Disclaimer: We do not own the Power Rangers, Saban/Disney does. Although we may wish these four boys belonged to us, alas they do not. This story was not written for profit of any kind. "Mad Season" belongs to Matchbox 20, who again, do not belong to us.
~Destiny jumps up~
Or do they? Maybe everything belongs to us, and we're just letting them think they don't. Maybe we control the universe…MWAH-HA-HA!!
~Ivy smacks Destiny, then pushes her back into the cage and locks the door~
Sorry, she gets out of control sometimes. Bad Destiny!! Really, we don't own anything.
~Destiny growls, but Ivy pulls out a hose and sprays her with cold water~
She's just a little excited. Please read on, and enjoy the story!
Author's notes: Another thank you gets extended for all of the helpful reviews. You guys totally rock! The first chapter has been re-written, and the fate of the second depends on you. So please review! Also note - Italics indicate internal thoughts.
Timeline: This takes place Zeo, shortly after Jason returns as the Gold Ranger.
Helen Scott stood at the bottom of the stairs, concern written across her face. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and Jason was holed up in his room. She was beginning to get worried about him. He had been so excited about coming home, but over the past two weeks he had grown more and more withdrawn and morose, which was not Jason. Well, she had sat around long enough. It was time for a little motherly intervention. Grabbing a knife she cut into the brownies she had removed from the oven an hour earlier. Jason's clear baritone voice and the tones of his guitar floated down the stairs. "I feel stupid, but I know it won't last for long. And I've been guessing, but I could've been guessing wrong. You don't know me now; I kinda thought that you should somehow. Has that whole mad season let you down?"
Piling some brownies on a plate, she poured a big glass of milk. She put the plate and glass on a tray and headed up the stairs to Jason's room. She knew she was being an over-indulgent mother, but she didn't care. The house had been so empty while Jason was in Switzerland. And now he was back, but he wasn't the wisecracking, laughing Jason she remembered. And she fully intended to spoil him until he told her what was wrong. Stopping outside the door, she listened to his voice. Her baby did have a beautiful voice. She loved hearing him sing. But not on a gorgeous Saturday when he should be outside. "I feel stupid, but it's something that comes and goes. And I've been changing; think it's funny how no one knows. We don't talk about the little things that we do without when that whole mad season comes around."
She opened the door to his room and paused. She still couldn't believe John had built this. It used to be a crawl space above the garage, but he had transformed it into a beautiful room for Jason. It had been a surprise "welcome-home" gift, and Jason had moved into it instantly. She looked around with a smile. Once side of the open room had been made into a workout space, complete with a sparring mat, weights and a punching bag. There was a folding screen that her sister had sent them from Japan separating that area from the bedroom, which Jason could move if he wished. The bedroom itself was spacious and colorful; she had been responsible for that. It was decorated in shades of red, her son's signature color. She had framed pictures of his friends and placed them in various locations throughout the room, including the walls. John had built a large showcase to house Jason's numerous trophies, and an adjacent bookcase, which had been quickly filled. They'd also set up an entertainment system with a TV, VCR, and stereo. Finally a small bathroom had been added. It truly was a spectacular room, and Helen could see how someone would enjoy spending time there. But he's just spending way too much time here.
She focused on her son. He was perched on the edge of his futon, his dark head bent over the guitar Trini, Kim, Billy and Zach had given him for his 12th birthday. His eyes were closed, signaling the intensity this song held for him. She listened to the words, trying to delve into her son's psyche. "So why you gonna stand there looking like the answer now? Seems to me you'll come around. I need you now, do you think you can cope. You've figured me out, that I'm lost and I'm hopeless. I'm bleeding and broken, though I've never spoken, I come undone."
Shaking her head, she decided to take the more direct approach. Walking closer to him, she interrupted his song. "I've missed hearing you sing."
Jason looked up. "Mom."
She placed the tray on the floor. "I thought you might be hungry."
"Uh-huh." He put his guitar back on its stand and gave her a wry grin. "You want to ask me about my life, and you're bribing me to answer." He picked up a brownie and took a bite. "Not that it's not appreciated."
She laughed. "I've never been able to fool you, have I?"
"Not since 2nd grade when I overheard you and dad talking about the best ways to pry into my life." He gestured to the futon. "Sit. Say whatever it is that prompted you to melt my will with chocolate."
She sat. "Sweetheart, I'm worried about you. You've been so quiet lately. Is everything all right? You've certainly been making a lot of late-night calls to Switzerland." He flushed, but before he could say anything she held up her hand. "It's perfectly all right, your father and I don't mind. We're just concerned about you. Are you regretting your decision to come home?"
He sighed. "Not exactly. I was really homesick over there. It's just…it's not the Angel Grove that I remember."
She put her hand over his. "You knew it was going to be different. We talked about that before you came back."
"I know, but I thought…" he trailed off and pulled his had away, looking down at the blanket on his bed.
"You thought what?"
Jason shrugged, picking the lint off the blanket. I thought I had a best friend to come back to. "I guess I just miss them."
Helen put her arm around him. "I know you do. You kids were a closer group than anyone had ever seen. But distance won't change that!"
Jason stood and walked over to the bookcase. He picked up a picture. It was him, Billy, Kim, Zach, and Trini right before the eighth grade dance. Their parents had been trying to take a serious picture, but Zach kept cracking them up with his stupid one-liners. Finally their parents gave up and just took pictures of them all laughing together. He smiled at the memory. "They've been around my whole life, Mom. We did everything together. Now we're all split up, and I don't know if we'll ever be together again."
She got up and walked over to join him, putting her arm around his waist. "Of course you will! This separation isn't permanent! You'll all be together again soon."
He pulled away. "For how long? A weekend? A vacation? Zach's planning on staying at the youth conference until graduation, and then he wants to go to NYU and take a shot at dancing professionally. Trini loves Europe so much that she wants to go to University there. If Kim does well in the Pan Globals she could go on to train for the Olympics. As for Billy…well, he's in Angel Grove, but he may as well be on another planet as much as I see him!"
Helen picked up another picture. "What about Tommy?" She smiled. It had been taken right after a karate tournament. The two boys were jokingly sparring, and Tommy had Jason in a headlock. "You two were inseparable before you left."
Her son was silent, and she saw a flash of pain flicker across his face. She walked over to him, tossing the picture on the futon. Putting a hand on his shoulder, she softly inquired, "What happened?"
"Like I said, things are different," Jason responded quietly. He's different.
Helen squeezed his shoulder. "You're all growing up. People change as they grow up."
Jason sighed. "I really don't want to talk about this."
"Sweetheart…" She stopped at the look she received and held up her hands in surrender. "All right, I'll drop it. But if you decide you do want to talk…"
"I'll follow the smell of the baked goods," he replied, bringing a smile to her face. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks."
"It's a beautiful day. Why don't you go for a walk in the park or something?"
"Nah. I think I'll just stay here and have some quality time with these brownies." He picked up his guitar again.
"Okay. I'm going to run a casserole over to your grandmother's house, but I'll be back soon, and we'll get started on dinner." Smoothing his hair once more, she turned and walked downstairs.
Jason sighed and strummed a few chords, then picked up where he'd left off. "I feel stupid, but I think I've been catching on. I feel ugly, but I know I still turn you on. You've grown colder now, torn apart, angry, turned around. Will that whole mad season knock you down? So are you gonna stand there or are you gonna help me out? We need to be together now."
With a sigh he stopped, putting his guitar down. Grabbing a brownie he flopped back on his back, but something hard poked him. "Ow!" Fishing under him, he pulled out the picture of him and Tommy that his mother had been looking at. Staring at it, he whispered the lyrics that had seemed so appropriate. "We need to be together now…" Face it, Jase, it's never gonna happen. You were an idiot to think it could. You barely even have a friendship, much less something more…why the hell did he choose me to take the gold powers anyway?
It was a question he'd been wondering ever since he'd taken them. He thought it was going to be perfect, fighting side by side with his "bro" again. But he felt more like he was fighting him than fighting with him. Tommy was different – withdrawn, superior, at times almost hostile. And he didn't know any of these new rangers.
Why did I think this was such a good idea? The balance of power is totally different now. Tommy's the leader, and I'm the sixth ranger. He knew that was part of the problem. Tommy had turned into super-leader, which was good for the team. But Jason didn't want a leader. Jason wanted his best friend back; he wanted things to be how they used to be. At least that would be a start.
He jumped as the familiar tone sounded from his communicator. With a sigh he brought it to his lips. "Jason here. What's up, Zordon?"
Alpha's tin voice, sounding worried as usual, came back. "Ay-yi-yi Jason, the rangers are in trouble!! They need your help."
"THE RANGERS ARE COMING BACK TO THE COMMAND CENTER TO REGROUP. YOU CAN JOIN THEM HERE."
"On my way." He stood up and summoned his staff. "GOLD RANGER POWER!!"
With a streak of golden light he was gone.
TBC
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