Chapter Text
🌊🌊🌊
“Mom!”
Waverly sighed heavily, turning from the coffee pot to face her daughter. She smiled as the girl walked into the kitchen, rolling her shoulders and preparing for whatever battle she had to meet today.
The fifteen-year-old was a miniature version of Waverly. She had long brown hair, hazel eyes, and a smile that made her eyes crinkle into crescent moons.
But Whitley was a typical fifteen-year-old, full of drama and tears. There were moments she acted a lot more like Waverly’s sister, Wynonna, than Waverly. Every day seemed to represent a different challenge, but there was one consistent in their lives — Waverly loved her daughter more than anything or anyone in the world.
“Morning, baby girl,” she smiled, taking a hesitant step toward her daughter. “Are you ready for school?”
Whitley Hardy tossed her hair over her shoulder, then plopped down in one of the kitchen chairs. She pulled her phone out of her purse and started reading something, smiling at whatever was on the screen.
Waverly was tempted to grab the blasted thing and toss it in the trash.
“Whitley? Was there a reason you were yelling for me?”
“Yeah, can I ride with Becca to school? We have cheer practice after school, and it would be easier if I rode with her. I can leave my bag in her car.” Whitley rattled off the reasons, continuing to look at her phone.
Waverly’s initial reaction was to say no. They had only recently moved to Big City, and she hadn’t met Becca’s mother yet. Actually, Waverly hadn’t met any of Whitley’s friends, and that made her feel like she was a bad mom.
When they lived in Purgatory, Waverly knew everyone. She had grown up there, and her family was there, but now, it was only Waverly and Whitley.
“How old is Becca?” she asked, moving to the coffee pot so she could pour herself a cup of coffee and hoping her daughter would simply answer the question without a fight. It rarely happened, but Waverly tried to believe this could be a unicorn kind of moment.
Waverly took a careful sip of her coffee while she waited for the volcano to erupt.
She had drunk tea until recently, but life had worn Waverly down, and she needed the caffeine to make it through the morning.
“Mom,” Whitley whined, sounding exactly like Wynonna did when she was the same age. “I’m not a kid. You know that, right?”
“Whitley,” Waverly said softly, exhaling slowly and hoping her next words would not cause a fight. “I don’t know her. I need to feel comfortable letting you ride with her. I need to know a little bit more about her.”
“Well, who’s fault is it you don’t know my friends?” Whitley fumed, standing and grabbing her things. “You made me move away from everyone we know. At least I have cheer and a few friends here now. Can you just let me ride with Becca? Please.”
Whitley’s phone buzzed in her hand, and Waverly fought the urge to ask who was texting. Instead, she stood, staring at her daughter, knowing that Whitley would eventually surrender. The girl may be like Wynonna, but she was still Waverly’s and was a little like her too. A people pleaser.
The teenager huffed and rolled her eyes. “She’s sixteen. She’s been driving for six months. We will go to school and home. It’s a big SUV. A high safety rating. Her parents are teachers at the school. Their last name is Smith.”
There were some battles worth fighting, but today, Waverly’s was all out of fight. If she didn’t leave soon, she would be late for her first class of the day, and she had ridden with friends to school all the time — one friend.
Where is she?
“Fine,” Waverly sounded as tired as she felt. “To school and home. No detours.”
Whitley squealed and ran to Waverly, pulling her in for a quick hug and kiss on the cheek.
“I love you, mom! You’re the best!”
“I love you, Whitley!” Waverly called, watching her daughter run out of the kitchen, slamming the door as she dashed out of their apartment. “Be safe,” she whispered.
Waverly reached for her mug of coffee and her briefcase, grabbing her coat on the way out of the door. If she was late, Waverly knew her students wouldn’t hesitate to leave. It was one of the perks of being in college.
When Waverly was offered the teaching job at Big City University, she immediately accepted it. She had taught history at Purgatory High but had always wanted to teach at a university.
She had applied for the position at the university thinking that Whitley was old enough to understand the need for a change of scenery, and Waverly needed a change.
Growing up in Purgatory wasn’t easy. Waverly was an Earp, and there were two things Earps were known for — drinking and wasting their lives.
Her father, Ward Earp, was a worthless drunk. He spent most of his days at the bar or inside the drunk tank at the Sheriff’s Office. Waverly’s mother, Michelle, at least had the sense to run but not the heart to take her children with her.
And Waverly’s oldest sister, Willa, had left as soon as possible. She had chased some guy named Bobo across the country, marrying him and settling as far away from Purgatory as possible.
Waverly’s phone buzzed, and she pulled it out of her purse and slid into her Jeep Wrangler.
“Morning, Nonna,” Waverly mumbled, holding the phone between her chin and shoulder and sounding like sunshine. “It’s early. Is everything okay?”
Wynonna was the first Earp to break the family curse. She had a job, a boyfriend, and a daughter a year older than Whitley. Wynonna was the only stable Earp left in Purgatory.
“Doc had to leave early, so I have to get the demon child up for school.”
“Alice is not a demon,” Waverly said, hitting the speaker button on her phone and starting the Jeep. “She’s sixteen. She’s got the same issues as Whitley. Teenageritis.”
Wynonna snorted. “Yeah, well, that’s why I’m calling at this awful hour.”
Waverly pulled into traffic and felt a little worry creep up the back of her neck.
“What’s wrong?”
She could hear Wynonna moving around and assumed her sister was either stalling or moving out of Alice’s earshot. It was taking too long, and Waverly’s worry sent a shiver down her spine.
After a few seconds, Wynonna cleared her throat. Waverly gripped the steering wheel, preparing herself.
“Alice and Whitley were up late talking.”
Waverly waited.
“I caught them on the phone after midnight, and this morning, I made Alice tell me what they were discussing.”
“What is it?” Waverly asked, her whole body tensing. “Wynonna, what are our daughters planning?”
“It seems the two of them have been working on a plan to get Whitley back to Purgatory. Alice is supposed to talk to Champ today, and if that doesn’t work, she was going to ask me if Whitley could move in with us.”
Waverly felt as if she had been shot. All the air left her lungs, and she fought the need to close her eyes.
Champ?
Champ Hardy was Whitley’s father, Waverly’s ex-husband, and a no-good, worthless piece of dung.
The pregnancy had been an accident but never not a blessing. The marriage, however, was a mistake — a curse. Waverly was young and dumb. Her childhood had been miserable, so she tried to make it work with Champ in hopes that Whitley would have a real family.
And for other reasons too, but she pushed those thoughts away…
When you’re eighteen, your definition of real family is more fairytale than reality.
Waverly had divorced Champ a year after they were married. He was a cheater and an awful father. Whitley hadn’t spoken to him in months, and if she wanted to move home with him, Waverly knew she was doing something wrong.
She had stayed in Purgatory all these years, hoping Champ would become a decent father, hell, a decent person, but it never happened. Instead, Whitley had been raised by Waverly, Wynonna, and their aunt, Gus. It really did take a village.
But now, it was only Waverly, and she was failing.
“She wants to move in with Champ?”
Waverly pulled into her parking space and let her head fall to the steering wheel. The tears that had formed in her eyes dropped to her black skirt, turning it even darker.
“It’s just teenager drama, Waves.” Wynonna’s soothing voice cut through the panic that was starting to overtake Waverly’s mind. “It’s probably about a boy or a girl. You know Whit does not want to live with Champ or me. That girl worships you.”
“But what if she really wants to move in with Champ?” Waverly questioned. She sounded as if her heart was breaking, and it was. “What if she picks him?”
Waverly had felt as if she had always been picked last. It started when her father chose booze over his family, continued when her mother picked freedom over her children, and then Champ chose every other woman in Purgatory over Waverly.
Even Wynonna had left Waverly for a few years, traveling all over the world before returning to Purgatory to help with Whitley.
And while all of those hurt, none of them compared to when Waverly’s best friend decided to go away for college, choosing to leave her in Purgatory for a life across the country. Choosing to leave Waverly with Champ.
But your best friend didn’t know the truth.
Now, Whitley was going to leave her, too.
“Waverly Pamela Earp,” Wynonna spat out the words as if they tasted sour. “Whitley isn’t leaving you. Talk to her.”
Leaning back in the seat, Waverly roughly wiped her face, then grabbed her phone. She knew Wynonna was right. Waverly needed to stop acting like a lonely child and start acting like Whitley’s mom.
“You’re right. I’ll talk to her. Thanks, Wy.” Waverly said, opening the Jeep door, then stepping out into the cold air. She shivered as the wind blew her coat open. “I’ll talk to her tonight. Love you. Got to go to class.”
Waverly walked into her office, dropped her things, then jogged to her classroom. She made it a few minutes before class was due to start. She hated being late. Waverly wanted to give her students what she had missed.
After she found out she was pregnant, Waverly decided to stay home. She attended online classes, struggling to keep up with virtual learning and a crying baby.
A baby that was now a teenager, and Waverly was no longer the student but the professor.
Waverly turned off her cell phone, dropping it on the desk. There was a part of her that wanted to call Whitley now. She was suddenly anxious for some unknown reason, shivering as a chill ran down her spine.
Shaking her head, Waverly looked up as the last of her students took their seats. She didn’t look at her phone again until the end of her class.
When Waverly brought the phone to life, she tilted her head. She had numerous missed calls and voice messages. She clicked on the first message and felt the earth split underneath her feet. A sob escaped her lips, and she slid down to the floor, trying to catch her breath.
In the blink of an eye.
🔥🔥🔥
“Momma!”
Nicole paused at the door, dropping her hand from the doorknob, turning in time to catch William as he jumped in her arms.
She spun the little boy around before placing him back on the ground.
The five-year-old’s red hair was sticking up all over his head, and his big brown eyes were wide. His lips curled into a shy, dimpled smile as he reached for Nicole’s hand.
“Good morning, Will,” Nicole said, bending down so she could be eye-to-eye with her son. “You’re still in your PJs. Shouldn’t you be dressed for school?”
Will giggled and scrunched his nose. “No, momma. I have twenty more minutes before I have to get dressed.”
“Aw.” Nicole nodded slowly. “I see. What are you going to do for those twenty minutes?”
“I’m going to talk to you.”
Wrapping his arms around Nicole’s neck, Will pulled her into a hug. Nicole stood and held the little boy close. She needed to go to work, but if Will needed her, Nicole would stay. She would always choose her son.
“What shall we discuss?” Nicole asked, walking toward the kitchen with Will in her arms. “Shall we discuss Pokémon or airplanes today?”
“Let’s talk about work!” Will leaned back in Nicole’s arms, placing his hands on her face. “Do you have to go?” he asked sweetly.
“I do,” Nicole answered softly with a little laugh. “I have to go help people. Right?”
She would love to spend all day with Will, but duty called. Nicole was an orthopedic surgeon and knew her schedule would be filled with people needing her.
When she went to medical school, Nicole hadn’t thought about what it would be like to have a family. She had been focused on school and her goal and failed to consider what it would be like for her family.
“I know.” Will laid his head on Nicole’s shoulder. “I just miss you.”
Will’s words cut to Nicole’s heart, burying deep inside and reminding her that she needed to take more time off. She had sworn to herself and to Will that they would spend more time together. She was obviously failing in that area.
“I’ll miss you, too. What if we go to the museum Saturday. We can spend all day exploring.”
“The history one?”
Nicole loved everything about her son, but she especially loved his hunger for knowledge. The fact that he loved history always amused her. Nicole had hated the subject in high school. She had only passed because her best friend loved it. She would always drag her to class, kicking and screaming.
“Yes, we can go to the history museum, baby boy,” Nicole said, placing the little boy on the ground and trying to smooth some of his hair. “I need to go. I’m going to try and pick you up from school, but if I don’t, Dolls will pick you up, okay?”
“Yep.” Xavier Dolls walked into the room and held out his hand for Will to slap. “Eliza is waiting for you upstairs. You better go get changed.”
“Okay!’ Will hugged Nicole once more before turning, then running up the stairs. He yelled over his shoulder. “Save a bunch of lives, momma!”
“Thank you,” Nicole said, taking a deep breath and rubbing her face. “I don’t know what I would do without you and Eliza.”
Dolls, Eliza, and Nicole, had met in medical school. Dolls was a psychiatrist, and Eliza, a dermatologist.
Nicole’s wife took off two days after Will was born. She left a note saying that she didn’t want to be a mom or a doctor’s wife. Nicole received divorce papers the next day and never heard from the woman again.
Thankfully. Right?
After the divorce, Dolls, and Eliza had moved in to help with the baby. Five years later, they were still living under the same roof. Whoever said it took a village to raise a child wasn’t lying.
“Let me know if you can pick him up,” Dolls said, swatting Nicole on the head as he walked toward the door. “You better get going, or you’re going to be late.”
He was the brother that Nicole never knew she wanted. Will, Eliza, and Dolls were her only family. The only people that had ever acted like her family.
Nicole’s parents had dropped her off with a grandmother she didn’t know when she was a teenager. They never came back to get her. She had spent most of her teenage years in a small town, trying to fit in but never really succeeding.
After Nicole’s grandmother passed away during her senior year, she knew it was time to leave. She packed up her things, then moved across the country, and the only thing she regretted was not taking her best friend with her.
She didn’t want to leave. She didn’t want you.
“You coming, or are you going to stand there like a statue?” Dolls asked, eyes narrowed.
Nicole shook her head. She rarely let herself go down memory lane. She preferred to leave things in the past where they belonged — where most things belonged.
There had been times Nicole thought about her old friend. She knew where the woman lived, at least, she assumed she was still in Purgatory. Nicole had considered reaching out since she moved back but never worked up the nerve.
The last Nicole knew was that the woman was married and had a child. She didn’t want to stir up any old feelings or cause any problems, so she had chosen to stay out of Purgatory, figuratively and literally.
“I’m coming,” she said, grabbing her coat and following Dolls out the door. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“Go save lives!” Dolls yelled as he got into his car.
Nicole shivered as goosebumps ran down her arms. She frowned and pulled her jacket tighter, suddenly feeling like something was missing. It almost felt as if she had forgotten something — something important.
She slid inside her truck and looked around, making sure she had her wallet and phone.
“Weird,” she mumbled to herself.
After finding everything she thought she needed, Nicole started the car and drove toward the hospital, singing along to some old song on the radio.
As soon as she noticed traffic slowing, she started tapping her brakes, grinding her teeth.
“Great. I’m going to be late.”
For a split second, Nicole thought about turning left and going another way, but something stopped her. Some familiar voice told her she was needed, whispering it into her soul.
As she neared the accident that was causing the delay, she pulled her truck to the side of the road. She reached inside her glove box, grabbing some surgical gloves and her hospital ID before jumping out of the truck.
“I’m a doctor,” she yelled, holding up her badge to one of the police officers and moving toward the damaged automobile.
The large SUV was in the middle of the intersection. The passenger side of the vehicle was completely smashed. There were paramedics on both sides of the vehicle, diligently working to free the passengers.
“I’m a doctor,” Nicole said, trying to look inside the vehicle. “Can I do anything to help?”
Nicole always stopped when she saw an accident, but there was something about this one that made her feel sick to her stomach.
“Over here, doc!” One of the paramedics called from the passenger side of the vehicle. “We need you over here!”
Panic was evident in the man’s voice, and Nicole quickly ran to the other side of the vehicle.
“What do you have?’ She asked, pushing her way through so she could see the scene.
“Teenager, female, unconscious.” The paramedic was moving quickly around the victim. “Head injury and multiple fractures to the right leg. Pulse is thready.”
Nicole reached into the vehicle, touching the girl’s neck.
“Please help Whitley.” The girl in the driver's seat grabbed Nicole’s arm. “You’ve got to help Whitley.”
She paused at the name.
There was something in the back of her mind trying to push forward, screaming at her to remember.
“We’re going to do our best.”
Nicole knew they needed to move fast, or the girl might lose too much blood, or the head injury might be worse than they knew. She moved back so she could looked at the paramedics.
“Put a collar on her neck and stabilize her leg. We need to get her to the hospital.”
She pulled off her gloves and then dug her cell phone out of her coat pocket, hitting the number for the hospital.
“This is Dr. Haught. We have a female, approximately 15-16 years old. She was involved in an automobile accident. She’s unconscious. There is a laceration around the temple. It also appears she has multiple fractures to her right leg. Call Lucado. Tell her we’re on the way. ETA 10 minutes. I want her to see the girl and only her.”
Lucado was the best neurosurgeon at the hospital. She and Nicole had worked together numerous times, and that was who she wanted to treat the girl.
After Whitley was loaded onto the ambulance, Nicole climbed into the back. She watched as the paramedics worked on the young woman, hooking up an IV and continuing their assessment.
Nicole looked at the girl’s leg. She knew it would require surgery, but the focus now needed to be on the head injury.
“Mommy,” Whitley mumbled, flailing her hands and whimpering. “Mommy.”
Moving closer, Nicole grabbed the girl’s hand, then stood so Whitley could see her. There was something so familiar…
“Whitley,” Nicole said calmly, squeezing the girl’s hand, then brushing some hair out of the brunette’s eyes. “We will get your mommy for you, but for now, I’m with you, and I’m not going to leave you. Okay?”
Whitley settled, her eyelids fluttered, and right before her hazel eyes closed, everything fell into place. Nicole knew those eyes. She knew with every beat of her racing heart. She also knew that there was no way in hell she was going to let anything happen to Waverly Earp’s daughter.