White Dawn
Mack flinched behind the visor of his helmet as Rose was thrown to the ground like a rag doll. She groaned and Mack ran forward to protect her. "Oh no you don't," he announced firmly to Moltor. The fire themed monster merely grinned eerily.
"Lizards," he sneered, "Bring out the surprise." The lizards obeyed their master at once, disappearing momentarily and revealing themselves again. One of them held a pink bundle in its arms. Just visible was a dark haired baby girl, fast asleep.
Mack couldn't breathe. Behind him he heard Rose scramble to her feet, her anger so intense that he could sense her chest heaving with fury. "Mack," she said quietly, "He has our baby. He has our little girl."
"Yes, the pink ranger is correct yet again," Moltor said triumphantly. "I have baby Hartford. Jamie Veronica Hartford," he added slowly. "Pretty name, isn't it?" The group of lava lizards nodded eagerly.
The lizard holding Jamie set her on the ground. Moltor raised his sword above his head menacingly. Rose screamed. She attempted to get to Jamie but the lava lizards attacked.
Mack sat up in a cold sweat. He still dreamed about he and Rose's ranger days, but Jamie had never entered them before. Despite the fact that he knew Moltor had been destroyed for many years now, Mack felt the need to check on the baby.
He leaned down and kissed Rose's cheek and then slid out of bed. Being careful not to wake Rose or Jamie, Mack walked down the hall to the pink nursery that served as his daughter's bedroom. "Hey baby girl," he whispered to Jamie, who was indeed awake and looking at the ceiling with big blue eyes. Mack reached inside the crib and picked her up, cradling her against his chest.
Mack parted the curtains so that he might watch the approaching dawn. He sat down in the white rocking chair and teetered it slowly, just enough for the chair to move. "I'm paranoid, I know," Mack said apologetically to his daughter, "But you would be, too, if you'd seen what psychos like Moltor can do. Especially to an innocent little baby like you."
Mack kissed the top of her head, still rocking the chair slowly. "It was only a dream, that's all. But that doesn't make it any less scary. And you, Jamie, my little princess, are the most important person in my life, you and your mother. So losing you, either of you, would be really hard for me. I don't want that to happen for a long time."
As the sun came up, Jamie drifted off to sleep again. Mack remained in the rocking chair, musing in the early morning.
He didn't know what time it was when he head Rose yawn down the hall. "Mack?" she called sleepily. "Are you bothering the baby again? It's too early, I keep telling you…"
She came into Jamie's room a moment later, tying her bathrobe. "Honestly," she scoffed. "It's like you've never seen one before." Rose plucked the baby from Mack's arms and placed her back in the crib. Then Rose noticed the look on Mack's face. "Mack? Is something wrong?"
"Remember how you used to have nightmares back when we were still rangers, Rose?"
"Yes," Rose answered, "But what does that have to do with anything?" She looked at him, concern in her warm brown eyes.
"I had one too. Moltor was back and he had Jamie and he was about to…well, he was going to hurt her. I just wanted to make sure that she was still here and that she was still safe."
"Moltor has been gone for five years, Mack."
"I'm aware of that, Rose, but I just needed to know." Mack stood up and crossed the room to her. "Sometimes I miss ranger duties. And then I look at her and I look at you and wonder how I could want anything more."