Author: Jadelyn Ja Lee
Story: Through Her Eyes
Disclaimer: I own no one.
Time Frame: During SWAT, Part One & Two
Summary: AJ's father was the greatest ranger ever….now she's taking on the mantle he gave up. Power Rangers SPD.
Author Notes: We've heard a lot about Tommy but not a lot about Abigail, his ex-wife and some of you have asked me questions about the woman who was able to snare the Black Christmas Ranger's heart. Well, here ya go!
Dedication: To (insert names of everyone who has reviewed). We're on the twentieth chapter and you're still reading! WOW!
Commander Cruger: I was thinking about the cadets. Kat, have you noticed how they've been bickering a lot lately?
Kat: Five teenagers asked to protect the world and forced to live in such tight quarters? I'm surprised their talking at all.
the quantum enhancer explodes
Kat: Aah! Oh, no! Tell me I didn't fry the quantum enhancer. Tell me I didn't fry the quantum enhancer!
Z walks in
Z: What's happened?
Commander Cruger: Kat fried the quantum enhancer.
Piggy: Oh, this is no good at all. If Gruumm finds out I had S.P.D. technology and didn't give it to him, well, he'll vaporize me. If Broodwing finds out I'm working for Gruumm, well, he'll vaporize me. And if Gruumm finds out I'm working for Broodwing, well then, he'll vaporize me. If the Rangers find out I'm working for Gruumm or Broodwing, well, they'll vaporize me. Oh, no, wait. They don't vaporize. They stick guys like me into those little, teeny cards. Ohh, I'd rather be vaporized.
"I can't believe they got sent to boot camp. We didn't get sent to boot camp." JD commented as he tossed a ball from one hand to the other. AJ rolled her eyes. He'd been watching her for an hour as she worked, more or less saying the same thing the entire time.
"I know, Jay, but you guys knew each other your entire lives. These five didn't. They're just becoming a family." She reminded him as she restrained from kicking the computer. JD frowned.
"Still, even dad and our various uncles and aunts got along better than these five." He told her. She looked up at him, eyes blazing.
"Are you trying to piss me off?" She demanded. He leaned back, startled.
"What are you talking about?" he asked, confused. She let out a frustrated shriek and stomped to her office, the only place he couldn't follow without her permission. Left behind, he frowned.
"What did I do?" he asked Kat. She simply shook her head and continued working as Helios and Salene appeared. JD turned to his and his sister's new companions hopefully.
"JD, did it occur to you that you keep talking bad about the team your sister considers family?" Helios asked. JD frowned.
"But I'm not…" he trailed off at Salene's glare.
"You keep saying they can't work together, that they're horrible, that your team on KO35 was so much better when in fact, you seven had more arguments than these five do." The moon goddess told him with a sniff of disdain. JD frowned.
"I have not been saying my team was better." He argued. Helios waved his hand and a vision of JD more or less saying that exact thing appeared. JD swallowed as three more instances of his stupidity were showcased.
"Okay, so I'm proud of my team. Is that so bad?" he asked helplessly. Salene glared at him again.
"It is when they're not your team anymore." She reminded him before fading away. Helios shrugged at the cadet's baffled expression and disappeared as well.
"Excuse me, can you tell me where I might find Aimee Roberts?" Abigail Robertsasked the front desk attendant. Cadet Miller smiled.
"Lieutenant Roberts office is on the third floor, right wing, 279. Can I have you sign in?" he asked. Abigail did as he asked and, looking at the signature, the administrative cadet grinned.
"Well, Mrs. Roberts, I hope you find your daughter all right." He told her. Abigail nodded absently as she headed to the elevators.
Lieutenant Roberts office? Since when did Aimee get herself an office? Abigail thought to herself as she made her way to her daughter. Aimee doesn't need an office; she needs a life outside of danger. She found the door the desk attendant had mentioned and pursed her lips at the nameplate.
"Sr. Lieutenant Aimee 'AJ' Roberts, Director of Ranger Biophysics." She muttered aloud before knocking. A shriek answered her before the door opened in a flurry of anger.
"Jason David Oliver, I do not-!" AJ stopped cold at the sight of her mother. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to fix your mistake." Abigail replied, pushing her way inside. She took a seat and waited while her daughter stood just inside the door. AJ glanced from side to side, trying to figure out why on earth her mother was sitting in her office and talking about a mistake she had made. She turned around and eyed her mother's prim posture. She stepped back inside and closed the door.
"What mistake are you talking about?" she asked as she took her seat. Abigail was studying her desk and scowling.
"Becoming a ranger. You're going to get yourself killed and I won't have it. Leave the rangering to the more responsible and mature." Abigail advised as she picked up a data pad. AJ snatched it back.
"Please leave my pads alone, mother. And I am responsible and mature." She objected. Abigail sniffed.
"Yet you're allowing yourself to be put into danger daily!" she replied angrily. AJ suddenly understood and she sighed.
"Mother, rangering is a lot safer than you think. We take every situation into consideration and come up with plans and at least two contingency plans. We've very rarely lost rangers." She explained patiently, more or less repeating what she had told her mother when she joined the academy back when she was sixteen. She didn't notice Salene scowling as she disappeared from the room.
"Dr. Manx!" Salene called as she appeared in front of the startled feline. Kat blinked in shock and Salene couldn't help the smirk that crossed her face. I do so love to shock people!
"Can I help you, Salene?" Kat asked mildly. Salene smiled in approval of the quick calmness.
"Abigail Roberts is distressing my chosen in her office." She announced. Kat frowned.
"Abigail…?" she trailed off, and Salene nodded.
"Yes, her mother. That bloody woman is telling her that she shouldn't be a ranger." She explained. Kat scowled.
"Why not? AJ is more than capable! She's more together than some of the other rangers we've got around here!" she argued. Salene raised an eyebrow.
"Don't tell me that, I already know that. Tell Abigail." She advised before disappearing from view. Kat glanced at Boom who hadn't seemed to have heard a word of the conversation and then at Cruger's closed office door. She squared her shoulders.
"Boom, keep an eye on things. I'll be right back." She ordered before walking out the door.
As Kat approached her lieutenant's office, she noticed several cadets edging away. She understood immediately why as AJ and an unidentifiable female voice were both yelling at the top of their lungs. Kat approached the door and listened.
"I am not going to sit by and watch as you destroy yourself! This isn't you, it's your father!" Abigail shouted. AJ froze.
"Dad? That's what this is about?" She asked incredulously. Abigail scowled.
"You're fathers convinced you kids that being a ranger is all fun and games when it's not! You're destroying your life!" she argued. AJ's eyes blazed as she stared at her mother.
"I know the dangers entailed with rangering; I've lived several of them! But Dad has nothing to do with our becoming rangers. We want to because it's the right thing to do. If we don't fight Gruumm, he'll destroy us." She told her in a voice that shook from anger. Abigail scowled.
"And when you defeat Gruumm they'll be another evil dictator waiting to try and conquer earth." She argued. AJ smiled angrily.
"And there will always be a team of rangers to fight back. Years ago it was Dad, now it's me and JD, it a few years it could be Zoë, or Dylan, or even one of our kids. The cycle will go on, yeah, but evil will never win." She predicted. Abigail shook her head, eyeing her daughter angrily.
"You're delusional. You're father has brainwashed you into thinking—" Abigail stopped suddenly as AJ leapt to her feet.
"Get out." She whispered in a voice full of venom. Abigail stepped back, startled.
"Don't you take that tone of voice with me, young lady!" Abigail warned. AJ leaned forward threateningly.
"I said, GET OUT OF MY LIFE!" AJ screamed. Abigail took one last, disgusted look at her daughter and left. AJ sunk back into her chair, put her head in her hands, and cried.
Kat was torn, on one hand she desperately wanted to knock some sense, or simply a bruise, into the obnoxious woman walking away but on the other hand, she felt the need to comfort AJ. Luckily, before she could do anything, Cruger appeared at the end of the hall and spoke to Abigail. Kat smiled grimly as she walked into AJ's office. The canine did not look happy and Kat suspected he had heard every word of the conversation.
"I hate her. She's wrong." AJ sniffled as Kat wrapped her in a hug. Without a second thought, AJ leaned into Kat's presence and cried into her neck.
"Shhhh, sweetie, shhhhh." Kat soothed the sobbing girl.
"Kat?" AJ whispered later that day. They had been busy for the past couple hours trying to get a lock on the stolen technology. Kat looked up.
"Yes?" she asked softly.
"Thank you." She told her sincerely. Kat smiled.
"Anytime. Your mother had no right to say any of what she did. You are vital to the defense of the earth not only physically, but mentally as well. Like Cruger said before, you belong here." She reminded her. AJ nodded with a smile and went back to work.
"JD!" AJ exclaimed when her brother limped in. "Are you okay?"
"I ran into Tresher and Stench. I'm going to kick them good next time I see them." He muttered as he leaned against the consol. Cruger growled.
"Next time, call for back-up. The technology they have is extremely advanced." He reprimanded him. JD nodded miserably as AJ fussed over him. Kat continued scanning for the technology.
"Mother showed up." AJ told her brother quietly. JD looked sharply at his sister.
"What did she want?" he asked angrily. AJ frowned as she turned to the computer.
"To tell me that we were making a mistake, that we're going to get ourselves killed and that Dad's brainwashed us. That's when I told her to leave." She admitted. JD chuckled without any humor. "I think Cruger kicked her out."
"Good." JD murmured. AJ smiled a bit and went back to work. If anyone understood the problems between her and their mother, it was JD.
"I've been thinking…" she told her brother what she had been debating in her head. JD smiled, a real smile that lit up his entire face.
"I mean, it's not like we're little kids anymore." She explained. JD nodded.
"You're right, we're—" he was cut off at Kat's excited exclamation.
"I got a lock on the technology!" she cried. AJ and JD hurried over. Cruger glanced at the computer and then nodded.
"Alright you two, lets get to work." He ordered. "SPD emergency!"
"Ow!" AJ yelped as she was thrown into a wall by Stench.
"Get back here, you stupid, dirty, rotten, moldy, little—woah!" JD yelled as he too was thrown into a heap against the wall. AJ gingerly helped him up only to be knocked down again when Cruger landed on the two. Wincing, AJ scrambled to her feet. At once, she saw the force field surrounding them.
"Um…Commander?" she asked, turning to the Shadow ranger. He growled as from the center of the room, Tresher and Stench celebrated the capture of the three rangers.
"Hello!" Two figures in red and blue called out. The rangers jumped to their feet as Jack started pounding into Tresher and Sky raced over to the captured rangers. AJ put her hands on her hips as Sky stopped to study the machine.
"And just where have you been mister? We've been stuck here for an hour!" she told him playfully. Sky looked at her and despite the fact she couldn't see it behind his helmet, she knew he was smiling.
"Getting my ass kicked by Silverback and hearing voices." He replied drolly. AJ smirked as Sky fired upon the machine, destroying the shield. AJ jumped off the platform and hugged Sky, grumbling good-naturedly over the hardware he was wearing.
"AJ, JD, follow me." Cruger ordered and the twins raced after their commander. A quick search of the building and they had found the stolen technology that wasn't being used by the unlucky duo. They gathered the technology and headed back to base, secure in their belief that B Squad could take the two imbeciles.
"Say cheese you two!" Z called to the new love-birds sitting on the couch. Sky wrapped an arm around AJ and the two smiled for the camera. AJ chuckled as the yellow ranger snapped a picture of Jack and JD thumb-wrestling, her brother in pain as they writhed for control.
"I'm glad to see you five are getting along." Cruger spoke from behind them. The rangers turned to him with a smile.
"Yeah, and just in time too." Sky said. At everyone's looks, he shrugged. "I have a feeling the battle is just beginning."
Cruger snorted as Kat walked in. She looked troubled as she whispered something to Cruger. The rangers exchanged confused looks as Cruger growled.
"AJ, JD, you're mother is in the front office." The canine told the twins. Sky looked down at AJ in confusion as she tensed up. She swallowed and looked to JD who was scowling.
"Lets go see what she wants." He muttered, stalking from the room. AJ scrambled after her twin, not realizing the rangers would follow.
"What are you doing here? I thought AJ told you to leave us alone." JD asked in a semi-pleasant tone of voice. Abigail pursed her lips.
"She told me to stay out of her life, she said nothing of you." The older Roberts woman replied. JD gave her a look.
"If AJ doesn't want o see you, do you really think I would?" he asked. She frowned.
"I would think you would want to see the woman who carried you for nine months." She snapped. JD snorted.
"As far as I'm concerned, Dad carried us. You did nothing." He replied. AJ couldn't help the smile that popped up at that image. Abigail glared at her daughter.
"Your father—" she began but stopped as AJ stalked over to her.
"Don't you dare say dad's brainwashed us or turned us against you." She warned. Abigail glowered.
"He did, he turned you against your own mother." She argued. AJ glared.
"No, you did that when you had an affair with your boss for two years!" she accused. Abigail froze.
"He told you about that?" she whispered, gob smacked. AJ shook her head.
"No, we found out when dad was talking to the lawyer." She replied. Abigail swallowed as AJ seemed to deflate.
"Listen, why don't you just…go, okay? We're never gonna see eye to eye on this." The lunar ranger told her mother. Abigail straightened.
"That's because you won't listen to my warnings. Besides, they have six perfectly capable rangers; why on earth would they need you two?" The elder Roberts woman asked in what she assumed was a logical tone. AJ opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by B Squad.
"Without AJ, we would have killed each other months ago. And JD's a great friend." Jack stepped forward. Bridge nodded.
"Yeah. AJ told me to follow my instincts and I did and we caught the plant-person who was making trouble. And JD's helped me with my fighting techniques." The green ranger added.
"And she gave me more time to find some missing slime people. And he's not afraid to tell me I stink." Syd put in her two cents. Her teammates snickered.
"I've never seen Sky so relaxed. Trust me when I say that's a good thing." Z inserted before the blue ranger could speak up. Sky just rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around his girlfriend.
"She helps us get along; in many ways she's the heart of our team. We're still getting to know JD but he's part of the team nonetheless." He told AJ's mother quietly. Kat stepped up.
"AJ's helped immensely with keeping the powers and zords up and running. Without her, I'd be driving myself insane trying to do it all. She was given the promotion for a reason. And JD was a ranger on KO35 for a few years. His experience is invaluable." The feline added. Abigail and the rangers turned to Boom expectantly.
"She's my best friend." He murmured softly, looking directly at the lunar ranger. AJ melted as Cruger stepped forward.
"You need to stop wishing for the twins you don't have and start realizing what an amazing daughter and son you do have." The Siriusian told the human woman. Abigail turned to the twins.
"We're part of this team mother and nothing is going to change that." AJ told her. Next to her and Sky, JD nodded his agreement. Abigail swallowed heavily. She studied them intently and tears came to her eyes.
"You don't trust me, do you?" she asked. JD shook his head.
"You destroyed the trust we had in you when we found out you cheated on dad." He told her coldly. Abigail blinked rapidly as tears slowly fell down her cheeks. With one last forlorn look at the twins, she left.
End Notes: Wow, this chapter ended up a bit different than what I was aiming for. If I made Abigail into a bit of a bitch, I'm sorry, that was entirely accidental. You just have to realize that the marriage between her and Tommy ended horribly and she didn't realize that the kids knew why they divorced in the first place. She just thought that because the kids lived with Tommy that he was able to convince them she was a horrible person, which does, unfortunately happen.
Also, I've gotten mixed reactions to that last chapter. Some of you liked Salene, some of you didn't. Most, I think, understood the myths behind her if not the Ranger story. Which, coincidentally, I'm planning on writing eventually. It'll be like a prequel to the lunar and solar powers (along with the third power, but that power won't show up here).
With all the nominations I've gotten in the past three months, I've decided to host the Hope For The World Fan Fiction Awards! I'll be accepting nominations starting the tenth (this coming Monday). For more information, head over to my MSN group,
http/ groups. msn. com/ JadedRose/. (Take out the spaces).
One more thing, when I planned this out, chapter wise, it ended up as thirty chapters and so there's only about ten chapters left to finish. (pouts). I really like how this ficcy turned out and part of me doesn't want it to end but another part of me can't wait because then I can start one of the fic saga's I've been toying with for the past couple months. (Shrugs)