Disclaimer: As much as I would like for it to be, Power Rangers is not my creation.

A/N: I already have several chapters written for this story but feel free to make suggestions. They may make me take the story in a completely different direction.

Ch. 1 Loss

The small one-year-old boy and girl curled up together in a futile effort to keep warm. Andros opened one sleepy eye and found himself looking at a baby other than his sister. Ashley suddenly opened her eyes and was surprised to see someone besides her brother in the crib with her. As though they were cued, their mothers entered the room holding their siblings and placed them in the crib.

"I think they noticed," Kristen Vulcan, Andros and Karone's mother, stated as she watched her son crawl over to his sister. Donna Hammond, Marcus and Ashley's mother, just nodded as she watched her twins curl up on the other end of the crib. They continued to watch their children until they had all fallen back asleep.

"You're sure you don't mind watching them for a few days?" Donna questioned once they were back downstairs.

"I'm sure," Kristen answered for what seemed like the thousandth time that day. "Besides, Andros and Karone need to learn to play with other kids their age." By this time their husbands, Aarcuus and Daniel, had returned with Donna's older son, Jeff. "It's about time you three got back."

"Mommy!" six-year-old Jeff cried as he ran into his mother's waiting arms. "I want to go with you and Daddy."

"We need you to stay here and help with Ashley and Marcus," Daniel tried to explain to his impatient son. "We'll be back in a few days." Jeff was pulled into a fierce hug by both his parents. "We love you." Jeff watched sadly as his parents walked out the front door and then ran up to the room that he was sharing with the twins.

"Should we go after him?" Aarcuus questioned as he pulled his wife into a hug.

"No," Kristen answered, "just give him a little time and he'll be fine."

Weeks passed without so much as a word from either Donna or Daniel. Jeff was becoming more withdrawn from everyone while the twins seemed to be growing closer. Aarcuus was on the verge of going to search for them when they received a call from Donna.

"I'm sorry," she began and Kristen could tell that something was very wrong. "We won't be able to make it back for a while."

"What's wrong?" Kristen questioned, the strain of her friend's voice growing. Instead of an answer she heard a click as the phone on the other end was slammed down. "Aarcuus, we have to find them!" She began crying as he wrapped her in his arms.

"What's going on?" Jeff asked from the doorway. "What happened to my mom and dad?"

"We're not sure, Jeff," Aarcuus answered, knowing that his wife couldn't, "but we're going to start looking for them first thing in the morning."

Months passed and they searched each and every day. Both sets of twins had turned two and now Ashley and Marcus were referring to Kristen and Aarcuus as Mommy and Daddy. They could tell that there was a special interaction between Andros and Ashley but didn't really think much about it. They had repeated Donna and Daniel missing to the police the night of the strange phone call, but they had yet to find anything.

Early one morning they were awoken by a pounding on their door. Aarcuus hurried downstairs while Kristen stayed to comfort the children. He was shocked to see Donna on the other side of the door but quickly pulled her into the house.

"They killed him!" she yelled as she began to sob. Aarcuus did his best to comfort her but soon Kristen and Jeff appeared in the living room.

"Mommy, what's wrong?" her son questioned and she wrapped her arms tightly around him. "Where's Daddy?"

"The bad people hurt him, Jeff," Donna explained, trying hard to keep her own emotions intact.

"He's dead, isn't he?" Jeff asked, trying hard not to break into tears. When his mother nodded he pulled away from her and ran back up the stairs.

"Let me," Aarcuus interrupted as Donna prepared to go after her son. He ran up the stairs and found Jeff standing beside the crib, whispering to his sleeping siblings.

"Don't worry," he whispered, "I'll tell you all about Dad when you get older. We're going to be okay." A sudden movement at the door caught his attention and he turned to face Aarcuus. "What do you want?"

He knew that he should apologize for his tone but Aarcuus didn't seem to mind as he answered, "Your mom was very worried about you and I thought it would be best if she waited to talk to you after she felt better."

"What are we going to do? Why did this have to happen?" the little boy asked as tears began to roll down his face. Aarcuus didn't have an answer so he settled for wrapping the shuddering boy in his arms.

A/N: Please Review.