ZEDD - THE NEXT MORNING

I wake up fully expecting to be alone in the bed again. With the exception of when we were hurt, Thomas has risen ridiculously early every morning since we've been here. I don't really understand why he does that. After all, we could continue our training and sparring the way we did before, so why is he doing so much of it alone? Granted, he's asked me to accompany him a few times but I somehow cannot make myself get up that early for that. Perhaps it's simply because we're here and not at home? If that's the case though, it's only one more reason I'll be happy to return home, as it'll give me back that time with him.

Looking over to confirm that I am alone, I'm rather surprised to find my mate curled up on the far side of the bed. Usually if we're both still in bed, he's curled up with me so why is he over there? Is this still from last night? I frown as I go over the conversation in my head, trying to remember if he'd said something I missed.

We got back and quickly ate dinner. I knew he hadn't had anything all day and, in spite of his reluctance, made him consume at least a little bit. Tired as we both were, we headed up to bed shortly after that. Once in bed, he laid down next to me instead of against me, taking my hand and slotting our fingers together. "Thomas, are you all right love?"

"Still angry, Zedd, but not at you."

"I know a good way to burn off that angry energy" I'd said playfully.

"No, mate. Almost any other time I'd go along with that, but right now my anger is still at a point that I want to hurt someone and I will not have that someone be you. I know you don't mind it rough sometimes, but I can tell you right now that there is every chance that I'd cross the line - and I don't know if I'd be able to pull myself back" he finished softly. "I don't want that between us."

Lightly, I'd squeezed his hand. "All right, love, if that's what you want. But why-"

"Am I way over here? Because I need a little space at the moment, Zedd. But I don't want to feel completely alone nor do I want you to, so-" He squeezed my hand in return. Fortunately, it was apparently enough for both of us as it wasn't long before we fell asleep - first him and then me.

Focusing once more on my still sleeping mate, I can't help but wonder what's happened in his dreams that has made him withdraw from me so completely. I feel the bond but I'm getting nothing so he must be asleep as it doesn't have the feel of being blocked or like he's shut down his emotions. I know he's not awake and thinking about anything because I'm not getting anything. As I've discovered in the time since Andros left, Thomas is indeed a very emotional creature and, while I'm not privy to his thoughts, I can tell what kind of thoughts they are by the feel of his emotions. In five minutes, he can touch almost every emotion, depending on where his train of thought takes him. And I've learned the hard way not to ask him to explain his train of thought. Once was more than enough for me, thank you very much. It took him an hour and a half to explain a three minute chain, although most of that was explaining the connecting thoughts and why they connected two otherwise seemingly unrelated thoughts. Still though, the lesson was learned I know now that if I have anything important or time related I need to do, not to breach the subject.

On the other hand though, as convoluted as his thoughts seem to me, I did at least get to hear several little stories and facts that were somehow important enough to my mate for him to make some of the connections. Of course, there were a few stories where I was told that they were pretty long and he'd tell me those later. One day, we'll have to get around to 'later' so that I can learn more about him.

The ringing of the phone startles me and wakes him. In a moment, he's cleared his throat and picked up the device. "Oliver residence."

He listens for a few minutes, shaking his head. "I'll tell you what. As soon as I dig a damn basement, you can come and give me an estimate. Don't call me again." He hangs the phone up, grumbling. "Damn telemarketers. Barely eight in the freaking morning on Saturday."

He rolls over, eyes already closed and settles back down to - apparently - go back to sleep. If he actually needs the sleep, I certainly don't want to deprive him of it, though I do wish he would have at least come back to lay against me instead of by himself once more. Figuring I'm not going to get much more rest, too focused on his behaviors and my own thoughts at the moment I slip out of bed to get ready for the day. Once I'm finished with morning ablutions, I head back into the room, see that Thomas is sleeping well and pull out clothes for the day. As I'm doing so, I hear his sleepy voice. "Zedd, why do you put up with me?"

Smiling as a quick glance shows me that he's apparently talking in his sleep again, I decide to answer. "Because I love you."

"Why do you love me?"

"Just because you're you, love. That's all I need." As I pull on my clothes, I hear him sigh happily. This sleep conversation wasn't nearly as informative as the last one, but it does tell me that somewhere in his mind, he's probably still a bit worried about our relationship not lasting as so many of his others have not. Time will show him differently.

Quietly, I leave the room. A quick look over the house shows me that Jason has left somewhere, Billy and Trini had left shortly after the lizard thing was defeated and Pina and Dar are out back. I grab a cup of coffee and join them. After a few minutes of conversation, I mention, "We'll need to contact Kira. She said that she wanted to see Thomas after he gave his statement."

"What did she want to see him about?" Dar questions.

"I don't know, maybe to just check to see that he's all right. She may need help with her lessons or something as she did have her school books with her when she came by the other day. Either way I did give my word to let her know."

I'm not really surprised at the faint tone of longing I hear in Pina's voice. "Were you serious about her joining us one day?"

"If she wants to, absolutely. She's far too clever and insightful to be left to go to waste here. If Thomas does join us, then by the time she's ready, we might very well need another pair of hands to handle the workload."

I wait for Dar to protest another human being brought into our home, but I'm pleasantly surprised at what he does say. "I don't know what she'd do though. The way Tommy is picking up languages, he could certainly serve as an interpreter but his interest in current culture in those species is next to none. He almost made a serious error when he was practicing with me a few weeks ago - something that, if it had been a business deal, could have ended very badly."

Pina says, "Well, that might be something that would interest her. I asked Trini what 'psychology' was and she said that it had to do with studying the way a person or group thinks and behaves. Not really all that different from learning different cultures and rituals."

I smile. "But she is still a child yet and has her own dreams to pursue first. She may never choose to come live with us. Mostly it was just a thought brought on by Thomas' fondness of her….well and the fact your home is now being overrun with males" I add giving her a slight smile. "I am aware we aren't always the most easy of living companions to deal with."

"True, but I still wouldn't trade any of you away" she states giving her mate a kiss and me a smile.

"Even if she does want to join us though, you both have to remember that she isn't Thomas, she won't live as long as he now will as a half breed, and depending on when she joins us who knows how old she'll be by then? Remember, Zedd, these humans have a very short lifespan. Plus she still holds her powers. That'll gain her some time, but not nearly enough."

I shrug. "We'll have to see when it's time. If it works out, it works out, if not, well she's very intelligent, I feel she'll do well in whatever she decides to do. At the moment, I'd like to get her something, though, for helping Thomas the other day and standing up for him so fiercely. If I get her something from Earth, I'll need to convert some credits to the money they use here."

Dar nods. "I'll make some calls. I'm not sure what the current conversion rate is, but I don't doubt I can get us what we'll need for the remainder of our time here. After all, her gift aside, we really can't expect Tommy to keep paying to feed us all, especially when he's not currently working and gaining any income here." Good point. I'm so used to Dar just handling the food and the budget for it I hadn't thought about the fact Thomas has been doing that since we arrived here.

"So what do you think you'll get her?" Pina asks.

I frown. "Not sure. She likes music. And Thomas said she loaned him something called a pick I believe, he said it's related to something she plays." Thinking a minute to try and recall what he'd called it, I finally lock onto the odd word. "What's a 'guitar' and what do they cost do you think?"

"I'm not sure. We can look it up I suppose. Do you know what it's used for?" Looking to Dar to see if he may know when I simply shrug, she gets a similar response from her mate. "Give me a little time and I'll see if I can't find out."

Having spent a good bit of time looking through the hundreds of different styles of guitars, and learning far more about the Earth music industry than I ever wished to know, Thomas finally joins us a couple hours later. "Morning, love."

"Morning." Perhaps I'll just give him a while to 'let the coffee kick in' as he likes to say. Still, he does come over to give me a kiss before he claims the chair next to mine.

Dar says, "I know you're not quite awake yet, Tommy, but we have some questions."

My mate yawns hugely. "Go ahead. I'm probably awake enough."

Pina steps in. "Zedd wants to get Kira a gift."

Looking from Pina to me, I'm not highly surprised when he raises a brow in curiosity. "Okay, is there a reason behind it, or is it more like an Eltarian custom thing?"

"It's more of a thank you thing" Pina explains. "The other day when you got upset by Jason asking for the statement, she championed you quite vigorously."

"Not to mention that she was able to help you calm down" I put in.

Thomas frowns. "She did what now?"

Dar grins. "I think the Earth phrase is she tore Jason a new one."

As this sinks in, Thomas chuckles. "Yeah, I've seen her tear into the boys a time or two. Jason must have seriously pissed her off though for her to snap at him. She's normally very respectful of adults, especially those she knows that are connected to me somehow."

"Well she was respectful, to a degree. However she would not allow him to treat her as if she as clueless and naïve" Pina continues seriously.

"And for that I have rather high respect for her" I agree.

"Me too" Dar adds much to my and Thomas' surprise it seems.

"Anyway, I had thought about getting her a new guitar if she needs one, but there are a lot of different kinds and a wide range of prices. I wasn't sure what kind she'd like."

His brow furrows as he considers the question. Finally he says, "I'm not really sure either. Your best bet would probably be to take her to the store and let her pick one out herself. Just let her know what the limits are, money wise. Though I'd also be prepared for her to protest, as she'll probably feel being rewarded for caring about a friend isn't needed, but it's your call."

I exchange looks with our other companions. "While I'm certain I can find some way to present it to her that she'll agree, I'm however reluctant to involve her in the actual purchasing process. Considering how well our last outing at a store went, I'm not sure that's such a good idea."

"Good point." He thinks for a minute. "Well, Zedd and I can go, but it would be best if we can get a woman to go too. There'll be less questions that way." Seeing our puzzled looks, he elaborates. "Two grown men taking a teenage girl shopping - some people might assume that we're - using her, mating with her."

Distaste curls my lip. "She's too young for that even if I were inclined to share you - which I'm not."

Thomas hesitates. "Zedd, mate - it does happen here sometimes. With males and females even younger than her." Shock silences us all. I know that on some planets they do take their mates fairly young, but somehow I didn't think that would happen on such a young planet. Thomas continues, "It's against the law, but that doesn't stop some people."

"But she's a child" I protest again.

"Right but…not to really go this route, but I was a child when we first bonded. I was very likely, given the time frame, even younger than she is now."

"And?"

"And, if you knew at the time we were bonded, would it have crossed your mind to be mates then?"

Pausing and knowing the answer I would give would very likely get me a lecture from Pina and Dar as well as the label of hypocrite from Thomas, I heave a slight sigh realizing I'm now somewhat stuck. "It would have crossed my mind, yes. However I would not have let it become physical or done more than simply court you until you were a bit older as at the time you were not completely grown and matured and could have gotten hurt as a result."

"Even courting him would have been a bit much Zedd" Dar warns, clearly somewhat surprised I would have even attempted that.

"It's not as if I would have done more than send him gifts of affection or tried to have time to talk with him outside Zordon's meddling."

"Which is fine" Thomas reassures me quickly. "Well us being enemies at the time aside. Listen I'm not saying anything bad about it, I'm just saying there are situations that sometimes such things do happen. It's kind of what humans refer to as a gray area. She is fairly close, legally speaking, to being considered an adult, and as for me and you now I am an adult so it's fine. We're fine."

"Even if you didn't have myself or Hayley accompany you, I still don't think it would be that much of a problem" Pina suddenly says. "After all you and Zedd are mates so for someone to think either of you would be with the girl-"

"That's kind of another gray area - or two" Thomas cuts in softly.

"You know I know Eltar has its faults. Many, many faults" Dar states seriously. "However this planet is, to quote your Red Ranger, ass backwards."

"It can be at times" Thomas agrees with a shrug. "Either way, we should probably see if Hayley can recommend a good store in the area. I've never needed to know before."

"That's probably a good idea" I admit.

He doesn't seem very inclined to rise even as he says, "You weren't wanting to take her today, were you? I mean, do you need me to call Hayley now?"

The end of his statement is nearly wiped out by another yawn. "Of course not, Thomas. Although I do know that she wanted to see you after you gave your statement."

He nods. "She probably wants her pick back. If it's as important to her as she implied, she'll probably want it back fairly quickly. Oh, that reminds me." He sets his cup on the table and works the ring off his finger before holding it out to me. "Good thing it wasn't any smaller or I'd have probably had to cut my finger off to get it off."

I can clearly see the mark on his finger where the ring had rested. "If it was that uncomfortable, love, you could have just put it in your pocket or on a chain or something."

He shakes his head. "No, I needed it there. It was a little tight, but it was a constant reminder that you were nearby if I needed you."

"You don't need a ring for that, I'll always be nearby if you need me."

"I know, but it did help, believe me. I would have very likely lost my temper a lot sooner yesterday without it."

"I'm glad it helped, love." I take the ring from him and stand up. "I'll be right back. I want to put this back where it goes so I don't lose it." I give him a quick kiss and head for the ship. While I'm there, I check the communication system for any emails I might have missed in the last few days. Thankful there's nothing serious, I head back to the house.

When I get back, I find the three of them in a discussion. I catch the end of Thomas' statement. "-be there for three or four days."

"Where?" I ask.

"Visiting Sam and David. I was telling them that when I go I'd usually be there for three or four days. I don't know that I'd go for that long this time though."

"Why not? Don't you like visiting with them?"

"It's not that, Zedd. I just kind of assumed that you'd want to go with me and I think you'll, well, get bored before that."

"Thomas, don't do that. Don't change your plans because of me. This is your home. If you want to see your family for three days or a month, then you should do it." I'm puzzled by the mix of emotions I'm feeling from him now.

"No, Zedd. This is my house, not my home, unless you're leaving me here. Strictly speaking, it's my house and you are my guests, therefore it's my responsibility to make sure that you don't get bored."

Pina speaks up gently. "Tommy, it's also our vacation but you don't need to be entertaining us every minute. We knew when we came with you that you had things that you needed to do. Besides seeing your family and friends, what do you need to do?"

He sighs. "For one thing, I need to figure out what to do about the house. I can't sell it to just anybody with the lair under it and I can't rent it out for the same reason. I also can't leave it empty."

"Not to pry, but do you have payments you have to make on the house?" Dar asks. If he does I can certainly take care of that as it'll just be a matter of converting a few more credits to the money they use here.

Thomas shakes his head. "No, it's mine. Just the property taxes have to be paid every year."

"So why not ask Jason or the female to act as live in caretakers for the property?" I ask reasonably.

"Because Jason doesn't need to make that commute to work all the time. As for Hayley, well, I'm kind of far out from town and no real close neighbors and she's a lone female which could make her a target for someone looking for a victim."

I can't help but laugh. "As she still holds the Black Ranger powers, Thomas, I think that anyone with trouble on their mind will find that she's far from being a victim."

He pauses for a moment. "I'd forgotten about that" he admits. "Maybe I will talk to her about it." He pauses again. "Although, Jason talked about asking her out. If that does take off, I wonder what they'll do."

I'm puzzled by his terms. "Ask her out? Take off? What are you talking about?"

"When Jason came to see us, he mentioned something about wanting to date Hayley."

I'm still confused. "What?"

Thomas looks at me warily. "I'm guessing, based on the look on your face, that Eltarians don't go on dates."

"Actually, yes they do" Dar answers. He looks at Pina and me. "Romantic outings."

"Oh" Pina and I say simultaneously.

Dar continues, "It's not the same on Eltar as it is here, Tommy, but yes we do. Quite frankly, outings of that kind are - what's the word? - accompanied? for the first hundred years or so as that's about the time frame that courting is still considered just beginning for the couple."

"Accompanied? You mean chaperoned? Where responsible adults go with to make sure that everybody behaves in the proper manner?" He's barely controlling the laughter in his voice.

"Do you not have that here?" Pina questions curiously.

"Well we do, but for children mostly. You know those too young to really know better than to get up to trouble and do things they're not ready for. Adults however, no, typically once you reach a certain age here. Normally around Kira's age actually, most are allowed to go out with prospective mates unaccompanied."

"Ah, well age isn't really a factor on Eltar" Pina admits truthfully. "It's more of a matter of respectability I suppose."

"Especially for the more prominent families" Dar agrees. For the briefest of moments, I hope that Thomas forgets that I'm from a rather prominent family. Unfortunately, that hope is dashed all to hell as he raises an eyebrow at me.

"I'm guessing that's some of what you were rebelling against" he says. There's a spark of humor in his eyes and I'm absurdly grateful that he's not seemed to make the connection between my 'rebelling' and my former mate who almost killed me.

"Oh, he's still rebelling" Dar says. I shoot him a look that clearly tells him to stop talking before I have to kill him. But it's too late as Thomas has caught on.

He sighs. "Let me guess. Bad enough that we're not being chaperoned, but since we're mating already, we're just the worst of the worst."

"Not to mention that he's not even presented you to his family, nor even informed them that he's seeing you or intending to see you" Pina adds. Really? What is wrong with these two? Are they trying to upset Thomas or make him feel badly?

"It's customary for the family to approve of a prospective mate before courting begins. There is some leeway when a bond is involved, though not a lot" Dar adds as Thomas looks thoughtful for a moment.

When my mate's response finally does come it's far calmer than I expected and in truth I love him all the more for what he does say next. "Well, they'll get over it or they won't. Either Zedd's not worried about their opinion or he's ashamed of me - and I very much doubt that he's ashamed of me. If he were, he wouldn't have wanted me to have anything to do with the other Eltarians when they came to talk to Pina." He stands up, grabbing his empty cup. "I need more coffee." Just before he goes in, he says, "And as far as Zedd's family is concerned, I don't think they can make him do anything he doesn't want to do. If they don't like me, don't approve of me, well-" he shrugs "they can kiss my ass, so to speak."

His bravado has a touch of nervousness to it that I catch mostly due to actively listening for it. I grab my cup and follow him. "Thomas?"

"Yeah?"

"I have no intention of forcing you to meet my family, you know. If you want to, that's fine, but I'm not going to make you."

He fills my cup as well as his own before returning the pot to its place. His voice is steady as he answers, "I know. Just like I wouldn't dream of forcing you to meet my family either."

"I'd very much like to meet your family. Perhaps learn a little about your heritage as well."

"Only if you want to, mate. Again, I don't want you to get bored."

I pull him into my arms. "Love, I imagine there's very little about you that I would find boring."

He smiles even as he rolls his eyes. "Either way, I need to call Sam and let him know that we'd be coming and find out if he'd be available. He and David still have the occasional tribal duties to attend to. Do you think Goldar and Scorpina would want to go?"

I shrug. "I doubt it, since Pina made a point of saying that you didn't need to entertain us all the time. They might be grateful for some time alone." He starts to say something but it's cut off by another yawn. "Thomas, are you all right?"

He nods. "I'm still a bit worn out from yesterday. It was a lot more draining than I thought it would be when I agreed to it."

"I know you just got up, but perhaps you should call Kira and arrange a time later for her - or them - to come over as I'm sure they'd all like their tokens back and then we can go lie down for a while."

Thomas considers my proposal for a minute. "Okay. Maybe I'll rest better now that I'm not angry anymore." I would hope so as him sleeping so far away from me was not helping my rest either.

It's not long before he's hanging up the phone having made arrangements for the children to stop by after dinner. I've already informed Pina and Dar of the plan for the afternoon. I'm amused when they suggest that they could leave the house to avoid disturbing him. Not entirely sure where they'll go, I'm still pleased that they offered. We head upstairs and in a few minutes, Thomas is curled up against me.

Knowing he can't be asleep yet, I remember something I wanted to ask him about before. "Thomas?"

"Hm?"

"When you lost your memory and you suggested that we take a nap together, why did you think it was weird that you would curl up against me?"

I feel him shrug lightly. "Remember, Zedd, my prior mates were all female. Since I didn't remember at the time that we were together, that's all I would have known and they all curled up to me…" His voice trails off for a minute. There's an odd tone to his voice when he speaks again and I can feel a bit of disgust from him. "Damn."

"What?"

"Annwyl was right." Oh this can't be good.

"I know I'll regret asking, but right about what?"

"I am the female in our relationship. Kira was wrong. I'm not aggressive. I'm actually pretty passive - which is probably another reason I tried so hard to make sure that my past girlfriends' needs and wants were met."

"Yin and yang" I remind him.

"What?"

"Remember, you told me we balance each other. Sometimes you are aggressive, Thomas, just not nearly as often as I am. When Rita used her magic on me and I almost completely lost my temper, you stayed calm and helped me to calm down. When Annwyl pushed you into losing your temper the first time, I remained calm and anchored you. We balance each other, just as you suggested. And sometimes I do lay against you. It doesn't make you female just because you often are able to control your temper better or because you like curling up on me to sleep, if anything it just makes you more mature and reasonable than I am."

"Reasonable?"

"Yeah well, I won't deny I weigh a bit more than you do, and before you became a half breed there is a fair chance I could have accidentally suffocated you in your sleep by laying on top of you."

Shaking his head at my teasing, he heaves a sigh. "Idiot."

"Maybe, but you're still not anywhere near a female."

"I guess not" he says, tone still doubtful.

"Besides, if you really want to know, I think it's because when you sleep like this you know that you won't have nightmares and your subconscious knows that you need the rest and so you find it comforting."

"Not helping, Zedd. Now I sound like a child that can't handle bad dreams."

"It's not the same thing and you know it. You aren't a child having dreams of some imagined threat. You know as well as I do that, more often than not, your dreams are of remembered trauma and that's not the same thing at all. Please stop belittling yourself."

He sighs and nods, pressing against me tightly, seeming to seek comfort in our closeness. I reach over, gently tilt his face up and kiss him softly. "I love you, Thomas. No matter what."

"I- I know." Knowing that he's tried once more to return my declaration and - in his mind - failed again, I'm not surprised at the frustration he's feeling. With a heavy sigh, he settles back against me, muttering a curse under his breath. Lightly I run my hand over his back until he falls asleep.