This chapter kind of took on a mind of it's own. I had this beautifully laid out plan that would wrap the story up in just a couple more chapters, and then the ending just happened. I blame the time team.

This was so unlike her.

Wyatt was the reckless hothead, not Lucy. Lucy wasn't the kind of person to sneak out of her apartment, break into Mason Industries, and configure the autopilot function for the Lifeboat as she'd heard Jiya mention was now possible a few days ago. She wasn't the type of person to steal a time machine in order to get her family back. That was crazy; that was insane.

And, yet.

Lucy took a deep breath as she quickly set the course for anywhere, anytime, just needing to go somewhere without Wyatt so she could return to a timeline that, hopefully, resulted in two pairs of small arms wrapping around her and a firm kiss.

She climbed up into the Lifeboat, and arms wrapped around her waist all too soon.

They weren't small, though.

"No," she gasped, kicking at her captor, recognizing him almost instantly by the smell of his body wash mixed with the faint aroma of whiskey on his breath, achingly familiar. "Let me go! I have to go!"

Wyatt was stronger than her, though, and she'd always known that. She was fighting a losing battle, but she kept fighting. She kicked her legs and thrashed her arms, trying to escape from his hold. She spat profanities, another very-unlike-Lucy thing to do, but she was desperate. She was a desperate mother trying to get back to her children.

"Lucy, it's okay," he breathed into her hair as he struggled to keep a firm hold on her, and that was all it took. She went limp in his arms, the tears coming hard and fast. What was she thinking, stealing the Lifeboat? She could've been kicked off the team. She could've come back to a timeline where she didn't exist, or where neither Wyatt or the girls existed at all.

She vaguely remembered Rufus saying something to a similar effect but the wave of emotions she was riding was too chaotic for her to focus on that.

Wyatt held her close as she finally turned in his arms, burying her face in his shirt, and god how did he always smell so damn good? The scent overwhelmed her senses and filled her with a sense of calm that she'd been unable to achieve since leaving his apartment a week ago. She cried until there was nothing left, and he held her through it all, his hands rubbing up and down her back and softly running through her hair, working out the messy tangles and kinks. He whispered words of comfort into her hair. He kissed the top of her head, resting his chin on it as he rocked her back and forth as she cried.

Eventually, there were no more tears, and when her sobs had subsided to a sniffle every few moments, Wyatt finally spoke louder than a whisper.

"Where were you going, Luce?" he asked, his voice strong but still soft. He didn't seem angry, or accusatory. He seemed worried, if Lucy was being completely honest.

She wished he'd stop worrying about her so much. Someday, it would be his downfall.

"I finally understand," she began softly, sniffling as she lifted her face from his chest, meeting his eyes. "Flynn's motivation to murder through time to get his girls back." Wyatt's expression stayed the same, and she wondered if he'd already figured it out somehow. Wyatt was infinitely smarter than he gave himself credit for.

"Lucy, who's Amelia?" he asked gently, his eyes boring into hers. She wanted to look away, the brightness of the blue that consistently captivated her a painful reminder of what hadn't been in that little girl's eyes. She couldn't, though. She never could.

Lucy sighed, blinking up at him.

"Amelia's my daughter," she whispered, watching his reaction. He stiffened, and she could feel it in the way he continued to hold her, and she broke their gaze as she closed her eyes, unable to continue with him looking at her like that. "Amelia and Layla. They were my daughters."

"You had daughters?" Wyatt asked quietly, and she could hear the frown in his voice as she blinked her eyes open at him. "What happened to them?"

"Wyatt," Lucy whispered, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "When Rufus, Teddy, and I first took the Lifeboat out on that mission, after you got hurt," she paused, swallowing the lump in her throat, "we came back to a different timeline." Wyatt nodded stiffly, his arms still wound tightly around her, almost painfully.

"So, you went back to a timeline where you had daughters," Wyatt muttered, and his expression was unreadable, which was disconcerting given how much of an open book Wyatt seemed to be. He wore his heart on his sleeve around Lucy, and that was one of the many reasons why she loved him.

"Yes," Lucy nodded, and now that she had finally told him, she couldn't seem to stop; the rest simply poured out of her. "I was married with two daughters, and Amy was back, and my mother was dead, and Emma was still Rittenhouse, and we still chased after her." Wyatt nodded slowly, taking it all in. Lucy took a deep breath, waiting for him to respond. "Wyatt, say something, please."

"So, were you going back?" he asked, his voice rough. "To your husband and kids," he clarified and Lucy nodded solemnly.

"I was going to try," she whispered, fresh tears lining her eyes as she blinked up at him. "Rufus and Jiya figured out a way to autopilot the Lifeboat a few days ago. I heard Jiya talking about it the other night when she thought I was asleep."

"But, you haven't been sleeping," Wyatt muttered and she shrugged, not wanting to get into that. "Lucy, I know this isn't what you want to hear right now, but what if it hadn't worked?"

He was right.

That wasn't what she wanted to hear.

But, that didn't take away from the fact that he had a point; what if it hadn't worked? What if the autopilot had failed and she was lost in time forever? Was that worth it to try to get her daughters back? Would she have ended up lost in space, or would the team have eventually found her and brought her home?

"I had to try," she whispered, and a fresh set of tears began trickling down her cheeks, streaking grime from the stress of the evening thus far down her face. "I had to, Wyatt, I had to try to get back to them. I can't do this, I can't be here like this. I thought that if I left on my own that I could find a way to get back to them, that I would come back to them being alive again." Wyatt nodded solemnly, tucking Lucy back into his chest again, hushing her as she sobbed into his shirt.

"I'm so sorry, Luce," he whispered, his voice breaking. "It must have been so hard to come back here." Lucy nodded into his chest, her ear pressed against his heart. She breathed in sync with him, slowly calming herself down.

"I miss them," she whimpered, sniffling as she pulled away to look at him. He sighed deeply, brushing her hair back from her face.

"Who was he?" he asked quietly, and Lucy froze in his arms. "Was it Noah?" Lucy shook her head, gazing up at him, contemplating. He frowned. "Who were you married to?"

Lucy took a deep breath, watching him carefully, leaning back in his arms.

"You," she whispered, blinking owlishly, a tear sliding down her cheek again. "I was married to you, Wyatt."

"What are you two doing?"

Both Lucy and Wyatt turned to find Agent Christopher with three Homeland Security agents, all frowning at the two time-travelers. Wyatt jumped in front of Lucy, holding his hands up.

"Lucy had a weak moment, but everyone's fine and the time machine is still here," he assured them as Agent Christopher read the screens.

"Where were you trying to go, Lucy?" Agent Christopher asked, and Lucy looked to Wyatt for an answer, as she so often did. He blew air through his cheeks, his eyes widening.

"To get her sister back," he blurted, then turned to her, shrugging as if to say well, it's true. "But, she told Rufus before she left and he told me I had to get down here before she did something potentially dangerous." Lucy frowned softly at that, knowing that Wyatt wasn't making that part up. Rufus had known where she was going.

Luckily, Agent Christopher wasn't as attuned to Wyatt's tells and bought the entire thing, gazing sympathetically at Lucy.

"I know I promised you we'd get your sister back once Flynn was caught," she began, sighing. "But, then Emma took the Mothership and we threw you right back into it. I'm sorry to say this, Lucy, but until the time machines are out of commission for good, it's just not safe to attempt to get your sister back." Lucy nodded, her expression blank. She knew all this, of course. It wasn't the first time she'd been told. "What if you got her back, but then lost her again on your next trip?"

Lucy hadn't thought of that, and Wyatt gently reached behind him, offering his hand as he heard her breath catch in her throat at the thought. She gratefully grasped his hand in hers, curling her fingers around his and clutching them like a lifeline.

"If it's all the same to you, ma'am, I'd prefer to take Lucy home, now," he murmured, squeezing Lucy's hand. Lucy nodded behind Wyatt, silently begging Agent Christopher to just let them go.

"Very well," she acquiesced, nodding for the other agents to stand down, and Wyatt's grip on her hand loosened up now that there was no real threat of danger toward him or Lucy. "We'll talk more about this later. Lucy," she called out, frowning softly at the historian. "Get some sleep."

If only.

Lucy answered with an involuntary yawn, and Wyatt chuckled, moving his arm around her waist and leading her towards the door. She was only vaguely aware of the burst of fresh air washing over her as they exited Mason Industries, emerging into the cool night air.

"Where are we going?" she mumbled, her eyes beginning to droop from the emotional and physical exhaustion of the past few days; hell, the past week, if she was being truly honest with herself. Wyatt gently shushed her, helping her into his car and reaching over to buckle her seatbelt. She sighed happily as her eyes slipped shut, enveloped by his warmth and the comforting smell of Wyatt.

Somewhere in the distance, she heard Wyatt chuckle, then felt the firm pressure of something soft on her cheek. "Get some sleep, Luce," he whispered, and that was all the invitation she needed.

After not having slept comfortably in a little over a week, the combination of having told Wyatt everything and being able to be in the presence of Wyatt again without panicking was overwhelmingly reassuring, and Lucy had never slept better in her entire life.

She woke pressed firmly against his chest, tucked under his arm as he snored softly. Her eyes opened slowly, a yawn escaping as she dragged her eyelids open, blinking slowly in the still darkness.

She was in her room back at Wyatt's apartment.

Home, he'd said. He'd brought her home.

Lucy smiled softly, snuggling back down into Wyatt's arms, silently thrilled that at least she'd regained this aspect of the alternate timeline for the time being. She pillowed her head on his chest, breathing in time with his heartbeat as it thumped underneath her cheek, reminding her that he was alive.

Emma hadn't touched him.

That thought was sobering, and she stiffened suddenly, worried that Wyatt could still be in danger. Wasn't that why she'd been pushing him away? She bit her lip, sniffling as she wrapped her arm tighter around his middle.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," he whispered in the stillness, and she jumped slightly, eliciting a soft chuckle that rumbled through his chest. "You okay?"

"I thought you were asleep," Lucy whispered, wary of disrupting the peaceful bubble they seemed to be trapped in. She felt him shake his head, his arm around her tightening. His other hand came up to grip hers, bringing it up to his lips.

"You know I can't sleep when you're thinking so loud," he murmured against her fingers, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. She sighed softly, her heart aching. "Come on, Luce, what's on your mind?"

"You never asked me how I got back," she muttered, shifting in his arms, slowly sliding up his body so they were level with each other. Wyatt shrugged, and Lucy giggled softly as his shoulder gently nudged her head up into the air.

"I just figured I got hurt in that timeline, too," he confessed, frowning softly at her. Lucy shook her head slowly, biting her lip.

"Emma found out," she breathed, swallowing the lump in her throat that formed whenever she thought about walking away from her family like that. "She found out that you and I were married, that I'd been living in an alternate timeline, and she threatened to," Lucy paused, taking a deep breath, "to kill you." Her voice broke and Wyatt pulled her close, kissing her forehead as she tried to push past her emotions and continue. "She says that I'm supposed to be with Noah, that it's been destined by Rittenhouse since before either of us were born." She gently nudged his shoulder. "You, and my feelings for you, get in the way of that."

"Emma's not touching me," he promised her, his lips still pressed to her skin. "Or you, for that matter. Or Rufus. None of the time team is getting offed by the ginger," he teased gently, and Lucy giggled in spite of herself. "Hey," he whispered, his fingers tilting her chin up to meet her eyes. "Lucy, I'm not going anywhere. I'll fight to the end. I promise you that." He leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers, his blue eyes still locked onto her brown ones. "You can't get rid of me that easily."

"I'd never want to get rid of you, Wyatt," Lucy whispered, all notions of teasing having flown out of the open window that was currently letting in a soft breeze. She moved her hand from resting on his chest to brush her fingertips gently across his cheekbone, her touch feather-light as she smiled softly through fresh tears. "I love you," she whispered, her voice fraught with emotion. "I love you so much, and it's going to kill you one day." Wyatt shook his head, her head moving with his as he pulled her hand from his cheek. "No, Wyatt, it is, it is, and I am so sorry. I tried to stop it by leaving, but I can't stop it, no matter how hard I try. It's inevitable."

"Lucy," he interrupted her, squeezing her hand, his voice strong in the otherwise quiet night. "Emma will never succeed, okay? You're not marrying Noah, I'm not going to let that happen." Lucy breathed in sharply at the strength behind his promise. "I mean it, Luce, I'm not going anywhere," he whispered, leaning in closer, gently nudging their noses together.

Lucy shut her eyes, leaning into the touch, a shiver running through her body as she remembered kissing Wyatt in an alternate timeline and wondered what it'd be like to kiss him for real.

The ringing of both of their phones startled them out of their embrace, and Wyatt quickly reached behind him to grab his. Lucy squirmed in his arms, still wrapped firmly around her, searching for hers as he spoke a few words to Agent Christopher then hung up.

"Emma took the Mothership out again?" Lucy asked, and Wyatt nodded, frowning as he helped her sit up, still tucked closely to his side. He was staring down at the bedsheets, his face blank. "Wyatt," she muttered, beginning to worry. "What's wrong?"

"She took the Mothership to November 22, 1963," he breathed, his eyes flitting up to meet hers as her breath caught in her throat. "Even I know that one."

The assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Wyatt's hand hadn't left Lucy's since they'd climbed into the Lifeboat, then subsequently climbed out of it, searching for Emma in the crowded streets of Dallas.

He gently pulled her along after him and Rufus, his hand wrapped firmly around hers, a silent reminder that he was close by and wasn't going anywhere. She squeezed his hand as they peeked around the corner from behind a building, trying to get the jump on Emma who was standing mere feet away, speaking quietly to someone.

"Wait," Lucy breathed all of a sudden, recognizing the young man that Emma was currently talking to. "That's Jack Ruby," she whispered, frowning. He wasn't supposed to be here today. He wasn't meant to kill Oswald until a couple days from now, when Oswald was being moved by the authorities. "He shouldn't be here."

"Think Emma brought him?" Rufus asked quietly, peeking over her shoulder. Lucy shook her head, watching Jack and Emma carefully.

"What if she's trying to stop Oswald?" Wyatt suggested, turning to glance at Lucy over his shoulder. "We should get to the building." Lucy frowned as Wyatt began pulling her away, his hand still wrapped around hers, Rufus following after them.

"Wait," she called out as they got closer to the building where Oswald would set up his gun and shoot JFK. He paused, glancing back at her. "You're not going to try to stop him? You're just going to let Oswald shoot JFK?" Wyatt stopped then, turning around to sigh at her, his eyes boring into hers.

"Miss Preston!"

Lucy and Wyatt both turned to find President Kennedy making their way toward them, beaming. Lucy froze, her eyes wide, glancing at Rufus who'd stiffened as well.

She hadn't met JFK in this timeline. He shouldn't have remembered her.

"What a pleasant surprise," he gushed, taking Lucy's other hand in his, shaking it. Lucy stuttered a soft laugh, nodding. "How are your girls?"

Lucy's stomach jumped.

"What? What did you just say?" she demanded, taking a step closer to him. "You remember them?" She turned back toward Rufus, her eyes wide, squeezing Wyatt's hand. "How is that possible?"

Rufus shook his head, frowning as he moved closer. "Maybe since it's the only timeline he remembers, or because it's the one that he exists in?" He shook his head again, regarding Kennedy with a strange look. "Or Rittenhouse preserved his memories somehow."

"Wait," Wyatt spoke up, and Lucy turned to him. "Does he mean our daughters?" Her heart swelled as she nodded.

"Oh no," Kennedy mumbled, and Lucy turned back to find him frowning at her. "Did something happen to your girls? Was it them?" Lucy shook her head, smiling brightly at Kennedy, squeezing Wyatt's hand in hers to urge him to simply play along.

"No, the girls are fine!" Lucy beamed up at him. "Layla will be starting Kindergarten in the Fall, and Amelia's top of her class. Thank you for asking," she continued as Kennedy grinned at her. She could see Rufus' sympathetic look out of the corner of her eye. "How are you doing, Mr. President?" He shrugged, glancing over his shoulder.

"Your small friend is here," he whispered, leaning in towards Lucy, and Wyatt frowned as he moved closer. "She's speaking with that man." Lucy nodded, ignoring Wyatt's confused look.

"Thank you," she replied quietly as Kennedy nodded and stood up straight again.

"Well, I must be getting back," he muttered, nodding toward Wyatt. "Nice to see you again." Wyatt's eyes widened and Lucy quickly squeezed his hand.

"Uh, right," he stuttered, nodding. "Yeah, you too." Kennedy smiled and slipped back into the crowd. Lucy bit her lip, wondering again if he knew what was about to happen. She'd always wondered why he'd refused his bodyguards just days before he was assassinated. She took a deep breath, turning to face Wyatt.

"I'm sure you have questions," she began, and Wyatt nodded, his eyes wide. "In the alternate timeline, we met Kennedy quite a few times. He helped us all out of some sticky situations," she murmured, keeping her voice low. Rufus nodded, gesturing to Lucy.

"He helped us save Lucy that one time she was kidnapped by Emma's goon," he remembered. Wyatt straightened at that.

"What?"

"Thanks, Rufus," Lucy muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes. "Kennedy's entire family is Rittenhouse, but he's been trying to take them down for years. He's one of the good guys, Wyatt," she assured him. Lucy turned back towards Emma, frowning. "Which is why I'm not sure why Rittenhouse would want him killed. They still think he's completely on their side," she whispered, biting her lip.

Emma nodded discretely to Jack and they parted ways. "Look," Wyatt murmured, pointing as Emma walked back towards the building Oswald was currently supposedly holed up in. "Let's go," he urged, tugging Lucy after him, Rufus by his side.

They followed Emma further down the street, to the entrance of the telltale building, and Lucy planted her feet, recognizing there was no way out beside the way they'd come in.

"Wyatt, no," she called out, tugging him back. "It's a trap."

The door slammed shut behind them and Rufus scrambled to open it again.

It was locked.

"You're just too smart for me, Princess," Emma drawled, and the team turned to find her smirking at them. Wyatt quickly drew his gun, but Emma held her hands up. "I'm here to save history, okay? Kennedy was never meant to die today." Lucy frowned, moving in front of Wyatt.

"What do you mean? You're trying to save him?" she asked incredulously. Emma nodded, sighing deeply.

"Yes, I've been trying to save him for months, now. Why do you think I've been trying to find Jack Ruby?" Emma asked incredulously, her eyes focused solely on Lucy. Lucy frowned, tilting her head; when had Emma been looking for Jack Ruby? Emma sighed, exasperated. "The mission with your other soldier, in Dallas? Why did you think I was there?"

"Teddy?" Wyatt spoke up from behind her, and Emma peered around Lucy to nod patronizingly at him.

"Yes, I apparently dropped a wall on you so you were down for the count," she smirked. "Glad to see you're up and moving. I thought I'd heard you were cleared to go out again." Wyatt scoffed and Emma turned back to Lucy, who was still figuring it out.

"You were looking for Jack when we were with Teddy," Lucy whispered, frowning. "But, why? What does Jack have to do with Kennedy's assassination? Oswald kills Kennedy," she murmured, looking down, getting lost in her train of thought. "And Jack kills Oswald," she continued, frowning up at Emma. "Are you trying to kill Oswald before he can kill Kennedy?"

"Ding, ding! We have a winner!" Emma called out, beaming with pride. "You know, I never really believed what they said about you until I started taking those trips with Flynn and saw it firsthand. You really are brilliant." Lucy stiffened under her scrutiny, but Emma quickly continued with her tangent.

Wyatt's hand curled around her arm, gently, assuring her that he was there and he'd get them out of this. It was incredibly comforting, given the circumstances.

"Why were you talking to Oswald in Fort Worth, then? He said you told him to stop what he was planning," Lucy remembered. Emma nodded, smirking at Lucy.

"Oswald isn't Rittenhouse, but he wants to be. He's been trying to get on our good side for years, even going as far as becoming a Russian spy so that he could be of some use to us. But, he's too eager. We don't like recruiting insane people that are all too eager to join," she explained. Rufus barked a laugh at that, drawing her attention away from Lucy.

"Right, wouldn't want insane people in your secret organization hell-bent on rewriting history," he muttered, and Emma frowned at him. "Emma, what happened to you? You used to be good." She shook her head.

"I was never good, Rufus," she whispered, sighing. "I was born into this, just like Kennedy, just like Lucy," she gestured to Lucy who flinched under her acknowledgment. "It's my destiny, and I can't run from it." She turned back to face Lucy, green eyes boring into brown. "None of us can."

"You're wrong," Lucy whispered, her voice breaking. Wyatt's grip on her arm tightened, and she drew her strength from him. "Destiny isn't real," she continued, her voice stronger. "I have a choice, you have a choice. Emma, you don't have to do this. You don't have to keep working for them. You can fight them with us." Lucy took a step forward, and Wyatt's hand slipped from her arm as she stood in front of Emma. "I remember the alternate timeline," she whispered. Emma straightened at that. "Everything that Kennedy had planned, everything he was going to accomplish. We can still win, Emma. We can make sure his plans come to fruition. All you have to do is climb back into the Mothership, go back to the present, and work with us instead of against us," Lucy pleaded. Emma paused, tilting her head at Lucy.

"Kennedy has something planned?"

Before Lucy could respond, the door burst open again, and Jack Ruby came barrelling in. Emma battled herself internally for a split second before nodding towards the stairs.

"He's up there," she informed him, and Ruby took off like a shot, pounding up the stairs two at a time, his gun drawn. Lucy whirled on Wyatt, her eyes wide, but he was already following after Jack. "I'm sorry, Lucy," Emma muttered as she nodded at her guy that had been guarding the door and they left.

"No," Lucy whispered, turning to call after Emma. "Wait!"

But, Emma kept walking, and when there were two gunshots from upstairs, followed by two more and a large thud accompanied by a familiar groan, Lucy felt her heart stop.

Wyatt.