This is the companion piece to "Angel Watching Over Me". It's been on my hard drive for over a year now, so I decided to post it. I may finish "AWOM", but I can't guarantee anything, but I probably will eventually because I hate unfinished things. Yes, if you read Lurlene McDaniel, you'll notice that these are titles of a trilogy of books. They're good, if you like sad stories. Power Rangers are not mine, but Trinity is.
Zack's Return: Until Angels Close My Eyes
Zack Taylor was finally coming home. He'd been gone from Angel Grove for twelve years. Twelve long years in which he'd been to Switzerland, finally figured out that he was in love with an amazing woman, gone to college, married his woman, became a father, and then finally lost her in a senseless car accident.
Zack sighed. In the five years since Trini had died, the wounds were still raw. He didn't think that they would ever fully heal. She had been driving to Angel Grove to see her parents to tell them about her pregnancy. She hadn't been wearing her seatbelt and the crash had killed her instantly. Trini was usually so particular; he couldn't understand why her seatbelt hadn't been on. After that, Zack had never told anyone that Trini was pregnant with their second child. They had only found out three days before the accident and everyone was already grieving for Trini, in his own grief, he'd made the decision not to tell anyone else.
Trinity, their daughter, had only been three when her mother had died. It made him ache when he looked at her, and saw Trini's eyes staring at him, but other times it made him feel better that there was a tangible result from their love.
At the funeral he'd been inconsolable. All the former Rangers had shown up, even teams that hadn't known her. He had been honored that they had supported her. He drove into the cemetery, the first since the funeral that he'd come here. He found her granite headstone and he parked in front of it. He sat there, head tipped back and clenching the steering wheel, before finally getting out. It was silly to be nervous over seeing her now.
Zack knelt down and spoke softly to the stone. "I love you, Trini. I'm sorry I haven't been back to see you before now, but while this is your body's final resting place, your spirit is still with me, so I hope it doesn't offend you that I'm not going to visit often. Trinity is staying with my parents today; I'll bring her next time. She's gotten so big and I know you'll be proud of her. She's already skipped a grade and they want her to skip another. I know how you feel on children staying children especially since we gave up so much of our teenage years." He traced her name etched in the stone above the picture of a tiger. "Do you remember when we got together? We were in Switzerland, getting ready to leave the Peace Conference and you challenged me to a wrestling match. I was so concerned about not hurting you and trying to hide the reaction that I was having at finally being so close to you, that I couldn't see that you wanted me too. You finally pinned me on the ground and kissed me and that was that. There was never anyone else for me." He laughed softly. "You always were a tiger when you wanted something."
"I've missed you so much over the last couple years. I'll never regret the time we had together. Remember this Trini, I'll love you until angels close my eyes and then I'll be with you again."