Author's Notes: I am quite pleased to see people enjoying the direction I'm taking this fic. As for Cassidy, well, she's misinformed and still in "reporter mode." Plus you must remember that this is an unchanged Cassidy, with no influence from unknowingly being around and learning from the Rangers for eight months; she's allowed to be this way. One thing you might have noticed is that we don't even have zords yet. Oh, and Tommy doesn't know Anton Mercer could possibly still be alive, as he hasn't visited the museum yet (no detention, remember?). This highly changes events. Since Dr. Oliver doesn't know of the existence of Dr. Mercer (yet), Mesogog isn't moving as quickly as he could be. This will mean that many several things that happened in the series will happen out-of-order, or some objects may be found by the opposite side first, rather than the ones that actually found them in canon series.

Don't you just love AU? (also, I've apparently fallen in love with semicolons…) Additional note: you will never, ever see song lyrics of any kind in my story. As much as I love music (Meat Loaf, Peter Gabriel, and Billy Joel have fueled this fic so far), I have no talent for knowing what music goes with what situations, nor could I write my own for anything. Oh, and sorry about the cliffhanger, but I felt like being super duper evil today.

Disclaimer: Power Rangers is owned by Saban. Power Rangers Dino Thunder was owned by Disney at the time. I only own the words and the story itself. Oh, and any mentions of Caroline, Jessica, Josh (Will he return? Or did he conveniently jump off an exploding island?), and now Greg and Matthew (where the heck did I come up with these names?) are mine.


Eighteen year old Conner McKnight opened his eyes and found himself at peace. He was sitting in the loveseat in his home, his arm around Jessica of whom was leaning into his side, and between them was their three year old daughter Caroline. Utterly content with this, Conner closed his eyes, smiled, and sighed.

The moment was broken when a soft voice from his side spoke. "While this is nice, Conner, you know this isn't right."

Conner once again opened his eyes to find Jessica now leaning away from him, his arm still around her. He said, "What do you mean?"

She turned towards him and said, "This. All of this. I'm not here anymore, and you know that…"

"But Jess…"

"No, Conner," she stood up from the seat. Conner, feeling the sudden emptiness, automatically picked Caroline up and pulled her into his lap, hugging her to himself. "It's like Dr. Oliver says, you never forget your first love; but I can't be here for you, or for her. It's not right for you to hang onto me like this. You have Caroline, so you'll always have a piece of me, but for both of your sakes, you have to move on…"

"Jessica…" Conner's voice was wavering slightly, not wanting to hear any of this. He said, "Why, Jess? Why did you leave me like that?"

Now Jessica turned away from him, refusing to look at him. She hesitated for a moment before speaking. "You never knew this, but I was never in the best of health. When I found out I was pregnant, I probably shouldn't have chosen to carry her… As it stood, the exertion from the birth was too much for my body to handle…"

Conner didn't answer this, but simply stared away guiltily. He already felt it was his fault that she died, and this admission from her certainly didn't make him feel any better. She noticed this and quickly said, "It's not your fault, Conner. I chose not to tell you about my health problems, and you never had the chance to notice them. Stop blaming yourself. Let go of your grief and your guilt, it's only holding you back from you being yourself."

She kneeled down to look him straight in the eye and said, "You need someone who can actually stand by your side and Caroline needs a mother. Fortunately, you already have someone who is willing to be both the wife and the mother I wasn't able to be…"

Jessica faded away, and Conner's friend and teammate Kira Ford now stood in her place. Conner looked up into her face with tears in his eyes, saying, "Kira…"

Jessica's voice sounded from a direction that Conner couldn't identify. "Please Conner, for all of our sakes, move forward with your life. Stop clinging to a memory and start enjoying your life. You're finally making a difference, but it's not enough. Please promise me you'll stop the suffering from the last three years and be more like your old fun self. Please?"

Conner lowered his eyes to the little girl sitting in his lap. She was staring up at him, appearing to anticipate his answer. He began openly crying, and continued for several minutes before managing to whisper, "I promise…"


Conner gently awoke to the faint light of sunrise that Friday morning. He felt dampness on his pillow, and when he opened his eyes he found them to be clouded by his still falling tears. He rubbed at his eyes to clear them and looked over to his clock; 6:45 AM. It was a little earlier than he usually got up, but he felt more well-rested and energized than he had in over three years. He could remember every moment of the dream…

'Not dream,' Conner thought, 'it felt too real to be a simple dream.' No, it was more of a vision; a message. Jessica wanted Conner to be happy and to live his life to the fullest, and it took a message from beyond to get that through his thick skull. He got up from his bed and felt as if a physical weight had been taken off of his chest. Today was going to be a great day, he just knew it.

He went down to the kitchen and decided to make breakfast for everyone. He dug out three skillets; one for eggs, one for sausage, and one for pancakes. He knew the smell of his cooking would likely wake the rest of his family, so he wasted no time getting it all prepared. All four of the other McKnight's came down to the kitchen as Conner was piling three separate plates with the fixin's that he just finished making.

The family stood and stared for a second before Conner said, "Well if you're not hungry, I guess I'll just eat all of this…" That got them moving; they started filling their plates with what they wanted of what he made. Caroline stared at the stack of pancakes for a moment before Conner said, "You can have a couple of pancakes with syrup if you first get through an egg and a piece of sausage." Caroline grinned and jumped into a seat where a plate with aforementioned food was already awaiting her. She didn't usually eat much, but she always seems to find room for pancakes when they have them. Fortunately she has her father's metabolism and isn't fazed by the influx of sugar associated with such food.

Breakfast was an enjoyable affair. Conner didn't mention his 'dream' to anybody, deciding that that was a little too private to be openly sharing. Once everyone was finished and the dishes were washed up, he proceeded to get himself ready for school. Once he was dressed and ready, he met his daughter and mother in the living room. Bending down to Caroline, he said, "You ready for Kira's concert tonight?"

She bobbed her head up and down enthusiastically. His mother asked, "What time is she scheduled for?"

"Seven. Not too late for this one to stay out, is it?"

She shook her head, "Not a problem. You'd better go now if you expect to pick your friends up for school."

Conner picked Caroline up in a big hug and said, "I'll be home right after school; Kira will probably need a little time with her band to practice before tonight. See you then sweetie."

"Bye, daddy!"

Conner left the house and headed out to his car. The trip out to Ethan's house was short; Ethan looked tired and climbed into the back in order to stretch out. When Conner noticed this, he replied, "Was on a roll… had to get to level 30…" He promptly nodded off. Conner decided to leave him be.

He arrived to Kira's house a short time later; she was waiting on the front porch, fidgeting in apparent excitement. She was dressed ever so slightly different than usual… perhaps a little more makeup and a different style of skirt than she would typically be seen in. Conner, for his part, took notice of her appearance for the first time since actually meeting her; he stared after her as she approached the car, and had to catch himself before she noticed. Had he been paying closer attention, he would have noticed that her smile had brightened even more just before entering the vehicle with her books and guitar in hand. Once she was situated in the front seat, Conner once again found himself to be looking towards her and not making any move to back out of her driveway. Kira turned a concerned eye to him and said, "Are you okay there, Con?"

Conner blinked a few times before replying, "Um, yes." He blushed and averted his gaze before continuing, "You look beautiful…"

She smiled back appreciatively and said, "Thank you. I'm probably going to be practicing right up until the concert starts, so I figured I'd save myself the trouble of having to go home to change."

Conner nodded in understanding and returned his attention to his car, backing up and driving off towards the school. The trip was accomplished in relative silence due to the sleeping Ethan in the back. Once they were in the school parking lot, Conner turned around and shook Ethan's shoulders to rouse him and the three of them proceeded in to their first class of the day.

They were once again the first into Doctor Oliver's science class, so they took their seats and started having some quiet conversation. Other students making their way in as time ticked on; the funny looks they sent Conner's way were promptly ignored by the former soccer star. When Cassidy strolled in, they took notice for the first time the creature that constantly was tailing her with his video camera in hand: Devin Del Valle followed behind her obediently, but appeared to throw an apologetic look towards Conner and his friends before taking his seat next to Cassidy. Conner furrowed his brow at this, but before he could satisfy his curiosity, the late bell rung out and Dr. Oliver came striding into the classroom.

Dr. Oliver appeared to be both anxious and excited, but did well in hiding it from his students; all but three of them, of course. They were curious, but with everything else that was going on that day, chose not to pursue him after class to discover what was going on.


Their classes went by in a more or less normal fashion. Conner still had to endure the mean looks and comments from some of his classmates, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been the day before; apparently most of the student body had already moved on to another poor soul to torment. It was when it came time for their lunch period that things changed somewhat. The Rangers had sat down together at a table, and were promptly joined by a Cassidy-less Devin. They looked at him funny before he said, "Oh, uh, I just want to apologize for what Cassidy said yesterday… It was uncalled for. I tried to tell her not to but she didn't listen to me…"

Conner gave him a weak smile before shaking his head and saying, "Don't worry about it. I'm not going to let anything she or anyone else says bother me anymore."

Devin looked apprehensive for a moment before deciding to continue on, "Still, though, it's got to be hard hearing it from everyone like that. I'm curious what the story behind all this is, but it's not my business so I'm not going to pry…"

A thought occurred to Kira suddenly and she said, "Conner, if everyone knew the truth, you probably wouldn't have to deal with them anymore."

Conner shook his head again. "I don't think I can tell the story again… not again, so soon…"

"Then don't. I'll do it for you."

Conner looked at her incredulously for a moment before realizing she was absolutely serious. He gave it a moment of thought before internally agreeing with her logic. An issue was raised in his mind, though. "Okay, but how are you going to get the word out?"

Devin piped up, "I have an idea…"


"Seriously?" Conner asked. "Get Cassidy to spread the word? And how do you suppose we get her to actually listen to and tell the truth?"

"Just promise her an exclusive…" Devin started.

"…and I'll make sure she leaves nothing out and doesn't embellish." Kira finished.

Conner mulled the thought for a few moments before finally consenting. "Alright. Go with it."

Kira nodded and got up from the table, following Devin to where Cassidy was sitting. Cassidy sneered in their direction before asking, "What's she doing here? Why'd you bring her?" Kira was certain that internally Cassidy was thinking 'she's not one of us.'

Kira simply smiled at her and said, "How would like an exclusive story to spread around?"

Cassidy's eyes widened in surprise; this girl was the last person she ever expected to want some gossip spread. "You have my attention." She said.

"I know the whole story about Conner and his little girl. You do want this story, right?"

Cassidy's expression neutralized as she realized something was off about this request. "And what, pray tell, is the catch?"

"Oh there's no catch… You just have to retell it exactly the way you hear it. The absolute truth needs to be spread to everybody who will listen by the end of the day. You will not leave anything out, nor will you exaggerate or embellish in any way, shape, or form." Kira was satisfied with the look on Cassidy's face, leaned really close to said face, and promptly continued in a dangerous whisper. "If you don't do exactly as I say, you are going to have an extremely pissed off Kira Ford after you, and believe me, that's something you don't want."

Cassidy gulped and nodded. Devin looked quite pleased at what just transpired. He said, "We should probably go somewhere in private for this interview, Cass. Maybe someplace outside?"

They agreed and filed out to a remote location still on the high school's campus. Devin got out his video camera while Cassidy got a small notebook and pen out. Kira launched into the story, telling as much of it as Conner has told to her in the last week. By the end of the lunch period, the story was prepared. They all went to their separate classes, and the web of gossip around the school was set ablaze as a new story broke ground. By the end of the day, the student body in general seemed to be more sympathetic towards Conner, a few even offering him condolences. He would simply thank them and move on, trying not to dwell on it more than he had to.

With the school day ended, the Rangers met in front of the school. Kira waved to them and said, "Well, I'm out. I've got to get to practice right now, as I've got a couple of songs we've either never played before, or haven't practiced much with. See you tonight!"

Once she had left, Conner turned to his remaining companion and asked him, "Need to be taken anywhere?"

Ethan shook his head, saying, "Nope. I've got Computer Club today. I just figured I'd come out here to see the two of you off. You bringing Caroline with you tonight?"

"Yup. She's just as excited about the concert as the rest of us are. Even the Doc said he'd be there."

They parted ways and Conner headed out to his car.


Kira arrived to the usual practice spot for her band. There were only the three of them: Kira on her guitar, Greg on backup guitar, and Matthew on the drums. She was greeted by slightly annoyed expressions, which ever so slightly confused her. She asked, "What's up, guys?"

Greg spoke first, "Oh, I don't know… maybe because this is our first practice session all week and we have a concert in three hours?"

Matthew's expression softened after hearing the harshness of Greg's tone. He said, "Now now, Greg, she said she was busy the rest of the week, and she didn't even know we would be handed a concert venue until Wednesday."

"Still, that doesn't excuse it!"

Kira looked a little sheepish and reluctantly entered the conversation by saying, "I guess now's a bad time to mention that I've got a new song I want to do for tonight?"

Despite the negative feeling to start their practice, they managed to get through all five songs that she wanted to do that night to their satisfaction. With about half an hour left before 7 PM, they left and made their way to the cybercafé.


There was a decently larger crowd at the café than usual for a Friday evening. Hayley was pleased with the turnout, as sit meant higher income for her. Unfortunately, she hadn't hired any employees to help her yet, so it was going to be a busy night keeping all of these people refreshed. She regretted scheduling that interview for tomorrow morning.

Sitting along the wall right of the stage were Kira's parents. They, too, appeared to be excited for their daughter's first concert. At the table right at the front of the crowd sat three people that Hayley noted to herself she really needed to speak with after this was done. While she already knew Ethan quite well, since he was a regular of her establishment, she only had a single chance encounter with Conner and Caroline that first time they came in on Wednesday. Her first impression of him was a good one, though she was concerned about him, as when she mentioned the Waves open tryouts, he just shrugged it off and proceeded with his daughter's order for juice. All of her information pointed to him being quite a good soccer player, so why he would ignore a chance like that, she couldn't figure it out.

Kira and her bandmates appeared through the door with about ten minutes to spare. She froze when she saw the crowd, completely stunned that so many people would want to listen to her music. She spotted where her parents were and made her way over to them; the others went up onto the stage to set up.

After receiving hugs from them both, Kira said, "I'm glad you guys could make it."

Kira's mother smiled to her and replied, "Of course, dear. We couldn't miss this for anything."

Kira was then set upon by a force hugging at her legs. She looked down to find a certain little girl grinning up at her and clinging to her tightly. Kira laughed softly before saying, "Hi Caroline. You ready to hear me sing?"

She nodded forcefully before being pulled off of the older girl by her father. Conner shook his head and said, "Sorry, I tried to stop her, but she squirmed away. She's really excited… I think we all are."

Kira shrugged in response and said, "It's okay, Conner. I'll always have time for my littlest fan."

Kira's parents caught the name and her father said, "So this is Conner… and his sister?"

Before Kira could answer, Conner spoke first, "No sir, Caroline's my daughter. It's a… well, you can ask Kira later for the story. It's not a memory I want to have to revisit for a long time if I can help it…"

They noted his painful expression and the sorrow in his voice and chose not to press it right now. Kira looked at the time and gasped; it was only two minutes until the concert was supposed to start! She excused herself and got up to the stage. Hayley was already up there and was just announcing Kira, to the applause of the whole house. Kira got up there and thanked Hayley and the crowd. She scanned it and found her partners in crime fighting right up front. Several classmates were in the crowd, as well as some of the regulars for the café. In the back at the counter was sitting Doctor Oliver; he appeared to have calmed down considerably from what he was feeling that morning.

She launched into her first song, relishing the feeling of performing for a large group. When the song finished, there was resounding applause, and she could feel the waves coming off of everyone. It was mostly pleasure and adoration, though there was disgust laced in there from a few of the patrons. Knowing she couldn't please everyone, she proceeded into her next song. Once again, the feeling was a rush, and this time, when the song was over, the feeling was overwhelming. She knew this would affect her performance, so she started concentrating on a single target: Conner. It was still overwhelming, but manageable now. The next two songs were newer than the other two, but had still been practiced once or twice before today. When she got to the last song, there was a little apprehension, since it was just finished on Thursday. She said as much when introducing it, and in the middle of playing it, Conner made the connection: This was the song she was writing when he arrived to the park! That's when he realized exactly what inspiration she got for this song…

It was over soon, which meant the concert itself was over as well. Kira looked over the crowd, smiling to each and every one of them. She closed her eyes and inclined her head; opening all of her senses, she basked in the glow for several seconds. Moments later, she excused herself to where her parents and friends were waiting. She hugged each of them in turn (getting a double hug from Conner and Caroline together, since he was holding her at the time). They all found seats together by pushing a couple of tables together. Hayley handed Kira a bottle of water and took orders from everyone else at the table.

Once they were all situated with their drinks, Kira finally got around to introducing everyone. "Mom, dad, these are my friends Ethan, Conner, and Conner's daughter, Caroline. Guys, these are my parents."

They exchanged greetings amongst each other. Kira's mother decided to open the conversation. "So, how is it that the three of you decided to become friends all of a sudden? I don't seem to recall any of you associating with each other before this year…"

The three Rangers looked between each other, as if trying to decide on an answer. Before getting the chance to, though, Caroline bounced excitedly and said, "Uncle Tommy, Uncle Tommy!" She leapt off of Conner's lap and ran off to Dr. Oliver, whom she had just seen over at the counter. He was surprised and picked her up, looking over to Conner, who just shrugged back at him in response.

Single eyebrows were raised by each of Kira's parents at this, to which Conner said, "Ah, that's kind of how we became friends. Dr. Oliver offered us some after school activities which may help us with scholarship applications and I wound up brining Caroline with me. He told her to call him that."

They nodded at this, but the expression on their faces made it seem that they were not quite convinced. Kira's mother leaned over to her and whispered, "Have you told them?"

Kira shook her head and whispered back, "Not yet. I almost told Conner yesterday, but I got interrupted."

Her mother frowned at this last statement and didn't even bother to whisper in return, "We'll talk later."

Conner looked a little confused after the silent exchange, though when he looked to Ethan, he simply shrugged back to him. Kira's father revived the conversation. "So, what do you two do in your spare time?"

The Rangers smirked to each other for a half second before erasing their expressions and attempting to cover it. Ethan responded first, "I mostly just hang out here. I'm really into computers and games, and you get both of those here… plus, Hayley's smoothies are delicious." He punctuated this statement by taking a long sip from his own drink.

Conner took a moment before answering himself. "I used to play soccer on the school team. I haven't actually finalized my decision to quit, though. A part of me wants to go back to it, but another part of me is telling me to stick to my schoolwork. Then there's Caroline…" He didn't look too sure about saying his next statement, but encouraging looks from his teammates and expectant ones from her parents pushed him forward. "I haven't been the best father to her for the last three years because of what happened. I've decided not to let that get in the way of my responsibility anymore. This mostly means that I'll be taking her place more often, rather than only being her father when I'm at home as I've been playing at."

While they didn't know the story yet, they at least nodded in understanding. Their attention was diverted when the towering personality known as Doctor Tommy Oliver was found standing over the table, a bundle of three-year-old apparently asleep in his arms. He said, "I think the excitement was a little too much for her tonight."

Conner smiled back appreciatively and received his daughter. Turning back to the others, he said, "I guess it's time for me to say goodbye. It's was nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Ford. Ethan, Kira, I'll see you both tomorrow. 'Night guys."

They all said their goodnights to him and watched him leave the establishment. Dr. Oliver turned back to the remaining people and said, "I should be going, too. There's a dig site that I'm going to in the morning… Apparently there's a cache of gemstones to be found. Not valuable ones, mind you, but they could be of importance to scientists like me."

He excused himself and the two remaining Rangers looked at each other in a mix of confusion and enthusiasm. They caught the inference from the mention of gemstones; did Dr. Oliver find another Dino Gem?

Kira's parents looked to each other and made a decision themselves. Mrs. Ford turned to her daughter and said, "Well we're going to go home. Did you want to come with us?" Kira nodded in response, so her mother turned to face Ethan and continued, "Do you need a ride home, dear?"

Ethan shook his head and said, "No, I think I'll hang around here for awhile longer. I actually wanted to talk to Hayley a little before leaving…"

They left a little money on the table and the three of them got up to leave. Kira was a little confused about the way her mother said they would talk later, but pushed the feeling away. There had to be a good reason that her mother was not pleased with her having been about to tell Conner about her 'gift.'


Kira and her parents arrived to their home a short time after leaving Hayley's Cyberspace Café. Kira collapsed into a chair in the living room, but her mother was standing across from her with her hands on her hips. Furrowing her brow, Kira asked, "What's wrong, mom?"

Her mother pursed her lips before answering. "You've always said that you'd never tell anyone. What makes Conner so special that you would change your mind?"

Kira blinked a couple of times. That's all she's upset about? "Mom, I don't need a particular reason to tell anyone if I want to. I'll tell both of them in time, but I think Conner really needs to know sooner rather than later."

"And why would that be?"

"Well, for one thing, I already know he's attracted to me, and before this morning, he had a deep fear holding that attraction at bay. This morning it seemed to have been released, but he's pulling a shy boy act on me… a little unusual due to his personality from the last three years, but it seems the real Conner is finally on display this year, so I'm not going to complain. Anyways, I suppose I'm starting to like him in return, but it won't be fair to him if I don't tell him soon."

Her father walked into the room and took a seat on the couch. He beckoned to his wife and she sat next to him and leaned back. He motioned to his daughter and said, "Besides that, what's the story behind Conner and Caroline? He told us to get the story from you, so I suppose you know the deal."

Kira took a steadying breath and recounted the tale to them. As expected, they looked a mix of surprise, disappointment, and sympathetic. Mrs. Ford recovered first and said, "Okay… I get Conner now. He should have known better at the time, but it at least seems that he's doing the right thing now by being responsible for his situation. Now, I have a question… are you sure you like Conner for who he is? Or is it more of a sympathy thing for his situation?"

Kira pondered this for a moment before answering. "Definitely not sympathy. I've seen and felt his interactions with his daughter; he doesn't need help to take care of her, plus his parents have been helping him for the last three years. No, I've seen the real Conner McKnight and like him for who he really is: a responsible adult, a respectable father, and a really good friend. If I want to pursue any kind of a relationship with him, I'll need to tell him everything there is to know about me, from my music, to my 'gift,' even to the fact that I'm adopted. Nobody knows that either, you know."

The conversation was cut by a growl from Kira's stomach. Her mother chuckled and said, 'I bet you haven't eaten since lunch. Come on, I'll make you a snack. By then I'm sure the performance exhilaration will have worn out and you'll be ready to pass out…"

And so it did as she said. Soon after eating, Kira managed to fall asleep in her seat in the living room. They retrieved a blanket for her and turned out the light, choosing to go to bed themselves.


Kira and her parents had left Hayley's, leaving Ethan alone at the table. There were very few patrons left at the café, so he decided that it was time to have a long conversation with the proprietress about what she knew.

He found her wiping down one of the table that was off to the side. He took a seat at the table and wordlessly motioned for her to sit too. She smiled appreciatively to him and sat down. He opened conversation with a question. "So, what's the deal with you, us, and Dr. Oliver? He apparently conveniently forgot to tell us some things…"

She laughed at the interpretation, saying, "That's not convenient memory so much as he has retention problems when it comes to his memory. I've been told in conversations with some of his older friends that his memory was actually much worse when he was in high school doing the same thing you're doing now." His expression was pure disbelief, which made Hayley giggle on the inside. "As for the rest of it, well… for one thing, without me, you wouldn't have morphers in order to transform. Half of the Command Center was my doing, as well. Needless to say, you're going to be seeing much more of me as the attacks increase in intensity. Now, my turn to ask you a question… How did you know Conner was under the mask that first night?"

Ethan blinked and actually appeared to be starting to sweat a little. He shrugged and said, "Lucky guess?"

Hayley shook her head and said, "No way, you're not copping out that easily. Now, the truth, what happened that let you almost see right through him?"

He sighed resignedly and said, "Well, you see…"