This chapter timeline-revised 22-October-2005

This is an update weekend, and I'm once again begging for reviews. In case you're interested to know, I'm halfway through writing the last chapter of "Melissa"; it's a pretty long one, and there'll be an epilogue coming after it.

Meanwhile – you know the drill: review.

3. Share

"It's a long, long road

From which there is no return

While we're on the way to there

Why not share"

"He Ain't Heavy", written by B. Scot and B. Russell, performed by "The Hollies"

Zhane wouldn't leave Andros and Karone unattended, and no one saw a reason to keep him from staying in the infirmary – though that was completely unnecessary, as DECA was watching over the three unconscious teens.

The rest of the team ended up fetching the sweets from the mess and crushing in TJ's room. They gathered pillows and blankets and cushioned themselves on the carpeted deck. After the day's unexpected turns, they felt the need to stick together.

Cassie and TJ held the cookies and Ashley between them. Despite the relatively early hour – it was 18:30 when they left the infirmary – Ashley seemed almost tired enough to sleep. As she dropped yet another cookie from her hand, TJ was forced to admit that she was exhausted, not just tired. After all, she hadn't slept uninterrupted for almost a week now, plus she was the one by Melissa's side; it didn't escape TJ's eye that she, Zhane and Karone has some sort of empathic connection with the redhead.

Before, TJ wasn't sure that Carlos did the right thing when he pulled Shiera from Melissa's side. Now, though, it was clear that Shiera couldn't have supported Melissa through her story. The green Ranger abandoned her tough, independent act long ago, and was now resting with her head in Carlos's lap, more relax than TJ had seen her so far. Carlos, for his part, had the awed expression of one presented with a great treasure. He was stroking Shiera's hair gently, almost gingerly, as if he was still afraid she might take off any minute.

Simply watching them together made TJ breath easier. The air of trust and wonder about them was so evident that TJ could almost see it. With a pang of envy, he thought: if merely looking at them makes me feel so warm and content, how must they be feeling? The thought startled him more than he cared to admit. He knew his situation wasn't easy: a little more than a week ago, Ashley and Andros were the only couple in the team. Now he and Cassie were the last ones without a mate. As much as he knew that him being a little envious was perfectly natural, he still didn't like the feeling.

Carlos closed his eyes and leaned backwards, his shoulders relaxing. TJ looked away; the scene just turned into a little more than he could handle. To his right, Ashley was dozing in and out, while Cassie was idly playing with one of the empty bowls. Apparently even she could have enough chocolate. Sensing his gaze, she lifted her eyes.

"Hi" she said quietly.

"Hi" he replied.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yes, you?"

"You're not okay". It was a simple statement, spoken in the same neutral tone, but TJ knew well enough that with Cassie, the saying about "Velvet glove, steel fist" was more than applicable.

"I'm okay, I'm just not feeling like it"

She blinked, waiting for him to elaborate.

It wasn't hard for him to phrase his emotions, but he felt reluctant to reveal his thoughts. This is Cassie, he reminded himself, if you can't talk to her, whom could you talk to?

"I don't like envying them"

"You're more happy for them than envy, aren't you?"

"It doesn't change things. Plus," as much as he trusted Cassie, he hesitated before he finished: "I'm feeling a little left out"

"You're not the last bachelor", she pointed out logically.

He looked down on his hands. "No offence, Cassie, but you're a girl"

"It never bothered you before" she answered without the slightest hesitation.

"How long do you think it'd take them to try and set us up together?"

"They won't go into it seriously unless we encourage them to". She eyed him carefully. "Would you like to be set up with me?"

"It's not like we won't be good together… But no. There's plenty of liking and friendship between us, and physical attraction is easy enough, but it's just not enough for a relationship". He motioned with his hand towards Carlos and Shiera. "If I had any lingering doubts about the existence of true love after Ashley and Andros, those two made those doubts disappear"

She eyed them, and he could see emotions akin to his play across her face.

"I understand" she said finally, speaking so softly he could hardly make out her words. "You're not as lonely as you feel, Teej".

"I know", he replied, and added quietly: knowing doesn't change anything.

Suddenly, he glanced at his watch. They've been sitting in his room for over an hour now, and he just realized that he had enough of it.

"I need to kick some Craterites" he said.

To his relief, Cassie didn't as much as raised an eyebrow, but nodded silently.

"Would it be okay with you if we stay here a little longer?" she asked.

"Sure", he answered. "But I'll want the room to myself when I've finished sparring"

"We'll be gone long before then", she assured him, "I just don't feel like rousing them yet"

He nodded once and then, careful not to stir anyone, got to his feet and left for the Simudeck.

Carlos and Shiera showered in their respective quarters, but Shiera was back at Carlos's as soon as she was finished. She still hasn't spoken a word more than what she said back in the mess, but she didn't need to speak for Carlos to understand that she wasn't ready to face the night alone if she didn't have to. After some awkward pauses, they settled on Carlos's bunk, with Carlos lying on his back and Shiera on her side next to him, head and arm over his chest as he had one arm around her and the other behind his head.

"How did you know?" she asked, so softly that at first he wasn't sure it wasn't his imagination. "How did you find out about Emma?"

"Tommy" he said simply.

"Who's Tommy?"

"He was the first green Ranger"

She propped her chin on his ribs and looked, almost startled, deep into his eyes.

"Why would he know anything about me?"

"He saw you from the roof of that building that day", he told her, "Trying to rescue Emma, and he remembered after the spell was broken; he saw you at the Youth Center quite often"

"Did I know him?"

"You might have seen him, but no, you didn't know him. You knew some of his friends, though" he added. "Adam and Rocky"

Her eyes widened as the meaning sank in.

"Rocky and Adam were Power Rangers?" she asked, unbelieving.

He smiled. After all the bombshells she dropped, it was nice to surprise her back.

"Adam chose me to be a Ranger, as a matter of fact. He was my predecessor"

He could almost see how she was piecing things together in her mind.

"They were Power Rangers", she repeated slowly.

"They became Rangers before you and Rocky started your sessions"

"Carlos…" she said, still speaking slowly, "I was able to beat them, even then. They were Rangers, and I was not"

"Plus you were smaller, lighter and less experienced", he added fondly, tousling her hair. "I didn't get a chance to speak with Adam yet, but I can tell you that Rocky is pretty proud of you"

"I was horrible to them", she said quietly, "I kept teasing them about their martial skills or lack thereof, which was untrue as it was unfair, as they taught me plenty. Raw talent is far from being everything that matters. I owe them a lot, not just for instructing me, but also for – for caring". Her eyes closed and pain flashed across her face. "They were the closest thing I had to friends, the lastfour years and," her eyes opened and she blushed a little, "I was horrible to them"

"Rocky is proud of you nonetheless" Carlos said again, "And I think Adam is, too, if I know him. He probably knew you had your reasons"

She smiled at some memory. "I used to hate him for catching my moods. And for maintaining his composure when I was downright mean to him". Her face clouded again. "It seems I was born under the sign of the Power Rangers"

Carlos chuckled at the image. "If anyone was born under that sign, it's you", he admitted.

"I'll get back at them when I get the chance", she said carelessly. "Now that I'm a Ranger and they're not…"

"That's not fair", protested Carlos, "You're good enough to crush a team of Rangers single-handedly; no civilian ever stands a fighting chance against you"

"I kinda miss Ecliptor on that respect" she admitted.

Carlos managed to blink rather than choke. "Ecliptor?"

"You do realize that he's been a warrior longer than most humans live? The difference between his knowledge of martial arts and mine is – " she struggled for words " – like the difference between a caveman's torch, and a heat-seeking missile". Her expression was rueful. "It doesn't matter that it was his idea to turn me against you, I can't hate him". Her eyes shifted from distant to fearful. "You're not angry with my for feeling like this, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not" he answered slowly. He saw disbelief in her eyes. "I'm serious. I'm not angry with you. I trust you"

"Thanks", she said quietly. "Carlos?"

"Yes?"

"I love you. You said it to me yesterday morning, and I… didn't reciprocate, as I should have. I love you"

"I love you too" he answered, looking deep into her eyes and attempting to pour all his soul into his eyes.

He must have been successful, for she smiled, glowing, before closing her eyes and resting her head on his chest again.

"Shiera?" he asked after several seconds.

"Mmm?"

"Why… How did Melissa convinced you to leave Earth?" He's been dying to ask her this question since she returned, and now was as good an opportunity as he'll get. He felt her stir – though she didn't raise her head – and he hastily explained. "It's just that I can't imagine you taking off to space and leaving the people you care about out of your reach without a very good reason. I find it hard to believe that Karone's identity was enough of a trigger"

"Emma" said Shiera so quietly that he almost didn't hear. She was holding to him so hard it hurt, but he didn't say a word or, indeed, tensed at all. "Going with Melissa was the best way to keep my promise to Karone, and I was pretty sure you'd understand as you're a Ranger too – plus I knew I could leave you a message – but I never left Angel Grove for more than a single day after Emma. Melissa came down to the hospital with me. She said…" Shiera's grip of him loosened, and he could feel her tears wetting his shirt. "She's a healer, Carlos. A good one. She can probably heal Emma, even that it's been years since she was injured. It won't be easy on Melissa though. Emma sustained pretty bad brain damage. So the deal was, I'll help Melissa and when the war is over, if we won, she'll make sure that Emma is fully healed". The flow of Shiera's tears increased. "Now I know how she understood so well, why she was so ready to help"

This was it, Carlos realized. This was the thing that hurt those last few hours. She made a demand of Melissa, without ever knowing the other girl's reasons to comply.

"You don't feel guilty over trying to kill us, but you feel guilty for making a deal that would save your sister" he observed, holding her with both his arms.

"I was under a spell when I tried to kill you" she sniffed, "And I don't think I was completely evil"

"You weren't being evil at all when you refused to leave your sister" he pointed out.

"Have you ever lost someone?"

"No"

She shifted in his embrace. "Her sister isn't coming back. Melissa was raised by her sister – she was the only company she had for the bigger part of her life – and she killed herself so Melissa could stand a chance at doing what she was supposed to do. What right do I have to make demands of her?"

Knowing how important his reply would be, Carlos took several minutes to ponder it. "You feel that you obliged Melissa to do something she doesn't necessarily want to, right?"

A murmur was all the answer he received.

"But what if she wants to heal Emma? What if she's emphasizing with you, like you're emphasizing with her"

It took Shiera longer to think it over than it took him to think it up.

"I don't know", she said finally.

"Will you consider it?"

She hesitated, and then whispered something inaudible. She realized he didn't hear her before he spoke, and she repeated her words: "For you, I will"

Yet again, she caught him by surprise.

"Why for me?"

"Because if it was just for me, all I could see was pain. That's all I have when I'm on my own. I need you. I need Karone, too, and I need Emma. I need to care about you guys because frankly, I don't care enough about myself"

He hugged her a little stronger.

"Was it always like that?" he asked.

"I'm not sure", she admitted. "But it was always like that after Emma was hurt"

"So maybe it won't always be like that" he hoped. "I don't want you to live just for other people's sake"

"Carlos?" she held to him. "Please don't try to change me tonight. I'm too tired"

He took one of her palms and kissed it, as he was unable to reach her face.

"Sleep", he assured her, "I'm holding you… for ever and ever"

He felt her body relax of any lingering tension immediately.

"Life isn't a fairy tale" she muttered.

"Not tonight" he whispered back.

She never heard him; she was already asleep.

Next time: "I suggest you geniuses continue to plot strategies and tactics, while the rest of us see to the refreshments"