DISLCAIMER: I own nothing but the plot and the character of Meredith

SUMMARY: Meredith and Rocky are in a serious, long-term relationship. Kimberly never left because I can't stand the writing another story with the letter in it. (Not because I didn't like it but because it can go into too many directions and I want to stick to this story for now.) Tommy is getting someone to take the gold ranger powers, since Billy was incompatible. This story is told from Meredith's point of view.

Tommy said he had an idea. Tommy always had ideas, but sometimes, they weren't the greatest ones. He wouldn't tell me what his idea was and he was quiet about it with Kimberly. He just told us he was going to get the right person for the Gold Ranger. The rest of us were forced to sit in the Command Center and wait for Tommy to come back.

I hate waiting. On that, Tommy and I are exactly alike. I do tend to think things through a little bit more; he's more rash. But we both hate waiting.

"What do you think he's going to do, Mer," Kimberly asked. I shrugged my shoulders. Rocky, wearing a blue shirt, came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. "He'll be fine, babe," he said, reassuring me when I know he didn't feel the same.

When Tommy's image and that of the soon-to-be gold ranger came into range, Billy was going to teleport them and we'd get our first look at the new gold ranger.

Billy tried to teleport, but announced he'd lost the signal. My heart hit the floor. I didn't know where my brother was and the fate of the world was riding on our shoulders.

"Where is he, Billy? Where is my brother," I asked him, unable to keep the panic from my voice.

Just then the doors opened and Tommy strolled in.

"Relax, Meri. I have the new gold ranger right here," he said. A figure in a long trench coat, wearing sunglasses and a white bandana walked through the door.

I didn't have to see him without his sunglasses to know who it was.

When he took his glasses off, I felt Rocky's hand squeeze hers at the revelation. The new gold ranger was none other than Jason Scott, my former boyfriend.

Upon seeing him without his sunglasses, I promptly performed a 'Kimberly' and fainted, caught by Rocky before I actually hit the floor.

"See, I'm not the only one that has that reaction," Kimberly said.

Jason rushed to my side along with Tommy who was helping Rocky put me on the exam table. "Meri, come on. Wake up," Tommy said. Rocky's face was white. He didn't know what to do and he couldn't understand my reaction.

"Rocky, Tommy. I just had this dream where Jason came back as the gold ranger. Isn't that funny," I said. I looked at Rocky and Tommy and noticed they weren't laughing. Tommy moved out of the way and revealed Jason standing behind him, his face full of concern.

"Why did you have to do that," he asked.

"I don't know," I said.

"Jason's the new gold ranger," Tommy said to me.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you," I said to him.

"MY YOUNG SWAN, ARE YOU FEELING WELL," Zordon asked me.

"I'm fine. The shock of seeing Jason just got me, that's all," I said.

"I UNDERSTAND. ARE YOU ABLE TO GO BACK INTO BATTLE."

"Yes, Zordon," I told him.

"Rangers, you need to get back out there. When the power transfer is complete, we will teleport Jason to the coordinates," Alpha told us.

Jason nodded and Tommy assumed his leader stance and uttered those words that were becoming increasingly common since the machine empire had tried to stake their claim: "It's Morphin Time,"

Each of us morphed into our zeo colored suits and went to face the machine empire. Jason joined the fray shortly after as the gold ranger and we quickly had victory on our side.

Fighting with Jason was like old times and I found myself falling into a comfortable rhythm with him and the rest of the team.

Rocky and I walked home after the battle with the machine empire. I was in need of some fresh air and some alone time with Rocky. We walked through the park talking about our days before finally bringing up the white elephant in the room, Jason.

"How do you feel about him, now," Rocky asked.

"What do you mean? I care about him as a friend and I love him, but not like I love you," I said.

"Just checking," he said. I knew he had something on his mind but I wanted to play dumb just once so I didn't press him for his answer.

We walked back to my house for a little alone time. Tommy was spending the time with Kimberly. She had been offered a spot in Florida to train for the Pan-Globals, her dream. She wanted to stay in California, so her coach had agreed to let her train in California at her home gym and then see how she did in the various competitions. If she did well, she could continue as she was, if not, well there would be serious discussions and I would be involved in almost every one of them.

We got to my house and Rocky got us something to drink. He was at the house so often, my mom teased him about letting him have the guest room in the basement. Tommy and I had laughed at that suggestion We put in a DVD and we snuggled on the couch.

Soon we forgot all about the movie.

Now, I know we are only 16 and 17, but we are teenage superheroes and I think that means we've matured far beyond our years. We'd seen what evil can do and know that it can strike at any time. You have a lot of time to ponder things when your megazord is wiping the floor with some stupid monster. Knowing everything we know about the reality of the world, we had a lot more knowledge than we really wanted. Sex was something that Rocky and I had discussed and, since I already knew too much about Tommy's sex life, was something we kept to ourselves. We knew the time would be right, if we decided to go that far.

Shortly after we got our ninja powers and I was revealed to have the swan as my animal spirit and we fought an epic battle against Ivan Ooze. That's the moment I knew life was fleeting and I was going to seize it. Hours after the fireworks had ended, Rocky and I were walking along the water alone when the subject came up and I announced that I was ready. That totally shocked Rocky.

Needless to say we went from virgin to non in 12 days. Granted if we ever played truth or dare and they asked if we'd ever done anything in our zords besides fly them, we'd have a confession to make that would probably shock everyone. Since my mom was out of town for a medical conference and dad had joined her, Tommy and I were on our own. I knew he wouldn't be home for hours, so I led Rocky upstairs to my bedroom. It didn't take long for us to be on my bed, exploring every inch of each other. (Rocky could do things to me that, well, a lady doesn't kiss and tell.)

We laid on the bed under my blankets, basking in the afterglow. "I still can't believe we've made this step," I said.

"This will definitely make the group sleepovers a lot more fun, I can tell you that," Rocky said.

"We'd better get started on that history assignment," I said, rolling off the bed and gathering my clothes from the floor. Rocky sat there staring. "What," I said.

"You're beautiful. You know that," he said. "I know," I said, throwing his shirt at him.

***Jason's back. What does that mean for Meredith and Rocky's relationship? Will their 'closeness' be tested by Jason's return?'*** -mereditholiver