Chapter Summary: Lucy and Wyatt discuss the other timeline.

Lucy had only been on two missions but she was already stressed as anything over what had happened. In her first mission they had nearly died and in her second she hadn't been able to stop a teenage boy from dying and another important person from getting recruited to Rittenhouse. She also wasn't sure how to react to the fact that in another timeline she was part of the team. She also didn't know how to deal with the idea that, at least according to Emma, she and Wyatt were more than friends.

When she thought about it critically she realized it wasn't so weird. Wyatt had a strange pull on her, had done so practically from their first meeting. He had saved her life. And furthermore, in some strange way she trusted him. She already fully trusted Rufus. But Rufus was just a trustworthy type of person. He was the type of person she'd invariably trust and even want to be friends with. Wyatt was different. He was a soldier, reckless and hot-headed and had absolutely nothing in common with her. Yet she found herself gravitating towards him. Found herself smiling and unable to look away. She still didn't really trust Flynn. He seemed to have a creepy knowledge of her life and future that left her unsettled. He was effective at his job. She had to give him that. He was also pretty funny. Lucy knew he had lost his family due to Rittenhouse. She could only hope that he'd someday get them back.

Lucy sat up and glanced at Amy's bed. Her sister was sound asleep and snoring. Lucy smiled and decided to get up for a little while. Maybe a cup of tea or hot chocolate would soothe her long enough to sleep. She padded out to the kitchen area and set the kettle on the stove. While she waited for it to boil she peaked into the common room. Wyatt was stretched out on the couch but she suspected he wasn't asleep. His eyes blinked open and he said, "Are you ok?"

Lucy felt a little embarrassed having been caught watching him. She honestly hadn't meant to be a creeper. Lucy hesitated and came forward. "Yeah, I just can't sleep. Thought a cup of tea would help."

He sat up himself and motioned to a chair. Lucy sat down with her feet tucked up under her but said, "I didn't mean to wake you."

"I wasn't asleep. I don't sleep much." Lucy noticed the edge to his voice and wondered how many sleepless nights he spent due to all the things he had seen in war.

"Would you like some tea?" she asked. Wyatt didn't strike her as a tea drinker but it was only polite to ask. "Or some hot chocolate?"

"Hot chocolate would be great." He gave her an encouraging smile as she went back into the kitchen. Lucy was a terrible cook but she could manage tea and packaged hot chocolate. Amy was the cook of the family. Her mother had been good at cooking too. Lucy pushed the thought away. Her mother's death had hurt but Lucy knew it could have been worse. If her mother had been more deeply involved in Rittenhouse her life would have been even more difficult.

She set the mugs down on the coffee table and she blew on hers gently to cool it. "So…um… what um… happened between us? That stuff Emma was talking about?"

She could see him pull away slightly and look nervous. That was odd because Wyatt was never nervous. Emma could have a gun pointed at his head and he always kept his emotions in check. She admired that quality because it definitely wasn't one she shared.

"It's a long story." He began slowly.

"I'm not busy. Of course, you're probably tired…" Lucy just wanted to know. She wanted to know what had happened.

"So our first mission was to stop Flynn from messing up the Hindenburg." Wyatt began. Lucy sat up straighter.

"Flynn? You mean the Flynn living here now?" She questioned.

"Yeah, he was definitely on the enemy list back then. Hense why he's not exactly on my and Rufus's favorite people list." Wyatt replied.

"We hadn't ever met each other. I was just sitting in the waiting room of Mason Industries when this woman walks in. She's protesting loudly and keeps asking me questions. Definitely doesn't like being called "ma'am". And within five minutes we were told time travel is real and to step into a time machine to go back to the 1930's. It was pretty unbelievable. We ended up getting arrested and while in jail you kept asking me about why I was so interested in Kate Drummond. I told you it was about Jessica, my now ex-wife. She was dead in that timeline. Kate really didn't look that much like Jessica but for some reason, I felt like she was like Jessica. And I was so guilty over her death I felt like I had to save Kate. She ended up dying anyway. But something that happened on the Hindenburg erased Amy from existence."

"What? What are you talking about?" Lucy felt grief hit her heart as she looked at him. He had told his story slowly as if he was gathering together a bunch of memories and trying to line them up properly. But this…This was personal to her.

"Something Flynn did changed history and erased Amy. She was never born. And we never got the opportunity to bring her back. Rittenhouse stole the Mothership and you got kidnapped." Wyatt's voice had all the sadness in the world. Lucy fought back panic. The idea that her sister could be erased again struck her.

"We went to the Alamo and you saved my life. I wanted to stay. Didn't feel like there was much to live for with Jess gone and it seemed like the right thing to do. But you refused. You just grabbed my hand and ordered me to come with. Said that you and Rufus needed me." Lucy couldn't imagine how much pain Wyatt must have been under to do that. It was sad his marriage had fallen apart after all the grief.

"Then I got mad at Rufus because he was secretly recording our conversations for Rittenhouse because they were blackmailing him. And you hid your conversations with Flynn over the journal. I felt like I couldn't trust either of you. But the Flynn stranded us in the 18th century for a week. We were forced to patch up our differences. That's when we became a real team." Lucy put her mug on the table and rested her head on the seat. It was a really awkward pretzel shape she was putting herself into but she found his voice soothing and the story was so incredible it felt almost fictional.

"Then we had to pretend to be married for Bonnie and Clyde." Wyatt began.

"You mean The Bonnie and Clyde," Lucy questioned.

"Yeah, we were posing as fellow criminals. And I was still dealing with Jessica's death and I wasn't too happy about putting on a play. But we had to. And no matter how many times I told myself it was just acting and it wasn't real it sure felt real. And that scared me to death. I wasn't ever going to feel like that after losing Jessica. Flynn captured you right afterward. We managed to get you back but it was…" Wyatt paused and took another sip of her really poor attempt at hot chocolate. "We were. I was so damn worried."

Lucy digested this in silence. It was clear that this other Lucy had a long and intimate history with Wyatt and Rufus. But it was different for Wyatt. She wasn't blind to the way he looked at her. The secret smile that always looked so soft and content. What had her other timeline self felt for him? Had she been in love? Lucy didn't know but it would have been hard pressed for her not to have been. Lucy hadn't known him a long time but she already felt drawn to him.

"That's why I took the time machine to try to get Jessica back. I wouldn't let you come with because I was afraid that you'd get into trouble with Christopher and lose your opportunity to get Amy back. I remember wondering why it was so damn hard to say goodbye. And it ended up not working. Jessica didn't come back. I…I got arrested but Christopher bailed me out and you and Rufus vouched for me." Lucy tried imaging what her other timeline self must have felt. She almost could feel the sadness as she contemplated saying goodbye.

"After that, I kinda accepted that she wasn't coming back. We started getting closer. Spending more time together. Usually with Rufus who was dating Jiya but sometimes by ourselves. Then your mother revealed herself as Rittenhouse, Emma stole the Mothership from Flynn and your mother kidnapped you. I was sitting there waiting for you to come and get Amy back and you didn't come. Then Mason Industries blew up. Both Rufus and I were nearly killed. If we hadn't been inside the Lifeboat we'd have died."

Lucy gasped. The idea of her mother kidnapping her tore through her heart. She had known of her mother's connection to Rittenhouse but not the extent to which this timeline version of Carol Preston had been attached to it.

"I went a little crazy when you were gone. Everyone kept saying you were dead. But I didn't believe it."

"Why?" Lucy asked. "Why didn't you?"

"Because I felt like I'd feel if you were dead. I just knew you were alive. And you needed me. That's when we transferred to this bunker. I stole a blow torch from Rufus to try to get out. Didn't work and Christopher caught me. Told her to court-martial me. Then the Mothership jumped so it ended up being a moot point. But I was determined to bring you home."

It was all pretty overwhelming. Lucy didn't know how to react. She appreciated his honesty but the idea that all these things had happened and she didn't know it made her heartache. It felt like something was missing. She could read the fear and desperation between the lines. No one except Amy had ever treated her as if she was special. Not her mother who was always implying she wasn't good enough. And certainly not Noah who had never thought she ever measured up. She smiled a little at him. It was nice to feel important to someone else.

"And then we saw you. You had a grenade in your hands because you were planning to blow up the Mothership with you and your mother on it. But you were alive. And we managed to get you away. But it had been a horrible experience. There was a hard adjustment."

"Wow. I can't imagine myself stealing a grenade to blow myself up." Lucy tried imaging herself doing that. It almost seemed as if that person was someone else. Someone vastly more badass than she.

"You did." Wyatt gave her a fond glance. "You're pretty badass you know."

"She's badass. I'm not." Lucy commented.

"Hmm, I seem to remember you've saved my life at least once and held your end on the team. So yeah, any variation of Lucy Preston is badass." Lucy found herself blushing at the praise. She had never once thought of herself as badass.

Lucy kept waiting for him to go on. She could tell it was difficult. What had happened? "You don't have to tell me," she said encouragingly.

"It's just…it might be uncomfortable…for you." He answered.

She had a feeling of what he was driving at. And some weird part of her was desperate to know if her suspicions were true. It was almost as if she was looking at her life on screen. She wasn't sure how she felt about it. "Try me."

"After you came back, things were different. I guess I wasn't so tied down to the past. But there wasn't really any opportunity to talk because people were constantly interrupting." Lucy suspected it was a little more than talking from the way he wouldn't meet her eyes. It was cute how he was embarrassed to talk about it to her. Maybe it wasn't embarrassment so much as fear she'd be embarrassed. And truth be told it did feel as if he was talking about another person. She suddenly really wanted to be this other Lucy. The one who was on the cusp of a romance and knew what she was doing.

"We were back in 41' and at Hedy Lemarr's house after trying to save Citizen Cane."

"Wait? Hedy Lemarr…actor and inventor. The most powerful woman in the world?" Lucy couldn't keep the fangirling inside. Hedy Lemarr had been her idol growing up. She was gorgeous and smart and so inspirational.

"Yeah, although when we met her she ended up dying alone and penniless. But yeah, we were staying at her house for the night. And I finally managed to stop being a coward long enough to tell you how much you had done for me. How you saved me." Lucy could feel the emotion in his voice which surprised her because here was this hardened soldier talking about her as if she was some sort of angel. She found herself turning in her chair and putting her hands on his.

"That night…Lucy. Was just beautiful. And you were…we were so happy. But then I had to go and screw it all up." Lucy refused to let him pull away. She could already see the openness that had revealed itself in his eyes disappearing. She felt she owed it to her other self to hold on.

"What happened?" She whispered.

"Jessica came back. She sent me a text asking where I was. And I just left. Barely said anything. I just couldn't believe it. I thought it had to have been some prank. But there she was. And she served me divorce papers. Of course, I couldn't just let her walk out like that. So I brought her back to the bunker. And you went on a mission without me. You came back injured. And then something we did in the 30's messed up the timeline enough that you never joined the team. Found ourselves with a new historian we had never met." Wyatt shook his head. "I keep wondering what else I could have done. Lots of things. But at the time it seemed like a good idea."

Lucy laughed softly, "It always seems like a good idea, at first. Was I…I mean I'm sure I was upset?"

"I don't know. I never got a chance to talk to you. You immediately told me to go fix things. That it was some sort of miracle. That's the kind of person you are."

Lucy sat there for a long time trying to digest this information. It was overwhelming. She could feel her other self's pain and desperation all of the sudden. She didn't like the feeling at all. She wondered at this other self. Had she just given herself up and allowed herself to fall in love? Or had she spent all her time worrying about the next shoe dropping?

"Wow. I mean, this feels very overwhelming." Lucy didn't know what else to say. She had expected to find out she had been in a relationship with someone she barely knew to be creepy or invasive. Instead, she found herself feeling curious. She glanced over at Wyatt. He was still stretched out on the couch looking a little nervous. Probably was worried she'd be angry or freak out. And if anyone else had said this she probably would be. But somehow it felt different. And she didn't like that. She didn't know him. Suddenly she very much wanted to know exactly what her other self must have known. The way his kisses felt, the touch of hands on her body and the way those gorgeous eyes looked lit with passion. Lucy tried pushing away those thoughts. It was way too soon, regardless of what Amy said, and she needed to be absolutely certain. It wasn't like he was some person she met in a bar.

"I mean, yeah, it's kinda crazy. This whole time travel thing." Wyatt said a little awkwardly as if he was trying to push the emotions away. Lucy met his eyes and gave him a tiny smile. He smiled back, just as softly. She felt drawn in and mesmerized by it. Lucy was about to throw caution to the winds and lean in. She wanted to know, darn it. There was a sharp rattle. Both of them started in surprise. Lucy realized belatedly that it was just the sound of the generator that powered the Lifeboat and equipment.

"I guess I better go to bed." She said reluctantly. She wasn't remotely sleepy. But apparently, she wasn't able to be trusted late at night after a long and emotional conversation. Lucy stood up and said, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Lucy." She felt like both of them were saying more. They just didn't have the words to say.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Lucy slipped back into bed to find Amy with her eyes wide open watching her. Amy was always a light sleeper and Lucy had never been able to avoid those eagle eyes for long. "Have fun?" She teased.

Lucy flushed, thankful that it was dark enough that Amy probably couldn't see. Considering the direction of her thoughts Lucy was thankful that her sister couldn't actually read her mind. "We talked about the other timeline."

"And…" Amy trailed off.

"You got erased from history. Mom was evil. We were in a relationship. Jessica came back." Lucy didn't know how to process it all. The idea that her sister was erased made her stomach hurt like crazy. The sensation made her want to weep.

"Wow. That's a lot to take in." Amy commented. She got up and crawled into bed with Lucy. Lucy buried her head in her sister's hair as Amy wrapped her arms around her. "I'm here. Right now. I don't intend to get erased again."

The idea that Amy could get erased any second terrified Lucy. She blinked back more tears. "At least soldier boy admitted that he loves you, didn't he?" Amy was trying to distract her and Lucy was grateful. There was no use getting upset over something that happened to her other timeline self.

"No, not in so many words. But I mean I guess he liked me enough to want to date me. Though not when Jessica came back. But they broke up anyway. God, it's complicated." Lucy didn't doubt that Wyatt liked her. It was shocking to her. Nobody outside of Noah and the occasional college date had ever liked her. And Noah had been more interested in turning her into some sort of carbon Rittenhouse image. It was nice to be liked. It gave her a warm feeling in her chest to see his smiles.

"You like him too." Amy cooed in excitement. "I knew it."

"It's too soon. I barely know him. We've known each other three weeks." Lucy protested. Amy only laughed. And it was true they'd been through several life or death missions together. She'd seen him in action and knew more about his past than most people she'd known for years. And her other timeline self had trusted him. Had loved him. Lucy felt sure of that.

"This is about Noah, isn't it?" Amy questioned. Lucy sighed. Amy was too perceptive sometimes.

"I guess. I mean I thought he was great until he wasn't." Lucy buried her face in the pillow and groaned. "This is way too complicated."

"Noah was always a jerk. And I'm not saying Wyatt's not capable of being a jerk. Hey, we all are. And if his wife was still around I'd say stay the hell away. But I think you'll be ok. I don't want to see you freaked out constantly over people so you can't even date at all."

"We're co-workers." Lucy protested.

"Please…" Amy shook her head. "Rufus and Jiya are dating. You need to think up something better."

Lucy laughed softly. It was so good to have her sister in her life. She'd never stop being grateful to fate or God for bringing her sister back. She fell asleep with Amy still complaining in her ear and smelling the scent of Amy's shampoo. It was just like old times. When they were children and exchanging secrets in bed under the covers.

Author's Note: Thanks to the lovely enablers on the Lyattverse group chat I'm updating this fic. And it's a really cool chapter at least to me. I know it might seem a little weird that Wyatt actually is talking so much but how else would Lucy find out since no one else knows these things. And he's trying hard not to embarrass her over this stuff. Lucy, of course, is intrigued and wants to explore those possibilities. Have I mentioned how much I love Amy yet? She's the best sister and I love writing their relationship so much. Poor Lucy. This is all a lot to take in.