Edit December 27 - Added 2 lines to chapter 4 during Rufus' story time that for some reason went missing during my posting process...doesn't change the story, but was driving me crazy. I now realize the way I updated it, it may have sent out a bunch of unnecessary email alerts-Sorry about that!
Think I just missed the challenge deadline on this one! Oh well, it needed some eleventh-hour polishing.
So the muse felt like wandering on this one. And, since it's Christmas, I let it. So a simple story about Christmas gifts turned into a 16,000 word monster, and is probably truly two or maybe even three different stories combined into one! It was meant to be divided into different POV scenes, rather than chapters, but because of its length, I've split it into chapters just to help with the reading experience.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Oh—standard "I own absolutely nothing that follows" applies….with the exception of Wyatt's gift to Rufus. I do have one of those. Passed down through the generations because people think it's funny….read on, and you`ll understand.
We Three Kings
Rufus whistled low. "Wow. Where have you two been?"
"What are you talking about," asked Wyatt, as he yanked open his locker a little too forcibly.
Rufus waited before responding, watching as Jiya and Lucy hurried toward the change room that the women had appropriated months earlier.
"I mean, look at you—all gussied up in a suit, Lucy wearing some sort of dress….except I can't see it, since it's completely covered up by your jacket….very chivalrous, by the way."
Wyatt slammed the locker shut again, walking toward the wardrobe bay. "Just….drop it, okay?"
"What's with you tonight? After all, it's December 22nd, my friend, where's your Christmas spirit?"
"Don't have any."
"Oh—come on, scrooge….I bet you're a closet North Pole elf, aren't you?"
He watched as Wyatt scrunched his face up as though he were about to respond, but then relaxed, seeming to think better of it. Instead, he waved his arm at the racks of clothing, "Remind me where the hell we're going?"
Rufus sighed; he obviously wasn't going to get any answers to his questions right now, "May 2nd, 1868, somewhere east of St. Joseph's Missouri. Which means cowboy clothes, pardner," he grinned at his own joke." Wyatt didn't respond, instead moving toward the 1860s rack, beginning to look through the options.
"Actually," Rufus continued, "I'm going to have to thank Emma for this one….not that '68 is great, but a few years earlier and it would not be a very fun jump for me….know what I'm saying?"
They were interrupted by the re-emergence of Jiya and Lucy—who had apparently changed into modern sweats, for the purpose of picking out her 1868 gear.
As Wyatt and Lucy moved back toward the change rooms, their outfits selected and hanging over their arms, Jiya put her hand on Rufus' arm, holding him back.
"Did you learn anything?"
"No, Wyatt's not talking, you?"
"No—it was strange, Lucy just ran in the cubicle and changed out of her dress…..but she refused to talk about where they were or what they were doing….just did some grousing about Emma making you guys chase her this close to Christmas."
"Well then….we have a Christmas mystery on our hands."
"Not that much of a mystery," she said, "They were obviously out somewhere…. Why would they hide it from us?"
"I don't know, why do those two do anything they do?" He smiled, "But if you'll excuse me, I gotta mosey on over to the change room…."
She bounced onto her toes and kissed him on the cheek, "I'll see you at the Lifeboat."
Agent Christopher was leaning over a computer screen as the trio entered the Lifeboat docking bay. She raised her head, taking in her team. A slight smile played at her lips, "Is it Christmas, or Halloween?"
"Hey," Rufus pulled off his hat, holding it in front of his chest, "We make this stuff look good, at least, I do."
She nodded then, chuckling slightly.
Lucy moved forward to peer at the screen, standing as close to Agent Christopher as the voluminous green skirt she had selected from the wardrobe dock would allow. "Do we have any idea what Emma's targeting on this jump?"
Christopher shook her head, we've been running all of our confirmed Rittenhouse genealogies through Mason's computers-we haven't found a connection to any family near that area in that year yet.
Wyatt stepped forward, "How long until the Lifeboat's charged."
"We're pretty much ready to go," Jiya said, running a pre-launch diagnostic.
"Alright," Christopher moved to the table behind the computer monitors, "Here's your ID and time-appropriate money…." She handed the materials to Lucy. "Oh, and a surprise." See pulled three small items out of an envelope. "We've had our technicians working on re-creating era-specific images of Emma. Here are three tintypes of her—to help with your search."
"Wow," said Lucy, peering at the image in her hand, "They look original."
"Yes, it's good work," said Christopher, "Which it should be, given the price tag, but I just put it on Mason's tab. Consider them an early Christmas gift."
Jiya's voice called out from behind them, "Okay, all systems are ready."
Wyatt nodded. "Well….if we have no idea what her plan is, then we better get a move on."
Rufus watched as Wyatt helped Lucy into the Lifeboat, and then took his own seat, trying to avoid her skirt.
"Those skirts have a mind of their own, don't they," Wyatt said with a chuckle, casually reaching over to help her with her restraints, as he always did.
Rufus pondered that interaction. They seemed fine….normal…. He watched for another moment as they seemed to have a full conversation just with their eyes….like they always did. He turned away quickly, before Wyatt had the chance to accuse him of staring. Well, no matter what had happened between them tonight, it seemed that all was right in their world after all….however the heck they're defining their world these days.
"Okay, let's do this," and he put the Lifeboat into motion.
There was only a small town, just a crossroads really, in the area pinpointed by the computers as Emma's most recent destination. Wyatt kicked at the ground in the ravine where they had landed, contemplating what Emma's next move might be.
"I hope this mission is shorter than the last few," said Lucy.
The team had found the switch from chasing Flynn to Emma difficult. Flynn's scorched earth approach had been dangerous, but generally easy to discern, meaning missions were focused and generally quick. With Emma, her objectives were more about fine-tuning history, meaning her plans were harder to identify, and meaning that missions could be much longer.
"Yeah, I'm not exactly prepared for another two week adventure in time," commented Wyatt, pulling his Stetson down against his ears as they walked toward town.
"She can't stay that long….I mean, it's Christmas," Rufus began, pushing his hands into his pockets. "Well, not here it's not-it's like May….but you know what I mean. I'm sure Emma wants to be back in the present by Christmas day, even she must have plans…." He trailed off, as Wyatt shot him a warning glance.
Message presumably received, Rufus took a breath, and tried to repair his last statement, "Speaking of which, I know you two said you weren't coming to my Mom's on the 25th, but I really think you should reconsider, it is not an imposition at all…."
Wyatt cut him off, "Let's focus on the mission, for now." He surveyed the small collection of wooden buildings. "Do you have those photos Luce?"
"Yeah," she pulled them out of her small bag, handing them out.
"Then where do we start?" asked Wyatt.
"Well, let's start with public spaces. Wyatt, you check the hotel, Rufus and I will check the businesses along this street. We meet back here in fifteen minutes".
It turned out they didn't need that much time. Two minutes after entering the hotel, Wyatt came running out the side door toward the street, calling to his team mates who he saw standing in front of the Shepherd General Store.
"We got her."
"Where is she?" asked Rufus, once Wyatt was close enough he didn't have to shout.
"You're not going to be happy," he began, "But the man at the hotel says he sold her a ticket on the stage to St. Joseph….the one that left thirty minutes ago."
"Oh no," Lucy grabbed a paper out of Wyatt's hand, the stage schedule. This was a fairly new habit of Emma's, taking the Mothership to one location and then taking another form of transport to a different location…..but it was a habit that was making trailing her very difficult.
"Another wild Emma chase," muttered Rufus.
"Maybe not," said Wyatt, pointing to the times on the schedule. There's an extra stage to St. Joseph today—leaves in twenty minutes. She won't be that far ahead of us, hopefully we can catch up before she goes to her next location. I already grabbed our tickets."
"We're riding on a stage coach?" A huge grin spread across Rufus' face, "That's awesome."
Wyatt watched as Lucy smiled at Rufus gently, "We'll see if you feel the same after the trip….you know those things don't have modern shock absorption, right?"
Some time later, the trio arrived at the comparatively bustling St. Joseph. The team climbed out of the Leading Star stage coach, Rufus having to climb down from the hard seat he had been ushered to on the roof. His back hurt, his backside was sore….and he knew that Lucy was right. Why was Lucy Preston always right?
"Man, that was worse than time phase re-entry in the Lifeboat," he said, following his team toward the stage ticket booth.
Wyatt was already quickly approaching the ticket vendor. "Hello," he said, holding out Emma's tintype. "We're looking for my cousin, should have arrived here about an hour earlier on the stage?"
The man glanced at the tintype over half-lens glasses. "Sorry, don't remember her."
"Can you take a closer look?"
"No," and he turned his attention to another man in line.
"Okay," said Lucy, "Someone's going to remember her, a single woman, travelling alone on the stage?"
"Yeah….better split up again. We take the four main streets, then meet back here—on that bench, in an hour."
Fifty minutes later, Rufus was no further ahead than he had been when he started. It had been a series of frustrating conversations with shop owners and clerks who had ranged from disinterest to outright hostility. He moved back toward the corner where they had first exited the stage, smiling as he saw Wyatt sitting on the roughly-hewn bench, fiddling with the brim of his hat.
"Any luck?" he sat beside his friend.
"Nothing," Wyatt said, putting the Stetson back on his head, and leaning back against the porch post behind him.
"Me neither," Rufus answered.
"Here's hoping Lucy's having more luck."
Rufus didn't miss the wistful look that crossed his friend's face as he mentioned her name.
"Okay," he nodded slightly, turning to face Wyatt, "Well, while we're waiting….spill it."
"What?"
"You know what. Tell me what was going on with you and Lucy, before the jump."
"Nothing," Wyatt said, so quietly Rufus almost didn't hear him.
"Wanna try again? You know I'm just going to keep asking….I'm very persistent…..s'why I'm a good coder."
Wyatt shot him a glare, and remained silent for a few seconds. Just as Rufus was thinking he was going to stonewall him until Lucy returned, he started to speak again.
"We were on a….date."
"What?" Rufus swung around to face him, "You mean a real, honest-to-goodness date? You and Lucy….on a date."
"Yeah, that's what I said. Was our first date."
"That's awesome buddy…..I am so happy for…."
"Not awesome."
"What do you mean?"
Wyatt sighed, staring pointedly at his boots. "It was a friggin' mess….a disaster."
"Couldn't have been that bad."
He chuckled darkly, "Dude, you weren't there….it was that bad."
"Well—what happened?"
Wyatt shrugged. "Ever since she moved out of my place, into her new apartment….I'd just been thinking about….stuff."
"Uh huh, stuff is good," he said, encouraging him to continue.
"And with Christmas coming, I knew she was feeling badly, without having her sister, or even her mother. I thought about maybe we could spend it together….but figured I needed to buck up and actually make my intentions known first, you know? So I asked her out, asked her to come with me to this fancy restaurant downtown….she'd been talking about it for weeks, how she'd read about this one particular dish she wanted to try…."
"So she said yes?"
"Yeah….she did," he smiled softly, and then his face fell again. "But, right from the start, it was….not good. It was super-awkward, like we couldn't' find anything to talk about….at least I couldn't….and I just kept staring at her like an idiot. You should've seen the dress she had on….it was this amazing pale blued thing….she looked amazing….I mean she always does, but…" he trailed off, staring at his boots.
"I saw part of the dress….under your coat."
"Yeah, well, the coat was to hide the blood stain."
"What?"
"I'll get to it. So we get to this stupid restaurant, it's like the most pretentious place you've ever seen. They claim to not have my reservation, which was ridiculous, because I know I made it….and eventually I'm actually having to bribe the maître d', seriously—like something out of a movie. And then he finally seats us. So, great, we start the date with me committing a felony…..and you know she shot me a look—"
"Maybe it was a thankful look?"
"Pretty sure that's not the word for it. Anyway, we get settled at our table and she disappears to the ladies room and the waiter comes to tell me the specials, and mentions that they're out of a couple of items…."
"Oh no—"
"Oh yes, except, at the time, I didn't even notice because I'm all nervous, and don't remember the name of the stupid dish in the first place…. So eventually, she's back at the table and the waiter takes our order….and he has to tell her that they were out of her dish….and he seemed to take great joy out of telling her that he had already told me—so now I look like the jerk who didn't care enough to let her know about it."
"Crap, man."
"Uh-huh. So, I mean, you know her, she just smiles and orders something else, and pretends it's no big deal...and then while we wait for our food, we return to the previous awkward silence. And then, after the food arrives? Well things just got worse. As I'm asking her about her food, which she says is good, even though I'm pretty sure that's not true, because mine tastes like cardboard, but I lean over to get closer to hear her, and I knock my glass of red wine right over…..like dump it, over everything….and this is why I should have ordered a beer, but I didn't because we're in this stupid fancy restaurant, so then there's this purple grape juice flying over everything—the food, the linens, her dress, her hair…."
"I didn't notice the hair!"
"Is that supposed to make me feel better? And then as I'm jumping up, trying to, I don't know, catch the glass or something, she jumps up and grabs this napkin and starts trying to clean it, and we're moving in opposite directions….and she elbows me in the nose….I mean hard….like I was bleeding man."
"The blood stain on the dress?"
He nodded, silently. "That's when I gave her my jacket. Then….oh, you're going to love this bit, I come back from cleaning up in the men's room….and guess who's sitting there, in my seat? Frickin' Dr. Noah, that's who. He's chatting her up like it's the most normal thing in the world, tellin' her how nice she looks, askin' what she's doing for Christmas…."
"Noah! But isn't Lucy pretty sure he's Rittenhouse?"
"Yeah, she's pretty sure….I say there's no question at all in the matter, of course he's Rittenhouse."
"So you got jealous?"
"Jealous? No….I mean, I suspect she thinks the same, so I might as well have been….but it really wasn't like that. I could see it in her eyes from clear across the room—she was just trying to get him away from her the whole time, every time he put his hand on her arm she was pushing her chair backward…. She was just trying to be a civilized human being, and not cause a scene in public…. So, I'm not jealous, just….mad—mad that he can't leave her alone, mad that Rittenhouse can't just leave her alone. So then I get to the table, and when he saw me he goes all dark, like 'Oh—so this is how it's going to be?'…. And now she's really trying to get rid of him, and he's not paying any attention…. So then I have to make him pay attention….meaning I had to go and get decidedly uncivilized on him…. I pretty much just snap, which I'm sure annoyed Lucy to no end, because now we really are making a scene…."
"By the time Noah storms out, Luce just wants out of there, so I go to pay….and the stupid machine rejects my credit card. Before I get the chance to pull out my bank card, there goes Lucy, jumping in and paying for everything, the meals that we only half-ate!"
Rufus took a breath, about to speak.
But Wyatt ploughed on, "And yes, before you get started, I know that it's 2017 and that shouldn't bother me, but it does, because I asked her out….and it took me like, months to even get to that point." He scrubbed his hand across his face. "So, then I suggest walking along the wharf—because I'm an insensitive ass who doesn't think about the fact that an insane dress like the one she's wearing isn't going to come accessorized with flats. She's wearing these strappy heels that look incredible but..." he trailed off, looking suddenly self-conscious, "But am I even thinking about that? No, it didn`t even enter my mind. So she gave it a go, you know her, she's a trooper, she didn't say a word. But then I notice her walking slower and slower, and, by the time I notice she's in pain, and realize why….we're half way down the quay, with nowhere else to go….so we end up sitting on this bench like something out of Forest Gump…."
"Kind of like now?"
Wyatt lifted his gaze from his boots, glancing at Rufus sitting on the other side of the bench, who had plastered a grin from ear to ear. Wyatt shook his head, and returned his gaze to his boots. "The crazy thing was that it was getting better, on the walk, on that bench…."
"Better?"
"Yeah," he played with the brim of his hat, "I think we were both starting to relax finally. We were talking, and I actually had her laughing, after a few minutes talking on that bench…."
"And then?"
"And then our phones start chiming like an Austrian carillon at Christmas-it's Christopher calling us in….and you know the rest."
"What, so no kiss?"
Wyatt rolled his eyes, "You can't be serious….no, there was no kiss." Then he sighed, "It was a mess, Rufus—everything I was afraid it was going to be….I mean, she's never going to want to go out with me again…. And, instead of making things easier for her, I've probably made this Christmas ten times harder."
Rufus shrugged, "I don't know about that man, I mean you two seem pretty comfortable together now….I wouldn't rule out another date, or a merry Christmas."
Wyatt shook his head, "Ah….that's just work. It's, like, our comfort zone. But dating? I don't know….I don't even know if it's possible for us…."
"You don't know that…."
"I'm pretty sure….I bleed all over her dress, all over her—all over Lucy, who faints at the sight of blood—"
"I don't know about that whole fainting thing, man….I'm starting to think it was just to get out of operating on your sorry ass. I mean, we've seen her around lots of blood since then, and never a faint, not one…." He trailed off, as Wyatt raised his eyebrow at him, "Just sayin'…."
"I bled on her, on a date. And that was arguably not the worst part of the evening….I just don't think the dating thing is going to work for us."
"So don't date."
"You gotta be kidding me," he said, whipping his head up to glare at Rufus. "Who is it that's been driving me crazy for three months about when I was just going to ask her out already!?"
Rufus held up his hands, "Whoa, pull back soldier-boy. And if you have any remaining questions about your true feelings on the subject, maybe take a look at that reaction in your spare time." He put his hands down, and shook his head, "But no, what I meant was: Do be in a relationship….just don't do the "dating" crap. Think about it, the first day you met you defused a bomb while she held a knife to a Nazi's neck, ordering the Hindenburg to land. The second day you knew each other you stopped the attempted assassinations of Seward and Grant. I just think that maybe you're already past the whole dinner and a movie thing."
Wyatt exhaled. "Sorry, man. You're probably right….but, that whole night was such a mess! She's going to see the truth—that she's totally out of my league."
Rufus rolled his eyes. "Good grief. Do you really think Lucy would have even considered the date if she thought that? She wants to be with you….that part is painfully obvious….apparently to everyone except you. And, by the way, one lousy date does not make for a failed relationship….it just makes for good Best Man speech fodder—so thanks for that!"
We looked at him curiously at that, and Rufus pushed on, not wanting to give time for his previous comment to actually sink in. "I'm sure she's already forgotten the whole thing….besides, it's Christmas….and I know another famous couple that had a totally awkward first date."
"Who….what are you talking about? What Christmas couple?"
"No….not a Christmas couple…." he sighed. "I just meant, it's Christmas, be positive. And, me and Jiya; the couple I was talking about was me and Jiya!"
Rufus was saved any further explanation by the sudden appearance of Lucy—coming down a side street to the left, green skirts rustling and shifting as she trotted toward them.
Wyatt jumped to his feet, "Any sign of her?"
She stopped as she drew close to them, adjusting her hat that had slid back while she ran. "Someone at the restaurant by the hotel said they travelled here on the stage with her, and that she immediately went to the livery, renting a wagon and horses. I checked at the livery, and they remembered her too—said she seemed to be prepping for a long journey."
"Crap," moaned Rufus.
"Exactly," sighed Wyatt. "And, not that I think you would actually bury the lead on this, but no one you talked to had any idea where she was going with the wagon?"
She shook her head, "No, although the hand at the livery stable told him she would return the wagon three days from now."
Wyatt nodded his head, "That lines up with what the stage hand said back when I first got the stage schedule—that she had purchased a round trip stage ticket, and was expected to return in four days."
Lucy fell limply onto the bench, between Rufus and Wyatt. "So what now?"
Wyatt shrugged. "I guess we pull out the map…..figure out all the possible places she could have gone in a day-and-a-half, try and track her down…."
Lucy put her hand on his arm, "No."
"No what?"
"No….we're not going to split up and run all over the State, looking for Emma."
Wyatt jumped to his feet, pacing in front of the bench. "Well, we have to do something, we can't just sit here."
Rufus cleared his throat, "I agree with Lucy…..we go back. We know she has to return to the Mothership in less than four days, we try to nab her then."
Wyatt yanked his hat from his head, "That's three….or more…days from now! We're just supposed to hang around waiting? Surely we can do better than that?"
Lucy stood beside him, placing a hand on his arm to calm him. "I don't know that we can….not this time, anyway."
Rufus stood too, "Well, there's certainly no point in staying here. We might as well go back to the Lifeboat….we've got Connor's search data on known Rittenhouse families of this time, we can go back to the data at least, see if we missed anything?"
Wyatt shook his head, "I hate all this waiting around….."
"Is there any way we can track the Mothership?" asked Lucy.
"No," Rufus shoved his hat back on his head, "It has that cloaking system, remember? We could walk within a foot of it, and not even know it was there."
"So we wait until Emma gets off that return stage," said Lucy.
"Yeah, 'cause that worked so well before," said Wyatt. "You remember what happened when we waited for her at that train station in 1920s New York, right? Her goons almost took us out."
"Do you have any better ideas?"
Wyatt shook his head.
"Didn't think so," she said, with a small smile.
"Okay," began Rufus, "So we go back to the Lifeboat, try and go through the data, see if we can't figure it out from there….wait for Emma to return."
"Right," said Lucy. "Wyatt?"
Wyatt threw his head back, with a small audible sigh. "Fine. Let's see if there's an afternoon stage back to wherever it was that we came from."
It turned out they were lucky, there was a return stage, late that night, and Rufus was reminded all over again about how much the stage journey had sucked the first time.
