Disclaimer: Don't own PR

Thanks for the reviews, and sticking with my unreliable timing for updates! I'm glad people are enjoying it so far, but there is certainly much more to come! As of now, I think this will last somewhere around 20 chapters, give or take a few. Hopefully this chapter will make the arranged marriage a little more plausible, since you get to meet Mrs. Drew and Mrs Tate in this chapter! As usual, I can neither confirm nor deny any of your suspicions...partly because I have a habit of changing things on a whim. Enjoy!

VI. Words:

An argument;

Warrant, assurance, or promise;

News, tidings, or information.

As June turned into July, relationships between the rangers remained tense. Sky (who was left with a dark violet splotch around his eye that refused to fade for several days) and Z avoided one another as much as possible. Sydney and Bridge were also not on speaking terms due to an argument they had after Sky and Z left the Simulation Deck.

It was a good thing there were no monsters, because the team never would have been able to work together. They lived like zombies, simply moving with the flow of their every-day lives. Z would have completely missed her next appointment with Dr. Rou if Kat hadn't come to remind her. Z was quiet during most of the visit, only listening to a few phrases here and there. "You've gained more weight than I expected… Could you lie down for me...?...going smoothly…Now let me check…141 beats per second…Z?"

"Huh?"

The doctor held up a set of earphones attached to a small, hand-held scanner. "Do you want to listen to the baby's heart beat?"

"Okay," Z shrugged.

Rou frowned at the girl's nonchalant reaction, but let it be and handed Z the earphones. Rou moved the scanner over Z's chest and the yellow ranger's ears were filled with a steady beat. "That's your heart beat," Dr. Rou explained. She moved the scanner downward and the drumming sped up. "And that's your baby's."

Z's eyes went wide. Somehow, listening to the tiny heart beat brought her back to life. Z remembered how much slower her heart sounded and frowned. "Is it too fast? Is something wrong?"

Dr. Rou smiled and patted Z's knee. "Not at all, honey. Human infants have much faster heart rates than adults. It's perfectly healthy."

Z relaxed and let the beat soothe her mind. "It's incredible," she whispered.

"Yes it is," the doctor agreed. She turned off the scanner and took the earphones. "So has the morning sickness gotten any better?"

Z pulled her shirt down and groaned, "Not much. Yesterday I threw up on Boom's shoes. He was really cool about it, but I felt terrible."

Dr. Rou winced, "Sounds like you're stuck with a bad case. On the bright side, it usually goes away by the fourth month. Congratulations, by the way, you've successfully made it through your first trimester." She put the scanner back in its box and sat in the yellow rolling chair opposite Z.

"Thanks. It went by fast, considering I didn't know until I was more than halfway through," Z replied.

"Have you answered any more of the big questions?"

Z sighed, "I honestly haven't been thinking about that too much. My team's going through a rough time, and it's all my fault."

"Ah, so that is why you've been so quiet. Z, I understand what all of you must be feeling. This is a huge change, and an unexpected one. People fear change and it makes them act strangely. Eventually, they will get over it."

"I guess," Z agreed. "Maybe I should have them listen to the baby's heart beat. It made me feel better."

Rou grinned, "You can bring them any time." She stood and helped Z to do the same. They started walking back out front where a green-skinned assistant was working. "I want to see you back here in another month. That would be…" she looked over the alien's shoulder. "The 24th of August. At 2 o' clock."

"Okay." Z pulled a blue pen out of her pocket and wrote the date on the palm of her hand.

"Right that in, Hral," Dr. Rou ordered.

Hral, Rou's assistant for the month, did as he was told. "Yes ma'am."

"Oh, and Z," Rou added before Z made it to the hall door, "before the next time I see you, I want you to ask someone about at least a few of those bigger issues, like where you are going to live."

Z nodded, "I will." She let the door fall closed behind her and started to walk back to the lobby of SPD. Z had planned to visit Jack and Ally for several weeks, but she never felt like going anywhere. Now, with her baby's heart beat still ringing in her ears, she felt strong enough to do anything.

Z happily inhaled the fresh air outside. The weather was perfect and she was happy to wear her civilian clothes instead of the stuffy SPD uniform, although even her larger t-shirts were beginning to feel tight around her middle. Before she could venture beyond the grounds of SPD, a voice called her name. Z grinned as Sam came running up to her. "Hey kiddo, what are you up to?" she asked, ruffling his hair. At fourteen, he was nearly her height and he'd gained plenty of muscle since joining SPD; Z had already heard several younger cadets gossiping about how cute her little brother was.

Sam used his fingers to push his hair back into a more organized state of chaos. "Just finishing up a run. I haven't seen you in forever! Where are you going?"

"To visit Jack and Ally," she answered. "Would you like to come?"

"Yeah! Let me just tell Marx I'm going. I'm sure it will be alright since I'm with a ranger."

Z frowned, "Actually, I've been suspended since last month."

"What?! Why?"

"You mean you haven't heard? Where have you been to miss all the rumors, kiddo? It's a long story," Z explained.

Sam shrugged, "I'm still a pretty low-ranking cadet. Rumors about you guys don't filter down to us until its old news or the rumors have been discredited."

She smiled, "Most of the time that is a good thing. Go get permission to leave and I'll tell you the news on the way."

Sam teleported himself a few feet away next to an older, newt-like alien called Marx who was overseeing Sam's level. She saw Marx look back in her direction and quickly look away. Z sighed; the lower-level cadets may not have heard about her, but their mentors sure had. Sam teleported back to Z's side looking confused. "He told me to tell you congratulations and made me promise to take good care of you."

Z laughed and put her arm around Sam's shoulders as they walked away from SPD and into the city. "Sam, you're fourteen. You've had health class, right?"

Sam's ears turned pink. "Uh, yeah. You mean the one with all the really old, really weird movies?"

Z shrugged, "Never took health class, but I would assume that's the one. Sydney told me about how awful it was."

"It wasn't all bad; just a little uncomfortable to be learning all that with girls in the room."

"I would assume so," Z chuckled. "So I don't have to explain where babies come from or anything like that?"

"No!" Sam exclaimed.

Z smiled with relief. "Great; that's going to make this a whole lot easier."

"What does that have to do with why you're suspended?" asked Sam.

Z stopped walking and made Sam face her. "You're like a little brother to me, you know?" Sam nodded. "Well what do you think of being an uncle?"

Sam blinked. It took him a moment to put everything together, but when he did his eyes got very big. "You're gonna have a baby? Congratulations!"

"Thanks, kiddo."

"Why did they suspend you, though?" Sam asked. "Oh, wait; being ranger isn't the best thing for a baby, right?

"That's partially why I'm suspended. But it's also because members of SPD are not supposed to have intimate relationships with anyone unless they're married. Trust me, Sam; it's a good rule to follow. The past few months have not been easy," said Z. She continued walking.

Sam blushed, "Oh."

Z smiled, "Hey, you can ask me whatever you want. I'm not necessarily going to answer you, but you're old enough. I am in a good mood today; I got to listen to the baby's heart beat."

"Really? You can hear it?"

"Mm-hmm," she nodded, "with a special machine. It's pretty cool, actually."

"Could I hear it?" he asked.

"If you want to come to my doctor's appointment next month. But you'll have to be patient and wait outside through most of it."

"I'll do my best!" Sam announced. Z grinned, and the two walked in silence for a little while. "Z? You said I could ask anything?"

"Oh boy," Z chuckled, "here comes a fun question. Go ahead."

"Who – who did you…I mean, does the baby have…have…"

"A father?" Z finished. Sam nodded. "All babies have fathers. I assume you were asking who it is? My ex-boyfriend and that is all you need to know about him."

"Oh…sorry."

"Me too. I was stupid to get involved with such a pig. Promise me something, Sam: never get deep into a relationship you know is not going to last."

"Um, okay. I promise," Sam replied.

Z grinned, "You're a good kid, Sam. I hope my baby turns out just like you. Ah, here's the building." Z pulled a keycard out of her pocket and winked at Sam. "I used to visit Jack all the time, so they gave me a spare key."

A minute later, Z knocked on the door of apartment 23. Jack opened the door and grinned when he saw the two. "Hey! Come inside." He opened the door wider to let them in. "Ally! We've got company!"

The apartment had not changed much since the last time Z was there. The walls were still a deep red-violet and the mis-matched furniture was placed around a large holoscreen – one of the few items Jack had splurged on in his lifetime. Jack moved some newspapers to a small wooden table so that his guests could sit. "So, Sam-Man, I haven't seen you in a while. What's up?"

Sam shrugged, "Not much."

"Not much? That's all I get is a 'not much'?" Jack chuckled. "No girlfriends? No promotions? No heroic adventures?"

"Well, I did get promoted to the next level," he answered.

"Congrats, man," Jack patted Sam's back, nearly sending him to the floor. "You keep working hard and you'll make a great ranger."

"Really?!" Sam's eyes filled with hope.

Jack and Z looked at each other, memories of the Omega Ranger in their eyes. "Really," Jack smiled.

Ally came out of the hallway, drying her blonde hair with a white towel. "It's good to see you two again. You should have called; I would have made something to eat."

"We're fine," said Z. "I just wanted to drop by for a minute and Sam decided to tag along."

"Well you're both free to drop by any time." Ally hung the towel over a chair in the adjoining kitchen/dining room and sat next to Jack.

"So how're you doing, Z?" asked Jack. He'd been worried about her since last month when Ally spent several hours on the phone consoling Z and refused to tell him what went wrong.

"I'm pretty good," she replied. "I just had an appointment with Dr. Rou, and she said everything's going well. I even got to listen to the baby's heart beat."

"You did?" Ally grinned. "That's wonderful. How are things with your team?"

Z hesitated. "Things are…tense. It would be nice if we had a leader who tried to make us work together, but a certain ex-ranger had to quit for some charity job."

Jack laughed, "Oh come on; Sky can't be that bad. A few months ago you were telling me how much better he'd gotten and what a great red ranger he was." Z looked at her shoes and Ally elbowed Jack's ribs. "Ouch! What?"

Ally rolled her eyes and changed subjects. "Hey Sam, Z told me that you like basketball. Did you see the New Tech/Angel Grove game?"

"Oh yeah!" Sam exclaimed. "That match was awesome!"

Jack's face lit with excitement. "When that kid from Angel Grove made that three-pointer and the game went into overtime?! I have got to hand it to AG, Jay DeSantos is an amazing player."

"One player isn't enough to make the team good," Z argued. "New Tech still kicked their butts."

"Well of course, we've got CJ on our side," said Jack. "She keeps that team together. Man, I wish New Tech Men's basketball would win a game like that."

"Maybe Sam could teach 'em a thing or two," Ally smiled, making the teenager blush.

"I don't think I'm that good. Not without powers, anyway," he said.

Z put an arm around his shoulders. "We all have gifts, kiddo. Those basketball stars don't know what they're missing. Besides, I've seen you play: you're really good. In fact, you could dribble circles around Jack if you two went one-on-one. Granted, Jack couldn't beat a kitten at basketball…"

Jack interrupted, "Hey, Kat was a worthy opponent. She had over a hundred years to practice!"

Z raised an eyebrow. "Jack, Kat had never played basketball before. I told her the rules about ten minutes before the game started. Need I mention you couldn't beat me, Sky, or Bridge?"

"Okay, you don't count because that was me verses an army of Zs, the day I played against Sky I was sick, and Bridge is a psychic so he knew everything I was going to do. I never lost to Sydney, though!" protested Jack.

"Yeah, that's 'cause she refused to play basketball," chuckled Z. Ally and Sam joined her laughter, and after a moment Jack laughed, too.

"Did Dr. Manx really beat you?" asked Sam.

"Are you kidding? She throttled me," Jack admitted. "I can't play to save my life. Z was trying to save my ego after three consecutive losses. She thought there would be no way the good doctor could win. The final score was eighteen to four."

Ally winced, "And I'm getting married to you? Z, why didn't you warn me?"

She shrugged, "I tried. You wouldn't listen. There is still time to call it off…"

"Nah, I love 'im anyway," Ally kissed Jack's cheek and squeezed his hand.

Z smiled; the exchange reminded her of one of the many questions she'd been trying to answer. "Jack, Ally, I've got something important to ask you."

"We're all ears," Jack said.

"Well, I keep thinking about the baby and how I don't have the safest profession in the world. I also know I want him or her to be baptized; my parents weren't super, super religious, but my abuela was. You two are my best friends – barring Sam, of course, but he's a little too young." She paused for a moment to wink at Sam, and then continued. "I was hoping you would agree to be my baby's godparents and take care of him or her if anything happened to me. I know it's a little early to ask, but it would mean a lot to me. Not that I want to pressure you or anything, you can think about it and…"

"Z!" Jack shouted. He wrapped her in a hug. "We'd love to. Right Ally?"

Ally nodded, "We already promised to take care of you and the baby, Z. We're a family."

"You will? Thank you!" Z hugged Jack even tighter, nearly knocking him over. After releasing him she leaned over his body to hug Ally. "You are the greatest!"

"Hey Z," asked Sam, "what are you going to name the baby?"

She let go of Ally and looked back at Sam. "I don't know yet. I hadn't thought about it until you asked; I've been sort of preoccupied. Actually, that's not entirely true. It sounds stupid, but I used to imagine what I would name any children I had."

"It's not stupid, I've thought about it, too," said Ally. "Do you remember any names you liked?"

Z fiddled with her hands in her lap. "Well, I do remember one. Ever since my father died, I wanted to have a son and name him Daniel, just like my dad. He was my hero, and I always liked his name."

"It's beautiful," Ally agreed.

"You know, for a boy, Jack sounds nice too," Jack smirked.

Z laughed, "God forbid any child of mine grows up to be like you. What about Samuel?"

The tips of Sam's ears turned red. "It's okay."

"Wait, wait! I know exactly who you should name the baby after!" Jack announced.

"Oh?" Ally raised an eyebrow.

"Please, enlighten us," sneered Z.

Jack grinned, "Piggy!"

XXX

Across town, Sydney, Sky, Mrs. Carol Drew, and Mrs. Linda Tate were working their way through a bridal shop. Sky was more uncomfortable than Commander Cruger at a carnival. His mother had never been discrete and he was quickly learning how difficult it would be to get along with his snooty mother-in-law. "Oh Sydney, darling, aren't these dresses just perfect for your bridesmaids?" Mrs. Drew held up an extravagant, electric pink dress with a fuzzy red trim. Sky visibly cringed and to his surprise, so did Sydney.

"I think it might be a little bright, momsy," Sydney replied. "I, um, don't want them to outshine me."

Carol dropped the dress instantly. "Of course you don't, princess! It's your big day, I would never want them to upstage my precious little angel." Mrs. Drew moved further down the aisle to join Sky's own mother and he heard Sydney's sigh of relief.

"She wouldn't understand if I told her what I really thought of that dress," Sydney whispered. "The best way to keep her happy is to agree or say something to complement her 'good breeding.'"

Sky chuckled and followed the women through several more racks of dresses. He had no choice in coming once his mother declared it would be a nice 'family outing.' Sky had no clue why this was so important. They had plenty of time to pick things out. They were not getting married until December (a decision made by their parents without his knowledge or Sydney's). He could barely tell the difference between most of the dresses. The colors seemed to swirl around him, making him feel nauseous. Thankfully, his fiancé's excited squeal drew Sky's attention away from his stomach. He walked to the end of the aisle and turned down the next one, where he found the women surrounding another dress. The dress was a very light, rose pink. It had clear straps keeping it on the hanger, which would be cut off later, and three red ribbons: one at the top, one around the middle, and one at the bottom. The dress was fairly simple, especially compared to Mrs. Drew's favorites, and Sky had to admit he liked it. Not on him, of course, but on the girls it would look very nice.

"It's perfect!" Sydney exclaimed. "Do you like it, momsy?"

Mrs. Drew pursed her lips and carefully inspected the dress. "It looks a little flimsy…but whatever makes you happy, dear. What do you think, Linda?"

"I think it will be lovely," smiled Mrs. Tate.

Sydney turned to her fiancé. "What about you, Sky?"

"About the dress?" Sky was shocked that they wanted his opinion. His mother glared at him.

Sydney giggled, "Of course. It's you're wedding too."

"Oh, well I like it. It's, um, it's a nice color and, um…" he fumbled for a description that would meet Mrs. Drew's approval. Then he remembered Sydney's advice. "It will compliment Sydney perfectly without overshadowing her dress."

Carol grinned and grabbed Sky's cheek affectionately. "I knew you were a smart boy!" When she released him, Sky forced himself not to rub the skin where Mrs. Drew's nails dug into his cheek. "Oh, it is perfect. Now, Sydney love, what sizes do we need, how many? You have so many friends…"

Sydney thought for a moment. "Well, I think Gia's a three, Krista lost a lot of weight so I'll have to ask her again, Diane and Gia are probably the same size, and Z…oh, um…" the color 

drained from Sydney's face, and Sky was sure he looked just as pale. Both had neglected to mention Z's pregnancy to their highly critical parents.

"Yes, dear?" asked Mrs. Drew. "Well, if you don't know that's all right. We can have plenty of these reserved."

Sydney shuffled her feet. "Er, no, mother, that's not – well, we can reserve different sizes but… um…by December…oh no, that's in about five months, isn't it?"

Sky nodded, "And it's been more than three already…which will make it eight, nearly nine in December…shoot…"

"What's the matter? What's wrong with December?" asked Carol.

Sydney gulped. "Um, momsy, in December Z's kind of going to be eight months pregnant."

The two older women looked at one another, horrified. "Kind of? How can she be kind of pregnant?" Mrs. Drew managed to gasp.

"Well, I don't know remember exactly when her due date is, so…" Sydney mumbled.

"Pregnant? One of your friends? Your roommate?! Sydney Drew, I had hoped you would have taught that girl some better etiquette!" Mrs. Drew exclaimed.

"Mother!"

Mrs. Tate put a calming hand on Mrs. Drew's shoulder. "Now Carol, we may be jumping to conclusions. We don't know the whole story, so we should not be so rash in our judgment." Sky stared at his mother with his jaw hanging open. She had just said something reasonable, something understanding. For a moment, Sky wondered what alien had abducted his mother and replaced her with a droid.

Carol took several overly-dramatic deep breaths. "Yes, of course you're right, Linda darling. There are many – situations that could have led to this. So when is she getting married?"

Sky and Sydney looked at each other. "Who?" asked Sydney.

"Your friend Z! Who else?" said Mrs. Drew.

Sky bit his lip and allowed Sydney to handle her mother. "She's not getting married at all, momsy, at least not anytime soon."

"What?! But – but what about the baby? Doesn't she want it to have a good home? What about the father?" shouted Carol. By now Mrs. Drew had gotten the attention of most of the store.

Sky finally spoke up. "No offense, Mrs. Drew, but it really isn't any of your business! All you need to know is that one of the bridesmaids is pregnant and will need a larger dress! Now if you don't mind, I'm going back to SPD. I have a lot of work to do." Sky stormed out of the shop with the intention of walking home because they had all gotten there in the same car.

Sky's mother looked apologetically at the other two women and patted Sydney's head. "He'll come around, honey. He's had a very stressful week, as I am sure you understand. Carol I'm terribly sorry about all that. Sky's so noble; he gets offended if anyone talks about his team in any way that might be construed as criticizing." Carol nodded, shocked into silence by Sky's outburst.

"Mrs. Tate, momsy, thank you for the wonderful afternoon. I really should go after him, if you don't mind," Sydney explained on her way out.

"Oh, yes. You may be able to talk him out of this little tantrum," smiled Linda. "We'll just put that dress style on hold and go home. Tell Sky to call me later!"

"Sure!" Sydney called over her shoulder. "Thanks!"

XXX

By the time Z and Sam left the Landors' apartment, it had started to rain. But instead of getting upset, the two friends laughed and tried to push one another into puddles. By the time they reached SPD, they were soaked to the skin. Their laughter was interrupted by a voice coming from the opposite direction.

"Oh come on, Sky! Slow down! Talk to me!" Sydney yelled through the downpour. "I told you I was sorry about my mother, but you can't blame me for the way she is! Sky, this is ridiculous!"

Z looked up only to find herself a few feet away from Sky, who was walking rapidly towards the entrance with his head bowed; he did not even notice her. Sydney fluttered around him like a butterfly searching for nectar, never still. Z looked back at Sam, who raised an eyebrow. She shrugged in response.

All four reached the entrance at the same time. When Sky and Sydney were finally aware of the others' presence, they fell into an uneasy silence that was disturbed only by the rain. Sydney noticed the way Sky and Z stared at one another. The pink ranger put an arm over Sam's shoulders and spoke loudly. "Hey Sam, I haven't talked to you in a while. Why don't we go dry off, and you can tell me what's new?"

Sam looked back at Z, but she refused to look away from Sky's icy stare. "Okay," he agreed and allowed Sydney to guide him indoors.

For several minutes, the red and yellow rangers stared at one another without speaking. They did not need words to communicate, and anyone watching carefully would have noticed how they slowly relaxed. Their spines bent, their fingers unclenched, and the tension died down. "I'm sorry," Sky shouted to be heard over the rain, "for what I said. I didn't – I shouldn't have – I'm sorry. I mean it this time, I really am sorry."

Z nodded, "I know. I'm sorry, too, 'bout your eye."

Sky laughed, "I deserved it. The funny thing is, after years of fighting gigantic, horrific monsters, the worst beating I ever received was from a pregnant woman. Now what does that say about me?"

"That you shouldn't mess with anyone who has this many hormones out of whack. You did deserve it."

"I know." For another moment, there was silence.

Z put her hands in her pockets and sighed. "What I said still stands. You know that, right?"

Sky looked down. For a moment, Z was not sure if it was rain or tears falling off the tip of his nose. "I do. I understand."

Z gingerly took his hand and Sky looked up. She smiled slightly. "Let's get inside before we catch pneumonia or something."

"Yeah." Sky pushed open the door and let her through, some of his mother's strict rules of chivalry coming back into his memory.