A/N – This was written for Officer Parker's week #10 prompt "A stray kitten shows up at Mason's warehouse and Wyatt is quite taken with it." A friend in my weekend writers' group gave me the prompt a week ago, and I took some liberties with it because I had a specific story I wanted to tell.
Fan vid recommendations – please go watch these two by Ahmidala, "Armor" (a Rufus+Lucy+Wyatt TimeTeam video) and "Fortress" (a Lyatt video.) They are both awesome!
Wyatt stifled a yawn as he emerged from the locker rooms and handed his period clothes over to the wardrobe dock attendant. They had already debriefed, thankfully, so he could head home for some sleep once Lucy was done. They were living in the same safe house building now and often carpooled together. Lucy had moved there first after discovering her mother's ties to Rittenhouse. Wyatt had followed a couple of weeks later because he'd become increasingly uneasy about the entire situation and being close by helped him sleep better at night.
He checked in with Agent Christopher about the additional agents who would be joining their security team over the next week. Then he joined Rufus and Jiya at their computer station and scrolled through emails on his phone while he waited for Lucy. Ten minutes passed, and then another fifteen minutes followed. Lucy was slower than him but she wasn't usually this slow.
"Have you seen Lucy?" Wyatt asked Jiya.
"She went outside a little while ago. I think she was getting something from your truck," she replied. "Maybe she's with Agent Christopher?"
Wyatt headed back upstairs to check, but Christopher was alone in her office and hadn't seen Lucy. There was a knot of tension growing in his stomach. He told himself he was just being paranoid as he hurried to the exit that led to the parking lot. His truck was in its usual spot, but he didn't see Lucy.
"Lucy?" he called out as he scanned the area.
"I'm over here."
Her voice was low, and he frowned as he finally saw her to his left, nearly hidden in shadows as she sat next to the building.
"What are you doing sitting out here alone?" he asked. He walked over to check on her, concerned that something had happened to upset her. When he saw the little ball of black and white fur cradled in her lap, he paused. "You found a kitten?"
Lucy nodded, stroking the kitten's fur. "I saw it yesterday but I didn't have time to check on it. Jiya said some people here have been feeding it. I was thinking I might take it home."
Wyatt sat next to her. "I wouldn't have pegged you for a cat person." He'd never given it much thought but if asked, he would have guessed she wasn't one for having pets inside.
She seemed pensive, like she was lost in her thoughts. Finally she answered him. "This little guy reminds me of a kitten Amy found in the school parking lot when she was ten years old. She dropped it in her backpack and snuck it into her bedroom, where she proceeded to hide it for a week until my mom found out."
He reached out and ran a gentle finger across the kitten's head, grinning when it leaned into his finger. "I'll bet you helped her hide that kitten."
She smiled and nodded. "I was surprised when Mom let her keep it, to be honest. It had to stay outside most of the time, but Amy was so happy. She loved that cat."
"This one seems pretty friendly." Wyatt scratched around its ears, pausing when his fingers brushed against Lucy's. He moved his hand under the kitten's head to get a better look at the face. It was mostly black and fluffy, but it had a white chest and paws, and the tiniest white streak between wide blue-green eyes. "It looks like it might be about two months old. If you're going to take it home we should swing by a vet's office first, get it checked out and do something about these fleas. It probably has worms, too."
"Are you a cat person?" she asked, glancing over at him curiously. "You seem to know about them."
He shrugged. "I like animals in general but I'd say I'm more of a dog person. Growing up in Texas though, you see a lot of cats and dogs. There was also a mother cat with a litter that hung around our camp in Afghanistan because Bam Bam wouldn't stop feeding her. I half expected him to try and sneak that damn cat and the kittens on the plane in his pack."
Lucy laughed. "He was a good guy."
"Yeah, he was," Wyatt replied, feeling the weight of his decisions press down on him once again. He could feel Lucy's eyes on him as he rubbed the kitten's nose.
"What happened to him was awful, but you know it wasn't your fault right?"
"I know." He'd had a rough time with it at first, knowing that if he hadn't taken the lifeboat that Dave would probably still be alive. However, he also knew Dave would have understood what he did, and he wouldn't have wanted Wyatt to feel guilty about things going south in the field. It was part of the job for which they'd been trained.
"I like to think that he and Amy are together. You know – somewhere up there," she said as she gazed up at the faint stars dotting the night sky. "And I know that doesn't really make sense because Amy never existed here…" her voice cracked, and she cleared it, her eyes back on the kitten.
Wyatt reached for her hand. "Sometimes things don't have to make sense, Lucy. I like that idea because from what you've told me about Amy, I think Dave would have liked her."
She glanced sideways at him again, smiling. "Really?"
"Yeah," he said. He squeezed her hand and stood to help her up. "I'm pretty sure there's an emergency vet's office near that big pet store off the highway. What are you going to name it?"
Lucy held the kitten against her chest. "I think it's a boy. Did you know that Kennedy had a cat? He called it Tom Kitten."
"Don't call it Tom Kitten," he said as he opened the passenger door for her. "What did Amy name her cat?"
"That one was a girl," she replied as he got into the car. "I remember my mom suggested names based on famous historical figures' cats – Edgar Allan Poe had a black cat named Catarina, and Freddie Mercury from the band Queen had a cat named Delilah that inspired one of their songs. That last one was my dad's suggestion. But Amy was going through a comic book cartoon phase and named her Catwoman."
He laughed. "A cat named Catwoman?"
"That was Amy for you. She never did anything the way you would expect her to."
"So what, we call this little guy Batman?" he asked as he started the car.
Lucy shook her head. "I was thinking in honor of Kennedy and Tom Kitten, I'll name him Fitzgerald and call him Fitz."
The vet's office was still open. The vet, a woman in her mid-thirties named Dr. Ford, smiled as the kitten tried to snuggle against her hand during the examination. "He is a sweetie."
"He seems really calm," Lucy said.
"Well, that may be because he's not feeling that great. He has a low fever, and he needs to be dewormed. I'm going to give you some meds for this fever before we do all of his vaccinations, but we can deworm him and get rid of the fleas tonight. That should make him more comfortable."
Wyatt and Lucy waited while the vet's assistant cleaned the kitten up. When they brought him back, his fur was soft and shiny, and he smelled a lot better. Wyatt smiled at the way Lucy held the kitten against her shoulder, almost the way she would hold a baby, and the way the kitten seemed content to be there.
Dr. Ford advised them to bring him back at the end of the week and to keep him strictly indoors. They got some information on boarding options, something to consider with their frequent time jumps. Then they went to the nearby pet store and got the recommended food brands and other necessary kitten supplies. He held the kitten while she shopped; though he was amused by the number of toys Lucy added to the cart, he didn't say anything. It was the first time he'd seen her excited about anything since discovering her mother was part of Rittenhouse, and he gave the kitten a few appreciative head scratches as he followed her through the store.
They were both exhausted by the time they got back to her apartment. Wyatt helped her carry bags inside, and he sat on the sofa holding the kitten while she set up his food and water dishes and a cat bed that Wyatt suspected might not see a lot of use, given what he knew about cats. A few of the guys had made a bed for the mother cat and kittens in Afghanistan, and they'd all ended up sleeping with Dave every night instead.
A hand on his shoulder startled him awake. He blinked as he realized he'd fallen asleep on the sofa, Fitz still asleep on his chest. Lucy was standing over him, a soft smile on her face as she looked down at him.
"I thought about just letting you sleep here, but I figured you'd sleep better at your place," she said. She reached for the kitten, laughing when he yawned and settled against her without complaint.
Rubbing his hands down his face, Wyatt stood and nodded. "Yeah. So you good here?"
"We're good," she said with a nod. "Thank you."
He reached out and gave the kitten another head rub and then walked down the hall to his own apartment.
The following week was quiet. Lucy was doing most of her research from home since she was also preparing for a guest lecture series on Wednesday and Thursday at Stanford. She was still on a leave of absence, so she'd been surprised to get a call from her former department chair, asking her to come in for a couple of days to do a series of lectures on the Lincoln assassination.
She had a feeling they were pushing her book in the campus bookstore again, but she was still looking forward to getting back to academia for a couple of days. She was curled into a corner of the sofa with her laptop, preparing slides for her presentation the following day, and Wyatt had his feet up while he watched a basketball game.
Since moving in down the hall from her, he seemed to spend more time at her place than his own. Not that she was complaining at all. She enjoyed his company, and they were slowly getting to know things about each other that had nothing to do with the mission. It was even comfortable, this routine they had – she often worked on research or read while he watched a game, or they watched a movie together.
Fitz was asleep in his lap, and Wyatt absentmindedly stroked him as he concentrated on the game. Suddenly he looked over at her and raised his brows when he caught her staring at him. "What?"
She shook her head. "Nothing. My mind is wandering, I guess."
"How's that coming?" he asked, nodding at the laptop.
"It's done, more or less. I'm just fine tuning my presentation and lecture notes now. You know you don't have to come. I'm afraid my lectures may be a letdown after actually living through it."
"I doubt that. Besides, I'm looking forward to seeing this side of you, Professor." He winked at her as he moved Fitz off his lap onto the cushion beside him and stood up. Fitz meowed in protest but then closed his eyes again. "What do you think about barbecue for dinner? There's a food truck near the boardwalk that has some great barbecue plates."
Lucy nodded. "Sounds good." She picked up the kitten and cuddled him against her chest. "I'm a little worried about Fitz because he's been so lethargic. I know the vet said to bring him back at the end of the week, but I was thinking I might take him tomorrow. Just to be safe."
"He hasn't finished his meds yet. They might be making him feel tired."
"Maybe." She scratched under his chin, smiling when he started purring. "He's not eating or drinking much either."
"Tell you what – you go to the university in the morning and I'll take Fitz to the vet. I'll meet you on campus when we're done."
"Thank you. I know you don't even really like cats."
"Eh, he's kind of growing on me," he told her with a grin as he reached for her hand and pulled her up.
He was ridiculously attractive when he smiled at her like that, and she felt the effects of it straight down to her toes. They were moving forward – slowly maybe, but the progression was there as they spent more and more of their off time in each other's company.
"So are you going to ride with me or stay here with the furball?"
"I'm going to see if I can get him to eat something," she told him. "And you should call Rufus to see if they already ate or if they want to eat with us when they come over later."
"Okay. I'll be back soon."
Wyatt left and Lucy held Fitz up to look at him. "Okay little guy, let's see what I can tempt you with."
Wyatt watched Lucy mingle with students after her lecture ended. A few of the students had brought copies of her book about John Wilkes Booth and were asking questions. There were also two men with her that he assumed were colleagues from the department.
She was clearly in her element here. A natural lecturer, she'd kept the students engaged from beginning to end. Even he'd been far more engrossed than he'd expected to be given that he'd lived this particular history lesson.
Lucy looked up and caught his eye, and he walked over to join her when she motioned him forward.
"This is Master Sergeant Wyatt Logan. We work together at Mason Industries. Wyatt, this is Dr. Joseph Williams," she motioned to the older man who looked to be in his fifties. "He was my grad school advisor. And this is Dr. Hayden."
Wyatt noted the way her voice changed when introducing Dr. Hayden, a dark haired man in his mid-forties. He wondered if this guy was the reason she'd been denied tenure as he shook hands with him.
Dr. Williams said, "The students were sorry to lose her to this mysterious research project for Connor Mason. I hope we'll have her back soon." He patted Lucy's arm and excused himself.
"That was a great lecture," Wyatt told Lucy with a smile. "Felt like I was there."
She bit her lip to stifle a laugh and grinned back. "Thanks. What did the vet say about Fitz?"
"He still has a fever, so they're keeping him overnight for observation and giving him some fluids." At her worried expression, he reached for her hand and squeezed it. "He'll be fine. He just had a rough start in life. I'll swing by there and check on him again this afternoon. You just worry about your lectures, okay?"
"Thanks," she said. "Can I interest you in lunch at the cafeteria before my next lecture?"
"Sounds good." Wyatt kept Lucy's hand in his and nodded at Dr. Hayden. "Nice to meet you."
He nodded back. "Lucy, we can talk later if you have time."
Wyatt looked at Lucy as they walked to the cafeteria. "What was that about?"
"That was about a tenure meeting, which I've declined for the time being. It's so weird because as department chair, he could have pushed it through before and he chose not to. Now it seems he's pushing for it."
"Maybe because he wasn't expecting you to leave?" he guessed.
"Or my mother is pulling strings," she replied. "Or both."
"Were you two involved before?" It wasn't his business, but he was curious.
"Kind of, but not seriously. I don't know about here and now because of the whole fiancé thing."
"I noticed your mother wasn't at the lecture."
"She's supposedly in Philadelphia researching a new book, but who really knows."
Though Agent Christopher couldn't find enough evidence to link Carol Preston to anything illegal, they were keeping an eye on her. Wyatt was glad that Lucy didn't have to worry about her being there this week.
Lucy was stopped a few times in the cafeteria by both students and former colleagues. Dr. Williams was right – it seemed a lot of people had missed her. He noticed the curious looks they got and knew people were probably wondering if he was the reason she'd ended her engagement. Lucy blushed when one of her previous teaching assistants, a young woman named Erin, gave her a discreet thumbs up which he pretended not to notice.
Wyatt knew that they were fast approaching a crossroads. They spent so much of their free time together at this point that they were dating, more or less. They weren't calling it that, but that's what it was, minus the obvious physical benefits. The more time he spent with her though, the more he thought about that kiss in Arkansas all those months ago, and the more he wanted to really be with her.
But with all the chaos of her mother revealing herself to be part of Rittenhouse, Emma stealing the mothership, and jumping back into the cycle of chasing someone through history, the timing never seemed right.
After lunch he walked Lucy back to the lecture hall and then went to Mason Industries to check in with Agent Christopher. The new recruits had arrived and needed to be briefed on what it was they'd be doing at Mason, and she'd asked him to sit in as she went through their files.
A few hours later he was back at the vet's office. Fitz was asleep on the blanket Lucy had insisted on sending with him, and Wyatt gave him a little pat before heading home.
The next morning Lucy went back to the university and Wyatt stopped at the vet's office on his way to Mason to find out what time they could take the cat home. The office was busy, so he was surprised when Dr. Ford called him back within a few minutes.
Being in the Army, Wyatt was used to seeing that certain look people got when they were about to deliver bad news, and Dr. Ford was no different. "What's wrong?"
She sighed. "I'm afraid Fitz didn't make it through the night. He started throwing up and his fever spiked – probably distemper considering his age and the fact he was a stray. I'm really sorry."
Wyatt sat down in the chair across from her desk, wondering how he was supposed to go home and tell Lucy her kitten – the kitten that reminded her so much of the sister she had lost – was dead. She'd lost her entire family and now that she'd bonded with a pet she'd lost it too?
"If you think it might help, we have a few kittens being fostered that need good homes," she said gently.
"It won't be the same…." Wyatt stopped talking as an idea started forming. It was probably a terrible idea, but now that he'd thought of it, it wouldn't go away. "Do any of them look like Fitz?"
"I'm sure we can probably find another black and white kitten if that's your preference."
"No I mean, do you think you could help me find one that looks exactly like Fitz?"
Her brows rose. "You don't want to tell your friend that he died." If her expression was anything to go by, she also thought that was a terrible idea.
Wyatt wasn't the type to shy away from the truth in usual circumstances, and part of him couldn't believe he was even suggesting something as crazy as a kitten swap. Then he thought about how Lucy had smiled more this week. He knew losing Fitz would be like losing a piece of Amy all over again and he just didn't think he could handle delivering more bad news to her right now.
He attempted to explain. "I know it's probably a bad idea, but Lucy lost her sister last year, and Fitz reminded her of a time from their childhood. She's basically lost her entire family now. Finding that kitten was the first time she's seemed happy in a while, and…. I don't know how I'm going to tell her he died."
She sighed. "I suppose I can ask my assistant to put out a few notices about black and white kittens. If we get any responses she can call you. I'll give you a list of shelters and rescue organizations in the Bay Area, too, and you can start calling around."
"Thank you." Wyatt walked to the front desk and settled the bill while the receptionist printed out a list of the shelters and rescue operations. They were organized by county, but the multiple page lists made him realize how daunting this task might prove to be.
After leaving his number with the assistant, he called Rufus. "I need your help with something."
"You know I took a personal day for this, right?"
It was noon on Friday, and Wyatt and Rufus were driving to the next county to check on a litter of black and white kittens approximately the same age as Fitz. Both Rufus and Jiya had helped out the day before by calling places on the list while Wyatt followed up on kitten leads. But now Lucy, who thankfully was busy with meetings at the university today, was expecting him to bring Fitz home this afternoon.
Wyatt looked over at Rufus. "Do you know how many kittens I've looked at since yesterday? Five counties, Rufus. You saw how attached she was to that kitten, but hey – if you want to be the one to tell her then we'll call it a day." When Rufus said nothing, he muttered, "That's what I thought."
"I just think we have to consider that we may not find another kitten by this afternoon," Rufus pointed out. "I don't want to see her upset either, but we have to be realistic."
"We haven't checked the pet stores yet."
"A lot of pet stores are full of animals from puppy and kitten mills, so it's better to adopt."
"Yeah, well if Rittenhouse offered me the kitten right now, I'd probably take it." Wyatt understood Rufus' frustration. Hell, if anyone had told him he'd be driving across five counties looking for a cat, he'd have called them crazy. Then he thought about poor Fitz, who really was a sweet kitten, and how upset Lucy would be about losing him, and he knew he'd drive to all nine counties in the Bay Area if he had to. And though Rufus felt compelled to be the voice of reason, Wyatt knew he was invested in the kitten search now, too.
For once luck was on his side. When they arrived at the shelter, two of the kittens were a near exact match for Fitz – so much so that he couldn't even tell them apart.
Rufus shook his head as he compared the two kittens to the photo on Wyatt's phone. "I can't believe we actually did it."
Wyatt could hardly believe it either, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. "And they're both healthy, right? They've already been vaccinated?"
The woman nodded. "And ready to go. We normally have a waiting period but since Dr. Ford's office vouched for you, we'll allow you to take the kitten home today."
"Which one are you going to take?" Rufus asked.
Wyatt considered the two kittens. One of them kept trying to hide while the other one had climbed his pants leg within a minute of being set down. He picked it up and looked at its face, smiling when the kitten meowed and playfully batted at his nose.
"This one seems to be the friendliest," he said.
It didn't take long to fill out the necessary paperwork, and soon the kitten was in the carrier and they were on their way.
"How did you explain them keeping Fitz another day?" Rufus asked.
"I told her he had a virus and that the vet suggested a thorough cleaning of the apartment and bedding." That was true, and he'd helped Lucy clean the night before. While Dr. Ford had assured him that if the new kitten was properly vaccinated that there shouldn't be a problem, he didn't want to take any chances.
The kittens had been playing on a tower at the shelter, something the woman there called a cat tree and condo. Wyatt stopped at the pet store and bought a smaller version and then dropped Rufus off at Mason Industries before heading to Lucy's apartment.
He was surprised to find Lucy was already home since her meetings had been scheduled for early afternoon.
"Hey!" Lucy reached for the carrier immediately and opened it to lift out the kitten. "How's he doing?"
Wyatt set the carrier down in the entry way before closing the door behind him. "Good as new." He pushed away the hint of guilt that came from actively deceiving her about the whole situation. He smiled as he watched the kitten climb onto her shoulder and bat at her hair, which made Lucy laugh.
"He seems like he feels a lot better," she said. "How much was his bill?"
"Don't worry about it."
"Wyatt…."
"Really. It wasn't that much and we'll call it a welcome home gift to the cat. Which reminds me, there's something I need to get out of the truck. I'll be right back."
Wyatt went out to get the cat condo and when he returned, Lucy was sitting on the floor next to the sofa playing with the cat.
"They had this thing the cats were playing on. I thought maybe you could put it next to the window."
She looked up, an odd expression on her face. "Did the vet say exactly what was wrong with him?"
He carried the cat condo over to the window and set it down. "Just a virus. He's fine now though – got his first shots, and we'll need to take him back in a few weeks for the next round. Dr. Ford wrote out the vaccination schedule."
"Wyatt, this kitten is a girl," she said.
Shit. The woman at the shelter had referred to one of the kittens as a male and he'd just assumed – wrongly – that they were both boys. Wyatt stared at her as he tried to think of something to say.
She looked sad as she looked down at the kitten in her lap, now chewing on the tip of her finger. "I guess they couldn't do anything for Fitz?"
He sat next to her on the floor. "Lucy, I'm sorry. I probably should have told you, but you were already so attached to him. And the truth is, I liked seeing you smile this week."
"How did you find a kitten that looked so much like him?"
"I've been driving to shelters and rescues all over the Bay Area since yesterday," he admitted. "Rufus and Jiya helped me narrow down possibilities, and Rufus went with me today. Five counties later, we found two that looked just alike and this one was the friendliest, so…" he paused when he realized she was crying, which made him feel like an asshole for lying to her.
"I'm sorry," he said again, not knowing what else to say to her.
Lucy wiped her fingers under her eyes and attempted a smile. "I'm not crying about Fitz, or not completely. I'm sad that he's gone, but I just – I can't believe you did this for me." She scooted closer to him and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly.
Wyatt hugged her back, relieved that she wasn't mad. "I just didn't want to see you sad again." He pulled her closer so that her head was nestled against his shoulder.
"This is the kind of thing that Amy would have done for me. I guess I thought I had lost that," she said quietly. She raised her head to look at him.
She was so close that he could feel her breath against his cheek. He reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled when she shivered. Timing had never seemed to be on their side for one reason or another but here, in this moment, it felt right to touch her. He threaded his fingers through the soft strands of her hair, letting his fingertips brush lightly against her neck before stroking through her hair again.
"Lucy…"
"Shhh," she whispered before leaning in and pressing her lips to his.
Everything about her was sweet and this was no different. Wyatt cupped the back of her neck, coaxing her mouth to open to his.
Suddenly she giggled. He pulled back to see that the kitten was climbing up her body, determined not to be left out.
He smiled and reached out to pluck the kitten off of her. When he dropped her in his lap, she started climbing him instead. "She's a handful. If you don't want to keep her, I understand."
"No, I do want to keep her," Lucy said. She reached out and rubbed the kitten's head. "It's funny how much she looks like Amy's cat."
"You could call her Selina Kyle," he said. At her questioning look, he explained. "That was Catwoman's real name."
She reached for the kitten again and dropped a kiss on her head. "I think Amy would like that. She would have liked you, too, you know. I think she would have said that you're good for me."
They were good for each other. Wyatt knew that with a profound certainty that he didn't even question anymore. "So you think maybe we can talk about possibilities over dinner later?"
Lucy leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Best offer I've had all day."
A/N – I don't know what is wrong with me that a kitten prompt turned out so emo, but hopefully the fluff at the end made up for it a little. Also, the department chair who denied Lucy's tenure meeting has no name in the pilot, so I called him Dr. Hayden because Gilmore Girls. Thanks for reading!