A few hours later Sky took the file to the rec. room and called for b squad to join him. He told them what he had to show them and warned them about the contents, and gave them each the option to leave, but none did.

"These are pictures of her ranging in age from five to nine years old, I warn you, some of them are pretty gruesome." Sky said

Syd got her hands on the picture that Sky had found most distressing and gasped in shock.

"I can't believe she actually survived this!" she said

"I would have never guessed she was abused this bad" Z said

"Those cuts and bruises are just the tip of that horrible iceberg, she was verbally abused as well" Sky explained, purposely leaving out the part about her being sexually abused he figured they had already been hit with a big enough bombshell.

"I can't believe Kat would stand by and let this happen," Z said

"Kat didn't know, she didn't even know that Kathleen was alive until six years ago" Commander Cruger said from the doorway "by that time Kathleen was, by human standards, old enough to be on her own and hadn't seen an ounce of abuse since she was nine, and showed no signs of it thanks to her second stepfamily"

"She got another family when she was nine" Syd said

"She was ten when they adopted her, she spent one year recovering in foster care" Commander Cruger explained

"So Kat didn't really know where her daughter was…" Z said

"Actually, Cadet Delgado, she was lead to believe that her daughter had died soon after she was born" Cruger sighed as the rangers exchanged confused glances among themselves.

"She was told Kathleen died as an infant, when she actually didn't, that's ridiculous!" Jack exclaimed

"That it is, Jack, but at the time a crime ring, spearheaded by Christopher Blackwell, was taking newborns from certain hospitals that they had connections within and having the children filed as dead and the parents told that the child died of any of a variety of different, natural, causes, to cover their tracks"

That made the rangers furious, Kathleen had been taken from the hospital and Kat was told that she had died.

After that conversation, Sky went to talk with Kathleen, he now understood what she was going through and wanted to help her the best that he could.

Kathleen was shocked that Sky had come to talk to her.

"What is it?" she asked

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about the way I've bee acting towards you; you're a red ranger and you deserve to be respected as one"

"Consider it forgiven, and I'm glad you respect me, but sometimes I wonder why I was chosen to be red ranger"

"Well, Kathleen, I think you became red ranger because, despite your past, you hold a lot of respect for yourself along with those around you, and you demand respect… especially when you weald your Thunder Saber." (A/n: The Thunder Saber is supposed to be similar to the Shadow Saber and Ocean Saber, only the handle is made smaller so it would fit more comfortably in a woman's smaller hand).

"True, but Sky, Sometimes I wonder if I really deserve to be a red ranger"

"You do, Kathleen, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!"

Kathleen could hear and feel his sincerity in his voice and through her telepathy. She could also tell that he was angry, but not at her, at her stepfather; he was concerned about her, almost like she was his younger sister when, for all intents and purposes, she was older than him, numerically speaking (proportionally speaking she was younger).

He watched her carefully as she spoke to him and noticed a nervous tension throughout her body; she was still slightly afraid of him, and he didn't blame her… she had been to hell and back all before her tenth birthday, she had a right to fear someone as self-centered as him.

After his conversation with Kathleen, Sky took a serous look at himself and the "rose colored" glasses shattered and he realized what an arrogant jerk he had really been, and what about him she truly feared. His temper, strength and ego had her terrified of him. He now understood why she feared him and had the task of teaching her that she didn't have to fear him, and that would take time, but he was willing to take that time if it meant she no longer looked at him in terror.

The next day he was training with a punching back in his room with the door open when Kathleen passed, noticed him and did a quick about face and ran.

To Be Continued…
Pls. Leave a review and note that all flames will be either redirected at Kathleen's stepfather or used to heat tea, whichever I chose