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It was a beautiful crisp evening in the small town of Purgatory. There was just a week to go until Christmas day so the Purgatorians were bustling around Main Street trying to fit in any last-minute Christmas shopping they needed to do.
Waverly however, wasn’t one of those people. Ever the planner, she had bought and wrapped all of her Christmas gifts a week ago. It hadn't been that much of a task considering she didn’t have many people to buy for. There was her Aunt Gus, her boyfriend Champ, her best friend Chrissy and her father, Randy.
Waverly wasn't looking forward to Christmas much this year, She had hoped that she would get to see her sister but once again Wynonna was off on another adventure. The last she heard she was in Greece and Waverly was only a little bit jealous, really.
Currently, Waverly was walking through the park after convincing Champ to walk with her. It had always been her favourite thing to do as a child at Christmas. Wynonna would take her, a special moment they would both share every year until Wynonna left Purgatory and had stopped returning home for Christmas.
Every tree in the park was covered in lights. They were a simple bright white colour but there was something so magical in the simplicity of them, turning something you see everyday into something more special.
“Babe, can we go? I’m cold” Champ whines, interrupting Waverly's magical moment.
“Just a few more minutes, please" she begs.
“Fine, as long as you warm me up when we get home.”
Waverly ignores his comment and the smirk that goes with it as she walks over to a large oak tree. She runs her fingers over the bark where Wynonna had carved W+W into the trunk when they were kids, despite Waverly's protests of defacing trees.
“I love it here at this time of year,” Waverly says as she makes her way back to Champ who was waiting for her on the footpath, that winds through the park.
“Well since you love it so much, I guess this is as good as a place as any" Champ says. He reaches into his pocket, pulls out a small black box and starts to bend down on one knee.
He was about to propose. Time seems to slow down, a stark contrast to the thoughts that are running a mile a minute through Waverly's mind.
Did she want to marry Champ? Did she see a future with him, buying a house and raising children together? Did she even want children? They haven't talked about that yet, there were a lot of things they hadn't talked about yet.
Waverly wasn't expecting the night to go like this. She hadn't even thought about the prospect of marrying Champ, yet here she was and she needed to give him an answer.
She needed to tell him yes or no. One simple word that would change her life forever. This would be the make or break of them, she's not sure Champ's ego could take a rejection.
She either says yes and marries Champ or they could be over for good. Would marrying Champ be that bad? There weren't really any other options in this town. If she loses Champ, she’ll end up being alone. There wasn’t a line of people wanting to date an Earp, what if this is her only chance at married life.
Waverly looks down at the ring in Champ’s hand. She needs a little breather so she takes a step back, not realising that she was standing so close to the edge of the raised footpath. She feels herself falling but there is nothing she can do as she hits the nearby bench and darkness surrounds her.
Waverly starts to slowly regain consciousness. She feels disorientated, she must have hit the bench hard when she fell as there’s a pounding in her head.
An arm wraps around her, she assumes it’s Champ’s. He must have brought her home after the fall. The arm squeezes her tight and that’s when she realises that it can’t be Champ, his arm is a bit bigger than the one currently wrapped around her.
“Morning Waves.”
Waverly jumps at the feminine voice. She scrambles to get off the bed but her foot catches in the sheets sending her tumbling to the floor.
“Oh my god, are you okay?” the voice asks.
Waverly looks up from the floor, to see a pair of soft brown eyes staring down at her.
“I’m fine" she replies.
“Are you sure? You don’t sound fine.”
“I am. I’m just a little disorientated.”
“Disorientated? Do you remember who you are? Do you remember who I am? It's me, your wife Nicole” the stranger jokes.
Wife? Was this woman being serious? The last thing she remembers was Champ bending down on one knee.
Waverly tries to think if she recognises this person, she tries to cast her mind back to whether they have met before but nothing rings a bell. Suddenly, a memory flashes through her mind.
She’s wearing a white dress, standing at the top of an aisle with Wynonna standing by her side. The redheaded stranger is waiting for her at the end with a dimpled smile.
“Let’s get you married babygirl.”
“Seriously are you okay?” the stranger’s voice brings her back from the memory. What the hell was that?
“Sorry, my brain is a little foggy this morning. I need to talk to Aunt Gus or Wynonna.”
Waverly picks herself off the ground, it’s the first time that she has noticed that she’s in her old room at the homestead. She’s thankful for that considering it makes it easier for her to know her way around the place.
“Baby, maybe you should put some clothes on first?”
Waverly looks down and for the first time notices she is naked. She awkwardly tries to cover herself never. She never goes to bed naked in winter with it being so cold. The only time she would go to bed naked is if she fell asleep after….oh god.
Waverly looks towards the woman in her bed and realises that it’s very possible that she is also naked underneath the sheets. She tries to think of something to say but nothing comes so instead she makes a beeline for the closet and pulls out whatever clothing she can find.
Once she has something that pretty much resembles an outfit, she’s out of the bedroom door and into the bathroom across the hall as fast as she can.
Waverly sits down on the toilet and puts her head in her hands. How is this happening? She remembers falling after Champ’s proposal but how did she wake up married to a stranger.
A beautiful stranger she’ll easily admit but still, she can’t place ever meeting Nicole. A pain shoots through her head as a memory flashes through her mind.
She’s leaving Shorty’s and stumbles into someone as she exits the door.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” Waverly says, turning to look at the stranger she had bumped into.
“No harm done” the stranger replies with a dimpled smile.
“You’re Waverly Earp right?”
“Yep, that’s me.”
“I’m Nicole. I’ve heard lots about you so it’s nice to finally meet you," Nicole says holding out a hand for Waverly to shake, which she does.
“It’s nice to meet you too Nicole.”
“I was just heading in for a coffee, would you care to join me?”
“I’d love to but maybe we can go to the coffee shop down the street. The coffee here sucks” Waverly jokes.
“That sounds great, lead the way.”
The memory ends as soon as it begins. Waverly can’t believe how real it felt. Maybe she was dreaming and soon she’ll wake up back in her apartment above Shorty’s. The other option is that she hit her head hard when she fell and she was currently in a coma and this was just her brain’s way of coping.
She’s pulled out of her thoughts by a knock on the door.
“Babe. Nedley called, he wants me to come into the station as soon as possible. Are you sure you're okay? I can stay if you need me.”
“I’m fine” Waverly calls back through the door.
“Okay. I’ll call you at lunch and check-in. Bye babe, I love you.”
Waverly can tell that Nicole doesn’t leave straight away and quickly realises that Nicole is probably waiting for a response.
“Bye!” Waverly yells, she winces at how harsh she sounds but getting Nicole out of the house is probably the best idea for the time being. Waverly needs time to think.
Once dressed Waverly makes her way down the stairs of her childhood home. She hadn’t been here for a while, deciding to live in the apartment above Shorty’s when she got a job there. The house looks beautiful and immediately feels like home to Waverly.
However, it wasn’t her home. Her home was the apartment above Shorty’s and she needs to get there quickly so she can talk to her Aunt Gus. She grabs a coat off the coat hook and opens the front door. Upon opening the door she is greeted by a male firefighter holding a large ginger cat.
“Good morning Waverly. I found our furry friend here wondering around again" the man says holding the cat out for Waverly to take. Waverly reluctantly takes hold of the animal and the moment she feels it’s fur against her skin she is thrown into another memory.
"Please take a seat,” Nicole says as she leads her over to the couch.
After a couple of dates, it's the first time that Waverly is seeing where Nicole lives. They’ve just had dinner and Nicole has invited her in for a nightcap.
As Waverly goes to take a seat on the couch, she notices a large ginger cat is already occupying the space.
"I'm sorry it seems Calamity Jane has no manners," Nicole says.
“It’s fine," Waverly assures her. "It's nice to officially meet her."
Nicole has told her all about Calamity Jane. Waverly holds her hand out so Calamity can take a sniff. She must decide that Waverly is okay and would make a great pillow because as soon as Waverly sits down, the cat moves and takes up position on Waverly’s knees.
Waverly is pulled out of the memory and finds the fireman looking at her as if he's waiting for a reply.
"I'm sorry, did you say something?" she asks.
"I assume you remember your four-legged friend now?" he asks.
The man has a knowing smile on his face. Did he know about her memory flashes?
"What are you talking about?" Waverly asks.
"The memory you just had."
"How do you know about them?"
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Julian and I'm your guardian angel."
"Guardian angel?" Waverly asks just in case she missed heard him.
"Correct. I'm here to help guide you in life. There are many moments in life that we have to make choices. They could be small choices that are meaningless for example choosing what you're going to have for breakfast in the morning. Then there are the big moments, choices that can lead us on a certain path. You experienced one of those big moments. Champ proposed and as your guardian angel I am giving you the chance to see how this choice can affect you. Then, when the time comes, you will be more informed when you have to give him an answer."
Waverly stares at the man for a moment. This is ridiculous. There was no way this could be true. Although, it would explain how she woke up in the arms of another woman this morning.
"I know it's a lot to take in," Julian says as if he could see the inner turmoil on her face.
"So what do I do?" Waverly asks. She might as well go along with what is happening, what other choice does she have?
"Experience this world and learn."
"That isn't very helpful."
"I'm sorry, that's all the advice I can give you," Julian says and Waverly doesn't think he looks very sorry.
"What about the memory flashes? What do they mean?" Waverly asks.
"Those are real memories from this world. They help you gain understanding and perspective."
"Again, not very helpful."
"And again, I'm sorry but this is your journey. You have to figure things out for yourself. I'll see you soon Waverly."
Waverly has a lot more questions but before she even has the chance to ask one more, Julian sends her another smile before he retreats down the driveway, disappearing before he reaches the end.
Waverly enters Shorty's and is glad to see that it looks exactly the same in this word as it does in her own. One very big difference though is the fact that her sister is standing behind the bar.
"Wynonna? What are you doing here?”
“I promised Gus that I’d help her out for the Christmas Eve rush tomorrow," Wynonna says as she pulls out whiskey bottles from a box.
Wynonna rarely ever returned home for the holidays and it was even rarer that she would offer to help Aunt Gus out at the bar. She goes to question her sister but before she can, the door to the backroom opens and a small child appears.
“Auntie Waves!” the little girl yells with a huge smile on her face.
The little girl runs towards her and instinctively Waverly picks her up, the memory hitting her at the same time.
Waverly is cuddling with Nicole on the couch watching a movie when her phone rings. Seeing her sister's name on the screen she answers the call.
“Wynonna, are you okay?"
"That depends."
"What's going on? Where are you?” Waverly asks her sister.
“I’m in Atlanta.”
“Atlanta, Georgia?”
“Yes. Look Waves, I need your help" Wynonna says and the seriousness in her voice unsettles Waverly.
“What’s up?”
“I’m pregnant and I don’t know what to do.”
Waverly isn't sure what to say, it was the last thing she expected to her. However, what she does know is that she has to reassure her sister
“Listen Wynonna. I can’t tell you that everything is going to be okay but I can tell you that I’m here for you, Nicole too. Just come home and we can talk about this properly. We can talk through all of the options okay? You can come and stay here at the homestead with us," Waverly says and turns to see Nicole nodding at her statement, showing her support for the idea.
“Thanks babygirl and thank Nicole too. I’m so glad that you two found each other. I'll look at flight now. I love you."
"I love you too."
The memory instantly merges into another. This time Waverly is standing in a hospital room with a baby cradled in her arms.
Nicole is standing next to her, they share a small smile before turning to the tiny baby in Waverly's arms.
"Welcome to the world Alice Michelle Earp" she whispers to her niece.
The memory fades and Waverly is once again faced with the little girl in her arms. She looks so much like Wynonna, it makes Waverly's heart melt
"Aunt Waves, are you okay?" Alice asks.
"I'm fine sweetie."
"Is Aunt Nicole here?"
"No, she's had to go into work."
“Aww” Alice whines.
“That kid loves Haught more than you do,” Wynonna jokes.
“Do you want some help?” Waverly asks, heading over to the bar with her niece still attached to her hip.
“I’m fine Waves. You’re covering tomorrow night is enough. I know I say it every year but thanks again for letting me have every Christmas Eve with Alice. I honestly couldn't have done this parenting thing without you and Nicole.”
Waverly obviously doesn't remember making this arrangement with Wynonna but it makes her feel warm inside knowing that they have grown so close and have such a strong bond with each other. That was something that Waverly had always wanted.
“You don’t have to thank me.”
"Well, I appreciate it. Hey, since you're here, could you keep an eye on the munchkin for me?' Wynonna asks.
"Sure thing. What shall we do Alice?"
"Can we colour?"
"Of course we can."
Waverly puts her niece back on the ground and as soon as her feet touch the ground Alice runs off behind the bar. She grabs her backpack that she must keep there and heads over to a booth, where she sets herself up with a variety of colouring pencils and paper.
Waverly makes her way over to the booth and slides in the seat across from her niece.
"What are you drawing?" she asks.
"I'm making a Christmas card for Mommy."
"That's a wonderful idea. I'm sure she'll love it."
Waverly isn’t sure how long she has been colouring with her niece. They’ve made cards for Gus, Shorty and even the Nedley’s in that time though. She’s also managed to learn a lot about Alice and the little family they have created between the Earps, Nicole, Gus and the Nedleys.
Waverly is pulled out of her colouring trance when she hears the doors to Shorty's open. Nicole walks in and for the first time, Waverly sees her in uniform. For a cold day in Purgatory, Waverly becomes unusually hot under the collar.
“Hey babe, I didn’t know you’d be here,” Nicole says as she slides into the booth next to Waverly.
Nicole leans in for a kiss and with Julian's encouraging words for her to learn and experience, Waverly accepts the kiss. Waverly didn’t expect the little tingle of butterflies in her stomach and on instinct, she leans in for another kiss.
“Yo! PDA" Wynonna's voice shouts from somewhere.
“I’d thought I’d come and have lunch with Alice but since you're here too that’s even better. I can have lunch with my two favourite girls" Nicole says, taking a seat next to Waverly.
“I heard that Haught. We both know I’m your favourite" Wynonna says as she arrives at the table and places a drink down for Alice.
“No Mommy, I’m her favourite.”
“Of course you are babygirl, you’re everyone’s favourite."
Wynonna kisses her daughter on the head and once again Waverly gets that warm feeling in her chest. It's easy to see that Wynonna is a good Mom and after being away from Wynonna for so long, it was nice to see her settled down somewhere with a genuine smile on her face.
Waverly basks in the love she feels being around these people who are practically strangers. It's an odd feeling to have, she could easily get lost in this world. The fantasy however, it suddenly ground to a halt as the last person Waverly expects enters Shorty's; Champ. He walks over to the bar, takes a seat and orders a beer.
Waverly watches as Wynonna pours him a drink. Should she go over and talk to him? That would be a bad idea right? She doesn’t know what her relationship is like with Champ in this world. Plus, she doesn’t really want to leave Nicole and Alice. Even in such a small amount of time she feels so connected to them.
Waverly turns her attention back to her so-called wife and niece, the latter showing the former the Christmas cards she has been making.
"This one is for you and Aunt Waves" Alice says, holding out a card for Nicole to take.
Nicole takes the card and holds it so both her and Waverly can see. Alice had drawn Waverly, Nicole and even Calamity Jane all wearing Santa hats standing by a large Christmas tree. The words "Merry Christmas" written as best as the four year old could across the top.
It was the first time that Waverly had seen the card as Alice must have been keeping it a secret as she made it.
"That's beautiful Alice thank you" Waverly says to her niece who now has a huge smile on her face after the compliment.
"Yeah that's awesome baby girl" Wynonna says as she approaches the table. Her hands filled with two plates, one with sandwiches and another filled with fries.
"Special delivery from Shorty" she explains as she placed the plates down on the table.
"Thanks, Wyn. I'll have to thank Shorty later too' Waverly says.
"So, looks like Chump is choosing to spend his morning drinking rather than working as usual," Wynonna says as she takes a seat next to her daughter, picking up a fry and popping it in her mouth.
"I heard Stephanie threw him out again. She caught him cheating with some girl from Pussy Willows," Nicole whispers, hoping not to catch Champ's attention.
"I never thought I'd feel sorry for Stephanie Jones but not even she deserves that. Especially now she's juggling being pregnant and a two year old at the same time" Wynonna says with a shake of her head.
Is that what her life would become if she married Champ? A bored housewife whose husband cannot be trusted. She knew that Champ flirted with other girls but had he cheated on her? She had always ignored his flirty personality, it never really bothered her. Maybe that should have been the first sign that she wasn't a hundred percent in it with Champ.
She's starting to think that maybe their relationship was down to convenience more than anything. Champ was the first serious relationship she'd ever had and she thought that her was it for her.
Waverly never thought that there would be someone better out there for her, someone that would love her no matter what but it turns out there was. There was Nicole. The realisation that Champ wasn't the one for her probably should have shocked her or upset her but it didn't. Maybe she knew all along and didn't want it admit it but being shown what life she could have changed everything. Maybe Julian was her guardian angel after all.
Ignoring Champ, Waverly puts her full attention back on her family. They continue to eat and draw as Wynonna goes back to serving the patrons of Shorty's. Waverly doesn't want this moment to end but unfortunately, it has to as Nicole announces that she has to go back to work.
"Will you walk me out?" Nicole asks and Waverly happily agrees.
They exit Shorty's and stand on the sidewalk to take a minute together. It seems like the weather in this world is just as similar as her own as the whole street is covered with a light blanket of snow. Waverly wraps the coat she took from the homestead tightly around her, it smells softly of vanilla. It's then she realises that she must have taken Nicole's coat as she remembered smelling it slightly when they shared their kiss earlier.
"Thanks for spending lunch with me."
"I had a good time. You're so good with Alice," Waverly says and it's true. Those butterflies in her stomach from earlier started fluttering again, when she saw Nicole and Alice interacting.
"She's a great kid. I can't wait to see how our kid turns out. Only a couple more months to go now. I can’t wait to tell Alice about the baby, she's going to be so excited to get a cousin” Nicole says with a heartwarming smile, dimples on full display. Her hand reaches out to gently touch Waverly's stomach, sparking off another memory.
Waverly's heart almost stops when she sees the little plus sign on the plastic test. It's their second attempt at trying to get pregnant and this time it's worked. She can't hold back the tears and as she turns towards Nicole who had been holding her hand the whole time. They've taken so many tests together but for the first time, it's positive. So it's no surprise that Nicole is crying too.
"We're having a baby" Waverly says between the tears. Nicole leans down and presses a kiss to her lips.
"I love you so much."
This memory surprises Waverly the most. She is pregnant? She had never really thought about having children before, not once in her relationship with Champ. However, she could easily imagine this as her future, being married to Nicole with a baby on the way. Having her family around her, feeling loved.
The thought of that momentarily shocks her. She takes a step back, not realising she was stood so close to the edge of the sidewalk. The very icy sidewalk. Before she knows what's happening, she feels herself slip.
"Waves?"
She hears Nicole call her but once again Waverly finds herself falling and as she hits the ground she's surrounded by darkness.
Waverly's eyes slowly open and for the second time she finds herself in a strange bed. This time however, it seems she's in a hospital bed if the sounds of beeping machines is anything to go by.
"Waverly? How are you feeling?"
Waverly turns her head towards the familiar voice and finds her Aunt sat in a chair next to the hospital bed.
"Aunt Gus? What happened?"
“You slipped in the park and hit your head. You’ve been unconscious for a few hours but the doctors did a scan and there seems to be no damage so we’ve just been waiting for you to wake up. Speaking of, I should go and get a doctor so they can check you over.”
Gus leaves leaving Waverly to her thoughts. If she had fallen at the park then that means she hadn't fallen outside of Shorty's. She was back in her own world. Does that mean that everything was a dream? Julian and his guiding hand, was none of that real?
Gus returns with a doctor following behind her and after a few short tests, Waverly is relieved to hear that she is able to leave the hospital within the next hour. Gus insists that Waverly stays the night with her as the doctor had told them to watch for any signs of concussion.
“God knows, that boyfriend of yours would be as useful as a glass hammer.”
"Thanks Aunt Gus."
Just over an hour later Waverly changes into the clothes her Aunt had brought for her. As they make their way out of the hospital, Waverly notices a familiar face wearing a set of blue scrubs by the nurses station.
"Julian?" Waverly's whispers to herself.
As if he knew, the man turns towards her with a smile on his face. He waves his hand at her before turning around and walking away, once again he disappear.
It was Christmas Eve and Waverly was helping Gus with the finishing touches at Shorty's. She had spent yesterday recuperating at her Aunt's house. Champ had eventually turned up to see how she was and in no uncertain terms she rejected his proposal and told him that it was best if they went their separate ways. It felt like a huge weight off her shoulder, she was finally a happily single Virgo, with hair for days.
She still can't make sense of what happened in her dream world. She thought she had seen Julian at the hospital but she had just hit her head pretty hard. No matter what, she knew that ending things with Champ was the right thing to do. She could now enjoy Christmas with her Aunt. Sheriff Nedley had invited them and Shorty to spend Christmas with him and Chrissy and for once Waverly was looking forward to the holidays.
That's probably why she was putting so much effort into making Shorty's look nice. Looking around the bar, Waverly decides that the bar is still missing that je ne sais jolly so she decides a trip to Main Street is needed to see if she could pick up some last-minute decorations.
Waverly grabs her coat and scarf, the weather still hasn't eased up but who could complain about a white Christmas.
“Bye Aunt Gus, I’ll see you soon” Waverly yells as she exits the bar. As she steps onto the sidewalk she feels her body collide with someone else.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” Waverly says, turning to look at the stranger she had bumped into.
“No harm done” the stranger replies with a dimpled smile. A very familiar dimpled smile, one that she thought she had dreamed up. She can’t believe that Nicole is standing in front of her in the flesh.
“You’re Waverly Earp right?” Nicole asks and Waverly knows that this is the first time they are technically meeting so she has to play along.
“Yep, that’s me.”
“I’m Nicole. I’ve heard lots about you so it’s nice to finally meet you” Nicole says holding out a hand for Waverly to shake, which she does.
“It’s nice to meet you too Nicole.”
Nicole lets go of her hand and Waverly misses the warmth immediately. It was so weird to touch Nicole again, everything in her dream felt so real.
“I was just heading in for a coffee, would you care to join me?” Nicole asks, pulling Waverly out of her thoughts.
“I’d love to but maybe we can go to the coffee shop down the street. The coffee here sucks” Waverly jokes.
“That sounds great, lead the way.”
Nicole walks beside Waverly as they make their way down the street. Waverly can't stop stealing glances at the woman next to her, knowing where this could possibly lead. It seems like this Christmas is going to be better than she thought.