A/N: Now it really starts heating up and getting more into Lucy/Wyatt! There will be more Jessica next chapter (or the one after).
Warning: There is some cursing in this chapter.
If Agent Christopher is surprised when they all arrive at the same time, she doesn't say anything. Instead, she barely greets them before turning to the screen in front of Jiya, "Flynn's gone to November 25, 1986. Lucy, what happened that day?"
"It's the Iran-Contra affair. Reagan appointed the Tower Commission that day to look into the sale of weapons to Iran and the funding of the Contras in Nicaragua. There are some people who think that one of the members of the committee had information that would have proved that Reagan had full knowledge of the exchange before it was leaked, but it was destroyed. Knowing Flynn, this is probably what he's looking for," Lucy finishes.
Agent Christopher nods, "All right. Go get changed, and stop Flynn from finding or releasing that information."
"If it even exists," Rufus adds. "It's just a rumor. Where are we supposed to start?"
"Start in Washington, DC. Find the members of the Tower Committee before Flynn can kill them."
They get changed and enter the lifeboat. Lucy pauses for a moment and then buckles her seatbelt, watching Wyatt carefully. He's not talking, not meeting her eyes as the world spins around them.
They begin by looking for John Tower, a former Senator that the committee is named after. He's not in his hotel room, and his wife doesn't know where he is. However, as they turn to leave, they see Flynn heading down the hallway. Wyatt sprints after him, running down the hallway as fast as he can. Lucy and Rufus follow behind as best they can, trying to keep track of Wyatt and, by extension, Flynn.
They get outside and see Wyatt holding his hands up. Flynn has taken a woman hostage, a young woman with blond hair and bright blue eyes. He's holding the gun to her head and Wyatt is slowly raising his hands in the air, the gun already on the ground by his feet.
"Shit," Rufus curses quietly.
Suddenly, Flynn starts to back away. As he does, he shoots the young woman in the leg and she crumples to the ground, crying and screaming.
Lucy and Rufus sprint forward, getting someone to go call 911. Wyatt doesn't chase after Flynn. Instead, he's holding her hand, trying to calm her down and slow the bleeding.
"Wyatt, you need to go after Flynn. We have this, she'll be fine, I promise," Lucy tells him, kneeling by the young woman.
"No, I can get him later."
"Wyatt! We have this. Rufus took a bullet out of you on our second mission. He can handle this. You have to go, or American history will be changed," Lucy reminds him, pleading with him.
"Is history worth one life?" Wyatt spits back.
"Is one life worth all of history? She's not going to die." Lucy cries, frustrated.
At this, Wyatt explodes. "We cannot let her die! I am not moving. Fuck, Lucy, are you any better than Flynn, willing to kill innocent people if it fits in with your life plan, in with fate? She's innocent. I will not lose her. Not again."
Lucy turns around, tears in her eyes. By now, Flynn's disappeared and it's no use arguing. She sees the EMTs and beckons them over to where Wyatt is leaning over the woman.
She's taken into the ambulance, leaving the three of them standing there, covered in blood and not speaking a word.
They leave soon after, having given brief statements to the police.
Lucy is refusing to speak to Wyatt. She talks with Rufus, tries to figure out where they need to go and what to do now that Flynn is gone.
Rufus isn't sure how to respond, how to be the one to repair the team. So he talks to each of them, wanting to be done and just get back home. Somehow, the past 24 hours have been the strangest he's ever experienced, with Wyatt's outbursts and murdering a man, the new timeline, Jessica.
Of the two of them, Wyatt speaks first, "Look, I couldn't let her die. We're going to find Flynn."
Normally, Lucy wouldn't be happy but would accept this. It's as much as Wyatt apologizes, and they just need to succeed in their mission. They can figure out the rest later.
But she's done, done with Wyatt and him accusing her of becoming Flynn. A small part of her thinks that she's so bothered by this because that is one of her biggest fears, being so focused on saving history that she'll become jaded, willing to kill or watch people die if she deems it necessary. It's too close to playing God, deciding who is supposed to live, who is supposed to die. But she's also just pissed, because Wyatt knows her better than almost anyone, and he should know not to point out her flaws. It's like he stabbed her in an open wound, and it just keeps bleeding out.
She's done with him seeing his wife in women throughout history and acting on his emotions. It's gotten them into trouble too many times. She has a job to do, and she can't do it if he can't focus on the mission.
Wyatt watches her, waiting for her to respond, to accept what he's said, to plan their next moves. Instead, all he sees are emotions flitting across her face, from disgust to anger to sadness, landing finally on fury, pure fury.
He knows what's coming a split second before she opens her mouth, and then it comes.
"How dare you, Wyatt James Logan? How dare you say that and just expect everything to be ok? You know what you did, what you said to me? You prioritized your feelings over the mission, and that is not acceptable. She would have been fine, fine without you. We had it covered, or at least Rufus did. She was shot in the leg. If Flynn had wanted to kill her, he would have. But he didn't because he knew, he just knew that you wouldn't be able to leave her.
"I get that you love Jessica. But your emotions, your shame at what you did four fucking years ago has taken over. You can't control yourself, and you can't complete the mission."
Wyatt can't help himself. She's right, he's controlled by his emotions, and now is no exception, "You have no idea what it's like to be in love with someone and to lose them!"
"I lost my sister," Lucy cuts him off. "I don't have a way to fix it. She just disappeared, so don't tell me that I don't know what it's like to love someone and lose them. No, this isn't about that. This is about you being too goddamn selfish to put your feelings aside and complete the mission!"
"No," Wyatt replies. "It's not about that. I hurt your feelings and you're too fragile to accept that maybe I'm right!"
Lucy opens her mouth to respond, fury written on every muscle and bone in her body. Instead she stops and turns, "Find Muskie, and don't chase after some girl this time. We'll meet at the Lifeboat when we're done. Rufus, find Scowcroft. I'm going to find Tower."
She walks away, leaving Rufus and Wyatt standing there with open mouths.
"Let's just go," Rufus says, done with Wyatt and everything that he's done these past few days. He's not even Wyatt anymore.
Wyatt stands there alone as Rufus leaves.
The committee is announced that evening, with all participants alive. Lucy is the first at the Lifeboat, having warned Tower and successfully passing around Flynn's picture. She quickly learns that the mythical document is just that, mythical, and returns to the Lifeboat exhausted, hungry, and upset. She's not mad anymore. She just wants to cry, to let it all out, to figure out who she is. Time travel has messed up her life in more ways than just Amy. She barely recognizes herself, the things she's seen and done.
Wyatt is the next to return. He sees her standing by the Lifeboat and almost stays back, waits for Rufus to come. Instead, he walks up.
"I'm sorry, Lucy. I had no right to say those things and, well, I should have gone after Flynn. He knew my weakness and he exploited it, but I should have known that. I shouldn't have fallen for it, or taken my anger out on you."
Lucy presses her hand against his forehead, "It's fine."
"No, it's not," Wyatt shakes his head.
"No, it's not," Lucy concedes. "But I don't want to talk about it right now, and I don't want to think about it. So consider it forgiven. You're under a lot of stress and your life has changed in so many ways. Let's forget about it."
Wyatt wants to respond, doesn't feel like he should be forgiven, but the least he can do is follow her wishes so he closes his mouth and leans next to her against the door of the Lifeboat, both lost in their thoughts.
After the dizziness passes, Lucy unbuckles and stands up. They debrief quickly and leave to change and head home. She passes Jiya's desk when the computer tech calls after her, "Wait, Lucy! Aren't you forgetting something?"
She smiles and holds out her hand, "You can't lose your engagement ring so soon after you got it! Especially when it's so gorgeous. I'm really happy for you guys. You know that, right?"
Lucy chuckles slightly and nods. She doesn't remember bringing the ring to Mason Industries that morning and giving it to Jiya to hold, or Jiya ever being so excited about her wedding, but stranger things have happened. She slips the ring onto her finger and stops suddenly. It fits better than it used to and doesn't feel as heavy or cold. She glances down and sees not a large diamond but a ring more suited to her. It's beautiful, she thinks. Not as blinding or big as the other, but more beautiful. The ring is an antique, made with care. It has two sapphires flanking one diamond in the center, and she feels that it fits, that it was made for her.
"Jiya," Lucy says slowly. "Can I ask you a question? And please don't ask me why. I just need to know if something's changed."
Jiya nods, "Sure. What do you think is different?"
"Who am I engaged to?"
"Wyatt," Jiya replies. "Wait, were you two not engaged before?"
Lucy doesn't answer, instead opting to sprint to the bathroom for a little privacy to make sure that she isn't dreaming. The fact that she has dreamt this before in other timelines seems irrelevant at the moment, as the water she splashes on her face is very real, and as was the fight and the ring sitting snuggly on her finger.
She meets up with Wyatt and Rufus outside the changing area and heads with them out to the parking lot, making sure to hide her hand. She has a lot to think about and doesn't need to tell them right now. She bets that Jiya will mention it to Rufus, but she shrugs it off. If it's real in this timeline, then they'll find out. But she needs to stop and think about this, about what Wyatt accused her of and how she responded, without judgment or anyone else's commentary, so she hides her hand with her purse.
Rufus says goodbye and drives off as Wyatt reaches his car. He looks around, "Lucy, where's your car? I saw it right here this morning."
She looks around, realizing that he's right. It isn't where she parked it. In fact, it's nowhere to be seen. It's not in the parking lot, and it obviously hasn't been towed, so she's not sure where it is.
And then she realizes where it is, why it's not there, but she's not quite sure how to bring it up. She wishes that Rufus hadn't left yet. He would drive her home, understand. Instead, she turns to him, "Wyatt, do you think I could get a ride home? I'll figure out what happened with my car when I get there, but I just need to get home right now."
He owes her this, and more, so he nods.
The car ride is quiet besides giving directions to her home, which she assumes is just her mom's home now. She's thinking, thinking about everything. Her life is truly screwed up. She doesn't know how, or why, but he and Jessica are obviously not together. But he and Lucy are, and they're barely speaking. But this Wyatt is still in love with Jessica, and definitely not in love with Lucy. He puts himself on the line for her in missions, in life. And she doesn't know what to do.
Her life is cracking apart and she's barely holding herself together. But then she can't hold herself together anymore when they pull into the driveway just as her mother walks out of the house. Her life isn't just cracking anymore. It's fallen apart.
"Lucy, Wyatt! I didn't know that you were visiting today! How was your trip to Texas? Actually, I was just about to go for a walk. Would you like to join me? You can tell me all about it," Her mom smiles, oblivious to her daughter's nerves and Wyatt's confusion.
Lucy sighs and runs her fingers through her hair, "Sure. Just let me change, Mom. We'll be out in a minute."
Wyatt looks at her, expecting at explanation. "I think I know what's going on. I'll explain in the house, ok?"
He nods slowly and they walk into the house. She leads him upstairs to the room that has been her room, at least until her first surprise fiancé (why is this a repeat occurrence?).
"You might want to sit down for this, Wyatt."
He stays standing, arms crossed as he waits for her to tell him her current theory.
She takes a deep breath and holds out her left hand, "Wyatt, I'm pretty sure that you and Jessica aren't married in this timeline. Because apparently we're engaged."
His eyebrows raise, "Repeat that. What do you think is happening?"
"Jiya gave me this ring after we got out of the Lifeboat a few minutes ago. I asked her who I was engaged to, because this isn't the same ring that Noah gave me. And she said that we were engaged. And then my car wasn't in the parking lot, and I assumed that it was because we live together, although I wasn't sure until my mom said that she didn't remember we were visiting. I didn't tell you before because I needed some time to think about this, to process it."
"And you didn't think I would? You didn't think I'd figure it out when I got back to my apartment, and there were women's clothes in the closet, and pictures of the two of us? Lucy, why didn't you tell me?" Wyatt paces back and forth, becoming more and more agitated.
Lucy breathes in and out, trying to quell the rising panic, "I'm sorry, I didn't think about it! I just needed to process it. I didn't think about what would happen when you got back to your- I guess our- apartment. How did our lives become this messed up?"
"Well, obviously you didn't think! Where's Jessica?"
"I don't know, Wyatt, okay! I don't know what happened," Lucy cries out.
"Lucy! Is everything ok? Are you coming?" Carol yells up the stairs.
"Sorry, Mom! One second," Lucy responds. "Go home, Wyatt. I can give my mom some excuse, that you need to rest or something. We need to figure this out, but I don't want to talk to you right now."
He nods, "Yeah, I'll go back to my apartment. Call me when you're done and I'll pick you up. We need to talk."
A/N: Let me know what you think!
PLEASE READ: There are no Watergate-like mainstream conspiracy theories about a secret document that the Tower Commission hid. I just used this as a time period that the team could feasibly go back to (they're all in their late 20s, so they were born sometime within the next few years after the Iran-Contra affair, in the late 1970s). Besides the announcement of the Tower Commission and the members, the information is not historically accurate.