Disclaimer: Don't own the Astro Ranger, do own the rest.
Summary: Side story to the Zodiac: As Gwyn travels to the past, Andros and Ashley have something urgent to tell her.
Just A Little Too Late
Gwyn sighed as she looked around her room. A lot of strange little gadgets were dumped throughout it and she just had to find the right ones. Looking behind her bed where a big gap was between the wall and her bed, due to the tipped wall, she fished out her backpack a little gingerly.
Outside rain was pouring, creating a constant hollow sound against her windows. Viathe had tried to banish them, but Gwyn had realised the moment she had seen them, they were thunderclouds, the only clouds Viathe couldn't 'make go away'. The others had tried to convince her to do it, but she had refused. It wasn't that she didn't want to help her friends (they were planning on going out and doing whatever)… those clouds just fitted her current mood too perfectly to not have.
A forked lightning bolt shot across the sky as Gwyn started putting, what seemed, random devices and gadgets into her bag, but in reality they were carefully sought out, spotted, picked up and put in the bag.
Just when she reached down to get her communication organizer when she spotted it, it flew away in the direction of the door.
"Very funny, Kirl. Hand it over." She said dully, not even bothering to look at the person in the doorway.
"Not before you talk." The boy replied, his voice determined to make her see reason.
"What's there to talk about?" Gwyn demanded, whirling around to face him.
Kirl gave her a pointed look and shook his head. He stepped into the room, putting the organizer into the back pocket of his faded jeans. As he walked over to Gwyn's bed, he took hold of her shoulders and dragged her with him.
"Sit." He told her sternly.
With a sigh Gwyn obeyed dropping down on her bed and turning, folding her legs ending up in her sitting cross-legged so she was facing him. Kirl did the same and stared into Gwyn's eyes for a long moment.
"Something's bothering you." He stated flatly after a long silence.
Gwyn was aware of the unnatural silence from downstairs and the open door. A quick telekinetic shove solved that problem and the door slammed shut with a loud THUMP, momentarily distracting her.
"Gwyn." Kirl urged more gently. "You know you can always talk to me."
Gwyn sighed again and nodded slightly, looking down for a moment. When she looked up again, she met Kirl's eyes. There was no anger in them, no annoyance, no irritation, just patience, radiating a calm that made the irritation ebb away a little. She took a deep breath and started.
"If you ever tell Hean, you're dead meat." She began, making sure he knew the weight of what she was about to tell him. "See… I want to do this mission… and I can! It's just… I don't know what I'll find. I'm trying to change the past, save multiple lives, make the Zodiac Rangers a real team, but what if I mess up? What if it goes wrong and it'll only end up worse?" Her voice dropped as she spoke until it was only a mournful whisper of what she wanted.
Kirl sighed, and reached out, taking her hands in his.
"That's a risk we've got to take. It wouldn't be just your fault. We've decided to do this as a team, so we'll suffer the consequences together. You're the only one really fit to do this. I know Hean keeps talking about you being emotionally involved, but he knows, just like all of us, you are the only one who can pull this off. He believes in you. We all do… Hean just has a funny way of showing it." Kirl shrugged at that, both of them knowing that their leader was, well, just being a leader.
Gwyn snorted and looked into Kirl's eyes, seeing only truth and honesty.
"What would I do without you?" She finally murmured, pulling her hands free and wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Exactly what you're doing right now." Kirl whispered. "Maybe just not as confidently, but you'd do the exact same."
Gwyn smiled and buried her head in the side of is neck for a moment, before pulling back again.
"I've got to pack." She sighed, getting up from the bed.
Kirl did the same and took the bag from her hands.
"You go and relax, say goodbye to the others. I'll pack the rest of the things you need." He told her.
"Do you even know where to find half of it?" Gwyn asked him, raising an eyebrow and eyeing the mess in the room.
"This used to be my room too, remember?" He winked. "Now get going, I'll be fine."
A mild smile appeared on Gwyn's face and the thunderclouds outside started to drift apart and disappear, rays of sunlight poking through tentatively. In passing Kirl on her way to the door, she stopped for a moment and went to stand on her toes, pressing a light kiss of his cheek with a soft "thank you" before walking out.
Kirl watched her go, his eyes wide and an amazed look on his face, his hand resting against the cheek that had just been kissed. Suddenly he sobered up and shook his head clear, starting to fish around for the rest of the things Gwyn would need.
"It's never going to happen." He muttered to himself. "You're just trying to read too much into things."
On the road
"I hope we'll be in time to catch her before she goes." Ashley muttered, watching cars slip by.
"You're not the only one. We just have to tell her before she goes. She just has to know." Andros agreed, looking over at his wife for a moment.
"How are we ever going to tell her? Why did we keep it from her in the first place?" Ashley groaned.
"There's already too many things lost in her life, her list didn't need to grow. And if you are wondering why we're telling her now. It's because we don't know how long she's going be there, what she's going to see, hear or find out. I'd rather she heard it from us, than her finding out on her own and being mad at us for not telling."
"Do you think she'll ever forgive us for not telling?" Ashley asked, her worries evident in her voice and fear written on her face.
"Yes… I do believe she will. She'll still listen to Aurora and Ray. They can tell her about the heartache it put us though, they felt it too." Andros told her, not able to even consider that his daughter couldn't not forgive them.
A lone tear slipped down Ashley's cheek and she turned to look out the window again. Andros spared her another glance and placed his hand on her leg.
"It wasn't your fault, Ash." He told her gently. "It just wasn't meant to be."
"I just can't help but think, if there hadn't been so much stress and grief at that time. If Mack hadn't died, would it have been or would we have lost it anyway?" Ashley confessed.
"You and me both." He assured her. "I don't believe we'll ever find out, but we can always hope."
Boarding Crystal Spring
Kirl smiled when he came downstairs again. The doors to the garden of the bungalow were open and fresh air streamed in. Birds were singing happily outside and on the quickly dried grass of the lawn, with a little help from Viathe, the other rangers sat, enjoying the sun and chatting like there was no tomorrow.
"Ready to go?" Kirl asked, stepping out on the stone terrace.
Gwyn looked up and nodded. She gave Viathe a quick hug and whispered something in her ear, before scrambling to her feet and turning to the rest of the team.
"Well, I'll see you all later. Wish me luck." She grinned.
"Good luck." The twins chimed in unison as they usually did.
"Be careful." Hean warned her, not slipping from Leader Mode for even a second. "Don't get yourself caught unless there's absolutely no other way and don't stay a moment longer than necessary."
Gwyn rolled her eyes and walked over to Kirl, who held out her bag.
"Gwyn." Hean called after her. "Good luck."
Gwyn shot him a smile over her shoulder as she took the bag from Kirl. When he didn't let go she looked at him. He released the bag and pulled her into a hug.
"Good luck, Ciana." He whispered in her ear. "I'll be right here if you need help."
"I know." Gwyn whispered back.
When Kirl released her, he pulled a small devise out of his back pocket and handed it to her too.
"Contact regularly whenever you can, okay?" He asked a little louder.
Gwyn just nodded, a lone tear running down her cheek. Biting her lip, she turned around to wave at her other friends before pressing the button, activating the devise and letting it take her to a place for before where she had been. The five that were left behind stared at the spot Gwyn just left.
"I hope she'll be okay." Viathe whispered, bringing them all back to reality.
A moment later the sound of an engine reached their ears. As the sound came closer, they looked at each other.
"Are we expecting someone?" Hean asked tensely and they others shook their heads.
The engine was cut and moments later, Andros and Ashley walked into the garden.
"Hey." Ashley greeted, her voice small. "Is Ciana still around?"
Again everyone shook their heads.
"You just missed her by two minutes." Kirl replied ruefully.
"We're too late." Ashley muttered. "We should never have kept it from her in the first place.
"What's going on?" Hean asked alarmed, scared it might endanger the mission.
"Promise not to tell Ciana?" Andros challenged.
The Element rangers nodded, making signs with their hands showing an individual sign indicating they promised on ranger honour. A deeper kind of promising commitment was hard to find. Andros sighed and looked at Ashley who took a deep breath.
"After Ciana…" Ashley started. "We… I was expecting another child, but something, I don't know what… it went wrong and I lost that baby. There is a high chance Ciana will find out about that pregnancy if she stays too long and she'll probably think that history has changed. Maybe it will have and the baby will survive or…"
"The news will give her false hope." Kirl muttered.
"Why can't we tell her?" Viathe demanded, fighting for her best friend. "Why can't we warn her?"
"It's not our place to tell." Hean whispered. "We are not in a position to tell her about a lost sibling and even if we were… It will be better if it came from her parents. If she were to find out through us… it might destroy the bond they have."
Kirl nodded in agreement and looked over at Andros and Ashley.
"You can count on us not to tell." He promised. "Just promise me you'll tell her the moment she gets back… She deserves to know."
Andros nodded and sighed again. Hoping against all hope something good could come of this.
A/N: Hope you liked it. Please review.