Alternate Lives

Summary: Whether by choice or by fate, Lucy and Wyatt always find each other, no matter the timeline.

Disclaimer: I don't own Timeless or any other original work (TV, film, book or other) referenced in these one shots.

Pairing: Wyatt/Lucy, some Jiya/Rufus

Chapter Rating: T

Warnings: This is completely AU, and not proof-read by a beta. All mistakes are mine.

Chapter 2: On Tour

"Come on, you've got all your life to be an old man," Bam-Bam teased him, one hand on his elbow leading him out into the still burning evening air. It was even worse than inside, since at least there had been shade. The sun was setting though, so the air would cool down considerably in a little while. Finally some relief from that godawful desert heat. One would think they'd be used to it by now, having been here for months now and already having served in all kinds of climates, including Middle Eastern heat. Still, both men blinked for a moment when they first emerged into the sunlight. Wyatt tried to extricate himself from his friend to return to the comfortable quiet of his bunk, but Bam-Bam wasn't having any of it. Neither were his other two Delta buddies, Rick and Walter. Between the three of them they managed to tease, push, cajole and outright drag a reluctant Wyatt to the improvised stage some of the other grunts had helped set up that morning.

"Come on, old-timer, what's the worst that could happen to you? That you have some fun?" Rick added for good measure, pinching Wyatt's cheek like a toddlers and earning him a warning growl from the man. "God forbid, the world might end."

Wyatt rolled his eyes, while they kept him moving toward the already sizable mass of green-clad bodies awaiting that evening's show. He surveyed the crowd. It looked almost like the entire base had turned up. Not surprising, as entertainment was still a relatively rare commodity on deployment. If he also added in that there would be some unknown (that is, civilian) women for the men to ogle or try to woo, he was surprised anyone was still on duty at all. Though as he got another look, he realized he wasn't the only one who hadn't been interested in attending. There were few women on base, and even fewer among the spectators. He guessed watching barely legal dolled up half-naked girls can-can-ing across the stage wasn't their cup of tea either. Still, some came for the band that was supposed to play later, and he guessed he could do his buddies the favor of sticking it out with them until then.

When they finally managed to get Wyatt to move his own two feet in the right direction, Bam-Bam, who'd been practically walking backward till then, turned around. Wyatt was about to warn him as a small form flitted through the crowd and would collide with him, but then it was already too late. The two walked straight into each other and, as was to be expected, the lighter one got thrown off course and straight into the middle of their little throng of Delta boys. Wyatt caught her just in time before she could end up nose first on the ground. Dainty hands grabbed onto the first things they could reach, which happened to be his arm as it steadied her and his army issue shirt, right at his collar, while a mass of untamed (definitely not regulation) dark curls flew in his face.

She took a moment to steady herself, grasping onto him with more strength than he would otherwise expect from such small hands. As soon as she had regained her balance, she abruptly extricated herself from him with a rush of hastened apologies. Wyatt blinked in slight confusion as the soft digits graced his throat. Not calloused like he expected from a soldier's hard work, and he figured she must work as a secretary (sorry, personal assistant) or some other such pencil pushing job. Behind her Bam-Bam was uttering his own apologies for not watching where he was going and walking right into her; and was she alright; did she need anything; maybe he could offer her a drink. Wyatt had only seen bits and pieces of her face due to first strands of her hair hiding it and then her turning toward his friend, but he could tell she was blushing bright scarlet at the whole situation and had trouble meeting everyones' eyes.

"But it's the gentlemanly thing to do after I practically plowed you over," Bam-Bam was still arguing in favor of buying her a drink or something.

She shook her head gently.

"It's really not necessary. It was just an accident and, really, I should have paid closer attention too. You had your back turned, you couldn't have known I was on collision course," she responded with a sheepish smile.

Bam-Bam pouted, while Rick and Walt were beginning to shake their heads.

"Just ask my man Wyatt here, he'll tell you it's my duty. To make things right." As Bam-Bam patted him on the shoulder to secure his support, the woman fully turned to him for the first time. Wyatt only just managed not to suck in a breath; she was gorgeous. Her dark curls framed a noble face with expressive dark brown eyes. She wore no make up that he could see and still her skin looked almost luminescent. For a moment, he was taken aback by her presence, and even more so by the effect it had on him. Part of him wanted to invite her to a drink himself, but he squashed that thought as soon as it came to him unbidden. Suddenly, she wasn't a pretty stranger, but just another distraction. A doll his friends might try to set him up with, because they though he needed to get out more… Then he realized what she was wearing. Uniform shirt and trousers like theirs, but her shirt was untucked and her feet weren't in boots but rather in a pair of small gold flats. Hardly appropriate footwear for the desert and certainly not for a military base. Wyatt frowned; it was true that the officers cut their men some slack during these events, but something bugged him about her flaunting of the rules.

"Those shoes are hardly regulation," he said as his frown deepened. "Neither is that hair. And the shirt should be tucked in. You should really fix yourself before some of the officers see you."

His buddies looked at him like he'd gone insane. Maybe he had; he wasn't normally so standoffish, and, really, it wasn't her fault that he was suddenly in such a foul mood. The woman blinked rapidly a few times, clearly confused by his irritation. She opened her mouth as if to protest, but then decided better on it. With a small scoff, she stood up straight and saluted him.

"Sir, yes, sir." The words may have been appropriate but her tone was amused, almost sarcastic. "I'll go change right away."

With that, she made her way out of their middle, throwing a quick thanks for catching her earlier over her shoulder. The group of men watched her go until she'd disappeared into the crowd. Then all three of them turned on Wyatt, who had no explanation for his bad manners and just shrugged back at them.

"I think you might need a new nickname if this is a permanent change in attitude, Marshal," Bam-Bam pointed out.

"Yeah, how about Jekyll-"

"-or better Hyde," Rick and Walt added, their faces caught somewhere between a frown and a grin.

They went ahead to find places, leaving Wyatt for a moment with his thoughts. He knew they were right. That had been no way to treat a lady, or a fellow soldier. He would have to find her later and apologize. Though he hadn't recognized her, had never noticed her on base before and had no idea what her name was, he figured she couldn't be too difficult to find. There weren't that many women on base after all, and someone like her would stand out. One of the guys would know who she was; after all, he was sure he'd never forget that face.

As it turned out, he didn't have to wait that long… to want the earth to swallow him up. Because after the first stretch of the show consisting of cheerleading acrobatics was finished, and the follow-up comedian (whatever his name was) had gotten a few laughs in, the mood changed to something less wild and more… homesick, Wyatt supposed, as the band made their entry to fill another hour with original songs and covers for the troops to sing along. He heard Bam-Bam laughing before he realized that the stunningly beautiful dark-haired woman in a floor-length white and gold dress and, hidden beneath it, matching shoes was none other than the 'soldier' he'd sent to get changed. Walt and Rick soon joined in, the latter having to balance himself with a hand on Wyatt's shoulder to keep upright, and even Wyatt had to chuckle a little at his mishap at that point if only because she really would be easy to find.

He rubbed a hand over his face in embarrassment as he listened to her angelic voice rise over the assembled crowd. That wasn't all the mic's doing, he figured as the soft tunes of a classic song drifted over them. He wouldn't have expected her to have such a powerful voice given her soft-spoken words earlier, but then he'd thought her a meek, albeit pretty, secretary at the time, so he'd been completely off anyway. Wyatt closed his eyes and let the music wash over him. The band had a surprising repertoire. Their original songs were clearly based on the classy music of the forties and fifties, but they mixed it up with modern rock covers, for which the singer brought out a raspy note to her already impressive voice, and some current top ten successes. They had the entire audience's rapt attention during their performance and soon even the most battle-hardened soldiers (among them, namely Wyatt and cohorts) were swaying in time with their songs.

At the end of the performance Wyatt watched carefully when the singer made her exit, and moved to catch up with her.

TimelessTimelessTimeless

The evening was a full success, Lucy decided when she finally made it off the stage after a few encore performances as requested by their troops. When Nancy had first suggested contacting AFE, Norbert, Tim and her had been a bit unsure. They were a small Bay Area band of moderate success that they could live by, but they were hardly nationwide renowned artists. The army would have no idea who they were, but Nancy had made a good point that it could gain them some further popularity and it was something they could do to help US troops, even in such a small way. So they had put out some feelers to AFE, and ended up going on a bit of a world tour. It was immensely exciting to Lucy as she had once studied history and anthropology, to visit all these different places.

Though she got little time to explore, and absolutely strict no-leaving-the-base orders for Afghanistan (which she minded only slightly given the many crises in the region), she still enjoyed observing how the American communities the military had created were influenced by little pieces of local culture. Like a local game people adopted or a local specialty the supply officers knew better than to forget getting lest they wanted to risk a riot. In this place, Lucy thought, some good old-fashioned American air conditioning would been a heaven sent. Between the lime lights and the 100 degree weather, which barely seemed to cool down in the evening, she was sweaty and tired and after almost 2 hours of singing even her voice could use some R&R. Her friends must have thought so too, because they sent her ahead despite her protests continued to play a bit longer to let people keep swaying to the music. They seemed to enjoy the chance to relax. So lost in her thoughts was she that Lucy didn't notice the approaching footsteps until there was an arm around her shoulders and she was being turned around to face two soldiers.

"'Lo, pretty," one of them slurred a little.

Great, Lucy thought. And here she'd thought soldiers weren't allowed to drink on base. The slur wasn't too pronounced so she figured he still knew what he was doing. Small blessings.

"You have the voice of an angel."

"Thanks."

"Come have a few drinks with us," the second one said. Lucy couldn't tell if that was supposed to be a suggestion or an order. Either way, they didn't wait for a reply as the first began to draw her along with them back the way she'd come.

"Uh, sorry, boys, but I'm tired."

"That should never stand in the way of a drink in good company," the one with his arm around her told her.

"Yeah, come on, it's rude to refuse," the other one added.

"Maybe some other time," she offered with reluctance. She just wanted to go to sleep, but she didn't want to be rude. After all, she was here to support them - just not in drinking.

"Let us walk you to your quarters, then." And they changed direction with her in tow.

"Really, that won't be necessary. I know-" Lucy finally wriggle free, and managed to evade the hand that tried to grab hold of her again.

"Nonsense, can't have pretty girl like you go about alone at night."

"Anything could happen."

"The lady already declined your services, now don't make asses out of yourselves," a new voice spoke up. Lucy looked up to find her earlier savior come to save her once more. God, she was hardly a damsel in distress, but she could kiss him for happening upon them right then. She noticed from the corner of her eye that the two soldiers stood at attention all of a sudden.

"Yes, Master Sargent, sir," they snapped out and saluted. A stern look made them turn to Lucy once more.

"Sorry, ma'am, didn't mean to bother you."

"Yeah, sorry, ma'am."

She gulped, but nodded in acknowledgement, and they turned back to their superior.

"The lady will be fine without you now. Go," the master sergeant told them. When they left immediately, Lucy breathed a sigh of relief. As she watched, the commanding look on his face turned apologetic. "And now I owe you an apology; for being an ass earlier. I didn't realize you were a civilian, but that's no excuse. I don't know what came over me, and I'm sorry I… uh… mistreated you."

Lucy blinked in surprise.

"Well, you came to my rescue again just now, so I think you've evened out the balance," she told him teasingly. Then an even more mischievous smirk graced her lips as she did a little twirl for him. "So, do I pass inspection now, sir?"

Wyatt couldn't help but grin sheepishly. He was a little surprised, but also very glad that she didn't hold a grudge. If she could joke about it, maybe she didn't think he was a total douchebag. So he played along, giving her a scrutinizing once-over. For the full effect, he walked a slow circle around her inspecting every detail. From afar, her dress had simply shimmered white and gold to him, but now he could see how the loose cut dress slimmed around her waist and her skirt fell straight to the ground. How the wide sleeves narrowed on her lower arms, fitting themselves against her like a second skin. He could see the gold thread embroidery more clearly and suddenly spotted the long gold chain that disappeared into her modest collar. The dress was something out of the past, a classy piece of evening wear that seemed completely misplaced in this desert, but, he found, suited her tall, lean frame perfectly. Looking at her more closely he could tell that she would look good in just about anything.

"Yes, ma'am," he told her simply.

"Glad to meet your approval after all, Master Sargent."

"Yes, ma'am, very much." He winked.

She rolled her eyes.

"You know, we're pretty much the same age so you can stop calling me ma'am."

"I'd need to know your name first… ma'am."

She narrowed her eyes at him, while he smirked in defiance. Slowly, she extended a hand. "I'm Lucy Preston."

"Wyatt Logan," he replied, grasping her hand. "Nice to finally make your acquaintance…" At this point, they shared a quick grin, but Wyatt sobered up quickly as he thought about their current circumstances. "And I'm sorry about those two. They should have taken the hint."

She shrugged as if it hadn't been the first time she had experienced something like it, and his heart gave a twist as he thought about that.

"Not every man does. I imagine it's worse in the milita- I mean, uh, sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No, you're right. Still a boys' club. Too much testosterone going around."

"Still sorry. After all, you prove that machismo isn't all army men's default mode."

Wyatt barked out a laugh at that. She fell in with him, her laughter ringing lighter than his. Even though she'd been tired enough to drop, now she found she didn't want this moment to end. Wyatt really was good company and he listened well. His presence was warm and safe, and made her calm down much faster after that uncomfortable moment than if she'd be startling at every noise and shadow wondering if the two men followed her to her quarters after all. Lucy and Wyatt moved to lean on a few nearby crates, standing only a few inches apart. For a while all they did was look up at the stars together. They were strangely comfortable beside each other, even though they'd just met. They didn't feel the need to make small talk or pointless conversation to fill the silence. Still, when Wyatt pointed out a few of the constellations he knew, he had Lucy's rapt attention. It was an unexpected pleasure to listen to him tell her about how his Grandpa Sherwin had taken him camping and taught him how to read the night sky.

"Oh, I bet that helped you charm all the girls at your school. You must have had them lined up around the block for a chance to take you to prom."

Wyatt chuckled.

"Actually, I got caught drinking on school grounds and was banned from coming to the prom."

"That makes two of us- well, I wasn't banned, but I didn't go to prom either. I… I waited 40 minutes for my date and, when he didn't show, I chose to go to a debating contest I'd already signed up for anyway, rather than go to prom alone," she admitted with a small self-deprecating shrug. She ended up looking down at her hands in her lap. Suddenly, a warm hand covered hers. She looked up at him, steely blue eyes shining with conviction.

"I'm sorry some asshole ruined prom for you. The guy who stood you up was an idiot."

Lucy chuckled.

"He was actually. Paid to copy the homework of one of the smart guys."

"Then why-"

She shrugged with some embarrassment.

"He was popular and he'd asked me out. Me. I was a nerd, still am, really. I was so flattered by the attention, I- oh" She huffed angrily at herself. Wyatt's hand squeezed hers reassuringly, and her embarrassment and irritation faded away. She clasped it in both of hers gratefully, and, for the first time, he noticed the slight tan line on her ring finger for the first time.

He removed his hand nodded at it, drawing her attention there.

"Oh, I didn't bring it on tour. " She cringed as she said it. She knew how that sounded. She already felt the loss of his warmth and shivered.

"Not that your dismissal shouldn't have been enough, but wearing your engagement ring might have made them back off easier."

"Maybe, but Noah isn't…" She sighed. "Noah and I are… kind of on a break."

"From an engagement? Sounds more like a break up."

"That was the idea," she admitted. "I tried to return the ring before coming here, but Noah asked me to give us more thought. He wanted me to take this time away to think about… us. To maybe see that we should give it another shot. And he was so- you should have seen his eyes! I know he loves me and I couldn't… I couldn't just refuse him, so I said I'd think about it. I figured if I missed him while I was here…"

She was surprised at how easy it was to talk to him about something so private. They had spent less than an hour together, but when she looked into his eyes, she felt almost like she'd always known him, across a million lives and times. The determination, courage and caring that shone in his gaze were like a familiar comforting blanket that wrapped her in the warmth and security of their unexpected bond.

She trailed off, and Wyatt took her hand again. He'd been unexpectedly disappointed when he'd first realized that she must have someone waiting at home. It had felt wrong to hold her hand then, but now that he knew the tough spot she was in, he couldn't deny her a little comfort, and it made him feel better to be able to offer it as well. From what he could tell, she had the kindest heart he'd ever seen. Even though she must have thought long and hard before she decided that she wanted to break it off, she'd relented and promised this Noah that she'd think about it again. Just to spare his feelings. It sounded like she was putting herself through some suffering just so she didn't have to hurt the other man. It was very impressive, and also a little worrying to Wyatt. She shouldn't have to suffer for someone else's peace of mind.

"And do you? Miss him?"

Lucy fidgeted with her hands in his, clasping it tightly as if to anchor herself. She looked up at the sky, maybe for a solution, then back down to the ground beneath her feet. She finally shook her head in response to his question and he gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"Then I think you should let him go to be with the one he is supposed to be with. And so you can find who you're supposed to be with."

Lucy looked up at him in surprise. Supposed to be with… She hadn't taken him as someone who believed in fated love, but then she was reminded how little she knew him. Not at all, really, and here she was, bothering a complete stranger with her love life. Or lack thereof. She ducked her head in an embarrassed manner. Before she could say anything, apologize maybe, the breeze picked up and she shivered. He noticed, of course, and stood up, offering her his hand.

When she took it and stood up, she expected him to drop her hand and send her along to her cot, but instead he pulled her closer to him. Slowly, giving her every chance to back away if she didn't want this, he put his other arm around her and began to sway her gently to the quiet music that carried over from the distance. For a moment, Lucy forgot to breathe. She was tucked tight against his chest, nestled in the warmth of his arms as he led her to dance in small circles on the spot. She relaxed quickly, despite her heat still beating excitedly in her chest, leaning on him more and placing her cheek against his shoulder. Her nose just barely brushed his throat and, as she inhaled, she could smell the desert air on him as well as a spicy scent underneath that was uniquely his. She could get used to this.

Wyatt didn't know why he had pulled her into a dance. His intention when he'd seen her shiver from the breeze had been to offer to walk her back to her quarters, maybe tuck her close so she could benefit from his warmth. When he'd pulled her up, he must have used a little to much strength, and had thus ended up pulling her into him. Between the soft music dancing in the air and the firm weight of her, he hadn't been able to resist. So he tucked her a little closer still, and began to shuffle slowly over the dusty ground. He hoped she wouldn't notice that he was barely moving them at all and really only trying to keep her close. Lucy had only just dropped into his life and already he felt a deep connection with her. It reminded him of when he'd met Jessica, his first love. He'd felt as if struck by lightening. He looked down at Lucy as she snuggled herself into his chest. A little thrill ran through him when he thought that she might feel a little bit of what was running through his head. As he glanced down at her dark hair shimmering in the dim light, he realized that this wasn't another lightening bolt. It wasn't love at first sight with Lucy. Instead he could feel the rumble of a summer storm approaching down the road. He knew without the shadow of a doubt…

"You could become the most important person in my life," he murmured without thinking.

With a small gasp she looked up at him.

"I've never felt such a connection with anyone before." she admitted to him.

His heart skipped a beat at her admission. He looked into her dark, expressive eyes and saw that his words had touched her deeply too.

"Maybe this is what we talked about earlier. About finding…" She struggled to finish that sentence, not wanting to scare him, but she really had never felt so close with a perfect stranger before, and she couldn't just ignore that. "Maybe we were supposed to find each other."

"I believe we choose our own fate." He looked a little embarrassed as she studied him, probably trying to decide if he'd just been offering her a platitude earlier. Still, she didn't step away from him and he'd count that as a win. Both his hands were at her hips now and he began rubbing slow, comforting circles with his thumbs.

"Well," she offered with a small smile, "Fate or coincidence, we're here now. What do you choose to do about it, soldier?"

Wyatt breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled. He pulled her a little tighter to himself.

"I chose to dance with you; what about you?"

She scrunched up her nose endearingly at his obvious evasion. Then she stood up on her tip toes and kissed him under the starlit night sky, and he had to admit that was a pretty good choice.

End

A/N: I figured if Lucy had followed her dream with her band, this is how they might have met. Truth be told, I know nothing about events such as these, so I just used my imagination.