It was strange, going from early autumn on Rhy'Din back to late summer on Earth, never mind the year. Nali had her cardigan tied about her waist and her sleeves rolled to the elbow to try and handle the heat in her autumn clothing, leaning against the door frame of Rick's apartment living room. It was 1994, and Richard Connors was about to disappear from the timeline.

For a man who was used to facing danger on a daily basis, Rick was uncharacteristically nervous, and it showed in the way he was shoving random belongings into a suitcase without much thought, as though he was in a hurry. It wasn't the fact that the mob wanted to kill him that made him nervous though. It was something else - an urgency to be gone from this place before it was too late.

"Hey." Pushing off the doorframe, Nali crossed the floor to reach out to Rick, laying her hand gently between his shoulder blades. "Nothing's gonna happen to you," she promised him. "We don't even have to step outside. You're safe."

"It's not me I'm worried about," he said, his shoulders visibly tensing. He turned toward her, some random piece of clothing in his hands that could probably be replaced. "I'm worried about you," he confessed, though that much was probably obvious. If anything happened to her again because of him, he'd never be able to live with himself.

"Baby, I'm fine," she promised him fervently. "I'm safe. Nothing is going to happen today. So calm down, and think about what you're packing here. What you can't be without. Okay?"

"I can't be without underwear," he pointed out, trying to lighten the mood a little. He was definitely feeling anxious and eager to be gone from here, the sooner the better, but he'd come back for a reason - there were some things that just couldn't be replaced.

"So pack for a couple of days," she told him gently. "It can't look as though you've packed up and gone somewhere, honey. You need to disappear, or they'll keep hunting you, and there's no guarantee they won't find a way to Rhy'Din if they do."

"Right," he said, nodding his head before taking a breath and a quick look around. "Photos," he said, knowing that was something he needed to take with him and that he couldn't replace. He moved over to the closet and pulled a shoebox down from the top shelf. "How many should I take?" he wondered aloud.

"As many as you want to," Nali said. "Missing photographs suggest foul play, don't they' Like someone wanted a lot of people to be able to ID you."

"I could take the whole box," he said, though if he did, he might need her to carry something, and it wouldn't leave many photos left, if any. "Should I leave the place a mess, like someone was rifling through things?"

"If you can do that without leaving evidence that it was you, sure," she said. He knew better than she did how accurate forensic detection was in this decade.

"Well, if they check for fingerprints, they're only going to find ours, and I assume yours aren't on file," he said. "Do you want me to look like it was foul play or just leave everything the way it was?" he asked, as he set the box of photos on a table and went back to his dresser to pack a week's worth of clothes.

"It's up to you," she told him. "Do you want people to think something definitely happened to you, or do you want to leave them guessing?"

"I think it's better to leave them guessing," he admitted, trying to remember what the article on the extranet said. It wasn't too detailed, but from what he'd read, it had seemed like he'd disappeared into thin air, which was actually pretty accurate. "You never told me what happened after you were shot," he told her as he forced himself to slow down and pack the items he was taking with him a little more carefully.

She bit her lip, but it was easier to talk about now that she knew he wasn't going to stay here to be killed at an appointed time. "I stayed with you until you died," she said quietly. "But I was bleeding, and there were people starting to take an interest, and someone called the cops. So I had to stand up and get where no one could see me, so I could get home. I ended up portaling into the Governor's Office buildings, and they rushed me to the hospital."

"Oh," he murmured, setting a few neatly-folded pairs of jeans into his suitcase, glad she couldn't see the frown on his face. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice tinged with guilt, as though it was somehow his fault she had suffered. He had more questions, but somehow they suddenly didn't seem very important.

Nali shook her head, despite knowing he couldn't see her. "You have nothing to be sorry about," she told him. "I knew the risks when I decided to do it. It's my own fault."

"Thank God you're all right," he murmured quietly, almost as if didn't trust himself to speak out loud without betraying his own feelings. "I don't know what I would have done if I'd lost you," he said, picking up a t-shirt and wringing it tightly between his hands.

"Hey." She stepped around him, covering his hands with her own as she looked into his eyes. "You didn't lose me. You're not going to lose me. And I'm not going to lose you. You'll pack up your stuff, and I'll open the portal right here. We'll be home in no time."

"Home," he echoed, smiling a little at the sound of that word. This place - Dallas - had been home ever since he'd been born, but without family and without Nali, it no longer felt like it. Rhy'Din was home now, in his heart and in his head. "Is it too soon to say I love you?" he asked her, almost shyly. She had already told him as much, but for some reason, he'd been holding himself back in repeating those words.

Her familiar smile rose like the sun, setting her eyes to sparkling with tender delight. "No," she assured him, rising onto her toes to stroke his cheek. "I love you, too."

He mirrored her smile, a little bit sad at leaving so many memories behind, but happy to be starting fresh. "Then, is it too soon to ask you to marry me?" he asked, tossing the t-shirt aside and going down on one knee in front of her, her hands clasped in his.

Nali suddenly let out a loud giggle, bending to kiss him, hands curled to his cheeks. "I was going to ask you that at dinner tonight," she accused him. "You stole my thunder, you adorable hunk."

He laughed at her answer, though it was not quite the answer he was looking for. "My fragile male ego thanks you for letting me ask first," he teased, though there was nothing really fragile about it. He kissed her again, lingering a moment against her lips. "So ..." he said, a smirk on his face. "Is that a yes?"

"I'm not sure Jack would be able to do it," she murmured. "He seems very deeply affected by everything to do with your mom. Sending him on his own might result in a bit of a disaster."

"No, I suppose not, and there wouldn't be much point in Mom visiting Rhy'Din, if Jack came here to meet her," Rick pointed out. "I feel kind of guilty about it really," he confessed, though it wasn't his fault Jack's father had been a dick.

"It's no one's fault," she reminded him. "It's certainly not yours, you weren't even born." Squeezing his hand, she held his gaze firmly for a long moment. "They'll get their time together," she promised. "It's up to them what they do with it."

Rick nodded. She was right, of course. It hadn't been his fault, and there wasn't much he could do to change the past, but make sure Jack met his mother. "We should probably get going," he said, looking around the apartment to make sure he didn't forget anything. He frowned as he noticed one thing - the matter of his badges and guns. Without them, it certainly would look like he'd vanished into thin air, but what use were they to him in Rhy'Din"

She followed his gaze, biting her lip. "Are they a part of our future?" she asked in a quiet voice. It wasn't an accusation, wasn't a hint that she didn't want anything to do with him if he was in law enforcement. Just a quiet question to help him decide what to do.

"God, I hope not," he replied, without hesitation. He wasn't planning on needing them in Rhy'Din - at least, he hoped not. It wasn't the kind of life he wanted for himself and Nali, even if it was the only thing he'd ever trained for.

"No regrets?" she asked, pulling the portal stone from her pocket. She smiled up at him sweetly. "Since, you know, we have a stable of thoroughbreds to work on together."

"Not so long as I'm with you," he replied, a smile on his face as he leaned in to kiss her gently on the lips before turning to get his things together for the trip back through the portal.

That smile of hers really could light up a room, even when it was just the two of them in it. Thoughts filled with the future they might have together, she activated the portal stone, the faint ripple in the air proving it had been successful. "Come home, honey."

He slung one bag over his shoulder, the box under his arm, his fingers finding and linking with hers. What was it they said about home being where the heart is" As far as he was concerned, that meant home was wherever Nali was. He smiled as she activated the portal. "Let's go home."

Beaming, still awash with hopes and plans for their future, Nali tugged on his hand, leading the way through the portal and out of Dallas, 1994. They stepped out into a park that was already red and brown with autumn color - not where she had expected them to end up. She looked around in confusion.

"What the ..." This is Riverside Park. I wasn't aiming for here."

Rick looked around, vaguely recognizing their surroundings. From the variety of races meandering about, it was clear they were no longer on Earth, but it looked like she had either undershot or overshot the time period a little. The question was by how much'

"It's Rhy'Din though, right?" he asked, fairly certain of that anyway.

"Yeah, this is definitely Rhy'Din," Nali confirmed, wincing a little. "I think I let myself get distracted and messed up a little. It's an easy fix."

As she looked down at the portal stone, they heard a little voice squealing with laughter from not too far away. A little girl no more than four years old was running down the path beneath the trees, clinging to the lead of an enormous Newfoundland dog, cackling joyfully.

Rick had to pull Nali back out of the way, so that they wouldn't get run over, blinking in surprise at the tiny blond girl and the dog that was at least three times as big as her. There was something oddly familiar about the pair, but he couldn't quite figure out what.

The speeding, cackling pair accelerated past them cheerfully, heading straight for a couple further into the park that must have been the girl's parents. Nali's mouth dropped open in shock. "Oh my gods ..."

"What?" Rick asked, following Nali's gaze as the little girl scurried past. It was then he noticed a couple on a park bench that looked suspiciously like them. "They look like ..." He blinked, jaw dropping as he realized what must have happened. "Wait, is that us?"

"Uh ....I think so," Nali managed, unable to tear her eyes away as the little girl let go of the dog's leash to throw herself up and onto her mother's lap. The dog skidded to a halt, tail wagging delightedly, and promptly settled its nose into the hands of the baby on the father's lap. "We ....we're going to have a family."

"And a dog," Rick remarked, in a mild state of shock. A big dog, by the looks of it, and two kids - a daughter and a baby he wasn't too sure was a boy or a girl. He wondered what year it was, but it didn't seem too far in the future, as neither of them looked much different than they did today. "What are we doing here?" he murmured, meaning them, not their future counterparts.

"It's my fault," Nali said in a faraway voice. "I was ....I was thinking about the life we're going to have together, and ....I guess the Nexus decided we should get a look at it."

"But we're not stuck here, right?" he asked, uncertainly. There were certainly worse fates than to be stuck in a happy future, but he wasn't sure both versions of them could exist at the same time. He wasn't sure the Nexus would allow it.

"No, I can get us back," she said hurriedly, looking down at the portal stone. She missed her older self looking over at them, nudging Rick's older self, and smiling as she waved to their younger versions.

But Rick didn't miss it, smiling in return and nudging Nali beside him. "Looks like we've been seen," he murmured, furrowing his brows a moment in thought. "Do you think they knew we'd be here?" he asked, curiously.

"Hmm?" She glanced up at the nudge, looking over at the little family, who were all waving and smiling now. "Maybe they remember standing where we are now, looking at them." She waved back, laughing when her older self gave them a double thumbs up. Apparently they were doing just fine.

"Wonderful!" Rosie clapped her hands, and smacked Rick smartly on the behind. "Now get moving, darling! And Nali Dewsun, if you complain once about wearing a dress, I will spank you."

Blushing even as she rolled her eyes at her mother's proclamation, Nali skipped into the house, laughing all the way.

Rick looked startled at the smack to his behind, but couldn't help chuckling at his imminently-future mother-in-law. "Maybe we should have eloped," he told Nali with a wink, letting himself get dragged toward his brother's house, presumably to clean up and get dressed for his own wedding.

"Is this a shotgun wedding?" she countered, squawking as Lena seized her hand from the living room and dragged her through the doorway.

"No peeking!" the dark-haired woman declared, winking at Rick. "And it's all legal, so don't worry about that, either!"

He had no idea what the law was regarding marriage in Rhy'Din, so he wasn't about to debate with her on that fact. "You're my best man," he said, as Jack escorted him into the house. It wasn't so much a question as a statement of fact. "I'd be honored," Jack replied with a grin, though all that had already been decided without Rick and Nali's knowledge.

It didn't take long for the surprised bride and groom to be ready. A blue suit had been provided for Rick, a white dress for Nali, and while they were being fussed over, a quiet man with broad shoulders slipped in briefly to set rings on their fingers that resized themselves before taking the rings back and leaving once again, pausing only to give Jaz and Lena a bear hug that lifted them both off the ground. That was the Granger cousin who would be marrying them, apparently.

"That's Dom," Tommy explained to Rick, while the three men awaited the women. "He's Lena's cousin and something of a God here in Rhy'Din," he explained further with a grin, which made it hard to tell if he was kidding or serious.

"He's not a god," Jaz corrected him laughingly. "He just happens to be a handy registrar when we need him." She smiled, gently straightening Rick's tie. "Nervous?"

"Nervous?" Rick echoed, brows arching upwards. The last time he'd worn a suit when during his mother's funeral, but he didn't want to mention it. Thankfully, this was a much happier affair. "I'd be lying if I said no, but I've never been more sure of anything in my life," he assured her.

"Good." Jaz finished with his tie, smiling up at him cheerfully. "So next step for you guys is getting a house big enough for that dog." How she knew about the dog was anyone's business, but it certainly provided a few clues about just who had told them a wedding would not come amiss.

Rick furrowed his brows at her remark. They hadn't been back long enough to tell anyone about what had happened on their way back through the portal, and he had no idea how they'd arranged the wedding either.

"How do you know about that?" he asked, curiously.

She raised her brows playfully, smoothing his lapels as she stepped back.

"How did we know you were getting married today?" she countered demurely. She kissed Jack's cheek with a wide grin. "Go on outside, I'll get the girls."

Jack had said something about a little bird, but he hadn't named that bird, and with all the excitement, Rick hadn't yet had a chance to ask him.

"No, how did you know we wanted to?" Rick asked, looking no less confused than he had a moment ago. "I mean, I didn't even know myself until I asked her."

"I'm pretty sure you can work that out," Jaz said, slipping out of sight as she called for Lena and Nali. A voice from the living room suggested that they were as ready as they were going to get.

Rick turned, as if in search of a mirror. He wasn't the vain type, but he wanted to make sure he looked his best for Nali on their wedding day.

"Quit worrying," Tommy told him as he joined him, practically shoving him toward the door. "Your future selves popped by earlier and told us what to do."

"Excuse me?" That was Nali's voice, but Lena was evidently fending her off from letting her out of the living room for the moment. "How can you be so sure that it was our future selves?"

"Because you look just like you!" Tommy called back, laughing as he forced Rick out the patio door, which led onto the beach. Jack was already out there, nervously anxiously waiting for the ceremony to begin.

Isaac was there as well, nodding nervously to Rick before elbowing his way into the house in the man's stead. Neza threw his soon-to-be son-in-law a wink from where the family witnesses were gathered.

"No bride likes to be bent double on her way down the aisle," he chuckled.

Rick returned Isaac's nod, frowning a little when he spied his future father-in-law.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, though no one here seemed to be blaming him for anything. "I never had a chance to ask permission to marry your daughter," he told the halfling.

"She's her own person, Rick," Neza reminded him with a smile. "And no one I approve of needs to ask for permission. You're a good man, and you make each other happy. That's what matters."

"Thank you," Rick said, looking a little relieved. "I promise I'll take good care of her," he added, assuring him of that fact. The glimpse they'd had of their future selves seemed to have proven that fact; he only hoped there was nothing that would change that future.

Dominic Granger stood in the midst of the cheerfully disparate crowd of people, his own daughters having chosen to come along with him and see what their dad did on occasions when he wasn't teaching or being Dad. He grinned over at the groom.

"Ready to go, are we?"

Rick turned at the sound of another voice, one he didn't know well but recognized from a short while ago.

Nali's smile flickered, trying to hold in her laughter at both the question and Rick's response to it. "I don't think so," she murmured back. It wasn't that there was nothing to say, but there was nothing she wanted her family to hear her say to him. Some things should remain private.

Dom nodded, raising his voice. "Who absconded with the rings?"

Bethan lurched forward, pushed a little by Colt, and shyly proffered the ring for Rick's finger to Nali.

Rick chuckled, looking relieved that he wouldn't have to speak in front of their families. Like her, he'd rather save his most private thoughts for private. Beside them, Jack stepped forward to hand Rick the ring that was meant for Nali's finger. Maybe at some point in the future, they'd pick rings of their own, but for now, these would do - a symbol of their promised fidelity to the other.

They were just simple gold bands, already sized during Dom's brief interruption of the preparations earlier. Nali bent to hug her sister before letting Bethan go back to their family, straightening up with another warm smile as Dom spoke again.

"You exchange these rings as symbol of your love," he said in his gentle way, winking over at his own daughters. "You don't need words, unless you choose to use them."

Rick muttered a word of thanks to his brother, who was, in a weird way, the catalyst for all this. He turned a questioning look at Dom. "Who goes first?" he asked, unsure if there was a protocol to follow.

"It's generally groom, then bride," was the answer, though Dom knew perfectly well it didn't have to be. He could tell these two were a private pair, despite the obvious glow between them. "It doesn't have to be fancy or heartfelt. The basic one is with this ring, I thee wed."

"Right," Rick replied, turning back to look at Nali and reaching for her hand so that he could place the ring on her finger. He paused a moment, as if to consider his words.

"I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and my devotion. Let this ring be a constant reminder that I am always by your side and you are forever in my heart," he told her softly, as he slid the ring onto her finger.

Nali felt a thrill as the unfamiliar weight of metal settled about her finger, vaguely embarrassed to feel herself blush happily in recognition of the possessive nature of simply wearing that ring. His ring. She gathered his hand in hers, sliding his ring over his knuckle to rest in a mirror to her own.

"Like a circle has no beginning or end, neither does my love for you," she answered tenderly. "I'm not good with pretty words."

"Those words are pretty enough for me," he assured her, finding her words both touching and honest. "I love you," he mouthed to her wordlessly, though it was no longer a secret - maybe it never was. It seemed to him now that she was the one he'd been waiting all his life for.

"With these promises shared and witnessed," Dom declared, "you now begin life side by side. And what better way to begin than with a kiss?"

Nali grinned, not bothering to wait for Rick to bend down - she bounced up on her toes, throwing her arms about his neck to pull him down into a tender kiss.

Rick grinned, not only at the knowledge that they were now legally married - at least, as far as Rhy'Din was concerned. He pulled her into his embrace, eager to claim her as his with a kiss that was both tender and loving.

A cheer erupted from the gathering behind them, applause and congratulations surrounding them as they shared their kiss as man and wife. Nali giggled against Rick's lips.

"We're going to have to make sure this happens," she murmured impishly. "In a couple of years, anyway."

He chuckled in agreement. "I guess we will," he said, though it was a strange thought. He assumed they'd have to repeat that scene in the park someday, but then, they'd be the couple on the park bench with the little blond girl and the dog, while their younger selves looked on.

Dom cleared his throat, still smiling. "If you'd both like to put your signatures right here," he said, gesturing with the paper he was holding. "I'll file this at the Governor's Office tomorrow morning."

Rick found he could barely take his eyes off his new bride, not only because he found her beautiful, but because he could hardly believe she was his. "Hmm?" he asked, hardly noticing or hearing what Dom was telling them.

"You have to make it legal," Rosie Dewsun told him, prodding his hip cheerfully. "Get your names down on that bit of paper and let's celebrate!"

"Oh, of course," Rick said, blinking down at his mother-in-law as she poked his hip. "Sorry," he apologized to Dom, letting go of Nali just long enough to scribble his name on the document.

Dom chuckled. "Trust me, it happens all the time," he assured the newly-wedded couple, supervising their signatures before beckoning to Jack and Lena for theirs.

Nali beamed, only just managing to turn around before Isaac, of all people, lifted her up in a bear hug and kissed her cheek.

Rick handed the pen to Nali, before turning back to Dom to thank him and shake his hand once again. Tommy was quick to come forward and congratulate Rick, followed by Jack, the lineup of well-wishers just starting.

And, of course, he had Merilee attached to his leg, hugging him delightedly no matter who he was talking to. Colt snorted with laughter at his ridiculous little sister.

"You know, I'm beginning to think she likes her new brother better than us," he commented to Isaac as the quiet young man put Nali down.

Isaac raised a brow. "She'll get over it," he predicted.

Rosie, on the other hand, caught Rick's attention again. "On your knees, Sonny Jim, time for a momma hug."

She turned with him, breathing in the salt air deeply. "Maybe," she murmured. "We could always ask. But if they said no, there's nothing to stop us building a little further back from the beach. A little more sheltered, maybe."

"Unless you'd rather be near your parents," he said, though there was no need to decide now. There was plenty of time to discuss it. "Maybe I should have asked our future selves," he said, a teasing smirk on his face.

"Who's to say they haven't already set things in motion on that end, too?" Nali pointed out. "I mean ....wedding, dress, suit, dinner, family, registrar. They must have been here for a full day to get that sorted out. I wonder what else they did."

"Honeymoon?" Rick guessed, brows arching upwards. Nothing had been said about a honeymoon yet, but that didn't mean someone hadn't arranged one without their knowledge. "The question is who's they?"

"Yeah, I couldn't get any hints out of Lena," she admitted. "She's way too good at keeping a secret, that woman. But if they were sending us off on a honeymoon, they'd have said so, right?"

"Maybe, maybe not, but I suppose we're going to find out," Rick said, uncertainly. So long as they weren't sending them to Earth. At least, not Earth during the time period when he was supposed to have been killed.

"I suppose we will." She turned back to him, reaching up to stroke her thumb over the corner of his mouth. "Whatever happens, we're together, right?"

"Until ..." Rick broke off, not wanting to mention the word "death" or even think about it. He'd almost lost her once; he wasn't about to lose her again. "For as long as we live," he said, instead, sealing that promise with a kiss.

"Damn straight."

Sliding her arms about his neck, Nali gave herself over to that kiss, and to the life ahead of them. So what if persons unknown had somehow arranged it ahead of time for them' This was exactly how it should be.

And exactly how it was going to be for the rest of their lives. Rick was going to make very sure of that.