Sorry for the delay, but here, after long last, is the start to the sequel to my story "Chances Are," in which Leonard Snart was stuck in 1958 with Sara, Ray, and Kendra. Things go ...somewhat differently.

Many thanks to LarielRomeniel for the beta! Right now, the plan is for this prologue and eight chapters, but it's me, so it will probably be longer!

The title and chapter titles for that story came from the song "Chances Are" by Johnny Mathis (from 1958). There's another song called "Chances Are," by Bob Seger and Martina McBride, and after having it come up on my searches every time, I listened to it. (And it was perfect.) The titles and all chapter titles for this story will come from that one.

Raymond Palmer marries Kendra Saunders on the bridge of the timeship Waverider. He slides his grandmother's ring onto her finger and stares at her so long and so raptly that Martin Stein, who's officiating, gently reminds him to breathe. Kendra Saunders, wearing a white lace dress created by Gideon and nearly eight months pregnant, marries Raymond Palmer, repeating her vows in a calm, happy voice.

They kiss as Stein pronounces them man and wife, in front of a tiny audience consisting of an amused crook, a smiling assassin, a harried-looking former Time Master, and one wistful young mechanic. Jax snaps a photo of them, though, as they turn toward the audience, and hugs them both before heading back to the work he's doing converting a few rooms. Hunter vanishes, too, after a murmured congratulations, leaving a bemused Leonard Snart and Sara Lance to sign the witness portions of the marriage license along with Stein. (Gideon had created the license to look duly "official," telling them they could drop it off back in Star or Central when they return.)

Leonard tolerates a hug from Raymond and actually returns a hug from Kendra, a smile lurking around the corners of his mouth. Sara, watching, can't help but smile in return. At least he's looking more lifelike then he had before they went back to Orange City…and then Nickel.

She wonders what Rebecca had said to him.

She considers pointing out that, by signing the license, he's effectively Ray's best man. But given the general role of the best man—that of the best friend—and the fact that Leonard's own oldest friend is now barely himself, cooling his heels in the brig…well, it doesn't seem like the best idea.

Stein, to whom she's barely spoken since they'd returned after nearly a year in the 1950s, joins her then, smiling a little wistfully himself. Sara wonders if he's thinking about his wife, back in 2017. No, 2016. It had only been a matter of minutes for the Waverider, after all. Time travel can still make her head hurt, especially now.

"Mr. Snart has changed," he says quietly, glancing at her. "As have you, to an extent. Was it truly…"

"Nearly a year?" Sara sighs. "Yes. As evidenced by…" She motions toward Kendra, who's speaking quietly and earnestly to Leonard, and her advanced pregnancy. "It was…" She pauses, then decides she respects Stein enough to give him the truth. "Good, in many ways. Very good. Which sounds a little odd, I guess, given what I said to you back in Harmony Falls…"

"But you and Mr. Snart. You had…time." Stein gives her a tiny, lurking smile, not so much unlike Leonard's, actually. "I do understand. It was there before, really, you know. The signs."

Sara eyes him. "Oh?"

"Oh, yes." Stein winks at her. "And, yes, I suspect neither of you completely meet those…parameters…you mentioned back in that diner. Didn't matter. You found a place for yourselves. I'm almost sorry we pulled you out of it."

"Don't be." Sara sighs. "You're right. But this is where we belong." She watches Leonard as he says something to Ray and Kendra laughs.

"Hmm." The professor gives her another sidelong look. "And how is Mr. Snart dealing with…well…"

It's the elephant in the room…or the bounty hunter in the brig. "Better than he might have, actually. At least he's confronted…Mick. Spoken to him." She will never call him Chronos. Mick's still in there. He has to be. "Although he hasn't really gotten through much yet."

Stein frowns. "He…Mr. Rory…seemed convinced Mr. Snart was on the Waverider when he took it. It was his distraction when he realized otherwise that allowed Firestorm to overpower him." He shakes his head. "His distraction…and his rage."

Sara knows that, although she's been giving Leonard space to deal with his friend on his own. Still, an answering anger sparks in her at Stein's words. "What the hell choice does he think Leonard had? To kill him? That was never going to happen. And he meant to go back…"

Her voice trails off, though. Stein considers her. "You knew all along," he says. "That Mr. Snart didn't… kill him."

There's no judgment there, and it's far more a comment than a question, but Sara nods. Then they both quiet as Leonard saunters over toward them.

"Professor," he drawls, nodding to Stein. "Nice ceremony."

"Yes, well, it served the purpose." Stein studies him. "Dr. Palmer and Ms….ah, Mrs. Palmer, I suppose it is now…told me a little about your stay in 1958. A security business, was it? And a women's shelter?"

It's a story, to Stein, bare information with some amusement value, given Leonard's past-but to Sara, the words still evoke a swirl of emotions. The headlong flight from Harmony Falls. Gotham. Rebecca and Ginny and the others. The blue house with her studio and their big king bed. She glances at Leonard and sees the same emotion, just a flicker, in his eyes.

But he merely clears his throat. "Ah, professor, if you could…neglect to mention that when you see Barry Allen and his crew again, I would greatly appreciate it."

Stein smiles, just a little. "Well. Given that that seems to be…valuable information…perhaps I can see fit to withhold it. Given adequate…motivation."

Sara is startled into a laugh, while Leonard coughs in surprise.

"Professor, are you blackmailing me?" he manages.

"That depends, Mr. Snart. Is it working?"

Gideon has promised cake and champagne in the galley later, but the AI (who seems almost intrigued by the notion of the wedding) is distracted by Rip's course to the Kasnian Conglomerate in 2147. The team members disperse in the meantime, and Sara watches Leonard hesitate in the hallway, looking down the corridor to the brig.

She reaches out and takes his hand before he can go that way, though, and tugs, turning without words to head back to her room. Leonard, equally silent, allows her to lead him there and through the door, sighing at it closes behind them.

He hasn't slept in his own room since they got back, and his presence here is clear: his bag on the floor near her desk, his jacket on the chair, the cold gun in its case right by Sara's weapons rack. Jax, grinning, has promised to convert their room to one more suited to cohabitation, but he's working on Ray and Kendra's first, and Sara certainly isn't going to get between the pregnant woman and the bigger bed.

Still. Sara would rather put up with the close quarters for the moment rather than sleep alone right now. And Leonard apparently feels the same.

"Well, they're hitched," the man in question says in a mumble, rubbing his face with a hand. "Maybe now Raymond will chill out a little."

Given that Ray's pregnant wife is still being hunted by an immortal warlord and has to find a way to kill said warlord to fulfill their mission, Sara doubts it. And she knows Leonard knows better. But she doesn't comment. On that, anyway.

"Take off your jacket," she orders instead, hopping up to perch on the edge of the bed. "And c'mere."

Len lifts an eyebrow at her, then shrugs, doing as told. He drapes his black suit coat over the leather jacket on the chair, then strolls toward her, curiosity warring with trepidation and amusement in his eyes.

Sara motions for him to turn around and, after only a second, he does—not quite close enough. She sighs and reaches out, grabbing a handful of his white dress shirt and dragging him back toward her, a liberty he takes with slightly surprising equanimity as she pulls him back between her knees.

As she expected, the shoulders underneath the shirt are rigid with tension, a tension that she'd seen return slowly and steadily since they'd returned from their 2015 visit to Orange City. Leonard has a way of looking relaxed even when he isn't, another sort of armor, but Sara can see it. And right now, he's exuding pain to her discerning eye, the sort of pain that comes with angry muscles and holding too much in.

After only a moment, though, Sara pokes him in the shoulder. "Shirt off," she tells him as he grumbles at her. "If you want me to help, do it. You know I can if you give me a chance."

There's almost amusement in the look he gives her, then, but he complies, stripping off the shirt in something just shy of a performance. (Hell, Sara's not complaining.) Then he turns again, leaning against the bed with a sigh, as she reaches out to knead the muscles of his shoulders.

How far they've come, Sara thinks, gently brushing the pad of her thumb over one of his many scars, this one a jagged line across his shoulder blade. This is the man who, even with the lights off, tried to sleep in jeans and a sweater and jacket, their first night on the road back in 1958.

She's done this before, now, and she knows the right ways to work the muscles to get them to loosen up. She'd like to think, too, that her touch has become a comfort, and she does hear his breathing settle a little as she works, feels him leaning back a little into her, drawing strength from her presence.

A comfort and more.

So Sara doesn't consider long before, after she's pretty sure Len's shoulders are as loose as she can manage, she reaches around, running her hands down his chest and leaning forward to nip gently at the side of his neck before kissing that spot in a particularly lingering way.

They may have slept together the few nights they've been back on the ship, but that's all it's been—sleeping. She's become used to amazing, plentiful sex, and she already misses it—and she's pretty sure Len does too. She's just not sure, given his distinctly private nature, if these sorts of activities on a ship with six other people will bother him.

She feels his intake of breath and then, to her relief, hears and feels a small chuckle. Then he turns fluidly in her arms and suddenly, they're nearly face to face. (Despite her perch, Sara's still shorter.)

Len brings his hand up to cup Sara's face, his touch gentle even though the smirk on his face is suggestive as hell.

"What?" he murmurs, voice low and intense and sending a pleasurable shiver down her spine. "Going through withdrawal already?"

"And you're not?" She leans into the touch, flattening her hands against his back and pressing him closer. He's warm and solid under her hands, muscle moving under surprisingly soft skin, and as he brings his other hand up to rest at her hip, she moves her hands down, resting them at the waistband of his pants.

Len licks his lips, slowly and too damned deliberately. Sara knows her eyes go to his mouth as he does that, and she rolls her eyes as his smirk grows.

"I didn't say that," he drawls. "But…now?"

"Sounds like when we get to this Kasnian Conglomerate, things are going to get…stressful. I think we should…" Sara lets her hands drift south, smirking herself at the far less controlled intake of breath. "…take the time while we have it."

"Can't argue with that." He leans forward to kiss her, and one of Sara's hands comes up to curve around the back of his neck, and that's all the talking they do for a while.

It may be the middle of the day in ship's time, but Leonard drifts off to sleep, after, and Sara's unsurprised. Not only are they still getting used to a return to that schedule, he's been tense and stressed over Mick, and his sleep has been restless.

She dozes a bit herself, then watches Leonard sleep for a few minutes longer. He looks relaxed and peaceful in a way he rarely does while awake, especially now, with the issue of Mick hanging over him, and she feels anger at the other man flicker again. Regret follows it nearly immediately.

Then she gets up, dresses, and heads for the brig.

It's the second time she's been in here, but the first was while Mick was out, Gideon having tranquilized him after an outburst. She'd just needed to prove to herself that it really was him, that the others hadn't been wrong or mistaken or misled.

It was unmistakably Mick. Just as it as now, but now he's awake and leading against the wall and watching her intently as she crosses the room to stand across from him outside the cell.

"Ah," he says after a moment, tone almost jovial. "Sara. Finally someone who can do a man's job."

Sara stuffs the flicker of anger back down behind the façade. "Mick," she says coolly, studying him.

That's all, and as the silence draws out, it's evident that this is indeed a somewhat changed Mick. The old one would have been restless and raging by now. This one…waits.

Sara can wait too, though, and they study each other through the clear wall. And it's Mick who caves first.

"So," he says finally. "What brings you in, Blondie? Wantin' to see if there's somethin' that 'can be saved?'" He snorts. "I'm saved. The Time Masters saved me, after you all dumped me out to die like a rabid dog and didn't even have the decency to finish the job."

"Leonard…" Sara starts, but Mick cuts her off.

"Him." There's so much scorn in the word. "He wussed out on it. Shoulda sent you." He gives her a measuring look. "You wouldn't have, would you, Blondie? Chickened out? You get it. Sometimes you gotta put people down. I thought Snart got that." He chuckles, and it manages to be a very scary sound. "An' now he's going to pay."

The words bring up all manner of bad thoughts and memories, but Sara stifles them.

"He was going to come back," she says, fixing her with her best glare. "You know, while you were…"

But Mick breaks in again. Sara's getting really tired of that.

"Bullshit," he snorts. "He's gone soft. Wants to be a 'hero' now. Wish I'd offed that damned Flash before he ever started feeding Snart that line."

Sara thinks of 19 Gabriel Drive and how hard Len had worked back in 1958, to start over, to build a life with that clean slate…

"You do realize you're the reason he couldn't come back," she says, her tone just this side of a snap. "Kind of hard to time travel when you're stuck in the 1950s. Or did you expect him to make another miracle happen and build a time machine from scratch?"

But a moment after the words have left her mouth, Sara realizes that, no, Mick hadn't realized that. Maybe he'd thought Leonard was hidden on the Waverider, or that he'd been on the jump ship, or something. But it hadn't, for some bizarre reason, even occurred to the big man that he'd been with them, Sara, Ray, and Kendra, on the ground, in 1958.

Mick stares at her, his expression honestly stunned for a few moments. Then it hardens, coalesces into anger and something more complicated.

"You," he says, getting to his feet. "It was you."

Sara frowns. "Excuse me?"

But the calm, controlled bounty hunter is fading now. This is something else, a meld of the real Mick at his worst and the violence of Chronos on the attack.

"This is all because of you," he growls, approaching the front of the cell. "He was with you."

"Mick…"

"Just like he wanted to help you in Star City. And just like it was you in Russia, you on the ship…"

His voice isn't rising, but it's becoming more intense, more pent up with rage. Sara, a touch surprised, watches her former friend as he stares at her, eyes narrowing and seething, trying to figure out just what's going on.

And then, of course, Leonard himself chooses that prime inopportune moment to make an appearance, running into the brig in a fashion so utterly unlike his usual controlled grace that both of them turn to stare at him instead.

Len, taking in the scene, stops short, giving himself a shake not unlike a ruffled cat and turning his headlong dash into an insolent stroll. He crosses to Sara (who notes with amusement that his shirt is partly unbuttoned—and partly misbuttoned) and then turns to regard Mick with the steely, blank look she hasn't missed on him at all.

"Everything all right here?" he drawls, folding his arms.

Mick's eyes nearly bug out of his head, he looks so pissed. Sara decides to follow suit in hopes of getting further genuine reaction out of him. Catharsis is good, right?

"He blames me. For your actions, such as leaving him behind for the Time Masters to find," she tells Leonard, layering amusement in her tone. "After he blamed you for not killing him, of course. Which seems a bit off-base, but…"

But Mick brings up both hands and smashes them against the clear material of the wall then, with a bellow of rage. Leonard flinches. Sara doesn't.

"You were supposed to be on the ship!" Mick shouts at Leonard. "They said you would be on the ship! They promised! It was planned." He drags in a breath. "Why did you leave? You had no reason to leave." He looks at Sara again, but the earlier nastiness has been replaced by baffled confusion.

"He was supposed to be on the ship," he tells her in an almost conversational tone as she frowns. "That was how it was supposed to be." Then, with a grunt of apparent pain, he brings his hands up to his head, closing his eyes and almost reeling backward, sinking down against the wall again.

"Gideon?" Leonard asks, concern in his voice as he steps closer.

"Mr. Rory's brain waves are…odd," the AI responds after a moment. "He seems to be in no danger, but it is causing a notable headache. I can provide some painkillers."

"But why?" Sara's still focused on Mick's words. "Is he…fighting it? The programming?"

That gets a chuckle, slightly nasty again, as Mick lowers his hands. He still winces with pain, though, and Sara notices.

"They didn't have to 'program' me much, Blondie," he tells her, tauntingly. "I wanted the chance to kill you all."

They all ignore him.

"Perhaps," Gideon says after a moment. "Something is warring with the…the newer patterns of his brain waves, the ones that are more indicative of the Chronos persona." Mick grumbles something about that, too, but she continues. "I will compare the readings to other information I have on file."

"Thank you, Gideon." Leonard's voice is quiet. He stares at Mick a moment longer, and the other man stares back. Sara, uncertain whether to leave or stay, to speak or hold her peace, watches them.

Gideon, though, breaks the tableau yet again. "Captain Hunter says the next time jump will take place as soon as everyone is on the bridge," she tells them. "Except for you, of course, Mr. Rory. Please strap in over by the far wall."

Mick lets out a snort, then turns away, crossing the cell and following the order for once. Sara and Len exchange glances and then leave without another word, heading for the bridge.

Sara reaches out to take his hand, squeezing gently, as soon as they leave the brig.

"There's something more going on here," she says to him, quietly.

Leonard's mouth is a straight, pained line, but he squeezes her hand in return.

"I know," he says in return. "But…what?"