AUTHOR'S NOTE:

This is part of my post-1x15 "Waiting Room" continuity. I suggest reading the other stories in that series first. In order, they are:

"Worth The Wait"

"Kissing Lessons"

"Man To Man"

"The Course Of True Love"

"The Perfect Nap"

"She's Gotta Have It"

This story fits after "She's Gotta Have It" and is for those who wanted to see baby #3. And as is common for me, it became a bit more than a bit of fluff.

Thanks to JaelK for the beta!

And as always, the characters belong to DC Entertainment. Except for the three that are mine.

Try as he might to avoid it, Rip couldn't help feeling just a bit of heartache as the Lance family boarded the Waverider. Not that he regretted offering the Medbay's advanced capabilities for the birth of this new little one, just as he had previously for the arrivals of Mickey and Laurel.

But he couldn't stop the memories of Jonas' birth, either. As he watched Sara and Leonard repeatedly trace a path through the ship's corridors to help her labor along, he saw a vision of himself and Miranda walking the same pathway over and over again.

There were differences, of course. He and Miranda had been utterly alone aboard his time ship when Jonas was born, thanks to the disapproval of the Time Masters. Oh, they had Gideon, certainly. But a holographic artificial intelligence didn't come with helping hands or a warm smile of anticipation.

The Lances, on the other hand, arrived with a virtual entourage: Sara's parents (all three of them), Leonard's sister and her husband, and of course Mick, who kept the Lance children occupied with a (much-sanitized) story of his recent visit to the Jurassic period.

Others arrived later; the Steins were surrogate grandparents to the Lance children, after all, and Raymond and Jax were practically family as well. (Leonard classified them as "annoying cousin" and "little brother," respectively.)

Dr. Snow came in from S.T.A.R. Labs, rushing straight to Medbay as before to handle the birth. (And for that much, Rip was jealous; Leonard was able to hold his wife as each of their children was born, giving her physical comfort and encouragement, while Caitlin drew the newborn into the world. Rip had felt all thumbs when Jonas first emerged.)

And of course, Caitlin had the rest of Team Flash with her.

All this, for two people who had essentially been loners when he first met them in 2016. (True, Leonard had had Mick, but back then they'd both have scoffed at the idea of being family.)

Now Rip was the one who felt alone, even though he was surrounded by smiling faces and happy chatter on the bridge. That chatter turned to cheers when Gideon finally announced, "Mr. Rory, please bring Mickey and Laurel to meet their sister."

Eventually he truly was alone, as the visitors went down to the Medbay in twos and threes to welcome the newest Lance. He knew he should make the trek himself, but first he went into his study to play back the hologram of Jonas and Miranda, one more time.

Or maybe a few more times than that. Leonard's voice startled him back into the present.

"Sara thought you might be in here brooding." Leonard was standing in the entrance to the study, a small bundle in his arms. Rip quickly turned off the projector.

"I'm sorry, Leonard, I meant to come to you…"

"No need to apologize, Rip. We understand," the other man interrupted.

"How is Sara?"

"She's tired, but she's fine. Resting now." A tender smile crossed Leonard's face as he looked down at the newborn in his arms. "C'mere and meet my daughter."

Rip crossed the floor to Leonard and peered at the infant's face. "She's lovely." And she was, all pink skin and chubby cheeks (much like her father's had been, way back in 1972), and a little bit of golden hair (just like her mother's) curling out from under her cap. "Congratulations. What have you named her?"

Leonard gently handed the baby to Rip, who felt another pang as he accepted the small burden. "Her name is Joy Lisa Lance," Leonard told him in a soft tone. "Joy, meet your Uncle Rip."

Rip brushed a finger down Joy's cheek. "Welcome to the world, little one," he said softly, his voice breaking. He was holding Joy, but he was seeing Jonas. He blinked away tears and looked back at Leonard. "I'm sorry. I can't help missing Jonas right now."

"I know," Leonard said, his voice still quiet. "You do every time. But this will be the last time."

Rip's eyebrows went up. "So Joy's your last?"

Leonard smiled a little. "That's… still up for discussion. But I wasn't talking about my family." He leaned in a little. "I'm talking about yours."

Rip just stared at the ex-crook. "You know we can't change the past."

The smile became Leonard's customary smirk. "I know we couldn't, back when we tried to before. But to quote a certain Jedi Master, 'always in motion is the future.' Things aren't what they were, Rip." He jerked his head out toward the main bridge. "Come and see."

Feeling a little dazed, Rip followed Leonard out. They weren't alone. Raymond, Jax and Martin had gathered around the holo table. Cisco Ramon and Barry Allen had taken jump seats, and Mick Rory was leaning against the bulkhead.

Leonard moved to the head of the table. "So you know this isn't just a sudden whim, the brain trust here," Mick snorted at that, "and I have been working on this for a couple of years now. We have a plan, Rip. To get your family back."

Rip's mouth dropped open. "That's impossible," he said in a whisper.

Leonard held up his right hand. "Remember what you said before you gave me this hand? 'Miracles abound on this old time ship.' Look around you, Rip." He waved that hand around at the others. "You're surrounded by miracles. Metahumans. Geniuses. And even a couple reformed crooks." Leonard smiled and nodded at the baby in Rip's arms. "You're holding one of those miracles right now. Don't tell me about impossible."

"Professor Stein and I did the math," Raymond said. "It can be done."

"Without damaging the timeline," Stein added.

Rip shook his head. "Gideon and I have been over it and over it…"

Gideon's image appeared above the table. "I have been given new information," the AI announced. "It indicates a rescue can be achieved."

Rip stiffened in surprise. "New information? From where?"

Barry chuckled. "Your Gideon and mine have had a bit of a meeting of the minds."

Rip's gaze snapped over to the speedster. "Your Gideon? What do you mean, your Gideon?"

Barry leaned back in the jump seat. "We have a Time Vault in S.T.A.R. Labs. Complete with our own artificial intelligence from the future. Your future as well as ours."

"And you never mentioned this to me before?" Rip asked incredulously. "Not once, in all these years?"

"Gideon… our Gideon… told us not to," Cisco answered. "Something about protecting the timeline."

Jax grinned at Rip's gaping mouth. "Now you know how we felt."

"Don't feel too good, does it?" Mick asked. But there was no bite in his voice. Instead, his eyes sparkled with amusement at the Time Master's discomfort.

Rip sank into his captain's seat, shifting Joy slightly in his arms. "But you can tell me now?"

"Time Vault Gideon wanted all the pieces in place before linking up with this Gideon," Leonard said. "Including some pieces along the galactic plane, which are now where they need to be."

"Plus some tech we had to build," Raymond added. "It's all ready now."

Rip took in a breath and looked down at Joy. Her blue eyes were open, and while he knew she couldn't possibly focus on him this early, it felt like she was studying him.

Miracles abound on this old time ship.

And indeed he was surrounded by them, but not one of those miracles was something he could call his own. Who was to say he wasn't due for a miracle? "You say you have a plan. I want to hear it."

They told him, at length, while (his) Gideon displayed schematics and equations above the holo table. When they'd finished the last detail, he looked around at them. "This is madness." His eyes fell on Leonard and he smiled. "I like it."

Leonard grinned back at the shared memory. But Rip's smile disappeared as he continued, "But Leonard, you couldn't have come up with this plan without resurrecting those memories from when you were trapped in the time stream. And I know how painful that had to have been."

"For me and for Sara," Leonard admitted. "She had to live with me through the nightmares again. But Rip, you're the one who brought us together in the first place, and you're the man who pulled me off of Jurgen's Ridge. Don't you go thinking I'm ever going to forget that."

He stepped over to Rip and picked up his daughter, who had just begun to squirm in the Time Master's arms. "I wouldn't have any of this," Leonard said softly, looking down at Joy, "if it wasn't for you. Compared to what I owe you, nightmares are a small sacrifice." His eyes flicked back up to Rip's. "Take it from a guy who knows a thing or two about sacrifice."

Rip nodded silently.

"So the question remains," Leonard said, his voice still soft, "are you ready to be Dad again?"

Rip smiled, possibly the first real smile he'd felt on his face in… years. "When do we start?"

Yeah, I know. Leave it on a cliffhanger! Mostly because the "brain trust" hasn't bothered to tell ME how this rescue is supposed to work.

But I will tell you I've got another "Waiting Room" story percolating, going backwards in the continuity instead of forward. There's a foreshadowing of it in this story.

Comments are love and feed my muse.