Ranger Day Care

Rocky and Tanya sat in the updated study area of Angel Grove High, discussing possible weekend plans. Tommy and Adam joined them after football practice, with Adam laughing at Tommy's expense.

"What's so funny?" Tanya asked.

Adam let out anther laugh as he sat down next to the newest Ranger. He glanced in Tommy's direction and hummed the wedding march under his breath, which earned an eyeroll and a sigh from the Red Ranger, who set his backpack and gym bag by his feet. "Mr. Toggle wants us to do this report on Family Care and Relationships, so we have to pretend we're married for the weekend." he admitted.

"We?" Rocky repeated.

"Me and uh-" Tommy stuttered, "-Emma."

Adam and Rocky both chuckled this time around, clearly amused by the situation. Tanya maintained her composure, but her lips curled into a small smile. "I'm sure you two will make a lovely couple." she said, keeping as straight of face as she could. "We're very happy for you."

"Sorry we didn't get you anything Tommy." Rocky chuckled.

"Yeah man." Adam added. "It's not everyday you get married." All three Rangers chuckled at that comment. "So where is your lovely bride?" the Green Ranger asked.

Tommy shrugged, "Em said she'd meet me here after practice." he answered. "She said she has this great idea on how to make the report more realistic."

Rocky couldn't contain his laughter when he saw the aforementioned Pink Ranger enter the study area pushing a stroller with a baby boy strapped inside. Everyone soon saw it too and chuckled, except for Tommy who went pale as a ghost. "Not only do you have a wife, but a baby too." Rocky said between laughs.

Emma joined the rest of the Rangers, kneeling next to the stroller. "Em he's so cute." Tanya grinned at the baby.

"Who is he?" Adam asked.

"He's the son of one of my dad's co-workers." Emma answered. "His name's Joey." She turned to Tommy and placed her hand on his shoulder, "I volunteered to watch him for the weekend. Just think about the insight it'll give us for our report."

"Whoa." Rocky breathed and held his nose. "That's a little ripe."

Joey started to cry loudly and everyone scrambled to leave, using various excuses. Tommy tried to sneak away in the chaos, but to no avail. "Hold it!" Emma called, her hands on her hips. "Where do you think you're going? Dad?" She grinned coyly and motioned with her finger for Tommy to come over.

Along with agreeing to babysit Joey for the weekend, Emma had also offered to house-sit for his parents while they were away on business. Balancing the babysitting and the schoolwork was a challenge but Tommy and Emma made it work.

"Who knew a little guy could make such a big mess." Tommy shook his head as he cleaned off Joey's high chair, which had smeared sweet potatoes all over it.

"Yeah, his mom did mention he was a messy eater." Emma noted, loading dishes into the dishwasher. "He's only nine months old." She started the dishwasher and wiped her hands on a dry cloth. "Alright, time to give Joey his bath then it's off to bed. Then we can get started writing that report. I've already got an outline drafted."

Tommy carried Joey to the bathroom to start the bath while Emma went to grab some pajamas for him. Emma slowly opened the door and saw Tommy smile as he poured some warm water over the baby's hair, earning a giggle in response.

"You're a natural." the blonde admired, setting the clothes by the sink. She brushed some hair from her face, "Seriously. I think he likes ya."

Tommy just shrugged his shoulders, "I guess so."

Joey continued to laugh as he splashed around in the bubble bath, which made his two teenage babysitters smile. Joey accidentally splashed some water outside of the bath and it ended up soaking half of Emma's pink halter top. The blonde gasped and looked at her wet shirt, rolling her blue eyes, "I should've seen that coming."

Light pink bubbles surrounded Emma's body as she fell forward, Tommy catching her before she injured herself. Emma's arms were wrapped around Tommy's neck and his were around her waist, their faces inches from eachother's. "You alright Em?" he asked, his eyes never leaving hers.

Emma swallowed as a faint blush rose to her cheeks, "Yeah." she nodded, looking at her golden tail, which wiggled slightly. "I'm fine."

She adjusted herself so she was leaning against the bathtub, her arms folded over the side and her tailfin stretched out behind her. "Now Joey, this is going to be our little secret right?" Emma asked, smiling at the baby, who grinned back with a giggle. "You're parents don't ever have to find out that Miss Emma is a mermaid." She moved the water around with her hand and scooped up some of the bubbles, using her powers to freeze them and set them back on the water. Joey pushed the ice sculpture around and continued to laugh and smile. Tommy's lips formed a smile as he continued to pour water over the infant's hair. Out of the corner of her eye, Emma watched his movements, the corner of her lips twitching upwards.

After drying him off and putting on his pajamas, Tommy carried Joey to his bedroom while Emma dried off her tail with a hairdryer. Within a few minutes, her body glowed pink and she was back to her human form and she went to the living room to start typing up hers and Tommy's homework assignment.

The baby monitor on the coffee table relayed Joey's fussiness when he was put down for bed. Emma chuckled as she continued to type up the opening paragraphs of their report. After ten minutes or so, Tommy plopped down on the couch with a heavy sigh, "I thought he'd never fall asleep." he groaned.

"I brewed some coffee." Emma informed, glancing at her friend. "Just in case."

"You're amazing." Tommy patted her shoulder as he got to his feet, pouring some coffee so he could stay awake and help Emma with their report. He sat back down next to her and saw the first two paragraphs already typed. "That was fast."

"They're just the opening ones." Emma replied, reaching for the outline. "I used what we discussed in class today and worked from there."

Tommy nodded in agreement, "Nice."

The blonde bit her lip, looking down at her feet. "I'm sorry I sprung all this on you." she apologized, looking back at the brunette male beside her. "I had already agreed to babysit Joey this weekend before we got our assignment and once we did, I thought it would be perfect." she sighed. "But, I realize I should have talked to you about it first."

Tommy placed his hand over hers, "Hey it's okay." he assured. "It's a great idea Em. Really."

"It's just-" Emma raked her hands over her hair, "I wanted to make sure we got the best grade possible. If I want to get into the collage I'm hoping for, I need all the academic scholarships I can get."

"Where are you hoping to go?" Tommy asked.

Emma sighed, pulling a brochure from her binder and handed it to him, "It's a dance school in New York." she answered. "One of the top dance schools in the country."

Tommy scanned the brochure and nodded, "Wow, so you wanna be a dancer, huh?"

Emma shrugged, "Well, since Olympic Swimmer is out of the question." she chuckled. "Dancing was the only other thing I considered doing with my life if swimming didn't work out."

He set the brochure on top of the binder and placed his hand on her shoulder, "I think that it's great that you know exactly what you want in life." Tommy smiled and gave Emma's shoulder a squeeze. "Let's get to work."

Emma mirrored his smile and leaned forward to embrace her friend, wrapping her arms around his neck, "Thanks Tommy. You're the best."

Tommy rubbed her back, "That's what best friends are for."

The silence of the moment was interrupted when Joey's low cry came from over the baby monitor. Both teens went to get up, but Emma laid her hand on Tommy's arm, "I got it this time." she volunteered, making her way to the baby's room.

The next day, Emma and Tommy had a study session planned at the Angel Grove Public Library with the rest of the Rangers and brought Joey along with them. Bulk and Skull were working security detail and halted them when the came to the front door, Tommy was pushing Joey's stroller.

"Hold it!" Bulk ordered, standing between the two teens and the doorway.

Tommy shook his head, "Look Bulk, we've got a group study planned. Mind letting us in?" His tone of voice reflected how tired he was.

Bulk stood his ground, "Listen daddyo, this area has been designated a 'no cry' zone." he informed, Skull held up a sign to reflect the statement.

With a roll of his eyes, Tommy pushed through the two junior policemen. Bulk tried to stop him, only to have his arm grabbed by Emma, "Come on Bulk, the baby's asleep." she groaned. "If he starts to cry, I'll take him outside. Promise."

Seeing the pleading look in the blonde's eyes, Bulk caved, "Alright Emma." he agreed, much to the girl's relief. "But one peep-"

"Yeah, yeah." Emma sighed, slipping past the two. She sat down in the chair next to the stroller and rested her cheek on the heel of her hand.

"You alright Em?" Billy asked his cousin.

She nodded, "Yeah, just a little tired is all." Emma gave the former Ranger a reassuring smile.

"So, how's parenthood treating the both of ya?" Rocky asked, earning low groans from his two teammates.

"He was up half the night fussing." Tommy muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It seems like it's a never ending cycle: change him, feed him, change him, feed him."

Rocky lightly jabbed his shoulder, "Come on, he's just a little baby." he reminded, "How bad can it be?" The Blue Ranger knelt down by the stroller, "Hey there little guy." he cooed.

Joey stirred and started to cry a loud, almost high-pitched whine. When he started to cry, the whole building shook, startling everyone in the library, and it even caused books to fall off the shelves. The four teens braced themselves on the tables near them.

"I think the baby's doing it." Billy concluded.

"Yeah. The louder her cries, the more we shake." Rocky agreed.

Emma reached down and grabbed the bottle from the baby bag and handed it to Tommy, who gave to Joey, which immediately calmed him down. "What happened?" Emma shook herself off, smoothing out her hair.

"I don't know, but that could elevate the terrible two's to a whole new level." Rocky sighed.

"Yeah." Tommy muttered under his breath. "Anyone wanna guess who's responsible?" He was of course referring to King Mondo and the Machine Empire.

"Tommy, we should go to the Power Chamber." Billy suggested. "See if Zordon and Alpha can find out anything."

Emma nodded in agreement, "Rocky and I will take Joey where there's less to destroy." she slung the strap of the baby bag over her shoulder.

"Okay, we'll call if we find out anything." Tommy assured, patting her shoulder.

Emma and Rocky walked to the park across from the library while Tommy and Billy teleported to the Power Chamber.

Adam and Tanya met up with Rocky and Emma at the park, the latter two just getting Joey to calm down. "Emma!" Adam called.

"Shhh!" the other two teens whispered.

"You guys alright?" Tanya asked in a lowered voice.

"As long as we can keep the baby from crying we'll be fine." Emma replied.

"You can't keep a baby from crying very long." Adam reminded.

"Crying, that's what I love most about babies." came a lower-pitched mechanical voice. The four Rangers stood ready for a fight. The voice belonged to a deformed clown looking monster of the Machine Empire. "Why don't you wake the little guy up so he can give us a good wail." The monster was called Boohoo the Clown and he was surrounded by a squadron of Cogs.

"Tommy." Emma hailed over her wrist communicator. "You'd better get over here. I think we just found the monster King Mondo used on Joey."

In a flash of red light, Tommy joined the rest of the Rangers, standing between Emma and Tanya.

"Now that the gang's all here, let's have a party." Boohoo chimed, waving his arms in the air.

"It's Morphin Time." called out the five Rangers.

"Zeo Ranger I, Pink!"

"Zeo Ranger II, Yellow!"

"Zeo Ranger III, Blue!"

"Zeo Ranger IV, Green!"

"Zeo Ranger V, Red!"

"Emma, you look after Joey." the Red Ranger ordered. "We'll handle these guys."

The Pink Ranger nodded in agreement. "Right Tommy." She pushed the stroller away from the fight and stood protectively by it.

Alpha-5 teleported to her, "Don't worry Emma, I'll take care of little Joey." he volunteered. "You help the others."

"Thanks Alpha." The Pink Ranger patted his shoulder and jumped back into the fight with the others. "Alright, let's shut this clown down."

Boohoo created a high-frequency sonic ray to incapacitate the Rangers, while the Cogs surrounded Alpha. "Ai-yi-yi-yi!" the robot shrieked. "Power Rangers, help! I think I'm in over my circuit boards this time." One of the Cogs zapped Alpha with an energy blast and he shut down, leaving baby Joey defenseless.

The Rangers were still shaking off from Boohoo's last attack. "I won't let you take that baby." Zeo Ranger V called.

"Aw, don't worry we'll give him back." Boohoo promised, joining the Cogs who surrounded the baby stroller. "After he helps us destroy Angel Grove that is. Bye-Bye." Boohoo and the Cogs disappeared before the Rangers could stop them.

"Oh man, they took the kid." Zeo Ranger III groaned.

Zeo Ranger I picked up the baby bag, "He's just a little baby." she whimpered.

"I promise you Em, we're gonna bring Joey back safe and sound." vowed Zeo Ranger V.

The five Rangers teleported back to the Power Chamber, along with the temporarily down Alpha-5. Billy laid Alpha on a metal table and began to reboot the systems while the other rangers paced around the chamber, carrying their helmets under their arms.

Alpha straightened up, "Oh my, what happened?" he questioned. "Let's see, the last thing I remember is-" he gasped, "-oh no, Joey! They took him, and it's all my fault."

"No Alpha, it's not your fault." Emma rebuffed. "There was nothing anyone could've done." she patted robot's shoulder and walked off, setting her helmet on one of the consoles. "If anyone is to blame it's me." she sighed, lowering her head, her hair falling over her shoulders.

"No Emma, it's not your fault." Tommy rebuked, standing beside the Pink Ranger.

"Yes it is." Emma shook her head. "I shouldn't have agreed to babysit Joey in the first place. I should've known it would be too dangerous with King Mondo out there. Joey's in danger and it's my fault." She covered her face with her hands.

Tommy pulled Emma to his chest and rubbed her back. "Just because we're Power Rangers doesn't mean we need to put our lives on hold." he told her, keeping one arm around her waist and stroked her hair with his other hand. "We'll get Joey back, I promise you."

Emma sniffled, pulling away to look up at Tommy, "Thanks." she smiled, wiping her eyes with her white gloves.

The alarm sounded in the Power Chamber, "Rangers, I've located the Boohoo monster and Joey!" he informed the team. "It appears they're at the Angel Grove Power Plant."

"Alright, let's go rescue Joey." Emma voted, shaking herself off.

The five Rangers stood ready, helmets under their arms and their hands by their belts, "Back to action!"

The Zeo Rangers teleported back to the Power Plant, where Boohoo, Klank, and Orbus were waiting for them.

"It's about time." Boohoo called down to the Rangers. "I thought you guys would never show up."

"A tragedy has befallen us, dear Rangers." Klank announced. "I'm afraid the baby has awakened from his nap and doesn't seem to have his bottle."

"Hope he doesn't start crying." Orbus chimed in a mocking tone.

"Oh man." groaned Zeo Ranger IV, "If he cries, this whole place could shake apart."

"We've got to get to him before that happens." Zeo Ranger II said.

Just then a small group of Cogs appeared before the Rangers. "Don't worry about them." alerted Zeo Ranger V. "They're just trying to distract us. You guys handle the Cogs, I'll get Joey."

The Red Ranger headed for the baby while the others took on the mechanical foot soldiers in hand-to-hand combat. As he made his way closer to Joey, more Cogs appeared to intercept Zeo Ranger V, who just tossed them aside like nothing. When Tommy reached the baby, he was just stirring awake. Realizing his bottle was empty, Joey started to cry, which caused the plant to shake.

"You know what would be good right about now?" pondered Klank. "A wee bit of fire power."

"Ohhh, I've got just the thing." Boohoo obliged the superior robot and fired a few blasts at the plant, adding further to the shaking. The added motioned knocked the Red Ranger off his balance as he was fighting a trio of Cogs. Joey's stroller slowly inched towards the stairs, but before Zeo Red could grab the handle, it started rolling down at an increased speed, before going over the ledge and fell towards the ground.

Zeo Ranger V jumped over the railing and grabbed the stroller before it hit the ground, only to realize it was empty.

"Everything's alright Rangers." Billy's voice hailed over the communication systems. "Joey's with me. He's gonna be helping me out in the Power Chamber for a little while."

"Thanks Billy." Zeo Ranger I sighed in relief.

"You think you've gotten the best of us?" Boohoo mocked from above them, standing next to Klank and Orbus. "Think again power geeks. Look." He pointed towards the sky where a trio of Quadrafighters started firing down at the Rangers.

"All right guys, Zeo Laser Pistols." the Red Ranger ordered. The five then fired their weapons at the Quadrafighters, taking them out with relative ease.

Boohoo fired his sonic ray again, disorienting the Rangers. Fighting through the attack, Zeo Ranger V summoned his weapon, the Zeo V Power Sword. He charged forward and struck the mechanical monster with a forceful blow, stopping the attack on the other four Rangers.

"You'll have to do better than that." Boohoo mocked, still standing, albeit visibly dinged up.

"Then try this!" shouted Zeo Ranger I. She summoned her weapon, the Zeo I Power Disc and clutched it with both hands. The Pink Ranger jumped into the air and spun around, knocking the clown in the face, sending him to the side of the plant.

From the platform above, Klank and Orbus watched the fight. "I think it's time Boohoo grew." stated the footman. "Do you?"

"I do." Orbus agreed.

Klank spun Orbus around and he latched onto Boohoo, giving him a jolt of power that made him increase to ten times his previous sides.

The Rangers backed up at Boohoo's sudden growth, knowing what they had to do next. "We need ZeoZord Power, now!"

The five mechs were released from their holding bay and charged into battle. The Rangers teleported to their respective Zords' cockpit and immediately began to initiate the Megazord sequence.

Once all five Zords combined, the Zeo Megazord threw the first punch of the fight. After taking a few hits, Boohoo fought back. "Oh Rangers." he cooed, "You forgot the baby's bottle." he threw large bottle-shaped grenades at the Megazord, dealing some damage and making the Rangers hang on inside the cockpit. He then began to rapid fire lasers from his mouth.

"Let's take down this clown." Zeo Ranger V voted. The Megazord held up its weapon to block the lasers. One beam bounced off the blade and hit Boohoo, knocking out the laser cannon located in his mouth.

"ZeoMegazord Saber! Full Power!" The five Rangers called in unison. The saber powered up and came slashing down across Boohoo, finishing him off for good.

The following Monday...

The five Ranger teens sat around a table outside of the cafeteria. "So, since Joey's parents are home, what are you guys gonna do now?" Tanya asked, looking across the table at Emma and Tommy.

The two shared a look before answering, "Sleep."

"I'm glad that he went back to normal after that Boohoo thing was destroyed." Rocky added, taking a bite.

"I think all of Angel Grove is happy." Adam chuckled.

Mr. Toggle walked up to the teenagers, "Emma and Tommy." he greeted, getting their attention. "Since class ran late I didn't get the chance to tell you both how much I enjoyed your paper, and I think the use of baby Joey was brilliant. You both get an 'A'."

Tommy and Emma smiled at one another and high-fived. "Thank you so much Mr. Toggle." the blonde replied.

"I trust that the two of realize how hard taking care of a family can be?" Mr. Toggle raised an eyebrow.

Tommy shrugged his shoulders, "Yeah, well it has its ups and downs."

Emma nodded in agreement, "But I can say that I am looking forward to having kids of my own one day." she smiled, folding her arms on the table.

"Well, I'm glad to hear you say that Miss Gilbert." Mr. Toggle chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest. "My wife and I need a babysitter for Saturday night."

Emma's face fell, "Saturday night?" she repeated, sounding unsure about the offer.

"Yes." Mr. Toggle nodded. "For the twins?"

Everyone looked at the blonde, who's eyes went wide. "Sure." she sighed, caving in. "I'd love to."

"That's the spirit Em." Tommy praised, patting her shoulder and smiling, "After all, practice makes perfect."

"Well..." Mr. Toggle continued. "I was hoping that I could count on both of you."

Emma folded her arms over her chest and looked at Tommy, quirking her brow. Tommy's smile faltered a bit, "Yeah." he sighed. "No problem."

Everyone let out a chuckle. Emma grinned and patted his shoulder. "Thanks Tommy, you're a real pal." she chuckled, planting a kiss on his cheek.

A/N: I know it's been like forever since I last updated this story. I apologize to all you loyal readers and fans. I'll try to be a bit better and not have as long of a break (unless there's certain circumstances i.e. family vacations or whatnot.) Anyway, hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I look forward to reviews. If any of ya'll have any questions or comments, please leave them in the reviews and I will try to answer as best I can when the next chapter is posted.

pterapink21 First off, thanks for giving my story a chance and I'm glad you've grown to love it. Second, yes the series will progress as is, but I might change a few things here and there and adding some original scenes. For your question on if the series will continue post-Zeo, the answer is yes. I have ideas for Turbo and Dino Thunder as well. If you'd like, check out my story "Black Fire & Violet Thunder" it can be classified as an indirect sequel, because the Violet Thunder Ranger is also a mermaid.

As for your question on the "what if" scenario, I'm not sure how Emma would have worked in the beginning of the series, I guess maybe it would be interesting but I chose the end of MMPR season three because there was a gradual change for the Pink Ranger and such, also with Emma leaving H2O after the second season, I feel the transition would've been easier. But that's just my opinion. Also, I feel if she were to be introduced in the beginning of MMPR, she wouldn't have her meramid abilities and such.

MakiSakura It's great that you liked the ending to the previous chapter. I will try to add more original scenes like that in future chapters. Keep up with the story to see whether or not the other H2O mermaids make an appearance.

RHatchet89 Thanks for the love, hope you enjoyed this update as well! :)

DemonGirl123 It makes me very happy that you're loving this story and thanks again for letting me bounce ideas off of you and ask for advice. I can honestly say that this story is all the better because of your input. I love ya sis! XOXO

gaywhovian93 Thanks so much, I hope that every chapter is great in all ya'll eyes. I work hard on these to make them unique while still keeping the plot and storyline in tact.

jdkeller2000 Thanks for calling the chapter 'morphinaminal' I take that as a complement. As for one of the H2O girls becoming a ranger in either the back half of Turbo or In Space the answer is no. The "No Ordinary Ranger" series is about Emma's ranger career. However, the girls will make subsequent appearances in future chapters and installments.

TylerKlause I've come across your stories via an author I follow and I'm sorry to say I haven't read them yet. I'm not as familiar with Dino Charge and Time Force as I haven't seen them in a long time. :'(

RiveraJ88 Thank you :)