Barney heard Lee stomp off, and Sara came to his office next. She knocked softly on the door with her knuckles.

"Yea," he said. "Come in."

She entered and sat down across from him. He looked up at her from his phone once he was finished letting Tool know what was what.

"I'm only gonna ask you this once," he said, noticing her visibly stiffen and swallow hard.

"Okay," she said when he paused.

"Are you lying to me?" He watched her breathe and blink. She shook her head slowly.

"No."

"You sure? You sure you're not leaving something out? I will find out," he warned. She pressed her lips together and closed her eyes briefly before looking into his again.

"My son," she whispered. Barney felt his skin tingle momentarily.

"Your son," he repeated.

"They...they promised me that not only would they spare my life if I worked with you, but they'd spare my son's life." More white lies, but she didn't want to go to a psych ward. She didn't want Barney looking into something he was never going to find because it was happening 40 years in the future. She had to twist things a bit and be vague.

"Who are these people?"

"Very powerful people," she replied seriously. "Please...don't go digging. You'll get me in trouble, and then we're both dead."

"Why should I believe you?" he asked. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded photograph. She slid it over to him across his desk. He looked down at it. The boy wasn't exactly smiling, and Sara was looking a bit somber herself in it.

"His name is Cid," she told him. "Please, I...I can't let him get killed."

Barney pressed his fingertips together. The boy did look like her in the photo. She appeared genuinely anguished over it. He was inclined to believe her.

"Alright," he said, sliding it back to her. "I believe you."

"Please don't tell anyone about Cid," she begged. "The less people know, the better his chance of survival is."

"Where is he now?"

"With his father." Another lie. "Please, he's safe there."

"You're married?"

"No. No, Cid's father and I...no. We're not together."

"When's the last time you saw your son?"

"It's been a long time," Sara whispered. "I...I don't have the best past. I stayed away for his sake, and even if this ends...I don't know if I'll see him again...or if I should. He deserves better than me." It wasn't entirely a lie this time. She saw a little bit of compassion in Barney's eyes at this. It was like he knew what she was talking about.

"I see. They didn't tell you who your targets are supposed to be in this six year span?" he asked.

"No. I have no idea."

"I don't like not knowing who 'they' are," he said dryly.

"I'm sorry. I don't even know who they are," she apologized. "I just know they're not to be messed with."

Barney tapped his fingers on the desk. He'd have to do some more digging at a later time. For now, he was exhausted and needed to figure out his next steps with this whole Vilena thing. Something just wasn't sitting right with him, and he knew it had everything to do with Sandra. He couldn't get her face out of his head.

"Are we going back?"

"I don't know yet."

"Well, no pressure," she said, and he understood.

"Come on," he said, getting up. "You'll keep staying at Tool's with us for now."

"Thank you. I will find my own place," Sara said, getting up as well.

"Yea, yea. Take your time," he replied. They walked out together, and Barney did his best to not let the niggling in his brain tell him he shouldn't trust her.

...

Sara was keeping to herself when Toll came to sit next to her. He seemed friendly and non-threatening, so she let him.

"I hear you've got Lee all up in a dither," he commented. "Don't worry about it. A comment about his hair gets him all riled up easily enough. It really doesn't take much."

"I appreciate the effort of trying to make me feel less bad for what happened," Sara said, understanding the joke about Lee's hair, which was mostly non-existent.

"Well, he's a good guy, and I think he'll eventually see that you're all right."

"Thanks."

Toll smoothed his hands over his legs and tapped his right foot slightly. Sara watched him look over at Caesar, who was holding the last beer out of reach from Yang. Tool had retired for the night, and Barney was sitting and smoking in the corner while looking at papers. Lee hadn't been there at all, which made her feel pretty sure he was avoiding her.

"Argh!" Caesar yelped as Yang slammed his palm into his chest, making Caesar double over. Yang plucked the beer out of his hand and walked away with it. "No fair! You cheated!"

"Crazy beats big every time," Yang commented, perching on the arm of the chair in the corner. Sara contained a yawn, suddenly feeling exhausted.

"You'll get used to all of us," Toll said to her suddenly, making her look at him again. "We've known each other long enough, and we always have each other's backs. If you're on this team, then we've got your back too. Just make sure you have ours."

"I will," she promised. "And thank you."

"No problem," he said with a smile. "You should get some sleep, though. Lee's brutal when it comes to training."

"Thanks for the head's up."

He patted his legs and stood up, giving her a final nod before going over to pick up his book and get back settled on the couch. Sara eventually got up and went to bed, trying to calm her racing mind. She was still trying to get used to the idea of being from the future. As of right now, she wasn't born yet. Her sister, Lauren, wasn't even born yet. Would she run into her parents here? She hoped not. It all felt so eerie.

She wanted to get out of this timeline as quickly as possible.

"Hey," Barney called, making her stop. He held up a piece of paper, and she went over to collect it. She saw it was an address and assumed it was Lee's.

"Thank you," she said.

"Don't let him beat you down too much."

"I'll do my best." She gave a small smile and left him sitting there. She hoped Lee would be a little less grumpy tomorrow, but somehow, she already doubted that.

...

Barney was sitting with Yang and Lee going over images and files on the computer. He'd been thinking about Vilena all evening, and he was getting ready to make a decision. He'd noticed that Lee had snuck in after Sara had retired for the night. He wondered if that had been intentional or coincidental.

"Church is a front for the CIA," he commented. "They really want to take out this guy." He pointed to the man in the suit. "He used to be one of theirs."

"The CIA can't send in a team of their own, so they hire us and don't care if we live to tell the tale," Lee said.

"Exactly."

"So, we're gonna work for the agency?" Yang asked.

"No. We're out," Barney answered. "I'll let Church know tomorrow."

"Good riddance," Lee said, pushing off the desk and leaving. Barney agreed, but a small part of him worried about what would happen to Sara now.

The Next Day

Lee found Sara on his front step ten minutes before seven. He wasn't sure if she was kissing his ass or if she really was beyond punctual.

"Good morning," she said without looking at him. "You missed the sunrise."

"It's not finished yet," he retorted, feeling disgruntled already. "Come on. Let's go." She stood and followed him across the driveway to the small, rundown barn on his property. His house wasn't big and fancy, but it did the job, and the barn was a great place to hide all his weapons. He also liked that he was tucked behind trees, so no one could easily sneak up on him.

"Alright," he said after pulling open the barn door and going to haul out his weapons. "You're gonna learn how to kill someone today."

"And how am I going to do that?" she asked. He pulled out two pistols and made sure they were completely empty and not loaded. He handed her one, and she took it gingerly.

"You sure it's not loaded?" she asked. He aimed his at her in response, and she inhaled sharply as he pulled the trigger. It clicked.

"Very," he answered.

"That was uncalled for," she said angrily.

"If we're gonna build any semblance of trust, you're gonna have to start trusting that I know what I'm doing with my weapons," he told her. "If I had any doubt, I would not have aimed that gun at you."

She said nothing, so he moved on.

"It's either you or them," he said, standing in front of her. "We have to get that killer reflex of yours activated. You freeze up like that in the field again, and you or anyone else around you is dead."

"I'm sorry," she started.

"I'm done with apologies," he cut her off. "You're learning now. Pay attention."

"Okay."

He held up his gun and aimed it at her. "You have to shoot me before I shoot you." He could see in her eyes the stress she was feeling. It frustrated him again. How could she have trained herself to be a sharp shooter and have never used it on anything except targets?

"Okay," she said again. "When do we start?" He pulled his trigger.

"Bang, you're dead," he said.

"I wasn't ready..."

"Bang, you're dead," he said again, making the gun click again. She was glowering at him, but she still wasn't "shooting" him.

"This is ridiculous," she told him. He walked right up to her then, putting the gun under her chin. She grabbed his wrist out of reflex.

"You or me," he said to her. "What's it gonna be?" His eyes searched hers, and he could feel her breathing pick up faster. He felt his own discomfort at holding a gun to her like that, but she needed to learn. He needed her to not only be able to look out for them in the field but to be able to look out for herself. At first, he thought she was going to fold and say she couldn't do this. Then, he felt the butt of her gun against his chest where his heart was.

"You," she said, clicking it.

"Good," he replied. "Get faster."

...

Joe was feeling restless. The Vilena mission was not going well so far, and he was panicking thinking that it was going to fail. Barney had called to say he wasn't doing the job, which left him in a tailspin. This was not good. He couldn't lose his wife because of some stupid team who couldn't get their shit together and do one simple job! Joe exhaled loudly and pressed his fingers into his temple. He had no idea how to fix this. He had no idea how to make Barney go back there and finish the job. He could only hope that maybe Sara could be very convincing because he knew she needed this done as much as he did. He wondered how she was able to kill people. He hadn't gotten the vibe from her that she was a killer, but then again, anger could fuel a lot of things if it came down to it. So would the need to save a loved one.

He sat down on the chair in his motel kitchen and felt extremely hopeless. The only thing he could see in his mind was his wife's terrified face.

...

Sara was slightly smiling as she stood in this different type of shooting range. She'd never gone to one where the targets she was shooting looked like actual thugs or hostages/civilians. She knew Lee was trying to get her to pay attention to who was good and who was bad. Once out in the field, it could get hard to tell the difference.

She shot the one bad guy right between the eyes as she passed. She moved swiftly and quickly, remembering all the movements she had learned. A cut out popped up at her suddenly, and she jerked to shoot it but saw at the last second that it was a teenager with headphones on. She walked by it, scanning. Her last target was a thug holding a woman hostage. She took it down easily enough and walked out to rejoin Lee.

"Better," he said. "Finally."

"Have I instilled some faith in me?" she asked.

"A smidge," he answered. "You have a long way to go yet. This is just basic training. Boot camp is yet to come for you at a later date." She made a face at his receding back. She knew he wouldn't be impressed, and she wasn't looking for that. She was here for one thing and one thing only.

To get her son back.

...

Evening came around, and Barney watched as Toll and Caesar joked with Sara as they cooked supper. Barney hadn't seen Tool that day, so he gathered his friend was off with some woman. He was still thinking about Sandra, and he felt bad for turning down the job. Church was furious with him, but Barney didn't want to change his mind. It was a suicide mission. How could he lead his men into that? He looked at Sara again, and he knew this wasn't good for her, but he'd think of a way to help and make things better for her.

He looked up when Lee came in and noticed the scraped knuckles. He wondered what his friend had gotten into and looked at Sara to make sure she didn't have a bruise or cut on her that he'd missed. Surely Lee wouldn't have gotten into a fist fight with her?!

"Should we see the other guy?" Yang asked, gesturing to Lee's hands.

"Guys," Lee corrected with a smirk.

"Oh, what did you do?" Toll asked, leaning his elbow on the counter to listen to the story. Caesar was half paying attention as he whipped his potatoes.

"Took down an entire basketball team," Lee answered, looking proud of himself.

"Oh, geez," Barney said, rolling his eyes.

"What? You know I can do it."

"Your ego is starting to suffocate me," Barney retorted. Toll burst out laughing as Lee shot Barney a dark look.

"Details, now, come on!" Caesar called, bringing it back on point.

"This bloke beat up Lacy, so I beat him up back and his little friends who tried to help," Lee answered with a satisfied smile.

"Why am I not surprised that Lacy was involved?" Barney asked. He noticed Sara was listening intently in the corner.

"I'm pissed at her, but I'm not gonna let someone beat her up," Lee reasoned. Barney shook his head and chewed on his bottom lip a little before sighing. He went to sit next to Sara as Lee continued to share details of the fight.

"How was training today?" he asked her.

"Good," she answered.

"Can I count on you?"

"Yes," she answered. He noticed a very slight hesitation, but she looked determined otherwise.

"Good," he said. "You know he's not done with you yet, right?"

"I heard."

"He's good at what he does, and he's a good teacher. You're in good hands with him as your partner."

"If you say so." She smiled, and he chuckled. They both watched as Lee did some demonstrating on Yang in order to show how he beat up the men earlier. Barney gave a snort and shook his head.

"Are we going back to Vilena?" Sara asked him now.

"No," he answered. She looked a bit alarmed at this, just like he'd predicted.

"But...I have to do this mission," she said. "If I don't..." Barney looked at her when she trailed off, knowing the end of that sentence. It tore him up inside, but he knew he couldn't do it.

"I don't have the manpower," he said. "You saw the army there. There aren't enough of us." He held a sad expression on his face as Sara stood up abruptly.

"You've just killed me and my son," she said, walking away. Barney sighed again, running a hand over his head. He caught sight of Lee watching Sara leave and felt surprise to see him follow her.

"Chow time!" Caesar called, and he got up to join Toll and Yang as they went to dish up.

...

Lee saw how distressed Sara was as she disappeared after talking to Barney. For whatever reason, he decided to follow her. She went outside and headed for the water. Lee felt slightly concerned as she ran through the dark towards the docks. He pounded after her, suddenly realizing what she was going to do.

He opened his mouth to shout her name when she jumped off the end of the dock.

"Shit!" he exclaimed. What the hell was she doing?! He ran and jumped off next, sinking below the surface and wondering if he was crazy for chasing after her like this. It was dark under the water.

Screaming to his left made him jerk and see a dark outline of her against the lights from above shining down into the water. He swam over to her and grabbed her under her arms, hauling her back up. They broke the surface, and she immediately fought him off.

"What are you doing?!" she shouted.

"Are you mental?!" he yelled back. "What are you doing?!"

"Nothing," she answered hotly.

"Drowning yourself is not nothing!" he exclaimed.

"You think I'm drowning myself?" she asked, incredulous.

"Well, what the hell else do you call this?" he countered, confused and angry.

"It's something my mother showed me how to do," she said. "When I'm feeling hopeless or angry or sad, I go underwater and scream."

He stared at her. She really was mental.

"Don't look at me like that," she said. "It works."

"You seriously feel better?" he asked.

"Not yet. I got interrupted."

"What are you screaming about then?"

"Barney's not going back to Vilena, and I need to in order to..." she stopped talking abruptly, and Lee remembered what Barney had shared with him.

"Is something gonna happen to you?" he asked.

"Forget it," she said. "Just leave me alone."

"Not if you're gonna drown yourself..."

"I'm not!"

"I don't buy it."

"I'm just gonna scream for a bit. That's all."

"Still seems ridiculous to me."

"Don't knock it until you try it," she insisted. "Go on, then."

"I'm not doing it," he snorted.

"Well, I'm not drowning myself, so either do it or leave me alone," she ordered.

"Fine," he said, moving to swim back to shore. Let her be weird. He wasn't going to join in. He pulled himself out of the water and felt angry all over again for feeling scared for her. He walked back to Tool's, but he didn't go inside. He didn't feel like explaining why he looked like a drowned rat. He got on his bike and went home instead.

The sounds of her screams echoed in his head the entire way.

...

Sara felt despair. How was she going to convince Barney to do this job? Did he not realize how much she depended on it? Did he not care?

She wandered the sidewalks a little, drenched from her swim. She knew Lee thought she was ridiculous, but it did work for her. She was about to cross the street when a hand clamped on her shoulder. She let out a yelp and spun to defend herself.

"You just gonna let Barney bail on this job without a fight?" Church/Joe demanded. She smacked his hand off.

"I can't change his mind," she said. "He doesn't care."

"Too much is at stake here," Joe said almost menacingly. "You have to change his mind."

"How? Tell me how, and I'll do it," she replied angrily. Did he really think she wanted Barney to pass on this job?

"Don't look at me. You're cushier with him than I am," Joe snarked. She gave him an incredulous look.

"Don't you worry, Joe," she said, her voice hard and cold. "I'll make sure you get what you want, since that's all that matters to you." She stormed off, and he didn't follow. She was glad for that. She really didn't feel like getting into it further with him right now.

...

Barney didn't ask why Sara returned soaking wet. He figured it wasn't his business. She disappeared into her room without a word to anyone. The others were off doing their own thing anyway. He sat alone outside smoking for a while until he decided to go back inside. He found Tool painting a guitar, his pipe hanging from his lips.

"Still don't sleep, huh?" Tool asked.

"Nope," Barney answered. "Lost your girlfriend again?"

"Yea, well...so it goes," Tool said. "I'm still gonna finish this, though, and then smash it."

"You want some space?"

"Nope. What can I do you for?"

Barney didn't know why, but he felt the need to talk about Sandra. So he did. Her not leaving when she had the chance just wouldn't leave him alone. Tool explained it was because she stood for something, and then he started talking about how they used to stand for something but didn't anymore, that they'd dried up. Barney let him talk, sensing he needed to get things off his chest, and he felt his throat go tight when Tool talked about a woman who he let jump off a bridge without even stopping her after a mission where they'd almost died and had taken a lot of lives.

"If I had saved her, maybe I could have saved a part of my soul."

The words wouldn't leave him, even after he'd left Tool alone and went to try and sort out his thoughts and feelings. It wasn't just Sandra he was thinking of either. He was thinking about Sara and her son, and he knew that he had to do this. He had to go back and at least try.

For all of their sakes.

The Next Day

Sara was coming down the steps when she heard voices. She slowed and peeked around the corner, seeing Lee, Yang, and Barney talking.

"I'm going to Vilena," Barney said.

"What?" Lee asked. "Why?"

"Something I gotta do."

"Then we need a strategy..."

"No, I'm going alone."

"Are you crazy? Why?"

"It's personal."

"You don't owe her anything!" Lee burst out, pointing a finger at him. Sara bristled slightly, thinking he was talking about her.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it because I'm going alone," Barney said, starting to walk away.

"Hey!" Lee called, going after him. "Don't guilt us!"

"I'm not! There's no guilt here. I'm going. Take care," Barney finished, walking away again. Lee stormed off, muttering to himself. Yang slid off the desk and started to follow Barney.

Without even thinking twice, Sara hurried after him.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Barney asked when they got to his truck.

"We're coming too," Yang said, looking at Sara for confirmation that it was her plan too. She nodded.

"No," Barney started, but Yang had already opened the door, and Sara slid into the middle seat while Yang got into the passenger seat. "Get the hell out."

"No," Yang said back. Sara shook her head. Barney sighed.

"Fine," he said. "Fine." He started the truck and left the garage. Sara felt a bit of an adrenaline rush as they rode along. Barney asked why Yang was going, and Yang launched into the reasoning of him being smaller and needing more money. Sara was smiling a little at their back and forth as Barney stopped at the light. Then, a green delivery van came careening at them.

"Down!" Barney shouted, reaching to grab Sara's head and shoving her down as he did an evasive maneuver. Yang ducked as well, and bullets started to fly. Barney reversed his truck within seconds. Yang was firing back, and Sara was trying to understand what the hell was happening. Barney was spinning the wheel and jerking them around to drive straight again. Sara held on and tried not to throw up as they careened over the curb in an effort to get away from their attackers.

"Get out there!" Barney shouted at Yang.

"Why me?"

"Cos you're smaller!"

Yang rolled his eyes but climbed out and into the box of the truck, the door getting taken off seconds after he was gone. Barney handed Sara a pistol next.

"Don't miss," he ordered. She slightly trembled but took the gun. She decided to aim for the tires of the vehicle. It was hard, though, since they kept flying around, but in the end, one of the trucks chasing them took one of the three out. Barney passed a transport next and then hit the brakes to get behind the last two vehicles still chasing them.

"Gunner!" he shouted. Sara had no idea who Gunner was, but she could hear in Barney's voice that he was not happy about it. She gasped and shouted as she tried to stay in the truck. Barney took out the second vehicle chasing them, which left one. They approached a warehouse, and Sara screamed as they went through the glass window. She barely held on when they hit the ground hard.

"BAIL!" Barney hollered as they skidded around. She saw Yang jump out and start to run. Barney grabbed her shoulder as they careened towards the other vehicle.

"Barney!" she shrieked, and he yanked the wheel to knock out posts and send a platform crashing down on the other vehicle. They crashed to a stop, and Sara saw nothing but black.

...

Barney felt sick. He'd managed to get up after the crash and shot Gunner before the big man could kill Yang. He'd called an ambulance for him, but he didn't know if he was too late. He couldn't stick around to find out. Yang was a bit shaken but walked it off. He got back to his truck and found Sara coming to.

"What happened?" she asked, looking a bit nauseous.

"We gotta go," Barney answered, getting back in and driving off. It astounded him that his truck was even still running right now, but he had built her to be tough; he would fix her up later. Yang squished in next to Sara as they flew around corners. They approached Spiders Aircraft hangar, and parked abruptly.

"Who's Gunner?" Sara asked as Barney got out and charged ahead to the plane. Yang let out a puff of air from his lips as they both got out to follow him quickly.

"Former Expendable. Lost his shit," Yang answered.

"Oh."

"You hit your head," Yang noted. "You okay?"

"Um, yea," she answered, touching it gingerly. "I think so..."

They stepped into the plane to find Toll, Lee, and Caesar standing there waiting.

"You're very hard to be friends with," Lee said.

"You're telling me," Yang retorted, stepping past Barney.

"We'll die with ya, man, just don't ask us twice," Caesar commented.

"Alright," Barney said. "I did get the layout. I'll tell you once we're moving."

"What the hell happened to you guys?" Toll asked Sara and Yang.

"It's too depressing to share," Yang replied.

"I have no idea," Sara admitted. "I blacked out for a moment."

"You okay?" Toll asked.

"I think so..." She was interrupted by Toll flashing a light in her eyes and asking her questions. He was worried about a head injury. Barney knew he'd be after him next since he'd also conked out for a moment, but he wasn't about to tell him that.

"Let's go," Lee said, moving to sit up with Barney. He stopped in front of Sara and gave her a serious look. Barney could still pick up on the tension between them, and it wasn't all bad.

"You good?" Lee asked her, his meaning clear. She nodded.

"I am," she promised. He gave a curt nod and joined Barney a second later.

They were going to Vilena.