I still don't own Timeless.

Yawning, Lucy rubbed a hand across her eyes. She stretched and rolled over, checking the time on her phone. 6:45, May 30, 2018. Her mind felt fuzzy, so she stumbled downstairs to start the coffee. As she turned toward the kitchen, she recognized the smell of her favorite brew.

"Good morning!" Amy was sitting at the table with her own mug, glancing up at Lucy as she scrolled on her phone.

"Amy!" Lucy ran over and grabbed her, smelling her hair as she pulled her close.

"Whoa, sis, I was only gone for a few days." Amy laughed as she hugged her back. "What's this?"

Lucy pulled back and wrinkled her brow as something niggled in the back of her mind.

"I…I don't know…I feel like I haven't seen you in years, but I know you just left with Dave a few days ago…"

"Weird dream?"

Drinking in the first sip, Lucy leaned back with her eyes closed, trying to remember.

"Yeah, I guess. I don't remember much, but it felt…well, it felt crazy. Like fever dream crazy."

Amy took a long look at her sister. Lucy had taken the loss of their mother to cancer eighteen months earlier hard, well, they both had, but her big sister, despite all her degrees, seemed more lost.

"Did you decide what to do about the job?"

Lucy sighed as she sat down at the table with her newly poured bowl of Frosted Flakes.

"I'm going to take it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I know Mom wanted me at Stanford, but this job at Berkeley, it's so amazing, Amy. They want me to head up a new sub-department for all the history that's been forgotten. Basically, teaching students who want to learn everything that the traditional white men's history doesn't teach. And they're still going to have me teach, and, it's just…" She grinned, realizing she was gushing as Amy smiled widely at her.

"It sounds amazing, Luce. I'm proud of you."

"Yeah, it does sound amazing. And I thought about what you said, what you've BEEN saying forever about how I need to get out of mom's shadow and you're so right. She just…she pushed me so hard, and I worked so hard for approval, but it was never enough. I don't want to stay at a school that doesn't really approve of me, doesn't want me, just because the mom who didn't really approve of me wanted me to."

Amy nodded along with a wistful expression, like she wished she could contradict her, but knew it wouldn't be true. Lucy frowned as she emptied the last of her mug, trying to catch a thought.

"I think Mom was in my dream last night, actually," she got up to rinse the bowl and stick it in the dishwasher.

"Did she give you her blessing or something?"

Lucy watched the stream of brown liquid as she poured it into her travel mug and got ready to head upstairs.

"No, definitely not. It's really blurry, but I feel like she was in this crazy secret society, and they wanted me to help take over the world…"

"Were you drinking last night?" Amy smirked.

"No, I know it's bizarre. Maybe that doc I watched on the Masons is messing with my head. Okay, I've got to go. Got to hand in my resignation! What are you up to today?"

"I'm recording a podcast episode on Doctor Who and this really great blogger I've been texting with and her boyfriend are going to join in. I'm looking forward to actually meeting them in person. And I have two classes this afternoon, white and yellow belt."

Lucy smiled. Her sister loved teaching her karate classes to kids. She headed upstairs to get dressed but paused on the steps as she heard Amy speak again.

"Bizarre, but…Mom being in a secret society would actually explain a lot."

"I know, right?" Lucy arched her brow and went to get ready for her day.

"Iris! You've got to get moving, sweetheart!" Garcia Flynn knocked on his nine-year-old daughter's door for the third time. "We're going to be late if you're not ready in the next ten minutes!"

He swung the burgundy tie around his neck and knocked on the door again, reaching for the knob when it opened from inside.

"Geez, Dad, I'm ready. I just have to go to the bathroom, it's fine," she rolled her eyes as she headed for the bathroom, the red plaid of her school uniform skirt swinging behind her.

"I haven't had enough coffee for this," he grumbled to himself as he knotted and tugged his tie into place. He heated up a frozen sausage biscuit for himself as he stuck two cherry pop-tarts into the toaster for Iris, ignoring the twinge of guilt at what Lorena would have thought of his breakfast choices. Garcia was no slouch in the kitchen, but he couldn't figure out a workable morning routine for Iris and him that included a "real" breakfast. Before she had passed away three years earlier, they had always tag-teamed, one cooking pancakes or eggs while the other got Iris ready.

Iris rushed into the kitchen and grabbed the hot pop-tarts straight out of the toaster, grabbed a small bottle of milk out of the fridge, and then looked at him impatiently.

"Okay, I've got everything, can we go already?"

Garcia smirked at her, remembering how she used to wake he and Lorena up at 5 AM with bright squeals and smiles, yet now, she would never be mistaken for a morning person. He looked at her hands.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

Iris scoffed, "No. See, lunchbox, packed, bookbag with homework and signed permission slip inside."

"And your karate bag?"

"Oh, yeah," Garcia chuckled as she ran back to her room to grab her duffle bag.

They pulled up to the drop-off line at Iris's Catholic school (Lorena's choice, but one that he was honoring now that she was gone), and laughed at Iris's groan when she saw the red-haired teacher leading the check-in.

"You don't have to talk to her, it's just your check-in."

"Except she's leading the field trip to the zoo today. God, Ms. Whitmore is such a hard-ass."

"Hey, language," he tried to sound stern, but couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him.

"Where do you think I learned it, Dad?"

"Ignoring that. Goodbye, Iris, be a good girl today. I love you. Kiss."

She rolled her green eyes and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, a mumbled "Love you too," then with a swish of light brown hair, she was gone.

Garcia smiled after her until he caught the eye of Ms. Whitmore, who nodded at him curtly and motioned for him to move on. He shook his head and muttered.

"Yeah, you are a hard ass, aren't you?"

She scared him more than some of the terrorists he'd dealt with back in his days in the field. He was pretty sure she could have gotten information out of them faster than he ever had. There was a weird premonition feeling he got around her that he just couldn't explain, so he just avoided her as much as possible.

Pulling his black Range Rover into the spot marked "Director of Intelligence" at the central California office of the NSA, he waved and smiled as he spotted a familiar figure. She stopped to wait for him.

"Good morning, Garcia."

"Good morning, Denise. You here for the briefing on the recent cartel activity?"

"Yes. And I have a new field agent starting today, so please go easy on him. He's fresh out of the Army and has a bit of a chip on his shoulder."

Garcia groaned. "Not another one of those Delta Force dicks, is he?"

Denise laughed. "I think he has a lot of potential once he can get past some of his issues. You might even like him. I would stick to calling him Agent Logan to his face, though. 'Delta Force Dick' certainly won't make you any friends."

"No promises," he smirked back, "Will Olivia be at karate today?"

"Yes, she's getting nervous. Only a few classes left before the grading to see if they earn the yellow belt."

"Yes, Iris was telling me. I think she's finally enjoying it now that they've got that new teacher."

"Yeah, Ms. Preston. Olivia thinks she's amazing. And I feel better knowing that she's learning how to defend herself. She's got them all excited about the exam next week, are you going to be able to go?"

"Wouldn't miss it."

"No date or anything?"

Garcia narrowed his eyes at his friend and sighed, "Denise…"

"Just hear me out. It's been three years, Garcia, you need to start thinking about moving on." He just looked back at her sternly, but she sighed and continued, "Michelle met a woman who she thought would be perfect for you. She's a beautiful red head, actually, she teaches at Iris's school…"

He laughed out loud at that one. "You mean Ms. Whitmore? The hard ass? Yeah, no thanks. If and when I decide to move on, I can handle it on my own, Denise," he returned, gesturing her through the open door. "But thanks for the thought."

Coming up: Rufus and Jiya