Legacy

by Syd and Z

After a new threat arises, only three former rangers are left alive on the planet. It is up to them to recruit new rangers to not only protect the world from this evil, but themselves as well.

25. Addition to the Family

While Conner and Kira slept upstairs, Jiao worked relentlessly in the basement, her eyes fixating on the glowing computer screen as her fingers clicked away on the keyboard.

"You're going to hurt your eyes if you keep working without a break," Ryder spoke up from his spot in a chair near her.

"You're beginning to sound like a broken record, Ryder," Jiao replied, her tone irritated. "A very annoying broken record," she added.

"Well, broken record or not, it doesn't mean I'm not right," Ryder commented. "Are you even blinking?" He asked.

"Only when I can't feel my eyes anymore." She retorted.

"Right, and that's healthy," Ryder replied, rolling his eyes.

"You can leave, you know," Jiao snapped.

"I know I possess the ability to leave, yes," Ryder smartly replied with a smirk.

"Unfortunately what you lack is the ability to shut the hell up, obviously," Jiao grumbled.

"I'll be quiet." Ryder replied after a moment.

"There is a god," Jiao rejoiced. Ryder let out a slightly perturbed sigh and leaned forward to speak to her quietly.

"Keep it up, and I might remember your current attitude towards me at another time….when we're alone," he pointedly commented. Slowly, Jiao turned and looked at him.

"How so?" He questioned. Ryder pursed his lips and shrugged nonchalantly.

"I might decide to do something else at a time you'd prefer I was doing….well; do I need to finish that sentence?" He asked, his previous smirk returning. He shrugged again. "Or something else along the lines of getting you back for mistreating me right now," he added. "I'm sure I'll think of something."

"Oh, that's convincing," Jiao snorted as she turned back to the computer. "As if you'd pass up the chance to do "…well do I need to finish that sentence'….of the two of us, you're the bigger fan of our 'rounds'," Jiao boldly lied. "And as for whatever 'something else' is….Don't even know what that's supposed to mean."

"Uh huh... Sure." He replied, not believing a word. Jiao shrugged as she continued looking over lines of code.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but tilting the detachable showerhead in my bathroom works pretty much just as well, if not better, than what you do," Jiao flippantly commented. "So, you suddenly deciding you've got better things to do than come over to my place….not that much of a threat."

"You didn't seem to be complaining the other night." Ryder murmured as he moved closer to her, his fingers skirting over the naked flesh of her neck. Jiao bit her lip as her heart skipped a beat at his touch.

"I'm not saying what you do is bad," she murmured. "Just saying I can easily replace you if need be," she concluded as her cheeks began to blush lightly as he moved his fingers to the sensitive spot behind her ear.

"Hmm, I doubt that." He murmured.

"Doubt it all you want," Jiao insisted, trying to maintain her composure. "Doesn't necessarily mean you're right."

"They might be able to help you out." Ryder commented huskily. "But I think you'd have to agree nothing is as good as the real thing." Jiao swallowed thickly as she tried to ignore the feelings Ryder's low tone was creating inside of her.

"If that line of thinking makes you feel better, go right ahead and believe it," she murmured.

"I can prove it to you if you prefer." Came his reply as he shifted and kissed her neck.

"You're going against our little rule…you know the one that keeps anyone besides us knowing about anything that's going on," Jiao murmured as she unconsciously tilted her neck to give him more access.

"I have good hearing." He stated as he began to nip along her skin. Jiao simply moaned quietly in response, unable to think of anything else to say. Ryder placed a hand on her chin and gently moved her face back towards his before moving his lips up to hers.

"We... shouldn't." Jiao commented between kisses. Ryder wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer, until she was nearly sitting on his lap and not completely in her seat.

"Do you want me to stop?" Ryder murmured against her lips.

"No..." Jiao replied after a few moments. "But..."

"But what?" Ryder asked as he slowly moved back down to her neck, sucking and nipping on her pulse point.

"We... should go back to my place." She finished.

"Are you suggesting that you're actually taking a break from working tirelessly?" Ryder asked, grinning against her skin, rather pleased to see he was managing to get her to stop tiring herself out with the computers.

"Maybe." Jiao murmured in response. Ryder chuckled huskily and moved a hand up her side to cup her breast.

"What's it gonna take to turn that 'maybe' into a 'yes'?" He teased. Her head dropped backwards as a low moan escaped her lips.

"Ryder…" She half murmured, half whined.

"Mmhmm?" He questioned with a smile.

"You're such a damn tease," she groaned. Ryder chuckled and nipped along her neck.

"How can I be a tease if I'm actually doing something?" He asked, one of his fingers idly brushing against her nipple through her shirt.

"Oh fuck." She choked out around a moan. She clenched her jaw and gritted her teeth to keep from making any other noises. "You're a damn tease because you're doing all this when you know we're not somewhere we should be doing all this," she tersely replied in a low tone.

"Variety is the spice of life." He grinned.

"Not here, it isn't," Jiao insisted around a low moan. "If Trent or whomever comes in here and catches us, I will kill you."

"I told you... I have good hearing." He replied. "Or..."

"Or what?" Jiao asked, her hands moving up to his hair on their own accord.

"We could go somewhere..."

"Well, getting up to go somewhere is a good idea," Jiao murmured. "There's just a small problem…."

"Oh?" Ryder asked.

"I'm finding it very difficult to do anything even remotely resembling moving out of this position," she shyly admitted. Ryder smiled.

"Is that so?" He asked.

"Uh huh." Jiao blushed.

"So, I'm guessing getting up would be make a lot more difficult if I were to do this…huh?" He teased as his hand moved down from her breast and ended up between her legs.

"What do you think you're doing?" She breathed.

"Nothing," Ryder innocently replied.

"Liar." She countered. Ryder grinned and kissed the side of her jaw.

"Consider it more incentive to get out of here," he murmured.

"Ok." Jiao agreed after a few moments. She sighed and let her head drop onto his shoulder as she fought to calm herself down enough to get up. "We can't leave at the same time," she commented. "It'd be a little suspicious."

"You know, you're a little paranoid," Ryder chuckled.

"Am not." She countered. "I'm just being careful," she justified. Ryder smiled and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

"If you say so," he replied. "So, what, you want one of us to leave then the other waits five or ten minutes before leaving?" He asked, figuring he might as well go along with her logic.

"Yes." She nodded.

"Okay, who leaves first?" Ryder asked.

"I will." Jiao commented. "Since we're going back to my house."

"Sounds reasonable enough," Ryder replied. He gave her one more kiss before pulling his hands away to let her get up. Carefully, Jiao stood and smoothed out her hair and outfit before turning to look at him.

"See you in a bit." Ryder nodded and watched her pick up her messenger bag and leave the basement. Ryder sat in his chair for a few moments to give Jiao amble time to leave and not go against her paranoia fueled wishes. He peered over to the computer screen to see what Jiao might've been working on. The various lines of code might as well have been ancient greek from how much Ryder could decipher. He waited a few moments longer, hoping that maybe he could figure it out. After a while he gave up, realizing he could stare at the computer screen for hours and still not understand what Jiao had been working so tirelessly on. He looked at his watch and was surprised to see he had been trying to make sense of the computer screen for over fifteen minutes. Standing, he reached over and shut the desk lamp off and moved towards the stairs. He climbed up out of the basement and saw Trent in the kitchen working on dinner.

"Hey," the elder ranger greeted. "You hungry? I'm just whipping up some pasta and chicken for Conner, Kira and myself, but if you're staying I can add another piece of chicken," he offered. Ryder gave him a small smile and shook his head.

"Nah, that's okay. Thanks though," he replied. "I need to head home, been neglecting some of my pieces lately," he fibbed with a shrug. Trent nodded.

"Ah, say no more. I understand," the fellow artist of the group replied.

"Give me a shout when you need us back here." Ryder commented as he moved towards the front door.

"Will do," Trent called back as he stirred the pasta.

"Bye." Came Ryder's reply as he exited the house. He quickly jogged down the porch steps and over to his car, eager to get to Jiao's house. He managed to stay within the speed limit for the twenty minute drive to Jiao's house and parked his car on the curb. He climbed out of his car and walked up Jiao's driveway and onto her porch. He knocked on Jiao's door and waited. After a few minutes, he frowned and knocked again. Still nothing, he knocked a third time, making sure to knock a little louder in case she just hadn't heard the previous knocks.

"Hang on," he finally heard from inside. After a few moments, the door opened to reveal a disheveled and bleary eyed Jiao.

"Hey," he commented. Jiao drew in a weary breath and simply stepped aside to let Ryder walk in. "You okay?" Ryder asked as Jiao shut the door behind him.

"Kind of ended up crashing on my couch while I was waiting for someone to get here," Jiao grumbled.

"You're the one who said to make sure there was enough time between us leaving." Ryder replied as he brushed a stray piece of hair away from her face.

"Details, details," she yawned. She felt Ryder tuck the strand of hair behind her ear before letting his fingers linger against her cheek.

"Maybe you should get some sleep," Ryder suggested. Jiao rolled her eyes and snorted.

"After all that back at the house, now you're back on the whole me getting some rest position?" She asked. Ryder chuckled and stepped closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Well, I would like to do other things, but I'm afraid you're so tired you'd pass out from exhaustion in the middle of it all. And that wouldn't be good for my ego," he joked.

"Clearly you have no faith in my ability to stay awake." Jiao replied before yawning loudly. Ryder chuckled.

"You do remember I'm the one who had to keep you awake after your concusion, right?" He teased. "And, you do remember the lengths I had to go to keep you awake and to wake you up when you dosed off too, right?" Jiao sighed and rolled her eyes.

"No one likes a smartass," she wearily murmured. Ryder grinned.

"I don't recall you having any complaints about my ass so far," he teased. "In fact, I remember you complimenting it the other morning." Jiao blushed and looked away. She remembered the incident he was talking about. Jiao had woken up to find Ryder climbing out of bed to put his boxers on and make breakfast.

"I was half awake, I had no idea what I was saying," Jiao replied.

"Uh huh, sure." He chuckled. Ryder pulled her closer, making Jiao lean against him. "Come on, sleep for a few hours. Its not like I'm planning on going anywhere," he attempted to convince her.

"And what do you intend to do while I'm sleeping?" Jiao skeptically asked, unconvinced he'd actually stay while she slept. Ryder shrugged.

"Read, watch tv-on a low volume, of course-hang out with Tybalt, I don't know," he replied. Jiao was quiet for a few moments as she considered his suggestion.

"You're sure you're staying?" She asked, forcing her tone to remain simply mildly curious. Ryder ducked his head and kissed her cheek.

"Positive," he assured her. Jiao went quiet again for a little while before sighing.

"I guess I can nap for a little while," she murmured.

"That sounds like a good idea." He smiled. He moved to stand beside her and slid his arm around her shoulders, letting her continue to lean against him as she headed towards the bedroom. Ryder had Jiao sit down on her bed as he kneeled down in front of her. He reached down to take her sneakers off for her when Jiao slowly slumped in the bed, lying on her side.

"What are you doing?" Jiao tiredly asked as she watched Ryder untying her shoes. Ryder shrugged.

"Just helping," he replied. Jiao narrowed her eyes suspiciously, to which Ryder smirked. "Hey, I figure the sooner you're comfortable and asleep, the sooner you'll awake refreshed and well rested, the sooner we can get to other things," he concluded, his smirk growing into a grin.

"Uh huh... Sure." Jiao replied tiredly. Ryder finished taking her shoes off for her and lifted her feet up to lay her legs on the bed. Jiao yawned and settled on her pillow to get comfortable, only acutely aware of Ryder getting up and pulling the covers up and over her. Once Jiao was comfortably settled under the covers, Ryder moved to the empty side of the bed and picked up the remote, figuring he'd quietly watch TV for now.

"Sleep well." He commented as Jiao snuggled under the covers.

"Mm," was all Jiao murmured in response as she drifted off. Ryder waited a few moments, letting her slip off into a deeper sleep before turning on the TV. Once he did turn on the tv, he quickly adjusted the volume so as to not disturb her and flipped channels seeing what was on at the time. He finally settled on an edited for television airing of a horror movie and set the remote down on the bed.

An hour into the movie, he heard Jiao give a soft hum or murmur in her sleep. He quickly picked the remote back up and lowered the volume a couple of notches, just in case the noise was disturbing her. Jiao simply sighed in her sleep and turned on her back. She stayed there for a few moments before turning onto her other side, this time facing Ryder, her arm flopping across his midsection. He raised his eyebrows as she snuggled slightly closer to him. He debated on how to react to Jiao's action, especially with all her rule about cuddling. His debating was cut short, however, as Jiao moved even closer to him, her head moving onto his chest. Jiao clearly wasn't a person who just 'didn't do' cuddling as she had previous told him, not that Ryder had believed her back then anyway. Ryder sighed, deciding to leave it be for now. He placed a light kiss on the top of her head and wrapped his arm across her shoulders, figuring he could ask her about this at some other time.

"Mm, Ronnie," Jiao contently murmured in her sleep, snuggling deeper into Ryder's embrace. Ryder's body tensed, feeling a little put out and even a little jealous. Who the hell was this 'Ronnie' person? Ryder took a deep breath and shoved his indignation aside, deciding to leave it be. He finally reasoned that he and Jiao weren't in an actual relationship, so perhaps he had no right to get upset about her murmuring someone else's name in her sleep. No, when she's saying someone else's names during other activities….then you're allowed to be pissed, his mind told him.

Ryder tried his hardest to push away the ill feelings Jiao's brief sleep talking had created, but it continued to gnaw at him and make him feel awkward in his current position. He lifted his arm off of her and let it rest over his head, something inside of him telling him there was no point in holding her if he wasn't the one she wanted to be held by. He heard Jiao give a dissatisfied noise and pout slightly in her sleep before attempting to snuggle closer to him. He frowned slightly as he watched her. He considered putting his arm back around her, but in the end it felt too much like deceiving her. Not to mention it made him feel even more like a substitution for whoever this Ronnie guy was. Ryder sighed and carefully shifted away from her, briefly taking her in his arms to move her off of his chest and back onto her pillow. Once Jiao was off of his body, he sat up to discourage Jiao from resuming her position as she continued to sleep. A strange feeling washed over him as he did so. He felt used, upset, and most of all, angry. He thought back to everything that had happened during their quasi-relationship. How many times had he touched or kissed her, had she secretly wishing it was someone else? How dare she use him like this! His mind growled.

As Ryder continued to stew in his anger and resentment, replaying everything that had gone on between them—and trying to ignore the physical reaction some memories brought on—something occurred to him that made all other thoughts freeze. He remembered Jiao's hesitation in the beginning. The way she said she had been hurt in the past by someone who made her head fuzzy just like Ryder did.

"Shit," he muttered to himself, his feelings of anger and resentment fading away slightly. Jiao had never lied to him about how she viewed their 'relationship'. She had been upfront and told him she had had bad experiences with someone in her past. Maybe in a way Jiao was using him, and the sex, to get over some ex-boyfriend who broke her heart. But it wasn't like he hadn't known or suspected this before. This was just the first time since they'd started having sex that she had revealed—albeit, unintentionally—that her mind was still with someone else. This realization did nothing to make Ryder feel better about himself in this predicament, but he couldn't find it in himself to stay angry at her. Ryder sighed as he momentarily considered lying back down and taking her back into his arms. He wasn't surprised to hear Jiao sigh happily as she snuggled back into his embrace. Ryder let her head nestle into the crook of his neck as she got comfortable beside him. Once she settled in, Ryder ducked his head and kissed the side of her mouth, his hands rubbing her back. He didn't care if in Jiao's mind it was someone else holding her, he didn't dwell on the fact that he was just a substitute until she got over her ex and probably moved onto someone else. He decided to just focus on how well she fit in his arms, and how soothing her breath felt against his neck.

A few hours later, Jiao slowly awoke to feeling of being held and cuddled up against someone. She frowned and tilted her head up and saw Ryder sleeping beside her. Jiao frowned deeply, annoyed that Ryder had not only gone against her clearly stated rule about cuddling, but had done so while she was sleeping, taking advantage of her unaware state.

"Ass," she lowly muttered. She put her hands against his chest to push away from him. Ryder simply sighed in his sleep and held onto her tighter than before. "What the hell?" She muttered. She tried pushing away from him one more time, only to be met with the same result. Jiao growled in annoyance and hit his chest to wake him up.

"Ow!" Ryder exclaimed as his eyes flew open. "What the hell?"

"That's what you get for not letting go," Jiao snapped as she shoved his arms off of her and sat up.

"Oh?" He shot back. "This coming from the person who snuggled up against me in the middle of the night?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jiao replied, so sure Ryder had taken advantage of her no cuddling rule while she was asleep.

"You heard me," Ryder stated, rubbing his chest where she had hit him. However good it had felt to hold her before, her hitting him and snapping at him had done away with that feeling. "You snuggled up against me and called me 'Ronnie' while you were sleeping," he spat out, not bothering to hold back any venom from his tone. Jiao flinched, taken aback by that revelation.

"What?" She numbly asked.

"You heard me." He replied. "And as much fun having someone say another guy's name, is," he sarcastically continued, "it did kind of ruin the moment so I moved away, only to have you not like that very much." Jiao ran a hand through her mused hair, growing more and more upset as Ryder spoke. "So, I guess your whole 'I just don't do cuddling' wasn't all that truthful, huh?" Ryder commented. Jiao sucked in a breath and quickly got up.

"I think you should go," she hurriedly mumbled. Ryder furrowed his brows and stared up at her.

"What?" He asked. "That's it? No explanation or even an apology for hitting me? You're just going to kick me out?"

"There's nothing to explain," Jiao insisted.

"Yeah, right," Ryder replied, rolling his eyes. "If you're going to use me as a means to just get over someone else, I would think the least you could do was give me an explanation."

"I'm not using you." She defended.

"Right," Ryder replied, unconvinced. Jiao sighed and wearily rubbed her face, already fed up with this discussion.

"Whatever, believe what you want to believe," she sighed. "I need to feed my cat," she commented as she left the room, hoping that exit would sustain as an exit to the conversation as well. Sighing, Ryder stood and followed her out of the room. He followed Jiao into the kitchen to find her tossing the used cat dish into the sink and opening a can of cat food beside a clean dish. She looked up to see him walking in and sighed. "You're still here?" She exasperatedly asked.

"Yes, because I want to figure this out." He replied. Jiao sighed and shook out the cat food into Tybalt's dish.

"There's nothing to figure out. Fine, I did something stupid when I was asleep and said someone's name. Big fucking deal," she flippantly replied as she set Tybalt's dish down.

"I think it is a pretty big fucking deal." Ryder commented. Jiao rolled her eyes and stepped aside to give Tybalt a clear path to his food.

"Why is it a big deal?" Jiao asked. "Jeez, its not like I said someone else's name during sex or something," she muttered, crossing her arms and looking away.

"It just bothers me that you're saying someone else's name at all." He muttered. Jiao rolled her eyes again.

"Wow, I didn't realize we had slipped into some type of committed relationship, jealous insecurity included," she commented.

"I know we're not in a relationship." He replied, rolling his eyes. "It's just bothersome."

"Fine, whatever," Jiao replied. "If it's that bothersome then maybe we shouldn't be doing this anymore," Jiao commented, giving him a forced shrug as if to try to say 'I could care less either way'.

"So just because I'm little bothered that you called out someone else's name while you were sleeping, you'd rather end this than get past it." Ryder stated as he shook his head.

"What's there to get past? You're the one who's all cranky about it," Jiao argued.

"Oh, right, as supposed to you….who gets cranky just because I was holding you, only because you initiated it and snuggled up beside me," Ryder replied.

"So I made a mistake." She snapped.

"And just so I'm sure, what's the mistake….wanting me to hold you while you were sleeping, or saying someone else's name?" He asked. Jiao looked away again.

"I don't know….both, I guess," she muttered. She rolled her eyes and left the kitchen, yet again with the vain hope that this conversation would end. She stalked off back to her room and flopped on her bed. Sighing again, Ryder followed her once more.

"Look... I just want to know why."

"Why what?" Jiao asked, losing her patience.

"Why everything," he replied. "Why did you curl up against me, why did you say some other guy's name?"

"I don't know. I was sleeping for crying out loud," Jiao snapped. Ryder shook his head and kneeled beside her on the bed.

"Fine, then give me just your best guess as to why you might've done that in your sleep," he replied.

"It was a dream." Jiao shrugged.

"A dream?" Ryder asked, "about another guy?" He added, his heart sinking slightly.

"About my ex." She whispered. Ryder had begun to figure that, but hearing her say it left no room for doubt or uncertainty. Jiao looked down and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "It didn't mean anything," she muttered. Carefully, Ryder leaned over and cupped her face gently.

"I'm sorry for being jealous." He murmured softly.

"Aha, so you admit you were acting jealous," Jiao dryly commented.

"Well... It's a bit of a bruise to the ego when someone says another persons name in their sleep." He chuckled. Jiao rolled her eyes.

"Its not like I said it while we were…otherwise occupied," she commented. "Just let it go already."

"Okay." Ryder nodded after a moment. His thumb rubbed against her cheek gently. "Can you just explain one thing for me, and then I'll promise I'll drop the subject?" Jiao sighed and braced herself for what he wanted to know.

"…Alright…" She hesitantly replied.

"The cuddling thing….why is that such a big deal? I mean, obviously its something you've done in the past…." Ryder stated. Jiao looked down.

"It's just….easier that way," she murmured. "Not bringing that into things."

"What do you mean?" Ryder asked, confused.

"If there's no cuddling in the mix at all…then there's nothing to miss when things start not going so well," she mumbled.

"...Are you expecting things to not go well?" Ryder questioned. Jiao shrugged.

"I don't know," she replied, "but…if they do…." She let her voice trail off. She sighed. "My ex and I would cuddle sometimes…..and towards the end he just…wouldn't. After sex he'd just turn over and go to sleep, and other times he'd find reasons, like oh its suddenly not comfortable to sit like that when we're watching tv in my dorm…or some other crap. I didn't think too much about it at the time….but….then, in hindsight…." She let her voice trail off again.

"I'm sorry." He replied softly. Jiao simply sighed again and continued to keep her head down. Ryder carefully leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

"I'm sorry…for saying his name," she mumbled, her tone straining slightly on the word 'him'. "I guess I was just…having a dream and remembering stuff from back then…and when I got closer to you, sense memory or whatever made me think I was actually….you know…back there, when things were…okay."

"Does that mean that things aren't okay now?" He questioned softly.

"You mean, between you and me?" She asked.

"Yeah." Ryder nodded.

"No…I don't think they're not okay with us," she said, trying to clarify what she had said. She sighed again and looked up at him. "This guy and I were together for a while…I guess even still, if I'm with someone, my subconscious mind goes straight to…the asshole."

"Oh," Ryder replied. "So, following that logic….what would it take for your subconscious to realize that you're with me, not someone else?" He asked.

"I don't know." She sighed after a while. Ryder sighed and moved to sit beside her on the bed.

"Can I offer a suggestion?" He asked. Jiao shrugged.

"I guess," she replied.

"Well, maybe it's the cuddling thing," he commented. Jiao rolled her eyes.

"You're like a dog with a bone on the whole cuddling thing," she commented.

"Hear me out," Ryder said, "you were with this guy for a while, so your subconscious is used to cuddling and just in general being with that guy. Maybe if you let yourself get used to being with someone else, consciously, your subconscious will follow."

"Maybe you have a point." She responded after a moment. Ryder smiled, glad to see she agreed, and wrapped his arms around her. Slowly, Jiao leaned into the embrace. Ryder held her closer and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Do you want to go back to sleep?" He asked softly.

"For a little while, sure," Jiao replied.

"Okay." Smiling, Ryder guided her back down onto the bed and streched out beside her. Jiao settled on her side as Ryder slipped his arms back around her. She moved closer to him and rested her head in the crook of his neck. Smiling softly, he draped his arm around her and began to rub her back slowly. "So, you only want to sleep for a little while, any ideas for what you have in mind after?" He asked. Jiao peeked up at him and smirked.

"Well, I'd imagine it would probably be the reason we left Conner's house in the first place," she teased.

"That sounds like fun." Ryder chuckled. He ducked his head down and placed a light kiss on her lips. "Can't wait," he grinned. Jiao chuckled and shook her head.

"Why doesn't that surprise me," she commented.

"It shouldn't." He laughed. Jiao giggled and rolled her eyes good naturedly.

"Silly me," she commented.

"Go to sleep." He continued to chuckle.

"Yeah, yeah," she chuckled, snuggling closer to him to get comfortable. Ryder reached down and pulled the blankets back up to cover them. He brought the blankets up to his and Jiao's shoulders before slipping his arm back around her.

"Sleep well." He murmured as her breathing began to even out. Jiao hummed contently as she drifted off. Ryder smiled and held her closer as he rested his head and dosed off as well.

Early the following morning, Kira stood in her bedroom gathering her items for the day, and organizing her small amount of possessions to move them into Conner's room. They had a discussion late the previous evening regarding their pending nuptials, and finally moving all of Kira's possessions into their bedroom. Conner had busied himself with reorganizing his dresser and closet to give Kira space so the two could share.

During their discussion, it had come to Conner's attention that most of Kira's possessions were still locked away in her Reefside home, including the vast majority of her wardrobe. He had promised her that during their outing today to pick out not only her engagement ring, but their wedding bands, they would also take time to find her more clothes, something that had pleased Kira to no end. Just as Conner finished organizing the drawers, Kira wandered into their bedroom, holding a small pile of clothing in her arms.

"I think I might have to invest in a second dresser for in here," he chuckled as Kira dumped the clothes on their bed to refold them for the drawer space Conner was giving her.

"Why?" Kira giggled as she began to fold the items. "You plan on buying me enough clothes to dress an army?"

"Maybe," Conner smiled.

"You don't need to do that." Kira blushed as she began seperating the clothing into piles. "I can make do with what I have." Conner moved to stand behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Most of your stuff's back in Reefside. You're going to need stuff," he replied. Kira rolled her eyes.

"Its not like the stuff in Reefside has gone into a black hole, I could get the rest of my stuff. I mean, I will have to eventually anyway," she commented as she set down the shirt she had been folding and turned around to face him. "I mean, you know, since I'm going to be staying here permanently," she added as she slipped her arms around his neck. Conner blinked as he rubbed her back gently.

"You want to stay here permanently?" He questioned, slightly surprised. He knew that her work was extremely important to her, and that Reefside had been her home since she was a little girl. There were so many memories in their hometown and he had figured that once this business with the green ranger was finally complete, they'd move back across the country and live happily ever after.

"Well, I just assumed that we would be staying here in Texas," Kira replied with a slight shrug.

"And here I thought that we'd be going back to Reefside." Conner chuckled as he pressed his forehead to hers. Kira smiled.

"Well, as corny as this is going to sound….I guess it doesn't matter where we live, as long as we're together," she replied. Conner grinned.

"You're right," he replied. "That was corny," he added. Kira giggled.

"You suck." She continued to giggle.

"But you love me anyway," he chuckled.

"True," Kira replied, tilting her face closer to his to kiss him.

"And besides," Conner commented as he pulled away a moment later. "Even though you have a full wardrobe in Reefside, it's not here." He gently rubbed her back. "Do you really want to keep on needing to do laundry as often as you have been, because you keep running out of clothes?" Kira sighed.

"Well, no," she replied, beginning to relent. "I guess getting more clothes to cut down on the frequency of laundry…would be nice," she murmured.

"So you see my point." He smiled softly. Kira sighed.

"Yes, but let's not get too crazy, okay?" She requested. "I don't need to get enough for you to need to think about getting another dresser."

"Just essentials then." Conner nodded. "Some new shirts, pants, etc." Chuckling he kissed her. "As long as you're happy with what we get." Kira smiled and gently ran her fingers along the back of his neck.

"Sounds good," she replied.

"We'll probably need to get a dress too," he mused aloud. "I mean, that is if you're planning on wearing a dress when we go to city hall," he quickly added, not wanting to seem like he was in anyway dictating what she should wear on their wedding day. Kira chuckled.

"I might've been planning on wearing a dress….but I'm not buying it with you," she grinned.

"Oh?" Conner asked.

"Um yeah," Kira replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "It's bad luck to see the bride in her wedding dress before the wedding. And I think right now with how things have been going, we can't chance scoffing on any possible bad luck."

"Ah yes, excellent point." He chuckled. "I like the idea of being mostly traditional."

"Exactly," she smiled. "So, since we've each got our own member of the wedding party…you take Trent to get yourself something nice to wear, and I'll drag Jiao kicking and screaming to go dress shopping," she chuckled.

"You'd have better luck taking Hayden." Conner laughed loudly. "And I might recommend it." Kira giggled.

"Maybe, but she's my maid of honor. Besides, she'd probably need to get a dress too," Kira replied.

"She's going to kill you." He chuckled as he rubbed her back. "But you're right." Kira smiled and gave him a quick kiss.

"Now, let me get back to folding my clothes," she playfully admonished.

"Want some help?" He grinned, wriggling his eyebrows. Kira giggled and shook her head at his antics.

"Okay, but only if you behave yourself," she replied.

"And if I don't?" Conner questioned, his tone bordering on husky.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Kira said, shaking her head. "Now now, Conner, we can't do anything until we're fully recovered," she giggled.

"I know." He replied with a sigh. Kira leaned forward and gave him another kiss.

"Just think of it this way, it'll be even better when we are finally able to be intimate," she smiled.

"Oh it will be better than better." He grinned cheekily. "It's going to be so absolutely amazing." Kira grinned.

"It better be," she teased.

"Maybe I should call the hotel now and book out an entire floor so that we don't disrupt anyone." He grinned cheekily. Kira giggled.

"Really, now?" She asked, her eyebrows rising ever so slightly. "You're planning on us being that loud, huh?" She asked.

"Loud, hard, rough, long." He commented with a sexy smile. Kira bit her lip as a blush colored her cheeks.

"Can't wait," she replied.

"Good." He grinned before kissing her softly. Kira ran her fingers through his hair as she kissed him back. After a moment, Kira slowly pulled away.

"We should head out soon." She murmured softly.

"Oh I guess," Conner chuckled.

"I can put the rest of this away when we get home." Kira commented as she snuggled against him. "I mean I'll have to put the new stuff away anyways."

"True," Conner replied before giving her one more kiss. "So, where should we go first?" He asked. Slowly, Kira peered up at him.

"Do you really need to ask that?" She questioned, raising her eyebrows. "Jewley over clothing, any day."

"Silly me," Conner laughed. Giggling, she moved slightly onto her tip-toes and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. Conner smiled and stepped away briefly to grab his keys and wallet from his dresser. Reaching over slightly, Kira grabbed her sunglasses and purse from beside the bed and moved to where Conner had stopped in front of the door. Conner slipped an arm around her shoulders as the two left the room. As they climbed into the car and headed towards the strip mall located outside of the city. Conner reached over and slipped his hand into hers.

"Any idea of what kind of engagement ring you'd like?" He questioned softly. Kira smiled at him and ran a thumb along the back of his hand, an excited thrill running through her at them going to buy the rings.

"I don't know. Something tasteful, but elegant….I guess I'll know it when I see it," she replied. Smiling tenderly, Conner nodded.

"Sounds good." Kira held Conner's hand in her hands and idly stroked his fingers as Conner turned onto the highway that led towards the strip mall.

"What kind of band are you thinking of?" She questioned softly as she ran her fingers over his, stroking them softly.

"I'm not sure," Conner replied, giving her a slight sheepish shrug. "I guess we'll know it when we see it," he commented, throwing her earlier words back to her.

"Alright." Kira agreed with a smile. "Although... I think either platinum or white gold would look really nice on your hand." She blushed. Conner gave her a sideways smile as he made the turn to drive towards the exit they needed.

"Is that so?" He asked. She glanced away as the blush increased on her face.

"Uh huh." Conner grinned and tightened his hold on her hand before bringing their joined hands together to place a kiss on the back of her palm. Giving him a soft smile, Kira slowly released his hand as he slowed the car down and put his turn signal on. He waited a few moments for traffic to clear before turning onto the exit. Kira peered out the windshield as she experienced another thrill of excitement at the sight of the sign for the strip mall entrance, which included a small sign for Tiffany's & Co., in the distance. Navigating the parking lot, Conner managed to find a fairly close parking spot. Conner carefully parked in the spot, making sure he was within the white lines, before shutting the ignition off and unbuckling his seatbelt.

"We're here." He commented with a soft grin as Kira unbuckled her seatbelt. Turning slightly, she shot him a megawatt smile, causing him to laugh loudly.

"Excited?"

"Maybe just a little," Kira giggled.

"Good." Leaning over slightly he kissed her gently. "Me too." Kira grinned against his lips and gently stroked his cheek.

"I love you," she softly murmured, returning his kiss.

"Love you too Rockstar." He replied tenderly.

"Good," Kira grinned. "Now, let's get out of here so you can buy me a ring, Jock," she teased.

"Yeesh, fine Ms. Bossy." Conner laughed as they climbed out of the vehicle and moved out behind it towards the stores. Kira giggled as she climbed out of the car as well and moved to stand beside him.

"But that's one of the things you love about me," she teased, her hand slipping into his.

"Uh huh." Shaking his head with a chuckle, he squeezed her hand gently. Kira smiled and leaned against him as they walked towards the door to Tiffany's. Glancing up at the sign and then back down at the glass doors, Conner sucked in a shaky breath.

"Nervous?" Kira asked. His eyes flicked down and met hers. With a nod of his head, he sighed.

"Very." He admitted.

"Why?" Kira curiously asked. "Its not like this is you buying a ring before you asked and didn't know whether I'd say yes or no," she pointed out with a smile. "I'm kind of a sure thing," she lovingly teased. Blushing, Conner chuckled.

"That, I know." He replied as he slipped his hand out of hers and looped his arm lightly around her shoulders. "Still nerve-wracking though." Kira leaned closer to him and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Just take a breath, we can go inside when you're ready," she smiled. Nodding, he gave her a soft smile. Taking a deep breath, Conner relaxed for a moment before nodding.

"Ready."

"Great," Kira grinned. Conner chuckled as the two drew closer to the door and Conner pulled it open with his free hand. Slowly, the couple moved inside the store and Kira gasped softly at the beauty of the elegance. Conner grinned and kissed the side of her head as they walked deeper into the store.

"Can I help you?" A voice came from beside them as a tall woman moved from behind the counter. Conner and Kira looked over towards her and moved closer to the counter.

"Yes, we're looking for an engagement ring," Conner replied, giving Kira a small affectionate squeeze to his side.

"And wedding bands." Kira continued with a slight blush.

"Of course." The woman beamed as she ushed them towards the far counter. "Did you have any particular designs or styles in mind?" The woman asked as she stepped behind the counter filled with rings.

"Something elegant but simple." Kira commented as she began to scan the rings.

"Alright," the woman nodded as she opened up the back of the display case and went about pulling out a few trays to show the couple the selection of rings. "These are some of our engagement rings," the woman said as she laid out two trays. She pulled out a couple more trays, which held the wedding bands. "We also have engagement and wedding band sets," she commented as she pulled out one more tray. "The band fits around the engagement ring," she explained. "If you don't like the patterns or styles of the rings and bands that fit around each other, there's always the option to have them welded together, which prevents the rings from rubbing together and wearing out." She continued. Kira stared at the many trays lay out on the counter, her eyes wide as she took in the elegant pieces of jewelry. Conner glanced at the rings she seemed to be looking at before turning his head and examining the wedding bands in closer detail. The woman looked over at Kira.

"Do you see any shapes you like?" She questioned, watching Kira's eyes glance at the different diamond cuts before her. Pursing her lips slightly, Kira glanced around again. Her gazed stopped towards the top of the second tray. There, was a beautiful ring with a circular diamond resting between two side stones. Conner noticed Kira peering at a particular ring for an extended time and tore his gaze from the wedding bands to see what had grabbed her attention so thoroughly.

"That one." Kira breathed after a moment, pointing to it. The woman nodded as she carefully pulled the ring from it's casing and gently handed it to Kira.

"That's our tapered baguette ring." She commented, pointing to the rectangular stones on the side of the ring. "Very simplistic, but extremely elegant and classy."

"Its beautiful," Kira commented as she held the ring in her fingers, an excited smile forming on her lips.

"I agree." Conner commented softly as his hand moved to her back and began to move in small circles.

"Is this your final selection, or would you like to keep looking at the other engagement rings?" The woman inquired, wondering if she could put the trays filled with engagement rings away. Giving Kira and the ring a glance, Conner looked back at the attendant.

"I think you're safe to put them away." He chuckled. Kira looked up at Conner and beamed up at him, happy to see his thoughts were on the same page as hers.

"Alright then," the woman smiled as she moved the trays back into the display case.

"Have you thought about the bands?" She directed her question to Conner.

"Yeah, I think so." Conner commented as he pointed to a larger band sitting near the middle of the tray. "Do you have it in a smaller width though?" He quesitoned. "For hers, anyway... I like the thicker band for myself." The woman looked at the ring he was referring to and picked it up to examine it.

"I believe we do," she commented. Her eyes scanned over the tray, looking for a specific ring, before plucking a thinner band that was identical to the one Conner had picked out.

"Ta da." She chuckled. Kira chuckled as well.

"Great," she smiled.

"Do you want to try them on to make sure everything's a good fit?" The attendant questioned.

"Yeah," Conner nodded. The woman nodded.

"Which ones would you like to try first?" She asked.

"The engagement ring." Kira commented as she blushed, eliciting a loud chuckle from Conner.

"Of course," he teased. Kira rolled her eyes.

"Quiet you," she playfully warned. Conner continued to chuckle and took the ring out of her hand, while taking a hold of her left hand with his free hand. He held her hand up and slowly slipped the engagement ring on her finger. Once the ring was secured around her finger, Kira let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. The light bounced off the beautiful piece of jewelry.

"How does it fit?" The woman asked after a moment to let Kira revel in the feel of the ring on her finger.

"It's perfect." Came her soft reply, still mesmerized by the ring.

"Are you sure its not too loose or anything?" Conner asked, wanting to make sure the ring couldn't slip off her finger or wasn't too tight it was uncomfortable for her. Kira blinked a few times to slightly clear the hypnotic hold the beauty of the ring and the sensation of Conner putting it on her had caused and looked up at Conner, processing his question. She ran her thumb around the band to shift the ring and test it's fit. It rotated on her finger a bit, but it was clear the only way it would come off of her finger was if she deliberately took it off, which was something she didn't really have any intention of doing.

"No, it's a perfect fit," she assured him. Conner grinned before pressing a kiss to her forehead quickly.

"Perfect." Kira giggled slightly at the fact that between the two of them they had used the word perfect three times in the last two minutes. She reached over and took a hold of his hand, watching how the ring looked with their fingers intertwined. Conner smiled and tenderly squeezed her hand.

"Wonderful," the woman smiled at the couple. "Shall we move onto the wedding bands, then?" She questioned.

"That'd be great." Conner replied with a nod.

"Great," the woman nodded. She glanced at Kira and gave her a small smile. "I'm sorry, you might need to take that ring off to try on the band," she commented, noting how Kira wasn't rushing to remove the ring any time soon.

"Oh... Right." Kira nodded after a moment. Conner grinned and leaned closer to her to place a kiss on her cheek.

"Just for a few minutes," he softly assured her.

"Okay." She nodded with a slight blush. She slowly released Conner's hand and pulled the ring off. Once the ring was off her finger, she carefully set it down on the counter for safe keeping. The woman smiled as she handed the two wedding bands over to Kira and Conner to try on. Kira took the bigger of the two rings and grabbed his hand, smiling as she slid the ring onto him as he had done with the engagement ring. Conner chuckled and squeezed her hand gently as she settled the ring at the base of his finger. "How does it fit?" Kira gently asked, gently rubbing small circles on the back of his hand with her thumb.

"It's a little loose to be honest." Conner replied.

"That's not a problem," the woman commented. "We can resize the ring once we've determined your right size."

"How long does that take?" Kira questioned. The woman pursed her lips a moment and gazed at the ring on Conner's finger.

"For this design…we can determine your size right now, and have the alteration ready in a week, two weeks at the most, not to mention if you also want inscriptions or anything on the rings," she informed them. "Your lucky, our busiest time of the year with wedding rings is more in May and June, not this month so there aren't a lot of orders to push your resizing back too much," she commented.

"Inscriptions?" Conner questioned raising his eyebrows. "People get things craved into their rings?"

"Oh yes," the woman nodded. "A good portion of our sales are inscribing pieces of jewelry, watches, anything really," she replied. "People tend to inscribe the wedding bands more often than engagement rings, since those of course are worn on a more long term basis," she added, commenting on their particular situation.

"Ah." He nodded.

"Well, let's see about getting your size," the woman commented to move the process along. She reached over and picked up a large hoop that looked like an industrial key ring. On it were different pieces of metals, much like keys, except at the end of each were differently sized circle to symbolize various ring sizes. She glanced at the ring and Conner hand before selecting a ring and holding it out to him to try on. Conner removed the wedding band from his finger and ran his finger through the ring the woman held out. It made it halfway past his second knuckle before not moving another inch.

"I think it's a little small," Conner commented. The woman chuckled and nodded, carefully tugging the ring off of him. She held the keyring in her hands, looking through the other sizes before holding another one out to him. Conner slid his finger through it like he had before. The ring went all the way down.

"How's that?" She asked.

"Not as loose as the band was in the first place, but I could go a size smaller," Conner replied. The woman nodded and pulled the ring off before going down to the next size down.

"Let's try the half a size down first," she commented. Conner moved his finger into the ring once she held it out to him. "Better?" She asked, once the ring went all the way down.

"Yeah," Conner replied. "Perfect fit," he added.

"Fabulous" the woman smiled. She pulled the ring off of him and held it up to see the size etched onto the side of the stem. "Size eleven and a half," she noted to herself aloud.

"You're turn." She commented, giving Kira a smile. She flipped through the different sizes on her key ring to get to the smaller sizes. "The engagement ring is a size seven, but I want to be sure the diamond setting didn't make a tighter fit for you," she commented as she held out the size six and a half ring for Kira to try. Kira nodded and ran her finger through the ring. "Good fit?" She asked.

"It's a little tight, actually," Kira replied. The woman nodded.

"Alright, then I guess size seven it is," she chuckled.

"Great." Kira smiled before looking at Conner. "You have tiny fingers." She giggled.

"Hey, maybe you're the one who has mammoth fingers," he replied with a playful glare.

"Size seven is the normal ring size for a female." The attendant commented, biting back a smile.

"Fine, so my fingers happen to be a little on the skinny side," Conner sighed, rolling his eyes. Kira giggled and kissed his cheek.

"Aw, don't feel bad," she said to comfort him.

"Too late." He grumbled playfully. The woman chuckled and pulled the sizing ring off of Kira's finger before setting the key ring aside.

"I'll go get an order pad to mark down your alteration," she commented to Conner before walking away. Once she was gone, Kira leaned against Conner and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Just so you know, I love you…skinny fingers and all," she grinned. He snorted.

"Salt in the wound." Came his response before he chuckle and draped his arm around her.

"Well, your fingers have never been a problem for me before," she saucily teased, referring to certain activities they had engaged in. Conner groaned.

"Now that's just mean," he replied, his mind going back to the sort of things she was alluding to.

"But honest." She grinned coyly. Conner chuckled and kissed the side of her head as the attendant returned with an official order pad in one hand and a pen in the other. She set the pad onto the counter and picked up the ring Conner had initially tried on to park down its specifics. She set the ring down and filled out more information into the pad before looking up at the couple.

"What name would you like this to be filed under?" She asked.

"Conner McKnight," Conner replied. The woman nodded and filled in his name at the top of the sheet.

"And will you want any inscriptions on the bands or engagement ring?" She asked.

"Could we have a minute?" Kira questioned looking up at her soon to be husband.

"Sure." The attendant replied before walking away. Conner glanced down at Kira.

"What's up?" He questioned, cupping her cheek softly. Kira smiled and stroked the back of the hand on her cheek.

"I was just thinking…maybe we can have an inscription put on the wedding rings," she replied. "Nothing too long of course, since I'm sure they charge by the letter or something," she added before shrugging. "But something important to us," she concluded.

"Well... I think the date we met is a given." Conner smiled softly. Kira's smile widened.

"True," she replied.

"And..." He trailed off.. "I'm thinking that I want to put our nicknames on each other's rings as well." Kira grinned.

"So, I'd have 'Jock' on my finger, and you'd have 'Rockstar' on yours?" She asked. Conner grinned back at her and shrugged.

"That way, we'll always be with one another…even when we're not, physically," he commented.

"Which won't happen." She replied softly. Conner smiled and leaned closer to lightly kiss her lips.

"I was actually talking about just being in different rooms, or running errands separately or something," he lovingly teased.

"I hope so." Kira blushed. Conner grinned and kissed her again. The attendant returned a few moments later.

"Have you two decided?" She questioned.

"Yes," Conner replied. "We'd like inscriptions on both wedding bands," he replied. The woman nodded.

"Alright," she commented. She flipped the sheet she had previously been writing on over the pad to present the second page, which was for inscriptions. She turned the pad towards Conner and Kira and handed them the pen. Conner let Kira take the pen and write down what they each wanted for their bands. Kira wrote out what she wanted on her ring in the space provided, before moving down a few lines and writing out what Conner wanted in his ring. She made sure to write clearly to ensure there wouldn't be any mistakes in the inscriptions and handed the pad back to the attendant before picking her engagement ring back up from the counter and slipping it back on her finger.

"We're almost done." The woman commented as she tore off the piece of paper and taped it to the box that now held their wedding bands. "Do you want to have your engagement ring welded to your band? Or would you prefer to keep them seperate?"

"Would we need to do that now?" Kira asked, worried she wouldn't be able to wear her ring as soon as possible as she had thought. The attendant shook her head.

"No, we could do that whenever you wanted," she replied. "Either closer to your wedding, or some time after. But if you put in for that service now, I can give you a discounted price on the welding cost," she explained.

"Um... sure." Kira nodded after a moment. The woman nodded and retrieved the paper from the box to make a quick note of Kira's decision before putting it back with the wedding bands.

"Alright... Now we just need to settle the bill." She smiled.

"What's the damage?" Conner questioned as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet.

"Well it depends." The woman commented as she led them over to the lone till in the store. "Did you want to pay for only the engagement ring and down payment on the bands? Or, everything?"

"Uh, I guess…pay for the engagement ring and put a down payment on the bands," he replied after a moment.

"Do you want me to wait outside?" Kira questioned softly, rubbing circles on his back.

"Okay," Conner nodded. She pressed a soft kiss to Conner's cheek and squeezed his hand before exiting the store, giving him privacy to pay for her ring. She waited for Conner on the edge of the curb, taking the time to admire the way her ring glittered in the sun. Her wait was fairly short, as Conner exited the store a few moments later.

"Everything okay?" She asked as Conner moved closer to her.

"Everything's great." He smiled, holding his hand out to her. "Why?" Kira shrugged as she took hold of his hand.

"I don't know, I was worried that everything came out to be too expensive or something," she commented.

"Nothing's too expensive for you Rockstar." He murmured quietly. Kira sighed and leaned against his side.

"If you say so, Jock," she replied.

"Does that bother you?" Conner carefully asked. Kira shook her head before tilting it to rest on his shoulder as they walked back to his car.

"No, it's nice," she assured him, smiling softly. "I just don't want your sweet and romantic acts put you…well, actually, us…in the poor house," she teased.

"I don't think we need to worry about going into the poor house." He murmured softly. "I... didn't buy the ring with our money." Kira's brow furrowed and she stopped walking to look at him.

"What do you mean?" She asked. "You have a bundle of Tiffany's coupons I didn't know about or something?" She asked.

"Not exactly." He replied as he stopped beside her. "Before Ethan died, he and I had a chat... About you and me... He basically said that if we ever got our shit together and ended up wanting to get married... He'd cover the costs for your engagement ring and our wedding bands." Kira stared at him in wide eyed shock for a few moments, unsure of what to say. Conner nodded slowly as she said nothing. "I kinda figured this would be your reaction." He murmured.

"…Wh…Why would Ethan do that?" She finally sputtered, still shocked. Conner sighed.

"The same reason he kept hounding me to call you. He wanted us to work out, and believed we would if I actually reached out to you," he replied.

"...But why the rings?" She questioned a few moments later, still trying to wrap her head around it. Conner chuckled.

"It was the only thing I would let him do….after constant bugging from him," he replied. "He wanted to pay for some big wedding, or a house or something. I told him he was being crazy, and he changed tactics and went for the rings."

"Oh my god." She breathed.

"Yeah," Conner replied.

"Wow..." Kira breathed. A sudden and overwhelming wave of sadness crashed over her, as tears began to burn her eyes.

"Kira…" Conner murmured, his heart wrenching at the sight of her tears.

"Sorry." She whispered as the tears began to slip down her cheeks. Conner stepped closer to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"I miss him." Kira managed to choke out as she began to sob, her hands gripping Conner's shirt tightly.

"Me too," Conner murmured, holding her tighter. He slowly began to rub her back as she continued to cry against him.

"It's okay Kir." He murmured softly as her cries began to slow down. "It's okay." After some time, her tears subsided.

"Sorry." She murmured again.

"You don't have anything to apologize for," Conner replied as he continued to rub her back.

"It's... I miss him so much." Kira sighed as she pulled away slightly and brushed away her tears. "Damn wedding hormones."

"I don't think I've ever heard of wedding hormones," Conner smiled.

"Hush." She chided, a ghost of a smile tugging at her lips. Conner lightly kissed her forehead.

"Do you want to head back to the house, or keep shopping?" He asked.

"I wanna keep shopping." She replied slowly.

"Okay," Conner nodded, running his thumb across her cheek to wipe away one of her tears. Kira sighed.

"I don't look all splotchy and weird, do I?" She asked. Conner smiled.

"You could never look weird, Rockstar," he tenderly murmured.

"Not helping Conner." She replied, giving him a gentle poke in the chest. Conner grinned.

"I'm sorry," he replied. "And to answer your question, no, you're not splotchy." Came his comment.

"Thank you," Kira smiled, taking a deep breath to fully calm herself.

"You're welcome." He murmured softly as he kissed her. Kira slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. Slowly, Conner pulled away after a moment and squeezed her gently.

"Ready to go shopping?"

"Yeah," Kira replied, giving him a small smile.

"Good." Grinning, he pulled his arms away and held his hand out to her. Kira's smile grew and she took hold of his hand. They slowly walked back to the car and climbed in. "I figured I'd move the car around to the other side." Conner commented as he began to manuever the car across the parking lot away from Tiffany's.

"Sounds like a good plan," Kira smiled at him.

"I have them occasionally." He chuckled as he pulled into another parking spot.

"Occasionally?" Kira replied, quirking an eyebrow. "I thought it was more like….Some times, or rarely," she teased.

"You suck." Conner laughed as he climbed out of the vehicle. Kira giggled as she got out of the car as well.

"But you love me anyway," she teased.

"I dunno... My fiancée is insulting my intelligence."

"Aww," Kira cooed as she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I was just messing with ya," she smiled.

"I know." Conner chuckled as he kissed her temple. "Where do you wanna start?"

"Hmm, Old Navy?" Kira decided, seeing the store right in front of them.

"Sure." He smiled down at her. "And then?"

"I should probably go to a shoe store, since all I have here is one pair of sneakers," she commented.

"Uh huh? Anywhere else?" He questioned.

"Hmm….Gap?" She replied.

"Really?" Conner questioned. "You're avoiding the one store I know we should be going into."

"Oh? And what store is that?" Kira asked, a smile forming on her lips as she had a pretty good idea of what store he was talking about.

"Something to do with a secret that Victoria is keeping..." Conner grinned. "Ever heard of it?" Kira giggled.

"How did I know you would want to find out about good ole Vicky's secret?" She teased.

"You know me too well." He chuckled. Kira giggled again and rolled her eyes.

"I guess I should get some everyday items," she mused. "But don't think I'm getting our…honeymoon items right now," she commented.

"Oh?" Conner asked, pouting slightly. "Why's that?" Kira grinned.

"Well, if you're with me when I get them, they won't be a surprise," she pointed out.

"Who says they need to be a surprise?" He replied cheekily.

"I do," Kira replied just as cheekily.

"How unfair." Conner pouted. Kira chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"Okay, maybe I'll get one honeymoon item today, since waiting makes you so disappointed," she teased.

"Excellent." Leaning over, he kissed her quickly. "I need to make a stop once we're done shopping, okay?"

"Oh?" Kira asked, curious.

"Mmhmm." He nodded.

"Where?" Kira asked.

"A pet store." Conner stated as they walked into Old Navy and began to browse the isles.

"A pet store?" Kira asked, confused.

"Mmhmm." Came his response.

"Why are we stopping at a pet store?" Kira questioned as she browsed through a rack of jeans.

"You'll see." Conner grinned softly as he tickled her side lightly. Kira squirmed and playfully swatted his hand. Chuckling, Conner headed towards the men's section.

"Where are you going?" Kira asked as he moved away from her. Conner smiled.

"Just browsing the men's clothing." Came his response.

"Oh, okay," Kira replied. "Should I come find you later, or do we meet up at the cash register?" She asked as she picked up a pair of jeans in her size.

"I'll see you in a few minutes." He laughed. "I just want a new pair of jeans, shorts and a few shirts."

"Okay," Kira replied as she moved to look at a different style of jeans. They both perused the store for nearly an hour before the couple moved to the cash to check out.

"Happy with your items?" Conner questioned as she leaned against him and closed her eyes.

"Yeah," she smiled.

"Good." He kissed her cheek softly as the cashier called them over. The two moved to the open register and loaded their items onto the counter.

"Find everything okay?" The chipper young girl questioned as she began to ring everything through.

"Yeah," Kira replied as Conner nodded his agreement to her statement.

"Great." It only took her a few moments to ring everything up and bag it before she totaled everything together. "$259.87." She commented. Conner pulled his wallet out of his pocket and slid his credit card out to hand to the girl. Wordlessly, the cashier rang his credit card through before handing it back to him and asking him to sign the recipt. Conner quickly signed the slip and pushed it back to her. "Have a nice day," she smiled as the two gathered up their bags from the counter.

"You too." Conner replied as he grabbed the bags. He and Kira walked out of the store together. "Do you want to put the bags in the car before we go to the next store?" He asked.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." She agreed. Conner nodded and led the way back to the car. Once they reached their parking spot, Conner set his bags down to fish his keys out of his pocket. He stuck them into the trunk and popped it to put their bags into the trunk. It only took a couple of minutes to load the bags in and slam the trunk shut.

"Ready?" Kira smiled up at him.

"Yup," Conner smiled, slipping his arm around her shoulders as they walked towards the next store. They repeated the process twice before finally heading toward Victoria's Secret.

"I think you're a little too eager to go in here," Kira teased as they headed towards the entrance to the store.

"You got a problem with that?" Conner chuckled. Kira giggled and shook her head.

"Good." He leaned down and kissed her again softly. Kira continued to giggle as Conner held the door open for her. Smiling, Kira wandered into the store and began to browse through the items. Conner simply grinned as he followed her through the store.

"Anything catching your eye?" He asked after a while.

"I don't know, maybe," she coyly replied. "Anything catching yours?" She teased.

"A lot of things." He nodded, reaching out and touching one of the flimsy garments. "Although, I've gotta say... You probably won't be wearing much of it for long." Kira chuckled.

"Oh really?" She teased as she picked up a cotton yellow bra in her size.

"Mmhmm." Conner nodded with a grin. Kira chuckled as she grabbed a few more everyday selections.

"I guess I shouldn't get anything too expensive, just in case you accidentally rip it or something," she quietly teased.

"I'll be careful." He commented huskily as he leered at her. Kira blushed slightly as she moved deeper into the store to look at more intricate pieces of lingerie. She stopped in front of one piece that was mostly red, with black lace adorning the chest and edges of the flyaway front. Carefully, she lifted the hanger off the rack and faced Conner.

"Thoughts?" Conner grinned.

"I like it," he replied.

"Only like?" She questioned. "Then you pick out something you love." Giving her a cheeky grin, Conner began to examine the items closer. Nearly ten minutes later he pulled an item off the rack and showed it to her.

"This, I love." He leered. The entire piece was black. The top was a front closure corset, with a lace-up back. Kira walked closer to him and took the garment from his grasp to have a closer look at it.

"Sexy." She murmured softly.

"My thoughts exactly," Conner huskily murmured.

"I guess we'll get it then." Kira commented as a deep blush began to cover her cheeks.

"Good," Conner grinned. Still blushing, Kira turned away and continued to examine the items around her. She noted a few items to try on when she came back to find items for the wedding, but other then that, didn't see anything that tickled her fancy.

"I'll just go try these on," Kira commented as she scanned the store for the fitting rooms for a moment. She made a small "ah" sound before heading towards the back corner of the store.

"Have fun." Conner replied as she moved away. He turned his attention back to the items around him and began to picture what Kira might look like wearing them... Which ultimately led to him picturing her out of the flimsy items. His thoughts brought on a physical reaction, which made Conner groan slightly to himself. He decided to move away from the lingerie and clear his mind, before he was tempted to 'forget' he and Kira needed to wait some more time before engaging in any particular activity. Conner moved over to one of the displays filled with one of the store's fragrance lines, passively glancing at the bottles of perfume, lotion, and other items to get his mind out of the proverbial gutter. He was extremely thankful when Kira reappeared from the dressing room a few moments later.

"Everrything fit okay?" Conner asked. Kira chuckled at how interested he was in her lingerie purchases and nodded.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Good." Smiling, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," Kira replied as the two moved over to join the line by the cash registers. Once they had been called forward, Kira placed her items on the counter, while Conner pulled out his wallet again. The woman behind the counter gave them a friendly smile as she rang up Kira's purchases.

"Did you see anything else you'd like?" The woman questioned.

"No, I think that's enough for now, thanks," Kira replied.

"Alright, that'll be $98.34 then please." She smiled, and Conner wordlessly handed over his credit card to the attendant. The attendant ran Conner's car and waited for the credit receipt to print out. She handed the card back to him before sliding the receipt and a pen to him as well. Quickly, he scribbled his name along the bottom and tucked the card back into his wallet. The attendant bagged Kira's items and handed over the two pink shopping bags. Reaching out, Conner took the bags from her and transfered them to one hand, before looping his arm around Kira's waist. Kira smiled and leaned into Conner's side as they walked out of the store together.

"Happy with our purchases so far?" He questioned as they walked in a lazy pace towards his car.

"Yeah," Kira replied, resting her head against his shoulder.

"Getting tired?" Conner asked softly as he rubbed her side gently.

"A little, I guess," Kira replied.

"We'll be home after one last stop." Came his response. "And after that we can nap."

"Okay," Kira agreed. The two stopped at the car so Conner could drop the bags off in the trunk with the rest of Kira's purchases. Once the trunk was locked once again, he led Kira over to the small pet store at the edge of the strip mall. Once they reached the store, Conner held open the door and let Kira walk in first. He guided them over to a nearby counter where a middle aged man was standing.

"Hi, I'm here to pick-up some items." Conner commented as they stopped in front of the counter. The man looked up at Conner and nodded.

"Name please?" He asked.

"McKnight," he replied. The man nodded and typed up Conner's name into the computer beside the register.

"Looks like everything is in for you." He commented as he began to print things off. "I'll go get them and be right back."

"Thanks," Conner smiled as the man stepped out from behind the counter and wandered off towards the door that led to the backroom of the store.

"What's he going to get?" Kira questioned as she moved slightly and rested her head against Conner's chest, closing her eyes.

"You'll see," Conner grinned, not wanting to ruin the surprise.

"I don't like surprises." She pouted softly. Her comments fell on deaf ears as the man returned, holding a small, barking bundle in his arms. "Oh my god." She breathed. In the man's arm was a tiny black and white Siberian husky puppy. Conner tilted his head downwards to see Kira's reaction, and as if on cue, the tiny puppy gave a small bark, causing Kira to have an aww moment. The man smiled and brought the puppy over to the counter as one of the young employee's of the store emerged from the room, a large brown shopping bag in one hand, and a dog carrier in the other. He followed his boss over to the counter and set the bag and carrier down beside just as the middle aged man set the dog onto the counter.

"Here you are ." The gentleman commented. "She's 9 weeks old, has had all her shots and is ready for you to take her home."

"She's ours?" Kira asked, glancing up at Conner with wide eyes. Conner grinned and nodded. Before Kira could respond, the puppy emitted a small bark to get some attention. Kira smiled at the dog and reached over, lightly petting the small puppy's head.

"Aren't you precious?" Kira questioned as she moved closer and scooped the small dog into her arms. The puppy panted excitedly as she squirmed in Kira's arms to lean up and lick Kira's cheek. Laughing, Kira scratched the puppy behind the ears and pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head. Conner's grin widened as he saw how quickly Kira and the puppy seemed to bond. As Conner watched them, the middle aged man picked up the bag and carrier from the floor and set them on the counter.

"We also have the carrier, and your leash, food dish, and dog bed are here in the bag," he commented. "If you'd like to pick out some toys for your little girl, you can pick them out over there," the man smiled as he pointed to a nearby wall that was loaded with various dog toys.

"I'll be right back." He commented, moving to grab a few toys. Kira continued to snuggle the small excited puppy in her arms.

"She seems to like you." The man commented with a chuckle. Kira giggled and scratched the puppy behind the ears.

"She's so adorable," Kira stated. The puppy barked appreciatively in response. A few moments later, Conner returned with a shopping basket in his hand. The cart held various dog toys, a bag of puppy treats, a larger bag of puppy chow, and a few cans of wet food. Kira chuckled. "I thought you were just getting a few toys," she commented. Conner smiled and placed the basket on the counter so the man could ring up all of the purchases.

"I was, but then I saw all the other things our little girl would need," he shrugged as he reached over and rubbed the puppy's belly.

"Would need? Or that you wanted to spoil her with?" Kira giggled, and the puppy barked in agreement. Conner grinned.

"Both?" He offered.

"You're horrible." Kira laughed. As the two new dog owners bantered back and forth, the owner of the store rang up all of Conner's purchases.

"Alright." He commented, grabbing Conner's attention. "That's going to be $874.22" He stated. Conner nodded and pulled his wallet out to hand over his credit card. "Alright Mr. McKnight... Looks like we're all settled up and you're good to go. Enjoy your new puppy and please do come back if you need anything or have any questions."

"Thanks," Conner smiled. He waited until the man placed the additional purchases into the large brown bag before picking it and the carrier up off the counter. Since Kira had her hands full with their new puppy, the man quickly walked out from behind the counter and ahead of the couple to hold the door open for them.

"Thanks." Conner grinned as they exited the store. The man waved to them as the couple left.

"She's gorgeous Conner." Kira commented softly as they walked back to his car.

"I knew you'd love her," Conner smiled.

"She needs a name though." Kira replied as they stopped at the car and Conner began to load their items into the trunk.

"Do you have any ideas?" Conner asked.

"I'm not sure." Came her response. Once Conner loaded the bag and the carrier into the trunk, he slammed it shut and moved over to open the passenger door for Kira so she could get into the car with their puppy still in her arms.

"Thank you." She smiled as she slid into the car. Once Kira was settled in the car, Conner closed the door for her. Kira set the dog on her lap so she could pull her seatbelt on. The puppy began to move on Kira's lap, turning in circles before she stopped, sat and faced Kira. Kira fastened her seatbelt and smiled as the puppy stared at her, her tiny tongue hanging out the side of her mouth. Conner climbed into the driver's seat and chuckled at the sight.

"You two are cute." He laughed. Kira smiled and wrapped her arms around the puppy to make sure she stayed on her lap as Conner started up the car. The ride back to the house was short compared to their trip out. Kira grinned and held the puppy closer to her.

"We're almost at your new home, sweetie," she affectionately commented to the dog. The puppy barked and licked Kira's hands. Kira giggled at the tickling sensation the licking caused. Conner smiled and pulled into the driveway outside the house.

"We're home ladies." He chuckled.

"Yay," Kira cheered. Conner chuckled and got out of the car to open Kira's door for her.

"Ready to meet your Uncle Trent?" Kira quietly asked the puppy as Conner pulled her door open. The dog barked in response, her little tail wagging.

"Do you want me to hold her so you can get your seatbelt off?" Conner asked.

"Sure." Came her response as she carefully handed the puppy to Conner. Conner took the dog from Kira and held her close as Kira unbuckled her seatbelt. The puppy didn't seem too bothered by the change and just continued her excited little pants.

"Looks like someone loves her daddy." Kira giggled as she climbed out of the car. Conner chuckled and petted the dog's back.

"That's very good," he replied as Kira shut the car door.

"Yes it is." Kira smiled. Conner leaned closer to her and placed a light kiss on Kira's lips.

"Here, give me the princess and you can carry the heavy stuff." She giggled as Conner pulled away from the kiss.

"Of course," Conner chuckled as he handed the puppy back to Kira. Once back in her arms, the dog licked Kira's arms and continued to pant happily. Kira giggled as the dog's tongue tickled her arm. Conner smiled and walked around to the back of the car to begin unloading the trunk. Once he had unloaded everything, Conner closed the trunk and began to pull their purchases into his arms.

"You're going to have to make a few trips," Kira commented as she saw how many bags were at his feet. Conner shrugged as he picked up the dog carrier and one of Kira's shopping bags.

"I'll ask Trent for some help," he replied as he and Kira walked up the driveway.

"Speaking of which, how do we know that Trent isn't allergic to dogs?" She questioned as they moved towards the house.

"I asked him beforehand, he's not," Conner replied as they reached the door. He set the shopping bag down to fish his keys out.

"Trent knew?" Kira asked, surprised as Conner opened the door.

"Well yeah." Came his response as he bent down and picked the bag up. "Needed to make sure that he was okay with dogs."

"Yeah, that does make sense," Kira agreed, realizing Trent would have had to know. She nudged the door the rest of the way open with her hip as she carried the puppy inside and Conner followed.

"Glad you agree." He commented cheekily.

"Hush Jock." Kira teased. "Trent! We're home!" She called out. A moment later, Trent walked in from the kitchen.

"Hey guys, welcome home." He commented. "So is this the new baby?" He teased.

"Yup," Kira smiled, snuggling the puppy closer to her chest. "This is the precious little baby," she gushed.

"You were right Conner." Trent laughed. "She's in love with the dog." Kira simply smiled and moved to sit on the couch with the dog on her lap. Conner smiled at the sight as Kira snuggled and petted the dog before looking at Trent.

"Would you mind helping me get the rest of the bags in?" He asked.

"Sure man." He replied with a grin.

"Thanks," Conner said before the two walked out to the car. It took three trips for the two to finally get all the bags in, after which Conner shut and locked the door.

"I think your dog is spoiled rotten." Trent commented as they set the last load on the floor in the front hallway.

"And what's wrong with that?" Kira asked. Trent laughed and shook his head.

"Nothing. Hey, I'm a dad, I get the whole concept of spoiling someone rotten," he replied. Conner chuckled and picked up the brown bag from the pet store. He moved into the living room and sat down beside Kira to pull the contents out of the bag and place them on the coffee table.

"So where's the dog gonna sleep?" Trent questioned as he flopped into the lazyboy across from them.

"I was thinking we'd put the dog bed in our room," Kira commented, giving Conner a sideways glance.

"Oh?" Conner questioned.

"Yeah, if that's okay," Kira carefully replied.

"Well, as long as the kids aren't always sleeping in our bed." He teased. Kira grinned at that.

"Have you two thought of a name yet?" Trent interjected.

"We're still thinking," Kira replied as she rubbed the dog's belly.

"Don't rush into it." He teased lightly. Kira stuck her tongue out at him.

"Well, I want to find the right name," she replied.

"It's a dog Kira," Trent shook his head as he laughed. "Not a child." Kira rolled her eyes.

"I know that," she replied.

"Then just give her a name." Came his response. "Maggie, Pookie, Grace, something."

"If you're going to rush me, I'll just take her upstairs," Kira playfully threatened. Trent just shrugged in reply.

"Its not rocket science, Kira," Trent commented.

"I know it's not." She defended. "I just want her to have a good name."

"Are any names sticking out in your head?" Conner asked as he pulled the plastic wrap off of one of the dog toys.

"A couple." Kira nodded after a moment.

"Such as?" Trent curiously asked.

"I've always liked Vespa." She offered as Conner finished pulling the toy out of the package and moved it towards the puppy. He squeezed the toy to emit a small squeaking noise that instantly grabbed the puppy's attention. Slowly, Kira released her hold on the dog as she tentatively moved towards Conner who squeaked the toy again. The dog slowly patted the short distance on the couch between Kira and Conner, her head cocked to the side as she regarded the toy curiously. Conner smiled and made the toy squeak for a third time as the pup grew closer. Once she was close enough, she leaned forward and took hold of the toy with her teeth, causing it to squeak once again. Conner chuckled as the dog shook the toy and it squeaked yet again, before she dropped it into his lap and glanced up at him.

"Hi baby." He commented softly as he picked the toy up. "Wanna play?" He waved the toy in front of her, causing the excited puppy to yap and wag her tail, her eyes fixating on the toy in Conner's hand.

"Go get it!" He laughed as he tossed the toy away and the dog bounded off the couch towards it. Kira giggled as the dog sprinted to the corner of the room and gripped the toy in her teeth, shaking her head vigourously as more squeaks filled the air. After a few moments she carried the toy back to Conner and dropped it at his feet.

"Apparently she wants to play." Kira continued to giggle. Conner laughed and picked the toy up from the floor.

"Looks like it," he replied. He tossed the toy away again. The puppy barked happily and went after it.

"So, any other names floating around in your head?" Conner asked Kira.

"I'm thinking Isis is another one I like..." She shrugged. "What about you?" The puppy scrambled back to Conner, shaking the toy as she ran back, eager to continue their game.

"I like Isis," Conner commented after thinking about it for a moment.

"Me too... But does she?" Kira questioned, glancing down at their latest addition. The puppy dropped the toy at Conner's feet. Instead of picking it up and throwing it again, Conner reached down and scooped the dog onto his lap.

"Let's see," he said as he held her under her front legs up to his face. "What do you think, precious?" He asked. "Do you like the name Isis?" He asked. The puppy gave a small bark and licked the tip of his nose.

"I think she approves." He laughed. Kira giggled.

"Apparently," she replied. She shifted closer to Conner and reached over to scratch the pup behind her ears.

"Hi Isis." Kira cooed softly. Isis barked and wagged her little tail in response.

"Hey, let's see your ring." Trent commented, breaking the silence after a few moments. Kira looked over at her friend and smiled.

"Oh, alright," she replied with a playful roll of her eyes. She shifted closer to the other end of the couch and held her left hand out to Trent. Slowly, he reached over and grasped her fingers and examined the ring before glancing back up.

"It's gorgeous." He smiled. Kira's smile widened as she nodded happily.

After a short while, while discussing plans for their upcoming wedding, Kira began to yawn, and relaxed against Conner.

"Sleepy?" Conner asked as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"A little yeah." She replied. "I think I'm gonna take some pills and have a nap." Conner frowned.

"Were you feeling sore?" He worriedly asked. "Why didn't you say something earlier?"

"It wasn't too bad." She shrugged in reply. "Just more noticeable now." Conner held her closer and kissed her forehead.

"Alright," he replied. "Do you want to take Isis with you?" He asked, looking down at the puppy who had curled up on the empty side of the couch. "I think she's tuckered out," he chuckled. Kira grinned.

"Well, she did have a big day…new home and all," she said. She lightly patted the couch cushion beside her to beckon the dog closer. Isis lifted her head and slowly walked closer to Kira. Once Isis was within reach, Kira scooped her up in her arms. "Guess baby can nap with mommy," she smiled. Conner chuckled.

"Just for now, until daddy sets up baby's bed," he playfully added, gesturing to the medium sized puppy bed the man at the pet store had sold to them.

"Well... We'll see." Kira giggled. She stood up from the couch with Isis in her arms.

"Do you want me to bring you up a bottle of water for your pills?" Conner offered.

"Naw, I've got it." Came her response as she moved towards the kitchen.

"Alright," Conner said.

"See you both in a bit." Kira commented as she returned to the living room before departing upstairs, dog and water in hand. Once upstairs, Kira moved to the bed and set Isis down before gently setting her bottle of water on the nightstand. She kicked her shoes off and pulled the bottle of pain killers out of the nightstand. She shook a few into her hand and tossed them back with a sip of water before moving to the dresser to grab clean PJ's. Isis stayed perched on the bed and as Kira changed and dropped her clothes in the hamper. As she made her way back over to the bed, the puppy stood up and wagged her tail excitedly. "Hi princess." Kira cooed as she knelt on the bed. Isis scurried closer to Kira and nuzzled her snout against Kira's hand to encourage her to pet her. "Aww." She laughed as she ran her hands over the puppy's soft fur. "Whose the baby?" Isis barked lightly, as if to say 'me! I'm the baby!' Kira laughed and scratched her behind her ears as she shifted on the bed to stretch out on her side. "Are you gonna be a good girl and have a nap with your mommy?" Kira questioned as Isis rolled onto her back for Kira to scratch her belly. Isis stretched out on her back, enjoying the belly rub. After a few moments Isis rolled over to lie closer to Kira. The puppy seemed do have gotten the message that Kira intended to sleep, because she quietly relaxed next to her owner. "Good girl." Kira smiled as she adjusted herself on the bed. Kira wrapped an arm around the dog in a loose hold and laid her head on her pillow to usher herself into slumber.