A/N: The italics are flashbacks.
Some Kind of Fairy Tale
His daughter tugged his hand impatiently. "Daddy, you're supposed to tell me my story. I was a good girl like you said and now you have to tell me my favorite story."
"Of course," Mackenzie Hartford agreed as he picked his little girl up and cradled her close. He brought her upstairs to her bedroom and tucked her in. "Why don't you start the story, Jamie?"
"Once upon a time there was a prince and his princess…"
Mack picked up the tale. "They loved each other dearly, more than all the many treasures of their kingdom, more than the knights of the castle loved their ladies… So, when the princess told the prince that they were going to have a baby, the prince was overjoyed."
Jamie grinned happily as she cuddled with her favorite pink teddy bear. "Then what happened, Daddy?" she asked with wide-eyed innocence.
"The princess, who was intelligent and brave, thought that the baby might be better off growing up with another family…"
As he grinned happily and hugged her tight, mind brimming with plans for their expanding family, Rose pulled away with a serious look on her face. "Rosie?"
She shook her head. "I don't think that we would be able to take good care of the baby, Mack. We have to do the adult thing- give the baby up."
"So, the prince agreed with his princess in the end, despite the fact that he wanted his baby. But before the prince and princess could go to the king, they went out to battle an evil lord by the name of Flurious."
The form of the pink ranger lay on the ground, and a creepy grin crossed Flurious' face. Mack ran to defend his girlfriend, pleading with Flurious not to hurt her.
The icicle took the red and pink rangers hostage, dumping them into an icy prison.
"The prince knew he had to get his princess and the other prisoner, a lady whom a knight of the castle loved, to safety. He tricked Lord Flurious' henchman into letting the three of them go."
Jamie perked up; this was her favorite part of the story. "So then what, Daddy?" she demanded, even though she knew this story as well as she knew all the fairy tales.
"Lord Flurious discovered his three prisoners were nowhere to be found and went after them immediately.
"The princess was not able to fight him; she was tired and weak with hunger and she had her unborn child to think about. Lady Vella helped to hide her while the prince took on Lord Flurious by himself."
"Get Rose to safety, Vella; I can handle Frosty here!" Mack shouted, dealing a heavy blow to Flurious. The villain fought back twice as hard, angry with the red ranger.
"And then…the brave prince fell to Lord Flurious' wrath." Mack spoke these words solemnly, knowing that tears would spring to his daughters' eyes.
"No!" Rose shouted in anguish, falling to her knees. She shook with sobs. "No. No. Not him. Please not him." The pink ranger scrambled to her feet, trying to get to Mack's side. Vella's arms caught her securely, keeping Rose from getting to him. "No," Rose whimpered once more.
"Her heart broken, the princess and Lady Vella made their way back to the castle. The princess spoke to her prince's father, the king of the land. She had made a decision regarding her child, and she felt it important to discuss such with the king."
"Mr. Hartford…before Mack and I were captured by Flurious, we had just found out something really important." Rose wrung her hands, staring at her shoes. "Um, I'm pregnant. I'm pregnant and it's Mack's baby. And now that he's gone…" Rose let a few tears slide down her face, "I have to keep this baby. It's the last part of Mack that I have."
"But the prince was still alive: the villain had tricked the princess and the lady and he had destroyed the prince's locator. He returned to his ice dungeon, this time keeping a much closer watch on the prince.
"The evil lord was looking for a treasure: a crown and its five magical jewels. He had stolen a jewel from another of his enemies and he had destroyed his own brother for the crown. There were four more jewels to discover, and Flurious was sure that the prince could help him."
"Were are they?" Flurious demanded of Mack, sending him another hefty blow. The red ranger went skidding across the ice floor, refusing to cry out. "Were are the jewels?"
Mack was grateful that Flurious hadn't thought to use the blue jewel's power to locate the other four. He thought of Flurious ransacking the mansion…he thought of his Rose…his Rose not getting to safety in time…losing her and the baby… "I'll never tell you anything, Frosty," Mack choked out.
"The prince kept silent for nearly five months, refusing to utter anything about the jewels. No matter what cruel punishment Flurious thought of for him, the prince held his tongue, if only for the sake of the princess and their baby. Then, Flurious decided to use the power of the jewel he had to find the other four…and saw a picture of the prince's castle.
"He took his minions and stole the crown's jewels from the knights and ladies. The prince was frantic with worry about his princess' safety."
"She'll be OK," Jamie whispered.
"When Flurious left the ice dungeon again, he took the prince with him to force him to see the destruction of the kingdom the prince loved so much.
"The knights and ladies joined Flurious for a fight, staying silent at the fact that the prince was still safe after all."
'There's a pink ranger,' Mack thought, 'There should not be a pink ranger here. What on earth is Rose thinking?'
"Be careful, Vella!" Tyzonn shouted as he ran to protect his fiancée.
Rose was safe at home.
"Fighting bravely, the five knights and ladies defeated Flurious. The ladies hugged the prince and the knights welcomed him back. But the prince wanted nothing but his princess.
"When she saw her prince had come home at last, the princess threw herself into his arms."
"Mack!" Rose shouted joyously as she ran to him as fast as her seven months pregnant body would allow. She held him tight, looking up into his eyes with love and adoration, tears streaming down her lovely face. Then she hit him as hard as she could on every part of him that she could reach. "I thought you were dead! I thought I would never see you again!"
"It's all right Rose; I'm home now," Mack promised as he leaned in to kiss her softly. "I'm home."
"Then the princess gave the prince the best news he had ever gotten: they were going to keep their child.
"About two months after the prince returned home to the castle, he and his princess welcomed a beautiful baby girl to their family."
"And they lived happily ever after," Jamie sighed contentedly. "I love that story."
"I know you do, sweetheart," Mack whispered to his daughter as he laid her down and pulled the blankets over her. "Sleep tight. Sweet dreams. I love you."
He was almost out of the room when her little voice spoke once more. "It was you, wasn't it, Daddy? The prince in the story."
"Yes it was," Mack admitted softly. "Yes it was."