Author's notes: Glad you guys are enjoying! There will be around 20 chapters so no worries this won't be ending anytime soon. Hope you enjoy!

Lucy didn't remember falling asleep.

After Garcia had left the room, she laid on the cot replaying every single moment between them in the past few months.

That's not why I'm here.

You looked good.

You should know the Lucy in that journal, she is very very impressive.

Sometimes I think I know you better than you know yourself.

What if he led you to me?

She wasn't exactly sure when things had changed. After losing everything and then Wyatt on top of that, she had tied herself off and thrown herself into the mission, taking risks without hesitation, not caring if her decisions put her in danger.

She hadn't been expecting anybody to worm their way into her heart. But Garcia had done it unbeknownst to her. Somehow he had changed from enemy to friend.

He was the only one she could really talk to. The only one who understood what she was truly going through. She had never imagined it could be more.

But then somewhere along the way she had memorized his smile. The one he gave her when no one else was around. The one that made her breathless. The one that reached his eyes. The same eyes that looked at her and actually seemed to see her.

She had been fighting it for so long without even realizing it.

But with the future staring her in the face she knew she wouldn't be able to fight it anymore.

She wasn't sure when but she eventually drifted off for a few minutes. And when her eyes opened again, the clock in the corner shone 6 am. She went to roll over and go back to sleep when the memory hit her like a freight train.

"Grace!" She yelled shooting up in bed. The little girl was nowhere to be seen. The room was empty. Dark. Even Garcia was missing. Scrambling out of the cot, she got caught in the sheets, slamming to the ground with a thud. Not bothering to change out of the clothes she had borrowed from Garcia, she struggled to her feet and took off down the hall, rounding the corner only to stop short at the sight that beheld her in the kitchen.

Grace sat atop Garcia's shoulders, her hands playing with his hair as he cooked pancakes on the stove below. Soft music played in the corner, the little girl bobbing along to the tunes, Garcia humming softly to himself. Lucy leaned against the wall with a smile and watched the two interact.

Oblivious to the woman watching them, Garcia continued to flip pancakes as Grace's fingers mussed his usually perfect hair, making pieces stick straight up into the air. Lucy watched the little girl's brow furrow as she tried to get one piece to stick straight out to the side, the sleeves of her father's sweater falling over her hands even though they had already been rolled up at least 10 times.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, darling?"

"I know these are momma's favorites, but we can eat just a few before we wake her up right?"

Lucy watched a smile flit across the tall man's face and even with one arm in a sling, he seamlessly reached up pulling the girl around to his front tickling her, the laughter bursting from her making Lucy's heart melt.

"Daddy, stop!"

"No can do, draga. Your laughter is just too infectious."

Their laughter mixed and Lucy wished she could record the joy on Garcia's face, never having seen him so happy and carefree. She could only hope that their future would hold this much happiness.

After a beat of silence, Grace reached up placing her hands on either side of Garcia's face, a serious look on her face as her fingers traced over his cheeks. Their eyes remained locked for a moment as if they were speaking without talking before she offered him a wide smile and climbed back up to settle onto his shoulders.

Sensing that should wouldn't be intruding on the moment they had just shared, Lucy stepped out into the kitchen, "Well, isn't this a sight to behold."

"Momma! Oh no, Daddy! We haven't eaten yet. Momma's gonna eat them all, hurry hide them." Grace squeaked scrambling to get down, Garcia helping her settle onto the floor, her tiny legs taking her across the room, placing the table between her and her mother.

Lucy rushed forward, Grace giggling as she took in the faux-serious look on her mother's face. Rushing around the table, Lucy chased after her daughter; however, just as she rounded the table she tripped over the long pajama pants Garcia had lent her. With a yelp, she reached out to stop her fall, but an arm wrapped around her back, pulling her into something solid.

Looking up her face was not even an inch away from Garcia's. Her eyes darted to his mouth, watching as his tongue slipped out wetting his lips. She could feel his heart beating hard through her hand on his chest.

"Good morning."

Lucy offered him a wide smile.

"Oh shoot. Sorry. Are we interrupting? We smelled pancakes." Lucy and Garcia shot apart quickly looking over at Rufus and Jiya who stood in the doorway. Rufus's eyes focused on the pancakes, but Jiya's were sparkling as she took in the man and woman in front of her.

Grace raced over to the doorway grabbing onto Jiya and Rufus's hands before pushing them into their respective chairs. As Grace began babbling to the two travelers, Garcia looked down at Lucy, her eyes locked on Grace.

"Lucy, what's wrong?"

Lucy shook her head, but when she smiled it seemed pained, "Nothing. Sorry. It's just this morning when I woke up, she was gone and I couldn't find either of you. I just assumed..."

"That it was all a dream."

"Yeah." She breathed.

After a beat of silence, Garcia nudged her with a shy smile, "You know we left you a note?"

"What?"

Garcia nodded, his mouth quirking up, "Grace made me write it with a sparkly pen that took me at least 15 minutes to find."

Lucy's heart warmed as she imagined a loudly whispering Grace being shushed by her father as they placed a glitter covered note on the nightstand next to her. She wondered how many mornings Grace and Garcia cooked breakfast together. If they ate dinner as a family. If Garcia and she danced around the kitchen like she used to catch her own parents doing.

Grace's voice echoed across the room as she continued talking to Jiya and Rufus.

"Can you believe we make that beautiful girl?"

"Not one bit." Garcia replied honesty.

The couple watched as Grace wagged her finger in Rufus's face, the man in question throwing a look for help at Jiya, who was holding back a laugh.

Garcia snorted, "On the other hand, I do believe it. She has your stubbornness."

Lucy's brows raised in amusement as she laughed, "Oh, my stubbornness? I think you have me confused with yourself."

"Mhm." Garcia smirked, "If you say so, 'miss I didn't talk to my grade school teacher for three months because he told me unicorns didn't exist'."

Lucy guffawed, "How do you even-" Garcia's brows rose and she sighed, "That damn journal."

Rolling her eyes, she pushed past Garcia to settle herself at the kitchen table, Garcia following close behind with plates for everybody. Once he settled in his own chair, Grace all but jumped over Rufus to settle on Garcia's lap. As everybody began to eat, the conversation moved in favor of praising Garcia for his cooking skills. Grace shoved mouthful after mouthful into her mouth, until she had finished her pile long before everyone else. She began sneaking some bites off her father's plate and Lucy caught the gleam in Garcia's eyes as he watched her try to pretend she wasn't eating half his food.

Even while eating Grace babbled like no other, "Luke and I love to play! Addy claims she's too old now." Grace looked around before whispering, "She likes to boss us around. But she can still be nice sometimes."

Jiya turned toward Grace, "Who's Luke? And Addy?"

Grace stood up on Garcia's legs excitedly, his hand wrapping around her waist to make sure she didn't fall, "Luke is my bestest friend in the whole wide world! He's-"

"Oh, what is going on here? Family breakfast and we weren't invited?!" Connor walked into the room, Denise close behind him.

However, not even a second later, the alarm echoed loudly through the bunker.

"Spoke too soon."

Everybody surrounded around the computers, Wyatt rushing into the room and brushing past Lucy without even a glance. Denise followed Jiya to where she was frantically typing behind the computer, "Where did they jump to?"

But instead of listening, Lucy was frozen searching the room for Grace.

"Lucy!"

She whipped around seeing Wyatt staring at her as he climbed into the lifeboat, "Lucy, let's go!" Her brows furrowed as she turned away trying to catch sight of Grace. Her heart was beating in her throat as the little girl was nowhere to be seen. What if something had happened when the mothership jumped?

"Grace!"

"Here, momma." A soft voice came from under the desk. Lucy ran over, Garcia close on her heels. Grace was huddled under the kitchen table, her small arms wrapped tight around her body. Lucy pulled Grace out and brushed her hair back from her face, revealing her daughter's anxious face.

"Grace, what were you doing?"

Grace looked confused, "I need to hide when the alarm sounds. I know I'm supposed to be quiet but you sounded worried. I'm sorry."

Lucy ran a hand over the girl's head, "It's alright sweet girl. You're not in trouble, I promise."

Garcia kneeled down beside them, his eyes meeting Lucy's. With a deep sigh, Lucy dropped her head down, resting her forehead against her daughters. What kind of life did they lead that their daughter practiced drills like this?

"Lucy we need to go!" Wyatt's voice echoed.

"I..." She said looking down at her daughter.

Garcia reached out grabbing her shoulder, "I'll go."

"Daddy?"

He turned back, his finger poking against Grace's nose causing her to smile, "I'll be back."

Grace straightened up, her face taking a serious expression, "I'll take care of momma while you're away."

Garcia's eyes raised meeting Lucy's and the moment passing between them feeling like an eternity. Turning back to Grace, he brushed a quick kiss on her head, "That's my girl."

Lucy watched as Garcia walked toward the lifeboat, her voice caught in her throat. Not able to watch him leave, she turned around. However, Grace's eyes remained locked on her father.

The sound of Garcia and Wyatt bickering could be heard from halfway across the room.

Rufus sighed, "And I get to deal with their married tiffs all trip...yay."

Grace's grip on her mother tightened as the lifeboat vanished. Letting Garcia leave without her was incomprehensible. But she couldn't leave Grace.

"Momma?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Can we go eat breakfast now?" The little girl's worried face turned up toward her mother and Lucy squeezed her hand, knowing she needed some semblance of normality in her life. Denise and Connor followed them into the kitchen and they settled at the table eating the food in silence.

As Lucy sat on the couch trying and failing to braid Grace's hair, she watched as her daughter picked at Garcia's oversized sweater. Lucy knew she needed to get her some clothes soon. God knew how long she would be here. God knew how she would be able to let her go back to the future.

Lucy huffed out a sigh as she restarted the braid for the tenth time.

"It's alright momma, no one can braid as well as daddy." Grace sighed.

The sad sigh coming out of the little girl, cut deep in Lucy's heart, "Come here, sweetheart."

Grace crawled up settling on her mom's lap. They sat together silently watching an old movie on TV.

"I miss home."

Lucy's heart clenched.

"But I like being here with you." Grace smiled at her as she fidgeted with something on her wrist.

"What's that?" Lucy reached out grabbing onto Grace's hand, noticing for the first time the bracelet gracing her wrist.

"Daddy gave it to me before I left. He said it would keep me safe."

Lucy frowned as she took a closer look. It wasn't a normal bracelet. As she spun it around Grace's wrist, she tried to figure out why it seemed so familiar.

Shaking her head she turned her attention back to the little girl, "How old are you?"

Grace smiled holding up four fingers, "Four and 3 quarters! My last birthday we had games and presents and cake! Everyone was there! Our whooooole family! Our family is big, momma. We have big parties. There's you and daddy and Aunt Jiya and Uncle Rufus and Uncle Connor, Aunt Denise, Uncle Wyatt, and Luke and Addy." As Grace continued talking Lucy smiled at how great their future sounded. A family.

An hour later, as Lucy went to put Grace down for a nap, picking up the blankets she had tripped in earlier that morning, she caught sight of a piece of paper under the cot.

Making breakfast in the kitchen

Your daughter claims we're going to make you your typical breakfast:

a bowl of sprinkles and whip cream

Love Grace and Daddy 3

After slipping the note into her pocket and pressing a kiss to Grace's forehead, Lucy walked back out to the common room finding Denise sitting on the couch, the TV playing in the background, her fingers knitting a sweater.

"Hey, Lucy."

"Can you do me a favor?"

Denise's eyebrows shot up as she listened to Lucy's plan.

Lucy pulled the hat farther down onto her head as she hurried down the street. Her body was tense as cars passed by and she turned her face away from people as they passed her on the sidewalk.

Convincing Denise to let her leave hadn't exactly been easy. She knew this was reckless. But with nowhere else to get children's clothes, they didn't have much of a choice.

Rounding the corner, Lucy froze. Her house looked untouched. As if nothing had happened. As if she could walk back through the door and her sister would still be alive. Her mother would be there. And Rittenhouse wouldn't exist.

The door creaked open under her hands and Lucy switched on the device Jiya had given her that she promised would disturb any and all video and audio surveillance equipment in her house. Denise had even called in a few favors to surround the house with look-out agents. If Rittenhouse was keeping tabs on the house, they could be here in just minutes. She had to move quickly.

Her hands ran along the walls, her gaze catching on pictures of her mother. Her father. And blank spaces where Amy used to be.

Lucy shook her head before rushing toward the basement and finding what she needed. Her mother had kept all of her clothes from when she was younger. She quickly packed the boxes of children's clothes into a suitcase.

Her gaze lingered on her bedroom door. But she skipped past it grabbing the journal she had stashed before her mother had taken her.

There was nothing left for her here. Slipping out the door, she took a deep breath and started down the street.

And not once did she look back.

After ensuring that she hadn't been tracked back, Lucy slipped back into the bunker. She had only been gone an hour at the most. Thankfully, the lifeboat was still out. And hopefully, Grace hadn't noticed she was gone.

Passing by the spare room, she slipped inside, pulling the gun out from behind her pants and slipping it into the safe.

As she walked down the hall, she could hear voices traveling from the other end of the bunker. Before she rounded the corner she took a deep breath, brushing a hand over her hair before stepping out into the common area.

"Momma!"

Grace shot up from where she was sitting next to Denise and ran over to her mother pulling her toward the couch.

"Look! She's making my stuffed horse! It's just like my one from back home."

Denise sat on the couch knitting what looked like a multi-colored horse. Grace reached over to pull it closer so her mother could see, almost ripping the yarn out of Denise's hand.

"Grace!"

"Sorry!"

The moment Grace had landed, Garcia's world had been torn out from under him. Just yesterday he had seen Lucy and Wyatt together and he had assumed his time was done. He had always felt like a replacement. Like the odd one out. That though he was needed now, he would just end up shoved aside when they realized he was expendable. But he had been wrong. Somehow this weird group of people had become his family.

While Wyatt and Jiya did whatever they did, Rufus and Garcia were left to their own devices for a while.

Rufus cleared his throat, "So..."

Garcia shot Rufus a glare.

"Listen you're gonna need to talk to someone about it. And you can't talk to Lucy. And you definitely can't talk to Wyatt. So I'm your best bet."

Garcia breathed trying to get his thoughts in order. The moment he saw Grace's eyes he had imagined his future with her and Lucy so vividly.

He had never imagined life past this war. But somewhere along the way, Lucy had become more important than stopping Rittenhouse.

"Listen, man. It's alright to move on. My father left when I was young. And my mom never wanted to move on. I would see her craving love, companionship, but she never opened herself back up again. And it tore her apart. You don't have to feel guilty about loving someone else. Just because you move on doesn't mean you won't save them."

Garcia gritted his teeth, "That's just the thing. I don't save them. Grace doesn't know them. She said I told her stories about Iris. I failed. I didn't save them."

Rufus reached out grasping Garcia's shoulder, "Flynn. We can't save everyone. But now that you know, maybe you can change the future."

Garcia raised his head, his eyes dark, "But what if bringing them back erases Grace?"

Rufus opened his mouth before closing it. Both of them sat in silence. Neither having an answer.

A few moments later, Wyatt and Jiya ran back into the room, their eyes frantic. "The mothership jumped back to our time. I overheard them talking they noticed the future lifeboat jumping to our time. They're going back home. We need to get back now."

Garcia's breath caught in his throat as they raced back to the lifeboat. The lifeboat started and Garcia's hands were tight on the straps. If he lost them just after getting them he wasn't sure he would be able to survive again.

When they landed, Garcia was out the door before the others even stood up.

"Daddy!"

As Grace came running around the corner, Garcia kneeled down as the girl raced into his arms. He buried his face in her hair, breathing deeply. Is this what Grace did every time he came back from trips in the lifeboat? Was she always there to welcome him home? If she was, that is a tradition he can get behind.

He stood propping Grace on his hip, watching as Lucy rounded the corner, her eyes relaxing as she caught sight of him.

Garcia breathed a sigh of relief. They were both safe.

"Daddy! Look momma got me some new clothes. And Aunt Denise made me a copy of my stuffed horse!" She said excitedly shoving the horse into Garcia's face.

Garcia looked at the clothes the little girl was wearing before looking up at a defensive looking Lucy.

"Hey...Munchkin, let's let your parents talk alright?" Rufus said quickly grabbing Grace from Garcia's arms before hurrying out of the room.

Within a few seconds, the whole room was empty.

"You left the bunker." He felt numb.

"Garcia."

"If Rittenhouse had followed you our daughter wouldn't be alive right now."

Lucy took a step forward, "I was careful."

Garcia ran a hand through his hair, the anxiety clear on his face, "Wyatt and Jiya overheard the agents talking about the lifeboat coming back from the future. They could have been out there following you. You could be dead right now. Lucy, how could you be so reckless?"

"Garcia."

The man's heart was beating, his hands shaking at the thought of losing more people he loved.

"Garcia" she repeated, "I'm fine. I'm sorry. It was reckless but it needed to be done. There were things I needed to grab there. Like my journal. If Rittenhouse got their hands on it..."

Lucy stepped up slowly raising her hand to cup his face. Sighing, he leaned into her hand. He knew she wouldn't have done anything reckless if she didn't have to. Grace was their priority now. Anything to keep her safe.

"Next time," he started, "when you decide to do something reckless. At least let me come with you."

Lucy offered him a small smile, one he hesitantly mirrored back, "Do you think we argue in the future?"

Garcia snorted, "I think that's a safe bet." He reached out pushing the hair back from her face, "But I'm sure we always make up."

Later that night, Grace fell asleep, her body sprawled across Lucy and Garcia as they sat on the couch watching an old movie. Garcia's arm wrapped around the back of the couch, his fingers playing with Lucy's hair. Lucy's hand resting on Garcia's leg, her thumb absentmindedly rubbing back and forth. Jiya and Rufus had settled on a blanket in front of them, the two more focused on each other than the movie. Connor, Denise, and Wyatt sitting in chairs close by talking softly.

When Lucy's head drifted to his shoulder as she nodded off to sleep, Garcia took in the peaceful expression on her face and finally realized what this was.

A family.

Author's notes: It's weird writing arguments between Lucy and Garcia but I hope it worked out well on my end...next chapter will be up soon

Next up: Wyatt throws a tiny (okay major) hissy fit and Grace spoils some future stuff