Chapter Text
“Lucy, what you’re suggesting-”
“It’s not a suggestion,” she told Agent Christopher crossly, realising fast that she was letting out her anger at the wrong person.
Taking a deep breath, Lucy closed her eyes and let it out slowly. Losing her temper with the woman who had stepped into the role of her mother all too
easily these past few months, it wasn’t helping anyone. That didn’t mean she wasn’t determined in making her point, in explaining not what she was
considering doing, but what she was now absolutely sure she must do.
“Everything that has happened, all the time travel, all the craziness, it started with me,” she said definitely. “Flynn told me the story, and yes, it sounded ridiculous at first - in some ways, it still does - but I do believe him. He said that two weeks after his family was killed, he was in a bar in Sao Paolo, on the run from Rittenhouse, wishing he knew how to avenge his wife and daughter. He said that he was on his third drink when I showed up, that I knew everything about what had happened to him. I handed him my journal and I told him he could change things. That is what set him on the path that led him to steal the Mothership, to do all the terrible things that he did in the past, to... to die for the cause.”
Her voice cracked at having to say those words, at having to think about the painful, drawn-out death Garcia Flynn had to endure as a result of travelling in his own timeline. Dying not as the hero he really was but as some random John Doe, in a past where nobody could ever truly understand his sacrifice.
“I can change it. I’m actually the only one who can,” Lucy went on to explain. “What I say to him on the trip back, what I write in my journal, even the day I choose to go back and visit with him, it could alter the whole timeline, and for the better.”
“Or for the worse,” said Denise, shaking her head slightly. “Lucy, you and I both know, the slightest change, it can be catastrophic. How could you possibly be sure you would improve things?”
“Because, honestly, I don’t see how it could be much worse,” she admitted desperately. “Agent Christopher... Denise, I know there is nothing you wouldn’t do for the people you love. Your wife, your kids, even the team. I get that. You have no idea how much I get that. I already lost my sister and my mom. Call me selfish, but I don’t think I can let him go too. Not when I know what to do to save him. To potentially save so many more people too.”
She wanted to argue some more, Lucy could see it all over Denise’s face, but the fact was, there was no valid argument to make. What she said made sense and she ought to know, because she had been over and over and over it in her head for days and nights now. They had to do this. They had to change history one more time. Lucy didn’t see that she had a choice, but she was going to need Denise’s approval. The Lifeboat wasn’t hers to take without it.
“Okay,” she said eventually, looking cautious yet. “I’m not saying yes to this, not right now, but I am saying that it is a valid request to be considered. We need to talk about this some more. I would need to know exactly when and where you want to go, and as much proof and guarantee as you can give me that nothing is going to get worse if I allow you to make these changes.”
Lucy almost laughed with relief and happiness at knowing she was going to get her chance. She needed to do this. She needed to rewrite the past just one more time, and then, she hoped and prayed and wished so hard that maybe, just maybe things would turn out right.
14th December 2014
The curtains blew with a sudden breeze, strong enough that it took Garcia’s attention away from the papers he had been pouring over. Getting up, he crossed to the window, intending to close it, but the sight that met his eyes beyond the glass was enough to make him think again. Muttering curses in Croatian, he immediately went to the safe to retrieve his gun, thanking God as he did so that Lorena and Iris were elsewhere tonight, visiting with his wife’s parents.
Locked and loaded, he headed back to the window, staring wide-eyed at what he could only think was a spaceship of some kind. That seemed ridiculous, but he had no other explanation, until suddenly someone knocked on his front door. Moving carefully along the wall, he peered out through the glass by the door, surprised to see a lone woman standing there. Garcia Flynn was not foolish enough to think this seemingly ordinary, if not very pretty woman could not also be deadly. Assassins were not always so obvious.
“Who is it?” he called, unsure what reply to expect.
“A friend,” came the reply. “I’m here to help you, Garcia.”
That made him frown, but was also enough to make him want to open the door. With his family out of the way, and his gun made safe and tucked into the back of his pants, he stood battle-ready as he finally opened the door.
The smile on the woman’s face when she saw him was enough to light up the whole street, though he was sure he had never seen her before in his life. He was absolutely certain he would remember her if he had.
“Hi, Garcia,” she said, visibly swallowing hard, tears seeming to form in her eyes as she gazed at him. “Uh, I don’t have long, but it’s important I talk to you.”
“How do you know my name?” he asked, wary yet of who she was and what she wanted, despite her assertions that she was a friend, here to help.
“Like I said, I’m a friend, and I know that doesn’t make sense right now, but I promise that it will, in time.” She smiled the strangest smile on that last word, then the expression faded as she pitched forward as if in a dead faint.
Garcia’s arms shot out to catch up, putting her back on her feet in a second.
“I’m fine,” she insisted, though she appeared to be in pain, gripping her head and breathing shallow breaths. “I just... I need you to listen, please,” she urged him, meeting his gaze one more time. “My name is Lucy, and one day we’re going to work together. We’re going to be quite the team, actually, but first, you need to save your family. You could all be in danger. I know that you found out about Rittenhouse and, trust me, they are so much bigger and worse than you think. You have to be so careful, please,” she urged him, suddenly pressing a leather-bound book into his hands. “Take this. Read it. Believe it. Even though it seems impossible, please, just trust me, and take care of yourself and your family. Please, Garcia.”
She sounded so desperate, looked so afraid, he found himself nodding his head in agreement, even though he had no idea what was happening. He opened his mouth to say something, unsure what it even was, when suddenly a voice in the dark called Lucy’s name and they both looked towards the sound.
“I have to go,” she said, turning back, hesitating a second or two, before reaching up to plant a kiss on the corner of his mouth. “Please, Garcia. Be safe,” she said again.
Then she was hurrying, stumbling down the path, until she reached someone too far into the shadows to be seen. Garcia kept watching, even after they were long gone, then he heard a strange sound, felt another rush of wind, strong enough this time his hair blew back and he had to close his eyes for a beat.
When he headed back inside, looked out of the same window from before, the spaceship, or whatever it had been, was gone. Looking down at the leather-bound book in his hand, Garcia started to untie the straps, only to discover he was holding a handwritten journal. As he flipped the pages, a separate piece of paper dropped out onto the rug and he stooped to retrieve it.
‘Garcia,
If you need help, look for Agent Denise Christopher with Homeland Security. What you already know about Rittenhouse, plus the contents of this journal should be enough to convince her of the truth. If you work together, I believe you can save everybody. I hope to see you soon.
Lucy.’