It hadn't always been like this. There was a time he could have gone to him with anything, asked him anything he wanted. Back then it had been so easy, all he had to do was….

Young Sky was on Eric's back while Eric was doing pushups. "Uncle Eric, do you think one day I'll be big and strong just like you and Dad?"

"You bet." Eric turned quickly and caught Sky before he could fall, but he needn't have worried, because this little one wasn't afraid of anything. Sky laughed as he safely landed in his uncle's arms. "In fact, maybe you'll be stronger than both of us."

"Ah uh, no one's stronger then you and Dad," exclaimed the you boy. "No one can beat you guys. You guys are the best there ever was!"

Eric grinned, but hiding the fact that there were those in the world and even farther away who were more powerful than him and Wes combined. He had even come face to face with a few, but had always landed on top. He didn't want to worry the boy with the fact that there was always someone better and stronger out there. He was young and he didn't need to know about things like that yet. "You really think so?"

"Yeah. Everyone's afraid of you guys. No one would dare mess with you." Sky's eyes just glowed talking about it. He truly believed that both his father and uncle were unbeatable. They were the best and together they'd be unstoppable. "And that's why my name's different than Dad's, right, for my protection?"

Eric had wondered how long before it would be when Sky came to realize he and his father had different last names. "Something like that," he answered.

The memory faded away. Things were different now. HE had changed so much. He had grown up more than anyone could have wanted in the last seven years, Sky thought, as he packed his bags full of all his clothes and other sorts of belongings, a few books, and his Ipod. He wanted to make sure he had everything he needed. He wasn't planning on coming back, at least not anytime in the near future.

He reached onto his nightstand, grabbing his father's helmet. He stared at it for a long moment and envisioned his father still wearing it as he went into battle, before placing into his bag. The last piece of his belongings that went into his bag was the picture taken of him and his father all those years ago. He stared at the picture, trying to remember the sound of his father's voice, but so much time had gone by that he had long forgotten, just as he had forgotten his mother's voice.

He barely remembered her. His grandfather had done his best in providing whatever information he could about his mother, but all he could really offer was the engagement ring that his father had given her and then a few old photos. He could ask Eric, but things were different now. He had forgotten how to talk to the one person who used to mean so much to him.

"Here, you should wrap it up in this so that it doesn't get damaged." Unbeknownst to Sky, Eric had snuck in to check up on him. Though he wasn't surprised. He expected no less from Eric who had been trying his hardest to make up for lost time, but he just wasn't ready to let him in agian. Not in the way he had. Those days were gone, nothing more but a distant memory.

"Thanks," answered Sky. He took the cloth and wrapped it around the picture frame and placed it in his bag.

"No problem." Eric sighed and sat down on the bed next to Sky. "Look, I know for the last seven years I haven't been the greatest uncle, and that a few birthday and Christmas cards doesn't quite cut it." He knew he made mistakes and Sky had every reason not to trust him. "I just want you to know that-"

"It's okay." Sky turned to face Eric. "I did just fine." Sky got up, picked up his bags and headed out of his bedroom, leaving Eric behind without saying another word.

"Yeah." Eric sighed and looked to the wall where another picture hung. It was of him, Wes and Sky, taken shortly after Wes and Lisa had been married. In the picture Eric could see how much Sky had looked up to both him and Wes, idolizing them, wanting to be just like them. They both had been his heroes, but now... He didn't feel much like a hero.

"Hey," Hayley walked up behind him, wrapping her arms around him. "Everyone's waiting in the car for you,"

"Sorry, was just doing some thinking."

Hayley stared at the picture, she knew that his and Sky's relationship wasn't what it used to be. It was like they were strangers now and she knew that it was hurting Eric. And as much as she knew Sky would deny it, it was hurting him too. She had caught Sky a a few occasions longingly looking at Eric when he thought no one was watching. In her heart she knew Sky wanted whatnthey once had, but was just too stubborn to admit it. "Someday he'll get over it."

"Yeah," Eric sighed and smiled faintly. "Sure he will."

Sky put his bags in the back of the truck and then heard his dog Trip whining. He sighed heavily as he walked up to Trip. The one thing he couldn't take with him. He wasn't sure what he would have done without Trip by his side for the last seven years. Trip had helped him through a lot. He had been his best friend; they had done everything together.

"Sorry boy, you can't come with me this time, but they're going to take care of you now," he gently stroked Trips head. "You'll like it out at the cabin, lots of room to run and you'll have a place to swim in," he rubbed Trip's ear. "Goodbye, boy." Sky sighed heavily and then walked up to Philips, who would soon be leaving the Collins mansion, probably for the last time.

"Take care of yourself, Philips."

"You too, my boy." Philips smiled and hugged Sky gently, patting him on the back. "Make your father proud."

"I will," Sky started backing away towards the truck. "Goodbye."

Philips sighed. "Goodbye." In a way, Sky was like family to him. The whole Collins family had felt like family. He had been with them for so long and now he was saying goodbye to the last member of the Collins family, maybe for the last time. It was a bittersweet ending, but now it was time for him to move on to elsewhere. He waved goodbye to them, as the truck drove down the driveway.

Dash and his teammates were in the training room watching as the A squad candidates went over drills; only fifteen had made it through to get into the ranger program, and already five were showing promise. One of those five was Charlie, the one who Dash believed would make an excellent leader. The five had trained together for the last few years, and had worked themselves up from the ranks, further than most of the older cadets. The group of five consisted of four humans and one alien ranging from 16-19.

And every one of his teammates had agreed that those five would be perfect: all but Culby, the green ranger and youngest of them all. He would repeatedly tell them it all seemed too easy and that it just didn't feel right. Something was wrong here. How could five cadets who have never met before work so well as a team? It was possible, he thought, but it had taken years of training before he and his teammates worked well as team.

But he could never come up with a good enough reason as to why they shouldn't be chosen. He had to admit they were good, even better than good. THe would be the best choice, given their teamwork and fighting ability, but was that a good enough reason to choose them as taking their place?

"All right cadets, hit the showers and meet in room bay five for briefing," ordered Dash.

"Yes sir!" yelled all the cadets.

Culby eyed the five as they passed by them, starting with Charlie, the young woman who seemed to have become the leader of the pack. All their eyes were stern and hard as if nothing could break the seriousness on their faces.

"Don't tell me you intimated by a bunch of teenagers, Culb," asked Tanner, leaning over to Culby's ears.

"Just those five," he whispered back.

Once the fifteen cadets had entered into the appropriate locker rooms, the rangers were left alone in the training room.

"So they're hard-core," Tanner put an arm around Culby as they walked over to join their teammates. "Besides, I don't recall you have any problems with Commander Myers."

"That's because I didn't get a death chill every time Commander Myers walked past me."

"Oh, not again," sighed Heather. It seemed to be the never ending thing with Culby.

"Ease up, Culby," Dash lightly punched Culby in the shoulder. "Nothing's for sure yet, and we wont choose our replacements until we're all in agreement, not as long as I'm still in charge. So you've got nothing to worry about." Dash eyed his teammates. "Right guys?"

They all smiled and nodded their heads in agreement. "See bud, nothing to worry about," said Tanner. Over the last few years he and the others had come to think of Culby as their little brother.

"Right," smiled Culby. He knew the others respected him as a fighter and a Ranger, but sometimes he got the feeling that they always thought of him as the baby and never took anything too seriously from him. He hoped he was wrong and that he was just seeing things that weren't really there.

Eric parked the truck in front of the entrance of the SPD Academy. This was it. He wasn't sure how long it would be until they would see Sky. He hoped that he would come home during his breaks, but even then Eric wasn't sure if Sky would come. Sky had kept pretty quiet the whole way here. They all got out of the truck and Sky grabbed his bags.

"Want us to come in with you?" asked Hayley doing her best to be supportive, as the six of them stood outside of the academy. "Help you settle in?"

"No. I think I got it from here," Sky faced her giving her a brief smile. "But thanks anyways."

"Take care of yourself, Sky. And if you ever need anything, we're just a phone call away." Hayley leaned in and gave him a light hug, knowing that if she held on any tighter she might never be able to let him go. She still felt it was too soon to be sending Sky here, but she also didn't want to hurt Sky anymore then he already had been.

"Thanks, Hayley." He hugged her briefly. He then knelt down to say goodbye to Megan and Erin. "You two promise to be good to your mom, don't give her too much trouble."

"We promise," answered Megan softly, who had gotten very used to having Sky around. She had even made a wish that Sky would change his mind and come home with them, but clearly that wasn't going to happen. "Bye Sky."

"I'll miss you," said Erin, leaning forward and hugging him tightly around the neck. Megan soon joined in with her little sister. The two had grown very attached to him in the last few days.

Slowly he put his arms around them. "I'll miss you too." And he really would; ever since he was little he had wanted a little brother or sister, but there were some things money just couldn't buy. The last couple of days he had spent with them, he would treasure.

"Come on girls, Sky has to get going," Hayley gently took her daughters by the hands and got them into the car, leaving Eric who was holding Wesley to say goodbye.

"Well I guess this is it," Eric announced as he faced the young teen.

"Guess so," Sky bit his lip. He knew Eric was really trying to make things work between them. He knew it had taken a lot for Eric to come back here and talk with Commander Cruger, Sky had not been unaware of Eric's falling out. He had once over heard a conversation his grandfather had. "Thanks for getting me in early."

"It was the least I could do." Eric gently patted Sky on the shoulder. "Take care of yourself kid."

"I will." Sky sighed and backed away. "Goodbye Eric, see yah around."

"Yeah. See yah." Eric watched as Sky started towards the building, and not a second later saw him turn around, just staring blankly, as he had all those years ago, at a time when he needed him, but didn't know how to say it. And a second later the look was gone and Sky entered into the building, to begin his next journey of becoming just like his father, one of the best. …Perhaps there was hope for them after all; maybe in the future what they once had, they would have again. "He's all yours, Wes," he whispered softly.

Sky met up with Commander Cruger in the briefing room. He had already received his uniforms and schedules for classes and training.

"Welcome to the SPD Academy, Cadet Tate. I am Commander Cruger."

Sky shook his hand. "Thank you, sir," he announced. "I promise you, it wasn't a mistake letting me in early." He would prove to Cruger, to Eric and everyone that this was a mistake. He was ready for this. He had never been more ready in all his life.

"I'm sure it wasn't." Cruger was amazed just how much Sky looked like his father, for a moment he felt as if it was Wes standing next to him. He had a feeling that Sky would one day do great things, especially once the others arrived a couple years down the road. "How about I show you to your room and introduce you to your roommate, who can show you around tomorrow after your classes?"

"Thank you, sir." Cruger then led Sky down a long hall where all the jumior cadets' quarters were. He came to a stop at one of the rooms and knocked. A moment later, Dru Harrington, a young fifteen year old boy, opened the door.

"Commander Cruger, how can I help you?"

"Cadet Harrington, I like you to meet your new roommate, Schuyler Tate, he's new here." Cruger looked him right in the eyes. "I hope you make him feel at home."

"Of course, sir."

"Good." He glanced at both of them. "I'll see tomorrow, bright and early for training," He patted Sky on the shoulder. "Cadet Tate."

"Sir." Sky watched sa Cruger walked down the hall.

"Schuyler, right?"

"You can call me Sky." he put out his hand and firm shook Dru's hand.

"I'm Dru. Come on, in. It's not very homey, but you get used to it."

"It's fine." Sky set his bag on his bed and started to unpack his belonging. He put his clothes and uniforms away in the dresser, books on the shelf, being sure everything was neatly arranged.

"So, where you from?" Dru sat back down on his bed and started to reach for a book.

"Silver Hills."

"So you're from here then, Earth I mean?"

"Yeah." Sky turned around and set his picture of himself with his father on the nightstand. "Aren't you, you're human, right?"

"Yes, I'm human." There was something in his eyes, but Sky couldn't quite place it and then it was gone. "But I'm from the planet Tangar."

"Tangar, never heard of it."

"It's nothing really, just a small little planet," Dru answered all to quickly. "Nothing worth talking about."

Sky nodded his head and took the last piece of his belongings out of his bag: his father's Ranger helmet.

"Wow!" exclaimed Dru when he saw the helment. "Where'd you get that? That's a Ranger helmet, right?" It wasn't everyday a cadet came to the academy with their very own Ranger helment.

"Yeah. It was my father's." Sky placed the helmet under his bed and then lay down, hoping to bury away his hurtful past. He should have known that it would be long before anyone started asking questions when they laid their eyes upon his father helmet. Perhaps it had been a mistake beingimg it here, but for the life of him he couldn't bare to leave it behind. It met too much to him.

Dru then noticed the picture on the nightstand. "Your dad was the one of the first SPD rangers?"

"That was a long time ago." Sky sighed heavily, not really wanting to get into it. "He's not a ranger anymore."

Dru stared at the picture and then came to realize that in the picture Sky was the small boy, probably meaning that his father was no longer around. "I'm sorry-" he started.

"It's okay. It was a long time ago," he answered all too quickly.

"Hey, no worries," exclaimed Dru. "I'm not much into talking about my past either."

"So how'd it go?"

"Okay. It started out bad, but everything worked out in the end." In the background Hayley could hear Trip barking and playing with the girls.

"Is that a dog? I thought Eric hated dogs."

"Yeah. Trip, Sky's dog, our dog now."

"Bet the girls just love that."

"Oh, don't worry, they'll always have energy for their favorite uncle," she laughed.

"Lucky me. How's Eric?"

"Better. It's just going to take time is all, but I think the worst of it is over." She peered into the living room, watching Eric play with his daughters and the newest member of their family, in a way she never thought she would see again. For the first time, in a long time Eric actually looked happy and no longer carried the baggage of his past. "He told me he went to see Wes's grave."

"That's good. He needed closure."

"Now he just has to figure out how to work things out with Sky."

"That will all come in good time, Hayley. When they're both ready, it'll happen."

"Thanks." She smiled. "I just want you to know how much I appreciate everything you've done for us over the years. You're a really good friend, Tommy." She didn't know where she'd be if he wasn't in their life.

"I'm always here for you, Hail's."

"I know. Well, it's getting late. I should start getting the kids ready for bed."

"Right. Give the girls my love."

"I'll be sure to do that. Goodnight, Tommy."

"Goodnight, Hayley."