Disclaimer: 'Power Rangers' (all incarnations) are property of 'Saban', who are in some strange way related to Disney, who run the show on ABC. No infringement is intended.
ROARING ON THE WIND
By Etcetera Kit
Chapter Twelve: We Got Each Other
"See, he's still asleep."
"Doesn't surprise me, he sleeps through everything." There was a pause. "And it's still really early for him."
Leo blinked a couple of times in the early morning sunlight. Where was he? He looked around and realized that he was still on Tommy's couch, where he had dozed off last night. Why hadn't anyone got him up to go back to the hotel? And where had Eric, TJ and Cole spent the night since their quarters for this mission where in Tommy's living room? Someone had covered him with the afghan. And there were people coming in the front door.
He sat up and realized he was still wearing his clothes from the previous day, although it should figure since he had fallen asleep on the couch and his bag was back at the hotel. Well, the bag belonged to Kendrix, but he borrowed it all the time. It was the perfect size to pack sufficiently for a trip, but not so large that it couldn't fit in the overhead compartments. He ran a hand through his messy hair. In general, he didn't think he looked too bad just out of bed, but then again, most of the people here had not seen him just out of bed.
Wes and Eric were coming through the front door with a blonde woman. He rubbed his eyes and tried to focus on them. The woman looked a lot like Kendrix. In fact…
"Kendrix?" he asked, his voice scratchy on account of the early hour.
"Hey Leo," she said softly, crossing the room to him and sitting on the couch next to him. He could scarcely believe it. Only last night they had been screaming at each other on the phone and here she was, in his arms. He held her close, burying his face in her hair, breathing in the vanilla scent there. He didn't even want to ask what she was doing here. It was more than enough that she was here.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
She gently pushed away from him. Her dark blue eyes were glistening with tears. "There were extenuating circumstances."
Eric cleared his throat loudly. Leo looked up at the pair of Silver Guardians. "How?" he asked. Wes and Eric exchanged a glance.
"It was all Cole's fault," Wes explained. "He knew you were upset about something last night once we got back. Eric figured out what it must be."
"I flew out early this morning," Kendrix added with a smile. "Wes called me last night and asked if I wanted to come out." She paused. "Mr. and Mrs. Cleghorn are supposed to watch the house while we're gone."
Mr. and Mrs. Cleghorn were a retired couple who lived next door to them in Seabrook. Mrs. Cleghorn was a busybody to no end and would probably love the chance to snoop around in their house in their absence. She also thought it was strange that Kendrix worked and that they had no children—and she delighted in espousing that view every time she saw them.
"That ought to have interesting results," he muttered. "Mrs. Cleghorn will probably redecorate everything in puce."
Kendrix playfully smacked his arm. "She's nice." He rolled his eyes.
"Here," Wes called and tossed something his direction. Leo held a hand up and caught the keys to the rental car. "Hope you have your room key because we switched rooms last night on account of this."
"Huh?"
It was Wes' turn to roll his eyes. "Carter and I switched rooms so that you and Kendrix could have the room to yourself this morning. That way I would already be up and away and Carter and Jason wouldn't have to worry about getting up early."
Trust Wes to plan everything to this extent. Leo gave him a lopsided grin and located his shoes on the floor next to the couch. In seconds, he and Kendrix were out in the rental car and he was kissing every bit of exposed skin on her.
"Leo," she said with a laugh. "I know we've made love in the back of a car before, but we don't need to do that again." She gently pushed him away in an effort to get him to drive to the hotel.
He reluctantly released her and gave a glance to the backseat of the car. "Doesn't sound like a bad idea to me."
Kendrix smacked his upper arm. "Drive," she commanded. "And you can ravish me all you want once we get to the hotel."
He grinned at her and started the car. As he drove to the hotel, he thought back to their phone conversation last night. Well… they needed to have a talk about that in addition to the other obvious activity he had planned.
This was the life, sitting in a lawn chair on his front porch, drinking beer at four o'clock in the afternoon… Maybe he once this mess with Mesogog was over he would move to Galveston and sit around with Jason drinking beer and crushing beer cans on his forehead. Adam had come over after school let out in Angel Grove and was drinking beer with him. The beer supply at his house had quadrupled since the other red rangers had arrived.
"It's weird," Adam said, probably more to himself than to Tommy.
"What? That we're rangers again?"
"That. And this is the first time I've cancelled soccer practice since becoming the coach."
Tommy laughed. "Sometimes we all need a break."
"Yeah, well…" Adam sighed. "I guess I just feel like this is more important."
"And it's not much fun sitting around waiting to see what will happen next."
"But didn't we spend all of high school doing that?"
Adam did have a point there. First it had been waiting to see when Rita and Zedd would unleash their next monster on Angel Grove or putty attacks. Then it had moved on to King Mondo and the cogs and monsters that came along with that. Finally, they had battled Divatox and her plans for galactic domination before they had passed the Turbo powers onto TJ, Cassie, Ashley and Carlos. It was always waiting. Just like now… waiting to see what Mesogog had planned next. Although, Mesogog was oddly quiet. The last monster attack had been Tuesday night and it was Thursday afternoon. Normally, if Mesogog wanted something (like the purple Dino-Gem) then he unleashed monster after monster until he either had what he wanted or he realized that his efforts to get it were fruitless.
"We did spend all of high school doing that," Tommy agreed.
"It's kind of fun being back in the action." Adam paused. "I hadn't realized how much I missed it until it came back."
Tommy asked the question that had truly been on his mind since the Dino-Gems had bonded with Billy, Adam and Kimberly. "What made you guys pick up the gems? I mean Billy hadn't touched them before…"
Adam shrugged. "It was like the thing was calling to me. I looked at the orange gem and I just picked it up, not even thinking." He paused again. "I'm also liking the power that came with it—I don't run into the furniture at my apartment nearly as much now."
Phasing… Adam could walk through solid objects. That could have its advantages if they ever needed to storm Mesogog's island fortress or something.
"It's kind of cool," Adam was continuing. "Like we're the X-men or something."
Tommy smiled. Comic books had been a particular love of Adam's in high school and Tommy could recall boxes upon boxes of the things in the Parks' basement. He knew where all of Adam's allowance and part-time job money went.
"So where is everyone?" Adam asked.
"I have no idea," Tommy replied. "All I know is that the lot of them aren't invading my house and I finally have a little peace and quiet." He stopped, watching two cars come down the drive to his house. "Although it's not going to last long."
Billy's forest green Explorer pulled up, followed by Andros' red Kia Sportage. Tommy wondered at that. What was Andros doing here? Of course, it was also very likely that Andros wasn't driving it. It was always a gamble who was driving any given car lately. Billy got out of his car, followed by two girls who Tommy supposed were his daughters. The older girl looked exactly like Trini except that her eyes were a striking shade of blue. She was dressed conservatively in jeans and a blouse with a navy blue backpack slung over one shoulder and a laptop case in her free hand. The younger girl looked more like a cross between Billy and Trini. She had Trini's black hair, but her features were more angular like Billy's and she also had blue eyes. Her backpack sported Care Bears along with a Care Bears lunchbox and a stuffed Care Bear.
Billy had his briefcase and locked the car, calling at them to hurry. Tommy sat forward in his chair. "I didn't know you were bringing the whole family," he called.
The resident genius rolled his eyes. "They're coming to help me with the teleportation system."
Tommy wasn't sure if one was supposed to tell one's children that one was a Power Ranger—none of them had ever been in that situation. He supposed it would be really hard to hide from them after a while, especially if these two girls were as inquiring as they looked. The little one was bouncing up and down with excitement.
"We're going to help Daddy help the Rangers!" she chanted.
Billy rolled his eyes again. "This is Susie," he said, placing a hand onto of the younger girl's head as they walked up the porch. "And Mary Anne," he added, indicating the older, much calmer girl. "This is Tommy and Adam," he told the girls, introducing the pair on the porch.
"Hello!" Susie said, still bouncing with excitement. "Are you guys rangers too?" she asked quickly. "My daddy's a ranger and I think that's really cool!"
"Susie, shut-up," Mary Anne said, obviously tired of her younger sister's antics.
"Don't tell your sister to shut-up," Billy reprimanded Mary Anne. "And Susie, what have I told you about telling people that?"
"I know I'm not supposed to tell anyone, but these guys are rangers too, aren't they?"
Tommy and Adam exchanged a glance. "How old are you?" he asked Susie.
"Eight," Susie replied proudly. "And I'm in third grade!"
"Come on," Billy said to the two of them. "We need to get started." He looked back and for the first time, Tommy realized that Andros was standing on the porch as well. Tommy exchanged a knowing glance as Andros rolled his eyes and followed the family down to the lab. This was going to be amusing.
"We need to realign the setting so that the teleportation will be more accurate…" Mary Anne began reading off numbers that apparently made sense to her and Billy because there was no protest. Mary Anne was sitting on the ground next to the control panel with her laptop in her lap, which was apparently hooked up to the system. Susie was next to her father, dutifully handing him tools as he asked for them. Unlike Mary Anne and Billy, she wasn't nearly as interested in or focused on the task as they were. She had been talking almost nonstop to Andros. And for some reason, she wasn't annoying her older sister or father.
Andros thought she was a really sweet kid albeit a motor mouth. He thought briefly of Brian who said little unless prompted and Karone, just born who hardly cried. He and Ashley were not talkative people, so it stood to reason that their children would be rather subdued. It almost made him wonder where Susie got her talkativeness from. Billy wasn't all that verbose unless he had to be and, from what he had surmised about Trini, she wasn't all that noisy either.
He hadn't wanted to leave Ashley at the hospital, but she had decided he needed to get away from the place. He hadn't slept very much in the past two days since there really was no comfortable place for him to sleep in that hospital. 'Karone and I will be fine for a few hours,' she had said in that gently reprimanding tone she used when she thought he was being especially overprotective and ridiculous. 'Go back to Tommy's house and help out there or just sleep for a while and then come back. You need a break.'
As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was exhausted. And he was having trouble keeping up with the constant chatter that came out of Susie. He didn't know how Billy did it—if he had a child like this, she would wear him out in less than a day.
"And we're practicing our cursive letters," Susie was saying. "I don't like it very much, but Miss Mason says we have to learn that for when we're all grown up." Susie had her Care Bear (who Andros had been informed was Good Luck Bear) leaning against her knee.
Billy slid out from underneath the control panel. "Susie, try being silent for a while and quit wearing Andros' ear out."
"I'm not wearing his ear out! His ear's still on!" she protested, studying Andros' ears to make sure that she was right.
"Susanne Marie," Billy said in a warning tone of voice.
"Okay, okay!" Susie relented. "I'll be quiet!"
"That's what she gets all her demerits for in class," Billy muttered shaking his head. "Miss Mason is forever telling me she's a good student, but she can't be quiet." He paused. "We're taking a break," he told the girls. "Go upstairs and see if Tommy has any popsicles or something."
Mary Anne closed the lid to her laptop and grabbed Susie's hand, dragging her upstairs. "Bye Mr. Andros!" Susie called as she and Good Luck Bear trailed along behind Mary Anne.
Billy shook his head. "That one will be the death of me."
Andros smiled. "She does talk a lot."
"And I know exactly where she got it from," Billy said with a small smile.
"Obviously not from you or Trini."
"No…" Billy replied, trailing off. "She got it from Joanna."
"Joanna?"
"Hayley's roommate from undergraduate school," the genius clarified. "About six months after Trini died, I was hanging out with her. She talked a lot."
Andros nodded. "So what happened?"
Billy shrugged. "We went our separate ways." He paused. "Besides, I have already been informed by Miss Susie that she wants Kimberly to be her new mother."
Andros looked up sharply. "Since when are you and Kim an item?"
Billy looked rather sheepish. "Since last night."
The Space Ranger shook his head and laughed. "And the gossip will be running through the ranks again." He paused. "If you don't want it to get out then make sure you don't tell Eric or Wes. They tend to tell everyone everything."
"Tell me what?"
They both turned to see Eric walking down the stairs to the lab. "Nothing," they both said in unison.
Eric rolled his eyes. "I just sat through a movie that was two hours of my life I'm never going to get back and you two can't tell me what's going on? I even had to sit through it with a bunch of losers and then we lost Cole."
"You lost Cole at the movies?" Andros asked his voice incredulous.
Eric shrugged. "We went to see Resident Evil Apocalyse and Cole went to get some Skittles, got lost and ended up seeing the Princess Diaries 2."
"Does he want to see it again? I know Susie would love for someone to take her," Billy said with a grin.
"You'll have to ask him."
"When did you realize you lost him?" Andros asked, interested as to how that happened.
"About halfway through the movie, when the girl cop had to shoot her friend." He paused as they started gaping at him. "What?" he asked defensively. "It made me think about what would happen if that really happened and I had to shoot Cole and then I realized he was missing."
Billy and Andros exchanged a glance. It was never dull around this place.
Leo sighed, feeling contented for the first time in weeks. The late afternoon sun was coming through the window. Kendrix was snuggled up against him, dozing lightly. He hadn't heard from anyone in the group all day and it made him wonder why Mesogog had not pulled another stunt yet. Well… he banished the thought. He had all he would ever need right here in his arms. He pressed an awkward kiss to Kendrix's temple.
"Leo," she said in a sleepy, yet happy tone. "Don't start that yet. There's something I need to tell you."
'Yes, you do,' he thought, but didn't say anything as she sat up in bed and he had to keep from gawking at her gorgeous body.
She gently took his hand and rested it on her abdomen, just below her belly button. She held it there with her own hands. He felt confused and a puzzled look found its way over his face. Kendrix obviously noticed it, because she rolled her eyes. How many times had she accused him of being dense on purpose? Well, this time it wasn't on purpose, he just didn't understand.
"Leo," she said softly. "You know a couple months ago when we decided to stop using birth control?"
He nodded and then realization slowly dawned over him. "You're pregnant?" he asked. Kendrix smiled and nodded. "You're goofy!" he yelled, tackling her under him on the bed. He gently pushed stray strands of blonde hair out of her face. "Is this what you didn't want me to know? What you were afraid to tell me?"
"I don't know," she said, still smiling. "It's just that you've always avoided the subject of kids and stuff…" She trailed off.
"Why would I agree to the no birth control thing if I didn't want kids?" he countered.
"I don't know," she repeated. Then she gave him a fierce look. "Leave me alone! My hormones are all out of sync!"
"You are a damnable woman," he muttered, capturing her lips in an intimate lip-lock that silenced all of her protests and excuses. He broke the kiss abruptly when she reached up behind him and smacked the back of his head.
"That's not nice!" she reprimanded. She then looked at the digital alarm clock and groaned. "We should probably go see what's happening at Tommy's house." She turned her dark blue gaze back to him and gently took his face between her palms. "Are you sure about this? You really want this?"
"Of course I do!" he replied, taking her palm and kissing it.
Kendrix smiled. "Is this just another way you can prove to Mike that you're mature enough to do these things before him?"
Leo rolled his eyes at the mention of his older brother. It was true that he had gotten married before Mike and now he was going to be a father before Mike… but that didn't mean it was a contest. All right, so maybe it was something resembling a contest, but Mike had babied him and their younger sister for so many years, he always felt that he had to prove himself.
"I'm not going to answer that," he said delicately. "I think we should take a shower and get over to Tommy's to see what is happening."
Kendrix groaned. "This is going to be a long shower."
"Why do you say that?" he asked innocently.
"Because I know more things about you than you do."
Surprisingly enough, their showers went quickly and, before he knew it, they were back in the rental car on the way to Tommy's house. Kendrix rested her hand on his upper thigh and it drove him crazy with desire, but he put a check on it. He was going to be a father… God, it was a prospect he should have thought about but never did. Well… he was going to do his best not be like their parents… His father died when he was twelve, Mike was thirteen… Their mother went off the deep end with grief… She was part of the reason all of them left home as soon as they could… Mike went to GSA, Leo stowed away on Terra Venture… and Ella, their younger sister, who knew where she was now, even if she was dead or alive…
Just as they entered Tommy's house, the alarm chimes on the Dino Thunder morphers were going off.
"Another monster?" he asked Billy who was passing.
"Looks like it," the Green Dino Thunder Ranger replied.To Be Continued...
Author's Note: Thanks to all the new and old reviewers alike! I've gotten some great feedback from you guys and also some people with a sharp eye for detail. I've loved the reviews! And I promise that there will be some serious action in the next chapter. For now (since I've been promising to do it for a while), I'd like to do some reviewer responses for people who reviewed chapter 11:
Anonymous- Thanks for your kind words! You aren't the only one who's found the Billy/Kim pairing odd. :) I'll update as often as I can.
Charles RocketBoy- I hope this chapter answered your questions about Leo and Kendrix. We just got to the beginning to Elsa and Mesogog's latest plot-- you'll have to wait for the next chapter to see what happens. :) And I hope that things are getting interesting and not boring. I said that I was trying to get away from the predictable Tommy/Kim pairing. There it is. :) Thanks for your review!
cmar- Thanks! :) The action is coming, I promise! Thanks for the kind words and the review in general! :)
Funky In Fishnet- I shall endeavor to keep updating in a timely fashion. The Billy/Kim pairing is from left field in my attempts to not follow the normal clique subplots. Thank you for your kind words! I enjoy these characters immensely and I'm glad it shows in the writing.
jim hawking jr.- Thanks for your kind words. I'm glad you're still enjoying the story!
rembrandt- I'm glad you like the developing subplot between Billy and Kim. They always were two of my favorite characters as well. Ah, back in the day when we got up earlier than we had to for school to watch new episodes of MMPR. But thanks for your kind words!
sayinjinj7- I plan on continuing. (I'm actually further ahead in the writing than I have posted. So in case I want to take a break or have writer's block, there's still something for you guys to read.) Thanks for you kind words. I'm glad you enjoy it!
Silver Warrior- Leo and Cole are very similar. And while I can see the great couple that Cole and Maya would make, I think both of them have other significant others in this fic. (Cole is still going out with Alyssa, even though he's unsure of the relationship and I think I talk about Maya being with Mike in this chapter.) But I can see the pairing. Would make for an interesting story premise... Thanks for your kind words!
SilverRider- Eric's not really an idiot, he's just very at home with this bunch of guys and sees no need to follow the normal constructs of society. I know he sounds like an airhead at times, but it's all in good fun. :) I'm glad you enjoy the story and my characterization of Eric.
white time ranger- Glad you like the Billy/Kim pairing. I was trying to steer away from the predictable. I always thought that that would be interesting, especially since they switched bodies and whatnot. But I'm glad you're liking the story!
William Raymer- Welcome to the review board of this fic! :) Thanks for your kind words! And thanks for tuning me in to when CSI Miami is on. I don't normally watch it. It was just the first show that came to mind when I was writing this chapter. (I have a friend who watches it religiously solely because the theme song is a 'Who' song. lol. Probably why I thought of it.) Thanks for reviewing! Continue to let me know what you think!