AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I'm sorry this is so late coming, but I've been really busy with a story that might actually pay, and getting ready for Thanksgiving. I appreciate any feedback, and will respond to it. (I only recently realized that it was expected, being new to the whole concept of fan fiction) Also, I've had this wickedly wonderful idea for a new PR story thanks to some of that feedback, so be looking for a new story with a completely different, and as far as I know, unheard of romantic pairing coming soon.

Like I said, this is based on Karen Davis' BLUE YONDER. The last half of this chapter is a very superficial rewrite of a scene from that story. I put it in here to help tie it to that story. If you want to read an excellent story, I suggest you get it and read it. It's more than worth it, and if you email me, I'll be glad to send you the link for it.

Happy Thanksgiving all.

Danny *****************************************************************

"Upstart Time Lord?" Ms. Hayes smirked. "I kind of like that."

"You like being called an upstart?" Jason asked.

The woman smiled at him, "Well, it's fairly accurate. I'm the youngest Time Lord, being only six hundred- or twelve hundred depending on when I am at a particular time- and I have been something of a rebel among the Time Lords. Besides, look at it this way, I've managed to irritate the Kregar to the point that they're calling me names. I take that as a good sign."

Jason shook his head. This woman was confusing the hell out of him. He wasn't used to this concept of different aspects of her personality being in control at different times depending on when she was exploring in the time stream. Ms. Stone had tried to explain to him that although her body continues through space, Ms. Hayes' mind can and does jump back and forth to different periods in her life. So far, the oldest version of her mind they'd encountered was around twelve hundred years old. "If you say so, Ms. Hayes, I'm just not really happy with this whole concept of them targeting Kim or Billy."

The woman gently reached out and touched his face, "You want them to bring the battle to you, huh?" The light in her pale blue eyes was soft and understanding, and Jason wondered how a woman who appeared so young could project such a mothering aura. She smiled and said, "There are many kinds of combat, Jason. Some of them are on the physical plane," she indicated him and Tommy, "others on a mental field of battle," she nodded to Billy. Walking around him, she put a hand out on Kimberly's shoulder, "Still others are fought in a spiritual realm. A good leader learns to let his people do what they're good at."

"More battlefield wisdom from your father?" Ms. Stone asked.

Ms. Hayes smiled, "It's from Dad, but this was more of boardroom wisdom. Although, it does apply to the battlefield as well." Turning back to Jason she continued, "But you are more worried about your ability to protect them."

"Jason's not the only one," Tommy told the woman.

She smiled over at the Green Ranger, "I know, Thomas, but, you're a little more of a loner than Jason. You tend to let people see if they can find their own way before trying to fix a problem. He's got a strong caretaker instinct that sometimes gets in his way, and won't let him do that."

"Hey! I'm still here!" Jason protested.

"I know you are, dear," Ms. Hayes smiled over at him. "I'm just being honest, and sometimes it's a good thing to hear how people really see you." Clapping her hands and sitting down in the chair, she seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. Jason used the quiet lull in the conversation to reacquaint himself with the Power Chamber. He'd actually been avoiding this particular room since the Command Center had been rebuilt. It brought back too many memories of their mentor Zordon, and reminded him how he missed the Eltarian.

"So what should Kimberly do when the lady comes back?" Tommy asked.

Ms. Hayes smiled and mumbled under her breath, "That was no lady. That was a Kregar Imperial Officer." She looked up at them, and the seriousness in her eyes frightened Jason, "My first instinct is to tell you to kill her." Shaking her head and cutting off any protest, she continued, "But as Billy told Temblor; You're Power Rangers, and Power Rangers don't kill."

"That situation changed as of their last attack," Billy reminded her- reminded them all of what they'd been forced to do to save Angel Grove in the Kregar last attack. That was something Jason was still getting used to, the idea that he'd actually taken human life in that fight. It was one thing to kill one of Rita and Zedd's monsters, but these were real people, not some plant brought to life to make Kim jealous.

Ms. Hayes nodded her head and said, "I know Billy. But killing in battle is completely different from planning and executing a murder in a non-combat situation."

"It's all well and good that Power Rangers don't kill, but this is the kind of opponent who that if you don't kill them, they just come back stronger," Ms. Stone interjected. She really had a hate on for the Kregar.

Jason turned to face the tall woman. Today she'd returned to her usual jeans and blouse, her hair once again pulled back into a ponytail. "Still, I don't want to kill somebody if I don't have to."

Ms. Stone leaned back against the console, "What if I told you that in the next fight, they are most probably going to concentrate their attacks on Kimberly and Billy? Oh, they'll send enough after you guys to keep you busy, but they're going to do their best to draw those two out and then hit them with overwhelming force."

"But why?" Jason could hear the worry in Tommy's voice. "Why take out them?"

"Because they're the lynchpin for taking this world," she said as she looked around at all of them, "You six are this world's symbols. Michael operates on level of symbols, being one himself. That's why he couldn't take my world, because our symbols were too strong. That's why he'll go after Kim and Billy. It would cripple this team, and destroy its value as symbols."

Jason heard something in Billy's voice that worried him, "Because we're the weak links?" He looked around and said what Jase knew was on everybody's mind, "Because our fighting skills aren't up to par with the others."

"Sorry, you don't get to go there, Bro." Kyle interjected. "If anybody is the weak link in fighting it's me. You and Kim both have a couple years experience on me."

"Yes and no, Billy," Ms. Stone said quietly. "You are not the same kind of warriors that Jase and the others are. You fight in an arena that the Kregar don't and can't understand. You are the spirit that binds them together, and mind that directs them." She smiled sadly and continued, "Should the Kregar succeed in getting a toehold on this world, then, it's your knowledge, and skill that could equip an army capable of driving them back. Before you became a Ranger, your scientific knowledge alone was greater than the combined brainpower of every other scientist on the planet. Your access to Eltarian technology has increased that gap geometrically. If you don't believe me, look at this base." She gestured around the Power Chamber and smiled, this time there was no sadness in it, but a fierce pride in the accomplishments of someone about whom she cared. "All this technology comes from various Billy's throughout the multi-verse. Some of them were a Power Rangers who died; others were simply quiet heroes, working on the side until the Kregar came. This is YOUR technology Billy, and that scares Kregar more than a hundred thousand Power Rangers."

Jason watched as his lover turned a deep crimson. He felt a deep sense of pride for Bill himself, so he finally told him, "You told us yourself yourself, Bill, the technology here just makes sense. Now you know why."

"But what about me?" Kimberly asked. "I'm no brain. I'm just a mall rat that happened to be in the right place at the right time with the right group of friends.

"Ever wonder why these particular friends, Kimberly?" Ms. Hayes asked.

Jason watched Kim shrug. He could see the petit brunette's mind turning over the question carefully before she answered, "No, not really. We've all been together since grade school." Looking over at Tommy she smiled, "Well most of us at least. We just seemed to click."

Ms. Hayes stepped back and smiled, "Really? How many other groups of friends do you know that are so well rounded. You had the Jock, the Brain, the Cheerleader, the Happy-Go-Lucky Dancer, and the Serious Student. You didn't have a whole lot in common there." She chuckled, and continued, "I know how cruel kids can be. How many of your cheerleading friends in middle school would have given Billy the time of day?"

Jason thought about what she was saying. Their friendships had always just seemed right, even if their being together didn't make a hell of a lot of sense. He realized that the social forces at school should have pulled them all apart into separate groups by the time they'd finished middle school. He should have been hangin' with jocks, maybe with Kim on his arm because she was after all a cheerleader. Billy should have been with nerds, never to cross his path except to get beaten up- not a thought he liked to even consider- maybe with Trini as at least an acquaintance. Zack, with his effervescent personality would have fit with Kim and Jase's group well, but not Billy's or Trini's. However, for some reason they'd all stayed together in spite of everything. He knew that Kimberly had lost several of her friends in seventh grade over being friends with Billy- he just wasn't cool enough for them. He himself had caught grief over being friends with both Zack and Trini, but only once or twice. A few busted teeth later, anybody who had anything disparaging to say about their heritage learned not to say it around Jase. "What about Tommy, Adam and Kyle then?" he asked.

Ms. Hayes smiled and looked at Tommy and Adam, "Some friend come to you later in life than others." She gave Kyle a strange look, "Sometimes, events conspire to introduce a wild card into the mix as well- a random element that can bring about positive change in all that are involved." Jason wondered if she meant Kyle's tendencies to be willing to sacrifice himself for his friends. She continued, "What it comes down to is that the Master put forces into nature that are meant to inspire us. You are that force."

"What's that got to do with me?" Kimberly asked, and reminded Jason of the original question.

"It's simple Kimberly. You're the glue that holds everything together. You're their conscious, their anchor." Ms. Hayes smiled, "You're surrounded by enough testosterone to send Gloria Steinem into apoplectic seizures, and you sail through it without ever losing your sense of self. You are the sister, the mother," she turned and looked at Tommy, "the wife figure. You're their anchor to reality." She sighed and stood up. "Take you out, and they'll all go off balance," she smiled and looked over at Billy, "Even calm Billy would find himself drifting."

Jason watched Kimberly preen under the high and very justified praise. "But that still doesn't answer what to do about Ms. Michael's offer."

Ms. Hayes looked at him and asked, "Do you want to surrender?"

Jason snorted, "No ma'am."

Ms. Stone smiled and said as she strode over and put a hand on his shoulder, "Good, because you wouldn't want to pay the cost for that." She looked meaningfully over at Billy. Turning back, she smiled and continued, "Tell her no, and then kick her butt into next week sideways."

"You mean escalate the fight?" Tommy asked.

Ms. Stone smiled, "Trust me, you won't have to escalate the fight. As soon as Kimberly turns her down, the Kregar is going to do her level best to kill her. So, I suggest the rest of you be there when she tells her what you think of her offer."

"Don't worry, we will." There was hardness in Tommy's voice with which Jason found himself agreeing.

*****************************************************************

Jason sat and watched Bill read. He was reading for pleasure, no hilighter or notes, just reading, flipping the pages quickly and smiling every now and then. He was sitting at the Cranston kitchen table, his cup of coffee sitting half forgotten at his elbow. Once, he actually laughed out loud. Jase wondered what the book was; He might buy it. Jason put his hand on Billy's where it lay on the table next to his coffee, and then slid it up his bare arm to his elbow.

"Can I finish my chapter?" Billy asked, an undercurrent of amusement in his voice. The sound sent shivers down Jase's spine. He was worried about what Ms. Hayes had said. He found himself needing Billy, needing to touch him, to assure himself that the Blue Ranger was there. That he would always be there.

"I don't know. Can you?" Jason said, grinning. Jason couldn't believe how fast things had changed between the two since he allowed himself to admit what he felt for Billy.

"Is that a challenge?" Billy asked with a smile. Jason knew the blond could focus his mind on carrying out half a dozen different things, and never miss a beat. But, what Jase had in mind was just a little out of Billy's realm of experience. Looking around he wondered if there was any chocolate sauce in the house. "You'd lose," Billy said, not looking away from the page, and not expecting what Jason had in mind.

"Really? How many pages?" He reached down and flipped through the book. "Six. Hmmm..." Billy could polish off six pages in less than three minutes, but right now three minutes seemed like a lifetime.

"I have excellent powers of concentration," Billy said, a smile tugging his lips.

"Well, that's true," Jason conceded. "Whatever you focus on is definitely focused on. Might be fun to try and distract you, though."

Billy turned the page and said, calmly, "It might, if futile."

"Cranston," Jason said in frustration, "you drive me insane."

"I don't believe that's a drive," Billy said. "I think it's a putt-"

"Stop with the damned book already," Jason said. "You know we have to face that Kregar commander tomorrow. It may be a long time before we get any time alone. You're dad's gone, my parent's don't expect me home for several hours and you'll have plenty of time later to read this thing-" he picked it up stuck his finger in it to hold Billy's place. "-Hogfather? What the hell?"

"Terry Pratchett," said Billy. "Social commentary disguised as extremely funny fantasy. Brilliant. My favorite fiction writer... give me that." He took it back and slid the bookmark that had been on the table into it and put it carefully down. "It's best not to put any serious strains on your mental faculties in situations like this, I believe." He leaned back in his chair and looked up at Jason. The look in those eyes, the way Billy's hair caught the afternoon sunlight, the way his pulse gently throbbed at the little dip below his Adam's apple, conspired to send a hard lump into Jason's throat.

"What," Billy asked, "did you have in mind to do for the afternoon?"

Jason leaned over and, putting his hand on the chair back to take his weight, and kissed Billy. Billy eased up out of the chair, moving sideways to stand between this Jason's legs, one of his hands in the short black hair and the other reaching around him to pull him close. Jason felt his heart race as he detected the slight taste of coffee in Billy's mouth. Jason decided that he could learn to love that taste. Jason's hands slid under Billy's polo shirt, then tugged it over the blond head to drop it on the floor. A few minutes later Billy was stepped back, pulling on Jason's hand and saying, "Bedroom."

"Bedroom, yes," Jason replied feeling his heart pound through out his body. He let Billy lead him from the kitchen, kissing him again.

An hour later, the bedroom was quiet. If Jason survived being a Ranger, lived to be a hundred, he'd never forget what it felt like- so beautiful, so... so right. Blankets around them, Billy's head on his chest, resting on his heart, in his heart. Jason's arms around him, Billy's around Jason, Billy sleeping in safety, in love. It was at that moment Jason felt his life, his heart finally complete.