A.N: So sorry it took so long, I seem to say that a lot, but the good news is I finally turned in my thesis so thats that out of the way. So at least until the end of the school year my updates will hopefully be more regular. I have the next couple pieces of this story finished so maybe one a week or so for the next umm 3 or 4 weeks.

So I did Taylor's first date, this one is Amanda's. It's a little different. I hope you like it.

Somehow Tommy survived the several months after Taylor's date. Taylor had started seeing Preston on a regular basis and Tommy was tripping over them everywhere: school, Hailey's, the center Kim and Jason had opened, hell his house wasn't even safe. He was still getting used to the idea but he would readily admit that the process was expedited because he did actually approve of Preston. It's just he approved of Preston in general, not particularly for his daughter, but he was getting over that.

Kira and Conner had finally gotten married and removed their lovebirdness from his house. Mostly. They'd also purchased the property adjoining his so while they didn't sleep at his house they were still there, a lot. Ethan had also moved out, he was now living in New York working with Billy. The two of them had opened a company that did something with computer games and it was doing quite well. Trent was supplying the world with an internationally syndicated cartoon strip and had recently signed a contract to produce a comic book. All in all Tommy was very proud of what his team had accomplished. But their achievements added to his pain. He thought of the four of them as his kids nearly as much as his own children and while their accomplishments made him proud they also made him sad because they emphasized how much they'd grown, that they were now their own people.

As he sat in the lab fiddling with the clip he was about to put in his ranger history video he brooded about the necessity of kids growing up. Amanda was going out on her first official date tonight and it was making him feel old. Of course that could be a result of sleep deprivation. Jason Thomas, they'd bit the bullet and named him after Jase, hadn't been letting them sleep and it was starting to take its toll. JT, as they called him, was mostly a sunny baby, as long as the sun was up; he was a holy terror at night but Kim assured Tommy he'd grow out of it. The twins had been the same until about their first birthday but gradually they fell out of it. Tommy was hoping JT would be a quick learner and it wouldn't take him another eight months to learn. He couldn't be held responsible for his actions if he continued to lose this much sleep. Coffee could only do so much to keep one awake.

He was also brooding over the fact that Jason was mentoring Reefside's new Ranger team. That was the clip he was playing with right now, it was an addition to the video about the new team. As he worked he remembered putting it together for his team. It felt like it had been ages ago instead of just six short years. He stared for a long while at the picture of Jason's young Red, surprised at how much of himself he saw in the boy's face. Shaking his head he got back to work and just as he was finishing it up Kim's voice came through the intercom system they'd installed shortly before JT was born.
"He's here Tommy."

Tommy groaned but replied. "On my way Beautiful." He closed the files and logged out, just in case, and then headed up to the kitchen. He made sure the trap door was snuggly closed and dusted himself off. Fixing on his grimmest look he stalked into the living room to intimidate the hell out of the boy who wanted to date his daughter, he'd lost his chance with Preston so he was going to make it up here.

His first impression of the boy was a messy cap of dark brown hair, faded jeans and a red polo shirt. Then he got a better look.

"Oh hell no," was his immediate response when he got a good look at the boy standing in his living room waiting to take his daughter out. He ignored Kim's glare, the one that meant he'd be sleeping on the couch tonight, and the look of hurt disbelief on Amanda's face. He concentrated instead on the boy in from of him as he reiterated his point. "Not a chance in hell."

The two women watched as the young man squared his shoulders and faced Tommy head-on. "And can I ask why you so adamantly refuse when you don't even know my name?" There was only the faintest tremor of nerves in his voice. His bearing, the bravado in his words reminded Tommy and Kim of the numerous times they'd watched Reds face off, usually with Goldar, but with any of their enemies. Kim thought she was starting to see Tommy's problem with what had seemed like a perfectly nice young man.

Tommy's eyes fell to the pewter cuff set with a red stone and edged in red runes on the boy's left wrist before looking him in the face again. "Ask Jason Scott why I don't want you dating my daughter. I'm sure he'll be more then happy to enlighten you."

The color drained from the young man's face as the implications of this statement sank in. "You know who I am? How in the hell do you know who I am?" Panic tinged his voice, probably at the thought of what Jason would do when he found out Tommy thought sardonically.

"I take it he hasn't shown you any videos yet."

"No, he mentioned something about a history video but there was a bit of a distraction and he didn't."

"Go ask him why Tommy Oliver categorically refuses to let you date his daughter. It'll all be come clear, Nolan right?"

"How do you know my name? Is this some sort of plot?"

Tommy sighed. "No plot, just go talk to Jason."

The boy, Nolan, glared for a moment and then pushed past. He stopped next to Amanda. "I'll be back," he said, loud enough for Tommy to hear. He ignored the sound of Tommy grinding his teeth and continued, "I'll go see Jason but I'll be back. I'll call if it gets too late and we'll reschedule. If it's fine with you that is?"

"It is," Amanda answered before Tommy could say anything. "I'm sorry. I'll talk to my dad; see what I can find out. I'll see you later." Her softer voice was pitched so Tommy couldn't hear what she said. Then she leaned up and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek and he was gone.

The second he was gone both Amanda and Kim rounded on Tommy with Kim going first.

"What the hell is going on here Tommy, you didn't even let the boy introduce himself before you started attacking him. I know you don't want the girls to grow up and all but you need to chill out. That display was ridiculous," she paused to take a breath and Amanda jumped in.

"How could you do that to me daddy? I was so embarrassed. Once he tells people about my crazy father I'll never get another date. And he'll never come back but I want him to." There was hurt more then anything else in Amanda's voice. This implied lack of trust in her judgment, evidenced by such an unequivocal 'no,' was like a blow to the heart. And Nolan's leaving was a second blow, she really liked him, she had from the moment she laid eyes on him before a game her field hockey team had played at a neighboring school, one of Reefsides's private high schools. Though he'd said he'd come back she didn't think he would and she didn't blame him either. She did believe he'd call, probably to break things off though and not to set up another date.

Tommy knew he was hurting his younger daughter but he was trying to protect her and sometimes to protect someone you have to hurt them. He was a high school crush, Amanda would get over this emotional pain and while she did so she'd be avoiding more pain. It was inevitable that if he allowed Amanda and Nolan to date that she would get hurt and he refused to allow that to happen when he could do something about it.

"I'm just trying to protect you." He said helplessly. He didn't want to hurt his little girl.

"How can you say that? You don't even know him dad. He's not going to hurt me."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Tommy said darkly. He wasn't worried about Nolan per se but the other psychological and physical ramifications of such a relationship.

Kim laid a calming hand on her daughters shoulder before addressing her husband. "What do you know that we don't Tommy? You're way to set on this to not have a good reason. What is it?"

Tommy sighed. How to explain this without telling his daughter? After all, it wasn't his secret to share. "Jason and Emily. Zach and Angela. Billy and Crystal. Trini and Dominic." He said finally, listing the most prominent Ranger-non Ranger relationships from their little group. He was gratified to see Kim's eyes widen in understanding and then narrow in concentration. He'd won her to his side. After all she hadn't spent the first 10 years of Amanda's life keeping her away from all things Ranger related to let her go out with one now.

Amanda glanced between her parents and she could see it as well. She didn't know why but she did know that somehow her dad and convinced her mother to side with him in his, to her mind, unprovoked attack on Nolan. So she went with the mature approach for handling the situation: she screamed in frustration and left the room.

"Are you sure?" Kim asked as soon as Amanda was gone.

"Completely. Remember I told you Jason was mentoring the new team?" At her nod he continued. "He sent me some basic info to update my Ranger history video including pictures of each member of the team. I was putting that part together when you told me he was here so I was just looking at his picture. Unless, like Conner, he has a twin it's him. Besides, even if he has a twin he reacted when I mentioned Jason. He's the one."

Kim shook her head. "We're gonna have to tell her Tommy. You know she can keep a secret and then she'll understand why we're saying no. Otherwise she'll just sneak around behind our backs and then we'll have the same problems but worse."

Tommy sighed. "But it's not our secret to tell. Hell, she doesn't even know who all of the original team is, just you, me, Jase and Zack. Nor does she know who was on the second team. Because those weren't our secrets to tell. And that was 16 years ago. If we couldn't justify that how can we justify telling her about someone who's currently a Ranger?

Kim smiled a little. "You know, they haven't forgiven us for having a party at Jason's while they were working at that camp. But I see what you're saying. They, Jason and this kid, are gonna have to make the call on this one."

Tommy held out his arms and wordlessly she slipped into his embrace. They stood that way for a long moment before Tommy spoke again. "I want to tell her," he said quietly against her hair. "I want to sit her down and explain it to her so she knows why I've done it. I hurt my little girl tonight and I can't fix it." He swallowed hard. "I'm afraid I won't be able to fix it."

Jason was working with Hayley to recalibrate one of the auxiliary Zords his team was likely to need sometime very soon when a distraught and annoyed teenager stomped into the room the team had dubbed the Batcave.

"How the hell does he know who I am?" Nolan demanded as soon as he knew he had Jason's attention.

"How does who know who you are?" Jason asked, concerned and mildly panicked.

"Her dad."

"Whose dad?"

"My dates dad." Nolan was paying no attention to the fact that he was giving answers that were less then helpful, rather he stalked around the cavernous room, that actually did look a lot like the Batcave from the George Clooney version of Batman, looking for something to hit.

Jason grabbed him and pushed him onto the sofa. "Sit still and start from the beginning."

Nolan glared at him but decided to do as the older man said. He was well aware of the fact that Jason could wipe the floor with him, without breaking a sweat, if he felt like it and while he wanted to hit something he didn't want that something to hit back. "Remember how I told you guys I had a date tonight?"

"Yeah, as I recall I told you to be careful because evil has a sadistic sense of timing and will most likely pick then to strike. Experience has taught me the safest dates are with other Rangers but I also refuse to curtail your social life."

"You don't have to" Nolan said bitterly. "Her dad is scary. He refused to let her go out with me the second he saw my face. And then he told me to as you why."

"He specified me?"

"Yeah. He told me 'go ask Jason Scott why I don't want you dating my daughter.' And he knows I'm a Ranger. He has to. He was looking at my bracelet."

"Names are good Nolan. Who knows who you are?"

"I don't know his first name. Last name's Oliver. He's kinda tall, a bit more so than me. Short, dark, kinda spikey hair. Scary looking."

Jason almost laughed at the succinct description of someone that sounded a look like Tommy and then the implications hit him. "Your date was Amanda Oliver?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Friend of the family. Tommy's wife and their two girls lived with me for a while."

Nolan brightened. "Oh. Then you can convince him to let us go out. You know I won't hurt her. You know I'm a good guy."

Jason was quiet for along moment. He was torn between wanting to support Nolan, because he did know that he would never intentionally hurt Amanda, and wanting to just as vehemently not allow them to go out together, ever, or at least not until this mess with Zimtox was cleared up.

"I think," he said finally, slowly, "that I have to explain who it is your dealing with here. Tommy is one of the original Rangers here on Earth. He was evil at first, brainwashed by Rita Repulsa and held that way by a spell placed on his sword, The Sword of Darkness. I broke the damn thing, the spell was destroyed and he joined our team. After the Green Power Coin failed our mentor, Zordon of Eltar, created the White one and gave those powers to Tommy. He is the longest serving Ranger on Earth, and he's worn four separate colors. He knows more then anyone what being a Ranger is like. His knowledge of the type of life we must lead by necessity is at war with his paternal instincts.

Jason could see he'd gotten through a bit, but he needed to really make Nolan see what was up. Only then would he be able to work with Tommy, or get around him. "I mentioned a couple of minutes ago that Tommy's wife and girls lived with me for a while. I should clarify that because it has no small bearing on what's happening here. Kim was also on the original team. She left to pursue he gymnastics dream. She and Tommy were a major item at the time, they were always off somewhere making out. Anyway, she came back for a visit at Christmas and I'm assuming they slept together because she got pregnant. She broke up with him about 2½ months after she got back to Florida, and then she found out. But she kept it from him, at first because he was a Ranger and his enemies would not have hesitated to use an innocent child, especially his child, against him. I fully supported that decision because I'd been there and I agreed that they would be safest if he remained ignorant of their existence. But between one excuse and another, including that Mesogog thing here a few years ago, it took her 10 years to tell him about the girls. During that entire period of time the four of us lived together."

Nolan was nodding a lot at this point. "Does he blame being a Ranger for not getting to spend time with his daughters when they were younger?"

"I don't know. Probably. Though he probably also blames himself. He always does."

Nolan frowned. "I can see all that, it makes sense and everything, but I'm still confused as to why he refuses to let us go out. And how he knew who I was."

Jason sighed. "The second of those is my fault. I sent him a couple pictures of you guys so that if anything happened he knows who the current Rangers are. We figured out several years ago that this is really helpful, otherwise you need to get a hold of them and can't because you haven't got the faintest idea as to who they are."

Nolan couldn't find anything to disagree with there. The only problem to secret identities is exactly that, they're secret and that can make it hard for people to contact you if needed.

"The dating thing is also kind of my fault. Tommy and Kim were the only couple on our team. The rest of us dated outside of it, partly because there was only one other girl. But all four of us tried our hands at Ranger-non Ranger relationships and let me tell you, it's hard. Actually, it's damn near impossible. Dates get interrupted, or abruptly cancelled, constantly. And very few people will put up with that for very long, especially when you can't give them a good reason for why it keeps happening. And because of this people get hurt."

Nolan's eyes widened in comprehension. "Of course, it all makes sense now." He was quiet for a moment. "Basically he saw what happened with you and the others and he doesn't want the same thing to happen to his daughter. He's trying to protect her."

"Exactly." Jason was proud that Nolan had finally put it together. "And I might as well tell you that, as much as I trust you and know you would never hurt her intentionally, some part of me agrees with him. I spent 10 years acting in place of her dad and on this I feel much the same way."

Nolan nodded. "I completely understand. And it all makes sense to me now. The thing is, I really like her. And I saw how much it hurt Amanda when her dad refused. I never want to see that look again. Not on her face." He took a deep breath, sure he was going to get yelled at for his next sentence but determined to try anyway. "Can't I tell her? She's the daughter of two Rangers, and partly raised by a third. If I tell her won't she understand?"

Jason sucked in a surprised breath. He hadn't really thought about doing that. The kid had a point. Amanda had known the identities of four of the original team and all of the Dino Thunder team for six years and had not once given them away. And she'd been remarkably stalwart when he, Tommy and Conner had disappeared for six weeks two years before on a Red mission. She'd taken it better then Taylor, Kim, Kira and most of the rest of the other former Rangers. All in all Nolan might have a point. And if he told her Jason could enlist her help in 'the Batcave' as well. Hayley could only give him so much of her time and he really needed more help. He nodded absently to himself that could work.

Nolan had been watching him closely and was hard put not to cheer when the older man nodded to himself. He'd been superficially gratified that he'd managed to surprise his mentor and glad he hadn't been rejected out of hand. Now that Jason was on his side he was pretty sure he'd be able to get his way.

"Don't tell her just yet." Jason said finally. "Let me talk to Tommy. I might be able to get him to see things our way."

A week later, after a rather violent discussion between Jason and Tommy that resulted in a multitude of bruises, cuts and a few broken ribs, Nolan arrived at the Oliver house again. This time Tommy had grudgingly agreed to let them go out. With the stipulation that first Nolan tell her he was a Ranger and then ask if she was still okay with it.

This time he was met at the door by a surly Tommy and shown directly into Tommy's office where he found Jason, Kim and Amanda already waiting for him. Jason winked at him, carefully so Tommy couldn't see, Kim glared, and Amanda grinned. All in all he got the welcome he was expecting. Tommy shut, and locked, the door and then took the seat behind his desk.

"I believe you have something to say to my daughter," he growled.

Nolan nodded and then turned to Amanda. "The reason you dad doesn't want you going out with me is because of this." He held out his wrist to show her his morpher. "I'm the current Red Ranger here in Reefside. He was just trying to keep you from getting hurt so he wanted to prevent us from dating. But I, and my mentor, convinced him that if you knew what was up, you'd be okay. So I'm supposed to ask if knowing this, knowing that I'll have to disappear a lot, you still want to go out with me?"

Amanda grinned. "Of course I do. I already know, but I'm glad you told me."

He was probably gaping like a stunned fish but Nolan didn't care. "How did you know?"

"My parents aren't nearly as clever as they think. Seriously. I knew who all those couples you were throwing around were. But I forgive you, you were, after all, just trying to protect me. But I want this," she turned back to Nolan. "I really want this."

Tommy was quiet for a minute until Jason gave him a slight shove. "Oww," he muttered, rubbing his ribs and glaring at Jason. "Fine," he said. "You can go then. Bring her back by 10," he added. Nolan and Amanda left. "IF she gets hurt," he added to Jason, "you're in trouble."

The End

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