Missing Moments from "Ultimate Duel"

Am I too old to be watching "Power Rangers"? Heck yeah! But, when a parent starts a second family and you have much younger siblings as a result, you end up watching a lot of kiddie shows. This is my attempt to make it a bit more adult and entertaining for myself.

These are just little missing moments/explanations from the episode that I get from reading between the lines (and some astute comments/observations from my little sibs).

He found her slumped on a bench at the far end of the garden, hidden from view of the Shiba house. "Mia," he said softly as he approached.

She jumped and swiped at her eyes before looking up to meet his piercing blue ones. "I…" she started.

He knelt on the ground in front of her and looked up into her face. "It wasn't your fault, what happened to Emily," he said.

"But it was! I hesitated."

"No. Emily said you were defenseless. If she hadn't taken the hit, you might not be here at all. She was powered up, you weren't. She's fine, she'll be good as new by tomorrow. You might not have survived Dayu's attack."

"Doesn't matter," she mumbled, looking down.

"Yes it does! Mia, you are an important member of the team. Your strength and cool head are vital to the team."

"My stupid feelings got in the way. I felt sorry for Dayu!" Mia took a deep breath then exhaled slowly. "Never again," she said in a steely tone. "From now on, I'm all business. No more feelings. The only thing that matters is defeating the Nighlok and sealing Xandred away so he's never a threat again."

"Mia, you can't be something you're not."

"I can and I will."

"But, your feelings, that compassion you have for others is one of the things I lo…" Jayden cleared his throat. "…one of the things I admire most about you. That compassion is what makes you special, Mia."

Mia couldn't help but notice how intently he was staring at her. She hadn't missed his verbal slip. "But it was my compassion that got Emily hurt. I can't ever let that happen again."

Jayden took her hands in his. "I know how you feel. I've been there. It's not a good feeling, but Ji made me see that our number one priority is protecting the world from the Nighlok. We all knew the risks, and the safety of the world is more important than any one of us."

"That's not true," she said, staring intensely into his eyes. "You are more important."

"No, Mia, I'm not."

"Yes, you are. You have the sealing power. You are more important than any one of us. You and you alone can save the world by sealing Xandred and all the Nighlok into the Netherworld. We must protect you at all costs."

"You can't protect me. And, that's something else I came to tell you, before the others." Mia noticed the shift in his eyes. He stood, dropped her hands and began pacing in front of her. "Deker came to me today. He challenged me to a duel tomorrow at noon."

"But, Jayden, you can't!" Mia was on her feet now, standing in front of him.

"I have to, Mia. He threatened innocent people if I didn't." He searched her face for understanding. "He won't stop until this battle takes place. It's his destiny. I can't let him hurt anyone else. Tomorrow, one way or another, it ends."

"But, Jayden," she whispered as she gently placed a hand over his heart.

Jayden clasped her hand and slowly drew it to his lips and placed a soft kiss on the palm then held it between both his hands. "I have no choice, Mia."

"Are you ready for it? Opening that portal to the dream world really drained you today."

"I will be. I'm almost back to one hundred percent and I have a few new moves that I'm going to practice with Kevin. Please tell me you understand why I have to go."

Mia willed herself not to cry as she felt tears prick at her eyes. She nodded. "I do. I don't want to. I don't like it, but I do," she said. "Promise me you'll be careful."

Jayden reached down and stroked her cheek then brushed his thumb across her bottom lip. "I promise," he replied. "I need you to promise me something, too."

"Anything."

"Keep being who you are, Mia. I need you to keep the team strong and back Kevin up if…if anything happens to me."

"It won't!."

"But, it could."

Mia put a finger to his lips. "Don't say that! It won't."

Jayden moved her hand from his mouth. "Okay, it won't. But, I need you to help Kevin while I'm gone. He's too logical sometimes. Your compassion balances that out. With the two of you in charge, I won't have to worry about the team while I'm gone. Promise me."

Mia nodded. "I promise." Jayden turned to leave. She grabbed his hand and turned him around. "Wait." Mia took a step closer then stood on her tiptoes. She placed a hand on either cheek. "For luck," she breathed and the next thing Jayden knew, Mia's lips were caressing his in a soft kiss. Jayden's arms circled her waist automatically and he pulled her closer as he deepened the kiss.

When they finally pulled apart, both were slightly breathless. "I, uh…need to go tell the others about tomorrow. I know they won't like it."

"Don't worry, I'll back you up." Mia exhaled unsteadily. "I um, guess we should keep this," she gestured between them, "to ourselves. For now."

"I think that would probably be better. For now," he agreed.

Mia nodded. "I'm going to make Emily some tea. I'll be in the kitchen when you're ready."

"I just need to talk to Ji first then I'll be ready to tell the team." Jayden tugged on a lock of her hair. "I'll see you soon." Mia smiled at him then walked quickly toward the Shiba house.

Emily found her in the kitchen fussing with tea (the only thing Mia could actually make).

Mia backed up Jayden when he told the other rangers, but she found she couldn't look at him. Her feelings were still too raw. She was scared for him and didn't want him to go. Now that they had finally kissed, both their feelings were evident for the other. She was a little afraid she'd end up like Dayu. Their kiss was still fresh on her mind. She could still feel his strong arms around her, pulling her close, his lips bruising hers with their force. But, she pushed it all down and sealed it into a corner of her heart. It would only hurt the two of them in the coming battle. Mike and Emily noticed that the usually empathetic Mia was rather cold and unfeeling. She sounded harsh, but they didn't have time to address it.

As Jayden prepared to leave, the rangers lined up to say goodbye. Mia told him to do what had to be done. Jayden couldn't bring himself to look at her, but they'd had a private farewell earlier.

Mia found Jayden in the dojo, doing some last minute preparations for his duel. She quietly closed the door and approached him. The other rangers were busy in other parts of the house.

"I came to say goodbye," she said.

Jayden turned at her quiet voice. "Don't worry, Mia. I'm ready."

"I hope so. I really wish you didn't have to do this alone."

"It's the only way."

"I know."

Jayden saw the tears in her eyes. He crossed the room and took her in his arms, gently brushing away her tears. "I'll be careful, don't worry."

"I'll try not to. I know how strong you are. I have faith that you'll win. I'm just…scared." Mia laid her head on his chest, listening to his strong heartbeat. "I know this is the only way and you'll be back soon, I just can't help but worry." Mia pulled back a little and looked up into his face. Her sad, brown eyes tugged at his heart. Jayden leaned down and kissed her.

After a minute he pulled back and said, "Time to go." One last hug then Jayden turned and left the dojo. Mia stayed another minute getting her emotions under control. She wiped her eyes, squared her shoulders and went out into the courtyard with the other rangers to say goodbye to Jayden.

The other rangers were rushing to the seaside to find Jayden. Mia spotted him, kneeling, by the cliff. As they ran toward him she noticed that he was injured. She was the first to reach him and knelt by his side. He was holding his arm. He had defeated Deker. Mia looked toward the cliff edge, feeling a tinge of sadness for Deker and Dayu, but she pushed it away. She was just so glad that Jayden was alright, but she couldn't show how happy she was. She helped him to his feet then let the guys help him back to the house.

Mia shooed everyone away as she tended to his injuries. She gently removed his shirt then carefully washed and dressed his wounds. He began to protest as she pushed him back on the bed and made him lie down. Tenderly, she brushed his hair out of his eyes then bent down to give him a quick kiss.

"Get some rest, Jayden. You've earned it."

"I'm fine, Mia. I don't need to lie around."

"Shhh. Do as you're told. You fought an exhausting duel, now rest so you're ready to lead us tomorrow." She stopped any further protests with another kiss.

"Mmm. Alright, I'll rest," Jayden said dreamily, his eyes still closed. "Just promise you'll stay here until I fall asleep."

"Just try and make me leave."

At the special lunch Antonio had prepared for them all, Jayden insisted that Mia sit to his right. They cast covert looks at each other, but no one seemed to notice. Mostly because Mike and Emily only had eyes for each other, Kevin was obviously thinking about something else, and Antonio was focused on serving food. Ji was preoccupied with the black box. Mia did notice a mysterious look pass between Antonio and Ji. She filed it away to investigate later.

After the meal, Mia used the excuse of checking on Jayden's arm to be alone with him. "How's it feeling?" she asked as she carefully took the sling off.

Jayden carefully tested his range of motion, grimacing a little. "Much better, still a bit stiff."

"You'll be back to normal soon enough. You're just lucky that's the worst that happened to you."

"I know. Deker was formidable. He hit me several times, but I never once scored on him. Until the end, when it counted."

"Jayden, you're the best of us. Deker's had centuries of practice."

"True. But I should be better." Jayden noticed a flash in her eyes. "How are you doing, with what happened?"

She looked at him, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Dayu and Deker will never be together now. He's out of his pain, but hers will continue indefinitely."

Mia shrugged. "I guess I'm a little sad for her. To lose the love of your life, after centuries of pining for him…but," she took a deep breath and said in a determined voice, "She's a Nighlok. All that matters is protecting the world from her."

"Mia," he said, caressing her cheek. "Don't stop feeling. That's not the Mia I know and care about."

She sighed, smiled up at him then nodded.

Jayden smiled at her then turned serious. "We can't be together until this whole business is done."

"I know," she said, frowning and looking at the ground.

"I think it best if we don't meet like this anymore. It's going to get really intense from here on out, we can't afford to lose focus on the battle."

Mia looked up at him, her eyes shiny with unshed tears. "I know that's for the best, but…"

"I know. Me, too. How about one last kiss until all this is over?"

Mia nodded, but she couldn't help but notice something in his eyes as she stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. That kiss lasted a full minute and was sweet, urgent, full of longing, unspoken feelings and possibilities.

Thanks to my pal, dolphingirl375 for encouraging me to go ahead and write/post this.