A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my friend, Rick---because in this, I
fulfill a promise I made to him a few weeks ago concerning Wes and Jen.
More to come, Rick! winks
Sorry about the formatting, guys. It seems FF.net won't let me use asterisks anymore.
Images flashed before his eyes . . . Dragontron blasting the Megazord with its enormous power . . . the Rangers inside, falling around him in pain . . . Jen's bright smile, the tone in her voice when Wes appeared and destroyed the energy siphon . . .
'Don't say anything, I know you were just trying to do what was right.'
Alex sat up quickly, alone in the darkness of his apartment, back in the 31st Century; it had been almost a week since he had returned, and received a harsh reprimand from Time Force.
"You were not authorized to turn that Chrono Morpher over to a civilian, Collins---" the words still echoed in his mind. He'd always hated when he would get into any sort of trouble, since he had always strived to be the perfect officer---luckily, he had gotten off with only the Admiral's sharp words.
They had been pleased that the three Rangers 'destined to die' in the battle with Dragontron had survived after all, but in no way thanks to Alex's efforts. However, upon returning to the future, Alex had discovered another disturbing turn of events . . . they had escaped Dragontron, only to be killed in the final battle, with Doomtron.
'Well, you definitely can't go back and try to help,' he reminded himself, 'you know how that ended. You're not made out to be the leader of a team.'
Or the leader of Jen, rather. She had rebelled against him inwardly, although she kept quiet for the most part; Alex knew she had assumed command of the mission after he gave her his morpher, and had led the team for months. No doubt, she resented him for taking over when she felt she had been doing a fine job all on her own.
'That's just the way it is,' he said silently, 'Time Force operates this way for a reason, to get the job done.' And that's what he had been taught all his life . . . but Jen was relatively new, at least, compared to him; and Wes had never treated her like a subordinate.
"Wes," Alex muttered, just as his wake-up call jerked him back to the present. "Six-thirty, already? Damn."
He slowly crawled out of bed, taking a quick shower before putting on his sweatpants and eating a small breakfast; he was sprawled on the couch, watching a news report when he heard the computer announce:
"You have a visitor."
"Name," Alex sighed.
"Logan, Robert."
"Enter."
The doors swished open and the Captain walked in, he stood a few feet away from the couch, waiting for Alex as he set his bowl down and tossed on a shirt.
"Can I help you, Captain?" he asked, running his hand through his ruffled hair.
"No . . . I just came to check on you." Logan eyed him carefully, the eyes that had watched over Alex since his childhood. "You've been having a rough time lately, with your injuries, and the Rangers."
"Just work," Alex said, trying to shrug it off.
"No, it's not," Logan insisted, "work doesn't usually involve a fiancee."
"That's what you came here to talk about?" Alex said, smiling a little. "Rob, that's kind of between me and Jennifer. Besides, how do you know we're having troubles?"
"Well, the file---" Logan began.
"What file?" Alex cut him off, confused.
Logan blinked. "You didn't see?" he said, clearing his throat.
Alex hesitated, swallowing the lump in his throat, he managed to ask: "What is it? Did some new file come up in the database?"
"I'm sorry, Alex," Logan said, "I shouldn't have brought it up, I just thought you would've seen it yesterday when you were working."
"Rob, what are you talking about?" Alex demanded.
"A file came through," Logan said, "of Ensign Scotts and Wesley Collins, during the battle with Doomtron."
Alex's mouth went dry, watching Logan struggling to get the words out--- "Maybe," he finally interrupted him, "I should just go see for myself. I have an idea anyway."
After putting on his uniform, Alex drove down to the building where his office was located and began scanning in the latter half of the year 2001; it didn't take him long to find out what Logan had been speaking of. A clip appeared, recorded by Time Force as it monitored their progress . . .
Wes and Jen standing on the beach where they had landed, bruised and beaten, in one another's arms; they stared off into the ocean, left alone after a bloody battle.
"We'll make it, Jen," Wes promised, his voice low.
"I know we will . . . " Jen took a long, unsteady breath. "Wes, I-I have to tell you something. You see, I haven't been honest with you, for a long time now. Ever since Alex came back I've been confused and---well, things just aren't the same. So, well, I . . . "
Wes shook his head, shushing Jen by pressing his fingers to her lips; in a gentle voice, he told her: "Jen, I love you."
"I love you, too," Jen whispered, "I wish I had told you sooner, I've loved you for so many months. Now it's too late."
"What'd you mean it's 'too late'?" Wes managed a chuckle. "I told you, Jen, we're gonna make it . . . we're gonna defeat Doomtron." He hesitated, but then leaned over and kissed her timidly, relieved when she opened herself to him and returned the kiss with all her own love . . .
Alex reached over and slammed his fist down on one of the controls, the picture flickered and then disappeared. His breaths were short, the tightening in his throat alarming, a feeling that he hadn't experienced in years---a pain stronger than he had felt in so long.
"Alex?" Logan's voice drifted over from the doorway.
"Go away," Alex said, managing somehow to keep his voice even. "I-I need to get to work."
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Alex replied, "just leave me alone . . . I still have a lot I need to do, things that---that might be able to change the outcome. You never know."
"You can't change her," Logan said, gently.
Alex closed his eyes and turned around in his chair so his back was facing Logan, hoping that perhaps if the Captain couldn't see his face, he couldn't read his mind. No such luck.
"You're bothered by this," Logan said, "much more than you'd like to admit. I know you, Alex. You'll try to hide this, pretend that you don't care and you always knew it would end up this way, but that's not the truth."
"I can't think about that right now," Alex said, "some things are more important. Like capturing Ransik . . . again."
"All right," Logan said, "see you later."
Alex didn't reply, and a moment later heard the doors close; he looked back at the blank screen, tempted to search for more from the past, but unable to look. He knew anyway, there was no need to rub it in or try to convince himself . . . but perhaps he could still change it, convince Jen that he was the right man for her.
'The future's not written in stone---' oddly enough, the words of Wes Collins came back to him. '---we each make our own destiny.'
Maybe Wes was right after all, he didn't have to surrender to destiny . . .
-----------------------------------------
Alex straightened as the doors to the restaurant swished open and a beautiful, young woman stepped inside; she was out of uniform, her hair in a ponytail, swinging freely, wearing a comfortable jogging suit. Her face brightened with a smile when she saw him---
"Thanks for coming," Alex said.
"No problem." Sienna sat down on the other side of the table and gave her order, then turned her attention back to him: "What's going on?"
"As if you don't know . . . " the small chuckle in his voice was bitter.
"Well," Sienna said, "there have been rumors, all over the place actually."
"Yeah?" His eyebrow shot up. "Unfortunately, most of them are probably true . . . I can't say everything, that's private."
"But . . . " Sienna said, "you are having some troubles."
Alex leaned back, taking a sip of the drink he had ordered earlier, debating what to tell Sienna and what to keep secret; his anger told him to spill it all out, but another side told him he should keep it between himself and Jen.
"She thought I was dead," he said, quickly, "all this time. And she'd been trying to . . . move on."
They fell silent as Sienna's drink was brought over and she took a few sips, contemplating Alex's words; for a moment, he thought she was going to smile. That maybe her 'just friends' attitude was just a show so he wouldn't avoid her, and she still wanted more than he was willing to give.
"I won't press," Sienna said, "but I have to say this: If she gives you up for someone else, then it's her loss. She doesn't deserve you."
"Sienna," Alex said, "I love her, I can't help that. Whether or not we 'deserve' each other, I don't know---maybe I don't deserve her."
"Don't talk like that---"
"You don't know what happened back there," Alex said, "I was too hard on them, I pushed her away."
"I know," Sienna said, "that you've always been there for her, in the worst of times. I saw you two, even when I didn't want to see it, you never left her side."
"Until now." Alex nodded. "And that's what counts."
"I just don't understand her," Sienna said, "she was this close to devoting the rest of her life to you, and now she's just going to give it up?"
"I don't know," Alex said, "maybe we can work things out . . . I hope we can."
"I hope so, too," Sienna said, sounding earnest as she reached across the table and put her hand on his. "I'm really glad you called me, you need someone to talk to."
"I just want this to be over . . . " Alex stood abruptly, finding himself slowly losing control of his emotions. "I need to get back to work, thanks again."
"It's okay," Sienna said, "everything will clear up."
"Yeah . . . maybe."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------
"Commander Collins!"
Alex stopped halfway through the door, rolling his eyes at the sound of a high-pitched feminine voice; he turned slowly. "Yes, Ensign . . . ?" his voice trailed off.
"Vega, sir," the girl said, quickly, "Abigail Vega. Captain Logan told me you were going to be my supervisor for the next week. I'm new here and they haven't assigned me a partner yet."
"You mean . . . going out on the street?"
"Yes, sir!"
Alex looked over her shoulder at the tall man standing outside his office, a smirk on his face as he watched the little encounter between an experienced officer and a fresh ensign. He walked forward, his arms swinging freely at his sides as they did when he was 'up to something'; Alex met his gaze evenly, words exchanged between the two silently.
"You need some time away from computers," Logan said, finally, "it's only a week, Collins."
"Yes, sir," Alex sighed.
At any other time, he would've been grateful to his superiors for allowing him to get back on the road and partol like he used to; but at any other time, he would've been partnered with Jen. 'Not some rookie,' he added to himself.
"All right," he said, aloud, "I'll get changed. Meet you out front, Ensign."
"Yes, sir---" was her reply before she hurried off.
Logan eyed Alex, some sympathy in his warm eyes even as his smirk became more and more smug; Alex shook his head. "Why are you doing this to me?"
"Oh, come on," Logan said, "it's not that bad. And it'll do you some good to get out."
"I don't want a new partner, Rob."
"She's not your new partner," Logan pointed out, "she's your new trainee. You don't have to be in love with them to work well with someone."
"I have work here," Alex insisted.
"And it can wait," Logan said, "you're not the only one helping the Rangers, you know." He put his hand on Alex's shoulder. "It's time you stopped thinking about them every second of the day."
"I'm not sure I can help that---" he smiled a little.
"Seven days, Alex," Logan said.
He turned and walked back to his office as Alex entered his own and pulled out his uniform, glancing up at the computer screen and the frozen image of Jen on it. 'I'll be back soon,' he told her, silently. He slowly reached out and touched the flickering screen, as if he could feel her soft cheek beneath his fingertips; the loneliness was becoming too much to bear, so many months without her, slowly losing her to another man.
'I won't give up.'
TBC
Sorry about the formatting, guys. It seems FF.net won't let me use asterisks anymore.
Images flashed before his eyes . . . Dragontron blasting the Megazord with its enormous power . . . the Rangers inside, falling around him in pain . . . Jen's bright smile, the tone in her voice when Wes appeared and destroyed the energy siphon . . .
'Don't say anything, I know you were just trying to do what was right.'
Alex sat up quickly, alone in the darkness of his apartment, back in the 31st Century; it had been almost a week since he had returned, and received a harsh reprimand from Time Force.
"You were not authorized to turn that Chrono Morpher over to a civilian, Collins---" the words still echoed in his mind. He'd always hated when he would get into any sort of trouble, since he had always strived to be the perfect officer---luckily, he had gotten off with only the Admiral's sharp words.
They had been pleased that the three Rangers 'destined to die' in the battle with Dragontron had survived after all, but in no way thanks to Alex's efforts. However, upon returning to the future, Alex had discovered another disturbing turn of events . . . they had escaped Dragontron, only to be killed in the final battle, with Doomtron.
'Well, you definitely can't go back and try to help,' he reminded himself, 'you know how that ended. You're not made out to be the leader of a team.'
Or the leader of Jen, rather. She had rebelled against him inwardly, although she kept quiet for the most part; Alex knew she had assumed command of the mission after he gave her his morpher, and had led the team for months. No doubt, she resented him for taking over when she felt she had been doing a fine job all on her own.
'That's just the way it is,' he said silently, 'Time Force operates this way for a reason, to get the job done.' And that's what he had been taught all his life . . . but Jen was relatively new, at least, compared to him; and Wes had never treated her like a subordinate.
"Wes," Alex muttered, just as his wake-up call jerked him back to the present. "Six-thirty, already? Damn."
He slowly crawled out of bed, taking a quick shower before putting on his sweatpants and eating a small breakfast; he was sprawled on the couch, watching a news report when he heard the computer announce:
"You have a visitor."
"Name," Alex sighed.
"Logan, Robert."
"Enter."
The doors swished open and the Captain walked in, he stood a few feet away from the couch, waiting for Alex as he set his bowl down and tossed on a shirt.
"Can I help you, Captain?" he asked, running his hand through his ruffled hair.
"No . . . I just came to check on you." Logan eyed him carefully, the eyes that had watched over Alex since his childhood. "You've been having a rough time lately, with your injuries, and the Rangers."
"Just work," Alex said, trying to shrug it off.
"No, it's not," Logan insisted, "work doesn't usually involve a fiancee."
"That's what you came here to talk about?" Alex said, smiling a little. "Rob, that's kind of between me and Jennifer. Besides, how do you know we're having troubles?"
"Well, the file---" Logan began.
"What file?" Alex cut him off, confused.
Logan blinked. "You didn't see?" he said, clearing his throat.
Alex hesitated, swallowing the lump in his throat, he managed to ask: "What is it? Did some new file come up in the database?"
"I'm sorry, Alex," Logan said, "I shouldn't have brought it up, I just thought you would've seen it yesterday when you were working."
"Rob, what are you talking about?" Alex demanded.
"A file came through," Logan said, "of Ensign Scotts and Wesley Collins, during the battle with Doomtron."
Alex's mouth went dry, watching Logan struggling to get the words out--- "Maybe," he finally interrupted him, "I should just go see for myself. I have an idea anyway."
After putting on his uniform, Alex drove down to the building where his office was located and began scanning in the latter half of the year 2001; it didn't take him long to find out what Logan had been speaking of. A clip appeared, recorded by Time Force as it monitored their progress . . .
Wes and Jen standing on the beach where they had landed, bruised and beaten, in one another's arms; they stared off into the ocean, left alone after a bloody battle.
"We'll make it, Jen," Wes promised, his voice low.
"I know we will . . . " Jen took a long, unsteady breath. "Wes, I-I have to tell you something. You see, I haven't been honest with you, for a long time now. Ever since Alex came back I've been confused and---well, things just aren't the same. So, well, I . . . "
Wes shook his head, shushing Jen by pressing his fingers to her lips; in a gentle voice, he told her: "Jen, I love you."
"I love you, too," Jen whispered, "I wish I had told you sooner, I've loved you for so many months. Now it's too late."
"What'd you mean it's 'too late'?" Wes managed a chuckle. "I told you, Jen, we're gonna make it . . . we're gonna defeat Doomtron." He hesitated, but then leaned over and kissed her timidly, relieved when she opened herself to him and returned the kiss with all her own love . . .
Alex reached over and slammed his fist down on one of the controls, the picture flickered and then disappeared. His breaths were short, the tightening in his throat alarming, a feeling that he hadn't experienced in years---a pain stronger than he had felt in so long.
"Alex?" Logan's voice drifted over from the doorway.
"Go away," Alex said, managing somehow to keep his voice even. "I-I need to get to work."
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Alex replied, "just leave me alone . . . I still have a lot I need to do, things that---that might be able to change the outcome. You never know."
"You can't change her," Logan said, gently.
Alex closed his eyes and turned around in his chair so his back was facing Logan, hoping that perhaps if the Captain couldn't see his face, he couldn't read his mind. No such luck.
"You're bothered by this," Logan said, "much more than you'd like to admit. I know you, Alex. You'll try to hide this, pretend that you don't care and you always knew it would end up this way, but that's not the truth."
"I can't think about that right now," Alex said, "some things are more important. Like capturing Ransik . . . again."
"All right," Logan said, "see you later."
Alex didn't reply, and a moment later heard the doors close; he looked back at the blank screen, tempted to search for more from the past, but unable to look. He knew anyway, there was no need to rub it in or try to convince himself . . . but perhaps he could still change it, convince Jen that he was the right man for her.
'The future's not written in stone---' oddly enough, the words of Wes Collins came back to him. '---we each make our own destiny.'
Maybe Wes was right after all, he didn't have to surrender to destiny . . .
-----------------------------------------
Alex straightened as the doors to the restaurant swished open and a beautiful, young woman stepped inside; she was out of uniform, her hair in a ponytail, swinging freely, wearing a comfortable jogging suit. Her face brightened with a smile when she saw him---
"Thanks for coming," Alex said.
"No problem." Sienna sat down on the other side of the table and gave her order, then turned her attention back to him: "What's going on?"
"As if you don't know . . . " the small chuckle in his voice was bitter.
"Well," Sienna said, "there have been rumors, all over the place actually."
"Yeah?" His eyebrow shot up. "Unfortunately, most of them are probably true . . . I can't say everything, that's private."
"But . . . " Sienna said, "you are having some troubles."
Alex leaned back, taking a sip of the drink he had ordered earlier, debating what to tell Sienna and what to keep secret; his anger told him to spill it all out, but another side told him he should keep it between himself and Jen.
"She thought I was dead," he said, quickly, "all this time. And she'd been trying to . . . move on."
They fell silent as Sienna's drink was brought over and she took a few sips, contemplating Alex's words; for a moment, he thought she was going to smile. That maybe her 'just friends' attitude was just a show so he wouldn't avoid her, and she still wanted more than he was willing to give.
"I won't press," Sienna said, "but I have to say this: If she gives you up for someone else, then it's her loss. She doesn't deserve you."
"Sienna," Alex said, "I love her, I can't help that. Whether or not we 'deserve' each other, I don't know---maybe I don't deserve her."
"Don't talk like that---"
"You don't know what happened back there," Alex said, "I was too hard on them, I pushed her away."
"I know," Sienna said, "that you've always been there for her, in the worst of times. I saw you two, even when I didn't want to see it, you never left her side."
"Until now." Alex nodded. "And that's what counts."
"I just don't understand her," Sienna said, "she was this close to devoting the rest of her life to you, and now she's just going to give it up?"
"I don't know," Alex said, "maybe we can work things out . . . I hope we can."
"I hope so, too," Sienna said, sounding earnest as she reached across the table and put her hand on his. "I'm really glad you called me, you need someone to talk to."
"I just want this to be over . . . " Alex stood abruptly, finding himself slowly losing control of his emotions. "I need to get back to work, thanks again."
"It's okay," Sienna said, "everything will clear up."
"Yeah . . . maybe."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------
"Commander Collins!"
Alex stopped halfway through the door, rolling his eyes at the sound of a high-pitched feminine voice; he turned slowly. "Yes, Ensign . . . ?" his voice trailed off.
"Vega, sir," the girl said, quickly, "Abigail Vega. Captain Logan told me you were going to be my supervisor for the next week. I'm new here and they haven't assigned me a partner yet."
"You mean . . . going out on the street?"
"Yes, sir!"
Alex looked over her shoulder at the tall man standing outside his office, a smirk on his face as he watched the little encounter between an experienced officer and a fresh ensign. He walked forward, his arms swinging freely at his sides as they did when he was 'up to something'; Alex met his gaze evenly, words exchanged between the two silently.
"You need some time away from computers," Logan said, finally, "it's only a week, Collins."
"Yes, sir," Alex sighed.
At any other time, he would've been grateful to his superiors for allowing him to get back on the road and partol like he used to; but at any other time, he would've been partnered with Jen. 'Not some rookie,' he added to himself.
"All right," he said, aloud, "I'll get changed. Meet you out front, Ensign."
"Yes, sir---" was her reply before she hurried off.
Logan eyed Alex, some sympathy in his warm eyes even as his smirk became more and more smug; Alex shook his head. "Why are you doing this to me?"
"Oh, come on," Logan said, "it's not that bad. And it'll do you some good to get out."
"I don't want a new partner, Rob."
"She's not your new partner," Logan pointed out, "she's your new trainee. You don't have to be in love with them to work well with someone."
"I have work here," Alex insisted.
"And it can wait," Logan said, "you're not the only one helping the Rangers, you know." He put his hand on Alex's shoulder. "It's time you stopped thinking about them every second of the day."
"I'm not sure I can help that---" he smiled a little.
"Seven days, Alex," Logan said.
He turned and walked back to his office as Alex entered his own and pulled out his uniform, glancing up at the computer screen and the frozen image of Jen on it. 'I'll be back soon,' he told her, silently. He slowly reached out and touched the flickering screen, as if he could feel her soft cheek beneath his fingertips; the loneliness was becoming too much to bear, so many months without her, slowly losing her to another man.
'I won't give up.'
TBC