Disclaimer: The usual. Don't own anything you recognize.

KINGS AND VAGABONDS

By Etcetera Kit

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Nowhere Is Home IV

Everything was quiet. Carter let out a long breath as he entered his study, closing the door behind him. Paris and Syd were sleeping in the guest room for the night and Austin was on the couch in the living room – he didn't want to make them stay in rooms that had all their toys from fourteen years ago in them still. He and Dana needed to pack that stuff up and turn their rooms into something they could come to now.

He opened the top desk drawer and pulled out the divorce papers. Neither of them had signed them yet. Irreconcilable differences… two simple words that were about to end their marriage. He wanted to burn them – but he knew that they still needed to talk about them, work them out. There was something left to salvage from their marriage, they could make it work again – and the papers just seemed like a looming shadow.

"Hey."

Carter glanced up as Dana entered the room, quietly closing the door behind her. "Hey," he replied, standing up. "What's—"

She shushed him. "Austin's asleep," she whispered.

He nodded, watching as she picked the divorce papers up from where he had dropped them on his desk. She flipped to the page that neither of them had signed. Her blue eyes were sad as she dropped the papers back to the desk.

"I'm sorry."

Carter closed the space between them, his hands going to her waist. "It's all right," he murmured. "I thought it would be best too."

"I hurt you though," she insisted, that insistence showing through their hushed tones. "I never thought it would hurt you so much. I thought it was what we needed."

Neither of them was saying 'divorce', although that is exactly what both of them were thinking of. It had been brought up. "Dana," he said, pressing his forehead against hers. "I would have done anything to make you happy again and if a divorce would have done that, then I would have signed those papers willingly."

"I know." She pulled away from him and picked up the papers. He was a little surprised as she ripped them in half, ripping the pieces until nothing was left but shreds. The shreds fell to the floor, fluttering down slowly. "I don't want our marriage to be over."

"It's not," he replied.

Dana glanced at him, a smile coming over her face. She closed the space between them, pressing her lips against his. He eagerly accepted and returned the passionate, hungry kisses that reminded him exactly of what they hadn't done in ten years. Sure, the initial reconnection had happened at the hotel, but there hadn't been time for… this.

With a sweep of his arm, he cleared off the contents of the desk, hoisting Dana onto the surface. His fingers fumbled with the buttons of her blouse as his lips never left hers. Her hands were tugging on the hem of his shirt. When it became clear that they didn't want to lose lip contact, her hands settled underneath his shirt – her palms hot on his skin. Parting for breath, he ripped off the shirt.

"How long has it been since we've done this?" she asked breathlessly.

"Too long," he muttered. Why did they put so many buttons on blouses? It was completely redundant. After what seemed like an eternity, the blouse was unbuttoned and he pushed the garment off her shoulders. She shrugged it off.

It was mind-blowing… Carter gave himself over to the pure bliss that came from this…

The sunlight was streaming through the window of the study. Carter groaned, rubbing his eyes, trying to figure out why he was sleeping on the floor of the study. Voices were coming from the kitchen along with banging, like someone was cooking. Then the scent of pancakes and bacon hit him and his stomach rumbled. What in the world was going on?

"It's too early," Dana mumbled.

Carter blinked, realizing that the weight on his chest was Dana using him as a pillow. The events of last night tumbled back to him. No wonder he had been dead asleep… "We need to do that more often," he said softly.

Dana just grinned, sitting up, and then leaning back over to kiss him. He caught her arms and held onto the kiss for longer than was probably originally intended. "We need to get dressed and make sure they're not burning down the house."

He just shook his head. "I haven't heard the smoke detector and it doesn't smell like they've burnt anything." He paused. "Besides, my pager hasn't gone off."

She picked up his clothes and tossed them to him. They had managed to get the week off so that they could spend time with the kids before Austin and Paris had to leave on their special mission.

"Get off the phone with your boyfriend!" came Paris' annoyed voice.

"Just because I have a boyfriend and you don't—"

"I did have a boyfriend, but I dumped him because he was an idiot." There was a pause, followed by some creative cursing.

"Want me to cook the bacon?" Austin offered.

"Sure." There was another pause. "Although I might go after that HR director we now have – he's kind of hot."

"Paris!" Sydney shrieked. "He's got to be fifteen years older than you."

"At least he looked like he can have a good time, unlike—"

"Do not bring Sky into this!"

"Fine. Wasn't going to." There was a long pause. "Goddammit! I'm not even cooking the bacon and it's popping all over me."

"It just likes you," Austin said.

"You know that pretty little Deltamax Blaster that comes with the ranger uniform? Yeah? I'm thinking of taking mine to your head!"

"Paris always was in the middle of every fight," Dana commented with a grin as she buttoned up the blouse. "Austin and Sydney could gang up on her and she would still come out of the fight on top."

Carter just returned the grin. He has his own theory surrounding the kids. Austin and Sydney tended to come to him or Dana when they were upset or had a problem. Paris, on the other hand, would run away down the street to her Uncle Ryan's house – at four-years-old no less. Ryan would let her pull his kitchen chairs into the living room and give her a sheet to make a fort. While she was occupied he would call and let them know where she was. Then he would feed her and the pair of them would sit around and watch Disney movies until he or Dana came to bring her home.

He allowed Dana to lead him out into the kitchen for breakfast, a goofy grin still plastered all over his face.

Kira smiled as she accepted the mug of coffee from Ethan. Things had settled down some, so she and Ethan were taking advantage of the free time. They had been close back in high school, something akin to best friends. It was nice to be able to spend time with him again. Ethan sat down at the small table across from her. Life in the lounge buzzed on around them – two of the newest rangers at SPD. Neither of them had a color yet, since Ethan hadn't had time to program the morphers and Gruumm had been quiet.

"I can't believe I agreed to be a ranger again," she muttered.

"You and me both. We're as bad as Tommy and Conner."

She forced a smile. Conner… ever since she agreed to become a ranger, he had remained distant. Not that she expected anything else. He had been the one to break it off – she had nothing to feel bad about. And yet… she missed the way his eyes would light up when he looked at her, the way he would grin about inane stuff, even the way he teased her…

"You know," Ethan said slowly. "Conner really likes you."

"Great – make it sound like we're still teenagers."

Ethan nodded. "All right – bad word choice. It's more like he's passionately in love with you but afraid to express it to himself and you."

Kira rested her forehead on the palm of her hand. A smile graced her lips as Ethan laid a reassuring hand on her arm. That much was true – and not exaggerated too much.

"Why does it shock me when it doesn't shock you at all?"

Ethan grinned. "There has only been one man who could love you completely, in the way you deserve to be loved – and that man is Conner."

"Why didn't we realize this fifteen years ago?"

"You two were in different worlds with a lot of growing up to do."

"What happens now?"

"Just talk to him. He's learned to listen over the years."

She turned her hazel-eyed gaze to one of her oldest friends. She wasn't sure of anything anymore. Her life was planned for such a long time that it was hard to let go and listen to her heart. Conner – there was so much to him that she had never known before. He was – she loved him. The realization hit her like an avalanche. For years, he was just Conner – a distant memory from long gone high school days.

Now, he was a living, breathing, integral part of her life. Love had blossomed between them and they were too scared to acknowledge it. The way he gently kissed her when she spent the night curled in his arms… It was the piece that had been missing her whole life – Conner.

"I have to go, Ethan," she cried breathlessly, jumping up and running down the familiar corridors before she changed her mind.

In no time, she was standing outside the door to Conner's apartment. She pressed the buzzer, willing herself to go through with this. She could hear some shuffling in the background, before Conner, himself, opened the door. He was wearing a red button-up shirt that was mostly unbuttoned and loose jeans, barefoot. God, he had never looked sexier.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked.

"Sure," he replied with a nod. He glanced back into the hall before motioning her into the apartment and shutting the door behind her. The place was noticeably quiet since the girls were still in school. "Kira, I—" he began.

"No," she said quickly, laying a finger on his lips. "Don't talk. I want to say this and I don't want you to interrupt." She removed her finger, grateful that he complied for once. "I don't know all that's happened to you – I probably don't want to know all that's happened to you. But I do know that I love you and you love me, even if you haven't admitted it to yourself yet." She let out a long, shaky breath. "I know that you're afraid of being hurt again, but we can make this work. I want to be a part of your life and your daughters' lives, if you'll let me."

Conner looked stunned. "I am so sorry," he whispered. "I just—"

"Conner, I will not hurt you like she did."

There – that was what he needed to hear. She watched as the tension drained from his face and a smile broke out over his features. He leaned forward, catching her lips in a fiery, passionate kiss that blew her mind, making her knees weak. She felt that kiss from the ends of her hair to the tips of her toes. Conner gently broke the kiss, leaning his forehead against hers. "I know I've got a lot to make up for," he said softly.

"Any ideas on how to start that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Conner grinned sheepishly. "Most of it involves a bed, ripping all your clothes off and doing unspeakable things for long periods of time."

"When do the girls get home for school?"

"Not for another four hours."

"Then we have got plenty of time."

Sky leaned back on his bed at the SPD Academy, feeling something real for the first time since Friday. His life had seemed surreal, lost in a wave of emotions. Now, back to what he knew inside and out, he felt like he could get his equilibrium back, regain some of his focus. Syd and Bridge had called him yesterday, both wanting to know when he was getting back to the academy. He had told them – Syd promising to be back soon after he was and Bridge telling him he'd be there that same day. Now… it was time to put the pieces back together and figure out what his life was going to look like from now on.

He shivered. No one was getting back fast enough.

The door slid open and Syd entered, a grin breaking over her face as she saw him. "Hey you," she said, coming to his bed and snuggled next to him. Her arms went around his middle as she hugged him tightly. "Are you all right?" She didn't give him time to answer as she pressed her lips to his. He held onto the kiss.

"I'm fine," he whispered.

"No – you're freezing."

Syd sat up, forcing him to do the same. She pulled one of his ice cold hands against her wrist, inside the loose sweater she was wearing. She pressed her free hand over his. He smiled at her, thinking of all the other ways he could warm up.

"Don't even think about it," Syd said, grinning at him. "Bridge and Z will be here in a few minutes – they had to drop some stuff off at our room – and you don't want them to walk in on us." She leaned forward and kissed him again. It seemed like such a long time since they kissed that he was feeling dizzy from that alone, not to mention the heat radiating from Syd's body.

It had only been a few days since they had been told the truth, but it felt like a lifetime. Between his father, Doctor Oliver and Captain Mitchell, the trials that had been closed so long ago were being reopened. He had overheard Ethan and Trent talking when he had gone to the command center to check back in with Doctor Oliver. There were a lot of legal loopholes that had been ignored and a lot of points where the proper procedure hadn't been done. Both of them were confident that Cruger would be behind bars for life – or in one those containment cards, as Trent had put it dryly.

"Hey guys!"

Bridge came into the room followed by Z. He dropped his bag on his bed and unzipped it, rummaging around for something. He pulled a smaller plastic bag from it. Z just grinned and rolled her eyes. The pair of them joined them on Sky's bed.

"Been shopping?" Sky asked.

"Not as much as Z," Bridge replied, like it was the most obvious thing. Z was wearing new jeans and a baby yellow cashmere sweater. He took two jewelry boxes out of the bag. "I found these at a flea market."

"What were you doing at a flea market?" Syd asked, sounding like she would never be caught dead at such a place.

"Looking for a part for my computer." Bridge was back to being oblivious. He handed Sky one of the boxes and Syd one of the boxes. "Anyways, I thought these were perfect."

Sky opened the box. Inside was a silver sunburst on a long, thin silver chain. The center of the sunburst on his necklace was gold – probably real gold if Bridge had been shopping at flea market prices. He glanced at Syd's. It was the same, except that the center of the sunburst was green. Z was wearing one too – with an orange center. And Bridge was – with a blue center.

"Do I want to know your reasoning behind the colors?"

"It's your auras," Bridge paused. "Or at least how I read your auras," he conceded. "Yours is gold because I see a lot of gold in your aura – traits that show up as gold. You're organized, follow the rules, you like tradition – you get the point."

Sky raised an eyebrow at him. "What about the others?"

"Syd's is green because she likes learning, ideas, science – and if given the chance, she'd be a really good leader." Bridge paused, glancing at Z. "Z's is orange because she likes being active, spontaneous…" He trailed off.

"Why is yours blue?" Syd asked.

Bridge looked a little uncomfortable. "It's complicated."

"So, we're all staying at SPD?" Z asked, effectively changing the subject.

"Looks like it," Syd replied. "And Paris and Austin are on the squad now." She paused and looked at Z. "Why are you staying?"

"My parents are going to do everything they can to bring Cruger to justice, but I'm a Power Ranger. They both understand the responsibility there. We save the world on a daily basis. How can anyone not want us to do that?"

"That's true," Sky replied.

"So how about you, mister billionaire parents? What did your parents think?"

Sky gave her a bored look. "All of the people who had been parental figures in my life were rangers. I guess it's natural." He shrugged. "The conversation never went around to that much after I told them I was staying. It was more about getting me a new car and fixing the broken garage door at the house."

"Welcome to what used to be my life," Syd said with a grin, nudging him.

"Are they getting you a new car?" Z asked.

"Yeah."

"What color is it going to be?"

"What color do you think?"

"Pink?" Bridge suggested.

That got a laugh out of everyone. Sky smiled as he glanced at the three people who had become his closest friends. Bridge and Syd had been there since they joined the academy – and since they had formally been put onto the B-Squad. Even Z… he hadn't thought much of her initially, but she had proved herself a great ranger and a great friend. Who else would ask him if he owned clothes other than his uniform?

"We need to make a pact," Syd said, putting her necklace on.

"What kind of pact?" Bridge responded.

"That's what we're going to decide," she continued. She glanced at him and Sky let out a long breath as he put on his own necklace. She reached out and grasped his left hand, holding Z's hand with her other hand. Bridge took Z's free hand and his. "Everyone can say something that we have to keep, no matter what."

"No picking your nose," Bridge said.

"Bridge!" Z said, nudging him and frowning.

"I'm serious. We need to respect ourselves. We're all unique – there is no one else on this planet that is like us. We're human beings – not freaks, not machines. We have to remember that we're humans and we can't let anyone tell us otherwise. We can live out our dreams."

He glanced at Sky. Great… "We stay with our parents through the trials," he said slowly. "We support them as much as we can. And we never let anyone tell us what our pasts were and what our futures are going to be."

"I've got it!" Syd said, grinning and sitting up a little straighter. "We take time to have fun with our powers. With Cruger, we were never allowed to have fun with them. We shouldn't view our powers as weapons, but as just a part of who we are – and that includes when we decide to have fun."

"I now know how I'm keeping Bridge's mess on his side of the room," Sky muttered.

"Hey!" Bridge protested. "I'm not that messy."

Z nudged him and he fell silent. "We need to be there for each other, no matter what. None of us should have to resort to living on the streets or starving, especially now. If anyone has any problem, no matter what the time of day or night, you have to promise to find one of us so we can help."

Sky felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips. Bridge was his brother, in more ways than one. The pair of them had been through a lot together and enough blood had been spilt, that they might as well have been blood brothers. Syd was his lover, his girlfriend, his best friend – she had become everything to him. And Z… he supposed that he gained an annoying younger sister in Z, but annoying in a good way.

"Have I mentioned yet today that I love you guys?" Syd asked, sounding teary.

"No," Bridge replied.

"All right – I love you guys!"

Syd wrapped her arms around him and Z, managing to pull Bridge in as well. Sky grinned into the group hug. He was surrounded by the people that were closest to him and the people that had the most in common with him – and now only time would tell how their futures would work out.

To Be Continued...

Author's Note: Ack! I lied when I said a few more chapters. I meant this one and an epilogue. I think my brain went out to lunch when I started reading for class... At any rate, thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing this piece. The constant support and comments from the start has been great. So stay tuned for the epilogue!