A/N—Happy weekend! I'm back with another chapter. This one is a continuation of the last and wraps up the discussion between Logan and Lucy. I thank you for reading and hope this finds you safe and well. :)

Logan needed answers. Lucy could give them to him, but a random neighbor's front yard wasn't the place for that. He considered trying to sneak her into the Garcia house and down to the basement only to discard that idea when he remembered that Kendall and Katie were currently battling Carlos on the gaming console in order to give Jennifer, Sylvia, and Brooke time to have dinner together without interruption. There was nowhere to go and talk.

As if reading his mind, Lucy offered, "There's a small park two blocks from here. We should head over there for a while."

Logan bit his lip. "And you know this because it already happened, right? Because that's where I told you we'd talk?"

"Something like that." She stood up and reached for his hand. "Come on. You have to be home by nine or Sylvia will worry."

That left them about an hour. Logan sighed and joined her, and for most of the trek Lucy allowed him to get lost in his head. He had so many questions, but right now only one seemed to matter. "So James will forgive me? I really get to spend the rest of my life with him?"

"You do. And the two of you are very happy together. I'm not going to give you too many specifics, because that takes all the fun out of it, but from everything I learned in the future, you are sickeningly devoted to each other."

Logan closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath. He knew that he should be more concerned with making sure the world survived, but James was his priority. James had always been his priority.

And that's why Roger sent you in the first place. Because he knew that, he knew you'd do anything in your power to save James.

Yet James wasn't the one who'd needed saving. Or at least...not in the way Logan imagined.

"I have so many questions," Logan mumbled once they were seated on a park bench. "I don't even know where to start. If I did...or will do, I guess...everything in the shadows, how is James so successful? How do we convince the world that he's the one coming up with all this stuff?"

"We'll get to that. You told me once that it's best to start from the beginning when explaining the past. Then you laughed and said 'Which is weird, since the beginning is actually the future.'"

Logan chuckled. It did sound like something he'd say. "Okay then. We have about forty-five minutes. Talk."

Lucy began with her own story. She'd grown up in the country of what Logan considered the enemy, her upbringing extremely different from his because it was in a highly-militarized nation. Due to her talents in the art of being a soldier, she was indoctrinated from an early age and trained to be a killing machine. Her mission in life was to take out the enemy for the safety of her nation, which was constantly under attack from all points on the globe.

"And I believed it," she murmured solemnly, hands clasped together on her lap. "Everything they told me, I believed it. I had no reason to doubt anything, at least until I started going on missions outside the country."

What she'd learned over time was that her government was lying to them. They did believe themselves to be in danger, but that fear was unfounded. Lucy soon came to discover that she was killing innocent people who hadn't done anything wrong except perhaps state publicly that her leader was a threat and someone who acted on paranoia rather than facts.

"It devastated me," she whispered. Logan stretched out his hand to cover hers, and she didn't move it away. "All along I thought I was saving the world. Instead, my dictator was destroying it and I was helping him. I was horrified."

By that point it was too late to get out. Desertion of the army was punishable by death. Any act of non-loyalty would lead to the same road. Lucy was stuck.

"I didn't know what to do," she admitted. "And I had to pretend that nothing had changed, that I was still devoted to the cause. I was one of their best, they expected success from me. But once I realized what was happening, I knew I wouldn't be able to kill anyone again. Not unless it was for the right reasons."

Luckily, before being sent on her next mission, Lucy was called to a private meeting with her dictator and his top general. Their plan was explained to her. It was the most important mission to ever be offered to a soldier and came with the highest honor.

She was going to destroy all of their enemies in one blow.

"All I had to do was go back in time and kill James. A high school kid who would eventually foil the plans of our greatest ancestor. It was an easy job and would put me in line for the highest-ranking position in our army. It was an honor to be offered such an important job at my age. At any age, really. I was going to save my country and glorify my ancestor by putting his genius plan into action in the past."

Logan shook his head. "How did they not realize the radiation would kill everyone? Not just your enemies, but everyone?"

"They aren't the smartest. Honestly I think our scientists probably told him it wouldn't work and humanity would die, but he didn't want to hear that. He would've said something like 'Our greatest ruler couldn't be wrong. His plan will succeed.' So in their minds, James dies, the theory never gets published, and the plan to blow up all the nuclear plants goes on as prepared. Our continent survives, we end up taking over the countries that are left, and we rule the world. Fast forward two hundred years to now, and everyone worships us."

"It wouldn't work like that."

"I know, genius. And even if it did, it would change so many things that a lot of us wouldn't be born. He himself probably wouldn't be."

"Right. How did he not see it?"

"Again, not that smart. Full of himself. But what would matter is that our country survived and is now ruling the entire world—whether it's him specifically or someone else. He would've honored our ancestor, and that was kind of the whole point."

"Wow," Logan mouthed. "Psychotic."

"Definitely."

"So what did you do?"

Lucy was told that the mission was being offered to a select handful of soldiers. She was their top choice and would be given the power to choose her team. Seeing the mission for the catastrophe it was bound to be, she immediately accepted it and demanded that she work alone. Thinking quick, she suggested it might be smarter to travel to a point later in the timeline so that she could learn the true history of how Diamond's theory had unfolded by gaining his trust. They praised her for her insight and set her up to go back in time.

"But the whole time what I was really looking for was a way to keep them from succeeding. If I knew how it all happened, I could make sure my government did nothing to mess with it. With Diamond, specifically."

"And then you went back and found out it wasn't James at all. It was me."

"Yep."

"Just out of curiosity, how did you gain his trust? He doesn't let people in, and I doubt that will change much over time."

"I used his ego," she smiled.

"His...how?"

"I pretended to be a college student who worshiped him. Attended all of his lectures, met him at those whenever I could. Applied for and won a scholarship that he set up. I think he was just so excited that he could inspire someone that his walls came down. It took time, of course. A lot of boring lectures and charity functions and 'accidental' meetings on campuses. I basically became his stalker."

Logan's jaw dropped. "And I didn't find that strange? I didn't warn him that it was a little weird that a college kid was following him around like a sycophant?" He ignored that given the choice growing up, he would've done the same thing.

"You weren't there to see it. When James would do his lectures or go on tours, you stayed home."

"Tours?"

"Yeah. You know, like...college tours. Hospital tours. Invitations to speak somewhere, to spread his knowledge."

The speeches he gave throughout his life. All of those appearances that Logan had grown up wishing he'd been able to attend. "So you're saying I never get to witness that in person? I'm not part of it?"

"Not overtly. You write the speeches. James memorizes them. He's got a wicked memory."

Yes, Logan knew that. It was what had gotten James through his classes over the past two months, and probably longer when he was applying himself. "I write them? And then...what? We just let the world think it's all coming from him? How is he okay with that?"

Lucy sat back against the bench's wooden slats with a grin. "I'm gonna let you figure that out yourself. No one knows him better than you, so it won't take long."

Logan sighed. "You can't just tell me?"

"Nope. It's more fun this way. You have to do some of the work on your own."

"Sounds like I end up doing all the work on my own." But Logan put his mind to the puzzle. Why would James, who wanted to be an actor above all things, give that up for a life devoted to science and academic pursuits that bored him?

"James? He's always wanted to go out there and be a star. Doesn't matter what genre it's in, he wants to be the best."

"I just want to be famous. I want people to remember me. I want to be special, you know?"

"Oh my god," Logan breathed. "It's the fame. That's why he goes along with it. Because it makes him feel loved and special. That's all he's ever wanted."

"Bingo."

Logan shifted to face Lucy. "But that means he knows. He knows about the future, about how his name will go down in history books as one of the most innovative people in the world. Which means...I tell him?"

Lucy smirked, letting him run with it.

"I tell him. Because I know that's how it has to be. It's his dream in life. It will make him happy."

"And that's your dream. Really, what you care most about is James' happiness. It's a way to kill two birds with one stone. Ha! I finally got to use that one!"

Logan ignored her little victory dance. "It makes sense. It all makes sense. I save the world but James takes the credit. He lives the life he always wanted to live, admired and respected. And I get to share it with him while still bettering lives and curing cancer. Even the common cold! It all comes from me!"

"Congratulations, Professor! You figured it out!" She lifted her palm and Logan absently met it for a high five.

"Don't tell me James still calls me that in the future."

"Until the day you die, buddy. Only eventually he knows you are an actual professor, and it's a pet name that you grow to love."

"Holy shit. Holy shit. This is...really? This is my life? I get to be with James and we live happily ever after while saving the lives of millions of people?"

"Along with your cool friend who keeps your secret until the day you die."

Logan frowned. "Wait, at what point do I decide you're not a threat? James will have to bring you home, right? If I don't go out in public?"

"You do go out occasionally, just never with James. But you don't worry about me because you already know about me. From this night. This conversation. You're actually the one who tells me about it, and tells me I have to come back and find you so you make the right choice. It's all a little confusing, right?"

Logan was starting to get a headache just thinking about the whole thing. "So James brings you home?"

"Yep. At your request. Since he knows that you know things, he trusts you completely and I have dinner with you guys. That's when you tell us both about tonight and that we met after you left his house."

"So...basically, I'm the one who set all of this into motion."

"Yep. I mean...technically, I guess it's Roger, but...yeah. You're the reason I'm here tonight."

It was so much to absorb all at once. "What about the team?"

"What team?"

"The scientific team. The one James will 'work' with in the future."

"Oh, you mean the team you'll put together to prove your theories?"

Logan's lips pursed. "So it's my team?"

"Yep."

"How will I know who to choose?" Logan answered his own question before Lucy could. "Because I grew up knowing their names. I studied them and wished I could've been among them."

Lucy nodded. "You're their leader. You're just never photographed with them and they never speak of you outside the lab. All of them take an oath of silence and sign non-disclosure agreements."

"Why would they do that? Surely one of them would eventually spill about me and tell the world James isn't truly a scientist or doctor?"

"The world knows that, Logan. They know he never became an official doctor. He throws himself into testing and proving his theories practically out of high school. Nobody cares because they just assume he's a genius. Only a genius could come up with such a radical concept, right? You guys are going to have funding thrown at you from all directions. All people want is a cure for cancer. They're desperate. They don't care that James doesn't have a degree. If you can keep their kids from getting cancer? They'll give you whatever you need. That radiation vaccine saves lives."

"But it can't cure those who already have the genes, who weren't genetically altered upon birth."

"Exactly. So it takes time."

"And it can't save Brooke." Logan inhaled. "She's still going to die over the summer."

Lucy nodded sadly. "Yeah. I'm sorry I never got to meet her. The way you guys talk about her, she sounds pretty awesome."

"She's the best," Logan chuckled. "Wait, you didn't see her at his party?"

"Oh, I saw her. But I didn't know her, and she uh...seemed a little intimidating. I was only there briefly anyway. Just long enough to mess with you."

Logan rolled his eyes. "And what was even the point of that?"

"So you'd know my face when you saw me tonight. You wouldn't think I was some crazy person."

"Yeah, too late for that," he teased, then softened the jibe with an elbow to her side.

"Oh, keep it up, nerd. You're talking to the only person alive who can beat you at chess."

"What?" Logan gasped. "Nobody can beat me at chess!"

"Not yet," she grinned. "But in that future where we're great friends? It's on."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"Yep. You will."

Exhaustion was starting to set in, his brain overloaded. Logan glanced at his phone for the time, disappointed there was no text from James. "You're sure we end up together, right? That he forgives me?"

"Positive."

"And how do I make that happen?"

"You give him what he wants most. Accept him for who he is, even the parts of him you don't understand or agree with."

"Of course I accept him."

"Do you? From what I understand, tonight's fight stemmed from him thinking you want him to change for you."

"I don't. I love him the way he is."

"Then show him that. Embrace the things that are important to him, even if you think they're silly."

"I don't think his workout regimen is silly. Is that what he believes?"

"I'm not talking about the workout regimen, dummy. He recently asked something of you and you smashed his heart by saying no without even considering it."

Want to dance? Logan groaned. "The prom. Please tell me I don't have to go to the prom. I hate dances!"

"But James loves them. They matter to him. Show him you take his interests seriously. Go to the prom, Logan."

"I don't even have a tux!"

"Actually, you do. That's one of the things you sent me back to do. I special-ordered you one with the exact measurements you provided me. It's paid for and ready to be picked up after your last final tomorrow." She reached into a pocket of her jacket for a claim ticket. "Here. You're going to show up at that dance and shock the hell out of him."

Logan looked at it, not at all surprised it was from the same place his friends had gotten their tuxes. He shoved the ticket into his pocket. "And then what?"

"Nope, that's all you get. I told you, it's more fun if you don't know everything."

"What?! How the hell am I supposed to win him back if you won't tell me how?"

Lucy smacked his thigh. "You'll figure it out. He's going with Kendall and Carlos, but he'll leave with you. And then you two will have a very long, life-altering conversation."

"That's when I tell him the truth, isn't it? Tomorrow night. And I tell him about our future."

"Actually, I think you show him. It's the only way he'll believe you."

"Right. That makes sense." Logan stood up. "Look, I gotta get home. It's almost nine. Will you walk with me?"

"Of course."

They started down the sidewalk as if they were old friends. Logan supposed to Lucy, they were. "I still have questions."

"I know."

"What about Kendall and Carlos? Do they ever know?"

"I'm honestly not sure. I do know that they visit you guys when they can. They're going to spend a lot of years traveling with hockey teams."

Logan grinned. "Together?"

"Together. They make it clear that they're a package deal in all trades, and it's something new to the hockey world but they're so talented that they get away with it. Don't tell them that, let it be a surprise."

"I'm really going to enjoy watching that play out. What about you?"

"What about me?"

"What happens when your bosses realize you're working for the other team?"

"Oh, I've disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"Yep. Faked my own death in this time period. Freak accident, got hit by a bus. What are the odds, right?"

"Wow. So they know not to send someone back to look for you. But...won't they just find someone else to carry out the plan?"

Lucy looked away.

"Lucy?"

"The plan isn't going to be attempted again. My dictator's successor is smarter than he was. When he dies, all that ends. But you understand that it's still important to make sure everything plays out exactly as it's supposed to? His death won't keep your plans safe unless it all happens in order."

Logan nodded, hands in the pockets of his hoodie. "And when does he die? How?"

Lucy shrugged. "There are some things you don't need to know. This is one of them."

It dawned slowly. Lucy had executed an assassination and she wasn't proud of it. Logan saw her in a new light.

"Don't judge me."

"I won't. I'm not. So do you uh...just pop in and out of time? Is that what you do with the rest of your life?"

"Don't know. Everything I've done has taken place in less than a year of my own life. This was the last thing I needed to do to make sure it all goes according to plan. You'll see me later in your life, but it's already happened in mine. Your future is my past."

"Weird," Logan muttered.

"Yep."

"So what's next?"

"I don't know yet. I was thinking it might be fun to check out the 1920's. You know, mobs and gangsters, that sort of thing. I could be a great one."

"I'm sure you could. And in my mind we've just met, but I already know that you don't like the killing. You wouldn't be happy with that life."

"You don't think so? I could be some vigilante, putting a stop to all the bad guys."

"But that would be altering history too much. You know that."

"I do," she sighed. "I've been afraid to visit the future. Our future, I mean."

"Like the twenty-third century us?"

"Yeah. Do you think if I went there, I'd mess up too many things?"

"Maybe." When Lucy stayed quiet, he added, "Or maybe you could make it better. Use your knowledge of the past to save the world again. Who knows what the world has in store for us four hundred years from now?"

"What if I go there and it's gone? If I end up in a world where everyone's dead?"

"Well, knowing you, you'll figure out how it happened and then go back and stop it. Because that's one thing you're really good at."

Lucy grinned. "Thanks, Logan. You always know just what to say."

"I don't know about that. I have no idea what I'm going to say to James tomorrow night."

"You'll figure it out. Just focus on getting that assignment typed up tonight and turned in before your final. The rest will all fall into place."

"I hope so."

"I know so." Lucy glanced at him with a wink. "We've done it before."

She stopped him with a hand on his arm before he could turn up the front walk. "This is where I leave you. We can't risk any of the Garcias or Knights seeing me. They'd want to know who I was."

Logan knew that was true. He held out his hand and she shook it. "Thank you. I really thought I screwed up."

"Nope. You did exactly what you were meant to."

He nodded. "One more question."

"Yeah right," Lucy snorted. "That's going to lead to a million more and we don't have time."

Logan ignored that. "How do you know when I die? I don't know, so I couldn't have told you. If there's no record of me, nobody in the future could know either."

"I may or may not have popped in every five years after our first talk to check on that. I found out when and went to that time. We couldn't have a funeral for you, but I helped James through it. He uh..." Surprisingly, Lucy's eyes watered. "He was never the same after."

"Oh, James." Logan could only imagine the heartbreak of living without him, because it's what Logan would feel had James died first. "What happened then?"

"All the research stopped, obviously. He spent a lot of time trying to talk me into taking him back in time so he could see you again. Or into the future, so he could spend time with you before you travel back. But that would've messed up everything."

"Right," Logan nodded. "There's not a lot known about James once he 'retired' from his studies. Everything I read says he became kind of a recluse."

"He did. He missed you so much, Logan. Kendall and Carlos actually moved so they could be close to him. They were worried about him. I think without them, he would've just...faded away on his own."

Thank God for Kendall and Carlos. "He died of natural causes, right? That part was true?"

"Yes. You already know when and where. He was mourned by billions."

Logan had read about that, how everyone wanted to come pay their respects to the man who had healed the world. "Did you...did you ever tell him that?"

"No. I think you did. You made him promise not to do anything stupid after you died because things had to go according to history."

"But he tried anyway," Logan smirked. "By begging you to travel through time."

"And you knew he would."

"Because you're telling me right now."

Lucy shrugged. "Also because you know him so well."

Logan grinned. He did know James. "Well, I guess this is goodbye. I'll see you in...twenty years? Maybe?"

"Something like that," she winked. "I'll surprise you."

"If you get bored in the future, feel free to pop in on my birthday one year. It would be a wonderful surprise."

"Maybe I will. If nothing else, that will keep you guessing every time September rolls around. 'Will this be the year Lucy comes to see me?'" Her face morphed into a mockery of excitement.

"Just make sure it happens. Obviously after James brings you home to meet me."

"You got it."

"How do you get back, anyway? Without the machine, how do you travel?"

"You don't know? They never taught you that?"

"No."

Lucy studied him. "Are you ever going to want to leave this time?"

Logan couldn't see any reason why he would. He shook his head. "Nope. I stay where James is."

"Then you don't need to know."

"Oh come on, I need to know everything!"

"Not this." She smiled and opened her arms. "Bring it in, time's short. Oh, that's a weird one, too. Like time has a height?"

That wasn't at all what the saying was about, but Logan let it go and reached for her. It felt natural to hug her, which would've shocked Logan less than an hour ago. He held on tight to the one person in his life who understood what he'd gone through and what it felt like to be out of time. "Thank you," he said again.

"It's what I do." She squeezed him tighter before letting go. "Take care of him. He has a flair for drama and can be pretty ridiculous."

"Don't I know it," Logan laughed. "It's okay, though. I love him for it."

"Tell him that. And don't stress too hard over what you're gonna say to him tomorrow night. You already know it works out."

"I guess." A minivan suddenly turned into the driveway, stopping behind Sylvia's parked car. "Oh crap, they're home. You'd better—"

But when Logan turned back to Lucy, she was gone. He was alone on the sidewalk as if he'd been talking to himself. "Wow. She's really good at that."

Two car doors slammed before Sylvia's voice floated to him. "Logan? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me. How was dinner?"

"It was fun. We just dropped Brooke off and James said you'd left. Is everything okay?"

Staring back at Jennifer and his new mother, whose faces wore matching expressions of concern, Logan smiled.

"Everything's perfect."