A/N: This was a pretty emotional chapter to write. There will be a few more chapters to this story and I'm really excited about where it's going and hope you continue to enjoy! Thank you again for taking the time to read and review. I'm very grateful for all of the kind words!

The ride back to his apartment was quiet. She was lost in thought, watching the trees and houses and streetlights blur out the window. When they got to his place, the mood had drastically changed from the morning.

They hadn't gotten a call from work in a couple of days and she felt the need to take advantage and get away, if even for a few hours.

"I think...maybe...I'll go back home. Tonight." He looked up at her for the first time since they got back. "I need a better change of clothes and I left my phone charger there."

He seemed...disappointed?

"Are you coming back?"

She wanted to answer. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times.

In reality, she wanted to rush to his side and hug him. Hug him and smell him and feel safe again. She wasn't sure what words would possibly help convey what she felt, but she was pretty certain a really good hug might do the trick.

But that comment. That one, tiny, off-handed remark changed things. If they couldn't be honest with Rufus, then who could they be honest with? She thought they'd opened up with each other quite a bit, especially last night and early that morning. They'd learned to trust one other over the last few months. There were always issues both of them kept close to the vest, topics each would rather not discuss with anyone. But this was different though.

Something changed for him between when she left the bedroom to shower and when she walked in his living room, a flimsy towel all that separated her from him (and Rufus and Jiya).

It was all about to betray her again. Stupid, stupid emotions.

One tear escaped but she quickly wiped it away, hopefully, before he noticed.

She crossed her arms. Her voice was a whisper.

"I don't know."

She already felt horrible. But ever since the convo with Rufus, she felt...hopeless.

And it was a shame, because this morning had been the exact opposite.

But, if she were honest with herself (apparently, something she avoided as of late), she knew this must be tearing him apart, too.

They felt something for each other. They both knew that. But life was never so easy. They couldn't just say it.

Lucy Preston and Wyatt Logan were the precise definition of "it's complicated."

He gave a slight nod. He tried to seem indifferent, but she knew otherwise.

Other people may not have been able to see it, but she knew he wore his emotions on his sleeve.

"Well, I didn't know if I should leave the door unlocked or not."

There was that thing in her chest again. The little flutter in her stomach, too.

"I can always knock."

She smiled softly.

He smirked.

"Yeah. You're good at that."

She picked up her bag, slinging it over her shoulder.

"Okay. Well…thanks for…" Talking? A place to stay? Reaffirming her faith in good people? Spaghetti? A night in your bed? "…Everything."

She couldn't look him in the eye. It was too dangerous. If she kept her head down and walked straight out, she'd be fine. Just make it to the car and drive off.

Though, truth be told, she wasn't sure where she would go. But being with him, and not saying what needed to be said, was going to kill her.

And what could she say? What did she have any right to say? She really couldn't assume that he felt the same about her, not when he still seemed to fight so passionately for his late wife. And why shouldn't he fight for Jessica?

She'd do the same if the tables were turned.

"Lucy."

Don't do it, don't look at him.

He walked closer to where she stood by the door. Her hand kept a tight grip on the doorknob, grounding her. Her eyes looked down, at the door frame, anywhere, everywhere but at him.

"Wyatt, I have to go."

He seemed to be at war with himself. She completely understood because she felt the same.

She opened the door, but he quickly put his hand on it, pushing it closed. She jumped slightly and finally looked at him.

His voice was soft but pleading.

"Please stay."

Her eyes closed and she shook her head.

"Wyatt."

She couldn't do this now.

He leaned closer to her.

"Just stay. It's night. Stay and we'll talk. I'll make more food for you."

He tried to smile, but it couldn't reach his eyes. His beautiful, earnest blue eyes. Her heart was breaking. He was trying. Trying to make nice. Trying to get her to stay.

But it wasn't enough.

"Wyatt...I need…" What? A hug? An apology? Him? "...clothes. And my phone will die soon if I don't get my charger. And..."

"And and and. Lucy, just stop making excuses."

He took a step back, shaking his head in frustration.

Was he serious? Oh, this guy. He knew the buttons to push. And he was dangerously close to pushing the wrong ones.

"I'm - I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

She scoffed heartily at that. She dropped her bag, crossed her arms and took her best defensive stance.

Oh, the gloves were coming off now.

"You want to talk about excuses? Who had the perfect opportunity today to tell Rufus what we are?"

His gorgeous eyes widened at that.

"What we are? What exactly are we, Lucy?"

Ah, the million dollar question.

She threw her arms in the air.

"I don't know!"

"Well, neither do I!"

"Well, okay!"

"Fine!" He began to walk away but stopped short, halfway turned to her, a hand on his hip, the other on his forehead. "Just - don't go. I can't protect you if you're not here."

"I don't need twenty-four hour protection."

"That's not what I meant."

A pause. They stared at one another.

She could barely get the words out.

"So what did you mean?"

That was a loaded question.

He knew what she was asking. She knew he knew. (But it would be a-ways down the road before he would admit it.)

He closed his eyes and sat on the couch, his head in his hands.

Weariness laced his words.

"I don't know. I don't know anything anymore."

She glanced at the door. She could still leave. Could grab her bag, take off, and drive. Canada was still an option. Or, at least, maybe she could go sit on a pier and eat crepes.

Instead, she sighed and walked to the couch, sitting beside him.

She knew what had to be said. It was that little nagging thought that always stayed in the back of her mind. It was what she never wanted to say, but knew she had to if she ever hoped for a sliver of a chance. It was also something he needed to hear. It was the spark that would give him some hope, too, regardless of the decision he would ultimately have to make.

Deep breath.

"Someone once told me to figure out what you're fighting for and you'll be okay. But…I don't think you know what you want. So, how could you possibly know what to fight for?"

He kept his head down but gave a half-smile at that. She knew him better than he thought.

She was trying to keep it together but one or two tears were inevitable.

"Lucy, I'm sorry."

She smiled. Briefly, but she smiled.

Those words were like a medicine, washing over her heart and comforting her soul.

She released a breath.

"I know. Me too."

"So, then, what are we? What is...this?"

He waved his hand between them.

Her chin trembled.

"I don't know." A pause. "But- you're all I've got." He looked up suddenly, surprised. She'd never been more sincere with him. She returned his half-smile and shrugged. "Without you- I have no one. I am…completely alone."

Heartbreak and shock marred his features.

He furrowed his brow.

"But- your mom -"

"-Not the same. I mean, she is but...she's not. That woman, she's my mother but she's not my mom. Not the one I remember anyway. My mom had been sick for so long that we didn't spend much time together over the past few years. We'd drifted apart. I was there for her but not like Amy. And ever since Amy disappeared and mom isn't sick, it's like I'm living my own weird version of an alternate reality."

He conceded.

"Well, you are."

"Well, it sucks." She paused to wipe a tear before it escaped. "How could we ever begin to plan our lives when, in an instant, it could all be taken away? Erased in a flash and we're the only ones on the planet who truly suffer the consequences."

He straightened and pulled her to him, wrapping an arm around her. She fell against his side and her head, ever so naturally, rested on his shoulder.

And then it happened. Her fingers didn't even have a chance to twitch this time.

He took her hand in his.

She'd noticed a few things the other times he'd held her hand. It was strong and big and, in a way, seemed like a soldier. Tough and rough for the job, but soft and protective for her.

It also helped that their hands fit perfectly together.

He spoke softly, barely above a whisper.

"Please stay?"

It wasn't a demand this time.

No, it was more like a prayer.

She couldn't vocalize a response. If she did, she'd break. And that couldn't happen again, not two nights in a row.

Her hand squeezed his in reply and his thumb dragged lightly back and forth across her fingers.

He turned and, ever so gently, kissed the top of her head.

The sensation began at the base of her neck and radiated throughout her body.

Wyatt Logan literally sent shivers down her spine. (In the absolute best way.)

She sighed and snuggled into him a little more.

They sat there in silence for a while, his arm around her as she fit tightly against him, holding hands and trying to visualize a future that was ever-changing.

"So, what now?"

There was an excruciatingly long pause. So long, in fact, she was afraid he didn't hear her.

Then, faintly, "We make it up as we go."

She took a deep breath.

He still smelled like heaven.

Jiya and Rufus weren't too far off on their estimation of when they got together, but Lucy and Wyatt would never admit it.

After all, so much can happen in one day.