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Time travel is dangerous, all of the legends knew that. Rip gave this lecture once a day, twice if he was feeling like a kindergarten teacher. One wrong move and you could create a completely different timeline. Asking someone for a high five before they were invented could send the world into tyranny. They knew because it almost happened. That’s why Rip not only urged them to stay focused but to stay in good health. Out of all the legends on the Waverider, Sara was the last one Rip expected to get sick.
“Oh no, definitely not,” he said when he saw her in her era-appropriate costume. Someone was pretending to be a god in ancient Egypt (again), so Sara and Kendra were dressed in sheath dresses. Sara rolled her eyes and leaned against the wall.
“You need me,” she replied. Jax crossed his arms.
“Hey, you’re not the only one who can kick ass.” Sara raised her eyebrows. “Without using your powers, firestorm.” Jax knew she had a point.
“Miss Lance, you cannot go around infecting people. We don’t even know what ails you. Go to the med bay,” Rip ordered. Sara rolled her eyes but she left the bridge.
“Miss Saunders, could you please make her get better? I only need a few people for this mission, and I do not expect her to listen to anyone else.” Kendra raised an eyebrow and glanced at professor Stein, but followed Rip’s orders. She loved spending time with Sara so it was the better option.
“Alright Gideon, give me the all-clear. A team of boys is always a disaster,” Sara said as she lay in the chair. Gideon analysed the antigens and antibodies in her lymph nodes.
“I’m sorry miss Lance but the amount of inflammation proteins in your blood is four times the normal amount. I recommend bed rest, soup, and tea with honey.” Kendra walked into the med bay just in time to hear Gideon’s assessment. She moved to Sara.
“So it seems like we’re staying on the ship,” she said. Sara sat up and raised her eyebrows.
“We?” Sara repeated. Kendra crossed her arms.
“Look, I know you’re a badass. But even badasses need someone to take care of them once in a while. Besides, I like spending time with you.” They smiled at each other, then Sara took Kendra to her room.
“Fine, you can stay with me,” she grumbled, wriggling out of her dress without any shame. “But I do not need to be taken care of.” She grabbed a large sweatshirt from her closet and pulled it over her head, completely missing the bisexual panic in Kendra’s eyes.
“Alright, we’ll hang out, then. But I’m going to change out of this stupid outfit first.” Kendra moved to the corridor but paused in the doorway.
“Is there a movie you’d like to watch? I’ll have Gideon set it up.” Sara’s eyes brightened as she plopped down on her bed. “Hercules. Always Hercules,” she replied.
Five minutes later, Kendra stood in the kitchen. The boys were gone, so it was oddly quiet on the ship. “Hey Gideon, should I get Sara soup or tea?”
“Based on the analysis of her most recent body scan, I suggest soup. She has not had breakfast,” Gideon spoke, showing the best option on the touch screen wired into the wall. Kendra sighed and tapped the checkmark.
“Gideon, does Sara ever take care of herself?” She mumbled. Gideon took the opportunity to show Kendra what Sara was doing at that moment. Kendra watched as Sara did stretches in her bed, instead of resting as she should. “So that’s a no, then,” she said. Gideon agreed with her.
“Sara,” Kendra started. Sara froze, her legs out in a forward split.
“...Yes?”
“Get under the covers. You’re sick.” Kendra stood beside the bed and handed Sara her soup when she had done as she was told. Sara shifted so there was space for Kendra, then she set her jaw. “Assassins do not get sick,” she grumbled. Kendra rolled her eyes and wrapped an arm around Sara.
“You’re no longer an assassin, and you’re benched. We’re both taking a break.” Sara kept her expression grumpy but leaned into Kendra’s embrace. Kendra smiled. “Gideon? Play Hercules, please,” she said. Sara’s TV turned on and the movie started to play. Kendra watched Sara, as Sara watched the screen. There, in the temporal zone, she pitied everyone who had only seen Sara as the white canary. Yes, she was strong, but there was more to her. And the person who lay in Kendra’s arms, then and there, that was someone even stronger than the white canary. Sara Lance was just as great when she felt vulnerable.
Sara finished her soup, and halfway through the movie, she fell asleep. Kendra turned down the volume so she could listen to Sara’s soft breathing. With her free hand, she gently stroked Sara’s hair. The warmth and peace slowly got to her, and she felt her eyes close too.
Kendra woke up when the movie ended, and Sara mumbled something in her dreams. Sara shifted, her right hand holding onto the collar of Kendra’s sweatshirt, her left twisted between Kendra’s sweatshirt and her stomach. Kendra felt Sara’s forehead radiate heat. “Gideon,” Kendra whispered. “Sara’s burning up. What can I do?” She waited for a reply, but Gideon kept quiet. A few seconds later, Kendra saw her phone light up. Of course, she thought. That had been a smarter move. She grabbed it with her free hand.
“Stay put. Sara has never slept so peacefully before. I will send one of the boys over with some ibuprofen when they return from their mission.” So Kendra stayed put. She watched over Sara, tracing her freckles, wondering about her scars. So many scars. Sara didn’t wake to her touch, which felt like a small miracle. For an ex-assassin, she slept like the dead.
After a while, Kendra received another message from Gideon. “Boys are back, I will send doctor Palmer in with the ibuprofen.” Kendra sighed and hoped he’d stay quiet. Just because he had a doctorate didn’t mean he was the right person for the job, Kendra thought.
As soon as Ray opened the door, Kendra put a finger to her lips and gave him a stern look. Ray nodded, walking to the bed like he was a ninja. He looked like an idiot, but it was the effort that counted. Well, that, and the video footage Kendra would ask Gideon for later. He handed her the bottle of ibuprofen, then his eyes widened at Sara sleeping peacefully in her arms. He mouthed “aww” as Kendra willed him to hurry up and go away. It was not the time to obsess over how cute Sara was when she slept. At least, not for Ray. Ray made it all the way to the corridor, before tripping and falling flat on his face with a loud bang.
“What’s going on?” Sara mumbled, opening her eyes. Kendra sighed and ran her hand over Sara’s hair.
“The boys are back, that’s all,” she replied. Sara made multiple attempts to disentangle herself from Kendra and her sweatshirt, before making eye contact.
“Wanna help me out or am I going to stick to you forever?” She asked. Kendra raised an eyebrow but lifted her shirt.
“You say that like it’s a threat,” Kendra said. Sara sat up in her bed but immediately grabbed at her temples. “Oh fuck that hurts.” She took the ibuprofen and the glass of water Kendra was holding out for her. After a few sips, she gave it back.
“It was a threat. I’ve been known to stick to pretty girls, like you.” Sara leaned against Kendra’s chest, and Kendra was glad to take her back into her arms.
“I wouldn’t mind.” Sara raised her head so she could make eye contact.
“Is this your way of coming out to me or have my suspicions been incorrect?” Kendra shrugged. “I guess this is my way of coming out to you,” she said. Sara smiled.
“Then this is my way of asking you out. Let’s do a date sometime that doesn’t involve a virus,” she said. She placed her head on Kendra’s chest again.
“Yes. Let’s do that. But for now, focus on getting better. We can’t have the boys running this ship,” Kendra said. Sara laughed. They had a future date. Which, for this pair in the temporal zone, could be any time.