author's note: thanks to those who reviewed.
3
Lining up the ball on the T-ball stand Ryan prepared to hit it home.
"Mommy said not to play in the house." The little voice piped up and the five year old turned to find his little sister standing in the doorway to the kitchen. She was holding an oatmeal cookie and frowning at him.
"So what?" He screwed his face up in a scowl, annoyed. Why did his little sister have to make rainy days even worse?
"Your gonna do it anyway?" She asked sticking a finger in her mouth as she all but forgot about the cookie in the other hand.
"Moms not here anymore dummy." He said moving to line up his bat again.
"I'm not a dummy." Dana pouted pulling her fingers from her mouth to make a face at him.
"Are too you don't even remember she's dead." He muttered and Dana moved a little so she was standing in front of him, between he and the T-ball stand.
"I know that." She said lifting her chin. He hated when she got that defensive voice, it meant Dana was going to be a pain in the neck. Sometimes he wished he had had a brother instead, and then his little brother wouldn't be lecturing him but playing too. Girls really sucked.
"So who cares if she's dead? She can't see me." He muttered out loud and Dana looked at the cookie in her hand as if she'd never seen one in her life before saying.
"Yes she can."
"How she's in the ground." The five year old shot back and his sister looked from the cookie to the floor before saying.
"Daddy says when they put her body in the ground her ghost went up to heaven." Dana told him after a minute more of thought.
"Then she's in heaven." Ryan smirked at her in victory saying. "She still can't see me."
"Yes she can, daddy says that she can see us everyday." Dana retorted looking him right in the eye.
"He lied." Ryan shrugged hating how stupid his little sister was. If she'd just go away he could be
"No he doesn't." She growled at him and he saw when her blue eyes went silver. She was mad, dad was gonna kill him. But at that second his father was the furtherist thing from Ryan's mind as his little sister jumped on him slamming her cookie into his cheek.
"Danny stop!!" Ryan tried to get her to let go but his sister was worse than a dog when she got mad. "Let go!"
"No, Daddies don't lie!" She bellowed and promptly sank her teeth into his shoulder.
"Oew!" Ryan yelped and tried to shrug her off but she wouldn't let her go.
"Daddydoesn'tlie!" She
Growled through a mouth full of his shoulder.
"I said let go!" He said and knowing only he couldn't take any more biting he used a move he'd learned in karate class bringing his knee up and jamming it in her belly.
"Oew!" Dana cried as she let go and fell in a heap on the floor.
Standing there Ryan couldn't believe he'd gotten her off, or that any of that had happened. His shoulder was throbbing and that was not a dream so it had to be. Too Dana was on the floor crying as she clutched her belly. Only as he felt the pain in his shoulder ease did Ryan realize what he'd done to her. He'd hurt a girl, his little sister. Dad had always said you never hurt a girl, especially family. Family was special, dad always said that.
"Danny?" He dropped to his knees beside his little sister but she rolled painfully away from him.
"Go away." She moaned.
"Come on Danny I'm really sorry I don't…" He tried to touch her shoulder but she didn't give him the chance.
"I want mommy!" She cried and he knew it was bad, his little sister rarely cried, not like this.
That thought had Ryan bolting upright in his bed. Something was wrong, he could feel it. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed he headed out to locate his little sister and see if she was alright.
The sound of the alarm had the rangers scrambling for rescue ops. Carter even arrived, if a little sore.
Dana stood beside her brother, not looking at Carter once as she listened to the rundown on the situation. She had way too much on her mind. She had to find a way to keep Ryan from having to morph and yet do her job.
Ryan frowned, he'd not been able to find Dana anywhere but here she was, in one peace. Why then did he still have a bad feeling? There was no time to think it over as they headed out.
By the time the rangers leapt from the rover down town the Batlings were not alone. Diabolico, Vypra, thunderin and Falkar had tagged along.
"Ok guys lets take care of business!" Carter called to his team as they all spread out in a way that would hopefully somewhat contain the evil creatures.
"Yee haa!" Joel leapt into a contingent of Batlings punching and kicking them as he went.
Ryan was instantly confronted by Diabolico. The demon seemed to have been waiting for him specifically so the titanium ranger went to work. Ryan knew why too, after all how better to drain him than by provoking him into morphing? Dana knowing this was there too, flip kicking him even as the demon ducked and she went flying into a nearby building.
"Your going to pay for that Diabolico!" Ryan growled and even as Dana was staggering up
Not too far away from where Ryan and Dana fought Chad had his own hands full with Falkar.
Whirling the blue ranger delivered a round house kick to the face of his opponent, followed by a jump kick to a Batlings middle. His marshal arts training paying off yet again.
"Oh how cute the little pink ranger standing up for her pathetic brother." The demon sneered as Dana covered her brother's back. She was not going to let him morph or be forced into doing so. Dana was going to save him, to be the defender this time even if it took everything she had.
Kelsey ducked a blow from Vypra and caught sight of Ryan's predicament. While he was not morphed and fighting two Batlings Dana was and was pounding Diabolico. Still the yellow lightspeed ranger could tell something was wrong, why wasn't Ryan morphed?
The blast from the staff flung Dana to one side just as her brother finished off his opponents and turned to his old nemesis.
"So like your going away souvenir?" Diabolico asked and Ryan didn't have time to retort, he was too busy being flung back by the blast Dana shot just before his feet.
"I'll show you a going away present! You monster!" Dana growled in a voice eerily like her brother's even as the pink ranger used lightening speed to move, knocking the staff out of Diabolico's hand. She then blasted the staff so it vanished from the premises.
Carter was doing his thing as well trouncing thunderin with two low reverse punches to his midsection or where it would have been if he was human. When the creature staggered back the red lightspeed ranger landed a solid crescent kick to the demon's head and he fled with out Diabolico's ok.
"Looks like your troops are running scared big bad." Dana panted as she dodged a blow from the sword Diabolico had pulled.
"I can still thrash you pathetic human!" The demon was snarling Diabolico's blade pierced Dana's arm. She didn't cry out, no she rolled away and was on her feet, round kicking the demon's sword away from him.
"You took my brother away from me!" She shouted at him letting all of her venom out on this, the one who had indeed done just that. "Now it's time for a little pay back!" The pink ranger bellowed as she used her V lancer on him.
"What is she doing?" Chad called to Carter as he neared the fighting pair. Kelsey had finished her foes as had Joel. Now they were all standing near Ryan watching the fight.
"It's pay back." Kelsey said matter-of-factly.
"We have to stop her." Ryan said and Carter didn't even speak to him as he blasted Diabolico's leg. The demon cursed and was gone.
"What did you do that for?" Dana yelled at Carter, as she yanked off her helmet and tossed it at his feet.
"Dana I don't know what you thought you were doing." He hollered back, getting up in her face. "This is a war not a show where you're the star!"
"Why you pompous, self assured…"
"She was protecting me." Ryan said stepping between them before this could escalate any further.
"What are you talking about?" Carter rounded on the titanium ranger.
"Look not here alright? Dana needs treatment." Ryan said bringing Carter's attention back to the one person that was their greatest weakness and biggest asset.
"Right." Carter ground out even as he realized that Kelsey and Chad had helped Dana up and were half way back to the rescue rover.
"So you let her put her life on the line to save you." Carter said grimly as he glared over at the silver clad titanium ranger.
"What did you want her to do?" Ryan asked. "Tell you about it? It wasn't her secret to tell."
"I'm her best friend damn it she should have…"
"Look, could you guys not fight right now, what's done is done." Chad said patiently adding. "Dana is the one who needs you not this fighting."
Carter closed his eyes he knew the blue ranger was right but right now he was just so angry. He'd been ever since his words with Dana in the medical center last night but there just didn't seem to be the right words to say to make her understand that he was just worried about her, after all she'd been through a lot lately and he more than anyone knew how dangerous keeping things bottled up could be.
Ryan knew that Carter was upset and knew he was part of it but he'd sensed something had happened between his little sister and the red ranger, that things were tense. He didn't like that but he knew fighting with him now or ever wouldn't help his sister or the situation.
"Well?" Kelsey asked even as the door opened and in came Ms. Fairweather.
"She's getting dressed."
"What about her shoulder?"
"The doctor stitched it up and bandaged it; he wants her to rest for the rest of the day."
"Can we see her?" Ryan posed and the scientist nodded qualifying.
"She'll be out and then you can before she goes on to her quarters."
"Right." Carter said and didn't look at the titanium ranger who was now looking passed the doors to where Dana was emerging She was pale, her face gray and to Carter's dismay she sat in a wheelchair.
"Dana?" Carter began but Ryan was moving, pushing him back as he made to speak to her.
"You're alright?" She asked and Ryan nodded. "Good, I was a little worried." Then she looked passed him to Carter who too looked concerned. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you but it was not my secret." With that she let Ms. Fairweather wheel she down the passage passed her other friends to her lodgings.
Carter saw how Dana and Ryan were and didn't know why it bothered him so much, after all he should be happy for her. How often did someone find out they had a brother. That he wasn't dead like she'd thought?
"Come on." Kelsey said and led her friend to a table in the galley.
"Something happened between you and Dana didn't it?" Chad asked frowning at Carter. The red ranger nodded.
"I told her I was her friend and if she couldn't trust me with her secret there was no friendship." Carter explained morosely.
"You really said that to her?" Chad asked frowning.
"I know I was harsh but gees I love her and if she can't trust me…" Carter looked into the cup of herbal tea Kelsey had brought him as if there he'd find some sort of absolution.
"Jealousy." Joel said bringing the red ranger back to the current situation.
"Jealousy?" Carter asked surprised. He'd never even thought of that.
"Yeah, think about it man, before this week you and Dana were like this." the green ranger held two of his fingers together to illustrate his point. "Then along comes Ryan back from the dead and suddenly your not the only guy in her life." Joel explained and Carter wondered if he was right. It would make sense. Since becoming rangers he and Dana had just been like they'd known each other forever. Now though with Ryan did he feel like she was leaving him?
"Hey man how's she doing?" Joel asked as the silver clad young man joined their little group.
"Resting." The titanium ranger said sliding into a seat beside the green clad young man.
"At least she'll be ok." Kelsey said relief in her voice and she only then noticed how Carter was watching the newest member of their team. He looked like he was trying to figure something out and hoped he'd work his feelings out soon, she knew Dana needed his support now more than ever.
To Be Continued
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