Lucy went with Flynn. She couldn't have explained why. She justified it to herself that she wanted to make sure it was real, that it wasn't a trap. But she wanted closure, too. She wanted to see him happy for once, even if it also meant watching him walk away from all that. She also couldn't explain why he let her come with him. He said she didn't have to but didn't argue when she insisted.
Lucy loitered behind while Flynn walked up the long driveway to a cute two story brick house. He was only a short way down the driveway when a small girl came running out the door toward them. There was a woman standing in the doorway, watching the girl, smiling fondly. The woman was vaguely familiar, but Lucy was distracted by the little girl hurtling full tilt for her father.
"Daddy!" she called.
Flynn smiled, brighter than Lucy had ever seen him smile. The girl ran over to him and he swept her up in his arms. She chattered away like he had only been gone for the weekend rather than for a lifetime.
She jumped down and grabbed Lucy's hand, tugging her toward the house.
Flynn stopped nearly to the house and Lucy stopped with him. The girl ran on ahead to the woman in the doorway.
Flynn hugged Lucy. "Thank you," he said, his voice thick with a mix of emotions. "For helping me save…" he trailed off, holding her a little tighter.
It all clicked in an instant. The woman in the doorway was too old to be Flynn's wife. She was familiar because Lucy met Maria Thompkins, Flynn's mother, in 1969. A million little things all fell into place.
"This is what you said you'd do, isn't it?" she said softly. It was a surprise, but somehow not a surprise either. "Let your daughter jump into your arms, hug your…" she cleared her throat, stunned by the enormity of what she is now pretty sure she knows. "Your wife."
"Yes."
"Don't leave," Lucy said. She leaned into the hug, burying her head in his shoulder. "There's too much water under the bridge to just take up where we left off, especially given that I don't remember where that was, but I'm not ready for you to disappear from my life."
"You know what I've done, why I can't bring that into our family."
"I know what you've done. I also know that you are the most loyal man ever, and a good father. I don't know anything about being a mother so I need you here to help me with the learning curve. And it took a while, but we make a great team. So stay."