Disclaimer: I own nothing. All belongs to Timeless and ABC.

Sorry it's taken a bit longer than usual to update. I've been having some health issues and in between the doctor's appointments and daily life, it's been a bit difficult to write. Hope you enjoy this chapter. :)

Safe Haven

Flynn-

There was sunlight flooding through the small hotel windows when Flynn woke. He'd woken on his own, and since he couldn't see a clock, he had no idea what time it was. It was clearly before eight o'clock as Carl had not been knocking on the door. He wondered how much longer until Carl did come. It was completely illogical, but Flynn would've been happy to never leave the hotel room. Inside the little room was a safe haven from the world that awaited them. A world of loss, pain, anger, and danger, of Rittenhouse and Homeland Security and all of the other shit he didn't want to face anymore.

For the first time since Lorena and Iris had died, Flynn wanted to say to hell with Rittenhouse. And he knew it was because of the beautiful, brunette woman still sleeping cocooned against him. The sunlight of the new day bespoke that their unspoken truce of the night before was no longer in effect. Lucy and Flynn would once again be opposing each other and Flynn hated it was over. It had been nice to have someone to have a genuine conversation with, even if it hadn't been long ones or that they'd barely scratched the surface of truly getting to know each other. Flynn also regretted that it had mainly been Lucy who had shared more of her life, but they both knew he didn't want to talk about his family. Plus, there hadn't been much opportunity for them to talk about him anyway.

Lucy's breaths were soft and slow. Flynn could feel each one as his hand was still nestled under her breasts. Her warmth permeated his entire body, seeping into his bones, making him feel so content. He was glad that neither of them had moved away from the other as they'd slept. He enjoyed waking up with his body pressed against hers. He liked the contact with another human being in the first place, something he'd dearly missed over the last couple of years. It made him feel like he hadn't lost all of his humanity, and it was all because of Lucy Preston. His chest swelled with an emotion he was too scared to name so he pushed it firmly away, determined to forget all about it.

To distract himself, Flynn began thinking about what this day might bring, and more specifically, what methods Lucy would use to stop him today. He was always stunned and amazed at her ingenuity. He didn't say she was brilliant for nothing. Despite having foreknowledge, Lucy and her team always managed to undermine his plans, one way or another, and almost always by Lucy's intelligent mind. He chuckled inwardly at how frustrating it was, especially after those first few trips. It still was, but he'd gotten used to it by now, as annoying as it still was. He couldn't blame her on the last trip for wanting to keep John Rittenhouse safe from him, he was only a child after all. I'd been so close though! he couldn't help but to think bitterly.

It shouldn't have anymore, but it still surprised Flynn sometimes that Lucy was able to defeat him. On so many of these trips to the past he was sure he'd thought of every way they might be able to circumvent his plans, but they always managed to derail his best ideas of how to succeed. Ever since Future Lucy had given him the journal he'd studied it diligently. He not only had it memorized by now, but had also come to regard it as one might a sacred religious text, such as the Holy Bible or Qu'ran. It was strange how he followed the guidance of the journal, even though it pretty much guaranteed failure. Flynn knew it didn't make any kind of sense, but it was much too late now to reconsider his actions. He was too far down the rabbit hole, dragging everyone else with him.

Flynn thought on how seriously he'd always taken the journal too. It had been so important that Lucy had risked her life to visit a time when she already existed, a potentially fatal trip, just to give it to him. He remembered how quickly it had affected her. When it started happening again and again, but she pressed on, fighting through the obvious pain it caused her, he'd actually begun to worry, even though he'd never before met her in his life. Flynn also remembered how furious he was, after reading through the journal the first time, at the strange woman claiming to be from the future who had given him a book spelling out how he failed Lorena and Iris over and over again.

He'd quickly realized after the trip to 1937 that the Lucy who had given him the journal and the Lucy who had looked at him with absolute fear in her eyes were very far from being the same woman. Of course she wouldn't be, but it was a bizarre enough situation as it was and he hadn't been able to not make the comparison. He'd displayed an attitude of calm and control then, but he'd been the complete opposite on the inside. However, it seemed to get better with every trip, but also worse at the same time. Better because he already had an idea of what to expect and a clear plan of what he wanted to accomplish and worse because it never worked! He became more frustrated with every foiled plan by Lucy and her team.

Not for the first time, Flynn wondered just what it was Lucy from the future wanted to accomplish by giving him the journal, what it was she wanted to change. Or quite possibly keep the same? He couldn't figure it out and had spent thousands of hours pondering it. The journal didn't say, so he was left to guessing her reasons. Again, he wondered if it was something bad she wanted to change, like he did, or if it was something good she wanted to protect? Her physical appearance had been the same as when he'd first seen her during her lecture at Stanford. She was dressed well, put together as she always was, but there was no mistaking the pain in her eyes. No amount of expensive clothes or makeup could mask that.

It was that pain in Lucy's eyes that had made him worry about her when she began showing the symptoms of traveling back into her own timeline, as he knew what it was now. Flynn had been bound and determined to ignore the woman who had sat beside him at the bar in São Paulo, and when she'd first tried to talk to him. It wasn't until she'd said his name and began talking about Rittenhouse that he'd started paying attention. And then he thought she'd been sent to kill him, Rittenhouse probably thinking, or hoping, he would be hesitant to eliminate the threat if she had a pretty face. Lucy was definitely a pretty face, but she was also so much more than that. She was someone he wanted to protect from every bad thing that could and would happen to her, including himself.

Most of all Flynn wanted to protect Lucy from Carol Preston. He hated that woman with a passion and he'd never even met her. His mind revisited the conversations from the night before, focusing on the parts about her mother. He still very much wanted to kill Carol Preston and imagined he always would. She didn't deserve Lucy for a daughter, nor Amy for that matter, even if Carol didn't remember her. Flynn thanked whatever god or gods there might be that Lucy had turned out nothing like her mother. Not for the lack of trying on Carol's part though. He knew that it was largely due to the influence of Henry Wallace, the man Lucy had grown up believing was her biological father, but was only her step-father, and Amy. Flynn felt his heart give a small lurch for how much Lucy felt Amy's absence. Guilt plagued him over his part in her disappearance from existence. It was one thing he dearly wished he could've kept from happening.

What Lucy had written of Amy, it was clear that Carol had always passed her over in favor of Lucy. Carol didn't care what Amy did as long as Lucy did exactly what she'd outlined her for; to follow in her footsteps at Stanford and her plans for later. The pressure had been heaped so high upon Lucy that Flynn was amazed that Lucy hadn't tried to rebel sooner than she had. He was glad she'd tried to get away from Carol. He just wished she'd been successful. If she had, it was in the realm of chance that none of this would've ever happened, Flynn had mused several times. Maybe it somehow could've altered the course of all of their lives and he'd never would've stumbled upon Rittenhouse, never would've lost his family, become a wanted terrorist, kill so many people...

But, of course, if his life hadn't been on this path Flynn never would've met Lucy, and he hated the idea of Lucy Preston not being in his life...

I can't think like that! Flynn thought, mentally shaking himself. This is what is, and that's all that matters, what I have to concentrate on!

Hoping to take his mind away from the possibility of a different life, one without Rittenhouse destroying it, Flynn began to fantasize about how he would make Carol Preston's life miserable. It wasn't the first time he'd thought about this and was quite proud of how creative he was sometimes. He smiled, thinking this time he might remove some body parts, one at a time. He was contemplating whether he should start with the toes or fingers first, weighing the pros and cons. Toes were always good to remove because they provided balance. Removing one, especially the big toe, was the most difficult to recover from. But that was the downside too, a person could recover, learn how to walk again and all that.

Fingers were a different story. A human needed fingers for everything! And Carol also had a side career as an author. She and Lucy had a few books they'd collaborated together on, and she had many more planned for the future. She wouldn't be able to write or type without fingers! That thought made Flynn smile, picturing Carol as she raged at her disability. Still, it could be overcome as well. Prosthetic limbs had become very advanced in the last few years. It was quite possible she could be fitted with robotic hands and would function normally again. Or she could always dictate, as if she didn't enough already, to an assistant or Lucy and her goals would still be accomplished. Carol was just as stubborn as her daughter. It would at least greatly annoy her, Flynn thought, satisfied with this morning's idea. It'd been a new one, after all.

Flynn's thoughts were interrupted as Lucy began to stir. At first she just flexed her arms and legs a little while taking a deep breath. Her eyes slowly blinked open, taking in her surroundings. She smiled, squeezed his hand and said, "Good morning."

"Good morning," Flynn said as Lucy turned to face him. He hoped he wouldn't see regret in her eyes, and was relieved he didn't when she brought her eyes to his. They were clear, and, if he dared to think it, content.

Lucy smiled again and Flynn reciprocated. "Did you sleep well?" he asked.

"I did. I was very comfortable." Lucy's cheeks colored a little as she said this, but Flynn didn't comment on it. He did wonder exactly how Lucy meant she was comfortable. In the physical sense of a comfortable bed or the comfort of being in his arms? He suspected he knew the answer, but he didn't want to push the issue and make things possibly uncomfortable between them. The return to their harsh reality would come knocking, quite literally, soon enough. He would dearly miss the easy, friendship-like atmosphere which currently surrounded them. I'm afraid it can't be helped, he thought sadly.

—

I know this chapter was all just inner thoughts and such until the end, but I hope you don't mind. I think it's good to see some of what's going on in Flynn's or Lucy's head. I promise there will be more talking and getting-to-know-each-other moments between Flynn and Lucy before things start rolling like in the episode. Thanks for reading! :)