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Three years and fifteen days after Nathan Stark vanished inside the time chamber, Jack was collecting a Vinspresso from Cafe Diem before heading to the Sheriff's Office to start his day. He sighed when his cell phone demanded his attention, pulling it out of his pocket and holding it up to his ear.
"Go for Carter."
"Jack. You need to come up to G.D. now."
"Jo?"
The connection broke and he stared at the phone for a moment before sliding it back into his pocket. Picking up his pace, he gave Vincent a distracted wave as he left, already fearing the worst. It took less than fifteen minutes to get to G.D. without breaking the speed limit, and he pulled up right outside the main atrium in the spot reserved for law enforcement. Jo was waiting for him, and Jack felt something cold grip his heart as he saw her looking pale and shocked. The last time he had seen her in this state was after Nath... Stark died. Not that he'd taken much notice of anyone else at the time as he'd been in a state of shock himself, and not just from the external and internal injuries he was sporting from his multiple time loops.
"Jack."
"What's happened?" He stared hard at her, waiting to hear the worst. "Another lab explosion?" But Jo shook her head and that terrible sinking feeling hit him harder. "Allison?"
"No. Still nothing, and as far as I know, no one's dead. Just the opposite."
"What?"
He let her pull him through the atrium to the elevator. Her lips were almost white from being so tightly pressed together and he could see she was barely holding onto the urge not to blurt out every horrific detail. Jack knew he could break her with just a few words but he could see the desperation in her eyes to remain silent and as much as he hated surprises - good and bad - he respected Jo too much to shatter her now.
The elevator slowed and the doors opened, revealing the blue-grey corridors in the basement level. He hadn't come back to the Time Maintenance lab since that fateful day when they'd lost Stark. His injuries and his own participation in the tragic events had given him enough of an excuse to hand over the investigation to Jo, and over the years he had convinced himself that he'd not been too shocked into denial to deal with it - then and now.
"Jack."
Jo was standing outside the lab waiting for him, and despite the intervening years, it took him a few seconds longer before he joined her, feeling some part of his head and heart screaming at him to turn around and go back. He was not supposed to come here. He couldn't come here because then he'd have to admit that Nathan Stark was really dead and not just sitting in some luxurious office overlooking San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, head of his own corporation - as he was in Jack's strangely vivid dreams.
The door to the Time Maintenance lab was open and Jack could see it was a hive of activity with Zane in the thick of it. Henry was there too, staring into the chamber with his hands tightly clasped and pressed against his lips. Jack moved to join him, refusing to look at the chamber where Nath...Stark had given his life to save the universe. He moved between Henry and the chamber and saw Henry's head tilt to keep it in view.
"Henry?"
Dark eyes found his and Jack saw too many raw emotions cross his friend's face, including shock, awe and compassion.
"Jack."
When his eyes drifted over Jack's shoulder again, Jack knew he had to turn round and look, and he almost threw up when he saw half of Nathan Stark, smile still frozen just as it had been on that fateful day. Jack realized he was standing in the exact spot, with Nathan looking right at him, holding onto his eyes as if knowing it would be his last living sight, and with Jack's name the last word to fall from his lips. It felt like a punch to the gut, doubling him over, and Jack was barely aware of Henry reaching for him, holding him tight.
"He's coming back. Molecule by molecule. It's been building for days but we didn't know what it was until an hour ago when everything began to coalesce."
"How?" Jack breathed raggedly.
Henry shook his head. "I don't know. I knew Weinbrenner's reversal formula wasn't stable. It sped up everything within the chamber... including everything that constituted Nathan... but I can only guess that it's slowly been stabilizing over the years. Slowing everything back down to the right speed for this time stream. It's bringing him back into sync with the rest of the universe."
"How much longer?"
"Until he's back? At the rate of deceleration, we estimate another hour and twelve minutes."
"So soon?" It seemed impossible that after all these years, Nathan could be back in just over an hour. "And then what happens?"
Henry shook his head. "We honestly don't know."
He felt Henry's arm wrap around his shoulders and he leaned into his friend's quiet strength.
"Does anyone else...?"
"No. I thought it would be better if we waited until we had a better understanding of what is happening here." Henry's eyes were solemn. "Jack... There's no guarantee that he'll still be alive even if he does re-sync with this time stream."
Jack felt his stomach lurch again and felt sick as he whispered, "But at least we'll finally have a body to bury. Closure."
With eyes full of compassion, Henry gave him once last squeeze on the shoulder before stepping away, knowing Jack wasn't referring just to Nathan. He left Jack standing silent and alone in that same spot from over three years earlier. As he watched, Jack remembered how it felt to see this in reverse, recalling Nathan's frozen smile dissolve and swirl away until there was nothing left of the man - gone in a brilliant flash of light. Henry, Zane and Fargo had been convinced that Nathan had been deleted from time but now Jack wondered if it had been more like dropping something into the recycle bin on his computer... not really gone at all.
He gave a soft huff of a laugh, not enough to draw anyone's attention to him.
Since the time loop incident, he had gone over every moment, trying to figure out what he could have done differently to save Nathan's life but it had all come down to time in the end - not enough of it for him, Weinbrenner... or Nathan.
During those years he'd also figured out why he had fought so hard with the man, and why his marriage to Allison had been doomed from the start. At some time during those early years while they bickered and fought over Allison, he had fallen in love with Nathan. He just hadn't been man enough to admit it until Allison finally forced him to face the truth a few months earlier, ending their marriage.
Most of Nathan was back now, with just a few areas still re-forming. It shouldn't have been the most beautiful sight in the world, but seeing Nathan's smile falter and frown lines appear as he took in Jack, was all the proof Jack needed that Nathan was not only back, but alive. He heard Henry's triumphant laugh beside him as he watched Nathan fumble with the seal on the chamber, seeing the door open and Nathan step out as if he had stepped inside only a moment earlier.
"Jack?"
It seemed a strange mirror, with Nathan's first word identical to his last - Jack's name. Jack could see Nathan cataloging all the changes in him, perhaps seeing additional lines from age, injury and stress, though the uniform was still the same. Just no longer grimy and bloodied from Jack's loops through time.
Jack only meant to reach out to shake his hand but found himself wrapped around Nathan instead, head buried against the taller man's neck as Henry wrapped his arms around both of them, still shouting joyously. He could feel Nathan tense with confusion, probably looking across at Fargo or Zane for an explanation, but Jack didn't care. Nathan was alive and whole, and for the first time in years, Jack felt a little peace steal over him.
Eventually he drew back, now feeling a little uncomfortable with the raw display of emotion but nothing had been quite the same after Nathan's 'death'.
"Jack?"
Suddenly it was too much, and Jack turned and fled.
****
Café Diem was almost empty of customers but Nathan saw the mixed emotions crossing the faces of those who remembered him. He accepted a few quiet 'welcome back' smiles and handshakes with politeness, even allowed a hug from Vincent without flinching. Vincent showed them to a corner booth and Nathan listened as Henry filled him in on some of the major scientific breakthroughs over the intervening years, while deliberately shying away from anything personal despite Nathan's questions.
Nathan had his own secrets so he tried to remain calm, knowing Henry would tell him in his own time.
He couldn't help his thoughts from drifting though. He had disappeared on the day he was supposed to re-marry Allison, and it had taken the knowledge that he was about to cease to exist for him to realize that it wasn't Allison he wanted. Instead it was the annoying, intellectually-challenged, handsome, foolishly brave, battered, bloodied and stoic sheriff who had made his heart beat faster, but he hadn't seen Jack since that strange hug in the Time Maintenance lab yesterday.
Three years had passed for everyone he cared about, and Nathan needed to know what had happened to them. Finally, he interrupted Henry's recounting of Holly Marten's new robotic form even though the possibilities were fascinating, building on the work he had pioneered with Callister.
"Henry. Where's Allison? And why did Jack run away?"
Henry sighed hard, bowing his head. "We're heading to the bunker in a little while... and all your questions will be answered then."
The bunker.
Nathan felt the bottom drop out of his world as the obvious explanation slapped him mentally around the face. It had been three years and both Allison and Jack had moved on. Together. He had lost them both. He felt an insane urge to simply stand up and walk out but he had never run away from anything in his life before and he wasn't about to start now.
"How about we head there now, Henry?" It wasn't a request, and he saw Henry nod towards Vincent, who gave Nathan yet another sad and regretful glance.
Nathan stared out the passenger window of Henry's truck as the familiar landscape passed, not surprised when he noticed the small garden planted outside the bunker's door, and the fresh paint that covered the exterior hatchway door. It smacked of a woman's touch. Of Allison. He walked down the steps feeling like a man going to his execution, straightening and pulling back his shoulders as the inner door hissed open.
"Welcome back, Doctor Stark."
Jack was waiting, looking nervous.
"Stark... Nathan," he amended, and motioned towards the couch. "Beer? Whiskey? I think SARAH has one of your favorite-."
"Beer's fine," Nathan stated, and Henry nodded for the same.
"SARAH? Three beers, please."
Nathan heard a soft thump upstairs and glanced upwards but there was no sign of Allison. His patience was thinning as he waited for Jack to settle down almost within touching distance, watching as Jack took a sip as if fortifying himself for the conversation ahead. Eventually, Jack cleared his throat.
"There's no easy way to say this."
"Then just spit it out, Sheriff."
"Allison..." His voice broke and he cleared his throat again. "Allison left on the second Astraeus mission a month ago. She gave me guardianship over the kids for the duration of the mission... and for if anything happened to her."
"Kids?"
When he stepped into the Time chamber, Allison only had Kevin, but Nathan should have guessed that she and Jack would have children together. He saw Jack look pleadingly to Henry for help.
"Maybe it's for the best if you bring the kids down, Jack. Then explain the rest."
Jack nodded at Henry and moved quickly up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Nathan watched in trepidation as a teenage boy headed down slowly, eyeing Nathan cautiously.
"Kevin?"
The boy grinned, pleased to be recognized, and glanced over his shoulder at Jack, who was moving more slowly down the stairs behind him, taking one step at a time. Jack had a boy of about nine months in his arms, and a slightly older girl held onto his hand. He brought the two small children over and settled down on his knees in front of Nathan with the boy and girl sitting on his lap. Kevin sank down beside Jack.
"Nathan, this is Robbie. My son with Allison." Before Nathan could say anything, Jack drew the small girl closer while Kevin took Robbie from Jack, holding his squirming half-brother tightly. "And this little angel is Jenna. She's your daughter."
Nathan looked at the child in shock. His daughter? Jenna was his mother's name. He looked closer at the little girl and he could see so much of Allison in her beautiful face, slowly recognizing just a hint of himself in the shape of her eyes and mouth. He reached out to touch her soft cheek but she shied away, twisting to bury her face into Jack's neck and looking back at him out of the corner of her eye.
Jack stroked her hair. "Do you remember the pictures, Jenna? Of Nathan?"
She nodded her head and smiled, gracing Nathan with another glance that was both shy and filled with curiosity. Kevin had been around the same age when Nathan came into his life so he knew how to handle the situation. He offered her a smile of his own but made no other attempt to reach out, and heard her soft giggle as she buried her face back into Jack's neck. He glanced back at the baby, who was still squirming as he reached out for his daddy, seeing a little of Jack, especially in the surprisingly blue eyes and soft, dark curls.
"So you and Allison...?"
"We got married, but we separated four months ago. We finally realized we worked better as friends."
Nathan knew it was a half-truth, having learned to read Jack Carter over the years, but he decided not to call him on it. There was something else though that Jack was not saying and Nathan had a suspicion that it had something to do with the way Jack's voice broke on Allison's name.
"What's happened to Allison?"
It was Henry who answered. "We lost contact shortly after they arrived on Titan."
Nathan's head reeled in shock, barely hearing Henry talk of a violent storm and safety protocols failing, and all the different attempts to re-establish communications. He held up a hand to stop Henry.
"Start from the top."
"Everything was fine at first. Communications were erratic due to atmospherics but within acceptable parameters.... and then a terrible storm swept across the surface of Titan, and we lost contact. It lasted a week, and we assumed we'd regain contact once the storm had passed."
"How long since you lost communications?"
"Just over two weeks now," Jack answered. "Look. I don't really want to discuss this in front of the kids."
"Dad! She's my mom. I want to hear-."
Nathan was shocked to hear Kevin call Jack 'dad' and almost missed Jack telling the now-sullen teenager that he could come back down as soon as he'd helped Jack with Kevin's half-brother and sister.
"I'll start filling Nathan in on the rest while you settle the kids."
Jack nodded his agreement to Henry and started up the stairs with Jenna in his arms, while Kevin followed behind with Robbie. Henry waited until they were out of earshot before turning to Nathan.
"You know, Jack named Robbie after you. Robert Nathan Carter-Blake."
Nathan raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Don't get me wrong, Nathan. I love Allison and I will do everything in my power to bring her and the others home safely, but I'm going to say something that I should have said three years ago. Don't make the same mistake twice. Your first marriage failed for a reason, and I can think of an even greater reason why it would have failed a second time.... and it's the same reason why Jack's marriage to Allison failed." Henry sat up taller. "You both have a chance to make the right choice this time... if you'd stop being so pigheaded and look a little harder at-."
"Jack."
Henry smiled and nodded. "Good. Now let's find a way to bring Allison home to those kids."
"I take it a third expedition to Titan is out of the question?"
"Actually, with your help, that might not be as impossible as it sounds."
****
The hardest part in organizing a rescue mission to Titan, using the same technology that took them to Saturn's largest moon in the first place, was persuading Jack that he couldn't be a part of it. He had three motherless kids to watch over, as well as a town, because Jo refused to stay behind this time, determined to accompany Zane and Nathan in the small test module. It could hold only three people, and it took a week to ensure it was fully operational and could withstand the atmosphere on Titan.
Jack watched as the three rescuers began to suit up, feeling his jaw twitch in both annoyance and fear. They had only just got Nathan back and now he was about to risk his life again along with two others whom Jack considered family as well as friends. With only the helmets and gloves left to seal in place, Jack was surprised when Nathan pushed away from the two-man team prepping him and stepped towards Jack.
He thought Nathan was going to say something trite or arrogant about being the one to save Allison but, instead, his green eyes held Jack's just as they had in those last few moments back in the Time Maintenance lab. Before Jack could question him, Nathan leaned in and kissed him, long and slow, with fingers sliding through his hair to hold Jack in place. Too shocked at first, Jack barely began to kiss him back before Nathan pulled away, leaving Jack feeling dazed and bereft.
"I love Allison... and I'll do my best to bring her home to our kids." He smiled ruefully, "But you're the one I want, Jack. I'm coming back for you."
"You better," Jack stated brokenly as he reached for Nathan, drawing him back into a desperate, demanding kiss full of all the pent up years of love, loss and regret.
Just as before, Jack was left watching from the control room with Henry as the small module zapped out of existence, breathing a sigh of relief when he heard Nathan's voice over the comms a few minutes later. They had aimed for a landing site half a mile from the original Astraeus site and were already preparing to take a walk to its last known position.
Jack was grateful that Nathan kept the comms on as they set off.
"Atmospherics are far worse than expected. Limited visibility and a high wind shear. It won't stop us from reaching the Astraeus but it will take us a little longer to get there."
"How much longer?" Henry asked.
"An hour at most."
"That's cutting it fine, Nathan. Those suits only hold 150 minutes of breathable oxygen. That leaves you only ten minutes to search at the original landing site before you must return."
"I'm not going to take any stupid risks, Henry. I have several very good reasons to come home... and one in particular, Jack."
Jack could hear the smile in Nathan's voice, and it filled him with a warm feeling that had been missing for years. "And don't you forget it," he said, and heard Nathan chuckle.
"Right, Sheriff."
"Don't worry, Carter," Jo interrupted. "I'll make sure neither of these two do anything stupid."
The time passed slowly, with all three saving their energy for the physical exertion of walking across the inhospitable landscape.
"I have a visual," Nathan stated suddenly, and through the swirl of sand, or whatever it was that was clouding the air, Jack could see a glint of something familiar and manmade.
"Still no response so I guess we'll have to knock," Zane quipped.
He clambered carefully up the outside of the ship when Nathan's attempt to override the airlock controls to allow entry gained him nothing, and rapped hard on the bridge's viewport. The shield parted, and Zane laughed. Through Zane's video feed Jack could see two shocked figures standing on the bridge but neither of them was Allison. Jack saw Zane's hand indicate down towards the hatchway and he turned his attention back to Nathan's video feed in time to see movement in the corridor beyond the airlock.
Suddenly the hatchway began to slide open and Nathan, Zane and Jo moved inside quickly. The door sealed behind them and moments later the internal airlock door opened, and Jack grinned in relief when he saw Allison's beautiful face pale in both shock and happiness at seeing Nathan.
It took several more days to repair the communications equipment along with other systems that had failed during the violent storm, and all Jack could do was look after the town and the kids while he waited for more news. But at least he knew Allison was alive... and Nathan.
****
Nathan moved around the bridge with ease as he helped with the final preparations for his return. The storm had caused more damage than any had anticipated and the Astraeus would need to undergo major repairs before it could return to Earth but the module had no such problems.
"At least E.T. can now phone home," he stated.
Allison laughed and held his arm for a moment. This week had been good for them, giving them time to come to terms with Nathan's return from the dead. Any downtime was spent looking at video of his daughter, seeing her first steps and hearing her first words. As much as he loved Allison, he recognized now that the spark of being in love was missing, and that he only felt that around Jack.
As the last few minutes ticked down, Allison squeezed Nathan's arm, and he felt nervous. He had seen the way she sparkled as she talked of her work here on Titan, and he hoped she wasn't going to beg him to stay with her.
"Despite the loss of communications, we've still forged ahead with experiments and formed new theories that we want to investigate. That I want to investigate." She smiled up at him. "You could stay too."
Nathan shook his head. "No. I'm not going to stop you from staying here, Allie, but I've already missed so much back in Eureka, and I don't intend to miss too much more."
"Jenna?"
"And Kevin... and Robbie. Henry. My research."
"And Jack," she added softly, with a gentle smile and a raised eyebrow.
He looked at her carefully, hoping he wasn't reading her wrong. "Especially Jack. Allie, I wasted so much time fighting with him when I should have-"
She placed two fingers over his lips, smiling fondly at him. "Timing is everything, Nathan. Perhaps it simply wasn't the right time before." Her expression grew serious. "He loves you, Nathan. I think he always did. So don't waste this new opportunity to get to know him... and be with him." Her smile grew bolder. "And don't spoil our kids."
He smirked knowingly, recalling all the times he had spoiled Kevin while they were married and living together. He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. "Bye, Allie."
"See you around, Nathan."
"At the next check-in," he ordered, and she grinned and nodded in agreement.
****
Three months later - Christmas Day:
Last Christmas, Jack had celebrated the day with a heavily pregnant Allison, their kids and all their friends. This year seemed far less boisterous, but as Jack sank onto the couch next to Nathan, he was no less happy. The kids had seen their mom earlier on a live feed from the Astraeus, but everyone had distracted them afterwards to stop them getting upset when Allison signed off. Jenna was on Nathan's lap, eagerly showing off the toy she'd just unwrapped while Robbie seemed more interested in all the torn paper strewn across the floor. He was becoming a real handful now he'd learned how to walk, intrigued by everything around him that he could now reach.
Jack looked across to see Henry helping Kevin assemble some gadget, which Jack hoped would prove harmless. He felt the couch dip as Zoe flopped down beside him, and he drew her into a tight hug, laughing when Nathan slung his longer arm around both of them and pulled them in tight to him.
In another two months, all of this could change when Allison returned from Titan but, for now, Jack was willing to enjoy every moment of having his family and loved ones close.
Eventually Jenna fell asleep on Nathan, and Jack could see Robbie was not far behind. A glance at Nathan showed they were on the same wavelength and together they lifted the tired kids and carried them upstairs, quickly putting them to bed. For once, both Robbie and Jenna settled down immediately, exhausted by the day's activities. Being older, Zoe and Kevin stayed up until after Jack had ushered the last guests out of the door but even they retired early, no doubt to read or talk online with friends.
Jack and Nathan gradually moved around the spacious room, picking up all the debris and stacking the toys and other gifts until the room was at least presentable. They met at the base of the stairs and Jack smiled when Nathan drew him into his arms, pressing a kiss against his hair.
"Why don't we finish the rest in the morning?" Nathan murmured.
Feeling mellow, tired but still happy, Jack angled Nathan's face so he could kiss him properly. "Yeah."
They climbed the stairs together, closing and locking the bedroom door behind them. With the room soundproofed, and with SARAH monitoring the children as they slept, Jack stripped quickly and slid beneath the covers into Nathan's waiting arms.
Too tired for anything more strenuous, they rocked together, letting the sensations slowly build and flow over them as they kissed tenderly, taking only a moment longer to clean up before sinking back into each other's arms. They relaxed, with Jack's head cradled on Nathan's shoulder and one arm draped over his lean body, and legs entangled, letting their soft breaths and the beat of their hearts lull them into sleep together.
For once, their timing was perfect.
END