So...last chapter :'( this one concludes 2x10.

Obviously I still hope for a wrap-up movie or just SOMETHING to wrap up Timeless's incredible story...Timeless is my favourite TV show out there by far and I'm absolutely gutted that it's been cancelled again. Hopefully (if the campaign at next week's Comic Con goes well!) some other network/streaming service will see sense and save it, or NBC will give us the movie...so for now, this is the end for my story, but rest assured if we do get anymore Timeless goodness I will happily continue with it!

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who's read this story - I didn't expect all your generous reviews and messages, and to those who have stuck with it, I really appreciate it, because I've somehow gone over 200,000 words and I've enjoyed every second of writing it, so thank you so much! :)

EDIT (Jan 2019):

I have since amended the chapter title and end paragraph of this chapter, as at the time I wrote it, the show had been cancelled and I hadn't known there would be a series finale/wrap-up movie. I will be writing and uploading the next few chapters of the Timeless Series Finale over the next couple of weeks! :)

It was an overwhelming relief to find Rufus and Jiya once they arrived at the Bison Horn saloon. However, once they had all got the initial greetings and hugs out of the way, Rufus and Jiya then continued their bickering on how to proceed. Lucy and Wyatt watched them both, stunned, as the couple argued on who was leaving and who was staying behind, and they found it somewhat strange to witness – it was usually Lucy and Wyatt themselves arguing with each other nowadays, not Rufus and Jiya.

'Jiya said she's not leaving because I die here,' Rufus was saying drily.

'Isn't that exactly why we should leave?' Lucy asked urgently, frowning.

'No, that's how it happens. I start to leave, and then Rufus dies,' Jiya explained.

'If she stays, she dies!' Rufus protested.

'Look, I'm not gonna be responsible for your death, okay?' Jiya snapped at Rufus. 'I love you.'

'I love you! And if I die, I die,' Rufus said exasperatedly; Wyatt rolled his eyes while Lucy watched them blankly, her heart breaking for the pair. 'Look, you're the one who said some things are meant to be. At least it'll be for a good reason. If it's for you, then it'll be worth it-'

'No-!' Jiya cut over him desperately.

'Stop it,' Lucy said, but neither of them heard her.

'-I can't live with that, Rufus!'

'Stop it! Both of you, stop!' Lucy shouted firmly, and a silence fell as everyone looked at her in alarm. 'Nobody's dying, and we're getting out of here.'

'You don't understand-' Jiya began in despair, but Lucy interrupted her.

'I do understand. None of us have anything anymore except each other. That's how we've survived this long. No matter how bad it gets, we're together. We take out Rittenhouse together. We are going home together. Are we clear?' Lucy said sharply.

A stunned silence followed her little speech. Wyatt then looked up at Rufus and Jiya, a new sense of determination and hope flooding through him at Lucy's inspirational words.

'She's right,' he said firmly; Lucy glanced at him gratefully, and they smiled softly at each other.

They didn't have much longer to convince Jiya that this was the right plan, however, for the sound of gunshots and screams and Emma's jeering call in the saloon then alerted them to their new visitors. While the team hid behind the wall, Wyatt reluctantly told Flynn that together, they would cover the others in order to protect them from Emma and her Rittenhouse henchmen.

'Lucy?' Wyatt said, his voice breaking as he locked his gaze with hers. 'You go straight for the Lifeboat. Get them home safe, and then come back for me and Flynn. All right?'

Lucy did nothing but gaze back at him for a moment, trying to read whatever it was he was yearning to scream out to her, and then nodded. She bent her head low as they got prepared to make a run for it; she didn't know how she could leave Wyatt here, like this, surrounded by so much danger. What if something went wrong? What if they weren't able to jump back in the Lifeboat to get Wyatt and Flynn? What if Wyatt got hurt? What if he died before Lucy was able to tell him that she forgave him?

But there no was time – before she knew it, Lucy was flinging herself across the saloon along with the others while shots were fired, leaving Wyatt and Flynn to the terror of Rittenhouse. By some miracle, Jiya's vision was proven wrong as she managed to save Rufus from one of the henchmen creeping up behind him, and so they all left the saloon triumphantly, flooded with relief that Rufus was unharmed as Wyatt and Flynn followed them all outside onto the street as they escaped the remaining henchmen.

If only their joy could have lasted a little longer.

When the gunshots rang through the street, Lucy was so shocked and so distracted by the screaming, running crowds and chaos that it took her a moment to realise that the aim had been successful. Her ears ringing, Lucy looked around in horror to see Emma running away down the street, her pistol aloft and still smoking…and then she looked down, as if in slow motion, to see that Rufus had collapsed to the ground, a dark red pool forming and slowly expanding on his waistcoat.

'Rufus?!' Jiya shrieked, crouching down to him. 'Rufus!'

'No!' Wyatt yelled, diving down to join them on the veranda floor and immediately pressing his hand against Rufus's bullet wound.

'Rufus,' Jiya said desperately, tears leaking from her eyes. 'You're okay.'

But this was a lie. Rufus had never been less okay. Blood was rapidly spurting out of his chest. Lucy was paralysed as she watched him struggling, his eyes popping wide open in surprise as the blood drenched him.

'No, no, no, no, no,' Jiya was murmuring urgently, trying to steady him.

'You're gonna be fine,' Wyatt insisted, while Jiya began to cry.

Lucy and Wyatt looked at each other. They had been in this spot together once before, back in Chicago when Al Capone had shot Rufus. But that had been different. Back then, the bullet hadn't hit Rufus squarely in the chest. But this bullet had.

'No, no, no, no, no-'

'Rufus, stay with me,' Wyatt went on.

But Lucy could see that Rufus was past hope. He was dying. Rapidly. Before their very eyes. Suddenly a fury like no other raged through her, and in that moment Lucy hit her breaking point. This was one person too many that she'd lost. This was the point of no return. And suddenly Lucy understood how Flynn had been willing to do whatever it took to defeat Rittenhouse, no matter what the cost. She was completely broken, and full of nothing but anger and hatred. And so, as Jiya continued to sob and Wyatt tried to reassure his deteriorating best friend, Lucy grabbed hold of Wyatt's gun that he'd dropped on the floor, and ran off after Emma.

'Stay with me, stay with me…' Wyatt was murmuring to Rufus, desperate, but then suddenly he noticed that Lucy had fled with his gun, and his face fell in horror. 'LUCY!'

It took him every bit of effort not to go after Lucy as he helplessly watched her run off down the street, but he knew he couldn't leave Rufus. Not now.

'Wyatt!' Jiya shrieked, begging him to stay with her as Rufus struggled in pain on the floor beside them.

Wyatt was breathing heavily. He knew what Lucy was doing. He had seen the way her enraged eyes had followed Emma's departing figure. And he couldn't let the woman he loved go after some evil, murdering psychopath on her own, unprotected. But he couldn't abandon Rufus when he was bleeding out like this, not after he had already let him down so much. Rufus was his best friend. And so Wyatt turned to the only other person he could.

'Can you move with that thing?' Wyatt asked Flynn urgently.

Flynn was clutching his bleeding arm, which had been shot badly in the gunfire. As he looked up to grimace at Wyatt, there was a look of determination in his eyes that Wyatt knew to mean that he no longer needed to worry about Lucy's welfare anymore. Flynn had it covered.

'I sure as hell can try,' Flynn replied, wincing through the pain, and he struggled up to his feet and hurried off after Lucy.

It wasn't long after Flynn had gone when Rufus drew his last breath. Despite trying to reassure Jiya, Wyatt had known from the second he'd seen Rufus's bullet wound that it was no use…and so instead he tried to hold Rufus securely and tell him to relax, that everything was going to be fine…He watched as Rufus tried desperately to mouth the words 'I love you' to Jiya, who couldn't see through the tears that blinded her. He watched as Rufus stopped moving, as the gurgling noise from his mouth stopped, as his eyes slowly slid shut. Shocked and in denial, Wyatt tried to shake Rufus awake, but then fell silent as he realised that there was no Rufus anymore to wake up. He was just another dead body left behind by Rittenhouse. His shattered heart sinking to the pit of his stomach, Wyatt watched as Jiya let out a blood-curdling shriek of agony and cradled Rufus's face to hers, whispering his name over and over as she sobbed. All Wyatt could do was sit there, stunned, his ears ringing, his eyes blurry, his awareness of everything around him suddenly vanished.

Rufus was dead. And he hadn't even got a chance to tell Jiya for the last time that he loved her. They wouldn't have even been here in Chinatown if it hadn't been for Wyatt's reckless trustworthiness of his treacherous wife. Rufus would still be alive if it wasn't for him.

The crowds began to disperse and the streets became quiet and calm. Wyatt stayed with Jiya and Rufus's body – for how long, he didn't know. He was terrified of what had happened to Lucy because he couldn't lose her too, not after all this, but he had faith deep down that she would be all right with Flynn. Even with a damaged arm, Flynn would do whatever it took to protect her. Wyatt could see that now. That look in Flynn's eyes when he had walked in on them earlier in the back office at the photography studio…he had looked at Lucy that way himself, multiple times. He had known in that moment that Lucy had touched Flynn's heart. Deeply.

Jiya was still howling, clutching Rufus's limp, dead body desperately to her, refusing to believe that there was no life in him anymore…that he really was gone. Wyatt knelt beside her, his arm around her consolingly, numb. And then he heard approaching footsteps; Wyatt looked up.

He recognised their figures instantly, even though they were in the shadows and limping unevenly as they crossed the dark empty street. Wyatt let out a great shuddering breath as he watched Lucy and Flynn slowly emerge, arms around each other, half-carrying the other as they supported each other's injuries. Flynn could barely stand straight. In the faint lighting from the street lamp, Lucy looked like she had been beaten bloody. Her hat was gone, her hair looked like it had been dragged through a brush, her dress was torn, the bustle completely wrecked. But she was alive. And Wyatt had never been more relieved to see her.

Wyatt stood up as they approached. 'Lucy,' he said in a weak, broken voice. 'Oh, thank, God.'

'Wyatt! Rufus, is he-?' Lucy asked, crying.

Wyatt looked down at Rufus's body. He turned back to her and shook his head, and for the first time since Rufus had breathed his last, the tears spilled out from Wyatt's eyes. Lucy looked down at Jiya, saw the distraught look on Wyatt's face, and then broke out into noisy, hysterical sobs. Flynn released her as Lucy rushed unsteadily over to them, and she and Wyatt collapsed into each other's arms.

'N-no, he can't be dead, he can't be!' Lucy wailed, as they both fell to the floor.

'I know, I'm sorry, there was nothing we could do…I'm so sorry,' Wyatt whimpered, clinging her closer to him.

The two of them continued to cry onto each other's shoulders, their arms wrapped tightly around each other as their tears soaked each other's clothes. It would have been a blissful relief to find solace and comfort in each other's arms if they hadn't been so terribly distressed.

'Not Rufus…no…no…' Lucy sobbed, shaking her head and scrunching up her eyes to block the view of Rufus's limp, dead body lying next to them.

'Are you okay? What happened?' Wyatt spluttered through his tears, leaning away to cup her face and stroke the bloody gashes on her cheeks.

'She got away,' Lucy replied miserably, her nostrils flaring with anger as he brushed away her tears with his thumbs. 'Emma got away.'

Wyatt's lips were trembling. 'I thought she'd killed you,' he said in a small voice.

'Flynn saved me. But…she got away. She killed Rufus and she got away,' Lucy said in a tremoring voice.

'It's okay. It's not your fault, it's okay…' Wyatt reassured her tearfully, and he cradled her head to his chest as they held each other desperately.

The next hour or so passed in a bit of a blur. By the time they had reached the Lifeboat, Lucy, Wyatt and Jiya had no more tears left to cry. Even Flynn was equally as numb and shaken by the events of tonight, and Lucy could have sworn she'd seen him wiping his eyes hastily as they'd left the street. Too emotionally drained to speak, they all silently collapsed into their seats, Jiya unwillingly taking Rufus's place in the pilots' chair, and for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, Lucy let Wyatt buckle her into her seat. He made to move away the moment he'd finished doing the clasp of her belts, but Lucy gripped his hand and kept it there on her lap as she tried fiercely not to start crying again. Wyatt squeezed her fingers tightly, and it was only when they landed roughly back in the 2018 bunker that they let go to brace themselves for what they would have to tell Agent Christopher and Connor Mason the moment they walked down those steps.

The pain that hit them all over again as they watched the realisation dawn on Christopher and Mason's faces when the smaller team emerged, beaten and broken, into the bunker, was unbearable. Flynn was left to explain exactly what had happened; the others quickly dispersed to cry and grieve in the privacy of their own rooms. Later on, Agent Christopher went round with a first aid box to help everyone treat their wounds…and to help them mourn. Once Christopher had finished stitching up Lucy, Wyatt took advantage of her absence to tap on the door and check on Lucy.

'How are you doing?' Wyatt asked gently.

Lucy didn't answer. She didn't care about how she was doing, internally or physically. She was still having a hard time processing the very hard truth that they had been forced to leave a dead Rufus and her dead, treacherous mother behind in the past.

'I don't want to bother you,' Wyatt said, backing away, 'I just wanted to check you were all right, but it's okay, I'll go…'

'No. Stay with me. Please,' Lucy said quietly, gazing up at him.

Wyatt hesitated for a moment, stunned, then walked back into the room. 'Yeah. Always.'

He walked over to sit beside her on the bed. Lucy could feel his eyes on her, and couldn't help wondering why it was that Rufus's death meant that something had changed between them. Because it had, there was no denying. They had lost someone they loved, and she could feel that things were different now for them both.

'I'm sorry for all the horrible things I said to you…after Jessica took the Lifeboat. I was…a little brutal,' Lucy mumbled, fidgeting with her fingers. 'It wasn't right of me to blame you for…not seeing her for who she really was. You worshipped her, you always did, from the day I met you, and she came back from the dead. Like I said before, it seemed like a miracle. Why would you assume the worst? It was unfair of me to be angry at you.'

'No,' Wyatt disagreed, shaking his head. 'You had every right to say what you said, and more.'

He was completely broken. Lucy could see clearly now that his whole world, everything he'd held dear, had shattered.

'Well, whatever I said…I'm so sorry about Jessica, Wyatt. I really mean that,' Lucy said earnestly, her eyes welling up with tears as she watched his face crumple.

'I know you do. Me too. I just…can't understand it. And Rufus. It's…the world's not fair. I've lost everything,' Wyatt whispered in a strangled voice.

Lucy wanted so desperately to say, 'you haven't lost me', just as he had said to her in this very room on this very bed. But she couldn't say that…because in a way, he had lost her. At least it had felt that way. Now, Lucy wasn't so sure. She wasn't sure about anything anymore. She felt so numb and empty. So she responded in the only way she could; she placed her hand over his.

'Did you mean what you said before? That you were going to leave Jessica?' Lucy asked quietly, looking at their hands.

'Yeah. Not that it matters now,' Wyatt replied, his head bent low. 'It kind of hit me before South Carolina that I'd…made the wrong choice, that I'd behaved…terribly, with the whole situation. I should have realised it before, I…I'm sorry.'

'It's not important right now. None of it is,' Lucy murmured. 'We just lost Rufus.'

Wyatt shook his head in despair as he continued to look down at his lap, and he suddenly looked a lot smaller than Lucy. 'I can't get my head around it.'

A tear dripped down from Lucy's eye onto their hands and then, as Wyatt began to cry, Lucy turned to face him, drew his head towards her and kissed him lightly on the forehead. Dazed, tears still leaking out of his eyes, Wyatt leaned away to gaze at her, and he sat up so that they were on eye level with each other. Lucy gazed tearfully back at him for a moment before removing her hands from his face and getting off the bed.

'I need to go…' she murmured, upset, and she left without another word, her hands shaking.

Lucy's heart was still racing as she hurried away down the bunker corridor, even as she continued to sob for Rufus. She didn't know what was going on in her mind – all that she knew was that she was too distressed to think straight about anything. Although…there was one thing that was certain to her. Wyatt had made a mistake in his behaviour and his choices over the past month or so, even he himself admitted that now. But that didn't mean he was irredeemable. And after what had happened today, after losing Rufus…Lucy had to believe that she would be open to the possibility of forgiving Wyatt for what he had put her through. Some day, at least. They loved each other too much and life was too short for them to remain at odds with one another.

But for now, she needed to mourn Rufus and her mother, and she needed to do it without any distractions or complicated feelings getting in the way. Flynn was already waiting for her when she knocked on his bedroom door, his arm in a sling; he let her in at once and she collapsed onto his bed in floods of tears, where she stayed for the rest of the night.

'They didn't threaten me, Wyatt. They raised me…' … 'My brother was sick. He was dying. There was no hope, and-and then Carol and Emma came to my parents with an offer with a miracle! They saved him…'… 'They brought him life, Wyatt. And they gave me purpose. They taught me everything. They're not bad people. They're my family.'

'No! The Jessica I knew had a family. Rittenhouse went back in time and they stole her from them. Because of me.'

'The Jessica you knew was a bartender, that's it… I'm part of something important, Wyatt. We're going to save the world…' … 'I really do love you. I wish it didn't have to be like this. I'm sorry. I have to protect Rittenhouse and my baby…'

Wyatt jolted upright in his bed as he woke up, shuddering from how vivid his dream – no, his nightmare – had been. He sighed in relief as he looked in the bed to see that Jessica was not lying beside him. She was gone. He was alone.

'It's not Jessica. It's not my wife. Jessica's dead,' Wyatt whispered firmly to himself, closing his eyes.

The only way he had been able to get to sleep last night was to distract himself from thinking about Rufus by saying those same words over and over again, trying to drill them into his head. He knew it had worked when he caught sight of his empty ring-less wedding finger and to feel, not sadness and remorse and heartbreak, but relief and a sense of acceptance. A finality, almost. He was letting her go. He knew it would take him a while, and he knew he had these unresolved issues that he needed sorting to get closure, particularly with a potential baby on the way to only further complicate matters, but he was accepting of the fact now that Jessica – this new, warped Jessica – was Rittenhouse, and was not the woman he knew and loved.

But there were people left in his life that he did still know and love. Lucy. Jiya. Christopher. Mason. Maybe even Flynn now, if he could get over his grudge and over-possessive jealousy. He had to make things right with them. He had been trying to make things right with Jessica before – that was the whole reason why he had gone back to her in the first place, particularly after Lucy had told him to do so. Maybe even a part of him was angry at Lucy for doing that, for not fighting for him and for instead telling him to do 'the right thing'. But it hadn't been the right thing to do. Everything had been wrong. And now he had to try and fix the broken mess he had left behind with the fractured people whose faith in him was somewhat tarnished. He had to try.

Wyatt found Lucy early that morning, sat down on the floor in the empty corridor, leant against the wall and staring emptily into space as she rested an ice pack against one of her wounds on her cheek. He paused as he looked down at her. He was still recovering from the way she had cupped his face and kissed his forehead yesterday, but knew now was not the time to discuss that. Maybe there would never be an appropriate time to discuss that, or anything regarding their complex relationship. Seeing her now, so battered with her stitched-up wounds, bloody gashes, band-aids, and purple bruises all over, was only a reminder to him of how his actions had broken the very woman who had loved him and given him a reason to live and care again. His obsession with Jessica had caused Wyatt to lose Lucy, his best friend Rufus, the trust and friendship of his team…and the person he himself had become through the incredible people these adventures with the Lifeboat had brought him closer to. They were his family, and his blindness to the truth about his so-called wife had cost him everything.

Lucy looked up at him and met his tormented gaze. His hair was a mess; part of her wanted to reach up and brush it to the side. She put down the ice pack and looked down at her lap. She wished they could just go back to that moment in this spot in the corridor all those weeks ago, just the two of them, rejoicing in their newfound romance, reminiscing on the wonders of their glorious night together in Hollywood. She wished she could just relive that moment over and over again. Before Jiya's vision about Rufus's death. Before Jessica's return. Before it all went wrong.

Feeling a little sick as the horrible guilt settled once more in his stomach, Wyatt sank heavily onto the dirty floor to sit beside Lucy, though he was unable to look at her. He was too hurt, too broken, to look into her beautiful eyes and risk seeing her heartbreak there, her grief, her misery, when all of it was down to him.

'This is my fault,' Wyatt said, his voice breaking. 'All of it.'

He was fully prepared to hear Lucy agree, to hear the hard truth about how he had let her down, how his actions had led to Rufus's death, how he had ruined everything for everyone they loved. But he should have known better. Because that wasn't who Lucy was. Besides, she was too full of grief and sorrow to be angry.

'No, it's not, Wyatt-' Lucy said in a low voice, shaking her head, but Wyatt interrupted her.

'I promised Rufus that I wouldn't let anything happen to him,' he said firmly, full of anguish. 'I was supposed to protect him. And then I messed everything up.'

Lucy said nothing. She couldn't think of what to say. All she could do was stare blankly with tear-filled eyes at the wall opposite, feeling completely lost.

Wyatt sighed heavily. 'Just like I did with us,' he went on, a slightly bitter tone to his voice.

Deep down, he'd known. All this time, Wyatt had known that his heart belonged to Lucy rather than Jessica – it had done since the day he'd kissed her in front of Bonnie and Clyde – and yet he had done nothing about it. He hadn't fought. He hadn't stopped to think. He'd let his loyalty and sense of duty cloud his judgement. And now he was paying the price for it.

Lucy hesitated for a moment, considering his words. Part of her wanted to let him off the hook – after all, he'd made it clear he had enough on his mind to feel bad about. But he deserved honesty, as brutal as it was.

'It's true. You did mess things up with us,' Lucy murmured drily, and for the first time since he'd sat beside her, she turned to face him.

Wyatt inclined his head in her direction, and in his peripheral vision saw the unimpressed look in her eyes, and he snorted. Lucy attempted a sad smile in return, and was astonished to see that he seemed to be fighting back tears.

'But Rufus is not on you,' Lucy said firmly, gazing at him, wishing he would look back at her. 'We all stood together. He knew the risks. And he accepted them willingly.'

Wyatt couldn't think of what to say. He was stunned that she was trying to comfort him, after she'd had a night to go over everything that had happened. After everything he had done.

'You brought Jiya home, safe. That's what mattered most to Rufus,' Lucy said earnestly.

Wyatt shook his head dazedly, so badly wanted to believe her. He felt so vulnerable. And so foolish. He could see now the full extent of damage he had caused, to everyone here in this bunker, and it was because of Jessica that he had forgotten his real family, the people who were still standing by him and trying to save him from self-destruction this very moment, even after everything. Lucy had given him something to fight for, a reason to keep living. And despite him breaking her heart, despite him choosing another woman over her, despite his idiotic behaviour leading to such tragedy…Lucy was still that reason. She still cared. She was still imploring him to see the good in what had happened, to keep fighting. And that was when he knew he could keep it in no longer.

'I love you, Lucy.'

The words came out willingly and sincerely… but Wyatt didn't even look at her as he said it. He couldn't. He wasn't strong enough to do that; he wasn't worthy.

Lucy's lips parted as she gazed at him in surprise. She was completely taken aback, her numb heart suddenly racing as she listened to his voice break on her name, and watched the way his eyes filled with tears as they stared straight ahead.

Wyatt knew it was too late for it to matter. But still, he needed to say it, because he had buried those words for far too long, when he should have allowed himself to express them a considerable time ago. He had hurt her so much and become such a disaster in everyone else's eyes, and yet Lucy was still there by his side, patiently comforting him. She was far too good for him. He knew that. And he had imagined, before Jessica had returned, saying those words to her in such different, happier circumstances…but the death of a loved one often brought clarity with it and put everything into perspective, and there was only one thing left in this miserable, heart-wrenching life of his that remained Wyatt's constant, his touchtone: Lucy Preston. There was no doubt of that now. He loved her with all his heart, with everything in him, and she had to know. Even if it was bad timing or not the right moment. With the kind of lives they led, tomorrow certainly wasn't promised, and she had to know how he felt.

Wyatt gave a little shrug of his shoulders. 'You don't have to say it back,' he said softly, as Lucy released the breath she had been holding in, unable to take her dazed eyes off him. 'You don't have to say anything. I just should've said it a long time ago and I didn't, so I'm saying it now.'

Her silence didn't perturb Wyatt, nor did it fill him with regret for confessing his love like that. He knew she was hurt and confused, and no doubt still feeling very betrayed by him. And he didn't blame her. But he'd needed to say it; he'd needed to stop lying to himself, and to stop keeping secrets from her about how he was feeling.

Lucy still hadn't closed her mouth since hearing those four words, and her eyes were wide and fixed upon Wyatt's bruised face. She would have been so happy to hear him say that to her, back in Hollywood. But now? Now their lives had taken a confusing, fractured turn and Lucy hated the idea that Wyatt might have only said it out of guilt or vulnerability in their time of grief. But she'd heard the way he'd choked out the words, she'd seen the way tears had swelled in his eyes, she'd noticed the way he'd determinedly avoided looking at her out of sheer shame…and she knew him. And she knew he was being sincere. All those longing looks, those secluded moments, those brief touches, those angst-filled gazes…they hadn't been for show, they had been real. Appearances aside, his love for her had been real all this time. Lucy could see that now. And it shocked her, to hear him express it aloud, to confess what she had long hoped to be true.

Lucy wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words…so it was somewhat of a relief to know that Wyatt didn't expect anything in return, not quite yet. In truth, she didn't know what she was feeling. She was still too in shock, too overwhelmed over Rufus's death, for her to fully comprehend what Wyatt was telling her. But that was okay. Wyatt didn't need a response from Lucy, he didn't even want one, because he knew he was not deserving of a response after everything he had put her through, all the pain and heartbreak he had caused her.

'Rufus wanted me to admit it,' Wyatt went on, laughing softly at the memory.

For the first time since sitting down, he glanced over at her, meeting her gaze. The look of utter disbelief and shock in her eyes pained him. Had she really not known? Had she really thought all this time that because he'd gone back to Jessica, he didn't love her? The thought only made him loathe himself even more for what he had done, for his actions forcing Lucy to convince herself that he hadn't loved her after all. But now she knew. He had to find some kind of solace in that. She knew the truth now, and there was no Jessica to hide behind or complicate matters. There was just Wyatt and Lucy – no more secrets, just total honesty…and the open road.

'I know that wherever he is,' Wyatt murmured, looking down at his lap, 'if he's watching, he's saying…"Yeah, it's about damn time."…'

Wyatt found himself smiling, quite genuinely, at the fond thought of Rufus clapping him on the back for finally being a man and letting it all out. He felt relieved, like a weight had been taken off his shoulders; he had desperately needed to express the truth aloud at last, not to try and win Lucy back – he knew that whatever possibility of that happening was a long way down the road – but for his own peace of mind. His denial of Jessica's potential treachery had caused so much pain and damage to the people he loved; Rufus himself had even told Wyatt this yesterday. Oh, Rufus. How could he be alive one minute and then suddenly gone the next? How could it be so that Wyatt would never be able to talk to Rufus again? Wyatt knew that, no matter Lucy tried to say to reassure him, he would never be able to make amends for what he had done. And he couldn't bear it.

Lucy's bottom lip began to tremble. 'I can't believe he's gone,' she whispered, once more on the verge of tears.

Wyatt looked back to meet her pitiful gaze. He yearned so desperately to take Lucy into his arms, to hold her and comfort her. But it was no use. First, before he could even consider any of that, they had to reconstruct the friendship, that special connection, that had been somewhat fractured between them. If he was to ever manage to win back Lucy's affection, he had a great deal of grovelling and atoning to do, after his actions of the past few weeks. He needed to work long and hard to fight for her and earn her love back, just as he needed her to actively choose him. It was the only way.

But for now, Wyatt wasn't even thinking about any of that, because they still hadn't fully appreciated the depth of their loss. Someone they loved had died, and he and Lucy needed each other more than ever, but as friends. They weren't giving up on each other, but they could work out how to start over and where they would take their confusing, broken relationship later on. For now, they just needed to be with each other, to comfort each other…and to treat it as a new beginning. Because yes, they had been torn apart from each other, and broken from the tragic events of today…but they would be together from now on, hopefully. And that had to mean something.

The two of them were so lost in their grief that they didn't notice that Flynn had entered the main room of the bunker and seen them sat together side-by-side on the corridor floor. Flynn's face fell slightly as the pain and loneliness washed over him once again, and, saying nothing, he turned to back away…

And then there was a great whooshing noise and a sudden clanging, metallic sound as something huge materialized in the main room of the bunker near to them, pushing the Lifeboat out of the way slightly. Lucy's head jerked up as she looked round to see what had caused the loud disturbance, and her jaw dropped; it was another Lifeboat. There was no mistaking its circular vessel-like structure, or the familiar rumbling and whirring noise as its engines slowed to a halt.

Shocked, Lucy turned to face Wyatt, who was struggling unsteadily up to his feet as he stared in disbelief at the new time machine stood beside their own Lifeboat.

'What the hell?' he muttered, frowning.

Lucy followed Wyatt urgently as he ran over to join Flynn in the main room, who was also staring open-mouthed at the two Lifeboats. Agent Christopher, Mason and Jiya came rushing down the corridor as well, all equally as confused.

'Oh my God, what is that?' Agent Christopher demanded.

'Is this another Lifeboat?' Flynn asked, unusually quiet, looking astonished.

'But it looks upgraded,' Jiya said, completely perplexed, as they all gathered round the two ships.

'What's going on, Connor?' Agent Christopher murmured.

'No idea,' Mason replied, as Wyatt pushed his way through.

The capsule door to the new Lifeboat then slowly began to slide open; Wyatt got out his gun and Lucy joined him at his side, her hand briefly touching his arm as they rushed to the front to see what was happening and get ready for whatever was emerging from the new, unwelcome time machine.

But nothing could have prepared them for what happened next.

Lucy's mouth popped open as none other than Wyatt himself stepped confidently out of the new Lifeboat, wearing grubby tight-fitting clothes with gear and weapons attached, slicked-back hair…and a prominent beard and moustache. And then the next person to step out beside him nearly made Lucy faint, for she realised then that she was staring at a future version of herself, looking equally as dirty and wearing some sort of Lara Croft get-up, complete with weapons attached to her belt and on her back, and with a sleek, sharp bob haircut. The two of them looked battle-hardened, and perhaps a couple of years older…but there was a certain swagger and fierceness in their stance that gave off the impression there was nothing left they were afraid of.

Lucy and Wyatt gaped up at their future selves in shock, unable to believe what they were seeing. But in some way, they both desperately wanted to believe that what they were seeing was indeed real, because whatever the hell was going on, one thing was for sure – these two newcomers, whoever they were, were a team. And suddenly, Lucy felt a surge of hope.

There was a flicker of amusement in their future guests' eyes as they looked down at the shocked, speechless group of people staring in bewilderment up at them.

'Well? What're you waiting on?' Future Wyatt asked, a hint of a smile on his bearded face.

There was a short silence. Everyone was still too in shock to say anything.

'You guys wanna get Rufus back or what?' Future Lucy said to them all in a determined voice.