A/N #1: Sorry for the slight delay in posting this new chapter. RL kind of kicked my bum last week, but thankfully, things are already looking up...

Chapter 2

Wyatt tried to pay attention to Lucy's earnest, last-minute mission prep as they walked along the road to Tom's River, which luckily was only a few miles from the Lakehurst Naval Station, he really did. His mind buzzed with a million thoughts as he attempted to absorb the fact that he, Lucy, and Rufus had actually "jumped" from 2016 back through time nearly 80 years. It was crazy. It was impossible. But, as he inhaled deeply of the fresh air in 1937 New Jersey, Wyatt experienced such awe and wonder, he could barely keep from laughing out loud. His musings were cut short by the low rumble of an approaching bus, and he bit back a grin at Rufus' fervent "Thank God" when Wyatt hailed the bus, fishing around in his pants pocket for some of the coins Connor Mason had hastily pressed into his hand right before they departed. He and Lucy looked at each other in consternation though, when the driver loudly insisted that "coloreds" rode in the back of the bus. It was one thing to know this type of blatant ugly racism existed and was extremely commonplace years ago, another thing altogether to actually witness it first hand. Although he was sure that Rufus was offended and upset by the incident, the pilot's only response after the bus dropped them off in town was a sarcastic observation about the view from the back of the bus.

Clutching the piece of paper recovered from one of Flynn's associates left for dead at Mason after the mothership had taken off, Lucy asked the man at the news stand where Wyatt bought a daily newspaper if he knew where the tavern written on the scrap was located, and was relieved to find it was only a few blocks farther down the street. Wyatt's footsteps dragged as his fascinated eyes darted everywhere, trying to take in all the sights, sounds, and even smells of a time now only known from words and pictures in a book or on a website. "C'mon, Professor," Lucy gently scolded, "We have to hurry," and Wyatt thought he saw a glimmer of understanding in her big dark eyes of what he was experiencing. They finally located the tavern, and while a visibly uneasy Rufus waited for them outside, he and Lucy entered the crowded establishment and began discreetly showing the picture of Garcia Flynn around to the bartender and several patrons in the hope that someone had seen him.

Wyatt caught a glimpse of blonde hair out of the corner of his eye just as he heard a peal of feminine laughter coming from a corner of the room. Following his interested gaze, Lucy asked, "Wonder who she is?" and seemed slightly annoyed when Wyatt answered without taking his eyes off the woman, "I think that's Kate Drummond. In the 30's, she was a famous journalist who wrote articles from around the world," and he scarcely heard Lucy's vaguely indignant huff when he unerringly made his way over to the reporter. As he was awkwardly making small talk with the very attractive blonde (Jesus, it had been too long since he tried to approach a woman in a bar), Lucy quietly popped up at his side, and gestured impatiently at the picture in his hand as she wordlessly urged Wyatt to show Miss Drummond the picture of Flynn. He and Lucy looked at each other in relief when the other woman confirmed she had in fact seen Flynn in the tavern just a couple of hours ago, before casually uttering, "He's one of the men bringing down the Hindenburg." At the reporter's eerily (likely) prophetic words, Lucy grasped Wyatt's arm, and once outside, with Rufus in tow, the team hurried to find a cab to the airfield.

Upon their arrival at the naval station, Lucy determined that they should split up in the hopes of locating Flynn faster, and her two teammates obediently took off in different directions. Frustrated at having so little intel to work with, her mind raced as she unsuccessfully tried to figure out what Garcia Flynn's objective was. At the loud, swelling roar from the crowd surrounding her, Lucy looked up to see the impossibly large, sleek aircraft descend and land gracefully, and she watched in dismayed fascination as smiling, very much alive passengers began to disembark. So engrossed in what was unfolding in front of her very eyes, Lucy started at Wyatt's gentle touch on her elbow, and shivered when he breathed near her ear, "Lucy, this isn't what should be happening," and when she turned her face to his, she was aware of the concerned uncertainty reflected in his dark blue eyes so close to hers.

Lucy barely heard Rufus ask worriedly, "Wyatt, what's going to happen how?" when, at a subtle nudge from the professor, she quickly decided the team needed to regroup, and suggested they retreat to a nearby empty hangar. While discussing the potential ramifications of the Hindenburg's safe arrival, Lucy asked Wyatt about the possible historical significance of the airship's flight back to Europe, and his face brightened as he pulled the local newspaper from his jacket pocket, and after scanning the list of dignitaries who would soon be boarding the famous airship, Wyatt came up with a very plausible scenario. His face reddened faintly at Lucy's praise as they smiled at each other before Rufus cleared his throat rather loudly.

Unfortunately, without warning, one of Flynn's thugs entered the hangar and got the drop on Lucy, and after a brief scuffle, she was forced to kill him, much to Wyatt's chagrin. "Lucy, I know we are both armed, but I have to remind you what Agent Christopher said about not changing anything in the past," and as she gazed into his solemn blue eyes, Lucy nearly forgot her own name (My God, Preston, you need to get your act together) and forcefully shaking her head, she summarily dismissed his concerns, only to bitterly regret it less than an hour later when local police officers burst into the hangar and arrested the team. When Lucy dared ask the deputy who roughly grabbed her arm if someone had tipped off the police to their presence in the hangar, she thought she heard a low growl from Wyatt when the officer tightened his grip on her upper arm painfully.

After the police had none-too-gently confiscated their guns, they were unceremoniously thrust into two cells (oddly enough, she and Wyatt were put in the same cell). Lucy sat dejectedly on the lower bunk in the corner and tried to think of a way out before the Hindenburg departed for England. She glanced over at Wyatt, who was sitting on the crude wooden bench along the wall beside the beds, and impulsively asked, "So, do you have a thing for blondes or something, because you seemed a little distracted by Kate Drummond," and of course, he quickly denied any such thing. But when Lucy continued to stare impassively at him, Wyatt ducked his head and muttered, "She reminds me of my wife," and Lucy was taken aback by how his grudging admission stung just a little. Why should she care? He was very good-looking, sure, but just a colleague, a teammate who she had only met yesterday, for heaven's sake.

"I didn't know you were married," tumbled unwillingly from her lips as he glanced briefly at her and shrugged uncomfortably, "I'm not anymore," and Lucy felt like a first-class bitch when he held up his ringless left hand that still bore the pale, tell-tale marks of having worn a wedding band recently for several years at least. When she attempted to apologize, Wyatt just lifted one shoulder casually, but Lucy saw the fresh pain in his eyes, and she put her hand on his and leaning closer to him, murmured, "Wyatt, I'm very sorry for prying, it's none of my business," and felt somewhat better when he gently squeezed her hand and said lightly, "Apology accepted, Agent," and his shy, dimpled smile warmed her heart.

As they continued to look at each other, Rufus, who had been anxiously pacing his solitary cell, interrupted, "Um, hey, guys, so what's the plan? We really need to get out of here very soon, and not just for, you know, the whole 'I'm a black man in 1937' deal," and Lucy was upset at herself for getting distracted from their mission by dark blue eyes and a set of bashful dimples. Glancing at Wyatt, who had stood up and was now standing by the cell door, Lucy had an idea, and moving over beside him, asked in an undertone if he knew how to pick a lock. "Sure, do you have a hairpin, by any chance?" he answered hopefully, and his face fell slightly when Lucy shook her head, but added that she might have something else that could work. At his quizzical expression, Lucy put her lips to his ear and whispered that she was wearing a modern underwire bra, and felt her face warm when his intent gaze involuntarily dropped to her chest.

"We need to divert the deputy long enough for you to get that bra off, Lucy," Wyatt responded, and she was almost disappointed when he instantly straightened up and looking over at the adjoining cell, silently instructed a hesitant Rufus to make a distraction. The pilot's tentative first attempt went nowhere fast, but as she and a wide-eyed Wyatt watched in amazement, Rufus stiffened his spine and tore the dumbfounded policeman a new one. When the young deputy grinned maliciously at the pilot and scurried from the room, Lucy darted for the corner of their cell by the beds and hurriedly removed her blouse, and as she started to pull the thin bra straps off her shoulders, she glanced back and saw that Wyatt was staring at her with more than vague interest flickering in his eyes. Lucy inhaled sharply as she turned back around, and clutching the blouse to her bare chest, tossed the bra over to Wyatt, who caught it deftly, and she trembled as he rapidly tore at the bra with strong, white teeth.

Embarrassed that Lucy had caught him looking at her pale, smooth back, Wyatt concentrated on getting to the underwire in the bra, resolutely ignoring the faint warmth and delicate scent of the undergarment (C'mon, Professor Logan, focus). Finally, he had worked a tiny hole big enough to remove the underwire, and swiftly throwing Lucy's bra back to her, Wyatt reached long arms around and began working the cell door lock. He could hear the soft rustle of Lucy hastily getting dressed as the ominous thud of heavy footsteps sounded in the hallway outside the door. The next few minutes were a blur as he, and surprisingly, Rufus, handily dispatched the two policemen while Lucy quickly retrieved their weapons from the desk.

Wyatt felt a strange, unfamiliar warmth in his chest at her breathless, "That was amazing," and in an attempt to ignore the feeling, responded, "Lucy, we have to get on board and find Flynn before the Hindenburg gets airborne," as the trio ran for the landing site. He was gratified when Lucy immediately agreed, and she and Rufus followed him. Once aboard, they crept down an empty corridor, only to run into Kate Drummond, who nearly got them recaptured before they convinced her they were the good guys. When Kate mentioned she had seen Flynn coming from the direction of the galley, they decided to start there. As they were searching, Lucy was clearly distressed when an alert Rufus realized the ship was now airborne, and the team frantically redoubled their efforts. A few tense moments later, Wyatt discovered a bomb under one of the counters, and once he assured Lucy he could disarm it, she and Rufus took off for the cockpit to try and force the crew to land the ship.

"Please don't make me a liar," Wyatt prayed, swallowing down his fear as he examined the bomb's somewhat intricate timing mechanism while Kate looked on nervously. "Talk to me," he suggested to her suddenly, "It calms my nerves," and felt just a little proud when he made her smile at his outlandish claim about being Buck Rogers from the 21st century. Just as he had chosen which wire to clip, Kate suddenly screamed when without warning, Wyatt was attacked by one of Flynn's hired guns. After a brutal struggle, Wyatt was grateful when Kate finally thumped the killer with a cast iron skillet and knocked him out cold. He scrambled back to the bomb and disarmed it with mere seconds left on the countdown before the airship dropped sharply and began to fall. "Lucy and Rufus must have been successful," Wyatt thought fleetingly in relief just as he and Kate barely escaped by jumping out a window that he broke before the Hindenburg hit the ground.

After Wyatt led the reporter to safety, he left her in the nearby hangar, and she stared at him uncomprehendingly when he told her to "have a nice life" before taking off to find his teammates. He was alarmed to catch sight of Lucy and Garcia Flynn starkly silhouetted against the burning hulk of the fallen airship's mainframe. Approaching cautiously with his gun drawn, Wyatt heard Lucy try to reason with the tall, dark-haired man, but once he noticed Wyatt, Flynn seized Lucy roughly and hid behind her slender body. To his faint astonishment, Lucy stilled and didn't struggle against the terrorist, but looked calmly and trustingly with wide eyes at Wyatt as he fixed his stance carefully, and in a low, clear voice, bravely instructed him, "Take the shot, Wyatt," as Flynn brutally tightened his hold on her.

"Let her go, Flynn," he ordered, as the other man sneered and shouted, "Dr. Wyatt Logan, at last we meet." Wyatt frowned and replied, "I don't know you, Flynn, and I don't care to. Let Agent Preston go, or I will put you down," and meeting Lucy's dark eyes one last time, clicked the safety off. But apparently, the other man wasn't quite done yet. "I'm curious, Dr. Logan, did they tell you why you were selected for this particular mission? Weren't you the least bit interested? When you return to 2016, be sure and ask them about Rittenhouse." When Wyatt chanced a fleeting glance at Lucy, she seemed as uncertain as he by Flynn's words. Deciding enough was enough, and after deliberately slowing down his breathing, Wyatt sent Lucy a pleading look that preemptively begged her forgiveness and competently squeezed off the shot, nicking Flynn's right shoulder as he flung Lucy cruelly away, but not before returning fire.

Ducking instinctively, Wyatt heard an odd muffled sound behind him, and turning around, to his horror, saw that, although the bullet Flynn aimed at him had missed, it had hit the unseen Kate Drummond squarely in the chest. The look of bewildered surprise on the pretty journalist's face as she fell limply to the ground was something Wyatt would remember for the rest of his life, especially since he knew the fatal shot had been meant for him. Lucy ran over to him as he sank to his knees and cradled Kate's body in his arms, and then she asked desperately, "Do you have her?" before running off after Flynn. Wyatt had seen more than his fair share of death during his years in Syria and Afghanistan, and at the ominous sight of blood trickling from Kate's lips, he knew she would not survive this disaster after all.

As he continued to try and ease the blonde writer's suffering during her final moments, a shaken Wyatt suddenly felt the warmth of Lucy pressed against his side as she tremulously whispered, "Wyatt, she's gone," and dazed, he looked up to see a shocked Rufus standing beside them. "Wyatt, we need to go now," Lucy softly implored, casting a sorrowful look at the fallen reporter, and he felt her small hand pat his arm reassuringly as he tenderly placed Kate's body on the ground and covered her with his suit jacket. With one last, lingering look around, the team made their way through the chaotic crowds of people milling around to the front gates of the naval station, and were lucky enough to hitch a ride back to Tom's River from a kind elderly couple who were passing by. The bus ride back down the rural road was silent, and as word spread about the Hindenburg disaster at the airfield, the bus driver didn't even raise an eyebrow or offer any comment at their request to be left at the side of the deserted road at this time of night.

As they wearily trudged back to where the lifeboat was (hopefully) still hidden, Flynn's cryptic taunt to Wyatt kept circling around Lucy's brain (How did he know Wyatt's name and title?). Lucy was more than a little disappointed that she had been unable to garner any kind of information from the terrorist at all. Granted, she'd had limited exposure to Garcia Flynn, but it was obvious to her that as a highly-skilled NSA operative, he would have been well-trained and quite aware of her attempts to "read" him. "So much for my 'reputed' profiling skills," Lucy mused bitterly, as she clumsily stumbled over a rock and Wyatt's large, warm hand caught her elbow and kept her from falling. Heat bloomed in her cheeks when he murmured, "Easy there, Agent," and lightly squeezed her arm before dropping his hand.

Lucy's stomach pitched uneasily at just the sight of the lifeboat sitting undisturbed amongst the gently swaying pine trees. Walking in front of her, Rufus exclaimed, "Finally!" and once the hatch was open, eagerly scrambled inside and began flipping switches and pushing buttons for the journey back to 2016. Lucy's tired feet slowed to a dawdle the closer she got now that she knew what to expect, and her dark brows drew together when Wyatt turned with a dimpled grin, and holding out his hand, said, "C'mon, Agent Preston, let's go home." Lucy straightened her shoulders and bit back a discouraged sigh as he helped her up and in the time machine. By the time Wyatt had leaned over and fastened Lucy's safety harness and then his own, her already white face grew even paler as Rufus hit the switch and the great metal rings on the outside of the lifeboat began to slowly grind to life. As before, Wyatt gallantly reached across to take Lucy's hand, and she gratefully clung tightly to him before slamming her eyes shut in dreaded anticipation of the stomach-churning jump, all the while aware of the warmth and security of Wyatt Logan's hand holding hers.

And then the skull-rattling shaking ended abruptly as the time machine landed with a dull, heavy thud. This time, Rufus immediately opened the hatch, and after they unbuckled their restraints, Wyatt pulled Lucy to her feet so she could stagger to the opening. As she silently eased out of the lifeboat followed by the other two, Lucy closed her eyes briefly, very thankful they had survived the insane mission. Agent Christopher was the first to reach them, with a jubilant Connor Mason, who was sporting a huge grin, close behind. The first words out of Lucy's mouth were, "We need a medic, Dr. Logan's got a nasty cut on his temple that needs looked at," as she struggled to stand upright. Lucy turned around to see Wyatt wave off the medic who ran down the platform steps. Annoyed, she requested crossly, "Dr. Logan, please let the man do his job and see to that cut," and when he stared at her in surprise, she winked. "Yes, Ma'am," he smirked in appreciation, and took a seat on the platform and let himself be tended to. An exhausted Lucy sank down beside him, and they both turned and watched in weary amusement as Rufus staggered up to the platform and practically fell into a chair.

Agent Christopher looked expectantly at the team, "Well, Agent Preston? What happened?" and listened intently as the three of them took turns reporting on the mission. The NSA agent was less than pleased, though, when Lucy admitted that Flynn had gotten the jump on her, and although Wyatt had successfully shot the terrorist, he had gotten away. "Begging your pardon, Ma'am, but we were flying by the seat of our pants on this trip, and damn lucky to get home in one piece," Wyatt insisted as Agent Christopher gazed soberly at each of them. After searching online for the Hindenburg disaster, Connor Mason read aloud an account of the incident from the computer screen, and Lucy's heart sank as she realized that they had inadvertently changed history after all. And when Wyatt had remembered to ask Agent Christopher about "Rittenhouse," the agent looked at them blankly and claimed she had no idea. The medic finished patching Wyatt up as the debriefing ended with Agent Christopher curtly reminding the team that they had all signed NDA's, and she would be in touch the next time Flynn took the mothership out.

As the exhausted trio stared incredulously at her and then each other, the agent cut off their nearly immediate protests and after advising them to get cleaned up before going home, she left the platform. Lucy sighed gloomily as Wyatt merely shrugged and followed her up the steps to the locker rooms. After a refreshing shower, Lucy was thrilled to put her own clothes back on, and slowly made her way outside where she was surprised to find the handsome professor apparently waiting for her. Secretly pleased that he had stuck around, and compelled by his shy grin, Lucy looked into those impossibly blue eyes, and confessed, "Wyatt, I misjudged you, and I'm sorry," and at his puzzled expression, took a deep breath and explained, "I was wrong to just assume that a great-looking college professor would be a liability on this mission. I couldn't have asked for a better teammate than you, Dr. Wyatt Logan. Thank you for everything."

She was amused at the faint blush spreading across his chiseled cheekbones, and waited patiently as he cleared his throat and informed her, "You know, I may have gotten the wrong impression when I first met you, too, so please don't feel you have to apologize. However, I just have one question, Agent Lucy Preston," and when she raised a dark eyebrow, asked, "You think I'm great looking?" Now she was the one who turned a lovely crimson, and directed a weak glare at Wyatt when he snickered at her discomfort. When Wyatt remembered he had been picked up and brought to Mason Industries and needed transportation, Lucy immediately insisted on offering him a ride. They chatted easily on the short drive to Wyatt's apartment, and after thanking her again, he wished Lucy good night. Lucy sighed wistfully as she watched him walk away, and wondered if she would ever see the attractive (in so many ways) professor again.

A/N #2: And that's the end of their first mission together, the FBI profiler and the college history professor. It was really fun deciding how to turn things around from the way the events happened in the pilot, and I'm already working on some neat surprises for the next chapter. Thank you to everyone who follows, favorites, and especially takes the time to review any of my stories. It's really encouraging to receive feedback, and certainly very much appreciated :))