A/N: Again, thank you so very much for all your comments and tweets! As always, I want to thank my angel editor Lizzie.
iv.
"What do you mean, he was shot?" Lucy heard Rufus' shocked voice and let out a sigh. "See, this is why he should've listened to me. I told him he needed backup."
Lucy shook her head and met Tyler's eyes through the rearview mirror. The boy had climbed into the backseat with Wyatt, so he could help keeping pressure on the wound while Lucy drove them back to the bunker. Tyler looked amused at Rufus' tone when Wyatt grumbled under his breath that he didn't need a lecture right now.
"Rufus, focus." Lucy interrupted the pilot's rant, feeling a small smile tugging her lips up. Just listening to Rufus complaining about missions gone wrong felt like such an incredible gift. "We're five minutes out. I need you guys to come up and help me get Wyatt down there. Can you do that for me, please?"
She heard some shuffling over the phone, and then Jiya's voice came through the device.
"Hey, girl. Glad you're okay. Flynn is getting the med bay ready. Connor and Rufus are coming up to meet you guys."
Lucy smiled and nodded. "Thanks Jiya. Tell Rufus to breathe, okay?"
She heard Jiya chuckle and shook her head amused, even though she was indeed worried about the amount of blood Wyatt had already lost.
"Will do." The techie replied, a light tone to her voice. "You okay, Lucy? You scared us to death, you know? I thought Wyatt was a second away from a heart attack."
She was about to reply, when Wyatt chimed in weakly from the backseat that he was most definitely not. At that, she heard Tyler chuckling and met her brother's eyes again in the mirror in shared mirth.
"Yeah, sorry about that. It was a good thing I insisted on going, though. We have a lot to talk about." She explained quickly, focusing back on the road.
"Alright, we're waiting for you." Jiya agreed and they hung up.
Lucy checked the rearview mirror again to check on both Tyler and Wyatt and saw that her soldier had his eyes closed. He still looked pale, but the bleeding seemed to have stopped, so she hoped that meant the worst part was over.
She could feel Tyler's eyes on her, watching her curiously, and she offered a small smile in his direction. He hadn't said much since they'd gotten in the car, only that he'd be okay keeping pressure on Wyatt's wound. She knew he was probably feeling so incredibly overwhelmed and that, if he was anything like her at all, he was probably trying to compartmentalize and focus on what was urgent.
A couple of minutes later, she pulled up to the side of the road and saw Rufus and Connor running up to them. Tyler looked at her with wide eyes.
"That's Connor Mason!" He exclaimed, surprised, and she chuckled. "What the hell is he doing here? I thought he went bankrupt or something."
"God, don't let him hear you say that." Wyatt groaned, trying to sit up straighter. "Thanks, man. I think it's finally stopped bleeding."
Tyler nodded and looked back at Connor, in what seemed like awe. Lucy shook her head and looked at Wyatt, trying to assess how he was doing. He still seemed to be in pain, but at least he was conscious and talking, so that eased her mind and heart. She would've never forgiven herself if something had happened to him.
As it was, she already wanted to hunt Jessica down to the ends of the Earth and make her pay for everything she had done to the people she loved. Wyatt, Jiya, Rufus and now Tyler? Lucy vowed to herself she would not rest until she stopped her and Emma - Wyatt's wife or not.
"Hey, man," Rufus' voice startled her out of her thoughts and she saw her friend already helping Wyatt out of the car. "Not going to say I told you so when you're already down, but I really want to." He teased and Wyatt chuckled.
Lucy stepped out of the car and locked it behind her, once Tyler had gotten out as well. The boy stuck to her side, seemingly intimidated now that there were new people around, and she reached out and touched his shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
Once they were finally back in the bunker, Rufus helped Wyatt to the med bay and Lucy took Tyler to their common room, where Jiya was waiting. As soon as the techie saw Lucy, she quickly made her way to her and pulled her into a tight hug.
"You scared the hell out of us." Jiya whispered and Lucy apologized quietly. "I'm so glad you're okay."
"I just had to do something. I had a bad feeling about all this." She ran a hand through her hair and sat down, nodding at Tyler to do the same. "It was so much worse than we thought, Jiya."
"Good thing you went with your gut then. Just please try not to give us a heart attack next time." Jiya joked and Lucy laughed, nodding. "And you must be Tyler." She turned to the boy and offered a friendly smile. "Jiya Marri." She introduced herself, offering her hand for him to shake.
Tyler smiled and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, ma'am." He said politely and Lucy couldn't help but smile. It looked like he had been raised well.
"Jiya is one of our engineers, Tyler." Lucy explained. "She also pilots the Lifeboat. Our time machine." She added slowly, watching almost amused as his eyes widened in shock.
"Your what?"
The pain spreading out from his shoulder made Wyatt grit his teeth tightly. Flynn had cleaned it quickly and efficiently, but it still hurt like hell. He was yet to make any comments, and Wyatt was infinitely glad that he was keeping his mouth shut for now. The last thing he needed right now was Flynn baiting him into a fight. He just didn't have the energy for it.
He knew Agent Christopher would have his head tomorrow, and probably want to bring in a doctor to assess his injury. He didn't think anything was broken - it most definitely wasn't his first rodeo with a gunshot wound to the shoulder - but at this point, he knew his boss and knew she would eat him alive for going after Lucy without backup.
It didn't matter, though. He would gladly do it all over again if he had to. What mattered now was that Lucy was safe, and so was her brother. Poor kid. Even though he was still annoyed that she thought she had to sneak out of the bunker without telling anyone, it was a good thing she had. If she hadn't, maybe they would've only heard about their deaths in the news and he knew that would've destroyed her. He hadn't known Tyler for long, but Wyatt could already see the similarities between him and Lucy. He wouldn't have given in to Jessica's demands. Even at such a young age, it looked like the kid had his moral compass pointing in the right direction.
Just as Flynn was taping up a bandage to cover the stitched up wound, Wyatt saw Lucy and Tyler entering the room. He watched as the former NSA agent let out of a sigh of relief at the sight of her, and he couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy in his heart. He knew he had no right to feel that, not after what he'd done to her, but he couldn't help it. He loved her so much and he still had no idea how to fix everything between them. His future self had been very tight lipped about their relationship, only saying that time would help fix things. That he should just keep on loving her and protecting her and that, eventually, things would get back on track.
That didn't help him much, but at least it was comforting to know that their future selves were doing alright and were together in every sense of the word. Looking at Lucy again, he smiled when he caught her watching him with concerned eyes.
"Okay there?" She asked gently, approaching the bed, and he tried to sit up. "Hey, easy. Easy, Wyatt." Her hands immediately supported him and he grit his teeth to keep from groaning in pain. He really needed to get his hands on some pain killers.
"I'm fine, Luce." He told her, a warm feeling in his chest as she smiled at the shortened version of her name. He hadn't used it before tonight, but he filed it away as something that made her smile. "It was just a scratch." He grinned at her and she rolled her eyes.
"It definitely wasn't just a scratch. Don't say that." She touched his arm gently. "Ty here needs to get his head checked out. Do you think he needs stitches?" She turned to Flynn, and Wyatt motioned for Tyler to take a seat next to him. "This is Garcia Flynn, Ty."
"Are you a doctor?" The boy asked, sitting down on the bed. He was at that gangly stage and Wyatt was sure he would end up being taller than him.
Flynn laughed and shook his head, changing his bloodied gloves for new ones. "No, not really. We're all trained in first aid, though." He approached Tyler and pushed his hair away to look at the cut. "It doesn't look too bad. What happened here?" He asked and Wyatt watched as Tyler grimaced when Flynn cleaned the cut with peroxide.
"That woman hit me with her gun, I think. I don't know, it happened really fast." He said through gritted teeth
"What happened there, Ty? How did she get in?" Lucy asked him, leaning against the bed between Wyatt and Tyler. "We only saw footage from a security camera that they were knocking on your door earlier today."
"I don't really know how they got in. I was at school and I had practice until 5 today." Tyler explained, grimacing again when Flynn started stitching him up. "When I got home, the door was open and that guy jumped me from behind. I only saw that woman coming at me and then I woke up tied to a chair."
"Did she do anything else to you? To your mom?" Wyatt asked him quietly when he seemed to be lost in thought.
Tyler shook his head. "She tried to convince me to come with her yesterday, but I shot her down. I was coming home from Sarah's and she was waiting for me in front of the house."
"Who's Sarah?" Lucy asked curiously and Wyatt grinned when the boy blushed.
"She's… I guess she's sort of my girlfriend. It's nothing official, but we've been hanging out." He admitted shyly and Lucy shared a knowing smile with Wyatt. "I need to text her. We were supposed to go to the movies tonight and I ended up forgetting with all this."
Lucy smiled and brushed his hair away to look at Flynn's handy work.
"Let Jiya take care of your phone. When she gives us the go ahead, you can text her." She reassured him and he nodded, relieved. "You just can't tell her what happened, alright? No one can know where you are."
He nodded again and jumped off the bed, when Flynn told him he was all set and excused himself to leave.
"Thanks, Lucy. Thanks for coming tonight." The boy said and enveloped Lucy in a tight hug.
Wyatt saw the surprised look on her face, before she wrapped her arms around the boy and hugged him back. He could see she was touched by his gratitude and nodded at her when their eyes met. After a moment, Tyler pulled away and Lucy took his hand in hers.
"You're very welcome. I just wish I could've met my little brother under different circumstances." She offered the kid a small, bashful smile and Wyatt couldn't help but smile at their interaction. "Now come on. Do you want to take a shower or something? Get cleaned up?"
"Yeah, that'd be great. I just didn't bring anything with me, though."
"I can get you some clothes, Tyler." Wyatt offered, trying to put the sling over his head unsuccessfully. Lucy came to his rescue and adjusted it for him. "Thanks, Lucy." He touched her hand and she offered him a grateful smile. "Come on, kiddo." He nudged the boy and chuckled when Tyler rolled his eyes at the nickname.
"You boys go sort this out. I'll go check what we have for dinner." Lucy announced and touched Wyatt's arm again, squeezing it gently.
He nodded at her and watched her go, smiling to himself. They hadn't touched this much in what felt like months. It almost felt like they were back to normal.
The clanking sounds around the bunker pulled her out of a deep sleep. Lucy stretched and groaned at the dull ache on her back. They may have moved to a new secret military bunker, but the couches still sucked.
She had insisted on Tyler taking her bed, regardless of the boy's protests. Wyatt had also offered to take the couch, so she could have a good night of sleep, but she reminded him of the gunshot wound in his shoulder and immediately shot his offer down.
So here she was. She would have to talk to Denise about getting an extra cot, or even an inflatable mattress or something. Anything was better than this godforsaken couch.
Sitting up, she stretched her arms high above her head and felt her joints pop pleasantly. She should probably be exercising more, she thought to herself as she got up. Even though they were constantly running for their lives during their missions, that hardly counted as actually working out. And after having her ass handed to her by Emma, she figured she had to at least get more in shape for the event of a next time she found herself face to face with the new Rittenhouse leader. And she be damned if she was going to let Emma nearly beat her to death again.
Maybe Wyatt could help her with that. Or even Flynn. She was sure either of them would help her, but she also knew Wyatt would be terribly annoyed - not to mention jealous - if she asked Flynn first.
Making her way to the kitchen, she decided she would ask the soldier later on today. The coffee maker was already on and there seemed to be a fresh pot waiting for her, if the smell was anything to go by. Checking her phone, she realized it was still way too early, so that coffee belonged to either Jiya or Wyatt. No one else in this bunker woke up before 6am. No one else was plagued by memories they'd rather forget.
While Jiya didn't have the same horribly painful memories of Rufus' death, she still had to deal with acclimating herself on living in the bunker again, after spending three years of her life in the nineteenth century. Lucy knew that her friend was having a hard time adjusting and the knowledge that Rufus' had died despite her trying desperately to stop it really did a number on her.
This time, though, the computer area was empty, as was most of their common room. The kitchen, however, had one lone occupant, his back turned to her as he picked up his toast when they popped up.
Smiling when she saw him yelp and bring his finger to his lips, she decided it was time to announce her presence.
"Morning," she said quietly and chuckled when he turned around startled. His wide eyes immediately softened when he realized it was her. "How are you feeling?" She sidled up to him and picked up his plate, bringing it to the table.
"I'm fine." He smiled and followed her, bringing his coffee mug with him, holding it with his good hand. "Thanks, Lucy." He croaked, his voice still laced with sleep.
The tone immediately brought back memories of that one morning they had spent between satin sheets in 1941, and Lucy had to close her eyes and take a deep breath. Now was definitely not the time to think about that, and she was most definitely not ready to deal with whatever their relationship was.
"What are you doing up so early?" She asked, making her way back to the counter to pour herself some coffee. "It's barely six."
He shrugged, but seemed to immediately regret that action if the painful look on his face was any indication.
"Couldn't sleep." He said with a grimace. "Can't sleep much these days, to be honest." He added with a wry smile, and she nodded in understanding.
"I know." She told him sympathetically, taking a seat across from him at the table. "I can hear you in the gym every morning." She elaborated when he looked at her questioningly. "Haven't been able to sleep much either." She confessed and he nodded, taking a sip of his coffee.
"Do you think it'll ever feel normal again?" he wondered after a couple of minutes. Lucy met his eyes and found such a deep sadness reflected there, that it made her want to reach out to him in comfort.
"I don't know." Lucy shrugged, finger tracing the border of her mug thoughtfully. "I wish I could forget. So much." She swallowed hard, feeling the ever present knot in her throat tighten. But she refused to cry.
There was so much she wished she could erase from her mind. Her friend getting shot to death. Watching her mother die. Watching the man she loved trying to make things work with his undead wife. Hearing him say she was pregnant.
God, the truth about the baby must have hit him so hard, she thought to herself. He had fought so hard for that baby and now, knowing it had been all a lie must have cut him pretty deep.
Was it bad that part of her was relieved? It probably was, but she couldn't help it. If Jessica had really been pregnant, this whole thing would have been a nightmare with her fighting against them.
"I can't forget. I can't get that image out of my head." He admitted. "I promised I would protect him and I didn't. I promised I would protect you and I didn't. And I'm so sorry, Lucy. I'm so sorry."
This time, her body reacted before she could even second guess herself. Covering his hand with hers, she squeezed it comfortingly.
"Wyatt, look at me." She encouraged and waited until his eyes met hers. "Rufus was not on you. Please don't ever think that." She brushed her thumb over his skin and he looked down at their joined hands. "And you did protect me. You do protect me. Last night was proof of that." She said with conviction, and he looked at her again. "I've just realized I never thanked you for going with me to get Tyler. Thank you. You saved our lives."
"I'd do anything to protect you, Luce." he promised her, turning his hand up so their palms could meet. "I'd do anything for you." He caught her gaze again and he seemed to be so earnest that she couldn't help it when the corners of her lips ticked up.
"I know." She breathed, squeezing his hand, feeling a calming warmth wash over her when he laced their fingers together. "And that goes both ways."
"I meant what I said the other night." He went on and Lucy sucked in a surprised breath. "I stand by what I said. You don't have to say anything, Luce. I just need you to know where I stand. And I won't let anything happen to you. I will never let what happened to Rufus happen again. To either of you. Or Tyler. I promise you that." He assured her.
"Wyatt…" She started, still not sure how to even begin to respond to this. But before she could formulate a single thought, the sound of the door unlocking made her look towards the exit.
Agent Christopher walked determinedly to them and Lucy knew she was done for.
It was time to face the music.
A/N: Love it? Hate it? Tell me all about it by hitting the review button down here!