A/N: Sorry this took awhile, I was having a serious fight with a big, brick wall! But I'm glad to say I won, and I'll do my best to get Chapter 9 up faster than this one! I hope you enjoy :)

-----------------------------

Alex leaned back in his chair at the coffee shop he enjoyed, lacing his fingers together and placing his hands on his stomach as he continued to watch the sunset; it had been barely over a day since Jen had left, since that terrible fight they'd had outside the timeship, and she had stormed off with no signs of ever looking back. He closed his eyes, gritting his teeth and working his jaw as he always had when frustrated with himself . . . how could he be so stupid? To let something like that get to him again, and lose her once more?

No. She isn't lost yet. There's still time. He sat up quickly as he silently added an I hope at the end of his thoughts, he had hurt her with his distrust, and in turn had caused her to distrust him again; they had gone over a year without the other, suffered because of past mistakes, and somehow managed to repeat them. Destiny. The word rang clear in his mind, a word that seemed to have haunted him for years, his destiny . . . to be the Red Ranger, to meet and mentor Jennifer, to love her . . .

To lose her . . .

He clenched his fist till he felt his nails dig in and puncture the skin slightly, he was trembling, he realized, with his own fear and guilt . . . he had to make up for it, he had to apologize and tell her he loved her, it wasn't worth it. Wes isn't worth it. He nodded with determination, she would be home soon, and then they could talk, he could say what needed to be said . . . he stood up, knowing by the darkness outside that it was time for him to head home. He went outside, beginning his walk to HQ to stop by his office before going back to his apartment; with any luck, in a few hours Jennifer would join him there, as she would be back with the other Rangers. If she wanted to see him again at all . . .

YEAR 2005

Wes eased himself down on the sofa while keeping his eyes on Jen across the room, standing with her back to him and staring out the window, she had hardly spoken a word to him since explaining the situation; as a matter of fact, she was acting the same way she had been when they first met years ago, cold and distant, as if he reminded her something she didn't want to think of. Alex. The name came back to him with a flash of memory: A bitter man who shared his face, a man to whom he owed his father's life, a man who had loved her first.

Tentatively, he rose and walked across from the soft carpet so he stood behind her, and with nervousness he hadn't felt in a long time, he managed to raise his hand and place it on her shoulder; as he suspected she would, she jumped with alarm and turned to face him, then relaxed when she recognized him. She pasted a smile on her face, but even those who didn't know her as well as him would realize it was fake.

"What's wrong?" Might as well be blunt.

She appeared startled for a moment, but then her shoulders slumped ever-so-slightly, and she nodded slowly. "It's not . . . you, Wes." She rolled her eyes at herself, apparently regretting her words as soon as she'd said them; Wes frowned, folding his arms over his broad chest and tilting his head to one side.

"I don't need that speech," he said, softly, "just tell me what's going on. I mean, it's been years . . . things must have changed." You met someone new, didn't you, Jen? Don't keep me in the dark till I see this guy face-to-face. Be honest.

"Things have changed," Jen admitted, "Alex and I . . . " her voice trailed away, as if she hoped he could finish that sentence for her.

He could. "You and Alex are together?"

She took a deep breath. "Just recently . . . a few days ago, actually," she stammered, "we've been working together to bring Frax in and . . . it just sort of . . . "

"'Happened'?" Wes said, chuckling a bit.

Jen tried to smile, failing miserably. "I guess so," she murmured, "I mean, neither one of us meant for it---"

"Jen, stop it," he cut her off, "you don't owe me any explanations about this, okay?" He paused, looking out the window to the beautiful yard in front of the house, where the other Rangers sat around talking with Stephanie, who was clearly confused. Slowly, he began to smile. "We knew from the start nothing could ever happen . . . with us. So we have to move on. Right?"

She stared at him blankly for a moment, then her face relaxed, she seemed relieved. "Right."

I wish it really were that easy. He mentally kicked himself, only an hour ago, he had been practically drooling at another woman's feet, having completely forgotten about the one standing before him now; so why was it at that moment, it was as if she had never left, and he had never stopped thinking about her? "So . . . " he said, aloud, "things are going good then?"

Something flickered behind her brown eyes, something he couldn't recognize. "They're good," she said, her voice still unsteady, "he's back in the future right now, waiting for us."

So I get the chance to work with Alex . . . great. "I'll bet you two make a great team," he said, "is he still . . . uh . . . the same?"

Jen laughed half-heartedly. "No, not exactly," she said, "not the same as he was when we first met, or the same as he was when you met him. But he's a good guy."

He had to ask. "Do you love him?"

Without a moment's hesitation, she raised her chin slightly and said in a firm voice: "Yes, Wes. I do."

Why does that bother me so much? It shouldn't . . . it's been four years! It wasn't like he hadn't had any women since her, either, there had been a few, only one that had even broached being serious; then, of course, there was Stephanie, who had appealed to him since the second he laid eyes on her. Partly, of course, because she immediately reminded him of Jen.

"I'm glad to hear that," he said, cheerfully, "you deserve to be happy."

The slightest exhale showed her relief. "I am happy," she said, as if making a confession, "and especially now that I know you're okay with it. I was worried---"

"Jen," Wes interrupted again, "don't worry about anything. Like I said, nothing could've ever happened between us. I accepted that, too." He glanced out the window. "I'm, uh, gonna go see the others. Catch up." Before giving her the chance to reply, he strode out of the parlor, wondering to himself if she was watching him leave; he went outside, finding the other Rangers still talking with Stephanie, who seemed to be warming up to them.

"I see you've met," Wes said, then nodded to Stephanie--- "Sorry I didn't give you a proper introduction."

"That's fine," she replied, "we've had a fun time getting to know each other on our own." She placed a hand on Trip's shoulder. "They're a great bunch."

"Yeah . . . they are." Wes smiled at his old friend, seated on the edge of the water fountain. "We've been through a lot together." He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his khakis. "So when should we get going?"

"As soon as possible," Katie said, "is Jen ready?"

"Are you kidding me?" Wes laughed, "when isn't she ready?"

"Where're you going?" Stephanie asked, the confused frown on her face increasing.

"Uh, something came up," Wes answered, as quickly as he could.

Her green eyes flickered with concern. "Is is serious?" she questioned.

"We just need his help," Lucas said, "figuring it all out. He'll be back soon." He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, uneasily. "But we really should get going."

"Don't let me hold you up," Stephanie raised her hands, "I still need to talk to Mr. Collins, so---" she smiled encouragingly "---good luck, with whatever your problem." Her curiousity was barely contained, even as she turned and went back to the house, Wes' eyes following her the way, studying how her hair blew back and bounced on her shoulders; as he watched, Eric emerged from inside with Jen trailing behind him, the former looking extremely upset about something.

Not that that's unusual for him.

"Wes!" Eric Myers snapped, just as Jen tried to open her own mouth to speak: "I am coming with you, and that's the end of it. There's no way in hell I'm letting you run off---"

"---we don't need his help," Jen cut him off, "all we need is the Red Morpher!" She narrowed her eyes. "Not the Quantum Morpher."

"You might need my help for something else," Eric countered.

"We have plenty of people," Lucas cut in, "Time Force is a big military."

Eric growled, but seemed to figure out that he wasn't going to win the arguement, so he quieted; Jen nodded, pleased with the outcome, then looked to her team: "We'd better be on our way, even though we're here, time is still marching on in the future. We can't afford to waste it."

--------------------------------------

The first thing that came to his mind was the annoying buzzing sound that vibrated through his ears, awakening him from his deep slumber, after which he tried to sit up, only to swat unsteadily and raise a hand to his throbbing head, moaning quietly; in a moment, he felt someone's hands on his shoulder and heard a gentle, familiar voice: "Easy, Wes . . . time travel can be a little disorienting."

"I'll say," he muttered, finally opening his eyes, but quickly squinting at the harsh, bright lights.

He heard laughter, then Trip: "Come on, we'll get you some good Thirty-First Century painkillers!" He took Wes' arm and pulled him off the elevated cot he was lying on, gently dragging him to the sliding doors and out into a dark hallway, filled with people in the crisp white uniforms of Time Force; they walked over an indoor bridge of sorts, extending from one building to the next, buildings that stood taller than them on either side. Wes stared in awe at the bright city outside, his headache temporarily forgotten, the new Silver City was eerily reminiscent of his own Silver Hills, while at the same time far different. The buildings were taller and of different shapes . . . the air was clear . . . cars flew through the air instead of rolling on the roads below; Wes stopped for a moment, oblivious to those around him as he gazed into the city.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Jen murmured.

"It sure is."

The Yellow Ranger smirked, raising her eyebrows quickly. "Feeling better?" she questioned.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Wes smiled, turning back to them. "Your home is amazing."

"And you've hardly seen it," Jen pointed out, "come on---" She wrapped her arm around his broad shoulders, walking the rest of the way across the bridge. "I'll take you home first, show you where you'll be living. You can rest up before we start working." They were now walking down another hallway and toward a pair of see-through doors, Wes paused:

"Um, what is this place exactly?"

"Time Force HQ," Jen replied, "we'll have to check in before we leave, let them know we made it all right. Then we can head home---" she glanced at Lucas, who went on:

"I have an apartment in the city, it's big enough for two.

"Really?" Wes said, excitedly, "that's great!"

Jen stopped near a large, black door and touched Katie's arm: "I'll go in and talk to Logan, let him know how it went. You guys show Wes around, I'll be there soon." With that, she disappeared through the door, and only faint murmurs could be heard of two voices, one a deep male and the other her own light feminine.

"My car's still parked outside," Lucas said, grinning.

"Uhh . . . you're driving?" Wes hesitated, faking nervousness and raising both hands, stepping away.

"Relax," Lucas said, "you'll enjoy the ride, believe me."

"Ookay . . . " Wes turned quickly and took one step toward the opening door, only to freeze when he saw the person who emerged from the other side: He was not tall, and his stocky build with wide shoulders and muscular arms made him seem even shorter, his black hair was---as Wes remembered---slicked back in a severe manner, his blue eyes icy and penetrating. Alex.

"I see you made it," his identical counterpart said, his voice not quite concealing the coldness. "Good."

Wes struggled to find something to say, fidgeting uncomfortably. "Umm . . . how've you been?" he finally managed, feeling as though it was an inadequate thing to say---what else is there?

"Fine," Alex answered, stiffly, "and you?"

"Good, thanks." Again, the awkwardness.

"We were just about to show Wes to his new home," Trip stepped in, mercifully, "figured it would be best to let him rest up a bit before we got to work."

"Yes, that's a wise decision," Alex consented, lowering his chin slightly in an agreeable nod; again, his gaze shifted to Wes, he too seemed to have trouble speaking: "I'll see you in the morning. Get a good night's sleep, you're going to need it." Without another word, he walked on and brushed by the Rangers, passing Logan's office and heading into the door beside it---his own office, Wes assumed.

"At least that's over with," he said, softly.

"Alex is different than when you met him," Katie assured him, "once he gets into the swing of things, I'm sure you two will get along just fine."

Trip frowned slightly."You, uh, do know that he and Jen . . . " his voice carried away.

"Yes, Trip, I know," Wes replied, more tersely than he'd intended. "And I think it's great---both of them deserve to be happy." And that's something I could never give her.

"Anyway," Lucas cut in, "we'd better be on our way."

He pressed a hand into the small of Wes' back, urging him through the doors and out into the briskness of the city, the Red Ranger paused once more to take in it's beauty, then climbed into the backseat of the aircar and leaned against the window, finding himself suddenly very worn out and falling asleep as they drove on . . .

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Reluctantly, he turned off the hot water that ran down his bare body, pausing a moment in the shower before stepping out and wrapping a towel around his waist; it was nearly ten at night, no word had come from Jennifer, and he could only assume that she had chosen not to spend the night with him. You can't blame her . . . not after what you said. But even as the thoughts came, he heard the door in the other room open and close, and a familiar voice:

"Alex?"

"I'm in here," he called, leaning on the sink and staring into the mirror, searching himself for what he should say to her.

In a moment, she appeared in the doorway, dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a small T-shirt, her hair relaxed and soft around her shoulders, Alex smiled wistfully, admiring her for a second; then he straightened, ran a hand through his wet hair, and tried to begin: "Listen, Jennifer---"

"No, Alex, just . . . wait." Jen stepped forward quickly, reaching out as if to touch him, but holding back. "I told Wes . . . about us."

"You did?" Somehow, that surprised him. "How'd he take it?"

"He's fine," she answered, "something tells me he's met someone else anyway." She let out a sigh, discontented with the situation. "But I don't think it's such a good idea, for us to stay together---at least until the mission's over."

And there it was. "Are you---" he swallowed, hardly able to force the words out "---breaking up with me again?"

"No!" she cried, her voice unable to conceal her despair and frustration, "I'm not, Alex, really. I just . . . I think you need to see that I don't want Wes anymore, I want you. And you won't see that, until this is over, and you're still the man I love." She did touch him this time, her fingers soft against his cheek, then tracing his lips gently. "He's here now, there's nothing either one of us can do about that. And I want you to see me choose you over him."

Her hand slid around to the back of his neck and pulled him down so she could meet his lips with hers, the kiss they shared was a long one, with him longing for more but her holding back; when he tried to pull her nearer, she pushed him back, parting them and gazing into his eyes: "No, Alex . . . not now."

"I love you, Jennifer."

"I know you do." She tried to smile, a rather pathetic attempt. "And I love you."

She ran her hand down his arm till she reached his hand, giving it a warm squeeze before turning and leaving the apartment, Alex stared after her, both relieved and confused by her words. It isn't over yet, I still have a chance. But, despite his regrets, he couldn't help but feel the ugly pang of jealousy that crept through him when he thought of Wes morphing at her side and going into battle with her, even sharing one moment alone with her, no matter how innocent.

She's right, he decided, if this is going to work for us. She has to choose me over him, while he's alive and well, not dead and buried. Then we can go on.

I hope.

TBC