We Don't Have To Be Alone Tonight
A Valentine Day One-Shot: Wyatt makes a split second decision to ask Lucy to be his Valentine.
"What do you have planned for Jiya tonight?" Lucy asked Rufus as they prepared to leave 1934 and return back to the present day.
"Hmm...nothing that I know of, why?" Rufus frowned, flipping buttons on the switch board of the lifeboat.
"Utoh, you are in so much trouble..." Lucy shook her head.
"What? Is it her birthday?"
Wyatt laughed, "Man, I even know what today is, it's February 14th..."
"Hold that thought...here we go..."
Wyatt grabbed Lucy's hand and they were thrown back into their seat as the lifeboat shot back to present day. After a moment, their heads stopped spinning.
"February 14 is also known as Valentine's day," Lucy continued, "From February 13th to 15th, the Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia. The men sacrificed a goat and a dog, then whipped women with the hides of the animals they had just slain."
Rufus and Wyatt both scowled as the lifeboat doors opened. Wyatt stepped off first, then held Lucy's hand, helping her down. Rufus followed, scanning the room for Jiya, but not seeing her.
"How'd the mission go?" Agent Christopher asked.
"Flynn got away, but as far as I know we prevented anyone from getting killed." Agent Christopher nodded, "Go get changed and get on out of here. I wanna go home, I have a special evening planned with my wife." she smiled.
"Yeah, Lucy was just telling me the history of Valentine's Day." Rufus stated.
"Oh...fun." Christopher smiled as the three walked towards the Wardrobe. Rufus still was looking for Jiya, and worried when he didn't see her.
"Hey, where's Jiya?" Rufus turned and asked Agent Christopher.
"Oh, she went home early. She told me to make sure to have you call her when you got back." Christopher smiled, "Don't forget."
"You're in sooo much trouble!" Wyatt grinned, then turned to Lucy, "So how did this whipping of women with dead animals turn into a day of love?"
"The Roman romantics were drunk and naked. Young women would actually line up for the men to hit them, believing it would make them fertile. The brutal fete included a matchmaking lottery, in which young men drew the names of women from a jar. The couple would then be...well...coupled during the duration of the festival, or longer, if the match was right."
"How in the hell did we get a day of kissing, candy and flowers from THAT?" Rufus asked.
"Well..Emperor Claudius II executed two men, both named Valentine, on February 14 of different years in the 3rd century of A.D. Their martyrdom was honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine's Day.
"So a day of murder, drunkenness, nakedness, and sex turned into a Christian holiday?" Wyatt asked
"Pretty much. Things are pretty muddled after that, both the name St. Valentine's Day and the idea that it as a day of love came from Ancient Roman, however the name Valentine really has nothing to do with love. Valentine is merely the name of two men who were murdered and was honored by the Church. The DATE falls between a three day festival for fertility in women."
"Our first Valentine's together and I forget the day." Rufus muttered, "Jiya is going to be so mad at me.."
"Just tell her that it started out as a day of drunk naked men beating women with dead animal skins and two men being murdered named Valentine. You didn't think there was anything romantic about that." Wyatt smiled.
"That's not going to get you out of it." Lucy shook her head, "Go get her some roses and chocolates, and then if you can't get a GOOD dinner reservation, then cook her something at home. Take out will be okay IF it is from a really nice restaurant and you make it romantic."
"Thanks, Lucy...I am gonna get to work on that. Have a good day." Rufus took off to change in hopes of still being able to get something nice for Jiya for Valentine's Day. He was going to have to get used to this holiday thing.
"You and Noah have plans tonight?" Wyatt asked.
Lucy sighed. She was a romantic at heart, and she loved the idea of love, but unfortunately she was in her middle 30's and still had not found 'the one' for her.
"No. Noah and I broke it off a few weeks ago. No matter how hard I tried I have no love for him. I can't live a lie and pretend I love someone I don't and he doesn't understand why I don't love him now." she shook her head, "I don't know how I ever ended up with him in the first place. If I loved him in the past I would have thought I would have fell in love with him again, but nothing. It was better we broke things off."
"I am sorry, but you are right. You can't make a heart love somebody and if you don't feel nothing after trying to love him these last few months, it probably wouldn't have worked anyway.
"Yeah, probably not." Lucy smiled softly, her brown eyes locking on Wyatt's steel blue eyes.
'Jessica was lucky,' Lucy thought, 'She found the perfect man who loved her and still does love her with everything in his being. I hope to find that one day.'
"Well I am gonna go change, head home and whip up something for dinner." Lucy stated.
"Yeah, okay. Have a good night." Wyatt watched her walk away, but his heart was screaming at him not to let her go.
Jessica had been dead for five years now. He grieved for her, he tried to bring her back, and he drowned his own sorrow and guilt with alcohol. Nothing changed the fact that Jessica was gone, and probably will never be back. He has left his guilt and sorrow stand in the way of moving on. He had left his loyalty to his wife stop him from acting on the feelings he was having for Lucy. Surely Jessica would want him to be happy, to move on. He wasn't doing anything wrong to allow his heart to love someone else. His vows were "until death do us part" Surely God would approve him moving on, if he fell in love with someone else.
"Still here?" Lucy came out of her dressing room in a blue T-Shirt and a black pair of jeans.
"Yeah...um...hey...would you...be my...Valentine?" Wyatt asked, surprised about how nervous he was. His palms were sweaty, his heart was beating fast in his chest. 'Oh God, this is like High School all over again' he thought.
"What?" Lucy looked at him with a look of surprise.
"I mean...well, would you like to come to my house for dinner? I mean, I don't think I could get a reservation anywhere to take you out..I mean...if you want too...I just thought...well...I thought we didn't have to be lonely tonight. Oh God, that came out wrong...I just.."
"Wyatt, calm down," Lucy smiled at him, "You aren't going to whip me with no dead animals are you?"
"No, Ma'am." Wyatt smiled.
"Then I accept your offer, Sir." She smiled, "What time should we meet?"
Wyatt smiled at Lucy acting all formal. He loved her playful smile and the twinkle in her eye.
"Six o'clock okay?" he asked.
"That would be fine, my sir. I shall see you at six o'clock."
Wyatt laughed, shaking his head, "See you then, my Valentine."
As Lucy left Mason Industries, Wyatt looked at his watch. Six O Clock. That gave him four hours to get everything in order. He hurried to get changed. It was going to be a close race, but he thought he could pull something off.
Lucy returned home, thankful that this week her mother was in Denver, Colorado for a College Seminar.
Unlocking the door, she tossed her purse down on the kitchen table and bounded up the stairs two at a time.
There, she stood and gazed into her closet...what should she wear? What did Wyatt have planned? Should she wear t-shirt and jeans? No...too informal for Valentines day.
Should she wear a fancy dress? Would it send the wrong message? What message did she want to send?
Truth be told, she was interested in Mr. Wyatt Logan. He had caught her eye from the day they met. They only grew closer during their many travels to the past. She learned to trust in him. Relay on him. He brought her a sense of protection, comfort and peace. He made her laugh. She smiled, he was the perfect guy...all except the fact that he was still grieving for his dead wife, Jessica.
Part of her was jealous of Jessica. It's been five years. He should move on. Part of her understood. If she was married and it had been her husband that was killed, would she ever really move on?
Sighing, Lucy finally choose a low cut V-Neck red cocktail dress. She choose white mother of pearl necklace with matching earrings and bracelet along with a pair of black high heels which laced around the ankle.
Moving on to the bathroom, Lucy showered, dressed, then went to work on her hair, drying it, curling it, and lifting it up in a partial pony tail, allowing the curls to fall down around her face.
Next, make-up. She did light foundation with a smokey eye look, lash extending mascara and red lip stick with soft pink plush. Finally, she stepped back and looked at herself.
Okay, maybe she over did it a little. She smiled, at least maybe Wyatt would get the message that she was available and interested in him.
"Hi, Jiya? It's Rufus."
"Hey babe. I know who you are." She smiled.
"Agent Christopher said you went home early and I should call you. Listen, I am really sorry I forget today was Valentine's Day. I am not good at this stuff and..."
"Rufus." She interrupted him, "Don't worry about it. I know you have been busy jumping though time. I made us reservation at Red Rocks a few weeks ago. We need to be there at five, okay?"
"Okay. You aren't mad at me?"
"No, silly. We're both new at this and no one is perfect. I know how busy you have been so I made us reservations and figured I'd surprise you."
"I love you, Jiya."
"I love you too. You pick me up around 4:30 or should I pick you up?" she laughed.
"No, I'll pick you up. 4:30. See you then."
"See you then. Love you."
Jiya hanged up and smiled. Her and Rufus just seemed to click. They understood each other. It was like they were life long best friends. It was like they were meant to be.
Rufus quickly dressed to normal cloths and ran out of Mason Industries. He needed to change into a nicer outfit, grab flowers and maybe some chocolates and definitely a stuffed animal, then get over to Jiya's, all in about two hours.
"I got this." he muttered to himself, speeding out of the pocking lot.
After stopping at the store Wyatt headed home. For the first time since Jessica, he was anxious and nervous over this date. Date...was this really a date? Or were they merely two friends getting together?
Wyatt headed to the kitchen first and starting to make the spaghetti sauce, putting the meatballs in at the last minute.
Next, he laid the white cloth tablecloth over his dining table, set up two white candles in silver holders. He put the wine in a bucket of ice and placed it between the candles. Next, he set the table for two with his best solid white china and silverware along with two wine glasses. He fixed the dozen red roses in a glass vase and sat them next to Lucy's plate along with the stuffed teddy bear and a box of chocolates.
Satisfied that everything was perfect, he ran up the stairs to shower and change. After his shower, Wyatt shaved, careful to use the after shave that smelt good, compared to the unscented one, then he quickly chose a dark blue shirt with a black suite jacket and pants. He choose to forgo the tie and leave the suite jacket unbuckled. Running some hair gel though his hair, he felt satisfied.
5:45...Lucy should be here soon.
He hurried down stairs and sat on the sofa to wait.
What did he expect tonight? Why did he ask her over at the last minute?
Maybe he finally decided it was time to move on. Lucy was the best thing that happened to him since Jessica. She was smart, funny, confident, witty, strong, beautiful, and very independent. He was attracted to her and had been for some time. She was the only person since Jessica that he allowed himself to care about, and he found himself caring about her more and more.
Maybe he realized that if he didn't let his feelings known soon, if he didn't allow himself to move on soon, he might lose her. It was bound to happen that she would find someone to steal her heart away. Wyatt wanted to be that someone.
He glanced at his watch, 6:05
Oh God. She was late. What did that mean? Did she decide not to come? He checked his phone. No calls. Did she have car trouble? Should he call her?
He waited for another five minutes, then began to pace the living room floor.
Suddenly, highlights flashed across his living room and he saw Lucy's car pulling into his driveway.
He grinned, then took a deep breath and rubbed his hands together. This was it...
"Hey." he smiled opening the door, and his mouth dropped open. She was downright gorgeous!
"Hey." Lucy smiled, handing him a box of chocolates, "I got these for you."
"Thank you...beautiful...I mean...you're beautiful tonight." Wyatt stumbled over his words.
Lucy smiled, "You don't look bad yourself." she winked.
"Come in," Wyatt lead her to the dining room, "I kinda threw it all together at last minute. I made us Spaghetti with Meatballs and Garlic bread. We have a salad too and Chocolate cake for dessert. I hope it's all okay." Wyatt began to ramble on.
"You did all this?" She asked, amazed.
"Yes."
"It's beautiful...and the food smells amazing."
"Thank you. It's not the best, but I tried."
"I am sure it's wonderful." Lucy smiled at him, putting him at east.
"Oh, and these are for you." Wyatt handed her the red roses, "And that." he pointed to the bear and chocolates."
"Thank you, but you didn't have to do all this."
"Yes I did." Wyatt said sternly, "I wanted to do this...I needed to...move on." he sighed.
"Move on?" Lucy looked at him questionably.
"Lucy, I would like for us to...well...I am attracted to you." he stumbled over his words again.
She blushed slightly and laughed at him, "You want us to become 'official' dating?"
"Something like that." Wyatt shrugged, "Lucy, I've been attracted to you for a long time. I care very very much about you. I don't want to lose you. I want to give us a chance. I am ready to move on with my life after losing Jess...if you are the one I move on with. What do you say?"
Lucy took his hands in hers and kissed his lips softly, "I think that's a fine idea, Mr. Wyatt Logan." she grinned.
Rufus arrived at Jiya's at 4:20.
"You're early. I like it." she smiled.
"And I got these!" Rufus presented her with a dozen roses, a heart shaped box of chocolate, and a stuffed puppy dog.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Jiya. I love you, even if I am not going to get drunk, naked, kill a dog, and beat you with it's hide."
"Whhhaaaattttt?" Jiya scowled at him.
"Lucy told us the history behind Valentine's Day." Rufus laughed, "It is ANYTHING but love and mussy stuff."
"Only you, Rufus." Jiya laughed, kissing him softly, "Thank you, I love you. This is my best Valentine's yet.
"And we're just getting started." Rufus smiled, taking Jiya's hand as they headed out to their dinner.
The END
Happy Valentine's Day!