Sara couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned. She paced and wrung her hands. She fretted so bad that she felt like she was going crazy. Lee was gone. He hadn't texted or called or answered her messages. She didn't know what else to do. She didn't even feel like smoking.

She was sitting on the edge of her bed with her head in her hands when there was knocking on her door. Her heart lurched as she went to answer it, and then it dropped when she saw not only Lee standing there but Joe too.

"You wanna tell me how this guy knows about Loopers?" Joe demanded, furious. Sara opened and closed her mouth, stepping backwards as Joe came inside and rounded on her. "Are you insane?! Are you trying to compromise everything?!"

"J-Joe," she tried. "I...he..." She looked at Lee, who appeared a bit calmer but definitely behind a wall now. She wanted to cry.

"You have any idea how close I almost lost my shit when this guy shows up and starts asking me questions about Loopers?" Joe hissed. "Why, Sara? Why did you tell him?!"

"It was an accident," Sara whispered.

"So you weren't going to tell me," Lee said now, sounding angry.

"No! I wanted to..."

"And get my wife killed," Joe cut in. She cowered slightly under his rage. She was stuck. Anything she said was going to upset one of them. She pressed her hands into her face and tried to think, tried to hide from their strong emotions for a moment to accomplish this. She felt so much angst inside, and then she got angry herself. All of this was for Cid...her son. That's what was important here. She dropped her hands and drew herself up to her full height, glaring back at Joe now.

"That's right, Joe. I was going to tell him regardless," she said, "because I need his help. I think Abe is setting me up somehow, and I need a plan to stop him!"

"You can't just pop back up in the future to cap him off without him knowing," Joe spat at her. "You think he's stupid? Anything you do here changes the future. He will know!"

Lee was quiet as he watched them converse. Sara had no idea what he was thinking right now, and she desperately wanted to know.

"I know that," she said to Joe. "I mean I need a plan for when 2016 comes and I return only for him to renege his side of the deal."

"What? You're gonna take all of them with you?" Joe asked, taunting her almost as he flung a hand towards Lee. "He's got an army, Sara. You can't beat him."

She sank down onto a chair now, feeling defeated. She looked at Lee, and he was still not giving anything away in his expression.

"Why did you go to him?" she asked him now.

"I needed to see this," Lee answered, gesturing. "Because no one can fake this conversation...not off the cuff."

"I'm sorry about your kid," Joe said, ignoring him, "but you've just f***ed any chances of my wife surviving this."

"How?" she challenged. "Abe doesn't know I've told Lee."

"You're not getting it," Joe said impatiently. "Anything we do here, it changes the future."

"I get that!" she said loudly. "But how does it if Lee knows not to say anything?!" They both looked at Lee then, who raised a brow.

"You think I'm mad?" he asked, scoffing. "I'm not telling a soul about this. I don't need people thinking I'm a nutter." That slightly hurt, but she was letting it go because she knew he was angry.

"So what now?" Joe asked her, still bristling. "What's your plan now, Sara?"

"I don't know," she answered. "I'm trying to figure it out."

Joe spied her device on the table then, and he went for it. She was on her feet after him as he picked it up and examined it.

"I should leave you here right now," he said. "Go back to 2074 and save my wife."

"Don't!" she shouted, lunging for it, but he kept her at arm's length.

"It would serve you right for blabbing!" he shouted. Lee intervened at this point, coming up behind Joe and snatching the device from him in seconds. Joe whirled around, but Lee was giving him a very menacing, "go ahead and get me" kind of look.

"No one is going anywhere," he said after a moment, looking at Joe and Sara now. "Not until we figure things out."

"That," Joe said, pointing at the device in Lee's hand, "that is the only way out of here. You lose that, we're both f***ed."

"I know. That's why I hid it," Sara said defensively. Her eyes darted back and forth between Joe and Lee, and she could tell that Lee was taking this whole thing seriously. That made her feel a little bit relieved. She took the device back when Lee handed it to her, and she held it close to her body. Joe ground his jaw as he surveyed her, and she wondered if he was going to tackle her for it.

"Keep your mouth shut," he said to Lee angrily, looking at him again. "Do not mess this up for me. You understand?"

"I got it," Lee answered. Joe stormed out then, and Sara released a shaky breath. She didn't dare look at Lee, but after a moment, he was standing in front of her and tilting her chin up with his finger. She looked at him as he studied her for a moment.

"Does Abe have your son?" he asked.

"He knows how to find him, but I'm starting to worry that he has other plans for my son, that he lied to me and actually does have him and wants to use him," Sara replied. Lee took his hand back and stuffed it into his jacket pocket.

"What did you mean when you said he can do worse things than you?"

"His TK skills are more advanced than mine."

"TK?"

"Telekinesis," she clarified.

"Okay."

"It's something that became more prevalent over time after 2016," she explained. "I could do a bit better than quarters and shit."

"Show me again," he said. She hesitated but went for her lighter. She felt awkward doing this out in the open, but he just watched and took it in. She let it drop in her hand, and he stood there processing.

"So what can Cid do?" he asked finally, and she dreaded this answer.

"He can lift people," she answered quietly.

"And do what to them?"

"I'm not sure. I've never seen it."

"But it's bad?"

"I think so. It's why Joe tried to kill him."

"So...Joe is from 2074," Lee said, trying to understand.

"Yes, but he was a Looper in 2044."

"He shot you then?"

"His older self did."

Lee looked like he was struggling to understand again, so she let it go for now. She reached to take his hand, and he let her.

"I've been wanting to tell you for a while, but I was scared you wouldn't believe me. I was scared of being put in a psych ward. I can't risk what I'm doing here, and I didn't know how you'd take it."

"I'm barely hanging onto this," Lee admitted, "but after seeing you and Joe interacting, it's made it more real to me."

"When this activates again, I think I have to go to 2050 and handle Abe," she said a moment later. "I really don't want to go alone." She looked at him, and he appeared conflicted.

"So...what? We just jump back and forth through time like it's nothing?" he asked.

"I don't know," she answered. "I don't know the answer to any of this. I just want my son back." Her voice broke into a whisper at the end, and he pressed his lips together.

"When was he born?"

"2039."

"Why not go back to 2044 and prevent Joe from shooting you?" Lee suggested. Her heart lifted. She could do that! Then Cid wouldn't go missing, and she could avoid the entire Abe thing. Then her heart sank because doing that would alter the course of everything, and what would happen to her current self? Would it disappear? If it did...

She'd never go back in time and meet Lee.

She was so tired suddenly, and she could see that Lee was too. "Can we talk more about it in the morning?"

"Alright." He went to leave, and she resisted stopping him. She knew he needed time and space.

"Lee?"

He turned, and she stood there wringing her hands and biting her bottom lip. She needed to know, but she was afraid to find out. She asked anyway.

"Do you still trust me?"

"I don't know, Sara," he answered a bit wearily. "I don't know."

"Everything else I told you was true," she insisted.

"The drops," Lee said suddenly. She knew what he was referring to. She nodded.

"They're a drug from my time. I was on them for a while...it was shit getting off of them."

"Okay," he said. "I need to walk away and process all of this for a bit."

"Okay." She shifted on her feet. "I love you." It was worth a try. He looked conflicted standing there, but in the end, he said nothing. It slightly broke her heart.

"Goodnight, Sara," he said finally, moving to leave.

"Goodnight."

The door clicked shut behind him, and she sat back down and started to cry all over again.

...

She had a device.

Joe needed to get it from her. He needed to save his wife. He knew it would have bad consequences for Sara, but he knew he'd come back and get her. He'd make things right. He wasn't a monster. He just needed his wife to be safe first.

He was angry that Sara had told Lee, but he knew Lee was very skeptical of all of this and wasn't about to rush out and tell the world. Joe felt like he'd kill the man if he did anyway. There was just too much at stake.

He barely slept, his mind racing with trying to figure everything out.

The Next Day

Lee woke up feeling like he was in a fog. He slowly remembered everything that happened the night before, and he found himself feeling conflicted and confused all over again. He had no one to talk to about it other than Sara or Joe, and he definitely didn't want to talk to Joe again.

But Sara...he didn't know what to even say to her right now. She'd kept this from him but with a good reason. He'd have done the same thing. He knew she was waiting for him to tell her he still trusted her, and he felt like he could because if she could keep this secret to help her son, then she'd keep a secret to help him. He loved her too much to just decide he couldn't trust her. He wanted to help her.

But he was scared.

A moment later, Sara herself was standing in his bedroom.

"Oye!" he yelped, startled, his hand thrusting towards the night table where he kept his gun out of reflex. "What're you doing here?!"

"It f***ing works," she said, brandishing the device.

"What?"

"Abe lied. It doesn't activate in 2016...it's active now."

"I'm not following..." Lee started, but she was already coming over to him.

"Put your pants on," she ordered.

"I..."

She whipped back the blankets and threw his cargo pants at his head. He put them on and the t-shirt she threw next.

"Sara, what're you do—?" he started, but she'd already grabbed his hand, and he was being jerked forward. He went to yell, but no sound came out. He felt like he was being sucked into a vacuum, and he was about to throw up when it stopped.

He hit the ground on his feet but promptly fell over. Sara managed to stay standing, but barely just. Breathing hard and swallowing his vomit, he shakily got back to his feet. He really wished he'd put his boots on before this happened.

"Wh-where are we?" he managed to ask. She reached out a hand to hold his shoulder and steady him.

"I'm showing you proof," she answered, moving ahead now. He looked around and noticed it was night time. The neighborhood looked sketchy, and there was a club not far away. He halted, suddenly having a bad feeling.

"Sara, wait," he said. "Where are we?"

She turned and walked backwards, looking at him. "My old place of work."

"What?"

She went inside, and he reluctantly followed. She kept to the edge of the room, and he winced as the music blared and people were dancing and grinding and acting nuts. Then he realized it was a gentleman's club, and his stomach recoiled again. Sara stopped, and he bumped into her.

"There," she said, pointing. He saw her in a corner, putting drops in her eyes while an older man watched. That Sara gave her head a shake and laughed, resting a hand on the man's chest. That man soon had her pressed against a wall, and Lee couldn't watch anymore.

"Enough," he said, and he turned away. He went outside. His head hurt. His heart hurt. He still wanted to throw up.

"That's me," Sara commented, joining him. He looked at her.

"What year is it?"

"2041." She showed him the device that displayed the year.

"Oh."

"Come on," she said. He was still looking at her, and she took his hand again. They landed at another place, and he did vomit this time. Even Sara looked a bit woozy now.

"Where now?" he asked hoarsely.

"2044," she whispered. He looked and saw it was daylight. They were in some sort of cane field. Sara walked through it, and he followed so as not to get lost. It was brutal on his feet, though. He winced with each step. She approached the edge of the field but didn't step out of it. Lee hovered next to her, seeing a boy was running towards the cane not far from them. The 2044 version of Sara was behind him.

"Run, Cid! RUN!" she screamed. She let out a yelp as she tripped and went down. The boy stopped and turned around. Lee felt Sara beside him grip his arm to stop him, knowing he wouldn't be able to help himself.

"If you change it," she warned. "It changes everything." She gave him a meaningful look, and he understood. His plan to stop this was faulty; she'd never come back and meet him. He hated to be helpless and just watch, though.

A gunshot went off, and Cid spun from the impact.

"CID!"

Lee felt his version of Sara grip his hand tighter. He knew it was just as painful for her to watch too. He stared as Church and Sara were lifted into the air.

"We're not in his line of sight," Sara explained when Lee looked at her. "He doesn't lift what's not in sight. I don't think. It's why I always ran to hide, anyway. I never fully understood it."

"Sara, what's he going to do?" he asked.

"Nothing," she answered. "Because I calm him down."

It appeared so, because a moment later, Cid let them down.

"Hide in the cane," Sara ordered from the other side. "Now! Go!" Cid ran, and Sara turned to face Church, who was aiming a gun at her.

"Move," Church ordered.

"No," she answered.

"Last chance."

"No!"

Church fired, and Sara was hit. She went down hard, and Church ran to the cane field and disappeared inside of it. Lee was breathing hard as he watched her struggle to breathe and cry out in pain. A younger man appeared, swearing and shouting as he bent down to help her.

"That is the version of Joe who is in 2010 with us," Sara told Lee now. He looked at her.

"What?"

"The version that shot me...it was a different one from 2074. This version here is the one who saved me, lived out his life, and then got sent to 2010."

"I don't understand."

"It's hard to grasp, I know," Sara agreed.

"Why don't we follow Cid?" Lee suggested. "Try to find him now? Hide him away somewhere for a bit? Or bring him back with us?"

She bit her fist and started to cry, shaking her head.

"Sara," Lee tried.

"I can't change it," she said, shaking her head again. "If I change it, I won't know what I need to do in order to end it."

"We can't even track him to see where he goes so you know where he ends up?"

"I want to, but he's long gone by now, and I feel like the longer we stay here, the more chances of Abe finding out what I'm doing. I can't risk that. This was a huge risk in itself, but I didn't think Abe would notice if I didn't do anything to him or alert him somehow."

"Okay. I'm sorry."

She took in some breaths. "It's okay. It's okay because I'm going to go back with you, get a team ready, and come back and destroy Abe."

"You think he's got your son?"

"I do now. I think he always did."

"I'll help you," Lee promised. She looked emotional, and he pulled her into a tight hug. She held onto him, crying a little as she melted right into him.

"Now you've officially seen the worst of me," she said a moment later.

"I'm still here," he advised. She looked at him, and he cupped her face with his hand and kissed her. He rested his forehead against hers after.

"We need to get back," she said.

"Okay."

He braced himself, and he managed not to fall over this time as they landed back in his yard. He followed Sara as she peeked through the window and saw themselves disappear. It made Lee's head spin a lot, but he knew it was real.

"Okay," Sara said when they were in his kitchen. She hid the device out of sight in the drawer of his hutch. "Do you think Barney will help us?"

"Show him that, and he will," Lee advised, gesturing to the drawer where the device was hidden. Sara looked relieved. Lee was about to say something else when his front door was kicked open.

...

Sara didn't have time to react when she was struck with something and went down hard. She realized after that it had been a taser. She saw Lee go down but keep trying to fight. A boot kicked him in the face, and he stopped moving.

"Lee!" she tried to shout, but it came out a bit mangled. She felt useless, like her body was a puddle. She felt herself being bound and then pulled up.

"Did you really think Abe wouldn't find out?" a voice asked, and she started to black out. The last thing she remembered was being put in the trunk of a car.

...

"I really do have to go," Lou said with a giggle. Barney had her in his arms, and she was giving him a fake sad face.

"Alright," he caved. "I guess if you really have to." His tone was exaggerated, and she laughed again. He watched her get up and get dressed.

"You sure I can't give you a ride to the airport?"

"It's okay," she answered. "I'd rather say goodbye here."

Barney nodded, thinking. She was going back home, and he had a feeling that he wasn't going to see her again. This was just meant to be a good time after all.

"I'll miss you," Lou said, bending down to kiss him. He smoothed her cheek with his thumb after.

"I'll miss you too."

"Don't die on me." She looked over her shoulder as she picked up her bag.

"I'll do my best."

"Do better."

"Aye, aye," Barney agreed, and she smiled. Then she grew serious.

"Maybe we'll see each other again," she said.

"I'd really like that."

"Okay. Sounds good." She smiled again. Then she blew a kiss and was gone. Just like that. Barney lay there wondering if he was crazy to just let her go. He couldn't seem to get up and stop her, though, because deep down in his heart he knew he was no good for her. She was better off without him. Safer, too.

It really hurt like hell to know that he was never going to see her again, though.

His phone buzzed with a text, and he stared at it. He wasn't sure what he was looking at until he finally understood what he was looking at.

Photos of Lee and Sara restrained and unconscious with the caption: "Come and get 'em" underneath. An address was next. Barney was up and dressed in a flash, calling in the cavalry to help him get his friends back.