A/N: Thank you ashleyliening for all of your reviews. I'm happy you're enjoy the story. I hope you continue to read and enjoy!
Here's the next chapter. Enjoy.
Lucy and Rufus walked along the shoreline, searching for clues as to whether or not their friends had survived the Pulaski disaster. The shoreline was littered with debris from the ship. There was little else that had washed ashore.
Rufus shouted to Lucy over the storm, "We should head back!"
"Not until we find them!" Lucy replied, determined.
Rufus sighed. He understood why she wanted to see this through, but with the storm getting worse, all they were accomplishing was the potential to hurt themselves. He also knew that there wasn't much he could say to dissuade her from doing what she had so clearly set her mind to.
When the storm was beginning to become too severe, Rufus suggested, "We should find some shelter!"
Lucy was about to agree when she spotted a man running down the darkened road towards them. Rufus saw her attention was fixated on something; he turned to see what had captivated her. The two watched as the individual neared.
The moment the man was in view, and with the help of the lightning that illuminated the night, they saw that it was Wyatt. Lucy released a happy gasp, running towards him to meet him halfway. Rufus followed close behind.
Lucy embraced Wyatt the second she was in range. He held her against his chest, heart pounding from his run. He released her, giving Rufus a quick hug before asking, "What are you guys doing here?"
"Looking for you and Tenley," Lucy stated. She glanced about, not seeing the doctor. "Where is Tenley?"
Wyatt said, "I told her to stay put until I could find help."
Rufus raised an eyebrow. "You told her to stay put?" When Wyatt seemed confused, Rufus added, "And she listened?"
Wyatt thought for a moment. She most likely didn't listen, like Rufus implied. He sighed. "Okay, I'll go back for her and you guys find us a ride home. I want to leave this all behind us."
"Wait," Lucy said. "What happened out there?"
Wyatt quickly explained, "They were responsible for the disaster." He didn't specify on who 'they' were. He wasn't sure if it was Rittenhouse or Bloodstone, but all he knew for certain was that the boat might not have ever sank without their interference. He began questioning moments in history, moments like this, where you grew up thinking history happened one way, only to discover that what you were taught was the result of time travelers.
He turned and started back down the road to where he had left Tenley. He hoped she had listened to his order to stay put, otherwise, he'd have to scour the darkened woods for her.
Your mother sends her regards.
The words echoed within Tenley's mind as she lay there bleeding out. She knew that stomach wounds inflicted by gunshots were essentially ticking time bombs. If it wasn't treated in time, she would lose feeling in her limbs, start to hallucinate, before she bled to death. Time was crucial. Right now, time was not on her side.
She could feel herself weakening. She was already drained of energy from her swim to shore; not to mention the fact that she had survived a sinking. Her pressure on her wound was beginning to loosen, allowing the blood to seep out more.
The rain was starting to let up from a heavy downpour, turning into more of a light rain. The winds were easing up, the thunder was more distant. What Tenley feared was that maybe the storm hadn't moved on, but that she was losing her hearing, which would make her situation and chances of survival even more slim.
Footsteps approached her rapidly. She couldn't bring herself to look. She feared it might be Jack coming back to finish what he had started. When the footsteps stopped suddenly next to her, she felt hands on her body. She turned her tired gaze over to see a terrified Wyatt looking down at her.
"Tenley?" he asked. "What the hell happened?" She couldn't speak. He tried to move her hand, but she wouldn't budge. He looked down at her. "You have to let me look." He moved her hand aside, assessing the damage. He wasn't a medic, but he knew enough to know that she was running out of time. He replaced her hand on the wound, pushing her hand firmly into her side. He stated, "You have to keep pressure...okay? Can you do that?" When she gave a small nod, he picked her up and started back to where he had come from. "Just hang on, Tenley. We're going home."
Present Day
The Lifeboat landed with a clank in the launch room of the bunker. The hatch opened slowly, but the people inside moved quickly. Wyatt was carrying Tenley, and they exited first. He shouted, "We have to get her to the hospital!"
The team who stayed behind seemed shocked to see the group in the state they were in. Agent Christopher asked as she watched Wyatt descend the steps with a passed out and bleeding Tenley in his arms, "What the hell happened?"
Wyatt shook his head. "There's no time! We have to get her out of here!"
"We need to get her out of those clothes first!" Lucy stated. When all eyes turned to her, almost accusing her of being unreasonable, she admitted, "Unless you want the hospital to question why she's in period clothing, soaking wet, with a modern day bullet wound, then we should get her out of those clothes!"
Agent Christopher turned to Lucy. "We can do that on the way. Get her some clothes from her room."
Flynn came around the corner, eyes following a terrified Lucy as she ran passed him. When his eyes landed on the scene before him, his mouth fell open. "What the hell-"
Agent Christopher cut him off. "We're taking her to the hospital."
Lucy returned with fresh clothes for the doctor. She handed them to Denise as they began to quickly head down the corridor. Flynn stopped Wyatt. "Give her to me."
"I got her," Wyatt protested. "This isn't the time for-"
"Damn it, Wyatt!" Flynn growled. "You're not dressed for this time period. The hospital staff will be calling the police-"
"You don't know that-" Wyatt began.
"It's hospital procedure!" Flynn shouted back. "The more normal everyone looks, the better Agent Christopher can lie about what happened."
Denise glanced between the two. "Give her to him. We have to go."
Wyatt reluctantly handed Tenley over to Flynn. He watched as Denise and Flynn ran down the hallway towards the car so they could get to the hospital.
Flynn drove as fast as he could down the abandoned roads towards civilization. He glanced in the rear view mirror, back where Denise was holding onto Tenley. He watched briefly as Denise was trying to remove the period clothing from Tenley. It was proving to be challenging.
Flynn reached into his pocket, careful to not lose too much speed while he did so, to remove a large pocket knife. He flicked it open, passing it back to Agent Christopher. "Here."
"What the hell am I supposed to do with that?" Agent Christopher questioned him as she took it from him.
His eyes darted back to the mirror. "Cut her out of those clothes if you have to."
Denise nodded, understanding his meaning. She began to carefully slice through the dress she was wearing. "How much longer?" she asked as she continued to rip the dress off.
Flynn shook his head. "I'm going as fast as I can." He wished that the car would go faster. He wished that they were able to do an airlift to the hospital, but most importantly, he wished that they would get to the hospital in time. He knew that she was almost out of time. She had lost a lot of blood. She had grown pale and slightly chilled to the touch.
It wasn't much longer before they pulled up to the Emergency Room doors. Flynn slammed the car into 'park', throwing his door open. He raced around the side, opening the back seat door. His eyes landed on a partially naked Tenley, covered in blood, laying on the backseat. He grabbed her, carrying her into the ER, leaving Agent Christopher to deal with the car.
As he rushed into the room, he shouted, "We have a gunshot here!"
Members of the hospital staff raced forward to help. He placed her on the gurney that was brought over. He tried to go with them, but they stopped him. His eyes lifted up to see a couple of officers approaching him. He worried what they might ask of him. He was genuinely happy when Agent Christopher suddenly appeared next to him, flashing her badge.
Flynn didn't hear anything that was said. He focused on the gurney Tenley was on. His eyes didn't leave her until they wheeled her back into the operating wing. He turned his worried gaze back to Agent Christopher.
She had just finished explaining an elaborate tale about Tenley being in the field training when another agent's firearm misfired, striking her in the abdomen. She agreed to do all the necessary paperwork required.
Flynn paced as he waited to hear any news on Tenley. Agent Christopher had finished her paperwork, and was waiting patiently with Flynn. She watched as he paced in the room.
"You're going to wear a hole in the floor," she pointed out.
He rolled his eyes. "How does something like this happen?"
"How does what happen?" she asked, unsure what he was referring to.
"Why are we here? Where was Wyatt in all of this?" Flynn spat. "I should have gone on that mission instead of her."
"Then it could be you in that room instead," she pointed out.
He shook his head. "No, that's not what would have happened, and you know it." He turned and locked eyes with her. "You know that to be true."
Denise sighed heavily. She had considered the possibility. "She's a tough kid," she stated. "I think she'll come out of this okay."
Flynn clenched his jaw. He wasn't saying she wouldn't. He was angry that she was put in this position. He felt sorry for the doctor. Her first mission out, she was kidnapped; her second mission, she was shot. Either the kid had the worst luck out of anyone he knew, or something else was happening.
He shook the questions from his mind and turned his attention back to Agent Christopher. "What have you learned about this Bloodstone?"
Denise blinked at the question. "We're not having much luck, to be honest." When Flynn scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief, she added, "We have found a few strange instances regarding that name, however."
"What does that mean?" he asked.
"There were a few interviews with death row inmates that have stated they were hired to do the crime by an organization who referred to themselves as Bloodstone," she stated. Flynn's eyes narrowed. She continued, "When asked more about this group, the inmates refused to say more; almost as if they were afraid of something." Flynn listened intently as she spoke the details that she knew.
So far, they could safely assume that this organization had access to the Mothership. They also knew, based strictly from missions lately, that they were working with Rittenhouse. From what the team had told Agent Christopher, there always seemed to be four well-dressed men traveling back in time, so that told her that they had a vast number of people within their ranks.
Adding in the information from the prisoners' interviews, they had money that they were giving to people to carry out some pretty dastardly deeds.
Flynn pointed out that these Bloodstone people seemed pretty fixated on Lucy. Tenley had been mistaken once already for Lucy. It wasn't confirmed, but if Tenley had something to share when she woke up from her surgery, it might help them better understand what they were up against and they can form a plan to help prevent something like this from happening again.
Flynn felt his blood boiling when he thought about all that Rittenhouse had done to him. He shook his head when he realized that Rittenhouse seemed like a docile kitten compared to the things that Bloodstone was capable of.
He began to form a plan secretly in the back of his mind; one that would involve getting up close and personal with either Rittenhouse or Bloodstone agents. He was hoping to run across Emma. He believed she'd talk if he forced her to. The more he got to thinking about her, the more he realized that he hadn't seen her for a while - not since Dorothy Lawrence.
Before he could continue to fixate on his plan, a couple of people walked into the waiting room they were sitting in. Agent Christopher immediately recognized the doctor as he stepped through the doorway. It was the same man that she saw smoking outside with his friend - the same one that had confronted Tenley before she left the hospital.
The doctor glanced between Flynn and Agent Christopher. When his eyes landed on Christopher, he blinked a couple of times - almost as if he didn't believe her to still be around. "I'm Dr. Vargas; I'm the attending surgeon." He tore his steady gaze from Agent Christopher to the brooding Flynn. He tensed. Flynn shifted in his spot, causing the doctor to become uncomfortable. The doctor inched closer to Agent Christopher as he continued, "She's in Recovery now, but I have some questions for you."
"Whatever I can do to help," Denise replied.
The doctor glanced at Flynn out of the corner of his eye. "Perhaps we should speak in private?"
Flynn was about to object, but Denise nodded, giving him the silent lecture behind her eyes. "Of course." The two exited the waiting room, Flynn watching the entire time.
The moment the two were out of his sight, Flynn left the waiting room in search of Recovery. He slipped passed a few guards with ease. It wasn't like it was difficult to do, as the guards were more interested in having their coffee and donuts. When he spied the sign for Recovery, he glanced about the area, waiting to see if anyone of import was coming. When the coast was clear, he tested the handle; finding it unlocked, he slipped inside, unseen.
There were a few people in Recovery. He knew which one was Tenley based on the amount of security guards standing nearby. It was protocol, this he knew, but he wasn't sure how to distract them long enough to get them away from her.
"Can I help you?" a voice asked behind him. It startled him a little. He turned around quickly to see the nurse eyeing him. When her eyes landed on his bloodied turtleneck, she nodded knowingly. "You were the one who brought in Levy, aren't you?"
He furrowed his brow, but remembered the nickname that she had in the hospital. He nodded. "I just want to make sure she's okay..."
The nurse placed her hands on her hips. "We're not technically allowed to let visitors back here, but..." she sighed. "I'll make an exception for you." When Flynn offered her a smile, she added, "But if Dr. Vargas comes, you're on your own."
"Agreed," Flynn replied, still smiling warmly at the nurse.
She motioned for him to follow her, which he did. Stopping before the guards, the nurse asked that they give some privacy for the patient. They nodded, leaving Flynn to enter the closed curtain room.
On the other side of the curtains was Tenley. She was hooked up to several IVs and monitors. She was still asleep from the surgery. He looked her over. She was still a bit pale, but the color was returning to her face. He carefully sat down on the bed next to her, reaching for her hand. He sandwiched her hand within his, rubbing her knuckles with the pad of his thumb.
He studied her face, taking in her delicate features. His face had softened the moment that he had seen her, but his jaw was clenched. He was angry that she had been put in this position. He should have been there for her. He knew that his anger was misplaced when he got mad at Wyatt. His anger, he knew, rested on Rittenhouse/Bloodstone.
Rittenhouse was continually taking those he cared about from him. His wife, his daughter - they were trying to take Lucy and the others from him...now, they were targeting Tenley. Enough was enough. As he sat there next to her, holding her hand in his, he vowed to put an end to them.
Flynn could hear voices coming near. He stood up, peeking through the small gap between the curtains. He spied the nurse stalling the doctor's approach to check on Tenley. He realized that he would have to make an exit, hopefully unseen. As the doctor faced the nurse, he slipped out and took cover in the next room.
The doctor spat angrily, "Unless you've gone to medical school, stop telling me how to do my job, and I won't tell you how to do yours!"
Flynn raised an eyebrow as he listened in. He regretted stepping away. He remained silent and watched as the doctor stepped into the room with Tenley.
"Oh, Levy," the doctor started. "You were better off here...with me."
Flynn could hear a small twinge of sadness in the doctor's voice. He began to wonder if the doctor truly cared for Tenley. It was enough to make Flynn question if her leaving her life behind was the right choice. She had the chance at a normal life, and yet, she chose to disappear.
Before Flynn had a chance to do anything else, the curtains flung open and he was face to face with Doctor Vargas. The doctor's eyes widened in shock for a moment before hardening into narrow slits, eyeing him suspiciously.
"Can I help you?" he questioned angrily at Flynn.
Flynn replied, "I was looking for Tenley and stepped into the wrong room."
"You're not even supposed to be back here," the man replied. "I could have you arrested."
Ignoring him, he asked, "How is she?"
Vargas glared at Flynn. "She'll live."
Flynn's eyes held the intense stare Vargas had. He knew that if push came to shove, he could take this doctor down in an instant and this doctor knew it.
The security guards nearby noticed their standoff with one another. Flynn's eyes lifted to see their approach and turned his attention back to the doctor. "Thank you," he said. "I'm just worried about her."
Nodding, the doctor replied, "She's in good hands. I promise you."
There was something about the way this doctor spoke about Tenley that made Flynn nervous about leaving her side. He had no choice, however, especially when Agent Christopher appeared, motioning him to join her.
"Excuse me," Flynn mumbled, brushing passed Vargas. He sauntered by the guards to the door where Christopher stood. "What's going on?"
"We've got to go," Denise replied.
"What about-" Flynn began.
She shook her head. "We'll have to come back later, but we need to go." Denise could see the war raging on inside his head. She gave him a sympathetic glance. "I know you're worried about her. We all are, but right now, we have to get back to the bunker."
Flynn sighed, forcing himself to leave the hospital, without Tenley.
Back at the bunker, Agent Christopher and Flynn found themselves standing in the main room, where the rest of the team had already been assembled by the blaring alarms which indicated the Mothership's recent jump.
"How's Tenley?" Lucy asked, clearly concerned for their doctor's wellbeing.
"She's fine for now," Denise replied. "What's going on with the Mothership?" She could see the questions of concern on everyone's faces. She sighed and stated again, "Tenley is in Recovery. She'll make it. I know you're all worried about her, as am I, but we have a job to do. Now..." she turned her eyes back to Jiya. "Where are they?"
Jiya forced herself to look back at the computer. "They're in Baltimore, Maryland... August 1838."
Lucy's face contorted with the date as she tried to piece something together. Everyone saw the wheels inside her head spinning wildly as she thought, then the light came on, but the confusion lingered.
"What's wrong?" Wyatt questioned.
Lucy shook her head. "There were a couple of things that happened back then, but it doesn't make any sense for Rittenhouse to be there at all."
"What do you mean?" Wyatt pushed.
Lucy stated, "Frederick Douglass escapes to freedom by avoiding capture by slavers after dressing up as a seaman...but..."
"Why would Rittenhouse or Bloodstone keep him alive all this time only to target him now?" Rufus questioned. "Why not kill him when we were there at his birth?"
Lucy motioned towards Rufus. "Exactly."
"There's nothing else that's happened then?" Denise questioned.
Lucy scoffed. "Well, I mean..." she sighed heavily. "I'm sure there are other things that's happened back then, but nothing of significant relevance."
"Well," Denise began. "Better get moving. See what you can find out, and be careful. We don't want a repeat of last time." She had been referring to Tenley's incident, in which they still had no knowledge of what happened.
Flynn felt torn. He didn't want to go on this mission. He wanted to be present for when Tenley woke up. If he left on the mission, his chances of being there for her would be slim.
Agent Christopher saw his struggle. She nodded. "I'll let you know as soon as you return, okay?" He grimaced, but nodded an acknowledgment and piled into the Lifeboat behind Lucy, Wyatt, and Rufus.
It wasn't long afterwards that the Lifeboat vanished from the present, sucking them backwards through time and space.