A/N: "Alexander" will continue to be updated even after my father's last
day at work, but probably not as often. I'll be lucky if I get once a week.
But I thought you'd want to know that I won't abandon it!
Sierra
***
"Alex? Alex, wake up."
He cracked his eyelids open, immediately shutting them again when a bright light shone into them, blinding him; he felt pain all over his body, and he had no idea where he was. "R-Rob?" he whispered, recognizing the voice calling to him.
"That's good," came Logan's voice, "now try to open your eyes again."
Alex sighed at the request, he slowly opened them and looked at the captain seated next to him; Logan smiled a little. "All right," he said, "you're going to be fine, Alex."
"Where am I?" Alex asked.
"A hospital," there was a note of amusement in his voice. "Where do you think you'd be?"
"What happened?"
Logan's face softened, he reached forward and patted Alex's shoulder gently. "You were in a fight with Ransik, remember?"
Alex's brow wrinkled as he tried to concentrate, then suddenly he seemed to remember everything. "H-He defeated me," he said, quickly, "Jen . . . and the others!"
"Shh . . . easy," Logan said, "they're fine. They followed Ransik through a timehole to the year two thousand one."
"Two thousand one???"
"Alex . . . she's okay." Logan smiled again. "Just lie back and relax, you need your sleep. Don't worry, you'll be out of here in a few days."
Alex nodded a little, then grimaced and held still as Logan turned to leave. "Wait," he said, "I-I thought it was over . . . when Ransik . . . I was thought I was dying. I gave her my morpher."
"I know," Logan said, "you were close, Alex, we nearly lost you."
"I . . . passed out?"
"You've been unconscious for five days," Logan said, "since the fight. Now, get some more rest . . . good-bye for now."
*****
Alex carefully slid his legs over the side of the bed and rested his feet on the floor, they were trembling slightly, and he noticed when he tried to stand; Logan gripped his arm firmly, supporting him as he swayed a little.
"Easy, easy," Logan said, "you feeling okay?"
"Like crap, sir."
Logan chuckled at the young man's bluntness, he helped Alex walk a few steps away from the bed, then back again; Alex sat down heavily, letting out a long breath. "Damn," he muttered, taking deep breaths as Logan patted his back.
"It's okay," he said, "it'll just take some time."
"I don't have time," Alex said, harshly. "I need to get back to work . . . help Jen."
"No, you need to get better." Logan added as a second thought: "At your own pace. Don't rush it, you'll only make it worse."
Alex nodded a little, hiding how much pain he was really in, but Logan apparently saw right through his facade; he smiled sympathetically at him, knowing how frustrating it was to the always-athletic Alex. The young man leaned over, resting his head in his bruised hands; he closed his eyes as his headache increased to a throbbing in his temples.
"Rest again," Logan said, "I'll be back tomorrow to check on you."
"Have you heard anything from her yet?"
"Not recently." Logan sighed. "I'll tell you when we hear anything, Alex, don't worry. Ensign Scotts and the others can take care of themselves."
"We're engaged, Rob."
Logan's face changed immediately, everyone knew of Alex's feelings for Jen, but he hadn't known just how far it went. "I'm sorry, Alex," he said, "I didn't know it had gone that far. When?"
"The night of Ransik's trial," Alex answered, "we had a full two hours together before . . . "
"Before he escaped."
"Yes."
Logan didn't speak again before he left, Alex watched him out of the corner of his eye, then lay down again; the bed was firm to support his injured back, but horribly uncomfortable. He flinched and moved around a bit, finally lying on his side and closing his eyes in hopes that he would get some sleep . . .
But thoughts of Jen assaulted him as the darkness closed in: Her tear- stained face as she gazed down at him in their final moments together, the way her smooth skin felt beneath his fingers when he brushed away that tear. He longed to have her home and hold her again, let her know everything would be all right; he missed her terribly, and he knew she felt the same way.
'She's out there . . . fighting Ransik,' he thought. 'What was I thinking sending her back there??? My morpher's useless to them anyway!' He had condemned the woman he loved to death, a death by the mutant that had taken everything else away from him, as well.
Shifting positions again, he set up the portable screen and found the disc he wanted, placing it inside and clip of Ransik's escape appeared. The explosions racking the truck that carried the mutant, Jen, and Lucas inside; Trip and Katie were lying on the road, motionless. The truck sped by them as missiles shot down from the sky from some unknown attackers, Alex rested his chin on his fist and squinted his eyes, looking for anything he could use.
"I've got to help her," he whispered.
Days passed and he still remained in the hospital, fighting off his injuries with more difficulty than he had expected, and getting visits from Logan every day.
The captain walked in on the sixth day with a grim expression on his face and Alex perked up immediately: "What's wrong?"
"Things aren't going too well, Alex," Logan said, "they need help."
"We can't send human help," Alex pointed out.
"I know that." He hesitated. "What was that you were working on before you were injured? The megazord . . . " he snapped his fingers, trying to remember.
"The Time Shadow?" Alex asked.
"Yes! That's it," Logan said, "is it complete?"
"No, not at all," Alex answered, "I'd still need to run diagnostics and finish . . . wait, they need another megazord?"
"It could be a great help," Logan said, "they just don't have the necessary equipment."
"I could get back to work on it," Alex offered.
"You're still weak."
"It doesn't take strength to sit at a computer console, Captain," Alex said, dryly, "and it certainly wouldn't be life-threatening to me. I can't lie around here any longer."
"You are not supposed to leave this hospital," Logan said, sternly, "I'll bring you the blueprints from your office if you tell me where to find them, you can work on it here for now. That sound fair to you, Commander?"
"Yes, sir," Alex said. "They're in the bottom right drawer of my desk."
"Good," Logan said, slapping him on the shoulder. "I'll get them right away, be back in a little while and you can get to work."
"Thank you, sir." Alex lay back and tried to rest, then a second thought popped into his mind: "Sir, how are they even operating the megazord? Did they find a way to get the morphers working?"
"They found someone to give the Red Chrono Morpher," Logan replied.
"What???"
"They traveled back to the year two thousand one, remember?"
"And . . . "
"Wesley Collins was a young man then," Logan explained, "you know who he was, don't you?"
Alex nodded, frowning. "Yes, of course," he said, "he inherited Bio-Lab from his father, Alan Collins. And he was . . . identical to me."
"Exactly," Logan said, "his DNA matched yours---or was close enough anyway, to unlock the morpher."
Alex sighed. "Talk about luck," he said, chuckling.
Logan smiled. "Yes," he said, "I didn't believe in it before, but I have to say: I do now." He walked out of the hospital room without another word, returning an hour later with the papers; Alex immediately buried himself in them, completely forgetting about everything else.
He had drawn up what he envisioned the Time Shadow to be when it was complete, the idea had come to him one night and he had immediately gotten out of bed and started working. He smiled, remembering how Jen had woken up as well a little while later and brought him some coffee; then she stood behind him and rubbed the knots out of his shoulders.
Soon he felt fatigue setting in and his eyes began drooping as his body screamed for sleep, he relented, leaving the papers scattered on his bed as he surrendered to the darkness.
***
Alex lay flat on his back, staring up at the plain ceiling as he fiddled with the pen in his fingers; a week had passed since the papers arrived and he had started his work on the Time Shadow again. The drawings were complete, but he needed to get to work on them . . . real work.
He shook his head, suddenly sitting up and getting out of bed, standing on shaking legs that felt strange beneath him; he leaned over and retrieved the uniform packed away in the drawers next to his bed. It was a new uniform, as he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander; he laid it out on his bed and stared at it briefly before picking it up and walking to the bathroom.
His hands trembled as he took off the hospital garment and pulled up the snug pants; bending down to put on his black boots and buckle them up was torture though, he bit his tongue to keep from crying out---even softly. The gold turtleneck clung to his skin and rubbed on the deep cut across his back, despite the bandage still over it; then finally, he zipped up the jacket and looked at himself in the mirror.
Dark circles under his dull, blue eyes . . . his hair uncombed and longer than before . . . his skin a sickly, white color . . . he didn't even recognize himself.
"Hello there, Commander Collins," he said, quietly. "Let's get back to work."
TBC
Sierra
***
"Alex? Alex, wake up."
He cracked his eyelids open, immediately shutting them again when a bright light shone into them, blinding him; he felt pain all over his body, and he had no idea where he was. "R-Rob?" he whispered, recognizing the voice calling to him.
"That's good," came Logan's voice, "now try to open your eyes again."
Alex sighed at the request, he slowly opened them and looked at the captain seated next to him; Logan smiled a little. "All right," he said, "you're going to be fine, Alex."
"Where am I?" Alex asked.
"A hospital," there was a note of amusement in his voice. "Where do you think you'd be?"
"What happened?"
Logan's face softened, he reached forward and patted Alex's shoulder gently. "You were in a fight with Ransik, remember?"
Alex's brow wrinkled as he tried to concentrate, then suddenly he seemed to remember everything. "H-He defeated me," he said, quickly, "Jen . . . and the others!"
"Shh . . . easy," Logan said, "they're fine. They followed Ransik through a timehole to the year two thousand one."
"Two thousand one???"
"Alex . . . she's okay." Logan smiled again. "Just lie back and relax, you need your sleep. Don't worry, you'll be out of here in a few days."
Alex nodded a little, then grimaced and held still as Logan turned to leave. "Wait," he said, "I-I thought it was over . . . when Ransik . . . I was thought I was dying. I gave her my morpher."
"I know," Logan said, "you were close, Alex, we nearly lost you."
"I . . . passed out?"
"You've been unconscious for five days," Logan said, "since the fight. Now, get some more rest . . . good-bye for now."
*****
Alex carefully slid his legs over the side of the bed and rested his feet on the floor, they were trembling slightly, and he noticed when he tried to stand; Logan gripped his arm firmly, supporting him as he swayed a little.
"Easy, easy," Logan said, "you feeling okay?"
"Like crap, sir."
Logan chuckled at the young man's bluntness, he helped Alex walk a few steps away from the bed, then back again; Alex sat down heavily, letting out a long breath. "Damn," he muttered, taking deep breaths as Logan patted his back.
"It's okay," he said, "it'll just take some time."
"I don't have time," Alex said, harshly. "I need to get back to work . . . help Jen."
"No, you need to get better." Logan added as a second thought: "At your own pace. Don't rush it, you'll only make it worse."
Alex nodded a little, hiding how much pain he was really in, but Logan apparently saw right through his facade; he smiled sympathetically at him, knowing how frustrating it was to the always-athletic Alex. The young man leaned over, resting his head in his bruised hands; he closed his eyes as his headache increased to a throbbing in his temples.
"Rest again," Logan said, "I'll be back tomorrow to check on you."
"Have you heard anything from her yet?"
"Not recently." Logan sighed. "I'll tell you when we hear anything, Alex, don't worry. Ensign Scotts and the others can take care of themselves."
"We're engaged, Rob."
Logan's face changed immediately, everyone knew of Alex's feelings for Jen, but he hadn't known just how far it went. "I'm sorry, Alex," he said, "I didn't know it had gone that far. When?"
"The night of Ransik's trial," Alex answered, "we had a full two hours together before . . . "
"Before he escaped."
"Yes."
Logan didn't speak again before he left, Alex watched him out of the corner of his eye, then lay down again; the bed was firm to support his injured back, but horribly uncomfortable. He flinched and moved around a bit, finally lying on his side and closing his eyes in hopes that he would get some sleep . . .
But thoughts of Jen assaulted him as the darkness closed in: Her tear- stained face as she gazed down at him in their final moments together, the way her smooth skin felt beneath his fingers when he brushed away that tear. He longed to have her home and hold her again, let her know everything would be all right; he missed her terribly, and he knew she felt the same way.
'She's out there . . . fighting Ransik,' he thought. 'What was I thinking sending her back there??? My morpher's useless to them anyway!' He had condemned the woman he loved to death, a death by the mutant that had taken everything else away from him, as well.
Shifting positions again, he set up the portable screen and found the disc he wanted, placing it inside and clip of Ransik's escape appeared. The explosions racking the truck that carried the mutant, Jen, and Lucas inside; Trip and Katie were lying on the road, motionless. The truck sped by them as missiles shot down from the sky from some unknown attackers, Alex rested his chin on his fist and squinted his eyes, looking for anything he could use.
"I've got to help her," he whispered.
Days passed and he still remained in the hospital, fighting off his injuries with more difficulty than he had expected, and getting visits from Logan every day.
The captain walked in on the sixth day with a grim expression on his face and Alex perked up immediately: "What's wrong?"
"Things aren't going too well, Alex," Logan said, "they need help."
"We can't send human help," Alex pointed out.
"I know that." He hesitated. "What was that you were working on before you were injured? The megazord . . . " he snapped his fingers, trying to remember.
"The Time Shadow?" Alex asked.
"Yes! That's it," Logan said, "is it complete?"
"No, not at all," Alex answered, "I'd still need to run diagnostics and finish . . . wait, they need another megazord?"
"It could be a great help," Logan said, "they just don't have the necessary equipment."
"I could get back to work on it," Alex offered.
"You're still weak."
"It doesn't take strength to sit at a computer console, Captain," Alex said, dryly, "and it certainly wouldn't be life-threatening to me. I can't lie around here any longer."
"You are not supposed to leave this hospital," Logan said, sternly, "I'll bring you the blueprints from your office if you tell me where to find them, you can work on it here for now. That sound fair to you, Commander?"
"Yes, sir," Alex said. "They're in the bottom right drawer of my desk."
"Good," Logan said, slapping him on the shoulder. "I'll get them right away, be back in a little while and you can get to work."
"Thank you, sir." Alex lay back and tried to rest, then a second thought popped into his mind: "Sir, how are they even operating the megazord? Did they find a way to get the morphers working?"
"They found someone to give the Red Chrono Morpher," Logan replied.
"What???"
"They traveled back to the year two thousand one, remember?"
"And . . . "
"Wesley Collins was a young man then," Logan explained, "you know who he was, don't you?"
Alex nodded, frowning. "Yes, of course," he said, "he inherited Bio-Lab from his father, Alan Collins. And he was . . . identical to me."
"Exactly," Logan said, "his DNA matched yours---or was close enough anyway, to unlock the morpher."
Alex sighed. "Talk about luck," he said, chuckling.
Logan smiled. "Yes," he said, "I didn't believe in it before, but I have to say: I do now." He walked out of the hospital room without another word, returning an hour later with the papers; Alex immediately buried himself in them, completely forgetting about everything else.
He had drawn up what he envisioned the Time Shadow to be when it was complete, the idea had come to him one night and he had immediately gotten out of bed and started working. He smiled, remembering how Jen had woken up as well a little while later and brought him some coffee; then she stood behind him and rubbed the knots out of his shoulders.
Soon he felt fatigue setting in and his eyes began drooping as his body screamed for sleep, he relented, leaving the papers scattered on his bed as he surrendered to the darkness.
***
Alex lay flat on his back, staring up at the plain ceiling as he fiddled with the pen in his fingers; a week had passed since the papers arrived and he had started his work on the Time Shadow again. The drawings were complete, but he needed to get to work on them . . . real work.
He shook his head, suddenly sitting up and getting out of bed, standing on shaking legs that felt strange beneath him; he leaned over and retrieved the uniform packed away in the drawers next to his bed. It was a new uniform, as he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander; he laid it out on his bed and stared at it briefly before picking it up and walking to the bathroom.
His hands trembled as he took off the hospital garment and pulled up the snug pants; bending down to put on his black boots and buckle them up was torture though, he bit his tongue to keep from crying out---even softly. The gold turtleneck clung to his skin and rubbed on the deep cut across his back, despite the bandage still over it; then finally, he zipped up the jacket and looked at himself in the mirror.
Dark circles under his dull, blue eyes . . . his hair uncombed and longer than before . . . his skin a sickly, white color . . . he didn't even recognize himself.
"Hello there, Commander Collins," he said, quietly. "Let's get back to work."
TBC