Well, this chapter was a bit trickier to write in many ways. But in other ways, it was surprisingly easy. I just hope that my effort resulted in a great update that was worth the work.

For a brief moment, as Iris slowly awoke in warmth and comfort, she thought it was another dream. But as she blinked lazily, it began to sink in that the arm around her and the chest against her back were real. Barry was actually back. She had him back again.

Moving slowly, Iris twisted around so she could face him in the dim light. The sight of him quietly snoring into his pillow with his hair a complete mess pulled a smile out of her. Not to mention the his-and-hers matching Flash pajamas, the inevitable result of letting Cisco play with future technology capable of fabricating anything, somehow made the entire situation more adorable. She wanted nothing more than to stay with him and never let him go. This moment was absolutely perfect.

Then Barry snorted in his sleep and startled a giggle out of Iris. That resulted in him moaning tiredly and reaching up to rub his face. As he reluctantly opened his eyes, Iris leaned in to kiss him.

When he finally pulled back, Barry grinned slightly and said, "Morning, Iris."

"Morning, Barry. Sleep well?"

"Better than I have in a long time," he said. "What time is it?"

"Technically, the Vanishing Point is outside of time and thus normal chronological timekeeping would be meaningless," said Gideon, the abrupt remark from the A.I. making them jump. "However, for practical purposes on board and to ensure healthy circadian rhythms for the crew, we have adopted a traditional twenty-four-hour cycle that we attempt to match to our destinations during time jumps. By that reckoning, it is approximately eight thirty-four."

"Thanks," muttered Iris, pushing herself up.

Maybe the others were used to the idea of having absolutely no privacy onboard, but she certainly wasn't. Gideon seemed nice and helpful, but she was part of the reason Iris and Barry didn't do anything more than cuddle in their sleep on their first night back together. She was always in the room with them, listening and watching.

The room was nice enough though. A bit empty and practical, but still nice. The bed was relatively comfortable, though a little small for two people. One wall had a screen that currently looked like a window, providing a view of a beach at dawn. That's where the light in the room was coming from. It almost made her feel like they were at a nice hotel, albeit not a super expensive one.

Barry reached for a navy shirt and jeans, more products from the Fabrication Room so he didn't have to wear the Flash suit their entire stay. Iris did the same, collecting her clothes to change into. Since they were both up anyway, they might as well get dressed and grab some breakfast.

Once, Sara would have been groggy and painfully stiff as she returned to awareness. The last couple of days had been long and intense, filled with war, death, mystical objects, the destruction of time itself, the return of someone they'd lost, and hours of volatile thoughts. It was hard to keep track with everything that happened, but it must have been almost two days since their last proper sleep. Even for someone who spent time in the ruthless training of the League of Assassins, succumbing to exhaustion was inevitable eventually.

But another advantage of her League training was that not only could she operate with very little sleep if necessary, but she could also sleep in almost any situation. Sleeping while sitting up might leave her neck, shoulders, and back somewhat stiff, but it was nothing that would slow her down. The pain of tightening muscles wasn't even worth noticing. A quick stretch would work out the kinks.

It was also warmer in the medbay than the rest of the timeship. Uncomfortably warm actually, with Gideon focusing most of the heat onto patients while the rest of the room received merely what radiated from those two points. But Nanda Parbat didn't exactly have air conditioning either.

Neither her position nor the heat were enough to keep her awake. It was always important to grab rest when she was able since you can never tell when another chance might be. Assassins were practical like that. So Sara managed to drift off in the awkward position regardless of the temperature or lack of comfort.

And assassins weren't allowed the luxury of grogginess. Ra's Al-Ghul would not tolerate such weakness and vulnerability. She learned to be a morning person. Whether she liked it or not.

Thus, Sara returned to consciousness instantly. She snapped her eyes open and lifted her head, rolling her neck to deal with the stiffening muscles. She let her legs stretch back out while she pushed her hair out of her face.

A brief look to her right demonstrated that someone left a pitcher of water and a couple of cups next to her. Fairly recently too, judging by the ice. It could have been from anyone, but she suspected Ray brought it in. It was the sort of nice gesture that he'd come up with.

Pouring herself a drink, the sharp iciness of the water helped shove the rest of the remnants of sleep from her mind. It wasn't quite as effective as caffeine, but it was better than nothing.

"…Share?"

Sara stiffened at the sound of the croaking, dry, and tired voice. She could barely understand the rough sound at first. It shouldn't be familiar. She shouldn't recognize the voice in that condition. But she knew. Even before she turned, she knew.

Raising his head slightly and staring at her with a groggy expression, Leonard Snart was awake and talking. Sara's breath briefly caught in her throat.

Then his request properly registered in her brain. She quickly poured another cup of water. Leonard's hand managed to slip out from under the silvery blanket, reaching for the drink with sluggish movements. She knew he would want to do this himself, but Sara kept one hand close to his shaky grip on the cup as she raised his chair into a sitting position.

After he managed a few slow sips, Leonard let her take back the water and said, "Thanks."

She could already tell a difference in his voice. He sounded closer to what she remembered.

"No problem," said Sara.

Blinking a few times as he seemed to grow more aware, he mumbled, "Guess you're a pretty good thief yourself."

For a moment, his words simply confused her. Then she remembered. She remembered their conversation in her room, when they danced around the topic that they should have confronted. She remembered her remark about him stealing a kiss. And she remembered that she was the one who ultimately initiated their first kiss.

She was not going to blush. She was not a teenage girl with her first crush. She was not going to blush about that kiss or being reminded about it like that.

"Turns out some of my assassin skills can be used for stealing," she said finally. While her weak teasing tugged a slight smirk from him, Sara grew graver. She said, "Listen, I don't know how to tell you this, but…"

"Ten months," interrupted Leonard, closing his eyes tiredly. "Rip told me last night. Or whenever it was. Apparently I vanished for a while and you guys killed Savage. Then you broke time." He opened his eyes again. "Should have known you'd get in trouble without me around."

"Guess it's a good thing you're back then."

It was so easy. She fell back into the old rhythm without thinking about it. The smart comments and dancing around topics came back as naturally as breathing. It was like no time had passed at all.

But she couldn't pretend everything was the same, that nothing had changed. She wasn't the same person who left him in the Oculus any more than she was the girl who first set foot on the Gambit. He remembered her before Laurel's death and before the responsibility of being captain.

"I know a lot has happened that I missed," said Leonard slowly, almost as if he was reading her mind. "Rip was stingy with the details, but ten months is a long time for people like us. And back there, when neither of us expected to see each other again… We can just call it the heat of the moment. It doesn't have to mean anything. No strings. No obligations, Sara."

He was giving her a way out. She could recognize the offer for what it was. They could pretend the kiss never happened and put all those complications aside for now. It would be the easiest way to handle everything.

Sara considered it. Then she considered Amaya's advice.

"You're right. A lot's happened and I've changed," she said. "And maybe you won't like the changes that much."

"I doubt you could change that much, Assassin."

Standing up and stepping closer to the chair, Sara continued, "But I'm no coward. And I doubt that Cold would let fear make his decisions either."

Sara knew there was a risk. There always was. But sometimes people had to try anyway or watch their chances of happiness slip away. She didn't want to mourn for what could have been. Never again.

Before she could second-guess herself or change her mind, Sara leaned in. Leonard still felt a little cooler than he should and he didn't immediately react, her kiss too sudden and unexpected. But she could tell the moment that shock wore off because he began kissing back.

Once she got started, part of her wanted to keep going. It was like the small act cracked the dam that she didn't even remember building, letting everything trapped within start flooding out. There was a desperation in the contact. Not the same as their first kiss, where they knew it was also the end. This was different, but no less intense. This was desperation born from the fear and determination to never again experience that loss. She wanted this. And judging by his enthusiastic responses to her deepening kiss, Leonard desired this just as much.

But part of her needed to be the responsible one. They couldn't just make out in medbay, hoping none of their teammates wandered in. Furthermore, no matter how much he wanted to do this, she could tell that Leonard hadn't quite recovered enough to keep going. And so after a few moments, Sara reluctantly pulled back and broke it off.

Breathing a little harder than before even while his remaining grogginess had vanished, he said, "I don't really have a plan for this."

"I'm sure you'll come up with something eventually," she said. "Neither of us know what will happen next. For me. For you. For me and you. But I'd like to find out together. If that's what you want."

Trying to catch his breath, Leonard couldn't quite believe how the events of the last few minutes were going.

Ten months was a long time. He knew that. Ten months where Sara thought he was dead… She was bound to move on. Even if she cared about him enough to watch over him in medbay, she must have moved on to an extent. Whatever that might have existed between them would have fizzled out. He understood and accepted the inevitable outcome. He couldn't expect the events at the Oculus to really matter after so long, even if it was only a day ago for him.

Leonard accepted the obvious fact and let Sara know there were no hard feelings, refusing to let any part of himself wish otherwise. Cold logic and reason locked down the more rebellious emotions. The kiss and everything connected to it should no longer hold any weight or sway over either of them. She owed him nothing.

And that's why he didn't expect Sara to lean in for a kiss, one not given as a final farewell, one that was both exhausting for someone still recovering and yet extremely invigorating. Maybe it was because of the chill that he could still feel all the way down to his bones, but the warmth from her lips seemed to pour into him and Leonard desperately wanted to continue long after she ended it.

"I don't really have a plan for this," he admitted.

"I'm sure you'll come up with something eventually," said Sara. "Neither of us know what will happen next. For me. For you. For me and you. But I'd like to find out together. If that's what you want."

She thought that she needed to ask if this was what he wanted?

He almost wanted to laugh at the question. He could admit to not being the most skilled when it came to dealing with his and others' emotions, but this didn't take any thought.

Finding someone that he might be more than casually interested in was rare. The person would need to skilled and strong enough to hold their own, both physically and mentally. They would need to be quick and clever enough to keep up with him. And they would need to be a little flexible morally, but not a complete psychopath. Perhaps even a paler shade of gray now than what he might have accepted in the past.

But most importantly, if he was going to actually care about someone, he would need to trust the person. That was the only way he was going to put up with them for any reasonable span of time.

Finding that exact combination of traits in a person was nearly impossible. Especially with how rare he trusted anyone beyond his sister and his partner. Of course, that was before things started changing…

And Sara… She somehow possessed all the traits that he found attractive in a person. She knew exactly who and what he was, without distaste or judgement for his less savory features and history since she wasn't an innocent either. And most surprisingly, she seemed to care enough about him to want this. To want him…

Leonard still wanted to see what they might become. Even if it meant moving forward without a plan or an idea of how to proceed. An unnerving prospect for someone who valued control so much, but part of him knew she was worth it.

"I think I'd like that," he said finally.

Her entire body language relaxed at his words, as if there could be any doubt about what he would choose. Or perhaps there was. He did keep his feelings close and ten months might have left her less certain.

"Good," Sara said, smiling a little as she sat back down. "Good." Rubbing her arms briefly, she said, "I can't tell you how happy we are to have you back."

Smirking a little, he said, "I'm pretty sure that kiss made it clear how much you missed me, Assassin. Though maybe you could fill me on what I've missed out on." Growing a bit more sober, Leonard gestured weakly to the neighboring chair. "Like what happened to Mick? Rip mentioned frostbite."

He turned towards the other chair. His partner was still there, silent and motionless. This time Leonard could think clearly enough to look at the display and see the reassuring evidence that Mick was alive. Not in the best health, but alive. And maybe his complexion was a little less gray than the night before. Or maybe that was just the result of better lighting.

"He's going to be all right," assured Sara. "Though he's in a lot of trouble when he wakes up." Leonard turned back to face her as Sara continued, "Rory and you are both too cold for the same reason. When the Oculus exploded, it apparently trapped you in a moment frozen in time. And the 'frozen' part was pretty literal. Rory figured it out with Gideon. And when we accidentally broke time, he realized there was a chance to get you out. So he snuck off with the jump-ship, grabbed Barry and Cisco, and used their powers to get you back. And nearly froze to death in the process. So no more secret plans and definitely no more nearly-suicidal solo rescue attempts for anyone."

Leonard stared at her silently for a moment, trying to wrap his mind around what she just told him. It wasn't that he didn't believe her. Even after their partnership strained and nearly broke, even after Chronos, Leonard and Mick watched each other's backs. He switched places with Mick to keep him alive, to hold the trigger down instead. It wasn't hard to imagine Mick risking the same.

Leonard was still going to tell him exactly how stupid his actions were.

Then, further realization from her words sinking in, Leonard said, "Wait, Barry knows about all this?"

"He's onboard the Waverider right now," she confirmed. "He knows what happened. He knows what you did that day."

Closing his eyes and groaning quietly, he said, "Fantastic. Why not? Should have known this would come back to bite me. Dying would be better than listening to the Flash being proud of me."

"Every hero has their burden to bear," Sara said, the teasing smile clear in her voice.

"Not a hero," said Leonard dryly as he opened his eyes again. "And what else did I miss? How did you manage to break time?"

She turned away briefly, staring at the far wall with a dark expression. Leonard raised his head a little. He waited patiently for her to continue, but it was clear this was one of the things that Rip tried to hide. And Sara didn't want to tell him any more than Rip did the night before.

"There was a group," she said slowly. "The Legion of Doom." Sara rolled her eyes at the name. "That's what Nate called them."

"Nate?"

"Dr. Nathaniel Heywood. One of our newer teammates. He's a historian and has the power to turn his body to metal."

"Handy trick."

"Anyway, the group went through time hunting for a powerful artifact," she continued. "Eobard Thawne seemed to be the one in charge. He was a speedster from the future at risk of being erased from existence. You probably remember him as the Reverse Flash. There was also Malcolm Merlyn, another former member of the League of Assassins, the man who arranged my previous death, and overall someone with a very complicated relationship with the Green Arrow and his team. And… there was Damien Darhk."

There was something in her tone, something in how she said that third name. It left him on edge. He recognized the way she spoke about the man. It was the same way that he sounded whenever he discussed his father.

Whoever Damien Darhk might be, Sara absolutely hated the man. More than she did the person who caused her to literally die. And the hatred was very, very personal.

"What did he do to you, Sara?" asked Leonard quietly.

"The version we faced? Nothing worse than the others," she said, closing her eyes. "The Darhk in 2016? He killed Laurel."

Leonard pushed himself up a little more and leaned towards her, acting on impulse. He could understand her pain and hatred far too easily. Her sister was stolen from her. Losing Lisa would utterly destroy him. He'd do anything to keep her safe and the idea of failing her like that…

There was a reason Lewis Snart ended up with an icicle in his cold heart.

"Is he dead?" asked Leonard finally.

"In our time, yes. I also tried to kill him in the past before he murdered Laurel. I thought the risk of paradoxes would be worth it. I almost lost myself hunting for revenge," she said, her voice flat. "I almost lost myself trying to prevent Laurel's death. But some things can't and shouldn't be changed. I can't use time travel to remake the world like that, not even for my sister. It wasn't easy, but I've made my peace with what happened."

She opened her eyes when he reached over and placed his hand on hers. He wasn't good at this type of thing, but he couldn't ignore it. He wasn't certain if she gained any comfort from the contact, but she smiled slightly in thanks.

Shaking her head briefly, Sara continued, "Anyway, they were after the Spear of Destiny. Which apparently is magic and can rewrite reality. We managed to steal the pieces from them and we were trying to find a way to destroy it. And that's where things get complicated."

She ran a hand through her hair, tousling it in a rather distracting and appealing way. Sara looked almost as tired as felt at that moment though.

"Thawne's group decided they needed a new edge to get the Spear back from us. Something we wouldn't expect. They recruited another member." She hesitated before turning back towards him. "They chose you, Leonard. They found you in 2014 in Central City, not long after your first major encounter with the Flash. Maybe a few hours after you derailed the train."

His immediate reaction as to deny that such a thing ever happened. Surely he would remember? Wouldn't he remember being recruited by a time-traveling speedster and a pair of psychopaths? But that wasn't necessarily proof it didn't happen. And if someone made a good enough offer, Leonard knew he would have accepted. He'd always been one to seize a golden opportunity.

But, at that point in the past, what would he have done for the chance to rewrite reality? What would he have done to the team if they got in his way? He derailed a train just to steal a jewel and best the Flash. He might have done worse if the prize was greater or the threat from failure was higher.

"That's where things grow even more complicated," Sara continued. "Apparently the first time around, they won. They got the Spear because if there is one person that Rory would do anything for and would side with even against us, it would be you. And we weren't exactly making it a hard choice at the time. He handed it over and they remade the world, erasing everyone's memories of the original version. But Rory ended up trying to fix things and reminding the team of the truth, which led to everyone traveling back in time again to prevent it. So we ended up with two versions of the team, us and the ones from that future in an alternate reality. They're gone now, but traveling to a time where we'd already traveled to is part of what broke time."

She was hiding something. Just like Rip. Leonard could sense it in her voice and her body language. Even as his mind turned over the information that she was sharing, he tried to puzzle out what she might be holding back. The way that she was avoiding his eyes gave him an idea though.

"What happened, Sara?" asked Leonard firmly. "What did I do that I can't remember?"

She looked at him, glanced across the medbay at Mick's unconscious figure briefly, and then turned back towards Leonard. Something about it sent a shiver down his spine that had nothing to do with the cold. After what she'd already told him, what would make her hesitate now?

"The other versions of us? The ones from a future that no longer exists and never happened? Most of them died in the fight. They would have been erased anyway, but it was still pretty bad seeing everyone die," she said slowly. "Thawne killed Ray by ripping his heart out with his speed. Merlyn killed Jax with an arrow straight into his chest."

It didn't take a genius to figure it out from there. Leonard could see exactly what she was leading up to. A couple years ago, he wouldn't have known any of the team. He wouldn't care about them even remotely. And he wouldn't have hesitated to kill someone if it proved to be the best and most effective solution.

Or, an uncomfortable thought emerging as he remembered how she'd looked at Mick a few moments ago, he wouldn't have hesitated to kill someone that he thought had betrayed him.

"No," said Leonard quietly. "I didn't."

"I'm sorry. That version of Rory? The one who came back to keep his past self from handing over the Spear of Destiny? He was killed by the Cold Gun."

"You mean by me. He was killed by me."

He let his head fall back closing his eyes tight and clenching his teeth. He killed Mick. Another version of his partner, but still him. They'd threatened each other with weapons and fought each other until they were bloody at different points in their partnership, but they'd never wanted to seriously harm the other. Even as Chronos, Mick couldn't bring himself to kill his partner. And yet a couple years ago, Leonard murdered one of the only two people that he trusted.

And if it had been the other Mick who died, the one in the neighboring chair who nearly killed himself trying to save Leonard, then his partner would be truly dead and gone. Wiping out the earlier version would take out both of them. It didn't matter that it ended up being the Mick who would have been erased or whatever. Leonard still killed him.

Mick died and Leonard couldn't kill the man responsible without wiping himself from existence. Maybe he could figure out a way to go back and punch his younger self at least. Or have someone do it if the paradoxes would cause too many problems.

No, this wasn't doing him any good. Leonard stubbornly bundled up the tangled emotions and locked them down. Cold logic took control of his thoughts. Mick was alive. He was in the neighboring chair, not dead with an icicle in his heart like Lewis Snart (may he rot in his grave). Everyone that mattered was alive and whole.

No, that wasn't true either. Sara's sister mattered. He never met her, but Sara loved Laurel. And that mattered.

It was a lot to take in and process. From the moment of that kiss, he'd been off-balanced and overwhelmed with everything that happened during his absence. And his surroundings weren't helping him get a strong handle on it. Something about medbay put him slightly on edge, like he half-expected his father to walk in with fake worry for his "clumsy" son to make sure that he remembered to keep his mouth shut. Leonard needed somewhere he could focus and deal with all of this. Somewhere he wouldn't feel trapped and where he could relax, but was still close to his partner.

As he tried to sit up and started pulling at the cuff on his wrist, Sara said, "Hold on. What are you doing?"

He didn't immediately answer, too distracted when the blanket slipped off and revealed what he was wearing. The thick gray material, held together by snaps, was certainly nothing he'd ever worn before. It looked like rather boring versions of the pajamas they made for toddlers. The outfit seemed a little surreal. Even prison jumpsuits would be more normal.

"Who dressed me like this?" he muttered.

"Leonard, what are you doing?"

"First, I'm seeing if there's some actual clothes for me to wear or if they were thrown out in the last few months," he said, swinging his legs around. "Second, I'm more hungry than tired right now. So I'm heading for the galley. Care to join me?"

"I don't know if that's a good idea yet," said Sara, reaching over to keep the cuff in place. "Gideon?"

"Mr. Snart currently has been restored to a core body temperature of 35 degrees Celsius or 95 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the threshold where a patient can be considered no longer hypothermic," the A.I. reported. "While it would be important to dress warmly and go slowly until his strength recovers, there should be minimal risk if Mr. Snart leaves the medbay as long as he remains onboard and closely observed by those around him. His body is currently focusing on restoring his temperature, so Mr. Snart will likely be lethargic and have low endurance until then. But if there are any changes in his condition or symptoms, please bring him back immediately, Captain Lance."

Not quite a clean bill of health for release, but it at least seemed close enough to count as parole.

With one smooth motion, Leonard shoved himself out of the chair. And instantly grabbed the armrest to keep from falling. His legs didn't immediately respond properly, the muscles acting more like jelly. Surprise and instinct almost caused him to jerk away from the hand that grabbed his arm to hold him up, but he remembered who it was in time. It was just Sara. Sacrificing dignity for practicality, he let Sara help support his weight until his legs stopped shaking enough to start working properly.

Once his muscles seemed to be reacting correctly again, Leonard got his feet under him again and stood up properly. But he could definitely see what Gideon was talking about now. Standing up was already exhausting. Hopefully some food would help with his lack of energy. He did notice, however, that Sara didn't immediately let go once he could support his weight again.

"You good?" she asked.

"Yeah. I just stood up too fast," said Leonard. "I'm fine. I can handle this."

Hesitating a moment, Sara leaned towards him. This time, the kiss was calmer and slower. Reassuring and warm without the previous desperation, but still intense in a different way. A short and gentle kiss before pulling back to smile at him.

"I know you can handle it," she said. "But just in case you haven't noticed, you aren't alone, Thief. None of us have to handle things on our own. You have a whole team to watch your back and we'll always help you if you let us."

"I know," said Leonard quietly. Then, frowning briefly, he asked, "Wait, did Gideon call you 'Captain Lance'?"

Chuckling slightly, Sara said, "Right. I guess I should have mentioned that."

Yeah, this chapter was an interesting combination of very easy to write and yet a bit outside my usual repertoire. But I think it still turned out pretty good. I hope… The chapter at least turned out how I was planning. And the story isn't over quite yet.