Disclaimer: 'Power Rangers' is property of BVE or someone along those lines. No infringement is intended.

MAD SEASON

By Etcetera Kit

Chapter Seven: A Light In the Distance

He didn't know where he was. Trees surrounded him like he was in a forest, but he couldn't place where it was. He looked around frantically, looking for something that was familiar. There was a flash of movement. He whirled around, trying to find out if someone was in the trees with him. The glimpse he got a red shirt and chestnut hair was enough to make him start running towards it.

"Conner?" he called.

He ran forward, pushing through the trees, swatting away the branches that got in his face, trying to stop his progress. It seemed like a fruitless labor because the blur of color stayed the same distance away from him and kept disappearing around corners. He didn't know why he kept following it or why he thought it was Conner. He just kept running, telling himself to keep going and that this race would be over soon.

Suddenly, he stumbled into a clearing. He was so shocked to be in a clearing filled with sunlight that he froze. Looking around, he realized that the place was set up as if someone had been camping there. A little tent was pitched—it looked like a two or four man one, along with a grill and cooking supplies, a large cooler, some lawn chairs… He couldn't help but notice that most of the items were either black or red. A smile floated over his face.

Surprise froze his racing heart when he saw the tall, lanky figure sitting in one of the lawn chairs, smiling at him. He was wearing a red tank top and black shorts, showing off his finely muscled arms and legs that had developed over his time as a soccer player. He also couldn't help but notice that seemed to be all he was wearing…

"Conner?" he asked.

Conner smiled and rose from the chair in one easy gesture. "Yes," he replied, closing the space between them in several long strides.

"Am I-"

"Dead?" Conner finished for him. "No. You're not dead."

"Then, where are we?"

He shrugged. "Anywhere you want to be. This is your dream. You can change it to fit whatever scenario you want."

He didn't reply, just kept looking around the secluded camp site. This was the kind of place he would have wanted to go with Conner, had they gotten together. He shook his head slowly. They couldn't have a relationship in the real world. Neither of them had led lives previous to this that would allow for a graceful reception if… no, when the others found out. He sighed, trying not to convey his frustration. Conner was teaching at St. John's. There was no reason for their paths to cross again, no reason for what they had discussed when trapped to come to light.

"Tommy?" Conner had reached out, his long agile fingers under his chin, forcing him to look up and into those light brown eyes. "Are you all right?"

"This can't happen. We can't have this."

"We can't have the fairy tale version, but we can have a real version that will be just as fulfilling in the long run."

"The writer in you shows."

Conner gave him a shy smile. "Why can't we have this?" he asked gently.

"I don't know. This is moving so fast. It feels so uncontrolled." He paused, letting out a shaky breath. "But it feels right at the same time."

"Really?" Conner's voice was gentle and patient. Tommy would never have expected that from the former soccer player had he not known exactly what Conner went through in college to reach where he was now.

"I guess," he replied. He looked into those light brown eyes. There was so much hidden in those eyes—pain, scars that went to his soul, compassion, a quiet intelligence that most would never see, love… His mind froze over the last one and started flipping around like a fish out of water. Love… "Do you love me?" he whispered.

"You already know the answer to that," Conner replied.

There was a ghost of lips brushing over his as Conner stepped towards the trees and faded into the long shadows. He reached out, but couldn't move anymore. He called to Conner, but that didn't stop him from fading.

"CONNER!"

"Tommy! Cam, come here! He's awake!"

Tommy opened his eyes, blinking against the harsh fluorescent lights and the white walls of what appeared to be a hospital room. He caught a glance of reddish hair, before focusing in on the two people sitting by his bed. Hayley and Cam were here.

"Hayley?" he croaked.

She smiled, looking relieved. "You're all right," she said breathlessly with a smile. "The doctors said nothing vital was wrong, but you hadn't woken up…"

"It was the ninja-sleep," Cam interrupted. "Dustin and I put you into it so that the pain wouldn't plague you until the doctors had a chance to patch you up."

"What happened?" he asked, feeling sleepy again, but wanting to know how Dustin seemed to materialize out of nowhere.

"It's a long story," Cam replied. "Apparently, Conner called Dustin, knowing that Dustin was an Earth student and could travel underground with relative ease. Hence, how he was able to come up through the floor of the conference room." He paused. "Dustin also has some quirk in his ability that allows him through the foundation of a building, assuming the room he wants in is on the ground floor."

"Lucky for us," Tommy muttered. He tried to crane his neck around Hayley and Cam to see if Conner was sitting in the chairs behind them or something. There was no sign of him. "Where's Conner?" he asked.

Hayley looked away for a moment. Her eyes looked guarded, as if there was something she wanted to hide. "He's at his apartment. The doctors doped him up with a sedative and sent him home."

"What's wrong?" Tommy asked, trying to push himself into a sitting position, but slumping back when a roaring pain started in his right shoulder.

"Take it slowly," Hayley warned. "They had to do reconstructive surgery on the bones that had shattered."

Tommy slowly lay back down, trying to process what he was hearing. Where Hayley said Conner was could be true. But Hayley was also the world's worst liar, so he had figured out early on how to recognize one of her white lies. He wanted to ask her what was wrong, what Conner had said to her, but he couldn't form the words. He was already drifting back into sleep and his mind didn't want to contemplate what was going on.

"Just sleep," Hayley said. "You can sort everything out, once they let you out of here."

He nodded, closing his eyes.

Conner…

He was the same camp site—that much he knew. Only now he was in the tent. He opened his eyes slowly and took in the warm body lying beside him on the large air mattress. A head of chestnut hair raised from where it had been buried in the pillow. He grinned. Conner was lying next to him. It was then that he noticed the heavy leg over his hips and a hand lying on the center of his chest, as if to make sure his heart was still beating.

"Hey, there," Conner whispered.

"Conner," Tommy whispered. He was suddenly painfully aware that both of them were completely naked. "Did we just…" he sputtered, trailing the question off.

"Make love?" Conner asked, looking confused. "Why do you look like it was a nightmare and you didn't enjoy yourself?"

"I-" He stopped. Wasn't this what he wanted, this dream world with Conner, where they could make love and be together without any of the consequences bound to come? He shut his mouth and rolled over onto his side so that their bodies could completely touch. He gently planted a kiss on Conner's jaw, not entirely sure where his body stopped and Conner's started. "Do you love me?" he whispered.

Conner was nuzzling his neck. "You already know," came the response.

He just gave himself up to the sensations. He couldn't fathom why this was so real since all he and Conner had exchanged in real life was one hug. Little tingles of fire started at his toes and spread over his entire body.

"You are so beautiful," Conner whispered.

"Will this work?"

And quite suddenly, Conner was gone again. He was alone on the air mattress in the tent, the spot beside him painfully cold. There was an unfulfilled ache in his body. He wanted to be with Conner. He wanted to make love to him and have a relationship. His house was big enough for both of them without them stepping on each other's toes at every turn. He had a huge backyard they could put a soccer goal in and plenty of space…

Who was he kidding? This was not real and there was no telling what the real Conner had decided he wanted since stepping away from that situation. They didn't know each other—they were different people now.

But he wanted it, was dreaming about it…

"Conner…" he whispered, wanting that nearness again. He wanted to feel that heat next to him—it was so familiar, yet foreign. Somehow that made it all the more attractive and exciting.

"You already know," came the ghost of Conner's voice.

He didn't know and that scared him. He had always been so authoritative with his own life, not letting doubt creep in. He had no idea what was going on here. Did he love Conner enough to make this happen?

Rolling over to his stomach, he pulled a blanket lying in the tent over him. Perhaps this was one of the things that he needed to do without being rational about it. Plunge headfirst into a relationship with someone ten years younger than him who had been his student? Sure… no problem… He closed his eyes…

"Tommy," someone said gently.

He opened his eyes and saw Hayley standing over him. She was shaking his good arm. He blinked.

"Good, you're awake," Hayley said. "The doctors are going to let you out today, but you need to sign up for physical therapy for the shoulder."

He groaned. His entire body felt sluggish from not moving. "What is today?" he asked.

"December twenty-third," she replied. "The Christmas party is tonight."

Tommy sighed, trying to stretch as much as he could without moving his shoulder too much and causing himself more pain. "I think I'll have to skip it this year," he said softly.

Hayley nodded with a sympathetic smile. "I thought as much." She handed him the washed clothes that he had been wearing when they had been held hostage. "I'll take you home and make sure you're settled before I get back to the café."

"Don't you need to set up?"

She shook her head. "Trent is more than capable of setting up for the Christmas party. Besides Cam is over there helping him out."

"Cam?"

"He managed to weasel his way into extra vacation time after the incident with the terrorists. It turns out he wasn't given all the information he needed before going undercover." She paused. "I think his dad and a couple of the ninja types will be there."

"Send them my regards," Tommy said dryly.

"Get dressed," Hayley said.

He gave her a withering look as she left the room. The last thing he wanted to do right now was face an evening full of people. He needed to think and the solace of his house was sounding better and better. He pushed himself up, wincing at the pain in his shoulder and quickly dressed, or as quickly as his shoulder would allow. The nurse gave him several bottles of painkillers before sending him on his way. He and Hayley didn't speak on the ride to his house. He didn't know what to make of any of this.

"Hayley, my shoulder is what is hurt, not my jaw!"

Hayley just gave him a patented expression of aloofness and set the bowl of soup down in front of him anyways. This was what she did for sick people and he knew it. Where she got off thinking he was sick rather than hurt was beyond him. His stomach rumbled at the sight of the soup and the memory of the rather rancid hospital food. What he wouldn't have given for a hamburger instead of the soup Hayley was insisting he eat.

She was rummaging around in his fridge, probably looking for juice or milk or something equally as frightening as that. "You don't have much in here," she commented.

"There's coffee," he offered, nodding towards his coffee maker and the bag of coffee sitting right next to it.

She gave him a bored look and kicked the coffee maker into gear. Soon the sounds of the burbling coffee maker and the smell of coffee filled the small kitchen. "Eat your soup," she commanded, sitting at one of the stools around the island in his kitchen, effectively joining him. He picked up the spoon, but just swirled it around in the soup. "What's wrong?" Hayley asked.

He looked up. He had known Hayley for years—she was one of his closest friends and also the only person for years to know he was bisexual. It would be impossible to hide anything from her. He drew in a deep breath.

"Did Conner tell you anything before he went home?"

She shook her head slowly. "No. Of course, he was pretty doped up on that sedative they gave him. He did say he'd be at the Christmas party tonight." She paused and gave him a searching look. "Do you want me to tell him something?"

"No," he said a little too quickly.

"Or you couldn't think of a message?" she asked quietly.

"Something like that," he conceded. He didn't really want to tell Hayley about the revelations they had had concerning each other. Not that she wouldn't be able to figure it out from his silence and her comment at the food court. No, he needed to see Conner in person and they needed to talk. If Conner wanted to talk… it was highly probable that everything Conner had said had been in the heat of the moment and in relation to the desperation of the situation. The spoon fell still from its paddling around the bowl.

"You care about him." It wasn't a question.

He nodded, staring into the tomato-y depths of his bowl.

Hayley grinned. He didn't see it, but he could feel it as she gazed at him. "You guys would make a good match," she said quietly.

"How so?" He looked up, interested as to why an outsider would think they needed to be together.

"Well," she started. "Conner still strikes me as kind of spontaneous and willing to have fun. You'd be there to ground him, since you live kind of a dry teacher's life and you'd make sure he stayed to what was important. But he'd make sure you took time to have fun and relax and not spend all your time looking at fossils or grading papers."

"He's been through a lot," he replied absently, but deep down, he knew that Hayley was right. Conner may have been through a lot, matured and become more grounded than he was, but the little comments like 'can I have a hug?' or 'do you think I'm hot?' led him to believe that his spirit of fun was much more controlled, but very much there.

"True, but then, so have you."

"What have I been through?" he snapped. He hadn't meant it to come out like that, but it did anyways. His life, for the most part, was dry and boring.

"Tommy," Hayley said impatiently. "You have spent the most time in uniform as a ranger, you've endure two pretty bitter break-ups before I even met you, you've watched one of your closest friends die, your island research blew up, you were stuck in your suit for how long?" Her voice rose in volume and pitch as she went on and on about why he had been through a lot, as much as Conner if not more.

Tommy hated to admit, she was right. But… "It would never work," he said quietly. "We may relate to each other and be suited for one another, but it wouldn't work."

"Is that because you're afraid of the reaction?"

His eyes snapped up to hers. "I would be lying if I said I wasn't afraid of the reaction," he snapped. "You saw how my mother reacted four years ago! I didn't even have a boyfriend then." He shook his head. "I don't want us to lose our friends and families because they wouldn't understand."

"I understand," Hayley said fervently. "And I'm sure the others would get over it quickly enough as well." She laid a hand on his arm. "People love you for who you are. I would think they'd be happy you found someone to share your life with."

"The words of a true optimist," he muttered.

Hayley rolled her eyes. "I know your close friends. They would get over it. And Cam knows and he barely knows you from Adam."

"Cam was an undercover agent trying to stop a militant bunch of anti-gays. If he wasn't sympathetic, then I would have to question why he took the job." He paused. "Cam's not gay, is he?"

She laughed. "No, he's not. He just doesn't care what the rest of the world does, because as long as a guy isn't hitting on him, then it doesn't affect him."

"Did he tell Dustin?"

"Dustin may be an airhead, but he's of the same ilk as Cam."

"I hope neither of them have big mouths."

"Dustin does, but no one he would tell is going to be able to get it back to anyone who knows you really well."

He sighed. "I don't know what I want."

Hayley looked sympathetic. "No one does really. Most people don't know what they've got until it's gone." She paused. "I just don't want you and Conner to blow a chance you might have at happiness. You guys might not be soul mates, but you can at least be happy for a few years." She smiled. "You two are more suited for each other than either of you think."

He expelled a long breath. "Then we have to tell our families…"

"Who love you and shouldn't care," Hayley interjected.

"Then the other distress signal reds…"

"Most of them shouldn't care either because you guys aren't attracted to them…"

"Then the rest of our friends…"

"Who should love you too and not care!"

Tommy gave Hayley an annoyed look. "Would you stop shooting down all my objections? Let me wallow in my self-made barriers for a little while longer!"

She snorted. "You need a good kick in the head, is what you need."

"Thanks, when I decide to take that route, you can have the first kick."

"You know, you've been stubborn ever since I met you and it's only gotten worse as you've gotten older."

"Now I'm an old wet blanket?"

Hayley just laughed and stood up. She leaned over him and kissed his cheek. "Eat your soup. If I see Conner at the party, I'll send him your way." Before he could come up with a retort for that, she was out in the front hall putting on her jacket and slamming the front door behind her.

Tommy suppressed a growl and stood up from the island, leaving his untouched bowl of soup. The coffee was ready. He poured himself a cup of coffee and gritted his teeth as pain shot through his arm. His bag of prescriptions was lying on the counter. He rifled through it and found the painkillers he was suppose to take every four hours.

"I was hooked on painkillers for a while."

He stared with renewed horror at the bottle in his hand. Without opening it, he shoved it back in the bag and walked slowly into the living room. He knew he wasn't going to get addicted to the painkillers just taking them for his injury, but somehow, what Conner had gone through scared him. He collapsed onto the couch, not knowing whether he wanted Hayley to send Conner over here or not.

To Be Continued...

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews guys! We're on the home stretch now. Thanks for sticking with me and offering great comments! I'll do the formal 'end credits' at the next chapter. Until then, cheers! --EK