it's been a long time.

song is by lea michele. none of these characters are my own.

takes place after the finale episode (which has not aired yet at this particular time i am posting so this is speculation)

After the Lifeboat had landed back in real time they had prepared for the worst. There was no way to avoid the consequences of their actions. They knew not to struggle against the men in uniforms, whom immediately grabbed them all once they got off the Lifeboat. They knew there would be potential severe consequences for all three. They also knew they were a team and they wouldn't leave each other behind. But once the man holding Wyatt's arms behind his back began cuffing only him, Lucy found herself suddenly struggling against the man that held her.

"No!" she cried out, startling her partners. Her outburst was not part of their plan. "No, leave him alone!"

"Wyatt has to be arrested. He stole the time machine the first time, you seem to forget. You two," Agent Neville said, pointing to Lucy and Rufus, "we'll still need you to stop Flynn. Then we'll discuss what will happen after."

"No," Lucy said again, more firmly. "We were all in this. We had to take matters into our own hands. If you arrest Wyatt you'll have to arrest me." Lucy paused, her chest heaving with the exertion of struggling with the man in the uniform behind her. "I won't do it without him." Her eyes were glittering, almost dangerously, with her loyalty. She could feel Wyatt's eyes on her but she did not look at him.

"Me neither," she heard Rufus squeak, then with more confidence, "I'm the only pilot you've got."

"I won't do it without them either," a voice said.

Heads swerved to find the source of the noise when Jiya popped up in the crowd of men in suits. Lucy watched as Jiya and Rufus gave each other small smiles. She looked back to her new "boss" and tried her best to look intimidating.

"Arrest them all," he said.

Lucy bit her lip hard to keep from crying out when she was handcuffed tightly.

"Wait," another voice bellowed, and Lucy was surprised to see it was her father. "Let them go." She heard him say.

Lucy flexed her wrists, glaring at the man who cuffed her as he moved away.

"You're not arresting us?" she asked the man that was her father, feeling nothing but disgust for him.

"You were chosen to carry out this mission and now I'll see to it that you will. The mission is to stop Flynn from changing history," he reminded the three and they glared in return. "And if Flynn were to succeed…" her father droned on, his eyes landing on Lucy, "you will have never existed. Just like your sister."

At that, Lucy inhaled sharply. Her ceasing to exist had somehow not crossed her mind. It made sense but she couldn't put together how.

"Now that I seem to really have your attention," Cahill continued, "I suggest we forget this waste of time and get home for some rest before Flynn strikes again. And remember," he added with a sardonic grin, "we know where you live."

Lucy Preston loved facts.

Ever since she was little, she loved them. She knew the order of the presidents by five, all fifty states by six and could tell you weird facts about historical figures since middle school. She loved facts and felt secure in her knowledge of them. She knew for a fact that Rittenhouse was dangerous. She knew for a fact that her father wanted her to be a part of what she was born into and she knew for a fact that her time traveling days were not over.

Lucy stared at the black journal her mother had given her. Would it be wise to write in it? She did have so many thoughts swirling in her head she wanted to unleash. Biting the edge of her thumb, eyebrows furrowed in deep thought, she was startled to hear a gentle knocking at her door.

Worried it might be her father coming to…what? Kill her if she didn't succumb to Rittenhouse? She got up off the couch and slowly walked to the door, taking a deep breath before she opened it.

Wyatt.

"Hey, I'm sorry it's so late but I need to talk to you. Can I come in?"

Another thing Lucy knew for a fact? She was completely in love with Wyatt Logan.

She didn't know how or when, she just knew. Maybe it was a little after their kiss when they were with Bonnie and Clyde, or maybe even before. She was already well aware that it was most likely a lost cause. He was still deeply in love with his deceased wife. There were sometimes small moments where she thought maybe he could have feelings for her, but he never acted on them. Even with those small, sometimes intimate, moments they have she could see in his eyes that there was a wall there. It was almost like the wall around his heart, she could tell he had one in his eyes too when he looked at her. Seeing her but never in a way that would mean more. It frustrated her sometimes when he wouldn't look at her that way, when she knew that she always looked at him with her heart in her eyes.

"Yeah, come in," she moved aside to let him in, wincing when his warm body brushed past hers.

She led him to the living room, offering him a seat on the couch and sitting on the other end. The further away from him the better.

"What's up?" she asked him casually.

Wyatt took a deep breath, his hands intertwined in front of him. "I don't want to beat around the bush here, but." he sighed and Lucy waited patiently. "I know your father is a part of Rittenhouse and I know that they're evil and I know that we've seen what they can do, I know this." When he paused for a long time she opened her mouth to say something but then he continued. "But I think we should keep going after Flynn."

"What?" she asked, shocked. Wyatt had wanted this to end even more than her and Rufus did.

"You know we can't destroy Rittenhouse," Wyatt told her.

"Why not? That's not how you felt yesterday!"

"Lucy, come on," he said and she was taken aback by the sudden emotion in his voice, "we destroy Rittenhouse, you won't exist."

Oh. Right. That.

"Maybe he's bluffing," she argued weakly.

Wyatt shook his head seriously, "I don't think he is."

They both went quiet for a long time, lost in their own thoughts.

"Well," Lucy finally said, squaring her shoulders, "if that's what has to be then-"

"No," he quickly interrupted, "no."

"Wyatt, they've killed so many people. I'm just one person. And if I can change history for the - for the better then I'll do it."

He had somehow gotten closer to her now but she didn't back away, choosing instead to focus her attention on her hands in her lap.

"Please," he said quietly, "I can't - we can't lose you."

At his words she looked up at him and gasped inwardly at his eyes.

He was looking at her.

He was looking at her.

She found herself placing her hand on his stubbly cheek. "Wyatt," she whispered.

"I just found you," he whispered too, a painful smile on his face. "When I realized I couldn't bring Jessica back I - well, I figured it was like you said. Fate. Sick, twisted fate. But then I realized there could be good fate." She raised her eyebrows at this. "I mean, meeting you and Rufus in this kind of circumstance, if it's not fate, what is it?"

"You think us traveling through time and going through all of those horrible things was good fate?" she questioned.

"Well it wasn't all bad," he shrugged then put his hand on hers, which was still resting on his cheek. "It somehow led me to you, didn't it? Ever since we started this time traveling thing I feel like my world has been spinning out of control. But there has always been one thing in my life since then that's been constant and solid. And that's you."

Her breath got caught in her throat at his words and she felt like she couldn't breathe. Was this finally really happening? She doubted it ever would.

"I -"

Lucy could've laughed at the fact that she was now suddenly at a loss for words, her mind befuddled with a million thoughts and her heart pounding excitedly.

"You were the one that taught me that fate was a thing. You taught me how important it was to keep history intact, no matter how ugly it was." His blue eyes were looking so deeply into hers it nearly took her breath away. "You taught me how to start caring again, Lucy."

"I never thought I could care about someone after Jessica but you -and Rufus-" he added with a chuckle, "taught me that I could. And I do. So much more than I even realized. When Flynn kidnapped you, it felt like losing her all over again." He shook his head, his eyes determined, "and I don't want to lose you. I won't."

Her eyes filled with tears and she felt even more confused. Now what was she supposed to do?

"I don't know what to say," she choked.

"I know this is hard for you," he took both of her hands in his and she shivered at the touch, "but you have to understand. You're a part of a team and none of us are supposed to get left behind, remember?"

"I know," she squeezed her eyes shut tight, tears leaking out, "but like I said, I'm just one person and if I could stop them from-from killing more people…"

"Lucy," he said and before she even knew what was happening his lips were on hers. After a few seconds of initial shock, she kissed him back, her hands flying to the back of his neck while his stayed on her face. She felt herself shaking but the longer his warm, soft lips were on hers, the more steady she became and she knew. She knew without a doubt in her mind. She knew for a fact that Wyatt was in love with her. He may be still getting over his wife, but at least now she knew he was willing to move on and he was willing to move on with her. She could hardly believe he was here saying these things and then kissing her! It was almost a miracle but she didn't know if it would ever happen again. She decided to cherish the moment and opened her mouth to his.

It was almost like the kiss they had weeks ago, only softer and with more feelings involved. Lucy's mind went blank as all the troubling thoughts she had earlier drifted away. Wyatt pulled her closer and she was sprawled over him, but neither seemed to mind as they deepened the kiss. Lucy pulled back for a split second, running her thumb over his eyebrow and he could see everything she wanted to say in her eyes. Wyatt pulled her face back to his and kissed her more passionately this time. She let out a moan of surprise, her hands running up his chest, silently cursing the fabric between them.

Tongues tangling and hands roaming, Lucy knew she needed to come up for air soon but she didn't want it to stop. But a small voice inside her head told her to stop, you can't let this go any further, especially when you don't know what will happen in the future. Don't hurt him anymore than you already probably will.

"We have to stop," she murmured, barely pulling away, her breathing heavy.

He did stop and she wished he didn't. When he looked at her with those bright blue eyes she almost kissed him again.

"Feel," he said breathlessly as he grabbed her left hand and brought it to his chest. She felt his heart racing underneath her palm and her eyes fluttered to his. He looked at her with that grin she loved so much. "I haven't felt like this in years."

"Kissing someone like that would get anyone's heart racing," she told him.

"Nope, just you, baby doll." he smirked, liking seeing her so flustered by him and not some famous dead person they had met.

She wanted to roll her eyes but she smiled instead.

"There has to be another way," he said, this time serious, "I won't risk losing you. We have to find another way."

"You really care about me that much?" her eyes were soft, as they usually were around him.

"More," he confirmed, making her heart burst in her chest.

Lucy took a deep breath. "Ok," she finally said, "ok I don't know how, but… we will find another way."

He let out the breath he had been holding in, smiling with relief that he had convinced her for now. "Good."

This time she kissed him.