Quick note, I'd like to thank those of you who've responded to this story. It helps to know if you like this, if I'm on the write track.
Chapter 3 Unexpected Effects
"Well you have to admit that things are looking up." Kelsey said as the three women stood on the lift waiting for their decent to the base.
"Yes you already have a date." Ms. Fairweather nodded with a little smile and Dana dind'5 even know how she felt about her date, after all she didn't even know Mark, he was a total stranger, and yet she thought a date with him might just get her over the one she really wanted.
"Yeah." She managed to mutter as the craft completed its downward journey.
"Hey guys," Chad called looking up from a book he was reading. "Where's Dana thought she was with you." The blue ranger frowned, why was Kelsey smiling? Then his scanned the other two women with her. Ms. Fairweather was smiling too and the tall leggy blonde was looking puzzled.
"She is." Ms. Fairweather said and then his eyes widened on the blonde, could she be… She had curly hair, her clothes were not her uniform and her face was made up. Looking back at Kelsey he received a nod.
The sound of footsteps had the three girls turning around. Dana's heart caught, Carter and Joel were coming. What would they say? What would Carter think?
"Oh hey guys, how was your shopping trip?" Carter asked when he spotted them. His eyes were moving over the three, first Ms. Fairweather, then Kelsey and then… His frown was telling and Dana felt ill. He didn't like it. She could see the confusion in his cobalt eyes.
"What I'm invisible now?" She tried to joke.
"That's…" Joel asked staring at the girl to. He couldn't believe that this woman was the pink ranger, the medical student… "What happened to you?" He blurted and Dana's blue eyes filled with tears.
"It's called a make over." Kelsey put in trying to help out her friend. She'd seen the hurt in her eyes at the way the guys had reacted, especially how Carter had responded.
"Yeah I thought a change might be nice." Dana managed, eternally grateful to her best friend for staunch defense.
"Oh." Carter mumbled as if still in confusion. In truth he didn't know how to react to this news.
"You don't look like you, you… pretty." Joel stammered and this time Dana's eyes did fill with tears. Why was Joel such a jerk? Carter too, he just walked away.
"Joel." Chad hissed and Ms. Fairweather shot the green clad young man a reproachful look.
"What? It's true." The sky cowboy replied even as Dana fled in tears.
"You are such a jerk!" Kelsey growled and went after her best friend.
Carter just stood there, still trying to take it all in. Dana was not herself now, she was this amazing creature, not that he'd not been interest in her before but what could he say when she looked like this new her? Too he wondered since when did she wear makeup?
***
Ryan was just coming out of his quarters when he heard the shouts and went on immediate alert. What was going on? Then he saw a pink clad streak racing towards him, face tearstained. He didn't think just moved back, slightly and when the figure neared he caught her and pulled her into his room.
"What's going on?" He demanded even as he heard the feet running along the corridor.
"Ryan just leave me alone." The figure tried to pull away from him.
"Dana?" He stared into the face of his highly upset sister. Her face was smeared with colors that he realized was makeup. She was wearing makeup? He'd never seen her like this; too he'd never seen her so upset.
"What's going on?"
"Nothing I just want…"
In the time since he'd been back he'd not really spent all that much time with his little sister but now he felt odd, as if he should find out what was going on and why she looked like a sad clown.
"You have to wait until your pursuer gives up." Ryan reasoned and she knew he was right, still she didn't want to talk about it, and she just wanted to be left alone.
Ryan saw the anger and hurt in her eyes and wondered if she and the others had had a fight, but what about? Dana was usually so unflappable, at least in battle.
"Want a drink?" He asked moving over to the mini fridge in the corner near the head of the bed.
"What? No, I'm good." She said looking around her brother's room, just wanting to g but having nothing else to do.
"Right," Ryan replied and moved to sit on the desk, not the chair.
"So, what is it you don't want to talk about?" He asked trying not to sound too interested, if he did she might clam up even worse.
"Nothing." She mumbled glancing at him and then at the wardrobe. She wondered how he'd managed to get so much clothes, and if it bothered him to have to change so much now that he was not with the demons.
"Nothing…" he wondered if she was always so clammy when she was unhappy.
"No, I just want…" She began but he cut her off.
"You know," he began leaning back on the desk top. "We haven't talked much."
"Ryan?" She asked looking right at him once ore. What was he thinking? what was he trying to do?
"Well we haven't." He shrugged as if to say duh.
"You… you want to?" She stammered a little taken aback, since he'd made his mind up to stay he'd been pretty self contained. He'd wished for a way to change that but there had never seemed a good time.
"Yeah, we're family, not that I'm sure about anything else but when I remembered the accident…" He closed his eyes as if trying to shake something off.
"Ryan?" She asked, he remembered? Moving to sit on the foot of his bed and then thought better of it, he might not want her to. Instead she sank to the floor leaning her back against it.
"Yeah."
"How much did you remember?" She asked and he thought a minute before deciding the whole truth was needed to keep this going, besides he didn't mind talking about it for some reason.
"At first," he thought back a second and then he continued truthfully. "Only dangling from dad's foot and then later, other stuff.'
"Oh, I can't remember too much." She confessed looking at her hands.
"You were little." He said with a shrug and then he moved, so he was sitting on the floor beside her but not quite touching.
"I got a make over." She said after a few minutes and he knew he'd done this right.
"So I saw."
"I got asked out." She said and he felt hope, maybe Carter had finally come around.
"You did?" He tried to sound not too hopeful.
"Yeah at lunch." She replied and began toying with the hem of her top.
"Was it Carter?" He asked and she looked at him surprised.
"No, he doesn't even see me." She mumbled morosely.
"Dana he does." Ryan said knowing from her tone as well as all he'd seen in the past that she did like the red ranger, big time. "He was looking for you earlier." '
"He was?" She asked and there was more surprise in her face, as she remembered his thwarted plans.
"Yeah, seemed a little confused when he couldn't find you." Ryan admitted as if he knew more than he was telling.
"Probably wanted a sparring partner." She muttered, he'd always liked sparring with her, she could hold her won against him.
"So Carter's the problem?" Ryan said after a few minutes of silence.
"I didn't say that." She replied frowning defensively.
"No, you said you got a make over and asked out by some other guy." Ryan pointed out as if that told everything.
"Look it doesn't matter; he doesn't see me as more than just his friend." She bit out and there was suddenly true bitterness in her tone and eyes.
"But you want him to." he said never having seen her son agitated outside of battling the demons.
"What does that matter?" She went back to the dejected tone.
"Remember when you were trying to tell me the truth and he was looking out for you? How many times has he been there in battle when you were in trouble?" Ryan said as if that said everything; didn't he see that was just it? Carter didn't see her like a girl off the field. Wasn't today a prime example of that?
"You know what?" Ryan said and she looked at him curious to see what else he would say about it.
"Hmm?"
"Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith. Tell him how you feel and see what he says. If he doesn't feel the same you'll know and then you can work on getting over this feeling."
TBC
***
Ok so there's the next installment. What do you think? Do you think Dana will go out with Mark after all or talk to Carter? PLZ let me now and if you have suggestions I'm always up for those.