"You don't think it will damage it, do you?" Lucy asked Rufus nervously as they stood in the moonlight before the gleaming Lifeboat.
He shrugged. "I don't think so. The Lifeboat is designed for all kinds of conditions…as long as we keep the door sealed and make sure we don't let the growth get too out of hand…we should be okay. Besides," he chuckled darkly, "it can't be worse than C4."
The evidence of Flynn's treachery looked so small and inconsequential in the stillness of the evening; a minor blemish on the face of this marvel of 21st century of engineering…that, for better or worse had doomed them to live…to survive in 1754. "Do you think…do you think they've found it? The…the Protocol, I mean?" Lucy whispered.
"Who knows?" Rufus said with a shrug, "By now they've got to know we aren't coming back…" he paused, "well, not…I mean, I didn't mean…"
"I know what you meant." Lucy said with a small smile.
Rufus nodded thoughtfully, "You know…Connor Mason recruited me when I was just a kid at a science fair on the South side of Chicago. I had done this small-scale model of the city, complete with a monorail that ran on coffee pods." He chuckled, "Mason wanted me to talk with him after the fair and I told him I couldn't…I needed to pick up my brother. I had a responsibility, you see…and even though I knew this was THE Connor Mason, my family came first…and I don't know," he said with a shrug, "I guess that impressed him. He took me under his wing, mentored me, made me who I am today." Rufus nodded thoughtfully, "I owe everything to that man…and if he was willing to wait for a scrawny nobody kid like me, I'd bet my life that he's gonna do everything he can to see that we get home safely…he'll find a way…I believe that 100%"
Lucy smiled gratefully, "Thanks Rufus…I'm sure he will. If not for us, then for the time machine, right?" she teased. "I can't imagine he'd be okay with two of his greatest inventions going missing."
"I don't think Rittenhouse would let him be okay with that either…" Rufus muttered with a shrug.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, there's got to be a reason they invested in time travel, right? All of this is funded by them…and if they got all bent out of shape over a voice recording…how the hell do you think they're going to feel about losing both the Lifeboat and the Mothership?" Rufus shook his head anxiously, "No, I don't doubt Mason will do everything he can to help us, but I don't think he'd have a choice one way or the other…whoever this Rittenhouse is…whatever they are…they're going to want to make sure they have something to show for all the billions they poured into this project."
"Well I guess that's sort of comforting," Lucy said with an anxious shrug, "and a little alarming…I mean, it almost makes you glad that the Lifeboat is stuck here in 1754." Rufus gaped at her incredulously as she quickly reemphasized, "Almost."
Rufus was about to respond, no doubt with a quip regarding slavery or smallpox, when a rustle in the leaves put them both on their guard. Wyatt had left them a while ago in an attempt to tail the French, leaving them each with a loaded flintlock pistol for protection. It was already nerve wracking enough being stranded, as they were, but without Wyatt there with them they felt even more vulnerable. It was with a great sigh of relief, therefore that they greeted the familiar approaching figure, as he jogged towards them from the trees, "Good news" Wyatt gasped out breathlessly, "The French have set up camp about four miles from here…"they're not going to be moving anymore tonight." He nodded to Rufus, "Got anything to drink in that crate of yours?"
The large crate Rufus had procured from Fort Duquesne lay just at the base of the Lifeboat. Smiling, Rufus turned quickly and pulled it out towards the center of the camp, so that its contents could easily be seen by the bright light of the moon. He picked through the crate with a flourish, spreading its contents before them. "Bread, cheese…I think this is some kind of jelly…I'm not really sure. I got a pot of soup…I got some more of that weird jerky you liked," he said to Wyatt, "some wine…blankets…and probably the greatest grab of all? Check it out… an extra pair of clothes."
"Really?" Lucy's asked in excitement as she quickly made a grab for them. "Thank you, Rufus!"
"Uh…what do you mean, 'thank you, Rufus?' these are mine."
"Oh that's nice…you couldn't get extra clothes for all of us?"
"What do you think this is? The mall?" Rufus asked her, "I barely made it out of there with this stuff…" he added as he grabbed back the set of clothes from a very reluctant Lucy. "Hey don't blame me…I'm pretty sure your kind weren't allowed to run around in pants back in these days, probably qualified as indecent exposure or some nonsense…so don't even think about doing what I know you're thinking about doing."
Lucy sat back with a grumble glaring at Rufus as he stuffed the clothes safely back in the crate, "Do you think I care what these people think?" she muttered.
"You should care," Rufus reminded her, "you're the damn historian."
Wyatt, meanwhile, was busy uncorking one of the wine bottles, desperate for anything to slake his thirst after running through the forest for several miles. Even if wine wasn't the best way to rehydrate it was at least something and he was grateful for it, "I think," he finally gasped out after taking a few drinks, "we should do what we can to hide the Lifeboat and then camp out here ourselves for the night," he added with a nod towards Lucy "and then tomorrow…maybe we can find something a little more permanent."
"You want to cover this thing tonight?" Rufus asked incredulously.
"Why not?" Wyatt asked as he looked at the clear night sky, filled with stars and a bright shining moon, "We should have enough light, and I'd like to have this covered up before dawn…who knows what the French have planned…I don't want to risk them finding this thing."
Setting straight to work, therefore, Wyatt began climbing up the nearest tree, detaching strands of ivy and letting them fall to the ground in a heap. Rufus, seeing Wyatt's example, followed suit…though it became readily apparent that he was not nearly as adept as the Delta Force soldier in these proceedings. Huffing laboriously, Rufus grunted as he wildly grasped at the ivy while clinging to a limb, nearly falling several times before he managed to pull it from the trunk and send it sailing to the earth below.
Lucy, wanting to be useful, picked up a tendril of ivy and boosted herself up on the lower ring of the time machine. With a look of sheer determination, she began inching herself up the side of the machine, ivy in hand, in an attempt to get to the top. Wyatt paused mid-climb as he watched her repeatedly slide down the sloping surface, "Lucy," he finally asked, "what the hell are you doing?"
Huffing out an impatient breath, Lucy turned to him, "What does it look like I'm doing?" she asked in annoyance, "I'm trying to help you."
"Do you…do you really think that's a good idea? I mean…"
"What?" Lucy asked heatedly, already angry at the repeated insinuations that she wasn't fit or able enough to do things like this on her own. Okay, so she had a reputation for being a bit of a klutz, but she wasn't completely helpless.
"Well, Lucy," Rufus gasped out as he situated himself over a branch in an attempt to catch his breath, "that's not exactly safe for you, I mean…well you know…"
"You should be more concerned about yourself." Lucy answered in annoyance as Rufus nearly slipped off his branch, "I'll be fine."
After another unsuccessful attempt at clambering to the top of the time machine, however, Wyatt jumped down from his tree and made his way over to her, "Lucy, I'm serious…get down from there. I get that you want to help, but it's fine…"
"You were the one saying we needed to work together as a team…well, I'm part of this team and I want to pull my weight." Lucy argued.
"Yeah, but…"
"Look, if we all work together on this, it will take less time. Besides, with these rings…I should be relatively safe, right? Safer than I would be climbing a tree." she added as she motioned to Rufus.
Wyatt couldn't argue with either point; if Lucy was determined to help out, it would be better if she wasn't climbing up and down trees…and yes, the now stationary rings would serve as sort of guard rails if she did happen to tumble over. Still, balancing on top of the Lifeboat? Lucy? This was the woman who fell through windows and had an uncanny knack of tripping over her own feet. "If you do this…" Wyatt began.
"No, there is no if about this." Lucy argued, "I am going to help. I think I've more than proven that I am willing and able to do things on my own, don't you think?
Wyatt sighed as he looked at her in her still damp dress and he immediately felt guilty. He hadn't trusted her, and she wound up in the damn river. Maybe he should have listened to Rufus…maybe she just needed him to believe in her…to trust her to be able to do things on her own. Wyatt heaved a sigh, "I will let you do this on one condition." he said finally, "you don't get up or down this thing by yourself…you understand? You have to at least let me or Rufus help you with that, okay?"
As much as she would have been able to clamber up and down the time machine on her own, Lucy already knew that task was a near impossibility. As long as Wyatt was willing to trust her with the job of covering the time machine, she would allow him, in this instance to help her. Nodding in agreement, Lucy begrudgingly allowed Wyatt to give her a boost until she could clamber up onto the rounded dome of the machine. "Just…just don't get close to the edge, alright?" Wyatt admonished as he cast a worried glance towards her while she situated herself. "Rufus and I will hand everything up to you, you just do your best to cover the Lifeboat without falling off, alright?
"I've got it, Wyatt." Lucy said with an annoyed roll of her eyes, "It's not like I try to fall off things." she mumbled under her breath.
Trying to balance herself on top of the sloped surface of the time machine was much harder than it looked, however. At first, it wasn't that bad – Lucy was more or less able to navigate with little to no problems. Though it was night, the light from the moon was bright enough as to not cause a problem for her (or Wyatt and Rufus') visibility. As the surface became more covered, however, not only was she forced to stand up in order to avoid getting tangled in the lines of crisscrossing ivy, but it also proved to be more difficult to determine how close she was to the edge. Several times she nearly slipped right off the LifeBoat, having misjudged how far she had ventured to the end, but much to her satisfaction and relief neither Wyatt nor Rufus had noticed.
"Looks pretty good." Wyatt announced finally as he leapt down from a tree and began walking around the Lifeboat, "If our French pals come looking, chances are they won't give it a second glance…"
'Even if they did," Rufus called from his tree, "they wouldn't know what the hell they were looking at…but maybe it will keep them from going after it with a Tomahawk."
"Or trying to blow it to hell with a musket." Wyatt added with a scoff as he made his way towards the side where Lucy was waiting to be assisted down.
Rufus was more than happy to hear that he would not be required to scramble up another tree as he had already nearly fallen out of the last couple he had climbed. Eager to be back on the ground, he quickly began to make his way down when the small limb he was standing on snapped and with a sickening jolt, had him desperately grabbing for the large branch above him. "Oh shit" Rufus breathed out, dangling 20 feet off the ground. 'Uh…Wyatt? A little help, please?" he pleaded.
"Hang on." Wyatt grumbled as he made his way over to Rufus who was wildly bicycling his legs in an attempt to work his way back up and over the limb to which he was clinging. Seeing this, Wyatt shook his head in utter bemusement, "Just wrap your legs around the trunk and shimmy yourself down," he called up to him, "like a fireman's pole."
"Do I look like a fireman to you?" Rufus spat back. "I barely got up this damn thing…and now…oh hell, now I've got a splinter…are you happy?"
Rolling his eyes, Wyatt stood underneath the tree, trying to coach Rufus down, offering up words of encouragement, promising that he would catch him if he fell. Rufus was just easing himself over to the trunk in an attempt to follow Wyatt's advice, when the whinny of a horse sounded just outside of the clearing.
Whirling around in a panic, Wyatt could see another small caravan of French soldiers on horseback making their way through the woods a few hundred yards away from them. "Shit" he breathed out anxiously. They were completely exposed…well, he could easily hide…but Rufus, dangling as he was from the tree and Lucy, perched as she was on top of the time machine would almost certainly be spotted. "Lucy!" Wyatt called out in a hushed voice at her standing figure, "Get down!" he hissed as he tried to urge Rufus out of the tree faster. Lucy, instead of laying flush against the time machine, however, misinterpreted Wyatt's order and began attempting to make her way down off the LifeBoat on her own...which proved more difficult now that it was covered in ivy.
Wyatt, immediately seeing the danger in what she was trying to do, raced to help her – leaving Rufus helplessly hanging from the branch of the tree - but it was too late; tripping and losing her balance, Lucy slammed backwards into one of the giant rings and slid down a few feet before tumbling over the side where Wyatt, grasping her firmly around the waist, caught her just as they both slammed into the ground with a debilitating crash, her foot and ankle tangled up in a mass of ivy that crumpled on top of them with a soft whump.
The impact of the fall had Lucy seeing stars that seemed to amplify the buzzing noise now sounding in her ears. She felt paralyzed and for a long while she could hardly move, could hardly breathe…and yet she vaguely knew she could…
She just needed to remember how.
"Ouch" she managed to squeak out as she felt Wyatt moving out from underneath her.
"Lucy!" Wyatt's muffled and whispered voice sounded somewhere in the space around her. She blinked her eyes hard and finally saw his anxious face coming into focus, hovering over her own as she sought to do anything but lay there like a pathetic heap. He, however, seeing that she was, at least, conscious, placed a finger to his lips and hovered over her protectively as he pulled out his gun, watching with bated breath as the French soldiers passed through the forest ahead of them.
They were chattering loudly and while Wyatt had no clue what the hell they were saying, he was grateful that they, at least, seemed more focused on their conversation than on the goings on in the forest around them. Still, Lucy's fall against the time machine hadn't been exactly quiet and Wyatt wasn't about to take any chances. It would take one…just one soldier to catch sight of their little camp and it would be all over - they would be taken back to Fort Duquesne and killed before morning
Wyatt knew he could take out maybe two or three of those French assholes before they got a shot off on one of their flimsy little flintlock pistols…but even then, it wasn't just him. He had a responsibility to protect his whole team. How could he do that in his current position? He thought about getting up, but that left Lucy exposed and vulnerable…not to mention, any sudden movement like that would draw their attention towards them…and he sure as hell did not want that problem.
For Lucy, the problem was that it was this just this sort of thing that she was desperately trying to avoid with Wyatt…yet here again, she was back to fighting the overwhelming impulse to kiss him… and his proximity to her was almost too intoxicating to prevent her from thinking about anything else. In a desperate attempt to keep her mind focused on the fact that they were in danger and this was definitely not the time to make out with Wyatt Logan, she clenched her eyes shut and tried to ignore the way his breath tickled the shell of her ear, or the way the scruff of his jaw felt as it brushed against her cheek, and instead attempted to focus on what the soldiers were saying.
She could only catch snippets but what she did hear, didn't help her current dilemma as it only set her panicking slightly…which in turn, caused her to start breathing heavily…which, unfortunately, caught Wyatt's attention. Looking at her in concern, Wyatt offered her a questioning glance, one that Lucy answered with a shake of her head as she anxiously whispered, "They heard my fall."
Wyatt immediately tensed, his own heart set to racing as he considered their options. He could do his best to take out each and every one of those French soldiers, but he knew even with his modern gun, he wouldn't be able to shoot all of them before one of them got a shot off at him or another member of his team. They could lay there as is, hoping that they remained unnoticed and unseen. They could surrender…and maybe die at the end of a hangman's noose.
Or they could somehow convince the soldiers, if they were seen, that they weren't the people they were searching for…
There was, of course, another option, but Wyatt wasn't going to touch that with a ten-foot pole…not after whatever the hell had happened at the fort…except now that that memory had briefly crossed his mind, it was all he could think about.
He had almost kissed her
Lucy.
It was only supposed to be a tactic, a ruse to allow them to hide in plain sight, a trick…hell, he hadn't even planned on actually kissing her. She was…Lucy…bossy-know-it all Lucy, co-worker Lucy, engaged Lucy…off-limits Lucy and yet, no matter how much he had tried to deny it since leaving that shadowy corner of Fort Duquesne he could not deny…that despite all of that, he had wanted to kiss her.
That cold-hard fact struck him like a devastating thunderbolt and while it completely unnerved him, he tried to put things into perspective. They had been in pretty close physical contact for the past few days, sleeping next to each other…even relying on one another for warmth…that was bound to have some kind of weird emotional effect, right? They were also in a dangerous situation and with the heightened adrenaline and everything, well…
It didn't mean anything…it was just some crazy emotional response to all this damn trauma.
Which was exactly why he could not be thinking about this right now.
Nope…especially not now while he was hovered over her, his legs entangled with hers, her heaving chest pressed against his own.
Dammit! Why the hell did he agree to this?
He should have known better. Lucy Preston was notoriously clumsy…she had a record of trip-ups a mile long and yet he had stupidly agreed to let her clamber on top of a metal ball, in a dress, at night, and predictably, she had fallen. Tumbled right off, just like he had believed she would…and now here they were…not only pressed against each other, but also completely horizontal, hiding from the French (again), with their lips so tantalizingly close to one another he could almost feel them ghosting across his own and…oh God, how he wanted to kiss her.
DAMMIT.
Looking for a distraction, any distraction from his current…situation, Wyatt desperately focused all of his attention on the French soldiers who had now slowed their horses to a trot and were peering through the trees nervously. He began counting them, their horses, their legs, and then their horses' legs, adding them up, subtracting them…anything he could do to keep his mind from wandering to where it did not belong. A little groan from Lucy, however, had his eyes darting from them to her…something he almost immediately regretted.
Almost.
His breath hitched in his throat as he glanced down at her; her ivory skin practically glowing in the moonlight, her shining black hair, fanned out behind her head, her lower lip caught between her teeth and…oh hell, he was glad that her eyes were closed because he was pretty damn sure he was ogling her like some pathetic, sex-starved jackass. She was obviously uncomfortable…probably in pain…and here he was, his mind planted firmly in the damn gutter.
He shifted in an attempt to move away, to ease her and his own discomfort, but another groan from Lucy made him pause. "Am I hurting you?" he whispered to her in concern,
Frantically shaking her head, Lucy whispered back, her eyes still clenched tightly closed, "No."
Still, Wyatt couldn't help but think from the way she had to be in some kind of pain. She had just had a pretty nasty fall, after all, and since she was currently sprawled on the hard ground littered with rocks and sticks, he figured that wasn't helping things. As carefully as he could he eased his left hand from underneath her back and moved it so that it cradled her head, his fingers threading through her dark, silky curls, softly massaging her skull…hoping that that at least, that would help ease whatever soreness she currently experiencing. "How is that?" Wyatt asked. "Better? Are you okay, now?"
Though she nodded, the truth was Lucy was far from okay. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to scramble out from underneath Wyatt and never get within two feet of him ever again. Knowing that such an action in the present moment would probably get them all killed, however, she decided it was probably best to just play it cool.
Not that she had the first idea how to do that.
Especially not when he was massaging her head.
And laying on top of her.
And whispering in her ear.
Though she refused to open her eyes, she could tell that Wyatt was close…very close…too close and as tempted as she was to open her eyes to see just how close he actually was, she knew that between the proximity, the tender caresses and well…her own stupid school-girl feelings she would be much better the way she was. Circumstances may have forced them together, but she was not about to get swept away again…she had had one too many close calls already. The pounding of her heart sounded like a drum in her ears…she could feel it hammering against her chest leaving her with no doubt that Wyatt could probably hear and feel it too. Her entire body seemed to be vibrating with each beat and just as she inwardly cursed herself for being so loud, she realized it wasn't her heartbeat at all. It was hooves, thundering somewhere in the distance. How close they were, she had no idea…and really, she didn't think she wanted to know.
She clenched her eyes tighter at the thought of being discovered by the French soldiers, her body seizing up once again in fraught tension, but Wyatt's soothing voice sounded in her ear, "Lucy," he whispered, "I think they're leaving." She fluttered her eyes open slowly, nearly gasping at how close his face was to hers. His eyes, thankfully, were trained on the retreating soldiers and Lucy, nearly beside herself with relief, had to bite back a laugh as she considered they hadn't even given the leafy monstrosity before them a second glance.
Wyatt carefully eased himself up, his eyes scanning the woods around them for any more sign of the French soldiers. But Lucy, still a bit stunned from her fall…and well, everything that happened after, didn't move. Instead, she continued to lay there attempting to catch her breath and calm the racing of her heart as Wyatt crouched down beside her. Thinking that her hesitation to move stemmed from injuries, Wyatt's training kicked into high gear, "Jesus, Lucy…can you move?" Nodding, Lucy groaned as she attempted to sit up, but Wyatt stopped her, "No…roll over onto your side, first…can you do that?"
"I think so." she gritted out, feeling every result of that fall as she rolled over.
Wyatt breathed out a sigh of relief as he helped her sit up, "Why the hell didn't you wait for me or Rufus? Oh shit, Rufus…" he exclaimed suddenly as he scrambled to his feet in order to help the time machine pilot who was now dangling from the tree by his forearms.
"Yeah, still here" Rufus snapped, "literally out on a limb." As Wyatt rushed to help an exhausted Rufus, Lucy grimaced as she finally managed to sit upright, every inch of her body aching in protest as she did so, holding her head gingerly in her hands as Rufus angrily made his way over to her, "…and you" he was ranting, "I told you you were gonna break your neck if you weren't careful. What the hell were you thinking?"
"Me? Wyatt told me to get down….so I got down" Lucy spat out defensively.
"Out of sight, not off the machine." Wyatt countered in frustration, "How was I supposed to know you'd take me literally? Holy shit, Lucy you could have killed yourself doing something like that."
"I'm sorry, okay?" she spat out as she attempted but failed to get to her feet. If her sides weren't screaming from wearing that damn corset for so long, they certainly were now. "I just panicked, alright? she gritted out as she tried to push herself off the ground once more. Heaving out a sigh, Wyatt went to wrap his arm around her waist for support in an attempt to help her to her feet, but Lucy flinched away from him in pain…and well, for boundaries sake, "No!" she cried out, 'Don't…I'm...I'm okay…I can get up on my own."
Looking entirely unconvinced, Wyatt backed away from her, his arms poised and ready to catch her as she eased herself up off the ground. He eyed her as she gingerly made her way over to a log and sat down, noting with concern that not only was she limping, she was favoring her sides again. "Lucy, you could have a concussion…or a broken rib or a broken ankle or something…we should check…" Wyatt began.
"No." Lucy said with a shake of her head, "nothing's broken…well, except maybe my pride." she joked as she tried to manage a small smile…but neither Wyatt nor Rufus were laughing.
"Lucy..."
"I'm fine, Wyatt." Lucy stated with fierce determination. "I've just had the wind knocked out of me, that's all."
Wyatt looked to Rufus for support but found that he was no help at all; shrugging at Wyatt Rufus stated unconcernedly, "If she says she's fine, then she's fine. I hardly think she'd be sitting here fighting with you if she wasn't…"
'Exactly." Lucy said with a determined nod, though Wyatt could tell from the strain in her face that she was still in a lot of pain.
Reluctantly, Wyatt backed away from her, as Rufus continued, "…I, on the other hand, have a damn splinter…"
"So, pull it out." Wyatt spat back at him in annoyance.
"I tried." Rufus complained, "but it's shoved in there too deep…I'm gonna need tweezers."
Wyatt shook his head, "I'm sorry, Rufus but I left my manicure set at home." he muttered sarcastically as he pulled out his dagger and handed it to him, "Guess you'll just have to cut it out."
Rufus blanched as he looked at the knife, "I…I…it's on my right hand…I don't know if I can manage with my left…" he stammered as Wyatt rolled his eyes in exasperation and set to work on the splinter himself. Rufus winced as Wyatt worked the knife edge into Rufus's skin, easing out the sliver of wood that was embedded into the palm of his hand. He was just trying to angle the blade to help lift the splinter when Lucy carefully stood up and began limping around the camp, diverting Wyatt's attention from Rufus' hand to her, "Ow! Watch what you're doing, will ya?" Rufus complained as Wyatt muttered a quick apology and set straight back to work completely oblivious to the eye roll Rufus offered in return.
"Will you stop flinching?" Wyatt spat out as he yanked Rufus' hand back towards him, "I'm never gonna get this out if you keep jumping every time I get close to grabbing this thing…I almost had it that time."
"Well, I'm sorry, but it kinda hurts." Rufus returned hotly, biting back a myriad of curse words as Wyatt drove the knife blade deeper into the surface of his skin.
After nearly chewing a hole into his lower lip, Rufus breathed out a sigh of relief as Wyatt triumphantly held out a large sliver of wood. "All done." he announced as Rufus gaped at his hand in pain. "What?" Wyatt asked, "You want a band-aid? A lollipop?"
"No." Rufus grumbled, "But...you cut a hole in my hand…"
"C'mon, Rufus…give me a damn break, all I had was a kni…" Wyatt stopped short, a sinking feeling growing in the pit of his stomach as he took in the sight of their empty camp. "Where's Lucy?"
"Uh…" Rufus swallowed hard as he looked around, "She…she was right here a minute ago…"
Wyatt, clearly on edge, quickly darted around the trees, anxiously searching for her, "Lucy? Lucy?!"
"Whoa…ca…calm down, Wyatt…maybe she just went off to the bathroom or something…" Rufus offered, "you know she's got a lot of…stuff…going on under that dress…it takes her a while." As much as Wyatt wanted to take some comfort in that thought, he couldn't help but think that Lucy would've told them as much….it wasn't like her to just disappear…especially not when she knew how close they were to the French fort…hell, to the French soldiers.
No. She wouldn't have just run off…that wasn't like her.
"Dammit Rufus, will you just shut up and help me look?" Wyatt spat out despite himself. It wasn't just the fact that they were in the woods, in the night, surrounded by hostile forces. No. She had just had that hard fall. If she had hit her head and was disoriented, she could've wandered off somewhere in confusion…gotten lost in this maze of trees, or headed straight for…
"The river." Wyatt gasped before racing towards the water's edge, dreading what he might find there. Why the hell hadn't he insisted on checking her for injuries? How could have been so damn stupid? Rufus was right on his heels as Wyatt, now ankle deep in the water spun around helplessly as his eyes scanned the expanse of dense trees and water all around him.
She wasn't there.
A wave of panic washed over him as he stood there, feeling about as helpless as he had on a cold, dark night in February 2012; the night Jessica disappeared and was taken from him forever. The same agony of not knowing…the same horror in slowly comprehending that the worst of your fears was becoming a reality overtook him as he stood there, his eyes darting back and forth, desperately searching for any sign of Lucy.
"Wyatt…"
"You told me she was fine." Wyatt growled, his anger growing. "I knew I should've checked her…I knew I shouldn't have listened to either one of you. She was hurt and instead of taking care of her, I had to pull out your damn splinter!"
Offended, Rufus gaped back at him, "What the hell, man?" he snapped back, "Don't blame me for dropping the ball. If you were that damn worried you could have…"
"What's going on? What happened? Why are you two fighting?" Lucy asked as she stood staring at the two of them in confusion from the shoreline. "And why are you in the river?"
After gaping at her for several seconds, Wyatt's relief suddenly turned to anger "Where the hell have you been?" he spat out.
Taken aback, Lucy looked towards a shrugging Rufus and stammered, "Well, I was…I…was trying to…and then I heard you calling…so I…" she looked at him in complete confusion, "What…what's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" Wyatt asked her incredulously, "Do you have any idea what we just went through looking for you?" Lucy looked back at him completely bewildered as Rufus shook his head in apparent disagreement, "Jesus Lucy, we thought…you could have been…I mean, with your fall…."
"Wyatt…I…I told you," Lucy scoffed, "I'm fine. I was just…" but he was already pushing past her and heading back up to the camp, clearly frustrated and angry. Lucy looked back at Rufus helplessly, "What…what did I do?"
"You gave Wyatt a panic attack." Rufus said with a dry chuckle as he made his way back to the river bank towards Lucy, "He may act all tough, but he's got a few soft spots…especially where you're concerned."
Lucy shook her head in disbelief, "I don't think it has anything to do with me. He just takes his job seriously…"
"Sure…that's it. His job." Rufus said with a nod, entirely unconvinced, "Well, for what it's worth, Lucy…I'm glad you're okay…and not ya know…floating face down in the river or anything."
"Thanks, Rufus." Lucy answered with a roll of her eyes as they slowly made their way back up to the camp, Lucy leaning on Rufus for support, only to find Wyatt, brooding, as he forcefully dug the shovel into the Earth.
"What are you doing?" Rufus asked in confusion.
'What the hell does it look like I'm doing?" Wyatt spat out. "I'm setting up camp."
"But what if more soldiers come by?" Rufus asked nervously.
Wyatt shook his head as he continued to dig deeper, "No way in hell are we going to be marching through the woods tonight, not after what just happened."
"You mean my fall?" Lucy asked incredulously, "Wyatt…I'm fine"
He paused in his digging and looked up at her skeptically. "Sure, you are. You're only limping."
"Yes, but…"
"But nothing." Wyatt interrupted heatedly, "We stay here tonight. You obviously need to rest." he said with a nod towards her ankle as he began shoveling again, "which means the last thing you need to be doing is wandering off in the woods…alone."
"I didn't run off…" she began but she quickly bit her lip, apparently thinking better of arguing, "You're right." she said with a sullen nod and a quick glance towards Rufus who looked as surprised as Wyatt that she switched gears so suddenly, "I'm sorry…I um…shouldn't have disappeared on you." Wyatt eyed her suspiciously as she limped to the crate of supplies, wondering where the hell she had run off to and why she seemed to be avoiding any discussion about where she had gone.
"I'm telling you she went to the bathroom." Rufus suggested when Wyatt pulled him aside after he had started the fire.
"Well then why wouldn't she just say as much?" Wyatt asked as he looked over his shoulder at Lucy who was slicing up the loaf of bread Rufus had procured.
"You know how women are," Rufus hissed back, "they make up all kinds of weird excuses to hide what they're actually doing….powdering their nose, reapplying lipstick, having "girl time", Rufus scoffed, "it's like they think we don't know they have the same bodily functions that men do."
Wyatt hushed him as Lucy approached, still eyeing her suspiciously as she hobbled towards the fire handing them both some bread and cheese as they waited for the soup to warm. "How's your ankle?" he asked as he cleared his throat.
Lucy paused as she sat down on the far side of the fire, being sure to keep as much distance between herself and Wyatt, "It's fine." she said with a shrug, "it's a little sore…but that's hardly surprising considering…everything."
Wyatt nodded thoughtfully but otherwise said nothing as Rufus passed around the pot of soup, the aroma wafting from it, driving out any other thought from his mind. It was a hearty stew, with chunks of meat, undoubtedly venison, with bits of carrot and potato and after so many days of hardly anything, it truly was the best thing any of them had ever tasted. Paired as it was, with homemade bread, cheese and washed down with a few swigs of wine, it was heads and tails above the snake they had eaten earlier that day…something Rufus was all too quick to point out.
"See, Bear Grylls...we can have a meal out here without resorting to eating snakes and bugs and whatever other weird survivalist shit you've got in store for us."
"Very funny, Rufus." Wyatt said with a roll of his eyes, "but I didn't hear you complaining when that was all you had to eat. We won't always be this lucky…"
"No." Rufus shrugged in agreement, "but I get some weird satisfaction knowing that the first decent meal we had since landing in this hell hole was due to my knack for "blending in" and not because of your crazy wilderness skills."
Rufus half expected Wyatt to give him a tongue lashing about dismissing the importance of knowing how to survive in the wild, but he didn't. Instead, Wyatt poked at the fire and casually called out to Lucy, "Where are you running off to now?"
Surprised, Rufus looked up to find that Lucy was no longer sitting across from them, but had inched her way to the edge of the clearing. She looked flustered and embarrassed at being caught, but there was a hint of frustration in her voice as she snapped back, "Nowhere…I was just going to wash up."
Wyatt stood up, eyeing her thoughtfully, "No need for you to run around on that ankle of yours." he motioned for Rufus to hand him the now empty pot that held the soup, "I'll go get you some water."
Lucy hobbled back towards the fire and plopped down, wrapping herself up in a blanket as she did so while Wyatt ran down to the river and brought her back a pot full of water and handed her his handkerchief. "Thanks." she muttered despondently as she took it from him.
Rufus, meanwhile, had taken a blanket of his own and stretched out underneath a large tree. "Oh yeah, this is so much better than freezing my ass off." he said as he yawned violently and nuzzled himself under the covers.
Following his lead, Wyatt grabbed a blanket of his own but as he began laying it out, he looked over at Lucy…still on the other side of the campfire, mindlessly dunking the handkerchief he had given her in the water, "You know," Wyatt piped up as he spread out his blanket, "if you're planning on using that to wash up, it helps if you actually use that to…wash yourself.
"Huh?" Lucy startled at his comment, "Oh, right…I'm sorry." she muttered as she began scrubbing her face and hands, looking at once embarrassed and irritated by the attention.
Wyatt, however, wasn't phased in the slightest by her huffy breath…if anything he was more convinced than ever that something was not right. After watching her half-heartedly clean her face and hands and toss the handkerchief back in the pot of water with a scowl, Wyatt accosted her again, "Are you sure, you're alright?"
Rolling her eyes this time, Lucy snatched up her blanket and moved further away from the fire…and them, "Yes, I'm fine." she gritted out, "I've told you…"
"Then why the hell are you all the way over there?" Wyatt asked, ignoring the snort from Rufus who had now thrown off his blanket and was casting an amused glare towards the Delta Force soldier.
Lucy shrugged in bewilderment, "I don't know…I just felt like moving over here."
"You know, your dress will dry out faster if you're close to the fire." Wyatt added, "I can't imagine you're comfortable…I mean, it's kind of chilly tonight and your clothes are still wet…"
"And whose fault is that?" Lucy snapped, causing Wyatt to dart his eyes to hers in surprise, "It's too hot by the fire, okay? I'm perfectly comfortable where I am."
Wyatt, taken aback by her obvious anger, traded a glance with Rufus who was biting back a laugh. Ignoring him, Wyatt argued, "We should still stay close together…you know, for safety's sake." Rufus snorted again and Wyatt, finally having enough of his antics turned to him and hissed, "What the hell is your problem?"
"Me? I don't have a problem…but I think it's pretty obvious you do."
"What are you talking about?"
"C'mon Wyatt." Rufus whispered. "You…Lucy…the fact that she's there and not here…snuggled up next to you."
Wyatt gaped at him, "I don't know what the hell you're talking about, but that has nothing to do….we're out in the woods, Rufus…it's safer if we sleep close together in case something happens."
"Yeah, yeah." Rufus muttered as he turned on his blanket away from Wyatt who was left stewing in his own indignation.
He hated that Rufus was insinuating his motivations were spurred on by anything but Lucy's safety…what the hell did he care where she slept? His job was to protect the team and it would be a hell of a lot easier to do that if they weren't spread out all over the damn place.
Anyone could see that.
Everyone but Lucy and Rufus, apparently.
As Rufus nuzzled under his covers once more, Wyatt turned his attention back to Lucy who was hugging her knees to her chest, looking almost as if she were waiting for a bus. He thought about suggesting she try to get some sleep, but after the way she snapped at him earlier and the way she had been acting all day, he thought better of it. Obviously, she was trying to avoid him….or she just needed space…or maybe she had overheard Rufus' damn accusatory comment and it made her uncomfortable. Whatever it was, Lucy clearly did not want to be near him…and he didn't want to think about why that seemed to bother him so much…
But as he tossed and turned on his own blanket, there was a nagging voice in his brain – that oddly enough sounded just like Rufus - telling him that he would sleep a hell of a lot better nestled next to a certain historian. He half wondered if Lucy was feeling the same way…or if she was now avoiding him because of what had happened back at the fort...oh dammit, what if that was why? What if he had just royally screwed up their professional relationship because of that stupid plan he had to hide in plain sight? He had made things awkward between them and hadn't talked to her about it…he was going to have to fix it. He was going to have to explain to her that it didn't mean anything…that they were just friends...and then maybe things would go back to normal between them…but then he remembered she had been aloof with him all morning…well before anything even happened at that fort. So maybe she wasn't upset about that situation at all.
And why would she be?
He hadn't actually kissed her…and well, as far as she knew the whole thing was just a stunt to keep them both safe. She was fine. There was no reason to feel awkward about their relationship…because nothing had changed. They were team mates…team mates who had not kissed…and that was all there was to it.
After nearly an hour of listening to Rufus snore, however, Wyatt finally rolled back over and peered across the campsite again to find Lucy sitting with her back against a tree, her arms cradled around her knees and absolutely stifling a yawn.
"Okay," Wyatt muttered to her mechanically as he sat up with a sigh. "What's your favorite movie?"
Lucy startled in confusion, "Wha…what?"
"It helps," Wyatt explained simply with a shrug, "when you're trying to fight off sleep…talking."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Lucy hissed back at him in a huff, "I'm not trying to fight off sleep…I'm just not tired."
Wyatt looked at her doubtfully, as she attempted to stifle another unmistakable yawn, "Okay…fine…you're not tired. What's your favorite movie?"
Lucy sighed in exasperation, "I don't know…probably one of the classics…like Philadelphia Story or Singing in the Rain…or Casablanca…something like that."
Wyatt smirked, "Figured."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lucy asked, affronted.
"Nothing. I just pegged you for a black and white movie type…that's all." Wyatt answered.
"I like other movies too." Lucy said defensively, "I just happen to think there's a sort of…charming nostalgia that comes with…what?" Lucy asked as Wyatt let out a small chuckle.
"You don't have to defend your movie choices with me, Lucy. I'm just trying to have a conversation."
"Alright, then what's your favorite movie?" Lucy asked matter of factly, before she shook her head excitedly, "Oh wait…don't tell me…James Bond?" Wyatt gave her a bit of an eye roll as she continued, a triumphant smirk on her face, "Let's see…I think you would probably vote Sean Connery as the quintessential Bond."
Wyatt scoffed, "Of course…he's the original."
Lucy nodded triumphantly, "Okay…so a Connery Bond film…hmmm." Lucy was no Bond connoisseur, but it wasn't like she was completely ignorant of pop culture to know at least some of the Bond movies. Most of the men she dated had been fans, after all…and her own father…well…step-father, would occasionally watch a Bond film or two. But which one would be Wyatt's ultimate favorite? "Dr. No seems too obvious. Goldfinger too cliché…ooh, Never Say Never Again?" she asked remembering what he had said to Ian Fleming before they left Germany. "Oh no wait, what was that one about us? Weapon of…something…Chance?"
"Weapon of Choice" Wyatt muttered grumpily.
Lucy narrowed her eyes in confusion, "What? Did…didn't you like it?" Wyatt frowned and shook his head, completely taking Lucy aback, "Really?" she asked in disbelief, "I thought for sure you would've loved that one…I mean, you're in it."
Yeah, he was in it…but so was Lucy.
Wyatt shifted uncomfortably on his blanket as he relived the disappointment and infuriation of that flaming piece of garbage masquerading as a Bond film. "Connery's finest" Mason had called it, but Wyatt could not disagree more. Not that it was Mason's fault, he hadn't been there, after all…maybe if he had, he wouldn't have ranked it above the likes of From Russia with Love or Diamonds are Forever. Hell, as far as Wyatt was concerned, Weapon of Choice ranked below them all, Moonraker, A View to Kill, or even that George Lazenby nightmare, On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
It wasn't that the plot wasn't good…taking their World War II era mission and transposing it to Soviet Russia was a brilliant move given the Cold War and that particular mission's emphasis on the rocket/space programs. While Von Braun wasn't the scientist in need of saving in Weapon of Choice, it was clear to Wyatt that role had been inspired by the German engineer. It also became abundantly clear that Ian Fleming had twisted the story around a bit, to put himself, or rather his counterpart, into a more favorable light. It was Lucy's brilliance that had alerted both Wyatt and Ian Fleming to Von Braun's importance. Hell, Ian Fleming was ready to kill him, until Lucy stepped in…but did she get any credit? No. That asshole had given all the glory to Bond.
But that wasn't the only liberty Ian Fleming had taken.
While he and Rufus' roles in the mission and the subsequent rescue had been significantly reduced, Fleming had at least treated their characters honestly. Rufus was the brilliant engineer who bravely volunteered to disarm the Nazi missile…well, Soviet missile while Wyatt was portrayed as a no-nonsense crack shot CIA (OSS) operative. Of course, Wyatt wasn't really a CIA operative…but as Ian Fleming didn't know that, that little discrepancy could be easily overlooked and forgiven.
What could not be so easily forgiven was how he had completely decimated Lucy's character. Instead of being the strong, brilliant, and courageous woman he knew her to be, Ian Fleming had turned her into an empty headed, bumbling secretary whose sole purpose in the story was to tumble into bed – repeatedly - with Bond. He knew in 1945 that Bond had been interested in Lucy. He had watched him flirt with her over a glass of wine, hold her hand in the Nazi castle…hell, he had even heard the sonofabitch proposition her right there at the end of their mission. Lucy, however, had flatly rejected him…and this…this was how he repaid her.
Coloring slightly, Wyatt shrugged, "I um…just didn't think it was that good. You know…being on the actual mission and seeing…well…seeing…" he cleared is his throat nervously as he continued, "I just think the real deal is better, that's all."
Lucy nodded slowly, "I guess that makes sense. I suppose it would be kind of disappointing…seeing some cheap imitation of yourself running around on the screen." She offered him a sheepish grin, "Nothing is quite like the real deal, right?"
Wyatt ducked his head down, a knowing smile playing on his lips as he considered what Lucy would say if she knew how much Ian Fleming had objectified her and turned her into what amounted to nothing more than a brainless groupie. He nodded as he muttered back, "You got that right…ma'am."
They continued to laugh and talk as the night wore on and though Lucy was looking visibly more relaxed than she had been all day, Wyatt could tell that she was really fighting to stay awake…yet he had no idea why. Well…that wasn't true…he did have some suspicions. The French were looking for them after all, and knowing how anxious she and Rufus had been about being caught again, he imagined their close call this evening had probably unnerved her quite a bit. Then there was her fall. Lucy had insisted that she was fine, but Wyatt had seen how she limped and clutched her sides and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong…and it hadn't started at this latest fall…no, the fall she had earlier in the day had elicited the same response. Maybe she had actually broken a rib and she didn't want to worry him…maybe that's why she didn't want him touching her waist…maybe that's why she didn't want to lay down…maybe that's why she looked like she was in so much pain when they were laying there together waiting for the French soldiers to pass.
It made so much sense.
Wyatt had just resolved to confront Lucy over these suspicions when her head fell against his shoulder…having finally fallen asleep. Not wanting to risk waking her, particularly since he suspected she was hiding an injury, Wyatt gently eased himself against a tree, allowing Lucy to continue using his shoulder as a pillow. If laying down caused her pain, Wyatt figured, he would sacrifice some comfort for her behalf…it was his job, after all, to keep her safe. Pulling his blanket over the two of them, he leaned his head back, letting it rest against the trunk of the tree, feeling much happier and at ease than he had been, as he too drifted off to sleep.
Wyatt wasn't sure how long he had been asleep before he awoke with a start, unsure of what had disturbed him until he looked over and saw that Lucy was no sitting next to him. As the grogginess began to melt away, a rising panic bubbled in his chest, threatening to overtake him as his eyes darted around the darkened campsite. Looking up, the once bright moon was now obscured by inky clouds that stretched across the starlit sky like a menacing shadow, filling him with a sudden sense of fear and helplessness. He scrambled to his feet, afraid to call out too loudly, but wanting nothing more than to find her…as soon as possible.
As quietly as he could, he retrieved his gun and eased his way around the camp, his ears straining for any clue as to where she might be. Hearing a rustling in the small copse of trees they had used the night before as their sleeping quarters, Wyatt silently made his way towards the sound, hoping to God he would find her there. His gun was poised, his heart pounding in his chest when he heard the unmistakable sounds of a struggle within. Fearing the worst, Wyatt was ready to charge into the trees, guns blazing when he thought better of it. Instead, he stepped close to the trees and called out to her, "Lucy? Are you alright?"
A yelp followed by the apparent sound of someone toppling over had Wyatt just about ready to crash through the trees to find out just what in the hell was going on, but suddenly Lucy cried out in panic, "Wyatt? What are you doing?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing." Wyatt said as he breathed out a sigh of relief, "Jesus, Lucy it's the middle of the night."
"I realize that." Lucy spat out in annoyance, "Just…just go back to sleep, okay? Everything is fine."
"The hell it is…you've been acting funny all day…what's wrong?" he demanded as he holstered his weapon.
"Nothing is wrong,." Lucy gritted out.
"Dammit, Lucy…I know you're hurt." he contended as he attempted to step between the trees and get to her, "What is it? Your ribs? Your back?"
"No!" Lucy insisted, "No…it's not that…it's…"
"Don't lie to me, Lucy."
"I'm not!" she argued defensively, "It's just….it's…it's my corset, okay?" she finally relented with a sigh.
"Your corset?"
"Yes, my corset." she snapped, "I've been wearing it for five days and I just can't take it anymore, okay?"
Wyatt rubbed a frustrated hand across his face, almost laughing with relief, "Lucy…why the hell didn't you say something? Here I've been worried you had a broken rib or something…"
"I told you I was fine."
"Yeah, but Lucy, if it was bothering you that much…"
"And what would I have done, huh? Strip down? Walk around here in my underwear?" she scoffed, "I told you when we first got here I wanted to rip this damn thing off." Wyatt swallowed hard, suddenly remembering that she had mentioned ripping off her corset…but he had been working overtime to get that visual out of his head and he hadn't (thankfully) given it another thought.
"Still, Lucy…." he offered consolingly, "If you were in pain you should've said something…"
"I didn't want to complain, alright? Besides…it's….it's my underwear."
Wyatt let out an exasperated sigh, "Oh my God, Lucy…what are we? Twelve?"
"No…" she began but Wyatt talked over her.
"So, you would rather spend five days being miserable than admit something is bothering you?"
"Look," listen countered defensively, "you and Rufus don't get it. You have your pants…and your shirts…I have layers and layers of….ugh…you have no idea what this is like, okay? Sometimes being the only woman on this team, sucks." Wyatt heaved a sigh and began to move around the bushes towards her, "What…what are you doing?" she asked in alarm.
"I'm helping you.' Wyatt said matter of factly.
"No, really…it's okay..." she muttered as she twisted her arms behind her and grunted, "If I can just get this knot untied, I can get out of it…" she let out a grunt as she yanked once more to no avail, "Dammit." Wyatt shook his head and dove through the trees towards her, stopping suddenly at the sight of Lucy scrambling to lift her discarded and damp dress over her front in a feeble attempt to cover herself. "Wyatt…wait…what are you…."
He raised his eyebrows at her, clearly amused at her sudden modesty, "Lucy…what the hell? You're wearing more clothes right now than you were In Vegas….are those pillows?" he asked suddenly as he pointed towards her panniers.
Lucy rolled her eyes impatiently as drew her dress up defensively against her chest, "It's still my underwear, Wyatt." she gritted out indignantly.
"1754 underwear, Lucy." Wyatt reminded her, "By 21st century standards you are pretty much fully clothed…relax."
Lucy cast him a sardonic glare before relenting with a sigh, "Yeah…okay, I see your point."
"Just…let me help you out, okay?"
Feeling suddenly silly, Lucy heaved a sigh as she turned her back to Wyatt and lifted her hair up away from her neck giving him a clearer view of the laces. He set to work right away, his fingers tugging at the knot and Lucy couldn't help but chuckle at herself, "I'm sorry." she muttered softly, "I don't know why I'm so uptight about this…I mean, this can't be any worse than you biting the underwire out of my bra on that first mission, right?"
Wyatt's fingers faltered on the knot as the memory of her bare back came racing to the forefront of his mind. He hadn't expected her to take her shirt off…he was just interested in getting them the hell out of there and her underwire seemed like the perfect solution. How was he supposed to know she would strip down right there in the middle of the jail house? With shaking hands, he reached for the laces of her corset again, cursing the snakelike part of his brain that had suddenly awoken, reminding him of every impure thought he had had of the high-strung professor since that damn night in 1937 New Jersey. As if mocking him, a tendril of her raven hair fluttered down drawing his attention to her mercilessly exposed neck…just aching to be touched, kissed….
What the hell was his problem?
Lucy was suffering…she was in pain…and here his damn mind was stuck in the gutter…where it did not belong…particularly in regards to her. This was Lucy, dammit. His team mate, his co-worker…his…
"Wyatt?" Lucy asked as she turned slightly to face him, confusion evident on her face, "Wh…what's wrong? Can't you get it?"
Wyatt gulped. Somehow standing with her in the moonlight, under a canopy of trees, and removing her corset didn't seem like such a good idea anymore. Stumbling, he backed away, stammering some incoherent nonsense about Jiya's handiwork on the knot, desperate to distance himself from her as she stared back at him in confusion. With the light from the moon now absent, Wyatt tripped over a limb in the darkness, nearly falling backwards until Lucy reached out and grabbed him by the arm, the dress she had been holding up against her now lying in a heap between them.
"Are you alright?" she breathed out in concern.
"Yeah…" Wyatt stammered in embarrassment, averting his eyes, trying to look at anything but her. "I was um…I was just going to get my...um…my knife."
"It's in your belt, Wyatt." Lucy said blankly.
"Huh? Oh…." Wyatt startled as he looked down at the leather sheath adorning his hip. Clearing his throat, he withdrew the knife and wordlessly motioned for her to turn, willing his brain to stop reminding him that he was about to cut Lucy out of a corset and that was bound to do all sort of horrible things to his brain…and his dreams…just like when he had bitten through her bra….
Shit.
Desperate to just get it over with, Wyatt tightly grasped onto her corset strings, not caring about anything except helping her and then getting away from her as soon as possible. "Ow!" Lucy gasped, "You're pulling it too tight…"
"I've almost got it." Wyatt gritted out as he slid the large blade underneath the laces and began sawing away, "Stop wiggling…" he grunted out, "this isn't as easy as it looks, you know…"
"Well, I'm sorry…" Lucy grunted back, "but I can't breathe…."
Wyatt muttered an apology and yanked the laces tight one last time before the laces gave way and Lucy's corset fell open and billowed out away from her sides, causing her to gasp out in relief, "Oh my God, you have no idea how good that feels." She quickly pushed the ruined garment off her shoulders and tossed it away from her, happy and relieved to be finally free of it. Wrenching the bottom of her chemise out of her petticoats, Lucy lifted it slightly to assess the state of her abused torso. The moon's light might have been dimmed by clouds but there was no mistaking the angry red welts that marred her skin.
"Jesus, Lucy…" Wyatt breathed out, horrified at the sight, "Why the hell didn't you say something sooner?" Every snakelike thought that had entered his brain at the sight of her in her corset had completely evaporated as he stood there, staring at the ugly and deep indentations that cut into her side. She had clearly been suffering, had obviously been in pain for some time, yet she never said a word. He wasn't quite sure whether he should be mad as hell or in complete awe of her stubbornness. Embarrassed, Lucy let her chemise drop to hide the evidence of her suffering, but Wyatt caught it before it fell completely, tentatively allowing his fingers to trace the inflamed divots in her skin. She hissed out in pain and his eyebrows narrowed in concern, "Sorry," he muttered, "Am…am I hurting you?"
Barely able to squeak out a response, Lucy merely shook her head, hardly daring to breathe as Wyatt's fingers gently pressed against her ribs, "How about now? Does this hurt?"
Realizing that Wyatt was now checking her for further injuries, Lucy tilted her head and offered him a sardonic glare, "I told you…I'm alright…"
"You think I'm going to take your word on that after seeing this?" Wyatt asked her incredulously. He pressed into her ribs again, this time with a bit more pressure, "Does this hurt?"
Lucy's eyes met his, so full of concern and a dazzling intensity, and her breath hitched in her throat, "No," she gasped out, but at Wyatt's skeptical stare and another press into her ribs she yelped, "Ow! Alright…it's a little sore…but I'm pretty sure it's because of that damn corset…
"Lucy…."
"Wyatt…I swear…I will let you pound on every single one of my ribs…but not tonight, okay?"
Just…just let them have a chance to breathe first…alright? That's all I'm asking."
The snap of a twig had both Lucy and Wyatt turning towards the clearing in alarm, both of them peering out through the branches where they could just make out a retreating figure in the shadows, quickly slinking away. "Rufus?" Wyatt called out in uncertainty.
"Yeah…um…bathroom….sorry…" he answered awkwardly, "I…um…I didn't mean to interrupt…you guys just keep doing whatever it is you are doing."
"Oh no, no…Rufus…" Lucy called out as she made her way out from behind the trees, "Wyatt was just helping me out of my corset." she explained innocently.
"So I heard." Rufus said pointedly, "Look, we're all adults here...if you two want to sneak off in the middle of the night for some alone time, I completely understand...just try to keep it down next time, okay?"
"Dammit Rufus," Wyatt snapped, sick to death of his insinuations, "nothing happened, okay? She was just…"
"Say no more Wyatt, please…" Rufus interrupted with a wave of his hand, "I don't need the details of whatever it is you two have got going…are those pillows? Damn, Lucy what else did you have going on under that dress?"
"Okay…you know what?" she gritted out as she untied her panniers and tossed them away from her, "This is exactly why I didn't want to do this in front of you two…it's not like this isn't humiliating enough."
"Humiliating? Lucy, what the hell?" Wyatt countered as he gaped at her in disbelief, "You think we wouldn't have cared that you were in pain?" He shook his head as he pointed to her side, "No one should have to suffer like that Lucy…why the hell did you wait so long to get that damn thing off?"
"It's not like I didn't try, okay?" Lucy spat back defensively, coloring as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Wyatt stared back at her in confusion, "You mean…are you talking about earlier? Dammit, Lucy is that where you went?" She jutted her chin forward, but said nothing, giving Wyatt all the confirmation he needed. "Why the hell didn't you just say so?"
"I told you…it's….embarrassing…and besides, I didn't want to be stuck in my underwear…for obvious reasons." she gritted out angrily, "But then…well…" she stole a quick glance towards Rufus before adding quickly, "I found something I could change into…"
Confused, Rufus narrowed his eyes at her, "You found…holy shit!" he gasped as he ran towards his crate of supplies, realization suddenly dawning on him. "You stole my clothes didn't you?"
"Yes I did." Lucy snapped back, "And I'm not sorry either…what else was I supposed to do? You didn't think of anyone but yourself…"
"What do you mean I didn't think of anyone else but myself? I got you food, didn't I?"
"That's besides the point." Lucy snapped back, "Do you have any idea what it's like running around the woods in a dress?"
"Don't go trying to blame me for the messed up way things are done in this century." Rufus countered, "I didn't make the damn rules…you're going to stick out like a sore thumb if you go prancing around here in a pair of pants."
"Yeah, like she's not going to stick out like a sore thumb prancing around here in her underwear." Wyatt scoffed, "Let her have the damn clothes, Rufus."
"But…"
"I said let her have your damn clothes." Wyatt gritted out, "You can always pick up some more later…she needs something now." Lucy offered him an appreciative smile, but Wyatt absolutely felt like he did not deserve a single ounce of gratitude. He felt like an ass. As the only woman on their team, she needed and deserved privacy…and because he hadn't allowed her that, she had suffered in silence for days. He would have gladly given her the clothes off of his back if he knew she was in that much pain…but he did know, didn't he? In the entire time they had spent here, she complained once…and only once…and instead of paying attention to the fact that she was uncomfortable, his mind had gone straight to the damn gutter and he had pushed it out of his head…that is until he noticed she was favoring her sides today. All damn day she had shown signs that she was in pain and he had let it slide, stupidly agreeing with Rufus that if she was really hurting, she would say something.
Resolved to make up for that failure, Wyatt cleared his throat nervously and nodded towards the copse of trees, "Why don't…why don't you go ahead and get changed and then I'll see what I can do about wrapping that ankle?"
"Wyatt, you don't have to…it's fi…"
"I want to, Lucy." Wyatt interrupted firmly. "I meant what I said earlier, you shouldn't have to suffer…just let me take care of you, okay?"
Lucy startled at the sincerity in Wyatt's voice, "Okay." She said softly with a nod as she awkwardly motioned towards the trees, "I'll…just go change then."
Relieved to at least know now what had been bugging Lucy all day, Wyatt let out a heavy sigh as he watched her go…something that did not escape Rufus' notice. "There it is…" he said with an impish grin.
"There what is?" Wyatt snapped back.
Rufus shrugged, "You…sighing over Lucy like she's your grade school crush. Don't think I didn't see the way you were looking at her in there." he said with a nod towards the trees.
"Don't you have to go to the bathroom?" Wyatt asked in annoyance as he turned away from the trees, making a beeline towards their supplies.
"Yeah, yeah…I'm going." Rufus acknowledged with a wave, "but you can't fool me, Delta Force. I can see right through you."
Wyatt rolled his eyes as he sorted through their cache of stolen items, wishing to hell Rufus would quit screwing with his already messed up brain. There was nothing going on between him and Lucy…nothing. She was his friend…and yes, okay…he was attracted to her…but he was a red-blooded male and she was…beautiful…and smart…and funny…and…
"Wyatt!"
Rufus' voice rang out through the clearing, causing him to throw back his head in frustration, "Dammit , Rufus…keep it down, will ya? he gritted out as he pushed himself to his feet and turned around with a huff, "You're gonna wake the…French." Wyatt stopped short as his eyes widened in horror at the scene in front of him; French soldiers, seven of them, were standing just at the edge of the clearing. Two of them had already apprehended Rufus, wrenching him away, his arms pinned behind his back as he attempted to break free. Lucy, still clad in just her petticoat and chemise, had a hand clamped against her mouth as she too struggled against the soldier who had taken a hold of her. Somewhere in Wyatt's mind he knew he should just throw up his hands and surrender, but seeing Lucy and Rufus in danger, he instinctively made a grab for his gun.
Time seemed to slow down to an impossibly sluggish pace as the crack as loud as lightning rent the air. Wyatt could see it all, the spark from the pistol, the puff of smoke, the anguished look on Lucy's face just as a blinding pain in his head sent him hurtling backwards to the ground. He could hear her screams, he could hear Rufus' shouts but there wasn't a damn thing he could do except lay there as his entire world went black.