#and I also appreciate characters like Wyatt that will never forgive him and are just civil

[atlasira]

I’m really really glad they haven’t stopped bringing this up. A common flaw in “antagonist-turned-good” arcs is that the narrative and characters get sudden amnesia and never again bring up the ex-antagonists wrongdoings. Or if they do, it’s just seen as some quirky “hey remember this?” weird joke.

I appreciate that HOT doesn’t let us or Reinhold forget that he did some truly fucked up things when he was Earl. And seeing as though it was years of abuse, it’ll take a very long time for him to actually make up for it.

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

I'm trying but I just can't forgive Wyatt for what he did to Lucy

Wyatt is a character that I've defended in the past, but make no mistake, he's done some rotten things. I've got to say, I don't think either of the ending routes wrap up his story especially well.

The official ending is much too easy on him, and the writing of his character does a completely 180 just to try and (unsuccessfully) make a Ly*tt happily ever after make sense, even though that wasn't even close to being in a place where it could work in Chinatown. All of a sudden, Wyatt, who was begging Flynn not to shoot Jessica and still trying to get her to come back after knowing she was Rittenhouse...he's the one to come up with the plan to kill Jessica for the sake of Rufus? No, no way. No way Jose. I don't even see Wyatt agreeing to that plan. He'd have to be dragged in kicking and screaming, or else the others wouldn't tell him about it for fear of him interfering. On top of that, he seems to have decided to act far more mature about the whole Lucy/Flynn idea, and accept the possibility - when as recently as The General, he was still expressing resentment and jealousy, and he and Flynn were still at odds with each other in Chinatown. The canon finale is desperate to erase any factor that conflicts with Lucy and Wyatt getting together. Like Flynn. Like Jessica, and her baby. Like all of Wyatt's flaws, pretty much. Like any negative impact his choices had on the events of the second season, up to and including Rufus' death. Lucy literally says that Wyatt bringing Jessica to the bunker doesn't matter because no one else remembers it...you kidding me?

But the Continuation doesn't fare much better. Actually, it has the opposite problem. Wyatt is basically never forgiven for his actions in Season 2, even though he's sorry, even though he never meant any harm, all he wants to do is make things right, and he just accepts it when everyone keeps him at a distance...for the rest of the series, pretty much. It's not like he's expelled from The Time Team, but he might as well have been. He's more or less demoted to a background position. Even into Season 4, characters are talking about how "far" Wyatt has come, and he says to Lucy that he hopes it isn't "awkward" for her to be around him. Like, guys? This was over two years ago now. Can we please move on? Can we please let Wyatt off the hook for this already? Because you seem to have totally forgiven Flynn for doing things that are arguably far worse? I didn't appreciate Rufus literally forgetting why he was angry with Wyatt in The Miracle of Christmas, but in The Fan-made Continuation...Rufus and Wyatt's friendship is never really the same after that. Between that and Flynn more or less becoming Rufus' new best friend, and Garcy being end-game...Flynn didn't really become the fourth member of the team, he basically usurped Wyatt's old position. Which is kind of depressing, and doesn't feel fair at all. Listen, Flynn's not exactly innocent himself. I love him, don't get me wrong, but he kidnapped Lucy and tried to have Rufus shot. I feel like that's worth as least as much as Wyatt choosing to trust his wife despite the red flags. Wyatt made mistakes, but they were well-intentioned and they're the kind of mistakes anyone could make.

I think Wyatt is a fine example of toxic masculinity. I think it's telling that he was raised by an abusive father, compared to Rufus and Flynn who were primarily raised by their mothers. I also don't think it's an accident that Wyatt is so obsessed with protecting the women in his life, but only the ones he feels a romantic connection with, and they're the only ones that he opens up to. I really love how the Continuation implies that his driving his father's car into the lake was a suicide attempt, and all of the other stuff it adds about his mother being a meth addict. Wyatt is such a tragic character and he's clearly in pain, but I think a lot of that pain comes from terrible lessons that he's imbibed from his upbringing. Mrs. Sherlock Holmes is easily his most obnoxious episode, because it really is rich that he thinks it's any of his business who Lucy dates, or that he's in any position to tell her off for it. Lucy handles the situation like a pro, as does Flynn. Both of them try to bring Wyatt back down to Earth but unfortunately, they're not especially successful. Chinatown also has the moment where, after Rufus dies and Jessica is gone, Wyatt tells Lucy he loves her. My god, not the time buddy, not the time. No, Rufus is not saying "about time" from the great beyond, he's face-palming. This is why I dislike the entire idea of having Jessica be Rittenhouse just so Wyatt is free to choose Lucy. That...has all kinds of problems. Wyatt should choose Lucy because he loves her, and realizing at this moment just doesn't convey that message.

I suspect the writers' intention was to redeem Wyatt in Season 3. I think the canon finale actually gave us several glimpses into what Season 3 would have been if it had been allowed to happen. Most notably, Flynn basically describes the Ly*tt subplot we would have gotten. He and Lucy kissing on the Titantic would have definitely been an episode, and them having a relationship that ultimately ends because Lucy still loves Wyatt, would have lasted at least six episodes or so. I can only hope that Jessica wouldn't have been shafted, nor her pregnancy ret-conned, though I suspect Flynn being her killer was always the plan, just that it didn't land well with how squished together it was. Anyway, Wyatt really had the potential to grow as a person and I love the moment between him and his future self where he decides that he's fighting for his child. I also love that last scene in The Recursion, between him and Jessica, how wistful and reflective it is, and "You always loved me more when I was gone." But even so, Wyatt felt like he was shunted off to being an afterthought in the continuation, when he was one of the lead characters. And in the canon finale, it felt like the story literally unwrote itself so that none of his mistakes ever happened, even though they did, and now the audience is just expected to forgive him when he has not earned it.

Because Wyatt wasn't ever a villain. He wasn't even an enemy. He was a friend to the heroes, he was one of them. But he became a real asshole in the second season, about his "Lucy/Jessica Soap Opera" as Rufus put it. He made all the wrong choices. He shouldn't be let off the hook so easily, but he should be given the chance to make it right, and then the characters should move on. I'm not saying Lucy has to wind up with him, either. I'm a Garcy fan myself. But Wyatt didn't exactly betray the team in ways that other characters haven't also done. Rufus spied on Lucy and Wyatt for Rittenhouse, and Connor was in their pocket for a while. Denise used Lucy as a pawn to backstab Flynn. See what I mean? The other characters get forgiven for crimes that are far worse. It just feels...well, I hate to say it, but I can really feel the writers' bias in both versions. Kripke and Ryan wanted a Ly*tt end-game, no matter what they had to do to get there. Meanwhile, QqueenofHades very clearly preferred Flynn to Wyatt.

[pastelwitchling]

hey if you're still taking prompts, how about alex being nervous about introducting forrest to his brothers, and greg at first being surprised because he thought he and michael were a thing but after alex tells him more of their history and how much michael and maria hurt him, he’s fully supportive of alex dating forrest and is glad that alex has someone who makes him happy? love your writing btw.

***

               “Don’t be nervous.”

               “I’m not nervous.”

               “You’ve fixed that collar three times already,” Alex said, trying very hard not to laugh as Forrest blushed in the passenger’s seat. “You’re nervous.”

               Forrest dropped his hands, fidgeting nervously with his rings instead. “Maybe we should go back. I need to change. I just realized I’m wearing way too much black. How could you not tell me I’m wearing this much black?”

               “I think you look sexy in black,” Alex said.

               “I’m meeting your family, Alex,” Forrest said. “Sexy is not the way to go when you meet your boyfriend’s family.”

               “You’ll have to forgive my lack of boyfriend etiquette then – I’ve never given a crap to what I look like around Wyatt Long.”

               “And that’s why I love you,” Forrest said. “But your family’s different.”

               “How come?”

               “Because I’ve met your friends, and they always give me a look like they can’t believe I’m still around,” he said dryly, and Alex’s smile dimmed. “I really don’t want to get that look from the other Manes men.”

               “And you won’t, okay?” Alex promised him. “I’ve already told my brothers all about you. I’m pretty sure the only thing that’ll startle them is if I show up with someone else. Now,” he covered Forrest’s hand with his own. “Are you ready?”

               Forrest was looking out the window, scanning Gregory’s home and the closed door, but his hand turned under Alex’s and gripped his fingers. “Uh…”

               “You know I’ll date you either way, right?” Alex teased. “If you don’t want to do this –”

               “What, so Alien Guy can say he’s met your brothers and I haven’t?” Forrest scoffed. “No. Nice try, Manes. I’m meetin’ ‘em.”

               This time Alex did laugh. “Well, you’ll see. They’ll love you as much as I do.”

               “And how much do you love me?” Forrest asked, brow raised.

               “Enough not to kiss you in front of my brother’s house,” Alex said as he leaned in to hover his lips above Forrest’s. And despite what he said, he did peck Forrest’s lips before moving back.

               “Okay,” Alex said. “Come on, let’s get through this together.”

               Alex saw Forrest visibly swallow and follow him out of the car. It was heartwarming, to see the guy who never feared anyone, who never seemed concerned about anything, actually look nervous to meet his boyfriend’s brothers. Alex tried not to read too much into it, but his heart couldn’t help but do a flip as he thought about being so precious to someone.

               Alex knocked on the front door, and instead of Gregory, Flint was the one who answered. He pressed his lips together in an awkward sort of smile at the sight of Alex, but when his eyes turned to Forrest, his lips pursed.

               “This him?” he asked, gesturing at Forrest with his chin.

               Alex’s shoulders fell. “I told you his name, Flint.”

               “I thought you were joking,” Flint confessed and turned his back on them as he went back inside. Alex and Forrest followed, and Alex closed the door behind them.

               “Greg!” Flint called. “Alex and his boyfriend are here!”

               “Was – uh – was that a good start?” Forrest said quietly when they were out of earshot.

               “From Flint?” Alex scoffed. “That was basically the red carpet.”

               “Alex? You here?” Clay emerged, his dark hair tousled as if he’d spent hours running his hand through it. A habit both he and Alex had picked up from their mom. “Hey, bro,” he said, engulfing Alex in a one-armed hug with a beer bottle in his other hand.

               “Clay,” Alex said and stood beside his boyfriend. “This is Forrest Long.”

               “Clay Manes,” Clay shook Forrest’s hand, brows furrowed as he took in the historian’s entire appearance. “You’re not what I expected a Long to look like.”

               “Yeah, well,” Forrest chuckled, and Alex was glad to hear a genuine relief in his voice when he spoke, “none of you are really what I expected Manes men to look like.”

               “Manes men,” Clay sighed. “There’s a phrase.” He patted Alex’s arm and gestured to the large open window at the back of the room. “Greg’s out back with the grill. Come on.”

               As they followed Clay, Alex nudged Forrest’s arm, raising a brow at him, silently asking how he was holding up. Forrest nodded as if he wasn’t at all worried, though Alex couldn’t miss the way he pressed their shoulders together as they stepped out into the backyard.

               “Oh hey,” Gregory said, smiling over his shoulder at Alex and Forrest, then doing a doubletake. “Oh… hey.”

               “You heard that, right?” Forrest muttered low enough for only Alex to hear as Gregory assigned the grill to Flint, and wiped his hands with a rag as he came up to them. “You heard that?”

               “Hey,” Gregory said and wrapped his arms around Alex for a tight hug before Alex could reassure his boyfriend of anything. When Gregory looked to Forrest, Alex was relieved to see his expression nothing short of kind and welcoming. “Hi, I’m Gregory, nice to meet you.”

               “Nice to meet you, too,” Forrest said, glancing at Alex. “Uh – if you need help with the grill, I’m pretty handy.”

               “Yeah?” Gregory clapped his shoulder. “Cool. Then can you – uh – take over from Flint? I love the guy, but he burns whatever he touches.”

               “I heard that!” Flint called.

               “Kind of the point!” Gregory called back and began to lead Alex back into the house. “We’ll be right back with some drinks.”

               The others waved them off, but Alex caught Forrest’s eyes before he was pulled inside. There was concern there, a jealous kind of concern that Forrest usually wore whenever the topic of conversation was about to turn into someone else. Alex wished he could promise him that he was going to come right back to him, but the door had already shut and Gregory was already talking.

               “He seems nice,” he said as he opened the fridge.

               Alex placed a hand on his hip and tilted his head. “Go ahead,” he said. “Whatever you want to say, better get it out now.”

               Gregory shrugged. “I wasn’t going to say anything.”

               Alex considered this. “Good.”

               “Except –”

               “There it is,” Alex chuckled, and Gregory huffed a smile.

               “It’s just that… I thought you and that cowboy guy – what’s his name? – Michael were a thing,” Gregory said. Alex couldn’t detect any judgement or critique in his voice; only concern for his brother’s happiness. “Is that over already?”

               Alex sighed and crossed his arms. “It was never really a thing to begin with. Not after he started dating Maria.”

               “Maria,” Gregory’s brows furrowed. “Like… Maria DeLuca? Your best friend Maria – that Maria? Wait, I…” he shook his head. “Your friends didn’t know you liked him?”

               “They knew,” Alex nodded slowly, considering how to best approach this conversation. He remembered a time when it used to kill him to talk about Michael and the way he’d chosen someone else because it was easier; the way he and everyone else had turned their backs on him because… well, he still didn’t really understand why. He guessed it was better not knowing than to just assume that he didn’t matter to these people that were meant to love him.

               But now, things were different. Now, Alex could tell Gregory how Michael had told him to come back only to go to Maria instead, and how Maria had promised him it had meant nothing (a blatant lie), then of Michael’s rejection of him because he was associated with too many painful memories – and the most it did was leave a sting in his chest.

               “What about the song?” Gregory asked at the end of it all. “The one you sang at Open Mic Night, I mean… that was about Guerin, wasn’t it? What’d he say to that?”

               “Nothing,” Alex shrugged, and oddly enough, he felt like he wanted to laugh. “He never stuck around to hear the rest of it.”

               Gregory shook his head. “Alex –”

               “It’s okay.”

               “He’s an asshole,” Gregory said. “I can’t believe I…” He pointed his beer bottle at the open window where Forrest was showing Clay and Flint how he grills the steaks, and asked, “What about him?”

               Alex laughed. “What about him?”

               “Is he good to you?” Gregory asked, and Alex smiled despite his red cheeks. “Because if he’s saying some of the crap Guerin’s said to you, then –”

               “Greg, look at me,” Alex said gently. “What do you think?”

               Gregory inhaled slowly as he took Alex in, and – slowly – the tension in his shoulders and the hard lines of his frown softened. “I think… I’m just relieved to know you’re done with macho cowboys.”

Alex scoffed. “As long as he doesn’t date any of my friends, he’s perfect.”

“Bar’s pretty low then.”

               “He’s also a poet.”

Gregory whistled appreciatively. “Nice touch.” He tilted his head at Forrest outside his window. “Well, hey, I like him.”

               Alex turned to look at Forrest as Gregory handed him two bottles, and as he watched his boyfriend laugh with his brothers, his heart expanded in his chest.

               “Yeah,” he said, his voice softer than he could help it being. “Me, too.”

***

A bit out of character, I know, but still fun.

[scorbleeo]

The Fosters Season 1 | TV Show Review

Teenager Callie Jacob is placed in a foster home with a lesbian couple and their blend of biological, adoptive, and foster children.

Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2262532/

Why this Show is not Perfect but Close Enough

I have been planning watching this show since the first time I heard about it, and that was years ago (possibly around the time season 2 was out). But like the tradition of yours truly, procrastination got the best of me and thus, I only began the show now.

Honestly speaking, as much as I was looking forward to watching The Fosters Season 1, I did not actually have high hopes because I tend to enjoy TV shows of other genres more than a realistic storyline. This show really took me by a huge surprise. It took a while for me to get used to it but after the first three or four episodes, I could confidently say I was hooked on it! Although there were still flaws, I really enjoyed some of the topics they discussed or focused on in the show. It’s definitely something I want my younger cousins (or anyone young) to watch; they will learn–immensely–from it and grow to be better, more empathetic adults.

Why do I say that? There’s normalcy in sexuality in the entire season. Even when we disregard the fact that Stef’s father had a hard time grasping the idea of his daughter being a lesbian, there’s still normalcy in all sexuality. For example, when Jude painted his nails (I know Callie was objective of it but let’s not think about that), and he was strongly supported by Lena and Mariana. Also, after Jude got ridiculed in school and removed his painted nails the next day, Connor showed his support by painting his nails to school! Nothing was mentioned about sexuality there and that’s what I meant by normalcy, because...whoever made the claim that painting nails is only for a specific sexuality or gender right?

I also particularly liked the part where Jude was confused about his own sexuality and had that little chat with Lena. I didn’t quite like how quickly Lena dismissed Jude’s suspicion as simply confusion but I understand why she did that. What I really appreciated was how Lena mentioned that they should not describe which sexuality is normal or not, that they should not use the term ‘normal’ in their discussion. Because that’s the truth.

Something else that the show did amazingly was teach us the lesson of giving forgiveness before the luxury of doing so is robbed from us. This was during Stef’s father’s passing. First of all, let me just say, that episode robbed me of so much tears! But, I digress. This episode really taught me so much about forgiving others. Using Stef’s case: She only saw that when she was younger, her father strongly objected of homosexuality, now that she’s older, her father still could not accept his own daughter’s sexuality. What she failed to see was her father’s efforts and own struggles to accept her sexuality. To Stef, it was either an acceptance or objection, there’s no in between. But that is not the case and there are always at least two sides to a story. So in future before we condemn someone or something, or decide whether we should or should not forgive, we really should try to understand where the other side is coming from first. Forgive, before it’s not even a choice anymore.

Moving on, I really need to praise Callie’s growth in this season. I have to admit, I really did not like her in the beginning. She refused to talk, refused to ask for help when help had been offered, and yet she complained about no one being there for her? Spoilt was what Callie was. But from the beginning of the season to the last episode of The Fosters Season 1, I saw a tremendous growth in her personality. Granted, there’s still plenty of room to grow but she’s finally not that annoying girl I was irritated by in the beginning anymore.

Can’t see that growth I’m talking about? I mean, just look at how she handled her relationship with Brandon, and then look at how Brandon dealt with it. Tell me you cannot see the difference there. Also, Callie’s relationship with Mariana? I love it when two girls with their differences come out closer than ever in the end.

All in all, I really enjoyed watching Callie mature. She went from only trusting Jude to having a family and so many friends she’s genuinely happy with. Plus, she’s lucky to have Wyatt as a friend. I don’t know what will happen in the future seasons but Wyatt’s an extremely good friend to Callie now. And for someone as flawed and damaged as Callie is, she needs the support she gets now.

I had almost forgot about him but I have to talk about Mike. This man... I have never once disliked him. I felt his pain every time it became evident in the show. And...I really wish for his sufferings to stop already. It’s not his fault he fell in love with someone who would never love him the same way he did. Yet, while Stef moved on happily with Lena and Brandon’s in an extremely loving family, nobody seemed to care that Mike’s not okay. Brandon blamed his father (and alcoholism) for everything and anything, and that pissed me off because Brandon does see that it’s not his father’s fault. Yes, alcoholism usually starts with the person making the decision to pick up a glass of alcohol but there are times when you cannot make the right decision at that moment. It’s like asking a fuming person to not spout a word of anger, just how is that possible? Even if the anger is not verbalised, that same anger floods the person’s head, mind and heart. So yes, I feel much pity for Mike and the lack of care towards his direction.

Because while care does not go towards him, he cares deeply for everybody else; starting from Lena and ending with Callie and Jude–two people who had absolutely no link to Mike yet. Here are some examples... 1. He escorted Mariana at her quinceanera when asked, without any further questions and whatnot. 2. When Jesus was thought to be meeting up with his biological mother, he also went to help find Jesus, that ultimately caused problems for his job. Yet, he never once blamed Jesus, never. 3. When Callie ran away so Stef and Lena had to go find her, he took responsibility to look after the rest of the kids. That was the episode I finally wholeheartedly love this character.

What I want is for Mike Foster to have a better future in the next four seasons. I’m praying I don’t get disappointed when I am done with the show...

As much as I love The Fosters Season 1, there were some things where I was frowning deeply on. Mentioned earlier on in the review, I really did not like how Brandon handled his relationship with Callie. I mean, I appreciated his sacrifice at the end of the season but during the middle, I was hella pissed! However, as pissed as I was, I did not like what happened to him at the ending of the season! Bullies...why are they still a thing? Seriously. And linked to Brandon, can I just say I hate Dina and everything about her? She’s definitely the most toxic person in The Fosters Season 1.

Something else I disliked was the way Jesus did Lexi dirty. I shall say first that I like Jesus with Emma more. But...when Lexi gave Jesus a way out of their relationship, I cannot help but like Lexi so much more than before. She did not do that once but twice! That girl gave Jesus a way out of the relationship twice and he still did her so dirty. The Foster boys in this show (apart from Mike) are really something else.

Overall, The Fosters Season 1 was an extremely enjoyable show. A show that one can binge on. I might have taken a break in the middle of the season but I still binged the show like nobody’s business when I was back to watching the show. Once again, I must stress how much I love the lessons taught in the show. I genuinely appreciate it.

PS: Am I the only one who thinks the Callie-Brandon storyline was redundant?

Rating: ★★★★☆

[mamacyno]

The Possibility of Love

When it’s Day 15 of #RenewTimeless watch and the Timeless Writers are kind enough to shower the fandom with deleted scenes, new fics happen.  That’s just the way life is.

Here’s my take on episodes 2x01 and 2x02 (including the deleted scene) from Wyatt’s perspective.  This was also partially inspired by the Lyatt Meta that I posted yesterday. (See shameless plug link here.)  Enjoy!

Also on AO3

GIF Credit: @lyattgifs

“You’re in love with Lucy.  Just admit it.”

Wyatt hears Rufus say the words, but his mind immediately rejects the suggestion.  This mission wasn’t about saving a woman he loved, it was about saving their teammate.  So, sure, saving the world sucks sometimes, but that’s the job.  And to do that job, they need their historian.  Still, his friend didn’t voluntary enlist for this life like he did, and he is genuinely sympathetic to Rufus’ situation.

“I’ll admit the road sucks,” he offers not wanting Rufus to dwell any longer on everything that was going wrong back in the present.  The mission isn’t over, yet, my friend.  We need to stay focused.

Hours later when they finally locate the Mothership, they stop in their tracks when they realize that Lucy, Emma and her mother are already there.  They quickly find cover behind some bushes and watch the three women heading toward the ship with a man on a gurney.

“Damn it,” Wyatt curses under his breath.  “There goes the plan of blowing it up.”  He studies the area between their hiding spot and the ship, calculating the best tactical options to spring his attack.  He suspects that only Emma is armed, but without knowing how much of a Rittenhouse true believer Lucy’s mother is, he doesn’t want to take any chances.

“Wyatt, look!” Rufus whispers nudging Wyatt hard.

Suddenly alert, Wyatt looks up.  His heart skips a beat when he sees Lucy standing between the muzzle of Emma’s gun and two nurses behind her.  What the hell is she doing? he asks himself immediately rushing from his hiding spot toward the scene.

Out of fear that taking a shot at Emma would result in Lucy or the nurses getting hit in the cross fire, Wyatt fights his soldier instincts and instead goes for the hostage option. Aiming his gun at the injured soldier’s head, he calls out to Emma, “I can.”

It takes everything in Wyatt’s body to keep calm when Emma grabs Lucy and points the gun at her head. Please be a good mother and tell Emma to let her go, he silently begs Carol as he doubles down on his gamble that this zombie on the gurney is more important to them than Lucy.

Wyatt finally exhales when Emma pushes Lucy toward them.  Mission accomplished.  He’s ready to tell the team to start backing away when Lucy begins pleading with her mother.  His heart breaks for her when Carol rejects Lucy’s entreaty to go with them, but he remains focused on getting them out of harm’s way, especially when Emma taunts her about Amy.

Wyatt follows Lucy and Rufus into the darkness regretting not going against his word and killing Emma then and there.  He only realizes later that he was afraid to, because then the secrets of what Emma meant about forever preventing Amy’s existence would die with her, and he couldn’t do that to Lucy.

 *******

Upon their return to the present, Wyatt hangs back near Lifeboat while Jiya and Agent Christopher help Lucy get settled in her and Jiya’s room.  He happily lets her shower first while he makes her a sandwich and cup of tea.  She didn’t say much on the walk back to the Lifeboat, but he could tell that she was thinner like she hadn’t eaten in weeks.  He could relate given that he himself had barely eaten or slept in the past six weeks.  But that was over now.  The team was back, and they would need their strength.  He can’t help but smile as he takes a bite of his own sandwich en route to his room to get ready for his shower.

He passes Lucy walking out of the bathroom.  She’s wearing sweats that are much too big for her which only further emphasizes her smaller frame.   Her damp hair leaves wet spots on her shoulders, but the hollow look on her face shows that she doesn’t care.  Wyatt immediately recognizes the numbness with which she moves. He’s seen it a million times as his fellow soldiers return from battle.  Confident that he’ll be able to get her over the hump once again, he tells her that he made her something to eat, and that it’s waiting for her in the kitchen along with a cup of hot tea.  She gives him a weak smile and appreciative nod, but she continues walking silently toward her room.

After his own shower, Wyatt dresses quickly to check on Lucy.  He heads straight to the kitchen and finds the food he left for her untouched and the tea cold.  Sighing, he picks up the mug of tea and walks to the sink to dump it out.  Rufus walks by on his way to join the others near the computer console. Not wanting the food to go to waste, he offers it to Rufus, who immediately accepts it with a muffled “thanks” after taking a huge bite of the sandwich.

Wyatt nods back at him and walks in the other direction in search of Lucy.  He finds her standing in her room looking completely lost in her surroundings.

“It’s not exactly what you were expecting to come home to, huh?” he says from the doorway.

When she tells him that she wasn’t expecting to come home at all, he immediately becomes concerned.  That’s not the reaction he expected.  Most soldiers, including prisoners of war, are relieved that their hopes of coming home have come true, and rarely do they admit that they had ever given up hope.  

He takes a seat across from her and listens to her confession to killing an innocent man that day. He assures her, as he would a fellow soldier-in-arms that survival means making difficult choices.  She laments how she lost hope thinking that he and Rufus were dead.  In a lapse of better judgment, he asks Lucy if she’s sure that her mother wouldn’t have let Emma kill her, and through her reaction he is once again reminded that in this team he is the only true soldier.  Not only was he trained to be physically tough, but emotionally, too, and he regrets forgetting that as he watches Lucy break down before him.

Wyatt rushes to her side to comfort his teammate and friend.  Remembering how he never gave up hope that she was alive, he offers a promise that fueled him for the past six weeks.

“You haven’t lost me.”

He holds her tighter as her body shakes and heaves and tears threaten to fall down her face.  He’s willing to stay by her side all night until the tears stop and all memory of her willingness to die for their mission fades. He is surprised to feel her hand on his neck and cheek.  The sensation makes him suddenly conscious of the feel of her forehead and hair against the other side of his face.  He hadn’t realized their faces were so close to each other.  He feels her pull head away slightly, and he looks down to try and get a glimpse of her eyes to see what she’s thinking.  

In the time that they’ve known each other, they have developed a level of understanding.  They can communicate through their eyes and how they say each other’s names when they call out to each other in panicked moments or otherwise. But they have not yet learned to communicate through touch, so the sensation is confusing to him.

He looks down, but he can’t see into her eyes, because they are looking at his mouth.  He takes a breath and finds himself looking at her mouth as well.  Her hand continues to rub his neck pulling him incrementally closer to her now parted lips.  Unsure that she herself is aware of what is happening, he looks up once again searching for her eyes, but they are now closed.  In the nanoseconds that follow, Wyatt questions if this is what she really wants.  He knows he wants it, but he doesn’t want to take advantage of her compromised emotional state.

Before he can give in though, the decision is made for them when Jiya appears in the doorway.  He and Lucy immediately pull apart, but he keeps his arms around her, rubbing her bicep reminding her that he won’t leave her. They look at each other briefly before standing up to follow Jiya to rejoin the others.

A few hours later after the team finishes speculating further on Rittenhouse’s plans and just how many sleeper agents they have left scattered in history, Agent Christopher leaves for home and, Connor retreats to his room in the supply closet with a bottle that he thinks no one sees.  

Jiya and Rufus suggest watching a movie to help get their minds off of the doom and gloom talk of Rittenhouse sleeper agents changing the course of history without their knowledge. Lucy understandably declines and retreats to her room for some rest.  Wyatt resists the urge to follow her and offers to make the popcorn while Rufus and Jiya argue over which movie to select.

Halfway through the film Wyatt begins to feel like a fifth wheel as the movie’s main characters share a passionate kiss and the two lovebirds on the loveseat beside him snuggle closer.  Wyatt stands up with an exaggerated stretch and tells the others he’s going to turn in for the night.

As he walks down the hallway toward his room, Wyatt thinks of Lucy, who hasn’t left his mind since their almost kiss. He feels his heart warm as he remembers the feel of her breath on his mouth and the anticipation of what was meant to come next.  

But was it really meant to happen? He asks himself.  He can’t deny that his feelings for Lucy are growing, but he refuses to let his mind even consider the possibility that it’s mutual.  He’s a broken human being, she’s not, or at least, she wasn’t.  His heart aches remembering how desperate Lucy became while she was held prisoner. She was practically suicidal, and he will never forgive Carol Preston for bringing her daughter to that point.  

In that moment he swears to himself that now that his mission to save Lucy was successful, his next will be to save her from following the same dark path he has gone down. He shudders at the thought of her becoming as reckless and closed off as he is.  She’s better than that.  She deserves more than that.

He stops walking and finds himself a few feet from the doorway to Lucy’s room having walked past Rufus’ and his own while deep in thought.  He’s about to make a U-turn when he notices under her closed door that her light is still on.  Just looking in the direction of her room reminds him of what transpired earlier that day.  He lifts his hand to the left side of his neck recalling the feel of her soft skin and the smell of her hair.  He wonders if he imagined the urgency with which she pulled his face toward hers.  

There’s one way to find out, he tells himself as he walks swiftly to the door and knocks softly before opening the door louder than he intended.  He stops himself from calling out her name as soon as he sees her sleeping form lying on her cot.  He exhales a deep sigh, grateful that she’s getting some sleep which she needs as desperately as she needs food.  

He can see in the dim light that she has kicked off her covers or was perhaps too tired to pull them up over herself.  Feeling a draft in the room, he walks up to her bedside to pull her bedsheet over her body. Seeing her sleeping peacefully fills him with calm and hope that she will soon be back to her old self.  He bends down to take a closer look at the face that he’s missed for six weeks.  He gently brushes a stray hair from her forehead and leans down to press his lips to her brow.  

This small act confirms for him that she is in fact here within his reach.  He hopes that knowing she’s just down the hallway will help him to finally get a full night’s rest himself. But he knows that the thoughts that threaten to keep him up tonight will be visions of what would have happened between them had Jiya not walked into the room.

Deep down he hopes he didn’t imagine the want he interpreted in her movements, but he worries what it could mean if there’s even a chance that she wants the same thing that he does.

Rising to exit the room he remembers what Flynn read to him from Lucy’s journal back in that dusty hotel room in 1972:

“Wyatt’s obsessed with his wife’s death.  He needs to let go, move on.”

After failing to save Jessica last year, Wyatt began to come to terms once again with the fact that there was nothing he could do to erase the guilt he carried for causing his wife’s death.  He cursed himself for giving into false hope that having a time machine at his disposal could change that.  It took over half a decade, but he has finally reached the final stage of grief and accepts her death.  He would even go so far as to say that he’s no longer “obsessed” with it either.  Yet knowing how he failed to love and protect her the way she deserved will forever haunt him.  

But he knows he can protect Lucy – and Rufus, and for now, that’s enough.  Any possibilities of love in his future will take a backseat to making sure that Lucy is okay and able to recover from whatever hell her mother and Rittenhouse put her through.

 *******

A few days later Wyatt sees Lucy lying on the uncomfortable sofa in the common area reading pages from the Rittenhouse manifesto they found in 1919.  With Rufus and Jiya in the hangar busily working on the Lifeboat and Agent Christopher and Connor sitting near the computer console, he decides to take a chance at getting Lucy to talk to help her get over this particular hump.

Wyatt had asked Jiya during breakfast how well Lucy seemed to be adjusting to being back and these rather unique living quarters.  She told him in confidence that she could tell that Lucy wasn’t sleeping even though she was trying hard to hide it.  Jiya explained that she is naturally a light sleeper, and every time she turned to her side, she could see her roommate lying on her back with her hands folded across her abdomen and staring at the ceiling.  

Feeling only slightly guilty for breaking this confidence, Wyatt uses the information to try to coax Lucy to tell him what happened to her while she was held prisoner.  He is hesitant to hear the full story, because he knows it will only cause the anger to rise in him, but he had made the promise to himself to help in Lucy’s recovery.  

He attempts the same counseling techniques used by all of the shrinks that talked to him upon his return from the Middle East.  He validates the concern with facts.  He reminds her that it’s the team’s worry and concern that is driving the question.   She, however, is not on board with this plan, and she reacts the same way that he did once upon a time.  She dismisses the subject, stands up and walks away.  

That’s our stubborn professor, he remarks to himself, but before he can follow her, the Mothership alarm blares throughout the bunker.

A few minutes later when she suggests going to Flynn for help with finding out what Rittenhouse is doing in 1955 South Carolina, Wyatt becomes convinced that she is still courting danger.  Eventually everyone accepts the fact that she’s right, because she is.  There are no better ideas available to them, and Wyatt can’t help but to admire her resolve in convincing them.  And there’s our bossy know-it-all, he thinks feeling slightly relieved to see some signs of the Lucy he thought they lost.

*******

When they arrive at the race track in Darlington, Wyatt can’t contain his excitement.  He knows his fanboying is distracting them from the mission, but he honestly can’t help himself.  He also doesn’t’ miss the humorous reaction in Lucy’s face while she watches him gush and fawn over the cars.  If this temporary break from being the mission-focused soldier brings that smile he misses back to her face, it’s completely worth it.  

This is by far Wyatt’s favorite mission.  Finally, they have travelled to a time and place where he gets a chance to meet his childhood heroes not to mention walk among a sea of genuine stock cars.  He even gets to impress Rufus and Lucy for once with his history knowledge.  So, this is what it feels like to be the brains on a mission, he chuckles to himself.  But it’s not just NASCAR history that he shares with the team, but inadvertently his own personal history.  First about his misspent youth as a teenage bootlegger and then the story of his tumultuous past with his father.  

With the exception of the time he told Lucy about his Grandpa Sherwin, Wyatt never voluntarily talks about his past.  It’s not that he’s trying to keep secrets from anyone, it’s more that he believes personal stories like those have a time and a place.  He knows why he opened up to Lucy about his grandfather, but he’s not exactly sure why he felt compelled to tell Wendell about his past.  Perhaps it was a tactical move to build a rapport with their new ally, but he’s sure it was more than that.  After years of trying and failing to prove to his father that he was worthy of his love, Wyatt had begun to look back on those years learning how to fix cars as a waste of time and effort.  To finally have someone appreciate and admire his skills was like finally hearing his old man say the “Good job, son” that he longed to hear as a kid.  

Hiding in the cramped trunk of a bootlegger’s car, however, wasn’t exactly what he had in mind as his reward for fixing Old Rusty.  But at least they were heading in the right direction to finish their mission.

Wyatt’s protective instincts piqued again when he noticed Lucy’s uneven breathing, but that didn’t stop him from teasing her a bit to try to get her to relax and loosen up.  Recalling how his embrace seemed to comfort her before, Wyatt offers to let her hold on to him again.  There is no hidden agenda in his offer, but as he breathes in the smell of her shampoo once again and feels her warm skin on his neck, it takes effort on his part to keep his own breathing even.

“Is all that stuff you said about your dad true?” she asks.

Wyatt tries to beg off the question with a silent exhalation. As Lucy continues talking, he quickly realizes she’s not asking him for more details, but rather seeking advice for how to deal with her own parental issues.  Knowing how his relationship with his dad affected nearly every decision he made for years, he feels compelled to be open and honest with Lucy in hopes to spare her the pain that he endured alone.  

He tells her that pretending that he didn’t love and admire him was futile, because it wasn’t true. A child will always love their parent even if the parent doesn’t love them in return or does something unforgiving like hit them or kidnap them.  He tells her that it’s natural to blame yourself for the lack of love you receive in return.  But the most important thing he tells her is that once you know for sure that you’re not to blame, it’s okay to move on.  “Nothing ahead but the open road.”

They feel the car slow to a stop signaling that they have arrived back at the track, and it’s critical that they remain quiet and still.  As they lay there still holding each other even though there are no more potholes and bumps in the road, Wyatt focuses on the conversation happening on the other side of the metal chassis.  His mind wanders slightly as he admires Lucy’s strength and resilience in the aftermath of being kidnapped by her mother.  It took him decades to get over his father, and here less than two months later, Lucy is showing signs that she is able to begin to move forward and leave her past in the past.

I could learn something from her, he tells himself as his words about the “open road” echo inside his mind.  Maybe there’s an open road ahead of me, too. Ahead of us even.  

He is literally shaken from this thought as Old Rusty lurches forward, and he rolls atop of Lucy. With the tension of being discovered gone, they both laugh heartily. As their bodies still, he feels a familiar pull on his neck.  It’s not as firm as the last time, but rather a gentle, coaxing pull as if offering him the option to resist without hurting her feelings.  The thought of pulling back never crosses as his mind as he instead turns toward her so that he can look into her eyes.  This time he wants to be sure that this is what she wants, he needs to be sure, because if he wasn’t expecting the car to lurch just seconds ago, he definitely wasn’t expecting this.

Lucy moves her hand to gently caress his cheek.  She returns his gaze confirming the silent wish in his heart.  Assured that this what they both want, he leans in, and their lips part.  

And then they are both blinded as light streams into their private sanctum.

 *******

Back in the present, Lucy walks into the kitchen area running her fingers through her still damp hair. She finds Wyatt sitting at a table staring at a laptop screen with his back turned to her.  She clears her throat as she approaches and sees that he is scrolling through a Wikipedia page about Wendell Scott.

“Shower should be free shortly,” she tells him.  “I think Rufus is just changing his bandage.”

“Mmmhmm,” he mumbles.

“What’s wrong?” she asks taking a seat in the chair beside him.

“Nothing,” he says looking up at her pushing the laptop toward the middle of the table.  “I just hoped that history might have changed for the better for Wendell after we left.”

“I’m sorry,” she offers. “I’m afraid it will take more than one NASCAR racer to change hearts and minds in the south in the 1950s.”

Wyatt nods leaning back in his chair with a frustrated expression on his face.  He puts his hands on the edge of the table top to push his chair out so he can head to the showers. Before he can stand, however, Lucy places her hand over his.

“Wyatt?”

He sits back down turning his hand so that he can enclose hers in his.  He looks at her but doesn’t say a word.

She glances down at their hands, and he can see a faint blush rise to her perfect cheeks.  He uses his free hand to place his fingers under her chin and tip her face up to look into his eyes.

“What is it, Lucy?”

She smiles and nervously tucks her hair behind her ear with her own free hand.  “It’s just that we’ve had a couple of – umm – close encounters, if you will,” she begins, “and I couldn’t help but notice that you seemed – umm -- hesitant.”

Wyatt returns her smile and with his hand still under her chin, he leans toward her.  “I just want to be sure that this is what you really want,” he whispers to her.

She gives an almost imperceptible nod in reply and meets his lips with hers.

The feel of her lips on his is more liberating than he had anticipated.  It’s as if suddenly all of his doubts that he could love again and fears that he was worthy of love from someone as perfect as Lucy Preston dissipates in the air around them.

As Wyatt moves his hand to reposition it so he can pull her closer to him, the door alarm sounds triggering an immediate reaction for them to separate without a single body part touching any longer.  

They both listen closely as they hear Connor and Agent Christopher’s voices approach from the entrance.  Recognizing that they are about to be rudely interrupted yet again, they exchange frustrated smiles once more and burst out laughing.

“One day,” he promises.

“One day,” she agrees. 

[thebooksbesideme]

The Sunrise at Normandy Series by Sarah Sundin 

Three brothers tied together by a fateful night that changed each of their lives forever. Each swears they cannot be forgive or cannot forgive. It takes a war to make each brother face up to the past and make his peace.

The Sea Before Us

Lieutenant Wyatt Paxton did something he swears is unforgivable. He might as well have killed Oralee himself in his brother’s eyes, then he stole Clay’s money to get away. It weighs heavy on his heart how he treated his beloved younger brothers. He meets a Wren, Dorothy Fairfax, who he becomes fast friends with when she asks for his help and Wyatt is only too glad to be helpful.  Dorothy struggles since the loss of her mother and both of her brothers. Her father is a shell of a man, she’s turned her back on her faith. Everything would be so much better if she could convince Lawrence that she’s not silly Dolly with the extra weight and many freckles... wouldn’t it?

A beautiful story of redemption and how sometimes you need somebody to tell you how it is rather than what you want to hear. I enjoyed reading about Wyatt and Dorothy’s relationship a lot but I also really appreciate that Sarah doesn’t allow romance to carry the entire plot. The levels of mystery in this story and trying to piece together who is stealing from Mr Fairfax’s company is brilliant - and you’ll never work it out but you’ll kick yourself when you find out with all the clever clues, it’s perfect!

The Sky Above Us

Lieutenant Adler Paxton ran away from home as his mama held a shot gun to keep his baby brother from killing him. After losing his sweetheart, Oralee, in such horrendous circumstances, he believes he’s missed his chance at love - especially after that night. He rescues Violet Lindstrom from a fellow pilot in his company, he hopes her job with the Red Cross will lead her far away from him and his destructive ways. Violet has always dreamed of becoming a missionary, serving and suffering for God - after all, that was the dream she shared with her former beau. She wouldn’t have to be looking after these entitled and coarse pilots if he hadn’t have abandoned their dream after college. Great aunt Violet reminds her not to fall for a serviceman, they’ll distract her from the cause. But Adler Paxton is just too tempting.

As the darker backstory in the trilogy, I was curious to meet Adler and Sarah handled his character beautifully. He was flawed and angry, but also sweet and a charmer. Again, Sarah weaves a mystery into the plot as rations begin to go missing. You suspect it has been solved fairly early on in the novel however a twist throws you off! I was a bit disappointed that Adler magically left the beach and reappeared on base. I would have loved to read more about his fight to return to the UK rather than hear it as a story. But what I did enjoy was that the ending built on The Sea Before Us, bringing Wyatt and Adler together at last as well as introducing Violet and Dorothy. 

The Land Beneath Us

Private Clay Paxton has a two-brother-sized chip on his shoulder. His older siblings did him wrong all those years ago: Wyatt stole his education and Alder stole the only girl he thought he could love. He should have been a doctor but with no money, he volunteers to join the Rangers. While he’s still bitter, he meets Leah Jones, one of the base’s librarians. He saves Leah from a terrible attack then saves her once again when the threat of the only thing that was every truly hers might be torn away. He marries Leah as one of his last acts of goodness and goes to war with the intention of never coming back. Clay has had a reoccurring dream that nobody believes holds the same significance as he does - he will die saving his fellow soldiers. Leah Jones is pining for a family she struggles to remember. Her parents died tragically, leaving her to grow up in a home until she was adopted then abandoned by a couple with no clues about her twin sisters they left behind. She’s desperate to belong and wants to care about abandoned things like her - that’s why she stole things growing up. The doll that was left out in the rain, the ribbon so carelessly left behind - she never knew that it was a secret that would haunt her for this long. I am very happy to admit I finished this book in an afternoon - the writing is so easy to get into and you find yourself joining Clay on the front, hoping he won’t leave Leah alone again. Your heart bleeds for lost and lonely Leah as she hunts for her little sisters, travelling to orphanages with Clay’s mama to try and find them but without knowing her true surname, you find yourself part of the mystery. With this being the final book, it ties together the three books very nicely. I really want more from these brothers, years later when they’re more settled in their lives!

Thank you to Baker Publishing Group for copies of these books. These opinions are my own.  

[what-is-sibling-test]

from 'RittenhouseTL' for all things Timeless https://ift.tt/2LMjc1w via Istudy world

mamacyno: The Possibility of Love When it’s Day 15 of #RenewTimeless watch and the Timeless Writers...

The Possibility of Love

When it’s Day 15 of #RenewTimeless watch and the Timeless Writers are kind enough to shower the fandom with deleted scenes, new fics happen.  That’s just the way life is.

Here’s my take on episodes 2x01 and 2x02 (including the deleted scene) from Wyatt’s perspective.  This was also partially inspired by the Lyatt Meta that I posted yesterday. (See shameless plug link here.)  Enjoy!

Also on AO3

GIF Credit: @lyattgifs

“You’re in love with Lucy.  Just admit it.”

Wyatt hears Rufus say the words, but his mind immediately rejects the suggestion.  This mission wasn’t about saving a woman he loved, it was about saving their teammate.  So, sure, saving the world sucks sometimes, but that’s the job.  And to do that job, they need their historian.  Still, his friend didn’t voluntary enlist for this life like he did, and he is genuinely sympathetic to Rufus’ situation.

“I’ll admit the road sucks,” he offers not wanting Rufus to dwell any longer on everything that was going wrong back in the present.  The mission isn’t over, yet, my friend.  We need to stay focused.

Hours later when they finally locate the Mothership, they stop in their tracks when they realize that Lucy, Emma and her mother are already there.  They quickly find cover behind some bushes and watch the three women heading toward the ship with a man on a gurney.

“Damn it,” Wyatt curses under his breath.  “There goes the plan of blowing it up.”  He studies the area between their hiding spot and the ship, calculating the best tactical options to spring his attack.  He suspects that only Emma is armed, but without knowing how much of a Rittenhouse true believer Lucy’s mother is, he doesn’t want to take any chances.

“Wyatt, look!” Rufus whispers nudging Wyatt hard.

Suddenly alert, Wyatt looks up.  His heart skips a beat when he sees Lucy standing between the muzzle of Emma’s gun and two nurses behind her.  What the hell is she doing? he asks himself immediately rushing from his hiding spot toward the scene.

Out of fear that taking a shot at Emma would result in Lucy or the nurses getting hit in the cross fire, Wyatt fights his soldier instincts and instead goes for the hostage option. Aiming his gun at the injured soldier’s head, he calls out to Emma, “I can.”

It takes everything in Wyatt’s body to keep calm when Emma grabs Lucy and points the gun at her head. Please be a good mother and tell Emma to let her go, he silently begs Carol as he doubles down on his gamble that this zombie on the gurney is more important to them than Lucy.

Wyatt finally exhales when Emma pushes Lucy toward them.  Mission accomplished.  He’s ready to tell the team to start backing away when Lucy begins pleading with her mother.  His heart breaks for her when Carol rejects Lucy’s entreaty to go with them, but he remains focused on getting them out of harm’s way, especially when Emma taunts her about Amy.

Wyatt follows Lucy and Rufus into the darkness regretting not going against his word and killing Emma then and there.  He only realizes later that he was afraid to, because then the secrets of what Emma meant about forever preventing Amy’s existence would die with her, and he couldn’t do that to Lucy.

*******

Upon their return to the present, Wyatt hangs back near Lifeboat while Jiya and Agent Christopher help Lucy get settled in her and Jiya’s room.  He happily lets her shower first while he makes her a sandwich and cup of tea.  She didn’t say much on the walk back to the Lifeboat, but he could tell that she was thinner like she hadn’t eaten in weeks.  He could relate given that he himself had barely eaten or slept in the past six weeks.  But that was over now.  The team was back, and they would need their strength.  He can’t help but smile as he takes a bite of his own sandwich en route to his room to get ready for his shower.

He passes Lucy walking out of the bathroom.  She’s wearing sweats that are much too big for her which only further emphasizes her smaller frame.   Her damp hair leaves wet spots on her shoulders, but the hollow look on her face shows that she doesn’t care.  Wyatt immediately recognizes the numbness with which she moves. He’s seen it a million times as his fellow soldiers return from battle.  Confident that he’ll be able to get her over the hump once again, he tells her that he made her something to eat, and that it’s waiting for her in the kitchen along with a cup of hot tea.  She gives him a weak smile and appreciative nod, but she continues walking silently toward her room.

After his own shower, Wyatt dresses quickly to check on Lucy.  He heads straight to the kitchen and finds the food he left for her untouched and the tea cold.  Sighing, he picks up the mug of tea and walks to the sink to dump it out.  Rufus walks by on his way to join the others near the computer console. Not wanting the food to go to waste, he offers it to Rufus, who immediately accepts it with a muffled “thanks” after taking a huge bite of the sandwich.

Wyatt nods back at him and walks in the other direction in search of Lucy.  He finds her standing in her room looking completely lost in her surroundings.

“It’s not exactly what you were expecting to come home to, huh?” he says from the doorway.

When she tells him that she wasn’t expecting to come home at all, he immediately becomes concerned.  That’s not the reaction he expected.  Most soldiers, including prisoners of war, are relieved that their hopes of coming home have come true, and rarely do they admit that they had ever given up hope.  

He takes a seat across from her and listens to her confession to killing an innocent man that day. He assures her, as he would a fellow soldier-in-arms that survival means making difficult choices.  She laments how she lost hope thinking that he and Rufus were dead.  In a lapse of better judgment, he asks Lucy if she’s sure that her mother wouldn’t have let Emma kill her, and through her reaction he is once again reminded that in this team he is the only true soldier.  Not only was he trained to be physically tough, but emotionally, too, and he regrets forgetting that as he watches Lucy break down before him.

Wyatt rushes to her side to comfort his teammate and friend.  Remembering how he never gave up hope that she was alive, he offers a promise that fueled him for the past six weeks.

“You haven’t lost me.”

He holds her tighter as her body shakes and heaves and tears threaten to fall down her face.  He’s willing to stay by her side all night until the tears stop and all memory of her willingness to die for their mission fades. He is surprised to feel her hand on his neck and cheek.  The sensation makes him suddenly conscious of the feel of her forehead and hair against the other side of his face.  He hadn’t realized their faces were so close to each other.  He feels her pull head away slightly, and he looks down to try and get a glimpse of her eyes to see what she’s thinking.  

In the time that they’ve known each other, they have developed a level of understanding.  They can communicate through their eyes and how they say each other’s names when they call out to each other in panicked moments or otherwise. But they have not yet learned to communicate through touch, so the sensation is confusing to him.

He looks down, but he can’t see into her eyes, because they are looking at his mouth.  He takes a breath and finds himself looking at her mouth as well.  Her hand continues to rub his neck pulling him incrementally closer to her now parted lips.  Unsure that she herself is aware of what is happening, he looks up once again searching for her eyes, but they are now closed.  In the nanoseconds that follow, Wyatt questions if this is what she really wants.  He knows he wants it, but he doesn’t want to take advantage of her compromised emotional state.

Before he can give in though, the decision is made for them when Jiya appears in the doorway.  He and Lucy immediately pull apart, but he keeps his arms around her, rubbing her bicep reminding her that he won’t leave her. They look at each other briefly before standing up to follow Jiya to rejoin the others.

A few hours later after the team finishes speculating further on Rittenhouse’s plans and just how many sleeper agents they have left scattered in history, Agent Christopher leaves for home and, Connor retreats to his room in the supply closet with a bottle that he thinks no one sees.  

Jiya and Rufus suggest watching a movie to help get their minds off of the doom and gloom talk of Rittenhouse sleeper agents changing the course of history without their knowledge. Lucy understandably declines and retreats to her room for some rest.  Wyatt resists the urge to follow her and offers to make the popcorn while Rufus and Jiya argue over which movie to select.

Halfway through the film Wyatt begins to feel like a fifth wheel as the movie’s main characters share a passionate kiss and the two lovebirds on the loveseat beside him snuggle closer.  Wyatt stands up with an exaggerated stretch and tells the others he’s going to turn in for the night.

As he walks down the hallway toward his room, Wyatt thinks of Lucy, who hasn’t left his mind since their almost kiss. He feels his heart warm as he remembers the feel of her breath on his mouth and the anticipation of what was meant to come next.  

But was it really meant to happen? He asks himself.  He can’t deny that his feelings for Lucy are growing, but he refuses to let his mind even consider the possibility that it’s mutual.  He’s a broken human being, she’s not, or at least, she wasn’t.  His heart aches remembering how desperate Lucy became while she was held prisoner. She was practically suicidal, and he will never forgive Carol Preston for bringing her daughter to that point.  

In that moment he swears to himself that now that his mission to save Lucy was successful, his next will be to save her from following the same dark path he has gone down. He shudders at the thought of her becoming as reckless and closed off as he is.  She’s better than that.  She deserves more than that.

He stops walking and finds himself a few feet from the doorway to Lucy’s room having walked past Rufus’ and his own while deep in thought.  He’s about to make a U-turn when he notices under her closed door that her light is still on.  Just looking in the direction of her room reminds him of what transpired earlier that day.  He lifts his hand to the left side of his neck recalling the feel of her soft skin and the smell of her hair.  He wonders if he imagined the urgency with which she pulled his face toward hers.  

There’s one way to find out, he tells himself as he walks swiftly to the door and knocks softly before opening the door louder than he intended.  He stops himself from calling out her name as soon as he sees her sleeping form lying on her cot.  He exhales a deep sigh, grateful that she’s getting some sleep which she needs as desperately as she needs food.  

He can see in the dim light that she has kicked off her covers or was perhaps too tired to pull them up over herself.  Feeling a draft in the room, he walks up to her bedside to pull her bedsheet over her body. Seeing her sleeping peacefully fills him with calm and hope that she will soon be back to her old self.  He bends down to take a closer look at the face that he’s missed for six weeks.  He gently brushes a stray hair from her forehead and leans down to press his lips to her brow.  

This small act confirms for him that she is in fact here within his reach.  He hopes that knowing she’s just down the hallway will help him to finally get a full night’s rest himself. But he knows that the thoughts that threaten to keep him up tonight will be visions of what would have happened between them had Jiya not walked into the room.

Deep down he hopes he didn’t imagine the want he interpreted in her movements, but he worries what it could mean if there’s even a chance that she wants the same thing that he does.

Rising to exit the room he remembers what Flynn read to him from Lucy’s journal back in that dusty hotel room in 1972:

“Wyatt’s obsessed with his wife’s death.  He needs to let go, move on.”

After failing to save Jessica last year, Wyatt began to come to terms once again with the fact that there was nothing he could do to erase the guilt he carried for causing his wife’s death.  He cursed himself for giving into false hope that having a time machine at his disposal could change that.  It took over half a decade, but he has finally reached the final stage of grief and accepts her death.  He would even go so far as to say that he’s no longer “obsessed” with it either.  Yet knowing how he failed to love and protect her the way she deserved will forever haunt him.  

But he knows he can protect Lucy – and Rufus, and for now, that’s enough.  Any possibilities of love in his future will take a backseat to making sure that Lucy is okay and able to recover from whatever hell her mother and Rittenhouse put her through.

*******

A few days later Wyatt sees Lucy lying on the uncomfortable sofa in the common area reading pages from the Rittenhouse manifesto they found in 1919.  With Rufus and Jiya in the hangar busily working on the Lifeboat and Agent Christopher and Connor sitting near the computer console, he decides to take a chance at getting Lucy to talk to help her get over this particular hump.

Wyatt had asked Jiya during breakfast how well Lucy seemed to be adjusting to being back and these rather unique living quarters.  She told him in confidence that she could tell that Lucy wasn’t sleeping even though she was trying hard to hide it.  Jiya explained that she is naturally a light sleeper, and every time she turned to her side, she could see her roommate lying on her back with her hands folded across her abdomen and staring at the ceiling.  

Feeling only slightly guilty for breaking this confidence, Wyatt uses the information to try to coax Lucy to tell him what happened to her while she was held prisoner.  He is hesitant to hear the full story, because he knows it will only cause the anger to rise in him, but he had made the promise to himself to help in Lucy’s recovery.  

He attempts the same counseling techniques used by all of the shrinks that talked to him upon his return from the Middle East.  He validates the concern with facts.  He reminds her that it’s the team’s worry and concern that is driving the question.   She, however, is not on board with this plan, and she reacts the same way that he did once upon a time.  She dismisses the subject, stands up and walks away.  

That’s our stubborn professor, he remarks to himself, but before he can follow her, the Mothership alarm blares throughout the bunker.

A few minutes later when she suggests going to Flynn for help with finding out what Rittenhouse is doing in 1955 South Carolina, Wyatt becomes convinced that she is still courting danger.  Eventually everyone accepts the fact that she’s right, because she is.  There are no better ideas available to them, and Wyatt can’t help but to admire her resolve in convincing them.  And there’s our bossy know-it-all, he thinks feeling slightly relieved to see some signs of the Lucy he thought they lost.

*******

When they arrive at the race track in Darlington, Wyatt can’t contain his excitement.  He knows his fanboying is distracting them from the mission, but he honestly can’t help himself.  He also doesn’t’ miss the humorous reaction in Lucy’s face while she watches him gush and fawn over the cars.  If this temporary break from being the mission-focused soldier brings that smile he misses back to her face, it’s completely worth it.  

This is by far Wyatt’s favorite mission.  Finally, they have travelled to a time and place where he gets a chance to meet his childhood heroes not to mention walk among a sea of genuine stock cars.  He even gets to impress Rufus and Lucy for once with his history knowledge.  So, this is what it feels like to be the brains on a mission, he chuckles to himself.  But it’s not just NASCAR history that he shares with the team, but inadvertently his own personal history.  First about his misspent youth as a teenage bootlegger and then the story of his tumultuous past with his father.  

With the exception of the time he told Lucy about his Grandpa Sherwin, Wyatt never voluntarily talks about his past.  It’s not that he’s trying to keep secrets from anyone, it’s more that he believes personal stories like those have a time and a place.  He knows why he opened up to Lucy about his grandfather, but he’s not exactly sure why he felt compelled to tell Wendell about his past.  Perhaps it was a tactical move to build a rapport with their new ally, but he’s sure it was more than that.  After years of trying and failing to prove to his father that he was worthy of his love, Wyatt had begun to look back on those years learning how to fix cars as a waste of time and effort.  To finally have someone appreciate and admire his skills was like finally hearing his old man say the “Good job, son” that he longed to hear as a kid.  

Hiding in the cramped trunk of a bootlegger’s car, however, wasn’t exactly what he had in mind as his reward for fixing Old Rusty.  But at least they were heading in the right direction to finish their mission.

Wyatt’s protective instincts piqued again when he noticed Lucy’s uneven breathing, but that didn’t stop him from teasing her a bit to try to get her to relax and loosen up.  Recalling how his embrace seemed to comfort her before, Wyatt offers to let her hold on to him again.  There is no hidden agenda in his offer, but as he breathes in the smell of her shampoo once again and feels her warm skin on his neck, it takes effort on his part to keep his own breathing even.

“Is all that stuff you said about your dad true?” she asks.

Wyatt tries to beg off the question with a silent exhalation. As Lucy continues talking, he quickly realizes she’s not asking him for more details, but rather seeking advice for how to deal with her own parental issues.  Knowing how his relationship with his dad affected nearly every decision he made for years, he feels compelled to be open and honest with Lucy in hopes to spare her the pain that he endured alone.  

He tells her that pretending that he didn’t love and admire him was futile, because it wasn’t true. A child will always love their parent even if the parent doesn’t love them in return or does something unforgiving like hit them or kidnap them.  He tells her that it’s natural to blame yourself for the lack of love you receive in return.  But the most important thing he tells her is that once you know for sure that you’re not to blame, it’s okay to move on.  “Nothing ahead but the open road.”

They feel the car slow to a stop signaling that they have arrived back at the track, and it’s critical that they remain quiet and still.  As they lay there still holding each other even though there are no more potholes and bumps in the road, Wyatt focuses on the conversation happening on the other side of the metal chassis.  His mind wanders slightly as he admires Lucy’s strength and resilience in the aftermath of being kidnapped by her mother.  It took him decades to get over his father, and here less than two months later, Lucy is showing signs that she is able to begin to move forward and leave her past in the past.

I could learn something from her, he tells himself as his words about the “open road” echo inside his mind.  Maybe there’s an open road ahead of me, too. Ahead of us even.  

He is literally shaken from this thought as Old Rusty lurches forward, and he rolls atop of Lucy. With the tension of being discovered gone, they both laugh heartily. As their bodies still, he feels a familiar pull on his neck.  It’s not as firm as the last time, but rather a gentle, coaxing pull as if offering him the option to resist without hurting her feelings.  The thought of pulling back never crosses as his mind as he instead turns toward her so that he can look into her eyes.  This time he wants to be sure that this is what she wants, he needs to be sure, because if he wasn’t expecting the car to lurch just seconds ago, he definitely wasn’t expecting this.

Lucy moves her hand to gently caress his cheek.  She returns his gaze confirming the silent wish in his heart.  Assured that this what they both want, he leans in, and their lips part.  

And then they are both blinded as light streams into their private sanctum.

*******

Back in the present, Lucy walks into the kitchen area running her fingers through her still damp hair. She finds Wyatt sitting at a table staring at a laptop screen with his back turned to her.  She clears her throat as she approaches and sees that he is scrolling through a Wikipedia page about Wendell Scott.

“Shower should be free shortly,” she tells him.  “I think Rufus is just changing his bandage.”

“Mmmhmm,” he mumbles.

“What’s wrong?” she asks taking a seat in the chair beside him.

“Nothing,” he says looking up at her pushing the laptop toward the middle of the table.  “I just hoped that history might have changed for the better for Wendell after we left.”

“I’m sorry,” she offers. “I’m afraid it will take more than one NASCAR racer to change hearts and minds in the south in the 1950s.”

Wyatt nods leaning back in his chair with a frustrated expression on his face.  He puts his hands on the edge of the table top to push his chair out so he can head to the showers. Before he can stand, however, Lucy places her hand over his.

“Wyatt?”

He sits back down turning his hand so that he can enclose hers in his.  He looks at her but doesn’t say a word.

She glances down at their hands, and he can see a faint blush rise to her perfect cheeks.  He uses his free hand to place his fingers under her chin and tip her face up to look into his eyes.

“What is it, Lucy?”

She smiles and nervously tucks her hair behind her ear with her own free hand.  “It’s just that we’ve had a couple of – umm – close encounters, if you will,” she begins, “and I couldn’t help but notice that you seemed – umm – hesitant.”

Wyatt returns her smile and with his hand still under her chin, he leans toward her.  “I just want to be sure that this is what you really want,” he whispers to her.

She gives an almost imperceptible nod in reply and meets his lips with hers.

The feel of her lips on his is more liberating than he had anticipated.  It’s as if suddenly all of his doubts that he could love again and fears that he was worthy of love from someone as perfect as Lucy Preston dissipates in the air around them.

As Wyatt moves his hand to reposition it so he can pull her closer to him, the door alarm sounds triggering an immediate reaction for them to separate without a single body part touching any longer.  

They both listen closely as they hear Connor and Agent Christopher’s voices approach from the entrance.  Recognizing that they are about to be rudely interrupted yet again, they exchange frustrated smiles once more and burst out laughing.

“One day,” he promises.

“One day,” she agrees.