Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Power Rangers...this is for entertainment only!!

This chapter marks the beginning of a mini series within the story: Jen and Wes finally get what they've wanted, but soon, its gonna take a turn for the worst!! But it's spread over the next few chapters!

Ch 6 is up! Enjoy

-Steph

Time Moves On: The Beginning

"Finished!" Jen said out loud. She smiled at the creation on the computer.

"Since when are you this happy?" Jamie asked.

"What are you talking about?" Jen asked.

"Oh, come on, Jen. We all know why you're so happy." Alli walked in.

"Care to explain?" Jen said sarcastically.

"Does the name Wes ring a bell?" Alli teased.

Jen didn't answer. Alli and Jamie looked at each other. They were having too much fun.

"Oh, how about the Red Ranger?" Alli and Jamie both sighed. "Oh, Wes!"

Jen jumped out of her chair. "Shut up! There is nothing between Wes and me!" Jen sat down and said calmly. "We're just friends. That's all."

"Sure, ok, Jen. Whatever you say." The both of them left, giggling.

Jen sat back in her chair. After the paper printed out Jen grabbed it and read it.

ATTENTION ALL TIME FORCE PERSONNEL:

I am a requesting volunteers for a team that I am developing, called the Task Force. I need at least 10 officers to sigh up for this to work. Write your name clearly on the lines below, as well as your badge number. When I have the number required, you will receive information on a separate piece of paper.

Shifts will be changed, for this special team will be working mainly at night. New shifts will be determined once this is complete.

Thank you

Lieutenant Jennifer Scotts.

"Perfect." Jen said. She looked at her clock. 7:00pm. "Dinnertime." She took the sheet and grabbed her jacket.

She arrived at the elevator when it opened. Jen looked up and someone else was in the elevator.

"H-hi Jen." She looked up…it was Wes.

"Oh, hi Wes. I didn't see you there." Jen tried not to blush. She walked in and stood next to him in the elevator.

"Level 12." Jen called out.

With each second, the tension was rising between them.

"So…uhh…" Jen stalled. "H-how do you like Time Force?"

"Oh umm, it's cool." He heard Jen let out a silent oh. 'Come on, Collins, keep it going! Don't loose her now!' That's when he saw the paper in her hand.

"If you don't mind me asking, wh-what's the paper for?" Wes said.

"Oh, it's umm for a new team I'm putting together. A Task Force team." Jen said.

'This is it, Collins! This is your chance!' "Is it voluntary?" Wes asked.

Jen looked at him. "Yes it is." 'Is he going to sign up for it?' she tried not to sound hopeful.

Wes smiled at her. "Where do I sign up?"

Jen couldn't help but smile.

'This is it, Collins! Go for it!' Wes began to lean in. Jen did the same. They were just millimeters from each other's lips when the doors opened. Jen quickly retreated to the opposite side of the elevator. Wes did the same.

"Hey there, Wes! Going down for dinner?" Jason, Mitch and Josh walked in.

'Damn! Perfect timing as usual!' Wes thought. 'Same time as that damn phone in the clock tower.'

'Sheesh, talk about bad timing!' Jen thought. 'Just like that time in the clock tower.'

"You going down for dinner, Wes?" Mitch asked.

"Yep." Wes sighed.

Josh eyed him. "What's wrong, Wes? You seem annoyed at something."

'Duh. I almost kissed Jen! The one thing I want, I can't have because three people walked in.' "Nope. Just, hungry." He faked a smile.

Mitch turned around, and then he noticed someone standing in the back of the elevator.

"Lieutenant Scotts! We didn't see you back there!" he stated. Jason and Josh turned around.

"That's okay, boys. Having a manly conversation?" Jen teased.

Jason noticed the same attitude as Wes had. He eyed Jen. She shifted uncomfortably. "You seem annoyed, too. Is something going on?" He eyed Wes, suspiciously.

'Well, when three specific officers interrupt your one special moment, then yes, you'd be annoyed, too.' "Nope, just hungry." Jen also tried a fake smile.

The elevator opened and the three of them walked out, leaving both Jen and Wes together. Both walked out with smiles on their faces, looking passionately into each other's eyes.

Jason eyes them suspiciously. 'Something is going on here, between the two of them.'

Jen and Wes walked slowly into the cafeteria. Wes grabbed a small table and he and Jen sat down.

(A/N: these next few scenes in the lunchroom are going on at the same time. It might be hard to picture it)

On one side of the lunchroom, the Ensigns were waiting for Jen to sit down, but she never showed.

"Hey, where's Jen?" Jamie asked curiously. Alli, however, saw them sit down smiles on their faces.

"I think I know where." Jamie, Davis and Kyle craned their necks to see where Alli was pointing. They saw Jen and Wes sitting a small table in the corner of the cafeteria. This brought a smile to their faces.

Meanwhile on the opposite side, Jason, Josh and Mitch were pondering where Wes went.

"I saw him walk in, then he disappeared. Josh stood up and scanned the room. Jason did the same. He then saw what he though to be a dirty blonde haired Wes, sitting with…

"Impossible!" Jason cried out. There was a bit of anger in his voice.

"What?" Mitch and Josh asked, in unison. Jason pointed. What Josh and Mitch saw astonished them.

"Wes and Lieutenant Scotts?" Josh said. "I don't get it."

"Neither do I." He sat down and let out a sigh. "I don't understand those two. Did you notice at the awards ceremony a while back? When Wes went up to get his badge, Lieutenant Scotts left with an expression her face like 'what's he doing here.' I don't think those two knew each other in high school, as Wes put it." He looked at them again. Smiles on their faces, laughing. They were looking into each other's eyes, passionately. He was silent.

"What are you thinking, Jase?" Mitch and Josh sat down.

"I think it went deeper then high school, or whatever Wes said." He said in a small voice.

Josh looked at him. He realized what Jason meant. "Do you think they're---" he couldn't finish.

"Yes." Jason said. The group was silent for the rest of the period.

Jen was silent. 'How do I tell him this?' "Wes?"

"What?" Wes gave her that smile.

"I, uh, wanted to apologize for what happened at the ceremony. I guess I was a bit shocked at you being here." Jen confessed.

"Actually, I was kind of scared of seeing you too." Wes said.

Jen was a bit surprised at this. But all she could do is smile at him. 'Exactly the guy I fell in love with.' She gazed into those baby blue eyes of his.

Wes couldn't help but smile as he looked at Jen. 'Coming here was worth it.' "So, where do I sign up for the Task Force?"

"When I say so, Officer." She smirked. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an announcement to make." She got up and walked past him, her hand brushing his shoulder.

Wes smiled to himself. "Yup, coming here was definitely a good idea."

"And why is that?" Wes turned around to see Jason coming up behind him, very steamed.

Before he could answer, Jen's voice was heard across the room. "Attention, everyone." The room quieted down. "As you all know, the Underground has made some moves. I have been given permission to start a special squad to help capture this dangerous group. I am asking for volunteers to sign up for my Task Force. Questions?"

One officer stood up. "Lieutenant, will that affect shifts in anyway?"

"Actually, yes, it will. The Underground works at night, so naturally everyone who signs up for this will be on call and you will begin your crew hours right after dinner, at 9:00pm, and be on call until 7:00am. Between the hours of 10:00am and 6:00pm, you will be given regular shifts and duties, such as street duty, or anything else, but you won't be paid for this. You will, however be on call twenty-four seven. Your shift from 9 to 7 is the time you will be paid for." She finished up. "If anyone is interested, please come on up in a single file line to fill out the form, with your rank, name, and badge number. If we get more then 10 officers to sign up the extra officers will be put on stand by for this, in case anything happens."

Jason stormed away from where Wes was sitting. "Come on, guys. We're signing up for that crew. We can keep an eye on Wes." Jason dragged them up. "I'll guarantee his name is all ready on the list." He mumbled angrily. By the time they got up, there were three spots open.

"Jason, you're the last person I'd expect to sign up for this." Jen said.

"Well, this'll be interesting." He gave her his most charming smile and locked eyes with her. Jen felt uncomfortable in his gaze. She saw Mitch and Josh come up behind him.

"Josh, Mitch, you guys too?" She said eagerly. She finally broke eye contact.

They took the pen from Jason. "Yep." Both of them gave him a dangerous look.

Jason noticed a paper covering the last line of the sheet. "Well, gotta get going, Lieutenant. See ya." The three of them walked back to their table. Jen grabbed the papers and went back to where Wes was sitting.

"Too lazy to get your ass up and sign up for it yourself?" Jen teased.

"You could say that." Wes took the paper from her and signed the last line. She handed him another paper with the information in it.

Wes looked over at Jason, who was giving him a dangerous look. There was anger in his eyes.

"Well, I have to get going. I've got more important things to do then carouse with lower rank officers, such as yourself." She said. "See you Friday, for the meeting."

"Bye…Jen." Wes sighed. The bell rang 8:00pm. He exited out of the cafeteria, with a smile. 'Exactly the woman I fell in love with.'

Time Force conference room 1: Friday 8:00pm

Ten officers gathered around the table. Josh and Mitch motioned for Wes to sit by them. Jason still gave him a dangerous glare.

'What's wrong with him?' Wes thought. Before he could ask, Jen walked into the room.

An officer who was standing down by the door saw Jen come in and called out. "Officer of deck!" Everyone stopped and saluted.

"At ease, boys. Please, sit." She turned to the officer who was standing by the door.

"Thank you, Officer Penny. You're excused." The officer saluted and left. "Now, all of you have signed up for my special team, now known as the Task Force. I'd like to thank you for signing up." A nod came from some of the officers.

"Let's get down to business. The Underground, for some of you that don't know is a group of mutants and humans that have joined forces to try and take us down. They have been breaking into stores and stealing weapons. I have reason to believe that they are planning an attack on Times Square."

Jen took a remote and a holographic map of the city appeared in the middle of the table. A series of dots began to blink. "The red dot is where I believe their leader is stationed. The blue dot is Times Square. Notice that they're not far apart." A green dot lit up. "The green dot is Time Force." She gave them a minute for everything to sink in.

Officer Alan Manta spoke up. "Lieutenant, do we know when they will attack, and if?"

"No, we don't. I put together this team so we have a chance to neutralize the threat before anyone is hurt." They looked at her.

Officer Jack Burns then asked, " How long will the Task Force be working?"

Jen was silent for a minute. "As long as we need to, in order to stop the Underground. It could be a matter of weeks, or a matter of years."

Wes then spoke up. "Lieutenant, where will we be stationed?" Jen tried not to smile.

"Here, in Time Force. There's a room up on the 22nd floor that is large enough to accommodate all of you. During the night, all of you will be staying there."

Officer Jason Vincelli spoke up. "And where will you be staying?" Jen glared at him.

"Respect your ranks, Officer Vincelli." She said sternly. He quickly apologized.

"As per that, since you are my team, I will be staying with you as well, in one of the bedrooms. The rooms will be used as spare rooms, and in the event any of you are injured, rooms to rest. I will have cots brought up . It is big enough, if we move the furniture around, to allow you your own space. There are four bathrooms. Three of them are yours to share."

Officer Josh Greenberg asked." What is there to do in our spare time? I mean during the night, if it's quiet."

Jen smiled." Well, there's a plasma screen, game unit…" she paused. "Mini fridge, pool table… You'll see when we get up there."

This brought smiles to the guy's faces.

"Now," she clapped her hands together." Go get your things together and meet me down in the lobby of the apartment by 9:00pm. DISMISSED!" Jen said.

The team exited out and went their separate ways. Wes walked by Jen. "Well, this should be fun." Jen laughed.

He left. Once outside and out of sight of Jen, Jason came running up to him and grabbed him by his jacket collar. "Stay away from her, Collins. I mean it." He let go and stormed off. Josh and Mitch followed him, both giving Wes an 'I'm sorry' look.

One hour later

Wes walked out of his apartment and grabbed his bags.

"So, Wes. What do you think of this little 'team' Lieutenant Scotts put together?" Wes turned around to see Josh and Mitch walking toward him.

"It's cool. I know it'll work. If I know Jen, and I do, this will work out. Just like the mission to capture Ran…" He stopped. 'Shit! Did I almost say Ransik? I called her by her first name, too! Damn it Collins!'

Josh and Mitch stared at him. "How did you know about that mission? We never saw you at the Academy."

Wes tried to think up a good lie. "Uhh, it was well known in the East Coast." 'Please let that have worked.'

They just shrugged it off. "Hey, if no one catches you calling her by her first name, then its cool." Mitch said.

'Thank god.' Wes thought. If there was one thing he didn't want going around, was that he has from the past.

"Hey, umm, we just wanted to apologize for what Jason said before, about staying away from her" Josh said. Wes looked at him. 'Now that he mentioned it, he did sound pissed before. Not to forget those hostile looks.'

"Well, its just that, well, um, before Jason graduated from High School, he and Lieutenant Scotts, they, umm…they…"

"They what?" Wes asked.

"They were really good friends. Jason had a life long crush on her. That was before Jen graduated and joined here." Josh said.

"What?" Wes was astonished to hear this.

"Yea. They were pretty solid in high school. But when they graduated, she left LA and came here, to join Time Force. Jason followed her throughout her years here. When he heard Alex was dead, and she went back in time, he said that the minute she got back, he was going to join. But he didn't get around to it until last year. Now, since he saw you two together, he's gotten a bit, can we say jealous?"

"He planned to hook up with her here. Become an officer, and go for the Red Ranger's morpher…" Mitch added.

"You mean Jason's going for m—I mean the Red Chornomorpher?" Wes looked at him.

"Yea, you didn't know? Time Force is looking for candidates for the red ranger's morpher. They've been looking for the past three months."

'That's now long I've been here.' Wes said to himself.

"They're scouting out officers who have a good chance. You can put an application in, and if they accept you, you're in the class. Then you're tested. You go up against a hologram of Ransik. Whoever has the best test scores gets the morpher." Mitch finished.

Wes was dumbstruck. "I think you should go for it, Wes. You'd make a great Red ranger." Josh said.

Wes was silent. 'They're giving away my morpher?' Then it clicked. 'That's why Commander Datas said I had to earn it back. They're seeing if I still have what it takes. They're comparing me with other officers.'

"Yea, I'd be great." He said blankly. 'I can't believe it.'

"Wes, is everything ok?" Josh asked.

"Yea, everything's…fine." He grabbed his bags and walked off.

Time Force apartment complex, bottom floor: 9:00pm

Wes walked out of the elevator. 'Well, maybe I should go for it. Hell, it's what I came here for.' He sighed. 'Did they really get the DNA lock off?' He heard Jen speak up.

"All right, boys. Everyone here?" she looked around. "Good. Let's get going then!" She turned around and went to the elevator.

Twenty minutes later

All of the Task Force team was waiting in front of the room. Jen finally immerged from the elevator. "Could that have taken longer?" she went over to the door. "Now, when you get inside, just make yourselves comfortable. The cots should be up within a few minutes. She put the key in its slot, and a small click was heard. "Boys, welcome to the Task Force suit."

The door opened and revealed a large room, with a kitchen, plasma screen, and a pool table, with a mini fridge. The boys just gawked at the room.

The door opened and Logan walked in. One of the officers noticed him and called out "Captain Logan, sir!" The officers of the Task Force team dropped their stuff and saluted.

"At ease. I trust you all will find your stay here to be quite comfortable. Lieutenant Scotts has picked out the best room for her team. Oh, Jen, the cots are here by the way." Jen nodded.

"Fall into line and take a cot, and put it somewhere so we can move this furniture."

"Yes, Lieutenant!" the group called. Soon all the cots were put into place. Captain Logan was just about to leave when Wes walked out from the bathroom.

"Jen, I'm going now. If you need anything, just call me." Jen nodded. He turned to Wes.

"Oh, Officer Collins, may I talk to for a minute."

Wes looked at him and said, "Of course." They walked out into the hallway.

Once the door closed, Captain Logan turned and faced him. What he saw was sadness in Wes's eyes.

"Wes, is anything wrong?" Logan looked at him.

"Ah," he paused. His face became tight. "Why didn't you tell me that there were other officers going for my morpher?"

"That's what I was coming to talk to you about, Wes." Logan said. "I was going to ask you to fill out the application to take the class." Wes looked at him. There was only one question on this mind.

"Did they release the DNA lock?" Wes needed to know if the did.

Logan was silent for a few moments. He said silently. "No. Not yet. The downfall to the chronomorphers is that the scientists who developed it never thought about releasing the DNA lock. Why do you think the Quantum Morpher had a voice lock?"

Wes just stared.

"Wes, I hope you do realize that if they can't release the lock, you get your morpher back by default. You'd be Time Force's Red Ranger, yet again."

"Do you think they'll get it released?" 'He'd better say no…'

"I don't think so, Wes. They've been trying to find a way to unlock it for years now. Ever since Alex was killed by Ransik. The sciencists who designed it never thought a ranger would be killed. We never thought that the rangers would find someone to use it, with the same DNA as Alex. If Jen didn't find you and if you didn't keep it, I'll guarantee Alex would still be here. If they didn't find you, then Time Force probably wouldn't exist." He noticed Wes looked worried. "Don't' worry Wes. You'll get it back."

"Thanks, Captain. You've made my day a whole lot better." Wes tried to smile. He said good bye and went back inside. Once back inside, he heard someone call out his name.

"Wes!" It was Josh. "Come over here and help us move this couch."

"Coming." Wes went next to Josh and lifted. After about twenty minutes, the couch and other furniture was finally moved against the wall, leaving a big space in the center of the room.

"Grab a cot and get settled." Jen said. "If anyone needs me, I'll be in my room." Jen left with the boys getting their stuff settled.

Thirty minutes later

Jen immerged from her room in sweatpants and a T-shirt that complimented her figure. Most of the men had changed into something comfortable and were laying around and talking.

"All right, guys! It's everyone's favorite thing, a meeting!" The boys groaned. "Yea, yea. Stop complaining and grab a seat." They soon obeyed.

"Now. Since we're going to be 'living together' for the next few weeks, I have some ground rules for everyone to follow. One. No girls up here, regardless if their Time Force personnel or not. We don't need another female around here. I'm one too many. " The boys laughed.

"Two. Crew begins promptly at 9:00pm. You can go hang out, do whatever you want until then. But at 9:00 you are to report back here. Friday and Saturday nights you have off, Sunday is the "official" day off but you are still on call. Monday through Thursday you can go elsewhere in Time Force, but MUST remain on the premise, in case we do get a call. Third. You can do anything you want while you are here." The boys smirked.

Officer Tommy Aldon grinned and asked "Does that include—" Jen cut him off.

"Don't even finish that sentence, Aldon. You'll be outta here before you can say time for time force." She said.

"Fourth. I know usually you're to refer to me as Lieutenant, Lieutenant Scotts, that pain in the ass officer, etc."

The boys laughed again. Officer Carl Marx spoke up. "What would give us that idea?"

She drew in a breath. "But our team is like a family. So treat each other like a family. Your all brothers."

Officer Marc Walden then shouted out "Are you our mother?"

Officer Gary Truman answered for Jen. "Yea, if we're bad she'll spank us." Jen glared at him. "Sorry."

"Anyway. You can call me anything. Lieutenant, Lieutenant Scotts, Jen…" their faces were blank. "Some of you are probably used to Lieutenant." She paused. "Who's up for a game of pool?"

There was a mixture of 'hell yeas', 'yep', 'yes', and 'you're mine Lieutenant.'

Jen laughed. "I'll take that as a yes?" then shotguns were called. "Whoa, I'm calling the shots here. I'm still your commanding officer." She didn't hear Wes say anything. "Officer Collins."

Wes jumped. "Huh?" Everyone laughed.

"I'm challenging you to the first game of pool. Not unless your chicken…"

Wes looked at her. "Me? Chicken? Jen, you need to get your names straight."

"Oh, really then. Let's see." She went up to the rack and threw him a pool stick. "You break."

Wes grinned. "Nope, ladies first." He bowed mockingly.

"Then why aren't you following your own rule Wes?" She smirked. A call of 'ohs' were heard from all around.

"Oh, you're so funny, Jen. Just hilarious." He threw his hands up.

"Yup." She bent down and broke the balls. Two stripped balls went in. "Beat that." She hit his shoulder. Jen went over to the fridge and got out a can of Pepsi.

"On, I'm planning on it." He bent over and hit two solid balls in.

Task Force suit: 10:30PM

CRACK! The only ball remaining was the 8 ball. Jen was the last one to hit. "Well. Its come down to you, me and the 8." She took a shot, but missed.

"Well, how about I just take your little victory off of your hands." He took aim…but he missed as well.

Jen took aim. "Eight ball, corner pocket!" she declared, and took aim. PLUNK! The ball was in. "Ha!" Jen said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to relax and re-play my victory." Jen laughed. "Everyone's in bed by 11:30, no ifs, ands or buts!"

"All right, mother." Wes teased. Jen turned around and eyed him. The next thing he knew, he was in a choke lock. "Ouch, Jen, cut it out! Ouch! That's my head!"

The boys were laughing uncontrollably. "You see, Wes." She smirked. "If you'd get up early enough, maybe you'd be able to keep up with me."

"You're resorting to that saying again?" Wes coughed.

"It works, doesn't it?" She let him go. "Night boys." She went out onto the balcony to think.

Wes was still getting his breath back. The boys were still laughing. "It's not that funny!"

Tommy replied, "Oh, yea it was!" Wes just shook his head. He heard doors close somewhere.

'Maybe this is it. My chance to be alone with her for once.' He heard Gary say something about another game. As the boys crowded around the table, Wes easily snuck out of the room and went to the balcony where Jen was.

Jason watched from a dark corner as he went out to be with Jen. 'What does he think he's doing?'

Jen stood outside, letting the cool breeze sweep over her.

"Mind if I join you?" She turned around to see Wes coming out.

"Sure, if you want." Wes came next to Jen and put his hands on the railing.

There was uncomfortable silence between them.

'Come on, Collins! Think of something to say!' Wes thought.

'Think of something to talk about, Jen. Think!' Jen said to herself.

"It's beautiful out here. Kind of reminds me of the clock tower." Jen said.

"Yep. It kinda does. Another one of your special spots, I guess?" Wes said. 'Wow, could you be any more lame, Wes?'

"I just like the view." She said. "Everything's so quiet and beautiful."

"Kind of like back in the past. " Wes smiled.

"So, uhh, how's Eric been?" Jen asked.

"He's good. He's seeing a girl who lives in Turtle Cove." Wes paused. "Her name's Taylor Earnheart. She's a pilot in the Air Force." Wes said.

"Oh. That's good." Jen paused. "And how about your dad?"

"He's doing good. Not much really happening in Bio-Lab." Jen nodded.

"How about you, Jen. How've you been?" Wes looked at her.

"Everything's been good. Time Force came through with the promotion, as you know." Jen paused. "Wes, there's something I wanted to talk to you about."

"What's that?" Wes asked.

"About your morpher. I'd like you to go for it. I think you'd show Datas up good."

Wes smiled at her. "Yea, I think I would."

"I still think you're a great Red Ranger, Wes." She looked at him. "You always were."

Their eyes locked. Wes leaned in again. Jen was meeting him halfway. Each could feel the other's breath on their lips, which were millimeters apart.

Jen soon felt Wes's lips caress hers. That longing they had was finally met. A kiss full of passion and love. A warm breeze swept over their bodies as Wes put his hands around her waist and pulled her close. Jen's went around his neck. Each moment was heaven. The finally pulled away from each other, still each other's arms.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." Wes said.

"Probably as long as I have." Jen looked at him and put her head down on his shoulder. "I love you so much, Wes."

"I love you, too. Ever since I got here I wanted to tell you that." His voice was soft.

Jen looked at him. "You know, now this is going to be a limited relationship, until you get your morpher back. Our team may think you're getting a special treatment."

"I'm no too worried about that." He smiled. "I think I like the future." He heard Jen chuckle.

"Well, I'm glad." She kissed him.

While it was unknown to the group inside, Jen and Wes stood here, enjoying the heat of the other's body. The moon gave a solid light as Wes and Jen held each other, not wanting that moment to end.

A love was renewed, and a longing was finally met.