A/N #1: This chapter picks up immediately following chapter 24...

Chapter 26

She got less than a block from Wyatt's before the tears came hard and fast, so thick Lucy could barely see. Hastily pulling into the first empty parking space she noticed, she slammed the car into "park" and turned it off, leaning her head back against the headrest, helpless to stop the flood of emotions that began to overwhelm her: pain, shock, disappointment, doubt, bewilderment, grief. (My God, what just happened? Why would Wyatt treat me like that? How could he talk to me that way?) He had been like a stranger, transformed from her sweet, loving Wyatt by a ferocious anger she had no idea that he was capable of. And then, harsh, choking sobs tore from Lucy's throat as the tears relentlessly slid down her face, gradually dampening the front of her jacket.

She had never before experienced sorrow the likes of which was tearing her apart from the inside out right now, not even when her parents had passed away. The place in her chest where her heart was supposed to be felt numb, empty, hollowed out. How was it possible to hurt this much and still be alive? The sheer force of her feelings nearly stole her breath, and Lucy was actually starting to feel a little light-headed by the time her sobs had dwindled to gasping hiccups and sniffles. Her head pounded thunderously, and her eyes felt swollen and itchy, like someone had thrown sand in them. She shivered in the chill of an early evening in mid January, and tried to focus on what she should do next.

With a sinking heart, it was obvious that no matter how much Lucy wanted to go back to Wyatt's, so badly she ached, she instinctively knew it would be a grave mistake, at least while she was feeling this raw. Plus, what if he were still angry with her? Another shiver shook her slender frame as she recoiled from that possibility. After sitting quietly for a few minutes, Lucy was calm enough to be grateful that at least Wyatt had enough presence of mind to send his son out of the kitchen before he completely lost his temper. Her eyes started to fill anew as she thought of the five-year-old.

Just that morning, Jamie had told Lucy he loved her, bright blue eyes (so like his father's) shining up at her as they cuddled in Wyatt's bed; how excited he'd been for the outing today with Amy, Julie, and the girls; the way his little hand had bravely clutched hers at the mall when Amy and Noah had started maliciously sniping at each other. In spite of her best intentions, Lucy had fallen hard and fast for both Logans, father and son. Hopefully, Wyatt had come up with a good enough reason why she left so suddenly without telling Jamie goodbye. She consoled herself with the thought that regardless of what happened between her and Wyatt, at least she would see the little boy at school on Monday.

Lucy guessed she should probably just go home, and thought almost longingly of her little sister's unwavering love and support. However, she was also aware of how fiercely protective of her Amy was, and most likely would never forgive Wyatt for hurting her big sister so badly. It fleetingly crossed Lucy's mind that maybe she could talk to Julie, but as much as she liked the younger woman, Julie Baumgardner was one of Wyatt's closest friends, and had been for years. It was very conceivable that Julie might unconsciously, without even meaning to, side with Wyatt, or perhaps worse than that, what if Lucy came between Wyatt and Julie? She would never forgive herself if that were to happen. No, Wyatt needed good friends like the Baumgardners, especially (and she felt faintly queasy at the thought), especially if she and Wyatt broke up. As for Rufus and Jiya, Lucy was distinctly uncomfortable with the idea of airing her "dirty laundry" in front of work friends. (Well, hell, that had just been an extremely short list of options.)

Lucy took a deep breath, and dug through her bag looking for a tissue when her fingers brushed against her phone. She pulled the phone out and peered at it with bleary eyes. There were several missed calls, all from Wyatt, and apparently when she had failed to answer, he had tried texting her also. Although she was tempted to read the messages, maybe it would be better if she waited until she got home. Sitting alone in a parked car on a public street bawling her eyes out probably wasn't the smartest idea Lucy ever had. In the end, after wiping her eyes and blowing her nose, she drove straight home, praying her sister wouldn't be uncharacteristically staying in on a Saturday night. As luck would have it, Amy's car was gone when Lucy got there. She sighed in relief at avoiding a potentially upsetting encounter with her sibling, who, well-intentioned or not, could be like a possessive old dog with a bone when she dug her stubborn little heels in.

She went straight upstairs, chilled in body and spirit, and decided to soak in a hot bath. Standing in front of her dresser, Lucy mechanically began shedding her clothes, not even bothering to pick them up and put them in the hamper. The entwined hearts necklace from Wyatt glinted delicately against her neck, and Lucy closed her eyes and unfastened it before gently placing it on the top of the dresser. Lowering herself into the steaming, fragrant bath, she lay her head against the back of the tub, a few tears leaking from her closed eyes, wanting desperately to enjoy the soothing warmth of the water as she tried in vain to drive Wyatt's angry face and accusing words from her mind, if not her heart.

Lucy woke with a start, accidentally splashing water over the side of the tub onto the floor, She must have dozed off, and the water had turned unpleasantly cool. Pulling the plug, she climbed out and hastily dried off before donning a warm pair of flannel pants and one of Wyatt's hoodies that Lucy had swiped from his place weeks ago. If she concentrated hard enough, she could pretend it still smelled like him, and chastised herself for her weakness (but kept the hoodie on). Putting her hair up in a careless topknot, she slipped on a thick pair of socks and padded downstairs. Thank goodness it was still too early for her sister to be home, if she even planned on coming home tonight. Since Lucy began spending nearly every weekend at Wyatt's, and had been for weeks now, Amy was seldom at home during the weekends either.

Feeling slightly better after her long soak (and brief nap), Lucy looked through the fridge for something to eat, and had just settled on an apple and a container of yogurt when she heard a brisk knock on the front door. Her traitorous heart leapt at the sound, thinking maybe it was Wyatt, but her hopes quickly deflated a little when she realized it was unlikely that he would drag his child out this late, especially if he was uncertain of the reception he would receive at her place.

To Lucy's amazement, when she looked through the peephole, it was Julie. Quickly unlocking the door and pulling it open, she glanced at the blonde uncertainly. "Julie?" Lucy wondered aloud in a scratchy voice. "What's wrong? Is it one of the girls?" And was even more surprised when her normally brash friend actually looked a little unsure of herself. "Can I please come in, Lucy?" she asked quietly. Lucy wordlessly held the door open and ushered her friend into the kitchen where she offered Julie some coffee. The blonde tentatively sat at the kitchen table, openly looking around at the small, neat kitchen. Both women were silent as Lucy reached for a couple of K cups and made coffee for them after returning her snack to the fridge (Lucy found she didn't really have much of an appetite after all).

She set the first mug of coffee in front of Julie, and a moment later, sat beside her friend and wrapped her suddenly cold hands around her own mug. Inhaling deeply, Lucy asked bluntly, "Why are you here, Julie? Did Wyatt ask you to talk to me?" and pushed down a flash of disappointment when the blonde flushed guiltily. "Well, you're wasting your time, Julie, because if Wyatt has anything to say to me, it needs to come from him, not someone he's dragged into whatever this mess is," and to Lucy's dismay, her eyes began to fill up. She blinked furiously, but despite her best efforts, a couple of tears escaped, and she wondered in despair if she was ever going to run out of tears.

"Lucy, no," Julie protested, "That's not why I came to see you at all. Yes, he called me, and I did just come from his place. But once Wyatt told me what happened between the two of you after I dropped you and Jamie off earlier today, he asked me to come and see you for two reasons," and here, the younger woman paused, watching Lucy intently while she wiped away her tears. Noticing her open stare, an embarrassed Lucy began to apologize, "Sorry, I haven't cried this much in years," when Julie put a hesitant hand on her arm to stop her. "Lucy, please, please don't ever feel you need to ask forgiveness for your feelings. From what he told me, Wyatt Logan behaved damn near unforgivably towards you today, and while I love him more than anyone except Dave and the girls, I am in no way trying to excuse his actions, and I'm not here to beg you to forgive him."

Although she appreciated her friend's seemingly sincere words, Lucy's head was starting to throb again, and she wanted nothing more than to go to bed for the next month or so. At the look of dull resignation on Lucy's face, Julie squeezed her arm once before pulling her hand back to clasp both hands around her own mug of coffee. "Maybe I should clarify exactly why I'm here, if it's all right with you?" and at Lucy's weary nod, explained, "The first thing Wyatt asked me to do was make sure you got home okay. He was really worried for your safety," and she frowned slightly at a derisive sniff from Lucy. At Julie's faintly disapproving glance, Lucy relented and shrugged as she rather unwillingly confessed, "Yeah, I might have pulled over and parked for a while because I was crying so hard I couldn't see to drive."

The relief on Julie's face at Lucy's grudging admission was palpable, but she merely continued, "And his second request was that I ask if you would consider responding to his text messages. He told me he sent you several without any response," and as Lucy's dark eyes flashed dangerously, the blonde hastily reassured her, "Hey, like I said earlier, I'm not here to plead with you on his behalf. But, Lucy, if there's even the slightest chance that the two of you can work past this, whatever it was, cutting off all communication with Wyatt might not be the best way to go..." and her voice trailed off as Lucy fought to keep her own steady.

"Julie, we've only known each other a few months, and I like you very much, but you weren't there. You have no idea what it was like to sit helplessly and watch the man you love, a man you thought you knew, change into someone you don't even recognize. I think part of me was just totally blind sided by his temper, the way his anger, which by the way, not only came out of nowhere, but was entirely unfounded, seemed to just, I don't know, consume Wyatt. It was like a stranger had dropped into that kitchen, and he got so worked up in such an obscenely short amount of time that even when I tried to explain, to, I guess defend myself, it was like he couldn't or wouldn't even hear what I was saying."

Julie's green eyes shone sympathetically as she nodded in understanding. "Lucy, that's pretty much exactly what he told me happened, too, and while this in no way at all excuses him going off on you like that, if you're willing to hear me out, you might have a little more information to work with before making any serious decisions," and after a long moment, when Lucy nodded reluctantly, offered, "First of all, while I myself have never seen evidence of Wyatt's temper first hand, Dave has, and even though the big goof tends to exaggerate sometimes, I just knew he wasn't in this particular instance. The incident happened years ago, before Jamie was born."

"The guys were assigned a class of recruits that had a couple of real tough guys, typical garden variety bullies, or as Dave recalled, 'big-time assholes.' I guess jerks like that are drawn to the military sometimes, and not only is that bad for squadron morale, unfortunately, it can also be dangerous. Dave and Wyatt had to discipline these guys more than once in just the first month, and Dave said it was unlikely the men would even be allowed to complete basic training. Anyway, the bullies apparently had a favorite target, an 18-year-old guy from west Texas who Wyatt had taken an interest in. One day about two weeks before basic was over, these jerks went too far, and the kid from Texas ended up in the base hospital with a broken arm. When Wyatt found out, it took Dave and a couple of other T.I.'s to pull him off both guys before it went too far, after he beat the crap out of one and was starting in on the other. At the time, all Dave would tell me was that Wyatt went 'nuclear' on those recruits, and he had never seen his best friend act like that. Honestly, I think it kind of shook him up."

"Wyatt was put on a paid leave of absence while the whole mess was under review, and in the end, the two bullies were dishonorably discharged, and luckily, no charges were brought against Wyatt. In fact, the whole incident was wiped from his military service personnel file, on the condition that he complete anger management counseling, which he did. And according to my husband, Wyatt never again let his temper get the better of him. So, Lucy, Wyatt is, and has always been, painfully aware of his hot temper, and I guess what I'm trying to get across to you is that there must have been something, maybe a kind of trigger or catalyst that set all of this off, and I might have an idea what it could be."

She fell silent as Lucy mulled over her words, and tried but failed to hide her relief when Lucy slowly nodded at her in encouragement, although she flinched just a little when Julie prefaced her reasoning with the words, "I have to confess," and at Lucy's nearly instantaneously negative reaction, hastened to assure her, "No, please, wait and hear me out. What I need to confess is that I might have given Wyatt serious hell for keeping some stuff from you," and her heart lifted slightly at Julie's apologetic tone. "Lucy, do you know what tomorrow is?" and Lucy's dark brows drew together in confusion over her friend's seemingly abrupt change of subject. "It's the 15th, why? What does that have to with Wyatt's awful behavior?" Julie paused, and leaning closer to Lucy, said in a solemn murmur, "It's also Jessica's birthday," and at the growing comprehension on Lucy's face, quickly nodded, and confirmed, "You've only been dating Wyatt for a few months, and unless he shared this with you, would have no idea how much he suffers on certain days every year like her birthday, their wedding anniversary, which I think was in May, and of course, the very worst day of the year for him, which is February 12, the day she died."

"In all fairness to you, Lucy, I have told Wyatt in so many words that in my opinion, it's wrong of him to keep you in the dark about stuff like this. Stuff that affects him negatively and then he turns around and seemingly out of nowhere, takes his painful feelings out on you. He's basically stacking the deck against your relationship by not sharing really important information like this with you. Lucy, I want you to know that I hope with all my heart that you and Wyatt do still have a relationship because, girl, believe me, no matter how badly he has hurt you, or how incredibly wrong he was today, one fact I hope you never doubt is how much Wyatt Logan loves you. Please don't misunderstand me, he loved his wife very much, and she will always be the mother of his son, but Jessica was his first love, a young man's love, and to me, what Wyatt feels for you is deeper, stronger, and more mature, the kind of love we all dream about that lasts forever. He's thirty years old, Lucy, and has already experienced more heartache than some people will ever see in a lifetime. So, I hope that buried somewhere inside you, under all that pain and grief and anger, is the knowledge that Wyatt Logan will go to his grave loving you," and as Lucy gazed into her friend's sincere, determined green eyes, she felt the heaviness in her heart lessen. Smiling tremulously at Julie, Lucy cleared her throat and managed to whisper, "Yes, I do know that," and as the younger woman sighed gratefully, continued, "Thank you, Julie, for all your advice and for being such a good friend to me and Wyatt," and Lucy couldn't suppress a weak chuckle when Julie's eyes welled up and they both cried a little.

Lucy got up and grabbed a box of tissues from the kitchen counter, and after both women dried their eyes, Lucy hugged her friend and walked her to the front door. "Lucy, I'd really like it if, for some reason you and Wyatt can't make this work, that we can still be friends," Julie said hopefully, and Lucy smiled at the pleased expression on her face when she told the blonde, "It might take a little time, but I don't think you have anything to worry about." She snorted in amusement at the devilish grin Julie wore when she asked Lucy to be sure and make Wyatt suffer just a little, you know, on behalf of the sisterhood, and quipped, "Well, I better be going now before Dave thinks I'm never coming home and gets all worked up at the thought of raising the girls by himself," and winked at Lucy before she left. She watched her friend fondly as she walked to her minivan, suddenly feeling better than she had all day.

Locking the front door, she stopped in the kitchen and picked up her phone before going upstairs to her bedroom. Flopping down on the bed, Lucy unlocked her phone and carefully scrolled down through the text messages from Wyatt. Before she even finished reading the last one, new tears were spilling down her cheeks all over again, but this time, her feelings weren't entirely negative. In the months she had been dating Wyatt, Lucy had come to love and appreciate his kind, quiet demeanor and natural reserve, and the almost shocking rawness of his messages touched her heart deeply. For Wyatt to put himself out there like this, with no way of knowing if she would ever read the texts, let alone respond, spoke volumes to Lucy. Yes, he had treated her terribly unfairly and caused her more pain than she could have ever imagined, but Lucy was sure now that not only was Wyatt truly sorry for what happened today, but he really did understand what his hateful actions had done to her. And although Lucy wasn't going to just roll over and accept this type of behavior from him ever again, she now knew without a doubt that they would stay together. She snickered to herself at a little voice in her head that sounded very much like a cross between Amy and Julie that whispered hopefully, "Yeah, sure, go ahead and forgive him, but damn, girl, you better make him grovel for a little while first."

She regarded the phone in her hand for a moment or two, contemplating just what she wanted to say to Wyatt before carefully tapping out:

I'm ok. Will text you tomorrow. Please get some sleep.

Satisfied with her message, Lucy hit "send." A heartbeat later (Good grief, he must have been holding the phone in his hand), her phone chimed with his almost instant response:

Thank you, Lucy

And at that simple reply, Lucy smiled gently. She wasn't necessarily looking forward to what tomorrow would bring, in fact, dreaded the thought of another possible confrontation with Wyatt. But she could see clearly now that Julie had been right. In typical guy fashion, Wyatt had been keeping information from her that had ended up directly (negatively) affecting their relationship. Although it didn't erase the hurt his cruel words had inflicted on her, the information about Jessica gave Lucy a little more insight into Wyatt's unexpected, completely out of character behavior. And of course, while she knew being better informed wouldn't magically fix their problems, she loved Wyatt Logan too much to just give up on him and what they were building together. She was aware now that they had a long road ahead of them, but in her mind, it was also the road to a stronger, happier relationship, and would certainly be worth any sacrifice. In spite of the possible troubles that lay before them, her heart and soul felt less heavy than a few hours ago, and that would have to be enough for now.

A/N #2: I apologize for the long delay in getting this chapter written and posted. In addition to being sick for the past ten days (yuck), there was this little thing called Christmas that happened, and oh, yeah, I guess I wrote four new stories in December. (Jeez, Gracie, take a break, lol.) Oh well, I hope everyone thinks this chapter was worth the wait :p As always, thanks very much to everyone for their favorites, follows, and especially reviews of my stuff. Hey, it's what we writers live for ;) Thanks again...