Lucy groaned as she attempted to lift her pounding head from the downy depths of her pillow. That one small maneuver, however, didn't exactly agree with her churning stomach and so, for the moment, she relinquished her feeble endeavor at movement and collapsed, face first, into her pillow again.
"Ugh…" she moaned, wishing to God she hadn't drunk so damn much the night before.
And why wouldn't she have?
Her life being the flaming garbage chute that it was? Fake fiances, missing sisters, stolen nuclear cores? She had tried to drink away every insane thing that had happened to her in the past 72 hours and now…well, now she was sorely regretting it.
Blindly, she reached out, desperately seeking the bottle of Tylenol on her bedside table, but as her fingers danced around her night stand in search of relief, she found…nothing. Nothing but a smooth, sleek surface…which was odd, because her nightstand was notoriously messy.
Huh.
Her fingers stilled as her aching head tried to make sense of this development. Maybe in this timeline she was more organized? That was unlikely…but was it more unlikely than having two fake fiances in the space of 48 hours?
With that thought, Lucy tugged her hand back, willing her body to give her the strength and fortitude to push herself out of bed so she could stumble to her bathroom in search of relief. That action, too, however, gave her pause as she noted, with mounting alarm that her sheets felt different…and smelled different too.
Groaning against the bright sunlight that assaulted her senses, Lucy forced her eyes open and took in her very unfamiliar surroundings…except they weren't unfamiliar…she had been here before and not terribly long ago. "Oh God." Lucy blurted out, as she frantically fought to untangle herself from the covers before stumbling her way into what she hoped was the bathroom.
She had only just knelt in front of the toilet before the acrid sting of bile forced its way up her throat and sent her heaving into the cool of the bowl. She wretched for what felt like hours, emptying her stomach of the entirety of its contents, only to sit back and find that hadn't quite been the case. When at last, her body gave her a bit of reprieve, she lifted a shaking hand to her sweaty brow and groaned, filled with nothing but a horrible sense of shame and regret.
"Afternoon, beautiful."
If anything could have sent her heaving again, it was that - the sound of Noah's voice, so light and unconcerned…almost amused by her obvious hangover…and not at all surprised to find her tucked away in his bathroom, and wearing, Lucy noted with added alarm, his shirt from the night before.
Snippets of the previous evening played through her mind. Her mother's dirty trick, her determination to get drunk…and Noah…oh God…Noah.
Diving over the toilet bowl again, Lucy heaved until her stomach contracted painfully against her ribs. She was furious with herself, with her mother…and the man currently kneeling beside her, rubbing circles over her back.
"I told you you were overdoing it, he chuckled, "maybe next time you'll listen to me."
"Next time," Lucy gasped as once more, she shakily pushed away from the toilet bowl and rinsed her mouth out in the sink, "You think there's going to be a next time?"
Noah, not understanding her meaning, laughed, "Well, I should hope not considering how much you've thrown up this morning. Wine is one thing, Lucy…but those whiskeys you were downing…"
"Why am I here?" Lucy interrupted angrily, after spewing a capful of mouthwash into the sink.
Noah, seeing her distress, nodded in sudden understanding, "Oh right…you don't," he began before explaining with a look of pure affection as he tucked a strand of hair behind Lucy's ear, "you asked me to take you home."
"So you brought me here ?" Lucy asked incredulously, roughly pushing past him to the bedroom where she noted with a sickening jolt, her bra and dress lying in an unceremonious heap on the floor next to his wardrobe.
A horrifying recollection, vague and muddled though it was, of Noah bracing her against that particular piece of furniture left her in no doubt of how her dress came off…she was a little less sure of how and when, however, his shirt came on.
Snatching up her clothes with a huff, Lucy moved to put as much space as possible between herself and an approaching Noah, who was looking desperate and apologetic at her obvious distress, "Lucy, he groaned, "will you just let me explain…"
"What is there to explain?" Lucy exclaimed frantically as she did her best to shield herself from his view by standing behind a small leather armchair next to his desk. "I think I have a pretty good idea of what happened here last night…"
"Yes," Noah conceded after a short pause, his face flushing as he admitted awkwardly, "we both had a little too much to drink last night…and uh…things might have gotten a little out of hand."
"A little out of hand?" Lucy gasped incredulously, noting with a new sense of horror, the half opened box sitting on the other nightstand where Noah's pants and undershirt still laid in a tangled pile on the floor. "We…we…"
"Nothing happened," Noah assured her, "at least," he amended with a slight smirk, "nothing you need to regret."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Lucy gritted out, hardly knowing if she wanted an answer.
"I slept on the couch, Lucy. I…God, I wanted you," he admitted and Lucy once again, backed away from him, "but…I…swear, Lucy I swear when things got too heated, I…I stopped it from going any further…I would never…. you know I would never… "
No, Lucy didn't know. She didn't know Noah at all…but here she was, wearing his shirt, standing in his bedroom, staring at a tangle of sheets on a bed she was never supposed to be in. "If you would never," Lucy asked with a quiet coolness, "why would you even bring me here to begin with?"
"I told you," Noah groaned, "you asked me to…but you're right, maybe I should have just taken you to your mom's…but dammit Lucy, after everything we said last night…"
"I was drunk!"
"You can blame some of it on the alcohol," Noah challenged, "but Lucy, what we felt for each other? What we feel for each other? The way you kissed me last night? That was real. This," he said as he desperately stepped past the chair separating them and snaked her back into his arms, "this is real."
"No, Noah," Lucy argued as she attempted to wriggle herself free, "it's not. Not for me."
Hurt, Noah released her, "So all that talk about second chances and new beginnings last night was what, bullshit?" he spat out.
Affronted, Lucy turned and glared at him as she explained again pointedly, "I was drunk."
"You weren't that drunk," he replied, "not at first. Not when you asked me to stay..not when you made me believe we had a cha…" he paused, desperately attempting to keep his emotions in check. "I love you, Lucy. I…don't know what happened between us. We were so good together and then you…you just drifted away…"
"Noah," Lucy groaned, her sympathy for his heartache outweighing her own horror as she reached out and touched his arm, "I…I'm sorry I hurt you, okay? I wish I could tell you exactly where we went wrong…but…I…I can't." She shrugged helplessly as he cast her a heartbroken glance, "I just don't lo…"
"Don't." he stopped her, "don't say that." He stalked away from her, pacing his room, before he came back, entreating her desperately, "You told me last night…you made me believe we could try again…"
"I was drunk, Noah…" but even as that excuse left her lips, Lucy couldn't help but inwardly groan as little snippets of conversation came back to haunt her. She hadn't intended on leading him on…hell, she wanted to be left alone. Losing her sister, worrying over losing Wyatt, trying to reconcile everything she had seen, witnessed and experienced in the past 72 hours all the while her mother was pressuring her to follow in her footsteps at Stanford?
It had been too much.
Noah's presence, while initially unwelcomed, proved to be a nice distraction. He was kind and supportive, he seemed to truly care about her…and so yes, after a few drinks her better judgment had been superseded by a desperate and pathetic need to have someone…anyone to turn to for comfort.
Memories of his arm wrapped around her waist, his soft voice in her ear - regaling her with how much she meant to him - the dancing, the music, the whiskey…oh God, the whiskey, all came flooding back, filling her with a renewed sense of shame at her own recklessness.
She had kissed him. She did…after asking him to stay and keep her company. Why? Because she was pathetic and alone and wanted to avoid her mother. That's why. Last night, under the influence of alcohol, Noah seemed to offer Lucy a sense of stability and safety - but now? Now in command of her senses she knew turning to Noah only served to complicate her life even more than it already was.
What memories, for instance, (except last night's drunken encounter) did they share? None. What feelings did she have for him beyond the scope of sympathy? None.
Sure, she could "try" to love Noah…but his very presence in her life, his existence as her one-time fiance was predicated on Amy's erasure…and now, looking at him with his pleading eyes boring into hers, Amy was all she could think about.
"This…" she explained quietly, "this isn't right."
Noah bowed his head in acknowledgement, his face flushing with apparent shame as he nodded, "I know…and I'm sorry…I should have…you're fresh off your break-up so of course, you're vulnerable and hurting and…"
Recognizing a convenient out, Lucy quickly nodded in agreement, "Yes…I…I don't even know why I went out last night. Mom thought it would do me good…but…"
"You needed time." Noah finished for her as Lucy looked up at him and nodded. "You know," he said with a sigh, "your mother just wants you to be happy…we both do."
Lucy shifted awkwardly, hating all over again that her mother had finagled Noah back into her life when she thought she was rid of him forever. She had promised her, dammit she had promised her that she wouldn't call Noah and the first opportunity she had to scheme them together, she had.
Scoffing inwardly, Lucy thought of how her absence…her continued absence must be delighting her mother. Carol Preston had made no secret of her preference for Noah and leaving her, abandoning her to his care last night, Lucy was sure, was all part of her grand plan to supplant one fiance with the other.
But Noah was just as much a victim of her mother's schemes as she was and she was heartily sorry for it.
Noah, taking her continued silence as encouragement stepped forward and began quietly, "I miss you, Lucy… so much. I…I didn't realize how muchuntil last night when…God, things were like how they used to be with us." He nodded at her, as if encouraging her to recall some memory she didn't have. "I know you need time," he offered tentatively, "but Lucy…, is it so terrible to hope that you and I could have a second chance?"
No, it wasn't so terrible, Lucy thought. If she had remembered her relationship with Noah she might have even welcomed such a proposal. "Abandoned" now as she was by Wyatt, why wouldn't she try to rekindle her romance with Noah? He loved her and obviously respected her enough to exercise a bit of self-control when she was at her most vulnerable…so that was a good thing. He was also a doctor…and good-looking…and so obviously, he wasn't the worst person she could end up with.
She was alone - "sad and alone" - and here was a man who loved her, "adored her" her mother had said - a man who wanted nothing more than to have her back in his arms…and so she'd be crazy not to give him… them … a second chance, right?
After all, it wasn't his fault time travel had interfered with his love life…and if she really thought about it, he kind of deserved a chance, right? Someversion of her had loved him…who was to say that she couldn't feel that way again?
His hands reached for hers, gentle and wanting…and Lucy obliged him, offering him a sad smile as he caressed her fingers and sighed, "Is it so terrible," he whispered, "to want you back in my life again?"
"No" she admitted quietly, "it's not so terrible." That one whispered, barely audible admission, uncoupled as it was from any further resistance on her part, gave Noah all the invitation he needed to wrap her up in his arms and capture her lips with his own, in a desperate, silent plea to give him another chance.
Lucy's mind was at war with itself - one side screaming that to surrender herself to Noah would only serve to further complicate her life while the other side screamed that she should just toss all inhibitions to the side and just take what was being offered consequences be damned.
It wasn't that she was desperate, but…she could count on one hand the amount of relationships she had had since college…and not one of those men had looked at her the way Noah did. No, she didn't feel anything for him…but maybe someday she would. Or maybe tomorrow she would come back from a mission and find herself engaged to someone else entirely.
But that was the problem wasn't it?
Was she willing to set herself up for the very real possibility of losing someone else to time travel? Was she willing to risk her heart that recklessly?
There was attraction; of course there was…Noah was good looking and fit and okay…he wasn't the worst kisser in the world. Noah also seemed kind and respectful...and dammit, he was everything she could ever want in a man…but still, she couldn't help but acknowledge with a groan, she felt nothing for him.
Nope, nothing even as he pulled her unbelievably close, pressing his body firmly into hers and tangling his fingers in her hair.
He kissed her with an intensity that should have had her melting in his arms, but instead of surrendering to every touch, every feel of him against her, her thoughts were busily preoccupied wondering what would happen if this did happen
Obviously, if she jumped into the deep-end with Noah, slept with him - it would change the dynamic of their relationship from a one-sided phony romance to something else entirely. People may have had meaningless sex all the time…but she didn't. Was she willing to explore the possibilities of maybe someday falling in love with Noah even though she didn't love him now? Could she ever fall in love with someone who held her at such a disadvantage - where every "shared" memory, every special moment from their "past" together was a complete and total mystery to her? Could she just pretend to remember for his sake? Could she ever forget that his entire presence in her life served as a reminder that Amy was gone?
What would happen if she never got back to a time without Noah? Could she go on pretending indefinitely?
Would she want to?
"Oh God, Lucy," Noah moaned as his hands sought to undo the buttons of her shirt.
"Noah, wait." Lucy gasped as she stilled his hands and pushed him away, "Please," she breathed out apologetically, "I can't…I can't do this."
Obediently, Noah pulled away from her, looking crestfallen, but very much aware that he had pushed her too hard, too fast, "I'm sorry," he began desperately, "I just…I just want you back."
"I know." Lucy nodded in understanding, "It's..it's okay…but…I think… I think it's best if I go home now."
Noah nodded in understanding, his face betraying his hurt and disappointment, "I'll…I'll call you a cab."
As Noah slowly left the bedroom to offer her some privacy, Lucy quickly ducked away into the bathroom, downing two Tylenols before stripping herself of Noah's shirt and shakily slinking back into her dress. She considered taking a shower, but quickly decided against it, figuring that would be a more appropriate activity for home.
Home.
What the hell was home these days? Home for Lucy, at one time, had been her own place, but in her timeline, she had reluctantly given up her independence to settle back into her mother's house to help take the burden off of Amy when their mother went from bad to worse with cancer. A few days ago, her home was the place she had just left, with Noah…a strange apartment she had never been in, and for that matter, never wanted to revisit. Now? Now she had no idea where home was…obviously it would be some shared place with Wyatt, but given her present circumstances, she certainly didn't wish to add any more awkwardness to her already mortifying day by rummaging around in a place she didn't feel authorized to go.
Still, she had to go somewhere…and though Noah's broken hearted glance had silently communicated his desire for her to stay even as she darted out of his apartment to the waiting cab below, she knew staying with Noah…was not and could not be an option.
"Where to, miss?" The cab driver asked again, turning now to look at her to make sure she had heard.
Her knee-jerk response was her mother's house, the home she knew…but one look down at her dress, the same one she had donned the night before, coupled with her disheveled appearance made her quickly bite her tongue and give the cab driver the only other address that made any sense in this timeline.
The parking lot of Mason Industries was frustratingly full for a Saturday afternoon. One quick glance and Lucy saw, with much consternation, that her hope of avoiding any one she knew was as fleeting as the current state of her romantic life. Jiya and Rufus were both here and seeing them in this state was the last thing she wanted or needed. Yanking off her heels, she quickly typed in her pin code, hoping that a silent entrance might make her presence go unnoticed…at least until she was able to take a damn shower and commandeer a change of clothes.
Skirting past the security desk with little more than a quick wave of her badge, Lucy skipped the hangar altogether and made her way down the back hallway to where the locker rooms lay. Though she was desperate for a shower, she made a quick turn to the left and slinked into the darkened expanse of Mason's wardrobe department. Racks and racks of dresses, skirts, blouses and slacks waited in silent anticipation for the next mission, but for Lucy, their readiness would provide her a much needed cover now .
If she was going to have to face her mother…or anyone else for that matter, it most certainly wouldn't be in the dress she was currently wearing.
No.
As far as anyone needed to know, she had gone home last night…wherever the hell that might be. But then, Lucy thought with a sudden alarm, if she had gone home, why on Earth wouldn't she have just stayed there? Why would she come back from her shared home with Wyatt to stay the night again with her mother?
Ugh…it didn't matter. She'd think up some other excuse…or find a hotel…anything…she just didn't want or need to be bombarded with awkward questions right now.
"Lucy? Are you in here?"
Lucy froze as Jiya's voice seemed to ricochet off the cavernous walls of Mason's expansive wardrobe bay. For one perilous moment she thought she might escape, duck between the racks of clothing and hide until Jiya went searching for her elsewhere but even as that fleeting notion crossed her mind, the light above her flickered on and there she was, caught red handed with her arms holding up a pretty vintage dress from the 1940s.
"Lucy?" Jiya questioned again as she tentatively approached, "What are you hanging around here in the dark for? We saw you keyed in…" she began by way of explanation, before she stopped, noting Lucy's obvious discomfort, "what…what's going on?"
Wincing as she turned slightly, Lucy shrugged, "Oh nothing…I just um…thought I'd come in and uh…check to make sure you all are following up on my suggestions to make these outfits more historically accurate."
"In the dark…dressed like that?" Jiya asked doubtfully as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Feigning offense, Lucy gaped at her, "So I'm a little dressed up? Is that a crime?"
"No," Jiya replied, "but…Lucy, you look like you've been out all night." As Lucy rolled her eyes and made to turn away from her, Jiya grasped onto her arm, her eyes wide and accusing, "What the hell is that?"
"What the hell is what?" Rufus asked curiously as he sidled towards them, "hey Lucy what are you doing here tod…"he stopped, staring at Lucy with his mouth agape.
"Ugh…what?" Lucy snapped, wrenching a blouse from off of a hanger.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Rufus startled, I was just distracted by that enormous hickey on your neck…you were saying?"
Clasping her hand to her neck and racing to the nearest mirror, Lucy groaned as she assessed the damage. Yup…there would be no hiding that one. "Dammit"
"Lucy Preston," Jiya pressed as she followed her to the mirror, "why is there a hickey on your neck?"
"I think the better question is - who put that hickey on her neck?" Rufus offered with a chortle, leaning against the door frame.
"I don't want to talk about it." Lucy muttered as she pushed past the two engineers and made her way back to the racks of clothing.
"So there is something to tell," Jiya observed, looking completely betrayed. "What did you do? What," she whispered, "did you have a one-night stand or something?"
"No!" Lucy exclaimed defensively, before turning back to her clothes and muttering, "not exactly."
"Not exactly?" Rufus pressed, looking amused, "what the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"It means…Lucy began indignantly, "that last night I might have had a little too much to drink."
"And…?" Jiya and Rufus asked together.
"And…" Lucy squeaked uncomfortably as she ducked her head down to look through more clothes, "I… might have found myself at Noah's this morning…or," Lucy amended sheepishly, "this afternoon…or whatever."
If she was hoping for a calm and understanding reaction from two of her closest friends at Mason, she was heartily disappointed. Rufus absolutely guffawed and clapped his hands together while Jiya practically sobbed.
"You slept with Noah?" Jiya exclaimed as Lucy shushed her.
"No I didn't , okay? But…ugh…obviously, things got a little…"
"Hot and heavy?" Rufus offered smirking at her.
As she and Jiya both glared at him, Lucy explained, "Look, I didn't seek him out, alright? My mother invited him to this stupid party when I specifically told her not to and I got drunk and I just…"
"You just, what?" Jiya demanded, still looking personally hurt, "how..how did you even wind up at his place?"
"I asked him to take me home, apparently," Lucy groaned as she covered her face with her hands, " I know, I know," she added at Jiya's protest, "I said the same thing, but…nothing happened, okay?"
"I wouldn't say nothing happened," Rufus exclaimed as he pointed at Lucy's neck, "it's not like you got that from a curling iron."
"I should have never gone out last night, I should have known my mother would do something to try to…ugh," Lucy spat out in frustration, "but this is why I had to come here…I can't go home and face her like this…"
"So…you're just here trying to avoid the walk of shame, is that it?" Rufus quipped in amused understanding before chuckling as he took a blouse from her hand and observed, "Hate to tell you this Lucy, but if you were hoping to avoid awkward questions, dressing up like one of the Andrews Sisters isn't gonna fly."
With a frustrated huff, Lucy rolled her eyes and made to slink off to the next rack over, hoping to find something a bit more modern when Jiya blocked her way, "Why don't you just go home?" Jiya offered meaningfully. "I mean, you do have a home - Lucy…you don't have to skim the vintage collection here at Mason to save face."
Again, Lucy let out a frustrated breath. For Jiya, someone who only knew her as Wyatt's fiance, her reluctance to go "home" was arguably hard to understand. It wasn't like she didn't know that somewhere out there her own clothes were hanging in a closet, her own toiletries were lined up on a bathroom counter…she knew that somewhere her own private sanctuary away from this awkward hell awaited her…but that was just it…it wasn't her own…it was hers and Wyatt's.
Wyatt.
The most insanely private person she had ever met in her life, who, despite his one vulnerable moment in New Jersey, hadn't breathed a word about himself…not even when she asked him point blank where he was from.
"I can't go there." Lucy muttered quietly.
'Why not?" Jiya asked.
"Because it's…it's not really my home. It's Wyatt's home…and he's ugh…tell her, Rufus."
"Tell her, what?" Rufus quipped with a shrug, "That Wyatt is a little weird about his privacy? Yeah…he is…but he's not here, is he?"
"Exactly," Jiya added with an encouraging nod, "what's it going to matter if you go to YOUR apartment and get your things? It's not like he'll know…"
"Or even care…hell, he'd probably be relieved." Rufus added, but as Jiya turned and glared at him, he explained, "Oh come on, you think he's gonna want to come back from patching things up with his undead wife to find Lucy's…" he motioned to Lucy's frame awkwardly as he stammered, "uh…womanly things in his place? How messed up would that be?"
"Oh yeah, I'm sure Wyatt is going to bring his ex-wife home to the apartment he shares with his fiance…that makes perfect sense, Rufus. Come on," she sighed as she pulled Lucy by the arm, "let's go…if you won't go on your own, I'll go with you and stand guard at the door… just in case."
Though Jiya told her she was being silly, Lucy's apprehension at finding herself standing before the apartment she shared with Wyatt Logan was significant. All reservations about Wyatt's privacy aside, just beyond the door was a life she didn't know…or understand.
Knowing herself and what little she did of Noah, she couldn't readily comprehend how she had, as her mother had put it, thrown everything away to pursue a life with Wyatt. She was never one to take risks after all and Noah, being preferred by her mother, was not a risk. He made sense…even if she personally didn't know him.
According to the files at Mason they had been together for a long time, longer than she had known Wyatt. At her surprise engagement party she found they moved in the same circles, knew and befriended the same people, watched the same movies, read the same books…in short, he was everything that was comfortable and normal and Lucy, almost always going for the path of least resistance, should have stayed with him.
But for some reason…she didn't.
Then there was Carol Preston. Even in this timeline, Lucy's desire to please her mother trumped any aspirations she had for herself . The one time she strayed, the one time she had decided to throw all caution to the wind and do something for herself? Well, it had almost killed her…and so when it came to pursuing her dream of teaching in a little university in Ohio or following her mothers counsel and teaching at Stanford, Lucy couldn't really argue. Despite her own feelings, she couldn't really deny that following her mothers advice had never really led her astray...so, she gave up on Ohio and chose Stanford.
So why then in this timeline did she drive to San Diego on her own when her mother wanted her to fly? Why did she take up a teaching position in San Diego, when she knew from her own experience her mother didn't and wouldn't approve? Why did she break up with Noah and jump headlong into a relationship with a man she had hitched a ride from 24 hours before?
It didn't make sense.
This Lucy, whoever she was…was not her.
It was with shaking hands, therefore, that Lucy fit the key in the lock, halfway expecting it not to fit…but fit it did. The door popped up with little fanfare…which honestly surprised Lucy. She wondered, too late, if Wyatt being Wyatt would have rigged up an alarm system, but no…everything was surprisingly… normal . Books she recognized as her own graced bookshelves adorning one wall, while on the other photos hung in neat rows. Some of her and Wyatt, others with just Lucy and her friends, while others still of Wyatt with his squadron.
The furniture was to her taste, which she figured made sense. She couldn't imagine Wyatt caring about something as trivial as throw pillows…but then again, she couldn't imagine Wyatt being anything more or less than the stoic, no nonsense, reckless, hot headed soldier she knew.
But even now, as she curiously glanced at the wall of pictures, the man she knew as Wyatt Logan was also glaringly absent as photo after photo depicted him in a way she never saw him in person.
He looked… happy.
Okay, Okay…it wasn't as if she had never seen Wyatt smile. On the few occasions they had been together, she chanced to see a smirk escape his lips - and sometimes, sometimes he could be downright playful and teasing. For the most part, though? Wyatt Logan was too wrapped up in his own past and too concerned about the mission to be anything other than what he was duty bound to be…a soldier.
But here? Every single picture showed him positively beaming…and while it was a bit unsettling, she couldn't get over how much better he looked, how much more handsome he seemed without five years of grief and guilt weighing him down. While that gave her some comfort to know that at least in this timeline, he was more carefree, she couldn't help but feel a small tinge of regret at never knowing the Wyatt of these photographs.
With Jessica back, she figured, Wyatt would be this way again…at least, she hoped he would…not that she'd ever see it.
Shrugging off that depressing thought, Lucy investigated other areas of the apartment, her initial apprehension giving way to curiosity as she tried to understand how the two of them, different as they were, came to be… this .
"That's a great picture of the two of you," Jiya remarked as Lucy gazed at a large picture of her and Wyatt sitting on the hood of a classic car in what was undoubtedly Monterey.
"That's the Lone Cypress," she remarked, pointing to a gnarled tree in the background in an attempt to put the focus on anything but her and Wyatt. "You know, they think it's around 250 years old?" Lucy shook her head, "I've always been amazed how something that small could withstand the elements for that long. Of course, the last 65 years they've been supporting it with a cable…"
"Sometimes even the most enduring things need a little help along the way," Jiya noted with a pointed nod, "especially if they're worth saving."
"Yes, well…the Lone Cypress is special…and it is worth saving, it's one of the only…"
"I wasn't talking about the tree…" Jiya murmured as she tapped on her phone.
Lucy inwardly groaned, hating the continued insinuation that she and Wyatt were anything and could be anything but the almost strangers they were. It was Noah all over again. Yes, she had told Wyatt that she was relieved it was him, rather than another complete stranger, but Wyatt was as almost as much a stranger to her as Noah was. The one saving grace was that unlike Noah, Wyatt knew and understood their relationship wasn't real…and so for him there were no expectations to be something they weren't.
But with Jiya…
'Look," Lucy began with a heavy sigh, "I know you think Wyatt and I have this special relationship…but Jiya, you have to understand…the Wyatt and Lucy you knew? They're gone, alright? This Lucy…she's not me. I mean, I would never do any…they went to Solvang?" Lucy exclaimed, yanking a photo of herself and Wyatt from off of the bookshelf. "I've always wanted to go to Solvang."
"Yeah, you guys go all the time." Jiya replied, smirking. "It was one of your favorite getaways when you lived in San Diego," she added, tossing a small photo album towards her, "you told me all about it. How you guys stopped in there when he offered to take you the rest of the way to San Francisco after your car broke down…"
Lucy turned and stared at her, her mouth agape in disbelief, "Wait…you…you know about how we…how we…?
"How you guys met?" Jiya finished for her, " Yeah, why do you think I'm such a fan of you two?" Seeing Lucy's continued confusion she explained, "we went out to celebrate after that first mission…you being pioneers of time travel and all…and we just got to talking about how you two fell for each other…" Jiya looked up from her phone to find Lucy staring at her with quiet desperation, "What?"
Sinking down in the nearest chair, Lucy let out a shuddering sigh, "Tell me everything."
"Feel better?"
Leaning back against the cushions of the couch, closing the photo album that had been splayed open on her lap, Lucy frowned. It wasn't an illicit affair, brought on by a need to sow a few wild oats or defy her mother. She had simply been stranded in the near dark, on the side of the highway….and Wyatt had begrudgingly stopped to offer her a hand.
Lucy couldn't help but smile at that, even if Jiya had felt it was a bit callous of him - that was the Wyatt she knew. She had been blocking traffic…and he was irritated…and helping her, he thought, was the easiest way to solve the problem.
Except it wasn't…because no sooner had he gotten her out of the road and got ready to continue on his way, his conscience got the better of him. Leaving her alone on the side of the highway with nighttime falling fast wasn't something he had been comfortable with…so he stayed…and then offered to take her up to San Francisco when the tow truck driver informed them her car wouldn't be ready until after her engagement party.
She might not have known Wyatt that well…but it was just the sort of thing she could see him doing. He was, despite his gruffness, a gentleman…and he had a way, even after that shot in New Jersey, of making her feel completely safe and protected.
The overnight stay in Solvang, while initially alarming to hear, also made sense. After Wyatt had stopped to help her and suffered a flat tire for his trouble, how could she relegate him to sleeping in his Jeep just because there were no other rooms available?
But to sleep in the same bed?
"I'm still not sure I can believe nothing happened that night," she sighed. "I mean, I get it…it's Wyatt…but we didn't know each other at all then…why on Earth would I sleep in the same bed with a total stranger if there wasn't some…some…?"
"Relax," Jiya groaned, "I know you're dead set on believing that you two had some sort of one night stand but I can pretty much vouch that nothing happened."
"How?" Lucy argued in exasperation, "How can you possibly know that we weren't trying to…I don't know…save face when we told you this?"
"Because," Jiya replied with a laugh, "You both were pretty much rolling with laughter over some contraption you made to keep things G-rated between you."
"What…"
"I don't know…something from some old movie… A Funny Thing Happened… no…ugh, what was it? One Night in…. no, that's not it. Gah…what was it?"
Lucy bit her lip, wracking her brain over what she could possibly have made in a hotel room to keep things respectable between them - total strangers as they were, sharing not only a hotel room, but a bed. It did seem like something out of some crazy old movie, like…" It Happened One Night?" Lucy gasped in sudden realization.
"That's it!" Jiya nodded with a smile, "Yeah, Wyatt said he gave you such a hard time for forcing him to stay in that room, but you made an "impenetrable barrier" is what he said," she recalled with a laugh, "of sheets."
"The Wall of Jericho," Lucy murmured, finding it impossible not to smile as she thought of how that was exactly the thing she would do in that situation. Of course she would never sleep with a total stranger…especially not one who found her on the side of the road. This wasn't just anyone, though…this was Wyatt… and somehow she knew that no matter what the situation or timeline, trusting Wyatt Logan was something she would just do.
"See…" Jiya noted with a meaningful nod, "you're still you."
"But Jiya, being stranded in Solvang is one thing….San Francisco isn't that far…and yet," she pulled out her phone and quickly swiped to her old calendar entries, "look at all of the things we did. If he was just giving me a ride to San Francisco…"
"Lucy," Jiya groaned, "do you really think you or Wyatt are the cheating kind?" As Lucy wordlessly shook her head, Jiya nodded, "You felt bad about ruining Wyatt's vacation to San Francisco…so you offered to give him a tour of some hot spots along the PCH while he drove you up the coast," Jiya shrugged, "He got a flat tire, you guys ended up in Solvang. You guys talked a lot…and I don't know…you hit it off."
"Wyatt?" Lucy scoffed in disbelief as Jiya nodded at her implicitly. "Wyatt Logan? Talked? Are you serious? What am I saying? Of course you're not serious because none of this is real!" Shaking her head, Lucy tried to dismiss Jiya, "Spending a few hours with a person isn't enough to…"
"What?" Jiya challenged, "Fall in love? Funny," she added with a quirked lip, "other you didn't think it was possible either…but that's just what happened."
Again, Lucy frowned as she reopened the photo album filled with pictures of the two of them on their return trip back down to San Diego…just mere days after he had dropped her off in San Francisco, seemingly never to see her again. While there was only one photo of the two of them on the trip to San Francisco, the return trip made up for it with a vengeance. There were candid shots of them in the Jeep, pictures of them at every waypoint, photos of them wrapped around each other standing before scenic ocean views and no, there was absolutely no denying it…they looked head over heels in love.
"But how?" Lucy sighed, shaking her head, "I mean, if I was engaged to Noah…
"Do you feel anything for Noah?" Jiya asked with a shrug.
"No! Of course not." Lucy replied, but seeing Jiya's meaningful nod to her neck, Lucy shifted uncomfortably, "Look, I…he's a nice guy…"
Did you ever consider that other you felt the same way?" Jiya replied with a shrug, "That Noah was…I don't know…a nice guy who you liked, but didn't love?"
"If I was engaged to him, I had to love him, Jiya." Lucy replied matter-of-factly. As Jiya tried to argue with her she continued, "But why be engaged to him if I didn't?" Lucy asked, but almost immediately after asking the question, the answer became so obviously clear she wanted to kick herself for not seeing it sooner. "My mother," she muttered in sudden realization, "My mother wanted me to marry Noah… wants me to marry Noah" she amended.
Jiya raised her eyebrows in agreement but said nothing as Lucy turned back to the photo album in her lap with a frown. She had to have loved Noah - her mother's hopes and wishes aside, Lucy could not and did not believe that she would ever agree to marry anyone unless she was head over heels in love.
Maybe they had just grown apart…or maybe things in their relationship had been strained when she met Wyatt…Noah was a doctor, after all - surely that meant his schedule was a little hectic?
Lucy flipped back to the front of the photo album, desperate to understand. Wyatt had dropped her off…that much she knew from her mother. But, he had left with her suitcases…whether by design or by accident she wasn't quite sure. She also knew that Noah had invited him to their engagement party…a party that she must have canceled because there written under Aug 22 was a caption reading:
Wyatt saved me from the side of the road…again!
The picture in question offered little doubt to Lucy that this was the moment she had made the choice that had altered her life so immensely. Her eyes were red-rimmed with tears and her hair wet from what was clearly a rainstorm outside, given the water-logged windows in the background, but her face? Her face was absolutely glowing with joy as Wyatt pressed a kiss to her cheek.
"You had a flat tire," Jiya explained, studying her carefully. Chuckling, she continued, "You were headed out to the airport to take that job in San Diego…and Wyatt, he was coming back from Yosemite, trying to return the suitcases you left in his Jeep."
"After Monterey?"
"Yeah, after Monterey," Jiya said meaningfully.
Monterey. According to Jiya's retelling it was their last chance to spend time together before parting ways in San Francisco. They had stopped in Monterey for dinner, but Lucy, desperate to show Wyatt how much she had appreciated his help, rented a vintage convertible for the afternoon so that he could live out a lifelong dream. They drove all over, enjoying each other's company…until a chance walk on the pier and an unintended kiss had wracked them both with guilt.
"He was going to drop off your suitcases and head back to San Diego…pretend he never met you…," Jiya explained, "but then you called him when you got that flat tire...I guess he had taught you how to fix one or something. Funny thing was," she said as she nodded towards the picture, "he was already there…he saw you on the side of the road and stopped again, because…"
"He's Wyatt." Lucy said quietly, still frowning. "So I didn't leave Noah for him," she murmured, "at least, not initially."
"No, you didn't." Jiya nodded, looking at her intently, "But deciding to take that job in San Diego was probably the best decision you ever made in your life…it brought you and Wyatt back together,"
"Yes, but Jiya that's just the thing," Lucy argued, "In my timeline…I didn't take that job in San Diego. Hell, I never did anything to defy my mother…"
"Except take this job," Jiya suggested.
Lucy rolled her eyes at her sardonically, "I didn't really have much of a choice with this job, did I?"
"No…but don't you see? No matter the timeline, no matter your choices….you and Wyatt still meet. That's gotta be…"
"Don't say fate," Lucy interrupted her, flopping back against the couch cushions and pulling a pillow over head. "Wyatt doesn't believe in fate…and even if he did," Lucy argued, "he is currently on a one-way trip to win back the love of his life…pretty sure that's the absolute definition of this not being fate.
"I'm just saying…you thought you'd never see him again after he dropped you off in San Francisco and then suddenly there he was helping you again right after you decided to stand up for yourself."
"So?" Lucy asked, lifting the pillow away from her face.
"So…" Jiya shrugged, "maybe he's not on a one-way trip to win the love of his life back. Maybe he'll get there and find that…the love of his life is actually right here."
"Ha!" Lucy snorted, sitting back up on the couch, "that's hilarious. Believe me, Jiya…Wyatt isn't going to be leaving Jessica any time soon. Saving her, having a chance to get her back? It's all he's talked about since that first mission. Besides," she added as she pushed herself off of the couch to stand, "we hardly know each other…and honestly Jiya, I don't even think he likes me very much. Do you know on that first mission, he took a shot at Flynn that went right by my head. An inch or two to the right and I wouldn't even be here," she said meaningfully, "So no, I don't believe for one second that Wyatt and I are destined to be anything other than what we currently are…co-workers."
Determined to show Jiya how convinced she was of that fact, Lucy tossed aside the photo albums and marched into the bedroom in search of a suitcase. Living here, even if Wyatt was never coming back, was out of the question. It was too strange to be surrounded by visions of themeverywhere she turned. The moment she flipped on the light, however, she wished she had stayed right where she was because seeing their dueling nightstands was enough to send her reeling all over again.
Her side of the bed was clearly hers….messy, disorganized, with a stack of books three tomes deep. Wyatt, by contrast, had a bottle of water…and a picture of the two of them standing in front of the Bixby Bridge….wearing those stupid matching sweatshirts. The only photo that existed of their trip to San Francisco together. She didn't know why seeing that photo in such a place of honor threw her for such a loop…but it did. For all his upset over that same picture at Mason, this version of him had cherished it.
Why?
As if in answer to that unspoken question Jiya observed from the doorway, "That was the first picture you two ever took together." Smiling, she nodded, "It's Wyatt's favorite."
"How do you…"
"Because you two constantly bicker over it," she recalled with another smile. "You wanted to replace it with your engagement photo, but Wyatt wanted to keep 'this silly old thing'…even wanted to put it on the invitation to the wedding."
" This photo?" Lucy scoffed in disbelief, noting how horrible she looked with her wet hair and oversized sweatshirt. Wyatt, too, she noted, wasn't beaming like he was in the other pictures. Here he looked… sad.
"Yeah," Jiya said with a shrug, taking the picture from her and smiling fondly at it, "He thought this was it, ya know? That you two would be going your separate ways…but then…"
"Monterey." Lucy muttered.
"Yeah…Monterey." Jiya agreed before pushing herself away from the doorframe and offering with a frown, "Come on, I'll help you pack."
Notes:
Okay so now that Stranded is FINALLY finished, I can focus my attention on this - as I've said before, I've got quite a bit done on this already - about 10 more chapters after this one - so it's pretty much developed. I hope you enjoy it. It's been fun rounding out the Torrent story and fleshing out these other timelines - and I'm using it as an opportunity to bring to life stories that were teased but never came to fruition in the show.
Now for the chapter - As I mentioned before, the current Lucy/Noah pairing and Jessica/Wyatt pairing will be of short duration, so bear with it for a bit...it's all about helping these knuckleheads come to certain realizations. As we go through this fic, you'll see lots of recalls/nods and foreshadowing to both Torrent and Once Upon a Highway. The last part of this chapter, especially, touches on the Once Upon a Highway timeline, so if you haven't read that fic of mine yet, that's what Lucy and Jiya are referring to.
