He traced the outline of her jaw tenderly, leaning in to kiss her neck and her shoulders as she arched back, closing her eyes and moaning softly; her long legs raised up and around him, he kissed her mouth hungrily, more passionately than ever before. It was as if they had never separated, like she had never fallen out of love with him, and they had transported back in time almost two years . . .

. . . but suddenly he found himself sitting alone in his dark office, glaring up at a bright, imposing screen at two images too blurry to make out; he squinted, tearing off the dark glasses he was wearing: One was a man, his same build, and he was kissing a woman who had wrapped her slender arms around his neck and was drawing him nearer. He leaned in further as the man stepped back and smiled, the woman still held onto his hands, squeezing them; his breath caught in his throat as he recognized the carefree, blond hair . . . those blue eyes . . .

"Jennifer . . . " he gasped, harshly. "No . . . "

Jen lay on her side, watching Alex as he slept fitfully, groaning painfully occasionally when he would twist wrong, and every now and then smile peacefully, far away in some dream; now he was frowning, something she'd always found so funny to watch when he slept. But her amusement disappeared when she heard him utter her name and another soft word, obviously distressed, quickly she reached out to him, placing her hand on his bare chest:

"Alex. Hey, wake up."

Slowly, he opened his eyes and found her looming above him, her hand brushing his hair back from a sweaty forehead, she looked concerned; Alex propped himself up on his elbows, kissing her as if nothing had happened, but his trembling form didn't escape her. Jen rested her hand on the side of his face, holding it there gently but firmly, no longer would she stay back and allow him to hide his feelings from her, those days were gone.

"Just a dream," Alex said, softly, "about me, and you . . . "

"Definitely not a good one."

"No." He tried to smile. "But, hey, I don't believe in bad omens."

Jen paused. "Was it Wes?" she asked, bluntly, watching him blink in surprise; instantly, she knew exactly what the dream was about. "Alex---"

"I know," he cut her off, "I just . . . I can't control my dreams, Jennifer. I believe you, I really do, when you say you love me. But I can't help it."

"I hope you do believe me," Jen sighed, "it's true. But at the same time, I hope you know I will always love Wes, too . . . a part of me." She bit her lip, as she always did when nervous about doing or saying something. "But he's gone. And I've learned to accept that. Wes isn't your enemy, Alex."

Alex nodded, remaining silent for a few moments before glancing at the clock on the wall and yawning: "It's not even dawn yet."

"I was gonna get up early," Jen said, smirking.

"I wasn't."

"Bull. You always get up at o-dark-thirty."

Alex snorted, lying down again on an aching back and rolling onto his side, saying over another yawn: "Not today. Now come on and lie back down."

Jen slid next to him, wrapping her arm around his waist, he reached over and held her hand in front of him, kissing it gently before slipping back to sleep; she lay in silence, listening to his breathing slow down and watching the rythmic rise and fall of his broad chest. She shivered despite the warmth of the room, thinking of Alex and his dream . . . but Alex wasn't the only who'd had a dream about Wes.

You're dead, she said to the darkness, you've been dead for so long. You moved on with your life, too. So why do I feel like I'm betraying you? She leaned over, her lips barely brushing Alex's soft cheek. I love you so much, Alex. God, let us work this out. She blinked back an unexpected tear she felt forming, staring up at the dark ceiling, watching as the image of a man she had loved a thousand years ago formed above and gazed down at her.

Wes . . .

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Sweat ran down his face and shoulders as he pounded mercilessly into the punching bag, his muscles straining, his brow knitted with concentration as he tried to land every strike perfectly; taking a deep breath, he took a step back and then flung his right leg to the side, hitting the bag with the front of his foot and knocking it to the side. He whirled around in the opposite direction, jumping up and striking out with the other leg in time to catch the bag, sending it flying the other way; he landed on his feet with a painful grunt, once again reminded of his earlier injury that had never quite healed.

He stumbled back slightly, cursing under his breath at his own weakness, no matter how long he had trained and tried to work the injury out of himself, it did not---and would not---work; at last, he sat down and began stretching out his tired arms, flinching slightly. He heard the door open but didn't look, then smiled to himself when he heard her voice:

"Working hard?"

Jen walked by him cheerfully, stripping off her shirt to reveal a snug black bra over her thin form, Alex raised his eyebrows quickly, watching as she bent over and stretched out her long, sleek legs; he quickly forgot about any pain he was experiencing, lost in her beauty. She smiled shyly, as she had so many years ago, trying to brush off his attention:

"Alex, quit staring."

"Can't help it." He stood, making his way to her and leaning over to kiss her. "It's all your fault."

"You're making me self-conscious," she muttered, "I'm afraid my butt cheek is falling out of my shorts or something!"

"Or something," he chuckled, glancing down at the tiny pair of shorts she wore.

Jen blushed, shifting her weight nervously, Alex smiled again at her, still so insecure beneath her tough exterior, something very few people could pick up on; he stepped with one foot to kiss her, smiling to himself when he felt the softness of her moist lips. Her gentle fingers ran through his hair to the back of his neck, he could tell she was smiling, too, and he felt her shoulders relaxing as he drew her nearer; at last, they parted, both breathless.

"Work hard," he said, winking and grabbing his towel.

"Of course," she replied.

He walked off, her eyes following him till the gym doors shut behind his back, then she lowered her head slowly, clenching and loosening her fists with frustration; she took deep breaths, steadying herself as once again she thought of the previous night . . . she had dreamed of Wes that night, before awaking to watch Alex sleep, the ghost that was haunting both of them came to her again . . .

. . . she was sitting on top of the Clock Tower again, where she had always gone to clear her mind, mostly of thoughts about Alex; and, as always, a familiar face peeked out from the window and gingerly made his way to her side, where he sat nervously. Wes looked at her intently, his sparkling blue eyes searching deep into her soul, she fidgeted uncomfortably, then looked right into his face---

---to be caught up in his hungry kiss. He grasped her face with his hands and kissed her powerfully, she stiffened, but not out of rejection, but a sudden and unexpected passion growing within her; Wes' hands were soft against her skin, his tongue entering her mouth clearly told her he was longing for more.

But then, just as suddenly as it happened, he pulled away. And she watched as everything around crumbled into nothingness till she was sitting in the grass on her knees, looking around again, she saw she was in a cemetery; knowing what she would see, she stared into the stone in front of her:

WESLEY COLLINS

She felt a touch on her shoulder and whirled around to face the stranger, only to see it was again Wes, who was smiling softly, but sadly as he whispered: "Jen, I love you . . . "

. . . Jen pressed the palm of her hand to her forehead and let out a deep sigh, how could she be feeling guilt for loving Alex, when Wes himself had fallen in love again? It made no sense . . . I still love Wes, I know that, and so does Alex. I just wish I could forget about him . . . she shook her head; no, that wasn't what she wanted. I don't want him in my dreams anymore.

She punched the bag angrily just as her morpher let out a beeping noise and Lucas appeared in a mini-image, he spoke into his morpher with an urgent voice: "Jen, we need you downtown at the Academy."

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Frax."

She nodded, slapping her hand down on his image and running out of the gym, nearly colliding with Alex as he raced down the hall; they ran side-by-side out of the building and to his patrol car parked right outside, him jumping into the driver's seat. Jen was barely shutting her door when he slammed his foot to the pedal and flipped on the siren, speeding out of his place and onto the streets; neither spoke as they went through the city, Alex concentrating on the road ahead of him.

Jen looked across the car and watched him, off in his own world as he avoided other cars and pedestrians with expert ease, Lucas was still the expert, but Alex had his fair share of driving through the busy streets of Silver City; they made it to the Academy in less than ten minutes, Jen being the first one out of the car and dashing across the parking lot to where she saw the others battling the Cyclobots.

Alex paused briefly on the other side of the car, looking on as Jen morphed and joined the fight, then going on with them, only to be cut off by Frax, who jumped out from behind a corner. "Well, look who we have here!" he laughed, gesturing to Alex with the laser on his right arm.

Alex raised his chin slowly, hoping Frax could see how unafraid he was of the robot. "What are you doing here, Frax?" he asked, sharply.

"Does it really matter?"

"No." He shrugged. "But it was a big mistake---" he looked over Frax's shoulder to the cadets filing out of the Academy, still in training but anxious to fight "---you do know there are over five hundred cadets in this facility, right?"

"Cadets!" Frax spat, "they can be taken down easily." He pointed at Alex again, slowly and menacingly. "Like you."

"We'll see . . . " he put one foot in front of him, bending his knees slightly so he was in a comfortable position, able to move in any direction quickly.

As he figured, Frax was the first to attack, sending two well-aimed shots directly at him, but Alex dove forward, grabbing his blaster from his hip and firing into Frax's middle, doubling him over; then he swung around with his left leg, hoping to trip the giant robot but only succeeding in slamming his calf into the hard medal. He tried to jump back to avoid the retaliation, but was too slow, Frax snapped his leg forward, his foot catching Alex in the side of his head, dazing him enough so he was unable to defend himself; he was on his hands and knees, struggling to focus, when he saw the sparks above him and saw Jen standing there with her Chrono Saber. She extended her hand and he grasped her forearm, accepting her help and getting back on his feet, his vision was clearing; he nodded to her, letting her know he was all right so she could continue.

Unafraid, she faced Frax with all the might her tiny form could muster, Alex gritted his teeth underneath his smile of pride as he forced himself up again to join her; but even before he could draw his blaster, Frax jumped back and gave a short laugh before dematerializing in a bright light. Jen stopped in mid-kick, hopping slightly to catch her balance, she punched the air: "Damn it! He got away again."

"Jen!" Trip called from a distance, his voice urgent.

Both Jen and Alex turned quickly to the sound of the young Green Ranger's voice, Trip was kneeling over an injured cadet, while Katie and Lucas attended to the others; scanning the scene, Alex soon realized what an enormous loss they had just suffered, dozens of young cadets lay on the ground in pools of their own fresh blood, never to receive their badges in life, others still were propped against the wall clutching their wounds. They weren't ready for this.

And Frax knew that.

Alex laid his head back on the sofa, wrapping his arms tighter around Jen and pulling her to his chest as she curled up beside him, her head resting on his shoulder; she was breathing deeply, her eyes were closed, and he enjoyed watching her face turn to a peaceful expression as she fell asleep. Just like before, he found himself musing. No, another voice in his head countered, before there were no doubts. Not like now.

He frowned, knowing no one could see him, there was no way he was going to let on to Jen---or anyone---that he was still insecure about her past with Wes, it was an unwarranted fear, one that would only hurt her. Again. But for some reason, he couldn't get past it, and wasn't sure he ever would . . . I could live with that. As long as I live with her. He leaned over to kiss her forehead, pleased when he saw that she was fast asleep, exhausted from the day; he hated to watch her wear herself out so much, she had always pushed too hard, not knowing when to stop.

And where do you think she got that from? He smirked, realizing that she had watched him charge into battle many times when he was too tired or too injured to do so, determined to get the mission done at all costs; but that attitude had almost gotten him killed, and he'd rather die again to watch it happen to her, too. He shuddered, imagining what it would be like to hold her in his own arms and feel her slip away . . . just as she had experienced when Ransik struck him down.

"Alex . . . ?" she murmured, her voice quiet with fatigue.

"I'm here," was all he replied.

She rolled onto her other side so she could look up at him easier, a small smile on her narrow face, she reached up and placed the palm of her hand on his cheek, brushing it with her thumb before sitting up all the way to kiss him; she was warm and inviting, and instantly he felt himself drawn to her, his pants feeling uncomfortably snug. She seemed to sense this, edging against him and sliding one leg over so she straddled his lap, he caught his breath, feeling the heat rising to his cheeks; Jen pressed her breasts to him as she leaned in and kissed him again, her tongue finding it's way into his mouth, increasing his longing for her. Her tongue continued to tease him, the tightness of his pants was growing unbearable, with trembling hands he touched her backside and slid down to her firm bottom, squeezing it as a release for his tension.

But it didn't work.

Abruptly, he sat straight up and returned her passionate kiss with his own fire, pressing so hard against the back of her neck for a moment he feared he would hurt her, but she didn't resist, instead ran her own delicate hands down to his pants and fingered the zipper; he shifted to allow her to sit more comfortably on top of him, struggling with the clip on the back of her bra before he finally got it and slid it off her. But he stopped her before she undid his zipper, instead easing her onto her back so she lay in front of him, he reached for the waistline of her pajama bottoms, pulling them down her long legs; now he kissed her ankle, then onto her knee, his tongue finally running up her thigh and to her aching hips; she gasped when she felt him enter her, she blinked quickly, trying to catch her breath. Alex smiled, now kissing her stomach and still moving higher, his finger moving in and out gently, but urgently, his mouth found her breasts and kissed them, he felt her fingers grip his hair.

Her hips moved against his pressure, her breaths quickening as she brought her hand down and finally got to his zipper, sliding it down so she could feel him, as well; they continued, moving as one but not completely united, each longing to give the other more and more pleasure till at last, Jen came with a cry and moments later Alex felt himself stiffen, then relax against her hot body. He lay his head on her breasts, holding his breath so he could hear her, he felt her shaking from the after shocks of her climax, and knew she could feel him, too.

"You've . . . never done that before," she said, her voice hoarse.

He chuckled, looking up at her and kissing her again. "I think it worked out well for both of us," he gasped.

"Yeah, I'd say so . . . " her eyelids were drooping, their exertions together having taken even more energy out of her already over-tasked body. Alex traced her breast soothingly, kissing it with less passion and more comfort than before, going on until she had once again fallen asleep; then he grabbed the blanket draped across the back of his couch and lay it across her, watching her for a moment before got up and walked into the bathroom.

He flipped on the bright lights, catching himself in the mirror as he went to the sink, he splashed cold water on his pale face, staring at the dark shadows beneath his eyes and frowning again; how much longer could he go on pretending, without Jen noticing? She was far from stupid, and sooner or later, she'd know something was wrong.

Not if I can help it.