I don't own the Power Rangers, I don't know who does these days, and I'm not making any money off this.

Chapter 1:

Katie Walker jerked awake with a scream. The same dream had plagued her nights for over a month now. She had been in a car with another woman when another car had hit them head-on. I wish I could remember what we were talking about, Katie thought, I know it's important.

Her bedroom door slid open suddenly and she bit back another scream. Lucas Kendall was walking quickly toward her.

"What's wrong, Katie? I heard you scream," he asked.

Katie smiled weakly and buried her head in her hands. "I'm sorry, Lucas. It was only a dream."

Lucas sank down on the bed and wrapped his arm around her. She leaned against him and put her head on his shoulder. Lucas frowned. This dream must have rattled her worse than she's letting on. In the five years they had teamed together, Katie had never leaned on anyone. She was everyone's support system. He knew that she had been having trouble sleeping. Time Force always kept a close eye on their staff. Any trouble they saw was noted in a log. Lucas had been keeping track of Katie for the last few years, since they'd come back from the past the last time from helping capture the MuteOrgs. She was always so sweet. She looked adorable in her yellow nightgown and with her hair mussed. He sighed. He was getting sappy over a girl who didn't pay him any attention and he had no chance with her. She wasn't interested in a guy who spent more time on his hair than she did.

"Come on, Katie. Lay back down so you can go to sleep." She tensed slightly at the words, but did what he said.

"Thanks for everything, Lucas. I'll try to get back to sleep now."

"You're welcome, Katie. If you need anything let me know." He turned and left as quickly as he had arrived.

Katie watched him leave with a wistful smile. Underneath Lucas's silent exterior, was the heart of a true protector. He had a deep protective streak for each of the rangers but since they'd come back from the past for the last time, Lucas had been slightly distant. Katie wondered if it was about Nadira. They had gotten pretty close, but now she seemed hung up on Trip. Katie sighed. She doubted she'd get much sleep tonight, but she had to try, she had to work tomorrow.

The next morning found Katie pale and tired. When she joined the others for breakfast, Jen Scotts looked stunned. "Are you sick, Katie?" she asked, concerned.

"Couldn't sleep, no biggie," Katie replied.

Lucas watched her closely. Katie looked unkempt. Her uniform that was usually immaculate looked wrinkled. Her eyes had even lost their sparkle.

He was going to have to ask her about those dreams. After he left her room, he'd gone to the lab to watch her sleep patterns. Her sleep had been interrupted for a month now, and they didn't appear to be to bad except at the very end when she would start mumbling and flinching. Last night had ended with her screaming. They were obviously getting worse. Lucas didn't want to lose her now that he had finally realized what she meant to him. He was going to have to tell the others about the dreams and get them to help him.

"Hey, Jen."

Lucas had found her in the locker room before their shift had started.

"Hey, Lucas," Jen said, while scrapping her hair back into a ponytail. "Are you doing anything tonight? Alex, Trip, Nadira, and I are getting together around 7 for a movie night." She smiled. "We're going to invite Katie."

Lucas shook his head slightly. A couple of months before Jen had noticed him watching Katie and now she never hesitated from trying to get them together.

"That's who I wanted to talk to you about, actually."

Jen glanced up at him. "Is something wrong with her? I asked her the other day but she brushed me off."

"She's been having nightmares. She won't tell me what they're about but I can tell they are upsetting her."

"Okay. I'll talk to Trip and have him look at her sleep logs and we'll talk to her tonight after the movies.

"Thanks."

Jen watched him leave. Lucas' crush on Katie had surprised her at first, but she could now see that it went deeper than that. Lucas was determined, Katie wouldn't stand a chance once he started pursuing her for real. But first, she had to find Trip so that he could look at her logs. If the dreams were affecting Katie that much, the others would find something to help her out.

Katie went home after her shift to take a nap. The others had invited her to a movie night later but she needed to rest before she went. She crawled into bed clothed in a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt and went right to sleep.

"Hello, Katie."

"I'm here again. Where are we? What are we doing here?"

"Calm down."

"Calm down? I've been dreaming of you for a month now but I can never remember it when I wake up. Don't you think this is scary for me?"

"That's true. I'm just getting you used to me, I didn't realize that you were afraid of me."

Katie looked around her. There was an Asian woman in the driver's seat of a yellow car. She had long black hair, brown eyes, and wore black jeans and a yellow tank-top.

"This has to be the past. Cars like this went out of commission about 300 years ago."

Katie mused.

"You're right. This is the past. It's not time for you to know yet what's going on. Believe me when I tell you that there is a purpose to this and everything will be explained sometime."

"I guess I don't have a choice in the matter. Is that what you're trying to tell me."

"Yes."

"Don't sound so smug about it."

"I'm not trying to be. I realize now that you're not sure what's going on. You weren't supposed to remember anything of the dreams. What do you remember?"

"Just us talking and then a car hitting us head on."

"This is my death you're reliving."

Katie turned toward her. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Everything has a purpose. Remember that much tonight. Everything that is happening has a purpose."

With those words, a red car slammed into the car. Katie screamed once and then everything faded.

Katie bolted upright in bed. She was shaking with fear, but at least tonight she remembered some of the dream. Everything has a purpose. She supposed that was better than nothing. She got out of bed and headed toward the bathroom. She had to be at Jen's in twenty minutes so she had to wash her face and leave.

The movie night was a success. They had watched some films that they had gotten addicted to in 2001, and Alex's face, while he watched them was priceless. The 6 of them had laughed and joked and ate a bunch of popcorn, but then the tone of the night turned serious.

"We need to talk, Katie," Jen said firmly.

"About?"

"Your nightmares and your trouble sleeping."

Lucas winced at the glare Katie sent his way. If looks could kill, he would be toast by now.

"Don't blame him. We noticed you were looking rough, we just didn't know the cause. Just know that if Lucas hadn't told us, we would have looked anyway. Time Force Medical has noted your trouble sleeping and they were going to come to you in a few days. We just made sure we got here first." Trip told her.

Katie nodded. "I know."

"I'm a little concerned about your sleep patterns. They've been getting more erratic every night but nothing to bad until last night when you woke up screaming. Can you tell us about the dreams?"

"Up until last night, all I remembered was being in a car with a woman and we were talking about something. I can't remember what we were talking about but I know that it was really important. Last night, a car came from nowhere and slammed into us. I could feel the pain from the crash. That's why I was screaming. I had another dream tonight in which she told me that everything that happens there is a reason for. And that I was reliving her death." Katie' voiced trailed off. "Her death. I didn't remember that until I said it."

"Maybe you need to go to Medical and get your dreams scanned, then they can tell you what these dreams actually mean." That came from Alex, who along with Nadira had been silent up till now.

"He's right. Lack of sleep slows your reflexes and could get you killed out in the field or get your team killed." Jen added.

"Thanks guys. I'll do that tomorrow, I'm off work until 10. I'm going to go home and see if I can get some sleep.

Lucas stood up. "I'll walk you home."

Katie smiled shyly. "Okay."

A chorus of goodnights followed them to the door.

When the door closed behind them, Lucas looked at her and said, "I didn't mean to upset you by talking to Jen. I was concerned about you and since you wouldn't talk to me about it, I went and got some help. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I was going to Medical tomorrow. It just shocked me when they started in on it." Then she smiled sadly. "I was happy you were worried. It felt nice to have a handsome man worry about me. It's hard to find someone when you're stronger than everyone else."

Lucas' face turned red when she called him handsome. That was the first time Katie had ever said that to him. At the door to her apartment, they stopped and looked at one another.

"Thanks for walking me home."

"Your welcome."

"Katie." Lucas' voice was so serious, she was worried for a moment.

"Anybody that doesn't realize that your strength is part of a complex package, doesn't deserve you."

Katie's eyes sparkled at him. She surprised him by hugging him tightly. She leaned up to kiss his cheek but he turned his head at the last moment so she hit his lips instead. At first it was a tenative meeting but after a few seconds, their lips softened and clung. The heat was shocking in its intensity. Lips parted, teeth clashed, and tongues probed. Lucas pulled Katie closer and she raised up on her toes to get a better slant for her lips. The heat from his body stunned her. Slowly they drew apart. The need that had consumed both of them were still pulsing around them. Katie buried her head on his shoulder. Her body was still throbbing. One part of her wanted to kiss him again but the other...well, they had been friends for so long. Only recently had she started to wonder if there could be anything more between them but she hadn't thought that he had felt the same.

Lucas' thoughts were also churning. He hadn't realized that one taste of Katie's sweet mouth would throw him for such a loop but Lord could she kiss. She trembled in his arms and he stroked his hands down her back.

"Looks like we both have something to think about." Lucas' voice was husky.

Katie had to clear her throat before she could reply. "Yes we do. I'd better get inside now."

"How about another kiss for the road?"

"Now where did nice, shy Lucas go. In his place is wild Lucas." Katie teased him gently.

"He disappeared once I fell in love with you." Lucas answered.

"Huh?" Katie was stunned. Love?

"Poetic, I wasn't going to move this fast but that kiss sped things up more than I expected. I love you Katie. Think about it. Think about the kiss and your feelings for me. I'll give you time." With those words, Lucas stroked her cheek gently and walked toward his apartment.