A/N: This is a songfic one-shot. The main characters are Alex Drake and Jen Scotts. This is what happens during the course of their relationship. Beginning, middle, to the end of it, and the aftermath. Based on the song "The One that Got Away" by Katy Perry.
A/N: This is something different, and I dedicate this to Dinomus. He gave me the idea for the song, and he wondered if I could do another power couple. I chose this one, I hope you like it, Dinomus. =)
A Tattoo and A Ring
From the moment I was born, I had a mission in life. I wanted to be a Time Force Police officer. By high school, I was pretty much on my way. Then, I met Jen Scotts. Lucas and Katie had introduced me to her. They wanted me to meet her, and I agreed. I was really wowed by her. There was something about her soft brown hair, doe brown eyes, and milky skin that captivated me. She's beautiful, inside and out. Most of all, she could kick my ass. I liked her no fear aura, and her take charge type of style. Never the girly-girl, Jen possessed a more ruggedness trait rather than the daintiest one. Together, we studied for the Time Force entrance exam. When we were accepted, I asked her to be my girlfriend. She said yes.
We spent our time training to be Time Force police officers, hanging out with our friends, and doing what young adults do. Jen and I were inseparable. At our young age, I knew she was the one for me.
Summer after high school when we first met
We make out in your Mustang to Radiohead
And on my 18th Birthday
We got matching tattoos
On her 18th birthday, we went to the tattoo shop. We wanted to reinforce the strength of our relationship. I remember that day vividly. We walked into 'Dirty Jay's Tattoo Shop'. Don't let the name fool you, by the way. That had to be the cleanest shop I've ever been in. Dirty Jay, isn't even dirty at all. He was a lawyer by day and a tattoo artist by night. His whole body, minus his face and hands, are tatted. Dress shirts and slacks cover his body very well. Jen and I gazed over the different pictures on the walls.
"What do you think about a bird?" Jen asked as she looked at the different ones.
I shook my head. "No, I don't want to copy Dr. Thomas Oliver and Kimberly Hart-Oliver." She looked at me questioningly. "They are the Falcon and Crane."
"Were." Jen reminded me. She was right, they had been deceased for about over 900 years. She smiled. "They are wonderful role models. Aren't they?" I nodded. "You're right though. Birds were definitely their thing."
"What about the kanji symbols?" I questioned as I saw a bunch of them on the wall.
"Nope." She adamantly answered. "Too cliché. Besides, Jayden and Mia from Samurai already did that."
"Leave it up to the past power ranger teams to take all the best ideas for tattoos." I joked.
"Shut up." She playfully giggled. Her giggles sounded like music to my ears. She looked around some more. "I definitely don't want to get your name on me. That's too tacky."
"Would hearts do?" I looked at the tri-linked hearts. It curved into an arch. I had seen the pink Time Force uniform. The helmet had a heart, and it made the most sense to me. Yes, it might have been too womanly, but maybe there was a way to make mine, more masculine. "What do you think?"
"I love it." She grinned widely.
Dirty Jay and his partner, Dusty Dan, got to work. We both had the tri-linked hearts tattooed on our right inner wrist. She had hers shaded in, but I didn't want mine like that. The outline of mine was a bit thicker. It truly symbolized our love because we had been together for 3 years, at that time. One heart for each year.
I held up my wrist to the mirror. It came out great. "This is my promise to you, Jen." I kissed her.
Maybe we were a little crazy for getting a tattoo. Maybe we were a little young to understand what love truly meant. Maybe we were acting impulsive. Whatever we were acting on or feeling, it made sense to us. That night, Jen and I lost our virginities to each other. It was perfect.
Used to steal your parents' liquor
And climb to the roof
Talk about our future
Like we had a clue
While training to be on Time Force, Jen and I had lived a pretty disciplined lifestyle. In bed by 10, up by 6. Gun training, sparring, emergency hostage situations, illegal time jumping, routine incarcerated persons' patrol, and any other type of other crises you can imagine. We trained for. Katie, Jen's best friend, Trip, and Lucas, my best friend, and I were focused on the life of a Time Force officer.
We prepared ourselves for this type of job, mentally and physically. Emotionally, I was all about my love for Jen. Love was the most important aspect.
Shortly after all of us turned 18, we became Time Force officers. We needed to celebrate. Even in the year, 3000, the legal drinking age was 21. Still, this was probably our first and last time to act like an irresponsible adult, so Lucas and I raided our parent's alcohol closet. That was a fun night, from what I could actually remember. All five of us drank like there was no tomorrow.
Jen and I had a long, intimate talk on the roof top of the headquarters. We separated ourselves from the group. I'm surprised we didn't get caught by Captain Logan.
Jen and I were making out. She slightly moaned against my lips. "Alex, tell me you love me." She demanded.
"I love you, Jen Scotts." I confessed. I showed her my tattoo as a token of my love. "Jen, tell me you love me."
She smiled. "Alex Drake, I love you with all of my heart." She climbed on top of my lap. There was still a bottle of vodka, wait no rum, wait I think it was gin, no, now that I think about it, I think it was whiskey. Yeah it was whiskey. She put the bottle to my lips, and I drank what she allowed me to have. I swallowed. The burning sensation of the alcohol came down my throat. Jen's glassy eyes stared into mine. Her eyes then roamed down to my lips. There was moisture there. She licked around the perimeter to get the excess liquid off. Then her lips crashed into mine. "I promise to love you, until the day I die." We made love on the roof top.
We were naked, and we watched the sun ascend in the distance. "One day, you will be my wife, I whispered into her ear." She snuggled deeper into my chest. I smiled, and continued to watch the darkness turn into dawn. My mission for the day, I needed to purchase the engagement ring.
With the engagement ring, there was going to be more than marriage proposed. I would promise her my life, my heart, soul, spirit, love, basically, all of me. That's what ran through my mind when I spent my entire savings on that one, ring.
However, I got cold feet. I didn't ask her to marry me, no, I waited three years after we became officers to ask her. She accepted without hesitation. Sometimes, I wondered what would have happened if I hadn't waited those three years. Would things have changed?
Never planned that one day
I'd be losing you
When I 'died' in Jen's arms, the look on her face, it said every emotion she felt about me, at that time. She was in love, she was hurt, she hated Ransik, and she didn't want me to go. She needed me. I was their Captain. I was her love, I was a best friend, a son, and a leader. People needed me, and I gave Jen my morpher. She's made to be a leader. Ransik wasn't going to stop until he changed history somehow. He would do something worse than killing me in front of my fiancée. I thought I was going to die, so I needed my love to lead the team. I commanded my team to travel to the past and defeat Ransik. She agreed. What really happened, was I lead her into the arms of another man.
In another life
I would be your girl
We'd keep all our promises
Be us against the world
After Jen, Katie, Lucas, and Trip had left for the year, 2001, I was on my way to recovery. I believed they could handle everything back in the past. That's why I chose to stay in the shadows.
Not a day went by, where I didn't worry about Jen or my friends. However, 'dying', then coming right back to life, I guess my life flashed before my eyes. It changed me.
As I watched the events in the past unfold, everything was going according to plan, until the timeline started to shift. It began to change things in the future. My fiancée had stayed out there for too long, and on top of that, she was getting close to my ancestor, Wesley 'Wes' Collins. Great, this guy unlocked the morphers because of his DNA, it doesn't mean, 'stick your DNA in my fiancée', you fucking douche.
Ransik was still evading the authorities and wreaking havoc on Silver Hills, but everything was changing too fast. That's when I came to the past.
In another life
I would make you stay
So I don't have to say
You were the one that got away
The one that got away
Jen was shocked to see me, to say the least. She was distant towards me, and she felt I was a bit colder than usual. Well, I almost died, I sent my fiancée to the past because she was the only other one capable of running a team of fucking power rangers, she's now flirting with my ancestor, and I'm stuck behind the sidelines, not able to do a God damn thing. Sorry, for feeling a little bit colder than usual. She hated how I did everything by the books. Well, that's how it works. We kept fighting about it.
"Jen, I don't understand why you are so unhappy to see me." I was being honest towards her.
She pranced around in her leather jacket, pink shirt, plaid skirt, and boots. I never understood what happened to her uniform. Her civilian clothing was really unnecessary. "Alex, I thought you were dead." She enunciated the dead part. She paced back and forth, as did I. "I'm just shocked."
"Well, I'm not dead!" I reiterated. I motioned at my body. "I'm here, I've been watching, I'm the one helping you four, and I guess five now." I referenced, Eric Myers, the rogue ranger. I really didn't like the guy.
"You couldn't tell us this before!" She practically hissed out at me.
I was a little taken aback by her ferocity. "Jen, please, I had to do what was right. Besides, Wes' father dies by sundown tomorrow. Wes' destiny lies in taking over his family business. He was never meant to be a power ranger. The morpher-" I held it up for her. "is really mine." At that point, I felt like I lost Jen. She still held on to her engagement ring, so I had hope.
I was June and you were my Johnny Cash
Never one without the other we made a pact
Sometimes when I miss you
I put those records on
A couple of days later, I used future technology to save Mr. Collins. I don't know what came over me, but I helped Mr. Collins and Wes. I guess without those two, I would've never been alive.
I also, gave the morpher back to Wes. It was obvious, Wes and I had acted as a leader in different ways. Wes was a team player, and I wasn't. I'm Commander, now, and what I say or did goes. However, they didn't like that. I quickly apologized and handed Wes back the morpher. I refuse to call it his.
Once Wes was back on the team, the look on Jen's face, it was love. She had a sparkle in her eye. Her aura changed. Around me, she felt sad, depressed even. When she's around Wes, there is happiness, and maybe a giddiness about her. The dynamic in mine and Jen's relationship changed, but as I said before, I still had hope. She wasn't the only one happy to have Wes back, Trip, Katie, and my best friend, Lucas, were excited to have him back. I felt replaced.
I went back to the future with a sense of determination. After the mission in the past was complete, Jen and I would still get married. In spite of everything, I believe I still belonged to her. Our favorite records helped me cope with missing her.
Someone said you had your tattoo removed
Saw you downtown singing the Blues
It's time to face the music
I'm no longer your muse
Captain Logan noticed a change in me. I wasn't the same Alex Drake, who had joined Time Force, he felt I changed into a robot. A man up by 6 am, down by 10 pm; I was cold, indifferent, and set on my ways, and I guess I attributed it to missing Jen. It kept me busy while I waited for her to be back by my side.
I was watching the past. Captain Logan came up to me. "Sir, why did you interfere with Circuit's controls?"
"He doesn't need to disclose anything about the future to them." I said.
"Is it because you're trying to change the past?" He questioned me.
I cleared my throat. "It's a little bit more complicated than that, I guess." I admit, I was way in over my head trying to change the past. I was doing it to benefit me.
"For someone who usually plays by the books, you are playing awfully dirty." Captain Logan observed.
I turned my attention to Capt. Logan. "For your information, I am your commander, now. I am in control. Don't question, what I'm doing, understand?"
"Understood." He saluted me. I saluted him back. He walked away, but I heard his whisper. "She's not yours anymore."
I took a look at my wrist. The tattoo I had was still there. It was a reminder of mine and Jen's love. She doesn't belong in the past, and she definitely doesn't belong to Wesley Collins. I read the archives; he dies trying to save the world. I told Jen, he's not meant to be a power ranger.
All this money can't buy me a time machine
It can't replace you with a million rings
I shoulda told you what you meant to me
'Cause now I pay the price
Time Machines, they are a funny thing. We used them to travel from the past to the future or the future to the past. I used to think they were beneficial, but I began to resent them.
As the final battle came, I let the rangers know, Wes dies. I needed to get them back to the future. Then, I could be with Jen, and Wes couldn't interfere. Plus, I needed them to be safe. It was Wes' time to go.
I needed to erase her memory of the past. That would really get rid of Wes Collins. On top of that, it was Time Force policy. I knew there was something l liked about playing by the books. My happiness was short lived, though. They immediately petitioned to help Wes. For Jen, she wanted the love of her life to be alive. I wasn't the love of her life anymore, she handed me the engagement ring back. That was the nail in the coffin, so to say.
"Take Megazord in Jet Mode. It has the best chance of making it through the vortex." I advised.
Jen looked at me. "Thank you." She was grateful. I watched them leave. I should've told her how much I loved her, but I didn't. It was hopeless. She wasn't going to be, Mrs. Jennifer Drake. I looked at the engagement ring, and I felt broken.
In another life
I would be your girl
We'd keep all our promises
Be us against the world
After the final battle, Jen, Lucas, Katie, and Tip returned to the future. My relationship with them was strictly professional. They immediately got back to work. I saw Jen around, she missed Wes a lot. Her body expression, her actions, it was obvious. The video of Jen telling Wes how much she loves him before she left, kept flashing in my mind.
It's crazy how much of our relationship had change. We had been together for six years, and now, we weren't even friends. We promised each other forever, but that promise was broken.
She's my subordinate. When Jen began to track the Mutorgs, I began to worry. I confronted her about it.
"I don't want you to go." I told her.
She scoffed at me as she was getting ready to leave. She was heading to the year 2002, and I had a feeling there was another reason why she was heading there. "You can't tell me what to do."
"As your commander, I am looking out for your best interest. These are not just Mutants, these are Mutants mixed with Orgs-Mutorgs, Jen, this mission is crazy." I informed her.
"I'm a big girl, I can swim, now." She simply said.
I had to scoff. "Please, Jen, this is something for the next set of rangers to deal with. Wild Force can handle this."
"Stop telling me what to do." She rebutted. I watched her grab her cloak. She turned her attention to me. "You could never tell me what to do when we were boyfriend and girlfriend, or when we were engaged, and now, as a subordinate, I won't follow you."
I looked out the window. "Are you going to save the world, or are you going to save Wes?"
She cleared her throat and began to walk out. Before she left, she poked her head back in the door. "Both." Then she left.
In another life
I would make you stay
So I don't have to say
You were the one that got away
The one that got away
A couple of days after the battle with Mutorgs was done, Lucas, his girlfriend, Nadira, Katie, Trip, and Ransik made their way back. There seemed to be a lot of changes. It was both good and bad.
"Where's Jen?" I asked Lucas.
Lucas smiled. "She decided to stay in the past with Wes."
"She did what?" I gulped. This was a bitter pill to swallow.
"Don't worry, she's opted to have any thoughts of the future erased." He informed.
"So, she doesn't recognize any of us?" I asked him.
Lucas looked at me funny. "She knows who we are, but she doesn't know what happens in the future."
"Babe, you ready to go?" Nadira walked up to us. Lucas nodded. He waved goodbye to me, and they walked off hand in hand.
I watched as Katie and Trip walked off together as well. Ransik tipped his head towards me, and I think he went to spy on his daughter and Lucas.
That left me alone. All of that happened a year ago. Since then, I've heard from Katie that Wes ad Jen got married. Currently, she's pregnant with a baby boy. She's never been happier. I just smiled at her, but hid my hurt inside.
Now, I find myself in front of 'Dirty Jay's Tattoo Shop'. Jay noticed me.
"Hey, aren't you the one that came in with your girlfriend all those years ago?" Jay inquired. I nodded. "That has to be some of the finest work I've done." He smiled at me.
"Yeah, I needed to get it covered up." I informed
He furrowed his brows. "You and the Lil' Lady aren't together anymore?"
"No, we haven't been together for about 2 years now." I said. He gasped. "Yeah, she's the one that got away." I resentfully informed. I should've never sent Jen to the past. I regret it, but at the same time, I shouldn't be so selfish. She's happy with her life with Wes.
The End.