It was Rachael. At least it looked like Rachael, but it wasn't Rachael, because Rachael was sitting with them. She looked like Rachael but younger, and was wearing the same green dress as Lieutenant X.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Bronwyn snapped.

"Oh calm down." The other Rachael waved her hand and looked right at the older one sitting on the couch. "Supervisor agreed I should be here as an alternate Lieutenant."

"Lauren Myers." X murmured with a grin and stood up. "You suck." She stepped past her and went to the kitchen.

"Yeah shut up Meghan." Lauren rolled her eyes at her friend walking behind her. She looked at her mother and smiled. "Hey Mom."

"Hi." Rachael breathed, staring into the face of her adult daughter. "What…"

"It's better you don't ask." Lauren chuckled. "Main story is that everything's ok." X, or Meghan, snorted from the kitchen where she was drinking a glass of water. "I thought I told you to shut up."

"Since when do I listen to you?" Meghan quirked an eyebrow. "I'm older."

"Four days, Corbett." Lauren frowned. "Why are we friends?"

"Traumatic experience at age eight." Meghan replied, moving to stand next to her, odd looking twins in their green dresses. "And successive traumatic experiences since."

"Who's wedding?" Kaitlynn burst out.

"Miranda's." Lauren replied with a grin. "But that's not important, what is important is getting the Vakor family to leave us alone." She sat on the floor next to Bronwyn and Meghan sat back where she'd been on the couch. "Now," She pulled the tablet from Bronwyn quickly and started to rapidly search through files, "They're planning a strike next year sometime."

"Next year? Why so long?" Laina looked at her niece carefully, still unsure how she was there.

"They're giving themselves time to get their time portals back to working." Meghan muttered, looking at her traveler. "That and they want to cause a lot of pain." She looked to Jen.

"Me?"

"They want to cause us as much pain as possible. What would cause Uncle Wes pain?" Lauren turned and looked at her. Jen felt her heart sink to the floor. He'd not take losing her well, not after losing Courtney and then Chris. Her attention went from herself to him in seconds.

"Is Chris ok?" She inquired, seeing the two girls was one thing, but where was their compatriot?

"He was invited." Lauren snorted. "His excuse was it's his sister's wedding, and he doesn't want to be surrounded by women he's related to, and or will boss him around."

"To be fair that's accurate." Meghan laughed from her seat, legs curled up under her body. "He's got two Aunts, you, Jen, etcetera. Back on topic, it's not of vital importance, but we'll be keeping tabs on the Vakor family in both Bronwyn's time, and everyone should do daily scans of their area."

"Agreed." Kaitlynn picked up her traveler. They continued planning and coordinating, but Rachael sat silently in her seat, watching her daughter speak seriously with Bronwyn and the others about things that directly affected her. If she thought Lauren looked like her now, they could have been twins, except for her chocolate brown eyes she'd gotten from Eric. Before she was entirely sure what was going on, they were all standing and leaving, Meghan and Lauren at the lead. It was the first time in a long time her daughter looked right into her eyes.

"Don't worry about us, we turn out ok." She smiled. "Except for Meghan, but hey no one ends their season batting a thousand."

"Love you too." Meghan rolled her eyes from just outside the doorway, but she was smiling. The two of them teased and picked on the other relentlessly, but there was true love between them. That was the kind of friendship you saw once in a lifetime.

"Things will get weird, but it's nothing you can't handle." Lauren grinned encouragingly. "I'll see you when Dad brings me home." She slipped through the door and the two girls left down the street, just walking away into the night.

"That was weird." Aria breathed. "Really weird, even weird for us weird."

"Get out of my house." Rachael laughed and pushed her friends for the door. Laughing, the women said good night and drove off making their hours or two trips back to where they lived, Jen stayed behind, imaging there was something Rachael would want to say after what had happened with Kaitlynn earlier. "Sleep with him yet?"

Except maybe not that bold. Jen was stunned for a moment, kicking herself back to reality; she should be used to Rachael's bluntness by now. "Why the hell do you want to know whether your brother got laid or not?"

"Because he's my brother and I love him." Rachael quirked an eyebrow. "So did you sleep with him or not? Because I'm not sure he'd go see Arwyn if you hadn't."

"Last night." Jen tried to suppress the smile, but failed miserably.

"Congrats." Rachael laughed. "You two needed that; I can't believe he waited so long."

"I can't talk to you." Jen shook he head and tried to leave, but was stopped at the door with little effort.

"Sorry." Rachael shook her head. "It's a defense mechanism, I get crass. Hell my daughter was just standing in front of me, about ten years older than she should be. She was discussing business with us. Rationally. I'm a little freaked out."

"She's pretty." Jen commented as they sat down. "Looks just like you did, except those eyes."

"I'm glad she got Eric's eyes." Rachael smiled. "I was worried she wouldn't get anything from him except his temper. And that she definitely got."

Jen laughed. "Like you don't have one." Rachael tried to look innocent, but failed, lapsing into laughter with Jen. Trying to lighten the mood they amused one another until Eric came through the door carrying Jake and Lauren dragging her feet. Jen waved good bye quietly, leaving Rachael to get Lauren in her room and in bed, where the girl was out in seconds. She watched Eric get Jake into the toddler bed Lauren had used, and tuck him in for the night before coming out and grabbing onto her.

"What was that all about?" Eric murmured, not letting her answer as he kissed her. He pushed her into their bedroom and onto the bed, all too willing to forgo an answer for this.

"It was so weird." Rachael pushed him off, laughing at his indignant face. "In a minute, I have to tell you this first." She promised, getting him to settle down. "You can't tell anyone, not Wes, especially not Wes." Rachael warned him and he nodded, playful mood gone in the wake of her seriousness. "Lieutenant X is Meghan."

"Meghan Corbett?" Eric's eyes widened as Rachael nodded.

"The other alternate Lieutenant is Lauren." She murmured.

"Our Lauren? Our daughter?"

"She was here." Rachael whispered, leaning back on their pillows. "They were older, in their twenties. They were wearing these green dresses because they were at Miranda's wedding." The reality of what had happened hit her. "They're ok."

"Was Chris there?" Eric asked softly, watching his wife's face while being stunned himself.

"No, they said he didn't want to be in a room full of women he's related to." Rachael chuckled at the thought. "Don't blame him really, there's me, Kaity…"

"Jen." Eric supplied.

"Jen." Rachael agreed. "I just spoke rationally with Lauren about Time Force." She laid back. "This is surreal."

"I know what will help." Eric offered, getting her to look at him. As soon as her face was near his again he kissed her, working to erase every last thought she'd had all day. And it worked as she pressed into him, still able to find that fire after over ten years of marriage. Her body had made quite a few changes over the years, her two pregnancies turning her muscle into a much softer form, but he was still as rock solid as he had been when they met. "I love you." Eric murmured as his hand moved across her stomach.

"God I love you." Rachael giggled and stripped off her shirt and leaned over him.

The Vakor family didn't strike again thanks to a few preemptive strikes organized by the main body of Time Force, mainly Lucas leading a few squads to scoop up their fringe members and discourage their main activities. A big break came in August when they managed to again thwart their abilities to travel through time, setting their plans back significantly. So they went on with their lives. Life in 2013 was good, and Jen was thrilled with the way her life was going. She found herself swept up into a family life, spending more and more time with Wes' kids, but never spent the night at his house. He didn't want his kids seeing that example, and she understood that, so whenever they did spend the night, it took a lot of organizing and he made it to the clock tower whenever he could.

She didn't care. She was in love with Wes, loved all three of his children as if they were her own, and life was good. This year Jen was thrilled to get each of the kids Christmas presents just from her, and set them up under the tree on Christmas Eve, grinning as her eyes caught the figure approaching her from behind.

Wes grabbed onto his girlfriend and kissed her neck, enjoying her giggle. It was a stupid thing to love so much about her, but Jen had developed a habit of giggling in his presence. Actually giggling when he kissed her neck and tickled her. It was amazing to be in love again, like she'd saved him. He never wanted to live without her, and judging by an earlier conversation it all rested on her. Hours earlier he'd asked Chris and Miranda what they thought of Jen coming to live with them and being their step-mom he'd been rewarded with two children shouting 'yes' and wondering if she'd take over cooking. Ashlynn was too little to understand, but she loved Jen the moment she met her. "Hey." He kissed her neck again as she turned, planting another on her mouth.

"Hey." Jen smiled, leaning back and smiling up at him. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." Wes returned, kissing her again, braving himself for the most nerve wracking question ever. The first time he hadn't had to ask, but this time. This time was all him. "You like it here?"

"Your house?" Jen raised her eyebrows in surprise. What an odd question to ask. "Of course I do. I love it here. It's so homey. And I just love your kids."

"Good." Wes murmured, slipping his hand to her back as they stood next to the lit up Christmas tree. "They love you too."

"I'm glad." She smiled in the dark room, seeing him only with shades of reds, blues, and greens. She closed her eyes and imagined music was playing as they stood together in the living room, just together at the best time of year. It wasn't celebrated as reverently in her old time. Old time. It was odd she'd begun to think about her old life in her own time as the 'old time'. Before she was safely where she belonged with Wes in 2013.

"Jen?"

"Hmm?" She looked up, too happy to want to move.

"Marry me." Jen stopped her happy swaying as her eyes shot open, looking right into his face. She didn't know what to say, what to do. Marrying Wes was a fantasy she'd toyed with for years, especially as they'd been together for the last sixteen months, but actually hearing those words was surreal. "Jen?" Wes' brows knit uncertainly, waiting for her answer. Oh God, waiting for her answer.

"Yes." She choked the words out. "Yes." She breathed out, regaining her sense of reality. "Oh God yes." She threw her arms around his neck and held onto him as tight as she could, his arms wrapping around her and holding her close.

"I love you." He murmured in her ear. Jen pulled back and kissed him soundly.

"I love you so much." She murmured and kissed him again. Wes grinned and reached into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of jewelry from the pocket of his jeans. Speechless again, he slipped it over her finger and held it up to the dim light of the tree to both look at it. It had a gold band with a single diamond in the center and two smaller light pink ones on either side and sat perfectly on her hand. "It's beautiful." She murmured but looked up at him. "What did you do with Courtney's?"

Wes frowned, he'd asked her to marry him and she was mentioning his first wife? "I put it away for Chris, I'm not going to give you the same ring."

"I know." Jen shrugged. "I was just curious. I don't mind talking about her." She looked at him. "She was your wife, your children's mother, she's got a place in your life forever, I can respect that."

"It's weird." Wes frowned. "I'll always love her, but I need you now. I love you."

"I believe that." Jen smiled and kissed him again. "When do we get to tell them?" Her eyes lit up referring to his children, her soon to be step kids.

"Tomorrow morning." Wes chuckled. "I asked them what they thought, so they'll want to know pretty fast."

"Good." Jen held onto him. "They want a step mom?"

"They want you." Wes murmured, kissing her forehead. "I want you too."

"I want them. I love them, all three of them." She grinned and moved toward the couch, arranging themselves on it together.

"Stay tonight." He whispered the words into her hair as she leaned back and frowned up at him. "Right here, just don't leave."

"Ok." She breathed, relaxing into him, eyes blurring from exhaustion and pure happiness.

Morning brought three faces looking at the pair of them, Chris announcing he knew what the ring on Jen's finger meant. He hugged her quickly, running for his presents to avoid looking less manly than the ten year old could handle. Miranda looked at the ring for what seemed like hours, and Ashlynn was just content to sit in her lap and suck her thumb, kicking her feet out while she watched Chris and her Daddy play with all of his new toys.

As per tradition they made it over to the mansion where Alan and Arianna were creating a Christmas dinner, joined by Eric and Rachael and their kids soon after. It took Rachael seconds to see the ring on Jen's hand, but she didn't freak out as she would have when she was in her twenties, it was odd to see her maturely wrap her arms around Jen's neck and hug her close. "You've made him so happy." She whispered in Jen's ear. "Thank you."

"He makes me happy too." Jen grinned back to her soon-to-be in-laws.

"Hey, two for two." Rachael teased as she grabbed Jen's hand to inspect the ring. "Got to admit, he's got good taste in jewelry."

"I want to see Courtney's." Jen lowered her voice as Rachael's eyes snapped to hers in surprise. "Not to compare or anything, I'm just curious."

"Last I saw, he put their rings in the table by his bed." It took a second to decide to tell Jen this. "He keeps little mementos in there."

"Thanks." Jen grinned and then looked at her own again. "I love it."

"Got a date in mind?" Rachael grabbed a pair of coffee cups where they stood in the kitchen, the children occupying the men and Arianna in the other room.

"Actually, I've been thinking about it since he asked me last night." Blushing, she admitted as Rachael grinned. "Fairly soon, May sounds good."

"Awesome." Rachael did some mental math. "Four or five months to plan a wedding, we can do that. There's an abundance of children this time." She splayed her hands on the counter suddenly, her back straightening as the idea hit her. "Oh my gosh it's perfect."

"What is?" Confused, Jen sat back, out of her friend's way.

"The clock tower." Rachael grinned. "You can get married up there." Jen didn't answer at first. The two of them seemed to be having that effect on her lately, stunning her into silence. "Well that's a yes." The black haired woman tossed her ponytail and adjusted her white sweater. "You need to call Bronwyn and we can get this whole thing set up." She ordered in her 'Captain' voice, grinning widely.

Sadly Bronwyn agreed with Rachael, and the two had a grand time planning the dream clock tower wedding for her and Wes. Which worked out well for the two of them as they didn't have to do anything for it but show up and pick colors every so often. Jen only had a problem when Rachael dragged her to a store to try on wedding dresses for hours, but the feeling of nerves in the pit of her stomach overtook her in one dress, getting a hug from Rachael as they both fought tears.

But nothing made her cry more than when Bronwyn and Lucas brought little Ava to 2014 four days before the wedding. The sisters spent all night talking; all of them staying in the mansion for the night so the clock tower could be transformed into a proper wedding space. Tripp and Katie came the night before, and as with Rachael's wedding, the girls spent hours talking all night, this time talking about their children. Lauren, Miranda and Ashlynn were staying with them at the mansion while Chris, Jake and Eric stayed at Wes' with the guys.

It was the way his wedding was supposed to be, Wes mused a little when he got a spare moment alone. He didn't feel guilty about what happened with Courtney, or that he was moving on with his life, and their wedding had been what it had to be. That was the past, and Jen was his future.

"You ok?" Eric's voice cut into his reverie, making him look up.

"Yeah." Wes nodded, grinning. "I'm marrying Jen tomorrow, how would I not be ok?"

"Is her stuff here?" Eric grinned.

"Moved it in yesterday." That had been a good feeling, putting her things in his bedroom, and going to sleep with her clothes in his closet. But he chose not to tell Eric that. "Just because you got Rachael in your place after three days, doesn't mean the rest of us are that fast."

"She wanted me." Eric defended himself with a grin, crossing his arms. In the thirteen years they'd known each other, they'd become close friends, and family through Rachael, so conversations like this were normal.

"I don't doubt that." Wes rolled his eyes and grabbed the soda he'd been getting and took it into the living room, finding Chris listening wide eyed to stories Lucas was describing about when they'd been rangers. The kid loved everything to do with rangers, and to have the entire Time Force team at his disposal for questioning was a dream come true for him. And he used every second of it, his violet eyes were glued to Lucas as he described, for the third time and with a little more details, how they'd gotten back to 2001 to help Wes, Eric and Rachael.

"But Aunt Rachael's a girl." Chris wrinkled his nose.

"Hey, girls are strong rangers too." Eric corrected his nephew with a grin. "Jen was a ranger too, now she's going to be your Step-Mom."

"That's true." Chris admitted, frowning in thought.

"Bedtime kid." Wes announced, getting a groan from his son who rolled his eyes. "Go, you can stay up late tomorrow night."

"Ok, Dad." Chris stood up and ran from the room and up the stairs.

"That is one awesome kid." Lucas commented with a funny look on his face. "I'd like a boy."

"I feel you." Eric shook his head. "I thank God for Jake a lot." He took a sip from the soda they were drinking. It was an impromptu bachelor party, and since Wes didn't drink, they had soda, something that made them feel like teenagers again. "Try convincing Bronwyn to have another."

"Still fifty-fifty odds." Tripp pointed out from his chair.

"Go for it, I'm one for three." Wes grinned at Lucas who shook his head.

"Wait a few months and we'll know." He admitted, getting chuckles from the others. "Don't tell her I told you, I'll have to sleep at Time Force for a week or so."

"Congrats." Wes raised his soda. "To knocking up your wife."

"You planning on doing that?" Eric asked rolling his eyes at Wes' scowl. "You flat out told me to knock up your sister; I don't want to hear it."

"You didn't." Tripp's eyes were wide from across the room, laughing at the relationship Wes and Eric had forged.

"I had my reasons." Wes defended, not elaborating on the story, letting Eric squirm.

"Rachael was too focused on Wes." He explained with a scowl. "So he suggested having another baby to distract her."

"It worked, Jake exists." Wes grinned, taking total credit for his nephew's birth. "Rachael happily pays more attention to you."

"Thank God." Eric muttered. "And now you're getting married and she won't be over here every day."

"Control your wife." Lucas chuckled, earning a glare from Eric. "Hey, I married Bronwyn; you think I have a shot at telling her what to do ever?"

"We're destined to be whipped." Tripp saluted with his soda.

"Amen." The other guys murmured, chuckling in agreement. They didn't stay up much later, crashing in rooms around Wes' house. He woke in the bed he'd share with Jen that night. Her first night in their house together. The kids would be at Rachael and Eric's for this night and the following five days when they went on their honeymoon to Hawaii.

Chris grumbled through cereal for breakfast, and stomped his way upstairs to put on his suit. But once it was on he started to get excited, barely able to stand still long enough for Wes to tie the little tie around his neck. Watching his son be so excited proved he was making the right decision, and meeting his two daughters outside the clock tower made the day perfect. Miranda and Ashlynn were dressed in identical pink dresses, their blonde curls piled on their heads like Rachael and Lauren's black ones. Jen had been whisked into the tower and up behind a silky curtain just before he'd gotten there, so he wouldn't be able to see her. Sure it was the second marriage for both of them, but they followed traditions for fun this time around.

He stood at the altar Rachael and Bronwyn had created with wood, real flowers, silk curtains and small little silver Christmas baubles. The entire room was covered with white, red, and pink accents. A tribute to their ranger colors no doubt, but he didn't mind. It was how they met; it was part of who they were. The officiate stood next to him as Rachael corralled his children around him, Ashlynn holding onto his leg comfortably, as if that was the normal place to hang out when your Dad was getting married. The guests sat in the white chairs that had been set up, barely fifty of them. Rachael and Eric sat next to Alan and Arianna in the front row, his step brother Robert actually sitting in the row behind them, staring at the back of Rachael's head the entire time. The rest of the rangers sat on Jen's side as her family, only Bronwyn missing as she stood at the back with her sister.

She'd peeked to look at the small crowd through the space in the curtains and backed up to catch her breath. Bronwyn stood with her, wearing a dress in the same pink color as Wes' daughters, brown eyes holding Jen's to calm her. "Breathe."

"I'm trying." Jen tried. "I want to marry him, but it's terrifying. Distract me." She pleaded with her sister.

"I'm pregnant." Bronwyn said the words so swiftly Jen almost laughed at the joke, but stopped when Bronwyn's hand landed on her flat belly.

"Oh wow." Jen breathed, calming into joy for her sister. "Congratulations." She stepped forward and hugged her sister. "It worked."

"Good." Bronwyn laughed but held on. "I'm so glad we're sisters."

"Me too." Jen smiled, it was odd to think about that, but they almost hadn't been. "I'm getting married."

"I am married." They laughed together as Bronwyn straightened and arranged Jen's hair back to perfection. Her dress was simple white and had a lace jacket over her shoulders, making it a little more modest for her age. She wore no veil and had a small bouquet of flowers in her hands and took a deep breath, circling her arm though Bronwyn's as the music cued them. They came out together, as each other's real family, and walked toward Wes, his eyes glued to Jen's face.

She was dressed to the nines, way more girly than he'd ever seen her before in however long they'd known each other. Bronwyn sat next to Lucas and he took Jen's hand, bringing her to stand next to him. The officiate welcomed the crowd and said a few words before allowing Wes to say the words that he'd memorized for this day.

"Because of you, I can smile and laugh again. I look forward with great joy to spending the rest of my life with you, caring for you, nurturing you, being there for you in all life has in store for us, and I vow to be true and faithful for as long as we both shall live." He murmured the heartfelt words softly, holding her hands in his tightly. Jen repeated the words with the same reverence as he said them, adding a small twist to hers.

"Because of you, I can smile and laugh again. I look forward with great joy to spending the rest of my life with you, caring for you, nurturing you, and being there for you in all life has in store for us and your children. I vow to be true and faithful to you for as long as we both shall live."

Ashlynn transferred herself to Jen's leg halfway through the ceremony when Wes and Jen were exchanging rings and words of love to one another. There wasn't a dry eye in the house when Jen knelt over and presented small delicate necklaces to Ashlynn and Miranda, and a heavier chain with dog tag like pendant for the ten year old boy. The three children watched as their father kissed Jen and the officiate pronounced them husband and wife, and then a family.

Wes barely paid any attention to the reception, too enamored with his bride to pay too much attention to the family hugging and congratulating him. Ashlynn was content to sit in Jen's lap for the duration of the dinner, the three year old falling asleep before dessert. But Jen loved every second of it, even giving her up to Wes so she could dance on the small floor with Chris at least once before he went off to hang out with Lauren, his best friend. Rachael took over care of Ashlynn so the newlyweds could dance a little themselves and then escape back to Wes' house.

"I love you." Wes murmured, pressing her against the wall at the base of the stairs. The light was waning, into a deep golden pink sunset, shedding a little light on her as he kissed her.

"I love you so much." Jen breathed as he untied her lace jacket to access her throat. They barely made it upstairs to his bed, their bed now. He tried to push her onto it but she stopped him and turned so he could unzip the back of her dress, pulling it off and laying it on a chair in the corner, turning to him in the most scandalous underwear he'd ever seen. It was white and pink, and barely covered any part of her thin frame. And didn't cover any part of her when he tackled her onto the bed and removed it, shedding his own clothes in seconds.

Divested of any barriers, they spent a sensual night in each other's arms, spending more time kissing and loving than breathing. The pair didn't surface until late the next afternoon when they went to Rachael and Eric's for dinner and to see the kids for a little while before they took their flight to Hawaii. They had a wonderful time on their little honeymoon, but found they missed the children more than expected. Returning home was the best feeling to see all three run from the house and, except Ashlynn, leap into their father's arms. Ashlynn made a beeline for Jen, stretching her arms up with a loud cry of happiness. She wrapped her arms around Jen's neck and rested her head on her shoulder.

"I missed you." The three year old murmured, her thumb making its way into her mouth.

"I missed you too." Jen grinned at her new daughter and bent down to welcome a hug from the other. Chris looked at her a little warily, but was grinning. And as the months passed he got used to her. They got used to each other living together in the house, and made it through their first sets of holidays as a family well. Being in love was amazing, and living with Wes, and being married to him was a dream come true. A strange dream if she was to compare it to how she felt about him back in 2001, especially before she broke up with Alex. It had been an interesting ride since they'd been rangers, ending with them married.