Dress to Impress
Just another little short before the series resumes and I can begin my version of the conclusion arc. Hope you enjoy it.
Legal: I don't own Power Rangers, or the associated Names, Places, Events, Characters etc. Anything not covered by the above rights is to be considered the creation of the author.
Rating: T – slight adult material
Timeline: The day after the events of "Casey's Luck."
As she watched the customers coming and going, Lily took a moment to rest by the counter. She looked down at her left hand to the two rings on her fourth finger with a broad smile. She loved her new life. Granted when she was a little girl she'd never have suspected that living and working in a pizza parlour would be what made her this happy, but then nothing could have prepared her for meeting the owner of this particular restaurant. RJ was totally unlike anyone she had ever met. No matter what trials had been thrown their way, he had always stepped up and met the challenge when the time came. With him by her side, she could accomplish anything.
There had been many changes around the restaurant in the years that had passed. The restaurant itself was now much bigger. Business had gotten a lot busier, and so RJ had not only repaid his loan to Dr. Hartford, but had earned enough to buy the building next door and had the wall knocked through, effectively doubling the size, and necessitating the hiring of some of the local high school kids as waiters.
Theo and Casey had stopped working there and moved out to apartments elsewhere in the city, somewhat of a necessity as their families grew. At times they still missed having them in the apartment, but they weren't strangers; they were all regular visitors, coming over most days. Even Dom had moved out, though due to his friendship with RJ he had settled into the routine of working at Jungle Karma and earned himself a position as RJ's Assistant Manager.
A strong arm snaked its way around her waist, pulling her back into his warm body and squeezing her gently. He pulled her hair back and kissed her neck softly, causing her to giggle slightly. Despite how long they'd been together, she still loved how it felt when he greeted her like that. RJ had always told her that he loved the way she reacted whenever he kissed her like that.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" RJ asked her in a gentle whisper.
"RJ, it was our anniversary last month." She told him. "And as much as I know you'd like it to be, it isn't your birthday for another couple of weeks."
"Not exactly what I meant." He stated, holding up her wrist so that she could see the watch he had given her on their first Christmas together. Lily's smile slipped a little as she saw the time. School had ended several minutes ago, and the kids would no doubt be waiting impatiently to be picked up. "The kids will be wondering where Mommy is."
"Oh great, looks like I'm pulling out the bribery ice-cream again." She muttered, pulling off her apron and grabbing her coat. "I can't believe I lost track of time again."
"Oh I wouldn't take it too hard." RJ chuckled, kissing her gently. "Memory's the first thing to go when you get old."
"Hey, I'm not old!" She shrieked, playfully slapping his chest. "Do remember you are four years older than me!"
"You know I'm just playing honey." RJ replied. "I'll have dinner ready by the time you get back."
Lily ran out of the restaurant and jumped into the car, fumbling with her keys and turning over the engine of her car. She pulled away, racing towards the school, muttering a curse under her breath as she saw the tell-tale flash of the speed-camera on the freeway.
"Great, that's another bloody ticket!" She moaned, hitting the off ramp. A short drive later, she pulled up to the collection zone and killed the engine. Suddenly, her frustration at losing more money to the DMV melted away as she saw the thing that made her happier than anything in the world. She threw open the door as she saw her children making their way over. Just as they were about to come into the car and into view, she felt the image slipping away. She hated it when her dreams were pulled away as they got to the good part.
Back in RJ's bedroom, she squirmed and tried to swat away her tormentor. When she hadn't woken with him on their alarm, he'd taken to gently blowing on her ear, something he knew she couldn't stand and annoyed the hell out of her.
"RJ!" She groaned as she slowly came to, rubbing sand from her eyes. "Leave me alone."
"Lily, it's time to get up." He told her. "The restaurant won't open itself."
"Let Casey do it!" She whined, pulling the covers over her head. "We both worked double shifts covering for him last night."
"Lily, I hate to be awake in the bedroom alone." He warned her playfully. "Now you can get up, or I can start tickling."
"You don't fight fair, you know that?" She chuckled, getting out of the bed. She looked down to her left hand and sighed. She and RJ had agreed that it was best to wait until they had dealt with Dai Shi before they went ahead with arranging the wedding, but she was starting to get a little impatient. She just couldn't wait until the day they would get married. She wished that they could get rid of Dai Shi quickly and get down to the exciting business of planning everything. As much as she loved being engaged to him, the thought of making the vows excited her even more.
"Do you want the first shower?" He asked, getting out of bed and gesturing to the en-suite. He could see she wasn't paying attention and reached a hand over, messing up her hair to bring her back around.
"You were dreaming again weren't you?" He asked. Lily nodded in response.
"I woke up before I saw them again." She responded with a small sigh. She had told RJ about the dreams before. He loved the fact she was visualising their future, but he knew that certain things frustrated her, such as the fact her dreams always seemed to end before she saw their kids.
"Do remember that they're dreams, not premonitions." He reminded her. "The future isn't set in stone. We might have kids, we might not. Hey, we might have a whole soccer team!"
Lily turned and glared at him, her mouth wide with a little panic as he said this. Although she wanted kids, the thought of spending most of her married life in labour was not her idea of the future she was planning for herself.
"Not on your life mister!" She snapped, crawling across the bed sheets over to him, reaching a hand behind his head and pulling him down. She kissed him deeply, causing his heart to swell with joy, before pulling away and staring deeply into his eyes.
"I guess I can live with just a couple." He chuckled. RJ was as excited as she was about the prospect of spending his life with her. He had been a bachelor for a long time before Lily came into his life. He had blown so many potential dates, and his one real relationship before they became anywhere near this serious, though he had now come to believe that was because he was waiting for her.
"So do you want the first shower?" He asked her.
"Do you?" She asked in return.
"I offered it to you." He replied, kissing her again. Lily enjoyed these moments together. Time alone was somewhat of a rare commodity at JKP since there were now seven of them living there, so the few moments before they went to sleep and immediately after they woke up were some of the few they had to themselves.
"You know, there is a way we can both get the first shower." She suggested, raising an eyebrow. RJ smiled as her suggestion registered itself in his mind.
"Bring a towel." He told her. "I'll get the water to temperature."
Watching him go, Lily felt her disappointment at not seeing her kids in her dream melting away. She loved her time with him. Picking up a towel, she made her way to the bathroom. She guessed if she was meant to see the kids she would have. Besides, it would spoil the surprise if she did; she was looking forward to seeing how things would go. As long as she was with RJ, she'd never be disappointed.
Casey was meditating in the main room while the others got ready. Given his disastrous proposal to Camille the previous night, he would have thought it would be easy to get some sleep, but his body just wasn't cooperating with the request. He ended up getting up a couple of hours previously and had taken to meditating to straighten out his thoughts. He was glad she had said yes, but the experience itself was not what he had planned. His eyes snapped open as he heard a knock on the door.
"Who could that be?" He grumbled, getting off the floor. Apparently fate was conspiring against him to ensure he wasn't getting any form of rest today. Making his way to the door, he opened it to find a Fed Ex guy standing there, holding a large parcel.
"I have a delivery for Lily..."
"I'll sign for it." Casey interrupted, a little impatient at having been disturbed from his meditation. He was always a little cranky when his rest was disturbed. Signing the docket, he brought the parcel inside, inspecting the sender's address as he arrived back in the main room.
"Good Morning Casey." Fran greeted him in a yawn as she and Theo made their way from their room. "What do you have there?"
"It's a package for Lily." He replied. "It looks like it's from her dad."
"What makes you so sure?" Theo asked as they went to the exercise area.
"Do you know anyone else who lives on a military base in the Middle East?" Casey asked him in response, gesturing to the docket attached to the package. Theo realised he'd obviously read the sender's address.
"I hated getting stuff in the mail." Fran announced as she began her preparations for meditation. Her fox spirit was still weak from Dai Shi's attack, and she was taking no chances with it, so she began each day with mental exercises to help it recover. She realised the others were staring at her. "Well mom and dad shot through, and I didn't exactly have many friends, so all I ever used to get sent were bills I could hardly ever pay."
"I guess that makes sense." Casey responded. "So Theo, fancy a bit of weapons practice?"
"Sure." He replied, gesturing Casey to the sparring mats. "Sabres or nunchaka?"
"Surprise me." Casey implored him. "I'll whip you with either."
"Oh, just for that, you're going down." Theo told him, picking up the plastic training sabres. RJ and Lily arrived in the room at this point.
"Not so fast." RJ announced as Theo was looking out weapons. "I want to try something new today. You all know how to fight without weapons and you all know how to fight with your own weapons."
RJ arrived at the weapons rack, picking up the Jungle Mace replica. He handed it to Casey, before handing the Rhino Blade replica to Theo.
"Uh...these aren't our weapons RJ." Casey stated.
"Exactly." He replied. "Like I said, you know how to fight without weapons, and you know how to fight with your own weapons..."
"So you want to see if we can fight with each other's weapons." Theo concluded.
"That's right." He replied. "If you had no other option, would you be able to handle it?"
"Well Theo can use my Junglechuks." Casey stated. "He showed me how to use them."
"That's one lesson we can skip then." RJ replied. "So, I believe you were going to spar?"
"I'm game." Casey stated, beginning to swing the Jungle Mace as he'd seen Lily do so many times before.
"Bring it on cub." Theo taunted him playfully, strapping the Rhino Blade to his arm. RJ stood back to watch the inevitable display.
Lily, however, was totally distracted. Seeing the package addressed to her on the table, she began carefully opening it, opening the main flap. It was addressed to her from her father's current base, so she knew it had to be important if he was willing to pay for a Fed Ex from the Middle East. She only caught a glimpse of the contents before slamming the lid shut and looking round in panic to see if anyone had seen its contents. Satisfied she was the only one paying attention; she gathered it up in her arms and rushed into the bedroom.
She lay it down on the bed with a couple of tears beginning to form. She opened the package beholding the beautiful garment inside. She saw a letter inside addressed to her and opened it. It was indeed a letter from her father, along with a photograph. She began reading his latest correspondence.
'Dear Lily.
How are you? I'm getting along alright. Thankfully I haven't had any major activity recently; my last vacation took a lot out of me. You know what they say about after a vacation needing another one.'
Lily's first tears dripped from her chin to her t-shirt. She knew his letters would have to pass a censor, so he couldn't say it. Of course, she knew exactly what he meant. Calling on his mandrill spirit to protect her from Dai Shi had almost killed him. She was glad that he hadn't gotten into trouble, and even more so he hadn't needed to put himself in danger when he was still recovering from the experience.
'Anyway, I'm sure you've already seen what's in the parcel.' His letter continued. 'RJ's a good man, and I know he'll make me proud as a son-in-law. I just wanted to pass this to you. It's your mother's wedding dress.'
Lily pulled the delicate garment out of the box and inspected it through misty eyes. She wished her mother was still alive to be here for this moment. She ran her fingers across its shiny, smooth white silk surface. It was a beautiful, off-shoulder white bodice, patterned with pale yellow embroidery depicting a field of flowers, finished with a billowing skirt of white silk and lace. Lily could remember her mother telling her that her first holiday with her father had been in northern France, near Flanders, and that he had taken her to a beautiful meadow to propose to her. That was what the bodice was patterned after. She picked up the letter and continued reading.
'I hope it brings you and RJ as much happiness as it did for us. I've enclosed one of our wedding pictures for you. Keep in touch.
Love, dad'
Lily was almost completely overcome as she read this. She pulled out the picture and could see immediately what he had always said.
Her mother was truly beautiful. She was almost the same height and build as Lily, the only difference being that she had brown hair. She was almost identical, even right down to the few faint, barely-noticeable freckles across her nose and cheeks. Even the bright, broad smile was the same. Behind her, holding her closely was a young man who was undoubtedly her dad, though considerably younger. He was incredibly handsome in his dress uniform. He held his beloved Lisa tenderly in his arms and cradled her with the kind of love that was destined to last a lifetime. She threw aside the letter and pulled the dress up, hugging it warmly. She could almost still smell her mother's perfume on its fabric. She had worn it only once in her life, but to her the most important day.
Lily looked to the door, seeing that it was firmly shut, blocking her from view. Laying the dress down on the bed, she pulled off her t-shirt.
Theo was doing one of his annoying victory dances after defeating Casey. The Red Ranger slammed a hand down on the mat in frustration.
"It's not fair!" He roared in a childish tone. "He has a rigid weapon. This damned mace kept tripping me up!"
"That, my tiger, is why I wanted you to try other weapons." RJ replied. "Theo, this time YOU will use the jungle mace."
Theo felt his grin slip as Casey switched weapons with him. Just then their morphers bleeped.
"Rinshi." Fran snapped, already at the surveillance system, watching the screen. "Lots of them, in the industrial region."
"Saved by the bell." Casey sighed, throwing down the Rhino Blade. Theo didn't want to admit it, but he was also glad the training session had ended. He wasn't keen on trying out the Jungle Mace; Casey's performance was embarrassing to say the least. When he wasn't strangling himself or braining himself with it, he was tripping over it. Despite being highly amused at the display, Theo knew how hard it was to wield the Jungle Mace effectively and was in no hurry to embarrass himself.
Lily had finished buttoning up the bodice. It wasn't easy to do so by herself, clearly this dress was designed for aesthetics and not for practicality. She went to the mirror and looked at herself in the gown. She could instantly see the reason her father found it so hard to look at her. She was almost exactly like her mother in that dress. She looked at herself in the mirror and imagined her own pictures with RJ, him standing over and behind her as he always had; his warm, tender arms around her. She couldn't wait until he was waiting at the
altar, nervous and fidgeting. She could see him turning to watch her coming towards her and...
"Lily!" RJ called out, pounding on the door. "We're needed!"
She felt her heart hitting her throat and pounding in her ears.
'Oh god, he can't see me like this!' She thought to herself. While she wasn't especially superstitious, this was one she didn't want to take chances on. It had taken so much for RJ and herself to get to this point in the relationship that she wasn't going to take any chances on their marriage.
"Uh...go on without me!" She called through, beginning to struggle with the dress. Now she realised why a bride usually always had someone else to help her with the dress. Getting in was a chore, getting out again was like trying to get out of a straightjacket. She could hardly reach the buttons, and was finding it all but impossible to undo them by herself. "I'll catch up."
"Are you alright?" He asked. She saw the doorknob start to rattle and panicked, she threw herself against the door, holding it shut.
"I've...got something important...to do." She stammered. "I'll be there soon."
Back in the main room, RJ was starting to wonder what had gotten into Lily when Dom ran over to him and slammed a hand on his shoulder, drawing his attention.
"Yo RJ, there's Rinshi to be beaten." He rushed out.
"But Lily..."
"She'll catch up." He interrupted. "Come on. Let's not let the primary colours have all the fun."
With that, they grabbed their vines and swung out of the apartment.
Lily sat in her bedroom and cursed herself for her childish enthusiasm. Despite her responsibilities, she had succumbed to temptation and strapped herself into this straightjacket of a wedding dress. As beautiful as it was, she was now stuck.
"Lily?" Fran asked weakly.
"Who's there?" Lily asked.
"Chuck Norris." She replied sarcastically. "Who'd you think it was?"
"No, I know it's you Fran!" Lily barked. "Are any of the guys there?"
"Uh...No, it's only me and Camille."
"Are you certain?" Lily asked, reaching around again, unsuccessfully to release herself. Why did she have to get into this damned contraption? It seemed to be some form of ironic torture. She loved the dress, but now it was being a total pain in the ass.
"Only Camille and I are here." Fran confirmed. "Why?"
Lily breathed a heavy sigh and opened the door, stepping into the main room. Fran gasped as she saw her.
"Lily, you look..."
"Fran, where are the others?" She rushed out. Fran gestured to the monitors.
"The industrial district." Fran replied.
"I'm going." Lily barked, grabbing the trail of her dress as she activated her morpher. As usual, the power of the morpher turned her into her Ranger form, the dress melting away. She then ran and swung through the tunnel on her vine and headed into battle.
"This'll end in tears." Fran sighed.