think you’re badass.” Nicole grinned, kissing her temple gently and Wynonna groaned.

“We don’t drill ghosts or werewolves in the head!” Jeremy complained, leaning against Robin now, looking back at the screen.

“That would be pretty badass though.” Wynonna raised her brow.

“No. It would not.” Nicole scowled at her from across the room and Robin laughed loudly, getting the same glare from Nicole.

“Nic I love you, but it would be badass.” Robin replied, shrugging and smirking down at his boyfriend.

“You can’t actually see a ghost though?” Chrissy asked, slightly confused, the rest of the room laughing at her confusion.

“You’re all boring and I need a pee. I will be right back.” Wynonna muttered, pushing on Doc’s hip the same way Waverly did with Nicole minutes before.

As she walked back into the living room, smiling at her family all glued to the TV screen, spread across the floor or draped over the couches she heard before she felt a rush of water. Immediately she dropped her head to find her sweatpants soaked through.

“Did you just pee?!” Jeremy yelled with wide eyes, causing Waverly to sit bolt upright instantly, knocking Nicole backwards slightly. As soon as she saw the water she stood upright at the exact same time as Doc.

“Waverly, I’m only 30 weeks!” Wynonna snapped her head back up towards her sister who was already grabbing her coat and phone.

“Okay it’s fine. I’m sure it’s fine. It happens all the time, right?” Waverly tried to hide the panic from her voice as she spun to find Nicole, remembering their conversation this morning - she hadn't been talking about the pregnancy going wrong, but now the panic flooded back in full force.

“Wait, what happens all the time?” Everyone was stood now as Jeremy asked the question.

“Her water broke dumbass.” Rosita replied and Nicole pushed passed everyone. 

“Okay, Waves, Doc and Wynonna with me in the squad car. You guys follow behind - within the speed limit.” She warned, already headed toward the door

“Um excuse me deputy dipshit can I change my pants first.” Wynonna pointed to the huge wet patch all over her crotch and legs.

“Yes go quick!” Waverly squeaked, as Wynonna rolled her eyes, strutting out into her bedroom as the rest of them stood in collective silence, trying not to think of the worst case scenario.

It took less than two minutes for Wynonna to be back as Nicole ushered everyone out of the door, locking it behind them and sprinting over to the car.

Flicking on the lights, Nicole sped out of the driveway towards the hospital, Waverly besides her and Doc and Wynonna in the back.

“I never realised how shit of a driver you were Haught.” Wynonna groaned as the first contraction hit, causing Waverly to spin round in her chair.

“Was that a contraction?!” She yelled.

“Yes, Jesus we’re inside, volume babygirl.” Wynonna groaned, clutching her stomach. Beside her, Doc was staring silently, unsure of what to say or do and leaving the girls to deal with it.

“Okay, it’s 7:47, I’m going to write it down, we have to measure how far apart they are.” Waverly frantically grabbed her phone and started typing down the time in her notes. Out of the corner she saw Nicole smiling as she sped right at a crossroads, foot hard on the gas as they flew past other cars.

“I am not a bad driver.” The redhead complained. “People are supposed to move out of the way for us.”

“If I’ve gone through all of this shit for you to kill us before we make it to the hospital I will kill you.”

Doc tilted his head. “If she-“ his eyes widened when Wynonna looked at him like she was about to push him out of the car and he slammed his mouth shut.

“We’re here now so you can shut up.” Nicole snarled, getting out of the car and helping Wynonna out behind her.

“It’s too early Nicole. It’s way too early. What if this is happening because I said something was going to go wrong! I thought about it too much and now it’s happened!” Waverly shook her head, tears spilling.

“No Waverly, you can’t really think that. Firstly, nothing caused this, it’s nature and it happens which is why it’s going to be fine.” Nicole paused for a moment. “Your sister is one of the strongest people I have ever met - second only to you - and if anyone can birth these two little ones it is her. It’s going to be okay.” She knew she was repeating herself for the hundredth time that hour, but Nicole was doing everything she could to reassure her girl that her sister was okay which was really hard when you’re stuck in a corridor outside a soundproof room having no idea what is going on inside.

The door popped open and Waverly practically tripped over her own feet, dragging Nicole as quickly as possible towards it. Both of them tried to ignore the significant amount of blood all over the man’s gown. “One of them is out.” He confirmed. “And doing great.”

“And the other?!” Nicole asked, standing a little in front of Waverly now.

“The smaller one has twisted around and seems to be in distress.” The old doctor replied with a solemn look.

Waverly had spent enough time on WebMD and at the library recently to know exactly what all of that meant, but couldn’t think of what to say, so asked anyway. “What?”

She instantly regretted it.

“The baby is under a lot of stress, it’s flipped around and her breathing is-“

“What about my sister? Wynonna. What about Wynonna?” Waverly interrupted frantically and the older man shifted a little on his feet.

“She’s lost a lot of blood birthing the first one, there will likely be complications with the second one for her or the baby.” Waverly didn’t even hear the second part after hearing Wynonna had lost a lot of blood, she turned and faced Nicole instantly throwing her arms around her and letting her tears fall heavily against her chest.

“I will give you more information as soon as we know it.” The man nodded at Nicole who mouthed a thank you over Waverly’s head.

“Sssh it’s okay Wave, she’s gonna be okay, they’re all gonna be okay.” Nicole muttered softly, rubbing Waverly’s back and threading her fingers through loose brown waves gently. This time, Waverly didn’t even bother to find the energy to reply, it was past midnight now and she had no idea the danger her sister was in right now or how much longer they’d have to wait. All she wanted right now was to be in there, to hold Wynonna and tell her it was going to be okay.

“Miss Earp?” The same man stuck his head round the door so only his bright blue eyes and greying hair could be seen.

Waverly snapped her head back towards him, arms still clinging to Nicole and tears stained all over her face.

“We’re making an exception. I think it will help both you and your sister if you can see her.” He gave a little wink to Nicole who nodded gratefully at him, knowing it would have been the longest wait of their life if Waverly had sobbed into her arms the entire time. Nothing hurt more than seeing the girl she loved crying and Nicole wasn’t sure she’d have been able to hold off her own tears the entire time.

Abruptly, Waverly turned back to face Nicole with wide eyes and the redhead nodded. “Go baby, go and see her.” Nicole removed her hands from Waverly’s hip and let her hurry toward the room, walking back to her chair and sitting down. Mindlessly, her boot tapped up and down on the hard linoleum floor and she twisted her engagement ring around and around her finger whilst she waited.

Inside the hospital room, Waverly hurried over to her sisters bedside, completely ignoring all of the doctors and Doc standing around them. “Hey babygirl.” Wynonna lulled, she looked pale and sweaty, her hand was slightly shaky as Waverly took it in her own and squeezed. Most of all she looked exhausted. “Hey, now you’ve seen my vag too - payback.” It amazed Waverly that the older Earp was still joking after everything, even if the jokes were a little more half-assed. She didn’t even care about the embarrassment of the comment though, she was so relieved to see her sister still alive and functioning in front of her.

“You’re doing so good Wynonna.” Waverly replied with a laugh which sounded more like a sob. “You’ve just gotta keep going okay?”

Somehow Wynonna nodded and shook her head at the same time and Waverly looked up to Doc who looked like he’d seen a ghost. His hand was laced with Wynonna’s on the other side and his knuckles were white from the pressure which Wynonna was applying with her own.

“Wynonna, we’re going to turn her now.” A different doctor walked up beside Waverly and the small girl shifted out of the way slightly, without dropping her sisters hand.

The lights in the room were far more intense than Waverly expected, they were dim and red, but the glow of the medical equipment fused an eery blue with it. There was a constant beeping and the low chatter and bustling of the doctors, but Waverly tried to ignore it all, focusing on her sister and the sounds coming from her. The sounds which turned into a shrill scream as the younger doctor with dark skin and buzzed dark hair pressed on her stomach gently. 

“You’re doing great Wynonna, just a second more, she’s turning now.” He mumbled softly and Waverly could feel the warmth of his words flooding through the room. She silently thanked the universe for giving them such a kind and clearly very competent doctor. Wynonna’s screech broke her daze again and she snapped her head back from her sisters stomach to her face where a few tears dropped onto the pillow.

“You’re doing amazing my darlin’” Doc cooed from the other side and Waverly felt her lips twitch slightly into a smile. Now really wasn’t the time to be thinking about this, but she couldn’t help wondering if it would ever be her here and Nicole holding her hand.

“This is your fucking fault.” Wynonna hissed, followed by a quick yelp. “We are never having sex again.” She growled and Waverly bit her lip, knowing that was absolutely a lie, but neither of them wanting to say anything as Doc just nodded silently. 

“So close now, she’s putting up a real fight. I don’t want to push too hard to risk any more distress.” Something about the younger man explaining everything helped settle Waverly’s beating heart, the knowledge and understanding and her ability to focus on his words instead of the worst case scenario was almost meditative.

Wynonna snorted, but it turned into a slight shout at the pain. “I told you she was a Waverly - stubborn little shit.” She managed between breaths, tilting her head to Waverly who let out a soft wet laugh, squeezing Wynonna’s hand gently.

“She’s turned.” The younger doctor stepped back, letting the others move forward again.

“You’ve got to push again Wynonna.” Doc said quietly and Wynonna snapped her head towards him.

“I’ll push - my fist into your face.” She growled and Doc swallowed hard.

“Wynonna, just a little longer, you’ve got this.” Waverly added, drawing her attention back to her.

A scream tore through the room as the baby pushed forward a little bit and Waverly clenched her eyes shut for a second, composing herself for her sister.

“I can see the head, keep pushing Wynonna, she’s coming.” The older doctor smiled reassuringly and Wynonna yelled again as she tensed her entire body.

“Fuck. I hate kids!” She yelped and Waverly smiled a little, the worry lines still gracing her forehead though.

A few more pushes later, the head passed and Wynonna’s grip on Waverly’s hand loosened a little, perhaps a little too loose. Turning her head away from the tiny baby which was covered in blood, Waverly noticed her sisters eyelids flutter for a second and her face looking paler than before.

“Wynonna?” Waverly leant over, pushing up onto her tiptoes. “Wynonna?” Her sister didn’t reply and suddenly there was a loud continuous beep at which Waverly dropped Wynonna’s hand and reached up to hold her head frantically. “Wynonna!” She yelled as firm hands gripped her shoulders and pulled her back and out of the room, kicking and yelling. She didn’t even know where the babies or Doc were, all she focused on was the fact her sister hadn’t been breathing.

“Waves! Waverly, hey what happened, are the babies okay?” She hadn’t even noticed Nicole running up behind her and turning her around from where she’d been staring at the door. The feeling of warm, familiar hands on her shoulders instead of cold calloused ones broke her out of her momentary daze and she nodded.

“I think, I uh I think so. They took them, I think to check because they’re early.” Suddenly she realised she hadn't actually checked to see if the other baby had cried or been breathing, she had been too panicked about her sister.

“Waverly! What happened?” Nicole shook her a little, trying to keep her focus on her and on the moment.

“Wynonna, she’s not, I think… she stopped breathing.” Nicole felt her heart drop and her skin go cold as she pulled Waverly against her, more to try and hide the fear on her own face than for either of their comfort.

“She’s not breathing Nicole, she stopped breathing!” Waverly sobbed into Nicole’s chest and the older girl held her breath, not wanting to let herself cry yet and not knowing what to say. “Why aren’t you telling me it’s going to be okay, you always say it’s going to be okay.” The crying intensified as Waverly clutched at the back of Nicole’s shirt desperately.

“Because I don’t know Waverly, I don’t know anymore.” Nicole was passed hiding the fear and hurt in her own voice. Wynonna was Waverly’s sister and Nicole had focused on that, but now the reality was beginning to set in, she was also her best friend and Nicole needed her as much as Waverly did now. “But I believe in her, I meant what I said earlier, Wynonna is strong, I really believe she can get through this.” It didn’t even sound like her own voice leaving her mouth; it felt like an external force was trying to convince them both to believe everything would be okay, everything always turned out okay. Both of them tried to focus on the times it hadn’t turned out okay: Daddy, Willa, Mamma, Nicole’s parents, Nicole being in a wheelchair and having to kill Tucker. This was going to be one which ended up okay.

The door cracked behind them and Nicole was the first to let go of Waverly this time, taking her hand and dragging her forwards toward the door.

“She’s stable. The father is with the babies in the ICU. Both are also stable, although the little girl will need to spend a few nights here to be monitored. You should give your sister a few moments, she has lost a lot of blood, but you are welcome to go and see the babies.” 

Waverly looked hesitant, not sure whether to believe anything until she’d seen her sister. “Let’s go Waverly, we’ll bring them back to see her.” Nicole stated, raising her brows at the doctor as if asking if that was okay and he nodded slowly.

“Okay, fine let’s go.” Waverly started towards the ICU and Nicole smiled thankfully over her shoulder at the man, half sprinting to keep up with the small girl.

Opening the door, Waverly saw Doc cradling a small white bundle, standing looking down at a small blue bundle in one of the clear beds which almost looked like a tray. They both moved silently through the room until they were standing next to Doc as they looked down at the little girl in the bed. She didn’t have a lot of hair, but you could definitely see the dark mess of hair atop her head. Unsurprisingly, she had piercing blue eyes and her lips were thin against her adorable round face. Waverly smiled, feeling her eyes tear up.

“She’s got her mamas smile.” Doc said tearily as he shifted the little one in his arms, pushing the blanket back.

“She’s got your eyes.” Nicole replied, smiling up at Doc. The look of sheer pride and admiration on his face sending a warmth through the room.

“Wynonna, is she-“

“She’s okay. She’s resting, we can go and see her in a minute.” Nicole replied with a reassuring smile.

“Can I?” Waverly reached out for the bundle in Doc’s arms and he nodded, handing the baby to her.

Nicole straightened up beside her, leaning over her shoulder to look down at the small boy in her fiancé’s arms. “Look at his little dimples.” Waverly cooed, brushing her hand gently over the blanket next to his face.

“Just like his mamma.” Doc grinned and leant down to pick up the small girl. “We should let her see them. She’s probably worried.”

Nicole nodded and rest her hand on Waverly’s lower back, leading them down the corridor protectively until they stopped outside Wynonna’s room where she leant round and pushed the door open.

“Hey sis.” Waverly smiled, walking towards the bed which had clearly been cleaned. Wynonna turned her head to the doorway and her eyes widened when she saw the babies in their arms.

“Are they?” She asked with wide eyes.

“They’re perfect, just like their mamma.” Waverly replied, holding out the little boy in her arms. “Here he is, see for yourself.” She grinned as Wynonna reached up gently, not letting go until the child was rest against her sister’s chest.

Everyone watched in awe as Wynonna peeled away the blanket and smiled with glimmering eyes at her son. “He’s got your smile babygirl.” She beamed, without tearing her gaze away. “And her daddy’s eyes.” Her hand brushed over the small boy’s dark, thick wavy hair. Finally she looked up away from him and Doc sat gently on the edge of the bed, tilting the girl in his arms so Wynonna could see her too. “Woah.” She grinned. “She’s so tiny, look at her little hands.” Wynonna breathed out, holding her daughters hand in her own. Nicole let her hand fall to her side, entwining it with Waverly’s between their bodies as they watched on. "We did it Doc." Her eyes sparkled like Waverly had never seen before. Everyone knew Wynonna and Doc had been in love since they were 12, but seeing it on her face now made Waverly's heart jump.

"You did my love. You did it. Look at our beautiful babies." He cooed, his eyes watery as he looked between the tiny babies and his girl.

“Hey peanut.” Wynonna cooed as the little girl opened her eyes and let out a little squeak sound which was likely a yawn. The older Earp lifted her eyes to Doc and he nodded with a smile. “Do you want to know the names?” She asked the couple standing by the bedside.

“Um yes! Of course we do!” Waverly squeaked and Nicole clapped her hand over the smaller girls mouth quickly, trying not to disrupt the babies with her volume. She quickly pulled her hand back when Waverly stuck out her tongue, poking her hand with it gently. Together they moved closer to the bed, going round the other side so they could all see the babies

“Well.” Wynonna shifted the boy in her arms. “This is William. William Henry Earp.” She smiled up at Waverly, before adding. “Wills.”

Nicole felt her fiancé’s hand squeeze her own softly. “Wills, for-“

“Willa.” Both of them said in unison and Waverly nodded, lifting her other hand to wipe her eyes softly.

“William for Willa who deserved a chance at life.” Wynonna looked down, brushing thick hair back. “And Henry for his father.”

“Henry?” Nicole asked, tilting her head.

“John Henry Holliday.” Doc replied and Nicole’s eyes widened.

“You mean your name isn’t Doc?” She asked and Wynonna snorted.

“You’ve been here what two years now, and you didn’t know his real name?” She replied and Nicole shrugged.

“What about little peanut?” Waverly interrupted impatiently, resting her hand on Doc’s shoulder as she leant over to smile down at the little girl.

“Wren.” Wynonna replied without hesitation. “Wren, because there aren’t many girls ‘w’ names, it was the only nice one." She laughed a little, but continued on. "And because you used to carry that wren teddy everywhere with you.”

Waverly’s eyes widened. “Wren. It’s so beautiful.” She smiled, lost in thought. “I still have that teddy. I’m going to give it to her.”

“Does she have a middle name?” Nicole asked, resting her head on Waverly’s neck and tracing her eyes up from the little boy in Wynonna’s lap to her best friends eyes.

“Yeah.” Wynonna smirked a little. “Wren is pretty and girly, but she’s an Earp and I wanted her to have a name that was strong and reminded her that she’s a fighter and a survivor and everything which makes a strong person.” She replied and Nicole tilted her head slightly, narrowing her eyes, wondering where this was going. “Nicole. Her middle name is Nicole.”

Waverly lifted her head in shock, turning to look at her fiancé who was staring with raised brows.

“What?” She muttered, her hand tight against Waverly’s as she looked over at the small bundle in Doc’s arms.

“Wren Nicole.” Doc replied, tilting her. “Wren Nicole Earp.” He smiled and Nicole reached out to stroke her forehead gently.

“Woah, are you sure?” She asked with wide eyes and Wynonna rolled her eyes at her.

“Yes I’m sure, I thought about it for weeks idiot.” She muttered. “Don’t make me change my mind dipshit.”

“Wynonna! The kids!” Waverly squeaked.

Reaching out for Wynonna’s arm, Nicole squeezed softly. “Thank you.” She muttered and Wynonna shrugged softly. 

“Don’t mention it.” She replied, both of them sharing a moment which went unnoticed to Waverly and Doc who were fussing over the little girl.

“You did it.” Waverly cooed, sat on the bed, Nicole resting her hand on her leg, Wynonna lying down with William and Doc perched opposite her with Wren. “You did it.” She repeated.

“We all did babygirl.” Wynonna replied, cupping her son’s head gently.