Chapter 7: Back to Square One

Wyatt was pissed.

He had spent the whole of the morning impatiently pacing in his room. Anytime the medical team advised him to sit so that they could take his vitals, he did so begrudgingly, fuming that he was being fussed over when Lucy and Rufus were at the mercy of Garcia Flynn.

"Wyatt," Agent Christopher admonished, "Relax. I didn't send him there with a gun."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Wyatt spat back. "How the hell are they supposed to go up against those Rittenhouse assholes without some kind of weapon?"

"Would you have rather I sent Flynn armed?" Agent Christopher asked pointedly.

"No." Wyatt said without hesitation, "I would have rather someone would have woken me up to go along. You know I don't trust Flynn worth a damn," Agent Christopher nodded, "so then why the hell would you send him off with my team? With Lucy?"

"Lucy is the one who argued for his placement on the team." Agent Christopher replied firmly. Wyatt stared back at her his face etched in hurt from such a betrayal, "You were hardly in any position to be of use, Wyatt. Lucy made a decision and as much as I didn't want to agree with her, she had a point. Flynn has been effective in taking out Rittenhouse and for whatever reason, he seems to…at least, respect Lucy."

Wyatt scoffed, but he couldn't deny that Agent Christopher was right on that last point. The last thing he had wanted to do in 1954 was leave her alone with Garcia Flynn, but Lucy had shown so much bravery on that mission, he could hardly deny her this one last request. He could have ended Flynn then, as he stood alone, in the catacombs of that building, ready to blow it all to hell; but Lucy had stepped in front of his gun, pleading for Flynn to take a different path, that didn't involve mass murder. Sure, she had personal reasons for not wanting Flynn to blow up that building, seeing that her family would be among the victims, but it was more than that. Lucy had always seen something else in Flynn that none of the rest of them could see.

She could see the humanitarian he once was…and Flynn, it seems, was grateful for that.

They all had read his classified file. Hell, Wyatt had even listened (while chained to a chair) as Flynn recounted the horrifying murders of his wife and daughter at the hands of Rittenhouse. It had affected Wyatt then more than he had let on. As someone who had lost his wife to murder, he understood the anger and the pain that Flynn was feeling…and hell, hadn't he also stolen a time machine to try to right some wrongs?

Still, Wyatt knew that he was not like Flynn in that he was not about to go killing innocent people in an attempt to go save Jessica. Yes, his desperate attempt to save her resulted in Joel's death, but that had been a terrible accident, one that Wyatt regretted to this day. Flynn, by contrast, had killed Lincoln, kidnapped Lucy, had Rufus shot, and left them stranded in 1754. His desperation knew no bounds. Flynn would as soon murder each and every one of them, Lucy included, if it meant having his wife and child back and while Wyatt could sympathize with the pain of losing someone he loved, he knew that no matter how much he wanted to save Jessica there would be some lines he absolutely would not cross.

Besides, he had moved on.

In the years after Jessica's murder, he had merely existed. Filled with unimaginable guilt over his wife's death, he had stopped caring. Any and every mission that was too risky or too dangerous for anyone else, he volunteered for. With no one still alive who cared if he lived or died and nothing to really live for, why wouldn't he have been the first to sign up? Risking his life, which was empty and lonely, gave him an outlet for the rage and anger he felt towards Jessica's murderer. It wasn't like he was too fond of himself, either. Filled with self-loathing, he figured it more than served him right to be pinned down in some hell hole protecting others since he wasn't there to protect Jessica. What his superiors saw as bravery, was actually nothing more than reckless abandon…and it had earned him quite the reputation.

A reputation that put him on the direct path of one Lucy Preston.

Anxious, insecure, and a little too concerned with following the rules, Wyatt had never believed he would feel anything towards the historian but mild annoyance. She was pretty, there was no doubt about that…but they butted heads more than once on that first mission and he was almost convinced that she would be the last woman on Earth he could ever fall for.

Almost.

He couldn't quite pin down when annoyance gave way to affection…but if his sudden distaste for Ian Fleming had anything to say for it, he'd venture a guess it was somewhere in between Nazi Germany and coming back to find her objectified in a grotesque almost laughable filmed version of the actual mission entitled, Weapon of Choice. Never one to say no to a James Bond film, Wyatt had eagerly procured a copy the minute they had gotten back from that mission only to find himself a bit disillusioned by the man who had once been his favorite author. Not only did he take liberties with the mission itself, making James Bond a bigger hero than he actually was, Ian Fleming had done quite a number on Lucy Preston. Instead of the brilliant historian Wyatt knew, the one who had saved their necks (Ian Fleming's included) via the priest holes, Lucy was reduced to nothing more than an empty-headed secretary who had unwittingly intercepted a message that put her life in danger. To add insult to injury, her character jumped at the chance to tumble into bed with Bond not once, but twice after their daring mission delivering to Bond a line Wyatt recognized as his own. I agree with him, but I trust "him" referred to in that plagiarized line was of course, Wyatt, the American agent whose sole purpose in the film seemed only to serve as a romantic rival for that second-rate Lucy's affections.

The whole thing had made Wyatt sick.

He hadn't meant to fall for Lucy Preston, but before he even knew what was happening, he had. He had been taken off guard by his outrage towards Mr. Ian Fleming both on the mission and afterwards, but it wasn't until the Alamo…when she literally saved him…that the walls he had put up around his heart came tumbling down. Hers was the face he sought out on every mission, her opinion was the one that mattered most, her touch, her gaze, even the smell of her faint perfume was enough to send his heart racing. He also trusted Lucy implicitly. It wasn't just because of her historical knowledge, she had an almost uncanny ability to assess the situations they found themselves in and almost never steered them wrong.

But this? Wyatt could not for the life of him understand how Lucy could have left on a mission with Flynn of all people and not tell him.

As if reading Wyatt's thoughts, Agent Christopher argued, "Wyatt, Lucy knew you would be upset by this…she asked me to tell you how sorry she was…but as hard as it is to admit, I believe that Lucy made the right call here."

Wyatt shook his head, "No. The right call would not have put Lucy and Rufus at risk like that. We don't know if we can trust Flynn." Wyatt contended passionately, "we just busted his ass out of prison and he's done nothing to prove to us that we have any reason to believe he actually wants to help us."

"I know how you must feel, Wyatt." Agent Christopher said quietly. "But look at it this way…Flynn hates Rittenhouse probably more than any of us. We may not agree with his methods or his tactics, but the one thing we can be sure of is that we share a common enemy."

Yeah…that at least was something.

Yet as Wyatt considered that point, he remembered the mission to 1780. Flynn had begged for their help, promised them that it was just a matter of playing a role so they could take out David Rittenhouse. So, against his better judgement, he agreed to that shaky alliance…hell, he had all but convinced Lucy to go along with the plan when he knew she wasn't fully onboard with it. What began as a plot to take out the Rittenhouse founder, turned into a literal bloodbath. By the end of the night, not only was David Rittenhouse dead, but so were Benedict Arnold and Lord Cornwallis. Two people, Lucy had reminded them angrily, that weren't supposed to die. Yet Flynn, still wasn't satisfied. No. It wasn't just David Rittenhouse Flynn wanted to kill, it was also his young son, John…a child…and when Lucy protested, Flynn kidnapped her.

Common enemy his ass. Wyatt knew that if Flynn saw the slightest chance at getting his family back he would take it, alliance be damned. His past actions spoke for themselves. How could he trust the man who had made a deal with the devil in the White City, himself to sideline Wyatt and Rufus. Hell, more than sideline…if Lucy hadn't found them when she did, they would've been dead. H.H. Holmes had been paid to hold them hostage and Lucy, despite saving them, had almost been killed herself by that crazy sonofabitch…and it was all thanks to the desperation of Garcia Flynn.

The hours ticked by and Wyatt grew more and more agitated, pacing the bunker like a caged animal. He wasn't alone in his concern. Jiya was nervously biting her nails and checking her watch almost to the point of obsession. Wyatt wanted to say something to comfort her, but as he was too angry with the circumstances, he felt it best to keep his mouth shut. It would be no good to spew off his concerns about the situation…it would only make the mood in the bunker that much more dismal.

After what felt like a damned eternity, a change in the atmosphere, a buzzing in the air, and a roar of wind announced the return of the LifeBoat. Racing towards the time machine, even as the outer rings still spun, Wyatt waited with bated breath as the hatch door slid open.

Flynn emerged first. His face was battered and bruised and his suit was ripped in at least three places from what Wyatt could see. With one apologetic look around at the alarmed and confused faces staring back at him, Flynn announced, "We…uh…had a little trouble."

Far from easing Wyatt's mind, those words sent a stab of panic and dread through his heart. Rufus emerged next, looking considerably less battered, but nonetheless shaken. "That's the understatement of the year" he muttered as he crawled out of the hatch, not quite able to meet Wyatt's eye.

It didn't take Wyatt very long to figure out just why that was. He stood there, in full expectation to see Lucy's smiling face appear from the open hatch, but as the seconds passed it became painfully obvious that she wouldn't emerge and he knew then that his fears had been justified, though he didn't want to believe it.

"Rufus," Wyatt breathed out in a voice of forced calm, "where is Lucy?"

"Well…that's the thing, Wyatt…" Rufus began apologetically, "there wasn't a lot we could do. We split up…see…and well…"

"Well, what?" Wyatt interrupted angrily.

"Lucy got captured by a Rittenhouse sleeper and they took off with her, okay?" Flynn blurted out in frustration.

It was not okay.

With a growl of fury, Wyatt lunged at Flynn. He hardly knew what he was doing, so blinded he was by his rage. "You sonofabitch!" Wyatt gritted out between punches, "you let those assholes take off with her?"

Hardly one to cower under such provocation, Flynn gave as good as he got trading blows with the Delta Force soldier…until Rufus stepped between them. "Whoa…whoa, whoa….." Rufus urged as he held up his hands, "I can't believe I'm saying this Wyatt, because believe me, I would pay to see you kick Flynn's ass…but it wasn't his fault."

Breathing heavily and glowering at each other, Flynn and Wyatt stood apart as Agent Christopher blurted out, "Can somebody please let us know what the hell happened?"

Rolling his eyes and sighing heavily, Flynn began, "Lucy had it in her head that it would be a smart idea to tail John F. Kennedy. She asked Rufus and I to go see if we could find anybody suspicious at the dormitories." Rufus nodded in agreement. "But before we got there, I noticed that Kennedy was coming out of the office he had gone in, but Lucy…well she was nowhere to be seen."

"And that's when the fun began." Rufus muttered.

"We were then ambushed by three Rittenhouse agents." Flynn explained before adding angrily, "And since I didn't have a damn gun, there wasn't a lot I could do." he gave a meaningful glare to Agent Christopher before continuing, "I managed to fight off one of them and steal his gun while Rufus took off with Kennedy."

"Yeah, we didn't think that through very well…a black man running off with some screaming rich ass white boy?" Rufus shook his head as he murmured, "Three Rittenhouse agents are firing their weapons on some posh school grounds, but the police came after the black man."

"As I said…we had a little trouble." Flynn said with a sigh.

"So, you had trouble…it still doesn't tell us where the hell Lucy is." Wyatt spat out angrily. "If you knew she was with a damn sleeper, then why the hell didn't you go after her?"

"I tried!" Flynn argued back, "By the time I took care of the other two, Lucy was already gone…along with that damn sleeper."

Wyatt cursed and kicked at a nearby chair. He wanted to beat the shit out of Flynn, but Rufus was right, it wasn't fault. No one trusted Flynn to have a gun and so they were already at a tactical disadvantage. Add in the fact that they had not only separated, but were essentially pinned down with no means to protect themselves and it was a damn miracle that any of them made it back.

But it also meant that Lucy was once again in Rittenhouse hands.

He knew she would never have gone along willingly, hell, she had chosen to be hung rather than go home with her mother, but this time would be different. After six weeks under their thumb, Lucy had played the part of dutiful daughter and Rittenhouse sycophant to excess, killing an innocent man to prove her "loyalty." Now, however, they knew she couldn't be trusted and Wyatt was willing to bet that they wouldn't make the mistake of sending her on a mission again.

No, this time they would break her…or they would kill her.

That thought caused Wyatt's knees to give out as he collapsed into a nearby chair, his head gripped in his hands. What could he do? They spent six weeks trying to find their damn hideout and came up empty handed time and time again. He had almost gone insane that time…now, he was sure he would.

Agent Christopher eyed Wyatt with concern, but ever the no-nonsense Federal agent, she asked in a voice of measured calm, "And Kennedy?"

Oh yeah, Kennedy…the whole reason for that mission.

"Safe." Rufus answered solemnly, "You know, I know we aren't supposed to change history, but I think this experience might actually turn him into a better student. He's being monitored 24/7 by the administration staff." Rufus quirked his lip, "kinda hard to spend your days blowing up toilet seats when you've got those stuffed suits at the boarding school breathing down your neck."

Rufus' feeble attempt at levity did nothing to make Wyatt feel any better about the situation. Lucy was as good as dead and he knew it. The one thing he admired Lucy for more than anything was her moral fiber and unwavering sense of right. Rufus had chided her when it was discovered that her real father was Rittenhouse, Flynn, he was told, mocked her when it was revealed that her mother was also part of that crazy cult…but Wyatt had no doubts as to who Lucy really was. Being a product of a world class sonofabitch didn't make Wyatt one, just like Lucy was nothing like those Rittenhouse dicks.

She would never sell herself to that insane ideology. She may have idolized her mother at one time, but seeing the ugly reality of her true character, Lucy had been disgusted…heartbroken, yes…but her eyes had been opened that day. As Wyatt sat across from as she weakly contended that her mother would never allow her to be killed, he knew that she was lying to herself and he called her on it.

Are you sure about that?he had asked then, already knowing the answer.

No. Of course she wasn't sure. Her mother had stood by while Emma had a gun pointed at her only daughter's head…more annoyed that Lucy had incited Emma's wrath than distraught that her own flesh and blood was being threatened by her underling's gun. It was pretty obvious then that Carol Preston's main objective was Rittenhouse and not her daughter's safety and well-being. The Salem mission had just confirmed it.

Join Rittenhouse or die. That was the choice they were giving Lucy…and Wyatt wouldn't be there to protect her this time. He knew she would never give in…and while he had to commend her for her bravery, the thought of losing her was unthinkable.

Six years ago, he thought his world had ended when he lost Jessica. That night had been the worst of his life. To know that his stupid, jealous outburst had led to her being brutally murdered had only made losing her all the more painful. He never thought he could find happiness again, but after meeting Lucy…after kissing Lucy…

His whole world changed that night…and Lucy still didn't know how much. And now, with her back in Rittenhouse hands, he wasn't sure if she ever would. God, how he wished he would have just told her everything. Rufus was right, he was a damn fool.

"So, what are we going to do?" Jiya's voice broke the silence that had fallen over the bunker. "We can't leave her with them…I mean, her mother just tried to have her hung, didn't she?"

Agent Christopher sighed, "I'm afraid there's not much we can do apart from sending out a search team…"

"Yeah, and that worked out perfectly last time, didn't it?" Wyatt scoffed.

"Do you have a better idea, Master Sergeant?" Agent Christopher asked sharply, "Because I'm open to suggestions. You may not believe this, but we all want to see Lucy back safely."

Wyatt stood up, his eyes flashing angrily, but his voice cool as steel, "Yeah, you were so concerned with her safety you agreed to send her on a mission with no protection." Unable to control the emotion in his voice, Wyatt spat out, "You let her go with Flynn…you didn't even tell me she was leaving."

"Wyatt," Agent Christopher said calmly, "you knowing wouldn't have changed the outcome of this mission. Lucy made this choice, she chose to take this risk…"

Wyatt didn't wait for her to finish. His raw emotions getting the better of him, he turned on his heel and stalked down the hall until he found himself standing in the doorway of the room he shared with Lucy. Far from offering him any sort of comfort, the room…and everything in it was a grim reminder that she was gone. Unable to stand the sight any longer, he made his way to Rufus' room only to be faced with the memories of Lucy's first night in the bunker; the comforting hug he had offered as she cried over her disillusionment of her mother, the promise he had made her that no matter how much she had believed she had lost, she had not lost him.

The echo of those words seemed to hang in the stillness of the room before him, mocking him. They had combed all of San Francisco and the surrounding area looking for her last time and came up empty handed. It was sheer luck that the LifeBoat came back online when it did to tell them the Mothership had jumped to St. Miheil and even more of a miracle that Lucy was along for that mission.

Now, however, the situation seemed hopeless. She had been snatched out of 1934 without so much as a hint to where they would have taken her. Was she still there? Waiting to be rescued? Did they take her to some other point in time? Was she back in the present answering for her disloyalty? Agitated, Wyatt turned to make his way back down the hall, unable to stand the sight of the empty bedroom anymore, when he ran into Rufus.

"Hey…man. I was…um…looking for you." Rufus muttered softly. "I'm really sorry about Lucy…if we had known that guy was Rittenhouse we never would have…"

Wyatt shook his head, "I can't be mad at you….and as much as I'd love to blame Flynn, it's not his fault either." He fell against the wall his face etched in agony, "Even if you knew that jackass was Rittenhouse, what could you have done? You should have never been allowed to go on a mission unprotected like that."

"Well, that's my fault." Rufus admitted ruefully. "I didn't trust Flynn enough to travel back in time with him armed."

Wyatt gave him a small smirk, "I can't blame you for that either."

"I know you don't trust Flynn, Wyatt…and believe me, I'm not exactly the President of his fan club but, he really did come through on this mission." He bit his lip in thought before continuing, "Despite everything he did to us last year, I think he really does feel bad about what happened to Lucy… if he would have been able to get to that gun sooner…"

"Yeah." Wyatt breathed out. His heart felt so heavy that his legs seemed to give way under the weight. He slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor, his head cradled in his hands. If he had just listened to Lucy that first day, maybe he would have been able to go on that mission. Maybe she wouldn't have been forced to go with Flynn, maybe those Rittenhouse assholes wouldn't have taken off with her...

Wyatt sighed. It had been an ambush, Flynn had said. Lucy had gone off unwittingly with the sleeper and he and Rufus had been pinned down while three Rittenhouse agents sent an array of bullets towards them and the young would-be President. At least if Wyatt had been there, they would have had a damn gun….

The gun…

Wyatt's head shot up, "Rufus," he breathed out, "the gun Flynn took from the Rittenhouse agent…does he still have it?"

"Well…yeah…I guess…" Rufus stammered out with a look of confusion on his face. "Why?"

Before Rufus' question had fully escaped his lips, Wyatt had sprung to his feet and raced down the hall towards a glowering Flynn who was having the cuts and bruises on his face tended to by a tense looking Jiya. "The gun." Wyatt demanded, "where is it?"

"What are you afraid I'm going to shoot you?" Flynn asked with a huff. "As much as I'd love to do that, it's probably not wise, seeing as how we're already one team member short."

At Flynn's apathetic mention of Lucy's kidnapping, Wyatt wanted to issue Flynn a whole new set of bruises to go along with the ones he had received in 1934. One stern look from Agent Christopher, however, made him reconsider a second round of brawling. "Where the hell is the damn gun you took from the Rittenhouse agent?" Wyatt gritted out angrily.

Offering him a sardonic glare, Flynn heaved out a sigh and handed over the gun he had stashed away in his suit coat, "You know, I saved Rufus' life with that thing. That should count for something."

But Wyatt wasn't paying attention to him. Gun in hand, he marched over to Agent Christopher and Connor Mason, "Can we trace this?" Wyatt breathed out hopefully, "Find out where it's registered?"

"I don't see why not." Agent Christopher replied with a look to Mason. "But Wyatt…the chance of that gun being linked to wherever they took Lucy…"

"It's better than searching without any leads at all." Wyatt spat back in frustration. He ran his hand roughly over his face, "Look, last time we had nothing to go on. This? This gives us something. If we have even the slightest chance at finding her we need to take it."

"And we will." Agent Christopher said reassuringly, "I just don't want you to get your hopes up." Wyatt made to argue with her, but she silenced him with a raised hand, "I promise, we're going to do everything we can to find her."

The Mothership hatch opened to the large expanse of the Rittenhouse compound. Nothing had changed in the few months since Lucy had last been held prisoner here, save the grotesque mural now donning the far wall. There was little time to reminisce, however, as a gun to her ribs and a curt word from Emma had Lucy stumbling down the stairs towards her waiting mother and a man she recognized as the soldier they had saved in World War I.

Carol Preston let out a visible sigh of relief as Lucy approached, until she finally raced forward and wrapped her daughter in a tight embrace, whispering "I was so worried about you."

"Really mom?" Lucy quipped angrily as she wrenched herself out of her mother's arms, "That is what you have to say to me after what you put me through in Salem?"

Carol shook her head at Lucy and offered a look of incredulous pity, "Lucy…" she breathed out, "I told you, I was only trying to protect you…to help you." Those people are not your family. They don't care about you the way we do."

Lucy stared back at her mother in disbelief and disgust, "I'm pretty sure they would never have sent me to be hung." Lucy maintained as Emma smirked at her.

"If you would have just listened, you would have never been put in that position." Carol lectured.

"If I would have just left Wyatt and Rufus to die, you mean?" Lucy sneered. "Well, you know what, mom? I'm not like you. I don't believe that some people are expendable just because they don't fit in with your insane plan for world domination."

"Don't you see? It's so much more than that. This isn't about world domination, it's about creating a better future…for everyone." Carol said defensively.

"It's true." Nicholas Keynes piped up as he extended his hand, "I believe we haven't been properly introduced."

Lucy stared back at him coldly as Carol shook her head in self-reproach, "I'm sorry…you're right, of course. Lucy," Carol sighed as she made the introduction, "this is Nicholas Keynes…your great grandfather."

Nicholas offered Lucy a stern gaze as he grasped her hand, "You have been hampering our efforts." he said in a matter of fact tone. Lucy stared back at him determinedly as he continued, "I've told your mother something had to be done about you."

Lucy swallowed hard and offered her mother a side long glance. Nicholas didn't frighten her, but she wondered what new hell they had in store for her, the last time she had been brought to this facility had been bad enough.

Carol, catching Lucy's uneasiness, intervened on her daughter's behalf. "Lucy…Is just misguided."

"She had the opportunity to join us, but she refused." Emma scoffed before turning to Carol in frustration, "You should have let me kill her in 1918 before we lost good men."

"Kill her?" Nicholas responded immediately, "I think that would be a waste of good, strong, Rittenhouse blood, don't you, Lucy?" She refused to respond and instead looked stoically forward as Nicholas studied her thoughtfully. "Do you realize that you are the last direct descendant of David Rittenhouse, himself?"

"That's not nothing to be proud of." Lucy spat out. "I've already told my mother, I met the man…he was insane."

"What some call insanity, others call genius" Nicholas said quietly. He bit his lip in thought before pointing to the mural, "Do you know what that is?"

Taking a few steps forward to better see the large painting, Lucy looked at her mother with confusion before answering Nicholas with a shrug, "It's a mural…looks like a map."

"Don't call it that." Nicholas spat out, annoyed as he stood proudly before the painting. "A map is for explorers. That isn't who we are. It doesn't do us justice."

"And what, exactly, are you?" Lucy asked in disgust.

"What we are," said Nicholas passionately, "is artists. Time is our canvas and this," he said pointedly as he motioned to the Mothership, "is our brush."

"You're just as insane as he was." Lucy gritted out. "That isn't some toy," Lucy cried out passionately as she pointed to the time machine, "these are people's lives you are messing with."

"What we're doing is taking the best of human culture and subtracting and sloughing away the worst." He paced in front of her with a mad glint in his eye as he continued, "Shaping, cutting away at the rock that is the human race until it resembles something like Michelangelo's David.

"And when does it end?" Lucy sobbed as angry tears sprang to her eyes, "When will you be satisfied wiping away centuries worth of history for your own goals?"

Nicholas smiled at her simply and whispered, "Until we reach perfection everlasting."

The ominous way in which he uttered those final two words turned Lucy's blood ice cold. She stared back him, astonished at his arrogance and ashamed that his blood ran through her veins. Too stunned to speak for a few moments, she looked towards her mother, anxious to see any semblance of the woman she once knew…a woman who had shared her love of history with her, a woman whom she had respected and admired all of her life.

But she wasn't there.

"How can you do this?" Lucy breathed out in a shaky voice. "How can you decimate history like this? It may not be perfect, but it's ours. It's who we are." Lucy walked over to her mother, desperate now to reach the woman she idolized, "Mom, you can't be okay with this…you're going to destroy the world."

"No, Lucy." Nicholas answered. "we few will save it."

With a nod towards Emma, Nicholas turned back to Lucy and gave her a slight bow as the red headed henchman gripped onto Lucy's arm and pulled her away. "C'mon Princess, it's past your bedtime."

As they watched Lucy being carted away to one of the rooms, Nicholas muttered to Carol, "Are you sure we can trust her? I think Emma is right, she's too big of a liability for us."

"She's your great granddaughter." Carol said firmly. "My daughter. Rittenhouse is in Lucy's blood. Rittenhouse is about family. It's about legacy. Something Emma will never understand."

"Will Lucy ever understand it?" Nicholas asked.

"She will." her mother sighed heavily. "She wasn't ready for the 1918 mission, I pushed her too hard too soon." She pursed her lip in thought, her faced etched in slight regret, "But I wanted her there…to be there when we brought you back with us. When we saved you." She nodded at Nicholas before continuing, "There's so much she doesn't know about her family, about this great legacy she has…and once she's learned, I have no doubt she'll be ready. She only needs time."

"And what if time is not on our side?" Nicholas asked. "Her friends still pose a danger to us. As long as they have the other time machine…"

"You don't have to worry about them." Carol said firmly. "With Lucy here, and away from them and off the missions, we are at an advantage. They're blind without her."

Nicholas hummed in thought, "They found her just fine in 1918…I'd hardly call that blind. Perhaps you are the one who is blind?" Nicholas asked cunningly, "I don't hold it against you…you're only a mother."

Carol bristled visibly before rounding on Nicholas, "I know my daughter. She will come around. Once she realizes that they aren't coming for her."

"And how can we assure ourselves that they won't?"

"Let's just call it, Plan B." Carol said simply.