A/N: I combined chapters 1 and 2, so now it skips to chapter 3. I'll fix this, but probably not until the story is complete. More updates soon!
Clarissa slipped into the bedroom quietly. She didn't want to wake him. It had been several hours since this Martin had arrived. Lily's fiancé had come home from work, and had to be filled in. Luckily, Lily had picked a practical young man who thought the world of Lily, so there wasn't much fuss. Then there had been the phone call to this world's Caitlin, as Clarissa knew she would want the chance to see Martin again. Her, Barry, and Cisco would come tomorrow.
She had set up the new Cisco and Caitlin in the basement for the night. Clarissa had commented once that they had a house that was much too large for just themselves, but Martin had shook it off. This was what he had wanted. And now she knew why. It was meant to be.
She changed in their adjoining bathroom, and then slipped under the covers. It didn't feel like being with a stranger - she could hear his ragged breathing, it sounded like him. As she settled in, Martin rolled over and put his arm around her, not really even waking. He was hotter than normal, but Caitlin had told her to expect that. He smelled like her Martin, he felt like her Martin. And that was enough for her.
"Goodnight, dear," he mumbled in his fevered sleep.
"Goodnight, my love, she whispered back, brushing his thinning hair away from his face gently. And she cried silent tears of joy. This strange world that she now lived in, which brought her dearest husband back from the dead - she was so very glad of it.
—
"I think the breach interacted with the cane, which is why it drained so fast." Cisco explained to his counterpart as they all ate breakfast the next morning. It was wild to watch himself across the table. They might as well have been twins separated at birth.
"It's actually kinda cool to think CS Lewis had the multiverse basically right," Cisco-2 said. They all had agreed to use the numbering system made by the Earth-1 Flash who had come through the largest breach. Which after some tinkering with his breach manipulator, numbered their Earth as Earth-12.
"And that the multiverse might actually be conscious," Cisco-12 said as he downed more eggs. There wasn't any bacon in the Stein household, but Mrs. Stein was a fantastic cook.
Everyone stared at them. It had been fun to listen to their banter up to now, but that last sentence had everyone stunned.
"You mean, you think God wanted us to come here, to this Earth?" Martin broke the silence. Both Caitlins raised their eyebrows. They hadn't thought of Martin as a particularly religious man. That's probably the difference betwwen being Jewish or raised Christian, they both thought to themselves.
The reunion earlier had been awkward at first. Caitlin had nearly burst through the door when Clarissa opened it to hug Martin. Barry and Cisco had both also hugged the professor enthusiastically, though everyone knew it was Caitlin who had had the strongest bond with him. Or with their Martin, at any rate. This Martin Stein was at least five years younger, if not more, they figured, from all of his time on the Waverider.
But that quickly didn't matter as the professor started to ask questions. It was HIM, just without the memories of the last few years. Cisco-2 was actually pretty excited. They could have all of the professor's knowledge with the technology their own professor had help them build. And Jax...
"It would not surprise me. Our Professor Stein gave his life so the Nazi's of Earth-X wouldn't succeed in taking over other Earths. Maybe we need another Stein to continue that protection." Caitlin-2 smiled at Martin. She had already explained that she was a meta-human to everyone. Caitlin-12 wasn't, and maybe now would never be. They had all agreed that the interaction was meant to be, and wasn't "changing the history" of Earth-12.
Martin tried to get up from the table, but couldn't without stumbling. Though the night's sleep with his wife (that's how he thought of her, he didn't care that she was now technically two years older than him) had helped, he felt heavy, as if he was carrying around iron weights. Which he effectively was, as his nuclear body conducted fission. With no boding partner, there was no fusion, no way to make things whole and stable.
Barry zipped around the table with his super speed to catch the professor's stumble. They hadn't been as close as he was with the other team members, but he had trusted his Professor Stein with his life and the lives of his family. This professor could maybe heal the hole in Team Flash since Dr. Well's betrayal and Martin-2's death.
"Thank you, dear boy," Martin patted Barry's hand. He had always liked his own Earth's Barry, and it seemed that would transfer to his Earth-2 counterpart. "I do hope this Jefferson shows up in not too long, however." He made a wiry grin, trying to pass it off as impatience.
Caitlin-12 took out her thermometer and measured the professor's temperature. "He's at 110 now."
"He made it to 140 before Jax was able to merge with him, before." Caitlin-2 said. "It feels like it's happening faster this time, though. Blood pressure was also an issue, so we should be monitoring that, too."
"I'll be fine, I assure you," Martin waved them off as Barry helped him to the couch. He sat down gratefully and closed his eyes. He was a bit overwhelmed with all the attention as he leaned back. He felt terrible, but didn't want to let on.
He opened his eyes again, and realized he had actually fallen asleep. Everyone was speaking in low voices, the Cisco's being the loudest of the bunch. Martin overhead snatches of "time displacement" and "universal laws." Lily was next to him, measuring his heart beat with her hand and a watch.
She finished and looked at him concerned. "It's getting higher. And you're flushed. You probably should just get into bed until Jax comes."
Martin shook his head. "I would like to hold your son, if I might," he asked softly. "Put a blanket between us so he doesn't get too warm."
Lily's face burst open with a happy smile. She had gotten used to strange things since being told she was a Time Aberration, born only because her father had encountered his younger self while Time-traveling and had told him to pay more attention to his wife. Her father had loved her, she knew, but she also knew that they had only a little "real time" together. This time would be different.
She nodded and went to her room to get little Ronnie out of his crib. She put another blanket over Martin, and then laid the baby in the cradle of his arms.
Martin looked at the infant contentedly, careful not to touch him with his hot bare skin. Lily could tell he wanted to talk, though.
"Was I a good father?" he murmured, not wanting the others to overhear. Lily's eyes teared up.
"Yes, you were. The best." she tried hard to keep the tears in check.
"I was always so worried I would be like my father. Did I ever tell you about him?"
Lily nodded. "You never even came close to anything like him. I always knew you loved me."
The power on the cane he had been leaning against his leg completely died. Cisco heard it power down and come around to the couch.
"I think the breach drained it. We need Jefferson."
Martin's eyelids were drooping. Lily took the baby and let him stretch out on the couch.
"His temperature's rising again," Caitlin-12 said worryingly to the room.
The house started to shake as if an earthquake was happening, but then it died off. "That's the Waverider," Cisco said. "Didn't Jax say he was coming in the jump ship?"
But Martin heard none of it. Just as he heard none of the commotion as the current team of Legends came running through the back door, with Jefferson Jackson leading the charge.