A/N: And so, we come to the last chapter. Thank you so, so much to all who have read, reviewed, followed and faved this story, and once again, many, many thanks to Ratty, whose work inspired it and who so kindly gave his permission for me to use his ideas. He's in the process of writing the next chapters of his story, so search the title and give it a read.

I hope you all have enjoyed this little foray into time travel. Thank you again for reading. I appreciate it more than you know.

Disclaimer: I do not own or operate "The Vampire Diaries" or "The Boys of Colony Theta."

October, 2018

Aaron Salvatore was as happy a baby as his father was. Blessed with a calm, sunshiny temperament and Damon's good looks, he was the center of attention everywhere he went.

Kate, Laine and Winnie were having lunch and after the umpteenth stranger stopped to admire Aaron, Kate shook her head. "Who knew I'd have Beautiful Baby of the Year?" she said with a chuckle.

"Well, he's Damon made over, with that black hair and big old blue eyes," Laine answered. "I think his hair is going to be a little curly, though."

Kate stroked the baby's head fondly and got a guileless grin which made her smile in turn. "Could be. Mine is wavy, so he may get that much from me. But yeah, you look at him and Damon and he's a little re-run. But that's a good thing. I guess," she answered with a chuckle, that was echoed by her mom and sister.

"My boys are cute, but they never were pretty. Aaron's just pretty," Laine said. "Of course, if you ask Magpie, she'll tell you her brothers are ugly as homemade sin, and twice as aggravating."

Kate laughed out loud. "She has good taste. She likes babies and men. She doesn't have time for nasty, gamey little boys."

"He'll be that way soon enough," Winnie predicted.

"Yeah, and then his dad, uncle and grandpas can deal with him. Daddy can teach him to fish and Joseph can teach him how to draw. He's already got his eyes on some painting kits for toddlers at the art shop."

"Well, your Daddy already has a toddler fishing pole picked out too," Winnie said, and Kate laughed. She figured as much.

"Maybe he'll draw fantastic pictures of fish and be a famous illustrator," Laine mused.

"How's Lily?" Winnie asked.

Kate shrugged. "About the same. She has good days and bad days, but now more bad days. At least they're able to keep her pain under control." Lily opted for no treatment other than palliative care, so Caroline and Myra took care of her, and had hired a couple of private nurses, and of course, Tony was devoted to her. "I really don't think it'll be much longer. But she got to do a few things, and she got to see Aaron, which is why she came back to start with. They moved her to a residential hospice facility a couple of days ago."

"Sad that she chose to be out of her family's lives for so long," Winnie said. Kate's family was still in the dark about Damon and his family, and she intended to keep it that way, if at all possible. Aaron would be told when he was old enough to understand, and keep the secret.

"It is, but she has enjoyed Aaron so much these past months," Kate answered.

Laine nodded. "I don't think I've ever understood who Tony is, though."

"Well, she hired him as a live-in housekeeper. He was in a tough spot, so she hired him, and they became friends. There's nothing sexual there - never was." Kate wasn't certain about the sex part, but it wasn't her business. "He's been awfully good to her."

"That's for sure," Laine agreed.

A week later, Kate held Aaron in her lap as they sat in Lily's hospice room. She had not been conscious in several hours, except to open her eyes once for Damon and squeeze his hand. Myra's theory was the brain tumor had a sudden spurt of growth, which happened sometimes.

"Mother, can you hear me?" Damon asked. Lily squeezed his hand. "Would you like to see Aaron?" Another squeeze, and Damon nodded at Kate. She took Aaron to Lily's bedside and gently sat him down. She took Lily's hand and brought it to Aaron's.

"Here's Aaron, Lily. He's smiling at you." Of course, Aaron smiled at everyone.

Lily opened her eyes to see her grandson's face. "Precious boy," she whispered. "I love you." She groped with her opposite hand and Damon took it.

"I'm here, Mother." A barely perceptible nod.

Several silent minutes passed, and Kate could almost see Lily's spirit, poised to take flight. Finally, she looked at Damon. "Tony?" she asked.

"Right here, Lily," he answered.

"Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome," he answered, his voice breaking. Stefan put his arm around the man's shoulders.

Caroline and Myra had said their good-byes, so Joseph went to her and kissed her cheek. "God bless you, Lily."

Stefan then took her hand and said good-bye, leaving her with a smile.

Joseph motioned to Tony to take his place. "It's your right to be here," he said, and stepped out of the room.

Damon went to take Lily's hand again and he kissed her forehead. "I love you, Mother. I'm so glad I got to know you, and that Aaron knows you."

A faint smile crossed her face and she managed, "I love you, son. Since the first minute. I loved you. I never stopped."

Damon smiled tenderly at her, then squared his shoulders. "Mother, if it's time for you to go, then go. We're not holding you here. We'll be fine. It's all right to lay it down now."

"We'll see you again, Lily. I promise," Kate said. "Go in peace."

"It's all right." That was Tony. "We love you too much to keep you here."

"We love you," Damon said. Another nod, and Lily's breathing seemed to ease. The rising of her chest was less and less noticeable, until finally, it stopped. Her hand relaxed on Aaron's arm.

Kate looked at Damon and nodded. The three looked at Lily. Her expression was happy, and Kate had no doubt she was at peace. Tears ran down her face at the thought of this woman, who truly had lived through pain Kate couldn't imagine. But thanks to people who cared about her, she ended her life knowing her son and grandson. Kate was so glad she had the opportunity, however unlikely, even fantastic, the circumstances.

"I think I want to sit here for a little while, if you don't mind, Damon," Tony said.

"Of course not. You were her best friend. Take all the time you need," Damon replied. He and Kate left the room as quietly as they could, and Damon pushed the door nearly closed, to give Tony some privacy.

The family gathered in the hallway, and when Tony came out, he stood beside Joseph, who patted his shoulder affectionately. Aaron looked toward the doorway of Lily's room and started chattering excitedly, and bouncing up and down in Kate's arms.

"What is it, son?" she asked. Although not saying words, he made the "ga-ga-ga" noise he most often made around Damon, Kate, and other family members. Only he wasn't looking at any of them, but at Lily's doorway, and Kate saw his eyes track down the hall, as if following something.

"What does he see?" Damon asked, and then his eyes widened in realization. "Do you think...?" His voice trailed off.

"I don't know," Kate answered. "Some say babies see what we can't. It's possible." Her deep Southern, Celtic roots didn't automatically discount the idea.

"I'd like to think that's what it was," Tony said.

"Me too," Kate replied.

Lily's wish was to be cremated, and her ashes scattered. Damon didn't like the idea of not having a grave to visit once in a while, though, so the ashes were interred in the little church cemetery in Pulaski that held several generations of Kate's forebears. They placed a simple marker saying only, "Lily 2018." It was enough for those who knew the real story.

"Are you staying or going back?" Myra asked Tony as they drove back to Nashville.

"I don't know yet."

"You know you're welcome to stay with us as long as you want," she answered.

"I know, and I appreciate it."

"Well, you might want to stay for a while, just to get your head together, with no pressure," said Myra.

"You're right," he replied with a sigh. He missed Lily so much. She cared for him and loved him as a man. In her home, he had dignity and she treated him with respect. With Lily, he was not a slave. He knew it would be the same in Sammi Jo's home, but he wasn't sure he was ready to go back to living the double life of being a man in private and a slave in public. Here, he could be himself. Still, he had time to make a decision. There was no hurry.

"Well, he's finally asleep," Kate said, after getting Aaron to bed.

"I don't know where he gets all that energy."

"He's a baby. I think that comes with the territory," Kate answered. She sat next to Damon on the sofa and snuggled to his side. "Talk to me."

"I guess it's kind of odd for me to miss Lily. I didn't know her as my mom. I didn't have a mother. But now she's gone, I miss her. She would have been such a good mom."

"She certainly would have been," Kate agreed. "But you can take a little comfort in knowing she never stopped loving you. Maybe that helps."

"It does. I know she would have raised me, given the opportunity."

"She would have. And I'm so glad she got to know Aaron."

Damon nodded. "Did you know how much she loved music?"

Kate shook her head. "Well, I knew she liked it, but…"

"She loved Peter, Paul and Mary. 'Leavin' on a Jet Plane' was her favorite."

"Seriously?"

Damon grinned. "Seriously. She got hooked on them when she saw them on the broadcast interruption, and every time the Alexandria servers were active, she looked up their music, Tony said. She really got into all the Sixties protest music. I think it touched something inside her."

"That's what music is supposed to do," Kate said. "It's a universal language."

"Do you know that song?"

"What? 'Leavin' on a Jet Plane'? Sure."

Damon leaned over the sofa arm and picked up his guitar. He tweaked the tuning a little. "Sing it with me? For Mom?"

Kate grinned at him. "You know I love to sing. Kick it off."

He strummed the opening notes and Kate sang, "All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go. I'm standin' here outside your door. I hate to wake you up to say good-bye... I'm leavin' on a jet plane. I don't know when I'll be back again. Oh babe, I hate to go…"

They sang the song, with Damon singing harmony. When he hit the last note and the sound died on the air, he sighed. "I needed to do that," he said.

"Any time. You know I love it when you play, and even more when you play something so I can sing along."

Damon leaned back and ran a hand through his hair. "What are we going to do? I mean, Myra has a vaccine she thinks will protect Aaron and Will and Reed, and your dad against Andrasta, but how can we give it to them and not the other men and boys of the world?"

"We've still got time. That's over thirty years in the future. A lot can happen between now and then. Maybe that crazy terrorist group will tip their hands, and will be stopped. Maybe we can help in some way. I don't know." Kate shrugged.

"If we stopped them, would I fade out of existence, then? And Stefan and Dad? How can we make these kinds of decisions?"

Kate took his hand. "Damon, sweetheart, you're asking questions I don't have the answers to. I couldn't let you go back to that horrible time. You didn't want to go back. I don't know what can be changed and what can't." She kissed his cheek. "All we can do is raise our child to be a good person, and do the best we can for him. And for any other children we have. That's what Lily would want, you know. She wouldn't want you to go back to slavery. So we do what we can."

Damon folded Kate into his arms. "I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you, too. Always. In any time."

October 2079

Aaron Salvatore, his sister, Lillian Grace, their cousins Caroline, Katherine and Greyson Salvatore and Will, Reed and Maggie, spouses and all their children and other friends and family members stood at a graveside in Pulaski, Tennessee, as the minister commended the soul of Stefan Michael Salvatore to God. He was the last of the travelers, as the inner family called them. He lost Elena some 10 years before to cancer, but Stefan hung on and lived a full life until a stroke took his. Joseph, Caroline, Con and Winnie had gone on a few years before, as had Myra, Shaun and Tony, who stayed in the past, although he did marry. Kate died a few years before, and Damon followed her not long after. Maggie always maintained he died of a broken heart, and Aaron and Lily had to agree with her. He wasn't the same after he lost his beloved Kate.

Aaron looked at the graves in the Frost family plot. His parents and grandparents were all here. It was unbelievable that he should even be here - only the most remote, unreal set of circumstances could have brought him to to this point. But after some deaths in the UK and Africa, the Andrasta virus had gone underground again, and he and his children were safe - at least for the time being. He knew he had immunity, since his vaccine was made directly from his father's bone marrow. Myra's work had been invaluable in stopping the plague before it really got a hold of the population.

"Let's go home, Aaron," his wife, Monica, said. He nodded and they all walked away from the site.

October 2519

The Andrasta plague came with a renewed vigor, but the world had another 100 years of peace before it decimated the male population. The vaccine blueprints Myra left when she emigrated to the 21st century were vital in coming up with an effective antidote. The work of the Brotherhood of Mars had done much in the intervening years to bring women around to the notion of equality for males, and with the help of the Intelligence Division, the UGC was evolving into a functional governing body, with the assistance of young males in offices of some authority. It wasn't the coup d'etat some wanted, but things were definitely changing, and the word "man" was coming back into use. Along with that designation came men who were able to live somewhat independently, as long as they had a woman to sponsor them. No longer were they slaves and playthings. They had rights, but it would take many more years to completely redress the inequalities society created.

Sammi Jo Pierce got the word of her brother's passing from Aaron and she gathered her children and grandchildren and they all had a memorial service for him, as they had for Lily, Joseph, Elena, Kate and Damon. She knew it wouldn't be long until it was her time, and she actually looked forward to being where time no longer existed, and being able to catch up with her twin brother for as long as she wanted. She knew the work done by the courageous travelers centuries before helped lay the foundation for the changes they were seeing now.

After the service, she went to her palm screen and accessed a familiar music file, when she heard about Lily's passing from Stefan. The music started and Sammi Jo nodded her head at the now familiar strains, humming, "I'm leavin' on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again. Oh babe, I hate to go…."

March 2023

Kate peeked into Aaron's room. Her five-year-old son was still awake. She could see him staring at the ceiling. "Aaron, sweetheart, you have school tomorrow. You have to go to sleep."

The little boy turned to his mother. "I'm not sleepy, Mama."

Kate sighed. She looked at the beautiful face that was an exact copy of Damon's. "Would it help if Dad came in and sang you to sleep?"

"Please, Mama. I can sleep then."

"O.K. Good night, son. I love you." Kate kissed her wakeful son and went to Lily's room to find her daughter, gone to sleep like the obliging toddler she was. Both her children looked more like their father, come to think of it. Lily had Kate's brown eyes, but her face looked just like Aaron's.

"He's all yours," Kate said, giving Damon a kiss as she met him in the hallway.

Damon picked up his guitar and went into Aaron's room. "Son, I can't sing you to sleep the rest of your life," he teased.

"Just a couple of songs, Dad, please?"

"OK. Want me to sing 'Your Song'?"

"Mmm-hmm."

Damon grinned, strummed the chords and sang softly, "And you can tell everybody, this is your song. It may be quite simple but, now that it's done. I hope you don't mind I wrote down the words. How wonderful life is when you're in the world."

Aaron's eyelids were drooping when Damon finished. "Sing Grandma Lily's song," he said.

"O.K." Damon plucked the strings and sang, "So kiss me and smile for me. Tell me that you'll wait for me. Hold me like you'll never let me go. I'm leavin' on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again. Oh babe, I hate to go…."

When the last note died out, Damon smiled. He kissed his son's sleeping face and slipped out of the room.

Song credits: "Your Song" by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. "Leavin' on a Jet Plane" by John Denver.

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