Chapter 22: A Friend's Sacrifice
By this time, Eric, Wes, Jen, and Taylor have joined Space Patrol Delta and had it team up with the Silver Guardians. They were once again fighting monsters and Princess Shayla gave Taylor her morpher back, knowing that she'll need it once again with monsters attacking their home every now and then. However, one day, it was all going to change their lives for good.
Taylor sighed as she came outback with her and Eric's son, Timothy, while Elektra was playing with Sky and Wes with a game of catch. Jen was sitting at the picnic table with her and Wes's newborn daughter, Julia, in her arms. "She's getting bigger everyday," Taylor commented.
"Mommy, down," Timothy insisted.
Taylor set her son on the ground to watch him go of and play. "Yeah, and every time I see Timmy he's getting bigger," Jen commented.
"Don't remind me and Eric tells me he wants another kid," Taylor laughed.
Both women laughed slightly and Taylor held Julia. "It would be nice, but I really don't want to go through with the screaming, crying, and the diapers again," Taylor added.
"I hear that," Jen agreed.
Julia opened her tiny eyes and cooed to see Taylor smiling at her. "She has Wes's eyes," she commented. She looked up as Eric went up behind Elektra and spun her around as he picked her up. Taylor smiled at her husband.
"Who would've thought that Eric Myers would be a husband and a father," Wes commented.
Eric shot Wes a glare before setting Elektra on the ground. "Very funny, Wes," Eric mumbled.
"Well, Eric, you just never been the person to be a dad," Wes teased.
Eric rolled his eyes as he threw the ball that Elektra dropped at Wes. Just then, their beepers went off. Taylor groaned as she handed Julia over to Jen as Eric called headquarters. "What's going on?" Eric asked.
"A monster is attacking the downtown area," their commanding officer informed.
"We're on it," Taylor answered.
They had the children go stay at headquarters like they always had when they went out to fight.
When they arrived at the scene, a monster stood before them. "Who are you?" Eric demanded. The monster laughed at them as he threw blasts at them.
"I'm known as Mirloc," he replied.
"Well, whoever you are, you're going to be spending a long time in jail," Taylor snapped.
"Ready?" Eric asked.
"Ready," they replied.
"QUANTUM POWER!"
"TIME FOR TIME FORCE!"
"WILD ACCESS!"
They morphed and then they started fighting Mirloc. Taylor looked over her shoulder to see injured people around them. "Guys, we have to get them to safety," she insisted. She grabbed Jen's arm. "Come on," she insisted. Jen nodded before following Taylor to help get the people to safety while Wes and Eric fought Mirloc.
"CHRONO BLASTER!" Wes shouted.
"QUANTUM DEFENDER!" Eric shouted.
They blasted Mirloc, only their blasts were deflected and thrown back at them. "ERIC!" Taylor shouted.
"WES!" Jen shouted.
Mirloc watched as the Pink and Yellow Rangers helped the two Red Rangers up. "How touching, a reunion before your deaths," he laughed. He then threw a blast at all four of them. Eric was thrown back against a truck and he hit the ground de-morphed. Taylor hit a wall and she rolled a bit before she de-morphed holding her side. Jen hit a bunch of debris as she de-morphed. Wes was thrown up against a rail and hit the ground but he was still morphed. Mirloc laughed as he stood in front of them. "And I thought the Power Rangers were supposed to be tough," he tauned. Taylor looked over to see Mirloc going to kill Eric. "You first, Quantum Ranger," he laughed.
"NO!" Taylor screamed.
Just then, a dead silence came when a blast had occurred, but it wasn't Eric's doing. Jen stood up holding her side and horror was written all over her face. "WES!" She screamed. She ran over to her husband and pulled him away from Mirloc, who was unconscious. Taylor ran over to her friends and her eyes widened in horror when she saw Wes's condition.
"J--Jen," Wes whispered.
Eric held up the Delta Morpher he never used. "Judgment," Eric mumbled. He then aimed it at Mirloc. "You're being charged for attacking civilians and the attempt to kill an officer. Verdict…guilty," Eric snapped. Then Mirloc was placed inside of the jail cards. Eric then ran over to Wes. Tears were falling down Jen's face as Wes looked at Eric.
"Eric…promise me something…" he started.
Eric nodded. "Promise me that you'll make sure that Sky…becomes…a Ranger. Train him for me, please," Wes insisted. Eric nodded his head slowly.
"I promise I'll train him," Eric answered.
Wes then looked up at Jen with a smile. "I…love…you…Jen," he murmured. Then he closed his eyes. Eric checked for a pulse.
"There's time," Eric assured her.
He then picked up the card that Mirloc was locked in and they got Wes to the hospital.
(Silver Hills Hospital)
Jen was holding Wes's helmet when the doctor came out. "My husband…is he going to be okay?" She asked. The doctor sighed as he sat Jen down.
"Mrs. Collins, your husband was hit with a deadly blow when he stopped that monster from killing Mr. Myers. He has lapsed into a coma…but the chance of him ever coming out of the coma isn't very good," the doctor explained.
"How "isn't very good" is it?" Eric asked.
The doctor looked at Eric. "The chances of him coming out of the coma is 10. His head suffered a lot of trauma. It caused plenty of swelling in the brain and that's what caused him to lapse into the coma," he explained. Jen dropped Wes's helmet and started to cry. Taylor sat beside Jen and pulled her into a hug. Eric was in shock and sat down. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. His best friend fell into a coma and the chances of him ever coming out of it was slim. They might as well should've told Jen that her husband was dead.
Later that evening, Taylor walked by the guest room to see Jen stroking Sky's hair. The poor boy cried himself to sleep after telling the boy that Wes was dead. She didn't want to give the boy hope about Wes ever coming out of the coma. So they just told him that Wes was killed in battle.
Eric was sitting in the dark living room when Taylor came in. "Eric…" she started.
"Go away, Taylor," Eric mumbled.
Taylor sighed as she wrapped her arms around him, despite him trying to push her away. "Don't do this, Eric. Don't shut me out, not while you need me," she insisted. Eric stayed quiet.
"Wes was your best friend, Eric. I know you're hurting," she assured him.
"You don't know what I'm feeling, Taylor," Eric mumbled.
"Yes I do."
Eric felt tears press against his eyes, but he refused to cry. Eric never cried and he wasn't going to start at that moment. Taylor kissed the side of his head and stroked his hair. "I promised him, Tay, I promised him that I'll train Sky to become a Ranger. That's what I plan to do," he assured her. Taylor nodded and she kissed the side of his head.
"I love you, Eric," she murmured.
Eric sighed as he pulled her in for a kiss before answering. "I love you too, Tay, I love you too," he answered.
Author's Note: That would be the end of "A Hard Relationship" the sequel "Nature of a Ranger" will be up on 2/16/06. I hope you'll like it.