Chapter Text
"No!" Jiya screams.
The sounds of the gunshots seemed to come out of nowhere. It happens too quickly for any of them to react, least of all Wyatt, who watches in horror as blood spatters onto Jiya's dress, and the shooter's target immediately slumps to the floor.
"Lucy?" Wyatt whispers, hoping against hope that by some miracle it was a graze or a through-and-through. But her gasps for air, her hand at her chest becoming redder by the second confirms his fear.
Her panicked eyes quickly find his. She can't speak, but her eyes, her beautiful caramel brown eyes, are desperately trying to convey some message to him.
"Damn it. No. No!" he yells rushing to her side, applying pressure to the wound. "Lucy, stay with me, babydoll, please," he begs.
In his peripheral vision, he senses movement behind him. It's Flynn. His right arm is limp indicating he took a bullet as well, but he's moving. He picks up the gun he had dropped with his left hand and struggles to stand up to chase after Emma.
"Flynn, stop!" orders Rufus. "Let her go. Lucy needs us here," he pleads, remembering Lucy's speech to them from just a few minutes ago: None of us have anything anymore except for each other. If those are, in fact, to be her last words to them, Rufus knows that she would want them to be here together for the final goodbye. Rufus runs his hand over his face in disbelief that all this time, he wallowed in self-pity preparing himself for death, and somehow Lucy, the glue that has held this team together is the one they are about to lose.
Flynn, who is still on the floor after being shot, lays the gun back down and crawls over to sit beside Jiya who is holding Lucy's blood-covered hand that no longer has the strength to remain against her chest. The painful fruitless attempts for air have slowed to practically nothing as she takes her final breaths.
Wyatt places his hands on either side of Lucy's face which is now pale. "No," he sobs. "Don't leave me. Please, Lucy. I need you." He places his forehead against hers, praying to God, the Force, anyone who will listen to let him feel her breath again on his face. But his prayers are answered by no one.
She's gone.
***********
The team remains where they are, huddled outside the back door of the saloon for what feels like hours to Wyatt, but in reality is probably much less. True to the rough and tumble reputation of the Wild Wild West, hardly anyone who passes by pays them much mind. They all seem to be immune to the occasional shootout and the possible deadly aftermath in the streets of 1888 San Francisco.
Eventually Wyatt feels Jiya's hand on his shoulder. He's still cradling Lucy's body. He had closed her eyes shortly after she passed, and she now looks like she's sleeping in his arms. He looks up and sees Rufus and Jiya before him, but Flynn is no longer in the immediate vicinity.
"Wyatt, we should go," Jiya suggests gently.
"I'm not leaving her here," he replies adamantly.
Rufus nods empathetically. He doesn't want to leave his friend here alone in the past either. "We'll take her with us... back to the Lifeboat," he assures him.
"Where's Flynn?" Wyatt asks still not wanting to move. Selfishly he hopes that by delaying any forward momentum in this timeline, he can stop time or maybe even reverse it.
"He went to try and track down Emma... and Jessica," Rufus explains hesitating before finishing the sentence. "He knew it was a long shot, but he felt the need to do something. We agreed to meet back at the Lifeboat."
The mention of his wife's name feels like a shower of glass shards onto his already broken heart. This is my fault, he chastises himself. The weight of his guilt holds him to the ground like lead, and he welcomes it. He would stay in this spot forever beside his beloved until he died, because that's what he deserves.
This time it's Rufus' hand that touches Wyatt's shoulder. "C'mon, man. We need to get back home. Let me help you up," he offers.
Wyatt shakes his head. "No. I've got her," he says as he crouches to get his feet under him and scoops her up in a bridal carry. Jiya reacts quickly to catch Lucy's head from drooping in the wrong direction and gently lays her head against Wyatt's chest. Wyatt leans his head down to the crown of Lucy's head, inhaling her scent and wiping his tears in her hair. Rufus and Jiya lead the way back to the Lifeboat, and Wyatt follows a few steps behind.
Holding her like this, he is immediately reminded of the last time she was cradled in his arms. They were standing on the edge of Hedy's pool in 1941. He remembers how they laughed and teased each other like they were the only people in the world that night. They couldn't resist kissing each other, because it just felt so right. Painfully he recalls that in that moment, he could already envision holding her like that again as they cross the threshold of their honeymoon suite. Then and there, he knew that was the future he wanted, but less than a day later, that future was erased by a ghost from the past.
The trio walks in silence farther away from the town toward the California coastline where the Lifeboat is hidden. In the darkness, they can hear the sounds of the waves crashing against the rocky cliffs. They arrive at the timeship and find Flynn standing looking out over the water below him. Under the waning moon above, the ocean is barely visible, but they know he's not standing there for the view. He turns toward them as they approach and walks over to meet them closer to the ship. As he gets closer, he looks at Wyatt silently requesting permission to say his goodbye to the woman in his arms. Wyatt nods, and Flynn places a gentle hand over Lucy's head. He leans down to kiss the top of her hair, fighting back his tears. He gives Wyatt a look of appreciation and sympathy.
"I can stay behind and wait for the second trip, if you want to bring her back home first," he offers.
Wyatt swallows hard and shakes his head. "Thank you, but no. You go ahead with Rufus and Jiya. I'll stay here with Lucy and wait," he tells them in a tone that indicates to everyone that his decision is final. Wyatt walks past the group closer to the cliff where Flynn was standing previously.
"I'll be back for you as soon as the Lifeboat battery is charged," Rufus calls out to Wyatt's retreating figure certain that the man isn't listening any longer.
Holding Lucy tightly to his chest, Wyatt settles to the ground and holds her in his lap. He has no recall for how long he was carrying her, nor does he care. His entire body is so numb from grief, that if his arms are sore from her weight, he doesn't notice.
Behind him he hears the familiar sonic pop as the Lifeboat disappears into time and space.
He moves a hand to caress her cheek. Her skin is unsettlingly cool now from the night air and...
He breaks down unable to finish the thought. He wails in pain and grief and guilt. His cries are drowned out by the sound of the surf below him, and for a brief moment, he considers ending it all right then and there.
"Lucy, I can't do this," he apologizes. "I can't do this alone – not without you. I know I'm being selfish. I abandoned you when Jessica came back, and even though I hurt you in ways I can't imagine, you kept fighting for the mission. You didn't run away, because there was still work to be done, wrongs to put right. But I don't know if I can do the same. You're so much stronger than me," Wyatt laments, dropping his head down in shame.
"You and I were on the verge of having it all," he continues recalling their one perfect night together. "The possibilities were laid out endlessly before us, and I screwed up everything. When you kept saying that I was happily married, you were giving me another chance to make a choice – the right choice, for the future I wanted, but I was too much of a coward."
Over his shoulder the sun begins to rise casting light on the horizon indicating the dawn of a new day. But it's a day that Lucy will not see, and that fact is like a dagger driven deeper into Wyatt's heart.
"I deserve this pain and heartache, Lucy, but you... You deserved nothing less than to be happy. It should be me lying dead in the past. The world doesn't need me, but you, Lucy Preston, you’re a hero. You're the most selfless giving person to walk this earth, and it's my fault that you're no longer able to do that."
Wyatt pulls her body closer to him. He presses his lips to her hair which is now damp from his tears.
"I love you, Lucy. I will always love you, and I'll never forgive myself for failing you."
*******
Back in 2018, Rufus gently wakes Jiya who has spent the past six hours while the Lifeboat charges in a trance. In her mind, she has been darting all over time and space trying to find the slightest trace of Lucy's existence, but the attempts are futile.
"Hey," Rufus whispers grabbing her hand. "Lifeboat's charged enough to get us back to 1888."
Jiya nods and sits up to embrace Rufus. With a regretful sigh, she moves to stand when suddenly, they both hear a "pop" followed by a "clank" of metal against metal. They look at each other to confirm that they both heard the same thing, but the sounds of the others in the bunker running in the halls answers the question for them.
Rufus and Jiya join Flynn, Connor and Agent Christopher near the base of the silo, where there are now clearly two Lifeboats sitting side-by-side. Flynn and Agent Christopher have their handguns traced on the new Lifeboat's hatch, which is still closed.
"What the hell?" Rufus asks.
"Oh, my God, what is that?" Agent Christopher exclaims.
"Is this another Lifeboat?" Flynn questions
"It looks upgraded," Jiya surmises
Shocked, they watch as the hatch opens, and two figures emerge. Jiya feels lightheaded when she recognizes herself and Rufus stepping out onto the large gears of the ship.
"It's not game over, yet," Future Jiya tells the group.
"Not by a long shot," Future Rufus adds. "Let's go get our historian back."