Lucy looked in the mirror for the fifth time, pulling her hair out of Jiya's hands yet again.

Jiya sighed deeply, drumming her fingers on the bureau. "I'm not changing it again, I don't care what you say."

"You're sure? Maybe the French braid was the way to go?"

"But Lucy, you said it pulled your scalp too much. And honestly, I think you should flaunt your mane. I mean, Wyatt has seen you with leaves in your hair, covered in mud-"

"and blood," Lucy interrupted quietly.

"Yes! He's seen you at your worst and he still is crazy about you. I don't know what you are worrying about!" Jiya banged the hair brush on the bureau for emphasis.

"Somehow the fact that it's a date, our first real date, makes it feel like the stakes are sky high."

"Well, I get that. But put it in perspective. Just imagine that you've got Flynn or Emma creeping around after you, and you may find yourself worrying a bit less about how you look."

The women sat in Jiya's room. Her "boudoir" as Rufus called it. It had wide windows, a pale peach paint on the walls which peeked out between an eclectic collection of posters for Star Trek films, the Dark Crystal and film noir. Lucy reflected that the bright cheery room was about as far from the sultry and romantic images the word boudoir evoked, as Wyatt's apartment had been from feeling "personal."

She looked in the mirror again and tried to see past the anxiety that was making her find fault with every detail about herself. Remarkably finding a dress had been no problem. Among the meager belongings Lucy still owned—after rejecting much of the wierdly alien wardrobe that she'd inherited from that "other self" who was in love with Noah—was one of her favorite dresses: a black sheath dress with slinky graceful gathers, and a low strapless neckline that left her shoulders bare. She'd worn it to cocktail parties at Stanford to help her feel confident navigating the bloodbath that was academic politics. She'd always gotten second looks. Tonight they would be from a hot, available guy her age, rather than the usual married, stuffy older gentlemen so common in her department.

With this dress as her faithful companion to wear, her hair and make-up had ended up taking the brunt of her worry. She'd spent hours on her make-up, and hauled her friend in to help her with her hair. After several other attempts, Jiya had hit on braiding Lucy's bangs in a sideways waterfall braid across the right side of her forehead. The rest of her dark hair swished about her neck as usual. She'd fretted herself into a frenzy wanting to look "special" for tonight, going back and forth about what ornamentation would be too much. But finally looking again at herself, she could start to see what Jiya saw. She looked good.

"Maybe this strikes a balance?" Lucy said. Jiya at first rolled her eyes and put her head down, but suddenly perked her head up.

"Yes! Yes, that's what I was trying to say." She slid her chair until Lucy could see Jiya's face framed in the mirror behind her own. Jiya fluffed some of the dark locks on Lucy's shoulder. "This is just enough for a special night. You look great. And with that dress, you will be lucky if he notices your hair."

Lucy blushed and took a deep breath. "Okay. Let's go for it. Plus," she looked sideways at Jiya, "I think I've used up all my good roomie credit for the night, right?"

Jiya winked at her. "Maybe not all...but yeah, don't push it too far." She put her arms out to Lucy for a hug, and Lucy once again felt her great luck at having Jiya for a friend. Her life had narrowed considerably in the past year, and no relationship was extraneous. Lucy breathed a brief prayer of thanks to the Universe that had seen fit to send such stellar companions her way.


Wyatt knocked on the door at 7 pm sharp. Truth be told, he'd arrived 15 minutes early, gotten nervous and ended up circling the neighborhood several more times until it was safe to enter. The last thing he wanted was to make Lucy hurry and feel like he was pushing her to get going early. Although that is exactly what he'd wanted since he woke up that morning.

His morning jog had never seemed so long. He'd been distracted during sparring and took an unexpected right hook to the temple. His assigned security guard, Margot noticed the bruise when he dropped by to say hello where she was stationed in her grey Ford outside his house.

"Rittenhouse get the drop on you at the gym?" she said, grinning at him.

"No such luck. A black belt's right fist had the pleasure."

Margot laughed. "Just one attacker? That doesn't sound like you."

Wyatt's cheeks got pink. He mumbled. "I might have been distracted."

She whistled. "Something I need to know for my schedule tonight?" Wyatt rubbed his neck in embarrassment and filled her in on what he had planned for his date with Lucy.

The rest of the day was agony. He'd tried watching movies, reading, video games but couldn't concentrate on anything for long. He'd broken down at lunch and picked up a paper looking for a cross-word puzzle. They'd been a great favorite of his grandfather's and though Wyatt hated the things, he was actually pretty good at them. That stuck the longest, but when he finished and found it was still only 3 pm in the afternoon he was about to break. He lay down on the couch and called Rufus.

"Hey, Wyatt, how's it going?"

"I'm about to die."

"What—what's wrong?"

"Oh—I didn't mean that. I'm nervous as a cat about this date with Lucy tonight." Wyatt heard a muffled snort on the other end of the line.

"What?"

"Oh, it's just that I've seen you walk stone cold into a nest of machine guns, hold off a team of Flynn's heavies, and yet it's a nice little dinner with the lady of your choice that makes you choke."

"I'm not choking! I'm just..." Wyatt ran his hand through his hair and sat up. "It's just that..well, you ever have one of those days where you feel like what you're about to do will change the course of the rest of your life?"

"Every day when I show up for work, these days."

"You know what I mean!"

Rufus laughed, "Yeah, I know what you mean. But you've got to cut yourself some slack. Trust me I know. I put so much pressure on that date with Jiya when we got back from the Hindenberg jump I completely clammed up and nearly ruined everything."

"Well..."

"Well, what?"

"She was kinda into you. I think you woulda had to work harder to really shake her off."

Rufus said, "Now you're talking friend. Remember that that's how Lucy feels about you and you'll be just fine."

Wyatt roused from his recollections of the day. As he stood at the door, it opened. Rufus appeared behind it and he gave a low whistle.

"You really do clean up nice. Great fedora. Now wait a minute, that isn't a detachable collar is it?"

Wyatt removed his hat as he came inside and fingered the collar of the crisp white shirt he was wearing. "No, believe me, if I never have to wear one of those again it will be too soon."

"Well, you look like you got a memo from Agent Christopher about Emma's next jump. Was there something I missed?"

Tugging self-consciously at the mossy green silken tie he wore, Wyatt said, "Nope. Though I guess we might luck out if we get the call tonight. This is a suprise for Lucy."

"That takes place in the 1930s?"

Wyatt was saved from having to explain by the interruption of Jiya coming up to them. She gave Rufus a quick kiss on the cheek and clung affectionately to his arm. She gave Wyatt an appreciative look, checking him out from head to foot.

"Hey, I'm right here!" Rufus jokingly objected. Jiya gave him half-lidded smoldering look that made Wyatt turn away. She whispered something in Rufus' ear that he blinked and nodded in response to. Is Rufus blushing? Wyatt thought.

"Okay. We're good then." Jiya said at Rufus' reaction. She smiled smugly and addressed Wyatt, "As I was about to say, I'm very glad to see you made an effort here, Wyatt. If I had to spend that long helping Lucy get ready and find you wearing flannel and jeans I would have blown my stack."

"I get your seal of approval, then?"

She squeezed Rufus arm then dropped it and stepped close to Wyatt. She dusted off the jacket and adjusted the tie slightly. Taking the fedora from his nerveless fingers and put it back on his head at a rakish angle.

"Yes. Perfect. But what I think matters less than..." She broke off as Wyatt and Rufus' attention was captured by something beyond her.

Lucy came down the short hallway, momentarily backlit by a flare of sunlight coming through the west facing windows of Jiya's living room. As Wyatt's eyes recovered from the glare, he took in the rustle of the dress as her legs emerged from the high central slit with each step.

"Have fun!" Jiya said, then tugged at Rufus' arm and steered him out into the living room. Rufus gave Wyatt a nod and awkward thumbs up as he stumbled down the living room after his girlfriend, and flashed a big smile at Lucy as they went by her.

Lucy smiled at Jiya and Rufus and then bashfully turned to Wyatt. She hugged a small beaded black clutch to her side, toying with its handle nervously. She met his eyes, (so blue I could fall into them) then tugged her gaze away to take in his whole ensemble. Wyatt was dressed to the nines. His brown shoes shone, his matching vest and suit jacket looked vintage, yet fitted his muscular frame precisely. Her heart fluttered when she saw the chocolate brown fedora he was wearing. That man can wear a hat. She tried not to show how his appearance flustered her. She stepped forward and attempted to greet him with poise.

Wyatt stepped close, his eyes glued to Lucy's. When he had gotten a clear look at her after the dazzle of the day light wore off he was ambushed by desire. His eyes plunged down the revealing neckline, and followed the curves of her hips that the dress showed off so well. His body started reacting immediately, and he had felt the brief tug of temptation to chuck all their plans, carry her down to his car and spend the next hour taking that dress off of her and the next 24 hours learning every secret to making her sigh with pleasure. Get. A. Grip.

He stepped close to Lucy and offered her his hand. With his other hand he lifted the hat off of his head and leaned close to her for a quick kiss. The scent of apples clung to her. Her hand came up to touch his cheek, and though he had meant to whisk her away quickly (the sooner we get going, the sooner we get to my place) he could not resist the siren call of Lucy's touch. The kiss deepened. Their tongues caressed. Time evaporated. Wyatt's hand came up and rested on her hip hugging her to him. She slipped her arms around his neck, breaking away from his mouth to whisper "I missed you," and press a gentle kiss to his neck. Wyatt's eyes closed in surprise and pleasure as the butterfly light pressure sent a shiver through his frame.

He hoarsely responded. "Me, too," and ran his hand down the bare skin of her arm. He felt that magnetic pull again. The scant inches between them seemed too far. Breathe, breathe. All in good time, soldier. "You ready to go? Let's not scandalize Jiya and Rufus anymore by necking in their foyer."

A mischievous glint lit up Lucy's eyes. "Oh, I think they'd understand." She reached up again and pressed another blistering kiss to Wyatt's mouth. He fought to keep his composure and not melt into her. "But I'm excited for this night to start. Just a moment—" Lucy scampered back down the hallway toward the living room. Seeing the glitter of lit candles and hearing low voices, she skidded to a stop and pivoted swiftly back to Wyatt.

"Yup." She grabbed his hand and suddenly pulled him toward the door. "That's our cue to exit." Wyatt, baffled and bemused, followed his lady, equally excited for the evening to commence.


A/N: This is a follow-up to Talk to Me. I meant for it to be a one shot, but well, you know... Warning: Things will get steamy!