Bradleyston, the marsh
2 AR (After Relocation)
(nine months later)

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"WELL, WHADDYA think?" Lale beamed while Amelia appraised the poster he and Luca had spent the past month making; Luca programming the billboard-like WELCOME TO BRADLEYSTON! to glow while Lale did the manual work.

He guessed that the divides between the academics and the marines wouldn't easily be smoothed over, but that was okay with him. It certainly wasn't as life-threatening as Ichabod had been, or the breakout of scalies, the Lyme disease-like virus that had wiped out several of them.

Lale also supposed Ichabod's time machine was useful, in the end - the EEG, after reprogramming by the techies to make sure no-one ever exploited it again, had provided energy in the form of its own battery cells for the machine to run. The EEG itself had been disabled for a month in recovery of its lost cell, but everyone was alright with that, too. Maybe it wasn't just him who disliked the bot.

At that moment, Lale assumed, scientists back in 2039 - 2040, actually - were working on a vaccination for scalies. Amelia had reassured him that such diseases would not survive in the 2040 climate, and were likely only accustomed to the Jurassic and infecting Jurassic things.

Still. Even nine months on, Ichabod remained heavily weighed on everyone's mind.

Amelia's, more than anyone else. He'd almost killed Tina and had killed Royson, which was a huge loss with the casualties after the war. He was only thankful Amelia had pulled through, at the end, even after a two-week long coma.

As she eyed the poster skeptically, his gaze softened on her. Amelia ... He loved her, even though they hadn't gotten to the stage yet when they were willing to admit that. Too many things had happened, and after Royson's death ... Well. It was all confusing to him, but he was there for her. And he knew she knew that, too.

"It's cool," Amelia said eventually, a hand lifted to her chin. Lale's face fell, and he heaved a sigh internally.

A month. Countless hours and bickering with Luca. And it's just 'cool'?

"Well, that's an anticlimax." Luca appeared over the hill, holding the hand of the rotund Tina. He wore his signature frown around his steamed-up glasses. Amelia grinned at seeing them both, and went over to hug Tina. They chatted over girlish things while Tina propped one hand on her very pregnant stomach.

Even though not much had been said at Tina's pregnancy - hardly any eyebrows were raised - Lale could tell that everyone was nervous for Luca and she. They didn't know how time travel could affect such a thing, and so they had to wait. Everything had been going smoothly, as far as Lale could hear.

Luca joined him, and they both stared out over the marsh, and the growing community of Bradleyston. More buildings had been built like Bradley's original one, and with the fresh supplies sent that contained wood (which had been rare enough in 2039 anyway) and more medicinal supplies than they could count had proved useful in its construction. And he couldn't forget about the human cargo, which had included another doctor and then the rest of the recruits' families.

Luca's sister ... Amelia's cousin ... People he'd never even heard of or seen before became the daily sights living in Bradleyston. And those people, previously businesspeople or lawyers or YouTubers, all buckled down to work, which had surprised Lale greatly.

It won't always be like this, Lale thought, with a twinge of sadness. Not always peaceful. But it's good enough.

His thoughts reflected back to that day - James and a handful of Ichabod's marines had vanished without a trace. Their disappearances were worrying, of course, and so were the rumors that circulated thereafter.

"You're leaving, aren't you?" Luca's accusatory tone broke Lale from his reverie. He blinked at the technician, then dipped his head in a nod.

They were both quiet after that. Lale's eyes moved from Bradleyston to Amelia, who was much more beautiful. She'd come a long way since her infection, and besides from her limp and slight scarring, one could hardly tell that anything had happened to her at all. She laughed at something Tina said, and he found himself smiling as she did.

"Have you told her?"

Lale lifted his eyes to heavens, feeling his chest tighten a little. "Of course I have." He looked to Luca again, his eyes gentle. "I'm sorry, Luca. I really am."

Luca blinked and looked away, his glasses a lot more steamed than usual. "It's okay," the other man said gruffly. "We all get it. It's just ... It'll be tough managing without you two."

Lale rolled his eyes and nudged Luca's shoulder, trying to lift the sappy mood. Luca looked better constipated than sappy, and on he and Amelia's last night in the Jurassic for the next six months ... Well, he'd rather do with some light humor.

"C'mon, Luca." Lale grinned, then nodded to Tina. "That kid of yours is gonna be twice as valuable than Amelia and I combined. You don't need us. You got everything you could ever hope for here."

And we could've had it, too.

But questions had to be answered and potential dangers averted. The question had arisen months before between he and Amelia; who had put Ichabod up to endangering the world?

Lale was sure it was Robert, but Amelia had told him she'd thought it went deeper than that - higher up than just a businessman.

A government built on destruction through time travel. Almost too nuts to believe, but there they were. Living proof of it.

"Yeah." Luca wiped at his face, though Lale said nothing on it. His heart felt heavy, and his shoulders slumped. He knew Amelia was reluctant to leave her last family member behind (and Daryl was a good kid; smart. Like Amelia), but they'd both decided weeks ago that what they had to was too important to wait.

Lale was going to miss them. Even Luca, who wouldn't ever hesitate in starting a fight. He looked back at the billboard, and smiled slightly. Even if they missed their friends, it would be okay. They would be safe once Lale and Amelia finished the job - or, at least, he hoped.

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"Lale? What are you doing out here?" Amelia joined him on the newly-installed balcony of Bradley's revamped hut that evening. To think that his friend had lived in there for an entire year longer than any of them hurt his heart and head, so he tried not to do that anymore.

Lale shrugged and snaked an arm around Amelia, who leant against his side, a blanket over her shoulders. "Aren't you getting cold?"

Some semblance of 'seasons' had followed them into the Jurassic. The air was colder at night than before, but Lale shook his head. "I'm okay." He looked at her, and smiled slightly. "Thank you."

Her curly hair tickled his arm. She'd cut it months before, following the lead of a few marines. Lale remembered how much she'd cried, and how baffled he'd been. But she looked cute with a shorter hairstyle, and even Amelia had agreed that was more manageable than before.

Amelia followed his gaze to the hill where it had all started. Lale was staring at the electric fencing situated just behind the poster. They circled around Bradleyston, and did their job in keeping the bigger 'saurs out. A few days before they'd seen sauropods on the horizon, which Lale thought fitting with their impending departure. Like seeing some dolphins.

"It's crazy, isn't it? How everything still turned out okay?"

Lale breathed out a chuckle. He'd thought about it before. "Yeah, it is. Not that I mind," he added quickly.

"I can't believe Tina's gonna be a mom," Amelia whispered, more quietly. Maybe she hadn't meant for Lale to hear it, but he did. He rubbed her arm and took in a deep breath of the night air.

"She and Luca'll be good parents. We'll come visit them, don't worry."

She didn't respond, which prompted Lale to shoot her a look. Her head was tilted back, her eyes filled with the stars. "Yeah," she said finally, but her pause had been so long it didn't seem like she was agreeing at all. Lale frowned and bit his lip, then tried to backpedal on his mistake.

"Hey. Mel." She looked up at him, her head tilted a little. Phew. That was a good start. "You know we're doing this for a good reason, right?"

"Of course." She smiled, and gave him a quick kiss that left him aching in his gut for more. Amelia pulled away, then held his cheek gently in her hand.

Lale'd become as knock-kneed as a jellyfish, and he was torn between loving and disliking the effect she had on him. "We're gonna save the world again," Lale found himself smiling. Amelia pulled her hand away and recovered her growing grin.

"Not everyone can boast saving humanity twice," she affirmed. Her eyes were crinkled around the edges, and Lale was slugged in the gut yet again by her beauty. It was always at the corner of his mind, of course, but it was moments like that that the full force of his feelings for her pulled.

"So." Lale raised an eyebrow and offered his hand. Thinking on the future made his throat dry a little, but as long as he was with her, and she with him ...

"Together?"

We'll be okay.

Amelia shook her head, though her smile only grew, like she was surprised he was even asking. She took his hand, her fingers slotting in perfectly between his own.

"Together," Amelia agreed.

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