A Mother's Heart

A/N #1: Ever since the Timeless movie epilogue revealed that "new" Future Lucy and Wyatt became parents, I've been intrigued by the thought of what having a child of her own might mean to a woman who had such an intense (and frankly, eventually bizarre) relationship with her own mother. Seems perfectly reasonable to think Mother's Day might be a trigger for some perhaps unresolved feelings on Lucy's part, and that of course, Wyatt would do anything he can to help her work through them. Quick note: although I had every intention of finishing and posting this new story on the actual holiday itself, unfortunately, it just didn't work out that way. Hope you still enjoy reading it, though, my friends-no matter what day that might be :)

This is the eighth story in the "Hearts" series. In chronological order, they are:

A Mother's Heart

Summer Hearts

An Impulsive Heart

Her (Soft-Hearted) Tough Soldier

Holding Their Hearts Forever

Another Heart to Hold

Holiday Hearts

Hearts of Hope and Courage

May 2020

"A mother's heart is always with her children..." Proverb

Lounging along one side of the worn, but still thick and comfortable quilt he'd carefully spread under the big maple tree in their back yard, Wyatt smiled at the pretty picture his three best girls made. Kneeling in the center of the quilt, Lucy looked radiant in a light pink flowered sun dress (nearly the same color as the twins' pink polka-dot rompers), her long raven curls held back with a matching headband. He watched with interest as she patiently tried to entice their tiny daughters into wiggling around on their tummies, dangling a few of their favorite rattles and teethers in front of them.

"You do realize, sweetheart, that all this adorable belly scooting leads to crawling, which eventually leads to walking, followed closely by running, and then all hell will break loose in the Logan house while we try to keep up with two active toddlers who are going to run our legs off, right?" Wyatt observed dryly. He smirked when Lucy rolled her eyes at his silly question and accused him in a snippy tone of being no fun.

They had carried the twins outside to play and get some fresh air before they tucking them in for their long afternoon nap, and judging by his baby girls' non-stop smiles and delighted giggles, they were having a great time. And no wonder, since it was a beautiful late spring morning–pleasantly warm, yet with a refreshing light breeze. Even more importantly to Wyatt, it was Mother's Day, his wife's first to celebrate since the couple welcomed these two little ones last November.

At just shy of six months old, the Logan twins were chubby, dark-haired, bright-eyed little bundles of energy who slept and ate well and brought their father more joy than he'd ever dreamed was possible (even if Wyatt seriously couldn't remember the last time he got a solid night's sleep). Naturally, as a first-time father, he admittedly had about zero experience with infants or even small children, but it seemed to him as if the girls grew and learned something new every single day. While he felt his rookie parenting skills were coming along surprisingly well–exactly as his wife had predicted months earlier–it was easy for him to attribute the lion's share of credit for their beautiful daughters' health and happiness to Lucy.

Before they became parents, Wyatt couldn't imagine loving his wife any more deeply than he already did, but then Amy Charlotte and Flynn Elisabeth arrived less than a year after the team left the bunker the day after Christmas in 2018 and shattered that naive assumption. Lucy Preston-Logan was the kind of mother every child should have, he decided within days (if not hours) of welcoming their tiny daughters. Gentle, patient and extremely loving, Wyatt was amazed by how naturally she took to being a mommy, despite the doubts that seemed to occasionally plague Lucy during the early weeks of her first pregnancy.

However, because she very seldom brought the subject up (at least with him) in the year since then, Wyatt put the whole thing out of mind, assuming his advice the day her pregnancy test was positive helped her in some way to make a kind of peace with being Carol Preston's daughter (and intended Rittenhouse heir). As for today, regrettably, he'd been all caught up this past week in planning a few special surprises for Lucy to pay closer attention. Should've known with her unusual family history, this particular holiday might trigger some unpleasant memories, Wyatt lamented in hindsight–which of course was always 20/20.

The moment they woke up this morning, he could tell right away from her subdued manner something was bothering her. Despite the sweet kiss she bestowed on Wyatt as thanks for preparing her favorite breakfast of French toast and bacon, and exclaiming in genuine pleasure over the gift from the girls of a dainty tennis bracelet that was set with two small topaz stones for the twins' birth month, it was evident something was troubling his wife. As much as he dreaded possibly ruining her day, Wyatt felt he had to at least try and give Lucy a chance to talk about whatever might be on her mind.

"Sweetheart? Is everything okay?" he asked as casually as he could manage, leaning over to scoop up Flynn, who'd industriously wiggled her way to the edge of the quilt, clearly bent on escaping, and set her on his lap with a teething ring. Wyatt winced absently when the six-month-old grinned at him and began enthusiastically smacking Daddy in the face with the colorful rubber ring as she babbled, da, da, da. Hurriedly moving himself (and his face) out of harm's way, he sighed quietly when Lucy pointedly didn't respond. Hell, if not for the visible tenseness of her narrow shoulders, he might've thought she hadn't heard his well-intentioned question at all–despite sitting about a foot away from each other on the quilt.

Propping Flynn and her mildly dangerous toy against his side so she wouldn't topple over, Wyatt reached out and gently placed his other hand on Lucy's smooth bare arm. She immediately stilled at his touch. "Lucy, please talk to me," he implored, never happy when his wife was upset about anything, although in this case, Wyatt felt like he had a pretty good idea what was going on. "Taking a wild guess here, but I thought maybe the reason you're being so quiet today is because of your mom? Are you still worried about turning out to be too much like her as the girls get older? Because I thought we'd had this discussion already on the day we found out you were pregnant, remember?"

Flashback

Early April 2019

"Hey, soldier...wake up now...I have a surprise for you..." Along with the touch of a small, warm hand tenderly caressing his stubbled cheek, the melodic voice of the woman he loved more than his own life-the woman he married just three months ago–slowly penetrated Wyatt's hazy dreams. "C'mon, sleepy head," she coaxed, "I promise you're going to like it..."

Turning on his side toward the beckoning voice, he blinked sleepily and tried to focus on his wife, who was leaning over him. Oddly enough, considering daylight was barely starting to filter through the drapes and Wyatt woke first most mornings before her, Lucy appeared to be wide awake already, regarding her husband expectantly, a pretty flush pinking her cheeks. He couldn't help smiling at the cute picture she made, unruly raven curls gathered in a messy knot on the top of her head and one of his worn Army tee shirts practically swallowing her petite frame. She was just so damn beautiful.

Reaching up to gently rub his thumb over her sexy lower lip, Wyatt mumbled, "Well, that was a pretty fine dream I was having, sweetheart, but since you asked so nicely..."

He didn't mind one bit when Lucy suddenly climbed on top of him and lowered her mouth to his to quite effectively cut him off. Without breaking the kiss (because he was just that good), Wyatt wrapped his arms tightly around her delectable body and deftly swept Lucy beneath him and settled his weight between her shapely, bare legs. A long, pleasurable moment later, she reluctantly leaned back and put her slim fingers over Wyatt's mouth, a twinkle in her eyes.

"Okay, that's enough fun for now," Lucy pretended to scold, "I have something important to show you..." Her tough–one might say bossy-attitude was belied by the faint whimper escaping those tempting lips when he recklessly ignored her reprimand and moving her hand out of the way, began to delicately nip at the fragrant, tender skin behind her ear. God, he was addicted to his wife's scent...

"What could possibly be more important than kissing my beautiful wife good morning?" Wyatt reasoned thoughtfully to no one in particular in between nibbles, enjoying the way she trembled in his arms. He had no objections whatsoever to waking up like this every single morning for the rest of his life. His sweet victory was short-lived, however, when with what appeared to be a valiant effort, Lucy planted her hands on Wyatt's bare shoulders and pushed him away with a flattering sigh of regret.

"That is so unfair the way you distract me with those lips of yours," she grumbled petulantly, rolling her eyes at his predictably smug grin, "Geez, they oughta be registered as lethal weapons or something." Husband and wife stared at each other for a few more seconds (neither willing to concede) before Lucy smirked and leisurely, provocatively wiggled her body out from under his–which to be honest, was pretty fun in its own way–and reached for something on the table beside the bed.

Since she'd successfully escaped his grasp, Wyatt sat up and resting his back against the headboard, yawned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Closing her hand around whatever it was, she turned and settled beside him. Eyeing Wyatt hesitantly, she ordered breathlessly, "Okay, hold out your hand, please," giving him an encouraging smile when he hesitated but nevertheless obediently did so.

Lucy gingerly placed a small blue and white plastic tube on Wyatt's open palm. When he frowned at her uncertainly, not really comprehending at first what the unfamiliar object was, she carefully flipped it over and stared intently at him. Wait a minute...this looked like...it sorta looked like one of those home pregnancy test sticks that a woman peed on to see if she was gonna have a baby...

However, when Wyatt didn't react quickly enough, Lucy huffed in frustration and snatching the tube from his hand, thrust it in front of his face. "Wyatt, please, look closer at what it says in the little window," his wife insisted unsteadily, biting her lower lip anxiously, so he did. A single word jumped out at him. PREGNANT. The hell?

Stunned, Wyatt lifted his gaze from the pregnancy test to see Lucy nod slowly, blinking back tears as she watched his face intently. "Pregnant? Lucy? Are you? Are we? You're...pregnant? We're really gonna have a baby?" he stammered, looking between the object in his hand and the woman he loved. Wyatt's world turned upside down (in a really good way) for maybe a split second before righting itself. A baby...they were having a baby...he was gonna be a father....

"Yes, we really are," she confirmed, lips curving in a shy smile. Taking a deep breath, Lucy asked haltingly, "Are you okay with this? I guess having children was something we just hadn't gotten around to thinking about, and now, oops, too late for that discussion..." The telltale hint of insecurity in her voice hit Wyatt like a gut punch and nearly did him in. How could Lucy not understand how extremely happy sharing his life with her already made him? And yeah, okay, it was true they hadn't yet discussed having a child, but of course he wanted a family with her. Next to the day she became his wife, this was turning out to be one of the absolute best days of his life. Sweet, silly woman, he thought tenderly.

Wanting nothing more than to reassure the woman who owned him body and soul, Wyatt leaned his forehead against Lucy's and cautiously placing his hand over her flat (for now) tummy at the same time, whispered, "Sweetheart, you know I don't have the greatest track record when it comes to dealing with my emotions," ignoring her wry snort of amusement, "But I swear I'm feeling so many things right now, I'm about dizzy–surprised as hell, maybe a little nervous, but yes, I promise you've made me very, very happy. I love you so much, Lucy Logan."

He was dismayed when, although his words were sincerely meant, in a heartbeat, Lucy somehow got herself all worked up. Without warning, the tears started gushing as she threw herself at Wyatt and sobbed, I love you, too, against his neck. Aww, hell, what had he said or done to upset her? he wondered, taken aback by the abrupt change in her demeanor. Dear Lord, was this what expecting a baby did to a woman?

"Shh, now, Lucy, please don't cry...you know I can't take it when you cry, sweetheart," he objected, at a loss about how to best comfort her. "Besides, crying and being all upset is probably not good for the baby..." Wyatt cuddled his trembling wife close, whispering what he hoped were soothing words while she gradually calmed down, thank God.

Drawing away from him, Lucy sniffed and said abruptly, "You are going to be even more ridiculously over-protective now that I'm pregnant, aren't you, Wyatt Logan?" His poker face must need some work because she giggled weakly at the baffled expression he wore. "That's okay because I know you truly can't help yourself, and even if I find it annoying on occasion, it's one of the things I love most about you." And there was his sweet-tempered wife again. Wow. This whiplash with Lucy's emotions was going to take some getting used to until the baby arrived.

Pressing a tender kiss on Wyatt's lips, Lucy leaned comfortably against him. Neither spoke for several peaceful minutes, still trying to process the wonderful, shocking, life-changing news they were going to become parents. Just when he thought perhaps the mom-to-be had fallen asleep, Lucy broke the silence.

"Wyatt?" she asked rather pensively, rubbing her cheek against his bare skin like an affectionate kitten. "Do you think I'll be a good mom? I mean...what if...what if I'm more like my real mother–who loved me but could also be pretty controlling at times-than I realize, or even worse, the scary Rittenhouse version of Carol Preston?" He forced himself not to wince at the faint vulnerability in his wife's voice.

Before Wyatt could respond, however, she went on, "I feel that in her heart, Rittenhouse Carol–that's what I call her in my head-honestly believed she was doing the right thing, grooming me all those years to take my so-called rightful place in the 'family' business, group, organization, whatever, I had absolutely no knowledge of. What if I'm capable of manipulating our child like that, even if I don't mean to because I believed it was the right thing? I don't think I could bear that..." she admitted sadly, making Wyatt's heart ache.

Tipping her chin to gaze into Lucy's dark amber eyes, he struggled to find the words she needed to hear from him to get past this persistent doubt hanging over her head. Finally, Wyatt said gently, "You are not your mother, Lucy, never have been, never will be–and I don't care which version of Carol Preston we're talking about. Sure, maybe on the surface there might be a few similarities, like being super smart and college history professors, but aside from that, you are more your own woman than you give yourself credit for. Hell, if you're trying to find some kind of shared personality traits, I think you're looking at the wrong branch of your family."

Wyatt realized from the bewildered expression on her face that she honestly had no idea what he was talking about. "Okay, I'm not talented with big speeches like you are, sweetheart, but hear me out. What I'm getting at is you might favor the Cahill side of your biological family tree a lot more than you think." When Lucy instantly shook her head and opened her mouth to argue, Wyatt hastened to explain.

"Gimme me a second here, Miss Bossy. To be clear, I am not referring to Benjamin Cahill, although the guy's a pediatrician, right? so he's obviously not stupid. No, I mean Ethan Cahill. Granted, while we hung around your grandpa in 1954 for less than a day, and only spent a few hours with him in 2017, it was pretty clear to me you and he were actually quite a bit alike in several ways."

He paused for a second, thankful when Lucy remained silent, never taking her eyes off Wyatt for a second. "You know what I noticed about the guy that I see in you? He was a person who was smart, kind, resourceful, and very brave in the face of defying a powerful, creepy secret organization that's been around for a couple centuries–one you were both unwillingly born into. I liked and admired what I knew of him and only wish we had met the man sooner so you could've had more time together. Plus, didn't you once tell me Ethan said you bore a strong physical resemblance to his own mother, your great-grandma Cahill? So there's another connection to consider, and when you add it all up, feels like together, it's way more than whatever traits you may have inherited from the Preston and Keynes side of your family."

Wyatt caressed her soft cheek and praying he was on the right track here, swung for the fences. "Now, one last thing, sweetheart, I promise. There's an old saying about 'nature versus nurture' when raising kids. I know you've grieved over the fact that Henry Wallace was not your biological father like he was Amy's. You speak of him with such love that he must have been a really great dad. The thing is Lucy, whether the man ever knew or not in that time line, he loved and raised you to be an amazing person the same as your sister. And when you add it to the other stuff you got from your Cahill genes, there's zero chance you would be anything with our baby like Carol Preston was with you. And that's how I see it."

His voice trailed away as Wyatt rested his case and gave Lucy a chance to digest his explanation. He forced himself to be as patient as possible while his wife's brilliant mind chewed on the words for a minute or two, fervently hoping they'd been convincing enough. Just when Wyatt worried that maybe he'd failed and really messed things up, Lucy let out a wobbly breath, and gave him a beautiful smile–the one that was his alone, and Wyatt knew that somehow, he'd miraculously found the right thing to say after all.

Throwing her slender arms around him and holding on tight, she breathed against Wyatt's neck, "I love you so much. Thank you, for calming my irrational fears and easing my mind by helping me to see things from a different point of view–one that I'd never considered before. You are the sweetest, smartest, best husband ever, Wyatt Logan, and I know without a doubt you'll be an amazing father to our child..."

End Flashback

With a heartfelt sigh, Lucy lifted a sleepy, starting-to-fuss Amy into her arms and began rubbing her tiny back soothingly while she considered his question. Drawing a little closer to Wyatt, she offered him a somewhat apologetic smile. "I'm sorry to worry you, especially since you've worked so hard to make sure today was special–and so far, it really has been, I promise..." Before she could go on, Amy suddenly startled awake in Lucy's arms and began excitedly waving her chubby hands at Wyatt, who smiled and willingly made room on his lap for the baby, now snuggled contentedly against his chest. "Well, it would appear little Miss Amy would rather have her Daddy right now instead of Mommy," she complained good-naturedly. Lucy watched him with their daughters for a moment, a pensive expression on her face.

"Okay, not ignoring your question here, but first, in case I've been remiss in saying so, it makes me very happy to see that despite having some concerns early in my pregnancy, you are just incredible with these babies, Wyatt Logan, so patient and loving. While that doesn't surprise me in the least, I'm also impressed and okay, maybe a teeny bit jealous, too, if I'm being perfectly honest by how beautifully you've taken to being a father-of twins, no less," she confessed ruefully, laughing softly when he ducked his head in pleasure at her praise. But it seemed Lucy wasn't quite finished...

"While I'm sure this will probably feed your manly ego, you're no slouch as a husband either, which can be interpreted in oh so many interesting ways." Wyatt could feel his cheeks (along with other assorted parts of his body) start to heat up at the sexy, teasing note in his wife's voice and the naughty expression she wore. So unfair, Wyatt thought, considering his arms were full of babies and they weren't even inside the house right now. Damn...how long until Amy and Flynn went down for their afternoon naps?

Lucy's playful grin slowly faded as she regarded him solemnly. "And on a more serious note...not sure I ever told you afterwards what it meant to me at the time, how much I appreciated what you said the day I took the pregnancy test, but I really did...and still do because you and by extension, your opinion, mean everything to me, Wyatt. Thank you." Wyatt's chest tightened with a fierce emotion at the sweetly-expressed gratitude. Well, hell, now he just had to kiss her...

Carefully situating a now dozing Amy on his chest and holding firmly onto Flynn, who had lost interest in her teether and like her twin, was also falling asleep against his leg, Wyatt ignored the drowsy baby's little squeak of protest at being disturbed and leaned toward Lucy, who smirked at his deft maneuvering and moved in closer for the leisurely kiss. When they finally drew apart, he was pleased and humbled by the love shining in his wife's warm brown eyes–and full of masculine pride at the delicate blush stealing across her cheeks.

Clearing his throat quietly, Wyatt replied, "You're more than welcome. Always glad to be of service, Ma'am. C'mon, how could I not be there for you after the way you had confidence in me despite my obvious lack of parenting skills? If I seem to be holding my own with the twins, it's because you believed in me. And one more thing, Lucy–you should know me well enough by now to realize there's nothing I wouldn't do for you and our little girls." Wyatt had never in his life felt more strongly about anything as he did his love for Lucy, Amy, and Flynn.

Reaching out to lovingly push the wind-tousled hair off Wyatt's forehead (since his hands were full), Lucy gazed at him fondly. "And that's exactly why you deserve to know what's going on in my head right now. You're right, I have been thinking of my mother today, but not in the way you might imagine." She looked down at her new bracelet, idly running her fingertip over the tiny topaz birthstones before going on, "It's taken a lot of determination, but drawing strength from your unconditional love and support, I really feel as if I've worked through a good portion of the tangled mess of emotions I feel when it comes to my rather unfortunate relationship with the Rittenhouse version of Carol Preston."

Wyatt frowned in confusion, not quite sure what she was getting at. "But you said your mother..." he ventured cautiously, unwilling to push Lucy too hard, but to his relief, at the moment, she seemed fairly calm.

"I suppose the biggest excuse for me being sort of quiet today is because being a mom has me feeling a little homesick for my mother, the Carol Preston from the original time line who raised me and Amy. Don't get me wrong–she wasn't perfect and in certain ways, was actually very similar to the Carol murdered by Emma in 1888. Still, I've often wished you had met that person, Wyatt, because she was truly a force of nature. With that being said, however, as far as I can tell, as best as I can remember, I honestly don't think my mom was active Rittenhouse. She definitely wasn't the parent who schemed behind my back as I grew up, 'grooming' me to eventually lead some secret organization bent on taking over the world, or the woman who took me away from you and the rest of the team against my will and held me captive for six weeks, and she absolutely bore no resemblance to the power-hungry monster who deliberately erased her own child from existence...probably because of her supposedly inferior bloodlines," Lucy's voice rose and cracked painfully before she swallowed hard and fell silent when Amy stirred restlessly on Wyatt's lap.

The lingering anger and regret in his wife's voice, along with the tears welling up in her eyes once more was hard for Wyatt to tolerate, but even as he instinctively started to shift the babies off his lap to take her in his arms, Lucy shook her head as she absently at her damp cheeks.

"Sorry," she said with a shaky smile after taking a few seconds to compose herself. "Just when I think the grief over Amy and resentment toward Carol 2.0 is under control, those damn negative emotions occasionally crop up when I least expect them–all sharp and painful and frankly, exhausting to deal with." Pausing long enough to skillfully pick up Flynn without waking her, Lucy placed the baby on her shoulder and met Wyatt's concerned gaze squarely.

"I was well aware before we married you're trying hard to manage a few demons of your own, Wyatt, and so I never wanted to burden you with mine. That's why from the day we left the bunker, I've done my best to move past those feelings, focus my attention on first you and our life together, and then the girls once they were born. I'm not always successful at doing that, so I remind myself that in the original time line, even if my mom was Rittenhouse by blood, she clearly loved my dad enough to step away from those people and their crazy agenda, to choose him and the good, rewarding life they made together."

Her forlorn admission made Wyatt's heart ache. Lucy was one of the bravest, strongest women he'd ever known, and he was so grateful to be her husband. Noting that the twins were now fast asleep, Wyatt decided it was probably past time to carry them inside before continuing the conversation if Lucy wanted to do that.

"We probably need to get these little ones in their cribs, Mommy, but before we go inside, I want you to know how proud I am of you. You are a fighter, Lucy. Hell, I knew that within an hour of meeting you. Takes an incredibly strong person to handle all the awful stuff life has thrown at you time and again and yet remain kind and generous and most of all, loving. Our daughters couldn't wish for a better mother than you. You, Lucy, are the living, beating heart of this beautiful family we've created, and I am so damn grateful every single day that I had the good sense to fall in love with you, and by some miracle, you love me, too. Thank you for being my wife and the mother of my children. Happy Mother's Day, sweetheart."

Later that evening after the girls were tucked in for the night and Lucy had fallen asleep in his arms after very properly showing Wyatt her appreciation for his efforts (twice), he reflected on what an amazing day it had turned out to be. Sure, having a long, emotional discussion about any version of Carol Preston hadn't been part of his plans for celebrating Lucy's special day, but luckily, it actually turned out to be exactly what he hadn't even known his wife had needed...and Wyatt was more than happy to take the win...

"A mother's love is the heart of the family." - Unknown

A/N #2: Wow! This story, inspired by the Mother's Day holiday, kind of got away from me and ended up being about twice as long as I originally intended. Oops! In my defense, I was really interested in what it might've taken for Lucy to move past the emotional trauma Rittenhouse put her through to become the happy, confident wife and mother we saw in the movie epilogue. (Naturally, it's a safe bet Wyatt played a big part in that transformation!) As always, my deep appreciation to all of you who are hopefully still enjoying Timeless fanfics as much as I enjoy writing them. If any of you are wondering about when I will post a new chapter of First Steps, I have the next one (the 50th) around halfway done and hope to finish it soon. Thanks for reading, my friends :))