Part Four

"...so see now, Karone's having a baby and well, I just can't bare to tell her that I can't be with her," Leo confessed in a mourning tone. "It'll be hard enough to see her again, wanting to be with her so badly."

The Lion Galactabeast softly growled in acknowledgement of Leo's words, after sitting attentively before his master and listening to his problems.

Leo grinned in early morning darkness, lying back on the ground. "It's so good to be able to..." his words suddenly stopped in mid-sentence, a feeling of dread and fright flooding through him. He quickly popped up into a seated position once again. "What the...KARONE!"

*****

"I should've known," Karone growled heatedly, leaning her neck back as far as she could, trying to avoid the sharpened blade of Deviot's sword.

If Deviot was able to grin, he would have shown a twisted, evil grin. "Yes, little girl, you SHOULD have known," his voice was tainted with a deep menace, continuing to press his sword to the blonde woman's neck hoping to draw blood. He eventually did.

A small line of red blood suddenly appeared across Karone's throat, and while she couldn't see it, she could definitely feel the warn blood gradually trickling down her pale skin. She squirmed much more than before, letting out a terribly frightened squeal of horror.

"Come now," Deviot teased her, adjusting his grip on her, "don't be such a human. Scared at the notion of blood...it just isn't befitting of the girl who once claimed the name Astronema."

Karone's wispy blonde bangs blew into her face as they escaped the confines of her loose ponytail. "Astronema is dead," she declared is a cold, yet somewhat hoarse, sounding voice.

"How wrong you are, little girl," Deviot mocked her knowingly. "Astronema simply lies dormant within you. It's up to you to awaken her from-"

"KARONE!"

Karone jerked her head up despite the pain that came with it, grinning like a complete idiot through her tears. "LEO!" she cried back at his red morphed form running towards her.

"I'M COMING! HOLD ON!" he shouted back to Karone, assuring her.

Deviot quickly turned his attention back to his "project" he had been working on before the two lovers cries' had interrupted him. His sword's edge delicately lacerated a gentle, stinging cut to her neck with much more purpose this time around. He felt her fidget and cringe against his body, but she didn't dare scream out again.

Leo slowed his run to a speedy, but hesitant walk. He could see the blonde withering within the devious monster's grasp. "Let her go, Deviot," he commanded forcefully, his voice never wavering to reveal his deep fear.

"Any particular reason I should, Red Ranger?" Deviot slid the question out easily. His voice resounded with amusement towards the Galaxy Ranger's empty threat.

"Besides the reasons that she is in danger and you're just plain evil scum?"

Karone winced as her captor nodded his head eagerly. "Yes, besides those two things..."

Leo's face was covered with utter confusion behind the mask of his helmet. He didn't see the point of Deviot playing mind games with him; after all, Leo was pretty sure that wasn't Deviot's ultimate dream.

He glanced to Karone, making "eye contact" with her. The real hurt in her eyes described the terror he could literally sense emanating from her, emotions flooding all of his senses. Her eyes darted downwards, towards her stomach, then quickly upwards to look at Deviot. He was pretty sure she was trying to signal something to her, but he couldn't understand. That is until a soft voice wafted into his ear, "Deviot knows about..." Leo quickly glanced up to see, Karone slowly mouthing the words and using her magic to enhance her voice.

For a moment, he was silent and in shock, but Leo hastily shook it off and replied Deviot, "Just let her go." He unsheathed his Quasar Saber and held it out defensively. "You don't need her."

"Who says, Red Ranger?" Deviot chortled in a devilish manner. He was attracted by the thought of a battle and moved his own sword away from Karone's neck to meet the tip of Leo's.

Knowing that she had been given a chance to free herself, Karone elbowed her captor in the gut causing him to stumble backwards in surprise. She instantly made a beeline for Leo, who caught her in his arms and held her protectively close.

The two flew away in a teleportation streak meshed of pink and red, just as Deviot lifted himself up from the grass and snorted in satisfaction.

*****

"Did you get the information you required?"

"Yes."

"So you're plan was successful?"

"Of course not."

"You ain't making any sense, Deviot!" Captain Mutiny thundered, quite annoyed with his fellow villain's twisted words.

Deviot shrugged carelessly, walking across the bridge of Captain Mutiny's ship. "I usually don't make sense until the last moment, Captain. If you want my help to get your hands on the Galaxy Book and get more slaves, I suggest you get used to it."

Mutiny watched him leave the bridge and narrowed his good eye at the retreating form of the monster. He was sure Deviot had another agenda going, but he frankly didn't care. Mutiny was happy so long as Deviot kept up his side of their newly constructed alliance and found him more slaves to dig for his many treasures.

*****

"I could kill Deviot for this," Leo growled furiously, marching down the corridors of the Astro MegaShip with Karone by his side.

"I'm sorry," Karone whimpered, the stinging sensation of her cuts hurting even more every time she tried to talk. "I'm sorry I told him."

They both slowed down as they approached the Medical Bay's entrance. Leo slipped his arms around Karone, almost in a self-conscious manner, reassuring her. "Shhh...don't talk. It's more than okay; knowing Deviot you most likely had no choice in the matter."

The two stepped into the Medical Bay and Leo quickly helped Karone prop herself up on the table, then grabbed a dermal regenerator from nearby. "Good thing these are only skin-deep cuts. It's probably the only thing Deviot did RIGHT out there!" he unconsciously snapped in irritation. He gently tipped her head to one side to reveal her cuts, dry blood clinging to her skin. He stroked the nape of her neck with his free hand, trying to give her comfort to counter the pain.

"When did you become a doctor, hmm?" she whispered with a soft laughing tone.

He smiled jokingly, running the regenerator over her neck's side. "I became certified when I spent more than five hours in here and THAT happened about a week after I became a Power Ranger," he retorted playfully, setting the medical device to the side.

The blonde chuckled, reaching up to touch her neck where she had been cut just moments before. "I fell into that trap like a fool," she groaned unpleasantly. "I should have KNOWN you wouldn't be up at this hour; wishful thinking I guess."

"Actually I was up," he remarked off-handedly. "It's always nice to get out and talk to your Galactabeast when you have insomnia."

Karone arched an eyebrow peculiarly and cracked a grin. "What were you telling Lion?"

"Same old, same old," Leo shrugged vaguely, thinking back to earlier that morning when he had made Lion sit down and listen to him rant; even though Leo knew that he would have no idea what Lion was saying if he responded. "About us and how I can't be with you..."

"You aren't very funny, you know."

"Who says I'm trying to be?" Leo grunted dejectedly, jumping up to sit on the medical bed beside the blonde. He paused suddenly searching for a way to explain his thoughts without giving her any of the details of his encounter with Trakeena.

"I love you, Karone. I love you for your spirit, your stubbornness and your strength. I could say that ten thousands times and still it would be true! But circumstances beyond my power won't let me be with you the way you want me to be and the way I want me to be!"

Karone bit her lip tightly, trying to stop the few tears she had from tumbling down her cheeks. She shot Leo a furious glare. "What circumstances?!" she cried hotly. "How can there be circumstances!"

"There ARE circumstances," Leo replied back, being somewhat forceful. "Circumstances you can't know about; that I have to keep to myself."

All was silent and Karone absorbed his words. She had heard the tone in his voice many times before, but not from him. She had heard the tone in herself, just after she died as Astronema and finally reclaimed her "pleasant" life as Karone. Her past had tormented her in those early days and she refused to get close to Zhane because of her deep fear that she would somehow hurt him. She used to argue with him at every chance, telling him they couldn't be together...

"Leo, is there something you aren't telling me?"

Turning his head away from her and staring down at the metallic floor like a shameful little boy, the younger man nodded his head slowly.

She was just about to reach out and touch him, try to get him to open up to her, but she instantly stopped herself. She remembered how it felt when Zhane kept on prodding at her; sure, it helped her open up to him after awhile, but it also made her more determined to push him farther away. So instead, Karone carefully hopped down from the medical bed and stood before Leo. "I understand. I'll keep my distance until you're ready," she promised him fully, knowing that she would be able to keep the promise for Leo's sake.

As she walked out of the room, Karone could feel his eyes peering at her back and her blood stirred within her; a hopeful reaction.

*****

The winds blew a touch hotter against Leo's cheek as the seasonal climate of Terra Venture slowly eased from spring into summer. It didn't quite bother him though, since the weather was quite cool that day and he was out trotting the horses around the track at the stables.

It had been a little over a month and a half since Karone had announced her pregnancy and he had proclaimed his love for her, as well as letting her go. They had returned to being civil friends and teammates, which Leo decided was better than being feuding teammates.

Captain Mutiny and Deviot kept the attacks fairly random on Terra Venture through that time, trying to kidnap people from the colony but always failing when the Galaxy Rangers would arrive to save the day. It almost became monotonous for the team of six as they came to expect attacks whenever.

Leo didn't protest against Karone's morphing and fighting in her condition either. He knew her spirit and he knew her, so he had no reason to worry for her as much as he had before. She knew her own limitations, and yet, as Leo pulled away from her once more, he ached for her ten times more. It hurt him, but he felt it was for the best.

The nightmares had become much more vivid and came to him far more often though. Leo dreaded the night, because he knew it was then he would sleep and the dreams would occupy his mind, haunting him. He tried staying awake for long periods of time, but that always seemed to fail when he wouldn't be able to keep his eyes open any longer. He simply wished that the nightmares would leave him alone so he wouldn't have to constantly relive the most horrifying night of his life.

Leo cast himself up from his own reverie, slowing the horse down as he approached the stalls. Unsaddling the horse, he lead the beautiful black mare back into its stall and quickly brought out the white horse he grown attached, prepared it, and walked it out onto the track. Before he could saddle the horse though, Leo stood still as he sensed Karone's familiar presence.

His eyes darted around himself and he spotted her crossing a nearby field, heading towards her quarters most likely. His dark brown eyes stayed steady upon her small shadowed form in the distance, intently gazing. She was wearing a long black skirt with a light pink top as far as he could tell from his distance; no longer wearing her leather clothing anymore as her stomach slowly began to grow. Her blonde hair, which had grown past her shoulder blades, blew away from her face in the free breeze.

Leo watched her until she disappeared behind a grouping of buildings and from his sight. It was more than evident he wanted her, but after so long, he wasn't sure if she wanted him back.

*****

Karone stepped across the wide grass field, deciding to take a short-cut home that day from the daycare center. Truth be told, she wasn't taking the short-cut back to her quarters because it was shorter; it was actually longer.

She had taken it because she had wanted to see Leo at the stables.

Turning ever so slowly to her left she could see his silhouette in the bright sun that was facing her, still continuing to walk. He was wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and a red tank top that clung to his chest with a bit of sweat. With his back turned to her, Leo worked steadfast on saddling a white horse that stood before him. His dark brown hair was ever messy as he moved around to try and climb up onto the horse.

Karone snapped her gaze away from lone figure and faced ahead, walking home, but walking a lot slower than before. She savored the rush of feelings that overwhelmed her when she felt his eyes fall upon her and simply stare at her. More than anything, knowing that he still looked at her in that way after nearly two months felt absolutely good. She knew she had done the right thing by letting Leo go for awhile. He needed the time, and perhaps she had too.

For the past month and a half, Karone had spent plenty of time by herself considering what she and Leo had; whether it was real, or it was just their feelings from the Galactabeasts still talking. She considered it being the latter reason for quite awhile because of the simple fact that not until they both trusted one another would they be free of their zords' reflections.

That is until one night when she realized that they did trust one another, even though it didn't seem like they did. Leo trusted her to make her own decisions and she trusted him to do the exact same thing. Then she was sure that her love for him was real and hopefully, his for her was echoed the same.

*****

"Are you sure you feel fine?" Maya asked cautiously, approaching Karone from across their quarters.

Finishing off the glass of water she had been drinking as she got ready to go to sleep, Karone nodded her head. "Yeah, I feel fine, Maya," she assured with a laughing grin, setting the glass in the kitchen sink. "I actually think my stomach can finally handle Kai's cooking again."

"No more crackers and ice cream in the middle of the night?" the brunette winked teasingly, moving to lie back in her hammock.

"No more crackers," Karone affirmed, padding over to her bunk. "I'm pretty sure I'll keep the ice cream though. It's a lot better than other things I can choose to eat at midnight."

Both young women giggled for a moment, recalling the time Maya had caught Karone awake at two in the morning, sitting at the kitchen counter and munching away on a sandwich composed of pineapples, cheese and mayonnaise.

Karone climbed into her bunk and pulled the covers over her, smiling. "Computer, lights off," she commanded, the lights instantly switching off and blanketing the quarters into darkness.

Perhaps tonight she would be able to go through the night without another food craving.

*****

"NOOOOOOO!!!!!"

Kai jumped up suddenly from his peaceful sleep, awakened by the blood-curdling scream. "NOO!" he heard the scream again, somewhat softer but not by much.

Hearing rustlings above him, Kai turned to look up at the bunk above him to see Damon peering down at him, half-asleep. "You mind keeping you're voice down, Kai! I'm trying to sleep!" he snapped irritably.

The Blue Ranger shrugged. "It's not me!" he insisted forcibly. "I think it's Leo; he may be having a nightmare."

"No kidding!" Damon agreed, as they heard Leo cry out loudly in his sleep once more. "That's got to be one HELL of a nightmare!"

The two hastily climbed out of their bunks and down the ladder to the ground, where they could see Leo thrashing in his lower bunk; his hands balled into tight fists, his eyes shut firmly, and sweat beading down his face. "Crap..." Damon breathed underneath his breath, totally startled by Leo's condition.

For a few hesitant moments, both men watched as their teammate pleaded and cried for mercy in his sleep. "Leo, wake up," Kai nudged the young man's shoulder a few times, trying to awaken him. "Come on, Leo, wake up..."

Kai pushed on Leo harder a few more times to no avail. It was then when Damon joined him and they both began to try shaking the Red Ranger awake, but still his howls on pain continued on. "DAMN! LEO, GET UP!" Damon yelled directly at Leo, his voice touched with worry for his friend.

"He's not waking up," Kai gaped, staring at Leo's tortured form. "We've got to go get the others."

Grabbing his robe, Damon went blazing out the front door; knowing exactly what Kai had meant.

*****

Maya sleepily rose from her hammock, glancing absently at the clock as she stumbled into the kitchen. 0230 hours.

"You kept the ice cream," Maya mumbled, pulling a stool up to the kitchen counter and sitting down across from where Karone sat in her sweats, a giant serving spoon stuck straight into a large bucket of Rocky Road ice cream in front of her. Off to the side, a half-eaten pickle sat in a bowl.

The blonde nodded in the darkness, scooping a giant hunk of the ice cream onto her spoon and sticking as much as she could in her mouth. "Want some?" she offered with a simple smile, pushing the carton towards Maya a little bit.

"I would," Maya grinned tiredly, waiting for Karone to hand her a small spoon, which she did a moment later.

The two dug their spoons into the ice cream, eating away at the delicious delicacy, when their doorchime abruptly rang. Hungrily, Karone grabbed the tub of Rocky Road off of the counter and walked over to the door, pushing it open to view the Green Galaxy Ranger at her doorstep in a state of disarray. "Damon?" she queried, licking on her large spoon covered in ice cream. "What are you doing here?"

Damon took the blonde woman by the shoulders squarely and stared down into her blue eyes. She gazed back into his brown eyes and saw them swimming in worry. "What's wrong?" She lowered the spoon from her lips, placing it back into the tub of ice cream. "You usually don't freak out this bad unless it's something critical, Damon."

By this time, Maya had meandered her way over to the doorway also, standing right behind Karone.

"It's Leo," he answered, his hands still set on Karone's shoulders. "He's...well, he's having a nightmare and he won't wake up. I didn't know who to get; I thought you could help."

Karone's eyes went wide in horror, and quickly she tried sensing Leo, but she couldn't feel him. There was a solid wall surrounding his emotions and senses. Unconsciously, she dropped the carton of ice cream to the floor and went running down the corridor towards the guy's quarters.

Not even bothering to press the doorchime, Karone hit the keypad and entered the room, rushing to the lowest bunk where Leo slept a tortured sleep. "He's been like this for about ten minutes now; he was screaming in his sleep before," Kai gently told her, backing away from his post at Leo's bedside and letting her take over.

Karone nodded her solemnly towards Kai, kneeling on her knees beside Leo and brushing his flushed cheeks with her hand as he tossed and turned restlessly. His hair was mussed and his bangs clung to the sheen of sweat that coated his forehead. His eyes darted frantically beneath his eyelids and his arms pushed away at imaginary demons spawned in his nightmare.

She tried again to sense his emotions, but she found once again that she couldn't and that the wall preventing her from feeling them had become twice as strong. "Open up to me," she begged softly, hurt slowly setting into her while she watched the man she loved struggle in pain. "Please, to save yourself, Leo...open up to me."

Every endless night has a dawning day
Every darkest sky has a shining ray
And it shines on you baby can't you see
You're the only one who can shine for me

As she pleaded quietly, Karone could have sworn she felt the slightest relent in Leo's mental barrier, but it still stood strong against her tries to surpass it.

Slowly she stood up from her spot on the floor and carefully moved herself to sit on the bunk beside Leo's thrashing figure. "Leo," she whispered comfortingly, taking one of his wild hands into her own and holding it close to her. "Leo, please, wake up; let me in."

It's a private emotion that fills you tonight
And a silence falls between us
As the shadows steal the light
And wherever you may find it
Wherever it may lead
Let your private emotion come to me
Come to me

She felt him calm down slightly, but still he was wildly entrapped in his nightmare. Leaning forward a tiny bit, Karone shifted to kiss him on the cheek, yet she was slapped straight across the cheek by Leo's motivated hand. She yelped out, falling backwards on the bunk.

"Karone!" Maya called to her from somewhere in the quarters.

Karone ignored the slap and the stinging pain that rose in her cheek, and returned her full attention back to Leo. "You aren't going to get rid of me that easily..."

When your soul is tired
and your heart is weak
Do you think of love
as a one way street?
Well it runs both ways,
open up your eyes
Can't you see me here,
how can you deny

Karone eased herself on top of Leo's twisting body, her legs straddled over his abdomen so as to keep him in one place. She pinned down his arms with her hands, barely keeping herself from falling over as he wrestled to free himself from her grasp over him.

After a few minutes of hesitation, Karone finally did what she knew she would have to eventually do. Throwing her body and soul both into the chaos that was Leo, she kissed him passionately and fervently, as she had wanted to do since what felt like forever to her.

It's a private emotion that fills you tonight
And a silence falls between us
As the shadows steal the light
And wherever you may find it
Wherever it may lead
Let your private emotion come to me
Come to me

To her utter surprise, when Karone began to move against him, Leo suddenly began to respond and slipped his tongue past her lips into her mouth, his searching for her own. She quickly answered his search, entwining her tongue with his amorously.

As he responded to her, Leo also opened up to Karone and his mental walls faded away. Images and thoughts and emotions completely flooded the blonde as she lounged in the sensual touches shared with her lover, and when it was all said and done, Karone could only feel mounds and mounds of sympathy for the man she loved so earnestly.

Every endless night has a dawning day
Every darkest sky has a shining ray
It takes a lot to laugh as your tears go by
But you can find me here
'til your tears run dry

Tenderly, she pulled away from the ardent kiss and stared him straight in the eye. "She hurt you," she stated clearly, her hand cradling his jaw.

Nodding shamefully, Leo blinked his eyes fretfully, holding back his tears that had began to form. "She did hurt me," he replied, soft-spoken, reaching back to push Karone's stray hairs hanging out of her messy braid.

"I could never hurt you, Leo," Karone assured whole-heartedly, her thumb grazing across his quivering lips. "I love you too much to hurt you like she did. I won't let it happen to you again."

Leo brought her down to his chest and wrapped his arms around Karone, hugging her loosely. He inhaled her heavenly smell, feeling more at peace than he had ever been. "Thank you."

It's a private emotion that fills you tonight
And a silence falls between us
As the shadows steal the light
And wherever you may find it
Wherever it may lead
Let your private emotion come to me

The couple stayed in their content embrace until they heard coughing noises from the other side of the quarters. Both of them glanced up and towards the kitchen to see Maya, Kai and Damon standing and waiting. "Did you want us to leave?" Damon grinned, propped up against the counter still in his robe.

Leo sat halfway up, Karone continuing to cling to his chest with his arm wrapped around her. "That would be very convenient," he retorted in a joking manner.

"I bet," Damon muttered underneath his breath, receiving a nudge to the ribs from Maya.

"Come on, you two." Maya tugged the two men out of the quarters and into the corridor. "You guys can stay in our quarters for the rest of the night."

The last thing both Karone and Leo heard before the doors closed behind their friends was and cry of surprise from Kai and Damon, "The rest of the night?!"

The both of them laughed gaily, Leo lowered himself back down onto the bunk, cuddling the older but rather alluring woman in his arms. They were silent for a moment. "I missed you," Leo murmured into her hair, kissing the top of her head. "I'm sorry that Trakeena, of all people, came between us."

"Don't be," Karone insisted, leaning her ear against his chest and listening to the steady beat of his heart. "You had every right to keep that from me; it was a traumatic experience."

Leo nodded his head. "But I should have known you would have understood," he countered with a heavy sigh. "I wasn't fair to you to hurt you like I did."

"It wasn't fair, but it was right for you," she explained easily, playing her fingers against his bare chest. "That's how I made it, because I had a little hope that you wouldn't totally give up on me."

"I could never give up on you," he related to her, his hand sliding beneath her to stroke at her small belly. "I could never give up on you or our baby. Not when the both of you need me and not when I need the both of you."

Snuggling into his arms, she sighed contentedly. "I love you, Leo."

"I love you too, Karone."

*****

Leo and Karone strolled out of the movie theater arm in arm on the warm Friday night on their first actual date as a solid and stable couple. "I'm hungry," Karone whined softly, sliding her free hand to wrap around her grumbling stomach.

"Still?" Leo teased her, pulling Karone close to him as they began to walk towards their car. "You ate a whole tub of popcorn when we were watching the movie and you wouldn't let me eat any!"

They both laughed merrily, recalling how she had hoarded her food away from him throughout the entire two hours they spent watching the movie. "Hey! I'm carrying your baby here and it was just as hungry as I was! Besides, I have the awesome craving for jellybeans and peanut butter."

"You have jellybeans at home?"

"No..."

Leo now stood before the driver's side door of the car, staring at his girlfriend who stood on the other side of the vehicle. "You wanna go get some jellybeans?" he asked, opening the car door and sitting down in the drivers' seat.

Karone nodded her head, also climbing into the car. "Could we, please?" she beseeched him, weaving her fingers through his and kissing the back of his hand. "Just for now?"

Leo pretended to consider her request for a moment, when in reality he had already given into the beautiful blonde's begging. "Only if you kiss me," he haggled with her in a playful manner.

"That's it?"

Leo was about to protest when Karone slid up against him and lightly kissed him, her breath lingering on his lips. She pressed against him once more, this time giving him a longer and stronger kiss, which Leo slowly yet surely returned.

Gently drawing away, he spoke quietly, "You didn't hear the rest of my deal."

Karone simply grinned. "What?"

"You have to promise to be with me every Friday night, come rain or shine," he whispered fondly, his fingers softly stroking the back of her neck.

"I think I can manage that," she winked, pulling in closer to him once more.

*****

Mike rode up the elevator in silence to Deck Four, anxiously hoping to catch his brother home on that Friday night. Of course, he knew that would be far beyond impossible since Leo had literally made it a ritual to be out with his girlfriend every Friday night since they had come to terms four weeks ago.

Mike was happy for Leo and Karone; they deserved to be together after all the things that had kept them apart emotionally. But he was incredibly concerned for Karone's welfare that night as well as his younger brother's and the rest of the Galaxy Rangers, whom all associated with Karone on a daily basis.

His concern was well-warranted because as the doors to the elevator opened up to the deck, he was completely surrounded by reporters, cameras, lights and microphones. If he had to guess, he would have thought that at least thirty, if not more, media personnel of all types were crowding in on him, firing out blurs of words and sounds at him.

Struggling against the flow of media trying to get one single word out of him, Mike made his way over to Leo, Kai and Damon's quarters, quickly sliding open the door and then shutting it just as fast behind himself.

He glanced around the quarters to see Maya, Kai and Damon huddled around the coffee table around the room, quietly chattering. "How many are out there now?" Kai queried, glancing up to face Mike.

"More than thirty," he replied with a heavy sigh, sitting down on the sofa beside Maya. "So Leo and Karone aren't here after all, hmm?"

"Good thing they aren't," Damon answered his rhetorical question, picking up the remote up off the table and flipping the television on to a random station. "It's all over the TV and you can't even turn on the radio without getting an earful about it."

They all stared at the television screen for a few moments as the news anchorman that was on babbled. "...and as we have been reporting for the last hour and a half that the rumors about the former villainess Astronema, Karone, being pregnant are true. More rumors continue to flow in about Karone's links to the Galaxy Rangers and that perhaps one of them is Zhane, the former Silver Ranger..."

"This is nauseating," Maya groaned repulsively, grabbing the remote from Damon and turning the television off. "Don't they have anything better to report about?"

"How did this get out?" Kai shook his head unbelievably, leaning back in his chair with his eyes shut. "I mean, it's been four months since and we kept it a damn good secret...how could it possibly have exploded in our faces?"

"She works at the daycare center and she's finally starting to actually show," Damon deduced quite easily. "One of the parents or one of her co-workers could have seen her and told someone in the media."

Maya sighed in exasperation. "I thought people knew how to respect Karone's privacy. It WAS one of those major things that we did have to deal with when Karone started working and being less elusive on Terra Venture."

"Looks like somebody forgot," Mike remarked somewhat spitefully as the silence of the quarters settled over them. "And now this thing is going to get way out of hand. They're going to be turning to the us more and more for answers; both as her friends and as Power Rangers."

"Here's one lucky streak," Kai pointed out, sounding morose. "The media still thinks that Karone is engaged to Zhane, especially the way they are speculating about his being one of us. Leo will be out of the limelight more or less."

Mike frowned tiredly. "Frankly, if I were Leo right now, I'd want to be in the limelight with my girlfriend to at least help her through everything; I definitely think he'll have a chance at that too. I just hope they'll be careful coming home tonight."

Maya nodded in agreement with her teammate. "I'm guessing that they have NO idea what is happening, or that reporters are trying to hunt down their whereabouts..."

*****

"Now, wasn't I right about the carnival?" Leo slid his arm protectively around his girlfriend's waist.

"You were," Karone admitted quite happily, her arms wrapped tightly around a plush red lion. "I have never had this much fun in my entire life. On Earth, being a celebrity didn't allow for much fun; couldn't go anywhere without being recognized and chased after."

As they walked out of the carnival gates and down the path that lead to their quarter complex about two blocks away, Karone sighed while remembering her life before Terra Venture, before being a Galaxy Ranger...before she ever met Leo. "I feel free here," she expressed, staring up towards the dark dome sky where an artificial full moon hung. "Even though I'm still trapped in this dome, I feel so free."

They continued to walk in the silence of one another, simply enjoying each other's company.

"Karone?"

"Hmmm?"

"Look ahead."

The blonde woman averted her eyes away from the dome sky to look at the front of their quarter complex, which was still nearly a half block away. The entire street in front of it was crowded with cars, and on the front steps of the building she could see some people holding television cameras and some holding microphones waiting, looking tremendously anxious for something or someone to arrive.

At first, it didn't occur to Karone what those people were doing there or why some many cars were outside their building, but when she did realize why they would be there, it was already too late; the reporters had spotted her and were running towards her and Leo as they approached the quarter complex. "Karone! Karone! Karone!" they screamed out her name in frenzy, as they ran towards her.

She instantly tensed up, clutching her stuffed animal to her chest, literally strangling it. She braced herself closely to Leo's muscular body, shutting her eyes and wanting to be anywhere else but where she was at that moment.

Leo felt her taut body against his own, and instantly enveloped her in his arms, guiding into the building as the reporters crowded around them, following their every step. Throughout the ordeal, he remained stoically silent, yet on the inside his blood boiled over with a deep profound anger.

As they rode up to Deck Four in the elevator with the same reporters, both rangers continued on with their silence; Karone with her face buried into Leo's side, trying her best to hide from the reporters.

Once the elevator opened up to the deck, the couple hastily got out of the small structure and waded their way through the sea of media personnel. Questions came blazing at them left and right, but there was one question that stung them both:

"Are you still engaged to Zhane, Karone?"

When Leo heard that he wanted to lash out and declare that he was Karone's boyfriend.

When Karone heard that she simply wanted to cower into a corner and sob until her tears ran dry.

Swiftly, Leo rushed Karone to the doorway of his quarters and hit the keypad, opening the door and letting them inside the sanctuary. "Thank goodness you guys got back!" Maya exhaled in relief over the sound of the reporters' voices fading away as the door closed behind the two. "Are you alright?"

Walking further into the room, Karone and Leo went their separate ways. Karone edgily made her way over to the large window that opened to a view of the colorful Lost Galaxy, softly sobbing into the lion she still held in her clutches. Leo walked over to his friends sitting around the coffee table, and demanded coldly, "Which one of you told them?"

Mike met his brother's icy glare with sympathetic eyes. "We didn't tell them Leo. It must have slipped out somehow; someone working at the daycare or someone who saw her pregnant, but we never told them anything."

The Red Galaxy Ranger stood before his friends, his body sagging under the tremendous emotional weight that had suddenly been thrown upon him. He was angry and frustrated at the notions of people thinking Karone was still with Zhane; for at least a split second, Leo had actually felt direct anger towards the Silver Astro Ranger, but hurriedly realizing his anger was misguided. He was angry towards those...people outside his front door, pounding and literally drooling for a statement from his girlfriend in her delicate condition. He felt like the media had been stalking them forever, when in reality it had only been a little over ten minutes.

"Then we'll just have to ignore them," Leo finally decided, running a steady hand through his auburn hair. "Until they go away-"

"No."

The five of them spun around to see Karone leaning up against the window, her teary face looking tired and worn and her eyes achingly red. Her voice had been so clear and precise, cutting through Leo's words like a sharpened knife. "That won't work," she replied, staring down at the floor. "You haven't dealt with this like I have; I know what I have to do."

Damon was the first to speak following Karone's declaration, "Then what DO we do?"

"I'll have to issue a press release; I can fix that up tonight," she answered him monotonously, droning on as if she had done it many times before, which she had. "Then, sometime tomorrow, I'll have to arrange a press conference. If I answer all of their questions sooner, they'll leave me alone much faster. Both of those things should get me off the hook; they'll have all the damned juicy gossip they want, and they'll be sure to leave me alone."

The room fell to silence once more, seeing as no one objected to Karone's methods to addressing the media. Though it appeared that no one did, one of them did see a flaw in her plans, and that one was Leo. However, he neglected to mention it as he watched his lover press her body against the large glass window, her hands almost reaching out towards the mixture of stars, longing for the freedom of her heavy shackles.