Chapter 1
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Everything belongs to their rightful owners.
AN1: So, after the last episode I felt the need to write a legends, TimeCanary fic, and so this is the idea I had. I am back at Law School, so I can't guarantee that updates will be quick, but I will do my best.
Six hours have passed since Ray went missing, likely taken by the Darhk's and ever since the Legends have been trying to find their lost friend. After realising what have happened the team returned to 1717 but they found no sign of Ray or his captured.
As they needed to re-group the team returned to Star City 2018 and started to do both the repairs that the Waverider needs and attempt to find a way to figure out where Ray is.
Having just checked in with Amaya, and Nate Sara is heading back to the bridge where Ava, Zari, and Mick are. Honestly, because of the fact that she was off having a good time while Ray was getting captured Sara can't help but feel guilty, nor can she stop blaming herself.
"Captain Lance." Gideon's voice says.
"Yeah Gideon?" Sara responds, as she continues to walk down the halls.
"Captain Hunter and Wallace West are in cargo bay wanting to talk to you." Gideon explains, and as soon as she says 'Captain Hunter' Sara stops dead in her tracks.
"Can you repeat that, Gideon?" Sara asks, having no doubt that she heard what she thought she heard, but she needs to make sure.
"Captain Hunter and Wallace West are in the cargo bay wanting to talk to you." Gideon repeats.
"Okay, thank you Gideon." Sara says, honestly having no idea what she is going to say, or do, before taking a breath and walking to the cargo bay.
Even though the walk to the Cargo bay took a minute at most to Sara it felt like the longest minute of her life, even longer than the minute she spent falling off that roof after she was shot with those arrows, but when she finally walks into the Cargo bay she sees, just like Gideon told her she would, Wally West, and Rip Hunter, looking more like the Rip she thought she knew than last time she saw him.
"Hey Sara." Wally greats.
"Wally." Sara says, with a simple nod, the two of them having met briefly during the disaster which was Barry and Iris's attempted wedding, but even though she is speaking to Wally her eyes don't leave Rip.
"Ms Lance." Rip responds, knowing that Sara won't speak first, and calling her Ms Lance not just because it's what he used to call her, but because he isn't quite sure he deserves to say her name.
"Why are you here?" Sara asks.
"Mallus." Rip says, simply, not overly sure how to say everything else he would like to say.
"Gideon, tell everyone to meet me in the bridge." Sara requests, continuing to not look away from Rip, rather she just gives him a look, before walking away.
"Um, what do we do?" Wally asks, sounding confused.
"We follow." Rip responds, knowing exactly what the look Sara gave him means.
Not long after all three of them left the cargo bay Sara, Wally, and Rip walk into the Bridge, Rip feeling like he is at home, as well as feeling rather uncomfortable.
"What the hell is the Englishman doing here?" Mick asks, sounding both annoyed and angry as he drinks his beer.
"Wally, my man." Nate says, walking over to his friend, "It's good to see you."
"You too." Wally responds, shaking hands with Nate before giving him a one arm hugged.
"Ms Sharp." Rip says, more surprised than he should be that Ava is there and having noticed that Sara didn't answer Mick's question.
"Director Hunter, you're coming with me, back to The Bureau." Ava says, walking towards her own mentor.
"No." Sara says, being pretty sure she is going to regret this, "I'm sorry Ava, but Rip's not going anywhere, he's staying on the Waverider."
"Sara… don't do this." Ava requests as she has orders, which Sara knows, to bring Rip in, and Sara also knows what will happen to her if she doesn't follow them.
"Rip stays." Sara repeats.
"I can't believe you're doing this." Ava says, before walking away, clearly not leaving the Waverider yet, but walking away to cool down.
After Ava leaves Sara, who knows she is going to have to talk to Ava, and try to make things right, turns to Rip and takes a step closer,
"I take it you still know how to fix the Waverider." Sara says to Rip, it being clear to both of them that her words are a statement and not a question.
"Of course." Rip responds.
"Good. Then you're gonna help fix things." Sara says, her words having a double meaning that basically everyone in the room picks up on.
"Of course, that's why I'm here, to do whatever I can…" Rip says, trying to portray the completeness of what he is saying in his words.
"Okay." Sara says, with a nod, the world slightly drawn out, and for a while the two of them just look at one another.
"I'll get to work." Rip says, after about a minute and he heads to the door.
"Sara, what's going on?" Nate ask, "Letting Rip back on the Waverider is one thing, letting him fix it is another."
"No one knows this ship better than Rip, no one." Sara reveals, "He'll be able to fix things faster than anyone."
"How can you let him back on the team after what he did?" Zari asks, knowing that she has done a lot of things, things that could have, and probably should have, gotten her kicked of the team, but Rip brought the person who killed Sara's sister back to life, that's something else altogether.
"We need him." Sara says, knowing that Rip has been researching Mallus for years and might know something she doesn't, "I take it you're here to help to?" she asks, looking at Wally.
"If you'll have me…. Captain." Wally says as he knows that Rip is going to do what he can so that he can join the team, but the choice is ultimately up to Sara.
"Of course." Sara says, not even needing to think about it, "Welcome aboard." She says, before walking away, no one being able to tell if she is going to talk to Ava or Rip.
"Anyone else think this is a really, really bad idea?" Nate asks, and from the look Amaya gives him he is pretty sure she agrees.
Not long after she left the bridge Sara finds Ava pacing back and forth, Sara being able to tell that Ava is very far from happy.
"Ava." Sara says, walking towards her.
"How can you do that Sara? You know I have my orders to bring Rip in, I have to follow them." Ava reminds Sara.
"Rip's not being taken into The Bureau, he's not leaving the Waverider." Sara says, knowing that even with how angry she is with Rip she isn't going to let him get arrested again, in fact she never intended for him to be put in jail in the first place.
"You're really choosing him." Ava says, there being a part of her that things she shouldn't be surprised, but at the same time she is.
"It's not like that." Sara says, taking a step closer.
"But it is, and I should have seen it coming." Ava reveals, "So many of us wondered why Rip choose Star City to start the Bureau, why he choose the time he did, but then you walked in, and it became perfectly clear why." Ava says, "He did it to be close to you, and you'll always ultimately choose him, even after what he did."
"It's not like that, not at all." Sara says, wanting Ava to see that.
"Of course, it is, you just can't see it." Ava says, as she presses her device to open a portal, "I won't tell the Director, or the Bureau that Rip's here, and I do hope you find Ray, I'm just not going to be here when you do." She admits.
"Don't do this, don't leave." Sara requests, not caring how It makes him sound.
"It's better that I do." Ava admits, "I like you Sara, a lot more than I thought I would, but sooner or later you're going to realise how you really feel, and I can't be here when you do." Ava says, before leaving through the portal.
After Ava leaves Sara just stands in the hallway, trying not to get upset as for the first time, in a long time, Sara really thought that she had found someone that she could have an actual relationship with.
Even though he only left the bridge about a minute after Rip did by the time Wally gets to the engine room he finds that Rip has already started to work on repairs.
"Already working?" Wally asks.
"I thought it was best." Rip answers.
"You know you left something out last night, something big." Wally says, as he leans against one of the part of Waverider's engine.
"Don't lean against that." Rip says, knowing it won't end well if he does, and so Wally moves, "And what are you talking about?" he asks.
"Through all the talking last night, the talking, the drinking, the karaoke, you never once said that Sara is more than your favourite prodigy, in fact you're in love with her." Wally says.
"What? No, I'm not." Rip says, in a tone of voice that would convince no one.
"Oh, you so are!" Wally says, sounding completely thrilled, "You were singing about her last night, weren't you?" Wally asks, and the look on Rip's face tells him all he needs to know, "Dude, why don't you tell her?" He asks, as Rip stands up, and neither realise that Sara arrives just outside the door, having head Wally's comment about singing.
"What I may or may not feel doesn't matter." Rip reveals, "I tried everything to protect her, and all I did was betray her in the worst way." He says, as in his time searching for Mallus he heard rumours that Mallus was obsessed with Sara Lance, and that's why he took the Waverider from her, to try to protect her, "Ms Lance will never forgive me, and she shouldn't." Rip reveals.
"If you know she won't forgive you why did you come back, why did you bring me?" Wally asks curious, and truthfully Sara is very curious about that answer to.
"I brought you because Ms Lance, the team, are going to need as much help as possible, and with you they have the best chance of defeating Mallus, and more important survive." Rip explains.
"That explains why you asked me to come here, why are you?" Wally asks once more, wondering if Rip is going to actually answer him this time.
"Ms Lance may never forgive me, but I'm still going to do everything I can to help, to keep s…. the team, safe, to protect them from what I put in motion." Rip reveals, leaving out the, 'no matter the cost to me.' That he is thinking.
"Right, you're even more of an idiot than I thought." Wally reveals, and Rip has no answer to that, instead he goes back to working on something else, "Okay, you clearly don't want to talk, I'm gonna go find Nate, he said he'd give me a tour." Wally says, and as he does Sara moves from where she was standing to a hidden alcove so that Wally doesn't see that she was listening in.
After Wally walks past the alcove where Sara is she hesitates for a second, then instead of going to go talk to Rip, which is what she was going to go, she heads back to her office, an office that a part of her will always consider to be Rip, to think, and try to figure out a way to save Ray.
For the next couple of hours Rip is alone in the engine room as he works hard on fixing the ship that he loves so much. From the minute Rip started to fix the Waverider he felt a sense of familiarity, and he quickly realised how much he missed the feeling as the time bureau felt nothing like that.
Finally, though it doesn't feel like a long time to him, Rip finishes his work, and he knows, without a doubt that the Waverider is now in near perfect, or as perfect as it can get, condition.
"Gideon, how's the engine running?" Rip asks, even though he already knows the answer.
"The engine is running at peek performance, Captain." Gideon responds.
"That's what I like to hear." Rip says, as he puts his coat back on, "Gideon where's….." Rip starts to say, before trailing off, wanting to talk to Sara, but at the same time he isn't overly sure if that would be a good idea.
"Captain Lance is in the office." Gideon reveals, not even needing Rip to finish her question, and Rip can't help but notice Gideon's word choice, the fact that she said the office, not her office.
"Thank you, Gideon." Rip says, being reminded of something he's always known, that Gideon was always there for him, and after Gideon speaks Rip heads out of the engine room and towards the office that was once his.
About a minute after he left the engine room Rip walks towards the office, in fact he walks to the door of the office, but hesitates before entering, once more thinking that it is a bad idea, as he sees Sara sitting on one of the chairs drinking the scotch that they so often shared.
"What do you want, Rip?" Sara asks, as she takes a drink.
"To tell you that the engine is fixed." Rip reveals.
"Good. Nate, Amaya, Zari, Wally, and even Mick are doing what they can to try and find Ray, but so far they're having no luck." Sara explains.
"It's likely that the Darhk's are lying low, at least until they want to be found." Rip assumes.
"Probably." Sara realises.
"We'll find him, you'll save him." Rip says, trying to be supportive, before he turns and starts to walk away, being pretty sure pushing for more won't be a good idea, at least not now.
As Rip starts to walk away Sara hesitates for a moment, before finally saying,
"Rip." As she pours another glass of the scotch.
Hearing Sara's voice Rip walks back over and is surprised, but glad, when she offers him the second glass of scotch, which he quickly takes.
"You haven't asked about Jax and Stien." Sara notes as Rip takes a drink.
"I heard what happened, I'm sorry." Rip says, meaning that, and as he does he notices the look on Sara's fault, "It wasn't your fault Ms Lance."
"I'm Captain, it's my responsibility to make sure everyone gets back on this ship, and I failed." Sara reveals, clearly feeling guilty.
"You didn't." Rip stresses, his instincts telling him to move closer but he stops himself, "I've know how you feel, I've been in your place before, but what you've got to remember is that Professor Stien, and Mr Jackson made their own choices, and as it may be, as much as it may hurt, you've got to respect that."
"That doesn't make things easier." Sara reveals.
"I know, it won't right now, but it might soon." Rip reveals, and Sara doesn't answer, instead she just takes another drink, "You're a great Captain Ms Lance, much better than I ever was, and everyone knows it." he says, and before Sara can say anything in response Nata hurries in and over to the two of them.
"Nate, what is it?" Sara asks.
"It's Ray, we think we've found him." Nate reveals.
Hearing Nate's words Sara and Rip both quickly put down their glasses, Rip putting his down on one of the steps and hurry to the library where the rest of the team is.