Movement on the other porch caught her attention for a moment as Lena abruptly put down her brush and rushed inside. Phone call, she noted privately.

"Why wouldn't she?" Rick asked, uncertainly. He wasn't paying much attention to Lena on the opposite porch, and it seemed Tommy was busy working on a board or something in his shop, as evidenced by the sound of music coming from that direction.

"She probably will," Jaz mused. "I'm just a worrier." She grinned over at him cheerfully. "Kids can be a handful, but they're pretty good at just getting along."

"More than can be said for some adults," Jack interjected, though he wasn't thinking of anyone in particular - just people in general. Even here in Rhy'Din, people had their disagreements.

"You're not wrong," his wife agreed. Her head snapped up as Lena came back into view, the other woman jumping down off her porch and racing over to theirs, mild panic on her face.

"Rick, you have to come with me," Lena gasped, reaching to pull on his arm. "Nali's been shot."

Rick's head jerked toward Lena, a look of confused shock on his face at what he thought he'd heard her say. "What' What are you talking about' She's at the tavern," he said. Or at least, that's what he'd assumed when she'd told him she was at work. Jack exchanged looks with Jasmin, frowning in concern.

"No, she's at the hospital," Lena told him. "Her mom just called me because she was trying to get hold of you. Get your ass moving."

Jaz shared Jack's frown, but waved a hand at Rick. "Go on, go," she urged him. "I'm sure she'll be fine, but you should be there."

"How the hell did she get shot?" Rick asked, moving to his feet and absent-mindedly brushing the sand from his jeans. His expression was one of mingled worry and confusion, and though he was trying hard not to show it, his heart was racing with terror.

"I don't know," Lena pointed out. "All I know is what Rosie told me. Now are you coming, or not?" Lena was eager to get moving, but it felt as though Rick was dragging his feet to her.

"Yeah, of course I'm coming," Rick said, taking a few swift strides to catch up with her.

Jack's face had turned a shade too pale, as he rose to his feet to squeeze his brother's shoulder. "It's Rhy'Din. She'll be okay," he assured him, though his words felt hollow.

"Call us when you know what's going on," Jaz called after them. She wasn't quite as concerned, but then, Nali wasn't her best friend or lover, and she was a Rhy'Din native. She was pretty sure the woman was already in the capable hands of the healers.

Tommy appeared from his workshop, wiping his hands on a rag, as Lena had summoned him with a sound of alarm in her voice. "Do you want me to drive?" he asked her, unsure she should do so in her state of mind.

"Someone needs to stay with the boys," Lena said distractedly, momentarily forgetting that Jack and Jaz were right there and more than capable of handling all the children for a couple of hours.

Tommy knew better than to argue, even though they both knew Jack and Jaz were more than capable of keeping an eye on their boys and had done so often enough before. "She'll be okay, Midge. Try not to worry," he told her, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek before letting her go.

She blinked, glancing down at her shaking hands. "I can't drive like this," she admitted, more shaken than she had realized. She looked over at their friends, who were already reassuring the children. "Do you think they'd mind?"

Tommy looked between Lena and Rick, seeing how shaken they both were and made a quick decision. "They'd do the same for us," he told her, holding out his hand for the keys. "I'll call as soon as we know what's going on!" he called over to his friends, knowing they'd understand and that their boys were in good hands.

"Thank you," Rick murmured to Tommy in an uncharacteristically shaky voice.

"Damn it, I knew I should have made her stay for lunch," Lena was muttering as they climbed into the car. "I knew she was planning something." She frowned, worried that her friend really had bitten off more than she could chew this time.

"I don't understand," Rick muttered further as he folded his tall body into the back seat. Tommy said nothing but climbed into the driver's seat, not bothering to waste time cleaning himself up. It wasn't his place to explain; he was just trying to help.

Lena twisted to look at Rick. "She didn't tell you, did she?" she asked, her tone tense. "She didn't tell you what happened on February 9th, 1995?"

Rick blinked. "'95?" he echoed, furrowing his brows. "Lena, in my time, 1995 hasn't happened yet," he pointed out.

"You don't think ..." Tommy muttered, glancing momentarily at Lena, the question trailing off.

"Yeah, I think she did," Lena confirmed for her husband. She looked back at Rick. "On February 9th, 1995, Agent Richard Connors was shot and killed by an unknown attacker in retaliation for his role in putting several gang leaders in jail."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Rick asked, obviously upset. It hadn't quite hit him yet what Lena's statement implied.

Tommy frowned, understanding perhaps better than anyone the implications of hopping through time. "She went back to try and stop it," he said, certain that was what had happened, if only because Lena had done the same thing for him.

"She went to 1995 to stop me from being shot?" Rick asked, his voice clearly shaken.

"That's what it looks like," Lena confirmed with a sigh. "She's trying to find out if that date is your time in the timeline you were born to. If it is, then no matter what she did or does, you'll die on that day if you're on Earth."

"So, I make sure I'm not there that day," Rick said with a shrug. It sounded simple enough to him in theory. Nali didn't have to go and get herself shot over it.

"Not just a job, a career," Rick pointed out. One he'd spent years working toward, but he'd already been considering making changes even before he'd met Nali.

"I'm just saying," Tommy continued, "They'll find someone else to take your place there, but there's no one who can take your place here."

"No one else who can love her the way you do," Lena added, twisting forward again as the car drew into the parking lot. She recognized the Dewsuns' buggy and pony in the stable park, smiling faintly at the realization that they'd taken the time to hook up the vehicle rather than both ride together.

Tommy pulled the car into a parking spot and turned to face Lena. "Do you want me to wait here to come along?" he asked, not exactly dressed for going out. He was in his work clothes, and looking like he needed a shower, but he wasn't afraid of people seeing him that way, if she needed him.

"Do you mind coming in?" she asked worriedly. "I don't think I'm going to be staying long. And I'm pretty sure Rosie is going to make sure Rick stays with them tonight."

"As long as you don't mind a little sawdust," he replied, adding just a little bit of levity to the situation, but not enough to make light of things. Now that they'd arrived, Rick looked nervous. He'd already lost his entire family; he wasn't ready to lose Nali, too.

"When have I ever?" Lena pointed out, climbing out of the car to head toward the doors to the hospital at her own pace, knowing the men would catch up to her. It was the matter of a moment to get the right information at the desk, and then they were in an elevator, rising up to one of the recovery wards.

Rick followed in a bit of a daze. Lena was right. He knew next to nothing of Rhy'Din, and he didn't want to be left alone to spend his life here; and yet, there was nothing back home for him in Texas either but a career he was starting to hate.

Rosie Dewsun was the first person they saw, sitting on one of the chairs outside the ward, kicking her bare feet and humming to herself. She looked up, her face breaking into a smile at the sight of them.

"Oh, look at you," she said, almost scolding but with affection. "It's not the end of the world, you know."

"How is she?" Rick asked, hurrying over to meet Rosie. He was the first of the trio to speak, though he could tell Lena was just as worried as he was. Tommy hung back a little, mostly there for Lena, though he considered Nali a friend.

"Weak and sore, but she'll be fine," Rosie assured Rick, absently gesturing for him to come down to her level so she could hug him. "Silly little fool, she should have talked to us about this before going through with it."

Lena smiled in relief, leaning into Tommy's side. "She's okay," she murmured.

Rick leaned over, just barely far enough for Nali's mother to hug him, too anxious to stand there for very long.

"Where is she" I need to see her," he said, pulling away after offering a brief hug, the tension clear on his face, no matter how much they assured him that Nali was fine.

Rosie's smile was understanding. She gestured toward the double doors to her left that lead to the ward. "She's in room fourteen," she told Rick gently. "Neza's in there with her at the moment, but I daresay they'd both be glad for the break."

"Thanks, Rosie," Rick said, quickly smooching her cheek before pushing through the doors to find room fourteen, not waiting to see if Lena would follow.

When he found the room, it was to see Nali sitting up in bed, hooked up to a saline drip and propped up on pillows, pale but alive, and looking very much like a small child being scolded. Neza was standing beside the bed, frowning disapprovingly at his eldest daughter.

"Nali, I ..." Rick said as he burst into the room, trailing off as he noticed her father there with her, remembering Rosie had warned him about that. "Sorry," he added, frowning. "I'll just wait outside."

"No, lad, you come in," Neza said, patting his daughter's free hand gently before turning toward the door. "I was about to go and get a drink, anyway."

"I'm sorry, Daddy," Nali said in a small voice, but Neza shook his head.

"Enough of that," he told her. "You need to explain yourself to your man here."

Rick remained where he was, his feet feeling like they were buried in concrete, his gaze stuck to Nali's face, unable to move or to look away, even if he wanted to. He didn't look angry, but he did look worried, even if he was relieved to find her alive and well.

Neza patted Rick's thigh on his way past, pushing the door closed in his wake. It seemed to take an age for Nali to lift her eyes to Rick's, guilt coloring her gaze for worrying him so much.

"Hi."

"Hi," Rick replied, feeling suddenly awkward, as if they were high schoolers on their first date, but they weren't. They were both full-grown adults, and like her father had said, she owed him an explanation. She didn't need to know that Lena had already told him as much as she could. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, drawing in a slow breath. "No serious injury, all healed up," she promised. "They want to keep me in overnight to make sure the magic did everything it needed to."

Now that he was assured she was going to be okay, he wondered what he should do first - kiss her and tell her how relieved he was, or scold her for being so stupid. He clenched his jaw, as if he didn't trust himself to speak just yet, not realizing his hands were balled into fists at his sides, not because he wanted to punch something but because he was tense.

"Do you wanna tell me what happened?" he asked, his voice a little too quiet, a little too calm, like the calm before the storm.

"You won't lose me." If nothing else, she was certain about that. Her hand rose, curling to his cheek tenderly. "I'm sorry I scared you," she whispered. "I won't ever do anything like this again, I promise. I love you."

"Nali, if something had happened ..." He trailed off again, pausing a moment as if he didn't trust himself to speak without his voice breaking. The fact was that something had happened to her, and it had happened because of him. He blinked, as if just realizing what she'd said. It wasn't the first time he'd heard her say it, but he was just as surprised the second time around. "You hardly know me," he pointed out, though that hardly seemed to matter.

"I know enough," she said softly, her thumb stroking the high curve of his cheekbone. "I'm not telling you so that you'll say it back to me, or to put any pressure on you to stay. I don't want to hide my heart."

"Nali," he said again, her name whispered against his lips, as he turned his head to touch a kiss to her fingers before turning back to meet her gaze. "Promise me you won't do anything like that again," he said, though she'd already said as much.

"I won't, I promise. Never again." She bit back a comment that getting shot hurt, because she didn't think he would appreciate that right now.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, still looking concerned. He hadn't noticed anything unusual, other than the IV drip. Lena had said something about healers, but he'd just assumed she'd meant doctors. "Where were you shot?"

"I'm fine," she assured him, leaning back to lift up the edge of her pajama top and show him the little puckered scar that now decorated the right side of her midriff. "See" All healed up. It doesn't even hurt anymore."

He furrowed his brows as he leaned in to take a closer look at the scar, fingers gently probing in disbelief. "But how can that be?" he murmured. Even if she'd just been grazed, there should be more evidence of it than a scar.

She watched his face, content to let him investigate the scar as much as he felt the need to. "Magic, honey," she told him gently. "I was strong enough to go straight to the healers, rather than having conventional surgery and waiting a while to recover before they were called in."

"Magic," he said, lifting his gaze doubtfully to hers. "Of course. How could I be so stupid?" he said, his turn to berate himself, though it was said with a hint of sarcasm. He could not deny the evidence though, nor did he have an alternate explanation. "What else don't I know about this place?"

"Anything is possible on Rhy'Din," she reminded him, her lips curving into an affectionate smile. "I mean, I could marry you today if you really need incentive to come back." She flashed him a wicked grin.

"Come back," he echoed, that look on his face again. "Nali, that's what I've been trying to tell you," he said. "I'm not going back. I'm staying here." And that was that. Apparently, he'd decided. "I wanted to tell you, but you said you had to go to work, and I didn't think it would hurt to wait, and then Lena got that phone call and I thought ..." He trailed off again, swallowing hard in a struggle to contain his emotions.

She stared at him, wide-eyed and momentarily speechless. "I ....you're not even going back to settle your affairs?" she asked, unable to hide the delight that colored her shock. "I-I hoped, but I would never ask you ....really?"

He shrugged. "What affairs" My family is here; you're here. What am I supposed to do' Give my two weeks’ notice and tell them I'm moving to Timbuktu" I suppose I should go back and pack my things - photos, at least, mementos. I don't know about money. It doesn't seem to matter." He paused another moment, as he remembered something else. "I was going to see if I could bring Jack back to meet Mom in person, but I don't even know if that's possible. It might change things."

"I checked that, too," Nali told him quietly. "There's a window where we could bring your Mom to see Jack - one of her trips away when you were a little older. There's no record of where she went or with who. That would suggest she came to Rhy'Din."

"Bring her here?" Rick echoed, looking startled again. "But then, she'd know about Rhy'Din. She'd know I'm here. She'd know about Jack. She'd ..." He trailed off again. "Why couldn't she just stay, too?" But he knew the answer to that question almost as soon as he'd asked it - she couldn't stay because if she did, she'd never ask Rick to find his brother, and he'd never have come here in the first place.

"If she stayed, you'd feel abandoned by your mom," Nali said in a gentle tone. "This window is when you're about twelve. And it's up to her how much she does or doesn't tell you when she gets back."

"But if it already happened in my past ..." Rick murmured. All this talk of time travel was starting to make his head hurt. Or maybe it was the fact that his blood pressure had gone sky high when he'd been told Nali had been shot.

"If you decide not to bring her here to meet Jack and her grandchildren, then time on Earth will arrange itself so she never came," Nali told him. "Time isn't just a dimensional concept; it has a form of sentience."

"So, what you're saying is she never came here in my own time, but it's still possible to bring her here now. But won't that change things, Nali" I mean, she's the one that told me to ..." He trailed off as he considered this. She'd told him to find Jack, but what if she'd already known where to find him' What if she'd already known he'd meet Nali and fall in love" No, that was impossible, wasn't it"

"Time heals itself to make sense of what we do and do not do," she said. "I don't know how to explain it any better than that. I know it's difficult to understand."

Rick turned quiet a moment as he thought about all this. It was, admittedly, a lot to think about. "I have to think about it," he told her. After all, if time travel were involved, there was no reason he had to decide today, right"

She nodded, squeezing his hand gently. "I know," she assured him. "And you don't have to make a decision like this immediately. You have time." Her voice broke a little on the last word, her relief and pleasure at knowing she was not going to lose this incredible man showing.

"It's not really changing things, this way," Nali said quietly. "Earth has no space for you after a certain date, so as long as you're not on Earth after that date, you're safe. And it's not like you can never go back, just not before this time period we're in now."

"This time period," Rick echoed again. But what time period was it' He had a sense that Tommy had been brought to Rhy'Din at least a few years before Nali had brought him, and yet, though Rick was the younger brother, here in Rhy'Din, he got the feeling they were closer in age than than they were supposed to be. "What year is it?"

He knew it was a tricky question; he wasn't even sure if time was measured the same in Rhy'Din as it was on Earth. "What year is it currently on Earth?" he asked, rephrasing his question.

She drew in a slow breath, knowing that this was probably going to be a bit of a shock. "2019," she told him honestly. "Space Odyssey had it all wrong."

He quirked a brow at the mention of a science fiction movie that had been popular in theaters when he'd been a boy, both brows arching at the date.

"2019. I'd be 60," he murmured, doing the math. But he wasn't. She'd come back for him in 1994, when he was 33. So, are you saying I can't go back in 1995 because that's when I died" What about after that' What about now?" It wasn't that he was planning to go back exactly; just that he was trying to figure out the rules, where time was concerned.

"If we went back to the day I picked you up on, you'd have about six months before you ....die," she told him, choking on that word. "But you could visit Earth now, in 2019. The people who remembered you, even if they saw you now, they'd think you must be someone else."

"You came back to find me because of Tommy, already knowing I was supposed to die," he said, trying to sort it all out in his head. "Were you planning on just letting me go back then?" he asked. She'd said she had to check something. He knew what it was she'd wanted to check now, but had she been planning on letting him go back before she'd fallen in love with him' Or had she been hoping all along that she could change things"

"I hoped I could change things for you," she admitted softly. "If I couldn't, and even if I hadn't fallen for you, I wouldn't have let you go back without at least a warning. I'm not that cruel, Rick."

"Has Tommy ever gone back?" Rick asked curiously, taking her at her word regarding his previous question. It wasn't just that he wanted to believe her as that somehow she knew he'd never lie to him. It was why she hadn't told him the truth, to begin with - because she had to find out the truth herself first.

"I don't know," she told him honestly. "I think they were talking about going to Earth for a vacation sometime soon, in the present day, but I'm not sure if Tommy's ever been back there at all. Lena would know better than me."

"But no one lives forever, Nali," he reminded her. They all had to die someday, even in Rhy'Din, he assumed. But why even bother going back to Earth, if you were happy here in Rhy'Din, he wondered.

"Good men do not deserve to be cut down in their prime, just because a quirk of fate demands it," she said, and it was clear from her tone that this was a principle she felt strongly about.

Rick turned quiet a moment, understanding now why she wanted to keep him here, why she hadn't told him what awaited him if and when he went back. He drew her hand into his, linking his fingers with hers. "I meant what I said, Nali. I'm not going back," he told her. "But Jack needs to meet Mom. I want to do that for him, if I can."

"We can do that," she promised him. "You can go back to a time before without too many complications, so long as the visit is short. We'll find a way to get Jack and your mother together, I promise."

He nodded his head, but he was still frowning, as though something was bothering him. "It's too bad we can't do something to save her," he murmured. He didn't think there was anything they could do for Joe. He'd died of cancer, after decades of smoking, and Rick had a feeling fiddling with time too much might have serious consequences.

"If we did, would you ever have found Joe?" Nali asked gently. "Everything you do has a ripple effect on the timeline, honey. It seems unfair, but this one visit is likely the only thing we dare try."

"Won't my leaving have a ripple effect?" he asked, though it seemed he either left Earth forever or died in six months, as it seemed there was no way to prevent it. What choice did he have really' And yet, it wasn't a difficult choice for him to make, given the fact that Jack and Nali were here in Rhy'Din.

"A little bit," she admitted. "Someone will file a missing persons on you, almost certainly, and what's left of you there will keep some people busy for a little while. But no one else will die in your place, if that's what's worrying you."

"And death won't follow me here?" he asked, though the fact that Tommy was still living and breathing seemed answer enough. Of course, he'd died someday - everyone did - but it wouldn't be from a drug dealer's bullet.

"Not before you've lived a good long life and had at least two grandchildren," she informed him with a faint smile. She squeezed his hand. "So long as you don't court violence, death won't find you before you've lived your life to the full."

"Now you're just teasing me," he told her, smiling. She couldn't possibly know what the future held for him - for them - unless ....He furrowed his brows, looking not only curious but suspicious. "You didn't take a peek at the future, by any chance?"

She snorted with laughter. "I'm not that stupid," she assured him. "Besides, who wants to know exactly what's going to happen in the future" You'd never live your life if you're just waiting for the next plot point to crop up."

Life was never certain. His mother had told him to make the most of every day because you never knew when it might be your last, but he was hoping for many more days ahead of him. Years. Especially now that he had so much to live for. Maybe that was what all this was really about -  finding something, someone, to live for again.  And for Rick, that someone was Nali. He leaned closer, close enough to study the green of her eyes, to feel her breath on his face, and finally to taste the sweet, softness of her lips.

"Weird," was the best she could come up with. "I mean, setting breaks hurts like hell, but then it goes all tingly and warm, and the hurt goes away. And with this, I could feel my skin and muscle knitting back together again."

"Where-where was I shot?" he asked, unable to suppress his morbid curiosity, though he knew he was risking upsetting her again. He wasn't asking about the geographical location, but what part of his body had been wounded.

Her smile disappeared, her gaze leaving his as she tensed, remembering the scene with a serious attempt at not crying again. "Twice in the stomach, once in the back, once in the throat," she whispered shakily.

"Good lord!" Rick said, gasping in shock, his face turning a shade paler. He wasn't the squeamish type, but he'd expected to maybe hear that he'd been shot in the abdomen and bled out or something. The way she was describing it, it sounded more like a mob hit. "They weren't fooling around." It was strange to think that what was now part of her past had yet to happen in his future, but only if he returned to his own time.

"They really wanted to make sure," Nali whispered, looking down at her hands against the blanket. "I think that's why they shot me, too. To make sure I couldn't help you."

Rick gently touched her cheek to lift her chin to face him. "Nali, it's not gonna happen. I promise," he said, trying to reassure her. All he had to do was make sure he wasn't there when it was supposed to happen. "You know what they'll think when I disappear."

She shook her head. She wasn't versed in the way the criminal mind worked, she just found people for those who asked her to and served drinks and baked treats. The memory of Rick bleeding out so fast in her arms was not going to abate any time soon.

"They'll think I'm dead," he told her bluntly, though of course, he wouldn't be. That was the beauty of it because if he was dead, there was no reason to look for him. He didn't need to fake his own death because disappearing into thin air would serve the same purpose. "That's a good thing, Nali. It means they won't be looking for me. I mean, they will, but they won't find me."

"Okay." She nodded, still a little shaky, but pulling herself together under his eyes. "I'm sorry, I just ....you died in my arms, and ....I couldn't do anything."

He frowned, almost sorry he'd asked her for details. Was it only morbid curiosity that had made him ask, or was it something else? Maybe if he knew what had happened, he could make sure it didn't, but wasn't that what Nali had been trying to do when she'd been shot' He slid his arms around her to draw her close. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. It's just ....weird hearing about your own death, like it's already happened."

"I know why you wanted to know," she mumbled into his shoulder, eyes squeezed shut against the memory burned into her brain. "Can we never talk about it again?"

"Yeah, unless you need to," he said, leaving that door open for her, in case she ever needed or wanted to talk about it. Until then, he'd never mention it again; at least, not to her. He pressed a kiss against the top of her head. "You should rest."

Despite herself, she actually yawned when he pointed that out, looking a little embarrassed by the unconscious action. "Okay, you may be right," she conceded. "This time."

"I'll be right here. Promise," he told her, inching back so that he could tuck the blanket around her and make her comfortable. He'd promised to stay the night, and he intended to keep that promise. "I'm not going anywhere, except maybe to the bathroom or something," he added with a faint smile in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"It's a hospital, they have plenty of piss-pots," she murmured, a soft version of her smile flickering into place as she rested back against the pillows. Her hand groped across the blanket to curl into his. "I love you."

"I know," he said, smiling as he took her hand in his. There was a hint of worry in his eyes, but it was for her, not him. It seemed a simple enough thing to avoid a death he knew was coming, so long as Time didn't change things again.

"You should call Jack," she added, sighing comfortably. "Let him know you're okay and where you'll be tonight. He looks like a worrier to me."

"I'm sure Lena will pass the word," he said, not wanting to leave her even for a second, though he couldn't possibly sit there forever without ever moving.

"You don't think he'll want to hear it from his brother, too?" Nali asked softly. She was anticipating an evening phone call from her parents' home in which she would have to talk to all her siblings, just to reassure them. But Rick had never been in a position where hearing it from the horse's mouth meant repeating it multiple times to multiple people, even if they had already told each other about it.

"I suppose he would, but he's bound to ask questions," Rick pointed out. That was what family did, didn't they' Some might think of it as butting in, but where most families were concerned, it was just because they cared.

She smiled, squeezing his hand gently. "He might surprise you," she suggested, resting her head back. "I think I'm gonna sleep for a little bit before the kids get hold of a phone."

"Okay. I'll call Jack while you rest," he told her. Might as well get it over with, he thought. He wasn't sure if he could answer all of Jack's questions, but hopefully, he could at least assure him that they were okay. "Get some rest. I'm not going anywhere," he assured her again, leaning closer to brush a soft kiss to her lips.

"Okay." She smiled wearily, letting her fatigue show at last as she settled comfortably against the pillows, out like a light within moments. Healing, it seemed, took as much strength as recovery from surgery did, simply in a shorter time span. Her fingers gripped his just a little longer before falling slack, her breath coming slow and steady as sleep took hold of her.

He watched her while she slept, studying her quietly, finally letting the toll of emotions wash over him. There were no tears, but he did take a few deep breaths to calm his nerves. Part of him craved revenge, but there wasn't much point. Those who were responsible would get what was coming to them, whether he was there to see it or not. He was going to have to talk to Lena about looking a few things up on the extranet. What had happened in the past, and was there a way of knowing what had changed?

But he had time to do that in. No more pressure about a limit on his time here, or having to go back to a place that must seem rather bland now he had experienced Rhy'Din. And he had more than time here - he had family, people willing to wrap him up in their own cares and delights and share them with him; not just his own, but Nali's, too. Looked at from that perspective, he really wasn't going to lose much by moving here permanently.

He wasn't going to lose much, and he had so much to gain. It really was a no-brainer. It seemed Rick Connors was about to become a citizen of Rhy'Din.