Author's Note: This is my first fanfic, so enjoy. Feedback would be greatly appreciated.
"I can't live without you" he said. She could tell that he was completely sincere. He reached up to touch her cheek, and as a gut reaction, Dana put her hand on his. They moved closer, turned their heads, and were about to kiss when . . . Beep Beep Beep. Dana's alarm clock went off. She woke up, reeling from the dream that she just had.
"I can't believe I had another dream about Carter" she thought. "The guy is my best friend."
Dana got up, and got dressed, ready for the day that lay ahead of her.
As she was walking to the galley for breakfast, she stopped outside of Carter's quarters. Through the portal, she took a quick look, and she saw Carter naked from the waste up. She couldn't help but gawk for a few seconds, then realized that if he saw her, she would be mortified. She moved aside, and waited a minute or two before knocking on the door. She waited to hear Carter say "Come in" before she opened the door.
"I just wanted to know if you wanted to go to breakfast?"
"As always Dana, you read my mind. I'm starving. Just wait one minute." He grabs a pair of socks out of his drawer, and a pair of shoes from under his bed and puts them on. "Let's Go"
As they were walking into the galley, Carter opens the door, and waits for Dana to enter before he does. They walk through the line, both getting fruit and a bagel, Carter leads the way to an empty table. When they get there, Carter pulls out the chair so Dana can sit down.
"So, what are your plans for today, if there is no attack?" Dana asked, hoping that they could do it whatever it was together.
"Glad you brought that up, actually. It's a beautiful day outside, and I wanted to know if you wanted to go horseback riding with me?"
"Wait, you know how to ride a horse"
"Yes, why, does that surprise you?"
"Yeah, well I always thought of riding as a female thing. And here you are, a firefighter, and power ranger, and you are an equestrian."
"You know Dana, there are some things that even you don't know about me. What about you, can you ride?"
"I've ridden before, just not in a long time. I'm really rusty, but I would love to go with you. Hey, I'll ask cook to make a picnic lunch for us, if that is all right with you".
"Yeah, that sounds amazing. I can't think of another way to spend the day with one of my closest friends".
"Friends", Dana thought. Is that all he sees me as, a friend. I guess it is better to have him as a friend than to not know him at all.
As they finished eating, Carter got up and said "Meet me in my room in about an hour with everything, and we'll leave from there". They both went their separate ways.
It took 15 minutes for Dana to get the lunch from cook. After that, she headed back into her quarters to change into something more suitable for riding. When she finished, she looked at the clock, and there was 10 minutes left before she had to meet Carter. She hardly breathed during that period in time, so nervous about the day that lay ahead of her. There were certain things that she wanted to have happen, but she knew that she would get crushed if she got her hopes up that high.
Dana looked at the clock again, and took off down the hall to Carter's quarters. She knocked on the door, and when she heard the familiar greeting, she walked in.
"Good, you're here. I called the stables, and we are going to borrow two horses that belong to my aunt and uncle."
"Carter, just to repeat myself, I have not done this since I was a little girl, and I will be a bit rusty."
"Hey, if all else fails, we can ride double on my horse, which ever would make you feel more comfortable."
Dana realized that with this option, she would be spending the entire day less than inches from one another, and with either his arms around her, or her arms around him for the entire day. This did not take an idiot to answer. "Yeah, let's just ride double. It would definitely make me feel better. Are you sure that is all right? You don't mind, do you?"
"Dana, if I minded, I wouldn't have offered."
And with that, they left the aquabase, and they drove to the stables. They drove about half an hour, about 15 miles outside downtown Mariner Bay. When they got there, they were greeted by Carter's Aunt Becca. "Carter, welcome. It's so wonderful to see you. I can't tell you how many people ask me what it is like to have my nephew being a power ranger. Oh, and this lovely girl must be Dana"
"It's nice to meet you".
"It is so wonderful to finally meet you. Carter talk so much about you, I feel like I know you already" "Really" Dana thought.
"Aunt Becca, we should start soon. We want to start riding, so that we get some in just in case something happens, and we are needed? Oh, and another thing. Dana and I will only need one horse."
"You too are going to ride double?" she asked
Dana spoke up "Yeah, I haven't ridden in a while, so I would feel more comfortable knowing that someone else had control over the horse."
"That's fine" she said, as she walked them to the stables. "Here, take Murphy. He's steady, but not slow"
"Thanks Aunt Bec" Carter said emphatically. "Could you do me a favor though"
"Sure, what is it"
"Put this picnic basket in that place, you know where I'm talking about, right?
"Yes, No problem. Have fun, and don't worry about a thing."
They went to Murphy, brought him out of the stall and saddled him up. Carter got on the horse, and reached his arm out for Dana. She went to sit in back of him, but he put her in front. He grabbed the reigns, and put his arms around her waist and held her close. As he did this, Dana could feel her heart racing. "All this for his arms around me" she thought.
"Go Murphy" he said, and with that, they were on their way.
"Are we going any place in particular?"
"Yes, eventually. Right now, I just thought that we would talk and enjoy the scenery and the company."
At first, Murphy was going slowly. Carter did not want to go fast, for fear that Dana would either get scared, or kill him. Either thing was something he didn't want to happen. They rode through the hills of the country side, with green grass and flowers in bloom all around them. Then they went into a wooded area. Dana took in her surrounding, but most of the time her mind was on Carter, thinking of things that she should not be thinking about.
As they left the forest, they came into this lush green meadow. Dana looked out, and there was a picnic lunch all set up.
"Hungry now? Because if you're not, we can come back later" Carter stated, with a hint of nervousness in his voice.
"Actually, I'm starved. Cook made us a great lunch, and I can smell it already".
Carter took Murphy up to the picnic blanket, and dismounted. He then reached up to help Dana off the horse. He put his arms at her waist and put her down on the ground right next to him. Carter then proceeded to tie Murphy to a tree to make sure that he didn't run away. They walked over to the blanket and started to eat.
After they had finished eating, Carter lay down on his side, with his elbow supporting his head. He looked at Dana, and knew she was in deep thought. "Penny for you thoughts" he said.
"I don't know if I can tell you" she said, not wanting to hurt his feelings.
"Is there something wrong. Cause you know you can talk to me about anything."
"Thanks. I am just having conflicting feelings about something. I'm not sure whether to act on them or not."
"I'm assuming you are talking about romantic feelings?" he said, as he watched her nod her head in agreement. "If that is the case, I can help. Sometimes talking to a guy about guy problems helps."
"all right, if you say so. Here goes. I have a friend, a good friend, but I think that I want to be more than just friends. He, on the other hand, only sees me as a friend, and I don't want to ruin what we have now, which is so amazing."
Carter was oblivious to the fact that she was talking about him. "Well, no matter what, tell him. Find the right time first, but tell him. If you don't, you will always wonder if maybe he shared your feelings."
"Your thing so" she said
"Yeah. Trust me. I've been in your position before, and I now know that the best thing to do in this situation is to be honest." He said, as he saw her let out a little yawn. "Up for a little nap."
"Yeah, but I don't have a pillow, and I'm sure I won't be able to get comfortable"
"Use me as a human pillow"
"You sure"
"No problem." Carter laid on his back, and Dana moved right next to him. She put her head on his chest, as he put his arm around her. "Comfortable" he asked
"Yes, thank you" she said as she drifted off to sleep.
Carter was half asleep when he heard Dana mumbling something he couldn't understand. He turned his head towards her and tried to listen. To him, it sounded like she was having a dream about the guy friend that she likes. He then watched as Dana put her free hand up to his face, and before he could do anything, he felt her lips on his. This surprised him, but to make sure that she didn't wake up, he gently kissed her back. It only lasted for a couple of seconds, then she went back to sleep, like nothing had happened. Carter tried to shrug it off, but for what seemed like an eternity, he couldn't stop thinking about what had happened. He looked down at his watch, and saw that it was time to wake Dana up.
"Dana, we have to get going"
"Huh" she said groggily.
"We should get back. And in order to do that, we have to get back on
the horse. Besides, it looks like it might rain"
"What are we going to do with this stuff?" she said, referring to the picnic equipment.
"I'll call Aunt Becca to pick it up. There is a cell phone in the saddle bag for emergencies."
He went over to Murphy, took the cell phone out, and called his aunt. "Hey Aunt Bec, could you pick up the stuff" he asked.
"No problem sweetie. You guys should get going, because it looks like it will rain"
"Thanks, we will. We'll see you when you get back" and with that, he hung up and put the phone back in the saddle bag. "She's gonna pick them up. We'll meet up with her when we get back"
"Let's get going then" They mounted the horse the horse the same way as before, and rode off towards the stables. About half way there, it started to rain. Carter asked "should we find shelter or keep going?"
"Keep going. I don't mind a little rain"
"all right, but I'm gonna go a little faster than we have been going, all right?"
"Yeah, fine" she said as Carter told Murphy to go into a canter. By the time that they returned to the stables, it had been raining very hard and for a long time. They were soaked, to say the least, but they took off the bridle and saddle from Murphy, and let him back into his cubby. They quickly ran into the main house, when they ran into Aunt Becca.
"Carter, Dana, Captain Mitchell called. The rain has caused all entrances to the Aquabase to be closed. You guys are gonna stay here tonight, if that is all right?"
"Yeah, that's fine. Do you have any dry clothes for us, though"?
"Of course. I'll get some things for you to wear and to sleep in. I'm sorry that there is only one spare room in the house."
"Don't worry, we'll think of something. And thanks so much for everything." Carter said, as he kissed his aunt on the cheek.
"I'll be right back. Oh, Carter, could you help me with dinner tonight? You know you're a much better cook than I am"
"No problem. Just say the word, and I'll be ready" he said, as he turned toward Dana, who had that surprised look on her face. "What"
"You can cook! I guess that's another thing that I don't know about you" she said, thinking that Carter was more amazing than she ever thought possible.
"Yeah, both my parents worked while I was growing up, so I had to learn to cook dinner."
For a couple of minutes, they just stared at one another in silence. It was broken when Becca came down the stairs, and said "Here are the clothes. Why don't you go upstairs and get changed, and I'll throw your clothes in the dryer"
"Thanks, you a life saver Aunt Bec"
"What's family for if not for helping. And speaking of helping, be down her ready to cook in about thirty minutes."
"You got it. Dana, I'll show you upstairs" he said, as he led her into the guest room.
"Carter, tell me about your Aunt" Dana asked, as she put her clothes on the bed.
"She's my mom's youngest sister. In reality, she's only about 8 years older than I am. She runs the family stables with my Uncle Tom. He's a pediatrician with his own practice" He looked at Dana, who was waiting for him to finish. He then turned around and said "Dana, get changed, and tell me when you're decent"
"all right" she said as she changed into the sweats and t-shirts that she had been given. "Now your turn, she said, turning around. Carter then picked up the clothes that he had been given, then said "decent". What he failed to mention is that he had yet to put on his shirt. When Dana turned around, she saw him, bare from the waist up. She tried not to stare at his well sculpted body, especially that six pack for abs. "Since we are up here, what about sleeping arrangements" Dana stammered out..
"You take the bed, I'll take the floor" Carter said
"It's your aunt's house, so I'll take the floor."
"No way. You're a guest, you get the bed."
"Since we can't agree, we could share?"
"I couldn't" he tried to say, remembering the events of the afternoon.
"I insist"
"all right, whatever you say." A couple minutes later, Carter looked at his watch and said "Gotta go cook. Do you want to help?" he said, as he put on his shirt.
"No, that's all right. I'm a disaster in the kitchen."
"There's a TV downstairs, if you want to watch something
"Actually, that sounds great" she said, as he led her out of the room, and downstairs. He went with her into the living room, and handed her the remote. He then left, and went into the kitchen to help with dinner.
Dana turned on the tv and started to watch the news. About five minutes later, someone yells out "Honey, I'm home." Dana thought to herself that this must be Carter's Uncle Tom.
"Hi sweetie. How was work" said Aunt Becca
"Fine. I'm just glad that I work so close to home or else the rain would have caused me to stay at the office"
"Just letting you know that we have company spending the night with us tonight".
"Really, who" he said, looking very curious.
"Carter and his friend Dana. The rain kept them from getting back to the base"
"Really, wonderful. I never get to see Carter anymore." He walked into the kitchen to find Carter making dinner. "I'm not surprised that she has you cooking. You were always the better cook in the family"
"Uncle Tom" he said, as he gave him a hug "it is so great to see you. Hey, I want you to meet someone". They walked into the living room to find Dana sitting on the couch. "Dana" Carter said, "this is my uncle Tom".
Dana got up and said "It is great to meet you" as she shakes his hand.
"The pleasure is all mine" he said. "I'm gonna get changed and relax a little upstairs. Give me a yell when dinner is ready'
About a half an hour later, Dana heard "dinner's ready" and she got up, turned off the tv and went into the kitchen. "Smells good, what is it"
"Tuna casserole, Carter's specialty"
"It's also my favorite"
"Really" said Carter "then maybe I'll make if for you on base sometimes".
"That would be wonderful".
Uncle Tom then came down the stars and sat down at the table. Dana served herself, and started eating. "Man" she thought to herself "Carter is a really good cook! This is amazing". "My compliments to the chef" she said.
"Why thanks. Glad that you are enjoying yourself."
When dinner was over, Becca began to clear the table. When Dana saw this, she said "Let me help." Becca nodded, and Dana proceeded to clear the table and put the dishes into the dishwasher. When they were finished, Dana went into the living room, and saw Carter sitting on the couch.
"You up for a movie tonight" he asked
"Depends on what you had in mind"
"Well, my uncle keeps telling me to watch this movie from when he was younger, and I thought this would be a good time to watch it"
"What is it called?"
"National Lampoon's Animal House. It is supposed to be really funny, but irreverent. Is that all right?"
"Sounds perfect. But let me put on my pajamas so that after the movie we can go right to bed"
"Good idea" he said, as they went upstairs and changed. They went back downstairs and got comfortable on the coach"
Carter put on the movie, and they both were laughing very hard through out it all. When the movie was finished Carter turned to Dana, but then noticed that she was fast asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he picked her up, and carried her into "their" room. He pulled back the covers, and gently placed her on the bed. He then went to the other side of the bed, got in, and went to sleep.
Carter woke in the middle of the night after being jabbed in the ribs. He looked around, and saw Dana, thrashing around, probably having a nightmare. Dana was talking to herself, but it was muffled. Then, she started to speak more clearly. "Carter, no. Please, you can't be dead. No!!" When Carter heard this, he got closer to Dana and whispered in her ear "Dana, I'm right here. I'm right here". Carter then did the only thing that he could do. He grabbed her, pulled her close to him, and put his arms around her. He kept whispering "Dana, I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere". Eventually, she just called out "Carter" and went to sleep in his arms. Not long after, Carter finally drifted off to sleep.
When Dana woke up the next morning, she noticed something different. All she remembered was watching the movie last night. She knew she was in bed, she felt something around her waist. She looked over down, and there were a pair of arms around her waist. She looked over, and there was Carter, still asleep. She looked around again, and saw that both of them were fully clothed. "That's a good sign", she thought. She then heard some moaning, and she saw that Carter was waking up.
"Good morning" she said
"Morning" he replied.
"Carter, I know this is going to sound stupid, but..."
"Don't worry. Nothing happened" he said, as Dana quietly sighed.
"Then what did happen?"
"I guess you don't remember. You fell asleep on the couch, so I carried you up here. You then had an awful nightmare, yelling that I was dead, so I put my arms around you to make you feel better. That's all that happened."
There was then a knock at the door. Dana and Carter moved away from one another before Carter said "come in".
Becca opened the door and said "here are your clothes. I also left some towels for you both in the bathroom. When you guys are finished, breakfast should be ready in the kitchen."
"Thanks Aunt Bec" and she placed the clothes on the chair in the corner
of the room. "Dana, why don't you take the first shower"
"Ok" she said, "but where's the bathroom?"
"Two doors down on the left"
"Thanks" with that, she left.
Carter could not help think of the events of the previous night. He held Dana in his arms when he brought her upstairs, and he could not get it out of his head how cute she looked sleeping. Then, holding her and falling asleep with her in his arms, he could not deny that it was an amazing feeling.
Carter's thoughts were interrupted when the door opened. He looked up, and saw Dana wet, and in a towel.
"Sorry" she said "I forgot my clothes out here". She then went back into the bathroom, and a couple minutes later came back and asked "where should I put this towel".
"I'll take it. I know where the laundry shoot is"
"Thanks. I'll be downstairs in the kitchen. Meet us down there when you are done"
Carter got up to get into the shower. He got in and out quickly, not wanting more time to think about things. When he was done, he put his clothes on, and went downstairs for breakfast. When he got there, he saw an elaborate breakfast made up.
"What's this for" he asked
"It's not everyday that two power rangers stay at your house. Besides, since you are older, this is one of the only ways that I can spoil my nephew".
"Thanks for everything, Aunt Bec. I really appreciate it"
"That's what family is for, Carter. Never forget that you are always welcome here, with whomever you bring" she said, looking right at Dana.
"I'll keep that in mind. Dana, could you pass the waffles"
They kept talking about everything, but what Dana most enjoyed were the embarrassing stories about Carter when he was a child.
"Dana, we should get going. We shouldn't keep you dad and the others waiting." Carter said, looking sheepish. Dana knew he was embarrassed, and wanted out.
"Sure. I'll grab out stuff and load up the car. You can help clean-up. By the way, what should we do with the clothes that you lent us."
"Just leave them where they are. I'll collect them after you leave" Dana then grabbed the picnic basket and headed out to the car. Meanwhile, Carter started to clear the table, when his aunt asked "what happened last night with you two?"
"Nothing. Why?"
"Well for one, you were sleeping in the same bed, and you looked a little sheepish about it."
"We're both adults. And besides, everything is just platonic. Nothing more."
"You're sure about that. From what I can see, there is something there."
"Nothing is going on between Dana and I" he said emphatically
"all right, whatever you say." Dana then came back into the kitchen and said "car is packed and ready to go"
"Well, we should get going. Thanks again for everything."
"Come back anytime. You're always welcome here"
They left the house and got into the car. It was awkward on the trip
back, and when they entered the aquabase, they both went their separate
ways. Carter went right to his room, while Dana went to the galley to drop
off the picnic basket. On the way back to her room, Dana ran into Kelsey.
"Dana, where were you last night?"
"Kelsey, I am so glad I ran into you. I need to talk to someone. You got some time"
"Sure. Let's go back to my room and talk" As they got into Kelsey's room, Dana shut the door. "So what happened?"
"Carter and I went horseback riding yesterday."
"Yeah, I knew that. What happened after that?"
"We had the picnic lunch, and I was a little tired, so we took a nap. Carter let me use him as a human pillow. I fell asleep listening to his heartbeat."
"Sounds romantic. What else happened"
"Well, the rain would not let us back into the aquabase, so we had to stay at Carter's aunt's house, the aunt who owns the stable. Well, there was only one extra room, so Carter and I had to share it. After dinner, I fell asleep watching a movie. The next thing I remember is waking up in the bed, with Carter's arms around me, holding me close".
"How, what, why" Kelsey was confused.
"Carter said that he carried me up to bed. Then I had a nightmare about him dying, so he put his arms around me, and we both fell asleep".
"all right, I think I see where this is going, but what exactly is your question?"
"I think I have feelings for him, cause I have been dreaming about him a lot lately, but by his actions, do you think that those feelings might be returned?"
"I would say so, but he might just be an amazing friend. I really can't help you, sorry".
Meanwhile, on the way back to his room, Carter ran into Chad.
"Heard you just got back. How was your afternoon?"
"You gotta minute? I have to talk to someone, and I don't think that Joel or Ryan are exactly the best people to talk to in this situation."
"Hey no problem" he said, as they went into Carter's room. "What's up"
"Have you heard anything already about what happened yesterday?"
"Just a little. Just that the storm forced you to stay where you were for the night"
"Well, we went horseback riding and had a picnic. While on the picnic, she confided to me that she had a friend, but she had romantic feelings for. Well, soon after, we decided to take a nap, and I let her use me as a human pillow."
"Sounds innocent enough. Where's the problem"
"Well, she started mumbling about the guy, and then she kissed me"
Chad was shocked "did you kiss her back"
"Only because I didn't want to wake her. She was dreaming".
"She could be dreaming about the guy and you just happened to be there. Is that it?"
"No. She insisted that we share a bed, and I went along with it. We watched a movie after dinner, and she fell asleep. I carried her up to bed, and into the night, she had a nightmare about me dying."
"What did you do after that"
"I told her I was all right, and I put my arms around her and we fell asleep like that"
"Ok, I see what happened, but what is the problem. From what I can tell, it all could be platonic."
"Do you think that she has feelings for me?" Carter asked, sounding very nervous.
"Possibly. I'm no expert with women, so you are asking the wrong person. Honestly, I think it could go either way."
"Thanks Chad" and Chad left Carter in his room. On his way out, though,
he ran into Kelsey.
"I just had an interesting talk with Dana" she said, but before she could go further, Chad interrupted with "Really, I just talked with Carter".
"I'm assuming the topic of conversation was yesterday?" she asked, trying not to give out too much information.
"Yeah, let's compare stories" and they left, telling each other exactly what they had been told.
"We need to do something" as a mischievous smile came across her face "and I have a plan".
Carter was thinking in his room when Chad came into the room. "Hey Carter, meet me in Kelsey's room. I might have some answers for you about our earlier discussion".
Carter got up and followed Chad to his room. When he entered, he saw Kelsey and Dana. He felt awkward, not knowing what to do or say. He was practically staring at Dana, so much that he didn't see Kelsey and Chad at the door. The next thing he heard was a "thunk" and saw Kelsey and Chad outside. He went open the door, but they had locked it.
Dana looked up and saw what was happening "You didn't talk to Chad about yesterday, did you"
"Yeah, why. Wait, let me guess, you talked to Kelsey"
"I guess they set this up for you and me to talk. Is there anything you want to tell me"
Carter stood there, staring at the floor before asking "Why did you have to kiss me?"
"Kiss you! I didn't kiss you"
"You were dreaming about the friend that you liked, and you kissed me."
"I don't remember, it must have been part of the dream. But with sleeping, why did you do what you did? Those things went above actions in a normal friendship."
"What are you saying?"
"You are oblivious to these things, aren't you. Did it ever occur to you that you are friend that I was talking about?"
"Me? You're telling me that you have romantic feelings towards me."
"Yes, and I'm sorry if that causes any problems" she turned around
"Dana, it's not that" he said, as he put his arms on her shoulders and turned her around "I have to admit, the things that happened yesterday felt good, I mean really good. It's just, well...."
"What are you getting at?"
"Actions speak louder than words" he though and before she could say another word, he put his hands on either side of her face, pulled her to him, and kissed her. It surprised Dana, but she quickly returned it. It was soft and gentle, and she could feel his hands move through her hair to around her neck. She got the hint, and slid her arms around his waists. When it finally ended, she asked "so what does this mean"
"I don't know, honestly. But more than friends, definitely" he said. Before he could say anything else, Dana reached up and kissed him. This one was longer and more passionate than the first.
What they never saw was Chad and Kelsey looking through the window on
the door. "We did it" they said, as they walked away, unlocking the door,
and leaving the lovebirds to do what they needed to do.