This was initially going to be two separate chapters, but I've not been able to figure out how to make it long enough, so it's now one chapter! I hope you like it!

I'm going to be flying to America for RTX on Wednesday, and I'm off work until I get back, so I'll try and get another chapter written and posted before I go!

Hope you like it!


Chapter 7: A Scare

"Come on buddy, you love this stuff!" Ari ambled – at least, that's how it felt like she was walking – into the kitchen as she heard Xander's desperate plea. She found him sitting in front of their two year old son, whose nose was stuck in the air in a stubborn action as Xander offered him food.

"Still not eating?" Ari asked in amusement.

"Not for me at least," Xander huffed as he leaned back in his seat. Spencer smiled up at his mother as she approached. She lifted the spoon from the man and easily fed her son a mouthful of mashed banana. "See?" Xander complained, wiping banana from his face.

"Oh Spence, I know I'm your favourite, but please eat for your dad?" Ari passed the spoon back to him and ruffled Spencer's mop of dark hair. She turned away, sneezing once, and walked over to the counter to grab a tissue.

"Nope!" Spencer chimed back in a bright tone. Ari snickered, and Xander rolled his eyes.

"That's his favourite word..." the Earth Mystic muttered. "Maybe I'll just eat it myself," he decided, lifting the bowl. Spencer's smile dropped and his green eyes went wide as Xander took a bite.

"No!" Spencer yelled again, reaching out for it with his chubby hands. Ari rolled her eyes, grabbing a glass of water. She rested a hand on her large stomach, which was much larger than it had been when she had been six months along with Spencer. She chalked it up to it being her second pregnancy, which had already been a lot more frustrating than the first. She was taking even more of Joe's potion that helped her keep food down, and she couldn't wait to be done. Never again, she vowed.

"Now will you eat?" Xander asked with a raised eyebrow. Spencer opened his mouth obediently, and his father gave a sigh of relief.

Ari was snapped from her thoughts when the spoon suddenly slammed into an invisible wall, jerking out of Xander's hand. The food covered his face, and the spoon clattered to the ground. Spencer squealed with laughter, clapping his hands together as the air between him and Xander shimmered.

"Was that...?" Ari walked over as the light faded.

"He got that from you, you can feed him," Xander stood, passing the bowl to Ari. "I'll call Kira and give her a heads up," he walked out of the room as Ari tried – and failed miserably – to stop laughing.

"Looks like Kira and Trent have almost two years before Ryan disappears and breaks their eardrums," she smirked as she sat down in front of Spencer. He smiled back, but her own smile faded as she put a hand to her face.

"Yeah...he was two about five months ago," Xander told Trent as he cleaned banana out of his hair.

'Spencer could be a late bloomer as well, or early,' Trent mused, and Xander heard crying in the background. 'I really hope he takes after me in this respect,' he sighed.

"For everyone's sake, I hope so too mate," Xander shuddered at the idea of the six month old having super sonic cries. "He was really early with his genetic powers though. Tyler didn't start disappearing until he was six months old, and his super strength came in a little after that," he told the comic book artist.

'A disappearing super strong baby...that's terrifying,' Trent murmured.

"We're creating a really scary future generation," Xander couldn't help but grin in amusement, and Trent laughed.

'That's true. Between the Dino Thunder team and the Overdrive team, we're going to have a lot to hide,' he mused. Xander glanced around as he heard Spencer crying, and frowned.

"I gotta go mate, I'll let you know if Spencer starts blowing stuff up," Xander told him.

'Great, thanks,' he couldn't help but smirk at the stressed tone of the newer father. 'Thanks for the heads up anyway,' Trent thanked him. After hanging up, Xander turned to walk back to the kitchen, still hearing Spencer crying. It was unusual for him to cry so long.

"Hey Ari? Is everything alright?" he called, but heard no response. "Ari?" he frowned.

"Daddy!" he heard Spencer cry, and when he entered the kitchen, his eyes widened.

"Ari!" he was on the ground beside the fallen woman in a second, checking to see if she was hurt. "Ari, wake up!" he turned her over, and she groaned.

"Too...warm..." she mumbled, and he held a hand over her forehead. He quickly yanked back, cursing.

"Sun Sickness?" he swore again at the thought, pulling his phone from his pocket. "It's okay Spence," Xander soothed his son, who sniffed. Tears still ran down his face, but he stopped crying as he watched Xander put the phone to his ear.

'Hey Xander, what's up?' Joe answered almost immediately.

"Ari's collapsed, I think it's Sun Sickness," Xander told him quickly, and there was a pause.

'Get her to Rootcore, I'm there already,' Joe instructed.

"On my way," Xander nodded. He hung up, and carefully setting Ari down, he stood and lifted Spencer from his chair. "Hold onto me, okay?" he told his son, who nodded, sniffing again as he gripped Xander's jeans. The man lifted Ari into his arms easily, and she moaned again. Casting a spell, he vanished, taking the two with him.


Spencer breathed quietly, his eyes closed as he slept in his father's arms. Tears still stained his face, and he whimpered in his sleep as Xander held him gently, waiting desperately for any word from Joe. The cream of a potion covered his arms and neck where Ari's skin had touched his, healing the burns.

"How are you doing?" Udonna asked as she approached him.

"I'll be fine once I hear about Ari," Xander spoke softly, not wanting to wake Spencer.

"She'll be fine," Udonna smiled, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"What about the baby?" Xander asked.

"They're fine," he looked up sharply when Joe walked in. "And Ari's fine as well, just needs to sleep," he explained, and grinned at the confused look on Xander's face. "Yes, I said 'they're'. Twins," Joe snorted as he walked over.

"But...the doctor-"

"One's hiding, I almost missed them myself," Joe grinned as Xander gaped at him. "Congrats man, you're having two this time," he congratulated.

"Althea will be delighted," Udonna smiled as well.

"Ye..yeah..." Xander looked down at Spencer, who was still fast asleep.

"There's just one thing," Joe cleared his throat, making the Earth Mystic look back up as he grew serious. "They're all fine, nice and healthy. But with Sun Sickness, it's not entirely guaranteed that there won't be side effects later on," Joe warned him.

"I've never heard of anyone getting the Sickness while with child," Udonna nodded in agreement. "I shall speak with Daggeron, and see if he has heard anything, but it is unlikely. I should contact him and Althea to alert them to Ari regardless," she turned, gliding off as Xander stood, shifting the sleeping toddler.

"What kinda side effects are we talking about here?" Xander asked the doctor who had recently changed his practice after so much experience with not only Ari's pregnancy, but Vida and Maddie's as well. He'd also helped Rose and Kira, both of whom had powers they'd passed onto their children.

"To be honest...I'm not sure," Joe admitted. "I still don't know an awful lot about Sun Sickness, despite now getting it myself," the man was a well practised Sun Magic user, and so, just like Ari and Daggeron, fell victim to the sickness. "It could mean the twins could get sick themselves even without Sun Magic. It could mean they get sick worse than myself or Ari or Daggeron. It could mean nothing at all. I can't be sure until I either find someone else who has suffered the same, or it happens to them. I'm sorry," Joe sighed.

"Don't apologise mate, you've done a lot. Thank you," Xander told him firmly. Joe nodded, running a hand through his hair.

"I'll keep an eye on Ari and the babies until they're born, regular scans and the like-"

"Ari will love that..." Xander muttered, and Joe managed a small smirk. Ari hated scans. She hated lying still in general.

"I better call our parents and let them know what's happened as well," he decided, pulling his phone from his pocket. "You can go and see Ari if you want," he said.

"Oh, I can keep an eye on Spencer if you want," Claire offered as she walked in, hearing this.

"Thanks," Xander carefully passed the dark haired toddler to Claire, who beamed at him, as attached to the boy as everyone else. He turned, heading into the back where Ari was sleeping. Taking a seat, Xander looked around the room, before his dark gaze settled on Ari. As he watched her sleep, he couldn't help but think of the first time she'd collapsed from Sun Sickness, and she'd been asleep in the same room.

"Xander," the Green Ranger made a humming noise to show that he was paying attention to Nick, but didn't look up from Ari as she slept, having managed to calm down enough to try and get some more rest. "You need to admit it already," Xander frowned, and looked up at him.

"Admit what?" he asked. Nick huffed in disbelief.

"Your feelings for Ari, smart guy," he told him, and Xander went red. His expression turned stubborn, and Nick knew he was not going to break so easily.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he told Nick simply, looking back down at the sleeping girl as if to check that she was actually sleeping, and not listening in.

"Come on man, this isn't right," Nick sat down beside him on the other bed. "You're clearly crazy for her, I mean I've barely seen you flirt with any other girls lately. I've seen the way you look at her," he said to the Green Ranger, who remained stubborn.

"I don't look at her any differently than before," he said, trying to sound calmer than he felt.

"Xander, you sound less believable now than you did in the Cimmerian Forest," Nick prodded, and Xander's fists clenched.

"Ok, fine," he finally hissed, his face burning. "Yes, I do," he admitted.

"Do what?" Nick smirked, and Xander shot him a glare that didn't faze the Red Ranger.

"I do like Ari more than a friend," he breathed, and Nick let out a laugh just quiet enough not to wake Ari, and fell back on the bed.

"So why don't you do something about it?" he asked, looking up at Xander.

"Because it's Ari. I've never seen her show an interest in anyone as more than friends," the Green Ranger told him, frowning as Nick sat up. "She'd never see me as more than her best friend...and I don't want to ruin that," he muttered quietly.

"Looks like V was right. You are an idiot," Nick taunted as he stood up. "At least I finally got you to admit it," he commented, and Xander threw a pillow at him. Nick just laughed and tossed it back, leaving the room.

"Hey," he blinked, snapped from the memory as Ari spoke quietly. "That's a first, you in thought," she teased him, her voice tired as she watched him with bloodshot eyes.

"Happens a lot more than you'd think. Maybe you should pay attention," he told her, making her smile. "How are you feeling?" Xander asked her.

"Like I just had to fight Lothor, Mesogog, the Master, Flurious and Moltor, and Dai Shi all by myself. At once," she complained. "How's the baby?" Ari moved off herself quickly, her hand on her stomach. Her brow furrowed when he let out a small laugh.

"Fine...but uh..." Xander grinned at her. "It's babies. Joe told me," he told her, and Ari's eyes went wide.

"Oh...oh," she looked down at her stomach. "Okay...that's uh...a bit more of a surprise than I was going for," she commented, her voice shaky with her alarm.

"You and me both," Xander agreed, before hearing a crash outside.

"Ari!" they heard Zoe's voice, and Xander went pale.

"You called Zoe?" Ari pushed herself up, and Xander slowly shook his head.

"Must have been Joe," he realised. Ari's eyes went even wider.

"Run. Before she kills you for not telling her," she told him. Xander was out the door in a second, and Ari shook her head, wondering if anything would be even remotely normal for her.


Please review!