Wyatt woke to sound of faint humming. The setting sun peaked its rays through his curtains, landing right on his face, and he squinted as his eyes adjusted. Stretching, he got out of bed and followed where the music was coming from. It was Jenna, dashing around the kitchen - which was a mess. Apparently she'd taken it upon herself to cook dinner, and by the looks of it, was preparing for a small army.
"What's all this?" Wyatt asked and she startled, interrupting her humming that Wyatt realized was a Bob Dylan song he couldn't quite remember the name of.
"Well, I like to chop vegetables - it calms me down," she said, and Wyatt stared at her. "And sometimes I just really want enchiladas, you know..." she continued sheepishly.
"So you decided to make enough for 20 people?" he asked her and she bit her lip.
"Well, I thought maybe we could, um, share them with... uh..." her cheeks were turning red, and he almost had to laugh at how adorable it was. It reminded him of someone...
"Where did you get all the ingredients?" he suddenly asked, realizing there was no way he had that much food in his pantry.
"Um, I went to the grocery store down the corner," she said. "You left your wallet on the table, so I thought..."
Wyatt sighed. "I'll gladly give you money for anything you need, but please ask me first next time," he said.
She nodded timidly. "So, I thought maybe - uh, Lucy could come over," she continued.
"That's still only three people eating 10 pounds of enchiladas," he deadpanned.
"Well, do you have any other friends who might be hungry?" she asked innocently.
Wyatt had to admit, the girl was a good cook. He'd invited everyone he liked who knew about Jenna - Lucy, Rufus, Jiya, even Denise and her family. Not Connor, though. Jenna specifically told him not to invite Connor, but he wasn't planning on it anyway.
Turns out, Denise has two young daughters, Isabelle and Julie. Jiya and Rufus were playing cards with them in living room, while Denise's wife watched them from the chair. Jenna was still playing chef, insisting on chopping up her own salsa - three different kinds. Wyatt's stomach was really starting to grumble and he was getting a little impatient waiting for dinner to be ready.
Finally, when Jenna announced everything was ready, everyone took their seats crowded around Wyatt's small dining table. It was cozy, but everyone was smiling and it was nice to be able to relax a little bit for the first time in a while. Jenna served each of them, explaining everything she'd made and why it was so yummy and really just overselling it. Still, Wyatt found it charming.
Jenna wanted to sit by Lucy, and Wyatt sat on the other side of her. "Could you pass the-" Lucy paused when Jenna was already handing her the salsa verde. "Um, thank you..." she said, uneasy, but Jenna just smiled at her with childlike affection. Something about the exchange made Wyatt feel warm.
As they began eating, it grew silent in the room. The food was amazing, and everyone was absorbed in it. Denise praised to Jenna generously, and again she blushed, seemingly uncomfortable with the attention. Maybe it was the whole atmosphere of the evening, but Wyatt was feeling playful.
"So, where'd you get those pipes?" he asked Jenna. She looked up, confused. "Your singing," he clarified. "You have a beautiful voice."
"Oh, my mother I guess," Jenna answered.
"Do you sing in a choir or anything?" Lucy asked, and she shook her head. "Why not?"
Jenna wiped her mouth with her napkin as she swallowed what she was chewing. "Well, I used to sing with my mom a lot, but after she died it just felt like, that was our thing. I guess I just feel like sharing it with everyone else would make it less special."
"I understand," Lucy said. "But I think your mother would want you to share it with others. It's a thing of beauty, and sharing such a gift is... one of the most beautiful things about humanity."
Jenna mumbled, "I guess so," before Rufus changed the subject of conversation and the tension in the room released once more.
Jenna had offered to do the dishes, but Wyatt told her she'd done enough for today and that he didn't mind doing them himself. The others gathered in the living room while Lucy joined him at the sink.
They were silent, but his awareness of how close they were standing seemed so loud. They made contact a few times - each both electrifying and awkward - before Lucy cleared her throat.
"This was nice," she said. "I haven't had anything like this in... a long time. It's been just my sister and I on holidays for years... ever since my - Amy's dad died and Mom got sick..."
"I know what you mean," Wyatt responded. "I forgot how nice it was. Having a family, I mean."
Lucy smiled, and Wyatt had to admit how right this felt. All of them together - hell, having children around was something he definitely wasn't used to. But he liked it, this makeshift "family" of theirs...
He watched Lucy as she continued drying the dishes. Was that what she was to him? Family? If so, which role did she play?
Before he could do something stupid like reach over and brush her hair behind her ear, Denise and her family walked in the kitchen and announced that it was getting late and the girls needed to get home and go to bed. They embraced and exchanged their farewells, and then Jiya and Rufus followed, hand in hand. If he didn't think about it too hard, he could almost pretend this was a normal thing that they did all the time.
Finally, Lucy headed for the door and Wyatt drew a blank trying to think of some excuse to make her stay longer. Before he could say anything, Jenna walked up and wrapped Lucy in a tight embrace. Lucy looked a little startled but hugged her back after a moment. Clearly, the girl loved Lucy. Well, she is very lovable.
"Thanks for dinner," Lucy said when Jenna released her. "Uh, let me know if you need anything," she said awkwardly before waving to Wyatt and closing the door behind her. Wyatt stood there staring at the closed door, not remembering a single word of any of the four languages he supposedly knew.
"I wish she lived here," Jenna said. Wyatt didn't know how to respond to that, so he didn't. He finished cleaning up the kitchen and Jenna stood there still, watching him.
"Why didn't you ask her to stay?" she said finally.
Again, Wyatt was at a loss for words, "Um..."
"Don't you want her to stay?" she pressed.
"Yeah," Wyatt said quickly. "I mean, uh, sure. It'd be okay if she stayed but I don't really-"
"Then why don't you ever ask her?" Jenna inquired.
"She has her own place, Jenna," he responded defensively. "It's kinda weird to ask her to stay at my house, it's not like..." he trailed off. What isn't it like? He asked himself, not knowing the answer.
Jenna huffed. "Nevermind," she said and retreated to bathroom to get ready for bed. Wyatt stayed up a while longer, picking up after everyone until Jenna settled in on the couch. She mumbled a "goodnight" as he exited the room and he responded in kind, feeling strange about their whole conversation. He tried to stop thinking about it as he settled in for the night and failed miserably until sleep overcame him.
In the morning, Agent Christopher called and asked them to all come in, presumably to continue working on a way to get Jenna back to when she belonged. Wyatt had been feeling so relaxed the prior evening, but his conversation with Jenna at the end of the night had left him uneasy since. He was so distracted that he didn't react in time to what happened next.
As they entered Mason Industries, Jiya was introducing a young man she said was a new intern, but before she could finish saying his name, Jenna pounced on him. Despite her small frame, she kneed the man in the crotch hard enough to make him double over in pain, and in one swift motion grabbed a gun from the belt of a nearby security guard and pointed it at his head.
"Woah, woah, woah! What's going on here?" Denise shouted.
Jenna released the safety and hissed at the new guy, "You worthless son of a bitch!"
At that, several other guards trained their guns on Jenna, but she didn't seem to notice, the expression on her face pure hatred. The man began to get back up when Jenna kicked him again and moved the gun closer to his head.
"Who the hell are you?" the man shouted hysterically.
"Hey, now, let's calm down a minute!" Lucy sprung into action, standing between Jenna and the man.
"Move," Jenna growled coldly.
"Jenna, let's put the gun down and discuss this calmly," Lucy tried.
"Move," Jenna said once more.
"Why do you want to shoot him?" Lucy asked.
"He deserves it!" Jenna shouted angrily before trying to get around Lucy at the man. Finally, Wyatt's senses caught up to him and he grabbed her wrist, snatching the gun from her hands and holstering it.
"He deserves it!" she shouted again as they tried to hold her back. "Shoot him! You can stop him now!" she cried desperately.
"Stop him from what?" Lucy asked her.
"He's a murderer! He'll kill them! He'll kill your own daughter!" she said before Wyatt stepped in and lifted her over his shoulder, taking her a way from the scene and into a private room. She kicked and struggled and when he set her down she clawed at him trying to get to the door, but she was no match for him. Eventually, she gave up, and put her head in between her knees as she began sobbing. Wyatt figured the best thing to do was to just let her get it out.
After a little while, Lucy knocked on the door and Wyatt let her in. "Let me talk to her," she said calmly as she walked over to kneel in front of Jenna.
"Jenna," she said softly. "What do you mean 'he'll kill my daughter'?"
"He's Rittenhouse!" she replied, her voice now hoarse and her eyes bloodshot.
"How do you know he'll do that?" Lucy asked.
"I saw him do it myself!" Jenna said desperately.
Lucy was quiet for a few moments, putting the pieces together in her head. "Jenna," she said hesitantly, "is my daughter... your mother?"
Jenna began crying again and hid her face in her hands. Of course she couldn't answer that, but they knew. She exchanged a worried look with Wyatt before motioning them into the hallway, leaving Jenna alone inside.
Rufus and Denise were waiting there for them. They looked at Lucy expectantly, and she nodded.
"So she's...?" Rufus started.
"Yep. My granddaughter," Lucy said, her voice sounding far away.
"And how does she know the new guy?" Rufus asked.
"She says... he's going to kill her parents," Lucy answered.
"Well, I guess that explains her outburst," Denise commented.
Wyatt observed Lucy. He reached out and put a hand on her arm and she looked up at him. "What is it?" he asked gently.
"I... I know that man," she said.
"The intern?" Rufus asked. "How?"
Lucy swallowed before answering slowly. "He's... my brother."