DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but this plot and the character of Meredith and any other originals that have never before appeared on TV.
Jason dropped me off at my house. I knew he wanted to come inside and spend time with me, but I had some thinking to do and told him as much. He wasn't happy, but he understood. He kissed my cheek and went down the porch steps. I opened the door and went straight to my bedroom.
I showered and thought. I was still thinking while I was changing and still thinking an hour later when Tommy came home.
"Meri, you want to talk now," he asked me.
"Yes. I know what I have to do," I said. He leaned back on my bed so his head was against the wall. He stole the pillow I'd been holding and placed it behind his head. I grabbed my stuffed ape and held it instead.
"I can't keep dating Jason. It's too easy," I said.
"What are you talking about," he questioned. I knew my revelation shocked him, but he allowed me to explain before he interrupted me.
"I do love Jason. I'm just not IN love with him. It's complicated. I care about what happens with him, but it's more like we're just really good friends who shared a past. I am comfortable with Jason and I know that he wouldn't do anything to deliberately hurt me. It's just way too easy," I said.
"Would you explain? I don't quite get it," he said.
"Let's say you and Kimberly broke up. You would do anything to get her back, but if she thought it was for the best for the two of you, you wouldn't try to get her back. If she thought you were both better off apart, you'd respect her because you love her. You're IN love with her. If you started dating someone, like, say Katherine, it would be because she was there and not because you were IN love with her. It would be easier to have a relationship with her than it would be to be miserable and pining for Kim. At least you would have the physical aspect of a relationship," I said.
Tommy nodded, although I could tell he didn't really care for my example.
"This is the same. I am willing to sacrifice the physical aspect because I want to be with Rocky. Despite everything that happened. It's too easy for me to just fall back into old patterns with Jason. I don't want easy. Things in this life worth having are worth fighting for and I'm going to fight for Rocky. I may not win, but at least I've given it a shot. It's not fair to Jason for me to go though the motions of a relationship if I'm not really sure I want to be with him. It's not fair to me to deny myself what I want without knowing if I can have it. Does that make any sense at all," I asked my brother.
He pondered my answer and shook his head. "Yeah, it makes sense. I can't say I was expecting you to say you were in love with Rocky after everything that has happened. I know you wouldn't want to hurt Jason, so I guess it's good that you figured this out at this stage of the game. I'm behind you. If you want the big ape back, then get the big ape back. I don't know how you're going to do that, but I'm there for you," Tommy said.
I hugged my brother. I could've told him I was going to leap of Angel Grove tower and he would have said he'd be right there with me. That's why I think my brother is the best friend I could ever have. Sure we fight, but we always love and support each other. I was just hoping that I wouldn't need his shoulder to cry.
Tommy got up and went into his room, leaving me on my bed. I thought about what I could do to get Rocky back, but decided I was just going to be Meredith. That's the girl that he fell in love with and that's the girl that stood a chance to get him back.
I called Jason and asked him to meet me at the lake.
I yelled to Tommy that I was heading to the lake to meet Jason. He yelled back he'd see me later.
I headed out the back door and started walking toward the park and the lake. I'd made this walk countless times without a problem and was lost in what I was going to say to Jason when the cogs picked that exact moment to attack. I should have expected it. Nothing was going the way it was supposed to this week, why should a simple walk be simple.
I managed to hold my own with the Cogs and, before I could get to my morpher, I was captured by them and taken to King Mondo.
I found myself in an arena of sorts and I wasn't sure exactly what was happening.
***Everyone knows why Mondo would kidnap Meredith, right? What are the rangers going to do?*** -mereditholiver