Author's Note: Written for the RipChat Holiday Exchange.

The sound of children laughing filled the air as he sat at the picnic bench watching them run around the playpark. Rip sipped the terrible tea he'd bought at the coffee shop on the walk here, which was probably why it didn't taste that great, thinking about the few times he'd taken Jonas to the park near the house.

They were in Star City in the team's native time, so they could visit friends and family for a few days. This had left Rip on the ship on his own, so he'd decided to do some maintenance.

Gideon had told him after a few hours to go out for a walk or she would drug his next drink and knock him out because he was driving her crazy rechecking the systems Jax had already checked. Knowing the ship's AI would be true to her word, as it wouldn't be the first time, Rip went for a walk. With nowhere to go and nothing to do Rip had wandered finding the park.

He had lost Miranda and Jonas forever, knew now that they were never coming back to him and had no idea where it left him. Rip had always had Miranda to turn to for support. Whenever he was tired, or the things he had to do got too much for him, he would go home to her. Miranda had a way of helping him turn his mind off and relax. Mostly in the past few years she would simply send Jonas to hug him. Their son's sweet nature and brilliant mind could make Rip forget anything else for a while.

The past few years trying to save them, he'd had hope to cling to that he would get them back, that he would be able to return home and have them back in his arms again but even the hope was now gone.

With the destruction of the Time Masters it was now also impossible for him ever to go back to the Refuge, he could never talk to his mother again.

He had no family left.

"You know," a familiar voice said as the blonde dropped onto the seat at his side, "When I called Gideon to check in, and she said you were out, I expected to find you camped out in a bar."

"None are open at this time," he replied without turning, "Plus I really don't want to have to listen to Gideon lecture me all night."

Sara laughed, looking over at the kids playing not far from them.

"I know you miss him," she said softly, "I'm sorry we couldn't save them."

Shaking his head Rip sighed, "We were never going to. The Time Masters made sure of it. It was a loop."

Patting his shoulder comfortingly, Sara then hit him slightly harder, "Okay, come on."

"Where?" he asked, frowning at her as he rubbed his shoulder.

She smiled at him, "We're going for a walk."

With a sigh he followed on, he knew there was no point in arguing since Sara had that look on her face which told him she was going to ignore whatever he said. And, if he didn't follow, she would probably drag him along by his ear.

x

Sara looked at the man walking by her side saddened by how adrift Rip was these days. From the moment she'd met him Rip had a mission, a purpose. Even now, if they were chasing pirates or future tech, he was sharp and focussed. But with nothing to do Rip was lost and the grief he worked so hard to avoid came to the surface.

She was here to visit her father but since he was working at the moment helping Oliver, who was now the Mayor which she was still trying to get her head around, Sara had decided to go do some shopping.

As fantastic as the Waverider was, there were certain things that never tasted quite right when made by the fabricator. Not that Sara would ever dare tell Gideon this. Especially after the time Ray made an offhand comment that the chocolate flavoured popcorn didn't taste quite right. Gideon sulked for days and Ray didn't have a warm shower for the entire time, although she claimed it was merely a glitch.

Sara hadn't expected to find Rip but was glad she did. Seeing him sitting watching the kids play, overwhelming sadness covering his face, Sara knew she had to get him away from there before he wallowed too much.

"Have you ever spent any time in Star City without a mission?" Sara asked as they walked through the streets.

Rip shrugged, "Not really. I never had any reason to."

"Well, we're here for a few days so you should see the sights," Sara told him, "Do something fun for possibly the first time in your life."

Rip stared at her for a minute before asking, "Your definition of fun or mine?"

"Definitely not yours. I didn't even know you had one," Sara laughed before adding, "And I don't think you're remotely ready for mine. So, we'll try for fun from someone who is perhaps half-way normal. Okay?"

Rip grimaced, "Do I have a choice?"

"Nope."

Waving her forward he sighed, "Fine."

x

Rip continued to walk with Sara through the streets of Star City not quite sure why he'd agreed to come with her but then again, she would have annoyed him until he did. Sometimes it was easier to just acquiesce.

"Where exactly are we going?" he demanded after five minutes.

"You'll see," Sara replied with the smirk that he had come to know meant trouble.

"Sara…" he started not getting any further than her name as she held up her hand.

Sara stopped walking and looked up at him, "Rip, trust me."

He let out an annoyed sigh, "Fine."

With an amused grin she started walking again. Rip shook his head and caught up with her quickly. They continued walking, Rip getting a little annoyed. He didn't like being in the dark, but Sara would just give him a grin every time he was about to ask, which meant he stopped trying.

Finally, they reached a door and Rip grimaced reading the sign above it, "Are you kidding me?"

"What?" Sara chuckled at his expression, "It's Laser Tag. You can shoot. We can annihilate all the competition."

Rip frowned at her, "Sara…"

"They're not real weapons," she rolled her eyes, "And it's fun. Besides the paintball place needs a reservation, so I can't take you there."

He sighed.

"Look the owner is a friend of my dad," Sara told him as she opened the door, "He gets businesses who book the place for 'team builds'. I used to help out by playing the defender of their prize to add a level of difficulty."

"Sara…"

"You get to shoot some arrogant bankers who think they're Gods gift to the world," she told him with a smile, "It'll be therapeutic." She nudged him with her shoulder, "Come on. You know you'll have fun."

Rip sighed again, "Fine."

She grinned and led him inside.

x

Rip frowned as he put on the equipment he'd been given, glancing to where Sara was doing the same. The man in charge of the place had been pleased to see her and was more than happy for them to be the 'enemy' of the group of bankers he had in that morning.

"Okay," Sara explained, "If someone hits you then the vest will vibrate, and your gun will be disabled. This means you won't be able to shoot for thirty seconds. If one of them manages to find the 'hidden gem' then it will mean our weapons will be disabled for one minute. It gives them a chance to actually get to the 'treasure'."

Rip nodded before noting, "It sounds a bit like a training simulation we used to do. Though I'm assuming you don't get an electric shock when you're hit."

Sara mused on this for a moment before asking, "How strong a shock was it?"

"It depended on how many times you were hit," Rip explained, "By the third one it was painful and if you were hit a fifth time then you usually blacked out."

"How old were you when you did this?" Sara was unable to stop herself from asking.

Pausing for a moment he thought back, "We did it throughout our training, but I think I was eleven when I first did it. About two months after I arrived at the Refuge. I lasted about three minutes the first time." He shrugged, "By the time I was twelve no one could touch me."

"Your childhood was seriously messed up," Sara noted horrified, especially as his tone suggested that this was a fond childhood memory for him, "You know what, after this we're going for ice-cream."

A little bemused he nodded, "Okay."

Sara rolled her eyes at him before motioning him to follow her, "This," she pointed to the map on the wall, "Is the arena. Our job is to guard the treasure the team is after. Which is here."

Rip studied the map intently for several seconds committing it to memory, "And this is fun for normal people?"

"This is a 'team building' exercise," Sara reminded, "Where they have to work together outside of their normal jobs, so probably not. Just, try not to humiliate them too much."

x

Sara watched Rip get situated hoping this would distract him for an hour or so at least. The small insight into the Time Master's childhood she'd just received had made her want to blow them up again. She remembered meeting the younger version of Rip, the fact he'd had a knife on him and had no hesitation in using it had stunned her. Although it did explain quite a bit about their Captain.

"The team are being released into the arena," Jim's voice came, "Have fun."

Glancing over to Rip she saw him look around surprised when the lights went out and the luminous paint lit up under the ultraviolet lights. Nodding at him she turned her attention to the men who were making their way in to the danger zone.

Within seconds Rip had taken out three of them, all who looked stunned as they moved back out of the way while muttering annoyed. Sara smiled amused when the remaining members of the team began to move warily forwards. Rip quickly shot the next few who dared step within range and Sara chuckled, the poor guys had no idea who they were up against. The half hour went by quickly with none of the team getting anywhere near their goal.

Sara watched the team of bankers leave, grumbling at their loss before she glanced over at Rip who looked a little smug. It occurred to her that this was probably normal for him, which she found extremely sad. It made her wonder, not for the first time, how Rip managed to get together with Miranda if this was the interaction he was raised to have with people.

"Did you have fun?" Sara asked as they strolled through the streets towards her favourite ice cream place.

Rip shrugged, "It was…"

"It was…" Sara encouraged him to finish when he trailed off.

"Alright," Rip shrugged bemused, "But I still don't see how that is something people do for fun."

Sara stared at him thoughtfully, "It's hard to explain. Okay, it's time for ice-cream. You do like ice-cream, don't you?"

"Daddy," the memory of Jonas' excited voice echoed through his brain, "I want chocolate and strawberry with lots of sprinkles."

Rip shrugged again trying to shake away the memory, "On occasion."

Rolling her eyes Sara waved him forward, "We could try an Escape Room."

"A what?"

"It's a game," Sara explained, "They lock you in a room where you have to solve puzzles to find the key to get out."

Rip thought this through before asking, "And that's thought of as fun?"

Letting out a long sigh Sara shook her head, "Never mind. Let's go get our ice-cream."

"Sara, the entire point of coming here was to allow you to spend time with your family and friends," Rip reminded her as he began to follow her again, "You don't have to keep me company."

"My dad is working," she told him, "I'm meeting him for dinner. Until then I have no plans."

"Sara…"

"Rip," she cut him off, "You don't have to be alone the entire time we're here."

He ducked his eyes, "I'm fine. I just came out for a walk, I have Gideon if I need to talk to someone."

"You know she's not all you have," Sara frowned, "We're your friends. You can spend time with us when not protecting the timeline. It's allowed."

Nodding softly, he replied, "I just thought you would want to see your friends while we're here. Like…" he hesitated for a moment, "Miss Smoak and Mr Queen."

"Both have jobs," Sara chuckled, "Oliver is the mayor now, so it isn't going to be easy to spend time with them during the day."

"I didn't think of that," Rip noted before realisation hit him, "Does that mean…"

"Ray went to visit some college buddies, Martin is seeing his wife, Jax is visiting his mom," Sara listed, "So they're fine." She paused before noting, "I have no idea where Mick went and frankly, I don't want to."

Rip chuckled slightly, "Then let's go get some ice-cream."

x

Sara knew that Rip had a sweet tooth, they'd learned that quite early on during their travels with him. He had stashes of sugary snacks all over the ship, there had been a load of chocolate hidden under the floor of her room at one point.

Watching him trying to choose ice-cream was one of the most frustrating things Sara had ever witnessed. He studied the possible flavours intently, Sara could practically see his mind working as he decided what he wanted. Rolling her eyes Sara just ordered the chocolate, caramel and hazelnut sundae, one of her favourites, turning back to him finding that Rip had ordered a simple vanilla cone.

"You know we came here for 'ice cream'," Sara laughed, putting the quotation marks around the words, "Several scoops with sauces and toppings. Not that pathetic kiddie cone."

Rip stalled suddenly, and she frowned as she saw the sadness and confusion flit across his face.

"What?" she asked concerned, following him to the table in the corner.

"I forgot," he whispered taking a seat, "They're gone."

Concerned Sara started, "Mira…"

"The Time Masters," Rip said before she could even get the name out, "They're no longer going to analyse and review everything I eat or drink."

"They did that?"

Rip shrugged, "We had to stay at peak fitness, so overindulging was frowned upon."

"And they checked into it?"

"Gideon had to download a log of everything I ate and drank after each mission," Rip explained softly, "Along with all my medical records."

Sara stared at him in astonishment, "But you have a ton of sugary snacks everywhere on the ship not to mention your stash of alcohol."

"I learned how to circumvent the system on occasion," Rip shrugged, "Gideon was good at helping me walk the line. It meant I wouldn't get caught when I was with…" he trailed off shaking his head, "I'm used to being careful about what I eat."

Sara frowned, "Why did you stay? I know saving time but considering…well…everything why did you not just leave to be with your family?"

Rip leaned back in his chair, his eyes far away, "I was about ten years old, starving to death in an alleyway when Druce found me. He took me to the Refuge, where my mother gave me a warm bed, fed me, loved me and then he gave me a purpose. For a kid who was thought of as nothing but dirt who people pushed out of the way, it made me feel like I could be someone. What would you do?"

Taking a spoonful of her sundae Sara mused over this, she'd never really thought about how big Rip's marriage to Miranda was for him. The Time Masters had basically programmed him from childhood to follow their commands, the fact he broke that programming to be in a relationship was impressive. To have hidden a long-term relationship, along with a child, from them was remarkable considering she could see how much of the brainwashing still existed within him.

"Wait here," she jumped up and headed to the counter again, ordering the same sundae that she had herself, Sara placed it in front of Rip. "You're free from them. You can eat what you want, when you want."

A small smile touched his lips and he dug into his ice-cream.

x

"Thank you," Rip said as they reached the waste ground the Waverider was berthed on, "Today was…"

"Fun?" Sara suggested with a grin.

He nodded, "Yes, it was fun."

She chuckled as the cargo bay opened for him, "Good." Sara caught his arm stopping him before he started inside, "You know you could come for dinner tonight, if you want? My dad would like to meet you and remember it this time."

Rip shook his head, "It's your time with your father, Sara. I know I would not want to have anyone interrupt mine with my mother. I'll be okay."

Clapping his arm Sara left to meet her father and Rip walked into his ship.

"Gideon," Rip called as he started to the parlour.

"Yes, Captain," she answered.

Rip frowned dropping into his seat, "I should be angry at you for telling Sara where to find me."

"But?"

"But I'm glad you did," he confessed, "I had a good day."

Rip could practically feel her smugness before she replied, "That is all I wanted."

He chuckled slightly, "You know what? I'm hungry."

"What would you like to eat, Captain?" Gideon asked.

Bouncing to his feet Rip started for the galley, "I want something I normally wouldn't eat. Something that would be frowned upon by the Time Masters if they found out, something I like."

"Are you sure?"

Rip nodded, "They're gone, Gideon. I can eat and do whatever I want now."

"Then I have prepared something you will enjoy."

Smiling he rested his hand affectionately on the bulkhead for a moment before he started walking to the galley.

He was free.