Lucy did actually do several loads of laundry for Wyatt. The next day he was incredibly sore. The pain killers helped, but made him dopey. She caught him trying to lug his duffle bag full of laundry down the long flight of stairs and just glared at him until he relinquished the load. He limped back into their apartment. Lucy returned to find him collapsed on the couch sitting in front of a dark television, too tired and full of aches to even stand up and retrieve the remote.

Lucy stood there for a moment, her heart full. Wyatt tried to get up, then groaned holding his side with his bandaged hand.

"Not an invalid, huh?" Lucy said.

Wyatt redoubled his attempt to rise, reaching past Lucy towards the far end of the table where the remote control was sitting. Lucy shook her head. She stepped out of his way, then grabbed the device and handed it to him. She moved back close to him and gently pushed his shoulder back against the couch.

"Rest up, tiger."

Wyatt had flicked on the television reflexively. It sat buzzing and flickering on the random, non-programmed channel that came up automatically. He ignored it and looked instead at Lucy. His free hand came up to touch her bare arm as she eased him back to rest. She pulled her arm away as if burned. Wyatt frowned.

"You don't have to bother," he said, brow wrinkling.

Lucy unconsciously rubbed her arm where he'd touched her. She'd been in close contact with him repeatedly over the past twenty four hours but at her initiation. His touch when she wasn't expecting it still sent her heart racing. She smiled and backed away to cover the flush she felt building. "It's no bother, Wyatt. You've helped me out a ton. And so many people. Let me give back a little. I'll just get us some lunch." He watched her with a troubled expression on his face as she moved into the kitchen.

Wyatt rebounded slowly. The medications sent him tumbling into bed early each night. Lucy girded her loins and helped him slouch into bed for several nights, until he was less loopy. He would thank her quietly as she crept out trying to let him drift into sleep.

"Thank you, Lucy." "You're good to me, Lucy." "You're the best, Luce."

She would step out of the room, close the door, then stand there, leaning against it trying desperately to catch her breath and resist the urge to turn around and crawl into bed beside him.

He's my friend. He's not mine. He's so damn hot and good and wonderful. Go to bed, Lucy.

Lucy and Jiya caught lunch together at the end of one of Lucy's early cafe shifts. It was a week after Wyatt's accident. Lucy had brought her notebooks with her. One dedicated to the estimates and contacts she'd gathered for Rufus and Jiya's wedding, one with her hand written notes and early drafts of the chapters of her novel. She was still on a roll with her writing and worked on it during breaks at the cafe.

She waited for her dear friend in the entryway to their favorite Thai place. Lucy marveled at how close she now felt to both Jiya and Rufus. Wyatt's friends had become her friends. The quest to help them get married made her feel more as though she belonged. She caught herself musing on how generous Wyatt had been with introducing her to people she could care about here, how that was yet another way he'd helped her find her feet in the new city. She realized the dangerous ground her thoughts were leading her into and tried to dismiss thoughts of the sexy surfer from her mind.

This restaurant was just a few doors down from her Starbucks. Lucy nodded to other patrons and waved to her favorite waitstaff member, Ram. He was a friend she had made on her own. Ram was an emigre from Thailand, but had spent portions of his childhood in Europe. He'd become a regular at the cafe, and when she started out their schedules aligned so Lucy waited on him daily. She caught the pattern and soon would have his espresso ready and waiting for him each morning. Unfortunately her early efforts made him somewhat regret her diligence. He tried be polite about it but after one notable incident where he nearly spat out a particularly watery attempt of hers at making the drink, he'd taken time to help her get the feel for it. Once she worked hard to learn to prepare the drink up to his standards, Lucy had enjoyed a pleasant uptick in her tips. Now that her second job was coming together, she'd started patronizing his place of business in turn and tipped him ridiculously as a thank you.

Jiya arrived. Lucy gave her friend a warm embrace. They entered together and Ram greeted them cheerily. Lucy gave him a friendly smile as he seated them at her usual table. He lingered and they got into shop talk, chatting easily about work, the tourist traffic and some new coffee roasts that had become available. Jiya watched the interplay between them and leaned close to Lucy after Ram went off to get the drinks they'd ordered. Lucy sipped at a glass of ice water.

Jiya said quietly, "Does Wyatt have some competition there, Lucy?"

Lucy's eyes flew open, staring at her friend. She nearly did her own spit take, but instead gulped down the mouthful of cold liquid and spilled her glass onto the table, soaking her napkin and place mat.

"What?!" said Lucy, far too loudly. A couple of heads swiveled their way. Lucy smiled embarrassed and nodded at the other patrons who returned to their own conversations after a moment. Lucy set down the glass and tried to mop up the water.

Jiya tossed her own napkin into the soppy mess in front of her friend and positively smirked. She saw the water moving its way towards Lucy's notebooks and deftly picked them up, moving them to her own drier and safer side of the table. "Come on, Lucy, we've talked about this. You cannot still believe that notion you got in your head that Wyatt just wants to be friends."

Lucy glared at her friend, but the conversation was mercifully interrupted by Ram's return with their drinks. They spent the next few minutes working with him to return the table from the mess of soaked paper goods it had become, to more order. Ram teased Lucy slightly, then disappeared. Lucy had gathered her wits about her again and was ready to respond to Jiya. She shrugged. "He's been super nice. Like the best room mate ever, seriously. But you show me where he's treated me different from anyone. Including," Lucy paused for emphasis, "including his bundle of nonsense ex-girlfriend."

Jiya snorted, "'Bundle of nonsense?' Lucy you are a trip. You sound like you just arrived from Downton Abbey, not San Francisco. I have a few choice descriptions I'd use, including words like 'nightmare' and 'octopus.'"

Lucy leaned in, "Exactly my point! She's hideous. I don't see how he can put up with her. Yet, he's always making allowances for her. And he helps everyone out, Jiya. I mean, he'd let you use our tiny little apartment for your wedding if you even halfway asked."

Jiya pulled a face. "Waaay too small. We barely fit everyone for the engagement party."

"But he volunteered our place at the drop of a hat for that, right?!" Lucy shook her hands, the thoughts she'd been harboring pouring out now. "He'd drive you both to Acapulco on his motorcycle if you gave him the chance."

"After his accident, he'll be lucky if we let him drive himself across town anytime soon. You took his keys away, right?"

Lucy shot her friend an incredulous look. "You think I can take Wyatt's motorcycle keys away from him?"

"Oh well, who got him to go to the doctor after his smashup?"

"It was hardly a smashup, luckily." Lucy breathed a sigh of gratitude and closed her eyes briefly in a moment's prayer of thanks. Jiya's smirk deepened. "It was just logical. He was hurt, and he needed care."

"Uh, huh. Yeah. No. Jessica couldn't have-well, that's a bad example actually. The last accident he had, Jessica got on his case about making her late for a party. But Rufus, and I and a bunch of his surf crew tried to get him to go to the hospital that night too and he was having none of it. When I saw that update from Rufus about you bringing Wyatt to the doctor my first thought was honestly to wonder if this was some kind of prank. But then I saw you there with Wyatt and I thought... Hmm... Maybe things are changing."

Lucy stared, and felt a blush creep across her cheeks as she listened to her friend. She thought back on that evening and remember how harsh she had been to him. "I lectured him pretty badly. I bet he thinks I bullied him into it."

"I think that boy needs a little bit of tough love now and then. He got precious little of anything resembling love when he was little, from what I hear."

Lucy was gearing herself up to launch into a rebuttal about the use of the 'L' word at all about her and Wyatt, when her attention was caught by this new information. "Not a happy childhood?"

Jiya frowned. "Closer to abusive." She sighed and shook her head. "Scratch that, just plain abusive."

Lucy felt herself grow paler. She wanted to say she was surprised, but she wasn't. It actually made things make more sense rather than less. "His parents?"

"I don't know the details, but his dad really. Alcohol. Domestic abuse."

Lucy winced. She looked at Jiya wordlessly. Her friend continued, looking pained. "His dad hit his mom. I'm pretty sure that Wyatt tried to protect her. He got into a lot of trouble from what I hear." She shrugged. "Rufus knows more of the details. But it's probably not the best for anyone but Wyatt to tell you. If.."

Lucy looked up curiously as her friend trailed off. "If?"

"If you want to know." Lucy looked way pensively. Taking in this information and wondering what exactly she did want of Wyatt Logan.

Jiya sighed again and fingered the notebooks that were still sitting in front of her. "Well, I guess we should stop nattering on about your love life or lack there of and get planning for my blissful marriage." She opened up the top book and started leafing through the notes written in Lucy's neat, looping hand. "Hmm... nice drawing, Lucy. Wait..." Jiya pulled the book closer to her face. Her eyes widened and lit up.

Lucy was still thinking and feeling hard so she didn't notice her friend's reaction for a few moments. Then she saw just which notebook Jiya was now rapidly leafing through. "Hey! That's private!" Lucy took a swipe the book, but Jiya pulled it out of her reach.

She read from the book, "'His blue eyes dazzled her, like the clear azure of his watercolor sky.' C'mon, Lucy. I mean, it's pretty purple but tell me that's not Wyatt?!"

Flustered, Lucy decided to stonewall. "You realize Wyatt is not the only guy in the world with blue eyes right?"

"So you live with some other blue-eyed hunk?" Jiya continued leafing through the pages, "And this, 'She pulled apart the shirt to tend his wound. She found herself distracted by the trim lines of his chest.' C'mon Preson, admit it."

"Admit what?" Lucy vainly attempted to look innocent.

Jiya rolled her eyes and put the book down on the table. "You've got a crazy thing for Wyatt! And why shouldn't you, he's gorgeous, and available, and sleeps like 20 feet from your bed!" Lucy saw her moment and grabbed her notebook cradling it to her chest. But it was too late.

Jiya went on, "All this time you kept downplaying the idea that Wyatt was into you, I thought you were on the fence. He is gorgeous, but comes with a lot of baggage so I could kinda see it. Or maybe he never does laundry and farts all the time or something." Lucy laughed despite herself. Jiya shrugged, "Okay, so now I know you've just been holding out on me about how in love with him you are-"

This was a too much. "Stop. Just stop it Jiya. Okay, so maybe I draw a little inspiration from Wyatt for my story. I mean, he is right there, and he's, well..."

"Gorgeous? Outrageously gorgeous?"

"I was going to say Adonis-like. He's got great bone structure."

Ram came over to the table bearing their lunch, and Jiya said into her hand, "If you want to talk boning..." and Lucy kicked her beneath the table.

"Ouch!" Ram gave Jiya a concerned glance. She smiled and assured him nothing was wrong. Then glared at Lucy as she chatted with Ram and thanked him again for his help with the spill.

They tucked into their food. Lucy avoiding Jiya's eyes, Jiya shaking her head, staring at her friend.

"All right," Jiya said.

"All right what?"

"I'll keep your secret."

Lucy's eyes went wide. She looked up at Jiya. "What secret?"

Jiya rolled her eyes, and slumped nearly hitting letting her hair dip into her lunch. "Your secret," she growled, "That you are head over heels in love-" Lucy made a sound. Jiya sighed and shook her head. "Okay, in lust then-with your house mate. I won't tell him. I won't even say anything to Rufus."

"There's nothing to tell." Lucy was shaking with relief inside, but outside she just couldn't let it go. Jiya decided to change tack.

"Okay, then I'll just mention what I say to Wyatt today. Maybe he can help you do some editing while he's laid up. He did fail English, but that was because he got suspended for drinking on campus. His English teacher turned him in. He would have gotten an A if he hadn't decided to bail on his exams out of spite."

"You wouldn't..." Lucy was panicking for real now.

"Watch me." Jiya picked up her phone and paged through her contacts, looking for Wyatt. Lucy put her hand on the phone.

"All right."

"All right what?"

"I do. I...like Wyatt."

"Are we in grade school now? It's okay to want him. You'd be in good company. You and like, everyone."

"I just.." Lucy looked at Jiya, vulnerability in her eyes. She spoke quietly. "I really don't know how he feels about me. I thought maybe, at your party, but then." She looked away and Jiya finally saw how hurt Lucy had been by Wyatt's comments. "He called me a nerd. That's what it's always been. It made me remember how different we were. Like you said, everyone wants Wyatt, why on earth would he want an ugly geek like me?"

"Lucy, that is just not true. I mean, yeah you are a nerd's nerd. That's part of why Rufus and I love you so much. But you're gorgeous. And Wyatt thinks so too. Do you really not see the way he looks at you?"

Lucy shook her head. "No. Well, maybe once or twice. But he's so nice, Jiya. He just seems as nice with me as he is with everybody. And when i realized how much he puts himself out there for other people, I mean, it made sense that he was floating me for rent for months without me knowing it-"

"What!?" It was Jiya's turn to capture unwanted attention. She continued in a quieter tone of voice and conversations around them resumed. "He supported you?"

A pink stain crept up Lucy's cheeks. "I was having really hard time until the editing took off."

Jiya put her hand on Lucy's. "You could have come to Rufus and me."

"No, I couldn't have, actually. I barely knew you then. He's been, like a rock."

"Lucy Preston, are you crying?"

"No! I mean, well, yes."

"Good. You've got to stop all this macho denying everything bullshit. No, you don't love Wyatt, no you're not crying. Garbage. Did you grow up in a convent or with gangsters or something?"

"Try academia. Being the daughter of one of the most influential and ambitious professors at Stanford was not the most forgiving of atmospheres."

"Ah, it's the ivory tower showing in you."

Lucy sighed, then gave her friend a crooked grin. "Yeah. Vulnerability is not really tolerated. I'm supposed to have three degrees by now and be well on my way to inheriting her position as head of the History department."

"What, you're suppose to inherit, like it's a kingdom? Princess Lucy? "

"Yup. That sounds about right."

"Lucy," Jiya began, then stopped. "Lucy, that's pretty awful. And I can bet that your mother wasn't too generous with praise of you for anything except good grades?"

Lucy nodded. "Things begin to make sense." Jiya looked down at her plate and picked up her fork. "First, we should finish this delicious food, and not let it go to waste any longer." Lucy nodded again, resuming her meal. "Then, I maybe need to take you out for a primping session or something to raise your spirits, because although I will keep your secret." Lucy nodded, finally ready to admit her feelings, though non-verbally was all she could handle at the moment.

"Okay, good. But I will not support this fiction going in your head that he isn't interested. I won't throw him in your lap, but I refuse to stand by and let you sabotage your own chances by drowning in self-doubt." Lucy stared at her friend and felt tears forming in her eyes again.

Jiya went on, "Plus, if Wyatt is stupid enough to let you get away, it does seem like Ram or Faye or someone else might benefit. And really," Jiya put her hand on Lucy's again, "who gives a damn about anyone else. I just would love to see you start to get that poison out of your head that says you're not as beautiful as you are brilliant."

"Jiya.."

"Eat your food, Preston. We've got a long day of pampering ahead of us."