Chapter Text
"Lucy," Agent Christopher breathed in relief as the historian hiked up her skirts and climbed out of the Lifeboat.
"Any news on Wyatt?" she demanded without preamble.
"No, nothing yet. What happened to Flynn?"
"Baumgardner shot him," Rufus reported aso he stepped into the landing bay.
"Killed him?"
"No, ma'am." Baumgardner leaned forward slightly so his head was in the doorway but didn't actually move from his seat. "He and his man made it out while the Rittenhouses were shooting at us." He paused to swallow hard, his Adam's apple working furiously as he fought off what the time team recognized as a bout of nausea. "But it's a serious wound—he'll be out for a few days, giving us a chance to go save Wyatt."
Lucy turned back to Agent Christopher. "So when can we leave?"
"Four hours," Jiya spoke up from the bank of computers.
"Four hours!"
"That's how long it takes the Lifeboat to charge, sans nuclear reactor," the technician continued, undeterred by the furious expression on Lucy's face.
Rufus walked over to stand beside Lucy, close enough that they brushed shoulders. "Remember we can go back to a few minutes after I left from any point in our current history. The time we wait here, especially since Flynn is down for the count, is almost irrelevant."
Lucy glanced over at him but still didn't look quite relieved.
"Now before we send you on your way, there's something we need to discuss." Agent Christopher walked over to Lucy and Rufus and stood facing them, hands clasped behind her back. "Who is going back for Master Sergeant Logan?"
"What do you mean?"
"The Lifeboat only seats three..." she began but Rufus, who had been preparing for this very conversation, interjected, "...so only two of us can go if we want space for Wyatt on the way back." He shrugged. "And I have to go."
Lucy's face fractured as she looked back into the Lifeboat at the queasy Baumgardner. As much as she wanted to go back and save Wyatt herself, to make up for the many times he'd done the same for her, she knew Baumgardner was the better option, especially since the situation was bad enough where Wyatt had had to stay behind to ensure Rufus escaped. It wasn't really a decision but she recognized that Christopher was offering to her in deference.
"I'll stay behind," she stated, the words tasting like vinegar as they left her lips.
Agent Christopher just nodded. "After you've changed, Lucy, we'd like to debrief you about your time with Flynn; you might be able to give us some insight into what he's planning next."
Lucy recognized this for what it was: a distraction. And she couldn't have been more grateful. "Sure. Can I have an hour though? There are some things I need to check on."
Christopher nodded again then turned to face the Lifeboat. "You alright, Sergeant Baumgardner?"
The Delta Force operative pushed himself shakily to his feet. "Never better, ma'am," he said, though his face was white as a sheet.
"Go get checked out by Dr. Bright. It's SOP after each trip. Then meet back here for your own debrief."
"Yes, ma'am," he grunted as he slowly levered himself out of the time machine.
"And you, Rufus," Christopher turned to face the pilot. "Mr. Mason is looking for you."
Lucy turned to her teammate, instantly concerned, but to her surprise, Rufus just grinned widely. "I'm on my way," he said, shooting Lucy a thumbs up behind Christopher's back.
Slightly confused, she just nodded then followed the pilot to the mezzanine where she sat down at a computer without a name badge attached to it. As the support staff hurried into motion around her, Lucy pulled up the internet and began looking through historical timelines to determine just what damage Flynn had done by killing David Rittenhouse.
September 26, 1780
"You lied," Baumgardner groaned as the Lifeboat blipped into existence, just moments after Rufus had left the first time. "This still sucks."
"But it does get easier," Rufus replied as he began powering down the machine. When he was done, he spun around in his chair and waited for Baumgardner to move. It took the soldier a considerable length of time before he was on his feet but it was much faster than the last two landings.
Rufus had just palmed the button to open the Lifeboat door when Baumgardner's hand landed on his shoulder.
"You stay here," he told Rufus as he hopped outside the Lifeboat and drew his weapon, only swaying slightly.
"The hell I will!" Rufus lifted his leg like he was going to step over the raised metal sill but Baumgardner stepped closer to the Lifeboat, giving the pilot no space to actually dismount.
"From what you told me, we're up against an army, of unknown position, but that was extremely close," he hissed in a hushed tone. "They're armed and we're extremely outnumbered. We can't risk you getting injured or worse, taken, because then none of us get home. You've only been gone for a few minutes so Wyatt can't be far. I'll find him, bring him back, you get us out of here."
As much as Rufus hated to admit it, the argument made a certain amount of sense. "Fine," he ground out as he sat down in the Lifeboat less than an arm's reach from the door. He then reached for the small of his back and produced a weapon of his own. "But I'll cover you from here."
Baumgardner spared Rufus a quick smile before crouching down, his dark clothes almost blending into the ground in the early morning sunlight. "Which way?"
Rufus pointed to his right and, without another word, the soldier was gone.
Wyatt dove to the ground behind a sturdy tree as the Patriots opened fire in his general direction. Though he still had ammunition, he waited the first round out, trying to determine exactly where the shooters were. When the hail had died down so the men to reload, Wyatt reached around the tree and returned fire with the antiquated pistol. There was a loud cry of pain and, while the Patriots were otherwise distracted, Wyatt quickly exchanged the pistol for the rifle and chambered a round.
He was fairly protected in his current position but he knew wouldn't have the advantage for much longer, especially when the sun was fully up. The Patriots knew this area much better than he did, including any places he could hide. That combined with his dwindling amount of ammunition meant he needed to get out of the woods and into a more secure hiding place until Rufus came back for him. He remembered from an old-fashioned map at Arnold's house that there was another town around here. He'd try there for the moment.
Wyatt emptied the rifle and the extra rounds at the Patriots before sprinting off down the road. There was yelling behind him followed by the sounds of horses breaking into runs. He didn't look back though, his eyes never leaving the uneven terrain ahead of him.
Then a bullet clipped the ground next to his right heel. In a different circumstance, he'd have easily stepped to the side and kept running but hunger and sleep deprivation slowed his reflexes. He stepped left with relative ease but didn't notice the large root until his foot caught on it and he crashed to the ground.
For a moment, he couldn't breathe, couldn't think. All he knew was that his lungs were frozen, there was white-hot pain shooting up his leg, and his brain was screaming at him to get up.
Suddenly he could breathe again and he tried to push himself to his hands and knees but something hard slammed into his back, stealing what little air he'd managed to regain.
As black darkened the edges of his vision, Wyatt struggled to remain conscious, only barely feeling the hands on him, pressing his head into the dirt, yanking his hands behind his back, pulling his Glock from his waistband.
His survival instinct kicked in with his first unrestricted breath and he began to thrash against the men holding him. He kicked out and connected with something bone-hard but then something warm and circular pressed against the back of his neck. Adrenaline took the blur off his senses in a second flat and he froze as he recognized the shape as the barrel of a gun.
"Not so fast traitor!" one of the men called before a large glob of spit landed in the dirt, inches from his nose.
"Get him up," the same man ordered and Wyatt was roughly hauled to his feet. He tried distributing his weight evenly but his left ankle vehemently opposed so he stood with a majority of weight on his right leg, his left foot barely resting on the ground for balance. The change in position cleared his vision and his scan of his surroundings revealed seven men surrounding him: two directly behind him tightly gripping his elbows, one directly in front of him (most likely the guy in charge) and four more spread out in a semi-circle.
"What an interesting weapon," the man in front of him said, looking at the Glock in wonder. "Wherever did you get it..." He then paused and looked toward Wyatt, obviously waiting for him to fill in his name, but the soldier didn't respond.
The man in charge nodded at the man to his right, who flipped his rifle around and drove the grip into Wyatt's abdomen. His hard-earned breath whooshed out of his lungs and he doubled in half, going lax against the people holding him up. He knew better than to show weakness though and, as soon as he could consciously move, he had his right foot back under him and was straightening up again, glaring at the man in front of him.
The man stepped closer and grabbed Wyatt's chin, remaining fingers wrapping around his throat. "You will answer me when I talk to you, son. What. Is. Your. Name?"
"Ben Kenobi," Wyatt ground out, deciding it was better to play the part for now, until a better opportunity made itself known.
"And what did you tell the British, Ben Kenobi? Did you tell them about West Point, where our armory is, what our plans are?"
"No."
The man's eyes flashed cruelly but, before he could act, Wyatt added, "Didn't get a chance. Arnold told most of it already."
"So what are you doing back here?"
Wyatt made himself shrug. "Wasn't of use over there. Sure not going to be welcomed back here. Trying to go elsewhere."
The man stared at Wyatt for another moment, then released his jaw and took a step backward. "Let's take him to Washington."
Before anyone could move though, a cry rang out through the woods: "Duck, sheriff!"
Wyatt reacted on instinct, throwing himself to the ground before his brain even recognized the voice.
There were seven light pops and the Patriots looked around in confusion, one or two yelping in pain. It was then Wyatt saw the small dart sticking out of one of their necks. He dug his elbow into the ground and kicked out with his right leg, sweeping the four closest men's legs out from under them. The other three wavered dazedly then collapsed to the ground of their own volition.
"What the hell are you doing here, Bam-Bam?" Wyatt hissed as he sat up straight, lifted his hips and slid his bound wrists under him so his hands were now in front of him. He then grabbed his Glock which had fallen within reach and got to his feet, training it on the semi-conscious men in front of him.
Sergeant Dave Baumgardner rose from a behind a thick shrub. "Rescuing your damsel ass." He then slung the tranq gun onto his back and exchanged it for a modern S&W from a period-inappropriate side holster. He walked over and began pulling darts from the men's necks and kicking away their weapons while Wyatt covered him.
"Where's Lucy?" the soldier asked, the minute Baumgardner was done confirming all the men were unconscious.
"She's back in the present, safe at Mason Industries."
"And Rufus?"
"Waiting in the Lifeboat."
"Flynn?"
"Gut shot. Still alive but he'll be out of commission for a while."
Wyatt grinned and held out his bound wrists. "Well done, Bam-Bam."
"Stop callin' me that," Baumgardner snapped as he flicked open a pocketknife and cut his friend free.
Baumgardner then motioned off to his left and the two Delta Force operatives took off for the Lifeboat. Wyatt's ankle screamed in protest at the quick movements but he blocked it out as best he could and kept moving forward.
"You alright, Sheriff?" Dave asked, not long after.
"Twisted my ankle pretty bad but I'll live."
Baumgardner looked over at him, an impish expression on his face. "You know you're the one who taught me to watch where I was stepping so I don't trip, fall and get captured."
"This is the part where you do as I say and not as I do," Wyatt retorted as he hobbled off the path and grabbed a large branch he proceeded to use as a walking stick.
Bam-Bam wisely kept any additional comments to himself.
Not long after that, they approached the clearing where the Lifeboat had landed the first time. Through the trees, Wyatt could see the open door to the Lifeboat, Rufus' head occasionally poking out of it as he swung his weapon around.
"Don't shoot!" he called out as he hobbled into the clearing, the hand not grasping the branch raised in the air.
"Thank God." Rufus waited until they were closer before hopping out of the time machine and giving Wyatt a quick hug. "I know, I know," he said, before either soldier could comment. "We're on the clock, back to the present, I just had to...you know." He climbed back into the machine, covering the soldiers while Wyatt awkwardly hopped in.
Once Baumgardner was on board and the door had slid closed, something collided with Wyatt's shoulder, not terribly hard but with enough force to sway him on his feet. He looked to his right and saw Rufus shaking out his fist, mouthing "Ow!"
"Did you just punch me?" Wyatt asked incredulously.
"Yeah." Rufus straightened up and fixed Wyatt with his most disapproving stare. "Don't ever make me do that again. If I weren't the only pilot, the rest of the team would have murdered me at least six times over."
Wyatt snorted as he dropped into his seat and began fastening his harness. "If it makes you feel better Rufus, I honestly hope you never have to."
"Then we're in agreement." With that, Rufus sat his own chair and began preparing the time machine for take-off.
The wait was killing Lucy.
Each minute that passed was torture because she knew she'd have no idea if anything was changing. She tried recalling major events constantly, as if keeping them in her short term memory would somehow keep them from being forgotten, but, in the end, she forced himself to give up, knowing she'd drive herself crazy if she continued.
"Is it always like this?" she asked Jiya who didn't seem the least bit concerned by what must have been happening.
The technician stopped typing and looked over at Lucy. "You're referring to the crippling feeling of helplessness and the fact that you wouldn't know if everything around you had changed, that the people you knew might be gone and replaced with others that you still know, but that one of you has to tell us that we shouldn't know?"
Lucy nodded.
"Every mission." Jiya spun around in her chair so she was facing Lucy. "That's why I'm hoping to do more. Just sitting here, waiting, is killing me."
"The 'actually doing something' part isn't all that great either," Lucy replied as she sat back down next to Jiya. She had just pulled another historical website when the plastic pinwheel began to spin.
"Incoming!" Jiya called, throwing her keyboard down over some loose papers.
Lucy sprang to her feet and ran down the walkway. At the last moment, she was caught by Jiya and pressed against the railing so she wouldn't be blown over as the Lifeboat appeared.
She nodded her thanks then sprinted toward the time machine, climbed up the portable stairs and pounded on the door. "Wyatt? Rufus?"
"Lucy!"
The door slid open and Wyatt stumbled onto the platform. Lucy had less than a second to examine him, looking for any injuries, before she found herself pulled into a strong hug.
"You're okay!" he breathed right next to her ear, the sound warming Lucy all the way to her core.
"So are you!"
They were interrupted by a rousing round of applause from behind them.
"Welcome back!" someone shouted at the same time someone else yelled, "Well done, team!"
Scowling deeply, Wyatt stepped out of the hug but then reached back out and ran his hand up and down Lucy's arm, as if reassuring himself she was actually there. He then reached back into the Lifeboat and hauled Rufus and Baumgardner out, raising one of their arms into the air in a Rocky-esque pose. The cheering increased exponentially but, while Rufus seemed to be soaking it in and Baumgardner was in no position to move judging by the way he clung to the side of the Lifeboat for balance, Wyatt was quickly hobbling down the stairs, leaning heavily on the railing.
It took Lucy a split second to realize he was gone before she trailed after him. "What happened to your ankle?" she asked as they hit the main floor and were swarmed by support staff, touting how good it was to have him back. Seemingly ignoring her question, Wyatt didn't stop though until he'd reached the mezzanine and had dropped behind a computer.
Lucy knew what he was doing and didn't stop him, even though she already knew the answer. After a moment, his face fell briefly before he schooled a neutral expression back onto it.
"I'm sorry," she said softly, reaching out and laying a hand on his shoulder.
Before he could respond, someone walked over and stood beside Lucy.
"Master Sergeant Logan," Agent Christopher said.
Wyatt launched himself to his feet, spine lengthening and hands clasped behind his back.
"There's no need for all that," the agent chided. When Wyatt had relaxed slightly, she continued, "I'd like to debrief you as soon as possible. I've already heard Rufus' account and, while I believe him wholeheartedly, my bosses still don't believe that leaving you was an appropriate course of action."
"Rufus left on my orders," Wyatt stated, his blue eyes flashing in response to the perceived challenge.
"I understand that, Wyatt. They just need to hear your side of it."
"Is now good?" Wyatt didn't wait for an answer before he began hobbling toward Christopher's office. "Great. Let's get this cleared up as quickly as possible."
As soon as he was out of earshot, Lucy turned to Agent Christopher, who immediately held up her hand. "I promise I will send him straight to medical as soon as he's done giving his statement."
"Thank you." Then Lucy turned back around and walked over to the bottom of the platform where Rufus and Baumgardner were still in the middle of a crowd of technicians. She pushed her way through the support team and stood next to the other time travelers.
"This is really late but..." She wrapped her arms around Rufus and pulled him into a hug. "Thanks for coming to get me."
Rufus immediately returned the embrace. "Any time, Lucy."
"And you too, Sergeant Baumgardner," she added over Rufus' shoulder.
"Just doing my job, ma'am," the soldier replied as he finally let go of the side of the Lifeboat.
Lucy wanted to correct his use of ma'am as she had done for Wyatt but before she could, Baumgardner groaned and grabbed at the railing again, his face turning an appalling shade of white. Her expression softened and held out her hand to the soldier. "C'mon Sergeant. Let's take you to Dr. Bright."
When Wyatt stepped out of the examination room ninety minutes later, relying heavily on a cane Dr. Bright had found for him, Dave Baumgardner was sitting in the hallway, an anti-nausea patch on his bicep and a bottle of Gatorade dangling from his fingers.
"You're one crazy SOB, Sheriff," Baumgardner said, immediately rising (somewhat shakily) to his feet.
"Look who's talking, Bam-Bam." Wyatt took his friend's outstretched hand and pulled him into an embrace.
"How's your ankle?" Baumgardner asked as they pulled away, looking down at the air cast Wyatt had been fitted with.
Wyatt just shrugged. "Not broken, nothing's torn. So it'll be fine."
Baumgardner motioned to the cane. "How long does she think you're actually going to use that?"
"Optimistically, a week," Dr. Bright responded as she stepped out of the med bay, a thick file in hand. "Realistically, a few days."
"She knows you, Sheriff."
Wyatt scowled lightheartedly at Dr. Bright, who tilted her head and smiled widely. "That's why they pay me the big bucks." She then turned and quickly walked down the hallway to her office. "You take care of yourselves, both of you," she shouted over her shoulder.
"Yes, ma'am," the soldiers responded in unison.
Baumgardner waited until he heard the door to her office click closed before turning to face Wyatt. "So time travelling…"
Wyatt smiled crookedly. "Yeah."
"No wonder you didn't want to come back."
"I gotta finish this job first—stop Flynn from changing history and all that."
"I don't know how you do it, man. The whole time I was back there, I was afraid I was going to say or do something that would completely change our reality."
"That why you brought the tranq gun?"
Baumgardner nodded. "Couldn't shake the feeling I was going to kill the father of someone famous...or worse—my own great-great-grandfather."
"That's actually not a bad idea."
Baumgardner snorted. "Thanks for the ringing endorsement."
"So what are you going to do now?" Wyatt asked as he limped down the hallway back to the locker rooms, motioning for his friend to follow.
"Go back to my normal Delta Force work, I guess. Try to not think about the amazing shit you're getting up to. They made me sign an NDA which totally blows….what?" he asked, seeing Wyatt's grin widen until it practically split his face in two.
"Since you're all NDA-ified, I can finally tell someone this. You know that Bond film, Weapon of Choice?"
"Yeah." But Wyatt didn't respond, waiting silently for Dave to catch his meaning.
After a split second, Baumgardner's jaw dropped open. "That was about you!?"
"Our fourth mission. Pretty cool right?"
"You met Ian Flemming!" Baumgardner shook his head in disbelief. "That just...so unfair."
"I know!" Wyatt replied, practically vibrating with excitement, even after all the time that had passed.
When they reached the locker rooms, he turned back to Baumgardner who was already dressed.
"Thanks for coming back for me."
Dave shrugged. "You would have done the same for me. In fact..." he paused, hand going to rub at his chin in exaggerated contemplation, "...you have."
"Still. I owe you one."
Baumgardner shook his head. "No way. Not after all we've been through." He paused again. "If you really want to make it up to me, show your face a little more. The guys miss you. We haven't had a proper night out in ages."
Wyatt grinned. "I can do that."
Baumgardner then held out his hand and Wyatt shook before they exchanged another hug.
"It's good seeing you, Sheriff."
"You too, Bam-Bam."
As Baumgardner headed toward the employee entrance, Wyatt turned back to the locker room doors.
"Sheriff, huh?"
He spun around at the sound of Lucy's voice. "Yeah, old army nickname. Wyatt Earp. Original right?"
She shrugged. "It's better than Bam-Bam."
"That it is," Wyatt responded with a grin. He then looked over at Lucy, his expression immediately sobering. "I never got a chance to ask you, you're okay right? Flynn didn't hurt you?"
Lucy shook her head. "No, we went straight back to 1732 to try to kill Rittenhouses' parents. Rufus and Baumgardner showed up not long after."
"Glad to hear it," he said, reaching out and laying his hand on her upper arm.
Before she could respond, Rufus stepped into the hallway. "Great, you're free. Let's go out!"
Lucy and Wyatt looked like they wanted to protest but Rufus shook his head. "It doesn't have to be drinks, we can just go get food." He walked over and threw his arms over their shoulders. "It's about the recordings," he whispered, barely audible. "I solved our problem."
Wyatt looked over at Lucy then said loudly, "Dinner sounds great."
She smiled before adding, "I'm in."
"Give me five to get changed." Wyatt limped into the locker room and changed out of the 1700s clothes as quickly as he could. After folding the outfit neatly for whoever handled that sort of stuff, he reached for his wallet, phone and keys. He automatically hit the side button of his phone for notifications and was surprised to see a missed call and a voicemail from an unknown number. That in itself was odd considering his number was unlisted and he saved the numbers of the few people who did have it.
He considered listening to it but was interrupted by Rufus banging on the door. "My clothes are going out of style!"
"Hold your horses. I'm coming," Wyatt groused, giving his phone one last glance before sliding it into his pocket and grabbing at his cane.
It was probably advertising: a randomly generated number for some entry-level college student. Still, he'd listen to the message later, on the off-chance it was something important.
For now though, he was off to dinner with his team to hear about Rufus' good news and to celebrate having all three of them back in the present, unharmed.