Four months had gone by. It hardly seemed possible that it had been a little more than four months since Andros and his team had perished on Sirius, since Sirius was defeated. Over that period of time Wes and Eric had been working hard, longer hours than before taking on more responsibility, and they seemed to be spending less and less time with their families.

Several outbreaks of attacks had been happening in Newtech City as well in Silver Hills. It had only been a month now since the first non-human races had joined the inhabitants of Earth; most of them were good, kindhearted people, but not all of them. Some were very vile and had no intentions of following the laws.

Commander Cruger had been keeping a low profile, hoping that Gruumm wouldn't be able to sense where he had fled to. He didn't want earth to meet the same fate as his home. It had taken a while to get the cadets and officers used to having a dog in charge, but Wes made sure that Commander Cruger felt welcomed and be treated with the highest of respect, although Eric was beginning to disagree with some of Cruger's tactics.

"He's not that bad, Eric, give the guy a break. He's been through a lot." Wes was sitting in the passenger seat of the truck while Eric drove down the road. The lights were blinking but the siren was off.

"Wes, the guy doesn't even join us or the other officers when there's an attack or a disruption. He sits behind his little desk, barking orders at us," Eric felt that in order to be a good Commander you should be out on the front lines with your fellow officers. Not just barking orders that everyone.

"Well, he is our commanding officer."

"Even commanding officers have to get their hands dirty every once in a while. Hell, when we were in charge-"

Wes cut him off. "But we're not anymore. Not when it's concerning what he does." Wes let out a sigh. "Look, I admit I don't like it any more than you do, but it's for the better. With Cruger in charge we'll be able to do great things. Look what we already have accomplished." They still both held their ranks of Commanders, but Cruger over saw everything at SPD.

"Yeah. Getting five rangers killed. Big accomplishment," exclaimed Eric still annoyed by the whole situation. "If I had been there-"

"If you had been there, what?" Wes looked at him very seriously. "You probably would have gotten yourself killed, too." But even so, he too wondered: would things have been different had he and Eric gone to Sirius? Or wouldn't it have mattered, and they too would have ended up dead. "And then what?"

Eric didn't answer; he turned into the hospital parking lot and parked the truck. He got out and looked to Wes who was getting ready to unbuckle his seatbelt. "I'll call you in a few hours, let you know what's going on."

Wes nodded his head. "We'll be waiting." He smiled. "So, you excited?"

Eric had to smile at that. He couldn't believe that in a matter of hours, he was going to be a father. In just a little while his son or daughter would be born. "I'll see you later Wes." He waved goodbye and started walking towards the building.

"Dad, you're home!" yelled Sky, jumping into his father's arms, as Wes walked through the door. "Did you get any bad guys?"

"A few." Wes headed towards the living room where he found his father and Lisa sitting on the couch, watching the news and reading the newspaper. "So how was school?"

"Good. In a few weeks, we get to do show and tell. Can I bring you in, Dad, please?"

Wes grinned. "I'm sure we can work something out," answered Wes as he put his son back down.

"Yeah!" he cheered. "I can't wait to tell my friends."

Lisa looked at the clock and noticed it was way past Sky's bedtime. He had wanted to wait until Wes came home, so she had let him stay up an extra hour longer. "Sky, honey, it's getting late, you should start getting ready for bed."

"Ah, okay." He looked towards his grandfather. "Night, Grandpa."

"Night, Schuyler, see you in the morning."

Wes bent down and hugged his son. "I'll be up in a few minutes to tuck you in."

"Okay." Sky then went over to Lisa, his step-mother, and kissed her on the cheek before making his way up the stairs.

"So how was work?" asked Lisa, scooting over to make room for Wes to sit down next to her, and gently leaned against him as he wrapped his arm around her happy to finally be home after a long day at work.

"Tiring. But on a good note, Eric and I think we have it figured out which members of the A squad will become Rangers. We won't know for sure for another couple of weeks." There was still more training and drills to go over, but there were defiantly those in the running that showed more promise than others. "Then the old dog will have to go over the reports." Though him and Eric would have the final say, Cruger wanted to go over their reports.

"How is he adjusting?" asked Collins, folding up the newspaper and setting it onto the coffee table. Remembering it took sometime for Kat to adjust, once her secret about her cat-like form was revealed. And given everything Cruger had been through he knew this was a huge adjustment for the sole survivor of a single planet.

"Okay. I'd say it's more of an adjustment for everyone else, some don't do well taking orders from a dog." Wes yawned, feeling the overwhelming tiredness start to take its toll on him.

"Especially Eric," remarked Lisa, knowing well enough Eric probably didn't like having to take orders from a dog when he had been so used to being in charge and doing things his own way, calling all the shots.

"Speaking of Eric, on our way back from Newtech City he got a call from the hospital."

"You mean?" Lisa grinned.

"Yeah. We should be getting a call later tonight, or early morning."

"That's wonderful news," announced Collins, feeling as if at any moment would be the new birth of a new grandchild who he would love just as much as he loved Sky. It didn't matter to him that Eric wasn't really his son, he thought of Eric as his son and would proudly call him his own. He'd even offered Eric once to adopt him, but Eric gratefully declined saying he didn't need any official documents. That he already feels like a member of the family.

"Yeah. Hard to believe that at any time Eric will be a daddy."

"Dad!" yelled out Sky from upstairs.

"Speaking of daddies," grinned Lisa.

"Duty calls." Wes stood up and leaned down and kissed Lisa gently on the lips. "After I'm done getting him set, I think I'm going to head in, I'm beat."

"Long day?"

"Yeah," he answered with a yawn.

"Okay. I'll be up in a little bit."

"Night." Wes turned to his father. "Night, pops."

"Night, son."

"Dad!"

"I'm coming," yelled Wes, heading out of the living room.

Lisa watched him leave with concern in her eyes. Wes had been having a lot of long and tiring days as of late. Working day in and day out, even when he didn't have to. He would get the call from Cruger about some emergency or needing something done at the academy. She was beginning to get worried that he was working himself too hard; he might only be twenty-nine, but he needed to take a break just like everyone else.

"You're worried."

Lisa sighed and turned back around. "Can't help it. I just wish he take a break once in a while. The way he's going, he's going to run himself dry. Super power or not, he's not Superman."

"Yes, I know." Collins had noticed that Wes had taken on a lot of responsibilities; normally he would be proud and thrilled, but his son was beginning to take on more than he could handle. "But I'm sure, in a few weeks, everything will start to get back on track. With five of the A squad members moving up to Ranger squad, that will take off some of the weight on his shoulders." At least that's what he hoped. He had known on more than one occasion that his son had hidden an injury from them.

"Yeah. You're right." She smiled, but the feeling of dread in the back of her mind wouldn't go away. She tried to ignore it, figuring it was only natural, lots of wives and girlfriends worry about their law enforcing husbands and boyfriends and vice-verse. But that didn't take away the worry that someday he might go to work and not come home.

Sky lay underneath the covers of his bed. Wes was sitting beside him, helping him get settled in. Wes tucked his son in tightly and kissed him lightly on the forehead. "All set?"

"I'm good."

"Good." Wes was getting ready to stand up, when...

"Dad?"

He sat back down. "Yes, Sky?"

"I know my birthday isn't for a few weeks, but do you think for my birthday we can go visit Mom?" It had been almost two months since he last been to the beach where he and his father spread his mother's ashes two years before.

Wes grinned; his son would be turning seven and all he wanted was something money couldn't buy. His son seemed to care more for the simple things in life. He didn't care he could have practically anything he ever could want. "You bet! We'll make a day of it. Have a picnic, throw the ball around, even build a sandcastle or two, anything you want." He tapped his son's nose. "You and me, bud."

"Yeah that sounds great." Sky's face lit up, he couldn't wait for his birthday to come. It would be nice to have a full day with his dad. They haven't spent as much time together as of lately, because of his dads work. "You're the best dad."

Wes smiled and turned off his son's lamp. "Night, kid-o. See you in the morning."

"Night, Dad. I love you."

"I love you too, son." Wes closed his son's bedroom door and headed off into his and Lisa's bedroom to get ready for bed.

Collins walked into the lab and found Dr. Manx gathering up her belongings. She would soon be leaving for Newtech City and would begin to work at the SPD Command Base full time, creating weapons and ranger technology, as well as weapons for the other officers to use. Commander Cruger had called him earlier in the week requesting to have Dr. Manx transferred to the Newtech City location. He had agreed to it, knowing Commander Cruger was a good friend of hers and that the environment might be better suited for her.

He was sad to see her go, but knew it was for the better. He had gotten a call from Dr. Zaskin asking if he might be able to return to his former position at Bio-Lab, so it all worked out in the end.

"Got everything packed?"

"Just about." She looked up at him and smiled. "I hope you don't mind, but I plan on making more prototypes of RIC, so that each base of SPD command on all planets has one."

"It's all right. Andrea would have liked that." Collins looked down at RIC, who was standing close to Kat's side with a couple of tools in his mouth. He grinned, happy to know that his wife's work would never be over, it would go on. He was just sorry that he waited so long to get her projects going and that he ever stopped them in the first place.

"I want you to know I'm very grateful for what you have done for me, welcoming me into the company and everything else." She remembered back when Andros first brought her here, how afraid she was when she finally told the truth about herself, afraid that no one would accept her.

"You're welcome." He looked at his watch. "Well, I should be heading to the hospital."

"Yes. I heard that Eric's….."

"Eric, she's the spitting image of you," grinned Wes, holding the one-day-old baby girl in his arms. It was an amazing feeling, holding a newly born life in his hands, words couldn't even describe it. Wes looked into the little baby's eyes, knowing that this must have been what Jen felt when she first held Sky, but even a greater feeling knowing it was hers. He almost felt a pang of envy that he hadn't been able to hold his son after he was just born, but he wouldn't trade a moment of time he had spent with his son since then for the chance.

"Yeah, she has your eyes," said Lisa, standing near Wes's side, gently playing with little Megan's fingers.

"Can I hold her?" asked Sky, who was sitting in a chair next to Hayley's bed. Wes and Lisa seemed hesitant, not knowing if Sky was ready to hold such a young life in his own little arms.

"Sure, honey," said Hayley, smiling back at him, trusting that the little boy would be very careful, after all he was her big cousin.

Eric got up from his seat and gently took his daughter out of Wes's arms and slowly put her into Sky's arms, showing him the right way to hold a newborn. "Okay, put your hand under her head."

"Like this?"

"Yeah. That's perfect," Eric said as he rubbed Sky on the top of the head. "You're a natural kid."

Sky looked down at Megan's face and saw her looking up at him. He felt really proud of himself in that moment, especially that everyone trusted him to be very careful with the fragile life that was in his arms. "I'm doing it. I'm really doing it."

"You sure are, kid-o; you'll make a good big cousin," exclaimed Hayley.

Lisa wrapped her arms around Wes. "Or big brother."

Wes turned to her. "You mean you want a baby?" asked Wes.

"Seeing this, it just gets you thinking," she said watching how good Sky was with his new little cousin/ "Don't you want one?"

Wes grinned. "I'd love to have one, but what about our honeymoon? I mean…I know you were looking forward to it."

"There's always next year," She took his hands. "What's the rush," she leaned in and kissed him on the lips.

Wes laughed and wrapped his arms around her. "All right then, we're going to have a baby."

And I thought Wes and Jen were bad, with all the mushy stuff. "Great. But you think you could wait until you're home to do that? We have two children present," announced Eric. "And I don't want my little girl exposed to the opposite sex any time soon."

"You're going to have to let her grow up someday," joked Wes. "You can't chase her boyfriends away forever. Although knowing you, you probably could."

"Damn right." Eric crossed his arms against his chest.

"Guys!" yelled Lisa shaking her head, sometimes it was crazy how much like brothers the two actually acted.

"Yeah you two, knock it off," exclaimed Hayley. "She's barely a day old and you both are acting like she's going to the prom next week."

"Not if I have anything to say about it. Boys are bad," answered Eric, as far as he's concerned his little girl wont be dating any boys until she's thirty.

"And you would know better than any of us, since you were one of those bad boys," laughed Wes. "As I recall…." There was a knock at the door.

"Come in," announced Eric as he shoved Wes in the shoulder.

The door opened and Collins walked in, carrying flowers and a stuffed pink bear. "How are the new mother and father doing?"

"Tired, but other than that, I'm doing great," answered Hayley.

"Well then." Collins turned to Eric. "I'll see to it that Eric has some time off, to help you get settled." Collins headed over to his grandson who still was holding the baby girl in his arms.

"You want to hold her, Grandpa?" asked Sky.

"I'd be delighted to." He gently took the baby girl from Sky's arms and held her. In that moment he began to remember the first time he held Wes in his arms. "She's beautiful, what's her name?"

"Megan Andrea Myers." For a moment Eric and Collins shared a glance, both of them smiled. "Hayley and I both thought she should have some Collins in her." After all they had become his family and that was all he had ever wanted was somewhere to belong, someone to belong to.

Collins didn't know what to say. He was grateful that when they were naming their child, they thought of him. After his wife had died, it had just been him, work, and Wes. But as the years had gone by his family grew, first being Eric and Hayley, then his grandson, and Lisa and now Megan had joined their family. They all might not be connected by blood, but they held a bond that even blood couldn't destroy.

...But sometimes without any reason at all, something comes along and breaks those bonds, twisting them and turning them, in ways you didn't think possible, until they are too far gone to get back.