From Chapter 2:

Christopher looked again between Rufus and Wyatt, then stepped back toward the stairs again, ducking her head and pinching the bridge of her nose. "You know what? All three of you then—up to the conference room, right now. I'll be there shortly….I've gotta make a call."

Before Rufus had a chance to move, three security guards moved toward the Time Team, drawing their weapons again, and obviously focusing in on Lucy.

"Whoa." said Wyatt, moving to stand between Lucy and the guards. "Not. Necessary. We can get the conference room on our own, thanks; we don't need the Praetorian Guard here—"

Christopher sighed. "Fine, then get going. But the Praetorian Guard is going to follow you, and stand watch outside those doors." She glanced up toward the visible conference room door, "Just so I know you're not going to disappear on me."

Chapter 3: Logic on a Merry-go-Round

Wyatt led the group up the stairs and into the conference room—keeping both Rufus and Lucy in front of him. Once they were in, he followed, slamming the door and shooting a glare at Christopher's guards—now standing directly outside the conference room door with their weapons at the ready—for good measure.

"Uh…." he heard Rufus begin, and he spun back toward him.

"First of all….Praetorian Guards?"

That brought a tiny smirk to his face….he couldn't help it. He motioned with his chin toward Lucy, and she accepted his serve.

"The Praetorian Guard was one of the ancient world's most prestigious military units….charged with protecting the Roman Emperor," she paused, "You know….when they weren't assassinating him."

Rufus shook his head incredulously, looking quickly between both Wyatt and Lucy.

"What?" Wyatt asked, shrugging. But he could feel the smile slipping from his face, as the gravity of their situation came crashing back around him.

"So," Rufus continued, "Secondly….and I can't stress how much I really need an answer for this one…. What the hell is going on here?"

Wyatt blew out a breath, "I don't know—I mean, not exactly. Obviously we changed the timeline….in a pretty major way."

"But how?" asked Lucy. "Seriously. All we did was talk to a bunch of doctors at the Cholera Hospital to remind them how to do their jobs…."

She trailed off and her face fell, he knew that, even now, she was thinking about the children they had seen—waiting outside the doors of the hospital, in the darkness of the night—

"And then we ran away from some Five Points gang members in the middle of the Astor House riot…." She trailed off again, and sat heavily down into one of the chairs. "How could any of that have caused….whatever this is?"

A flash of activity to his side caught Wyatt's attention, and he pulled his gaze away from Lucy, back toward where Rufus was now circling the conference table, pulling out chairs and checking charging ports.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking for a tablet…..a phone…..really, I'd take a pager or even an abandoned sticky note right now….anything that could be a source of information! I mean," he slammed his hands down on the table; "I don't even know what time it is!"

Wyatt continued to watch, as Rufus paused in his meltdown, and looked at the three guards standing outside the door.

"Do you think they'd help us out? Get us access to some technology? I mean, they know who I am, right?"

Wyatt looked from Rufus back to Lucy, who was watching their friend with a bemused look on her face. He then moved around the end of the table, to stare through the glass wall at the scene of confusion still going on below them in the docking hangar. Putting his hand against the glass, he looked back toward Rufus.

"No, I don't' think their plan is to help us out, right now."

Rufus looked at him, and then turned back to the guards. He took several steps toward the door, then paused, scanning the hardened faces of the men. Then he drew back, and took a giant step back toward the table, as one of the guards reached for his weapon.

"Yeah….I guess you're right."

Wyatt heard Lucy's voice, almost a whisper, behind him.

"What are we going to do?"

He pulled himself away from the glass, spinning back toward his team, and moved to stand beside Lucy's chair.

Rufus returned to the table and sighed, collapsing into a chair opposite Lucy's. "Look, Christopher will be back soon….should we just wait and ask her?"

Wyatt sighed. "No—we can't trust Christopher."

"What?" he heard Lucy and Rufus say—practically in unison.

"Look—we know that no one here knows who Lucy is." He turned to face Lucy directly. "Christopher—if she's doing her job—she's gonna want to question you, investigate you, imprison you—hell she might just kidnap you and throw you in a black site until some other branch of the government wants to experiment on you!"

He watched the colour drain from Lucy's face. He didn't want to scare her—but she….all of them….needed to understand the stakes here.

He saw in his peripheral vision that Rufus had jumped to his feet.

"Wyatt! Maybe you're being just a little too intense about this whole 'everybody's out to get Lucy thing'."

He saw Lucy tip her head to the side then, giving Rufus a knowing half-smile.

Rufus continued, "Maybe tone it down….juuust a little bit?"

"Too intense?" he questioned. How could they not understand? "I'm not doing enough—do you guys have any idea….? The government….the military….they don't take well to complete strangers with detailed knowledge of top-secret intelligence and military operations materializing out of thin air!"

Rufus sat down in his chair again, pressing his face against his palms. "Shit."

"Right. I'm not…." he glanced at Lucy again, "I'm sorry—for scaring you," he glanced back at Rufus, "For scaring both of you, but this is the truth of the situation….whatever this situation is. And we need to be prepared. Agent Christopher is going to be back here very soon….and she's not going to be making decisions about what to do next on her own—she'll be following orders from the top—from people who don't know or care about any of us—believe me."

He watched as Lucy picked at the charging plug on the table top. He didn't miss the tremble in her hand. But when she raised her head to meet his eyes, her gaze was like steel.

"Well then….what do we do?"

Wyatt blew out his breath and combed a hand through his hair. "Let's just….focus for a minute. What do we know?"

Rufus shook his head, "We don't know anything, not without access to the 'net or something…."

Wyatt slammed his hand on the table. "Come on! We don't need the internet. You guys are the two smartest people I know, so let's figure this out….let's just….use logic, here."

Wyatt knew his friends were in shock—and he knew that he shouldn't be pushing them like this. But when he raised his gaze from his hand on the table, back to their faces—he saw it. Any previous shock and confusion was gone. And they were ready, they were ready to fight….to figure this out. He nodded his head at them, in appreciation and respect….proud, as always, of his team.

"Well," Rufus began, "We know that every time we jump, we are creating a new timeline, different from before….and when we do our jobs right, the new timeline is pretty much identical to the previous one…."

"So we obviously didn't do our job right, in 1849," said Lucy.

Wyatt cringed inwardly, "Don't go there. No judgement—just logic, remember?"

"Fine. We know that you and Rufus are still time team….and that I'm not."

Wyatt nodded, slowly. "Okay, what else?"

"What do you mean, what else? We don't know anything else," said Rufus.

"Yes, we do. Every little tiny thing could be valuable. Think. What else do we know?"

"Okay, we know that the time team still runs missions, presumably chasing Emma and," Rufus glanced in Lucy's direction, "Emma and Rittenhouse. Because down there in the hangar, Agent Christopher mentioned a mission."

"Right," said Wyatt, having left Lucy's chair and now pacing the length of the conference room with a rapid stride, "And I think there may still normally be a third member of this timeline's Time Team—there's a third seat, after all, and Christopher said something about not liking to break up the band…."

Rufus whistled low. "I missed that….but, crap."

Silence hung between the three of them for a moment, and Wyatt watched as Lucy stood from her chair and took up the spot previously occupied by him at the glass, staring at the scene below. Her voice wafted toward him, quiet, but firm. "Well, we know that you two are still pains-in-the-ass."

"What?" he sputtered.

"Yeah, how do we know that?" asked Rufus.

She shrugged, "Christopher clearly said, 'What have you two done now.'"

Wyatt sighed, "Fine, you have a point, and I did say every little thing could be important….so what else?"

"We know that Jiya doesn't know Lucy either," offered Rufus.

"Why would she, when no one else knows who she is?"

"I don't know! But, you said any little thing," he threw his hands up in the air in frustration, "And that's a little thing….Jiya doesn't know Lucy….no one knows Lucy!"

"Oh." Lucy turned and gripped the table top, sliding down into a chair again.

"Luce?" Wyatt rushed to her side. "Are you okay?"

"Yes….I mean no…..I mean…..I guess it's just hitting me…. They don't know who I am. I'm not time team. In their world, in this world….you two wouldn't even know who I am."

Her voice raised slightly at that statement, and he could sense the growing anxiety within her—this was the definition of being out of control….and he could tell she was beginning to feel it's effects….

So he did all he could think to do in that moment. He put his hand on her shoulder. "But we know you Luce….you're on our Time Team….and that's all that matters—in any timeline."

She looked up at him, with a shaky smile. "But then here, in this timeline, where….where am I now?"

He squeezed her shoulder, "You must not have been selected for the mission…..you're probably back teaching at the University."

"Ah…." Rufus began, "Nooooo….nope. Because, if that were the case….then your head would be turning to jelly and running out your nose, right now."

"What?"

"Because….well, you know….you can't exist in the same universe as another version of yourself."

"Oh, right….that." Wyatt moved then, to perch himself on the arm of a chair that was beside Lucy's. He saw her face tighten as he removed his hand from her shoulder. Frankly—he didn't like losing the contact, either. Contact meant she was real….she was there….and he had no idea how else to tell what was real anymore.

So he slid as close as he could to Lucy, and reached out to grasp her hand. "So….that means…."

Rufus finished his thought. "Lucy doesn't exist."

"Hey—" she said, "I'm right here." Wyatt heard the lightness of her tone, but it was forced, and a quick glance was all it took for him to realize that it hadn't met her eyes.

"I know…." Rufus shrugged. "I just mean….well, it's the only possibility."

He watched as Lucy sat, quietly, in her chair for several heartbeats. Her face was stoic….but her eyes…. He could practically see her heart shattering in the depths of her eyes. And that made him feel adrift, and helpless….and all he could do was take solace in the warmth of Lucy's hand in his….and hope that he was offering her some comfort, in return.

Finally, she spoke. "So, you're saying that, in this world, in this timeline….no one knows who I am….because I don't exist."

Wyatt squeezed her hand again, and Rufus jumped to stand and come around the table, sitting next to her, and grasping her other hand. Wyatt saw the change in her eyes just in time—just before she started to fall forward. He stood so that he was directly in front of her….and let her lean against his chest as she crumpled against him. He held her steady. The three were silent again. He felt her press her head tighter against his shoulder, saw the slight tremor in her shoulders. Rufus caught his eye, and they exchanged helpless looks….there were no easy answers here.

After a moment, she slowly raised her head from his shoulder. He could see that her eyes were rimmed in red, but there were no tears.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

She shrugged, "I just….needed a minute, I think. It's okay now."

"Lucy?" Rufus asked. "What can we do?"

She shrugged, looking at him sadly, then released his hand to run her hand along his arm. "Wyatt's right—the only thing to do is to try and figure this out….to keep moving forward with….whatever this is."

Rufus looks toward door—"Where'd Christopher go, anyway?"

Wyatt straightened again, this time leaving his hand on Lucy's arm—never losing that contact, that comfort.

He sighed, "Oh, you know, probably on the phone with the President—maybe the Secretary of Defense, no biggie." He drew circles on Lucy's arm. "When she comes back….just…. We need to think about what we say….how we answer questions. Maybe, at this point….we don't want to give them too much information. And Luce," he dropped his voice to a whisper, "Remember that you don't have to answer any questions at all….not if you don't want to." He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "Even your name….I mean….if they don't know you…."

"The Preston name could be a problem," she finished.

Rufus pushed back in the chair and stood again. Keeping his true focus on Lucy, Wyatt watched him out of the corner of his eye as he now began to pace, where Wyatt himself had been pacing just moments earlier.

"Okay," he began, turning to pace back toward the table, "But this shouldn't be that big a deal, I mean, Christopher knows us…."

"Put yourself in her shoes Rufus," he said, "This is a huge deal, a monster of an intelligence and security problem." And he glanced at the armed guard outside the door. Speaking of which….we need to plan for dealing with the fact that Lucy's probably not safe here…."

"Wait, what?" asked Rufus.

"We can't….just pretend that everyone here wants to help her!"

"Please don't talk about me like I'm not in the room."

He squeezed her arm, reflexively. "Shit, sorry. I just meant…." He sighed, pulling a chair over so that he could sit beside her. "I just mean that….I don't know what's going to happen here. But I do know that I'm not going to let you out of my sight until we figure this out. I promise."

Even with the situation, he felt a warmth flood through him as she raised her eyes to his….eyes filled with trust. She gave him a soft smile, and brought her other hand around to his.

Rufus had paused in his pacing; "Now if the two of you could both just remember that I'm still in the room…."

Wyatt shot him a look.

"Sorry," he said, starting his pacing again, "I'm stressed here. So, if we can't trust Christopher….then how are we going to get any help on this?"

Wyatt sighed. "Look….I want to trust Christopher….and maybe we can, but we just don't know where things are going yet. Until we find out, I think….we need to make it up as we go along," he tossed a gentle smirk at Lucy, "And we probably need to keep our mouths shut," he glanced up at Rufus.

Rufus sighed, but nodded his head in agreement. "Fine, but that puts us back to square one, with figuring this thing out."

"Not necessarily," said Lucy. "We just need to figure out why I don't exist….what happened in 1849 to change…..history."

Wyatt reluctantly released her hand, and stood again. He didn't miss the disappointment in her eyes….he wasn't sure if it was the loss of contact, or just that, as she'd told him several times in the past, his incessant pacing drove her crazy. But it helped him stay calm, stay focused. And that was what he needed….that was what they all needed, right now. "Let's not worry about what we changed in the past, okay? There's no way to know what kind of crazy butterfly-effect thing is going on here."

Rufus leaned against the end of the table, and shook his head, "But then how do we….?"

He raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Let's just go back to thinking logically. What are possible reasons for Lucy to not…."

"Exist?" She finished for him.

He nodded, trying to send an apology her way with just his eyes.

She sat straighter in her chair, looking calm and collected, all vestiges of her previous emotion reaction gone from her face. "Well, presumably….if I don't exist, it's because Carol Preston and Benjamin Cahill never got together."

"Right," nodded Wyatt. "And what could have caused them not to get together?"

"I don't know….maybe one or both of them were with someone else….someone who exists now that didn't before, because of something we changed?"

"Maybe. Possibly. Except…." Wyatt trailed off.

"Except what?" she asked.

"I don't know that Rittenhouse would just be okay with that, you know? They don't seem the type to let things like 'they found someone else' get in the way of—"

"Their breeding program?" said Rufus.

"I was going to say their plans," said Wyatt, sending another glare in his friend's direction.

"And that would have been much smoother than what I said….sorry, Lucy."

She waved away his apology. "No, it's fine. But then, maybe….."

"Yeah?" asked Rufus.

"Maybe my Mom, maybe she isn't Rittenhouse in this timeline?"

Wyatt nodded, "Definitely a possibility."

"But that might mean….maybe she and Henry still got together…..maybe Amy….."

Wyatt nodded. "As soon as we get access to a tablet, a phone—we'll check it out Lucy, I promise."

Rufus started pacing again, in an opposite direction to Wyatt.

Wyatt paused, and shot his friend a quizzical look. "What's got your mind buzzing now?"

"I'm just thinking….well, maybe it's even further back than that. I mean….what if Lucy doesn't exist because Benjamin Cahill or Carol Preston don't exist….maybe the change happened a generation or two further back…."

Wyatt raised his eyebrows at that. "You mean what if significant changes were made to the genealogies of two top primary Rittenhouse families?"

Lucy shook her head. "Than that would mean Emma would have had to have screwed up the mission, more than we ever could have."

Wyatt nodded. "True….but I guess it is possible."

Rufus shrugged. "But that—that would be one hell of a big whoops, know what I'm saying?"

"Wait," Lucy slid forward on her seat. "If it's possible that Emma screwed up, resulting in the loss of one or more Rittenhouse families…..then don't we have to say that the opposite could also be true?"

"What opposite?" asked Wyatt, not at all comfortable with where she might be going with this.

"That Emma was actually successful in her mission….and that the plan was to…..erase me…..all along. And, all of this," she motioned to the commotion beyond the window, "Wasn't anything we accidentally did, but something she did purposefully?"

He shook his head. "No….I mean….she wouldn't. If anything, she's been trying to change things to bring you back to the Rittenhouse fold, back to Carol, she would never—"

At that moment, the door swung open, and a stern-looking Agent Christopher entered the room.