Chapter 4

The team sat around Wyatt's table amidst empty coffee cups and bagel crumbs as he drilled Lucy and Rufus over and over again about every possible scenario he could think of when the trio reported for the counseling session later today. When he had asked the other two if they had ever seen a shrink or been to any kind of therapy, all he got were blank stares in return. Apparently, he was the sole member of the team who had endured the personal hell known as "remedial" counseling, like the time Wyatt had been forced into therapy after Jess was murdered, and of course, after he had returned from the ill-fated mission in Syria. He really did hate talking to psychiatrists because somehow, they always wormed their way into his head and made him doubt himself. Wyatt was pretty sure the only reason he remained in Delta Force today was the fact that he had finally told himself beforehand to think of the counseling as a type of mental torture, and unsurprisingly, the very techniques he had been trained in to resist an enemy's mind games worked, enabling Wyatt to be cleared for return to active duty. It was a pretty tall order, though, to prepare two civilians like Lucy and Rufus to purposefully "bend" reality in order to convince a licensed mental health professional that the team hadn't been adversely affected by their increasingly dangerous missions, especially this last one.

They had just sat down to eat a hastily thrown-together breakfast when each of their phones, in turn, had chimed with a message from Agent Christopher. The three of them were to report to Mason at 3:00 today for an initial group session, and Wyatt was desperate to ensure there were no slip ups or not only would the team be grounded, they would all most likely be escorted off the premises (well, Rufus would probably be allowed to keep his job, as valuable to Connor Mason as he was), but he was sure the NSA could easily find another historian and soldier. "Lucy still looks wiped out," Wyatt thought guiltily, but as much as part of him wanted to make her get some rest, another part knew if they didn't get their stories down cold, any decent therapist would effortlessly slash through their efforts with scalpel-like precision.

After another grueling hour had gone by, Lucy had abruptly stood and tiredly requested a bathroom break. When she was out of earshot, Rufus turned to Wyatt and sighing, firmly declared, "Okay, Wyatt, enough. We all know what's at stake here, I definitely do, but there's also such a thing as being too prepared, and more importantly, sounding over-rehearsed," and at Wyatt's exasperated protest, held both palms up. "No, I really appreciate what you're trying to do here, honest, but I need a break, and if I'm not mistaken, Lucy's in the bathroom right now trying not to cry because she can't bear to disappoint either of us, especially you," shaking his head sympathetically at Wyatt's dismayed expression.

Wyatt's heart sank as he regretfully acknowledged the truth in the other man's words. "Rufus, I'm sorry, I know I'm being tough on you and Lucy, but..." as Rufus interrupted, "Hey, listen man, you're just trying to protect us like you always do, and I get that, but it's time to go with what we got. It'll be all right, Wyatt. Now, I'm going home for a couple hours, and you better check on Lucy," and he patted Wyatt's shoulder reassuringly as he left.

Standing outside the closed bathroom door, Wyatt took a deep breath, knocked and said, "Hey, Lucy, you okay in there? Rufus just left," and stepped back as the door opened slowly to reveal a pale, exhausted Lucy. Pulling her unresisting slender body tightly against his, Wyatt murmured into her soft hair, "Lucy, I'm really sorry for pushing you guys so hard," and smiled affectionately at her when she immediately leaned back, and furiously blinking away her tears, chided, "Wyatt Logan, don't you dare apologize for trying to take care of us," and met him more than half way when he leaned down to kiss her trembling lips. When he finally lifted his mouth from hers to catch a breath, Wyatt was relieved to see a little more color in her cheeks.

"Listen, since it's not quite noon, and our session isn't until 3:00, do you think you could sleep a little?" and at her weary nod, took her by the hand and after setting an alarm on his phone, Wyatt laid back down on the sofa as Lucy curled up in front of him and almost instantly fell asleep, her breathing slow and steady as she drifted off. He held her closely to him, wrapping his arm securely around her small waist, and tucking his cheek against her dark hair, tried to calm his racing thoughts. This afternoon was so important for the team and their future missions, and to Wyatt and Lucy personally most of all. He had been more than a little surprised to realize some time ago that, if he was removed from the team and ordered back to Pendleton, he didn't want to leave Lucy. But, whatever this was growing between them, was it serious enough for her to follow him to San Diego so they could be together if he decided to stay in the service?

Up to this point, Wyatt had never once contemplated returning to civilian life. After his wife's death, he had hidden in, and ultimately taken comfort from, his military life, and in the past, when he even paused to think about his future at all, had always assumed he'd remain on active duty for his whole career. But now, after all these months spent at Mason Industries on this incredible, mind-blowing time travel assignment, and even more importantly, since meeting and growing so attached to Lucy, Wyatt was having doubts. For the first time since Jess had been taken away from him, his heart was drawn to another, and he was self-aware enough now to know he wanted very much to be with this woman. As his eyes eventually closed, his last thought was a fervent prayer that the three of them would be successful, because the alternative was too painful to contemplate.

Rufus was already waiting outside the conference room with a worried-looking Jiya clinging tightly to his hand when they arrived a few minutes before 3:00. As Lucy dropped Wyatt's hand long enough to hug the other woman, Rufus fist bumped him, saying calmly, "It's gonna be all right, Wyatt, you'll see," as Wyatt offered a resigned shrug in return. The conference room door opened without warning, and a solemn Agent Christopher greeted them. "Good, you're all here. Today, you will be speaking with Dr. Edward Miller, one of the NSA's top counselors. He's already been briefed on the mission here at Mason, and once he recovered from his initial shock, has been going over your mission reports from the very beginning, in 1937 New Jersey, as well as your personal dossiers. Dr. Miller is highly qualified and well-respected in his profession, and naturally, is looking forward to meeting all of you."

At Wyatt's vaguely sarcastic snort, the NSA agent fixed a steely gaze on the trio and admonished, "It should go without saying, no funny business in there, just be honest and respectful, understood?" Lucy and Rufus both nodded obediently, while a faintly sullen Wyatt half shrugged, seemingly impervious to her implied rebuke. After shooting the team a compassionate glance, Jiya followed Agent Christopher down the hall, while Rufus stepped inside the conference room. As a tense Lucy went to follow him, Wyatt grabbed her hand, and whispered, "It's going to be fine, Lucy. I'll be right beside you the whole time," and hurriedly pressed a swift kiss on her lips, and was pleased at the resulting faint blush gracing her cheeks.

Dr. Miller was a tall, lanky man with closely-cropped gray hair and sharply observant blue eyes hidden behind wire-frame glasses who gazed at the trio with undisguised interest as they took their seats across the table from him, Wyatt and Rufus flanking Lucy on either side. As the doctor reached over the table to shake their hands, he began by saying, "Well, it has unquestionably been an eventful few hours for me today, as you can all imagine. Certainly not an everyday occurrence to be informed that time travel is real, as I'm sure the three of you recall experiencing first-hand several months ago. As Agent Christopher has likely informed you, I have been provided copies of your mission reports to get up to speed on the assignment, as well as your confidential personnel files. Now, the purpose of today's session is for me to meet the three of you, become familiar with the functions of each team member, and hopefully, get a firmer understanding of the inner dynamics of the group so that I may issue a preliminary recommendation of each member's fitness for duty, so to speak. I must admit, I am quite intrigued that you have all actually physically traveled back in time on numerous occasions, at least 250 years for one mission alone, and have not only experienced life in these other periods of time for hours and even days, but also interacted with the individuals you've encountered. The whole assignment is truly fascinating."

At the counselor's casual, friendly manner, Wyatt could feel Lucy beside him relaxing just slightly, and while he appreciated Dr. Miller's apparently innocent desire to put them at ease, his mistrust of mental health professionals was too deeply embedded for him to let his guard down for even an instant. Lucy must have sensed the tension he was trying to hide because her small hand was gently resting on his thigh as it pressed against hers under the table. As discreetly as he possibly could, Wyatt placed his hand over hers and she turned her palm up to loosely hold his hand, and he appreciated her attempt to comfort him.

Dr. Miller sat back down and opened one of the files stacked in front of him. "Let's begin with Miss Preston, shall we?" and paused when Wyatt involuntarily corrected, "It's Dr. Preston," and immediately wanted to bite his tongue as the counselor sent him a searching glance before looking back down at the file. "Oh, yes, you are correct, Master Sergeant Logan, it says so right here in her file." Tightening her grip on Wyatt's hand, Lucy offered Dr. Miller a weak smile as he continued to read aloud from her file.

"Impressive, Dr. Preston, most impressive. You earned your doctorate in History/Anthropology at Stanford University before the age of 26, top of your class. Over the past seven years, you have received very respectable performance assessments and numerous outstanding student evaluations. Although currently on an extended leave of absence of unknown duration, you are employed as an Assistant Professor of U.S. History at Stanford, working under the direct supervision of your mother, Dr. Carol Preston, who is the Department Chair. You are to be commended, Dr. Preston, for your hard work and obvious devotion to an already accomplished career."

Wyatt felt Lucy's hand flex in his at the counselor's seemingly sincere compliment, and glancing at her from the corner of his eye, noticed the faint color that warmed her cheeks as she quietly thanked Dr. Miller. The doctor put Lucy's personnel file aside, and opened the next file and rapidly scanning the top sheet, noted, "Well, Dr. Carlin, it says here that you possess two advanced degrees from M.I.T. In addition to a PhD in Physics, you have also earned a Masters Degree in Computational and Systems Biology. Plus, during your final year at M.I.T., you received the Martin Deutsch Student Award for Excellence in Experimental Physics. Frankly, I have no idea what any of that is. Would you indulge me for a few moments and briefly explain?"

Rufus cleared his throat and clarified, "The broad definition of the program of study is an integration of concepts and ideas from the bio sciences, engineering disciplines, and computer science. It might sound exciting, but there is quite a bit of plain old, boring research involved." Dr. Miller smiled warmly across the table at him, and countered, "I'm sure the subject is every bit as challenging as it sounds. And like Dr. Preston, you are building a remarkable career for yourself, and I see that your file also includes many stellar evaluations from Connor Mason himself, which is no small feat." Rufus solemnly nodded once in acceptance of the older man's comments.

Wyatt tried, but couldn't help stiffening up slightly when the counselor eventually flipped open his personnel file. No big fancy college degrees or titles to admire there, not that he gave a rat's ass. He was perfectly happy being the hired muscle, so to speak, for their team, more than content to leave the brainy stuff to Lucy and Rufus. He was therefore taken aback by the older man's respectful and faintly awestruck attitude. "Master Sergeant Logan, I see that you have achieved quite an illustrious military career since you first entered the service at the age of eighteen. Numerous commendation and achievement medals during the first four years, and then approximately ten years ago, you were recruited for the elite Delta Force operations unit, where you underwent extensive testing and rigorous training before being selected."

He frowned slightly when Wyatt murmured, "I'm just a soldier, Doc," and plainly disagreeing with Wyatt's modest response, rebutted, "You are certainly far more than just an ordinary serviceman, Master Sergeant Logan. Your file states that you have received highly-skilled training in marksmanship, demolitions, counter terrorism and counter intelligence, linguistics and several foreign languages, including German and Mandarin, physical fitness, and executive protection, including advanced driving. And on top of all that, you are the recipient of both the Silver and Bronze Star medals. I am certainly quite impressed at your exceptional career serving our country thus far."

Wyatt froze at the doctor's mention of his medals and at first barely felt Lucy's slim fingers gripping his hand firmly, and while he appreciated her intentions, it was probably wasn't the best idea for her to also lean in and whisper reassurances in his ear right in front of Dr. Miller. He mentally shook his head at his slip up (Jesus, get your act together, Logan...here he had been worried about Lucy and Rufus and he was the one screwing up) and clutching Lucy's hand in response, sat up straighter and stoically acknowledged the counselor's unexpected admiration. Perhaps sensing the team's discomfort at being having their accomplishments discussed in such great detail in front of each other, the therapist then closed Wyatt's file and carefully put all three of their files to one side.

"One last thing before we move on to the next portion of your session today. After reading through your personnel files, I have to say that in my experience, for a group of strangers that was thrown together with almost no advance planning or notice, the three of you are probably as highly-qualified as any team I have ever encountered, and I look forward to working with you." Wyatt's heart sank at the counselor's probably well-intentioned words, zeroing in on the phrase, "...look forward to working with you" which would seem to indicate that today's session was not a one-shot deal. Great. Terrific. Just fan-damn-tastic. Now he was more concerned than ever.

Wyatt reined in his wandering thoughts just in time to hear Dr. Miller say, "Before we begin the first assessment activity I have planned, I would like to verify for my records the purpose, or rather, function of each member of your team as I have interpreted them from the mission reports. Dr. Preston, you are the team historian, and your chief responsibility is preserving the current historical time line to the best of your abilities, as well as utilizing your anthropological skills and knowledge to enable the team to blend in with whatever time period a mission takes you to avoid corrupting the time line. Would you say that's accurate?" At Lucy's nod of affirmation, he began writing on a legal pad in front of him.

"Next, Dr. Carlin, you are the only team member qualified to pilot the time machine, and in addition to providing any type of mechanical or engineering expertise necessary during a mission, you also assist as needed with security backup for Master Sergeant Logan, is that correct?" When Rufus nodded also, the therapist made another notation and looking up at Wyatt, "And you, Master Sergeant, serve as the mission strategist and are also in charge of providing security for Drs. Preston and Carlin, is that right?" Wyatt quietly answered, "Yes, sir."

Dr. Miller looked very pleased with their responses, and after making several more entries, "I would like to start with a fairly basic team personality analysis exercise. One at a time, I will ask you to name two positive and one negative character/personality traits about your fellow team members. I know that this will likely be uncomfortable for all of you as it's human tendency to gloss over or ignore any negative attributes of your teammates for the sake of morale, but I can assure you that it's next to impossible to improve something you yourself may not be aware of. Now, shall we give it a try?" and pretended not to notice the trio's decided lack of enthusiasm as he made yet another entry on his legal pad.

"All right, then, ladies first. Dr. Preston, if you will, can you tell me one negative and two positive things about Dr. Carlin?" and smiled encouragingly at her visible reluctance. Taking a deep breath, she offered, "Well, as you noted from his personnel file, I can confirm that Rufus is one of the smartest individuals I have ever met and just brilliant at what he does, plus he has proved his loyalty to the team on numerous occasions," and glancing apologetically to her right, "On the other hand, he can be somewhat stubborn at times." She shrugged and shook her head as her friend jokingly pointed to himself and mouthed the words, "Who, me?" The doctor smiled approvingly at Lucy, "Well done, Dr. Preston, now can you do the same for Master Sergeant Logan?"

When she sighed softly, Wyatt squeezed her hand under the table, and fought to keep any sign of emotion from his face as he listened to Lucy tell a complete stranger how she perceived him. His heart soared when Lucy began, "I'm sure it's obvious to you, Dr. Miller, from perusing Wyatt's service record that he is undoubtedly a brave man, and Rufus and I can both attest to that. What you might not realize, though, from just reading a piece of paper is that in spite of lacking a college diploma, Wyatt Logan is also very intelligent," and she deliberately tightened her grip on his hand. "And one negative, please, Dr. Preston," the counselor requested. Her hand flexed nervously in his as she admitted, "Um, I guess, maybe, arrogance. At times, especially during the first two or three missions, Wyatt was pretty arrogant, and he and I definitely butted heads on several occasions, but maybe that's not such a negative trait after all because to me personally, it meant that this man, a Delta Force operative, was supremely confident in his skills and experience, and that actually made me feel more secure. It still does..." and her voice trailed off as Wyatt lightly pinched her hand in warning when Dr. Miller gazed intently at first her and then Wyatt, who tried desperately not to react.

"Oh, shit, now you've done it, Lucy," Wyatt thought, torn between elation at her heartfelt words and dismay as she unwittingly gave the shrink a weapon to use against the two of them. Dropping his eyes, Dr. Miller responded, "I see, well, thank you, Dr. Preston. You did very well. Your turn, Dr. Carlin." Hastily stealing a glance at the other two, Rufus described Lucy as very intelligent and passionate about history, and after a long moment, gruffly added that sometimes she unnecessarily questions Wyatt's authority during a mission, and shrugged defensively at her accusing glare. "Don't give me that look, Lucy Preston, you know yourself that there have been times when you give him grief for really no reason at all," Rufus returned, ignoring her muted huff of indignation.

Wyatt grinned to himself at Lucy's petulant expression, and waited patiently for his friend's assessment. "I have to agree with Lucy that Wyatt is definitely smarter that someone might give him credit for, and something that has always impressed me about him is that he strives to be fair at all times, which, given some of the situations we have run into on various missions, is no easy task. As for a negative trait, again, agreeing with Lucy, Wyatt's extreme confidence in his own abilities can sometimes come off as arrogant, although that's not always a bad thing." Sighing in relief, Rufus leaned back in his chair as the therapist thanked him for his remarks before turning an expectant gaze at Wyatt.

Directing a faintly challenging look at Dr. Miller, Wyatt volunteered that he agreed with Lucy that Rufus was extremely intelligent, and what he had come to like most about the man was his nearly unshakeable sense of honor. As for a negative trait, Wyatt felt that their pilot sometimes lacked confidence in his abilities whenever he was out in the field and not behind a desk in front of a computer. As he fell silent, the doctor looked up from his notes and prompted, "And Dr. Preston, Master Sergeant? Your observations, please?" Wyatt felt Lucy's small hand nestled trustingly in his, and for the first time in days, a sense of calm enveloped him. "Dr. Preston is absolutely one of the smartest women I've ever met, and fiercely protective of history and what it means to every one of us. As for a negative, I guess sometimes her bullheadedness annoys me," and he bit back a smirk at her soft disapproving sniff. The counselor listened attentively, and nodded with satisfaction at the team when Wyatt finished. "Thank you, that was most enlightening, and I appreciate, rather difficult for all of you," and smiled kindly at the trio's nearly identical expressions of relief.

"Now, one last brief exercise for today's session, if you would be so kind. Because you were complete strangers when the team climbed into the time machine for that first mission, it's highly probable that each of you almost instantly formed a first impression of your teammates, either positive or negative. I'd like you to take a moment to consider which one of your first impressions has changed the most about the others since that first mission. That information, along with what I've already compiled on the team and each of you today, will give me a starting point for possible future team sessions, and more likely, when I meet with each of you individually. Right now, I'm going to step out of the room for a short break and give you some time alone," and walked out of the conference room, closing the door quietly behind him.

Lucy immediately turned to Wyatt with a stricken expression on her face, "Wyatt, I'm so sorry, I know I messed up," and closing her eyes, lowered her head to the conference room table in defeat. As Wyatt gently patted her back, Rufus stood, and nodding toward the door, said, "I'm just gonna check in with Jiya, give you two a minute," and Wyatt offered him an appreciative smile. When the door closed behind Rufus, Wyatt leaned down and tried to console her, "Hey, Lucy, don't worry, you did great, you and Rufus both did. I'm the moron who got freaked out when he started reading from my file," and when she slowly raised her head to gaze sadly at him, he decided they needed a break, too.

"C'mon, let's get out of here for a few minutes, okay?" and taking her hand, they left the conference room and once Wyatt texted Agent Christopher where they'd be, they went outside to find a little bit of privacy. They chose a bench under a shady tree in a small, quiet courtyard located near the rear of the facility. Lucy sighed in pleasure as she sank down on the bench, and closed her eyes as Wyatt put his arm around her and drew her head to his shoulder. "It's so peaceful here in this one tiny spot, isn't it?" she reflected as she tucked her cheek against his chest, and Wyatt hummed his agreement as he lazily rubbed his hand comfortingly up and down her back. Lucy broke the hushed silence, whispering, "You know the stuff I told you that happened when Flynn took me hostage? Wyatt, I really don't want to tell all that to a stranger. It was okay to tell you and Agent Christopher, but it kind of makes me scared and sick at my stomach to contemplate sharing those details with some NSA doctor. But I'm afraid if I don't tell him, I will no longer be part of the team. And think about it, you and Rufus will probably have to talk about being trapped in the murder room, and good Lord, what about all the stuff that happened with David Rittenhouse and Benedict Arnold?"

Listening to Lucy express her fears, Wyatt understood completely how she felt. He recalled vividly that being forced to talk about his marriage with complete strangers after Jess was murdered had been a special kind of torture for him, and he knew how difficult it had been for her to open up to him, even as close as the two of them were. "Maybe we should just go ahead and quit and save them the trouble. What are we going to do if Dr. Miller hears all this crazy, nearly unbelievable stuff and immediately recommends to Agent Christopher and the NSA that we should be removed from the team?" Lucy murmured pensively.

He was silent for several moments, considering his response before answering, "Well, first of all, he seemed pretty impressed with our combined credentials and experience, so unless one of us completely screws up in any future sessions with him, I don't think he'd be inclined to do that. Plus, I would bet good money the NSA feels like the fewer people who know what's actually going on here with the time travel thing, the better." When she didn't respond right away, it occurred to Wyatt that maybe she was talking about more than time travel, and he wasn't sure if he was actually ready to have this particular conversation at the moment (probably time to man up, Logan).

"Lucy? You're not really talking only about time traveling missions right now, are you?" he asked tentatively, and his hand dropped away from her back as she sat up and turned to look at him. Biting her lower lip hesitantly, Lucy shook her head and whispered, "No, I don't think I am," and gazed at him with hopeful dark eyes. Wyatt took a deep breath, and reaching up to run his finger down the curve of her cheek, admitted, "I don't know exactly what we are right this second, or where we're going, but I do know that so far, it feels right, whatever this is between us, and I'd really like a chance to move forward with you, Lucy," and his breath caught when Lucy's face brightened and she beamed a smile of pure happiness at him, "I'd like that, too," before he lowered his mouth to hers.

All too soon, they broke apart at the sound of someone clearing his throat rather loudly. "Thanks a lot, Rufus, great timing," Wyatt grumbled good-naturedly as Lucy hid her blushing face against his shoulder. "Hey, in my defense, the two of you are making out in a public place," their friend retorted, before adding, "Oh, yeah, and just in case you were wondering, your whole 'let's hold hands under the table' subterfuge idea didn't work. Jiya was standing near Agent Christopher when Dr. Miller came out of the conference room and the first thing out of his mouth to her was 'how long have Dr. Preston and Master Sergeant Logan been involved in a personal relationship?' so, yeah, hiding whatever you are from him was pretty much an epic fail, although I would have liked to have seen the look on Christopher's face," he mused, and his brows drew together in a puzzled frown when Lucy and Wyatt looked at each other and started laughing. "Did I miss something? I thought you guys would be upset that you got found out."

Wyatt stood, and pulling Lucy to her feet, replied, "Actually, Rufus, I think I'm relieved. Lucy and I are two single, consenting adults who just happen to jump through time together on a regular basis, and if we can convince the good doctor that our being together doesn't affect the missions and we stay on the team, fine. If not, we'll decide on something else, right, Lucy?" and he grunted softly when Lucy threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Hey, what about me?" asked a visibly dismayed Rufus, "What am I gonna do if you two get kicked off the team?" Wyatt shrugged nonchalantly, "Listen, man, you're the one with all the fancy-schmancy college degrees, you'll figure it out. C'mon, let's go back inside and get the rest of today's inquisition over with, 'cause I think Lucy and I might have plans for this evening," and suddenly feeling a lot more optimistic about the future, he took Lucy by the hand and led his team back inside to finish their group session.

A/N: See, they weren't fooling anyone, were they? Not 100% sure at this point how many more chapters this will go, but I definitely want to give my sincere thanks to Once Upon A Whim for her invaluable help with my endless questions about Lucy and Rufus' college degrees. Also, shoutout to TheVelvetDusk 'cause I got the idea for the outdoors part of this from her most excellent fic, "X-Ray to the Soul." And finally, bonus points for anyone who catches the tiny Star Wars reference. What can I say? I'm a nerd :D My appreciation to everyone for the great response to this story so far, hope you like this chapter :))