A/N: This started off as a one-shot but became so long I broke it into three chapters.

Chapter 1: Exploding Isn't All That Bad.

It was blue. A million different shades of blue. Everything started to splinter.

Time was moving so slowly for Leonard. He could sense the beginnings of being ripped apart, but there was yet no damage or pain.

He was in the Oculus as it was exploding. His brain remembered that, but it was as if that wasn't important.

He could see all of the possible timelines that led up to this same point. At first, he saw just the few minutes before the explosion. Leonard knew that in this timeline he had said, "There ain't no strings on me." At the time, he had thought that they were pretty good last words. Little did he know that he'd have time to contemplate his choice. In a different reality, he looked at the bad guys and said, "You don't feel lucky, do you, punks?" right before the Oculus exploded. He was amused by that one.

He watched as millions of other final words flashed in front of him. Some were witty, some delivered with icy rage or contempt, and some... to his embarrassment... were sentimental. "This is for my crew!" was top among those.

The one that resonated with him the most in its simplicity and depth of feeling was when he had closed his eyes and reverently whispered Sara's name.

The emotion in that moment was so raw. He wanted to see more - what had led that version of himself to be able to speak her name so intimately.

As if his thought was heard, all of the alternate realities skipped backwards and started again, but this time from the moment he met Sara.

He watched countless different versions of his and Sara's interactions. Various degrees of affection existed between the two - friendship, comrades, lovers, ... soulmates. It was an odd experience being jealous of yourself. But he was. He watched as all versions of himself fell in love with her, and watched as some versions were lucky enough to get the girl. He watched those timelines the longest, focusing on what might have been.

It was interesting to see how just a few little things in his own timeline could have changed the course of their relationship. Just mere moments. The smallest of decisions.

If he had danced with her in the 70s. If he had asked for her help stealing the emerald. If he had talked with her the night he convinced her not to take the hit on the professor. If he had shared body warmth in a more... pleasurable way when freezing in the engine room. If he went to her room after kicking Mick off the ship. If they had been the ones to play house in the 50s. If he had asked to play strip poker instead of normal cards. ... If he had simply told her how he felt as soon as he knew rather than hiding it.

All of these, any of these, any of the billions of other deviations he saw, resulted in changing the direction of their relationship. Some changes led to secret nightly rendezvous and stolen kisses in the hallways, while others led to happily flaunting their affection in front of the team and, in a few timelines, even getting engaged. He raised an eyebrow at that.

Hours, days, weeks went by. The first hint of pain was finally beginning. It felt like a finger prick. It focused him and brought him back to himself. He was still in the Oculus. Still dying. With his mind clear, he started considering. If he was able to see all the different realities that led to this moment, could he perhaps change the course of time? What did Rip say about the Time Masters? They used the Oculus to shape the future?

He tried to focus his thoughts.

He thought of the world being saved. Of the death of Vandal Savage - the jerk held a knife to Sara's throat - he really ought to die three times. Thought of Kendra being strong enough to get back to Carter. Rip seeing one more sunrise with his family. Mick learning to trust others and becoming friends with Ray. A stronger Firestorm.

He faltered when he thought of the assassin. Where to begin?

As he was contemplating, flashes of Sara's future appeared before him.

Sara mourning him and her sister to the point of living recklessly and he wasn't there to watch her back.

The team comforting Sara and watching over her and he wasn't there to make her laugh.

Sara starting to date again and he wasn't there to win her affections.

...Okay, now he was officially pissed. He did not accept these as her future.

What did he want for her? What kind of future would he fashion for her?

Easy. A future that had him by her side.

He wasn't a puppet to blindly accept his fate. He was going to shape his future into one where he gets the girl.

He imagined a timeship that could extract him from the explosion and make it safely out of the Vanishing Point.

He was picturing Sara in his arms when everything went black.


Sara's viewpoint -"Chapter 2: One Hell of a Thief" - coming soon! Just a few more tweaks. :)