Chapter 13 Explanations and Ideas

Dana stood there, her golden curls still damp from her shower, her face more relaxed than it had been in a long time as she watched the two yellow clad women.  Kelsey and Maya had been moved to the medical bay on the astro megaship for comfort and safety.  The story of the ex-blue galaxy ranger's deception had not spread outside of their group but still it was just easier for them to lay in the familiar calm of the ship.  Not that Kelsey was as used to it as Maya but Kelsey had assured both she and Ryan that it was more like the Aquabase on earth had been than any hospital.  

Dana shifted slightly moving to stand by Kelsey, resting a hand on her arm. 

"Kel?"  She said quietly as if half afraid her old friend might be resting.  After all her eyes were closed. 

"Dana hi."  Kelsey greeted her without missing a beat.  "Is everything ok?" 

"Yes, I just wanted to tell you that you've got a clean bill of health."  The pink lightspeed ranger smiled at her friend and Kelsey grinned back sitting up in a single motion swinging her legs to the other side of the diagnostic table. 

"I thought I wanted out of here."  Maya chuckled from where she lay on the other bed.  The blaster wound she'd gotten in the standoff had healed enough so she didn't hurt with every breath. 

"Hey you'll be out of here tomorrow."  Dr. Mitchell smiled at her other patient.  

"Yeah, I can't wait to sleep in my own bed."  The yellow galaxy ranger sighed to herself. 

"Now that's a familiar sound."  Ryan called as he came into the room, a big yellow teddy bear in hand. 

"Ryan?"  Kelsey grinned at him happily. 

"Hey you ready to go?"  He asked as if h3e didn't know. 

"Am I."  Her enthusiastic hug almost knocked the part-time titanium ranger to the ground.  He was lucky though and managed to keep his feet.  

"I'll take that as a yes."  He smiled down at her and before he could blink he found her kissing him breathless. 

Dana turned away to go check in with her new boss.  She thought about the way things had unraveled after Carter had made his return to the land of the living. 

Everything had happened at once, Dana fell face forward as the blast took off Kai's head. Carter was moving to Dana even as Mike crossed the room to take care of his wife.  Leo having heard the commotion and come back in then and taken care of the assassin.  He'd made his fiancé go over to Carter's apartment to wait.  She'd then been told to call Ryan at the hospital.  Being that he'd already heard the truth from Kelsey he'd gotten Damon to help move Kelsey to the megaship in hopes she'd be safer there with the two of them plus Chad standing guard. 

Carter had then taken Dana to the ship because he insisted she be checked over.  It had taken a little while.  Alpha had applied a coat of new skin to the wound that Kieran had made with his blade. The head of the GSA's PRS had forgotten his job in loo of making sure she was alright.  He'd been very busy clearing up the whole situation so she'd not seen him since he'd left her there to look after Kelsey and Maya but it was no more than she should have expected.   If there was one thing that Carter was it was strict and to the letter.

Now though as she watched her brother leading Kelsey down the hall she wondered what she'd say to Carter, would she give him a what for? Should she just let it go or should she play it safe and tell him she'd changed her mind about everything.  It would keep her from getting hurt again, it might push him out of her life but Dana didn't know if that was what she wanted anymore. God, she'd could have really lost him three times already, what if next time he truly died?  Dana just didn't know. 

 *** 

Kendrix sat on the sofa with Karone.  The two one time pink galaxy rangers had been sitting together for some time now, Karone having been called after the scene with Chad had taken place.  In truth Kendrix really wanted to have Leo there but he still had some work to do, finishing up paperwork about the killer of Terra City.  Not that Kendrix begrudged him that, not after what had happened but God she had been so scared and… 

"Kendrix?"  Karone asked in her soft voice her gaze a little concerned as she was trying to figure something out. 

"Hmm?" 

"Are you alright?  I know what you guys said happened and stars only knows how shaken up I would have been."  The former pink galaxy ranger explained. 

"I guess I just wish Leo could be here with me."  Kendrix admitted and Karone nodded.  She thought of her own husband who was at the moment making them own coffee.  

"I know, and I'll bet he gets here soon."  Karone said hopefully and Kendrix nodded not really thinking Leo would just leave work to come home.  Not after Kai…  There that pain was again.  How had she been so wrong about him?  Kai had been one of her best friends since before the rangers.  They and Mike had been buddy buddy for so long and now…  God had he really been trying to kill her?  Had he planned it all the time?  

Kendrix was so lost in her thoughts she never heard anyone arrive or felt someone take the seat beside her.

"Looks like them there are some deep thoughts."  The voice said and Kendrix turned t find Leo there, looking tired but much better then last time she'd seen him.  His eyes were now their normal shade, gone was the frantic look, the feral   fire within she'd seen during the stand off. 

"Hey."  She gave him a wan smile. 

"Hey you're self.  How you feeling?"  Leo asked gently puling her close. 

"I'm ok, tired but ok.  Did you get it all finished?"  She asked brushing hair back from his eyes. 

"No, I told Mike and Carter to take over that I had somewhere I needed to be."  He said and she smiled he knew that there would be plenty of time for questions and explanations but just now was there time.  . 

"I'm glad."  Kendrix didn't notice when Karone left but as Leo put his arm about his wife-to-be they wouldn't have cared. 

"Gees Kendrix, do you know how scared I was?  When I saw him with his…"  Leo had to shut his eyes against the memory.  The blonde beside him didn't think just wrapped her arms about his neck and snuggled further in to him so he could feel she was really there, really alright.  The thing was with him there, his arms closing about her she was.  The fear was somehow lessoned when she felt his strength.  True she'd never really be able to get over what Kai had done but she knew in time it would get easier.  She also knew something else. 

"Leo?"  Kendrix pulled back slightly to peer up at him with her amazingly gentle eyes.

"Hmm?" He was the one now to stroke a golden curl of hair behind her ear. 

"I love you."  Kendrix told him simply and she kissed him with all the emotions of the day. 

"I love you too."    He murmured when they finally came up for air. 

"And Leo?"  Kendrix said after another of those sweet kisses. 

"Yeah?" 

"I think we'll have to make it a triple wedding."  The blonde said snuggling into his arms her cheek pressed to his chest.

"Kendrix?"  He asked pulling back a little to see her face.  What was she talking about?  

"I can't be sure but I think Dana and Carter will be getting married and since Kelsey and Ryan will too it just makes sense to make it one big get together."  Kendrix reasoned and Leo could only stare at the most amazing woman he'd ever met.  She'd gone through hell today and still she thought of her friends.  Then as she rested her cheek once more against his shirt a small suspicion hit him.

"Kendrix why?" 

"Well, if think if all of our weddings will be so crazy we should keep them to a minimal."  She giggled and he was shaking his head at his fiancée's sense of humor. 

*** 

As they filled out the last form, as Carter then called the astro megaship to look in on the two patients he was glad to find out that Kelsey had already been released and that May wanted to see her husband.  Mike didn't mind either, teleporting them both aboard the bridge. 

Dana was just finishing checking Maya's vitals when the yellow galaxy ranger's husband came in to see her. 

"Oh Well I'll just go log you new data in.  You know how to reach me."  The doctor called as she let the door swoosh closed behind her.  She didn't make it ten feet before she saw him. 

Carter had wanted to see Dana since he'd left her here that afternoon but he'd wanted no interruptions when he did see her. After all he had a lot of explaining to do and also a great deal of groveling if Dana was as pissed as he'd imagined she'd be. 

"Hey."  The young man weary said a little hesitantly and Dana frowned at him.  That was he there for?  Kelsey was fine, Mike was with Maya…  Did he want to debrief her already?  It had been a long time but she'd gone through enough of those as a full time ranger. 

"Don't you have work to do?"  She asked and he just seemed to tae her in, studying her.  She wondered what he was thinking. 

"Finished."  He said taking a step forward. 

"Oh well Ryan took Kelsey back to the apartment.  I think they needed some together time."  She told him as if she were not at all effected by the strange look in those deep blue eyes. 

"Yeah, so did Leo and Kendrix."    Carter took another step forward.

"Listen Carter, if you want to do the debriefing…"  But he never let her finish crushing her lips beneath his. 

Dana couldn't think as he kissed her then, her thoughts going right out the window ash he deepened it, as she pressed herself flush against him.  God, they'd come so close to losing one another and now… 

Carter pulled back a time later knowing they needed to breathe.  He still head Dana in a death grip though as they panted for air. 

"Carter?"  She gasped. 

"Marry me."  He said as he slowly regained his breath. 

"Carter?"  Had he really just asked her to… her heart seemed to stop and her breath to catch in her chest? 

"I know I hurt you with what I did but Dana, I had to."  His eyes were imploring as he went on determined to make her understand. "I knew that if Kieran could make two attempts on you what was stopping him from another?   Too what was keeping him from going after Kendrix?"  He said pulling her into an empty room.  "If he did that to me I knew I'd die and so if Leo lost Kendrix again…  Dana was sure he'd die."   

"I know that but Carter, I thought I would die and then I wanted to take the killer down with my bare hands."  She said embarrassed.  She knew she should be pissed but after losing her father to Kai and everything she was just thankful Carter had not been taken from her. 

"Dana I'm sorry about that but here sit down."  He motioned her to a bed where Dana did sit. 

Carter then began to paste it all together. 

"When I'd left you with Jen and Kimberly this morning I did what I'd been doing since this whole thing started, I checked out my lift." 

"You did?" 

"Yes and the break fluid had been drained.  I thought maybe this would be a God sent.  I could make our friend think he'd won and in fact be watching out for Kendrix as she was the most likely new target." 

"But I thought Kai loved her?" 

"He did before he found out about his family."  Carter told her quietly.  "Dana, Kai didn't know who he was, not most of the time he was a ranger.  He only learned during the third to last battle.  See when he left earth he'd been in the process of learning who his birth parents were.  He'd known

his birth name was Kieran and that He was adopted." 

*** 

 "He must have figured it out then began to try and help his sister."  Andros murmured, he and the astro team having been called to hear the story as had the rest of the other two teams. 

"No, actually he didn't.  Kai didn't like what Trakeena was doing so he set out to help the rangers more."    Carter said quietly from where he sat beside Dana.  . 

"It wasn't until Leo killed Trakeena that Kai changed sides."  The former red galaxy ranger told them grimly. 

"So he decided to take out the harts of the teams?"  Joel asked and this time it was Mike who nodded. 

"Since he was supposed to help out with a GSA mission on earth he set up Dana's accident."  The part-time magna-defender said grimly. 

"But how did you figure it out?"  Kelsey asked baffled. 

"Growing up on earth Kai was always very meticulous in everything and he even kept records of his progress."  Mike said firmly. 

"So then what he came back here?"  Damon asked still trying to take it al in, their friend, the blue ranger had been a killer.  

"Yes, he decided since he'd failed with Dana he'd practice a little before taking out Kendrix."  Carter nodded. 

"I thought he loved her?" Zhane said frowning. 

"He had since we were children but he was on a mission, to avenge the deaths of his sisters."  Mike replied. 

"I guess when the wedding came up it was the perfect timing, he could take out all of us."  Kendrix murmured ruefully.

"Yes but first he went after Dana again."  Leo told his fiancée as he pulled her a little closer.  He didn't want her thinking this was her doing in any way. 

"He did?"  Chad frowned; it was like that old saying.  "He was such a nice fellow." 

"Yes, he attacked me when I was running some tests on the last body that was found."  Dana admitted from where she sat beside Carter. 

"I guess it helped you were already a forensic pathologist."  Angela said understanding all of it at once. 

"Actually yes."  Dana nodded.  "I noticed that the dye used by our killer was very unusual.  Only used by the GSA or other branches of the military back on earth." 

"So you started looking at people who could be linked to us."  Maya surmised. 

"Yes and we only figured it out the morning Mike and I rigged the rover."  Carter affirmed    as he took Dana's hand in his. 

"Wow," Joel couldn't believe that all of that had been going on around them and they'd not even known it.  

From where he silently sat Ryan took in how Kelsey was snuggled into his side and how his sister was almost doing the same to Carter.  Maybe in some way this was meant to bring them back together?  He wondered if Carter and Dana would get married too.  It would make sense, they were perfect for each other, both smart, dedicated and with goodness emanating inside out.  He hoped so; it would be nice if the four of them would pair off.  He'd not have to worry about his little sister and then only Chad had to find someone. 

"Listen guys about the wedding we were talking and Kelsey Dana, we were wondering if maybe we shouldn't make this a single shot affair."  Kendrix announced. 

"What?"  Joel frowned. 

"She wants to have a triple wedding."  Leo explained and Kelsey's eyes widened and shot first to Ryan and then to Dana. 

"We're in."  All eyes went to the other woman in question. 

"I…"  What could she say?  Could she really marry Carter?  Could she have that much happiness?  Could she have faith he'd love her always? 

"I'm still trying to get her to say yes."  Carter confessed ruefully. 

"What?"  Kendrix asked a golden brow arched in question. 

"He asked me but…"  Dana didn't know how to explain the situation or her fear. 

"You're afraid he'll die?"  Angela asked and Dana frowned, how had she

Guessed so astutely? 

"I didn't say that."  The doctor said and even as she moved to get up Carter's arm went around her middle holding her in place.  He'd done this her way, telling the others everything that didn't include the unit but now he was going to have her answer. 

"So marry me."  The part-time red lightspeed ranger challenged her. 

"Carter…" but he was kissing her breathless. 

"Talk about convincing."  Joel laughed. 

"Hey if it works."  Leo grinned down at his wife thinking of how he'd kissed his own girl until she'd agreed to be his wife. 

"Carter I…"  Dana breathed when he finally came up for air. 

"I'm going to kiss you until you say yes."  He told her and Dana sighed. 

"You drive a hard bargain."  She told him adding so none would hear but Carter.  "Promise me something?" 

"Anything."  He said his blue gaze on hers. 

"If you fake your death again you let me know first." 

"Deal."  He knew she had a good reason and after this case he didn't think he'd have to do so again.  Still it was the least he could do for her take on both he and the agency. 

"Yes."  She said then loud enough for everyone to hear and was kissing him again.