SATURDAY - 9 A.M. - FEBRUARY 2nd
Tommy woke to the shrilling of the phone. He stretched a little and then answered, "Hello?"
"Have you heard anything, Dr. O?"
"Nothing yet, Conner. You guys should probably stay home today."
Conner snorted. "Yeah, cause that'll happen. We're on our way and we're bringing coffee and breakfast."
"Conner-" Tommy found himself talking to dead air. He shook his head as he tried to call the young man back. Tried being the operative word. Neither he nor any of the other Rangers would answer their phones. Finally, he fired off a text to all four of them.
Fine, you're coming over. At least answer your phones so that I know that you're not in trouble.
Not surprisingly, Kira answered back.
We're fine - just didn't want to argue about it. Be there in 5.
Tommy watched for them to arrive and had the door open by the time they were on the porch. All the teens were carrying something as they came in. Everyone dumped their loads either in the kitchen or in the living room. Kira grabbed the hiking pack from where she'd left it the night before. She addressed the others. "Okay, guys. Let's get this loaded up so I can go and get back."
Tommy watched, speechless, as the pack was loaded with various items that Jenny might need for survival - food, water and other survival supplies. Ethan shoved a cup of coffee in his hand. "Here, Dr. O. You look like you need this."
Tommy took a hefty swallow of the hot brew he'd been given. He immediately recognized the taste. This was Hayley's special coffee. Just the smell of it could wake him out of a dead sleep in college - and keep him awake through his classes no matter how boring. He took another swallow before he spoke. "You guys went to Hayley's?"
"Yeah. Trent, hand me that blue bag, would you?" Kira said. "She helped us get all this stuff together. Jenny's not going to need most of it - unless something goes seriously wrong and she has to run again."
This reminded Tommy of his worries the night before. "Kira, she's not outside, is she?"
Startled, the girl looked at him. "What?"
"She's not outside, is she?" he repeated. "Last night, there were coyotes hanging around and-"
Kira interrupted him. "No way. She is definitely not outside. So weather isn't really a worry either." She frowned. "You don't happen to have another one of these, do you?"
"I used to have a smaller one, but I'm not sure if I still do. Why?"
Kira returned her attention to packing the bag before her as she answered him. "I was thinking that if you do, I could just leave this one with her and take her fresh supplies with the other one. That way if she does have to take off again-"
"She can just grab the pack and go" Tommy finished. "Makes sense. I'll go look." Ten minutes later, he returned empty handed. "Must have gotten rid of it. Go ahead and leave this one with her and I'll pick up another one in the morning if we need it."
"Ethan, hand me that towel and Conner, give me her food." Kira wrapped the towel around the containers and carefully laid it on top before closing the bag. She took a large drink out of her own cup before she put the pack on, grabbed a different cup and headed for the door. "Don't wait for me to get back to eat, guys. I don't know how long I'll be gone this time." Before any of the males could speak, she was out the door and gone.
The boys made Tommy sit down and eat with them. Ethan pointed out that they were already down a Ranger with Jenny having to hide out, they didn't need to be down another one because he wasn't taking care of himself either. As much as he wanted to, Tommy couldn't argue with the logic.
An hour after they had finished eating, Kira returned. She ignored the questions until she had grabbed her coffee and food and sat down at the table. After a few bites, she said, "She's fine. I had to wake her up to eat. I stayed until she finished and she went right back to sleep."
"Good thing" commented Ethan. "If she's been sleeping as little as I think she has, she was going to start hallucinating soon."
"Yeah, that's what we need when there's already monsters running around" Conner remarked. "And shouldn't we have heard from those other guys by now?"
Tommy sighed miserably. "I would have thought so, Conner. At this point, I'm guessing that he got away and they're having to chase him."
Trent said quietly, "If he shows up here, maybe we'll just have to use our Dino Gem powers to deal with him."
Tommy found the idea very tempting. Still, as their mentor, he knew that he should discourage them from using them to deal with anyone except Mesogog and that mess. "We'll have to see what happens, Trent."
A loud knock echoed through the house. The Rangers moved quickly toward the front door. Before Tommy could call out, a familiar voice reached them. "Open up, Tommy! It's Mac and Michael!"
Tommy threw the front door open to admit the men. They were both sporting wide grins. "We got him!" Michael informed him.
"It was a bit of a chase" Mac added "but we caught him."
"So she can come home now?" Tommy demanded.
Both men nodded. "Her stuff is in her car so she doesn't even have to go back to the apartment."
The Black Ranger spun toward the Yellow Ranger. "Kira, where is she?"
Her eyes sparkled as she answered him. "You still haven't figured it out?"
"Kira-" His tone held a warning.
The girl's eyes darted to the men near the door and then back to Tommy. "Sorry, Dr. O. I don't know them well enough to trust them."
Conner said, "Jenny trusted them."
Kira nodded, conceding the point. "With her safety, sure, but I bet they don't know everything about her. I'll go get her and bring her back." The girl drained her cup and once more headed out the door.
Twenty five minutes later, everyone in the house suddenly snapped to attention. They'd all heard a scream. The Rangers knew that it was Kira's Ptera scream. It had come from the front yard. Tommy threw open the front door and everyone spilled out onto the front porch. Easily a dozen Tyrannodrones were in the front yard and battling with Jenny and Kira. Tommy turned to the two men. "Stay here. It's our turn."
The four remaining Rangers raced forward to help the two females. Elsa was nearby watching the fight. When most of the monsters were defeated, she sneered, "Not bad, but let's see what you do with this!" Another portal opened and another dozen Tyrannodrones appeared as well as Zeltrax. The monsters surrounded the Rangers, closing in on them.
The Rangers were all nearly back to back when Jenny spat out, "I've had enough of this."
Ethan said, "Yeah? And what do you think we should do about it?"
"I know what I'm going to do" she shot back. "What you do is up to you." She flicked her wrist, transforming her bracelet into her morpher.
"Dr. O?" Conner said uncertainly.
Tommy glanced at Jenny and the men on the porch before answering him. "She trusts them, Conner." He summoned his own morpher and a moment later, so did Kira.
The three boys exchanged looks before summoning their own morphers. Jenny called out, "Ready?"
"Ready!" they answered.
"Dino Thunder, Power Up!" six voices called out in unison.
Mac and Michael stared in shock as the group transformed and launched at the monsters. It wasn't long before the henchmen were defeated, forcing Zeltrax and Elsa to retreat once more. Once they were gone, five Rangers powered down and turned their attention to the sixth. She stood unmoving, causing the others to gather around her.
Tommy said, "It's over, sweetheart. Power down."
When she gave the command, it was barely a whisper. She looked at Tommy for a moment and gave him a brief smile before her eyes rolled up in her head and she collapsed into his arms, unconscious.
"It's probably just the exhaustion, Dr. O" Ethan said. "She just needs sleep."
Tommy nodded, scooped her up and carried her past the men on the porch, into the house and straight upstairs. In a few short minutes, he had her undressed and tucked under the covers. He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and headed downstairs, leaving the door open slightly.
Everyone was in the living room - Rangers on one side and their visitors on the other. Tommy entered in time to hear Michael say, "- wouldn't have had to hide out!"
Kira shot back, "Of course she still would have. Very few people know our identities and she can't stay morphed all the time - especially while she was teaching!"
Trent added, "It wasn't about just keeping herself safe, not to her. It was also about keeping us and Dr. O safe - protecting us and our identities."
The two men chuckled ruefully at that statement. Mac commented, "She does have a strong protective streak - especially for those she cares about."
Michael agreed. "But with that protective streak of hers, where was she hiding?"
All eyes turned to Kira. The girl remained silent. Tommy spoke up. "I think we're past the secrets, Kira. Where was she and how did you figure it out?"
She sighed. "Okay. So, she wanted me to think like her." The teen stretched her arms out. "This is home. You're her fiancé. She would want to keep you safe, but be nearby in case we needed her. Close enough for you to protect each other, but far enough not to lead anyone to you." She looked at the boys. "If you had to hide and home wasn't safe, where would you go?"
Conner answered instantly, "The lair."
Kira shrugged. "She was staying with her own kind."
Tommy was surprised at himself. How had he not guessed? Ethan chuckled. "She was in the raptor pen in the lair?"
Kira nodded in confirmation. "She was counting on them not finding it. Even if they did, she figured that the shock of coming across five raptors would slow them down long enough for her and them to take the intruders out."
Conner grinned, "That's freaking brilliant!"
The other two men traded looks before Mac said hesitantly, "You have - raptors? Like dinosaurs?"
"Long story" Tommy responded.
Michael grinned. "I've got time. Mac?"
"For this? You bet."
SEVERAL HOURS LATER
Everyone had left and Tommy was grading some papers at the kitchen table. He looked up as Jenny came in the kitchen. As she got something to drink, he smiled and tossed his glasses on the table. He rose and crossed over to her. She set her glass down on the counter and snuggled into his embrace. "Welcome home" he said softly. "I missed you."
She sighed in contentment. "Longest week of my life. I'm so glad to be home."
"I still think, for me, the week you were in the other world was worse. Not that this wasn't bad, but-"
"I understand."
"Hungry?"
"Not really. Still tired but I have to be up for a while or I won't sleep well tonight."
He chuckled lightly. "I highly doubt that. I've got about another half hour worth of work and then I'm done for the night."
"You finish that and I'll hang out on the deck. I want a little fresh air."
"Okay. I'll be out in a bit." Before he released her, he kissed her lightly.
Half an hour later, he stepped out on the deck. Jenny didn't even react to his presence as she usually did. Had she fallen asleep? Tommy moved closer. He realized that she was awake, but very deep in thought. He sat in a chair near her, watching her as she thought. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed the simple things - like being able to just see her - look at her. After a while, he reached over and took her hand that rested on the table. Automatically, she laced her fingers with his, squeezing lightly.
A minute later, she turned and looked at him, studying him. "What's up?" he asked.
"Just thinking - wondering."
"Want to talk about it? I mean, it must be pretty important as deep in thought as you were when I came out."
"Oh, it is." She turned her gaze back over the yard, but Tommy got the feeling that she wasn't seeing it. Absently, she stroked her thumb across the back of his hand. "I was just wondering-" Her voice trailed off as she fell back into her thoughts. He waited patiently for her to come back to the present. "Do you think - I mean it doesn't matter now really - but do you think that you'd take paternity leave when we start having kids?"
Tommy became very still. "When we start-? Don't mess with me" he pleaded/demanded hoarsely. "Please, Jen. Not about this."
Slowly, she turned her head and looked at him, a twinkle in her eyes. "I was thinking we could start trying on our honeymoon."
He wrapped his other hand around their joined ones. She could feel him trembling. "Sweetheart, are you sure?"
"I'm scared to death, but I still want this" she assured him. "I've given this a lot of thought."
"Sweetheart, you shouldn't be scared to death about this" he said quietly.
"Not like that. Just because I really don't know what to expect."
He was confused. "But you've done this before - having a baby, I mean." He tried not to think about it, he really did, but in his mind's eye he could easily imagine her round with his child. He pulled himself back to the present in time to hear her answer.
"Every pregnancy and birth are different - even if it's the same parents each time" she informed him. "When I was pregnant with Rachel, it was ridiculously easy, but labor was a long time. My mother was in labor with the three of us less time than I was with Rachel. I just don't know what'll happen."
Tommy kissed her hand. "I'll take care of you" he promised.
She smiled. "You may very well come to regret that."
"We'll see. So, um, how long-"
"Not sure. About twelve hours, I think."
Tommy blanched. "Oh my god, really?"
Jenny bit the inside of her cheek to keep from grinning at his reaction. "It wasn't that bad until the last three or four hours or so."
"Maybe we should rethink this."
She shrugged casually. "It's not only my decision. If you don't want to, then that's the end of it. I'm not going to push you into having kids if you don't want them. I'd rather have you and no kids than to have you and kids and you're not happy."
Abruptly, he realized that she was quoting his own words back at him. He shook his head. "Either way, it's not like we need to decide right now" he reminded her.
"Too true." Unexpectedly, she yawned. "Might almost be time to go back to bed."
"You should probably eat something first."
"Still not hungry."
"It's still a little early, but we could go and lie down for a while."
A smile turned up the corners of her mouth. "You don't have to, honey."
"Would you really be surprised to find out that I want to hold you? You weren't the only one who wasn't sleeping well." They traded knowing smiles and went inside for the night.
