Fragile Hearts

A/N #1: The idea for this angsty new fic came from my Timeless friend, Caroline, a while back, and is the 12th story in the Hearts series. If you care to read them in chronological order, they are:

A Mother's Heart

Summer Hearts

An Impulsive Heart

Her (Soft-Hearted) Tough Soldier

Holding Their Hearts Forever

Another Heart to Hold

Holiday Hearts

Hearts of Hope and Courage

Healing Hearts

A Wish Your Heart Makes

Fragile Hearts

The Sheltering Heart

Mid December 2026

Stanford University

Palo Alto

With a sigh of relief, Lucy closed the laptop and slipped it into her bag. Finally. And now her winter break had officially begun, thank you, God, after what felt like an unusually hectic semester. Three whole weeks and a few days more to relax and enjoy the holidays with family and friends before classes resumed next month...and she couldn't wait. So many things to look forward to in the next couple weeks.

Her gaze fell on some framed pictures sitting on the corner of her desk taken during the Logans' trip to Disneyland last June. Reaching out, she gently traced the smiling faces of Amy, Flynn and Ethan with her fingertip. What an amazing vacation it had been, the family's first since the birth of their son. The twins had so much fun they were already hinting shamelessly about going back next summer. Gosh, how quickly the past six months since then had gone, and here it was Christmas already and soon to be 2027.

Last December, her son had still been a baby, barely a year old, and too young to understand any of the festivities. Twelve months later, though, their curious, bright-eyed little guy, who celebrated his second birthday in October, was already noticing some of the exciting signs of the season–especially after Wyatt put up the outside lights and they decorated the Christmas tree last weekend. It was so sweet the way the toddler liked to crawl under the lit tree to lie on his back and just stare up at it in awe. Lucy recalled wistfully that her sister used to do the same thing as a little girl. As for Flynn and Amy, she and Wyatt suspected that at the ripe old age of seven, their daughters were probably too smart to 100 percent believe in Santa anymore-but hey, Mommy and Daddy were happy to keep the magic going as long as possible.

And now with her teaching duties at last finished for the semester, Lucy could devote the coming days exclusively to doing just that–celebrating all the meaningful little holiday traditions she and Wyatt had gradually adopted since their first married Christmas back in 2019. While sincerely grateful for the increasing popularity of her "Forgotten Women in History" series of lectures, naturally the larger-sized classes did necessitate more effort on her part-enough that Lucy was seriously considering adding a third day of teaching a week to alleviate some of the workload. She'd been weighing the pros and cons for days now, ever since seeing the surprising-yet personally satisfying-number of students who'd already registered for second semester.

To be sure, their little family had thrived on the current routine worked out after the twins were born, but perhaps it was time to consider changing things up? she mused. After all, the girls were in second grade now and doing quite well, and two-year-old Ethan loved going to nursery school a couple days a week plus a half day on Fridays...but then again, Lucy really enjoyed being home for most of each week. She never took for granted any of the little day-to-day responsibilities of being a wife and mother–not after she, Wyatt and the others had fought so hard to be able to build the happy, fulfilling lives they desired (and yes, deserved) after leaving time travel behind. And her husband? He'd assured Lucy during both of her pregnancies that if and when she wanted to return to teaching (or not at all), the choice was entirely hers. Was it any wonder she loved him so dearly-and couldn't imagine life without him?

Thinking of her loving, thoughtful husband made her smile...and reminded Lucy she better get moving if she wanted to take care of some last-minute Christmas shopping before picking Ethan up early. Luckily, the Stanford Shopping Center was only about a mile away. She should be able to get in and out pretty quickly since it was Thursday, and the middle of the day at that, and still get little man home in time for his afternoon nap. Lucy shook her head. Hard to believe Christmas Eve was only a week away.

Just last night, Lucy had been putting away some dry cleaning in their bedroom closet when she suddenly thought of the perfect gift for Wyatt–a new leather coat to replace the one he'd brought with him from Pendleton when assigned to the mission at Mason Industries back in 2016. Sure–like everything her gorgeous man wore-she loved the way it looked on his muscular frame, but still, the much-loved jacket was getting to be a little worn in spots and in her opinion, probably needed replaced. (Hopefully her occasionally stubborn husband would agree.) Might be a good idea also to pick up some more wrapping paper and tape so she could (possibly) start wrapping gifts over the weekend. That was the goal, anyway. Pulling out her phone, Lucy made a brief list of the stores she wanted to hit while in this part of town.

Humming Jingle Bells under her breath, Lucy looped a fluffy knitted scarf around her neck and slipped on her wool blazer before grabbing her things and heading to the staff parking lot. There weren't many students or staff left on campus since the semester officially ended yesterday, and she encountered only a couple fellow educators on the chilly, but thankfully short walk to her minivan, cheerfully wishing each one she met a Merry Christmas.

Letting the welcome warmth of the van's heater chase away the cold, Lucy texted her always protective husband to let him know her plans as she typically did when leaving campus for the day.

Hey, handsome, I'm leaving school now and need to make a quick stop before picking up Ethan and heading home for his nap. Hmm...seems Mrs. Claus might have a couple gifts yet to buy for Mr. Claus ;)

As expected, mere seconds later, her phone chimed softly.

Hey yourself, sweetheart. That sounds promising...especially if one (or MORE) of the gifts for Mr. Claus comes in a little pink and white striped bag from his favorite store at the mall...just sayin...

Helpless to keep from blushing faintly at the less than subtle (but oh so flattering) suggestion, Lucy fondly rolled her eyes at the phone before hurriedly tapping out a response.

Well...I guess Santa HAS been a pretty good boy this year...

Damn right he has...keep that in mind, K? Hey, I was thinking of either making tacos or maybe a couple pizzas for supper. We can decide before I leave work so I'll check in later. Be safe. Love you :)

Sounds like the perfect way to start my Christmas break! And I love you, too, soldier. See ya soon :)

Sliding the phone in her bag, Lucy fastened her seatbelt and drove out of the deserted lot into traffic, which, while a bit heavier than usual, wasn't too crazy considering it was the week before Christmas. A couple blocks away from the shopping center, she pulled to a stop at the red light in the far right lane behind a motorcycle and in front of a large white delivery van. Lightly tapping her fingers and singing along to the Christmas music on the radio, Lucy waited patiently for the light to turn green. When it did, she automatically looked left and right before cautiously entering the wide, crowded intersection.

Out of the corner of her eye, she vaguely noted through the passenger window a heavy-duty black pickup approaching the intersection. Wow, they seem to be going a little fast, Lucy thought idly, braking abruptly when the motorcycle she was following slowed down to avoid hitting someone rudely cutting in front of him. Her eyes widened in alarm when she realized the closer it got that the truck appeared to be going much too fast to stop safely. Why weren't they slowing down? Hemmed in by heavy traffic front and back and to her left, Lucy instinctively stamped on her brakes in a futile effort to put some space between her and the motorcycle and hopefully get out of the speeding truck's way. Couldn't the driver see the light is red? Why didn't they stop?

And then it was simply too late and there was no escape when just seconds later, the truck rammed into her vulnerable minivan with a terrible, jarring screech of metal grinding on metal, the air bags deploying loudly enough to make her ears ring. Automatically shutting her eyes, Lucy sensed rather than saw the passenger side of her vehicle cave inward like an accordion–instantly showering shards of broken glass all over the seats and filling the air with the powerful stench of spilt gasoline.

She cried out in shock when despite being restrained by the seatbelt, the impact painfully slammed her head and left shoulder into the window beside her, causing a giant cobweb of cracks to appear in the glass. The sheer force of the collision ruthlessly shoved the minivan into the SUV on her left, even as the delivery truck behind her was unable to stop, effectively sandwiching Lucy between them. And then everything went blessedly silent and oddly, time seemed to be standing still.

Slumped against the door, Lucy forced herself to breathe slowly and as deeply as she dared. Carefully raising a trembling hand to her head, she swallowed hard against the nausea rising thickly in her throat when her fingers came back coated in sticky, bright red blood. She was bleeding. She was bleeding and her head hurt really bad. Lucy inhaled sharply when out of nowhere, her usually manageable claustrophobia came roaring to life with a vengeance. Oh, God, she was trapped...

Unsurprisingly, the inevitable sense of panic began to fill her chest. Suddenly desperate to free herself, she twisted violently from side to side, frantically trying to undo her seatbelt, but it was jammed tight. Tears of pain and frustration filled her eyes. She was trapped...just like the night twenty some years ago when she almost drowned...

Heart racing from the futile effort, her head fell limply against the headrest as Lucy tried to ignore the wispy black dots dancing wildly around the edges of her vision. She jerked in fright against the unforgiving seatbelt straps when the ominous silence in her head was unexpectedly fractured by a sudden harsh cacophony of wailing sirens and voices shouting. As if her injured head wasn't already throbbing bad enough to fall off her shoulders.

Lucy was startled when without warning, a fireman wearing full gear cautiously stuck his head inside the partially busted out passenger seat window. "Ma'am? Ma'am? Can you hear me? Are you okay? We're gonna get you out of there...just need you to hold on a little longer, okay?" he promised in a muffled voice, turning slightly to shout something over his shoulder. What? Only Wyatt was allowed to call her 'Ma'am,' she thought hazily in some distant part of her mind. C'mon, Lucy, focus.

Hold on...yes...yes, of course she could hold on...pathetically grateful for the stranger's kindness, Lucy automatically started to nod, crying out when the motion sent a violent pain lancing through her skull, so strong it made her stomach churn uneasily and her vision start to white out around the edges. Biting back a low moan against the sickening nausea, she shut her burning eyes. Breathing shallowly now to keep from aggravating her splitting headache, Lucy was abruptly overcome by a fierce desire for her husband. Wyatt...she needed Wyatt. He was smart and strong and would know what to do, how to take care of her and make her feel better. She needed to call him.

With a shaking, bloodied hand, Lucy reached for her bag beside her, but the seat was empty save for scattered glass fragments. Blinking sluggishly in an attempt to concentrate, she eventually saw her bag had been knocked to the floor by the crash, the contents–including her phone–tossed about. Whimpering softly in frustration, she slumped back, feeling helpless. Maybe when the nice fireman came back, he could call Wyatt, Lucy told herself, shivering as an unwelcome gust of cold air blew in through the broken window...but that meant she had to stay awake long enough to give him Wyatt's name and cell number (if she could remember them).

Until then, all Lucy could do was try and remain calm until she was rescued. With a shuddering sigh, her gaze wandered absently around the interior of the van and landed on her little boy's car seat—still whole but twisted to one side and filled with glass. She sucked in a shocked breath. The tears Lucy had been trying to hold back finally spilled over, slipping down her bruised face at a horrifying realization. If she hadn't decided to go to the mall first, her first stop after leaving campus most days was picking up Ethan. Dear God. Her tiny son might've been with her, strapped into that car seat when the truck crashed into her van. He could've been hurt badly...or worse. Biting back a sob, she closed her eyes and swiped at her damp face. Stop it, Lucy. Ethan was fine, he was safe, waiting at day care for his Mommy...

Her eyes filled with tears once more as suddenly, she felt an overwhelmingly urgent need to see her loved ones...to kiss her husband...hold her small children close. Please hurry, Lucy whispered aloud–but sadly, in spite of the increasing chaos surrounding her, it seemed there was no one to hear her plea. Dizzy, nauseated and hurting worse by the second, she struggled to remain awake, but it was no use. As the minutes resolutely ticked away, her panicked breathing gradually slowed, the hellish noise beyond the twisted wreck entrapping her grew strangely fainter. The last thing that crossed Lucy's mind before the soothing darkness mercifully claimed her was, Wyatt, I need you...

A/N #2: Oops...it's a cliffhanger...my bad. I was going to write this as a one shot, but kept thinking of more and more (angsty) stuff and decided it would probably be better to give Lucy and Wyatt each their own chapters and maybe a brief epilogue. I've already started on Wyatt's and hope to finish and post within the next week. As you might imagine, the poor guy is not gonna take his wife being in any kind of danger very well :/ For those readers waiting patiently for a Yellow Rose of Texas update, it has been started, too. Sigh. There just never seems to be enough time in a day to devote to writing for these great characters as I'd like. Anyway, like always, I very much appreciate those of you who still enjoy reading Timeless stories. Your favorites, follows and kind reviews are so encouraging. Thank you! :))