Threading the Timelines

Chapter Nine

May 16, 2018

Lucy lay sleeping, beautiful in the morning light, dull, filtered through the opaque windows. Her brunette hair messy on her shoulders, he ran his fingers through its length, allowing himself this fragile peace. Too soon she'd wake and they'd face off against Emma. Let her remain blissful until history demanded their attention.

She let him believe that she was still asleep, enjoying the absent play of his fingers against her skin. With her eyes closed, she could pretend they were an ordinary couple. They'd get up and he'd make pancakes. Maybe they'd stay in bed past noon. Spend the afternoon wandering through the market. In the evening, they'd open a bottle of wine and eat sitting on the living room floor. Utterly normal.

It hit her that she'd been imagining their stolen life, felt it in her bones. The pictures hazy, but the emotion clear as day. A wave of grief rippled through her and she snuggled into Flynn, comforted by his presence.

He leaned down and kissed just behind her ear. "Lucy?"

"Time to save the world?" she asked, her voice fuzzy. Blinking away the sleep, she stretched in his arms, her body distracting him.

"I mean, we could run away and let it all burn down. I'm not completely against that idea," his desire flaming into existence.

If not for Rufus, she'd probably let the world burn. The thought of Flynn, his gaze searing her as their bodies came together, a heady temptation. "One day, very soon, we're going to spend all day in bed." She nibbled her way up his chest.

"That is no way to get me out of bed," his hands roamed her waist, thumbs tracing circles over her hips, down the line to the crease of her thigh, fingers so close.

A moan escaped her lips. "Do you think we could be quick?"

"Woman," he almost growled at her, pressing her into the mattress, pinning her arms above her. Drinking in the sight of her, hair splayed across the pillow, she caught her breath as he began to move, a languorous rhythm. "We don't have near enough time for all the things I want to do to you right now."

Shifting mere inches, she aligned their bodies, the hard length of him poised at her center. "If you could pick one thing..."

Lucy gazed up at him, passion spilling from her expression. Her body coaxed his, moving to bring the tip of him into her, only to withdraw. It was too much. He slipped inside her and the universe fell into place. Their coupling quiet, at odds with the furious pace their bodies demanded. Since learning about their alternate life, they felt like they were racing time. As if, at any moment, what they'd found might be ripped away again.

~*~*~*~
May 13, 2018

Emma punched in the coordinates. "So, now that we have the ability to travel into our own timelines we can finally go after Lucy before Agent Christopher and the Time Team got their hooks into her. "

"Yes," Carol leaned forward. "The night of her accident. To this day she doesn't remember who saved her. We rescue her and take her back to Rittenhouse. If we show her the possibilities young, we can control her future. She can be here, by my side where she should be."

"Good, then we get there, we send in Jimmy and Doug to pull Lucy out, get her to the Rittenhouse facility in Stanford."

"Where I have people in place. Once they know my daughter is there, they'll contact me in the past. They'll assume she already knows about the organization since bringing her there indicates that knowledge. Lucy, once she gets hold of a mystery, won't let go until she solves it. I'll have no choice, but to tell her everything."