A/N- Based on the song, "I Will Always Love You" By Whitney Houston. TJ and Cassie story, I believe they should've been together in the show.
Warning- Drug references and character deaths.
Their Addiction
Xxxxx
Angel Grove Cemetery
Angel Grove, CA
Theodore Jay Jarvis 'TJ' Johnson stood across the street watching Cassie's burial. He was estranged from his fellow ex rangers because of the problems he had suffered. Wearing his Oakley, dark colored sunglasses; TJ kept his eyes on the sight.
By the burial, Zordon's Era of rangers looked at TJ. They were curious as to why he hadn't come down to pay his respects to the love of his life. Even though he had spent the last three years apart, there was no doubt TJ and Cassie were bonded by love. Part of them understood why he chose to be segregated. On the other hand, they knew Cassie wouldn't want the man she loved so deeply to be away from everyone.
TJ, stagnant, thought about his life with Cassie.
(Flashback)
Cassie and I began a relationship after the team up with Lost Galaxy. Even before that, more like when I had first met her, I knew she was the girl for me. Her smile, exotic features, caring personality, big imagination, love for music, jealous streak, romantic side, strength, tenacity, soul, all of that, I had fallen in love with.
She never had to take a chance on me, but she did. Our relationship thrived, and Cassie lost her virginity to me. I was a little more promiscuous than her, and I had lost mine, my sophomore year. Either way, Cassie was so in love with me that she decided to give me her precious gift.
We dated for five years, before I called it quits.
If I
Should stay
I would only be in your way
So I'll go
But I know
I'll think of you every step of
the way
In 2001, I became involved in a convoluted and harmful dance with prescription drugs. I wasn't a big fan of opiates like some people; I fell in love with antipsychotic meds- Solian, Abilify, Clozaril, Zyprexa, Seroquel, Risperdal, Serdolect and Zoleptil. Those were my drugs of choice.
I'd snort them like cocaine. I would crush the drugs to the point they were powder. I'd line them up, and I'd shoot it up my nose. The tingling sensation bounced around in there, and I would get a high. After a while, I would place the powder in my weed, and I would smoke a joint like that. To go even further, I'd take several pills at a time. I would drink alcohol with it too.
Cassie stuck by me, and for some time, she even began to experiment with me. One night, things got out of hand.
We had just smoked our fourth blunt, and it was laced with Seroquel powder. I might've smoked three full ones, and Cassie smoked one. The high engulfed my body faster than hers. I needed a drink, so I grabbed the closest thing. The 40 oz. of Olde English sounded delicious. I downed that as if I won $100 for drinking it under the least amount of time.
"Do you love me?" Cassie asked, about to be passed out.
I nodded. I took the biggest gulp of the malt liquor.
"More than the drugs?" Her heartfelt question rang in my heart, but I didn't place two and two together. I shook my head. "Fuck you."
She disrespected me. I couldn't handle that. I got up. "You wanna step to me like a man?" I signaled for her to act like one. The drugs and alcohol had me corrupted.
"No TJ." Cassie whined as she attempted to get up. I pushed her back down. "Stop it!" Her inebriated mouth yelled.
I laughed at her. "If youth cath handle the heat, stay out the kitchen." Slurred from my mouth.
"Shut up!" Cassie hissed with anger. I made her get up. My power was still pronounced. I squeezed her arm. "TJ, ow, you're hurting me." She cried as the tears fell.
I literally turned into a monster, and I dragged her to our bedroom. "You wanna act like a man, then I'm a treat you like one." Cassie backed away from me. Her backside got acquainted with the side wall. She was petrified, and her body shook. She tried to push me away, but with my chest, I pushed her against the wall. Her head kept banging against the white, stucco wall. "You think, you hard all of a sudden?" I asked her with anger. Her weak body began bouncing off the wall like a ball. "If I say, I love drugs more than you, then I love drugs more than you." I was acting out.
"Stop." She weakly cried out. One more time, I slammed her up against the wall. I treated her like a bitch, not caring that she couldn't take it anymore.
"You're not a ranger anymore." I angrily reminded her.
Cassie stared at me. "TJ, I love you." She pleaded for me to stop hurting her. I couldn't do it though. A single blow to the face knocked Cassie out. She collapsed to the floor.
What I had just done, resgistered with me. "Oh my God!" I was horrified at what I had done to her. I tried to wake her up, but she didn't. 9-1-1 was called, and they took her to the hospital, and I made a decision.
And I...
Will always
Love you, oohh
Will always
Love you
You
My darling you
Even though, I wanted her by my side, I couldn't do that to her. She had so much more ahead of her, but she needed me to be gone, so she could accomplish them.
Bittersweet
Memories
That is all I'm taking with me
So good-bye
Please don't cry
We both know I'm not what you
You need
She didn't want the breakup. She begged for me to stop it.
Cassie laid in her hospital bed. She had been put under detox, so she could be admitted to the rehab center. I walked into her room undetected. They placed a restraining order on me. Since I had hit Cassie, I wasn't allowed to be within 1,000 feet of her.
"Hey." I quietly said to her. She gave me her megawatt smile. "I'm so, so, so sorry." I apologized.
She fished for my hand, and she held like her life had depended on it. "Don't worry about it." She quickly forgave me. "I love you, and you love me."
"Cassie, I put you in the hospital. I'm the reason you were even taking the drugs in the first place." I reminded her. She didn't think of it like that. No she saw everything, but my flaws. My heart ached to know that.
"I did the drugs because I wanted to." She lied, hoping to remove the pressure off of me. "You didn't force them down my mouth, or nose, or body. We did them together." She mindlessly assured.
"Cassie." I tried to stop her.
"Babe, don't worry, when we get better, everything is going to be okay. We will be in tip top shape like our ranger days, and we will get passed this…" Her voice stopped. She looked at me, and she read my expression. "TJ?"
"I'm not ready." I told her. She wanted to speak her mind, but I stopped her. "No, you can and will get better, but I'm not ready. I want to keep doing what I'm doing."
"Then, I will too. We are a team, you are the Clyde to my Bonnie, the Romeo to my Juliet, the Marc Antony to my Cleopatra, the John to my Yoko. TJ you aren't alone. We were put on the same bus for a reason. Don't you remember? I was the one that fought by your side, I didn't leave you when those Piranhatrons were on the prowl." Her tears fell. "Please, TJ don't do this to us. I'm begging you. I need you." She looked at me earnestly. "Don't do this to me."
The sincerity of the plea tugged at my heart. On the other hand, I couldn't do that to her. She deserved so much more than the piece of shit I had become. Drugs became my partner, and there wasn't room for Cassie.
"Cass, you need to get better. Do it for both of our sakes. I love you. I will always love you. It's not my time." I began to walk away, but she stopped me.
"TJ." I faced her. "You will always be with me. I love you, and I've known it's been you. No other guy will replace you." With her confession, I gave her a passion filled kiss. Her lips trembled for more, and she tried to bring me in for another one. I shook her hand off of me, and I left hearing her cries.
I hope
life treats you kind
And I hope
you have all you've dreamed of
And I wish you joy
and happiness
But above all this
I wish you love
I left with the best intensions for her. I believed, eventually, we would be resilient enough to get back on our feet. Then, we would resume our relationship where it had left off.
(End Flashback)
That wasn't the case, TJ remembered the phone call he received from Ashley. She informed him, Cassie had died of a drug overdose. She moved from prescription drugs to the hardcore drugs. Heroin became her addiction. One night, Cassie had taken too much; her heart and brain stopped working. The last shot of heroin she did, killed her within 30 seconds. She never had the chance.
TJ continued watching, and he was joined by a former teammate. Andros, clad in black with a red rose stick out of his pocket, stood in front of his subordinate. "Why aren't you down there?" The Red Space ranger questioned.
Stoic, TJ continued looking ahead. "I should ask you the same thing."
"Don't do this." His leader sympathized with him, but there had to be a line. "You didn't do this to Cassie."
TJ scoffed. "I didn't do it to her." He mocked with anger. "I might as well have been the one to place the damn needle in her arm." He needed to leave, and he began to walk away. This was too much for him to take in.
"TJ!" Andros yelled.
"What?" TJ turned to face his ex-leader.
Casually, Andros walked up to TJ. "She's still watching over you. Everyone knows she still loves you. Don't abandon her like you did before."
Those words sent TJ over the edge. He left, knowing he needed something to help him get over this loss.
One Year Later. . .
TJ walked through a baseball field. He remembered when this used to be his life. Playing throw and catch with his dad, or slugging the baseball around.
"America's number one sport." A female's voice commented.
He turned to look at the love of his life. Just like the first time he had met her. Cassie wore her black, gray, and white plaid shirt, gray undershirt, black shorts, and combat looking boots. Her long, ravishing hair laid straight down. He smiled at her. "You know, we can play, right now."
Cassie's ethereal glow approached him. She shook her head. "I've waited close to three years to be with you again. I think we can play catch another time." She winked at him. Magically, Cassie made TJ's scars from his heroin use disappear. She grabbed his hands, and she placed them against her cheeks. "It's you, it's really you." She lovingly basked in his touch.
He held her tightly in his arms. "I'm sorry. I left you when I did. I thought it was for the best." He never wanted to let go.
And I...
Will always love you
I...
Will always love you
"We know better now." Cassie comforted. "I love you."
"I love you." TJ kissed her. "I just couldn't handle it without you anymore."
She held his hands as they walked away. "TJ, I will always love you, no matter what."
They disappeared, and the only thing they left was his solid form with a syringe still sticking in his right arm's vein.