TOMMY - TWO WEEKS LATER

I am so tired of looking at houses, I just want to hit something. Never mind the odd looks that we've been getting - particularly me. I mean, I'm not showing all that much, but it's still pretty obvious that, yes, I'm pregnant. Of all the houses we've seen, only one realtor has taken my condition in stride and accepted Zedd's explanation for it without seeming to think us either completely insane, in denial about me having some sort of cancerous tumor, or me actually having female reproductive organs. I snap out of my thoughts as Zedd's phone rings.

Fortunately, I'm driving as I nearly had a heart attack the last time he was driving and got a call. He had to dig the phone out of his pocket and answer it while he was trying to watch traffic and it was made all the worse by the fact that it was a new phone and he had to actually look at it to answer it. Since then he's actually been forbidden to hold his phone when driving, or touch the radio, and don't even get me started on food and drinks. Shaking my head, I'm only half listening as we head back to the house.

Jason and Hayley had offered to get their own place so I could have the house back, but I really don't want to uproot them or Jimmy. In fact, as soon as I get around to cleaning out and sealing off the lair, I think I'm going to just sign it over to them outright. After all, what do I need it for? Hopefully we'll only be here a few years - mostly until Mara Jane gets the hang of interacting with others and making sure that she can control her temper. After that I have every damn intention of going back to our actual home and resuming our lives without all the trouble and drama that comes with this planet.

At Jason's suggestion, Hayley did scans on both Zedd and Mara Jane. While, according to those scans, Mara Jane doesn't have power, we couldn't get her mad enough to make her eyes change either. That worries me since the only way we can think of to make that happen is for her to think that one of us is in danger and I refuse to scare her like that again.

Zedd ends his call and I glance at him curiously. "Lisa" he answers. "She says that she can't seem to find a house that's suitable in the area we want, but she found a huge tract of land and she knows of a few contractors that could build us the house we want."

I sigh. "I was afraid of that."

"I told you I can do it, Thomas."

"Zedd, I said that I'm not having you burn power to build us a house. It's going to cause more questions and problems than we want to deal with. And that's not even counting what the use of that much power would do to you, mate."

"I'd recharge in a few days. Besides it wouldn't even be half the scale of the palace and I managed that in a week."

"Right, with a near month long recovery time" I remind him, Pina and Dar having both ratted him out long ago on how much power and energy he had expended to make just even the basic structure of the place.

"Again, it would just be a basic Earth dwelling love. That compared to the palace would be child's play."

"And what would we tell people when someone happened by and saw you 'building' it?"

Shrugging and seeming rather unconcerned, his response makes me sigh in exasperation. "I'm an amazing carpenter and magician?"

"I like when you do magic, Papa." So much for help from the peanut gallery.

Glancing back at my daughter in the rearview mirror I frown slightly. "Don't encourage his bad behavior, honey."

"But it's fun."

"But he gets in trouble."

"That's fun too." Fantastic.

I stop the car to let a school bus unload. From the back seat, Mara Jane seems to forget momentarily about Zedd's 'magic' when she asks, "What's that, Daddy?"

"It's a school bus, baby. It takes children to and from school."

"Like Jimmy?"

"Yes, like Jimmy" I agree, knowing she has been rather bored with her one friend here in school all day and feeling rather bad about it, especially given the whole point of being here was so she could play with other children.

Looking thoughtful for a moment, her next question is one I should have seen coming. "Can I go to school?" Ah, the question I've been dreading.

"No."

"Yes." I look at Zedd. He's never outright contradicted me in front of Mara Jane before. The closest he's come has been to say that we should talk about it. He returns my stare. "What? Isn't that part of the point of moving here, love? So she can interact with younglings her own age?"

"Well, yes, but not to get some half assed education. Zedd, most of the people that live here still don't grasp the concept of life out in the universe in spite of the attacks and Power Rangers and all that."

He waves this away as I start driving again. "We can teach her the truth at home."

"Then we might as well continue to home school her so she's not confused."

"She's more than smart enough to understand that not everyone is as enlightened as those off planet" he argues.

"But why should she have to deal with the inconsistencies when it just isn't necessary?" I pull into the driveway and we all get out. "That's not fair to her."

"Neither is robbing her of part of her heritage." That stops me literally in my tracks.

My voice is deadly quiet. "Excuse me?"

Mara Jane continues into the house as I face down my husband. He waves his hand. "All of this is part of the experience of being human, love, and she is a quarter human. It's no different than if your parents had known that you were Native American and decided not to allow you to explore it." The hell it isn't.

"This is different, Zedd. When she grows up enough, I doubt very seriously that she's going to want all that much to do with this planet, just like you."

"It's not my favorite place, no, but it's helped considerably that you're from here and you turned out pretty spectacular."

The compliment isn't helping his case, as I know he's hoping it would. "And according to you, except for me and a few select humans, all the rest of them are useless and many shouldn't be allowed to breathe, much less breed."

"In fairness I only say that because most of the humans I have met so far have not been very…well, worthy of breeding - or breathing. However, again, as you tend to point out, not everyone is like that, and again you are part human love, so I'd think you of all people would want her to understand and accept that part of her."

"Well I don't."

"What?" Not surprised by his look of shock as that really didn't come out how I wanted it to, I however shake my head determined to make my point.

"Zedd to be perfectly honest, I'm not exactly proud of being part human, and I'm certainly not thrilled with it being known that I am by people on other worlds. We have been married for years now Zedd, I hold the title of a Lord, Power Holder, and still have a rather known reputation for my days as the Evil Green Ranger, and yet somehow I am still viewed as nothing more than a pet in status by half the fucking universe because of the original species I was and still partly am."

"Thomas-"

"No Zedd, one of Calan's final comments to me was to call me a human and then a pet."

"Calan was a psychotic moron."

"But one that had the same view as half the population of Eltar. Zedd he wasn't killed because he attacked a power holder or Lord, he was killed because he attacked your mate and the planet feared retaliation from you."

"Right my mate. Not pet."

"Zedd, I don't want her being seen as less then she is because of her being the child of a human. I don't want her picking up the habits of this world and its people, because it will cause her trouble."

"Thomas, what else can we do?"

"Home schooling, but get her into other activities. There are several that don't require her to be enrolled in an actual school and would still allow her to be with other children her age."

He switches tactics. "But won't that put a lot on you once the baby comes? After all, you have been doing the majority of her education so far and, if you remember, the baby is going to take a lot of time too."

I grit my teeth. "So what, now you aren't going to help with this child as you wanted to do with Mara Jane?"

"That's not what I said, Thomas. Of course I'll help with him, but I will have to work and that takes time as well, as you yourself know."

"You know what, Zedd? Don't worry about it. I'll figure out how to handle everything myself. You just work and play with Mara Jane and I'll do everything else." Knowing I'm being irrational and in truth rather harsh given the fact this is my damn fault we're even having to be back on this fucking planet, I however am in no mood for his arguments.

"Thomas-"

"Shut up, Zedd." I stalk into the house, his sigh following me.

Truthfully, I again don't even want to move back to Earth. I mean, yeah it'll be nice to see people whenever I want, but once I moved into Zedd's palace and made it home, I never expected to be living here again. Never mind what'll happen if someone gets the idea in their head to attack us again. I know it's been several years since anyone was that foolish, but I really don't want to deal with it here.

Sighing, I remember that my parents didn't want to move to Angel Grove either, but they felt it was the best thing for our family. Shoving away my discontent at the whole damn situation, I settle in front of the computer. I need to start researching schools to find the best one for Mara Jane - that's not a boarding school.

SOME TIME LATER

Zedd comes in the room and sets a plate next to me. "I brought you some dinner, Thomas."

"Thanks" I answer absently. "I'll get to it in a minute."

As I scroll through pages, I grab a piece of the sandwich he's brought me and eat without paying attention, really, to what I'm eating. "What are you doing, love?"

"Looking for a school for Mara Jane."

"Why? I thought-"

I shrug. "She wants to, you want her to so I'm going to find the best school for her that's not a boarding school, per your demand before she was ever born." Though in fairness I wouldn't send her away either as I know once out of our care, she's much more vulnerable to attacks especially if words gets out who she is.

"Thomas, if you aren't comfortable with it, we can figure something else out."

"Like what? There isn't another option, mate. Either she goes to school, has a tutor, or we continue home schooling. There's no point in having a tutor so that takes us back to the other two options. I've already brought up my concerns about her going to a school and, as you've pointed out, they can be worked around so there's no reason not to let her if she wants."

"Love-"

I turn to face him. "What? I'm trying to make this work, Zedd."

He takes a breath. "All right. What have you found so far?"

I turn back to the computer. "I think I might have found a private school that will work, but I really want to talk to the principal before I know for sure. Depending on where Lisa found the land and the contractors - and a whole lot of luck - we might be able to be settled in before the next school year starts and the baby's born."

"When's that? That school starts, I mean."

I sigh. "About six or seven months, so we'll have to decide quickly." I can feel the stress building. I know that isn't going to be nearly enough time. It'll probably take longer than that to build the house and we don't even have plans drawn up yet. Not to mention I'll have to go back to our actual home to have Pina remove our son from me as the conditions here just really aren't an option, the lair aside. Even then though I'd be leery to have her perform surgery on me there instead of her actual medical wing in the palace.

Zedd sets his hands on my shoulders and starts rubbing lightly. "Relax, love. We'll figure this out, I promise." Good luck.