Alternate Lives

by Mayet

Whether by choice or by fate, Lucy and Wyatt always find each other, no matter the timeline. A series of one-shots exploring their dynamics in various possible realities (from missing scenes to completely AU). Rating to be safe. Disclaimer: I don't own Timeless or anything else (books, film/TV, characters or quotes etc.) that is referenced in these stories.

3. Date Night

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

Rated: T

Warnings: I'm not sure if this is the longest one shot I've ever written, but it's certainly up there. So, please, take breaks, and keep food and drinks readily available before you settle in to read this "novel". For some reason, this idea just ran away with me and left me writing and writing and writing. I could have written more, in fact, bur eventually I decided I had to draw a line. If you're wondering, the idea was: Lucy really needs a date for a Stanford party, and Jiya has an insane idea! ;)

Chapter 3: Date Night

That first night as he walked her to her door, he could feel the tension rising. The closer they came to the door, the more her stomach twisted up in knots. He could tell by the way she fumbled with her purse as soon as he'd helped her out of the car, rather than when wait till they reached the porch. In her nervousness she seemed to take forever to find the keys, rummaging around her purse with increasingly frantic movements and cursing slightly under her breath. If he looked at her, a curtain of dark curls would be obscuring his view of the flush on her face. No doubt getting darker with every step. He'd realized pretty quickly the other day that Lucy was a ball of nerves in unfamiliar situations where she didn't know what to expect or how to take control. Which was ironic given that he was literally there to follow where she led. If it hadn't been obvious before that she'd never done anything of the sort, it certainly would be now. She was the one pulling the strings, but was somehow worried he might have expectations.

When they finally got to the front door and she still hadn't managed to retrieve her keys, Wyatt calmly took the purse from her. Lucy looked up at him in a brief moment of shock and further embarrassment, but let him take it without resistance. For a moment he could see her cheeks were tinged a pretty pink color, then she ducked her head again to avoid his gaze. Wyatt unhurriedly retrieved her keys from the bottom of the messy pile that filled her purse, likely created in her desperate attempt to find them in the first place. Lucy snatched the offending keys from him without even looking up, and mumbled a quiet thanks. She hastily moved toward the door, but her hand trembled so badly that she couldn't fit the keys in the lock. She let out a frustrated growl until Wyatt gently lay his hand over hers. She froze instantly, her grip on the keys tightened, and he could feel her gaze on him event through the curls covering her face. He squeezed her hand once, trying to instill some of his calm and confidence in her as he turned her around to face him.

"This can't work if you're afraid of me, Lucy. I could recommend someone else, but I don't think that-"

"I'm not afraid of you, Wyatt. I'm not," she repeated stubbornly when he cast her a dubious look. She finally looked up at him, her jaw set.

"Your nerves say otherwise," he pointed out.

She flushed a deep scarlet.

"It's not… uh… I just, I'm not used to…such an arrangement. I've never…"

She fell silent, not sure how to express what was going on in her head. When Jiya first suggested hiring someone to accompany her to the spring celebration at Stanford, Lucy had laughed the idea off. Her? Hire a guy? Really, she had thought Jiya might have actually lost it. Her boyfriend Rufus had apparently thought so, too, because he'd practically snorted his coffee all over their lunch table at the cafeteria. When Lucy and Jiya were done making disgusted noises while the engineering professor hastily tried to clean up his mess, the idea was somehow stuck in Lucy's head even after her quick dismissal. It attached itself to the back of her mind like a leech for the rest of the day, even during her lecture on the little known women who shaped history she was somewhat distracted by a part of her trying to figure out the logistics of such an arrangement. How did one even find an escort? After all, Lucy hardly thought one could just put an ad in the newspaper or browse the local phone book for such a thing. Or maybe you could? She was honestly lost.

In the end, she blamed Jonas, her Department Chair and short-lived, tenure-stealing boyfriend, for actually considering the idea. On the way back to her office to grade some papers before going home, she just had to run into him, and he just had to remind her of the department's little spring get together.

"I know the tenure thing was a blow and that it's not that much fun when you're all by yourself, but I hope you can make it anyway," he had told her smugly.

"Actually, I'm bringing a date," she had heard herself respond, and though she cursed herself inwardly for putting herself in a damn corner, she'd turned on her heel and left. Of course, she'd had a mild panic attack by the time she realized the full extent of what she'd committed herself to. Either she tried to find a date for the party the classical way, which with less than a week to go and her social ineptness would require nothing short of a miracle, or she'd have to make some kind of excuse for her date or both of them not being there, and Lucy was, generally speaking, a really bad liar. So when she had sat down at her own kitchen table with no memory of driving home, and her panic attack had at least partially subsided, she did the only thing she could think of; she called Jiya. After all, if she had suggested it, she must know how to go about it, right? Unless she had suggested it only in jest. Something that seemed very likely when she got a full minute of silence on the phone after she had explained that she wanted to hire an escort after all. Thankfully, clever Jiya - connected Jiya - had actually known just who to reach out to, though how she knew Wyatt Logan she had kept to herself, no matter how much Rufus pestered her even while she was on the phone with Lucy.

The first meeting had been relatively simple. Wyatt wanted to get to know his potential clients prior to taking them on to see if they fit, or if he should recommend a colleague. Lucy was sure the blush she continuously wore that morning in the café had gone a shade deeper as he mentioned colleagues, even though it was a perfectly normal assumption that he'd have connections with others in his profession. Maybe even worked together with them, and no, she had preferred not to go there. Luckily, he'd sensed her nervousness then as he did now and suggested they take their coffees to go, taking her on a tour of a nearby park area till they reached a semi-secluded bench to talk a little more. Talking helped, Lucy had found. Surely it would help her now, too, if only she could get the words out. So she took a deep breath and decided to just get it out there.

"I'm not naive. I know what women usually hire escorts for, or well, maybe not usually, but I know it can involve other… uh, serv- activities than just escorting them to a party, and I… I mean, yeah, I wanted to show up my ex, or, or, you know, show him I have moved on - which I have, even if I'm not, ugh!" She huffed in frustration, still unable to look at him for more than a split second. "Nothing's coming out right. I'm sorry, I-"

Thankfully, Wyatt took it upon himself to stop her from rambling before she could start up again. He set her purse down on the swing chair behind him, took her keys from her and opened the door. Then he replaced her keys into the purse, but didn't give it back to her just yet. Instead he held out his hand to her. Lucy swallowed, wondering if he intended to lead her inside after she'd just explained, or tried to, that she hadn't hired him for other things, but Wyatt had this inexplicable ability to make her feel safe. She trusted him. With no explanation or reason, she trusted him. So she laid her hand in his. He didn't lead her inside, he didn't move them at all, except to raise her chin with his other hand so she would look at him.

"I've been hired to be arm candy, to play the doting or jealous or less successful boyfriend. I've also been hired to keep away unwanted male attention from a group of girlfriends who just wanted a ladies' night out at the local bar, to watch a lady's drinks or escort her safely home because the streets are still dangerous at night for a woman alone. And yes, sometimes my jobs extended to, shall we say, overnight visits. And I enjoy them," he admitted bluntly. "So, you know, I'm not opposed to offering you those other activities."

Wyatt watched as Lucy's face turned the same deep burgundy color of her dress, and he didn't miss the way her eyes roved over him just once, assessing what he had to offer. It was only natural that she would look. She was a straight, hot-blooded woman after all. She wanted as much as anyone else. He smirked with a certain satisfaction, though, that he could get even someone as straight-laced and, currently, embarrassed as Lucy to give him an appreciative once-over. He felt a little responding flutter of male pride in his chest, especially when she realized he had seen her take him in. When Lucy cast her eyes down at being caught, his grip on her chin tightened momentarily and he ran his thumb over her skin where he could reach to remind her to look at him. Incidentally, that meant his thumb brushed over her lips, which wrung a soft gasp from Lucy at the unexpected touch. Her lips parted and remained invitingly open as he gazed down at her, his line of thought almost lost as the urge to kiss her, all else be damned, became almost overwhelming. With a deep breath, he reluctantly focused himself back on the reassurance he had meant to offer her.

"I am literally on your time and dime here, Lucy. It's all up to you. We can say goodnight here on your porch, or even in the car next time and I'll just wait till you've made it safely inside. Or if you just don't want the night to end and talk a little longer we can sit down on your porch swing and talk. Or if you invite me in for a nightcap, we can go in and have a drink," he reassured her softly.

A slow smile spread over Lucy's face as she nestled it into his hand. When he'd moved it from her chin to her cheek, Wyatt didn't know, but he welcomed the pressure of her warm skin against his palm nonetheless. She was quite something. At first he'd thought she probably needed someone else. Someone from a more academic background than him, but the more Lucy told him about herself, the more he realized what a fascinatingly complex woman sat in front of him. When she told him about her situation with her boss and the tenure meeting, he felt himself get unexpectedly angry on her behalf. Taking her to the spring festival had been a done deal at that point. And when he watched her move through the crowd, professors charmed by her presence and students enthusiastic about their next class with her, he began to hope that this wouldn't be a one-time deal. After all, she needed to keep up the charade for Jonas at least for a few more faculty events or something, right?

"Okay." He was so caught up in his own reminiscing, he almost missed her answer.

"Okay?" He wanted to make sure he'd gotten though to her through all her nerves.

"Yeah."

TimelessTimelessTimelessTimelessTimelessTimeless

An ex-boyfriend's sour look was always a bonus, Wyatt decided the second time Lucy hired him. They were at the faculty BBQ for the Fourth of July and when he turned up arm in arm with the pretty professor, he could feel Jonas' disapproving glare on him almost instantly. Wyatt positively gloated as he and Lucy deposited their contributions to the potluck. Due to her lack of culinary skills, this consisted in a salad on Lucy's part, but Wyatt had made the effort to marinate a good five pounds of tasty meats in homemade BBQ-sauce. Lucy's eyes had been the size of saucers when she saw, and he'd shyly admitted that the recipe was one of the few things he had left of his mom. Lucy had immediately moved to envelop him in a hug, the bone-crushing kind Wyatt wasn't used to and didn't expect to receive from women Lucy's size. He'd been so surprised, he'd almost let the meat container drop. After he'd stood in her door for a minute like an idiot, he had finally realized he could hug her back - and that she probably wasn't going to let go until he did. So he had wrapped his arms around her as best as he could with the upper ware in his hands and pressed himself as close to her as she pressed herself to him, taking in the rich scent that emanated from her skin.

Even now, he still kept an arm around her as they made their rounds. He could feel Jonas' eyes following them, though Lucy was thankfully completely oblivious to the mousy little man's interest. How that asshole had ever managed to land a woman like Lucy and then still screwed it up so phenomenally was beyond Wyatt. Lucy was smart and kind, passionate about her work and really good at it. She was funny and genuinely cared about everyone, it seemed. And she wasn't exactly hard to look at either. A man could only hope to be so lucky to deserve a classy lady like Lucy, and that moron had cheated on her. Wyatt felt himself pull Lucy a little closer under Jonas' scrutinizing gaze and gave a little scoff into her hair. Lucy looked up from her conversation with another couple for a moment, but Wyatt just shook his head slightly, covering his straying thoughts with a kiss to her temple that had the elderly retired professors across from them give a little coo of longing and satisfaction at seeing young love. Lucy's nose twitched as she flushed at her own lie unfolding, so Wyatt's easy smile and gratitude saved the day again. Meanwhile, Jiya snickered as she and Rufus joined them at just the right moment to hear that comment. Wyatt cast her a warning glance.

"Thank you, it's still very new," Wyatt told the older couple without batting an eyelash. "We're both still a bit nervous about it, you know."

"Oh, yes," the woman, Margaret, answered. "That honeymoon phase when you're still finding each other, oh that's the best part. Hold on to it as long as possible."

"We will," Wyatt murmured with a glance at Lucy, who had buried her face against his shoulder. "You don't need to look so embarrassed. I'm not that bad a catch."

He was only teasing her, of course, but her face shot up from his shoulder in alarm and he immediately felt the loss of its pressure.

"No, I-"

"Relax, Lucy, I'm kidding."

She eased back a little, and bit her lip.

"O-Okay," she mumbled with a rueful grin. "I'm too tightly wound, I know. Jonas- uh, he said so, too."

Wyatt frowned. Jiya glared at him, not that he noticed. He was too preoccupied with Lucy's sudden change in mood.

"He's an idiot," he proclaimed with confidence. "You're not tightly wound, Lucy. You like to be in control, there's nothing wrong with that. And you don't like people thinking, wrongly, that you think badly of them. That's actually very kind, kinder than I've seen in a while."

Lucy looked at him in surprise for a moment. She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted when another man joined their little group.

"I think I remember you from the spring festival. I don't think we had the pleasure then, though. Jonas Drummond, Head of the History Department here at Stanford. Basically I'm Lucy's boss," the man introduced himself much to Wyatt's chagrin, a hand held out in his direction which Wyatt figured he'd have to take so as not to jeopardize Lucy's position.

"Master Sargent Wyatt Logan, US Army Reserves," he offered along with a short, but firm handshake. He put more pressure in it than strictly necessary, not enough to hurt the little man, but enough that he'd notice.

"Oh, a reservist," Margaret's husband Paul asked. "I served too."

"An honor to meet you, sir. I did a couple of tours in Afghanistan… and Syria," Wyatt replied seriously, and the two men shook hands. Quite a bit more enthusiastically than he and Jonas had, too. Lucy looked on in fascination as his arm fell away from her, seeing whole new sides to Wyatt that left her wondering about what else was underneath her soldier's confident surface.

"Your lady seems a bit surprised, Master Sargent. Have you been keeping secrets from her already?" Jiya teased him, and he had the good grace to flush. Lucy knew that he'd been in the army, but she knew little more.

"It's not something that easily comes up in conversation and as I can barely talk about it for security reasons, I didn't want to burden Lucy with incomplete details." He rubbed a hand across the back of his head in embarrassment.

"You listen to me, son, and tell her what you can. Else these things will weigh your relationship down until it drowns, young man," Paul advised grimly.

"Yes, sir. I'll try to do better," Wyatt promised easily while Lucy grasped his hand reassuringly. It was clear that this was getting a little too real and personal for a charade even for him. So she held tightly onto his hand and squeezed his arm with the other one. He looked down at her gratefully, and a moment passed in which they simply stared into each other's eyes.

Paul nodded solemnly.

"What do you do now? Are you doing okay?" Rufus asked.

"Private security work," Wyatt replied, not even lying as he did some freelance work for his buddy Bam-Bam's security company and, as he'd told Lucy, he had been hired to ensure his clients' safety before. "Decent work, keeps me engaged and my skills sharp, and pays well. Can't ask for more."

"An army man? Well, well, I wouldn't have taken you to be Lucy's type. Being an academic, I would have thought she prefers brains over brawn."

"Jonas!" Lucy exclaimed, horrified. She knew he could be an asshole when things didn't go his way (cf their separation), but she'd have never thought that he would lash out at her date - well, escort, not that he knew that - in public. She fumed; how dare he?! How dare he diminish Wyatt's accomplishments in the army. She didn't know much about the military, but she knew master sergeant wasn't a rank they just handed out as a party gift. None of them could ever understand what Wyatt must have gone through, must have seen and done and sacrificed for his country to get there. A little book worm like Jonas, or even herself, didn't get to drag that through the mud. "Wyatt is an accomplished serviceman. He defended his country. He's the reason you and I can live - and research - in peace. How dare you talk to him that way?! Who even are you compared to him? All he has done and all he has sacrificed for this country, for you and me and countless others faceless, nameless strangers - how could you… ugh!"

Jonas looked stunned by her outburst. Frankly, she was too. She had never lost her nerve quite so badly with him, or anyone, before. She hadn't even stood up for herself like that except when she found him cheating in her own office and had all but demanded a new one or else she'd tell the Dean he was screwing one of his teaching assistants. She could see Jonas' mood change from condescending to full-on bully when red blotches appeared on his face. She was almost certain she'd have to pay for this later, but here, now, he couldn't do anything without making an even bigger asshole out of himself. He had already attacked a veteran, he wouldn't attack the person defending said veteran too. And Lucy could still hold his affair over his head so maybe all she'd get would be the silent treatment, though she sincerely doubted it. His look promised retribution.

Before Jonas could decide what he wanted to do, Lucy used her hold on Wyatt's hand to gently lead him away from the group, bidding their goodbyes to Margaret and Paul and ignoring her boss completely. She could vaguely see Jiya whooping at how she'd stood up for Wyatt, but if she saw the soldier's interested frown she gave no indication. Instead she led him away from the party and to the parking lot. Catching on, Wyatt opened the car door for her. The drive to her home was all but silent. It wasn't until they stopped in front of her house that Wyatt turned to speak to her.

"Are you okay?"

"Am I- are you okay? I can't believe he went at you like that. Jonas can be a dick, I would know, but how could he-"

"He's hardly the first."

"That does not actually make it better, Wyatt." She cast him a sour glance, wondering how many more people had thought it fair to belittle him.

Wyatt sighed.

"No, but compared to the verbal abuse my drill sergeant put me through, this is nothing," he tried to lighten the mood, but Lucy just looked sad.

"It wasn't nothing," she mumbled.

"I'd go through it a million times to see you jump to my defense like that. You were amazing, all glowing with righteous fury and vengeance. That douchebag didn't know what hit him."

"I only ever spoke to him like that when I found him with Martha… in, in my office."

"Glad I bring it out of you then. The world could use a little more Lucy Preston hellion."

Finally, a smile.

"I'm sorry this got cut short, I just couldn't stay there after… that. I'll pay the whole fee of course."

"Do you want me to leave?" He asked with a frown. He didn't feel right leaving her just then.

"Uhm, I thought- uh…"

"I told you, Lucy, it's all up to you," he reassured her gently, a hand extended to grasp hold of hers. She turned her hadn't in his grip, holding onto it as tightly as she had at the BBQ. Then she raised her head to look him in the eyes, and he noticed that hers shone with unshed tears. This whole event had left her emotionally raw, like an exposed nerve. Now he really didn't want to leave her, but if she decided she wanted to be alone, he would have to. To keep his promise. Maybe he could call her later, then, to check up on her. She looked at him for a long moment, eyes glossy and dark. A need for comfort shone in them that seemed to call on something buried deep inside himself like a forgotten instinct. All he wanted to do, even with the awkwardness of the place, was to take Lucy in his arms and protect her from the harshness of the world, both inside and around her.

"I guess," she began hesitantly, only continuing after an encouraging squeeze of her hand. A tentatively teasing smile appeared on her lips. "I guess, I do still have time on the clock, and a sit-in on the porch swing sounds nice."

"Whatever you want," Wyatt confirmed. "But you know the rules. No talking about money or the job while on the job."

She nodded enthusiastically, then waited a moment so he could walk around the car and open her door. She let him help her up with a steadying hand and then let him tuck her into his side as he guided them to the porch swing, nestling the two of them in the cushions and setting it gently swinging in an almost lulling motion. Lucy, however, was determined to stay alert to enjoy this extra alone time with Wyatt, and maybe get a few more tidbits of info regarding his past from him. That's how they ended up talking for hours as the sun fully set and the night chill raised the hairs on her arm, and Wyatt, ever the gentlemen, offered her his jacket before tucking her back against him to share in his warmth as if he were her personal heater. At some point her legs came up onto the porch swing as they talked, but, because they always slipped back down for lack of space, Wyatt ultimately picked them up and lay them over his thighs so she could extend her long legs over the length of the seat. From then on, one arm was around her waist to keep her pressed to him, while the other rested on her outer thigh, gently rubbing circles with his thumb through the fabric of her summer dress. Eventually, Lucy couldn't keep her eyes open after all, her face tucking itself into the crook of his neck tiredly. The warmth of his skin blazed against her cheek, and her eyes fell shut one final time for the night.

She woke up hours later just before dawn, cocooned in warmth and totally unwilling to move. The gentle swinging motion told her she was still on the porch swing, which had her shoot awake after all. Where was Wyatt? Was she alone in front of her house? With her eyes open, she noticed that the cocoon was a soft wooly blanket that had been on the side arm of the swing and was now arranged around her. Wyatt's arms were still around her. Her face had dropped to his chest at some point, and his cheek had rested on top of her head, she guessed, because her sudden burst of motion had jostled him enough to wake him up. Oops.

"Morning, professor," he muttered in a voice roughened from sleep that had her insides knotting for not entirely innocent reasons.

"Morning," she squeaked. "Sorry I fell asleep on you."

"Don't be. I told you I'm open for overnight visits," he teased her, voice still rough, but now he had added a tone that made Lucy melt. Warm, sure, caring, and just a little bit sexy. It made her wish she was more like her sister Amy or Jiya, more outgoing and confident and flirty, because when she looked up into his eyes, she could plainly see the invitation - and the desire - in them, before he blinked slowly to get himself under control and they were gone again. With any other man she might have wondered if she'd imagined it, but Wyatt instilled in her a confidence that she'd rarely found on her own outside of academia.

"Guess this wasn't your regular fare for one of those," she muttered embarrassed.

Wyatt's chuckle reverberated through her entire body, connected as they were.

"No, this was a nice surprise," he admitted with a kiss to the top of her head. "Now, I hate to break this up, but I've got a breakfast appointment…"

"Oh god, of course. I shouldn't keep you from work. We never agreed- uh, sorry- I'll-"

"If you start talking about money again, I'll get offended. It's a business breakfast, yes, but I'm meeting an old army buddy who started a private security company. When he needs an unbiased pair of eyes or has some extra work, he throws it my way."

"Oh. Oh. Uhm, that's wonderful." Lucy could have slapped herself. Could she be any more awkward? Still, the thought that Wyatt wasn't meeting with the next desperate woman who wanted his attention right away was… somewhat gratifying. Lucy preferred not to think about why too carefully, just as Wyatt preferred not to think about why he had felt the need to clarify his meeting to Lucy. She knew what his job was, in fact, she was part of his job. So why did it bother him so much that she'd assumed he'd be going to meet another woman? He wasn't sure he wanted an answer to that question. He slowly disentangled himself from her, rubbing gently along the blanket to keep out the early morning chill. She smiled gratefully at him as she went to unlock her door, this time in a more timely fashion, Wyatt noticed with a smirk.

"Call me when you need a reckless hothead again, yeah?"

"Reckless hothead? Here I was sure you'd call yourself a dashing hero, though you're certainly hot-" Lucy's eyes widened when she realized what she'd said. "Temperature-wise. You're warm, really warm, like a furnace - not that you aren't good-looking, not that I- ugh, please go before I make a complete ass of myself."

"You could never, professor," he chuckled. "I'll be sure to call if I ever need a bossy know-it-all."

And if he ended up calling her later to check up on her after all, well, that was neither here nor there.

TimelessTimelessTimelessTimelessTimelessTimeless

The next time they met had nothing to do with Wyatt's job. Or, at least, not exactly. The Sunday following their disastrous second outing, Wyatt decided to come by unannounced to deliver some more of his homemade BBQ beef. Since they hadn't gotten to enjoy it at the faculty BBQ, he figured they could make their own holiday out of it. Because he didn't know if Lucy owned a grill, he'd pre-cooked the meat at home. He'd also brought along some groceries to throw together a salad and some roast potatoes on a whim.

As he approached her front door, Wyatt could feel a flutter of nerves settle in his stomach. He normally never dropped by his clients without appointment and he wasn't sure what Lucy would think of his surprise visit. She might misinterpret. He tried not to analyze too closely why he felt the need to make it up to her, and instead just made use of what he'd learned in the Army and before. Roll with the blow, or, in this case, the impulse. After a moment of indecision, he knocked firmly on the front door. When nothing happened at first, he tried again. Maybe she hadn't heard him. Still nothing stirred in the house and he figured she might have gone contemplated briefly if he should wait or leave the food, but it wouldn't keep in the heat and he didn't want to be seen loitering on her porch by her neighbors. Even if they didn't call the cops on him because they'd seen him the other night, it didn't do in his line of business to invite notice, questions or rumors. Well, beyond those he and his clients encouraged themselves.

Wyatt was about to leave when he thought he heard a noise. If Lucy was in he was sure she would have answered her door, and if she was out there should be no one in the house, so the sudden noise disquieted him. He decided to go round the back to see if he could discern what was happening. As he closed in on the back yard, he realized that the noise were voices. One feminine, and probably Lucy's. She sounded agitated. So did the male voice that followed it, and Wyatt's worry grew. His heart picked up another pace when suddenly everything grew quiet and he hastened to turn the final corner, coming to a dead stop only a few feet away from Lucy and her mystery man. Wyatt drew in a sharp breath as he caught sight of them. He could barely see Lucy to be precise as she was dwarfed by the man's shape, but he could clearly make out that they were kissing. The man's hands were at Lucy's waist, and her hands were on his chest, and he could begin to make out the little noises Lucy made as the kiss went on.

Wyatt's heart continued to hammer in his chest, his gut churned with anger and regret. It seemed his services were no longer needed. He was clearly superfluous and he meant to retreat, but he couldn't seem to take his eyes off the image of Lucy kissing this other man. With a mental scoff, he brought himself under control. He was about to turn around when there was a sudden movement from the couple. The man jerked away from Lucy as if burned. Wyatt didn't know what for, but before he could blink Lucy finally succeeded in pushing him off her with her hands on his chest. As the pieces fell together for Wyatt that this asshole had forced himself on her, a whole new rage began to burn inside his chest.

"You bit me!", the guy yelped at her.

"You kissed me, Noah! You. Kissed. Me. How dare you?!" Lucy growled at him. "I told you we weren't gonna work out months ago. You should be with someone who loves you and wants you and that's not me."

"Lucy, we are made for each other."

"That's what you think. What my mother thinks. I disagree."

"You prefer to screw your boy toy soldier, do you? Can he give you what I can? Does he understand you the way I do? Does he even know you?"

"How do you-" Lucy began to formulate her question when her eyes drifted beyond Noah to the other man unexpectedly standing on her veranda that Sunday. She squeaked. "Wyatt?"

Now Noah turned to face him as well, and Lucy used his moment of distraction to extricate herself completely from him. Rushing passed Noah, she all but ran to Wyatt. She didn't know why he was here, but she was both relieved to have him here with her and worried. The look on his face was murderous. If looks could kill, Noah would have been burned to a cinder by now, that was how incensed Wyatt's glare was. Before she'd even said a word, Wyatt had put down the bags and box he'd been carrying and curled his arm comfortingly around her waist to pull her into him. She could feel the strength of his muscles as she let herself be pulled into the hug gratefully. His calming presence gave her additional confidence and comfort. He was as warm and steady as she remembered.

"I know all I need to. The rest will come with time," Wyatt told Noah more calmly than he felt. There was a reason he was holding on to Lucy as if for dear life and it wasn't just because she needed a hug. "And, oh look, I think its time for you to leave."

Noah scoffed.

"She's not yours, you know. You don't deserve her. She'll see sense eventually."

"Maybe, but even then she's not yours either. Sounds to me like you had your chance and you blew it."

"That's were you are wrong. She's supposed to be with me. We'll have a family. Lucy is mine, and always will be."

This man was insane. Lucy pressed closer to Wyatt involuntarily. He moved his head ever so slightly, not taking his eyes off of Noah, to softly kiss her just above the shell of her ear. The gesture was meant to be reassurance for Lucy that he was there, and a clear message for the psycho on her veranda to back off. The lady had made her choice, and it wasn't Noah.

"I belong to nobody but myself, Noah. And who I choose to spend my days with is none of your business."

"You will choose me, Lucy. You'll see."

"Get it through your head," Lucy huffed in frustration. "I don't want to be with you. I don't want to kiss you. I don't want you. Period."

She paused a moment to let it sink in.

"Now get out."

The two of them watched tersely as Noah marched passed them in a huff, glaring murderously at Wyatt in his own right. The soldier gently directed Lucy more towards his back, angling her away from her crazy ex-boyfriend. They stayed like that even after Noah had disappeared around the corner and didn't relax until they heard a car door slam and then an engine roaring to life in the distance. Lucy breathed an actual sigh of relief, and slumped a little against Wyatt's back. She rested her head against his shoulder as she took a few calming breaths.

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know," she answered honestly, but then she shook herself and turned him around to face her. "But I'm glad you were here. He was bummed when I wouldn't agree to a second date, but… not like this. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't…"

"He had no right to do that to you." She could see the worry on his face, the terrible thought that this wasn't the first time something like this had happened. The horrific fear of what more might have occurred if he hadn't come to see her. Lucy raised a hand to place on his cheek, wanting to calm him. Reassure him as he did with her. She felt him melt into her touch just the slightest bit.

"I know. I don't know where that even came from. Here I was just working on my next chapter, minding my own business, and - bam! - suddenly he's banging on my door and storming inside like he owns the place! Flinging accusations and making demands! I get that he's hurt, but its been months. It was one date! One! How could he think that I'd suddenly... And how did he know about you?"

"Maybe from your colleagues," Wyatt suggested. "Doesn't matter, though. He needs to stay away from you."

Lucy hummed in agreement, now that the crisis had passed distracted by the things Wyatt had deposited on her veranda as he confronted Noah. She picked up a bag gingerly and looked inside, surprised to find all manner of produce in the bag. She looked from it to the box to Wyatt, who rubbed the back of his head a little sheepishly as he caught her interest.

"Not that I'm not glad you're here, but… what are you doing here exactly?" Lucy asked, curious.

A boyish smile spread across his face.

"I felt bad that our BBQ got blown up by your… er, other ex - blimey, you really know how to pick them, Lucy," he realized suddenly. A familiar flush appeared on her cheeks, and she mumbled something as she turned away in embarrassment. "What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Lucy? You can tell me. I'm here for you." His hand on her shoulder made her stiffen, then relax.

"I said, technically they were my mother's picks."

He must have looked as confused as he felt, because she chose to elaborate without being prompted.

"It's one of the reasons I moved out of my family home. I mean, I met them and got to know them of my own accord, but living with mom and Amy they knew almost everything anyway and they were never shy to express their opinion or give advice, even when I didn't want it and… mom… she really liked them. She, she built the History Department at Stanford practically on her own, and she always figured I would follow in her footsteps, so she thought it was like- like fate when Jonas asked me out. A sign. And Noah is the son of family friends of my mother's. They moved back to Frisco just last year. A few weeks later I run into him, like, literally run into him. And that was definitely fate, Lucy-"

He guessed at that point, if she was imitating her mother, it was time to stop her rambling. So he turned her around to face him with his hand still on her shoulder and pulled her into another hug. She came willingly, burying her head in the crook of his neck with a frustrated sigh before she went on more calmly.

"It was my sister Amy who helped me realize that I was making too many decision based on what mom wanted. I was furious with her at first for even implying… but she was right. I have spent my entire life trying to please mom, to make her proud. It's why I started studying history in the first place, though I love it and my job, it's still- Amy helped me decide to move and find this house. I've been breathing better ever since, even though mom and I talk less than I would have hoped."

"She didn't want you to go or she didn't want you to break up with Nash? If you can even call it that."

"Noah."

"Same difference."

"A bit of both, I guess," Lucy chuckled.

"I'm sorry, Lucy, but that sounds like she was ab-… manipulating you." Lucy stiffened again, no doubt having realized what he'd been about to say. He felt her hold on to him tighter, though, so perhaps her discomfort didn't stem from him.

"Yeah…" she admitted softly. "It's why we barely talk."

A beat of silence passed as he rubbed his handy soothingly across her back.

"How about we draw the line here," Wyatt suggested after a moment. "No more talking about Nash, or John, or tiresome family, huh? Let's get this BBQ on the road."

As it turned out, Lucy did have a grill, though only because it had been left by the previous owner and required some serious cleaning. So they made a small feast of what Wyatt had cooked at home, before he set himself to the task. Lucy warned him it was futile as she could burn water, but he remained bravely undeterred.

"I guess I'll just have to come back to man the grill for you," he teased her. Judging by the inviting smile on her face, she was okay with that. So was he, he found, maybe enough to come by more than once. "Hey, wait, what was that bit about writing?"

For some bizarre reason that question got Lucy to burst out laughing.

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He visited her again a few days later to deliver her a small lunch bag from his favorite Mexican restaurant. Their chili was almost as good as real Texan chili. When he knocked on her door that day, Lucy had opened it warily, half expecting to find Noah ready for another rampage. She visibly breathed a sigh of relief when her eyes found Wyatt instead, though she had to blink a few times, perplexed by his sudden reappearance at her house.

"You said you had a pretty strict deadline the other day, so I don't want to disturb you," he began sheepishly. "But I imagine you as quite the dedicated writer, who types away from dawn to the witching hour and forgets everything around her. People, rest, food…"

He raised his bag of goodies to be level with her face. The scent that suddenly engulfed her made her mouth water at its richness and flavor. She could feel her stomach knot in protest at having been ignored for so long, until it gave a low pitiful growl. Wyatt chuckled deeply, though he didn't exactly enjoy being proven right on this issue.

"Thought so," he said with a soft smile and half the bag out to her. "Best chili in the city. Almost as good as back home."

"Wyatt, that's-" She looked up at him, moved at this thoughtful gesture. She could feel a little moisture gather at her eyes, and cursed herself. What a silly thing to get emotional over. She would not cry over the food, or the caring gesture, or even the depth his eyes held when their gazes met across the food. Lucy bit her lip to stop it, but Wyatt must have seen it nonetheless. His hand slowly came up to her face, giving her plenty of time to turn away if she didn't welcome his touch. She did, though, more than she wanted to admit, so she let his thumb softly brush away the evidence of the soft pang her heart gave as she took all this in.

"You should take better care of yourself. A woman can't live off of wisdom alone," he murmured softly at her.

"I'm not wise." She didn't know what else to say.

"You have the wisest heart I know," he replied gravely. Maybe she should be offended. Wisdom famously came with age, and she wasn't that much older than him. Yet the way he said it, gently and with a kindness and reverence she hadn't expected, she felt like she had been given the most precious compliment. The pang in her chest intensified, turning into such a burning flutter that she almost missed his next words. "Promise me you'll eat that before going back to work… and promise me you'll look after yourself."

She nodded once. "I'll try."

"I'll check up on you," he warned her teasingly.

The flutter took off, the burning engulfed her chest all at once.

"I'd like that," she admitted quietly, not sure he'd heard, and maybe that was for the best. How embarrassing if he realized the extent of her silly heart's attachment to him. He was just being so kind, and she feared she was reading way too much into it. Maybe he did this for every client. Maybe only for the ones who were in really tough spots, like cheering them up was a bonus service he offered when he… Oh god, what if he pitied her?! After seeing her with Jonas and Noah, who could blame him? She was piti-

His hand came to her chin and his firm gaze bore into her eyes as if trying to see into her soul. Looking at her as if she were the only soul in all the world. In this place, in that moment, she had his undivided attention… and it was the most exhilarating thrill she'd ever felt. He was there for her. Only her. Lucy.

"Let me in," he pleaded softly. "Let's have lunch."

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"So, spill," Jiya insisted one night when they were out for drinks and Rufus had been sent away to get the next round. Judging by the crowd surrounding the bar, he'd be a while. Something Jiya likely banked on to interrogate Lucy. She'd orchestrated their alone time and Lucy should have seen it coming, but hadn't. So now she was like a deer caught in the headlights of her best friend's (aside from Amy) car. She blinked rapidly a few times, then focused her gaze on her dwindling drink and pretended to stir the already melted ice cubes in it with great concentration.

"I should be asking you that. You saw us at the faculty BBQ. Was it convincing?" Lucy asked in an attempt to deflect.

Jiya didn't bite, and Lucy should have known better than to hope she would.

"Oh no, you're not doing this to me. Your righteous fury hellcat performance was great and all, but that's not what I want to talk about."

"Righteous fu-"

"Nope," Jiya interjected. "Give me details, come on."

"Uhm… wha-what do you want to know? Wyatt- he's nice. Calm and sure, you know, a good actor. And he takes his cues from me; I mean, he's incredibly detail-oriented - always asking me all these questions about what we're walking into - a whole sitrep really, but I guess that's the Army man in him. And, you know, he's a professional," Lucy babbled out information she thought Jiya might want, trying to give her as complete a picture as possible. Then she quickly refocused on her drink, taking a sip.

"Ugh, no, Lu-cy," she complained, extending Lucy's name in a long whine. "Don't tell me how he is in public, tell me how he is in bed."

Lucy half spit out her drink and half seemed to drown in it for a moment at her friends demand. She coughed up a storm, turning a few eyes as Jiya began to pat her back with a roll of her eyes. Lucy, meanwhile, took a few wheezing breaths as she tried to get back to something that resembled control. Then she looked up at Jiya in utter shock. She knew her friend to be blunt, direct, and a little too willing to share for her taste, but that had never extended as far as the intimate details of Lucy's love life. Not with Jonas, not with Noah, so why now with Wyatt? With whom there wasn't any love life, and wouldn't be even if she had made use of his… other services.

Lucy shivered. It wasn't that she was morally opposed. Wyatt was a good-looking guy, and if he wanted to spend the night with a client he'd fake romanced, he could certainly do that. Maybe this was a dream job for men, she stopped to think; a new pretty lady on their arm every other night with no commitment, just some mutual adult fun. She certainly didn't blame the countless attractive clients who threw themselves at him either, especially since she had definitely taken notice of him like that. His strength, his devilish smirk, and those expressive baby blues. A straight woman would have to be dead not to appreciate him. Not to want him. She wasn't even opposed to sex with Wyatt, she silently conceded with a small shiver of pleasure, and she wasn't opposed in principle, but something remained. Something that made her shudder at the thought of… of buying his attention. She didn't want to be a job he took to bed, even if that meant she couldn't take him to bed at all. Lucy looked back down at her drink, heat rising in her cheeks as she entertained these thoughts.

"Oh," Jiya hummed, finally understanding. "You haven't- why haven't you? The man is any straight woman's wet dream."

"Not yours, I hope, for Rufus' sake."

"You know I love Rufus, and I'd never cheat on him, but I still have eyes. Now don't try to distract me. We're talking about you. You want him."

Lucy didn't even argue. She knew it was pointless.

"So why not enjoy this. I doubt he's opposed. He'd have to be dead or gay not to want you."

Lucy hung her head.

"I think I've gone and done something stupid," she admitted a little shamefully. It was all it took for Jiya to run with it.

"You like him." It wasn't a question.

"Stupid, huh?" Lucy smiled ruefully. "I'm falling for my own lie. I mean, I hired him. I went into this with my eyes more than wide open, and now I'm still…ugh, so, of course, he had to come by Sunday for a do-over BBQ while I was arguing with Noah and fall into the boyfriend role so easily and… I'm depressing."

"Wait, what?"

"He played my boyfriend again when Noah hounded me about our break up on Sun-"

"No, back up," Jiya instructed. "You mean he came by your place without you calling him. Outside of work?"

"Yeah, said he felt bad about the BBQ. He brought all this stuff with him. Then again to bring me lunch because he figured out I subsist off coffee and air when writing… It was really sweet, you know," Lucy replied wistfully.

"Uh, girl," Jiya started, then lowered her voice to avoid someone overhearing the next part. "Escorts don't do that. They're there when you pay them, but they don't take an interest in you outside of that. They're not your friend or your therapist, so if Wyatt came to you unprompted…"

She let the possibilities pan out it Lucy's suddenly wondering mind. A tiny little flutter of something dangerously like hope sprung alive in her chest, like it always did when she went down this road. It tried to make a nest in her heart. She tried to squash it, because how likely was that? Maybe Wyatt was just different? Maybe he really did just feel bad for her? Or he was just trying to be nice. None of that could be ruled out; he was a good guy. There was no point for Lucy to get her hopes up when she knew they'd probably just get squashed again, but that stupid little flutter was at least as stubborn as she was. The professor shook her head emphatically to call herself to order. Still, a part of her mind was always on the verge of giving in, ready to run away with the possibilities. What if Wyatt was interested in her beyond his work? Even if it wasn't anything like what Jiya was implying, maybe they could be friends. She'd like that. He was-

Before she could continue contemplating what Wyatt was, thankfully, Rufus finally reappeared with their drinks and complaining loudly about all he had to go through to get them, so they better appreciate them properly. He placed Lucy's fruity drink in front of her, and handed Jiya hers before he sat down to nurse his second pint of beer.

"I tell you, you practically have to elbow your way to the bar. Wish I had Wyatt's physique, people sure seem to make way for him."

"Wyatt?" How come Rufus was now thinking of Wyatt too? That couldn't be a coincidence. She stood up to get a clearer look at the other tables and stools near the bar.

"Oh yeah, saw him a couple of minutes after I got in li- well, into the throng. It was like the Red Sea parted for him, the bartender got to him almost immediately. Figure he must be working, cause he's here with an- oh."

Rufus finally seemed to catch the hasty motions Jiya was making in his peripheral line of vision. Lucy guessed she had tried to tell him to stop it, but it was too late. Standing up, Lucy had searched the crowd till she'd spotted him, or them to be more precise. He sat at one of the booths in the back with a barely dressed blond practically sitting on his lap as she fed him an olive from her drink. His arm was curled around her shoulders, and it wasn't long before she boldly moved to kiss him. It didn't last long, but Lucy didn't have to hear what she whispered into the shell of his ear afterward, she could read the intent clear as day even from across the room. As Wyatt moved to take a sip of his Whiskey, his gaze rose away from their little cocoon for some reason. It met Lucy's only for a split second before she ducked back down into her seat.

"Maybe we should find another bar," Rufus suggested awkwardly.

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The line clicked almost inaudibly. Until it did, he hadn't been sure she would answer. He breathed a sigh of relief. This was already awkward enough, though. Best to get straight to the point.

"Hey, did I see you the other night at…"

"Yeah." Soft, but not monotone. A good start.

"So you saw me the other night with…"

"Yup."

"…And, we're… okay?" The question came out hopeful, which it really shouldn't have. She was his client, not his girlfriend. His job was why they had met. It was why she had hired him. She could hardly be angry or upset or something because he had other clients. She knew he had other clients. Still, Lucy was a bit different - to say the least - from the usual type of woman who hired someone like him. And knowing and seeing could be two very different beasts in his experience. He'd had to let go a few clients because they'd gotten too possessive. Not that he expected that problem with Lucy. Lucy was… she was different, was all. With all she'd gone through, she needed a little more care.

"Of course. Why wouldn't we be?" Okay, that tone was falsely chipper. Wyatt winced a little.

"It's a bit awkward, and if I'd known you and your colleagues were there, I would have- I hope I didn't cause any problems for you at your job."

"No, don't worry. Rufus knows," she told him. Her voice had softened again at his genuine concern.

"Oh, okay, then. That's-" He sighed. "Lucy? I know running into me like that… with another… I mean, I know there's a difference between knowing and seeing, and if you'd rather I recommend you someone else, I-" He choked on the rest of it, but he was sure Lucy understood. Moments of terse silence passed as he waited with baited breath. Part of him thought, maybe it would be better for her, for both of them, if she sought the services of another escort. It would definitely take all these muddled lines out from between them, and leave them open for… for whatever was going on that neither of them acknowledged. The other part of him didn't want her to be left hanging right in the middle, and even imagining her on Matt's or Cooper's arm gave him an uncomfortable pang. "Lucy, please say something."

"I- uh, do you want to drop me as a client?" The question was tentative, and, if he was right, a little hurt.

Despite his own wonderings, Wyatt knew his answer without hesitation.

"No," he told her firmly, then paused to let that sink in before he continued "But another guy could handle it if you need someone else to- someone who doesn't-" Honestly, after that first night, he'd almost been ready to suggest a switch, considering how uncomfortable the extent of what he did with some of his clients made her. He knew some escorts who didn't go that far, who called it a night at the front door, and he'd been ready to offer her the contact details, but then she'd blushed so prettily and babbled nervously at him and it had somehow endeared her to him. It wasn't like an overnighter was a foregone conclusion for him either. He had plenty of clients who weren't interested in him that way, or whom he wasn't interested in. He didn't sleep with everyone except Lucy, but Lucy was the only one he wan-

Her voice broke him out of his thoughts before he could continue to follow that thread down the rabbit hole.

"I don't want another guy," she replied firmly. "Yeah, it was a shock seeing you with… seeing you at work, but I don't want anyone else. We work well together and I trust you. You're the one that I trust. And I need you… at my mother's house on Friday if… if you do that sort of thing as part of your job. Family dinners, I mean." Introduction to the parents; the words hung in the air. "She somehow found out that I have a boyfriend - Noah's doing I suspect, or maybe Jonas' - and now she wants to meet you. I mean, if you don't, I can make up an excuse. We hardly talk anyway, so she can't just expect me to-"

"When?" He asked simply.

"She said at eight."

"I've put it in my calendar. I'll come by a little early and you can tell me what I've just gotten myself into on the way."

He could hear her release the breath she'd been holding through the line when she thanked him. She told him she had a class at four, so she wouldn't be home before six even if she hurried out of the lecture hall. He expected her to say goodbye next and then for the line to click. Their conversation was over, they had worked through everything they needed to. Now it was time to go their separate ways again until the next job. Wyatt was loathed to let the conversation end though, and it seemed so was Lucy, despite the momentary silence that floated between them.

"You know, I always thought after the Army I'd work for a private contractor, or for a security firm like Bam-Bam, or maybe become a cop like so many other veterans. But when I finally got out, the last thing I wanted was to jump into another violent job. A private contractor would have meant a return to Syria, I didn't want to end up pointing my gun at the citizens I'd fought to protect, even the less than friendly ones, and I no more wanted to throw myself in front of some rich face to catch a bullet than onto a land mine to save my buddies, though I would have done the latter without hesitation if it had come to that."

"So you became an escort? Still not sure how you came to that idea. I mean, it's not a very common job."

Wyatt chuckled at her unveiled curiosity. He knew he'd manage to engage her with this.

"It was when I helped out Bam-Bam at his company that one time. They were preparing for a birthday party of some rich asshole kid. Since there would be professional escorts, his company had taken over the hiring process so they could vet them all properly, and give them the rules of engagement."

"Engagement?" Lucy snorted in a decidedly unladylike manner.

"Yes, it was exactly what you're thinking," Wyatt admitted. "Anyway, they were trying to find some male escorts too, because the kid in question was a girl and she wanted arm candy, but it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. So Bam-Bam asked a few of his friends if they were willing to play boy toy for a night. I wasn't exactly keen on it at first, but I wanted a paycheck and I couldn't get myself to just take up his regular job offer. So I figured, once wouldn't hurt. "

"And then it stuck?"

"Well, free food and booze."

"And women," Lucy offered, her voice was lighter than it had been before.

"Some pretty special ones, yeah," Wyatt replied wistfully through the phone.

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Given her nervousness at the whole affair as well as the heaviness still left in her heart from the other night, Lucy thought she managed to portray an image of herself that was fairly composed during her Friday afternoon lecture. Even as she presented her students with facts and fiction about the Salem Witch Trials, offered up the background stories of the accused and their accusers as far as they were known, details on the work the events inspired in the last century alone, she felt her mind wander off on her more often than not. It was almost like an out of body experience when it projected her forward to all the horrible ways dinner could go wrong or tortured itself with the memories from the bar when, shortly after Rufus had suggested they find another watering hole, Wyatt had passed them by with his pretty blond companion practically attached to his neck like a leech. His gaze had only just caught hers, widening when he realized he hadn't imagined seeing her before, when she looked awkwardly down into her drink, unable to meet his eyes.

She had felt so foolish, having so recently entertained fantastic ideas (delusions) that he could be interested in her for more than a paycheck. She'd thought that with how sweet he'd been since the BBQ maybe he thought about her outside of work too, and when Jiya had apparently confirmed her suspicion (wishful thinking), Lucy had been almost out of her mind with buzzing hope and joy. All of it came crashing down only moments later. Though Jiya was right that he could simply be working and that it didn't mean she wasn't special to him, Lucy was harshly reminded that making women feel special was precisely his job, and how special could she really be if sucking face with a blond airhead was one of the perks of his job he himself had admitted to enjoy immensely. For a moment she was awash with resentment for having made her get her hopes up, then Lucy plunged into shame that she could be so petty. It had been her fault for misinterpreting, or for not asking for clarification, or for not sending him away when she hadn't specifically requested his presence.

Even during her continuing lecture - and Lucy was beginning to be amazed at her ability to keep that going beside her self-inflicted mental torment - Lucy could feel the anguish of the whole situation rise inside her. During the phone call, she had been relieved that Wyatt hadn't wanted to call of their arrangement, but every day since she had wondered if perhaps that wouldn't have been better. Surely, he must be embarrassed by her petty reaction. Who was she to judge him, or even his other client? Just another desperate woman willing to pay for his aid and attention, that's who. And wouldn't she herself feel better if she were to start over with someone else with whom she could have a professional working relationship? She was obviously not capable of that with Wyatt Logan. Or perhaps she should just stop shopping for a fake boyfriend altogether. She had tried Jiya's idea and seen it was not for her, and after dinner at her mom's she should be safe for a while from unwanted inquiries.

Before she could finish contemplating her options, the soft screech of an opening door in the back of the auditorium pulled her out of her thoughts. She rolled her eyes, annoyed. The lecture was almost over, and now someone decided to drop by late? They should have just stayed out. She raised her eyes to glare in the general direction of the sound when her mind came to a screeching halt. Even with the projector's lights in her eyes she recognized the tall, decidedly manly build of the person who entered. None of her gangly students in their late teens could boast a physique like that, and Lucy felt heat rise into her cheeks at how familiar the shape of his body already was to her. She swallowed hard, and quickly continued with the lecture, muttering a quick apology to her students for having lost her focus.

"On this final, gruesome day of the persecutions in the Salem area, eight women were hanged from the neck until dead. Women who had been targeted for being different. Because they knew their way around medicinal herbs. Because they talked to the birds. Because they were rebellious. They could have been different, strange, wonderful if they had been allowed to live, and we will never know, but that is precisely why we need to keep the memory of these women and others like them alive. To learn from our past mistakes. To grow into building a better tomorrow. There are too many forgotten lives. Remember them! Thank you for your attention."

A small round of applause passed through the students. Hesitant, still unsure what had thrown her off so suddenly. Someone arriving late, even that late, was hardly an uncommon occurrence. Still, the crowd dissipated quickly enough while Lucy slowly gathered her things together. Her head was down so the curtain of her hair covered her face, but she kept throwing glances at the back rows. When she didn't spot him immediately, Lucy figured she must have imagined it after all, but then she heard his sure strides approach her from he side. He must have exited with a string of students when he realized swimming against the current would be unnecessarily difficult, then come back in through the door at the front next to the lecturer's desk. In her haste to turn toward him, she accidentally knocked of the stack of papers she had collected at the beginning of class.

"No," she whined as she moved to catch them. A second, larger set of hand came up to help her steadily set up the stack of papers again. Once the wobbly tower had been secured they both knelt down to pick up a few of the stray papers that had fallen to the ground after all.

"Easy there, professor," Wyatt teased her with his too handsome one-sided smirk.

"Yes, well, you startled me," she replied, offering him the first excuse she could think of. Then she bit her lip with an apologetic smile; it wasn't fair to blame him. She had known he was there, and known he could only have come for her. Late, he'd been late for her lecture, she reminded herself. He hadn't come for her, merely because he had work with her tonight. Still, she frowned, this was not what they had agreed upon. "I thought we were going to meet at my home."

"Yeah, but then I figured we'd save some more time if I came to pick you up directly at Stanford, and it was a good opportunity to watch your lecture - or would have been if I hadn't gone to the wrong room initially."

She blinked at him. "Wrong room?"

"Professor Stutton's lecture on micro plastic was pretty informative," Wyatt admitted with a chuckle, and Lucy realized he'd somehow either ended up in the Natural Sciences building or they'd had to move the lecture due to lacking space. She grinned, thinking of how Wyatt must have sat in the lecture hall ahead of time, only to realize he must be wrong when Stutton's small, definitely male form and white hair and beard had appeared in the auditorium. Then she felt a flutter at the thought that he'd come to Stanford, wanting to watch her lecture. The feeling intensified at his next words. They took her by surprise, before she could even hope to squash it down."You're better, though."

"I don't think you can compare natural sciences with history, Wyatt," she told him, though she secretly enjoyed the compliment, as she smoothed down her now complete stack of papers.

"Perhaps not, but the style can be compared. From what little I ave seen, I can say that you are more engaging, and your lecture is more inspiring. Not that you need a lecture to be inspiring. You've made me want to get comfy and read up about all the great forgotten women of history since I've met you, while Stutton didn't make me want to get off my couch and go save the planet with 90 minutes to convince me, though I dare say it's the more pressing concern."

Lucy blushed becomingly at the compliment. Since they met? Had Wyatt perhaps started to brush up on his history since they… since he started working with her? Maybe even bought and read one of her own books? She could vaguely picture it; Wyatt on a comfy nondescript couch or in an armchair or something with one of her books lying opened to the last page he'd read before the late hour had caught up with him and he'd fallen asleep reading.

"Thank you. I… uh, well… thank you," she repeated, unsure of how to continue. Finally, she decided to move on from this topic so that her tongue may hopefully unknot itself. "I came here in my car, though."

If Wyatt noticed the awkward change in subject, he didn't mention it, just took it in stride as he offered to take her large, heavy purse from her. She handed it over to him, grateful as it felt like she'd got bricks in there. Wyatt didn't complain, instead slung it over his shoulder and picked up her stack of papers, motioning for her to lead the way to her office. They had to cross into another building for that, and, with Wyatt waiting patiently despite his load, she got two coffees and a small bag of cookies from a cart on the way. They settled in her office, papers stored away to be taken to her car later. On the way, Wyatt had suggested that he could drive her back to Stanford after dinner at her mom's, or he could come pick her up tomorrow morning and drive her to pick up her car, depending on how late it was. Lucy's blush, consequently, hadn't left her even by the time they'd sat down and divided up the cookies. Wyatt seemed to be more of an oatmeal cookie type, so Lucy had the chocolate chip ones all to herself, to her delight.

"So, what am I walking into? Walk me though it."

Lucy almost choked on a sip of her coffee as she was reminded of what she'd told Jiya regarding the sitreps he requested before missions with her. She was left laughing as he patted her back. Once he realized she wasn't coughing, his concerned glance just set her off again, laughing harder than before.

"Is laughing good?" He finally asked, which sobered her up a little. Because nothing about this was a laughing matter.

"Sorry, just…" She shook her head, leaving the sentence unfinished. "I found out what happened. It was Noah after all. After you sent him off that day, apparently he called my mother and told her I was…uhh seeing someone-"

"I doubt he was that polite about it," Wyatt interjected. "It's okay, Lucy. You're not going to hurt my feelings."

Still, Lucy hesitated, until Wyatt took her hand and gave it an encouraging squeeze. That was when she noticed that he hadn't moved from the spot where he'd knelt when he thought she was choking. He still knelt next to her chair, one arm around the back of it, though not touching her. With the other hand, he turned her own around and laced their fingers together. For as much as Lucy had told herself these last few days to stop getting attached to him, and to keep physical interaction to a minimum for exactly that purpose, she couldn't resist the warmth and comfort of his presence. His hand in hers fit and it felt right, like his hand was made to hold hers. Lucy took in a shaky breath of air at the thought. She looked up to find Wyatt's blue eyes studying her. There was a depth of understanding in them like they had studied her studying their intertwined hands and read her thoughts on her face, or perhaps even thought the same thing.

"What did he say?" Wyatt prompted softly.

"…Ap-parently he told my mother… that I was ruining my life by uh, screwing around with you. H-he said that you w-were…" She took a deep breath. Tears sprung to her eyes that Wyatt wiped away with the thumb of his other hand in an instant. "I can't say that, I can't. It's just…, please don't make me."

"That I am not good enough for you, and, like any worried mother, Carol Preston wants to make sure you're okay," Wyatt offered, not wanting to cause her any more anguish.

"That's the gist of it." But in Lucy's eyes he could see the actual words were even worse. "If you'd rather skip the inquisition, you don't have to-"

"I said I'd be there, and I'm here already. I've been to war, your mother can't be more dangerous."

Lucy chuckled. He counted that as a win.

"Don't bet on it." A joke, albeit a shaky one. He'd count that as a win, too.

"Tell me about your mom, and your sister," he prompted.

So Lucy spent the next hour or so telling him anything and everything about how she grew up. About how her mother had worked so hard to build the history department at Stanford, and how it had been twice as difficult cause she'd had to deal with the scandal of being a single mom early in her career. She talked about hers and Amy's favorite bedtime story about how her mom and dad had met, how Lucy had later found out that her dad hadn't been her father, but how she loved him anyway. Her mom had offered to give her the name of her biological father, but Lucy had taken short stock of her life, her family and her happiness and decided that if he didn't want to be a part of her life enough to come introduce himself even in her adult life, she didn't want him to be part of it either. She had a dad, the greatest, and that was enough.

She talked about the difficult time when her dad died. He'd been a heavy smoker, though never around his girls, but it had taken its toll on his body and he had passed away a year before Lucy graduated with honors. The pain and loss had almost rendered the Preston hearts in two, each and every one of them, but together with Amy she had pulled through. As a result, though, her mom had become more driven, more demanding of her eldest daughter, and Lucy had felt the pressure in the wake of her burned down happy family life very acutely. It had been the first step toward the current strain in their relationship, and she was immensely grateful for Amy to have played buffer on more than one occasion.

"And the rest, you know. I moved out at Amy's suggestion. She still lives with mom, though. Part of the reason is that mom has been diagnosed with lung cancer. She can still… function most of the days, but the doctors say it's only a matter of time before she… before she'll need a respirator to… to-" Lucy choked up, and Wyatt, having seated himself on her armrest sometime during her tale, pulled her into him till she wrapped her arms around his midsection.

"It must be difficult, not being close during such a difficult time."

"I feel awful, but she won't let me in without also trying to control my life. When I tried…"

"Noah happened."

She nodded against his side.

"Now, I can't even imagine what she might have planned for tonight. She might try to make me go back to Noah, or - oh god - he might even be there! She could have invited him!" She thought she might be sick. "I don't want to see him."

"Lucy, we don't have to go, but I don't think she'd stop if we didn't. We just have to go and show her a united front, okay?" Wyatt suggested.

"Okay, let's go," Lucy responded before she could lose her courage even as she had to swallow thickly. "We have to get going anyway if we don't want to be late."

They drove to her mother's house in silence. When Wyatt put his car into park, Lucy waited for him to come around to open the door for her. Partially because she was now used to him doing that for her, and partially because she wanted to postpone the moment they had to announce themselves to her mother for as long as possible. So she climbed out of the car deliberately slowly, something that Wyatt noticed if his smirk was anything to go by. She waited for him on the curb as he closed the door, thus stalling another few seconds. When he walked up to her, the soldier took her hand gently in his. A quick squeeze and they were off toward the front door at a leisurely, but deliberate pace. The door opened before either of them could knock to reveal a young redhead who rushed forward into Lucy's waiting arms.

"You never said he was this smoking hot," Wyatt heard her stage whisper into Lucy's ear, and had to bite back a laugh. When Amy finally let go of her sister, she gave him a more thorough once-over. It seemed that he passed inspection, because the younger Preston nodded at Lucy once more in approval. He expected her to extend her hand to him, and was surprised when he found himself enveloped in a hug of his own. "Lucy said you're a soldier, but if you turn out to be another Noah I'll have your kneecaps."

"Yes, ma'am," he acknowledged her threat.

Amy's eyes gleamed.

"Oh, I like him," she announced. "Does he say that between the sheets, too?"

"Amy!" Lucy gasped, scandalized.

"Bet you like that," her sister added, unfazed.

"Oh my g-" Lucy choked.

"And look at all that muscle. Even underneath the clothes, you can tell… I mean, I thought Noah was fit, but… wow. Congrats, sis!"

"Stop, please… just stop." She dared only just throw a quick glance at Wyatt, but when she did she almost felt like joining in her sister's delighted laughter. For the first time since she'd known him, he was blushing at least as handsomely as she ever had. "That's Hurricane Amy, my sister, by the way."

"At your service," the woman in question teased with a mock curtsey.

"Nice to meet you, Little Preston," Wyatt greeted with a tease of his own.

Amy's eyes narrowed in good-natured challenge.

"Mom's almost done with dinner. I hope you like roast with a side of wannabe ex," she warned them.

"Ugh, Noah's here."

"Hmm hmm," Amy hummed in agreement. "Mom invited him. She said he should be there if we're talking about your future."

"Would it be rude to dislike your mother before I've even met her, do you think?" Wyatt asked, exasperated.

"It would only be natural, since she's trying to break you two up," Amy offered.

"Come on, let's get this over with so we can go," Lucy muttered, leading Wyatt inside by their still clasped hands.

Having Lucy's one-date ex sitting at the table with them was certainly awkward even by Wyatt's standards. He'd met a couple of parents who'd gotten on their daughters' nerves with their constant yammering about settling down and starting a family, but none of them, upon hearing their daughter had a boyfriend, had then proceeded to try to set her up with an ex. At least not at the first meeting. Not all had approved of Wyatt for their girls, but most had at the very least accepted him, and quite a few had been taken in by his southern charm completely. One father famously joked with him that if he didn't pay attention, Wyatt would leave the house that evening with his daughter and his wife. With Carol Preston he could see right away, though, that there was no point in trying to charm her. A soldier boy from a dirt poor hillbilly family would never be good enough for her Ivy League educated daughter, no matter how highly decorated he was (not that he could exactly tell them much about that anyway).

At the greeting and on throughout dinner she spoke to him an absolute minimum that was required as hostess by her upbringing. He could distinctly see the downward turn of her mouth when he told her in a roundabout way about his service (the PG non-classified version). When he answered her rude question about his current employment status, despite Lucy's vocal protest at such an affront by her mother, she was not impressed with his answer about private security either. Clearly for Carol that was barely a social step up from the help, and he could see how much more Lucy wanted to disappear in her plate every minute that passed.

Instead of learning more about her daughter's supposed boyfriend, Carol seemed more interested in luring Lucy into an academic conversation that deliberately excluded him, but in which Noah would enthusiastically participate. Adding Noah's smug look at Wyatt regarding Carol's obvious disapproval, and the soldier's sour mood was only held up by the faces Little Preston pulled when her mother wasn't looking and Lucy's obvious discomfort and anger on his behalf. The worse her mother got, the more rigid she became next to him. And the closer to him her chair moved, until their bodies would touch shoulder to feet if the chairs themselves weren't in the way. As it was, Wyatt was acutely aware of the warmth of Lucy's jeans-covered leg against his own.

He draped one arm loosely around her waist, not just because Noah was watching in irritation, though that was certainly a bonus, but also because physical contact with her felt natural and was something he had found himself falling into whenever she was around. It was almost something he craved. His hand rested low on her waist, thumb softly caressing circles along her side and hipbone. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lucy turn a beautifully deep shade of pink even as she inched closer to him, until her body was fully pressed into his side and she could turn her head into his shoulder to hide her blush. As he looked fondly down at the soft cloud of her dark hair, he caught sight of her sister's face for a second. In that short moment he saw it change from surprise to a thoughtful frown. He wasn't sure what that meant, but when Lucy nestled herself further into the hollow of his throat he found he didn't care enough to consider the matter further. He merely dropped a soft kiss onto the crown of her head, and enjoyed her soft gasp at the touch of his lips.

"Really, Lucy, there's no need to be rude. The table is no place for playing hooky. I thought I taught you better than that," her mother admonished with a scoff at Wyatt. It was clear she blamed him for her daughter's perceived sudden lack of manners. He wanted to respond to defend Lucy, but he knew her relationship with her mother was fraught anyway and he didn't want to make it worse. Besides his job as her escort, friend, and pretend boyfriend was to support her, not to fight her battles for her and take over. Her mother had to learn to respect Lucy's choices and she had to learn it from her, so Wyatt reluctantly swallowed his biting reply and all other thoughts until or unless Lucy asked him to intervene.

"Rude? Playing hooky?" Lucy's head shot up in indignation and suddenly she was sitting ramrod straight. "You're the one who's been rude to Wyatt all evening, mom."

"Oh, don't be absurd. I tried to engage him as best I can, but there's not exactly a lot of overlap between our background and interests and his, you know that, Lucy."

"Different backgrounds, really, mom? That's your big sales angle for trying to sabotage my relationship with Wyatt?"

"What relationship could you possibly have with him, Lucy?"

"You stay out of it, Noah," she barked back harshly at his question. "You're not even supposed to be here."

"I'm sure you've had your fun with him, Lucy, but now it's time to-"

"Fun?!" Lucy almost shrieked hysterically. "None of this is fun, Noah. I don't know how many times I have to tell you for you to realize I don't want you. When you told my mom about your little run-in with Wyatt at my place, did you mention that you were in the middle of assaulting me when he turned up?" She saw Carol throw a surprised glance at Noah. "Yeah, didn't think so."

"Pff, Luc- Lucy," Noah sputtered, trying to summon outrage. "It was just a kiss, you wanted it."

"I most certainly did not. If I had, I wouldn't have bitten you, don't you think, you bastard."

"Lucy!" Her mother's shocked gasp at her choice of words made Lucy startle. Her face turned from anger to embarrassment. "Now I'm sure such a misunderstanding can be cleared up-"

"There was no misunderstanding, Mrs Preston," Wyatt finally chimed in. "When I got there, he was pressing her against the wall and forcing his attentions on her. If not for Lucy's quick thinking, I would have hauled him off her with considerable prejudice."

Naturally, Carol Preston took the wrong detail away from his little comment and ran with it.

"Do you see what he is, Lucy?" Carol asked, derisively. "A violent man. Solves his problems with his fists. It may have served him well in the army, but is this who you want raising your kids? Who you want to build a home with? Who's to say he won't turn on you?! And what security would he give you? He may have overstepped, and I'm sure it won't happen again, but at least Noah can provide for you… and a family."

Lucy finally had enough, getting up abruptly and sending her chair flying.

"Wyatt isn't like that, mom! He's kind and sweet. Gentle. And respectful. And you may think that money can make up for all of that, but it can't. That's why I'll never want Noah. There's no comparison. Wyatt's the better man, even if you can't see it. He's taking good care of me-"

"I bet he has," Noah snorted disdainfully, but Lucy ignored him.

"-and I haven't seen how he's around kids so far, but if he's anything with them like he is with me, there could be no better father in the world," she finished ardently, but Wyatt caught sight of the tears streaming down her face before she stormed out of the room. Momentarily stunned, it took him a moment to get up to follow her. Enough time for Carol Preston to mount one last attack.

"Are you happy, Mr Logan? Now you've turned my own daughter against me."

Her whining was barely worth his notice, but he did spare her one more damning glance.

"With all due respect, ma'am, but from what I've heard, you've done that all by yourself. And, thankfully, Lucy caught onto you long before I even met her," he informed her. "Honestly, ma'am, I don't know a lot about kids and I'm not sure I'd subscribe to Lucy's faith in my ability to be a good dad, though it thrills me," he admitted openly. "But I do know one thing about parenthood: if you're not willing to be there for your child, to support them when they need it, and respect their choices as they make their own way in the world, then you're being a terrible parent and you need to butt out. Now I'm going to check on Lucy and then we're going home. Ma'am."

Before Carol could say anything else, Wyatt was already half-way out of the dining room, only barely listening to the chatter he left behind to hear Amy say she'd deal with him. He looked through the entrance and the living room, and threw a quick glance out the window to see if she had gone to the car. All without finding a trace of Lucy, even though he softly called her name. It was when he hesitated by the steps that led upstairs to the bedrooms that Little Preston caught up with him. He couldn't quite place the expression on her face, somewhere between angry and the cat-that-got-the-canary.

"You've got it bad, don't you?" She greeted him. "Taking a back seat, not defending her must have been hell."

"It was important for her to make good on this chance to tell your mother off for all her ab- uh, manipulations." He didn't acknowledge her question, though it sent his heart racing.

"Abuse, you can say it. It's true. Even if Lucy has a hard time admitting it, even to herself."

"Where is she?" Wyatt asked. If anyone knew where she had gone, it would be her sister, and if Amy sent him upstairs maybe it would feel less like he was intruding.

"You have got it bad," she repeated thoughtfully. "But you're not together. How did she drag you into the family train wreck dinner?"

"What? Of course we're-"

"Don't, soldier boy. Between the shade of red constantly on Lucy's face when you touch her and your reluctance to go upstairs, it's obvious to anyone who cares to notice that you're not actually intimate."

"Lucy's shy," he tried to explain, though he knew it was futile. Amy would know her sister better.

"Shy enough not to give me details, unfortunately," she breathed in frustration as she scrutinized him from head to toe again. "But not shy enough not to even tell me she was seeing someone. So imagine my surprise when my mother told me Lucy's new boyfriend was coming to dinner. And, okay, first I thought, maybe it was too new, or maybe she was worried about mom overhearing our conversation, but seeing you interact, well, don't make me repeat myself. What gives, soldier?"

"Amy, where is she? Tell me."

"You first."

"Ask Lucy. I won't betray her trust," Wyatt replied tersely. "Now please tell me where she is. I have to talk to her."

Amy scrutinized his face for a moment. Realizing he was serious, she should have been frustrated, but instead her respect for him grew. Whoever he was to her sister, clearly Lucy could count on him.

"Try our dad's office, last door just past those bookshelves," she indicated to his left, away from the stairs.

"Thank you," Wyatt threw over his shoulder, but he had already turned his back on Little Preston. He didn't bother knocking, simply walked quietly into the office and closed the door behind walls of the room were all lined with dark wooden bookshelves, elegantly carved with reading glasses and pens, feathers and small ink barrels, and books. Lots and lots of books. It must have been custom made for their family, a family who truly loved knowledge and learning. The shelves were organized by topics and each category further ordered alphabetically, he could tell at a glance, yet what truly had his interest was the person leaning against the front of a large desk in the same wood as the shelves, also intricately carved and covered with a glass top to preserve the masterfully decorated surface. Lucy's head was down, the curls of her her shielding her face from his view.

"Amy is onto us," Wyatt announced to draw her attention, and to avoid the contentious subject for the time being. It had the desired effect. Lucy looked up quickly, her expression turning from surprised to rueful.

"I never could pull one over on her. How much does she know?"

"I refused to answer her questions, told her to talk to you, but she suspects we… that we're not intimate as she put it. She said you blush too much at my touch." He couldn't help teasing her, just a little.

By the time he had reached her, Lucy had hopped onto the desk, dangling her legs from the edge. As Wyatt stepped up, without thinking, she parted them and he moved to stand between them. They blinked at each other when they realized how they had positioned themselves, but Wyatt didn't step back and Lucy didn't ask him to.

"Well, it's a good thing I didn't pursue a career in acting," Lucy chuckled.

"Probably for the best, yeah," he breathed back. They looked into each other's eyes, and neither could deny the depth of emotion and the burning of desire they found in the other's gaze. "Lucy, I-"

"Wyatt, I can't go on like this," the professor admitted. "And I don't even mean all the people in my life that have badmouthed you so far, although that is awful and I'm so, so ashamed of their… snobbery. I'm so sorry."

"You've got nothing to apologize for, Lucy," he replied softly, waiting for her to continue in her own time, even as he raised a hand to brush a lock of hair behind her ear and then played with it.

"But I mean… this, us… our arrangement. I know I said we're okay on the phone, but my mind won't let it go and I don't… I know I don't have any right to be, but I'm jealous, and that's not what you signed up for, so we should probably, um, like dissolve the contract or something. So there."

Having said her piece, she fell quiet, head bowed down again to avoid his gaze. She had thought just now that she saw… something in his eyes when he looked at her, but she had thought that before and then at the bar… and she didn't need to get her hopes up again. Didn't, didn't, didn't. So she waited with baited breath for his reply, his rejection no doubt, but for a long time all she got was silence. Somehow that weighed heavier than even the most painful rejection. Lucy felt defeated. She tried to gather what courage and dignity she had left so she could leave this room, this house, call a cab and never come into his line of sight again, when she suddenly felt his hand move from her hair to her cheek. The pad of his thumb brushed across her skin only once, but it was enough to make her look up.

"I'm glad you said that," he told her cryptically. "Because I can't go on like this either. You've made it utterly impossible to do my job."

Lucy ducked her head again, tears springing to her eyes. She knew she had screwed up, but did he need to be so blunt about it? So cruel.

"Since almost that first night, every time I've been out with clients all my mind would think about was your face. The sound of your voice. The tilt of your head when you're curious or considering something. The smile on your lips when you greet me. It was driving me to distraction, and not a few of my clients noticed."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lucy offered, even though she didn't feel sorry at all. She felt ecstatic, her heart soaring after its sudden plummet because he had thought about her too.

"You're not," he stated with mock recrimination, leaning forward till their foreheads touched and their lips almost brushed. "And that's fine, because since our phone call I'm officially unemployed."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Her voice was out of breath and she was almost incapable of listening further, because his delightful lips where just a hair's breath from hers. She could feel his warm whiskey-scented breath caress her face. All she wanted to do was-

"I mean I spent the week putting my clients into contact with other escorts, so I could close up shop. Cause I don't want to do this with anyone but you, and I really hoped you would be willing to extend my contract to, say, indefinitely…"

-to kiss him senseless.

"Yes. Yes. A thousand times yes," she told him in between kisses stolen in between bouts of joyous laughter from both of them. Soon as he could gather his wits, Wyatt kissed her for real. At first it was soft and chaste, all tentative as they tried to navigate this new step in their relationship. Then, because they'd wanted to properly kiss for so long, their kiss grew. Into two, then three, then more, barely taking the time to take a breath before returning to caress the other's mouth. It was Lucy's tongue that hesitantly asked permission to slip inside his mouth. He let her in, eagerly greeting her tongue with his own. His hand was still on her cheek, the other having gone around her waist again to pull her flush against him until her ankles locked behind him and both her arms around his chest trapped him further.

That was how Amy found them when she came to check on them, leaning against the door and taking a moment to enjoy her sister's happiness before firmly clearing her throat.

"Not that I don't enjoy the view or look forward to the full story," Amy admonished them gleefully. "But mom's still fuming and if she, or, God forbid, Noah finds you here, it'll be over with your private snog."

While Lucy tried to jump away as if burned, Wyatt held onto her unashamed. He straightened a little, and pulled Lucy into his chest, thus allowing her to hide her burning face from her sister and her wolfish grin. Amy raked her eyes over them, hands folded over her chest, as she spotted Wyatt's hand drawing wide, soothing circles over Lucy's back. His hand then traveled down her arm in an unhurried fashion, and grasped onto her delicate hand. He slowly eased himself back, steadying her with his grip as he helped her down from the desk. Amy noticed, most of all, that he didn't let go once she stood, both feet on the ground. Instead, Wyatt tugged her arm into his elbow like they were headed to a ball.

"I guess I should walk you home," the soldier stage whispered with a handsome grin of his own.

Amy narrowed her eyes at him, but he remained impassive.

"Hmm, yea-yes, we should… uhm… go," Lucy mumbled in a daze, before practically rushing them off. "Bye, Amy."

"Bye, sis," Amy replied tauntingly.

"Bye Amy," Wyatt repeated as he was dragged past her.

"Remember my words, Logan," Amy threatened. "Now bye, have fun, you two!"

TimelessTimelessTimelessTimelessTimelessTimeless

This time when they got out of the car at her house, he could feel a very similar tension and energy in the air as the very first night. Yet it was also different, because though Lucy's face had been and still was tinged red through the evening, she sought a connection with him this time. Throughout the ride to her house, she'd held his hand and now she reached for it again when he helped her out of the car. She didn't let go afterward, instead leaning herself further into him until their sides were pressed together. Wyatt thought about putting his arm around her shoulders, but then wondered if that may not be a step too far. Their… relationship had shifted tonight, taking on a much more intimate hue, and they'd both reveled in the intense physical contact they'd sought twice that night, but it was still new and maybe they should take it slowly from there on out. They were in a weird situation, the two of them, having mixed the professional with the personal until they were both too caught up in each other to disentangle their hearts.

Not that he wanted to. Not anymore. Although Wyatt had fought it for a bit, denied it even longer, in the end he knew deep in his bones that Lucy simply made him happy with her vibrant, caring nature. As he looked down at her, he saw a shyness in her features that created an endearing contrast to the self-assured professor he'd seen today (for much too short a time, and he really ought to rectify that sometime), the confident woman who stood up to her mother and, frankly, her stalker. His hand tightened involuntarily on hers as he thought about Noah, and his eyes looked up and down the streets to see if there were any suspicious people lurking about. Lucy, apparently sensing his mood, pulled his head down for a kiss as they reached her porch.

"I'm home. I'm safe. And I'm… happier than I've been in a while, thanks to you." He didn't doubt he'd also made her more confused and hurt than she'd been in a while, but if happy was the end result, he could probably live with that. Particularly as it was practically the same for him.

"Me too - the happy bit, though I hope someday… uh, but maybe that's a bit much for… now…"

Lucy chuckled.

"Listen to you, you sound like me."

"You're important to me. I don't want to mess this up," he admitted openly.

"Me either," she agreed.

"Good. It's late. I… uh.. should let you… go."

She looked between him and her front door, a new flush of crimson coloring her cheeks, but she looked him directly into he eyes.

"You know, I don't feel tired. Maybe you could come in for some coffee?"

Wyatt swallowed thickly.

"Lucy, if I come in tonight, whatever we do, there won't be any coffee involved until noon."

Lucy opened the door with her keys, barely pushing it open so it wouldn't pose an obstacle. Then she rose onto her tip tows to kiss him again, slowly and thoroughly. Wyatt responded without hesitation, his arms coming around her waist and her back to pull her as close as she could be with all their clothes still in the way. He walked her backward until she was pressed between the wall next to her door and his body invading her space, and he couldn't help himself but to run his hands up and down her sides, through her hair and down the valley of her breasts. She broke away to gasp for air as she shifted herself slowly toward the door, the depth of her eyes beckoning him to follow her.

"God, I hope so," she finally replied, before she pulled him completely through the open doorway.

The End

A/N: Wow, not sure what to say... I hope you could enjoy this monstrosity. ;)

Bonus Scene (This would have been the scene that followed their dinner with Carol if Lucy had gone straight for the car)

Their ride home was unusually quiet. Normally, Lucy and Wyatt talked the entire car ride about everything and nothing. Their jobs, their pasts, their various interests or hobbies. Sometimes they even spoke about their hopes and dreams for the future. But not tonight, because tonight their minds were too full of memories and their hearts too full of each other. So they drove in silence, only stealing the occasional glance at each other. Wyatt's heart beat fast in their chest when he offered Lucy his hand over the console. She took it without a word, but he could just make out the shy smile that spread across her face.

Wyatt had always known he would eventually take his friend Bam-Bam up on his offer to work at his private security company. He had enjoyed his time away from the ultra-violence of combat. If he hadn't met Lucy, he would have probably gone on with his escort business a little longer, relishing in being his own boss - no orders, no rules (except his own), no one else to please. If he didn't like a client, he didn't take them on, end of story. Still, it had never been something he intended to do for the rest of his life. Meeting Lucy had turned his life on its head. She was so vibrant with life, passion and determination that her laugh was infectious. It wasn't the only thing about her that influenced his mood, though. When she was sad, he wanted to comfort her. If she was scared, he wanted to protect her. He had been angry on her behalf when Noah had assaulted her, and when he'd missed her when she wasn't there. So much so that he'd made up a few excuses to go see her outside of work. It was like she'd dropped down into his life and flipped a switch. It made him play catch up or threatened to leave him behind. He cast another glance at Lucy. She wasn't the only reason he wanted to change, though. He had missed the easy camaraderie between him, Bam-Bam and the guys a little more each day. Lucy just gave him a final push, because he wanted to be in a position to do something about the unexpected butterflies in his stomach.

He squeezed her hand without thinking and noticed that she was looking at him. Her eyes were mournful, and, as he had now come to expect, it made him want to pull over and pull her into a hug. But it was late, and they were both tired and rattled, so instead he squeezed her hand again to offer some silent comfort. Her mouth twitched briefly as a smile tried to break through, but it was barely a flicker before it vanished again.

"I'm not mad at you, Lucy," Wyatt voice suddenly cut loudly through the stillness.

"You- you're not? But I thought- You… Mom was-" She huffed.

"I know," he sighed, guiltily. "I'm sorry. After everything I guess I got a little lost in my thoughts. Your mother threw me, and I have a bit of a temper in case you haven't noticed. I didn't want to risk taking it out on you. Then, when I found you at the car…We should talk, and I want to talk."

She nodded quietly, understanding. Blushing again.

"Now?" She asked cautiously.

"Now I-" He stopped mid-sentence, and squinted his eyes at something in the rearview mirror. "Now I just noticed a dark truck and thought it might be following us. Give me a sec." They drove in silence for a few minutes, in which Wyatt's mood darkened. Lucy squeezed his hand, half in comfort, half in sudden worry, but his thumb stroked over the back of her hand and she breathed a sigh of relief. He was still in control. "I've now tested that theory and cautiously tried to loose them without any excessively illegal race car moves."

His face looked grim.

"They're still following us," she surmised. "What could they want?"

"I don't know. I don't think they're after you. A history professor doesn't make too many enemies, I would wager, but I'm not leading them to your house," he explained carefully. "Which leaves us with two options. Normally, I'd find a well-lit, somewhat crowded street to make a stop and confront them, but I don't really want to do that with you in the car."

"What's the other option?"

"…We could… I could take you back to my place." He glanced at her sideways for only a split second before he continued hastily. "They wouldn't know where you live, and I don't think they want to break into someone's home. It's an apartment complex, too, so it's not like they'd know automatically which apartment to go to. I also know the terrain if they decide to make a go for it unexpectedly, and the police station is four minutes away by car."

It sounded so reasonable, Wyatt was almost proud of himself. Though not as proud as to have managed to avoid making a comment about his couch being relatively comfy to sleep on and how, of course, he'd be sleeping there while she could take his bed. He only just managed to close his mouth before that could rush out along with everything else. He chanced another glance at her when they reached a red light and she still hadn't answered. She was sporting a full blush, right down the lovely column of her neck. When she realized he was watching, she bent her head forward until her hair fell like a curtain between them.

"I… uh, I th-think-"

But she was interrupted by a sudden loud knock on the driver's side window. They both jumped. Turned out, their followers didn't want to wait till they had made up their minds. They made use of the late night empty streets to catch up to them for the red light. The man who banged on his window yet again, was middle aged with a dirty blond mustache and a baseball cap. He looked and sounded like a pissed off drunk as he yelled at Wyatt to get out. The soldier huffed out in frustration; this was what he'd wanted to avoid. He bid Lucy to stay in the car while he saw what exactly this was about. As he got out of the car, he spotted the other two men who joined them on the pavement. Wyatt thought he vaguely recognized the lead guy from a similar situation a couple of months back, then at the apartment of his ex-girlfriend, though he'd had trouble understanding that last bit at the time. It seemed his hearing still hadn't improved.

"I tol' ya to stay away fro' my girl, asshole!"

Wyatt inwardly sighed. He'd really hoped to avoid this, but the guy was clearly drunk or off his meds, and he and his goons were gunning for a fight with him. He wasn't getting out of this without a confrontation. Still, he had to keep it short to keep Lucy's risk of exposure, both to danger and to the ultra violence that was about to occur, to an absolute minimum. He couldn't waste time with these doofuses, really. After the evening with her mother, Lucy needed some peace and quiet. What she certainly didn't need was to be involved into an altercation that would no doubt end with them at a police station making a statement.

"Wyatt?" Lucy's soft voice came from behind him. Damn it, he'd asked her to stay inside the car. But she came around nonetheless, and without hesitation she snuggled herself into his side, moving his arm to rest on her waist like it belonged there. Wyatt wanted to look down at her and ask what she thought she was doing, but he didn't dare take his eyes off the three men in front of him. They, however, did cast his female companion a confused look. "Sweetheart? Oh, are they some of your army friends; it's nice to meet you. I'm Lucy."

All four men looked in confusion at the hand she extended between the two groups. Lucy knew full well that these weren't his friends, he just couldn't figure out what she was trying to achieve. Still, the men didn't pounce on them, while their leader awkwardly shook Lucy's proffered hand as she continued to smile at him.

"This your girl?" He asked afterward. "She know you fooling around."

Lucy frowned.

"Wyatt? Nah, he would never. He's the most faithful soul I know."

"Lady, Marty saw your fella make out with my Pam at The Old Haunt last week. And afta I tol' him to stay away fro' her too."

The Old Haunt? He was referring to the blond Lucy herself had seen mauling Wyatt from across the room. She could feel him stiffen beside her as he realized she must have made the connection. Lucy didn't take Wyatt for someone who fooled around with a woman in a relationship, but she couldn't be sure. She cast him a skeptical glance.

"No, that can't be right," she muttered. An easy lie as the guy looked at her dubiously. "Marty must be mistaken. We haven't been to The Old Haunt in a while, have we, Sweetheart?"

"Don't even remember the last time, babydoll," he replied, catching on to her plan. He somehow doubted it would work, but it was worth a shot. A little ironic, though, that she was now his escort.

Suddenly, one of the other guys - Marty, they guessed - closed in, face contorted and pudgy with anger.

"Twas you, brah. Don't talk shit!"

Wyatt scoffed in an offended manner. He pulled Lucy closer and slightly in front of him, which really went against all his better instincts. He told himself it was only for a moment and only for show and he was there to pull her firmly behind him in a split second. This calmed him a little as he put his hands on her waist from behind.

"Are you blind, brah?" Wyatt asked, unable to keep the slight mock from slipping in. Lucy squeezed his hand again, this time in warning. "You see my gal here, right? Why would I ever look at anyone but her?"

"You're no' a couple. You don't act it. Tis show don't change that."

He moved his arms a little further around Lucy. When her hands moved to cover his, Wyatt's grip tightened automatically around her until her soft, pliant body was molded against his. They were completely back to front, not enough space for even a piece of paper between them. He took a shaky breath, and reminded himself to focus on the situation at hand. One of his hands splayed to intertwine their fingers, which she squeezed gratefully as if he was doing her some huge favor when in fact she was helping him out. Still, if having her hand linked with his reassured her, he would hold on as tightly as he dared.

Focusing back on their situation, Wyatt snorted.

"What, not enough PDA for you?" He asked derisively, then leaned forward a little and lowered his voice as if telling the other man a great secret. "She prefers to keep that in the bedroom… And the kitchen. And on her desk. And-"

"Wyatt!" Lucy whined in warning, beyond embarrassed about what he was implying. Especially since she couldn't deny having thought about it. She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks. They must be burning a bright cherry color by now.

"But maybe we can make a small, one-time exception for you," Wyatt told the other guy, though his eyes were glued to Lucy's as he turned her halfway back to him. His gaze was open, an offer. Or a question. Not pressuring her into anything, even as he let his gaze deliberately drift down to her lips and back up to her eyes again. A hand raised to gently cup her cheek. When he spoke again, his voice had lowered another octave and there was the same raspy quality to it that it had had on her porch swing so long ago. He lowered his head till he could stage whisper directly into her ear, sending a noticeable shiver through her entire body. "What do you say, babydoll?"

He felt her nod gently against his cheek and kissed just under her ear in silent thanks. Another full-body shiver told him that was a sensitive spot for her, and he happily filed that information away for future reference. He backed away just enough that he only had to turn his face to make their lips meet in an easy kiss. It was a soft brush of lips against lips as he moved his mouth over hers gratefully. He should be paying attention to the reaction of their assailants, but the moment he had even this slightest taste of Lucy he was captivated and his only interest was in getting more. So it was with delight that he felt her open her mouth to him at the first gentle swipe of his tongue.

He kissed her carefully and intentionally when she let him in, letting his tongue tangle with hers in the most sensual manner. There was no battle for dominance, only a dance between two equally passionate partners. As time passed - seconds, minutes hours, they wouldn't know the difference - that passion between them grew until he backed her up against the car quite without meaning to. They separated for only a moment when they heard the thud of Lucy's body connecting with the metal door. Once he was sure she was unhurt, he dove back in for more. After all, they had to be convincing if they wanted it to work.

Lucy didn't complain, rather she fisted her tiny hands in his shirt to pull him closer to her. His hand at her cheek began to move of its own accord. Down her neck, over her shoulder and down her arm to rest on her waist. Then up again to cover her ribcage, a daring thumb brushing against the underside of her breast in an instinctive caress. He half expected her to push him away at this point; clearly he'd overstepped their agreement. Instead he felt her hands move from his chest. One snaked under his arm to find purchase on his back, while the other rose across his cheek to the nape of his neck to play with his hair. He let out a guttural groan when her nails first raked over the sensitive spot there, and he felt her smile into the kiss. He knew they were making noises before, too, but this one was the first that had made it though the haze of passion that had enveloped the two of them. And maybe it should have shocked him out of his stupor, but instead it made him determined to elicit this and more from her own mouth.

So his hand moved again, from her ribs and down. Down, with a small detour over her pert ass until it could hook underneath her thigh. Lifting it to curl around his waist, he brought their centers closer together. That earned him a small, but loud mewl from his female companion, who enthusiastically used this new leverage to torture him by rubbing herself against his fast growing erection. He had to wrench himself away from her, or he might actually end up dry humping her in the middle of the street or, worse, begin to rid her of those annoying clothes. He only got as far as laying a kiss here and there on her throat as he panted to catch his breath.

"How long do you think they've been gone?" Lucy asked, the low timbre of her voice doing things to his insides.

"No idea," he admitted, but by the curious looks and encouraging honks of some passers-by, he'd say at least a few minutes. Thankfully, this was Frisco, so no one paid them too much attention except to cheer them on because they were hoping for even more of a show.

"Oh, god," Lucy grunted, embarrassed.

"Sorry." It was all he had to offer, really. Her next words nearly floored him. And made him want to kiss her again.

"I'm not."