Maybe It Didn't Matter
Dillon was bored.
He required far less sleep than the other rangers because of his enhancements, and in the middle of the night he would wake, fully rested…and with very little to do until morning.
Scott and Dr. K often suggested he use his extra time to train, particularly to work on his shield abilities. To shut them up, he did…sometimes.
But he tired of this quickly, and there were few activities that he could do quietly for hours at a time. He had read all of the books that the others had loaned him, and it was hard to work on his car without revving the loud engine.
So, he was desperately bored.
There was one more suggestion from another teammate, Dillon recalled as he quietly made his way through The Garage. Maybe Summer was right.
Maybe he should try to do a little research about who he really was.
The black ranger was heading towards one of the base's computers when he noticed something very much out of the ordinary.
Summer was fast asleep with her face on the keyboard, her long silky blond hair partially covering it.
He had no idea what the yellow ranger was doing dozing down here instead of her bed, but then he recalled that she had hurt her ankle in battle earlier that day. He could at least see to it that she was more comfortable for the rest of the night.
Dillon quietly padded over to his sleeping teammate, not wanting to startle her with any sudden noises. He stood over the bear ranger for a moment, a tiny half-smile on his face. She was cute; there was no other word for it.
However, he quickly pushed this thought from his mind as he bent into a squatting position, gently shaking Summer's shoulder. "Hey, Summer," he murmured. It was a strange thing for him not to sound sarcastic, he mused as he continued to wake her. "Summer."
Finally, Summer shifted slightly, opening her eyes to look at him. "Dillon…?" Her voice was thick both with sleep and confusion. "Wassa matta?" The yellow ranger strained in her seat, apparently listening for the alarm. A moment later, she announced, "I don't hear anything."
"That's because the alarm isn't going off," Dillon informed her. "You fell asleep. I just thought you might want to go up to bed. It's pretty late."
Summer nodded, still sleepy. She seemed a little frantic as she completed the action, like going to bed was the best idea she had ever heard. Slowly she stood up, her ankle and stiff legs protesting at the weight they now had to support. The yellow ranger groaned slightly as she moved.
Dillon had watched her, slightly amused at first, his trademark smirk on his face. But after a moment, he couldn't just stand there and watch her struggle. "Come on," he grunted at her as she stopped to shift her weight again. "I'll carry you." 'Where did that come from?'
Summer looked as shocked at his suggestion as he did. "I got it," she told him, but not unkindly. "I'm just a little stiff, that's all. Thanks, though." The yellow ranger started towards the metal stairs, looking up a little warily. The stairs looked particularly daunting to her sore, stiff leg muscles and swollen ankle.
But Dillon took advantage of his female partner's pause. As Summer tried to evaluate how she should position herself, the wolf ranger wrapped his arms around her, lifting and cradling her smaller form princess style. It didn't feel strange at all to hold her like this, and he wasn't sure how he should feel about this information.
The smaller girl looked awfully comfortable as she smiled slightly and shook her head before settling against Dillon's chest. As they neared Summer's bedroom, she saw him smirking down at her. Feeling she might never live this little incident down, she found her voice.
"I'm not crippled, you know. I could have walked."
Dillon continued to smirk as he pushed the door to Summer's overly yellow bedroom open, switching on the light as he went. "You're not crippled, but you are hurt. Unless, of course, you wanted to add back and neck problems to your ankle…" Dillon was careful to keep her close to him as he pulled back the bright yellow comforter. He then gently set her down on the bed.
Summer stretched out, trying to ignore the protest from her legs. It felt good to be straight once more. Then the yellow ranger yawned, secretly glad that Dillon had been thoughtful enough to carry her upstairs. Summer fluffed her pillows and pulled her blankets closer, a small smile gracing her face as she looked at her black counterpart.
"Thank you, Dillon," Summer murmured.
He nodded, not sure of what to say. Suddenly he felt awkward, out of character. Why had he wanted to take care of her in the first place? What was it about Summer that made him desire to help and protect her?
He might never know.
Maybe it didn't matter.
Summer's blue eyes were shut now, her even breathing notifying Dillon that she had gone back to sleep.
Dillon turned to leave his sleeping teammate, flipping the switch off again. One last glance at Summer caused him to give a genuine smile, and then he was gone.
The black wolf ranger went back down to where he had discovered Summer sleeping. He turned the computer on, unsure of where to start. He had very little to go on.
But maybe, just like with Summer, it didn't matter. Maybe it didn't matter who he had been.
Maybe all that mattered was who he was going to be.