Author's Note: I don't own them and make no profit. But I live for reviews!
The door cycled shut with a metallic swoosh and clang, then the ship disappeared in front of them. They both stood there for a moment until Flynn shrugged in disgust and without a word turned and strode off. Lucy turned to watch him go. She looked back at where the ship had been and then ran to catch up with Flynn.
"How do you know which way to go?" she asked as she fell into step with him.
"Boy Scouts." was the terse reply. Obviously Flynn was still upset from his exchange with Anthony and being tossed off the mother-ship.
Lucy wasn't relishing the thought of spending two minutes with this man, let alone two days, but she realized that she needed to make the best of the situation if she was ever going to make it back to the present day and her team. She tried again, becoming out of breath at the pace his long legs were setting. "Really? I never saw you as the camping out, knot-tying type." she quipped, trying for some levity.
Flynn snorted and smirked, looking at her briefly. Lucy was keeping up with him, he knew that in his anger over being forced to deal with this situation he was setting a fast pace. Despite the fact that she was almost jogging Lucy was trying to be pleasant, he'd give her that. In so many ways she was like the other Lucys he had known. She had always been able to draw him out of his dark moods. He slowed his pace, walked a few more steps, and then spoke, his voice holding an openness his face did not. "No, no Boy Scouts, although I can tie a mean knot." he said, "W- I've been here before." he finished awkwardly and jerked his chin in the direction they were walking. "Town is roughly this way. We'll find a road in a mile or two." Flynn adjusted his jacket, brushing lint off the arms in an attempt to appear casual. Inwardly he cursed his lack of control in kidnapping this Lucy. Anthony was right; he never would have acted like this with the Lucy that had worked with them.
"Ah." Lucy said, wondering what he had been going to say but unsure if she should press the matter.
They walked in silence for another minute or two while she turned her attention to the scenery of the mountain forest. She had to admit; if she were going to be stranded somewhere with Garcia Flynn at least it was France. Anthony was correct in that she had always wanted to come to the French Alps. She wasn't sure how this whole scenario worked exactly - there being multiples of her in the world, but she had an inkling. Amy did, after all, make her watch the occasional sci-fi movie with her. A pang went through her at the thought of her sister, still lost to her. Was it possible for there to be another Amy? She tried to draw Flynn out again, "So what did Anthony mean when he referred to other Lucys? Do I have an evil twin my mother didn't tell me about?"
Flynn stopped and turned to her, his face hard but his eyes sad, his hair falling over his forehead as he looked down at her. His hands had come up as if to grasp her shoulders. He didn't touch her but instead let his hands fall back down to his sides. "Look. I know you want to know everything, all right this moment, but I need to think about how to explain this all to you so you'll understand." he said evenly and then snorted. "Sometimes I don't even understand it myself. But I will explain it all to you, I promise." He looked into her eyes, his eyes pleading. "Just give me time."
Lucy swallowed the other questions she had been ready to ask, compelled by the emotions in his green eyes. She had noticed his eyes the first time she had met him, at the Hindenburg. They were so expressive and it had surprised her that a killer would have such eyes. At least, she had thought him a killer and a terrorist then. Now, well, he was still a killer. Breaking her gaze from his she instead looked down at his hands, now at his side. The knuckles on his hands were bruised and cut from the fight he and Wyatt had had with Rittenhouse's men. That seemed so long ago despite it only being a few hours.
"You're bleeding." she stated, mentally kicking herself for being so inane.
He looked at his hands as if noticing it for the first time. "It's nothing. I've seen worse." he said dismissively, surprised, and yet not, that she had noticed or cared about his well-being. Emotions better left buried started to come up within him. He tamped down on them, putting them away, as he thought about his hands and how they almost hadn't made it out of there. How Lucy had been dragged off to await rape at the hands of Rittenhouse. He briefly thought about how lucky he and Wyatt had been that Rufus had come to help them. All that flashed through his head and he was left with anger again. Anger was better than the other emotions he was feeling, but now he needed calm or he wouldn't get through the next two days. It was better to feel nothing until he saw how Lucy handled everything he had to tell her. Turning, he walked off. Lucy followed.
They walked in silence for a few more minute Lucy falling into step behind him, letting him and his mercurial moods get ahead of her. She had seen the welter of emotions cross his face just now and Anthony seemed to be right. Garcia Flynn was a man on the edge. She sighed and turned her attention to the forest around her. She savored the silence and the beautiful scenery, the trees soaring overhead like the ceiling of a cathedral. There was little underbrush in this old growth forest. Birds flit from tree to tree, calling out occasionally. Light filtered through the canopy and made patterns on the forest floor below. After the tumultuous events of the last few days peace and quiet was nice.
After a mile the road could be seen through the trees a dozen yards ahead. Flynn had stopped, waiting for her to catch up and then said, "Look, we're stuck here for two days. I don't know about you but I am tired and hungry. I haven't eaten in at least a day, and I haven't been clean in several." he said indicating his own travel weary appearance. "I know you're not in any better shape." He looked her up and down, noting her disheveled hair and rumpled clothing, then gazed off towards the road. After a moment he turned back to her, as if coming to a decision, "I haven't had a day to myself in longer than I can remember. I know that you haven't had any time off in the last six months since starting with Mason Industries. We'll be here for two days. Can we hold off on this 'discussion' until tomorrow morning? If you're going to trust me you need to know more about me than whatever is in that file that they showed you. And regardless of how well I think I may know you… the reality is, I don't really know you at all."
Lucy looked at him, trying to read him and any possible motives he had, but as usual, his face was in its neutral mask. "I thought you knew all about me." she stated, ignoring his suggestion.
He sighed, "I know you, in the generic sense. But this you," he said, emphasizing her, "… this you is different. They've all been slightly different. We are all made up of small, seemingly insignificant choices. Do I turn right or left? Do I want coffee or tea today? Do I buy the paper at the corner or cross the street?" he finished and shrugged.
Lucy thought about what he said and privately agreed that it had been too long since her last meal or shower. What would it matter if she learned the truth now or tomorrow? At least tomorrow she would be clean and fed. "Ok. I can live with that. What's your plan?" she asked.
"I thought we'd walk into town for food and a place to stay. There should be a market or someplace we can buy food or a meal and then I'll find us a room in an inn. Hopefully one with bathing facilities." he said with a small smile, trying to be nicer than he had been earlier.
Lucy nodded, "That sounds good." she said, agreeably.
They walked the remaining distance to the road and after checking to see if they were alone, stepped out onto it. For a time they walked along in companionable silence both lost in their own thoughts. Lucy wondered how her team and Mason Industries were reacting to her loss. She glanced over at Flynn who hadn't said a word in the last few minutes. His face was somber and his eyes serious; he seemed lost in thought as they walked along. The air was cool and crisp and smelled green and piney.
Flynn stopped and turned to her. "I almost forgot. Before we get to town you should have this." he said as loosened his neck-cloth, opened the neck of his shirt and drew a chain out. The chain held two gold rings.
Puzzled, Lucy asked, "Rings? Why?"
Flynn unfastened the chain and allowed the rings to slide off into his palm. He held out his hand to her, his attention fixed on the rings in his hand. "It'll be easier for us to travel as a married couple than as just two travelers. We can't pass as relatives - we don't sound alike, and if we weren't married or related you wouldn't be with me without another woman present. I don't want anyone to notice us." he said quietly.
Lucy moved to take the smaller of the two rings, "And you just happen to have a set of rings on you?" she asked. She took the ring from his hand and slipped it on. It was a perfect fit.
"I always have these with me. That one was my wife's." he said gruffly, his eyes sad, as he slid what was, she now realized, his wedding band onto his ring finger. He refastened the chain around his neck and adjusted his collar and neck-cloth, studiously not looking at her.
Lucy was momentarily struck. Most of the time it was easy for her to forget that part of his file; the part that talked about his family and their untimely deaths. It was easier to think of Flynn as just a terrorist instead of a man racked with grief over the murders of his wife and child. After all, he was supposedly the one who had murdered them and then run off to steal a time machine. But now that she knew about Rittenhouse and the broad reaching evil that they had perpetrated over the years, and still were, she was revising her opinion of Flynn and the "facts" that the government had on him. Was he really who they said he was? Did the government realize that Mason Industries was funded by Rittenhouse?
They walked the rest of the way into town in silence. As they approached the town limits traffic on the road picked up and became crowded. People were walking both in and out of town. Carts trundled by laden with produce, goods, and small livestock. Without speaking Flynn reached out to her and gently took her hand in his. Drawing her closer to his side, out of the jostling crowds and traffic, he shielded her slight frame with his body. A thrill went through Lucy and she mentally berated herself for it. Despite Flynn being who and what he was, every time he had touched her, her body reacted the same way. She didn't understand it. Somehow she had to focus on getting through the next two days and find a way back to her team.
As they passed the first large buildings Flynn drew Lucy aside out of traffic. Bending his head to be heard over the din of the crowds he spoke in her ear, his breath tickling her neck and making her shiver. "Well Lucy, would you like to explore Geneve of the late 18th century… maybe get to know one another?" he said with a smile that almost reached his eyes.
Lucy eyes were bright as she gazed at the bustling city around her. Here, now, at this moment, she truly was thrilled to be where she was, despite the circumstances. She was a child of history after all. It was only two days.
"I'd love to!" she responded with a smile of her own. At her smile his own became genuine. The trepidation she felt over being alone with Flynn started to dissipate. He took her hand, placed it in the crook of his elbow and guided her back into the crowds and the bustling town of Geneve.
Author's Note: The French Alps hold many, many, lovely towns and villages. Geneve is an actual town on the banks of Lake Geneve on the border with Switzerland. This place is not to be confused with Geneva or Lake Geneva in Switzerland. I visited Geneve over thirty years ago and instantly fell in love with the beauty of the town and the region. Gauging from the looks of many of the historical buildings I saw while visiting it is a safe assumption that Geneve existed in the late 18th century. However despite my internet research and my rusty French I was unable to make certain. For the sake of this story, let's assume it was.
Lastly, thank you to those who have read and reviewed. It's been a while since I've done any writing and these are new characters for me. If they seem stilted or out of character, please let me know. Writers love feedback!