“I must admit, when I realized how much time had passed,” he says, “or rather, how much time was particularly unstable, between the day we…left…and the day we were able to return, I was worried. Worried about how Savage might have tracked you down. Worried that the Time Masters might have done so. But I thought, Miss Lance—” He looks at her, then switches his gaze to Leonard. “—and Mr. Snart are there. They’re survivors. They’ll go to ground. They’ll stay safe and keep the others safe.”

“We did.” Sara’s looking rather mutinous at the suggestion otherwise. “Safe and sane, or at least as sane as you left us…”

“…and you have well and truly caused so much change, so much potential change, to the timeline that I cannot believe the Time Masters didn’t find you first, find you and eliminate you with extreme prejudice.” The former Time Master has actually raised his voice and they both bristle at him, Sara’s hands tensing on Len’s and on the arms of the chair. “Even Gideon cannot pinpoint quite yet all the ways your actions have changed things at this point. You might have even changed your own lives, or the lives of the others. If…”

But Leonard’s had enough. It’s one thing to let Rip lambast him, but he’ll be damned if he’ll let the man light into Sara.

“We survived,” he drawls, forcing back the snarl he wants to let out, trying to keep his tone as cool and insouciant as he can. It annoys Hunter more than anger would. “No thanks to you, Time Master. Hell, if I hadn’t asked Gideon, we wouldn’t have even known about time drift.”

Hunter’s eyes narrow, but he also rather obviously tries to make himself calm down, running a hand through his hair again. “It’s not something you should have avoided!” he grits out, finally. “In many ways, it’s a means of protection, for you and for the timeline. A way time has of…of smoothing out the rough edges of something that’s not where it’s supposed to be…”

“Maybe we didn’t want to lose our rough edges.” Sara sounds pissed. “Maybe they make us who we are.”

Hunter’s glare gentles as it transfers to her. “Sara…”

“No, Rip.” She shakes her head, taking a deep breath, tightening her fingers on Len’s again. “I wasn’t meant to survive in a time and place like that. If I had either started to feel time drift taking over—especially if I hadn’t even known what it was—or if I hadn’t found a way to keep the…the core of who I am intact, I would have gone back to the League.” She glances at Leonard. “I almost did anyway.”

He’d suspected she was thinking something of the sort. Len keeps his gaze on hers, nonjudgmental and calm, and after a moment, she smiles at him.

“And we would have come for you.” Rip’s trying to sound reasonable and measured, but Sara just shakes her head at him.

“And how many people would I have killed in the meantime?” she says quietly. “What if I’d had the time drift set in there? I…”

But Hunter’s thrown up his hands, exasperation apparently taking over. “So, instead, we have Dr. Palmer teaching physics principles no one in this time should even suspect yet. You, Miss Lance, leading a mini revolution in feminism in Orange City.” Then he points at Leonard. “And you, Mr. Snart, the one I thought would be the most practical of all, playing 1958 Robin Hood and introducing advanced tech ideas to any number of individuals.” He lets out a noise that mingles a sigh and a groan, collapsing into his desk chair. “Miss Saunders may have changed the fewest things…”

“And she’s the one who came closest to losing herself due to sheer boredom…”

“But now the best…the only real…weapon we have against Savage is more than seven months pregnant!” His voice breaks into a bewildered sort of squawk, and the former Time Master just stares off into space for a moment before reaching into his desk and extracting a bottle of something that looks potently alcoholic.

“Where are Kendra and Ray anyway?” Sara asks after a moment, almost gently.

Rip shakes his head, pouring a drink. “In the medbay, getting Miss Saunders a thorough checkup.” He hesitates, then shrugs, taking a long drink. “She seems well. Just…well…”

Neither of them wants to finish that sentence and set Hunter off again. After a moment, Sara rubs her hands together, smirking, and takes a stab at something that will get them out of Rip’s office.

“Yeah, well, I want one of Gideon’s magic shots again,” she says lightly, winking at Leonard. “So…”

Hunter snorts but keeps staring into his drink as if it holds all the secrets of time. “I can’t figure out how the Time Masters didn’t find you all,” he murmurs. “You messed up so much…”

Leonard is getting just a bit tired of this. “Pretty sure we changed things for the better,” he drawls, starting to get to his feet.

But Hunter is having none of that.

“Are you sure? Are you really sure, Mr. Snart?” he asks, also standing, a hard note in his voice. “Because changing even small things in time, it causes…ripples. And those ripples grow as they spread.” He points at them. “You save one life, two lives, those people save or change other lives, have children, maybe those children also have an effect…”

Sara’s eyes are narrowed again. “Are you saying we should have just...what, watched…”

Hunter sits down his drink with a sigh. “I’ve only gotten the chance to look at the very basic level of what you—the two of you--changed, but do you know how many lives Miss Hayes and Miss Schuyler went on to touch?” he asks quietly. “To save? Or I should say now, the Mses. Hayes-Schuyler.”

Sara actually squeaks, putting a hand over her mouth, looking toward Len with sparkling eyes. “They got married? They’re still alive…”

“They were one of the first couples to marry in 2011, when New York…this isn’t what we’re talking about.” Rip struggles to regain control of the conversation, but Leonard’s picked up on something else.

“You said ‘save two lives,’” he says. “They…”

The words trail off. Hunter stares at him a moment, then nods, picking up his drink again.

“They were going to die,” he says, his voice emotionless, staring into the amber depths again. “There, in 1958, at that house, the night you met them, Mr. Snart. Mr. Travers was going to get into the house, then lose his temper and hit his wife so hard she fell and hit her head on the table. Then he would have grabbed Miss Schuyler to try to stop her screaming.” He takes a sip. “Shook her so hard, he broke her neck.”

He shakes his head. “He would have run off, eventually been arrested for it. But that night, Ms. Smith would have come downstairs to find them, then taken her children and run off into the night so that she wouldn’t be implicated in it. She wasn’t prepared. It…wouldn’t have gone well.”

His voice drifts off as he stares at the viewscreen in his office, as if remembering what it’s showed him. Sara can’t help herself.

“But the girls?” she asks urgently. “They’re OK? Now?”

Rip eyes her, taking another drink. “Oh, yes. And that’s another thing. Do you have any idea how many lives someone in a medical profession can change? I don’t know what you did, but instead of fading into obscurity as Ann Smith, young Anne May went on to not only save lives, but to teach others to do so. That’s not a ripple, it’s a bloody tidal wave.” He sighs as Sara grins, turning to Leonard. “And her sister! Her two daughters…a trauma surgeon in Star City and a defense attorney in National. And that’s not even addressing how many lives an author can affect, and that’s what the young Jacobi became…”

Leonard can’t help it. He barks out a laugh, a noise that’s both relieved and satisfied, grinning as he thinks of the tears in Dorothea’s eyes when he’d given her that nest egg. Sara actually has tears in her eyes now, smiling at him, and he nearly reaches for her right there in front of Hunter, to tell her…

“Yes, I know like it sounds that this is all well and good, but we don’t know yet what the fallout could be!” Hunter snaps. “What if a life one of them saves goes on to, to drive a car that hits Mr. Jackson’s mother before he can be born? Or what if…”

Leonard rounds on him, though, anger surging again. “Then maybe you shouldn’t have left us behind for so damned long,” he snaps back.

Hunter’s eyes are cold and furious. “And whose fault is that, Mr. Snart?” he asks in a clipped tone.

It’s a figurative bucket of cold water, in part because Leonard realizes that he still has no idea. Neither Raymond and Kendra had known back in Nickel City, and they’d barely gotten to greet Stein and Jax before Hunter had summoned them into his office.

“What do you mean?” he asks slowly as Sara steps to his side. “Fault? What happened?”

“No one told you why Gideon went offline? Or…” Hunter stares at them. “Oh, bloody hell. I should have known. You’d have been in the brig if they had.”

“In the brig?” Sara asks, a note of anger in her own tone. “He…”

“No, as a prisoner, but….” Hunter takes a deep breath, shaking his head. “Bloody hell,” he repeats. Then he reaches out for the booze on his desk and two more glasses, wordlessly pouring both and handing one to Sara, one to Leonard, who takes it in suddenly nerveless fingers.

He’s not sure how he suspects some of what’s coming. But he does. He knows.  

Hunter nods at his expression, then turns toward the viewscreen.

“Gideon,” he says, “show Mr. Snart and Miss Lance what happened on the ship, after…after it took off back in Harmony Falls.”

Next, “19 Gabriel Drive,” a one-shot, will show Sara and Leonard visiting friends in Orange City in 2016.

“Welcome to Jitters. What can I get for you today?” asksKendra as she greets the not-really-a-stranger stranger.

“I’ll have a medium red eye to go.” He replies.

Kendra grabs the right sized coffee cup and a maker.

“The name’s Ray.”

He grins brightly at her as she writes his name on the cupthen hands it over to the barista making the drinks.

Kendra rings him up and Ray hands over the correct amount.

With his wallet still out, he grabs a twenty-dollar billand places it in the tip jar.

Then Ray smiles brightly at Kendra.

“See you around, Kendra.”

She’s too flabbergasted to do anything but smile at himbefore helping the next customer though her eyes follow Ray’s progress to thepick-up area.

In that moment, from where she stands, Iris decides nexttime she’s going to do something to help the two of them out because that waspainful to watch and her girl, Kendra deserves better than that.

Like clock-work, Ray arrives for his daily cup of coffeethe following morning.

Kendra took the morning off for a dentist appointment soIris is working the cash register when he comes in.

Iris smirks to herself as she sees him frown indisappointment.

“You know, I didn’t think that our coffee is good enoughfor repeat purchases every day but I guess some people just need their dailycaffeine fix.”

Ray rubs the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Is it that obvious?” he asks.

“Not everyone tips more than several cups of coffee in onego.”

Iris smiles then shakes her head.

“Kendra hasn’t put two and two together if that’s whatyou’re really asking about.”

Ray chuckles.

“I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing.”

“Maybe, you could give her a little hint tomorrow.” Iriscomments as she takes his order.

He pays for his coffee then places a ten in the tip jar.

Iris looks at him.

“What? Just because one barista has caught my attentiondoesn’t mean I can’t show my appreciation for all of the other wonderfulbaristas who work here.”

Iris laughs then shoes him off to the pick-up area.

He seems like a good guy and her bestie definitely deservedsomeone who would appreciate her.

 Iris decides she’d see what Barry could find out about him;after all, her boyfriend couldn’t resist her charms.

The next morning passes without an appearance from Ray andKendra can’t help feeling concerned because he’s been predictable in appearingsometime in the morning.

“Relax girl, I’m sure your guy is fine.”

Kendra’s eyes widen as she opens and closes her mouth,trying to respond to Iris’ comment.

“He’s not my guy!”

Iris smirks at her best friend.

“But you want him to be.”

Kendra pauses for a moment.

“I’d like to get to know him, I think.” States Kendra.

“Fair enough. I still don’t think you should panic yetabout him not showing up. It was bound to happen eventually,” comments Iris.

“You’re right. It’s not like he’s Superman or anything.”

Lunch rolls around and with it, comes the usual rush andKendra isn’t focusing on a single person when Iris nudges her in the side.

“Outside. Front door.”

Kendra’s eyes wander over there and she smiles when shesees Ray standing there.

He enters Jitters then gets in line while looking forsomething in his wallet.

Returning to the customer in front of her, Kendra forcesherself to concentrate.

Fifteen minutes later, Ray stands before her with a grin onhis face.

“Hey Kendra. How’s it going?”

“Things are great, now. I was surprised when I didn’t seeyou this morning.”

“My car is in the shop so a friend drove me to work andalready bought our morning coffee.”

Kendra’s smile widens as she feels relief that nothingserious happened to him.

“I’ll have my usual, thanks.”

“Of course.”

As he hands over the money for his coffee, she notices thatthere’s something else with it but before she can say anything to him, he’salready put his usual tip into the jar and walked off.

Separating the cash out, Kendra’s surprised to see a cardmixed in.

She turns it over and reads his name along with his phonenumber on it.

Looking up, she catches Ray’s eye and smiles while hopingshe’s not blushing.

“What do you have there?”

Iris’ sudden appearance causes Kendra to jump slightly.

Kendra tries to move the card away before Iris can get herhands on it but her best friend is faster.

“Ooh! Are you going to call him?”

Ray catches the ladies’ eyes and waves with his free handas he leaves Jitters and they wave in response.

A warm feeling blossoms in Kendra’s chest as she takes thecard back.

“Yes, I definitely will give him a call later.”

As she wanders into the backroom to secure the card in herbag, Iris smirks.

“It’s about damn time.”