A/N: When this was written and posted episode 2x08 had not yet aired. So I can guarantee that other than the fact that Lucy and Jiya work together, this will be nothing like tonight's episode but I wanted to use that setting because I felt like it helped me fulfill the request I received from a user for a story "that takes place during season 2 where Lucy has to save a heavily pregnant woman from Carol and Emma on her own because Wyatt is injured and Rufus has to guard the Lifeboat." Hope it is everything you wanted the story to be!
"O God," Jiya cried, looking at Lucy in panic," what do we do?"
Lucy didn't answer her immediately as lost for the next course of action as Jiya. But then today had been one big cluster after another, so wasn't this just par for the course.
Melinda's pained moan sounded again. Four minutes. Only four minutes from the last agonized groan. Lucy was sure she remembered that meaning something.
Taking charge, Lucy looked at Jiya quelling the younger woman's panic with her own sense of calm.
"There's a hospital just down the street. I need you to go and find a doctor. Let them know her husband was shot and that she's refusing to leave him. Have them send someone to help us now."
"But what if someone else comes to try to ki—"
"Just go." Lucy demanded cutting her off before she could finish verbalizing the concern. "We have to try to help her."
Jiya nodded in understanding, her tan skin an ashen hue as she gave Lucy one last worried glance before running toward the hospital.
Immediately, Lucy turned her attention back on the pregnant woman in front of her. Melinda's brown hair was damp with sweat and the clothes covering her distended belly were stained with blood, yet the most disturbing part of the picture were the silent tears falling from catatonic eyes cutting tracks through the dirt and grime coating her face. Her hand was still gripping her husband's, though John's breath had stopped already.
Tears pricked at Lucy's eyes as she knelt by Melinda's side and recalled the love the young couple had exuded, how excited they'd seemed to be over the birth of this child. And now Melinda would be raising the baby alone with just the memory of these last few minutes of seeing her husband murdered in an alleyway.
They'd come to watch the president, they'd told Jiya and Lucy who'd been posing as cops amongst the crowd. To make memories to share with their unborn child, due any day, John boasted proudly.
And neither woman had suspected a thing, until the shooting started and John was digging a gun into Lucy's ribs, using the chaos of the crowd to separate Lucy from Jiya and Melinda.
"You? But what about Melinda?" Lucy questioned trying to distract him and oddly curious. It had seemed so real. And maybe it was, she thought as the brief flicker of grief filled his eyes.
"Just someone to pass the time with. I'm loyal to the cause. Unlike you, blood traitor."
"But what about your baby? Won't it be part of Rittenhouse, too?"
"No!" John's forceful tone shocked and scared her.
"Once I've completed the mission no one needs to know about this child. They can't know."
Lucy tried to ignore all the questions that statement stirred inside her and instead tried to focus on the alleyway they were in looking for a way out, a weapon, anything.
She tripped over a pipe lying on the ground clattering into a dumpster as she went creating a loud bang. She came to her feet swinging at John with the pipe, oddly gratified by the look of surprise in his eyes; and then, his eyes went blank, the gun slipping from his fingers as he sank to his knees.
Lucy couldn't process what had happened, even as blood bloomed from his chest. Until she felt Jiya's arms around her and finally heard her words break through the fog. Heard Melinda screeching in horror, calling for help, clutching at her husband and trying to cover the bullet wound all at once.
And then they'd seen it happen, Melinda had gripped her swollen stomach and groaned as water spread on the pavement around her. It was as if that was all it took to send the woman into shock, unable to process her husband's death and the imminent birth of their child within the same 5 minutes.
"Melinda, I need you to breathe. Help is on its way." Lucy spoke soothingly to the woman but couldn't tell if her words were piercing the protective bubble she'd retreated into.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Lucy stiffened as she heard the familiar voice behind her.
Gripping John's gun that had been lying next to her in her hand, she turned around angling herself in front of Melinda as she did.
She pointed the gun at Emma, ignoring the younger woman as her eyes burned into the woman at her side, "Hello, mother."
"Move away, princess. We're here for the woman and her baby. We'll let you go if you just give us what we want."
The derisive snort that fell from Lucy's mouth communicated how much she believed them.
Emma's mouth lifted in a satisfied smile, "Finally, a chance to kill you."
"Afraid to disappoint." A voice spoke up from the end of the alley and Lucy's heart soared. Wyatt trained his gun on Carol as Lucy kept Emma in her sights. She shot a grateful smile at him and found his eyes on her, scanning her for injuries, worry filling his eyes when he saw all the blood on her.
She shook her head at him, trying to communicate that she was okay, and his distraction was enough, enough for Carol Preston to pull her hidden gun and shoot.
"No!" Lucy screamed, stumbling to her feet gun still on Emma as her body was pulled toward Wyatt's like a magnet, but still cut off from him by Emma and her mother who were backing back down the alley as the sound of sirens pierced the air.
Emma cut a glance back toward Melinda and saw that Lucy still separated them; her eyes glowed with hatred as she turned back to Lucy, "This isn't over, Princess." With those last words, she backed around the corner onto the street
Carol looked at Lucy, anguish filling her eyes as she looked at her shattered daughter. She said no words as she left her daughter there.
"Wyatt," Lucy raced to his side, almost vomiting at the sight of blood soaking his shirt. So like John's. She found the wound in his side and used her coat to apply pressure.
He groaned at her touch and she felt her breath start again. She'd not even realized she'd been holding it until that moment.
His eyelids fluttered open, and he caught her with those blue eyes, every emotion he had filling them, and the intensity rocked her on her heels. She'd almost lost him, could still lose him if she didn't get the bleeding stopped. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks, sobs choking out of her.
"Shhh, babydoll, I'm not going anywhere. You're not going to lose me." His fingers reached up to wipe away the tears. Heat followed the path his fingers traced across her face, she knew she should pull away, knew that she should stop him; but in this moment, she needed the comfort needed to feel him, feel that he was alive. She leaned into his touch and the pressure from her movement caused him to hiss in pain.
"Dammit, she shot me. She didn't even hesitate." His anger caused her to smile a little.
"Maybe you should have taken the shot when you had the chance last time," she teased. In answer to his confused look, she whispered, "Jiya told me."
"I couldn't do that to you. I couldn't be the one to take away someone you loved." His eyes were full of unspoken words once again. And she was about to answer them with real words of her own when a woman's agonized groan pulled her from the moment.
"O, Melinda!" The woman's existence—as well as the rest of the world—had faded from her thoughts over the last few minutes.
"Where's Rufus?" She asked Wyatt, panicked once more.
"We ran into Jiya at the hospital, and she told us what was happening. Rufus left to get the lifeboat ready and I came here. Hopefully, Jiya is back with a doctor soon."
As if waiting for those words, they heard Jiya shout, "Over here!"
"O my God, Wyatt!" Jiya dropped down beside Wyatt as the doctor caught up to them.
'Pretty sure it's just a graze, Doc," Wyatt said as the doctor moved Lucy out of the way to look at the wounded soldier.
The doctor took a quick look and quickly agreed with an admonition for him to get to the hospital and get it stitched and treated so it didn't get infected.
Then the man turned his attention on the woman in labor.
"Looks like I got here just in time." He told them as he began coaching Melinda through breathing, reminding her that she had to do this if she wanted her baby to live.
And that inspired Melinda to break free of the shock that held her, and soon the wails of the baby filled the alleyway.
"It's a girl," announced the doctor proudly.
Soon after, Jiya—who Lucy hadn't even realized had left again—was leading teams with stretchers around the corner.
They quickly loaded up Melinda and her baby. Lucy looked at Wyatt, torn about leaving him but knowing she needed to go protect Melinda and the baby.
"Go." He whispered without needing her to explain, his trust and faith in her apparent in his eyes. "I'll be right behind you," he promised as the paramedics came to get him loaded.
At the hospital once both baby and mother had been settled in and were resting comfortably, Melinda looked at Lucy. Lucy expected to see anger or betrayal in the young woman's eyes but was surprised to find sorrow and gratitude.
"I need you to take my daughter away from here. I need you to protect her." Her pleas broke Lucy's heart.
"That won't be necessary." Wyatt said walking into the room, followed by a young Indian woman. "This is Officer Denise Christopher. She is going to help you and your daughter. You can trust her."
Lucy gave Wyatt a grateful look and then focused her attention on a young Agent Christopher, taking in all the things that had changed over the years, and the important things that had not. You can trust her, Wyatt had said; and Lucy was glad that remained true over the years.
"We need to go," Wyatt whispered in her ear, jolting Lucy and sending shocks down her spine.
She gave Melinda's hand one last squeeze before exiting the room after Wyatt.
"You're mother?" Agent Christopher's shock was evident as she repeated Lucy's statement back to her, "Your mother was there?"
Lucy and Wyatt looked at each other shocked that neither had considered the implications prior to that moment.
"She was definitely alive during that time; I was born not all too long after that." Lucy whispered.
"So how the hell was she there and able to shoot me?" Wyatt's puzzled anger echoed the entire room's sentiments.
Someone cleared their throat from the edge of the room and all eyes turned to look at Flynn, "I may be able to answer that."
A/N: Sorry to leave it on a cliffhanger, but isn't that just Flynn for you.