Author: Jadelyn Ja Lee

Story: Through Her Eyes

Disclaimer: I own no one. Don't sue!

Time Frame: During Sam, Part One & Two

Summary: She may not have been a ranger but that didn't mean she didn't care. Power Rangers SPD.

Author Notes: I hope everyone had an enjoyable Holiday Break. I know I did!

Cruger: What do you mean, there's no trace of the building, or the office workers? Have they become invisible? Impossible!
Jack: (Mumbles) And dogs can talk. Sam, Part One

Z: You got a lot of friends here.
Sam: Yeah, I guess I do. But you guys are kinda old.
B Squad: Old?
Sam: And weird. Sam, Part Two

AJ had been sitting in the B Commons when Carson made his theory that they all having powers wasn't a coincidence. Choking slightly on her drink, AJ hurriedly hid behind a book so they wouldn't see her expression. She personally knew their untold shared past; she'd convinced Dr. Manx to tell her in case something happened to the feline scientist and the commander. In her briefing she'd also been told not to inform the cadets about it. If they needed to know, they'd find out. AJ didn't agree with that thought but she couldn't argue with a superior officer.

"…freak…"

AJ looked up with a frown. Who is Tate calling a freak? Delgado was simply staring at Sky with a hurt look. As Landers jumped in on Delgado's defense, AJ rolled her eyes. Here we go again.

She was wrong. As the rangers prepared to morph, AJ headed to the command center. Dr. Manx had been hinting that AJ was in line to get a promotion and she didn't want to destroy those chances by not being on hand if needed. Besides, she knew that she would not be able to help the yellow ranger; she had to remain uninvolved in this, at least as far as Delgado was concerned. Tate, on the other hand, was going to get a piece of her mind once this was all over.

AJ smiled at the group surrounding Sam. As the young boy hurried off with his new classmates, AJ heard Tate ask where the bike had come from. AJ exchanged a look with Dr. Manx.

"Lieutenant Roberts' donated it." The feline informed them. As the five rangers looked at her in surprise, AJ shrugged.

"Once it became apparent Sam was alone and would be joining SPD, I called my uncle. He owns a sports shop with his wife and they donated the bike. My uncle knows what its like to be alone." She explained. They nodded and smiled. As Drew began badgering Delgado and Landers to go to the mall with her, AJ turned to Tate.

"Cadet Tate, may I speak to you a moment?" she called. Frowning, the blue ranger followed her over to her station. Looking him over, she raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms.

"As I'm sure you're aware Tate, name-calling of any kind is prohibited at SPD. I've considered informing Cruger about your incident with Delgado earlier." She paused, watching him. He was frozen, a tense look in his eyes.

"I'm not going to. I am, however, going to have you do something."

"What?" Tate asked warily. She uncrossed her arms.

"You're going to go the park tomorrow and play with Sam on the basketball courts. You will use your powers and Sam will be informed not to use his. Undoubtfully, you will get some odd looks and comments and when you do, you will accept them. If you don't do any of this, I will know. Am I clear?" She asked. Tate nodded, his mouth a tight line. She turned back to her computer consol as Tate walked away.

The next day, AJ passed by the basketball courts, using her inherited gift to remain unseen. She watched as Landors, Tate, Carson, and Sam played a game of basketball, Sky using his powers to full extent. As she watched, a group of five young men and women walked by.

"Yo, check out the freak!" the guy in blue called. As his friends joined in the taunts, AJ studied Sky's expression. His teeth were clenched and he was barely holding onto his temper. As the ball soared over the backboard, the group, still jeering, walked away. AJ followed them. Once they were safely hidden behind some trees, she reappeared.

"Tell me again why we had to do that?" Zoe, AJ's little sister, asked.

"Because Tate has never been subjected to cruelty because of his gift. He needed to learn what others have gone through. It was a needed lessen, Zo." She told them. Caleb, her younger brother and the one who first spoke, nodded.

"I get it. I don't like it, but I get it." AJ hugged her brother, sister, and friends, telling her siblings to say hello to their father for her. As they walked away, AJ turned back to the SPD cadets. Carson and Sam were attempting to comfort Tate while Landors looked on. The usually stoic blue ranger was staring into space with an wounded look on his usually handsome features. Shaking her head, she headed back to base.

Later that night, AJ was working on a ranger suit problem for Dr. Manx in her quarters. As she popped a lollipop in her mouth, the computer informed her there was a cadet waiting for her, causing her to choke.

"Come in!" she called, coughing. The door opened to admit Cadet Tate. She waved him in as she continued hacking. Shaking her head and taking deep breaths, she turned to the blue ranger.

"What is it cadet?" she asked, slightly breathless. He frowned.

"Are you okay, Lt?" he asked. She nodded, picking up her lollipop from where it had been flung on the floor in her moment of choking shock. Wrinkling her nose at the dirt covering it, she turned to him.

"I'm fine. My lolli isn't though." Sighing dejectedly, she threw it in the trash. Settling back at her desk, she turned her full attention on the uncomfortable young man in her quarters.

"So! What can I do for you, cadet?" she asked knowingly. He swallowed.

"When Z told us she'd been teased because of her powers, I hadn't realized what I had done. I brought all those memories of her childhood back, didn't I?" He asked. She nodded and sighed.

"Have a seat, Tate." She told him, motioning to the bed. He sat down stiffly. Rolling her eyes, she picked up a pillow from the end of her bed and threw it at him. The big ball of fluff hit him square in the chest. At his surprised look, she pointed a single finger.

"As your superior officer, I order you to relax!" she told him. He looked at her oddly and she realized just how silly that sounded. AJ giggled.

"Sorry. Bouts of insanity, you know." At his look, she deduced that apparently he didn't know. She quickly changed the subject.

"Anywho, yes, you did. Considering you five were sorta thrown together higgledy piggledy you're bound to step on someones toes or bring up bad memories but that comment was out of line. You have to learn to get along with the others Tate or something worse than a bad battle will occur." She told him. He frowned.

"What's worse than a bad battle?" He asked. She raised an eyebrow.

"Oh I don't know, how about Cruger throwing you off the team altogether?" She asked. He did a slight double-take.

"Has he said anything?" He asked worriedly. Sighing, AJ nodded.

"Yes, Tate, he has and I'm not the only one who heard him. A ranger team is more than just a bunch of people in spandex armor. It's a team of individuals; you all have different personalities, different pasts, and different ways of thinking." Getting somewhat agitated, AJ stood up and began pacing in front of the shocked blue ranger.

"The others are attempting to adjust to everyone's different characteristics; you're not. If you don't start trying to get along, B Squad is never going to achieve the type of team unity required to defeat Gruumm. And trust me when I say there's already a long list of cadets who, right now, would probably incorporate better in B squad than you currently are." She told him bluntly. Tate swallowed heavily and AJ calmed down.

"Personally, I think you're a great ranger but you are NOT the only one on the team. You cannot defeat Gruumm all by your lonesome. You better get your act in gear before your actions cause an accident or cause Cruger to take drastic action." She warned him. He nodded. She flopped on her chair and glanced at the schematic of, ironically enough, Tate's ranger suit.

"Why are you helping us?" Tate suddenly asked. She turned to him.

"What do you mean?" She asked. He frowned at her.

"Jack said you spoke to him, and you talked Cruger into giving Syd more time on her mission with RIC and Bridge said he got the idea for the balloon from you and you've talked to me….why?" He asked, studying her. She sighed and glanced at a picture of her family taken before the divorce. Her parents were grinning from the loveseat. AJ sat on the armchair next to her mom, JD on the armchair next to their dad. Zoe and Caleb were sitting half on the back of the loveseat while the youngest two, Dylan and Camryn, sat cross-legged in front of their parents. Her father looked happy, different than he did nowadays. It was hard to imagine that just two weeks after the picture had been taken, they found out her mom had been having an affair with her boss. She sighed and turned to Sky.

"Tate…Sky…I'm trying to be the buffer between you guys, helping you when you need it because, honestly, no one else has the time or the experience." She told him. He frowned again.

"How can you have experience? You were never a ranger." He argued. She smirked.

"Yet I grew up with a family full of them." She commented lightly. He nodded.

"You said your dad was a ranger." He said, looking at her. "I've looked in the records; there was no ranger with the last name of Roberts."

"No, there isn't. I don't go by my dad's last name. Not since I got kidnapped because of it." She told him in a quiet voice. She knew that eventually the rangers would start getting curious about her family but she hadn't expected it to be so soon. She got up and turned her family picture face down. Sky frowned.

"You got kidnapped?" He asked, surprised. She nodded.

"Six years ago, when I was twelve, my brother JD and I were kidnapped by a former enemy of my fathers who somehow survived their final battle. Up until that point at least. He made the grave error of kidnapping us on the weekend of my dad's fortieth birthday bash when all his former teammates and friends from other teams were in town." She smiled wryly. "He didn't stand a chance with fifty odd rangers hunting him down. My uncle Hunter in particular nearly electrocuted the guy. He doesn't take kindly to the kidnapping of his friends and family."

Sky smirked. "If it's the Hunter I think it is, it's no wonder."

AJ chuckled in agreement.

"Are you ever going to tell us who your father is?" He asked suddenly. She blinked at him.

"Possibly." She told him with a grin. He rolled his eyes.

"All Rangers to the command center!" AJ and Sky both jumped as Dr. Manx's voice called out through the intercom. Sky hurriedly stood up as did AJ. He looked at her oddly.

"She said rangers." He pointed out as they hurried from her room. She rolled her eyes.

"So?" she asked as they burst from the lieutenant's wing and into the hall.

"You're not a ranger." He pointed out as they sprinted to the elevator. They screeched to a halt when it closed in their faces.

"Doesn't mean I'm not needed." She retorted, turning around and running through the staircase door. She was on the eighth floor landing when she heard the door open again and someone running down the stairs. As she hurried through the seventh floor door, she hurried to the railing and jumped over it. Landing lightly on her feet, she looked up to see Sky's incredulous expression. She waved before sprinting down the hall and into the command center. A minute later, Sky ran in to see her working calmly at her station. The only clue she'd just sprinted to the fifth floor from the tenth floor was the fact she was breathing heavily and her hair was windswept. Pushing the mysteries surrounding his superior officer to the back of his head, he joined his teammates.

"SPD Emergency!"

End Note: I've given several clues in each chapter as to the identity of AJ's father. Who do you all think it is?