Author: Jadelyn Ja Lee
Story: Through Her Eyes
Disclaimer: I own no one. Don't sue!
Time Frame: During Wired, 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: Dedicated to whoever it was that nominated me for the Power Rangers Couple Awards-Best OC Ranger Romance! Thank you so much!
(Jack is dangling from the edge of a rail on the top of a building.)
Sky: Just hanging out?
Jack: Very funny.
I can't believe I was so stupid! I go to do one thing and…arghhhh! AJ thought viciously to herself. Ever since The Incident, as she had taken to calling the kiss, she had been avoiding Sky. Unfortunately for her, the other B Squad members had been making that increasingly difficult since they kept throwing the blue ranger in her way. Even now, Jack was making sure Sky was in the chair closest to her station.
She had been ignoring the discussion they were having until Cruger ordered Jack and Sky to investigate whatever it was they were talking about. She looked over her shoulder to find Jack and Sky nodding. As they left, AJ locked eyes with the blue ranger. It was only when the door closed behind them that the connection was broken. AJ sighed and slumped in her chair.
Kat shook her head. She'd seen the tension between science lieutenant and her blue ranger and had discussed it with Bridge. According to the green ranger, they had gotten into a fight over Sky's actions towards Sophie. No one knew what had happened after that but Bridge told Kat that Syd suspected they had kissed. Judging by the past few days, AJ had been avoiding Sky to no avail. She walked over and placed a hand on her Biophysics Directors shoulder.
"AJ, why don't you head to your room and work on Project Red." The head of Earth's science suggested. AJ looked up gratefully.
"Thank you, Dr. Manx." She acknowledged, collecting her data pads. Kat nodded.
"If you need to talk, I'm always here, you know that right?" she asked the young woman. AJ smiled up at her.
"I know." She replied simply before walking out the door. As the young science director walked out the door, Cruger came to stand by Kat.
"Should I have a discussion with Tate?" he asked hesitantly. It'd been so long since he'd had to deal with romance within a ranger group he wasn't entirely sure how to go about it. Besides, romance on Earth was very different than romance on Sirius. Kat shook her head.
"No. Both are too dedicated to SPD to let this get in the way of their work." She turned to her boss, "Let them work it out on their own."
In B Commons, Bridge was trying to tell Syd and Z the same thing, to no avail. The movie was playing on the screen and several cadets were stationed in the chairs around it, watching. Syd and Z were on the floor discussing how to get their two teammates together in whispers.
"Maybe you should just leave them alone. I mean, they're perfectly capable of figuring this out on their own." Bridge commented as the main character on the screen was side-kicked. He winced and glanced over to see Syd shaking her head.
"Bridge, you know as well as I that for all his tough guy exterior, Sky's is extremely nervous when it comes to girls. He treats them three ways; as an enemy, as a fellow cadet, or as a superior officer." The pink ranger pointed out. Bridge rolled his eyes.
"Yet he sees you two like little sisters." He commented. The girls looked surprised.
"He does?" Z asked. Bridge nodded. Syd smiled softly.
"Did he tell you that?"
"Yeah, right after AJ's dad came and took her home for rest. We were talking that night and he told me that you two are the little sisters he always wanted. Why do you think he gets so upset whenever guys hit on you two?" He replied, surprised they hadn't known. Syd and Z, both a little teary eyed, grinned. The trio remained quiet as they thought of Sky and his relationships with his friends.
"We should lock them in a closet!" Syd suddenly announced. Z rolled her eyes and Bridge silently groaned.
"That only works in the movies, Syd." The yellow ranger told her. Syd, her eyes sparkling like mad, just smirked. Z grew wary.
"What?" She asked. Syd shook her head, her eyes far away as she schemed.
Fortunately for the science technician and the blue ranger, all plans were forgotten as Mr. and Mrs. Boom came, asking for their ranger son.
In the command center, Kat became alarmed as the locations of the red and blue rangers disappeared. Double checking it wasn't a computer glitch, she looked over at Cruger.
"Doggie, Sky and Jack are missing."
"Alert the rangers." He ordered without missing a beat. Once Kat had called the rangers to the command center, she turned back to her computer. Cruger glanced over at the empty computer terminal that Roberts usually manned during Ranger missions. He turned to technician he and Kat had assigned as Roberts' assistant for her position as director of Ranger Biophysics.
"Harris! Take over for Lieutenant Roberts." He ordered. Cadet Samantha Harris nodded and moved over to AJ's terminal, another technician taking over her own. Kat gave him a puzzled look. He sighed just as Syd, Z, and Bridge raced into the room.
"I don't think it would be a good idea to tell Roberts her possible boyfriend is missing when they're in the middle of a fight." He explained to the feline doctor. The trio of rangers exchanged startled glances as Kat frowned.
"Doggie, I told you, they won't let whatever feelings they have get in the way of their jobs." She argued. Cruger shook his head.
"I know and I agree. I'm just trying not to make the situation worse." He explained, turning to the rangers.
"Jack and Sky are missing…."
AJ threw her datapad down in disgust. No matter what she did, she could not figure out a good way for the biophysics of the ranger suit to connect to the power source they had decided on. At this rate, using RIC would be a better option, she thought annoyed at herself. AJ's head snapped up.
"That's it!" she shouted, grabbing another datapad and punching in some information. For the next few minutes she worked like a madman to get all the necessary data uploaded onto her room computer and then brought up a schematic of Jack's ranger suit and RIC. She was waiting for the computer to separate RIC (electronically at least) when her gaze came upon a picture of the original team that AJ had copied. She liked the picture of her dad when he had just started as a ranger. It made her laugh. This time however, instead of seeing the long hair, green shirt, and baggy blue jeans, she saw the hold he had on her Aunt Kimberly's hand. She turned to her clock. She should be home…
""Hello?" a slightly breathless voice asked over the phone. AJ bit her lip.
"Aunt Kim?" she asked. She heard the phone fumble.
"AJ, is that you?"
"Yeah."
"How are you sweetie? I heard what happened. Your dad was a mess."
"Don't I know it." She muttered. Kim laughed.
"He's always been overprotective but it's only because he loves you very much."
"I know." She agreed. Kim switched hands.
"So why did you call?"
"I…um….I need….I need some advice." She told her aunt.
"Boy advice?" Kim asked sympathetically. AJ sighed.
"Yeah."
"Is this about the Sky guy I've been hearing so much about?" She asked knowingly. AJ frowned, annoyed.
"I'm gonna kill the brats." She muttered, causing Kim to laugh.
"Actually, I heard it from Jason and Kat."
"Oh."
"So what's the problem?"
"I…the other rangers set us up on a date and we had a blast and we danced and he took me home. He was a complete gentleman and didn't even try to kiss me goodnight. Then he kicked another cadet out of the academy for something she really couldn't control and we got into an argument and I kissed him, freaked out, and took off." She explained in a rush. Kim started laughing and AJ frowned.
"It isn't funny, Auntie Kim!" She wailed. Kim calmed down somewhat.
"It's not that…It just reminds me of how your uncle Jason and I got together." Her aunt explained. AJ smiled, intrigued.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Jason wanted to talk about what happened to us on Miranthius. I didn't want to. We were arguing and next thing I know, we're making out. To this day, I don't know who made the first move." She laughed. AJ grinned.
"When did dad find out?" she asked. Kim giggled.
"At the most inopportune time. He had come home for Spring Break and we were in the middle of a heated make out session when he decided to surprise Jason. I'll never forget the yelp he made or the look on his face when he opened the door to Jason's bedroom. That was another argument that ended up oddly." She and AJ both snickered.
"That's when dad and Uncle Jason stopped talking for a week, right? Uncle Billy told me about it." She asked. Kim sighed.
"Yeah. Tommy felt like we'd both betrayed him even though he and I had both moved on. He'd been trying to date Hayley at the time and he knew I had a boyfriend, he just refused to ask who it was." Kim explained, feeling it was time her "niece" knew the full story. AJ frowned.
"Dad and Aunt Hayley dated? How'd she end up with Uncle Adam?" she asked, surprised. Kim giggled.
"Your dad and Hayley realized about two months into the relationship that they were much too like brother and sister. Even so, when Zack and Tanya got married, Tommy brought Hayley as his 'escort.' During dinner, Adam and Hayley were seated next to each other and they, along with Billy, got into a lengthy discussion of computer stuff. Kat, Tanya, Aisha, and I saw the way he was looking at Hayley." Kim explained. AJ smirked.
"And you schemed, right?" she asked knowingly. Kim snickered.
"Yes, we schemed. When it came time to dance, your father was dancing with Hayley and Adam was dancing with Aisha. Rocky and I went and cut in. I pretty much dragged Tommy away and Rocky swept Aisha off to a corner. Adam and Hayley were left in the center of the floor without partners. They later told us that we hadn't been at all subtle." Kim remembered fondly. AJ smiled.
"It obviously worked though." She commented. Kim laughed.
"Much better than we thought it would, actually. You know how during the whole Mesogog mess in Reefside, Adam was in medical school?" Kim asked. AJ nodded.
"Oh yeah. Uncle Rocky still teases Uncle Adam for worrying as much as he did." She recalled. Kim laughed softy.
"Well, Adam had a reason to worry. He'd proposed to Hayley about a week before Connor, Kira, and Ethan found the gems." Kim explained. AJ blinked.
"Wow." She whispered. Over the line, Kim laughed and a doorbell rang. AJ could hear her aunt move to get it.
"Hold on, sweetie. That's probably the girl's." Her aunt told her. AJ listened to the conversation that followed and smiled when she recognized the familiar voices.
"Hey Kim. Oh, sorry, didn't realize you were on the phone." AJ heard Kat tell the original pink ranger.
"It's AJ. Boy problems." AJ blushed as Kat and two other women squealed. Kim's laughter was muffled as she pressed the speaker phone on.
"Boy troubles, huh?" her aunt asked in her soft Australian voice. AJ sighed and her aunts all giggled.
"Hello to you too, Aunties." She replied as the women laughed.
"Is it that Sky guy?" Aisha asked. AJ scowled.
"Yes." She replied, almost hearing her aunt's smile on the phone.
"So what's up?" Tanya inquired. AJ sighed and explained what had happened. The women were silent for a moment and then they all started talking at once. AJ listened, amused, as her aunts attempted to talk over one another and then started bickering about what she should do. A piercing whistle came through the phone, causing AJ to wince and her aunts all to shut up.
"What on earth are you four doing?" her uncle Jason asked. AJ snickered.
"Are you talking to someone?" he asked bemused.
"Hi Uncle Jason!" she called. He picked up the phone, ignoring the women's protests.
"Hey, Aimee. How are you?" Jason asked. AJ sighed.
"At this point, wishing I hadn't called for advice." She told him wryly. Jason chuckled.
"Just tell him how you feel. Honesty is always best, Aimes." He told her. AJ blinked and then laughed when her aunts started berating Jason in the background.
"Jason, guys have a habit of getting weirded out when they find out a girl likes them. It's even worse when the girl asks them out!" Kim exclaimed. Jason sighed.
"I think, as a guy, I know what happens when a girl asks a guy out." He retorted. Her aunts remained silent and AJ snickered.
"Seriously, just tell him you're interested. You don't have to make a big deal out of it and I'd suggest you do it in private. Guys," he paused and AJ just knew he was giving her aunt a look, "don't like being embarrassed by a girl."
"Are you sure?" she whispered. Jason sighed and his voice grew soft.
"If it's the guy I think it is, you have no worries." He reassured her. AJ blushed again.
"You really think he likes me?" she asked hesitantly.
"Yes, Aimes, I think he does. A guy doesn't get that worried over a girl without a reason." He told her. AJ nodded.
"So, just tell him I'm interested?" she clarified. Jason chuckled.
"Yup. That's all there is to it." He assured her. She smiled.
"Thanks, Uncle Jason." She told him. He chuckled again.
"Your welcome, just do me a favor." He asked. She smiled.
"What?" she asked.
"Don't tell your dad I told you to go for it. He'll try to kill me." He asked. She heard her aunties all laugh and couldn't help the smirk that escaped.
"Like the time he caught you with Auntie Kim in your bedroom?" She asked innocently. Utter silence met her statement. A beat later she heard the phone drop to the floor, her aunt's hysterical laughter, and her Uncle Jason squeak…
"Kimberly!"
End Notes: I'm really really happy with this chapter. I was able to get a lot of background information out and make it understandable. Hope you liked it too!
I'm honored to announce that I have been nominated at the Power Ranger's Couple Awards for Best OC-Ranger Romance! For SKY/AJ! This is really the first time I've written and posted my work so to have been nominated…well, I'm happy as a clam!
Voting starts today (Valentines Day) and ends the 21st. http/prcouplesawards. usagi-carter. org/ (Take out the spaces or go to my profile page). A big thanks to whoever nominated me!