Lucy stirs in the morning and opens her eyes to find Flynn's bed vacant. She leans up on one elbow and squints at the room, worried that he may have collapsed on the floor somewhere, but sees nothing.

"Flynn?" Silence.

She pulls back the covers and is about to get out of bed when the door opens, and Flynn steps into the darkened room, two mugs in hand, no longer swaying on his feet and having traded his blanket around the shoulders for his usual grey hoodie.

He smiles as he sees her. "You're awake, good. I was beginning to wonder if I'd need to feel for a pulse." He hands her one of the mugs, which she accepts gratefully, and seats himself on the bed next to her.

"What time is it?" she asks, looking around the room for a clock. Flynn holds up his watch to show her the screen - 10:47 a.m. Much later than she usually sleeps; she must have been more exhausted than she thought. She stifles a yawn as she looks Flynn over. "You're looking much better."

"Feeling much better," he replies, sipping his own coffee. "Had some excellent medical care."

"Oh, yeah right, all I did was give you your medication and make you some godawful soup."

He smiles, the laugh lines around his eyes creasing. "I liked your soup."

Lucy laughs. "Apparently this isn't an honest marriage-"

"I was teaching you, actually." There's a sadness in his eyes now that silences her immediately, her smile fading. "You actually make terrific scrambled eggs."

"Don't," Lucy says quietly, looking away, and Flynn frowns.

"Don't what?"

"Don't pretend that I'm someone I'm not."

"What do you mean?"

"Look, we both know the rules of this." She shrugs; she still can't look him in the eye. "If you weren't traveling at the time history was changed, then the person who returns will take the place of the person you said goodbye to a few hours previous. I'm her, but...I'm also not."

"I know that, Lucy."

"I just...need some time. To process all of this. To come to terms with this new situation."

Flynn looks as if he's been slapped. "Situation," he repeats. "The situation being…our marriage."

"No, I didn't mean it like-" She reaches for him as he stands and heads towards the door, but misses his arm by a wide margin. "Flynn, wait, please-"

He doesn't stop, and the door slams loudly, leaving her alone in silence once more.

Lucy emerges from the bedroom a short time later as the klaxon goes off overhead signalling a Mothership jump. She sees Flynn already standing at the center console next to Rufus, his arms crossed and brow furrowed in concern as Rufus talks. He catches sight of Lucy over Rufus's shoulder and beckons her over to them. She sees Wyatt and Jessica enter the room out of the corner of her eye as she walks and she grits her teeth, her pace increasing so she won't be trapped walking next to them.

"New York," Flynn says as Lucy reaches them, turning to look at her. "March 25, 1911."

Lucy leans back against the metal railing and crosses her arms as she thinks on it (and Rufus resists the urge to point out how similar they currently look, standing side by side, arms crossed and frowning). "The only thing I can think of is the Triangle Shirtwaist fire," Lucy finally says, and she gets only blank looks from the rest of them. "A fire broke out and all of the doors were locked, the employees couldn't get out. 146 people died, mostly young immigrant women. Some of them...jumped."

"Oh my god," Jessica breathes, her eyes wide. "That's horrible."

Lucy doesn't look at her. "Yes, it was. It was also the precursor major growth in labor unions and major improvements in factory workers' rights. They modernized the labor laws and New York State became one of the most progressive states in terms of labor reform."

"I can't imagine Rittenhouse are fans of unions," Jiya says, still staring forward at her computer screen.

"No, they wouldn't be," Lucy murmurs, her voice full of bitterness. "Workers' rights are bad for the bottom line, and the peasants can't govern themselves, after all." She stares at the date on the computer screens before her, eyes narrowed, going over the sequence of events in her head, not just of the day of the fire, but the subsequent fallout afterward, and her eyes widen slightly as she realizes what must be happening. "They're going to try to stop the fire."

"Wait, hold up," Rufus quickly interjects. "Are you saying that Rittenhouse is going to save the workers? 146 people?" He and Jiya meet eyes briefly. "Isn't...that...a good thing?"

"Yes and no. That would be a massive change to history, 146 family lines preserved, and without that fire, factories in the US may have continued on with sweatshop conditions, even more tragedies like the fire taking place all through history and the possibility of far more than 146 lives lost."

"So we have to stop them. Make sure the fire happens as planned."

Lucy looks over at Flynn as he speaks. The idea of ensuring the deaths of countless people makes her stomach churn. "We don't know for sure what Rittenhouse is up to. Save the planning for when we know what we're up against."

They stare each other down a moment, the tension palpable, and then Flynn simply nods and looks away from her. Not at all the reaction Lucy expected to get, especially from the Flynn she knows and is used to, and she's thrown off for a moment by it.

"Let's head out, then," Wyatt says, already heading for the Lifeboat. Rufus hops out of his chair quickly to follow and Lucy and Flynn share one more look before they too follow. By the time they reach the Lifeboat the other two men are already strapped in, leaving the two seats closest to the door open. Lucy ducks in through the hatch and almost jumps as she feels Flynn take her hand to help her through the door. She slips into her seat just as he does and fumbles with her restraints. Wyatt turns, ready to help buckle her in as usual, only to find Flynn already leaning forward to fasten the various buckles for her. He turns quickly back around, his voice low as he talks with Rufus instead.

"Too tight?" Flynn asks, tightening the final belt and glancing up at her. She shakes her head, flustered by his close proximity, and finally lets out a breath as he leans back in his seat to do up his own seatbelt. Instinctively she looks over at Wyatt, only to find him looking back at her, his face blank, and she quickly looks at the floor instead, which right about now feels like a much better option than having to look at either man seated in her periphery.

"How do we want to tackle this?" Flynn asks as he slings his tie around his neck. He crosses around behind Lucy and before she realizes what he's doing he takes over buttoning the back of her blouse without so much as a word.

"Hey!" she yelps as she feels his cold fingers against her back. "Flynn, I've got it."

He pauses, then drops his hands and steps away. "Of course. Sorry. You just...usually…" He shakes his head. "Sorry."

Seeing the look on his face, Lucy sighs. Well, what could it hurt - it would be difficult to get the upper buttons on her own anyway. "Actually, Flynn, could you…?" She turns away from him, gesturing at the buttons, and he steps close once more, resuming his task with more hesitation than before. Lucy pulls her hair over her shoulder, allowing him to fasten the buttons on the high neck as well. "What do I usually do?" she asks him, softly enough that the other two men won't overhear.

"It's a routine, of sorts," he tells her as he finishes the final button. "I help you fasten your dress and you help with tying my tie."

"Oh." Her face is uncomfortably warm. She turns and finds Flynn working on his tie. "What are you doing?"

He looks up, pausing. "I was…" He trails off as Lucy steps closer and takes the tie from his hands. He lifts his chin as she quickly ties it and tightens the knot.

"There." She trails a hand over the tie to smooth it down, then steps back and looks him over. "Looks good." She can tell Flynn is trying to hide a smile as he looks off to the side, and she can't help but smile herself. "What?" she asks, the hint of a laugh on her voice.

He opens his mouth to respond, just as Wyatt calls from behind them, "Let's get moving. We should split up. One team can check out the factory, talk to some of the workers, see if the sleeper is one of them."

"Flynn and I can handle that," Lucy blurts out, and each man looks at her with a varied degree of surprise. "Most of the employees are immigrant women, some don't even speak English. They'll feel more comfortable opening up to another woman, and Flynn speaks...how many languages?"

"Six," he says automatically, only just shaking off his surprise.

"Yeah, but-..." Wyatt trails off. Lucy knows what he's itching to say - that he speaks four, so why not him - but apparently he thinks better of it for once. "Right. Me and Rufus will canvas the general area, see if anyone has seen anything weird, anyone acting suspicious. You and Flynn speak to the workers. Lucy, what time was the fire?"

"4:40 PM is roughly when it started. It lasted 18 minutes or so."

"Jesus. Alright. Let's meet back here at 3:00 to touch base. If you find the sleeper, take them out and rendezvous immediately after. No matter what, make sure you are out of that building by 4:00 at the latest. I don't want to risk losing anyone."

Each of them nod, and the group splits off, Flynn and Lucy heading toward the Asch Building just across the plaza while Rufus and Wyatt head down an adjacent street.

"How do we want to play this?" Lucy asks him quietly. Flynn offers her his arm, which she stares at a moment before she takes it.

"Investor, maybe? Want to tour the factory before deciding?"

"Making me, what? Your secretary?"

He clears his throat. "We could go the usual route."

She doesn't have to ask. "Your wife?" she says, filling in the blank, an eyebrow raised. She can see his jaw clench, and he nods. "Guess it isn't a total lie." Flynn looks over at her and sees her tiny smile. "But I don't have a ring. That's going to look suspicious, especially if you're meant to be a wealthy investor."

Flynn stops abruptly at the entrance to an alley, with Lucy nearly tripping as she continues walking. He steadies her, then steps just inside the alley as he loosens his tie and unbuttons his shirt slightly, enough that he can reach under the collar. Lucy watches patiently as he fishes out a silver chain that's hanging from his neck , with a ring, clearly feminine, hanging from the end of it

"Is that…?"

"It is," he says, voice quiet, removing the chain and letting the ring slide off into his open palm. He looks at it briefly, then holds it out. "Hope it fits."

She takes it slowly, almost reverently. The ring is beautiful, a vintage look to the gold band and capped off by a modest ruby at the center. It is absolutely the ring she'd have chosen for herself, if given the choice, something that surprises her even though she knows that in another time and place that's no doubt exactly what happened.

"Not a diamond, huh?" she says wryly, a teasing smile on her face.

Flynn smiles as he buttons his shirt once more. "Diamonds were never your style, Lucy Preston," he says as he then takes her left hand in his and holds his other palm out. Lucy sets the ring in his hand, blushing again as he slips it onto her finger.

"It's beautiful, Flynn," she murmurs, holding her hand up to look at it. It does fit perfectly, which isn't particularly weird considering it belonged to a different version of herself. "And you're right. I was never a fan of diamonds."

"I know."

His response is loaded; she knows what he's really saying. He knows her. Of course, he had said as much a few weeks previous (in her reality, at least). Sometimes I feel like I know you better than you know yourself. That conversation feels like a lifetime ago now, with a different man than the one before her, and she wonders whether it's a conversation that took place between them in this version of reality as well.

"Why did you have it?" she finally asks him, breaking the silence.

"You gave it to me." He pauses. "Or...she did. Before you left on the last mission, you told me to keep it for you, just in case. You said it would be a good luck charm, help me get better." He smiles at the memory, and she can see the pain in his eyes.

"I'm sorry."

"What for?"

Lucy steps closer to Flynn, and he freezes as she slips her arms over his shoulders and pulls him into a tight hug. He hesitates a moment before wrapping his arms around her in return, his cheek resting against her hair.

"I'm sorry I took her away from you," Lucy tells him, and she feels his arms tighten around her in response. "I never meant for that to happen."

"It's not your fault." She can feel the rumble of his deep voice in his chest as she rests her head against his shoulder. "We knew this might happen. It was just a matter of time."

"Stop being so goddamn stoic, Flynn," she says firmly, leaning back so she can look him in the eye. "I know you better than that."

He snorts softly. "That you do."

They go quiet for a moment, just looking at each other, then Lucy takes a step back, pulling out of Flynn's arms. "We, uh...we should get going, we don't have a ton of time and a lot of floors to cover."

"You're the boss," he mumbles at her retreating form as she quickly exits the alley, and he has to focus hard to ignore the aching in his chest as he watches her leave.