Disclaimer: I don't own Timeless.


Lucy sat in the booth at the restaurant, waiting for Garcia to meet her for their lunch date. Playing with her phone, she fidgeted, excited to see him.

"Hey," a smile split her face at his voice before she could even look up at him. "Hey," she replied, standing to hug him. He hugged her back but also surprised her with a sweet, soft kiss that sent her pulse skittering before pulling back to sit across from her. She touched her lips where they burned and sat back down to find him watching her closely. He did that a lot—watch her intently. The warmth of his gaze slid around her like a cozy sweater.

"How are you, Lucy?"

"Good. Better now," she leaned across the table to take his hand. He smiled at her and the waitress came to take their order.

They chatted about Iris, her work, their friends, Amy, and tucked in when their food arrived.

"I think Dave's going to ask her to move in with him," Lucy admitted.

Garcia watched her carefully. "How do you feel about that?"

"Happy for her, for them." Lucy hesitated. "A little sad for me. I'm not sure what I'll do in that big house by myself."

"Maybe you should get a dog?"

She chuckled. "That's what Rufus said. I'll think about it."

"Rufus is one of the nosy friends?"

"To be fair, I think I said overbearing. Nosy was your word. He's one of my friends, considerably less nosy than the others. Although that might just be because he knows he'll get any scoop from Jiya."

"You've been friends a long time?"

"No, actually. Most of my local friends melted away when Mom was sick for so long. And my college friends are scattered at different schools throughout the country. It's kind of weird that my closest friends are the ones I haven't known very long at all."

"When did you meet?"

"Just a couple weeks ago for Jiya and Rufus. They're engaged, and they did a podcast with Amy, and…we just clicked. You know?"

Garcia gestured between them dramatically and she laughed. "Not the same kind of clicking as you and me. But in a way, yes. Like we already knew each other. I had the thought, uh..."

He was chewing, so he just raised his eyebrows at her. "It's silly. But it's almost like we were friends in another life."

His look turned thoughtful as he pondered that and then shrugged. "I've never seriously considered it, but it would make sense. What about Dave and Wyatt?"

"Amy met Dave a couple months before our mom died. He was really the only person we had outside of the two of us. Wyatt wasn't around then. We met maybe…six months ago, I guess. It was the same with him as with Jiya and Rufus."

The answering nod was slow and Lucy felt a little like he was fishing. She wasn't sure how to feel about that. "What?"

"Just mentally piecing things together. Wyatt told me about his wife and daughter yesterday."

"Oh," Lucy relaxed as she looked at him. He was picking at his salad. "What is it?"

Garcia looked up at her before dropping his gaze again. "I just, uh…the reason you didn't go out with Wyatt wasn't because of his daughter, was it?"

She huffed in exasperation. "No, did he tell you it was?"

"No, no…I just wondered…I mean, I have Iris…"

Lucy's heart twisted. "I like Iris a lot, Garcia. And I don't mind that you have a daughter. I didn't go out with Wyatt because he's still in love with his wife."

At that, he froze and looked up at her shrewdly. "He is?"

"I mean, I didn't tell him quite that bluntly, and he's never admitted it, but yes, he is. The way she's treated him, he should be glad to be rid of her, he should hate her guts. But when he talks about her…there's still love there," she shook her head.

Garcia looked off into the distance, clearly thinking over what she'd said. "What is this about? Are you jealous of Wyatt?"

He looked guilty at that, and she was lost. "It's more that I just want to know you and how you think."

"I don't have feelings for Wyatt. It was a surprise—well, it was a surprise the FIRST time he asked me out. I didn't let myself think about him that way—I knew about the stuff with Jess before I even met him. Dave's got a big mouth, if you hadn't noticed already."

Pushing his plate back, he laughed. "Yeah, I got that."

Lucy took a bite of chicken salad before looking at him seriously. "I don't need to clarify who I do have feelings for, do I? Because I kind of thought all the kissing and…handsiness…the other night—24 hours after we met—would have cleared that up."

A wicked smirk split his face. "You should probably try again. I find repetition tends to help the message sink in."

Her eyes rolled even as she laughed at him. "In the middle of the café in daylight? In your dreams."

Following his mouth as he licked his lips, he said "Oh, absolutely in my dreams, Lucy," and despite her best efforts, she felt herself blushing.

"Would you go to dinner with me Friday night?"

"It depends. Would it be a date?"

He smiled sheepishly at her teasing. "Yes, just you and me, at a restaurant, alone together."

"Is it casual or dressy?"

"Hmm…dressy."

She smirked at him. "Can I have chocolate?"

Garcia lowered his eyelashes shyly. "You can have whatever you want."

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Anything I want?" His breath caught and he pursed his lips as he nodded at her, clearly not trusting himself to speak.

"And where will Iris be?"

"She, um…will be having an end-of-year sleepover at a friend's house."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "A sleepover, huh? Interesting." She sipped her water.

"I—I realize how that sounds, but I'm not saying…I just want to take you out, and that is an opportune moment for it." Garcia was now fully blushing and Lucy took pity on him.

"I know you didn't mean anything by it," she put her hand on his. "I'm just going to enjoy being alone with you and taking our time."

Garcia choked on his water. As he coughed, she thought back over her words in confusion. Her face went hot as she hid it in her hands for a moment before looking up at him.

He laughed at her. "I take it that wasn't on purpose?"

"No, that was innocent," she smiled at him. "Though I might start doing it on purpose. You're adorable when you blush."

Opening his mouth to reply, looking affronted, Garcia stopped when the server returned with their cards. He took Lucy's hand as they made their way out and frowned when he realized she was a little too short to hold hands and walk with him comfortably.

"That doesn't work," he sounded disappointed, as he slipped his arm around her shoulder instead.

"I'm not complaining," she slipped her arm around his waist and squeezed. Fingering a strand of her hair, he frowned down at her.

"One of us is adorable when we blush, and it's you. I am not adorable."

"When you blush, yes you are," she looked up at his unsmiling face. "Wait, you're seriously bothered by this?"

"There are so many other ways you could describe me. More accurate ways," he lifted his other arm as he shrugged. They had reached Lucy's car and she leaned against the driver's door.

"Like what?" She bit her lip trying not to smile at him.

"I don't know…ruggedly handsome…devilishly attractive…wickedly sexy…" His eyes danced as he leaned down over her, hands on either side of her against the car. Her stomach swooped at his flirting.

"When you fish for compliments, you cast a wide net, huh?"

He chuckled but cut off when she reached up to slowly grab his tie and pull him closer.

"Well…you are definitely ruggedly handsome…" she watched as he closed his eyes in pleasure as she pressed her lips against his cheek. "Devilishly attractive, too," she did the same to his other cheek. "As for wicked, well, you aren't wicked. I think you COULD be, but you wouldn't." A little whine came from his throat as she mouthed gently at the underside of his jaw. "But sexy? Oh, hell yeah. Especially in this tie."

She smiled as she leaned to give his mouth a teasing kiss but got more than she bargained for. He opened her mouth with his own and dove in. She arched against him and kissed him back just as fervently as he grabbed her by the hips. Suddenly, he pulled away and she let out an embarrassingly loud whimper. Deftly maneuvering her to the side, he reached for the lever to open her door, and plopped her into her seat. Her mouth dropped open as she watched him in shock. His lips against her ear, he whispered "You might want to rethink wicked," before backing out of reach and shutting her door. "Buckle up!" He winked at her and grinned playfully at her gaping face.

Feeling equal parts annoyed and aroused, Lucy sat there for a full minute after his car pulled away. She thought for a moment before pulling her phone out to text Amy and Jiya about shopping. A killer dress would be required for this date. An evil one.


Frustration rippled around the conference room. They were taking apart Benjamin Cahill's life, but not getting very far.

"We think we're on the right track with his financials, but the encryption on some of the accounts has been hard to break, and the warrants are taking a while. They've carefully covered their tracks."

"He has an elderly father in a nursing home. He looks clean. So does the wife, and he just has one son who's only sixteen. He has a lot of colleagues and friendly acquaintances, but no one that seems very close—he's probably kept up those relationships for appearance's sake. There is one weird thing—a sealed record from 1983. It's a vital record. It's probably nothing significant to our case."

"Probably not," Flynn replied, "but let's get a warrant for it just in case. It could be a name change. I don't want to leave anything uncovered here. Denise?"

"My agents haven't seen him make any trips or contacts out of the ordinary for the time being. We're going to have to keep at it. It's only been two days, we shouldn't expect that much yet."

"And the…other?"

Wyatt shifted uncomfortably as Denise answered. "We have eyes on her," she flashed pictures up on the screen. "This is the office that's associated with the taxes filed for the society last year. This is a café near the office—she's only been by herself, never met anyone there so far. This is her residence—that's her nanny."

Garcia winced at the picture. It was Jessica Logan, the nanny, and an adorable little toddler with a bow in her hair. He couldn't help but give Wyatt a sympathetic glance. The thought of Iris showing up on this screen turned his stomach and he felt for the agent.

After the session wrapped up, he gestured to Denise to follow him into his office.

"Have you questioned Logan about his wife?"

Her mouth set in a grim line. "Yes, though not extensively. He's fairly touchy about it, which makes sense."

"I get that, but you may need to."

"You don't think he's part of this, do you?"

Garcia shook his head. "No. I do think we have to consider the possibility of either his Delta Force team or our task force being targeted by her for gathering intel, though. If that's the case, we will need to know the extent of the damage."

Denise sighed. "I really hope you're wrong, but I'm afraid you're not. It's too huge a coincidence. Please be easy on him, though. She's already a sore spot for him, and if he learns that we think their relationship might have been a sham, at least at some point…just tread lightly." He met her eyes and nodded before she turned to leave.

His thoughts ran with that for a moment, and he remembered that Amy's boyfriend Dave was part of the same Delta Force team. He wasn't comfortable with the proximity of that to Lucy. However, his people would be monitoring the situation. He would have to trust the team.


Friday evening, Garcia rang the doorbell of Lucy and Amy's house and paced as he waited. The door finally opened to reveal a short middle eastern woman who definitely wasn't either Preston sister.

"Can I help you?" The woman asked, and he frantically looked at the house number. It was the number Lucy had sent, and he looked to the driveway where Lucy's car was parked next to a few other…he thought they were all cars.

"Uh…is Lucy here?"

"Yeah, she's upstairs. She's ready, but Amy is messing with her hair and won't let her leave yet. Come on in." The woman turned and walked away, leaving him to close the door behind him as he followed her through the foyer, past the kitchen and office, and into the living room. She motioned for him to sit down on the couch.

"Are you Jiya?"

"Yes," she smiled at him. "And you're Garcia Flynn, aka the best kisser Lucy's ever known."

Garcia felt his face freeze as he tried not to react to that, but he felt his ears get hot. "I'm Garcia Flynn, but…did she say really say that?"

Jiya gave him a look that said she was laughing at him on the inside but also trying to take his measure. "I inferred it. It was heavily implied."

He fought back the smile that wanted to erupt at the surge of pride that welled through him at that. Garcia didn't think of himself as the type to go in for that competitive macho bullshit, but this was Lucy. If she enjoyed kissing him even half as much as he enjoyed kissing her, well, that was certainly going to go to his head.

"Also, I'm supposed to pass along a message from Dave. All due respect, etc. etc., but if you hurt Lucy, he's going to kick your ass."

Garcia chuckled. "Too bad for Dave, apparently Wyatt has dibs. Maybe they can tag team."

Jiya laughed and rolled her eyes. "Those boys. The one you should really be afraid of is Amy. Black belt and all, plus I bet you'd be more reluctant to fight back against a woman."

He liked this friend of Lucy's and found himself grinning at her spunk. "Well, I consider myself an equal opportunity opponent, but she is Lucy's sister, so no, I wouldn't want to fight her. I have no intention of ever hurting Lucy, so no worries."

"That's wise. Because if you did, Rufus and I would have to tank your credit."

Garcia allowed himself a full laugh at that, since he was positive now that she was kidding. "The NSA heavily protects my information, you know."

"Nah, that's easy to hack. Not that I WOULD of course." She widened her eyes in faux innocence and he smirked at her.

"What do you do? Maybe we should hire you."

"You could never afford me. I work for Mason Industries." He was impressed. She couldn't have been out of her twenties.

"Really? So that's your spaceship in the driveway?"

Jiya grinned. "That's what Lucy said when she saw it. It's a Mason Mothership car, and it's my fiancé, Rufus's. He's worked there a few years longer than I have."

A loud thump came from upstairs, followed by a door opening and closing and a lot of hissed whispers. A few moments later, Lucy was standing at the bottom of the staircase. He couldn't stop his jaw from dropping as he took in her dress. It was burgundy, strappy and had a wrap front. That was enough to make his mouth dry. But when she smiled and started walking toward him, he realized that the wrap created a slit that bared her leg when she moved. "Holy shit," was all he could think as his brain glitched. Before he could manage words, Lucy had pulled him down by the tie to give him a swift kiss.

"Hi," her eyes were smoky and glittering as they looked up at him.

"Hi," he replied and reached up to cradle her cheek and touch one of her curls.

"Hey, hands off the hair. That was a lot of work," Garcia hadn't even noticed that Amy had come down the stairs behind her sister.

"Yeah, a lot of work I asked you not to do," Lucy threw a look over her shoulder before turning back to him. "I'm sorry. I tried to get her to stop so I wouldn't be late."

"I'm not complaining," he grinned down at her. "But we should go now so we don't miss our reservation."

She led the way and his breath caught as he saw that most of her back was bare. He thought he had a decent poker face, but apparently not, as Amy and Jiya both giggled.

"Amy, it's good to see you again," he said as Lucy pulled him past her sister.

"You too, Garcia," she replied.

"Bye, Amy," Lucy said, clearly trying to rush him out of the house. "Nope! Nuh-uh!" She held her index finger up at Amy to hush her as she opened her mouth. Lucy pulled him through the front door and down the steps. He opened the passenger door of his SUV for Lucy to climb in, and as he climbed in to the driver's side he heard a yell of "Remember, no glove, no love!"

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry about her," Lucy was flushed bright red as he turned to her. "I told her she couldn't threaten you, so I think she decided to make me late and embarrass us instead."

"Well, she won then, because she got Jiya to pass along the threats," Garcia laughed as she groaned. "But I don't really care about that. I'm a bit distracted at the moment."

"Oh, really, by what?" Lucy tried to look at him seriously, but he caught the upturn at the corners of her mouth. He backed out of the driveway to avoid grabbing her.

"You know, I thought you didn't realize quite how much power you have over me. Now I know you are fully aware."

"I wasn't sure; I figured it couldn't hurt. But the drool from your mouth back there confirmed it." He glanced at her smug smile and couldn't help but smile back. "And the fact that you said 'holy shit' when you saw me."

Wincing, he admitted, "I didn't think that was out loud. And I didn't drool," he protested and she raised one eyebrow, "…much. So I have to behave myself at dinner while you're wearing that?"

"Who's asking you to behave yourself?" Lucy said lowly from the passenger seat. He closed his eyes briefly before jerking them open to look at the road.

"Okay, we have to change the subject so I don't wreck the car. You behave now," he glanced at her mock-sternly. She picked up his hand and sweetly kissed it before threading her fingers through his and laying them on the console. He ran his thumb across the back of her hand.

They reached the restaurant five comfortably quiet minutes later. Looking over at Lucy, Garcia hesitated to leave the solitude of the car to share her with the world. "Ready to go in?" He smoothed his hand down her arm. Tilting her head back, she looked at him with a look of such fondness that he couldn't help but lean in and kiss her. He tried to pour into it all he felt for her—affection, gratefulness that she'd bothered to look his way, need, and another even more tender emotion that he didn't dare to put a name to yet. Her eyes were soft as she pulled away and he wondered if she could possibly feel the same this fast.

"I guess," she said and he startled. He didn't think he'd said that aloud either. Looking at him amused, she clarified, "I guess I'm ready to go in…are you?"

Garcia cleared his throat. "I guess," he sighed dramatically.

The new Italian place had been a wise decision. The atmosphere was dark and intimate, the tables positioned for privacy. They were led to a corner table and seated perpendicular to each other. The hostess took their drink orders and he turned to Lucy. He leaned toward her and fingered the curls by her cheek. "You look beautiful tonight," he stared at her in adoration.

"Thank you," she replied lowly as she stared back. "Sorry Amy made you wait while she curled my hair. She claims curls make me irresistible."

"You're always irresistible," he shook his head and ran his fingers along her collarbone before prying himself away. Her eyes were dark as she looked up at him.

"I don't know, you did a pretty thorough job of resisting me the other day after lunch."

He scoffed at her in disbelief. "You call that resisting? Oh, oh, so the dress, this is payback?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Lucy had a satisfied smirk on her face as she leaned in and dragged her hand down his chest to grab his tie and pull him closer. She pecked his nose gently.

Grinning at her, he nodded in surrender. "You like pulling me around by the neck, huh?"

"It's more that I like you in ties. It's never really been my thing with anyone else, but you make them look GOOD." Garcia felt a blush start to rise at that but was luckily interrupted by their server arriving with drinks and menus.

After introducing himself, he asked "We celebrating a special occasion this evening? Anniversary?"

Lucy gave a shocked cough so Garcia answered, "Uh, no."

"Oh, you two are just so in sync. How long have you been together?"

Garcia looked at Lucy through his lashes to see her blush, but she looked pleased and it shot straight to his heart.

"Can we hear the specials?" Garcia cut in. He didn't bother listening to them and agreed when asked if they needed a few more minutes.

When he turned to Lucy her cheeks were still pink. Their eyes caught and they laughed together awkwardly. "We did meet a week ago today," he said a little shyly and she looked at him a little too knowingly.

"We did, didn't we? It feels way longer," she cut off with a yawn and he looked at her concerned.

"Are you okay?"

"Just tired. I've been having weird dreams," she leaned her head into her hand.

"Nightmares?"

"No…well, some are scary. Some are nice. I don't really remember anything other than flashes or impressions after I wake, but they keep interrupting my sleep. Actually…I feel like you're in them sometimes."

"Really? The scary ones?"

Lucy rolled her eyes at him. "I don't know which ones, but I do know it's not you I'm afraid of in them." His chest loosened at that. He still worried sometimes about the vision he'd had when he first met her. If that was from another life, he wasn't sure he was always a friend. "Why do you always think you might scare me, Garcia?"

She read him too well. "The vision I had, it…it wasn't the nicest. You looked terrified. I don't know what of, but…and I am a soldier, a spy…a big guy."

"Yeah, but you're basically a giant teddy bear. Not to everyone, I know that, but you're no danger to me."

The tender smile and softness in her caramel eyes told him she truly meant it. "You're right, but people usually find me hard to read. It's an occupational necessity."

"Really? Your eyes are very expressive."

"I think that's just you, Lucy." The heat of her blush warmed the hand that he had on her cheek. She was so modest, she really didn't know her worth, this woman he lo-. He looked down as he realized where that thought was going. It couldn't be right, could it? It had only been a week. Granted, a week where they had been in more or less constant contact, but still. Trying not to panic or freak Lucy out, he leaned down and kissed her shoulder. He breathed in her cinnamon and coffee scent and decided to not think about it for now.

The server chose to bring their food at that moment, and Garcia decided to forgive him for his earlier slip-up.

As they walked to his car after a very enjoyable meal, he wrestled with himself. He was not ready to let her go for the evening. Deciding to err on the side of being open about his feelings, he spoke.

"If you're not too tired, would you like to come back to my place for a little bit?"

"I'd like that," she said, squeezing him with the arm that was around his waist.

They were silent as they drove him, the tension between them almost like a physical presence. He parked the car and sat for a moment.

"I want you to know I'm not expecting anything from you," he paused, not really knowing how to continue. Lucy took over.

"What if…what if I…?"

His heart thudded painfully in his chest as his pulse jackhammered. "Do you?"

There was a tug on his tie as she pulled him toward her. "Yes," she whispered, looking into his eyes. "I don't want to hold back."

Garcia swallowed. "I feel the same way." Closing his eyes, he sighed and leaned in to the kiss she placed against his cheek.

"Good. Inside?" He nodded in response and she let go of his tie. Reminding himself to go slowly, he opened his door and breathed deeply as he went to open her door. They both tried to avoid touching each other as they walked toward his front door. For his part, he was close to his breaking point and knew he needed to at least make it inside first.

A sigh of relief passed his lips as he unlocked the door and Lucy walked through in front of him. Just as he had closed the door, Lucy pressed him back against it and pulled him down by the tie to kiss him. He skimmed his hands down her lifted arms, down her sides as she gasped against him and splayed them across the smooth skin of her back. It was hard to kiss her from this position, even with her in heels, so Garcia spun them around so that she was against the door. Wrapping one hand behind her neck, he leaned down to kiss her and there was a small thud as her head hit the door. She hissed and he winced.

"It's not comfortable for you to kiss me arching up like this, is it?"

"No, dammit. I can't reach you even with heels, and if you bend down like that you have to hunch away from me." Her disgruntled pout was so cute that he couldn't help chuckling.

"Well, there are two options. We could move this to the couch," he kissed her temple.

"What's the other option?" He grinned and reached down to pick her up by her thighs and prop her against the wall. She shrieked and he laughed until he realized his hand was against the skin of her left leg from the slit of her dress. Groaning, he pressed against her as she worked her fingers into his hair and pulled him in to kiss her again.

Giggling, she tilted back to look at him. "Could you really keep this up?"

He smirked at her. "Of course. You're very light Lucy. So, what will it be?" Pressing into her, he delighted in the shiver he felt run through her. She pursed her lips and he leaned into nip them, making her giggle again. He knew he would never tire of that sound.

"Couch, because my feet hurt from the shoes. But I absolutely expect a rain check on this later." Dark eyes stared into his own as he eased her down the wall. It was almost painful to pry himself away so they could walk to the couch. Before he could get far, he felt Lucy tug on his sleeve. He helped her by shrugging out of the jacket and watched as she went to drape it on the coat rack.

"I don't want you to get wrinkles," she explained as she saw him watching. The sweetness of that overwhelmed him as he followed her to the couch. He sat next to her and pulled her feet into his lap, working at one of the buckles.

"You don't have to—"

"You said your feet hurt," Garcia gently tugged off the left shoe and set it upright, to the side of the couch. Lucy's eyes were boring into him as he pulled off the other shoe and put it on the floor. Taking the ball of her foot in hand, he massaged it gently as he looked up at her. He needed to make sure they were on the same page.

"Lucy, this is fast, but it isn't casual. Not for me. I need you to know that this means a lot to me."

She scooted closer to him and ran her hand behind his neck and into his hair. That made him quirk a smile. Lucy certainly enjoyed pulling him where she wanted him, whether it was with his tie or his hair. He was a fan.

"I know," she said. "I can tell. The way you look at me…anyway, it means a lot to me, too." Searching her eyes, he could see it was the truth. He lifted her foot and kissed the top of it and smiled satisfactorily at the whine that escaped her.

"How do I look at you?" He kissed her ankle where the strap had dug into it and looked up to see her biting her lip. "Hmm?"

"Um, you look kind of intense…but tender and…" she trailed off as he moved to gently grasp her other foot.

"Mesmerized?" he kissed the top of that foot before moving to her ankle again. "Adoring?" His hand slid up the back of her calf and she gasped, eyes closed. "That's because I am, Lucy." Tugging gently on her leg, she moved toward him so that she was sitting sideways on his lap. Cheeks glowing, eyes closed as she shivered, she was gorgeous.

"Lucy?" Eyes bright as she opened them to stare into his, it was his turn to gasp at the sheer need he could see reflected at him. She took advantage of his gasp and lunged at his mouth. God, it was like being kissed by a sunbeam, she radiated so much heat and light.

Garcia let his fingers travel slowly from her calf up to the top of the slit to stroke her thigh. Pausing every few moments to take her in, he moved to kiss down her neck. She whimpered and arched against him before moving her hands up his chest and finally to his neck to undo his tie. There was a little bit of a tussle trying to loosen the knot enough to lift over his head. He ducked and they laughed together as she pulled it over his head. Allowing her to undo two buttons first, he couldn't wait anymore to lean down and kiss her shoulder, then her collarbone, running the fingers of his left hand along her dress strap.

Then, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled back to lean his forehead against hers. "Ignore it. They'll call back if it's a real emergency." She nodded and pulled him back to her mouth. His phone buzzed again. He cursed loudly in Croatian. "I'm sorry," he breathed. "I'll be right back."

Answering the phone as he walked down the hall, he snapped, "What?!" into it as soon as it connected.

Karl was taken aback. "Uh, sorry, boss, but there's been a breakthrough with Cahill. I wouldn't have called if it weren't urgent."

"Yeah, I know, Karl," he sighed deeply and tried to calm himself. "What is it?"

There was hesitation in his AD's voice as he replied. "It's more of an in-person kind of update."

Garcia tried not to curse again as he closed his eyes in frustration. "Okay, I'll be there in about…a half hour."

"See you then, boss."

He pinched his nose after he hung up and trudged back to the living room. Lucy had moved to stand at the kitchen counter, shoes in hand.

"You have to go, don't you?" Taking her in, with the lipstick kissed off her mouth and her hair thoroughly mussed and knowing he was going to have to take her home made him seriously regret his career choices.

Nodding, he sighed. "I do. I'm sorry. You have no idea how much."

She shrugged at him, a "what can you do?" look on her face. "It's alright. We'll have other evenings. You'll be needing this," she held up his tie and flipped his collar up as she redid his buttons. He leaned forward for her to loop it around his neck and tie a Windsor knot. The simple domesticity of it touched him deeply and he had to clear his throat before speaking.

"I'll drop you off on my way."

"I can call Amy if you need to head straight there."

Gripping her hand, he shook his head. "No, they normally have to wait for me to get Iris together, they can wait a couple minutes for me to take you home."

Feeling downright depressed, he locked the door behind them after grabbing his coat and handing Lucy her purse.

"Hey, no sulking," Lucy teased him once they were on their way.

"I'm sorry," he sighed. "I just didn't want the night to end this way."

"Yeah, me neither. But I'm not mad at you or anything."

"Are you sure? Even though this is now the second time I've gotten you, er, revved up before leaving you abruptly?"

She scoffed at him. "That was different. Tuesday was on purpose. And this is less abrupt." She was quiet for a minute before continuing. "At least we know that we…click."

Garcia snorted. "Yeah, it was hot as hell." He waited a beat. "For you too?"

Hearing the eye roll in her voice, he chuckled when she replied. "False modesty doesn't suit you, Garcia."

After a too-quick kiss goodnight, he drove away.


Striding into the office, he winced a little when Karl flinched at the sight of him. He felt a little bad for venting his frustration at him. Only a little, though.

"What is it?"

"Let's go in the conference room," Garcia squinted in confusion. Normally Karl would show him any intel at his desk. He saw Stiv's gaze dart away as soon as he saw he was there, and it told him there was something weird about this.

Karl waited for him to sit before pulling open his laptop. The air of a man going to the gallows was hanging around him and Garcia's patience was waning. He grabbed the water pitcher to pour himself a glass of water.

"The warrant came through on that vital record and we managed to get it. It just came through a couple hours ago. It's a birth certificate for another kid Cahill fathered."

"Hmm, okay. Did you run it through the DMV, records, facial recognition?"

Karl winced again. "Yeah, um. This is her. I'm sorry, boss." He clicked open the page and turned the laptop toward Garcia before leaving the room at speed.

As he looked at Lucy's face and information on the screen, he realized he had already fallen in love with her, because he felt his heart break. It shattered into as many pieces as the pitcher that he threw at the wall.