a/n: ummm...where to begin? I've been out of town lately so finishing this chapter was already a challenge, but then there's the emotional roller coaster of losing our precious show just for it to rise again in 3 days? I CAN'T EVEN. WE ARE ALIVE, FRIENDS. I am still dumbfounded that this happened & I don't think I'll get over this feeling any time soon :)

That said, this is the final chapter of Explain the Infinite. I thought this author's note would be tragically sad to write in the wake of such bad news, but yayyyy Timeless is revived! So now I can just end this by saying thank you so much for the support on this one! You guys are the best!

"So...I guess there really is a first time for everything?"

No one laughs at Rufus' quip. In fact, no one does much of anything at all for several awestruck seconds. Wyatt gapes around the empty warehouse, the blankness in his expression surely matching the appearance of the room that looks nothing like the one they had left behind - a room that had held the diligent activity of Mason's displaced techs and Christopher's bustling agents the last time he had laid eyes upon it.

Now they're back in the present a handful of hours later, their spirits somewhat bolstered after receiving a cautiously confident report from Rufus and Jiya, but there's no one there to greet them. Not even a mouse or a tumbleweed. Just the echo of a cavernous empty space, one time machine, and five pairs of incredulous eyes.

Well, more like four pairs of incredulous eyes. Agent Hoyt - the representative from Homeland Security assigned to accompany Rufus and Jiya in Wyatt's place - is more or less stoic in the eerie stillness that surrounds them.

"I'll put a call in to Christopher," he mutters dryly before stepping away with his phone already pressed to his ear.

Wyatt glances sharply at Lucy, awaiting the reprimand that's sure to come when she realizes Hoyt took his modern cell phone to the Seventies, but she's pale and expressionless, not paying any mind to the agent who is now pacing across the barren floor at the other end of the room. He's not the only one who notices her dazed trance. Jiya approaches Lucy slowly, wraps an arm around her, and he's relieved to see that Lucy leans into her with a thin smile.

"She's on her way," Hoyt calls out as he comes striding back toward them, his cell phone pocketed once more.

"Uh...that's it?" Rufus asks with his head cocked to the side. "What did she say, man? Anything about where the hell she is or if Lucy's sister is back?"

The agent cracks a meager smile and shrugs uselessly. "More like she wanted to know where the hell we were..and why. There was also a lot of cursing, and that was the end of it."

Lucy staggers ever so slightly from where she stands with Jiya, and on the assumption that her knees won't be holding her up for much longer, Wyatt makes his way over to the pair of them and nods toward the wall, guiding Lucy by her elbow until she's sinking to the floor with him. Jiya follows suit, taking a seat next to Lucy and placing a consoling hand on her arm, and then Rufus falls in line too with an arm wrapping soundly around Jiya's shoulders.

They stay just like that - the four of them connected by linked arms and brushing knees while Hoyt continues to pace around like a caged tiger - until Denise Christopher bursts into the warehouse with a swarm of agents behind her. She looks beyond pissed as she approaches, but her anger noticeably subsides when her eyes come to rest on the gleaming white exterior of the Mothership. "Well I'll be damned."

Rufus is the first to speak, but there isn't much that comes out. "What - what? Why are you - "

She swivels to him with a hard line cast across her mouth. "Did we still want to destroy this thing wherever - or whenever - it is that the five of you just came from?"

"Hell yes," Wyatt answers in a gravelly voice, his fingers flexing tightly around Lucy's hand. "Like twenty minutes ago would have been good."

"Get on it then," Denise says briskly, gesturing toward Rufus with a harried look.

"Wait." Lucy pushes herself up from the ground with a wobble, but she stalks forward, impressively undaunted, before Wyatt can come to her aid. "My sister...? Is she - is she here?"

Denise frowns, then glances beyond Lucy to seek out Wyatt's gaze. He's not sure what she's looking for from him, but it's pretty clear that she doesn't find it, because she turns back to Lucy with bewilderment still scrawled deeply into her forehead. "Why would she be here, Lucy? You haven't told her about this, have you? Your NDA specifically stated - "

"She's alive? You're saying Amy is alive?!"

"Well, yes, why wouldn't she - "

Lucy nearly tackles Agent Christopher with the momentum of a crushing hug, and Wyatt feels a strange laugh bubbling out of him at the sight of it. He stands too, his body creaking wearily in spite of the spike of adrenaline that's coursing through his veins, and then a moment later Lucy is coming at him like she's been launched from a slingshot. He latches onto her waist with his good arm as she wraps herself around him in a hold that's almost suffocating. He bites down on his tongue to keep from groaning aloud at the way the force of her embrace jars his injury, because nothing is going to rain on her parade if he can help it, especially not something as trivial as the pain that's shooting through his shoulder. The pain is temporary, but the impression of her arms gleefully fastening around him in this moment is something he's going to remember for as long as he lives.

"Can someone give us a lift?" he asks over her shoulder to a still-baffled Christopher. "Lucy has some catching up to do, and Rufus and Jiya are the experts on time machine demolition. You don't really need us hanging around here."

"No one is leaving until someone tells me why you're all so banged up, not to mention how the hell you have this thing back in your possession...especially since you were so adamant about wiping it out in the first place, Wyatt."

Lucy pries herself away from Wyatt, swiping at the new current of tears streaking over her smiling face. "We just took it out a few hours ago with your permission. The Lifeboat is out of commission but Rufus repaired the Mothership just so we could go back for Amy."

"Her sister disappeared after our first jump, ma'am," Wyatt says slowly, sensing the cloud of confusion that's still hanging over the agent's head. "You made a deal with Lucy ages ago - you would help her bring Amy back as long as she continued on with the assignment. Well the assignment should be over now since we just took out the last of the known Rittenhouse members less than 24 hours ago. I'm sure there's still more work to be done, but our - "

"No, that can't be right," Denise interrupts with her brows knit together. "To my knowledge, Amy has been here all along and we released the three of you from service several weeks ago. The assignment has been over, Master Sergeant. Both time machines were already dismantled. There should have been no more time travel for any of you at this point."

"Fine by me," he replies with a strained smirk, growing impatient with the conversational seesaw that they seem to be balancing on without any end in sight. He glances down at Lucy's wide-eyed expression as she twists her locket between anxious fingers and steels himself with a fortifying breath. "If you want to debrief with us all tomorrow, we'll be there...wherever there is in this timeline. But if you don't mind, Lucy has been waiting a hell of a long time for this day to come."

There's a charged pause, and then Denise relents with a stilted nod. "I'll be in contact soon. Agent Varner will give you a ride home."

Lucy is dragging Wyatt away with her in a flash, nearly ripping his one healthy arm out of its socket which would officially make him useless, but he's grinning from ear-to-ear at her enthusiasm. This is a day he's been waiting for too, after all. Her happiness had long ago become paramount to his own.

But then they come to an unexpected halt as Lucy stiffens at his side. She ignores his questioning look and turns back to catch Agent Christopher's eye from just a few feet away. "My...my mom? Is she..."

Denise frowns gently, all of her former frustration evaporating in an instant. "I'm sorry, Lucy, but she passed away some time ago...over a year now, I believe. It was - "

"Cancer?" she fills in with a shudder, blinking rapidly.

"Yes. She was already very sick when we recruited you."

Lucy nods, worrying her bottom lips between her teeth for several seconds before she musters the courage to go on. "Was she...involved? With - with, uh, Rittenhouse?"

Agent Christopher's eyebrows jump upward, signalling her lack of preparation for that particular question. "Not that I know of, but if there's something you need to tell me...?"

"Tomorrow," Lucy promises in a voice that's littered with raw emotion, "we'll talk tomorrow."

And then she's pulling on Wyatt's arm again, albeit a little more reservedly this time around. He silently muses that there's nothing they can't handle now that the worst of it is behind them, and while the news of Carol's reversed fate will certainly have its impact on Lucy, he won't make the mistake of letting it fester between them. They'll work through it together, and they'll come out on the other side even stronger than before; it's like every step they take away from the Mothership is one more step out of the darkness that's been closing in around them for so long. It's time to just let history be history, and for the present to be theirs.

And as if to punctuate that thought, Rufus lets out an excited whooping noise from somewhere behind them right before there's a clamor of screeching sparks emanating from the time machine.

They really did it. They really beat this once and for all.

"God I look awful," she murmurs as she tries to tame her hair in the reflection of the visor mirror. "Can't you go any faster? And why aren't you more nervous? You should probably be a little nervous, don't you think?"

Wyatt snickers at the rapid-fire brittleness in her voice and reaches over to tap her leg as he waits from the light to change. "You look fine for a burn-victim-time-traveler who should probably still be in the hospital. No, I can't go any faster, especially not at a red light. The police usually frown upon that. And why should I be nervous? I'm flattered, actually, not nervous at all."

"Fine for a burn-victim-time-traveler? Thanks a lot." She tilts the mirror to further inspect the dark smudges beneath her eyes without even bothering to glare at him. "And I still don't understand how you aren't the slightest bit concerned about meeting her for the first time when she clearly already knows you...?"

Wyatt smiles to himself and accelerates with the flow of traffic once the light turns green, shaking his head at her from his side of the Jeep and thinking that his face might just split in half for how much damn smiling he's done in the last hour.

Much to their relief, Agent Varner had dropped them off in front of the same apartment complex that they'd been living in before the jump to '79. They were less fortunate, however, to realize that neither of them had any clue as to where their keys were currently located. Wyatt had been about two seconds from just kicking the door in for the sake of saving time when Lucy had spotted the landlord from afar and waved him down with abandon. He'd taken one look at them - battered, bandaged, and bruised - and instantly believed Lucy's bogus story about losing her keys in a car crash.

Lucy had zipped inside with rapid efficiency, their landlord's well-wishes for a fast recovery falling on deaf ears. She swept through each room like a mini tornado until she had a small collection of necessary items, including both sets of keys, their cell phones, Wyatt's wallet, and a bottle of water for each of them, muttering almost inaudibly that they both sounded like they'd been smoking three packs a day for years.

Wyatt had been more than ready to tease her about that comment, but she let out a loud gasp before he could even formulate a joke, stock-still and teary-eyed as she stared down at the screen of her phone.

She had two missed calls and one voicemail, all from Amy Preston.

And now they're weaving across the city on their way to join Amy at their childhood home, a place that still haunts Wyatt's memory if he lets himself recall the one awful visit he'd made there more than a year ago. He quickly shoves that thought away, refocusing on the unsolved riddle of why they're returning to the house now that Carol is gone. Lucy had dropped the phone after hearing Amy's voice crackle across the line, barely processing the short message before she was flying out the door again - Are you and Wyatt still meeting me at mom's place? I thought we agreed to do this together. Call me if you can't make it.

Wyatt steals another glance across the Jeep's interior now, wishing for maybe the millionth time in less than 12 hours that he wasn't confined to the damn sling. All he wants to do is take her hand and hold on with all his might until Lucy finally relaxes, but the steering wheel commands his full attention instead.

She catches his gaze and sends him a shaky smile, beautiful but unconvincing.

"I just...I just hope this goes well," she says with a fizzling exhale.

"It will, Luce." He winks at her slowly before turning his eyes back to the road. "You wanna know why I'm not nervous? There are several reasons, actually."

She chuckles quietly and flips the visor up, angling sideways to examine his profile. "Yes, please regale me with your ways, Mr. Zen Master."

Wyatt lifts a brow at that title, but doesn't hesitate to take the opening. "One - we are experts at faking it till we make it. I've lied my way through basically every decade of American history by now, and so have you. Will she think we're acting a little weird at first? Yeah, probably, but who cares? We'll get through it. We always do."

"That's a good point," Lucy mutters somewhat grudgingly.

"I know," he answers smugly. "Two - I might not know Amy yet, but c'mon...I know Amy well enough to make this work."

He feels her puzzled look without even having to see it for himself.

"You talk about her all the time, Lucy. She's bold, confident, loves karate and travel and thrill rides. Everything is an adventure when she's involved. She makes the messiest s'mores you've ever eaten. She encouraged you to stand up to your mom and set your own course in life. She can talk you into doing things that you would never do under any other circumstances, like taking a risk on joining a band or dragging you out of your sleeping bag at midnight to go skinny dipping in Lake Tahoe." He pauses, slides his eyes to hers with a very deliberate smirk. "Like I could ever forget a story that involves you swimming naked."

She laughs loudly at that, flushing ever so slightly as she runs a hand through her hair.

"So yeah," he continues with a grin, "I sort of have a head start on meeting her, don't I?"

"Yeah, I guess you do," she admits with a smile sparking all the way up into her eyes.

"Reason number three - and this one is important, so don't miss it - is that I'm too happy to be nervous. She expects both of us to be there, which means we're already together in this timeline too, Luce. We find each other and fall in love no matter what. I might not technically know your sister, but your sister does know me." Wyatt flips his turn signal and swings the vehicle onto a street lined with well-kept Victorian homes and weathered oak trees. "Feels like a good omen from where I'm sitting."

Lucy reaches over and squeezes his knee before murmuring, "I'm so glad you're here."

"Me too," he agrees quietly.

He's out of reasons to share with her but it doesn't matter, because with just one more turn and a deep breath from Lucy, they've arrived.

She freezes up for a good ten seconds once they're on the doorstep of her former home, standing rigidly with eyes closed and fists clenched at her sides, and then she abruptly charges in like she's going to battle. Wyatt follows uncertainly, barely one foot across the threshold when the sounds of the reunion erupt all around him.

"Oh my God, Amy!"

Lucy catapults herself down the hall, chasing after the passing shadow of a tall willowy figure with light brown hair.

"Hey - " Amy spins around to greet them, then recoils immediately. "Whoa, what the hell happened to you, Lucy? God, are you guys okay?"

"You're - you're..." Lucy's face shines with pure awe as she sweeps her sister into a massive hug. Wyatt crosses his arms and leans against the stairwell, laughing at the exchange and doing his best to memorize every ounce of Lucy's transcendent joy.

"I'm what?" Amy asks, her arms going around Lucy in spite of the confusion that's painted across her face. "You're the one who looks like you just escaped from an episode of Chicago Med! You too, Wyatt. Is your arm broken?"

"No, it's - "

But Amy isn't done talking, a trait that he now surmises is part of the Preston genetic code. "Seriously, guys, I thought you were done with all the dangerous espionage stuff. I mean, you know that I'm totally jealous of whatever the hell it is that the two of you do when you're on the clock, but still...I was liking the idea that there would be no more mystery injuries or annoying round-the-clock phone calls to ruin our fun."

Lucy recovers faster than Wyatt, pulling away from Amy just enough to look her in the eyes as she replies. "We were, but we just had to do one more thing and it...uh, didn't go well."

"Oh, well that's just as cryptic of an answer as I've come to expect," she says with an eye roll. "Are you sure you're okay, though? We could have put this is off if - "

"No," Lucy cuts her off in a hurry, her head shaking far too intently to pass for normal, "no, we're fine, we're staying."

Amy watches her with narrowed eyes for a half-second, then shrugs and pulls Lucy with her toward the kitchen. "Fine, but looks like it will just be me and Gavin ripping the paneling out of that spare room upstairs. You two are obviously out of commission."

"Gavin? Right, Gavin, uh huh..." Lucy's voice fades unevenly as she shoots a panicked look in Wyatt's direction.

"Oh God," Amy groans with an irritated look, "Let's skip that charade right now. Gavin is new, okay? So don't do that thing where you aren't sure if you've met him and then overcompensate once he's here just in case you've already been introduced. You haven't. We talked about this, Lucy. I met him at the hardware store, remember? We bonded over the topic of flipping houses and you told me it was very HGTV-meets-Hallmark Movie Channel."

Lucy laughs it off, but even from the other side of the room Wyatt can see the emotion building in her eyes. The sudden interruption of Amy's blaring ringtone comes at just the right time. She digs it out her pocket, informs them that it's Gavin calling for directions to the house, and then bows out of the room with a little wave as she answers the call. Lucy stands in the same spot, her feet planted with statue-like precision, watching the empty space that Amy's just vacated as if it's hallowed ground that must be protected at all costs.

And honestly, if he could read her exact thoughts, that's probably not far from the truth.

"Lucy...hey, you okay?"

She turns her head reluctantly, and there are shiny tears brimming against her black eyelashes as she nods at him. Wyatt crosses the kitchen and folds her against his chest, leaning his hip against the island and tucking his chin over the crown of her head. Her tears fall soundlessly, soaking into the fabric of his shirt as she clings to him. She's mumbling something into his chest, but he can't discern a word of it for how her mouth is muffled against him, but then the meaning becomes clear as she tilts her head higher and continues to whisper a string of the same two words over and over again, broken by nothing but the reverent addition of his name.

"Thank you. Thank you, Wyatt, thank you."

He's surprised at the tears that spring to his own eyes at the sound of her gratitude echoing against his neck. He leans down, leaves a tender kiss on her cheek, and presses his forehead to hers. "Anything for you, ma'am."

Her lips skim against his for a nanosecond of anticipation, then she kisses him thoroughly, teeth and tongue and a tangle of arms, her tears mingling with his as she rises on her toes to capture every last bit of him. His heart accelerates, pulse pounding in his ears, as his hand gets lost in her dark hair. An untamed heat blisters through him as she anchors her arms on his shoulders and aligns the length of her body more snugly against him. She sucks his lower lip into her mouth and he can't help it - can barely even remember where they are at this point - but the moan that comes rumbling out of his throat is a knee-jerk reaction that simply cannot be contained.

"Oh gross, not again," Amy grumbles as she enters the kitchen, a mock gagging sound filling the air as Lucy tears herself away from Wyatt with a contrite look. "I should have known better, right? It's not like you guys can ever be trusted to keep your hands off of each other for even one whole minute."

Wyatt grins sheepishly, glad to hear that his appetite for Lucy remains the same no matter how much the timeline shifts, and then his expression expands even further when he notices that Amy is grinning too.

Lucy makes a stuttering attempt at apologizing, but Amy shakes her head with a laugh and gestures toward the front door. "Chill, Lucy, you know I don't actually care. But Gavin is almost here, so try to keep it in your pants for now, okay?"

That comment only adds to the flush of pink that's climbing up Lucy's neck. Amy is halfway out of the room again before she spins toward Wyatt with an arched eyebrow. "But seriously, when are you just gonna put a ring on it, dude? You guys are so married already."

She disappears down the hall without another word, leaving Lucy and Wyatt to do nothing but stare at each other, equal parts slack-jawed and magnetized.

Lucy clears her throat eventually, taking a nervous step toward him with a halfhearted shrug. "That's Amy for you, always saying whatever comes to mind and then making a dramatic exit as soon as she's done."

He nods slowly, his mouth twitching sideways.

"You, uh..." she pinches the bridge of her nose for a second, then huffs out a sigh. "We've never talked about it and I know that it's hard for you, so just ignore her, okay? We're in no rush for - for anything."

Wyatt takes her hand in his and tugs on it, bringing her to a stop right in front of him. He kisses her forehead first, then descends to her mouth and presses a long, enveloping kiss to her pliant lips. His lungs are aching when they finally come up for air, but that doesn't keep him from pulling her even closer and murmuring the truth against the shell of her ear.

"I don't know, Luce...married? I kinda like the sound of that."

She pulls back immediately to read his face, and he doesn't have to guess if she believes him or not. Her mouth crushing against his tells him exactly what she sees reflected in his eyes, and if her reaction is anything to go by, Wyatt has a pretty good feeling about how a real proposal will go over once he actually has the chance to plan something that's worthy of everything he feels for her.

Because this is it, the future they've earned. Amy is here, the mission is over, and Lucy is kissing him like tomorrow may never come.

But it will. They have tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that one too. There's an infinite number of days stretching out in front of them, a lifetime to spend together; he isn't losing her, not now, not ever.