"Leonard Snart," Nate said, looking down disappointedly over the top of the paper in his hands, "you have failed this quiz."

Leonard did not seem one bit concerned. "Oh no," he drawled. "Do I get held back?"

Nate set the paper down on the table. "Were you even paying attention? Did I add all those visually appealing graphics for nothing?" He paused, then asked, "Or was that the problem? Did I use too many, so it was distracting?"

"No," Mick answered before Leonard could, "your presentation just sucked."

"Hey!" Nate exclaimed, very obviously offended.

John jumped to his defense, "He's got a point, sweetheart. I barely followed it and I was present for half the things you mentioned."

Nate looked to Charlie and Mona. "You two thought it was good, right?"

"Eh," Mona said, waving her hand back and forth in a fifty-fifty motion.

"I did like the bit about Heyworld," Charlie said, "but otherwise…yeah, it was a bit rubbish."

Nate's shoulders slumped. "Seriously? That bad?"

"I wouldn't say bad," Mona clarified. "It was just…a lot, you know?"

"It's three years' worth of information," Nate replied. Technically, he had skimmed through much of his first year with the Legends in an effort to avoid bringing up the Legion of Doom, but he'd still included several more general points from that time, along with plenty of details from the following two years. "Of course it's a lot."

"If I may make a suggestion," Leonard said, breaking back into the conversation, "I'm not sure if throwing three years of trivia at my face is the best course of action."

Nate looked back down at Snart, who was still leaning back in his seat in the center of the room. By now, he had managed to shift around so that his feet were resting on top of the table in front of him, behind which Nate was standing. "And what," Nate asked patiently, "would a better course of action be, in your opinion?"

Leonard shrugged. "I don't know. I've always been a keen observer. Maybe you can just let me observe as I go."

Nate shook his head. "No way. The last time you were on the Waverider, you were still fighting Vandal Savage under Rip's orders. Too many things have changed since then for you to just jump back in."

Leonard smirked. "Nathaniel, if you think I was ever working 'under Rip's orders,' you really haven't learned anything about me."

"That's not the point," Nate insisted. "There has to be something else we can try." He began to pace back and forth across the front of the room, thinking hard.

As he did, Ray and Zari entered the library. "We made a lot of progress, so we're taking a break," Ray said, looking at his best friend. "How did it go?"

Nate stopped pacing and looked up at him. "Not great. We need another plan."

Ray nodded understandingly. "Okay. Team huddle!" He waved his hands, summoning his teammates closer to him. Nate, Charlie, Mona, and Constantine joined him and Zari near the door. Mick and Leonard stayed put. "You too, Mick!" Ray added. Mick reluctantly stood up and joined the group, leaving Leonard to watch from a short distance.

The teammates spoke in voices just low enough for Leonard not to understand what they were saying, although from the general tone, he could tell there was a lot of arguing going on in the huddle. After a few moments, Nate emerged from the group. "We have a Plan B," he announced.


The group that had previously been in the library sat around the kitchen table. Ray produced a long box and set it down in front of everyone. "I remember you were always into card games, Snart," he said, "which is why we're going to play a little game I invented called…Cards to Save the Timeline!" He rotated the box so the title was facing Leonard. "Looks fun, right?"

Leonard narrowed his eyes at the box skeptically. "Doesn't look like my kind of card game, Raymond."

"But it's a very fun game," Nate assured. "Mick, don't you think so?"

"Yeah," Mick admitted, "as long as no one shows favoritism." He threw a warning glance at Nate, then Zari.

"Okay," Zari said, "no favoritism. I've literally never done that, but thanks for the trust, Mick."

"You see, Snart," Nate continued, "we were thinking about what you said about the presentation, and you may have had a point."

"Shocker," Leonard deadpanned.

Nate ignored him and continued, "You don't have to have all the details right. You just need to understand the team dynamic and how we handle situations together. You know, the general stuff."

"Which brings us to Cards to Save the Timeline," Ray explained. "Every card in here is based on adventures we've had. We think that playing this game will help catch you up on the general vibe of the team. And, hopefully, it'll be a nice bonding experience."

"A nice bonding experience," Leonard repeated amusedly. "That's adorable."

"Thank you," Ray said cheerfully, taking it as a compliment. "Here's how you play: one player pulls out a card describing a sticky situation we've been in before. Then, everyone picks one card from their hand that describes a way we could address that situation, also based on things we've done before. Without knowing whose card is whose, the first player reads all the cards and decides which one they like the best. That person gets a point. Got that?"

Leonard nodded. "Yeah, I got it."

"Okay," Ray grinned, always excited for an excuse to play his game. "Then let's play, Legends!"

Before long, the cards were shuffled and sorted between the players. Ray passed the deck to Nate and he picked the top situation card from the stack. "First round," Nate said, flipping it over to read aloud, "'You have a mission in a present-day mental asylum, but while there, a spell sends you back to the same asylum fifty years earlier. What do you do?'"

Each Legend at the table peered carefully at their cards, then slid them toward Nate. He picked up the seven cards and flipped them all over. "What do you do?" he repeated as he glanced at the first card. "'Take a fairy godmother's wand and wish you and your friends out of trouble.'" He looked up at Ray. "That's a new one."

"Oh yeah," Ray explained, "I may have expanded the deck a bit based on our more recent adventures."

"Sweet," Nate said. "That'll make it even more interesting. Okay, next…" he looked at the second card, "…'Get drunk and find the nearest karaoke bar.'" He laughed. "Charlie, I think I know which card yours was."

"Can't prove it," she returned with an innocent smile.

He moved on to the next card. "'Join hands with your teammates to become a giant manifestation of a popular children's toy.' Hm…not sure if that applies to this situation, although I am always a sucker for Beebo. 'Steal an RV and go on a road trip to Disneyworld.' Tempting. 'Hook up with the nearest historically significant figure.' Really, Constantine?"

"What?" the Englishman asked. "Anyone could have put that."

"Yeah," Zari said, "but out of everyone here, you're the only one who would think a weird mental asylum is an appropriate place to hook up with someone."

Constantine held up his hands in surrender, careful not to show the contents of his cards. "All right, love, you caught me." He aimed a wink in Leonard's direction. "Not that I'd limit myself to mental asylums only."

Zari gagged. "Ugh, please just move on to the next card."

Nate read, "'Drink hallucinogenic tea and go on a vision quest.' Whoever put that in really knows me. And, last but not least, 'Steal a dragon egg and raise the baby dragon as your own.'" He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "This is hard, but I'm going to have to go with…the fairy godmother." He held the winning card aloft. "Most practical option, by far. Who put this one?"

Mona waved her hand. "That was me!" she exclaimed.

"Nice," Ray said. "One point for Mona."

Leonard stared blankly at the Time Bros as they passed the card Mona had just won to her. "So…fairy godmothers," he finally said. "That's a real thing."

"Yep," Ray replied. "There was this one fairy godmother we met named Tabitha. She was the worst. She turned me into pig, and then later tried to manipulate Gary – you haven't met him yet – into torturing us so her demon boyfriend could take over the world with an evil phone app while using my body. Also, she tricked Nora into taking the fairy godmother mantle from her, which accidentally sent her into Hell to rescue me. And then she got eaten by a dragon. Tabitha, I mean. Not Nora."

Leonard sat silently for a moment. "Raymond," he said, "you are once again not making any sense."

"Welcome to the Legends," Zari said sarcastically as she took the deck from her boyfriend, "where nothing makes sense." She pulled the top card off the deck. "Okay, here we go: 'Your friend is brainwashed by a villain and seriously injures a member of your team. What do you do?'"

"Yikes," Mona said, her eyes wide. "That's a dark one."

"Not if you pick a light enough answer," Ray pointed out.

"Thanks, Ray," Zari replied. "Now I'll know which one yours is."

The Legends searched through their cards. Leonard was the last to slide his toward Zari. She collected them all and flipped them over. "First one: 'Use a loophole in time to join an island of warrior women.' I feel like that was a throwaway card. 'Skip the crossover and dress up as the trinity instead.' 'Travel back in time to interfere with your own actions so you break time.' 'Use Gideon's futuristic technology to scan for brain damage.' Getting a little more relevant. 'Beat up some Nazis.' I mean, I'm always down to do that. 'Strand your friend away from the ship and come back for them when they're no longer dangerous.' Huh. Okay. And, finally, 'Hold each other close and remember that you are more than a team. You are a family.'" She looked the cards over, then selected one. "Last one wins."

"Yes!" Charlie celebrated, picking up the situation card she'd won. "That card's always a winner."

Leonard looked down at the floor, then up at Ray. "And where was this family attitude when you all wanted me to ice Mick, Boy Scout?" he asked him.

Ray froze. "Well…technically," he replied uncomfortably, "we didn't actually ask you to do that."

"But you weren't mad about it," Leonard argued.

"Wait," Nate interjected, "what did you just say?" He turned to Leonard, shocked. "The Legends wanted you to kill Mick?"

"No," Ray quickly explained, "we had to get Mick off the ship because he was threatening us and our loved ones."

"And he burned Sara," Leonard added quietly.

Ray nodded. "That too."

Mona gasped. "Mick, you didn't!"

"I was having a rough week, okay?" Mick responded, barely looking up from his cards. "Wouldn't be the first time one of us took things too far."

Nate stared at Mick. "I thought you said you two were best friends."

"Best friend I ever had," Mick confirmed.

"Even after he tried to kill you?" Nate asked, still struggling to understand. "Best friends don't do that."

Mick shrugged. "He didn't kill me. He marooned me. Big difference."

"It's true," Leonard agreed. "I didn't kill him."

A memory flashed through Nate's mind of the fight against the Legion of Doom, with Snart putting an icicle through future Mick's chest. "Yeah…are you two sure you're okay?"

"Peachy," Leonard replied.

"Why wouldn't we be?" Mick asked. "He knocked me out, I betrayed him, he stranded me, I threatened to kill his sister, we punched each other a few times, and then we got over it. What's not okay about that?"

"Everything," Nate answered. "Literally everything is not okay about that."

Leonard shook his head disappointedly. "They just don't understand us, partner," he told Mick.

"Too bad," Mick replied. "They're missing out."

Nate wasn't ready to let go of the issue yet. "Just so we're clear," he said, "you two really are friends now, right? Neither of you have any desire to kill each other or each other's loved ones whatsoever."

"Of course not," Mick answered gruffly. "We're partners."

"Exactly," Leonard said. "Partners."

Nate decided to back off, despite still feeling bewildered. He knew he and Ray would never even consider marooning each other, let alone threatening or killing each other. Ray had gone so far as to allow himself to be possessed by Neron to prevent that from happening. Snart's and Mick's friendship seemed very strange to him. However, Nate hadn't been there in the mission against Vandal Savage. He didn't know how everything had unfolded. Maybe pushing the issue was unfair. "I mean, if it works, it works," he said, looking back down at his cards. "I'm not here to judge. But you guys might want to consider therapy. Just saying." He looked up at John, who was next around the table. "Your turn, Constantine."

John reached for the deck and flipped over the top card. "'You find yourself stuck in a time loop reliving the same day over and over. What do you do?'"

Nate snapped his fingers. "'Groundhog Day.' Classic!" He sorted through his cards for the perfect answer, though he involuntarily cast a quick, wary glance at Snart and Mick before choosing.


"Don't say 'I told you so,'" Sara grumbled from the pilot's seat of the jump ship. "I really don't need that right now."

Nora sat still in the seat closest to her. "I wasn't planning to, Captain."

"You'd be totally justified if you did," Sara clarified. "You'd be right. Just…please don't."

"Okay," Nora replied, "I won't." The two of them sat in silence for a while as Sara flew the jump ship. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Nora spoke again, "So…rifts?"

"What about them?" Sara asked, still fully focused on the controls in front of her.

"I'm just wondering what to expect," Nora replied. "It seems like whenever there's an issue with the timeline, it's something bigger than it appears."

"Do you know any demons trying to break free these days?" Sara joked. She fell silent, then asked, "I'm sorry, was that too far? I feel like it was too far."

"Oh, no! You're fine," Nora assured her. "That's all behind me."

Sara exhaled, relieved. "Good. I guess I'm just a little…on edge. And I know why," she quickly added, "so you don't need to tell me."

"I won't, then."

"Good."

Nora waited through another silent moment, then asked, "What about Snart?"

Sara froze for a second, though she kept her focus straight forward. "What about him?"

"We're about to go on a mission," Nora pointed out, "and it's not the one he signed up for in 2016. Do you think he'll stick around to help with it? I know he was on the team at the beginning, but it's not like he's obligated to stay after being gone for three years. Not that I mind!" she immediately clarified. "I actually kind of like the guy. It's just…I'm just wondering if he still wants to be a Legend after so many changes." She chuckled a little. "But hey, who am I to say? What do you and Constantine call me and Mona? The 'newbies'?"

Sara smiled. "Yeah, you're the newbies." She continued, "Nora, I've asked myself that question too. About Snart, I mean."

"And what do you think? You know him better than I do. Do you think he'll stay?"

Sara sighed. She wanted Leonard to stay. She wanted him to be by her side on their missions again. She'd missed him so badly for the past three years and felt so happy now just to be near him again. But what if he only stays because he's expecting something from me? she asked herself. After the way we left things, I'd understand if he did. But I'm not ready for that. Not this soon after Ava. I can't lead him on. But then, if I tell him that, will he leave? "I…I don't know, Nora. I just don't know."


"And that's a point for Mick," Ray said, passing a card across the table.

"Ha!" Mick exclaimed, claiming it. "Take that!"

Ray looked confused. "Mick, this is a bonding exercise. We're not actually competing."

"Yes, we are," John corrected him.

"I certainly am," Charlie commented.

"Same," Zari said.

"Ditto," Mona added.

Ray frowned. "Aw, come on, guys. This is supposed to be fun!"

"Competition can be fun," Zari replied. "Who's winning?"

Nate looked around at each player. "Mona, Charlie, and I each have one. Snart and Ray have two. Constantine and Mick are now tied for first with three."

"You're next, Englishman," Mick growled menacingly.

Ray raised an eyebrow. "Next for what?"

Mick blinked. He hadn't expected to be asked that. "For…uh…losing. Yeah, you're next for losing."

"I believe it's my turn to decide who's losing," Leonard drawled, reaching for the deck. He hated to admit it, but this game wasn't entirely irritating. Of course, he figured out early on that it was much more fun if he intentionally submitted all of his strangest, most messed up cards, just to see how the Legends would react to them. He flipped over the top card. "It says, 'A unicorn bites off your friend's nipple. He gets it back with the ability to use it to hypnotize people for evil purposes. What do you do?'" He paused and looked at the card again, not believing the words he'd just read. "Wait." He read it through again. "Wait a second." He read it through several more times. "What the…"

"I understand your confusion," Nate said calmly, "but I assure you, that really happened."

Leonard set the card down and stared at it. "That's…just…I got nothing. That's too weird." He looked around at the other Legends. "Guess it's up to you guys, huh? Hit me."

One by one, the Legends slid him their cards. He mixed them up, then flipped them over and began to read them, "'Move in next door to a murderous psychopath and pretend not to recognize him.' 'Bring someone back from the dead with the power of love and James Taylor.' 'Find J.R.R. Tolkien and ask him to help you interpret ancient texts.' Hold on." He stopped reading and looked up. "You guys met J.R.R. Tolkien without me?" he asked, emphasizing each letter of the author's initials.

Ray, Nate, and Mick exchanged glances. Their interaction with J.R.R. Tolkien had not been completely Snart-free, but they didn't need him to know that.

"I…uh…didn't take you for a Tolkien fan, Snart," Ray said, genuinely astonished.

Leonard raised an eyebrow. "He's most famous for writing about a piece of stolen jewelry," he returned. "Why wouldn't I be into that?"

"Well, stolen might be a strong word," Ray began to argue, "since technically, Isildur thought Sauron was destroyed when he claimed the Ring as his own, and then the Ring itself chose to abandon Isildur later, although I guess Bilbo did technically steal it even though he didn't fully understand its…"

"Raymond," Leonard interrupted him, "shut up."

"I thought you liked Tolkien," Ray replied.

"I do. Don't ruin it for me." He returned his attention to the cards. "Okay, what's left? 'Write a series of romance novels under a false name.' 'Dress up in period-appropriate attire and sneak into a party.' 'Lead a survival skills class while posing as summer camp counselors.' 'Convince an enemy to become a friend by showing them trust and kindness.'" His fingers hovered over the last one. "Trust and kindness," he said, the tiniest hint of a smile crossing his face.

"Brilliant," Charlie said, grabbing the situation card eagerly. "Two for Charlie!"

Ray regarded Leonard with an expression of surprise. "That's an unexpectedly nice choice, Snart."

Leonard passed the deck to Mick. "It was the only answer that would actually solve the problem," he argued. "How is posing as a camp counselor going to do anything about your friend's evil nipple?" He cringed, disgusted. Did I just say, 'evil nipple'? he thought. That is horrifying. Truly horrifying.

Sara stepped into the kitchen, followed by Nora. "So, this is what you've been up to," she observed, noticing the cards spread across the table and she walked closer to the rest of the Legends. "Who's winning?"

"I am," John and Mick said simultaneously.

"They're tied at three," Zari clarified.

"Well, I hate to interrupt a good game," Sara said, "but it looks like we have a new mission."

The Legends' heads all turned to face her.

"What sort of mission, love?" John asked.

"Remember that vortex the time pirates came out of?" Sara replied. "There are things like it all over the timeline. Most of them aren't accompanied by time storms, but they still exist. The Time Bureau is calling them rifts and they need our help dealing with them."

Ray grinned. "Does that mean I get to invent a device to help locate and close the rifts?" he asked excitedly.

"That would be great, Ray," Sara nodded. "Did you and Zari finish your repairs?"

"Almost," Zari answered.

"Try to finish by the end of the day," Sara ordered. "We need to be ready to time jump as soon as possible to get a head start on these rifts. Nate," she turned toward the historian, "your historical research skills will be needed. We've got a lot of anachronisms to detect in a lot of different time periods."

"You got it, Captain," Nate said. He addressed the group, "Legends, I suggest we press pause on this game until we're prepared for our next mission. All in favor?"

Mick groaned, "Right when I was about to win. Nice going."

"I kind of wanted to see Constantine and Mick battle it out, if I'm being honest," Charlie remarked.

"We can get back to it later," Nate insisted. "Let's just all remember our scores and pick up where we left off, okay?"

"I hate remembering stuff," Mick muttered.

"Okay?" Nate repeated himself to the rest of the team.

"Okay," several of them said in unison. The others nodded their heads in agreement.

They split off in different directions, each taking a role in preparing for the mission. Leonard, not having a specific role, moved to follow Mick. As he passed Sara, she tapped his shoulder lightly, stopping him. "Hey," she said, "can we talk?"

"Of course," Leonard replied. "Where?"

"Let's say my room," Sara suggested. "And…um…bring your cards. I might want to take you up on that gin offer. Unless you're sick of card games by now," she added, nodding toward the box of Cards to Save the Timeline, which still sat on top of the kitchen table.

He smiled. "I think I could play one more game."

"Perfect. Come with me."


Leonard noticed several changes when he stepped into Sara's room. It now had a lot more furniture, for one thing, and not the kind that looked like it belonged on a spaceship from the future. There were several pictures hanging on the walls, mostly of members of the Lance family. Overall, it looked a lot homier. "I see you've redecorated," he observed.

"Well, it's not a temporary living space anymore," Sara replied. "This is my place. I thought it needed to look a little more like me." She sat down on her bed and patted the space next to her. "Come on," she said, inviting him closer.

He pulled the deck out of his jacket pocket and shuffled them in his hands as he sat down beside her. Sara watched him divide the cards between the two of them, trying not to give away how anxious she was feeling. She hadn't planned on playing gin right now. She just knew she had to talk to him about something she wasn't looking forward to bringing up. They'd always been able to talk so easily during their games about anything, so she'd suggested it with hope that it would make a difficult conversation easier.

"So," Leonard said as they each picked up and sorted through their hands, "what's bothering you?"

Sara looked up sharply. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," he explained, "that I don't think you invited me here just to play gin. Something's on your mind. What is it?"

Sara glanced away from him, studying the floor beside her bed. "Is it that obvious?"

"Maybe not to the crew," Leonard replied, "but it is to me." He looked up at her with a kind look in his intense, expressive eyes. "Talk to me, Sara."

Sara didn't answer right away. She set down a card in the space between them and drew a new one from the deck, beginning the game. She knew what she had to say but didn't know how to start. "Leonard," she finally said as he took his turn, "there are some things I need you to know."

"Shoot."

Sara took a deep breath. "I…I wore your ring," she told him slowly. "I wore it every day for a few months." Leonard set down his cards and looked up at her, giving her his full attention. She continued, "I only stopped when I decided that I wanted to hunt down and kill Damien Darhk. I just knew you wouldn't want me to be so consumed with vengeance and bloodlust, so it felt…it felt wrong."

Leonard frowned. "He killed Laurel. Your sister. If I'd been there, I would've killed him myself."

"You always told me I was more than a killer," Sara countered.

"Because you are."

Sara set her hand of cards facedown on the bed and shifted around, pulling her knees into her chest. "That's exactly what I mean," she said. "You always saw the best in me. I felt like I was letting you down."

Leonard shook his head. "Sara, you could never let me down. That's the craziest thing I've ever heard, and I just learned about nipple hypnotism."

"We call it nipnotism, actually."

"Whatever. It still sounds very disturbing."

"Oh, it is." Sara rocked back and forth as she planned what to say next. "When I became captain, I tried so hard to be better, to be the kind of captain you would have wanted me to be. I made a promise never to leave another Legend behind. After I did that to you, I just couldn't do it again."

"Sara, we've been over this," Leonard reminded her. "I told you to leave. There was nothing for you to be sorry about, and even if there was, I agreed to forgive you."

"But I didn't forgive myself," she replied. "Not for a long time. You were…are…so important to me. I missed you, Leonard. I really missed you. There were so many times when I wished you were here, and it hurt so much to know that you weren't."

Leonard saw the sorrowful look in her eyes and his heart sank. She was alone, he thought. I left her alone. She was in pain and I wasn't there for her. "I should have been here," he said solemnly.

"That's not your fault," Sara insisted. "Anyway, the reason I'm telling you this is, I need you to know how much I care and how much it means to me that you're back. And I need you to know that because, if you don't already know it, then the next thing I have to tell you might make you think I don't care as much as I do." Now came the more difficult part of the conversation, the part she'd been dreading. "I know that the Oculus feels like yesterday for you. And I remember how we…left things." She noticed his eyes dart to her lips for half a second before looking back at her eyes. "I didn't see anyone for a long time after what happened. I mean, I hooked up with people, but I didn't look for anything more meaningful. But, eventually, I found someone." Leonard blinked, but didn't seem otherwise fazed. "We were happy together," Sara continued. "We really were. But, in the end, we were too different, so we ended things. I'm still picking up the pieces from that."

She paused, wondering if Leonard would say something. He didn't. "Look," she said, "I know how you felt the day I lost you, and I would understand if you wanted to pick up exactly where we left off. If you'd come back two years ago, I probably would have wanted that too. But a lot has changed and I just…can't." She leaned back against her pillows, closing her eyes so she didn't have to see his reaction. "I don't mind the flirty banter or being close again. That's all fine. And I'm not saying I never wanted something. I did. I'm not even saying that there's no chance my feelings will every change. It's just that right now, things are so complicated that I don't know how I'm going to feel tomorrow, let alone after that. I just can't be anything with anybody, not so soon after what happened with Ava."

"Ava?" Leonard repeated. His voice sounded serious, but not angry, much to Sara's relief.

"Yeah. That's her name." She paused, then elaborated, "We're trying to be on better terms, but it isn't easy. She's our contact at the Time Bureau, though, so we have to try." She sat back up again, this time looking directly at Leonard's face. "The point is, we're about to go on a mission to fix these rifts. The team seems to be warming up to you, and you seem to be getting comfortable on the Waverider again. But I know this isn't the mission you signed up for, so it's your choice if you want to stay. However, if the reason you want to stay is because you're expecting something that I can't promise you…"

"And what do you want?" Leonard interrupted.

"It doesn't matter what I want," Sara answered. "This is about you."

"I know," Leonard replied. "You're talking about what I want. Well, what I want is to know what you want."

"Leonard, I'm being serious."

"I am too." He looked away from her, absentmindedly running his fingers over the cards still laying face-down in front of him. "If I said I expected nothing from you, would you want me to stay?"

Sara knew her answer instantly. "Yes, I would."

Leonard looked back up at her with a smile. "Then it's decided. I'm staying."

Sara raised her eyebrows. "Really? You don't want to take time to think about it or anything?"

"I don't see why I'd need to. You know I always enjoy some high-stakes action. And, the way I see it, I've been M.I.A. for far too long. I'm sure there were times when you and Mick, and maybe even Raymond, could have used my help. I think it's about time I made up for that."

Sara relaxed a little, though she still had questions. "Are you really sure it's okay? You don't have to pretend if it's not."

"Sara, you're my friend and my teammate. It's going to take a lot more than some muddled feelings to get rid of me." Although he spoke as if unaffected, Sara noticed what looked like a hint of sadness in his eyes. She hoped she was imagining it. "Besides, I'm willing to bet that my 'resurrection' had something to do with these rifts in the first place. Am I right?"

Sara winced. "Uh…it might have had…something…to do with it."

"Then it's only fair for me to stick around," he concluded. "You guys made a mess to save me. The least I can do is help you clean it up."

Sara smiled at him warmly. "Thank you, Leonard. I hope you know how much this means to me. And Mick, I'm sure. And the others."

"Don't mention it."

"Captain Lance," Gideon's voice rang out, "Miss Tomaz and Miss Wu are requesting your assistance in the library. Shall I tell them to wait?"

Sara slid off her bed. "No, Gideon, I'm on my way." She looked back at Leonard, still seated in front of the cards. "To be continued," she said, nodding her head toward the cards.

"Yeah," Leonard replied, scooping them up and returning them to their box, "to be continued."


Leonard reached the door to Mick's room and entered it. It was dark and cluttered, much more cluttered than his own tastes. Of course, the number of boxes of his own belongings that had been shoved into various spots around the room didn't help things. There were also several strange things that he knew had not been in Mick's room the last time the two of them had lived on the Waverider. One was an old typewriter set up in the center of Mick's desk. Another was the strange insect crawling through what appeared to be a hamster cage. Mick had informed him the night before that its name was AXL Rory, Jr.

He turned the lights on, then strolled over to the extra bunk that had been set up on the opposite wall from Mick's and sat down on it. He felt something, but he couldn't put his finger on what. Jealousy wasn't quite it. He knew he had no right to be jealous. He'd been dead, and even before that, he and Sara had never truly been together. It wasn't anger either. At least, not at Sara or Ava. Perhaps a little at himself, but there was definitely more to it than that. Heartbreak? Possibly, but he knew that wasn't fair. After three years of being absent from her life, Sara was allowing him back in at the same level of closeness they'd had before. How could he be upset about that? It was more than he felt he deserved after being gone when she'd needed him. If anything, he was grateful. She wasn't obligated to let him back in. But she wanted to, and more than that, she'd missed him and still cared about him. All of this was good news. So, why did he still feel so…strange?

He lay down on top of his bed, contemplating. He stared up at the ceiling blankly. How many times had he laid awake at night in a room just like this one, kicking himself for not taking his chance with her yet? How many nights had he fallen asleep dreaming of, even longing for a future with her by his side? Too many for him to count, although the ever-omniscient Gideon could probably give him a number if he asked.

He took off his ring and held it up above him, studying it. The idea that Sara would ever consider herself unworthy of him, even this very small piece of him, was baffling. If anything, he'd always thought the opposite was true. She's better than me, he thought, in every conceivable way. How could she ever think otherwise?

Mick stomped into the room and stopped just inside the doorway, surprised to see Leonard lying there. "Something wrong with it?" he asked, noting the way his partner was staring at the small, silver ring.

Leonard sat up quickly, sliding the ring back onto his finger. "No," he said. "Just thinking."

"About what?" Mick asked. He raised his eyebrows suggestively. "Sara?"

Leonard stiffened defensively. "You gave her my ring. Why?"

Mick shrugged. "I knew."

Leonard glanced down at the ring on his finger, then back up at his partner. "I never told you."

"Snart," Mick replied, "I've been your partner since we were kids. You never had to tell me. I knew." He turned away and began searching through the drawers of his desk. "I just stayed out of it because I thought it was stupid," he added over his shoulder.

Leonard smirked. "Of course. You don't do touchy-feely."

"I don't. And neither did you before you started thinking like an idiot hero. That's why I thought it was stupid." He found what he was looking for, stuffed it in his jacket pocket, and turned around to face Leonard again. "You, uh…you want to talk about it?"

Leonard raised his eyebrows in surprise. "What happened to not doing touchy-feely?"

"I still don't. It's just…well, you haven't been around. I haven't talked to you in a while. If you want to talk about it, we can. Or we can talk about something else. Or nothing. I don't care. I don't," he repeated with emphasis.

Leonard stood up and walked over to where Mick was standing. "You don't, huh?" he drawled, clearly not believing his friend's insistence.

"No," Mick stated. "I don't. I was just…asking. To see if you did. But I don't."

"Right." Leonard stepped away, looking over the items sitting on Mick's desk as he continued, "Well, you don't need to worry about caring too much today, Mick. I'm not in a talking mood."

"Good," Mick grunted. "Me neither."

"Glad we're on the same page. Speaking of pages," Leonard picked up a book that had been lying facedown beside Mick's typewriter, "you seem to have amassed a large collection of this person's work. What's her name again?" He looked down at the cover, then smirked smugly at his partner. "Rebecca Silver?"

Mick hesitated. "She's…uh…talented."

"Oh, I'm sure she is," Leonard said, still wearing his knowing smirk. "I'm also sure you know just as much about her work as she does."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Mick said, quickly grabbing the book out of Leonard's hands and throwing it backward over his shoulder without looking. It landed on the floor near his own bunk.

"Just intrigued to see you taking an interest in literature, old friend."

"I'm not!" Mick located the nearest box of Snart's things and dug through it until he found an old-looking book. He stepped toward Leonard and shoved it into his hands. "You want to read something? Here! Read one of your own stupid books. I've got things to do." He hurried out of the room as suddenly as he'd entered.

Leonard rolled his eyes after he was gone. "Whatever you say, Rebecca," he muttered. He returned to his bed, sat down, and looked at the book's cover. He smiled, recognizing it immediately. It was a copy of Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne. This particular edition was published sometime in the 1950s, but it was in excellent shape, since it had only been handled for a few years. He lay back on the bed and opened it to its first page, featuring a handwritten inscription: "To my favorite master planner – From Sara."

He remembered the day she'd given him that book. It hadn't been long after Gideon had restored the hand he'd frozen off and Sara had returned from the League of Assassins. He also remembered that he'd never actually finished it. He'd only been about halfway through when the Legends had gone to the Vanishing Point. He flipped through the pages until he spotted where he'd left off. "To be continued," he murmured as he began to read.


A/N: So, as you can tell, this is going to be a bit of a slow burn for Captain Canary. Not because seeing them together wouldn't make me happy (it very much would) but Sara isn't the most emotionally open person and has lived three long years without Leonard, so I think it'll take a minute for her to be back at the same place where they left off. But don't worry - it's not going to be too slow. It's just going to take a little more buildup first.

Also, about Leonard's taste in books...I've assumed he's a Tolkien fan since season 2 because when Mick said he had to find a "hobbit guy," Leonard immediately knew he was talking about J.R.R. Tolkien and asked if he wanted an autograph, so he definitely knew who he was. Also, the Around the World in Eighty Days thing will come up again later. There's a reason why Sara gave it to him and a story about how it happened, but it'll be a while before the explanation comes up, so you'll have to be patient if you want to find out. Thanks for reading!