Thank you for all the support for this fic! It really means a lot! So I ran out of song lyrics to add to the chapters because this story has just taken on a life of it's own, but y'all get the idea. I hope y'all enjoy this chapter and leave a review if you feel so inclined!

He gets the news on a Thursday.

Six months.

Undisclosed location.

He's never been so relieved and so frustrated at the same time. Finally he'll be out of the solitude of his apartment, back out in the world he's so used to. Or at least the world he was used to. Who knows how it'll feel now after all he's been through the past few years.

But he aches to think about all that could change while he's gone. Seven months since they finished Rittenhouse, seven months of walking the tightrope walk with Lucy, but despite that he loves where they've made it to now. They still have Friday night poker every week, but in the past couple of months Lucy, Rufus, and himself always found themselves getting drinks once a week at their old bar with Rufus tapping out pretty earlier than the other two.

And then he and Lucy would just talk. They would talk about everything. Strawberry milkshakes and cigar smoke. He told her how he learned to surf, she told him how her love for music was born, they argued about baseball, who would win in a fight between a cowboy and a ninja, aliens in Area 51, and the always present rivalry of Texas vs California. He opened up about his father, and she told him about hers. For the first time they got to be the friends they always wanted to be.

Their friendship in the beginning had come from necessity (although it's hard to determine where their general tolerance had ended and friendship began). If they hadn't allowed the walls of their stubbornness to come down, all three of them probably would have died, but that kind of friendship didn't allow for conversation like this. They never really had had the time.

And before they could have reached this point, he had fallen so hard he no longer knew which way was up. So in a way he's grateful for her putting the brakes on an actual relationship. He is learning about the Lucy before her life was flipped upside down, and while that Lucy sounds incredible, the one sitting in front of him will always be his preferred choice.

So what if all that progress is lost while he's away? He can't bear the thought of them being strangers again. What if he comes back and she's really moved on? He has to sit down to keep the nausea at bay. He wants her to be happy; Lord knows she deserves it more than any of them, but would he be able to remain in her life if that was the case? Is this how she felt when she was trapped in the bunker with Jessica? He feels his mind beginning to spiral.

Chill, Logan, you're thinking in complete hypotheticals.

He knows he's been doing the right thing by Lucy, waiting patiently for her shattered heart to heal. It's what she wanted. But shouldn't she know that he's still kept a dog in the fight? He figures she knows, but would it make a difference to hear him say it out loud? There is no guarantee he even comes back from this mission. Should she know before he leaves? Or would it make an already painful loss even more painful?

He needs another set of ears to help him figure it out. Maybe two. He picks up his phone and dials an all too familiar number.


Wyatt fidgets with his fingers as he waits for them to show up and wonders if this might have been a bad idea. Vulnerability isn't his favorite thing, but when it comes to matters involving Lucy, he'll gladly spill it all if it means sparing her pain.

"Good evening, Master Sergeant," Denise calls from behind, making him jump. He turns to see a bemused Denise and Michelle making their way his direction "You've never been easy to sneak up on, Wyatt," she observes. "What's got you so worked up?" Where to begin?

"That's a question for after a drink or two," he admits with a chuckle. "They're on me tonight." Before either of them can object he's already up from the booth, going to place their order.

This wasn't the first time the three of them had gone for drinks. After their mission together came to an end, Denise insisted on checking up on him at least a couple times a month despite his protests that he was fine. So as a compromise they agreed to meet for drinks every other Monday, to ease her concerns and to save him some of his dignity. This one he called tonight was an impromptu meeting, but he trusted the sound advice from the Homeland Security agent and her wife.

"Opening a tab, Mr. Logan?" The bartender inquires. He pretends to ignore the subtle flirtatious hint in her voice. He's had his fill of bartenders. But he still offers a kind smile.

"Yeup," he replies, sliding his card across the bar. "Starting with a white wine, an old-fashioned, and a Jameson." She just nods and goes to retrieve the drinks, the disappointment obvious in the droop of her shoulders. A twinge of guilt hits him. He's never been as smooth with women as some would think, but the thing he is the worst at is letting a woman know he's not interested. He usually just avoids it until it goes away, but in instances like this he fears it does more harm than good.

His mind for a moment drifts back to that poolside in 1941 where it was actually his all-consuming feelings that led his foot straight into his mouth.

"You find me… intimidating?"

"Oh no I'm sorry; I didn't mean… you." Yes, he had.

"I just mean, you're not hideous." No, that's not even close to what he had meant.

"You had all the girls lined up around the block… just 'Hey, ladies'." How after that display Lucy thought he was some kind of wizard with women he'll never know.

But somehow the stars all aligned that night and all in their favor. Even with his idiotic words and horrible attempts at flattery, she had still flung herself into his arms moments later. He still thinks about the look on her face in those seconds before. Where there had been fear, there was now a hope he hadn't see from her in ages, since their talk of possibilities in the briefing room at Mason Industries. He so badly wanted to bring her that hope again. He's betting that Denise and Michelle can help him in the right direction.

"Here are those drinks, Mr. Logan," she smiles as the drinks are pushes his way. He nods his gratitude and skillfully yet carefully carries the three drinks back to their table.

They make small talk until the first round of drinks are gone. They talk about Mark's graduation and how neither of them were ready to have a son in college, and how Olivia is nervous about starting high school, and everything normal Wyatt can think to bring up, but as he returns with the second round, he knows by the looks on their faces that the time for stalling is over.

"I'm being deployed," he confesses after the first sip of his whiskey, and both women seem a little confused about what he's trying to imply.

"And you're…" Michelle begins. "Excited? Upset?" He just chuckles and shrugs.

"All of the above?" He sighs, setting his drink down with a clink against the wood. "It's not the deployment. I've done so many that they don't phase me so much anymore. It's what I'll be missing that worries me." The woman share a knowing glance.

"Lucy," they say in sync, and Wyatt just raises his glass in their direction with a quick lift of his eyebrows.

"I've been waiting for her to come to terms with everything we went through, to re-adjust to normal life, to heal, and we're in a great place, but I can't help think… things might change while I'm gone if I don't say something to her before I leave. But at the same time, what if…" he takes a deep drink of the whiskey. "What if I don't come back? Would it be easier for her to never know.? To never hear me say what I really feel? Would it be worth it for her to have that reassurance only for me to not be able to make good on anything?" He downs the rest of the amber liquid. "You know?"

Both women share the same sympathetic smile, and Wyatt wonders if that's what being in love for so long does for you, makes you a mirror of the one you love. He wouldn't know.

"Wyatt," Michelle sighs, reaching across the table to place a hand on his. "I know you're scared. But something I've learned being married to a woman whose job doesn't guarantee safety is that even from day one I would rather have known and loved her when I could, rather then never knowing and maybe being spared a tiny bit of heartache." The raw emotion in her eyes is almost overwhelming. He has to look away before he responds.

"But what if it isn't that for her?," he questions, bringing his eyes back up to hers. "What if me being open just leads to more conflict in her that she doesn't need? I can't cause her more pain, Michelle. She's suffered enough by my hand." Michelle looks over at Denise who's just smiling and shaking her head. .

"Wyatt, I don't know everything that went on in the time you all spent together," Michelle explains. "But I know love when I see it. I see it in you, and believe it or not I see it in Lucy when she looks at you. She's still putting herself back together, sure, but she has a look in her eyes when she sees you that not many women will ever share. I say tell her while you can. You'll both be left with regrets if you don't." He offers her a soft smile before casting a glance over towards Denise who just shrugs and nods in agreement with her wife.

"You know what you need to do, Wyatt," she tells him.

Yeah he does.

He needs to raise his bet.

He orders another round of drinks.