everyonelives | the ground could open, he could still say please

[She's not that stubborn a teenager. She knows that she's supposed to be giving her dad a chance, and she can't do that if she doesn't try to spend time with him.]

Okay. Um. I don't have classes until the afternoon on Thursday, so maybe we could eleven, and you pick the place?

[Since he's lived here longer so he probably knows the good places.]

I will send details.

( And consult Rebekah because as much as he has been in the area a little longer, he does like his haunts and his haunts are not father-daughter friendly lunch fare. He'd much rather break bread away from blind Willy in the corner. (Who is a top notch guy! But, he does not add ambience.)

Wynonna Earp, one-time disappointment turned absent mother turned doting (but still disappointing) mother is early for once as she exits the stairwell down the way. She's only twenty-minutes early and god knows how she got into their carded dorm but she shouldn't question how her mother can get access to anywhere. She's dressed like she stepped straight out of Purgatory having never garnered an appreciation for real fashion. The epitome of her best sense of fashion? Waverly's wedding.A gorgeous, romantic affair that should have cemented the two couples as forevers. But, Wynonna couldn't get it together long enough to not stop John Henry from cycling out of her life and Nicole and Waverly's love lasted as long as it did.

It was still a hell of a party.

"Hey kid. You ready?" )

[Alice glances over in her mom's direction, brow furrowing briefly in surprise because how did you get in when no one let you in, but she shakes it off to the side. Of course her mother got in. She gets in most places.

Gently tapping her finger against her manicure to test if it's dry, she nods in her mom's direction before nudging her dorm room back open again.]

Yeah, let me just grab my shoes.

[She leaves the door open so that Wynonna can poke her head in if she wants. When she does, Alice gestures to Lizzie.]

Lizzie, my mom. Mom, Lizzie.

( This is Wynonna, she has never met a room she hasn't - well, cased. Tossed. Searched ever so delicately. )

Hey, Lizzie. Wynonna.

( She never went to college. She has been in college dorm rooms but as a delinquent teen pretending she was of age. They haven't gotten any bigger.

Lizzie blows on her finger nails, still cross-legged on her bed. One hand is on her phone, nails dry and message sent to her boyfriend. She drops her phone down and pushes herself off her bed.

"Hi. I'm Lizzie Saltzman. It's nice to meet you, Ms. Earp." )

Nice to meet your formality, Lizzie Saltzman, but Wynonna is good. Not even my mother was Ms. Earp. ( Crazy and abandoning, but not formal. ) Appreciate what you're trying to do. You girls do your nails?

Yeah. Just doing a little roommate bonding.

[She finishes pulling on her shoes and grabs her jacket off her desk chair. Turning to Lizzie as she goes:]

I should be out for a while but text me if I should not come back for even longer.

[Aka let her know if the boyfriend comes over.]

( Wynonna is proud. Anticipating the proverbial sock.

Proud as she is, as they go through the campus dining hall line, she can't help but make commentary. )

Make sure you're not a pushover just because she has a boyfriend. A girl's only as good as the makeout spot she finds. And it's your room, too.

Oh, no, she's totally cool about it.

[For all of the week that they've known each other, anyway.]

We have rules and have set boundaries. Not that I have much use for the rules on my end yet, but Danny's a nice guy and totally doesn't like putting me out.

Trust me, kid. They're all nice guys. But, when it comes to the thing in their pants, it always wins out, even over understanding roommate-in-laws.

( But if she says she's got this! )

You know, any time you want, I have this tab at the place I'm staying at. We're talking big breakfasts and even bigger mini-bars.

And by tab you mean Rebekah is still paying for you to have a really nice hotel room because she wants you to like her?

[Which is a little uncharitable to both parties in this conversation, but it also might be true.]

How long are you planning to stay?

Less long after that.

( Whatever Alice puts on her tray, Wynonna snatches it away playfully. )

I don't need to know Rebekah's motives to take advantage of them. Anything I don't have to claw for.

( Shit was never easy for her. )

Another lesson. Always take advantage. Someone wants to extend themselves, that's on them.

Maybe it is. But it's not like this is some rando who you're never going to see again. One, this is a Mikaelson, and rumor on the streets is they're kind of scary, and two, this Dad's wife. Who wants you to like her because he loves you. Maybe not in the way he used to, but you're important to him.

[If there's one thing her daughter is good at, it's calling her mother on her shit. Maybe it helped, having her be raised by Gus for a little while in the way of Gibson women, where her mother was never completely portrayed as the hero that someone else might have.

Alice loves her mother, but that doesn't mean she doesn't want her to be better. She hopes that Wynonna realizes that Alice does accept her for all of her flaws, but sometimes Wynonna needs someone to stand up to her.]

Besides, part of my being here is making an effort, right?

Yeah, that's me trying too. I'm here. I got on a plane and I took advantage of your father's wife's hospitality.

( She doesn't have to be. )

And by the way, I'm not shaking in my boots because she's a Mikaelson. The Mikaelson's are notoriously lower key now, all about Always and Forever. And you, my baby girl, are a part of that. So, streets aside, they got your back. And maybe they have mine thanks to John Henry. It comes down to it, family covers family.

Fine. Forget I said anything.

[She also knows when to drop it. She finishes collecting her food and leads the way towards one of the tables.]

I have plans to have lunch with Dad later this week.

( She wasn't trying to have a contentious conversation. It's old hat for her now. Fuck up a social interaction. But, now it's with her kid.

Doc made better strides with Alice first, riding out of town and going straight to her. Wynonna followed suit leaving Waverly in wedded bliss. But, life isn't easy for estranged parents who can't get it together with each other. Doc cut and ran first and Wynonna was not a first rate parent. Until she could get her shit together, Gus asked her to leave. She deserved it.

She returned to town in time for Waverly's relationship unspooling. Nicole's PTSD and Waverly being overly fixated on Wynonna's mess made for a poor marriage. Nicole's ex came back into the picture on a case and things disintegrated from there. The beautiful and simple love they had at first had grown too complicated and too frayed. Nicole couldn't live up to the legend of Waverly and Waverly had never been an angel - except that one time - but not metaphorically.

That Doc has maintained their relationship, through letters first and then E-mails courtesy of Rebekah's influence, is something. He's worked hard the past few years, harder to be there, in spirit if not in person.

But everything has worked better with Alice ending up at NYU.

Wynonna had a far more difficult road in person, there for holidays and birthdays and weekends she could scrounge. But, never for more than a week at a time. Sometimes, never more than two days at a time.

Alice still had to be safe. It strained everyone on all sides.

She is trying. )

Great, baby girl. I think that's a kickass idea.

( It's overenthusiastic language, but said very casually. Because she does. )

I'm letting him pick the place, so we'll see what he decides to do.

[It's not like she knows anywhere around here anyway. And she's going to swiftly change the subject.]

And Lizzie knows about supernatural stuff, so I don't have to dance around that so much. She actually went to high school with Rebekah's niece.

( She will not make a joke about her father's taste, then. Probably better for the both of them. )

You live in Purgatory, you think, small world, but New York apparently gives Purgatory a drunken run for its' money. ...Is that weird for you?

( Again, she's trying here. )

[She shakes her head.]

Nah, it's actually kind of nice. She already knows about all the stuff I know about and am not supposed to talk about with everyone else. I can actually be myself.

[Which is nice. She was worried she wasn't going to be able to do that.]

Well, that is something special.

( Being herself got her thrown in the loony bin. Then again, the things she was spouting would've sent anyone. )

Aunt Waverly is insisting on taking you to one of the big libraries but I can tell her you're busy doing cool college girl things like getting wasted and sleeping with the wrong people. Or, you're in class.

In class might be more accurate.

[Because she is going to have to do that if she wants to make the most of the education she's paying for.]

But I'll take a library trip with her one of these days. Is she staying with you too?

I haven't made the offer yet.

( And she likes a good bubble bath and a nice-sized closet. But, Alice judged her for it. Not that Waverly has ever judged her. She should give her a call after this lunch. Just an address and a room number. Like a spy. Surprise her with champagne and bacon donuts. )

[She's not judging her for enjoying something nice. She's judging her for taking advantage of Rebekah. Those are two different things.]

Well, maybe you should. If you're going to keep staying there. You guys should see the city together. You know Aunt Waverly doesn't get out of Purgatory much.

Your Aunt Waverly has a serious case of the Purgatories. But, maybe with you matriculating in N-Y-C, she'll be here more often. I'm sure you'd be able to convince your aunt to put down Waverly-shaped roots.

( Including staying awhile.

In the meantime, below the table, she texts her sister the address, the room number and a time an hour and a half from now. )

Good. Because it would be nice if I could see all of you more often.

[And in response to that text, she gets a thumbs up emoji and a sparkly heart emoji.]

Then it doesn't feel like I have to choose one side of the family over the other.

Us too.

( She has never won parenting awards. But she loves Alice as hard as anyone can love anyone else. It goes Alice > Waverly > Doc > the rest of the world. )

You feel that way? Like you're choosing sides?

[She shakes her head.]

No. I think Dad and I both know he's got a kind of uphill battle ahead of him, given ... everything. But it could look like that, to someone who doesn't know everything.

the ground could open, he could still say please

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