The disclaimer telling all of you that I don't own any Galaxy Ranger characters has taken off for vacation. Here's a weird multi-chaptered bit of fluff that ran through my head. This will set up a few more stories and how the Rangers' lives are going to change.

First Steps On The Long Road Back

PART I

He moved stealthy down the corridor. So far so good, He thought. Only a few feet away from the door he was sure he would be able to escape his confinement.

"BREAKOUT! BREAKOUT!" Bubblehead cawed loudly. "WE'VE GOT A BREAKOUT!"

"Shut up you stupid bird!" Shane hissed. He was wearing a pair of gray sweatpants and a sweatshirt. He looked furtively up and down the hallway. Too late he realized he'd been spotted thanks to Bubblehead's racket.

"BREAKOUT! BREAKOUT! AHOOOOOOOOGAAAAAAAAH!" Bubblehead screeched.

Eliza Foxx stuck her head around the corner. "GOOSE!"

"Great! The Warden!" Shane swore. He made a break for it.

"COME BACK HERE MISTER!" Eliza chased after him. "ZACHERY! KIDS! HE'S MAKING A BREAK FOR IT!"

"Again?" Zach appeared around the corner. He was wearing a red sweater and jeans. "GOOSEMAN GET BACK HERE!"

"NO WAY!" Shane tried to run out the door but he was blocked by Jessica and Zach Jr.

"That's it kids! Corner him!" Zach shouted.

"TACKLE HIM! TACKLE HIM!" Bubblehead cawed.

"Sorry kids but I'm outta here!" Shane managed to fake out the kids and head for the door of the apartment.

"He's getting away!" Eliza shouted.

Shane managed to get out the door. And then was promptly tackled by someone outside the hallway.

"I got him!" Doc crowed in triumph as he pinned Shane to the floor. He was wearing his casual brown suit.

"Doc get off me!" Shane tried to escape but to his frustration found himself too weak to do so.

"The Mighty Doctor wins again!" Doc yelled in triumph. "Once again the Doctor triumphs over the mighty Supertrooper! Yahhh!"

"Yay!" Bubblehead cawed.

"This is so humiliating," Shane moaned. "Just wait until I get my strength back Doc! Then I am going to pound you!"

Walsh had given all the Series Five Rangers at least a month off of serious duty since the incident. Due to the extent of his trauma it was estimated that Shane would be given several months more. But Shane was determined to cut that time in half despite the fact that he was still rather weak.

"Good work Doc," Zach used his bionic arm to grab Shane and drag him backwards into the apartment. "Back you go mister!"

"Zachery! No! Don't make me go back in there!" Shane pleaded. "She'll kill me!"

"GOOD!" Zach shouted.

"Come here you!" Eliza grabbed Shane by the ear and started dragging him back to bed. "Back to bed, now!"

"OW! OW! THAT HURTS! OW!" Shane yelled.

"I swear I should tie you to the bed and lock you in there!" Eliza snapped.

"Bread and water! Bread and water!" Bubblehead cawed.

"Shut up you snitch!" Shane snapped as Eliza threw him back in bed of the guest room.

"What part of stay in bed do you not understand?" Eliza snapped. "You haven't even been out of the hospital for a week! You need to rest!"

"I don't like this," Shane growled. "I don't like being weak!"

"Goose the fact that you are walking, talking, and breathing after your ordeal is a testament on how strong you are," Zach pointed out. "Your bio defenses were over exerted. You have to let them recharge in order to get strong again."

"And the only way you are going to do that is if you eat some good food," Eliza picked up a warm bowl of oatmeal on a nearby table. "I told you to eat this and you are going to eat this!"

"Don't worry my dear Eliza," Doc took the bowl. "I will be happy to spoon feed our little Gooseman. Now open wide!"

"I swear Doc if I wasn't as weak as a kitten I'd pound you," Shane growled.

"But you are, so you can't," Doc said cheerfully. "Now we are going to have a nice healthy bowl of warm oatmeal. Here comes the airplane!"

"Here comes my fist!" Shane made a fist.

"Aagh!" Eliza yelled, clearly frustrated. "GOOSE! BEHAVE YOURSELF!"

"Yes Ma'mm," Shane had learned early that Eliza had a temper that rivaled Niko's. Grudgingly he at the oatmeal.

"That's better! And Doc makes sure he eats all of it!" Eliza turned around and left the room. Zach and the kids followed her outside.

"Zachery, I know he's your friend and team mate, but Shane Gooseman is the most stubborn, infuriating idiot I have ever met!" Eliza fumed. "Doesn't he have any common sense at all?"

"You have to understand something," Zach sighed. "You see Goose didn't have a family growing up. He was conditioned at birth to survive and be a solider. And being weak was not acceptable, for any reason."

"But still…" Eliza shook her head.

"There's more…" Zach sighed. "I shouldn't be telling you this but you need to see what Goose had to deal with all his life. The prime directive of Wolf Den was to create soldiers in peak physical condition and excellent combat skills. The Supertroopers had to learn to survive anything no matter what or…"

"Or what?" Eliza asked.

"You're talking about the Cryocrypt aren't you?" Zach Jr. said softly.

"Most of them didn't even make it that far," Zach sighed. "They either died of illnesses, training incidents, fights or…"

"What else happened to them?" Eliza was afraid to ask. "Are you saying they were euthanized like rabid animals?"

"Goose said it was rare but it happened," Zach admitted. "If they were physically or mentally unstable and their genetic material wasn't…"

"That's sick!" Zach Jr. snapped. "What kind of bastards would do something like that?"

"Zachery!" Eliza began to admonish him. "No, you're right. Bastards is the right word to describe people like that. But if Commander Walsh was in charge of the project…"

Zach didn't say anything but looked away. Eliza was shocked. "Zachery…"

"It was a very different time Eliza," Zach sighed. "I'm not saying I approve but…You remember some of the attacks on Earth before Waldo and Zozo arrived? People were panicking. Something needed to be done. Unfortunately…This is what they chose."

"But still…They were human beings…" Eliza gasped.

"Goose said once that Supertroopers weren't considered to be human," Zach Jr. told her. "To be treated like nothing…Like he was disposable…How could Goose live like that?"

"No wonder the other Supertroopers went insane," Jessica said softly. "If you think about it…What chance did they have?"

"Just be a little patient with him," Zach said to them. "Goose doesn't really understand what it means to be part of a family. Once he realizes that no one is going to throw him away because he's not well he'll calm down. He just needs some time to get used to the situation. That's all."

"All right," Eliza sighed. "I swear though he's like an impatient overgrown child."

"Well that'll be a first for Goose," Zach Jr. said. "He's not used to having a mom looking after him."

"YOU'RE NEXT BIRD!" Shane was heard shouting.

"Oh for the love of…" Eliza rolled her eyes as they went back in the room.

"Who's a good little Gooseman?" Doc grinned as he forced another spoonful of oatmeal in Shane's mouth. "That's my good little Gooseman!"

"Enjoy this while you can, Doc," Shane glared at him. "Because when my strength comes back I swear the first thing I am going to do is shove a bowlful of this stuff right down your throat!"

"Okay Doc I think he's had enough," Zach decided to step in. "Maybe that will teach you to take it easy Goose? No wait, it won't."

"Why can't they just charge up my badge and then use that to heal me?" Shane growled.

"Goose we've been over this before," Zach said. "Your bio-defenses were pushed to the limit and beyond. They need time to recover properly. Sorry Shane but you're just going to have to put up with being human for a while."

"Until then I guess you'll just have to depend on us," Doc said cheerfully.

"I was better off in the coma," Shane muttered under his breath.

"Come on Doc, you promised you'd come with us to the park today," Jessica said. "You know to help me with my science project."

"Science project?" Shane's ears perked up. "You make something else Jessica?"

"Oh no, you are going to sit here and rest," Eliza pointed at him. "Zach and the kids will be just fine without your help."

"Help! I need somebody…" Bubblehead sang.

"Could you at least take him with you?" Shane pointed at Bubblehead. "Loudmouth snitch!"

"Come on Bubblehead," Doc picked up Bubblehead. "Let's let sleeping Goosemen lie."

"We'll be back," Zach told them. "Goose, behave yourself!" They left them alone.

"Come on now," Eliza took a blanket and began to tuck Shane in. "Just relax and take a nice nap. And then maybe we can watch some Tri-D if you behave yourself."

"I feel ridiculous," Shane grumbled.

"You should," Eliza snapped. "You're pushing yourself too hard and it's only making things worse!"

"Well what good am I if I can't do anything?" Shane spat.

"You don't have to do anything at all!" Eliza told him. "That's the thing about being part of a family. It's not about what you can do for people. It's being who you are that's important."

"But I'm…" Shane began.

"You are a caring, selfless, brave person," Eliza sat down and took his hand. "And no matter what they made you to be, no matter how you were trained and what you've done in your past…No one can take away what a good man you are. Why can't you see what's so obvious to everyone else?"

"You don't know me," Shane said softly. "I did things. Terrible things."

"So did I," Eliza said to him in a small voice. "When I was…I remember things. Being forced to do things as a slaver lord. Taking part in terrible experiments. Watching all those innocent people be tortured, killed or put in the psychocrypt…"

"That wasn't you," Shane said. "That wasn't your fault."

"And those things you did in your past weren't your fault either," Eliza said.

"You really are nice," Shane said. "I'm not used to nice. Or…Just being…part of a family."

"I guess it takes some getting used to," Eliza sighed. "I kind of know how you feel. Being shoved into a strange situation. An alien world. I mean I literally fell asleep and when I woke up nearly three years passed. Everything's changed. My planet. My job. My children. My husband…"

"When you were gone…" Shane let out a breath. "It really hurt Zach. It tore him to pieces. Besides the kids all he had was his job. That's why sometimes he got really wound up."

"And when he did I bet you and the others were there to bring him down."

"Yeah," Shane smiled. "Unfortunately sometimes Doc kind of got him a little too unwound. Let's just say there were a few instances."

"Instances? Like what?"

"Well…" Shane smirked. "The time he got drunk and wrecked a bar and then he decided to ride a mechanical bull."

"That doesn't sound so…" Eliza began.

"Without wearing his uniform if you get my drift," Shane gave her a look.

"What?" Eliza did a double take.

"Then he decided to moon a whole bus full of convicts dressed as nuns," Shane added. "It was a wild night. Needless to say it was Doc's fault."

"Oh it was, was it?" She folded her arms.

"Don't worry. We got him back," Shane grinned. "And we have the digital film to prove it."

"Now that I have to see," Eliza grinned.

"We have plenty of copies," Shane smiled. "And I know where Zachery keeps one of them in this apartment."

"You fire up the DVD, I'll make popcorn," Eliza grinned. "And I want you to tell me every embarrassing incident my husband has been involved in over the years."

"Better than that I can show you most of them," Shane grinned. "Especially the time we all pretended to be in a rock band."

"A rock band?" Eliza did a double take. "My husband...Zachery Foxx...In a rock band?"

"He didn't tell you about that?"

"No!" Eliza started to laugh. "Okay we'll see that video first! We are definitely going to make an afternoon of this!"

Next: A nightmare from the past forces the Rangers to face an uncertain future!