Wes, Jen, Eric and all other characters from Power Rangers belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.
Gaby, Chris, and Proteus are mine.

Rated T: mild language, violence, sexual references, and danger to a child.

A/N: This is a sequel to 'Reversals of Fortune' and part of my AU 'Year of Time' series. It can, however, stand alone, with most of the background from the series being mentioned along the way.

Reviews are always appreciated.

Tapestry

The Call

Silver Hills, 2006

"Are you sure? ... Now? I know... I want to... Yeah... I'll be there as soon as I possibly can."

Eric was only half aware of Wes's lowered voice muttering into his cellphone and of his partner hanging up a moment later. His attention had returned to the building across the street. Normally he would be seeing a busy sidewalk, people passing by, the glass revolving doors spinning as they went in and walked out. Now, however, the street was empty, police roadblocks preventing any traffic by car or on foot. The doors were still, no sign of life except the occasional shadow of movement glimpsed underneath lowered window shades. At least they weren't hearing gunfire.

"Give it up," he muttered softly. "No need to hurt anyone... Don't make things worse than they already are..." Becoming aware he was speaking out loud, he stopped. Not like the bank robbers inside could hear him, anyway.

"What's taking so long?"

"Keep your pants on, Wes." Eric spared a moment for a glance at his partner and co-commander of the Silver Guardians as they both crouched behind the cover of one of their SUVs.

"Why don't they do something? Get it over with?" Wes demanded, his voice edgy.

"The longer this goes on, the more scared they're getting. Hopefully scared enough to give up."

Eric fell silent, listening to the buzz of conversation in his headset. The police still had the men inside the bank on the telephone, negotiating, as they had been for the last two hours. Patience did not come naturally to him, and the situation was starting to strain his nerves as much as they were obviously doing to Wes's, but there was no way around it. In a case like this, as long as the criminals kept talking there was a chance they would surrender peacefully. He kept his eyes on the building as several more minutes passed with nothing happening.

"Damn it, how much longer?" Wes was beginning to sound almost desperate.

Eric frowned. "What the hell's wrong with you?" he demanded. "Can't rush a situation like this, you know that."

"Yeah, I know, but..." Wes grimaced. "Eric - that was the call."

"What damn call?" he asked impatiently. "What's more important than a bank robbery and a dozen hostages?"

"The call, Eric! Jen! The baby!"

"The- Oh." Startled, Eric met Wes's anxious blue eyes. "Man, that kid chose a fine time to get born."

"Eric..."

"Look, I can handle this. Go."

"Wish I could." Wes's expression warmed into a brief smile. "Thanks, but I can't leave, not with lives at stake."

Unfortunately, he was right. The police had asked for them because of their special abilities, because they might be able to end this standoff without anyone, including themselves, getting killed. Much as Eric would have liked to tell Wes he wasn't needed, with twelve innocent victims involved they couldn't take the chance.

He dropped a hand on Wes's shoulder as his gaze returned to the building across the street. "Don't worry," he said. "Your dad will take care of Jen. She'll be fine."

"Yeah, sure." Wes was quiet for a moment. "Maybe we could get in through the roof. Surprise them."

Eric shook his head. "Too many alarms, we'd probably set one off."

"Yeah. Damn. Are the police making any progress yet, talking them into giving up?"

"Hold on..." Eric raised a hand, pressing it over his headset as a voice broke through the background of commands, information, and responses from the other Silver Guardians posted in the area that he had been half-listening to. After a moment he glanced at his partner again. Wes, as usual, wasn't wearing his own headset. "The perps just got off the phone. Said they're coming out, with hostages. They demand safe passage to their car, and then they'll let everyone go."

"I asked for something to happen..." Wes muttered, obviously mostly to himself. "Got my wish. I'm suiting up. Just in case."

Eric nodded. They both raised their arms, and a few seconds and a double flash of light later they were both in their red Ranger suits.

"I think I'm going to take your suggestion," Eric said softly. He nodded at the bank roof. "From the roof I can watch without them seeing. Catch them from behind if they try anything."

"Okay. I'll get out where they can see me. Distract them a little. Who knows, maybe knowing a Ranger's here will encourage them to give up."

"Or push them over the edge. Don't get too close."

"I won't. You'd better hurry."

Crouching to stay behind the cover of the cars lining his side of the street, Eric moved to the end of the block as quickly as he could. Then a dash across the street. The bank door was starting to open, but no one had appeared yet. It would take them at least a few more seconds to come out; with the hostages to keep under control they couldn't move very fast.

Once around the corner and out of sight, Eric broke into a run and jumped lightly onto the hood of the biggest car he saw, a small truck parked nearby. It was only a long step onto the top of the cab and from there he leaped to the building roof. Moving as silently as he could, he ran back to the front of the bank, knelt and then flattened on the surface, and peered cautiously over the edge.

The bank robbers were out: two men in ski masks, both armed with pistols. They had brought four of the hostages with them, two women, an elderly man, and a boy who looked no older than twelve or thirteen. They had picked the ones they thought were least likely to give them trouble. The criminals were in the center of the small group, each holding a woman in front of himself.

Wes was standing in front of the line of cars across the street, arms folded, watching silently, but the tension in his body showing how much he hated not being able to do anything. Eric could see the police and his own Silver Guardians too, in their positions behind their cars, guns aimed but helpless as long as innocent people were in the way.

There was almost complete silence as the robbers and their human shields moved in formation almost to the end of the block and stopped next to a dark blue car. They shifted positions. One of the armed men reached past the woman he was holding and opened the door. The other pushed his own captive, a young woman with shoulder-length red hair, towards the vehicle.

"Hey!" Wes called, his voice sharp. "You said you'd let the hostages go!"

"We're taking her with us, just for insurance!" one of the men replied. He grabbed the young woman tighter, an arm around her waist while he pressed his gun to her head.

"That wasn't the deal!" Another voice shouted from the crowd of police. "Let her go now!"

There was no response. Eric drew his Quantum Defender and rose to a crouch, ready to act. It couldn't be a coincidence that they had picked a young, pretty woman to take with them. Couldn't let them have her... If he could just get an opening...

Then it all began to happen. The woman twisted, struggling, and then sagged towards the ground, almost slipping out of her captor's grip. He grabbed at her with both hands, the gun no longer pointed at her head. The other thief, who was halfway into the car, stopped and began to turn back. One of the other hostages broke and ran; the rest began to back off uncertainly.

Eric saw his chance, and took it. He fired, hitting the man in the car, seeing him jerk reflexively and then collapse, then aimed for the other one - but Wes was already in action, vaulting to the top of the car and then leaping. A shot rang out and the bullet bounced harmlessly from his shoulder as he landed on the remaining criminal, knocked him to the ground, pinned him there and tossed the gun away.

By the time Eric leaped down and reached them, the mob of cops and Guardians had the two thieves surrounded. Wes was on his feet and helping the young woman up. The other hostages were all frightened but unharmed.

"You okay?" Eric asked as he holstered his weapon.

"Yeah. Power down." Wes reappeared in his Guardian uniform and took another look around the scene as Eric also transformed back. "Looks like everything's under control."

"So get going. Take the car; I'll grab a ride with the guys."

"Thanks, Eric. See you later!" Wes headed for the SUV they had both arrived in - and stopped as the woman he had just rescued stepped into his path. "Excuse me..." he said, starting to go around her.

She smiled up at him, her face becomingly flushed and eyes bright with admiration. "You were wonderful," she said. "I just want to say thanks. You saved my life."

"Glad to help." With the flash of a quick grin at her, he was on his way at a run.

She watched him go, and then turned around, spotted Eric, and headed his way. Probably wanted to thank him too, of course. Eric smiled, preparing a suitably modest reply.

"That was Wesley Collins, wasn't it?" she asked.

"Uh... yeah."

"He's even better-looking than his pictures... Why's he running off so fast? Where's he going?"

"His wife's having a baby right about now," Eric answered, annoyed enough at having his own role in her rescue ignored to hope she was disappointed.

"I see." She looked more thoughtful than anything else. "Interesting... How much longer do I have to stay here?"

"The police will need a statement, and they may want a doctor to look at you."

"I'm not hurt."

"Sometimes people go into shock after an experience like this, Miss...?"

"Tutto. Christina Tutto." Her eyes turned in the direction Wes had driven. A small, quietly confident smile crossed her face. "And I have more important things to do than go into shock."

- - -

"Hi, honey."

"Mmmm..." Jen blinked a few more times to clear her vision, until the image of Wes's face smiling down at her solidified and steadied. She smiled back blearily. "Hi yourself."

"How do you feel?"

"Like I just had a baby..."

"Yeah, I guess you would. Dad says hello, and he'll visit a little later. I think he just can't tear himself away from staring at his grandson through the nursery window."

"You should have seen him on the way to the hospital. I've never seen him get nervous before."

"Good thing it was him instead of me. I probably would have panicked and forgotten to take you along." He ducked his head a little. "Sorry I was late."

"You got there for the best part." Jen giggled softly. "Gotta say, I've never seen anyone turn that shade of green before."

"Yeah, it was... Well." Wes looked queasy again for a moment, and then turned it into a smile as he took her hand. "You weren't exactly having a picnic there, after all."

"Not something I'd want to do every day." But the memory of hours of pain was already fading. There was so much else to think about, now, a whole new person to think about. "It was worth it," she said. "Did you see him?"

"Of course I saw him. They even let me hold him for a minute."

"Yeah..." she sighed. "When they gave him to me... Oh, it was all worth it."

"And he's a strong little guy. The doctors couldn't get over the way he didn't even cry."

She frowned a little. "That doesn't mean there's anything wrong, does it?"

"No, of course not. They said he's very healthy."

"Still, it's unusual for a baby not to cry. And..."

"What?"

"Well... I know this is silly, but... when they let me hold him, I could swear he was looking at me. I mean, looking right at me."

"He kind of did the same thing with me. But you know a newborn baby can't see clearly. He must have just been reacting to the sound of our voices."

"I guess you're right." Jen smiled again. No point in mentioning what she had felt, looking into her child's little blue eyes - that she had seemed to see something strange, an awareness and intelligence sharper than any infant should have, something - something adult was the only way she could describe it. She had been exhausted; it was only her imagination, of course. What else could it be, after all?

"He's a beautiful, healthy baby. You did good, honey." Wes's voice soothed her as she closed her eyes, feeling his lips touch her forehead as she sank back into sleep.

- - -

"I'm sure, Wendy. Proteus is not here." Trix smiled down at the sight of mother and baby in the bed, here in a small but private hospital room in the Silver Hills of 2006.

"She's okay? My baby is normal?" Wendy raised her face to them, radiant with happiness.

"She's better than okay. She's a beautiful, healthy baby." Jon smiled down at his wife.

"Thank you, Trix. All of you."

Lucie nodded from the other side of the bed. Kevin grinned, his eyes on the child. Trix began to put away the brain-pattern reading equipment she had used to test the baby. She hadn't really needed it; she had sensed immediately that Proteus was not inside the small body that Wendy held in her arms. To tell the truth, she had suspected it during the entire pregnancy, but hadn't been sure until after the birth.

It had seemed that there was no other explanation for Proteus' disappearance. They had discreetly investigated his younger, still-human self in this time period, and found him showing no signs of any abnormality beyond the beginnings of the mind-control abilities he would develop so strongly later on. Too bad they were forbidden to interfere with the past by doing something now to eliminate him as a future threat... In any case, if Proteus had traveled through time to find his original body, he had apparently not accomplished his goal.

Five minutes later they said their goodbyes, after a nurse had taken the baby back to the hospital nursery and it became obvious that Wendy was tired and needed to rest. The three of them waited in the corridor as Jon stayed to say goodbye to his wife and then joined them.

"You have a beautiful daughter, Jon," Kevin said.

"Thanks. Yes, she is, isn't she?" He gave them a tired but happy smile. "I don't have to tell you what a relief this is. All these months, waiting and wondering, not knowing if our baby would be - herself - or taken over by that creature... Do you think he found another host? That he didn't want to wait for her to be born, and moved into someone else?"

Trix shrugged. "I - I can't prove anything, but I never sensed him in Wendy. I don't think he was ever there. He never came near your baby."

"I hope you're right; the idea of him gives me the creeps. But as long as he's gone, I guess it doesn't matter now."

"No, it doesn't," Kevin said. "Your family has a bright future ahead. Do you have a name for her yet?"

"We've kind of had other things on our minds... No, we haven't decided yet."

They fell into a brief silence, smiles fading as they looked at each other. Finally Jon said it. "But then... where did Proteus go? What does he want in this time and place?"

"About all we know is that he escaped when that Time Force guard fell asleep on the job, and gave Proteus his chance to take control," Lucie admitted. "Why did he come here? Where did he go when he left the guard? How did he just disappear like that? We don't know."

"Yes. Where is he?" Trix asked softly, although she already suspected the answer, and could see the same suspicion in her teammates' eyes.

"Where is he...?" Trip wasn't sure if he had actually said it aloud as his eyes snapped open in the dim light of early dawn, in his own bedroom. "Where is he?" The question seemed to echo in his mind with an urgency that brought him wide awake and sitting up. He shook his head, trying to dispel the other world he had seemed to be a part of only a moment ago.

Another dream, as vivid as the first had been. Or was it? But how could it be anything else? There was no evidence, no logic to it, no way he could explain it to anyone, and yet, suddenly he was sure. This was much more than a dream.

TBC...