A/N: Thank you, Timeless Badger for your review. I appreciate it! I hope you continue reading! Cheers!
Present Day
Agent Christopher watched as the team climbed out of the Lifeboat. She spotted the dried blood on Rufus's shirt. "What happened?"
Rufus announced without glancing down, "It's not my blood."
"Thank God," Jiya sighed, hand to her chest.
"What happened?" Denise asked again, eyes darting between the team.
"A lot," Wyatt remarked. The team took the time to describe and explain everything to Agent Christopher as best as they could.
"So this Mary was really Hazel Drew?" Agent Christopher asked.
Wyatt nodded. "I don't understand why they kidnapped her from her timeline, only to kill her somewhere else."
Lucy cleared her throat. "I'm wondering if she's even the real Hazel Drew."
"What do you mean?" Agent Christopher asked. The rest of the team had turned to look at her, waiting on her answer.
Lucy glanced about the others. "When we got back from that mission, I looked her up...I can't find any records of her anywhere. There were some articles about unsolved murders in that town -"
"Whose murders?" Wyatt questioned.
"The mayor and the Bloodstone agents at the lake," she explained. "But there was no mention of Hazel...no death records, birth records, nothing."
Agent Christopher thought for a moment. "So what happened to her?"
Lucy shook her head. "My guess, after this mission? She was part of Bloodstone from the beginning and everything she told us in Sand Lakes was a facade."
A dark silence overtook the room after her admission. A moment later, knowing there was more to the story, Agent Christopher asked, "What else?"
"We might be able to narrow our search for Reynolds down a little bit," Rufus stated. "One of the Bloodstone agents told us that Reynolds has an accent."
"Do you know what kind of accent?" Agent Christopher questioned. The team exchanged looks, none of them answering the question. Agent Christopher's brow knitted together. "I'm not sure how helpful that's going to be."
"Maybe you should try again anyway," Flynn suggested.
Denise nodded. "Get cleaned up." She glanced at everyone before muttering, "You smell like the sewers."
The team nodded, separating from the common living area.
Wyatt and Lucy entered their room to gather their things for the showers. "You've been quiet," Wyatt pointed out. "What's on your mind?"
Lucy sighed. "I was thinking about something Poe told me when you and Rufus went to Frederica's house."
"Yeah?" he asked, stepping up to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist. "What'd he say?"
She looked him in the eye, getting lost in the blue. "He ... talked about second chances." She decided not to tell Wyatt the exact conversation but the nature in which it was spoken. She nodded, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I've been unfair to you," she whispered. "I should give you a second chance because we all make mistakes, Wyatt, but I'm hoping we've learned from them."
Wyatt nodded, pulling her closer. "I am so relieved to hear you say that."
"But we can't do this again," she warned him, that teacher like lecture behind her expression. "We have to be honest with one another and we have to stick together, no matter what the circumstances."
Wyatt smiled at her. "You have my word that we will work things out...and I won't be an ass." She raised an eyebrow at him. He added with a soft chuckle, "I'll try to not be an ass."
She smiled, releasing a small giggle. "I should also apologize to you for putting the blame on your shoulders for what happened to Tenley."
"I understand why you did it though," he admitted. "Maybe I am to blame for her disappearance-"
"No," Lucy interrupted, placing a finger on his lips to stop him from continuing. "No more blame. We will figure something out."
He kissed her finger before leaning forward and kissing her forehead. "As long as we're together."
She nodded. "Together."
He saw her smile falter. His eyes narrowed slightly as he studied her a moment longer. "What else are you not telling me?
She pulled away from him, sitting down on the edge of their bed. "I...haven't exactly been completely honest with you."
He stood before her, arms crossed over his chest. "About what?" She bit the inside of her lip, hesitating. He knelt before her, hands resting on her knees. "You just told me that in order for us to work, we have to be honest with one another...we can't keep things secret if we are to survive." Her dark eyes met his blue ones and he saw the heartbreak that lingered behind the building tears. "Talk to me, Lucy...please..."
She sniffled, blinking the tears back. "Do you remember the mission with Dorothy Lawrence?"
Wyatt thought for a moment. "Yeah...?"
"Do you remember that I didn't go on that mission?" she asked. He nodded and she whispered so softly, almost afraid that the walls were listening, "I stayed behind because... I thought I was pregnant."
"What?" he gasped, eyes widening. "You were..."
She shook her head. "No, I wasn't...but I thought I was." He blinked several times, trying to form an intelligent response but he was struggling. She could see the shock on his face. She continued, "I stayed behind because I wasn't sure and...I ..." Her voice trailed.
"When did you find out that you weren't?" he asked, shaking his head.
"About three days after you returned."
"I don't understand-"
Lucy sighed. "I think the stress of everything finally got to me. I hadn't been sleeping. We had just been dealing with Rittenhouse and then we learned about Bloodstone and..." she put her head in her hands. "I thought about everything - the positives and the negatives of having a child..."
Wyatt grasped her wrists gently, moving her hands away from her face so he could look her in the eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?" His voice was gentle with no judgment.
She held his gaze. A tear running down her cheek. "I don't know. I was afraid of what you'd think - of me, of us, the baby! And I wanted to tell you - I did! But then you learned about Jack being your child with Jessica and the way you reacted-"
"Hey," he cooed. "That wasn't the same at all. My reaction then was because it was Jessica...not you. It was never about you." He understood the reason she kept it from him this whole time. He hadn't been the best of people towards her. He wasn't angry with her but himself for allowing her to feel as though she couldn't come to him over it.
"I have been carrying this secret for so long," she whispered, blinking more tears away. "And when Tenley disappeared, I realized that the future that we had was ripped from my grasp and ... and I just..."
"You were mourning the life of our child," he whispered back, finishing the sentence for her so she didn't have to face the terrifying fact alone. She nodded and he moved to sit on the bed next to her. "Oh, Lucy...I'm so sorry."
He pulled her into a tight, comforting embrace. "I am sorry, Wyatt," she said, nuzzling his neck, sniffling slightly.
"You have nothing to be sorry for," he told her, placing his hand on her cheek. "We have to find a way to talk about everything - no matter how difficult or uncomfortable the topic...do you agree?" She nodded, studying the emotion in his eyes.
Wyatt leaned in and kissed her lips. A wave of familiarity washed over both of them. The kiss was filled with a nearly forgotten desire and renewed flame. They could feel the bond between them grounding them into the foundation of their relationship. They felt stronger together than they had ever felt apart. For the first time in a while, the two were reminded of their strength and knew everything depended on the other for survival.
"I need you to know that I am madly in love with you," Wyatt muttered against her lips before kissing her again. She smiled against his lips. "No amount of time travel will change that fact about me. I'm yours if you'll have me."
Her heart melted, allowing the warmth of his love to take over once more. Her reservations about their relationship drifted away like a leaf on the wind and were replaced with feelings of devotion and love.
They never made it to the shower.
Connor Mason sat at the table in the common living room, an open book before him. He stared at the pages, unblinking. He didn't hear Agent Christopher walk up behind him until she spoke.
"What are you doing?" she asked, peering over his shoulder.
His eyes snapped up to meet her curious gaze. "I was doing some reading."
Denise saw the concern behind his gaze. "Okay..."
He picked the book up, turning it for her to see it better. "Do you see this picture?" He tapped the portrait that took up the entire left page. The image was a beautiful young woman with her hair neatly pulled back into a loose bun, tied with ribbon. She had an elegant high neck frilly dress adorned with a brooch. The girl's lips were full, thin face, wide eyes.
Denise studied the image before asking, "Who is she?"
Mason exhaled. "I've been staring at her picture for a while now and remembering what the team said about Hazel Drew and this...Mary Cecilia."
"What does this have to do with your book?"
"This is The Complete Works Of Edgar Allan Poe," Mason explained. "The last time the team met him, he had written a story called, The Four."
"I remember."
"If this story was written because of what the team did back then," Mason started. "Then I think we should look into it further."
Denise crossed her arms over her chest. "How do you propose we do that?"
Mason closed and tucked the book under his arm. "If I had the proper equipment - computers and access to the NSA network and mainframe - I'd offer to run a facial recognition on the portrait."
Agent Christopher's eyes narrowed. "I'm not understanding-"
"If this woman was a Bloodstone agent instead of the two women she pretended to be," Mason began. "Then it should be in the system, right? I mean, if you recall the information we found on Rittenhouse-"
Agent Christopher held up her hand. She finally caught up to him. "I'll see what I can do." She pointed to his book. "May I?" He passed it over to her.
"Make sure that I get that back, please," he stated. "It's a hard book to find." She nodded and turned to leave.
Rufus was splayed out on the bed he shared with Jiya, staring up at the dirty ceiling. His mind raced with the memory of the old man in the alley. Every time he closed his eyes, he could see the man's tired eyes staring back at him. He could see every crease and wrinkle that lined that man's face. He could smell the moldy blanket, the man's bad breath, and his blood. He could feel the weight of the man's body in his arms.
"Hey," Jiya's voice said, snapping him out of the memory.
He propped himself up on his elbows. "Hey."
"So, it would seem that Wyatt and Lucy have made up," Jiya said a wide smile on her face.
Rufus chuckled. "It's about time."
Jiya's smile started to disappear. "Are you doing okay?" He raised his eyebrows at the remark and she stated, "You just seem distracted."
"I'm sorry," he said. "It's been a long day."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
He shook his head. "I don't know how..." After a moment's pause, he rambled, "I've killed men before but...to hold someone while they die...that's...that's an entirely different feeling." Jiya kept quiet, knowing that he needed to talk about it on his terms - not with her prodding.
Rufus sighed. "I am just getting so sick of these Bloodstone and Rittenhouse people doing whatever they want and killing innocent people!" He collapsed onto his back again, adding, "And I feel so powerless to stop them."
Jiya gave him a sympathetic glance as she climbed into bed. She nestled up next to him. The two held each other in comfortable silence together.
Flynn found himself back in the infirmary, holding Tenley's hoodie. He sat alone, listening to the sounds of the bunker. There was a low hum coming from the fan but otherwise, it was quiet. He closed his eyes, resting his head on the back of the sofa.
Flynn...
His eyes shot open. Lifting his head, he glanced about the room. He recognized the cadence of the voice. It belonged to Tenley. His heart slammed against his ribs, pulse pounding in his ears as he listened.
When it remained quiet, he whispered, "Nine?"
No response.
His brows furrowed, trying to piece together what he had just heard. He wondered if his mind started to play games with him. He wouldn't be able to take it if that were the case.
Flynn remembered the flood of memories when Rittenhouse had murdered his wife and daughter. He felt their presence whenever he went places - in both this time and other timelines. There were even moments he could have sworn he smelled his wife's perfume, but that was usually when he had been dreaming.
However, this was different. He hadn't heard their voices...not like this. Tenley's voice sounded scared. She seemed terrified - pained, almost. Something wasn't right about the tone of it, the shakiness that came from it.
He closed his eyes again, almost willing to hear it again. He hoped he could hear her voice once more to hear the emotions so he could try and understand what was happening.
Silence.
Slowly, he opened his eyes. He gripped her hoodie once more, bringing it to his nose. Her scent still lingered on it, though fading. He clutched it close to his chest, feeling the tears falling from his eyes.
The bunker alarms blared, startling everyone awake. When the residents gathered at the common living area, Jiya climbed into her chair. She announced, "September 1, 1854...looks like Westminster, London."
Agent Christopher turned to Lucy. "Lucy?"
After a moment, she admitted, "I'm not sure but I do know that there was a massive cholera epidemic taking place around this time."
"Cholera?" Rufus repeated with a heavy sigh. "Why did this mission have to happen when Tenley's gone?"
"Do you think Rittenhouse is trying to make the epidemic worse?" Wyatt questioned. Lucy shrugged, unsure what they'd be doing there.
Denise finally motioned toward the Lifeboat. "Better get going." She watched as the team climbed into the machine.
The hatch closed. The Lifeboat whirred to life and within moments, disappeared from the present.
Agent Christopher smoothed her hair before walking away. She grabbed her things and started to make her way for the bunker's exit.
"Where are you going?" Jiya asked. "You just got here."
"There are some things I need to do," she told her. "Call me if anything comes up."
Jiya nodded aimlessly, watching Denise leave. Glancing over at Mason, she asked, "What was that all about?" He gave a half-shrug, not wanting to admit that he had a suspicion.
