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Prologue
It’s been seven months since the time team lost Rufus in 1888. Seven months since Future Lucy and Wyatt appeared, bringing with them more questions than answers. They brought with them instructions on how to upgrade the lifeboat allowing the team to cross their own timelines and increasing capacity so that they would be at full force when returning to save Rufus. Their visit was all business, the only information about the future shared were time machine upgrades. This was much to the dismay of Wyatt, who was hoping for reassuring information about his baby, about Jess. And as soon as the team appeared to have the task of upgrading the lifeboat under control, Future Lucy and Future Wyatt were gone.
It was a long, long seven months. Lucy told off Wyatt for the inappropriate “I love you”, for his selfishness in not even offering Lucy condolences after the death of her mother. He realized that Lucy was right and what he was feeling for her wasn’t love, but his own desperation to be loved. He needed to sort things out with Jessica, save his child from Rittenhouse. He needed be the dad he always desired to be, back before his world fell apart.
It was seven months of Connor and Jiya distracting themselves with work, Denise cataloguing Rittenhouse intel, Lucy brushing up on all the history that had changed since they started stomping through time. Flynn and Wyatt cleaned and restored the time team’s weapons. They would sometimes go on clandestine missions out of the bunker. Although they were far from being buddies, they tolerated each other better and complemented each other out in the field. The last seven months were a period of growth, in the wake of pain, for the bunker family and they were a little more than a month away from completing all the necessary upgrades to return to Chinatown.
Seven months of quiet and solemn nights. The emptiness in Wyatt and Jiya’s room was suffocating, reminders of heartbreak and loss. They would occasionally share a drink, late at night, when neither of them could sleep; wordlessly understanding what the other was going through, silently showing support. Lucy and Flynn had grown closer than ever, sharing late night conversations about family and the alterations to history Lucy had discovered during the day. She had moved her bed into Flynn’s room before the team went to 1888 and their relationship was a comfortable unknown. Lucy had not been in the state of mind the last seven months to be romantically intimate with anyone. Like most things between Flynn and Lucy, Flynn understood this fact without it being spoken. He showed restraint and showed his love for her by being present and available, he gave Lucy the space she needed to heal.
These seven months were an emotional gauntlet and the time team desperately needed a break. Something to renew their spirits in spite of all the emotional baggage currently cluttering their underground space.
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Chapter 1
November 15, 2018
Garcia Flynn casually waltzed into his and Lucy’s bedroom, hair wet from just taking a shower. He dried his hair aggressively with a towel before shaking his head causing droplets of water to hit Lucy. “Hey!” Lucy objected from the cot on her side of the room, “you got me!” Lucy put her book down and grimaced, she had been reading up on her history. This down time the past months while they upgraded the lifeboat had given her lots of time to catch up on all the changes they accidentally made. Flynn smiled at Lucy and shook his head again, laughing as water flew in her direction. “Sorry,” he said even though he wasn’t really. Flynn was feeling puckish and loved making Lucy squirm, Lucy rolled her eyes even though she enjoyed these little moments. These were the bits of her day where her life felt almost normal.
Flynn flopped down into a chair over by Lucy, “what are you reading?” He asked has he glanced around. “Oh, it’s about the industrial revolution…how industry progressed after we erased Henry Ford and his bloodline from Rittenhouse.” Flynn made a look like ‘Henry had it coming’ when Lucy’s calendar caught his eye. “Lucy, what day is today? Is it the 15th?” “Ummm, yeah…the 15th of November…why?” she replied. “Well, it’s just next week is Thanksgiving!” Lucy grew quiet and a frown crept across her face before she quickly fought it off. “What?” Flynn asked, “Lucy, what’s wrong?” “Nothing, I’m fine” she tried as she looked away. Flynn touched her chin and forced her to look at him, “Lucy, c’mon, I know you better than anyone, I know when you’re not okay.” Lucy softened, “It’s just…Thanksgiving is a time for family, it reminds me of my old life where my Mom would roast a big turkey, and Amy demanded cranberry sauce….but only the kind that kept the shape of the can.” Flynn understood, he thought of Lorena and how they would spend all day in the kitchen and how Iris helped to tear up bread for stuffing while she watched the parade on TV. “Hey, I know how hard it is Lucy, but we have to do something for thanksgiving…Amy and Lorena, they wouldn’t want this….us…sitting around all sad.” Lucy nodded, “ I know it’s just hard.” She took a deep breath, smiled a tight smile and squeezed Flynn’s hand. Flynn winked at her, squeezed her hand back and stood up, not wanting to be too touchy…Lucy was still healing and needed her space. “Hey, I’m about to go to bed, you need anything? Glass of water? Mug of booze?” He smiled playfully with the last suggestion. “Nah, I’m fine but thank you though,” Lucy responded as she smiled, closed her book, and put it on the crate next to her cot that she used as a table. “Alright,” Flynn said as he walked over to his side of the room, sat on his cot and swung his legs into bed. They both laid down and Flynn reached over to turn off his lamp, “Good night, Looce!” “Night, Flynn” with that Flynn reached over and pulled the chain on his lamp, turning off the light. As his head hit the pillow, he thought about how Lucy deserved the best Thanksgiving he could give her in this bunker and how he was going to make it happen.
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Chapter 2
November 16th, 2018
Flynn woke up early the next morning. He went straight to the kitchen and made coffee, poured a cup for Lucy and walked it back into their room and left it on her crate. He had been making her coffee every morning since she moved in with him and he liked to make sure it was there ready for her as soon as she woke up. He went back to the kitchen and started rummaging through the pantry, trying to figure out what they had and how he could McGuyver a Thanksgiving meal out it. To his chagrin, the pantry provisions made for a very sad menu. There was a half open box of spaghetti that Wyatt had placed upside down, Flynn discovered this less than ideal orientation of the box when he tried to move it and the uncooked noodles fell out. He rolled his eyes, put the noodles back and placed the box in the correct orientation. He also found peanut butter, a can of corn, a bag of rice, and a bag of English muffins. “Well, here you go Lucy, a thanksgiving just like the one you used to have with your family…complete with corn and rice….pathetic,” Flynn sighed. None of this was going to cut it, not one bit. As he put his findings back in the pantry and moved to shut the door, he heard Agent Christopher clear her throat.
Flynn turned around, “Good Morning Denise, I made coffee.” Flynn pointed to the pot. She smiled and grabbed herself a cup. “Um..Denise, by any chance are you going on a shopping run for us this week?” Agent Christopher turned to Flynn and continued to prepare her coffee, “I can, is there anything specific you need?” Flynn replied casually, “Oh you know just enough stuff to make an entire thanksgiving dinner for the bunker.” Denise looked up, “Oh…well okay, like what?” Flynn continued, “You know…..a turkey, spices, bread, onions, celery…for stuffing, green beans, sweet potatoes, pecans, pie crust, corn syrup, dinner rolls, and um…cranberry sauce in a can.” Denise laughed, “is that all?”. Flynn shrugged snarkily,”Yeah, I mean that should be it…if you could get some wine too that would be excellent.” “Heh.” Denise shook her head at Flynn, “And um how am I going to sneak all of this into our underground bunker?” “I’ll help!” Flynn offered and Denise promptly shut him down, “You’re a wanted terrorist!” Flynn looked at Agent Christopher, slightly defeated, “ I know..it’s just…it’s for Lucy…” Denise raised her eyebrows, “Lucy?” “ Yes,” Flynn replied. “I mentioned Thanksgiving last night and she looked so depressed, it brought up memories of her mother…and Amy…and cranberry sauce in a can.” “I’ll see what I can do,” Denise said with a sincere smile. Flynn nodded and Denise turned in the direction of Connor’s room. Soon he heard Jiya’s door open and the bunker began to rustle as very one got up and got started for the day. Lucy emerged from her and Flynn’s room with her cup of coffee, and shot Flynn a smile. Flynn smiled back and nodded knowing that he was going to be able to give Lucy and the rest of the bunker one day of happiness that everyone desperately needed.
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Chapter 3
November 20th, 2018
Everyone in the bunker was hard at work. Connor and Jiya were in the the lifeboat making some final adjustments so the team could jump across their own timeline in a month and rescue Rufus. Wyatt and Flynn had just come back from another recon mission and were putting their putting their gear and guns away. Lucy was studying, marking down more and more history changes that happened to 1888 so that this time the team would be better prepared. It’s was getting late and the team was about to call it quits for the evening when Denise arrived with her arms full of groceries. “Garcia Flynn, you made me buy all this stuff you better help me carry it in,” Denise yelled and everyone looked up. A smile flashed across Flynn’s face as he grabbed the 20lb turkey from her arms, ran to the kitchen, and dropped it in the sink.
The rest of the team followed behind Denise and Flynn, trying to figure out what was going on. “Is that…is that a frozen turkey?” Wyatt asked. Flynn turned to him and cracked, “I know I’m not from this country, but isn’t that what you Americans eat on Thanksgiving.” Wyatt glared at him only mildly appreciating his snark. “Do you even know how to roast a turkey?” Connor then inquired. Flynn shrugged, “how hard can it be, you just plop it in the oven and turn it on.” Wyatt chuckled, “looks like we’re all getting food poisoning.” “Oh shut up, what are you some kind of expert? Do a lot of top-secret ‘Delta Forcing’ in the Army’s galley?” Flynn snarked back. “You guys can call the hotline!” Jiya exclaimed. Everyone looked at her with surprise, she had hardly said a word since they lost Rufus but the idea of a Family-style holiday had brought some life back into the scientist. “Hotline?” Flynn asked. “Yeah the butterball hotline, they used to have commercials for it during the holidays when I was a kid. You could call in with questions and they would give you tips and tricks for cooking the perfect turkey!” Jiya continued. “She’s right, here it is,” Connor confirmed as he spun his laptop around, “They have a chat or you can call 1-800-BUTTERBALL”. Denise cleared her throat, “Well since you all are in hiding, and one of you is an escaped prisoner/wanted terrorist, I suggest you all use the chat option. Now I’m off for the rest of the week, the kids are off from school and I have to cook a Thanksgiving of my own. Good luck.”
As Denise left, the team got back together trying to figure out how to thaw and prepare the turkey. Lucy started removing items from the grocery bag and setting them in the counter. A loaf of bread, green beans, a box of wine, and then she saw it….a single can of jellied cranberry sauce. She set the can down and walked towards Flynn, placing a hand on his shoulder. Flynn turn at the contact and looked down at the petite brunette, “Hey, what’s up,” he asked. Lucy looked him in the eye, stood on her toes, and kissed the giant “terrorist” on the cheek. A tear dropped from her eye as she smiled at him, “Thank you, Garcia.” He stood there frozen as he watched her turn away and go back to unpacking groceries. He smiled, took a deep breath and went back to ‘helping’ Wyatt and Connor fill the sink with water so they could defrost the turkey by Thursday morning. For a moment, they all forgot where they were and just enjoyed feeling like a family.
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Chapter 4
November 22nd, 2018 (Thanksgiving day)
Garcia Flynn woke up to the smell of coffee wafting through his room. As he cracked his eyelid open he could see that a fresh cup was left for him on the shelf next to his cot. He slowly sat up, reached over to grab the cup and take a sip. As the hot liquid passed his lips he grimaced from the bitter taste before smiling to himself..Lucy should never be allowed in a kitchen, ever. But he appreciated the gesture and as he got up he grabbed his cup and continued to drink the hot liquid, knowing that coffee is coffee and the caffeine is necessary for him to be an actual person in the morning. He padded to the bunker where he heard the sound of showtunes blaring from the television. To his surprise, Lucy and Jiya were sitting on the couch, tearing bread for stuffing and watching the Thanksgiving Day Parade. Flynn took a seat on the arm of the couch and nudged Lucy, she looked up with a smile and he whispered, “thanks for the coffee.” She nodded and went back to tearing bread and watching the parade. Garcia spoke aloud to both the women, “I thought I was supposed to be cooking Thanksgiving dinner, why are you ladies doing all the work?” Jiya replied, “Connor and I got back on the Butterball chat and figured out the stuffing recipe, so Lucy and I figured we’d get a head start on the prep.” Looking behind him he could see Wyatt and Connor fumbling around in the kitchen, everyone was busy trying to do their part to help with dinner. Flynn looked back at the girls and made a crack about Lucy’s kitchen skills, to which she playfully elbowed him before he got up, knowing when to take his leave...before he got himself into actual trouble.
Flynn walked into the kitchen and poured himself another cup of coffee, before approaching Connor and Wyatt. Wyatt looked up and acknowledged the tall Croatian, “This Dinner, asking Denise to go get everything, that was really decent of you..it’s been really rough here these last couple months and this is exactly what everyone needed.” Flynn awkwardly returned, “it was nothing, I know people have to be missing their families” as he stole a glance at Lucy before he continued “i just figured we all deserved a nice meal.” Flynn’s glance at Lucy didn’t escape Wyatts notice and he gave Flynn a knowing look. “Well, I can tell you really care about people and I was wrong months ago to tell you to stay away, you’ve really grown on me now that you aren’t trying to kill us anymore.” Flynn rolled his eyes, “thanks, I’m gonna start seasoning the turkey if you and Connor can manage to put together this pie..the bird has to go in soon if it’s going to be ready by 2.” Wyatt agreed, “Yeah I can do that..I don’t know if pie is really a two man job though..” “I can make the vegetable offerings,” Connor interrupted. “There you go.” Wyatt confirmed and everyone got busy cooking so that dinner would be ready early and everyone could relax for the rest of the day.
By 1:45 the smell of Turkey and sides had filled the bunker as bickering could be heard from the living room where Wyatt wanted to watch the Cowboys game but Jiya wanted to watch Hallmark Christmas movies. Connor was nursing a tumbler of scotch while Lucy napped on the couch with her feet on Flynn’s lap who was enjoying a nap as well. Connor looked up at Wyatt. “Does it really send the best message for a team called the Redskins and a team called the Cowboys to be dueling on a holiday celebrating a shared peaceful meal between Native Americans and European Settlers.” Wyatt rolled his eyes, “Fine. We’ll watch the girly Christmas movies.” Just then the timer went off on the oven, waking Lucy and Flynn up from their respective naps. “Saved by the bell,” Wyatt exclaimed as he got up to check on the turkey.
Flynn groaned and rubbed his eyes as he woke up. Wyatt shouted into the living room, “Flynn, how do we know if this bird is ready?” Flynn looked over, “Uhh….there should be a red button in the turkey, if its popped then it’s ready to come out.” Wyatt looked, “Oh yeah, it’s ready!” and he lifted the Turkey out of the oven and placed it on top of the stove. Lucy, Jiya and Connor got up and started setting the two small tables from the kitchen that they moved together to make one long holiday table. Flynn began to carve the turkey placing the light and dark meat on a serving platter. When Flynn was done carving everyone sat down at the table as a family. Before they ate Jiya acknowledged that although the have all been through alot, that they go around and say one thing that they were thankful for. Lucy grabbed Flynn’s hand under the table and gave it a light squeeze before releasing it to pick up her napkin and place it on her lap. Letting Flynn know silently that although she wasn’t ready to announce it to the table, one of the things he was thankful for was the growing closeness she shared with him. Meanwhile in Wyatt’s pocket he could feel his phone vibrate, he discreetly checked the screen to see a text from his wife, “Happy Thanksgiving.” He drew a deep breath and cracked a small smile at the comfort that not all was lost, that maybe there was a little bit of hope that when this was all over, he, Jess and his unborn son could possibly be a family again.
When everyone was done saying their thanks, the team dug in to the spread of food on the table. Flynn noticed that something was missing and abruptly stood up, alarming Lucy. He walked into the kitchen and returned with a can opener and the can of cranberry sauce on a plate. He opened the can, shook the jellied cranberry onto a plate and placed it in front of Lucy. “We can’t forget the most important part!” Lucy glowed at the sight of the cranberry sauce and all the memories of her lost sister, like the others she remembered with every bite of the Thanksgiving meal why they must continue to fight Rittenhouse, all the important things that they needed to preserve.
Later that night when everyone retired to their rooms after an afternoon of eating and movies, Lucy sat and waited at the edge of Flynn’s bed. She smiled as he walked in, fresh from the shower and shook his head like always hitting her with the clean water from his hair. “Garcia?” Lucy said, and the tall man froze and looked at Lucy intensely, not accustomed to people using his first name anymore. “Thank you for today, I mean really thank you.” He smiled at her and answered, “It was nothing, I wanted to,” as he sat on his bed and swung his legs behind the historian so he could lay down. “I mean it Garcia, thank you for helping me save some of my memories, from when life was more...normal.” Flynn touched her hand, “Well you saved my life, it’s the least I could do.” Lucy exhaled and laid down next to Flynn on his cot, “would it be okay if i slept right here tonight?” Flynn wordlessly wrapped his arm around the small historian in a chaste embrace and closed his eyes, knowing that Lucy was still healing and this small step was all she was ready for. “Happy Thanksgiving, Garcia.” Flynn exhaled and whispered as he fell asleep, “Happy Thanksgivng, Looocy.”