Scars Of Time

Marked Target

Back at the bunker, Agent Christopher spotted the two as they entered the corridor. Her face hardened, giving them both a stern glare that made Tenley uncomfortable.

"What were you thinking?" she demanded to know. She eyed both of them. "You know better than to leave-"

"Look," Flynn began. "We're tired. Can we do this in the morning?"

Denise narrowed her eyes at him before casting her gaze over to Tenley. For the first time since they returned, she noticed the gash on Tenley's head. She sighed. "Very well. Get cleaned up and we will have a talk tomorrow, do I make myself clear?"

The two nodded and watched as an angry Denise Christopher stormed away from them. Tenley's eyes lifted out of the corner of her eye to Flynn.

He turned towards her. "Let's get your head cleaned up."

She entered the infirmary behind Flynn. Her eyes landed on her open laptop and her brows knitted together. She opened her mouth to question it when Flynn saw what she was looking at.

He admitted, "I figured there'd be a clue on there as to where you disappeared to." He turned to look at her. "Seems I was right."

"How'd you know my password?" she asked as Flynn gathered the supplies to clean her injury.

"What," he began. "Like it was hard?" He chuckled and stated, "I actually overheard you when you told Agent Christopher the new password."

Tenley blinked at his admittance. "I see...well...thanks for eavesdropping."

He smirked. "You're welcome." He patted the exam table. "Hop up. Let's get you cleaned up."

Tenley sighed, sitting on the exam table as Flynn began cleaning up the cut on her forehead. She felt the sting of the antiseptic as he dabbed it on the open cut.

After a moment of silence, Tenley whispered, "I am sorry about your brother."

Flynn's eyes briefly met hers before turning away to throw the trash in the bin. "I appreciate that, but it's not your fault, Nine." She sighed heavily, still feeling guilty. He turned back to face her. "I guess it just goes to show you that you can't really change history."

She knitted her brow together in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"In our original timeline," he began. "Before all of this - before the time machine - Gabriel had been stung by a bee and died of asphyxia."

Tenley's eyes fell to the floor, saddened to hear the truth of his brother's history. "I had no idea..."

Flynn shrugged. "I went back in time and saved him...I did it because our mother suffered from that loss my whole life...I had to do something to bring him back - bring some joy back into her life."

"And you did," Tenley pointed out.

Flynn nodded, crossing his arms. "I did. But..." he paused for a moment before saying, "But Rittenhouse knew that I had done so and used him against me. So you see?" He stood before Tenley, lifting her chin to look at him. "It's not your fault. You were right before. You were simply their pawn to get to me."

Tenley shook her head in dismay. She couldn't wrap her head around what Rittenhouse wanted, why they destroyed people's lives and families. Flynn had lost almost everyone dear to him, Lucy had lost not only her sister Amy but her mother in a sense. Everyone in the bunker had a similar story of loss, but Flynn had been the one to suffer the greatest out of everyone.

Flynn held her gaze for a moment before saying softly, "Goodnight, Nine. I'll see you tomorrow."
He lingered for a minute. Tenley watched him carefully, suddenly remembering the moment on the abandoned highway in the middle of the night. When he finally forced himself out of the infirmary, Tenley's mind raced, heart pounded, and the butterflies suddenly attacked her stomach.