As the weeks passed, they grew more comfortable with one another. Their attempts at hiding their feelings were breaking down. They became bolder with where they publicly displayed their affections. It was only a matter of time before Decklin caught them mid-snog in a corridor on the Waverider. They were now both facing expulsion from the Time Council.
"There has to be a way to fix this." Rip attempted to persuade a distraught Miranda to stay.
"I... I have to think.." Miranda quickly walked out of the Time Council Headquarters. She hailed a cab and began to get in before Rip ran up behind her.
"Please, don't leave me." Rip took her hand.
"I need a moment to figure out the best course of action." Miranda got in the cab and left Rip standing in the street.
Captain Hunter feared the worst. He was on the verge of losing his title as Time Master as well as losing the only person he's ever loved. But he decided that when the Time Council called him in for questioning, he'd chose Miranda first over anything else. They were meant to face the council together, but Miranda had convinced the time council to a private audience without Rip. She took full responsibility for the affair, that she acted as a seductress with the sole intention of leading Captain Hunter astray. Rip learned of Miranda's sacrifice and ran to find her.
"I was going to take full responsibility." Rip took Miranda's hands in his.
"I know you were." Miranda replied. "But you belong here. Be a Time Master like you were always meant to be."
"I'm no good at this without you." Rip gazed down at the ground. "You've always been better at this than I am."
"I believe you're going to do great things, Captain Hunter." Miranda reached up and kissed Rip goodbye.
Rip was assigned miscellaneous Time Masters in training for his subsequent missions to partner up with. Time moved differently than it did for Miranda now that she was off the Waverider. It had only been 3 weeks for her when Rip came frantically knocking on her door. For Rip, it had been almost 2 years.
"I'm so sorry, Miranda." Rip scooped her up in a hug with tears in his eyes.
"Did you just say 2 years!" Miranda replied; her eyes wide.
"It was the thought of you that brought me back. I love you so much I... I want to marry you, Miranda." Rip was uncharacteristically giddy.
"You can't, we're like ghosts. Our identities are secret. Even if the Time Masters made an exception to their rules; we don't even have government papers for City Hall to legally marry us." Miranda sat down on the couch and stared into the fireplace. She was lost in thought; a melancholy smile on her face. Difficult as her situation was; she was glad Rip asked her to marry him. She was worried that she'd be left alone.
"There's this town in 1868 with the sweetest little church. When I got caught up in that time drift; I would look at it and think that someday I'd come back for you and marry you there." Rip sat down beside her and took her hand. "We could run away and live the rest of our lives there. We could buy some land and raise a family in peace."
"You're still caught up in your time drift. I'm certainly not living out the remainder of my life in the old west." Miranda chuckled. She paused for a moment. "You said 'raise a family'. I haven't told you..."
"What?" Rip gave her a look.
"Rip, I'm pregnant. I'm eight weeks in." Miranda looked up at him anxiously.
Rip chuckled excitedly and hugged her. "When did you find out? What are we going to do? What should we call it? We'll need a bigger house."
"One step at a time, cowboy." Miranda laughed, relieved by Rip's reaction to the news.
Rip stood up and paced back and forth. "God, I'm so excited but I also can't tell anyone. I might physically explode."
They managed to get a larger apartment in White Chapel under false identities as Rip continued his work with the Time Masters. Miranda was by no means the sort to sit around the house all day so she did her bit to help in her own ways. She started hearing the rumors of corruption spreading into the government. An underground movement was already underway. She joined riots against the rising regime of a Mr. Vandal Savage. Rip adamantly protested her involvement.
"Look at you, Miranda." Rip scolded her. "You're due any day now. The last thing I want is for your water to break from the strain of throwing molotov cocktails at another government building."
"But it would make for quite a story." Miranda replied.
"I'm serious. If anything ever happened to you..." Rip placed his hands on Miranda's stomach. He felt Jonas kicking and almost teared up.
"I've been such a terrible influence on you." Miranda kissed him softly. "I'm turned you into a sentimental romantic fool, haven't I?" She chuckled. "I promise you; I will do all in my power to protect our son."
Jonas was born happy and healthy and far away from any explosives. But a war was looming over the horizon. Jonas learned to walk as Savage's plans for world domination were taking hold.
When Jonas was five; he was old enough to understand that his parents were living double lives. His mother was schooling him and some other children from home because the public schools had become overrun with Savage's propaganda. Jonas understood there was a war on. He knew Savage was a bad man and that his parents were part of the resistance against him. Jonas was convinced his parents were secret superheroes like the ones in his bedtime stories.