"Though we're tethered to the story we must tell,
When I saw you I knew we'd tell it well."
- Sleeping at Last
Sara grunts as the waverider finally stops spinning and crashes to the ground. It takes a second to steady herself, but then she lifts the belt and jumps up from the captain's chair to face her team. "Everyone okay?"
She gets a chorus of grunts and moans in reply, and shrugs, knowing it's probably the most articulate reply she's going to get after that landing.
"My head hurts." Jax replies, rubbing the back of his head where it had hit the chair during the crash.
"I'm getting too old for this." Martin chimes in, stretching his back.
"How do you even get out of that chair so fast?" Ray asks her, gripping his chair tightly, waiting for the world to stop spinning.
"I'm an assassin." she reminds Ray.
"Right." He mumbles, still clutching the chair.
In the corner of her eye, she can see Leonard rolling his eyes and Sara can't help but smirk.
He had been back on the team for a while, and it hadn't taken them long to fall back into their easy banter. She liked it, liked having him back and liked talking to him regularly, but she can't help but be a little bit disappointed too. Because, despite them talking every day, they never really talked.
She kissed him at the Oculus. He died. Then she died, murdered by her former captain turned evil. And she came back. Again. She fought the 2014 version of him, when he was in a very dark place and unrecognisable to the man he was when they first met, and the man he is today. He fought alongside the two men who ruined her life. One had killed her sister, and one had killed her. They returned him to the timeline, erased his memory and said goodbye to him once more. They broke time, and suddenly, he was there again. Alive.
They never talk about any of it.
Once she's sure her team is okay, she makes her way to the holo table, the team following her, to find out where (or when) and why they crashed. She was able to make out some futuristic technology through the front window so they're probably in the future, but with their only teammate from the 22nd century missing, it's kind of hard to estimate exactly when. "Gideon, where and when are we?"
"We seemed to have crashed in Central City, 2017."
"Um." Jax begins, but shakes his head. Everyone stares at each other for a moment, then glance out the window, to what is definitely not the Central City 2017 that they know.
"Please tell me we didn't break time again!" Ray whines.
"On the contrary, Mr Palmer, you seemed to have crashed in an alternate reality." The AI chirps. God, they're really going to have to teach the robot to not use such a happy tone all of the time.
"An alternate reality?" Sara asks.
"Yes, Ms. Lance. Millions of Earths exist beyond yours, all of which are different from each other. I believe this earth would be referred on your earth as Earth-6."
"I've heard about these alternate realities from Barry, they're endlessly fascinating!" Stein says almost enthusiastically.
"I'm sure they are, but it's probably best if we get out of here as fast as possible. Who knows what all might be different on this earth." Sara replies, shutting down even the possibility of exploring this world.
"Ya could be a criminal." Mick says, and punches the professor in the arm.
Leonard smirks at his partner's comment, and the smirk only grows wider when Stein looks at the pyromaniac in utter shock. "I would never be a criminal !" He spits the last word out as if it's something disgusting, or something Leonard or Mick should be ashamed of. Neither of their smirks disappear from their faces however, having long since grown used to the old man's comments on their way of living.
"Actually," Gideon chimes in, "Mr. Stein has a criminal record on several earths, including earths 8, 19 and 46."
Mick and Leonard can't help but laugh and Jax and Amaya have trouble keeping a straight face as well. Sara shakes her head but smiles nevertheless.
"Alright," Sara continues, gathering the attention of her team once more. "I suggest we all say in the ship as much as possible, and only go out if necessary. Jax, check the waverider for any repairs that need to be done. Take Mick with you."
Jax nods at her, high fives Mick, and together they take off to do repairs.
"Ray and Stein, put your brains together and get us out of here as soon as possible."
"On it." The two take off to the library, leaving only Nate, Amaya, Leonard and her.
"Nate, Amaya, do you think you can search Rip's books for anything that might help Ray and Stein?"
"Sure thing." They're a little too excited to be teamed up together, but as long as they don't have sex when they're supposed to be working, Sara isn't going to be the one to interfere with their relationship.
The two of them can't get away fast enough, leaving just Leonard and her.
"So where do you want to put me?" He drawls.
She smirks. "Well if you want, I could put you with Nate and Amaya."
Leonard grunts, remembering the last time he was teamed up with them, and how much of a third wheel he was. The fact that his best friend has a massive crush on Amaya didn't exactly help with the awkwardness either.
She laughs and in response, Leonard's scowl melts away and is replaced by a smile of his own.
"Don't worry, I won't do that to you."
He leans on the holotable opposite of her, and she finds herself leaning in as well. They're so close and god, if only they talked. If only she knew where he stood, if he had feelings for her, or maybe whatever there had been had faded away a long time ago. If only the thought of even discussing this didn't terrify her.
So instead of acting on her feelings, she stands back up and makes her way to the captain's quarters. There's still a lot to take care of as captain, and she figures she might as well get a head start. She turns back to Leonard who's still leaning against the table, looking up at her. "You could help Jax and Mick with the reparations if you want. Or watch Stein and Ray argue over science related things. Whichever you prefer."
He nods and is about to leave the brig to find Jax and Mick, when the two return to the room, Jax with a worried look on his face.
"Sara?" Jax calls to get their captain's attention, who has already buried herself in papers.
She looks up at him, and frowns when she sees his expression. "What is it?"
"We found some things that need repairing, the only problem is," he holds out a tiny metal device that seems to be smashed to bits, "this is broken beyond repair."
Sara moves away from the desk and walks towards Jax, carefully picking up the device in her hand. "And we need this because?"
"This little thing converts the power from the time drive to the engines. Without it, we can't go anywhere."
"Damn." Sara looks back up at the three men after having studied the device. "So can Gideon recreate it?"
"That's another thing."
"No." Mick supplied.
Sara raises an eyebrow at them. Many parts of the waverider might have broken down over time, but the fabricator was something they could always rely on. "Something with energy, timetravel. I don't know." The bulky man waves his hand in dismissal.
"I am not able to produce this device here because the chemical reaction needed for the device to function would come in contact with a chemical released when time travelling, and explode." The AI answers for him.
"Yeah that."
Sara furrows her brows, quickly working out a plan to fix the problem. "Gideon, is there a STAR Labs in this reality?"
"Yes, Miss Lance. However on this earth it is known as STAR Hospital."
She gestures to the device in her other hand. "Think Earth-6 Team Flash can recreate this?"
"Definitely." Jax replies. "It's not overly complicated. I could probably do it myself if I had the tools. And you know, the engineering degree."
She smiles at the younger teammate, then turns her attention back to the small device in her hand. "Well, so much for not leaving the ship."
"Have you ever been to Central City?" Jax asks and she looks back up at him, confused.
"I've been there once to visit my mother, but Earth-6 Central City is kind of new for me. Why?"
"You should probably take someone with you who knows the city. And STAR Labs." Jax glances at the floor for a moment, and Mick actually snorts. Sara isn't blind to the attempt of matchmaking by Jax, and she quickly darts her eyes across the room to Leonard, who is once again leaning against the holo table, looking directly at her with a smirk on his face.
"I think I'll be fine, Jax." She replies, and gets up to get her stuff. Her feelings for Leonard are complicated enough as it is, without her teammates meddling and playing matchmaker.
She's at the hatch, about to leave the waverider when she runs into Snart, wearing his parka and seemingly ready to go. "Where are you going?"
"I'm coming with you." He states simply.
"No," she replies, though she can't stop the smile spreading across her face at the fact that he's here, "You're not."
"Do you know where we are at the moment? And how to get to STAR Labs the fastest?"
She sighs, and she knows that he has a point. Damn it Jax. "No." She admits. She would've had Gideon print out a map of the city, but the AI doesn't have one of Earth-6. (Apparently the AI has never been to Earth-6 before, and therefore has no information about the earth at all. Of all the earths they could've crashed in, they crashed in the very one place Gideon has never been. Go figure.
"So I'm coming with you." He's already wearing his parka and his cold gun is already strapped to his leg, and despite the looks she throws him, he doesn't budge.
"Fine."
He grins at her and presses the button to open the hatch, and walks outside.
"You know, Jax only said that because he wants us to sleep together so he can take your room." Sara calls after him, before following him out of the waverider.
Leonard stops briefly, turns around, and smirks. The hatch closes behind them and she catches up to him, ignoring the smirk on his face. "Lead the way, crook."
They arrive at STAR Labs within thirty minutes. Leonard only made one wrong turn, entering a road that ended at a massive office building that doesn't exist on Earth-1, and Sara has no doubt that if he weren't with her, it would have taken her much longer to find the hospital.
The two step into the hospital and are immediately overwhelmed by how crowded it is. What on Earth-1 is a mostly empty building, half destroyed by the particle accelerator, is on Earth-6 an overcrowded hospital with doctors rushing from left to right to help all of the patients. Sara is about to say something to Leonard, when suddenly he's being pulled away by a dark haired slender kid she recognises as Barry, AKA The Flash, on their earth.
"Mr. Snart!" He exclaims, nervously patting him on the back, before turning bright red. "I'm so glad you're here!" He pulls Leonard through a crowded hallway, giving him no choice but to follow. Sara trails after them, grateful that she hadn't been spotted in the frenzy.
They finally reach the end of the hallway, and Barry pulls Leonard through the doors at the end. Sara sneaks in after them and the doors slam closed behind her. They've entered a fancy looking office, with a desk in the center, and a couch with a tv against the wall. The room continues around the corner, but she can't explore that part of the room without exposing herself, so she stays closed to the walls and hopes that there is no threat waiting for him there.
"Mr. Snart," Barry hands him a couple of papers, "Here's some more files you've been asked to look at, and don't forget you have a meeting with Waverider Industries at two. And here," The boy rambles on, completely unaware of Leonard's confused, if not shocked expression.
"Sir, are you alright?" He finally asks, realising that Leonard is still standing exactly at the spot where Barry left him, stacks of paper in his hands.
"Ehh.." He looks around for the assassin, but he isn't sure if she was even able to follow them in here. "Sara?" He asks.
Barry's expression softens. "District attorney Lance will be stopping by for lunch-"
Sara steps forward from the shadows, saving Leonard from any more awkward conversation that could've followed. The plan was to hide amongst citizens, sneak into STAR Labs without gaining attention and letting as little people as possible know that they were here.
Screw the plan.
Barry had already seen him, and the 'not getting attention' seemed to be failing tremendously.
So Sara steps forward, towards Leonard. She can see the relief written all over his face.
"District Attorney Lance!" Barry interrupts them, "I didn't know-" his eyes suddenly drop to her stomach and back up, and he freezes. "You're not them."
Leonard lets out a sigh and drops the stack of paper onto the desk, relieved that he didn't have to play pretend anymore. "No, we're not."
Barry narrows his eyes at them and inches backwards towards the door. "Who are you?"
"We're from an alternate reality." Sara says before Barry reaches the door and perhaps gets the idea to yell for security.
He stops moving and tilts his head. "You are?"
"We are." Leonard confirms.
It takes forever to convince Barry that yes, they really are from another universe , but once he believes them, it doesn't take long before Cisco, Caitlin, Wells and even Iris are in the office, all eager to help them out, or at least see if this is the case.
It isn't lost on Sara that every single one of them lets their gaze drop down to her stomach before looking up at her, and it's so obvious that the Earth-6 version of her is pregnant. The realisation comes at a shock at first, but then she looks around, at the fancy office, and the way they treat Leonard with respect, instead of how they would treat him if Earth-6 Leonard Snart was a crook, and she remembers how Barry had called her 'district attorney', and the penny drops.
On Earth-6, she's a district attorney. She's married to Leonard Snart, owner of a successful hospital, and she's pregnant.
On Earth-6, they're a family.
They're in love.
Sara would be lying if she said that she wasn't a little jealous. Or really jealous, as a matter of fact. Not that Earth-6 Sara is pregnant - although Sara likes kids and doesn't object to having them, it's never been a demand for her - but that she's with him.
Earth-6 Sara Lance is with Earth-6 Leonard Snart, and she's jealous.
She shoves her feelings aside, however, because they're on a mission, and they need this device so they can return to their earth and she hopefully never has to think about any of this again.
But she can see the looks Leonard throws her sometimes, from across the room, when he thinks she isn't looking, and she knows he's thinking the same thing.
Despite so many things being different for the two of them, there's a few things that are still the same, and that includes the brilliance of Team Flash. They spend about an hour studying the device and asking Sara questions about the ship it's for, and Sara gives them as many details as possible, without causing an aberration.
It might not be their timeline, but it's still a timeline, and she can't exactly imagine it being good for the Earth-6 timeline if Team Flash randomly invents a time ship.
After that, Cisco and Wells begin building it, while Caitlin and Barry focus on getting the right chemical reaction in the device for it to be operational.
It gives Sara and Leonard a grateful break from the interrogation and Sara begins to snoop around the room.
In the corner of her eye she can see Leonard talking to Iris, both of them a curious expression on their faces. She's guessing they're comparing timelines, and Sara makes a mental note to ask Leonard about it later.
Sara walks around the desk and finds a picture there of her and Leonard's Earth-6 version on their wedding day, gazing lovingly into each other's eyes. There's another photo of two kids, and when she leans in closer, she realises they're Lisa and Leonard when they were younger.
She moves to the wall next to the tv, where more pictures are hanging on the wall. Most of them are of Sara and Len, but in a couple Mick is there too, and in a more recent photo - she can tell by the swell of her-Sara's stomach - Mick is standing next to them, his arm around Amaya.
In the center of the wall hangs a photo of both of their families and all of their friends wearing suits and dresses, which she assumes was taken at the wedding. In the middle are her and Leonard, on her left are Laurel and Felicity in similar dresses, and on Leonard's right are Mick and Barry in suits, and Lisa, wearing a dress also similar to Laurel's and Felicity's. They're the bridesmaids, Sara realises, and she smiles.
Her parents are there too, and on Leonard's side she sees a woman she doesn't recognise, but has her arm around Lisa, and the similarities between the two women are just too much to not be mother and daughter.
Sara smiles softly. On this earth, his mother didn't pass away when he was 10. There is no sign of Lewis, and although she doesn't know if he was anything like the Lewis on Earth-1, she assumes it's a good thing.
She spots Tommy on the photo as well, holding Laurel's hand and carrying a toddler that looks so much like both of them on his hip.
Amaya is there at Mick's side, and next to her family are her friends. All of the people in this room, Iris, Barry, Cisco, Caitlin, Wells, but also Thea, Oliver and Diggle.
She takes in the sight of them, this one, big happy family, who no doubt have struggled and fought, but in this moment, they're happy.
"Hey, sorry I'm late, I was-" the familiar voice stops in its tracks as he looks around the room.
Sara uses the moment of confusion to quickly wipe away some stray tears, before anyone notices. She looks back up, straight into the eyes of Leonard.
But not her Leonard.
"Sara, what…?" He trails off. Looks around the room again, at the familiar faces staring at him, not saying anything.
She walks around the couch towards him, taking him in. She can tell he's not her Leonard, he's so much more open, his eyes full with emotion as he worryingly takes in the sight in front of him. His eyes drop to her stomach, and he's so shocked for a moment, blinking away tears, before he looks back up at her and he realises.
"You're not my Sara."
Barry seems to have finally found his voice again, and jumps up from the chair. "They're from another universe!"
"They?" he asks, eyes not leaving Sara.
Leonard rasps his throat behind her, and Earth-6 Leonard looks up at the taller man standing behind her. "Oh."
"What are you doing?"
"We are recreating a device for them so they can go back in their timeship and return to their own timeline." Barry answers.
"And, we're done!" Cisco exclaims before high fiving Wells.
"Perfect timing." Caitlin adds, reaching out to squeeze Leonard's hand, which startles him.
"Right." He looks at the two of them. "Sorry about …" he gestures vaguely towards himself and the chaos outside, "this."
"We're going back to the patients." Caitlin calmly continues and hands Earth-6 Leonard the device. The rest of them sneak out after her, until only Sara and both Leonards are left.
"So…" Earth-6 Leonard begins, turning over the device in his hand.
"We came here because we know STAR Labs on our earth, and they would be able to help us, so our best shot at going home as soon as possible was by going here." Sara answers his silent question. She looks over her shoulder at Leonard, her Leonard, who she didn't even realise had moved closer to her, so close that if she took just one step backwards, her back would be against his front. "We should head back, though."
"Yeah." Leonard replies.
Earth-6 Leonard hands her the device and she stands on her toes to give the man a kiss on his cheek. "Sorry about the scare." she tells him.
He smiles down at her. "It's fine."
She waves one last time before she opens the door and disappears in the crowded hallway, leaving just the two Leonards. Earth-1 Leonard knows he should go after her so they don't lose each other in the mass, but he has a question to ask first.
"How do you do it?"
The other Snart looks up at him and furrows his brows. "What?"
"I talked to Iris." He explains, "She told me about how you run the hospital, and help so many people through charity, and start a family, while your life is being threatened every single day."
Earth-6 Leonard smiles at him. "You want to know the truth?" He leans against the desk and nods towards the hallway Sara had just vanished to. "She makes it easier."
Len looks at his other self and finally finds himself ready to admit what he'd subconsciously known for a very long time.
He's in love with her.
He takes one last look around the office, the family photos on the wall, the stacks of paperwork on the desk, the couch and the tv, and smiles.
I've been thinking what the future might hold for me. And you. And me and you.
Earth-6 Leonard shakes his hand. "Hold on to her."
"I will." And he turns around, back into the craziness of the only hospital in a city being torn apart by metahumans which offers free medical care to those who can't afford it.
He's married to the woman he loves.
He's going to be a father.
And suddenly, he isn't so scared of what the future might hold.
Because if it's something like this, anything like this, he can't imagine being anything short of amazing.
They arrive back at the waverider in one piece, and they hand off the device to Jax, who immediately leaves to place it back. The rest of the team has already figured out a way to get out of there, all they were waiting for was their captain to do the flying.
Sara studies their plan and when Jax returns, informing them that the device is in place, they all strap in and take off. After a couple of minutes and a few bumps, they are back in their own reality.
They are so caught up in finishing their respective duties as captain and cook - they all take their turn cooking meals, except for Sara, who is such an awful cook that she's been banned from the kitchen all together, and tonight was Leonard's turn - that it takes them a while to find the time to talk about it.
But eventually it's too late for Sara to continue her captain's duties, so she decides to go to bed when she hears someone moving around in the kitchen.
She walks in to find Leonard washing the dishes.
"Isn't it a rule that whoever cooks doesn't wash the dishes afterwards?"
He looks up from his chore and smirks at her. "Ray took over my shift a couple days before." He explains.
She steps into the kitchen and reaches for a towel to help him, but he snatches it away from her before she can grab it and holds it out of her reach.
Sometimes being taller than the assassin had its advantages.
"I thought you were forbidden in the kitchen." Leonard teases.
She stops trying to grab the towel and rolls her eyes at him. "I can wash dishes, Len."
He narrows her eyes at her. "Doubtful." But he lowers the towel so she can grab it and makes a little room for her at the counter. "I wash, you dry."
They work in comfortable silence for a minute, until Leonard speaks up. "So about … you know."
Sara sets down the dish she was drying off and looks at him.
"It, uh," he sighs, this would be so much easier if they were still messing around, flirting with each other, but they're not. If he says something now, it's serious.
He's so not used to this, to talking about feelings, or having these feelings at all. Sure, he'd been in love before, but somehow with her, everything is different, more intense.
Because he can see a future with her.
This isn't a summer romance, or a fling or anything like that.
He's in love with her.
And he wants to be with her.
He takes a deep breath and remembers what the Earth-6 version had said.
She makes it easier.
He looks at her, her eyes filled with hope.
Hold on to her.
"I was wondering what the future might hold for me. And you-"
He doesn't even get to me and you, before she's cut him off with a searing kiss.
He wraps his hands around her waist and pulls her closer, she runs her hands through his hair before wrapping her arms around his neck.
Both of their hands are still wet from washing the dishes, but they ignore it.
They break away with a gasp, and when he looks back at her, her eyes are filled not only with hope, but desire too, and if he's not mistaken, love.
"I love you." he whispers against her lips.
"I love you too."
They eventually finish washing the dishes, but it takes them much longer than usual, their chore constantly being interrupted by their kisses.
And when they emerge from Sara's room together the next morning, most of the team doesn't even respond. Amaya gives Sara a knowing smirk, and Len sees Mick wiggling his eyebrows at the two of them from across the room.
Jax mostly grins, and when the couple sits down to have breakfast, he moves over to them. "So does this mean I can have your room?" He asks Leonard.
"Um." Leonard nervously glances at Sara, who just smiles. "Sure."
"Yes!" The kid pumps his fist in the air in victory and Sara buries her face his Leonard's shirt in attempt to hide her laughter.
Leonard uses the moment to plant a kiss on the top of her head.
"I love you." he whispers. Even though he's said it so many times, he doesn't tire of saying it. They still have a lot to talk about, but at the moment, those three words are enough.
She grins up at him. "I know."