AN: Thank you for such a fantastic response to my last chapter. I'm really happy you are enjoying this story - I'm enjoying writing it for once! I am not the happiest about this chapter - I have rewritten it several times but I decided that this was as good as it was going to get and decided to put it up as it is because if not, I never would.

This is set the night after the end of the second episode.

"Fancy seeing you here." Gia Moran called out as she walked over to person sitting on the swings with her hands in her pockets. The sun had settled down for the night and the park had been plunged into an orange glow by the street lights. She was walking home after spending the day with Emma browsing the mall and getting hyper from sugar intake. That day had been the first good one in a while. The city, now been completely rebuilt, was finally settling down from all the commotion which allowed them to once again be able to spend the day mulling around just being…teenagers.

"Hey." Jake looked up as she approach and smiled at the sight of the girl before him. At least one good thing would come of today for him.

"It's nearly pitch black, are you sure you should be out all alone?" Gia joked as she came to a halt in front of him. Clearly referencing the conversation they had the first time he walked her home nearly a year prior.

"Ha. Ha." Jake feigned annoyance but Gia could see straight through his act. The large grin he was trying to suppress was the main indication. "Are you sure you want to be out her at this time of night?"

"I can take care of myself but thanks for the concern." She huffed before taking in her surroundings and smirked, "I must admit, this is a sorry sight to see. An seventeen year old in the kids play park sitting on the swings alone."

"Well if you sit with me, it wont be so lonely." Jake looked up hopefully. Even if he was having a bad day, he was not going to pass up the opportunity to flirt with Gia.

"Well, lucky for you I have an hour before I'm expected to be home." She took her place next to him on the swing set.

"So…" Jake looked over at her unsure of where this conversation was going.

"So what brings you to the park at this time of night?" She started the swing into a light and steady movement.

"I wanted to get out of the house, it's a little hectic right now." He settled into moving the swing around with his feet. "What brings you here?"

"Just on my way home from hanging out with Emma. Then I saw you looking all pathetic so I stopped." Gia grinned over at him when she swung past. For a moment, Jake found her smile infectious.

The two fell into silence as Gia continued to swing and Jake continued to stare. She had not been on a swing set since middle school and was seizing the opportunity to relive her childhood. While on her way up, she glance sideways at Jake expecting to be met with his famous smile but only saw him staring. Something was up. She could tell.

"You know, if you just stare at me having fun, you will never have fun yourself." She quipped unaware to go about this situation. It was weird to see Jake not joking around, it was even weirder for him not to be radiating happiness.

She brought her swinging to a holt and met his eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little stressed." Jake smiled back - Gia knew it was not sincere.

"Okay." She decided not to push it further just yet. She didn't know him well enough to predict how he would react. "Well I wanted to say thank you. For the other night that is."

This brought a grin to his face - a real one this time. "Anytime." The fact that he could make any impact on Gia Moran's life surprised and pleased him. He always presumed she was too high above him for his whimsical ways to make an impression.

"No seriously, you really helped. Thank you." She stood up and gestured for him to follow. Of course he complied.

"Why are we moving?"

"Because I said so." She grinned back and strolled over to the shore of the lake that was adjacent to the play park before sitting down on the edge and looked across the water. The moonlight reflecting across the water set her in a misty glow which Jake thought made her look breathtaking.

She reached out an patted the concrete next to her. "Stop staring and sit down!" Gia turned her head to look at him expectingly.

Laughing, he sat down at began to get lost in thought as he looked out in the distance. They sat like that for a while, content with each other's company and the peace of the park at night.

Jake sighed for what seemed to Gia like the tenth time since they had been sitting there. She couldn't stand seeing him in such a funk. It was awkward and hard to resolve because whatever had happened was nothing major, there were no clues or obvious give aways. But there was something. Gia knew there was something, and that it was time to get it out of him.

"Spill."

"Spill what?" Jake stammered dumfounded.

"Whatever is eating you away -"

"-Nothing is eating me away."

She whipped her head to meet him with her stern gaze. "Yes there is. There must be - it's like someone sucked the life out of you."

Jake was going to be defiant by the look on his face but Gia figured that her famous stare down would get him to crack, it got everyone to crack. She watched as his demeanour slowly crumbled and he was reduced to a string of sounds was slurring from his mouth.

"arghh- Fine….Fine. You've got me." Jake raised has hands in surrender, lacklustre from his usual jokes, but there was a smile.

Getting the gist from Jake's actions that the conversation was not going to be a sullen one, Gia jokingly beamed proudly at him. "I knew it!"

"How?! Noah never knows!" Jake bounded back at her.

"You were sitting on a swing in the park at nine at night. Alone." Gia retorted to which Jake reacted with a guilty smile looking away. "I was actually going to leave it but you keep sighing. I think you sighed like four times in one minute just then. Other than that, your act was up to standards."

"Why thank you!" Jake grinned at her, leaning back on his arms.

"So - what is it then?"

"It's nothing. Honestly, no big deal."

Gia gave him the look. The look that got everyone to listen to her and take her seriously. The look that got people to comply. The look that still slightly frightened Jake.

"It's just - I had a fight with my dad. Again…It's stupid. Are you sure you want to listen, it is really nothing."

Gia leaned over a lightly placed the tips of her fingers on his. She sensed his slight flinch at the contact and the way his eyes longingly dropped to his hand. It felt nice to know that she of all people could have that effect on him. "Of course, you helped me the other night so see it as me returning the favour."

He swallowed. Neither of them knew whether this was due to the contact or the thought of telling the story. "Well, he came in from work and started talking to me about his accounts. I had no clue what he was going on about and he could tell - so he got annoyed at me. He started going on about how I needed to start learning these things if I was going to take over the business. He was acting like I was this stupid guy who couldn't do simple math. But I'm not, I know I goof off but I'm not that stupid -"

"-You're not stupid."

"Thanks…" Jake moved one of his fingers on top of her's as a kind of thanks. It was now Gia's turn to have a mental freakout. "I got angry - I said somethings I regret. I stormed out of the house and I guess I ended up here. It's totally pathetic - I know."

"It's not pathetic. Honestly." She gently squeezed his fingers in reassurance and gave him a smile. "So you are angry that he thinks you are stupid?"

"It's not that. I think I just got angry about that because I wanted an argument. He's being annoying me lately because he just assumes I'm going to take over. He hasn't even asked me about it."

"Have you talked to him about it?" Judging by the blank look he had on his face, it was a no. She laughed which caused Jake to give her a confused expression.

"What is so amusing?"

Gia stifled her laughter and looked back at their hands still with a bemused expression on her face. "Sorry, it's just - guys are so weird… I guarantee that I you talked this through with your dad the two of you could come to a nice and even balance. Why on earth do you never consider talking about feelings?"

"Pride." Jake smirked back. Before letting out a chuckle. "Do you seriously think that would work?"

"Guarantee it. I'll even wager on it." Gia stated confidently.

Jake raised his eyebrows out of entertainment. "Oh really? What are you betting?"

Screwing her mouth up to the side, Gia hummed in thought. "How about if I am right you carry my bag around school for me for a week?"

"I'll take that. And if you're wrong?" Jake didn't really see what see gained from that, he already attempts to carry her bags for her. If anything, it benefits him in that he gets to spend a week with her.

"I'll buy at Ernie's for a week to compensate you."

"I kinda hope you are wrong now." Jake joked thinking about the small fortune Ernie probably had from him alone. "I would shake on it but… I'm comfortable." He finished with suggestive smirk which made Gia blush.

"Stop it." She feigned offence as she withdrew her hand from on top of his then giggled. Even though the loss of contact was done jokingly, they both felt the absence and immediately wanted to regain it.

Silence was upon them once more however this time, it was awkward. Both were unsure what to do or how to act now that the possibility of something forming between them had been somewhat addressed. The only movement they conducted was the occasional glance at the other in hopes that they looked like they were going to start up a conversation in order to fill the void. Surprisingly to both of them, it was Jake who thought of the words to break through the awkwardness first and not the ever collected Gia.

"It's pretty awesome to not have to think about being rangers today." He trailed off unsure on whether this was a good opening. He had spent the past year trying (and practicing) to talk to Gia in a confidential way and now that it was happening, all his preparations had gone out of the window.

"Yeah. I haven't hung out with Emma like that since probably middle school. I forgot what it was like to have choosing a FroYo flavour as your biggest problem-"

"-Or having arguments with your dad over the most pointless subjects ever." Jake added.

"That too. However I don't know if I want things to stay like this." She pulled her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

"What do you mean?" He questioned, leaning towards her.

"You're going to thing I'm crazy - oh and you can't tell Emma this, she'll kill me…I don't know if I want these attacks to end." Seeing Jake looking confused and beginning to shift next to her, she continued. "No, no let me rephrase that. I don't want to stop being needed as a ranger."

"Oh - yeah" was all Jake could get out before Gia stopped him.

"Like I know the earth being attacked is an awful thing to not want to end but being a ranger makes me feel like I belong you know? Like I'm a part of something and important."

"You were important before you know."

"No I wasn't. The only people who though I was important was my parents and Emma. Anyone else who payed attention probably wanted to use me." She exhaled deeply at the though of her treacherous past relationship.

"You were important to me."

The statement made Gia blush and breakout into a smile but Jake never saw this due to him mentally cringing at how ominous that sounded.

"I mean, I noticed you … and not because you look great … because you were smart and funny and - You do look great by the way I wasn't saying you didn't - but don't think it was all about that erm yeah." He stammered before stopping himself from embarrassing himself further.

Gia, on the other hand, found the outburst a mixture of flattering and amusing, and had begun to giggle. She watched as Jake tried to compose himself certain that she could see his embarrassed thoughts flash across his face.

Swallowing, he tried to pull back the conversation. "Look, I totally get it. Before the rangers, I was only this rich kid with a mixed heritage that was on the soccer team. So many people knew me just as that, just the facts, that I begun to believe I was just that myself. Then I became a ranger and I felt like I had a purpose, I was more than what I thought."

Gia looked bemusedly looked over at him. "I'm glad you feel the same but wow - that was a really good recovery. Very impressive." She burst out laughing again relieved he agreed with her. She was beginning to really appreciate how easily Jake could set her off laughing. When she was upset, even when he himself was having a bad time, he could make her laugh like a maniac.

Awkwardly grinning he managed to stutter out "Sorry, I - You make me nervous okay - I'm just overwhelmed - I'm going to shut up now." He placed his face in his hand and began to laugh too.

"On that note Shakespeare- shall we get going? I'm sure you'll much prefer to wallow in self pity and embarrassment in your bedroom than here. It's getting cold." Her laughing had seized but a grin was still present on her face.

She stood up and offered a hand to help him up. He obeyed and the two stood there for a second, enjoying the contact again and not wanting to let go. As soon as she realised what was happening she quickly released his hand and started to walk.

"Aren't you going to offer to walk me home?" Gia called out from in front of him.

"I thought you was going to offer to walk me home you know me being afraid and all?" He joked before running to catch up.

"I didn't want to damage your pride." She retorted back with a smile as he fell into a walk beside her.

"That's very considerate of you. How about we say we walk together for company so neither of our prides are compromised?"

"I can do that. It seems like a mutually beneficial thing." She smiled up at him as they crossed over the road to the beginning of his street. "You want to go home first?" She gestured to the street that was next to the park.

"Nah, we will go to yours first, to make up for me being a blubbering idiot."

Gia rolled her eyes knowing he only wanted to make sure she's safe. She checked her watch - she was late. "Well, if you are coming, you have to walk fast as I was supposed to be back ten minutes ago. You are turning me into a rebel."

"Sneaking out, missing curfew…You've changed Gia." He jested with a smirk and set off in the direction of her house. He knew the route well - too well - from all the countless times he badgered her to allow him to walk her home from school.

"Well that's what happens when one hangs out with someone who spends their nights at the kids park, alone. Those bad influences rub off on you."

"Oh so I am rubbing off on you then?" He acknowledged with raised eyebrows.

"You wish."

"…yeah." He dwindled rubbing his arm out of awkwardness. "I'll get back to you on whether the talking method works."

"Well if it doesn't you'll save money at Ernie's so you can't really loose. How's your sister doing?"

"She's fine and just as annoying as ever. I have been doing all of her chores which has been a joy and my mom has been babying her all week so she's enjoying that."

"I don't blame her, I'm pretty sure we both would be making the most of it if we were in the same situation." As they turned onto her street, she smiled at a memory of her own past childish actions.

With her house in sight the prospect that their conversation was coming to an end began to dawn on her. She didn't really understand the twinge of sadness she was feeling, all she knew is that she didn't want the time she was spending in his company to end. Did this mean she liked him like that? Gia didn't know. But in that night time conversation she had laughed, gotten to know him and spilled her private feelings again without even battering an eyelash. He just had that effect on her and Gia liked it.

"Right so I'll see you around?" Jake muttered as he came to a stop outside of her house.

"Sure." She stopped next to him and looked up at him, unsure of what to do next - the last time they said goodbye together like this, she had hugged him but Gia was sure that was down to her overwhelming emotions at the time. Looking up at Jake, it seemed he didn't know what to do either. She decided on a squeeze of the hand and stepped away bringing the tingling sensation from the contact along with her.

"I should get going - my mom will be worried." Jake gestured in the direction of his house with a content expression on his face.

"Bye Jake." She smiled up at him and then strolled towards her house not looking back.

Jake spent the slow walk home with a grin on his face, swaying around slightly like he was high on life. Gia Moran had pursued him for once. She was interested in his feelings and cared about them. If you had told Jake a year ago that Gia would be friends with him like that, he would say you were dreaming. And it certainly did feel like a dream. He was elated. Not in a creepy stalker-ish way because of the flirting and the possibility of her developing affections but because she had effortlessly made him feel better, she had listened without being asked. If that all he was ever going to get with Gia, he didn't mind, as what he did get was perfect.

Turning onto his street, he regained his composure and tried to be a quite as possible not wanting to attract unwanted attention from his neighbours and to have to hear about it around the dinner table tomorrow. If only they had known that he had been with a girl on a school night - they would have a field day. Sneaking into his house, he was relieved to find his parents had not waited up for him so he managed to avoid the awkward 'where-were-you?' conversation for one night. Walking in to his bedroom undetected, he immediately went over to his phone which he hadn't had time to grab on his way out and checked to see if he had messages.

Gia Moran: Are late night conversations becoming our … thing? (11:21)

He smiled at the thought of Gia texting him of all people as soon as she got in.

To Gia Moran: It looks like it. Are they going to continue? (11:29)

Gia Moran: I hope so. (11:30)

Please leave a review/fav/follow if you enjoyed! I would also like you guys' opinions on what to call each chapter. Do I a) keep it like it is and name it after each episode or b) name it after what happens in each chapter?

I'm going to aim to get the next chapter up by Wednesday but don't hold me to that, something could come up. :)