A/N: This is the second longest chapter I've written for this story so far. It's a doozy. For me, for you, for the characters. For everybody.

In case you're curious, this is an alternate timeline for season one where Lucy and Wyatt were never a part of the Time Team but, in my head, the episodes are still happening without them. When we first met Rufus, that was right after this timeline's version of Stranded. So, this story right now is probably taking place just before Bam-Bam, Luke, and Rufus travel to 1969. Which is why you might see Lucy make some history reference that reflect the new history instead of the original history. ;) Not sure why I decided to tell you guys this cause it's not really important but I thought someone out there might be interested, lol. Anyway...

Hopefully you like it!

Happy reading!

angellwings

Habit of You

by angellwings

Chapter Ten: Confrontation

Wyatt's prediction of them ending up back in his bed had proved extremely accurate. Not that she'd ever doubted it. They only ever left to eat. The last two days had been a whirlwind but despite it only having been two days she felt like she already knew Wyatt very well. He'd been guarded at first but the more he invested in whatever this was they had the more he revealed. He'd pulled out his grandpa's photos for her to look at while he cooked dinner and she reverently flipped through every page. The book started with a young Grandpa Sherwin and followed him all the way through to a Wyatt who had to be at least in his late twenties.

Wyatt wasn't lying, the resemblance between himself and his Grandfather as a young man was remarkable. She wished the photos were in color because she had a feeling both men shared the same color eyes. The further she flipped, the more she learned, and Wyatt never once acted as if he were concerned about what she might see. He mentioned understanding what it was like to have a parent abandon you and she was finding evidence of that in this album. His Grandpa had a photos of newborn Wyatt with both parents. His mother looked enchanting and kind, but his father…

He looked completely disinterested in his son.

Seeing photographic evidence of it was shocking. She'd known. He'd told her, but seeing it in photos made it real. She'd had a father who was present in her life and a mother who cared, arguably too much, while Wyatt only had one of those things. By the time Wyatt was ten years old neither parent was found in any of the photos. The father she could assume left, but his mother…

She'd been in so many photos just a couple of pages ago and each time she looked at Wyatt like he was the most amazing child in the world. Why would she suddenly disappear?

A throat cleared behind her and she turned to find Wyatt standing over her, looking at the photos. "She died when I was young. Pancreatic Cancer."

She grabbed his hand and tugged him down to the couch next to her. "I'm so sorry, Wyatt."

"It was a long time ago," he told her. He flipped back a few pages and then ran a finger over one of the photos of his mother and smiled softly. "She was the best mom, though. Always made time for me, even when she was at her sickest. She was so strong. She never let anyone tell her who to be, and believe me people tried. She was very headstrong." He turned to Lucy with a smirk before he continued, "And bossy. Kinda reminds me of someone else I know."

She blushed and laughed. "She sounds wonderful."

"She was," he said with a soft sigh and a warm smile.

Lucy flipped toward the back of the book and pointed to a school portrait from Wyatt's high school days. He was clearly a jock, with his letterman jacket, and spiked hair. She chuckled at the frosted tips in his hair and smirked at him. "You look like you belong in a boyband."

"That was cool back then!" He said defensively. "I looked good!"

She laughed and shook her head. "I'm sure you thought so."

"Anyone ever tell you how annoying you are?" He asked teasingly.

"Yes, but generally I ignore them. It's only because I'm usually right," Lucy told him as she allowed herself to lean into him. He brought his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer.

"We're adding know-it-all to the bossy descriptor from now on," he told her with a soft laugh.

"That's good," she agreed. "Because I do know quite a lot of things."

"Yeah? Like what?" He asked with a smirk.

"Like that John Wilkes Booth's brother was the most famous actor in America."

"The guy who plotted the Lincoln assassination? His brother was the most famous actor in America?" He asked in disbelief.

"Go ahead, look it up," she told him confidently. "I'm right."

He held up one hand in surrender. "I believe you."

"You know, Bonnie and Clyde?"

Obviously, one fact wasn't enough proof.

"The bank robbers, yeah."

"Bonnie was actually married to someone else when she met Clyde," Lucy told him with a smirk. "They fell in love anyway." She'd always admired the romance of their story even if they were murders and thieves.

"And then they went out together too. How romantic," Wyatt said with a roll of his eyes.

"Al Capone had a brother who was a Prohibition Agent," she continued when her Bonnie and Clyde fact didn't impress him.

"Seriously?" Wyatt asked with an intrigued expression.

"He changed his name to keep Capone from finding him. He didn't want any part of the 'family business'," she said with a nod. "See? I know an above average amount of things."

"Yes, you've proved that you're a nerd," Wyatt said with a laugh as he kissed her temple. "And you've officially earned the title of know-it-all."

She lightly elbowed him in the stomach and glared at him playfully. "Hey, better a nerd than a jock."

"I'm not just a jock. I know things too," he told her. "Four languages, in fact."

Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. "Four of them?"

She had a barely working knowledge of French forced on her by her mother, but that was the extent of language skills.

He reached a gentle hand up and her chin to push her gaping mouth closed. "Don't look so surprised," he said with a chuckle. "The Army drops us in to other places besides Palo Alto."

"What languages?" She asked with a sheepish smile. He was right. She'd underestimated him a little bit.

"German, Farsi, Japanese, Russian," he listed quickly.

Why did she find him so much more attractive? He'd been attractive before but the idea of him speaking any of those languages made something in her flutter slightly. "I told you. You keep impressing me. Those all sound very difficult. I mean I can barely speak French. I can't imagine being able to speak four languages other than your own."

"I've got a bit of an ear for languages," he said with a bashful grin.

"Obviously," she said with an amazed chuckle. "And you called me a know-it-all."

"The difference is," he said as he turned toward her and leaned into her space. "I don't go around bragging about what I know. You see how that works?"

She laughed at his teasing and playfully tried to push him away as he leaned her back against the armrest of his couch. "Jerk," she said with a grin and a roll of her eyes. Clearly, her insult held no real bite.

"Bossy know-it-all," he replied with a smirk as he brought one hand to the back of her neck and the other wrapped around her middle. He leaned further into her space and in the next moment his lips were on hers she laughed against his kiss before returning it. Everything with Wyatt felt so easy and so right. Yes, they were moving fast but maybe they were supposed to. Maybe some relationship just weren't meant to progress slowly.

Maybe she liked their breakneck pace.

Besides, she was having too much fun to really care. It had been a long time since she'd been in a relationship that was truly fun.

The timer he'd set in the kitchen went off a few minutes later and they reluctantly removed themselves from his couch to have dinner at the kitchen table. Casual touches were increasing, she noticed. The more comfortable they were, the more they touched. She didn't mind one bit.

After dinner, she had to go home. She would have loved to stay another night. Honestly, she would. But the band had an early demo session tomorrow for a songwriter friend of theirs and she could not be late. She needed to sleep in her own bed without Wyatt to distract her. He gave her a ride and walked her up to her apartment door. She'd noticed he'd stiffened slightly when they stepped out of his Jeep and onto the street. But when she'd asked he'd told her it was nothing.

Before she could reach out to unlock her door, he'd pressed her against the wall next to it and kissed her soundly. So soundly that she practically melted against him. His hand was on the back of her neck again, that seemed to be his go to spot. Not that she minded at all. His other arm was wrapped around her waist and pressed her flush against him. One of her hands held the side of his face and she ran her other hand through his hair. He always kissed her like he couldn't bear to let her go. Every kiss they'd shared since the bar the previous night had left her feeling like he was leaving it all on the line for her. She sincerely hoped that never changed.

She forced herself to pull back from him, even though all she really wanted was to drag him inside and have her way with him, and grinned at his flushed face. She was certain she looked much the same. "I really should go," she told him reluctantly.

"Yeah," he said with a sigh. "I know. Dinner tomorrow?" He asked.

She nodded. "Absolutely. We're done at five."

"And the plans for the day after that?" he asked eagerly.

She knew exactly what he was getting at. "We have a gig at a bar downtown, but our call time isn't until five in the afternoon."

"Perfect," he said with a smirk. "I'll pick you up tomorrow at seven?"

She nodded. "That should be plenty of time for me to get home and get ready, yes."

He kissed her cheek quickly and then pulled away from her. "It's a date."

"It most certainly is," She agreed with a flirtatious grin. "See you tomorrow night, Master Sergeant."

His eyes flashed with something dark for a moment before he grinned flirtatiously at her. "Yeah, you can't do that."

"What?" She asked cluelessly. "Call you by your rank?"

"Yes, because I'm trying to leave and hearing you call me by my rank just makes me want to kiss you again," he warned her with half of a smirk. "I'm this close to having you pressed against that wall one more time."

She bit her bottom lip and then smiled slyly at him. "Right. Noted and filed. That seems like it could be very useful tomorrow night."

He groaned and shook his head. "Yeah, okay, I'm walking away now. You actually need to sleep tonight and I am one more flirt away from saying to hell with it and keeping you up all night anyway."

That didn't sound so bad, honestly. She thought about telling him that, giving him permission to do just that, but then remembered the time she had to set her alarm for in the morning and thought better of it. Instead she smiled softly and gave him a small wave. She was very careful to keep her distance. "Goodnight, Wyatt."

"Goodnight, Luce," he said with a warm smile just before he turned and walked back toward the stairs. He'd called her that earlier in the day too and she'd barely noticed. The fact that he felt close enough to her to shorten her name gave her a small unreasonable thrill. It was just a nickname but it implied a level of intimacy that she liked.

She turned and let herself into the apartment. This long weekend had turned out far better than she ever could have imagined.

The next day Wyatt went to the store. He wasn't cooking dinner tonight but he did plan to bring Lucy home with him afterward. Having a bottle of wine for her in his fridge wouldn't be the worst idea. The two times they'd had drinks, once at the wedding and once after, she'd ordered white wine so he figured that's where he'd start.

He was trying to decide what brand of white wine to go with when that prickling feeling at the back of his neck returned. He sensed someone walking toward him long before he caught sight of them in his peripherals. The moment he did, he knew who it was. He was tall, lean, slightly unshaven, and dressed too well. Dr. Douchebag.

"You must be Wyatt Logan," Noah said as he reached out and took a bottle of white wine from the shelf. He extended it out toward Wyatt. "This one is her favorite."

Wyatt's hands clenched at his sides. What the hell did this guy want? What was he doing here? As far as he knew, Lucy hadn't told Noah she was seeing anyone else. Wyatt felt the sudden urge to go find Lucy and hide her away from the world. Something was very wrong here. Wyatt chose not to speak or acknowledge the man standing next to him. Mostly, for fear he'd haul off and start a brawl with Noah in the wine section of the grocery store. He knew himself and he knew his temper. Best to just try to walk away. He grabbed the first bottle of white wine off the shelf he could reach and headed toward the register.

Noah sighed tiredly and chuckled but followed a moment later. "I know how captivating Lucy can be, Master Sergeant. How hard that can be to resist."

Geez, could this idiot not take a hint?

"But I think it's best, for the well being of everyone involved, that you keep your distance from her," Noah warned. His tone didn't sound violent, but Wyatt knew a threat when he heard one.

"Or you'll what?" Wyatt asked with a smirk. "Kill me? I'd really like to see you try." The asshat probably had no idea how to actually fight. He'd be easy to take down. Not that a guy like Noah would ever bother getting his hands truly dirty.

Noah rolled his eyes. "Don't be ridiculous." Wyatt smirked a little wider at that. He called it. But the smirk quickly fell away as Noah continued. "There are things about Lucy that you don't know," Noah told him. "Things that only certain people will be able to help her understand. I'm sure you care about her but the life she's destined to have is best spent with me. I'm just trying to save you a bit of pain and heartbreak. From what I hear you've been through enough of that for one lifetime."

Wyatt turned to face him now. Because how the hell did Noah know all of this? He knew his name, his rank, and he was implying he knew about Jessica. Where did he get his intel and why did all of this make him afraid for Lucy's safety? "What the hell are you talking about? Do you even know? You realize you sound insane, right?"

He grinned and shrugged. "I don't expect you to understand. I just thought I'd help you and Lucy come to the right decision. I expect Lucy will see sense on her own eventually, but I've been patient with her for longer than you know and I'm tired of waiting for 'eventually.' So I'm trying to push things along."

"I have no idea what we're talking about," Wyatt said with a dark chuckle. He did not like this conversation one bit but no way in hell was he going to let Noah in on that fact. "But if you think anyone can make a decision for Lucy you're mistaken. She has her own mind and her own will. She decides what life she leads and who she includes in that life." He grinned slowly and vindictively at Noah before he continued. "And she decided you didn't deserve to be a part of it. That's life, Nick. Deal with it."

"My name is Noah," he said through a clenched jaw. Oh good, his plan to piss the guy off was finally working.

Wyatt let out a short laugh and shook his head. "I really don't give a shit." Honestly, he didn't.

"Fine, but for the record, I tried. I tried to warn you," Noah said with a huff.

"I'm not going anywhere as long as Lucy wants me around. Unlike you, Doc, I respect her decisions," Wyatt told him with a defiant glare.

"They told me this would be pointless," Noah muttered angrily. "But I thought, wrongly apparently, that you might listen."

"Who's they? The voices in your head? You're crazy," Wyatt said with a scoff. He was feigning being dismissive but he was committing every word to memory. His nerves were on high alert.

His anger fell away and Noah suddenly looked amused. Wyatt schooled his expression carefully so as not to show how utterly terrifying that sudden change in emotion actually was. Noah quirked a brow at Wyatt and smirked. It gave Wyatt the distinct impression that Noah knew something he didn't. Something that could not mean anything good for Lucy.

"It was nice to meet you, Wyatt. I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again soon."

"You'd better hope not," Wyatt told him with a heated glare. "This is me on my best behavior. If I see you show up around myself or Lucy again I might forget my manners."

"Promises, promises," Noah said with a laugh as he turned and headed for the exit.

It was official, he hated that guy.

And Lucy might be in serious danger. He paid for the wine quickly and then called his private investigator friend as he drove. Lucy might hate him for prying or being over protective or whatever the hell she thought was condescending and macho, but that wasn't what this was. Lucy was being watched. That was the only explanation and whoever was watching her was affiliated with Noah. He needed surveillance on Noah to assess the threat. It was the best way to keep her safe.

His nerves were on edge and he felt the overwhelming urge to glue himself to Lucy's side. He called Bam-Bam once he was off the phone with his private investigator.

"Baumgardner," he answered automatically.

"Celia and the band are recording today, right?" He asked without preamble.

"Uh, hey, man. Good to hear from you too. Is everything okay?"

"It will be, I think. The band is recording today, right?" He asked again.

"Yeah," Bam-Bam answered in a confused tone.

"Where?" He asked urgently.

"Okay, you're using your combat voice, dude. What's going on?"

"I need to talk to Lucy," he answered. He was being purposefully vague and Bam-Bam knew it. "Where are they recording?"

He sounded concerned and suspicious as he gave Wyatt the address and then followed it with, "Wyatt, you'd ask if you needed back up, right?"

"It's nothing I can't handle, Bam-Bam," he said confidently.

"Alright," he replied with a sigh. "If you say so."

They ended the call and Wyatt sped toward the location he'd been given. He spotted Lucy's car outside the building and parked next to it. He did a sweep up and down the block and through the neighboring buildings before finally going inside. Everything seemed clear and secure. It took him several minutes to find the right studio. He could have found them faster but going slowly allowed him to clear each room on the the way.

It struck him then just how deeply he'd let that asshole, Noah, get under his skin. The guy was probably messing with him. But for some reason he couldn't escape the dread and danger pooling in his gut. Something was wrong. He just wished he knew what was wrong.

When he finally opened the correct studio door he breathed a sigh of relief. Lucy was fine. She was fine. Her eyes found his from inside the recording booth with a curious smile on her face. She waved and he took a deep calming breath before he returned it.

What the hell was he planning to do once he was here? He hadn't thought that far ahead. He just knew he needed visual confirmation that Lucy was whole and safe.

Holy hell, what was wrong with him? He shouldn't be here. Whatever Noah was up to, he wouldn't have acted on it right then. Not immediately after alerting Wyatt to the threat. He knew that. He was trained to analyze these kind of situations every day, but this was different. This was someone he cared about. This was Lucy.

He'd barely known her three days and he felt like every part of him was already hers. He knew his panic was a result of his attachment and it floored him to realize how completely she owned him already. He'd sped across town, ignoring stop lights and stop signs and breaking multiple traffic laws, just to make sure she was safe. Shit. He was definitely in love with her. It seemed impossible that three days could see so much change in him, but he knew that's what had happened.

He'd never seen her coming so he had no way to defend against her. She'd marched right into his heart and taken up residence there without him even noticing. Shit.

She exited the booth and eagerly walked toward him. "Hi, what are you doing here?"

Was now the right time to tell her that her ex-boyfriend was possibly stalking her? He knew he had to tell her but did he have to tell her right now? He debated telling her he just wanted to watch her work but then Noah's smug face appeared and he remembered why Lucy ended it with that asshole. He hid something important from her.

Wyatt was determined not to make Noah's mistakes.

"We need to talk," he told her with a nervous gulp. "In private."

Her brow furrowed but she nodded and then turned to Celia. "I'm gonna need a few minutes."

Celia smirked at them before she answered, "Yeah, I figured that. There's an empty conference room next door."

"Thanks," Lucy told her as she grabbed his hand and led him out the studio door toward the conference room. He already knew that room was secure. He cleared it on the way in.

The reminder of Noah and Wyatt's moment of panic nearly caused him to groan miserably but he clenched his jaw and held the pathetic noise at bay. She was going to hate what he was about to tell her.

Wyatt looked awful. Well, okay he looked gorgeous but tense. His posture was stiff, his eyes were frantic, and his brow seemed permanently furrowed. What the hell had happened? He was fine last night. She closed the conference door behind them and then immediately asked the one question she kept asking herself over and over again.

"What's wrong?"

"Sorry to just barge in like this, I—I probably should have just called you, but…I called Dave to find out where you were. I hope that's okay."

She couldn't care less how he tracked her down or that he appeared out of nowhere. Her only concern was why he looked so shaken. He sounded nervous and worried. Two things she'd yet to see on him simultaneously. She brought her hands to his face and forced him to look her in the eyes. "Wyatt, what's wrong?"

The nerves and doubt and worry vanished from his face at her touch. As if she were bringing him back down to earth. "When you last spoke with Noah, did you tell him about me?"

"No," she said with a shake of her head. "I didn't need to. You were only a small percentage of why I ended things with him. Why?"

"I just ran into him at my neighborhood grocery store. He knew my name, he knew you were seeing me, he knew my rank, and he freakin' knew about my ex-wife."

She froze and she felt her entire body run cold. How? Why? For a split second the idea that she should doubt Wyatt's story crossed her mind but then she remembered him telling her that he wanted to prove to her he wasn't Noah. That he wouldn't lie to her. And why would he lie about this? There was no motive. She's already dumped Noah. Wyatt had her all to himself. He knew that.

No, he was telling her the truth. She knew he was.

And the truth was terrifying.

"What?" She asked with a shake of her head. "Did he do anything?"

"No, he just talked. A lot. I hate that guy."

Despite the situation she felt the corners of her mouth tug upward. "Imagine my surprise."

Under her hands she could feel the tension in his jaw release slightly as he smirked at her.

She moved her hands from his face to his shoulders. "What did he say?"

"The gist of it, was that I should stay away from you."

"Or what?" She asked with a roll of her eyes. "What is he going to do?"

Wyatt gave her a lopsided grin. Something about her reaction had amused him. She wasn't sure what or why. "He was never very clear about that," Wyatt replied. "He said something insane about you being destined for some other life with him and that eventually you'd see reason? I barely followed along because it was straight up batshit crazy."

"How did I ever date him?"

Wyatt scoffed and smirked at her. "I'm afraid I can't offer any insight. I'm pretty confused by it myself." For a brief moment he looked playful and smug but that was quickly replaced with a concerned gaze. "Lucy, you know what this means, don't you? He knew about us, he knew about my career, my past...the only way he could know all of that is if—"

The realization hit her so hard and fast that she felt a bit out of breath. "He's watching me?"

"Or he's hired someone else to watch you."

She felt sick. Her vision tilted and her hands started shaking. That explained why she felt like she had eyes on her all the time now. It made sense in some twisted way. Noah was having her watched. She wasn't paranoid or crazy. He was. She felt unbalanced on her feet and Wyatt must have noticed because his arms that had been glued to his sides while he was so tense were now wrapped around her. Steadying her as her world upended itself.

Wyatt wordlessly guided her to one of the chairs around the conference room table and sat down across from her.

"Lucy?" He asked worriedly.

She swallowed thickly with closed eyes before taking a long deep breath. She would not panic. Not now. "Wh—what do we do? Do we go to the police?"

"With what evidence?" Wyatt asked with a shake of his head. "My word against his? That won't be enough."

"So, then what am I supposed to do with this information? Lock myself in my apartment and never come out? Cause that's sounding more and more appealing," she said before she buried her face in her hands.

"You're not hiding. Not from him. Besides, it didn't sound like he wanted to hurt you," Wyatt assured her as he pulled her hands away from her face and held them in his. "He didn't threaten you."

"No, but he did threaten you, didn't he?" Lucy asked knowingly.

"If he wants to come after me, let him. I can handle it," Wyatt said with a scoff.

"Wyatt," Lucy said in a disapproving tone. "No. I'm not letting him hurt you because of me. That's not happening. There has to be something we can do."

"There is and I've already done it," he told her as he squeezed her hands. "I called a friend of mine who's a private investigator. He's going to tail Noah and see what he can dig up. We can go to the cops once we have evidence. It'll be okay, Lucy." He was eerily calm for how tense he'd been just moments ago. Was his sense of calm for her benefit?

"So, for the time being I just have to live with it?" She asked angrily. "I have let him watch me? That's what you're saying?" Her anger faded and the panic was back. She knew by now the color had to have drained from her face. "God, can we just go back to yesterday? Where it was you and me in your apartment and everything was about as perfect as it could be? Can we?"

"Yeah, actually," he said with a hesitant smirk. "We kinda can. He's not watching me. You could stay at my place."

"What?" She asked. He's said it so casually, as if it wasn't at all odd to have someone stay with you that you'd barely known for three days.

"If you don't feel safe at Jiya's anymore then you can stay with me, Lucy. I'm not letting anything happen to you and I don't want you living in fear. You can even take the bed," he told her with a bashful grin.

She chuckled at that. "Seriously? I think I've already given you permission for bed sharing. We can both take the bed."

He smirked and nodded. "Whatever you say, ma'am. Is that a yes?"

She nodded and then gave him a thankful look. "Yes, I think I would feel much better about all of this if I were with you."

"Then it's settled," he told her with a decisive nod. "You're staying with me."