Honesty, a power rangers fanfic

Honesty

Disclaimer: Still not mine!

By: Bunny-chan

Author's Notes

Spoilers abound, totally had to write this before both parts of Ghost of a Chance airs, this is MY response to Fran finding out the Rangers' secret. Because I know it totally won't get written this way, so don't complain if anybody's OOC, it's way more fun to write people this way! This is dedicated to a coolio friend of mine, who knows who she is, because a lot of Fran and RJ's reactions were based on us, so...heh. …So, yeah, hope y'all enjoy it, and the writers don't screw up TOO badly.

Out of all the possible feelings that could be coursing through Fran's body, the only thing she felt at the moment was…numb. 'So this is the big secret…this is what they've been hiding from me…all this time' Her co-workers, her friends, they were the Power Rangers, the freakin' protectors of Ocean Bluff, and they just happened to not mention it to her. She was pretty sure she was supposed to feel…something, angry, hurt, sad…anything but this complete and utter numbness. She blinked hard, pushing loose strands of hair out of her eyes, as she watched, on the seemingly hundreds of TVs, her friends worry over RJ, or rather, Lily and Casey were worrying over RJ, Theo demanded that they hurry back to JKP. Fran gave a wry smile, it didn't matter now, they'd already be too late, she knew now, and they couldn't take that back.

She didn't know what had made her traverse up the stairs in the kitchen. She knew what the place was, RJ slept up there, after all, but she didn't know what the others did up there, she had always thought they had homes to go to, families to be with, figures she was totally wrong. She didn't know what to think, what to feel, what to believe except for what was right in front of her eyes. She had been lied to, flat-out lied to, for no reason, she was a trustworthy, loyal person, she knew she was, so why hadn't they trusted her enough to tell her this? She lowered her head, her unbound hair hiding her face, as she blocked out the images of her friends. She had long since taken out her usual workplace pigtails, stressed enough that she had frequently ran her hands through her hair, a nervous habit of hers.

She gave a sigh and decided to retreat back downstairs, it looked like they were about to start back for JKP, and she didn't want to let on that she knew, at least…not yet. She pushed herself up from the green, very comfortable, chair she had settled herself into, something in her had told her that the chair belonged to RJ, it just gave off that…belongs-to-RJ feel, that, and it smelled like him, so she couldn't help but to sit in it, it made her feel like he was there with her, it had helped to alleviate the worry. She glanced around the loft one more time, taking in everything, as if she would never see any of it again, before making her way downstairs, the gears already turning in her mind.

Fran was definitely growing antsy, how long did it take them to get back? Didn't they have transportation, or something? They had only been on the very outskirts of Ocean Bluff, so it shouldn't be taking them this long to come back. Maybe it was because she had already been freaking out over them not being here, she was used to the frequent disappearances, but they usually only took a half-hour, to an hour, two hours tops, but this time, they had vanished right before the mid-afternoon rush, and had been gone for the rest of the day, and half the night for that matter, so she couldn't help but be a little worried. Her head shot up as the bells hanging over the door jingled merrily, and the foursome entered the pizza parlor, relief flooding her veins.

They all froze at the sight of her, eyes wide, though Theo managed to look a little more dignified than the rest, just a little. "Uh…Fran? What are you still doing here?" Casey asked tentatively.

God, it'd be so easy to just let them know, that they didn't have to pretend anymore, but…hey, why not let the charade play out just a little longer? Maybe she was feeling just a tiny bit vindictive at the moment, she couldn't help it…at all. She shot up, eyes wide, "You're back! I was so worried! You left again, but this time you didn't come back for a really, really, really long time, and I had to basically run the place all on my own, but that doesn't matter, I'm just glad you guys are okay!"

They all exchanged guilty looks, clearly trying to come up with a feasible lie, "Frannie, we're really sorry, we just-"

She cut off Lily's apology, instead focusing on RJ, who looked like he hadn't had any decent sleep in a week, "Oh my God, RJ! Are you okay? You look terrible!"

RJ gave a glance to Casey, who was letting his boss lean on him, and he sighed lightly, starting to move over to the nearest booth, Lily rushing over to give him a hand, and they helped him to sit down, "We'll just leave you two alone now." Theo stated, fake cheer lacing his voice, even as he was the first to run into the kitchen.

Casey and Lily gave him dirty looks that he obviously didn't see, giving backward waves to the duo, before chasing after him. Fran just barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes, and seated herself across from RJ, lacing her fingers together on top of the table, waiting for him to say something. RJ looked like he wanted to be anywhere but where he was, trying to explain something he really didn't want to explain, he glanced up at her from the tabletop, and then narrowed his eyes slightly after catching her glance, "…you already know, don't you?"

She wanted to pretend, tilt her head to the side and ask innocently, 'What do you mean, RJ? Know what?', but she didn't, instead she leaned back, gazing at him unwaveringly, "Yeah, I already know."

He exhaled slowly, "How did you find out?"

"Well, after you guys left me for the rest of the day, I got worried, wandered up to the loft, and just…waited, finally saw you and the others step out of this swirly, tornado-like thing…and Casey, Lily, and Theo were morphed at the time, so…needless to say, it wasn't that hard to figure out from there."

He sighed, running a hand over his face as he leaned back, looking so very tried that Fran almost stopped feeling…whatever it was that she was feeling, but she still wanted to know why, why they had kept it from her, why they felt like they couldn't trust her, just why, "Are you okay?" Damnit, that wasn't what she was supposed to ask, she was supposed to give him an onslaught of never ending questions, and that wasn't supposed to be one of them.

He looked startled, before giving her a tiny smile, one she couldn't force herself to return, "I'm…fine, Fran, just a little tired, or…well, a lot tired."

"You do look like shit." Wow, nice, Fran, really nice way to talk to your boss, even if it was the truth.

His smile grew, until it was bordering on a full-out grin, "Yeah, that's probably the understatement of the year." He ran a hand through his hair, starting to stand up, but his legs buckled, and he immediately fell back into the booth seat. Fran was by his side instantly, a hand on his shoulder, even through all her other emotions, she was definitely concerned.

"You're not fine, are you? C'mon." She wrapped her arms around his waist, hauling him upwards with his help, and they made their way into the bathroom.

She leaned him against the multiple sinks, looking him over with a critical eye, "Fran, seriously, I'm not hurt, no injuries at all…at least not to my body." He tried to placate her.

She shook her head in confusion, "What does that mean?"

RJ looked to the side, near the door, as if he were going to bolt at any second, "It's…difficult to explain."

"Try anyway."

He locked his gaze with hers and launched into an explanation as best to his abilities. She inhaled slowly, tilting her head to the side, "So…you got into this fight with this…Dai Shi guy, who possessed a person…a student you used to know, right?" At his nod, she continued on, "And he's wanted to fight you ever since you protected your father, deciding you were a much better opponent than the Rangers…and you have some sort of…spirit?"

"An animal spirit, the wolf."

"Do all of you have animal spirits?"

"Yes, Casey's is a tiger, Theo's a jaguar, and Lily's is a cheetah."

"Does everyone have these animal spirits?"

He had to smile at her curiosity, but that was Fran for you, "Not everyone, most people don't actually, but everyone has spirit energy."

At her confused glance, he decided to elaborate, "Spirit energy is sort of like…chi, your energy flow, every human has it, every animal, every plant, it's just stronger in some more than others. Everybody can make use of it, if they know how to harness it, that was partly the reason the Order of the Claw was created, the other part, of course, being to defeat Dai Shi. We use spirit energy everyday, we just don't realize it, but some people can use it to its full potential, and that's what I'm training the Rangers to do."

"Full potential? Like what?"

He grinned, "Amazing things, things you've only read about…I'd give you an example if I wasn't so exhausted."

"You never told me why you're so tired, like you haven't slept in a week."

"In my fight with Dai Shi, I was just barely staying alive and I was only managing to do that because I had to use my wolf spirit nearly to its maximum, I haven't had to do that in…years, I haven't had to use it at all until recently, my spirit energy had been strong enough to help me, but then Dai Shi kept getting stronger, and my students weren't advancing quickly enough…I had to do whatever was in my power to keep them safe."

While pride and respect were there, most of all, she just felt bitter, and couldn't stop her next remark, wasn't even sure she wanted to, "At least you're being honest about something."

He lowered his head, but it wasn't enough to hide his wince of pain at her remark, and she felt a surge of satisfaction at it, "Fran…"

"Why didn't you just tell me the truth? Why couldn't you just trust me? We've been friends for so long, RJ, you know things about me that nobody else knows, because I trusted you, so why couldn't you show me the same common courtesy?"

"It wasn't like that…" His voice was whisper soft, "It wasn't like that at all, I do trust you, Fran."

"So why didn't you tell me?" As hurt as he looked, she wouldn't stop until she got an answer, "Did you think I'd blab to the first person I laid eyes on? Because I'd never do that, and you know it."

"It wasn't for me to tell, Fran, if it had just been me…I would've told you instantly, but other than being their master, I wasn't involved, I wasn't out there saving the world. And besides that…I thought if you knew, Dai Shi would use it against us…against me, it would put you in danger, and if anything happened to you, I would never forgive myself."

"You're angry with me…" he realized with a sigh.

"Are you trying to tell me I don't have a right to be?" Her tone was sharp.

"If anybody has the right to be angry, it's you."

She shook her head slowly, dimly realizing her hands were trembling, but she didn't know why, oh…right, because she was upset, RJ continued on, "I never meant to hurt you, or make you angry, that wasn't what I was trying to do at all, I just…"

He continued on, and she couldn't help but tune him out. All of her feelings were starting to spill over at his voice, all her hurt, anger, sadness, everything felt like hot, sharp, piercing needles of pain, sliding into her heart, and she just wanted him to shut up. His word flow was halted with a vicious punch to the chest, his voice cutting off with a gasp. It didn't really hurt, but it was more like he wasn't expecting it, he expected the next one though, and prepared his body to take it. Each punch was reinforced with a gasp of, "Shut up!", low, and hurt, and each punch grew weaker, and her voice grew softer, until she wasn't speaking at all, but sobbing, clenching fistfuls of his shirt. He allowed himself to relax, knowing that her anger had subsided, all that was there now was pain. He had never seen her so angry, but right now, he'd much rather take the physical blows instead of her sobs.

He slid her glasses off, settling them on the counter connecting the sinks, and she pressed closer to him when he slid his arms around her shoulders. Fran buried her face in the crook of RJ's neck, warm tears sliding down his skin and soaking into the inside of his shirt. He pushed the strands of hair that were stuck to her damp cheeks behind her ears, running his fingers through the loose strands of brown hair. He had hurt her so much, and he hated himself for it, he had meant what he said, he had never meant to hurt her, not at all, and he wanted to take that pain away from her. He pushed her bangs to one side, pressing a kiss to her forehead softly, and she looked up at him, eyes large and glassy with tears.

He had already been anticipating the lips pressed frantically to his own, and he welcomed the kiss eagerly, his grip around her shoulders moved down to her waist, pulling her even closer. Her fingers dug into his back, nails biting painfully into his skin, her tongue sneaking into his mouth, slick and warm, and he groaned, switching their positions so that she was against the counter, and he easily hoisted her up onto it, her legs sliding around his waist. She didn't know why she was doing this, she was supposed to be angry at him, she was supposed to be hurt, she wasn't supposed to be making out with him, that hadn't been her intention at all. It totally didn't help matters that he was her boss, and she was pretty sure that went against all the rules, and they were friends, despite the fact he had hidden something from her, so what the hell was she doing? His lips trailed to her neck, ripping a whimper from her throat, as she held him tightly, her hair brushing against his face.

It was only when she was running her hands up his shirt that she noticed that his arms were trembling. She pulled back, squinting her eyes to turn the blurs into sharp angles, noting that he looked terrible, pale, and sweaty, but he continued laying kisses on every inch of her skin. She placed her hands on his shoulders, stilling him, "Stop."

He looked up at her, green eyes dark, and despite how terrible he looked, there was still that lust-induced haze clouding his eyes, "But-"

"You need to be taken care of, you need rest." She cut him off.

"I need you."

She turned away, pink coloring her cheeks, just barely holding back her reply of 'You've got me.' She couldn't really say that, not yet, not quite, "I'm not going anywhere, RJ." Well, close enough.

He laid his head against her chest, and she smoothed a hand over his hair, letting it rest on the back of his neck. She could feel his exhaustion radiating off of him in waves, along with his gratitude towards her, "Thanks for not abandoning me, Fran, even though you had every right to, and I wouldn't have blamed you if you had." His voice was muffled against her skin.

She rolled her eyes, even though he couldn't see it, "Well, you should know by now that once I decide somebody's going to be my friend, they're my friend for life, whether they like it or not."

He smiled against her skin, the combination of soft lips brushing against her skin, and the whisper of warm breath sent a shiver up her spine, and she swallowed hard, now was not the time to try and take advantage of her boss in the public restroom when he looked like total shit. "Okay, time to get you upstairs, rest is the order of the night."

He gave a groan at the very thought of moving, he really was rather comfortable where he was, and his mouth decided to work without permission from his brain, "Will you be my pillow?"

She gaped for a few seconds, torn between being angry at his audacity, because really, it was such a non-RJ thing to say, or be amused and respond with some sort of quip, she decided on the latter, "Only if you're a good boy and stop fighting me on this."

It took him a few seconds, but he eventually pushed himself up and away from her, using the counter as help. She hopped down, replacing her glasses, before wrapping an arm around his waist, as he slung an arm over her shoulders, and they made their way out of the bathroom. Fran still wasn't entirely sure what she was feeling, and she certainly wasn't about to try and pick apart her feelings for RJ, all she knew was that she did have feelings for him, what kind they were at the moment, well, that was best left for another day. What she needed to focus on now was helping him to get better, because she couldn't stand seeing him like this, not at all.

"Hey, Fran?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure you're not so angry with me that you're going to just up and leave?"

"I told you, I'm not going anywhere, yes, I'm angry, but that will go away, as long as you promise to be honest with me."

"No problem, honesty is good, secrets are bad."

She gave him a smile, and he returned the gesture, "Well, I'm glad you feel that way."

"…I really am sorry, you know."

"You've apologized enough, RJ, I've already forgiven you, so quit beating yourself up over it, you know I can't hold a grudge anyway, especially not against you." After that, he fell silent, as they continued their slow trek to the loft.

Yes, there were still plenty of hurt feelings that Fran was harboring, but she really had forgiven RJ, she hadn't said that just so he wouldn't feel even worse than he already did. And he said he was going to be honest, and that was really all that mattered. She'd work out everything else later, all she knew was that if he was going to keep this up, she'd definitely need to help him, he couldn't help the Rangers save the world on his own, after all, "I never did tell you I was proud of you, and…I really am glad you survived the battle against Dai Shi."

He gave a self-conscious chuckle, "Thanks…I just couldn't let myself die, had too much to live for." He looked directly at her when he said that, and the blush settled over her cheeks again, pleased with the fact that she was such an important part of his life, "Well, I'm glad for that too, then."

They started the descent up the stairs, and he nuzzled into her neck, bringing a smile to her face. They'd work this out somehow, someway, but now he knew she would always be by his side, and she knew there would no longer be secrets, whatever came after that, they'd just face it together, with no regrets.