So. Lab Rats is over. Cue the fangirl tears. But let me tell you something right now: that doesn't mean I will stop writing LR fics. Never. Heck, I've got so many ideas for this fandom, it'll take me years to write them all. I don't care if no one's around to read them; I'm staying right here. I don't know if I'll write for Elite Force or not, but I will write new solely LR fics. I'm not leaving.
This story will contain spoilers for The Vanishing, if you haven't seen it. This is actually an idea for a story I've had for a while, but I combined it with a few new ideas inspired by last night's episode to create a sort of "Farewell to Lab Rats" fic. There's some sad stuff, so be ready for that.
If you want a song to listen to (you should expect this by now), I recommend "Best Is Yet to Come" by Red. It's perfect for this story (and our sadness over the end of Lab Rats); so bittersweet.
This one-shot is dedicated to all my fellow Lab Rats fans. You guys are the best fandom a girl could ask for, and I truly mean that. You're so welcoming and kind and amazing. Like, Brase-shippers and non-Brase-shippers live side-by-side, respecting each other and not getting into flame/ship wars. That's incredible. We're amazing. I'm so proud to be among y'all, and I honestly can't tell you how much I love the people of this fandom. You are amazing.
Even if it's over, I still don't own Lab Rats. I sort of own Felicity, but not really. (You'll see what I mean.) Enjoy!
* * * Era * * *
era |ˈirəˈerə|
noun
• archaic: a date or event marking the beginning of a new and distinct period of time.
He walked down the beach, the ocean breeze tingling his scalp. He looked up at his special spot—the one he was heading to—and was surprised to see another person already there. He walked up, knowing it was time to confront this. "Hey."
The figure perched on the rock turned, grinned, and said, "Hey, Leo."
"Mind if I join you?"
Chase shrugged. "I don't see why not."
Leo climbed the rock and took a seat next to his brother. They stayed silent for a few moments, enjoying the view of the setting sun reflecting off the ocean surface.
"So," Leo said, "what are you doing out here?"
"I took a walk to clear my head and sat down here. It . . . it has a great view."
"It does. This is kinda my spot—I go here when things get overwhelming."
"Oh, sorry, I can—"
"No, no, I like having you here. Besides, I . . . I think we need to talk."
Chase drew his knees up to his chest and stared his brother in the eye. "I agree. But, about what?"
"Everything? But I think you know what I'm getting at."
Chase blew over his lips. "Yeah."
"Are you mad at me?" Leo held his breath as he waited for the answer
Chase laughed. "No. I don't see why I should be at you, of all people."
"Are you mad at him?"
"A little, I guess." He paused. "I don't know . . . it feels wrong to be mad. And I'm not angry, per se, more like . . . miffed."
"I get that."
"But I've been thinking about it. I mean, really thinking." He squinted and stared into the distance. "Growing up, I thought it was obvious that Davenport Industries would be mine someday. I helped Mr. Davenport with his inventions, I gave him economic advice—I consulted him on so many things. And I figured I'd need something to do when I wasn't saving the world. After all, no one could know about us. I needed something normal. But . . ."
"But everything changed."
Chase nodded. "The world found out about us, we got Krane's army to train, and now Bree and I have the Elite Force. I'm so wrapped up in that, my dreams of owning Davenport Industries are all gone now. I forgot I ever wanted it. So when I . . ." He swallowed. "When I saw his will, it was a little shocking, but . . . I think you deserve it."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Totally, Leo. I think you'll make a great CEO. And hey, if you ever need any help, you know where to find it."
They laughed together as a chill wind swept through and caused them both to shiver.
"I'm glad," Leo said, rubbing his biceps. "And I'm excited. Things have changed for me, too. Don't get me wrong, I love bionics, but being in charge of a multibillion dollar cooperation doesn't seem so bad." He chuckled.
"What do you think is the first thing you're going to do when you start?"
"Actually, I've been thinking about that."
"And?"
"I want to appoint Douglas as my VP."
"You're kidding." But he didn't say it mean: only amazed.
"The guy's been working odds and ends jobs for years; I thought it was time to give him some real work. He's really proved himself."
"No, I agree. I think he'll be happy to hear it."
They continued sitting in silence, watching as the last sliver of the sun's edge slid below the horizon, leaving behind a crimson sky.
"There's something else I need to tell you," Leo said, dragging out the words and perhaps hoping that something would keep him from continuing. He wanted to share the good news with Chase, but he was still so astounded himself that he didn't know if he could word it properly.
"What's that?"
"Well . . . it's something I need to tell all of you. Mom and I were going tell you a while ago; Big D, too, but then he got sick . . ." He trailed off.
"Leo, what's going on?"
He sucked in his breath and prepared for the information he could hardly believe himself. "About a year ago, Big D asked me if . . . if I would want him to . . . adopt me."
Chase's smile spread across his face in a look of bewilderment. "That's awesome, Leo! Why didn't you tell us?"
"Well, there's a lot of paperwork involved, and we didn't know how long it would take to go through, or even if it would go through. I had to agree to all this stuff since I'm over eighteen, and since both biological parents have to agree, we had to track down my dad in Chicago. That was an ordeal."
"You dad lives in Chicago?"
Leo threw his arms into the air. "Apparently. I never knew that. He was really stubborn about signing all the stuff; Mom even had to fly out there and talk to him in person."
"You didn't go see him yourself?"
"I was busy at the academy. Besides, if he couldn't be bothered to come see me himself, I don't want to see him either." He sighed. "Sorry. It's been almost twenty years, and I guess I still haven't entirely forgiven him."
Chase nodded, realizing that a verbal response would not be appropriate.
"But anyway, the paperwork did go through, and we were going to tell you guys, but our announcement also happened to coincide with the day Big D collapsed, and . . . I guess we never got around to it." Leo looked at his long-time brother, the boy he had respected and loved so much. "I'm Leo Davenport."
Chase couldn't hold back his grin. "That's . . . that's amazing." He threw his arms around his brother—truly his brother. "Are you going to tell everyone else?"
"Maybe later. I barely got through explaining it all to you."
"Who else knows?"
"Just Mom. Well, and Felicity, but I don't think she understands."
Chase nodded. "Well, you'll have to tell them soon, or else I will. That's so exciting!"
"Yeah, as if our family wasn't complicated enough."
By now even the red glow had subsided, leaving only the navy blue that indicated an onset of nighttime. The air swinging over the water blew into their faces, and the boys shivered and gripped the edges of their tuxes.
"Maybe we should go inside," Chase suggested.
"Good idea. I want to get back with everyone else, anyway."
The boys walked down the beach, each contemplating their conversation.
When they reentered the main portion of the academy, they immediately spied several friends. Bionics leaned on the wall muttering among themselves. Oliver, Kaz, and Skylar stood in the corner, and though they waved at Chase when he entered, they didn't come over. Everyone in the room wore black, having not changed out of their clothes from the funeral. The dark colors and mumblings and frowns added to the gloom, making Leo's heart pound in anguish once more.
Felicity ran into the room, her long black hair trailing behind her. She ran and jumped into Leo's arms, throwing her hands around her neck. "Daniel's annoying me!" she said with a frown.
"Oh?" he said as Daniel ran into the room, trying to catch his breath. "And what's he want with my precious little sister?"
"I thought we were playing tag," Daniel said, obviously distraught. "I don't know what happened, but she suddenly got really mad at me."
"What'd you do this time, Daniel?" Chase said with a smirk.
"Nothing! I thought we were doing fine."
Felicity slid out of her brother's arms, approaching her cousin with a furtive look. She reached out her hand, then slapped his thigh. "You're it!" she squealed, taking off.
Daniel's head lolled back. "Oh, come on! You're so getting it now, Lissie!"
The young girl only giggled, darting between bionics' legs and deftly dodging Daniel's attempts to grab her.
Chase and Leo laughed. Daniel had always had a special connection to Felicity, perhaps because they were closest in age—if one could call fourteen years close.
Felicity Grace Davenport. Leo could still hardly believe he had a younger sister. Seven years after her birth, he still didn't believe it, but he loved spending all the time he could with her: the little girl with her mother's caramel skin and her father's dark brown eyes, and adored by everyone who knew her.
Bree had picked out the name when Donald and Tasha couldn't decide. Felicity, she'd said. It means "great happiness." That's what she's bringing us, isn't it? Indeed, the girl running around with a smile on her face, even in the funereal atmosphere—which perhaps she didn't yet understand—lived up to her name.
"You know, I was about her age when my dad left," Leo said. "I know how hard it is."
"Right," Chase said. He stuck his tongue in his cheek as if trying to decide if his next sentence was worth saying. "But . . . you just had Tasha. She has all of us. We'll always be there for her."
"I'm glad," Leo said. He blinked away the tears waiting to fall and followed Chase into the training area when the rest of his family was.
Bree's arm wrapped around Tasha, the way it had been since the funeral that afternoon. Douglas and Adam stood by, perhaps discussing something unrelated, or perhaps comforting themselves or the new widow. As the two boys approached, they stopped talking and acknowledged the new additions.
"There's our new moneymaker," Douglas said with an ironic grin. "Donnie left me his baseball cap collection; figures he'd give you his company."
Leo only smiled in response—Douglas would always be Douglas. He thought about informing his uncle about the new position he planned to offer him, but now didn't seem like the good time. Even Douglas's pickles hadn't cheered him up all week, so Leo thought it would be best to wait until he felt a little better.
Because, even though he wouldn't admit it, Douglas missed his brother. They all did.
"It's good to see you, Leo," Bree said. "I don't think we've really talked since I got here."
"Good to see you too, Bree."
"Hey, what about me?" Adam asked. "You left me behind, too."
"Adam, we've been talking for twenty minutes."
"So? Saying hello is still polite."
"I did . . . never mind." Her arm left Tasha, still hovering in case it was needed at any moment.
Tasha's face was currently dry. She looked regal in her black silk dress, but the despondent look on her face seemed to add twenty years. Leo couldn't help it, and he threw his arms around his grieving mother. They didn't cry, but then didn't let go.
Adam, Bree, and Chase moved together, almost instinctively. Leo turned to look at them, and a smile broke out across his face. It had been seven and a half years since their team broke up—but they were still a team. They stood together perfectly, moved in synchronization, blinking and shivering and breathing with each other.
Leo felt something rub in his pocket, and he reached in to pull out a photograph he'd stuck in before they left for the funeral. He moved toward his siblings, leaving Tasha to walk towards Douglas for the comfort they both required.
"Look, guys," Leo said, holding out the slip of paper.
Bree smiled, Adam squinted, and Chase rubbed his neck.
"Who's that?" Adam asked.
"Us," Bree whispered. "I remember that picture. It was our first family photo after we got out of the lab."
"Adam wouldn't sit still. He kept messing up the shot," Chase muttered.
Bree laughed. "So did you. You kept blinking."
"Well excuse me because the flash blinded me!"
"Oh, now I remember," Adam said. "Davenport bribed me with pudding."
"Then you spilled it all over the carpet."
"No, I did not."
"Yes you did!"
"Oh, yeah, I did. Well, in my defense, it was the first time I ate pudding."
"Oh, and the other three hundred and sixty-four times? You're still a slob. You don't have an excuse for that."
Adam and Chase began to bicker, and no one bothered to stop them. It was their love language. Bree looked at Leo, her eyes shining with tears. She took the photo, running her finger over Davenport's figure on the couch. She looked up again. "Leo, can I—"
He threw his arms around her before she could finished her sentence. She gripped his shoulder and let out a few soft hiccups—not quite cries, but a handful of bottled up emotions and fears.
After a few moments, they pulled apart. Leo knew his sister didn't like to dwell on sad things, so her figured that distracting her might be a good idea. "So . . . is Griffin here?"
Bree couldn't help but smile at her husband's name. "No, he went home. I think he knew I needed to be with my family."
"What's it like for him to have a bionic wife always out saving the world?"
"He understands. I'm lucky I found a guy who's so accepting." She smiled. "We've actually been able to spend a lot of time together, but he gets that sometimes I'll have to leave for a while. But he doesn't care." She looked down and played with her hands. "He says I'm worth it."
"That's the guy for you."
Her smile widened, but it faltered a little. "We don't have any missions with the Elite Force this week; they're letting us off the hook to, you know, recuperate. Unless anything urgent comes up, Chase and I will stay here at the academy for a while."
"Good to hear it. But this time, you're getting the couch."
Bree laughed, and he loved it. Here was his sister, all grown up and two months into a new marriage. Davenport had barely been able to get her down the aisle, but he had been there, and they couldn't complain.
Leo looked down at the photo again. Adam came up behind him and gave him a light cuff on the shoulder. "We've changed a lot, huh?" he said, gesturing to the picture.
"Exactly what I was thinking," Leo sighed.
"Did my hair really used to look like that?" Adam frantically patted his hair as if worried it would fall back to its pervious state.
"Look at us now," Leo mumbled. "We live on a bionic island in the middle of the ocean. Well, two of us are on a bionic-superhero power team, but still. And look at our family. It's all changed so much."
"Yeah, but . . . I kinda like it. Now I've got another brother to toss around and a sister to . . . to . . ."
"To fiercely protect when people try to hurt her?"
"Yeah." Adam's signature goofy grin slid onto his face, making him look much more like the sixteen-year-old in the picture.
Daniel came back into the room with Felicity on his shoulders. "I think it's finally starting to hit her," he whispered as he handed her off to her mother.
"Honey, are you all right?" Tasha asked, rubbing her daughter's back.
"I-I want Daddy," she mumbled, bunching up her black skirt and shaking her head.
"I know, sweetie," Tasha said, her eyes glistening in the lights. "We all do."
"You know," Leo said, "we don't need to sit here and pretend we're not hurting. We lost a father, a brother, a husband, and an uncle. Can we all just cry? I think we all need to cry."
They sat down on the ledge, together. Eleven years ago, they had been estranged, evil, lost, insecure, ignorant, confused, unknown to each other and themselves. Now, they sat together, a family.
Douglas, Tasha, Adam, Bree, Chase, Leo, Daniel, and Felicity. They weren't carbon copies of each other. Each had a different personality, a different past, and a different view of life. But the one thing they did have in common: Davenport.
Let the world burn, let all of them split apart, let every bit of transformation to ever occur fall on their heads, but it would not change the simple fact that they belonged to each other. They were a family.
Even with one member gone, they stayed closer than ever. They mourned together, loved together, and would fight together. After all they'd been through, nothing could break them apart.
They wept together, from the youngest to the oldest, from the strongest to the smartest, from the wisest to the most foolish, they wept together.
Through the tears, Leo looked at the people around him. He didn't know a majority of them eleven years ago, but now he felt comfortable enough to cry around them. Funny how things change. Funny how, even in the hardest moments of your life, the people you need are always right there. Funny how the hardest moments bring them right to you.
Eleven years had changed their lives entirely. What would the next eleven years hold for them?
Leo couldn't wait to find out.
Lab Rats has been my favorite show for a long time. I love it to death, and I always will. I love the fans to death, because they're the ones that welcomed me, that helped me write, that treated me like a friend no matter our differences. I know we'll all miss Lab Rats a lot, but I also know that our friendships won't end just because the show did. Besides, we've got the spin-off. And I know it won't be quite the same, but it's still something. Also, if anyone wants to PM and talk about the finale, I would love that. :)
Ages: Donald: 49. Douglas and Tasha: 47. Adam: 27. Bree: 26. Chase and Leo: 25. Daniel: 20. Felicity: 7.
Felicity Grace Davenport. Came up with that name myself. ;) I cannot believe that Tasha is pregnant. It's so exciting! XD So, yeah, since I wanted to set this in the future anyway, I thought I'd include their new daughter. I don't know if they'll mention her in the spin-off, but until then I'm calling her Felicity. (I searched so hard for the perfect name.) Would you guys maybe like to see another story about Felicity being born and growing up and all that? I've got a few ideas for her, if they aren't contradicted in the future. (They probably will be, but I'll do it anyway. XD)
I can't believe how far we've come in four years. This family is insane. XD But c'mon, we all think of them as our family at this point. We love our Davenports. :3
Oh! And keep a look out for Mind Games, a new story I'll hopefully be posting in a few weeks. It's been my main focus for a while, and I can't wait for you to read it!
If you liked this story, leave me a review. If you didn't like it, leave me a review and tell me I suck. XD What did you guys think of Davenport adopting Leo? (That was originally going to be the focus of this story.) Are you sad he died? Is it weird to think of them all grown up? What did you think of Felicity? How about the story as a whole? And don't be afraid to leave your thoughts on the finale either. Tell me what you think, and tell me how much you love this fandom, because come on, you love this fandom. :3
So farewell, Lab Rats. You have been a great friend, from Marcus to Douglas to Krane and beyond, from missions on trains to missions in space, from three bionic kids in the basement to an entire army of them, from the very first lab to the Pacific Ocean. You brought us together and created friendships that would last a lifetime, onscreen and off. Thank you for everything, and no matter what happens, you will always be my favorite show, and this will always be my favorite fandom. We'll miss you. :')
~ Rosie