Title: Just a Dream

Author: Sierra

Rated: PG

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, or any of the characters from the show; nor do I own the lyrics at the end of this story. Please don't sue me!

Summary: Trini prepares for the biggest day of her life . . .

WARNING: CHARACTER DEATH.

A/N: Oddly enough, I really didn't write much the past four months! Really. I kept trying and trying to write, but couldn't manage to get anything halfway decent out there; this popped into my head yesterday, so I hope it's an enjoyable (if sad) read.

2/25/09: EDITED.

---

She stepped into the dress and pulled it up over her body, her hands trembling slightly as the soft fabric ran along her bare legs and sent a chill up her spine; she slipped her arms into the long sleeves and paused as her mother began to button up the back. Looking at herself in the mirror, she couldn't quite believe it was herself staring back; doe brown eyes and shoulder-length, dark hair that framed her thin face that looked much older than her twenty-eight years. Her mother looked over her shoulder and at the reflection, offered her a tiny smile:

"You look beautiful," she whispered.

Trini managed a smile in return, though her nerves were quickly shattering and the shaking was getting worse. "I'm so . . . nervous," she said, fiddling with her skirt awkwardly, listening to the rustling sounds it made.

"That's to be expected," Mrs. Kwan replied, "you'll be fine." She took her daughter's shoulders and turned her around to examine her--- the dress was long, with an A-line skirt, made out of satin, with subtle embroidery around the hemline and neck. The older woman certainly wasn't lying, her daughter was beautiful, even without makeup.

"How long?" Trini asked, suddenly, shaking herself out of her silent reverie and brushing by her mother to retrieve her shoes at the foot of her bed.

"The church is only five minutes away . . . " Mrs. Kwan glanced at her watch. "And the ceremony doesn't begin for another half hour." She raised her eyebrow. "You want to go early?"

Trini nodded. "I should," she said, "everyone else is probably already there . . . "

"All right. I'll get the car."

In a moment, Trini was left alone in her bedroom, once again staring at her unfamiliar reflection in the full-sized mirror; she looked so pale, she noted, even in the warm light that the morning sun cast over the room. Oh well . . . it doesn't really matter what everyone thinks I look like today, she mused, then gathered herself and headed downstairs.

Her father met her at the front door, opened it to allow her to walk outside and into the light that for a moment nearly blinded her; it was warm, but not too hot or humid, and the colors all around seemed unnaturally bright--- from the blue sky to the green grass. It was all beautiful. She paused on the sidewalk of the frontyard for a moment, reflecting on the world around her, then her father gently took her arm and walked with her to the car.

"You ready?" he asked as she lowered herself onto the seat.

She nodded quickly. "Mm-hm." Noticing the apprehensive look on her aging father, she smiled. "It's all right, Daddy."

As soon as he shut the door, Trini leaned her head on the window and closed her eyes, breathing in deep, relaxing breaths to calm herself; she found herself wishing the ride to the church would last a little longer so she could have just a few extra minutes to compose herself before facing everyone, including her fiance's mother. Trini and Linda Scott had never gotten along very well, even though she and Jason had dated since the end of college, never once straying from each other. Trini thought by their wedding day she would have sufficiently proved herself to the woman . . . but that didn't seem likely. Then again, one could never be too protective of their only son . . .

The church was decorated for the occasion, flowers were strung along the metal fence surrounding the property, and lined the rails along the steps up to the front doors; Trini stepped out of the car before her parents, taking in the scene, giving it time to brand itself into her mind and memory. She knew there was no way she could ever forget the day though. It was April 15th, 2006. The day she was going to marry the love of her life.

A breeze swept by, rustling the leaves of the giant tree in front of the church and causing Trini to shiver involuntarily; she hugged herself, rubbed her arms as her parents came to stand beside her, each one placing a hand on her. She took a deep breath and stepped forward, beginning the walk to the church; as they got closer and closer, she could hear the sounds from inside, people chattering, the organ playing an old hymn in hushed tones, someone crying.

It was all so . . . surreal.

The doors swung open and she entered, and all at once the room fell completely silent as everyone turned to stare at her; some smiled, others were expressionless, and then there was Jason's mother, who sat paralyzed in her seat, tears streaming down her lined cheeks. Trini met her eyes, found herself unable to move as the older woman's tear-filled hazel eyes bore into her, searing past her flesh and deep into her soul; the look brought hot tears to Trini's own eyes, though she fought to hide them and not allow them to escape. She lowered her veil, hoping that would disguise her . . . that no one would notice.

"Trini," the cautious voice belong to old Mrs. Berry, who was approaching her slowly with a beautiful bouquet of dark red roses. "My daughter and I made this for you . . . "

"Oh wow . . . " Trini took the gift, smiled. "Thank you. They're beautiful."

"Are we ready to begin?" Pastor Evans asked, joining the small group. "I think it's about time." He held out his hand to Trini, and she took it, holding onto it for dear life; her parents and Mrs. Berry went off to sit down as Pastor Evans and Trini made their way up the aisle to the front row. At Evans' gesture, the band began to play; the trumpets pierced Trini thru-and-thru as the notes of "Amazing Grace" filled the church.

Letting out a small cry, more of a gasp than anything, Trini lost her grip on the flowers and they fell to the floor as she herself collapsed onto the seat, finally letting the tears come. At once, Kimberly was at her side, her strong arms wrapped around the young woman and her own salty tears mixing with Trini's. Together, they sobbed . . . neither looked at the picture of the handsome young man that was placed on the table in front of the altar. Jason smiling at all of them, dressed smartly in his DCUs, the world behind him one of sand and an endless blue sky.

Pastor Evans delivered a nice, short message and then asked the group to go outside, to the cemetery behind the church,. where a dark wood casket sat underneath a white tent, an enormous amount of flowers and cards surrounding it. Trini held onto Kimberly's arm the whole walk, and didn't let go even as Evans began to speak again:

"Let us bow our heads and pray . . . Lord, please lift his soul. And heal this hurt."

Together, the small crowd stood up and began to sing . . . Trini knew the song, but she couldn't remember any of the words as she listened to the notes through her ringing ears; it was the saddest sound she could ever remember hearing though, and the effort that it took not to break down even further caused her to shake. Kimberly felt it, and gently rubbed her hand up-and-down her best friend's arm; she glanced over her shoulder, at Tommy and Katherine as they held onto each other, Zack and Billy standing side-by-side, Adam and Tanya and Rocky altogether. And dozens of others, people she didn't even know.

The song seemed to drag on forever, but Trini didn't want it to ever end . . . if it never ended, that meant maybe it wasn't real, didn't it? She closed her eyes, imagining the face she longed to see in front of her, telling her it was all just a dream . . .

Jason took Trini's hand and led her down the overgrown sidewalk, thru the park where they had played as little children, and spent so many happy times together; she watched him, the excitement building up inside her so that her heart was beating far too fast. Her palm was sweaty, and she worried that Jason might feel it . . .

"Sit down," he said, softly, guiding her to a bench by the tiny pond where ducks swam peacefully and frogs sat on lilypads and croaked. "I have something . . . I wanna ask you."

Trini held her breath as Jason lowered himself to one knee, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a tiny black box; tears sprang to her eyes and a gasp escaped from between her lips. "Oh, Jason . . . " she whispered, surprised she could form words at all.

"Trini," Jason said, his voice strong and steady, as always. "I've loved you for so long . . . you've always been my best friend, and you always will be. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to raise a family with you." He opened the box, revealing a gold ring with a sparkling diamond in the middle. "Will you marry me?"

"Jason," Trini gasped, both a sob and a laugh. "You know I will!"

He barely had time to place the ring on her trembling finger before she jumped out of her seat and into his arms; their lips met and Trini moaned as Jason's hands pressed against the small of her back, pulled her closer, deepened the kiss. She ran her long fingers through his short, dark brown hair, then broke the kiss so she could press her tear-stained face up to his stubble-covered cheek.

"I love you," she sighed, contentedly.

"I love you, too." Jason pushed her back just a little, so their eyes could meet. "No matter what happens, I'll always love you . . . remember that, okay?" He licked his lips, something he did whenever he was nervous. "I know . . . this won't be easy on you."

The deployment. Iraq. Trini knew right away what he was talking about, there was only a month left 'til Jason was set to leave with his unit, for the second time. "It won't be," she admitted, "but it was hard last time, and we got through it. We will again." She placed her hands on his cheeks. "I'll be here . . . waiting for you, when you get back." A smile formed on her face, lit up her eyes. "Then we'll start our family."

. . . Trini opened her eyes when a voice she didn't recognize spoke; the voice was that of an older man, dressed in crisp Class A's that were heavily decorated with colorful ribbons and shiny medals. He held a folded flag out to her, his face full of sympathy.

"On behalf of the United States Army," he began his speech, "and a grateful nation, I present you with this flag, in honor of your loved one . . . SSG Jason Scott."

Trini grasped the flag, the only piece of Jason she had left to hold onto, and pressed it close to her as flashes of what could have been danced in front of her blurry eyes; taking a deep breath, she stood on unsteady legs and began to walk up to the casket. It was closed, as she had requested, knowing if she saw him lying so still, she would never be able to get up off the ground . . . but just the box itself was enough to make her stomach flip-flop and her mouth go dry. She put the flag down and placed her hands on the wood, gently traced the outline of the engraving . . .

Then the guns began to fire their salute to the man she had loved, and with each shot her body jolted as if being struck by a bullet; her legs grew weaker, her control started to disappear completely. Finally, the last gunshot rang out, and she burst into tears and threw her arms around the casket, sobbing while her friends and family watched, helpless to do anything to comfort her.

"Jason!" she whispered, her voice broken, too quiet for anyone to hear. "Why'd you leave me? You promised me you'd come back . . . " She tried to take in another breath, but it was impossible; her whole body was shaking with the sobs that formed deep inside her and exploded out.

The enormity of what she was facing suddenly dawned on her . . . a lifetime spent without the man she couldn't live without. The chance they had to be happy . . . gone forever. Their beautiful wedding, a happy family, chubby grandkids and a life of contentment . . . it was the dream. And now she was staring at a future that was all-too-real, too cold and scary, to even consider. All alone. Forever.

She sank to the ground as the tears continued to run down her face and the sobs shook her tiny frame; Kimberly came to sit beside her again, trying to offer some kind of comfort, and even Jason's mother joined them, pressed her face to Trini's and cried against her. But Trini didn't even feel them, didn't even know they were there; she was lost in her own thoughts, her own memories, pieces of Jason that nothing--- not even death ---could take away . . .

"I'm gonna miss you so much," Trini murmured, doing her best not to cry as she faced her fiance at the airport, held onto the front of his uniform tightly, as if not letting go meant he would never leave. "Promise me you'll be careful."

"Of course I will," Jason replied, "you know that . . . " He wrapped one arm around her and pulled her to his chest, placing a kiss on the top of her head. "I'll miss you, too . . . I can't even stand thinking about not seeing you for so long."

"We'll be okay," Trini assured him, feeling the need to comfort him, rather than receive his comfort. "When you get back, we'll have our wedding, and get to work on that football team you want." She smiled up at him. "First, a boy . . . then a girl. Then whatever happens, happens."

"Sounds good." Jason lifted her chin and dipped his head so he could reach her lips with his. "I love you, Trini. And we will have that dream, I promise. As soon as I get back . . . our life can start." He kissed her once more, then gave her a hug, turned his back and walked away; she stood in the middle of the large, intimidating room, watching his back get smaller and smaller as he disappeared into the crowd.

In one year, their life together would begin. Their dream.

It was just the beginning . . .

-

Baby, why'd you leave me

Why'd you have to go?

I was counting on forever

Now I'll never know

It's like I'm looking from a distance

Standing in the background

Everybody's saying 'He's coming home now'

This can't be happening to me . . .

This is just a dream.