Laying on her bed in her mother's house, Lucy stared out at the night sky wondering how in the world her life had gotten into such a mess. She had barely made it through the almost four-hour meeting with her mother without bursting into tears. Every minute that she wasn't desperately trying to focus her attention on program designs, speaking orders, and promotional materials for her mother's book, she was picturing Wyatt with Jessica, overjoyed at their reconciliation, eating dinner together at "someplace nice", making up for lost time in some darkened hotel room….

Nope. Symposium. Focus.

Such was the constant war she was battling with her thoughts the entire 227 minutes she was stuck in that cheerless conference room. More than once, she had earned herself a reproving glare from her mother for her "absentmindedness" and Lucy silently rebuked herself for allowing Wyatt to cause more drama in her life than he already had.

Her mother, as expected, had immediately noticed Lucy's stitches and assaulted her with question after question as to how they came about. Lucy, still trying to compose herself, lied and told her mother that she had slipped in the shower. To avoid any further discussion she told her mother that Wyatt had left town for work and asked if she might stay with her as her injury had her a bit spooked. Amazingly, her mother had bought her story hook, line and sinker and so Lucy was able to at least find refuge at her mother's house with little more than a snide remark of "Noah wouldn't have left you if you had a head injury."

That wasn't fair to Wyatt…Lucy knew he wouldn't have left her either. In fact, he had been glad that she had stayed at the apartment the previous night, so that she wouldn't have been alone. But now, it was clear that his interests lay elsewhere and she could not expect him to concern himself over her when he had Jessica back in his life. They had five years of catching up to do and Lucy, no matter how much it hurt her, couldn't hold him back from that. She loved him too much to force him into a marriage and a life that he did not want.

She toyed mindlessly with her wedding rings, thinking to herself how ironic it was that at almost the exact moment she had decided to wear them again, when she had given herself permission to hope, reality came crashing down. She thought things had been going so well yesterday. He had rushed back from San Diego to make sure she and Rufus were fine, he had gotten her breakfast, he had been so attentive, and they had been conversing almost like he was her Wyatt. Things weren't quite so awkward and uncomfortable between them anymore. instead, everything seemed to be a little more familiar and easy. After everything she had endured from him the previous week, these changes almost seemed too good to be true.

And apparently, they were.

She turned over on her side and cried bitterly. She should have never allowed herself to hope – she should have realized that she could never measure up to the woman whom Wyatt had mourned for five years. From almost the first moment she met him, he had told her how much Jessica had meant to him. Hell, it was his attempt to bring her back in 1962 that had thrown them together as a couple in the first place. She sobbed into her pillow. She should have never agreed to that silly charade. She should have just made her mother happy and married Noah. He, at least, didn't have a wife…and he had seemed to really care about her…he had practically begged her to marry him and see reason. Maybe he saw what she refused to see…that Wyatt never really loved her.

Her heart broke as those dark thoughts invaded her mind. No. She wouldn't believe that. She knew her Wyatt loved her…and she loved him. He had chosen her over Jessica…but now he was gone and replaced by another version of himself who had never cared for Lucy in the same way her Wyatt had. How could he? If she was still engaged to Noah in that timeline and he was still mourning Jessica, they probably never once considered the possibilities of something more between them. She thought of how this Wyatt had coldly rejected the idea of even living with her and the tears fell once more. She had foolishly hoped that he might still be her Wyatt, had thought that the change in his demeanor had meant something, but now, she resigned herself to the idea that her Wyatt was gone and she would probably never get him back.

Lucy was desperately trying to calm herself, the last thing she needed was for her mother to hear her crying and come investigate the source of her emotional distress. Why the hell did she have to pick up the wrong phone? She could have been blissfully unaware of Wyatt's rekindled relationship for a little while long longer, long enough to get through two days under her mother's scrutiny. She had no idea how she was going to make it through dinner tomorrow night knowing that Wyatt would be out for a dinner of his own with Jessica.

Her phone screen brightened and Lucy reached over to check her notifications.

Two missed calls from Wyatt.

Her heart ached at the sight. She wished she could call him without sounding like a blubbering pathetic mess. She had told him to go to San Diego, after all. She had told him that she didn't want to hold him back from being with Jessica…and she meant it. How could she live with herself knowing that the only reason Wyatt stayed with her was because he felt that it was his obligation? It made her sick to her stomach just thinking about it. If she called him now, in this state, the night before he began things anew with Jessica, it would just make things so much worse between them. Lucy knew Wyatt would feel guilty and she didn't want him to feel bad about getting a chance to make things right with his wife. She swallowed hard. Lucy knew that that term belonged to her in this timeline, but to this Wyatt, Jessica owned that title, she owned his heart…and had for much longer than he had known Lucy.

She sighed heavily. Sleep, she knew, was going to be a near impossibility.

Wyatt arrived at Jessica's new apartment the next day, tired from an uneasy night spent alone wondering what the hell had happened with Lucy. They had been getting on so well and in the time it took him to change his clothes, things were suddenly back to the way they had been at the start of this whole mess. She hadn't returned his calls and Wyatt couldn't understand why.

Surely it wasn't just because of the Noah thing. She came out of that bedroom wearing her wedding rings. Granted, it could have just been a ruse for her mother, but dammit, Wyatt knew things had been on the mend between them. He knew he wasn't just imagining their improving relationship. They had been talking, joking, laughing…she had stolen half of his sandwich. No. Something had definitely happened to upset her. But what? What had happened in the five minutes it took him to change his clothes?

Damn those pickles.

"Pickles?" asked Jessica with a quirked eyebrow.

"Huh?" Wyatt was jolted out of his thoughts by Jessica's voice. "Oh..I'm sorry…just thinking out loud."

Jessica's face broke out into an incredulous smile, "About pickles?" When Wyatt didn't respond, she set down the box she was carrying and walked over to him. "What is going on with you? I leave you alone for five minutes and you're back to staring out in space again…and now you're muttering about pickles."

"I'm sorry, Jess. I just…rough night." Wyatt said as he raked his hand coarsely over his face.

She frowned slightly at him, "Wanna talk about it?"

Wyatt frowned and shook his head lightly. "Nah…I just didn't get much sleep, that's all."

The fact was, Wyatt hadn't gotten any sleep, he had been out of his mind with worry all night. Jessica's phone call that morning was a saving grace, helping her move would be a welcome distraction from pacing the floor of his apartment waiting for Lucy to return his calls.

Jessica appraised him, "Does it have anything to do with why you rushed away the other day?"

Wyatt considered. He left San Diego in a panic because Jiya's text had told him that Lucy and Rufus had been rushed off to medical. While he cared about both of them, Lucy was the one Wyatt had driven the eight hours for. Lucy was the one he was thinking about the entire drive back to San Francisco. Lucy had been the one that he most wanted to see when he got back to Mason Industries…and yes, Lucy was the reason he had had such a terrible night. Why the hell wasn't she returning his calls?

Jessica watched Wyatt as he furrowed his brow and bit his lip. There was definitely something wrong, of that she was sure. It wasn't just today, though. His appearance on her doorstep not just once, but twice in the past year – when they had barely been on speaking terms - seemed so odd to her. She didn't want to complain, it was nice having Wyatt back in her life. For whatever had happened to them in their marriage, they had been together for a long time and had known each other even longer than that. She eyed him warily. "So, you never did tell me why you were in San Diego. Did you have to go to Pendleton?"

Wyatt shrugged his shoulders, "No, like I told you, I just came down to see how you were doing."

Jessica had been rummaging around in the box she had set down in the living room but stopped dead in her tracks at Wyatt's admission, "You drove eight hours just to see how I was doing?" She laughed at him, "Wyatt, why? Haven't you ever heard of a phone call? Text message?"

Yeah, he had heard of them…Lucy, apparently, had not.

When Wyatt didn't answer, Jessica rounded on him, "This doesn't have anything to do with the last time you came to see me, does it? Because seriously, Wyatt you're married now and I'm just not interested in screwing that up…I appreciate your help with my move, but if sneaking around is why you're here, you can get the hell out."

Wyatt turned to look at her in surprise. That had definitely gotten his attention. "What are you talking about?"

Jessica rolled her eyes and muttered curse words under her breath. "Like you don't remember. C'mon Wyatt. You show up on my doorstep, proclaiming your love for me, begging me to take you back." She rolled her eyes at him, "You looked like hell…really, not too far from how you looked this last time you showed up on my door, though I thank you for not proclaiming your undying love for me this time."

Wyatt screwed up his face. Other him had gone to see Jessica and had begged her to come back to him…while he was engaged to Lucy…of course, he had hardly known Lucy at the time. Wyatt cleared his throat, "I'm sorry, Jess…I don't remember much about that trip."

She was standing looking at him with her arms crossed, "You did seem a little out of your mind. Scared the shit out of me, if I'm totally honest." She shook her head. "And dammit Wyatt, you were engaged. I thought then that I had set you straight…chocked it up to cold feet. When I heard you had gotten married, I was so happy for you – happy that you had gotten over whatever it was you were feeling for me. I didn't expect to see you back at my door."

Wyatt swallowed hard. How must it look to Jessica? He had driven eight hours just to see her when he's supposed to be happily married to Lucy? Wyatt stammered, "I-I just have been going through some weird stuff lately, Jess. I'm sorry if I upset you…I just needed – "

"Closure?" Jess asked with a wry smile.

Wyatt gave her a small smirk, "Something like that, yeah."

Jessica smirked back at him, "I can understand that. I've missed you, Wyatt…and I'm not sure that I should say this, but you just don't seem like yourself at all right now and while I want to be here for you…I just can't be that for you."

Wyatt's eyes widened as he realized what she was implying, "Oh, God…no, Jess. That's not what this is. Lucy and I..." but he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. They weren't fine. Not by a long shot. She wasn't living with him…she wasn't even returning his calls.

Jessica approached him tentatively, her hands in her back pockets. "You know, Wyatt…what I said before about second chances? I meant it."

Wyatt gave her a small smile and nodded. "Thanks, Jess."

"C'mon, we've been working all morning. I think you and I deserve a break, don't you?" she grabbed her purse. "How about we grab some lunch? My treat?"

The two of them made their way to a small deli just around the corner from her new place. They sat at a small table in the back and chatted about old times – high school, being newly married, and what had happened in Jessica's life over the past five years. She had asked him about Lucy and he found that even though he wasn't really married to her, he had no problem conveying to Jessica what it was that made Lucy Preston one of the most amazing women he had ever met. It was nice, comfortable and easy conversation. Jessica was happier than he had ever remembered her being while he was married to her. She seemed to have a lightness about her that was missing before; he imagined the pressure of dealing with his dangerous job had weighed her down with stress and anxiety. He was sorry that he had never really taken the time to have a real heart to heart with her like this before, but he was grateful for the chance to do it now. They laughed and talked until Jessica got a text from her landlord.

"Oh, I have to run back – they're there to install my security system. You wanna grab some to-go boxes to wrap this up" she pointed to their half-eaten sandwiches "and meet me back at my place?"

Wyatt nodded and then took the bill from her, insisting to pay for it himself. She thanked him with a hug and a kiss and then winked at him and said "Don't be too long…we have a lot of work left to do…I might as well make the most of having you all to myself for the day."

Wyatt chuckled as she flew out of the door back towards her apartment. He had just walked up to the register to pay when he saw someone waving to him from the corner of his eye.

Dammit.

It was Bam Bam and he was wearing the biggest shit eating grin Wyatt had ever seen.

He slid off his bar stool and sidled over to his friend. "Hey, Wyatt." He glanced in the direction Jessica just left, "Cute girl…I forgot you had a thing for blondes…heading back to her place, huh?"

Wyatt rolled his eyes impatiently, "What do you want, Bam Bam?"

"Easy there, man. I'm not judging." He replied throwing up his hands in mock surrender.

He wasn't judging. On the contrary, he had just realized that his assumptions about his Delta Force buddy and one certain historian were apparently very wrong. Lucy didn't seem to be engaged anymore, and while Wyatt had definitely shown that he cared about her, seeing Wyatt on this date convinced him otherwise. Bam Bam figured his concern for Lucy's safety could just be attributed to the closeness of the team. They did go through some pretty crazy shit together, so it was to be expected. No - from what he had just seen and heard, Wyatt was at the mercy of a certain little blonde number for the rest of the afternoon, which Bam Bam thought, greatly increased his chances with a cute, and apparently newly available brunette. Tonight was going to be better than he thought.

"I just wanted to know if we were still on for drinks this evening…unless of course," he gave him a smirk, "you're…um…busy doing other things?"

Wyatt stared at Bam Bam, sardonically. "No, I should be able to meet you. Where?

Bam Bam shrugged, "We're gonna meet up at a place downtown called Local Edition. Lucy's got some fancy dinner at the place across from there…it was the only way we could convince her to come."

Wyatt's eyes shot up to Dave Baumgardner's. "You talked to Lucy?"

Bam Bam shrugged, "Yeah, I talked to her this morning, why?"

Wyatt felt like he had been punched in the stomach. Lucy was ignoring his phone calls, but taking Bam Bam's? What the hell was going on? Wyatt did his best to act nonchalant. He frowned and shrugged his shoulders, "No reason."

"Well man, look, I'll let you get back to whatever it is you're up to this afternoon" He gave him a wink. "I'll text you when we head over." He began to walk out of the door, "Oh, and blondie can come along too if you want.

Wyatt made his way back to Jessica's apartment his mind awash with hurt and confusion. Now he definitely knew that Lucy was avoiding him, his conversation with Bam Bam had just confirmed it. But what the hell had he done? He shouldn't have let her go last night without making her talk to him…he was so afraid of pushing too hard, but now it seems, he didn't push hard enough. That absolutely settled it - if Lucy would be at the bar tonight for drinks, Wyatt would make damn sure he was there too…and he wouldn't let her out of his sight until she told him what the hell he had done to make her so upset.

With that new resolution firm in his mind, Wyatt spent the rest of the afternoon helping Jessica unpack her many boxes, move furniture, and hang photos. By the time 6PM rolled around, her once barren new apartment, looked a little more like home. Jessica stepped back to take in her new surroundings. "Wow, I think this is like a record. I never would've gotten so much done without you. I hope your wife doesn't mind that I kept you all day."

Wyatt shook his head, "She knows that I'm trying to right some wrongs."

She smiled at him, "She seems like a real gem. I can't wait to meet her." She checked her watch. "Which reminds me, we should probably get ready…did you pick a nice place for dinner?"

Oh shit. He had forgotten all about that. She had told him before he left San Diego that she had wanted to do dinner…not that he didn't have a good excuse for forgetting. Wyatt screwed up his face, "Dammit, I'm really sorry Jess. I just remembered you said something about that before I left San Diego."

Jessica looked disappointed, "I sent you a text to remind you."

Wyatt looked at her confused as he pulled out his phone, "When?"

"Yesterday morning."

Wyatt flipped through his messages and came across two that he had apparently missed from Jessica. He furrowed his brow in thought. How did he miss these texts? He had hardly put his phone down after Lucy had gone, hoping that she would call him and explain why she had been so upset before leaving. He checked the time stamp. 11:47 AM. Huh, that was right before Lucy le-"

Shit.

He knew now why Lucy was avoiding him. If she had seen these messages without the proper context….

Shit.

Wyatt almost bolted for the door again before realizing that Jessica deserved some sort of explanation. "I'm sorry, Jess…I think I really screwed up something with Lucy…I have to go try to explain."

Jessica frowned in disappointment, "It's okay...I hope it's nothing too serious." She winked "I can vouch for you if you want me to." He nodded his thanks as she continued, "Thanks for all your help today, Wyatt. It really means a lot."

"Of course, Jess…glad I could do it." Wyatt said as he grabbed his jacket.

Jessica opened her apartment door for him as he made ready to leave, "I hope we can do dinner another night. I really do want to meet her." Jessica tilted her head at him playfully, "I have to make sure she actually exists, she sounds superhuman."

A small smile met Wyatt's lips as he muttered, "Thanks, Jess." The fact that Jessica, his lightning bolt, was now complimenting and supporting his marriage to the woman who took her place in his heart gave him a strange sense of peace. He looked up at her and saw her for the first time in years as she really was – a not so perfect woman with whom he had shared a few not so perfect years. He was brimming over with gratitude for the opportunity he had been given to have this time with Jessica…to heal old wounds and to right some wrongs, to see his marriage to her as it truly was and not through the rose-colored glasses he had put on after her death. Her desire to meet Lucy filled Wyatt with unimaginable happiness…for the woman he had loved and lost to be eager to meet the woman he now lov-

Shit.

He needed to see Lucy.

He gave Jessica a hug and raced out of her building, checking the time. He hadn't gotten a text from Bam Bam yet and if Lucy had a dinner, there was probably still time to run back to the apartment to change. Jumping in his Jeep moments later, he pulled out his phone and sent a text to Rufus.

Make sure Lucy doesn't leave before I get there.