Disclaimer: Power Rangers is owned by Buena Vista. Sara is mine. The identity of the Phantom Ranger as Saryn of Eltar is a concept that I do not own, nor do I know exactly who does. My apologies to whoever does own the concept. I would have asked permission if I had known who to ask. Everything up to A Golden Homecoming is canon, but it takes a distinct turn after that.

Chapter Six: A Time for Reunion

I sighed as I stared out at the stars, wondering not for the first time where among them Trey had been fighting when Zordon's wave had passed through the universe and if he had survived. A sigh from next to me made me turn and I smiled a sad, knowing smile at Cassie. For she too was ceaselessly wondering about a mysterious sixth Ranger from another planet.

I was out of high school now, for the second time, and still couldn't believe that I was the first female Blue Ranger in history. When Rocky had hurt his back in that fateful practice match, Tommy didn't hesitate before turning to me and asking me to fill in until he recovered. I had been flabbergasted at the opportunity, and when Rocky had taken my hand in both of his and told me that he wouldn't trust anyone else with his powers I couldn't bring myself to say no.

Muiranthias had been something out of a nightmare, and there were moments where I was sure that I had taken the Blue Turbo powers only to die before my first fight was over. But when it was over, and we were all preparing to graduate, Rocky had come to me and confessed his weariness to fight any longer. He was sick of his family and friends being targeted, and saw his injury right when they needed him the most as a sign that his career as a Ranger was over.

I had been seeing a weariness and dullness in his eyes that concerned me for months by then, so I gravely accepted permanently the mantle of the Blue Ranger, vowing to myself that I would not let it change my friendship with him. And when Tommy and the others were given the opportunity to retire gracefully from the Ranger business, I made sure to visit each of them as often as I could. They had entrusted me with this new batch of Rangers, and I took my responsibility very seriously. Which made it all the worse when Divatox still managed to destroy the Power Chamber, despite my efforts to keep it from happening.

So we had gone into space, everyone but Carlos, who had been growing discouraged from the fight long before our powers were destroyed. Andros had been just as charming and friendly as they had portrayed him to be, as I sarcastically thought the moment I met him, and it had been hell convincing him to let us join him.

But he had given in eventually, and now, a year later, we were on our way back to Earth from KO-35 with Zhane and Karone hitching a ride. The Countdown was over, and it seemed like we were out of the Ranger business again. I didn't have the heart to tell everyone that in five years evil would be back as ruthless as ever. They deserved to be able to enjoy the peace that would reign in the meantime.

It was hard to believe that I had been in this dimension for almost four years already, and a Ranger for three of those. I still longed in my heart to see Trey again, to hear his voice, but I was beginning to accept that it would never happen. We could have had something wonderful, but circumstances and our own confusion prevailed. There had been a time when I thought I had finally moved on, spending most of my second year as a Ranger in Adam's arms, but that wasn't to be either. Both of us had been hurting over the absence of Tanya and Trey, and when the others and I had been forced to take to space to save the universe, we both knew that it was for the best.

The last time I had been on Earth (not counting the Countdown), I had heard from a deliriously happy Katherine that she and Adam had fallen madly in love and I could truly say that I was insanely happy for them. I heard a squeal from next to me and smiled sadly as I saw Cassie leap from the windowseat from the corner of my eye. It had taken most of our trip to KO-35 after the Wave to track down the Phantom Ranger, but I had finally succeeded.

I was glad to see that he had taken my advice. While I knew that my own happiness would most likely never be realized, I was determined to give Cassie hers no matter what the cost. It hurt to turn around to see them in each other's arms, and to see the other two token couples on the ship smiling from the doorway, but it was more than worth it to see the glow on Cassie's face.

"Sara, I...oh my God, thank you. I will never be able to repay you for this opportunity." Cassie said.

I smiled quietly. "The happiness on your face is all the thanks I need."

"I-I wish I could have done the same for you."

Andros nodded quietly. "According to all of my sources, the Gold Ranger survived the battle on the moon, but left not long after the Wave. Presumably to return to Triforia."

I nodded in pained acceptance. "I haven't seen him in over three years. I didn't expect that to change now."

"We joined forces against Master Vile in the M-51 galaxy not long before I came to Earth. From the way he spoke, he still cared a great deal about you." Saryn said quietly.

"Two years is a long time, Saryn. Things change."

"I speak from personal experience. No amount of time or distance changes the heart." The handsome Phantom Ranger said, smiling softly down at Cassie.

I smiled wistfully. "It has been my experience that some make it and some don't. What you share is powerful and determined. I congratulate both of you."

"We are entering Earth's atmosphere." DECA said dutifully.

"Thanks DECA." Andros said, then looked around at all of us. "Ready guys?"

The four of us returning home exchanged a glance and I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Let's go home."



The eight of us entered the Surf Shop amid ear-blowing cheers and it was amazing to see how many people had gathered to welcome us home. Ashley nudged me with a smirk and pointed to a sign in the crowd. My mouth dropped open when I read a sign asking me to marry the holder and I smirked when I spotted a similar one for Ashley right next to it, pointing it out to her.

"Yo Sara, over here!"

I looked up in surprise at the familiar voice and grinned broadly as I recognized the man jumping up and down in the crowd like a fool amidst a group of people who were pretending that he wasn't with them. I took a running leap off the top level and into his arms, hugging him tightly.

"Rocky!"

The handsome former Blue Zeo Ranger laughed and swung me around before setting me back on my feet. "You did it!"

"We did it." I corrected with a grin, turning to give a thumbs up to the rest of my team.

Then I was ambushed by a group hug by every single one of the former Rangers, sending us all tumbling to the ground. I laughed in pure joy as the familiar warmth that came from these eleven of the closest friends I had ever had and found myself forgetting for a few seconds the pain in my heart.

"I can't believe you're all here!" I exclaimed.

Kimberly scoffed. "Like we would miss your homecoming. You took on every one of our enemies and won."

"I didn't do it without help." I reminded them, then gasped as I saw the diamond sparkling on her finger. "Kimberly Ann Hart, is that what I think it is?!"

The beautiful brunette blushed. "We're getting married!"

I dove at the former Pink Ranger, giving her a big hug. "Congratulations! So dish! What else have I missed while I was bouncing around space?"

"Well..." Katherine drawled slyly, putting a hand on her flat stomach.

I gasped. "No way! Congratulations!"

I noticed that everyone else looked surprised as well and raised an eyebrow. "We wanted you to be the first to know." Adam explained quietly.

I felt tears come to my eyes and reached out to hug him tightly. "I'm honored. Thank you."

He hugged me back just as tight. "Hey, if it weren't for you, it wouldn't even have been possible."

I drew back, giving him a confused look. "What?"

Katherine put a warm hand on my shoulder. "When you encouraged Tommy to talk to Kimberly that day so long ago, I realized that those two were meant to be. We never told you guys this, but Tommy and I were never serious after that. We knew that when the time came, we would go our separate ways. And we did."

"And when you went into space, Katherine invited me to come visit her in England. The rest is history."

I smiled. "I can't tell you how happy I am for you both."

"Even when it hurts to see us together?" Katherine asked observantly.

I smiled sadly. "It hurts to see anyone so deeply in love. But I wouldn't have it any other way. I may not be able to realize my own happiness, but if I can help someone else realize theirs, it's more than worth it."

"And you do every chance you get." Ashley smiled as she and the rest of my team finally found their way over to us. "I don't know how I would have gotten through this without you."

"That goes for me too." Cassie chimed in. "It couldn't have been easy to track down Saryn."

"It took her seven hours." TJ answered.

I glanced at him in surprise. "You knew Teej?"

"Who do you think kept everyone away from the bridge?"

I shrugged. "I just assumed that everyone had fallen into a coma from exhaustion."

"Okay, so I only had to keep Andros away." TJ admitted sheepishly to peals of laughter from my team.

"You're a regular Goddess of Love Sara." Kimberly said, giving me a hug.

"You've been the one driving force keeping all of us together and even pushing some of us together." Trini added quietly, smiling at Billy.

"So now it's our turn." Rocky finished.

I looked at him in surprise. "What do you mean?"

The handsome Hispanic took me by the shoulders and turned me around, giving me a gentle shove forward. I looked back and glared at him before turning back to see something that made my mouth drop open in shock. Even in Earth clothing, the man in front of me was unmistakable. My eyes filled with tears, and my hand shook as it seemed to reach for him of its own volition.

"T-Trey?" I whispered brokenly, not daring to hope.

Before I knew what was happening, my hand was caught and I was pulled forward into blessedly familiar strong arms. I was laughing and crying at the same time as I tried to fit my brain around the fact that he was really here, and that I wasn't dreaming. I looked around dazedly at the grinning faces of all my friends.

"How...what..."

Tommy smiled. "I came home to find him on my doorstep the day after the Countdown, looking for you."

"When..." the voice of the man next to me cracked, and he cleared his throat quietly. "When Tommy told me that you had taken on the Blue power and were now one of the Astro Rangers, I felt like I had been stabbed in the gut. My contacts told me that the battle was much worse on Earth, and that the Astro Rangers had been forced into hiding. No one I talked to even knew if they were still alive or not."

Kimberly giggled. "Tommy and I thought we'd have to sedate him until we told him that we had seen with our own eyes that you and the others were perfectly fine, you had just left Earth, that's all."

Tommy snorted. "Hell, I thought we'd have to sedate him until you got home."

Kimberly smacked him for that comment, but I barely even noticed. My head was whirling with all of this new information, and I could barely take it all in.

"I-I thought you had gone back to Triforia." I murmured.

"Not without you."

I blinked in surprise. "What?"

"I came so close to losing you and did not even know it. I do not want to spend another minute without you again."

I put my hand to my head. "Oy, too much information, too many surprises."

"Is that a no?"

I looked at him incredulously. "Do you know what hell I've been in the past couple of years?! Of course I'll come with you. But if you think you're going to get off the hook that easily, you have another think coming. Oy!"

Cassie laughed. "There's the Sara we all know and love."

At the word 'love', something made me search out TJ's eyes and I bit my lip at what I found there. I had always felt something deep in my gut that told me that I needed to be extra careful with the handsome Black Ranger's feelings, but had never seen anything to confirm it until now. The look of pain was so quick that it was possible that I had imagined it, but I knew in my heart that I had not.

I knew Cassie had seen it too, because she gasped suddenly as if she had forgotten something. "Oh man, I forgot my cell phone."

"I'll get it." TJ volunteered, as we all knew he would, triggering the teleportation mechanism on his morpher.

I threw a grateful look to the beautiful Pink Ranger and excused myself from Trey, following my friend's example. I found him waiting for me and blushed at his knowing look.

"You two are about as subtle as a ton of bricks." He grinned wryly.

I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I just needed to ask you something."

He held up a hand. "I think I know what you're going to ask." He said quietly. "And I'm going to answer it truthfully for two reasons. One, because I've never lied to you before and I'm not about to start now. And two, because we did come preciously close to dying during the Countdown and it made me realize that no matter what happens, I don't want you to die without knowing how much you mean to me."

I took a deep breath. "Then what I've suspected for some time now is true?"

TJ nodded. "I'm in love with you."

I let my breath out slowly. "Why didn't you ever say anything?" I asked softly.

"Would it have changed anything?" he asked without accusation.

I sighed. "Probably not." I admitted. "It must have hurt, seeing me pining for someone else. I'm sorry."

"There was nothing you could have done about it. And don't think I didn't notice the pains you took to avoid hurting my feelings with it."

I blushed guiltily. "There was just something deep inside that told me to be extra careful with you. I-I hope it helped a little."

TJ smiled and pulled me into a warm hug. "It helped a lot. Like you said out there, if life hands you lemons, make lemonade. I know there isn't going to be an us, but at least you know how I feel. And as long as you're happy, I'm happy."

I blinked back tears at that. "I wish things were different Teej, I really do. You deserve someone who loves you just as much as you love her."

He smiled sadly. "Hey, you and Trey are living proof that nothing is impossible. Speaking of which, you should probably get back out there. A girl as special as you, I know I'd be worried, logical or not."

I blushed. "Come with me. We have cause for the biggest party this side of the galaxy."

"I'll be out in a minute." TJ promised.

"Don't think I won't send Ashley in after you." I warned with a smirk as I left, and it felt good to hear him laugh.

I caught Cassie's eye as I rejoined the group and gave her a nod, telling her that everything was all right. Strong arms wrapped around me and I leaned my head back to smile up at the man I had been longing to see for what felt like forever. The familiar whoosh of teleportation told me that TJ was indeed right behind me, and Rocky punched his fist into the air.

"What are we waiting for?! Let's par-tay!"