Oh, not this fic again. This thing's going to be the end of me, I swear. This chapter…is long, at least for me. I'm going to go die now, thanks.

Yeah. So, like I said before, I wrote this chapter before I wrote the last one. I've gone through this one with a fine tooth comb (more like a brush…) and fixed the inconsistencies, so the continuity works pretty well.

Frankly, I feel that this fic could end on this point and still work, but I don't think it will. It's got a few plots holes and extra strings I have to cover up still, and I've still got some ideas going for it. So… unless something drastic happens to me (like, say, I die), you'll get a few more chapters out of me.

Let's just say… this is not my genre. I've never tried to write anything remotely like this, so if it's craptastic, well...my bad. Heh.

As always, I appreciate any reviews!

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"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results." - Andrew Carnegie

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Midday Blackout

"I betcha I could jump from New Zealand to Africa in five seconds flat!"

Mack snorted. "I know your genetic powers are cool, Dax, but they're not that cool."

Dax shook his head and crossed his arms, smirking. "You may not believe it, but I'll prove it. I could totally do it!"

Mack rolled his eyes and leaned back against the red loveseat, intending to sit and rest while the calming, light pitter-patter of raindrops fell against the windows outside. A bad storm had hit, and the rangers were stuck indoors. Left to their own devices, Mack and Dax had begun to compare their genetic powers.

Dax, earnest about everything, was persistent and wasn't going to let the red ranger stay still. Mack decided to go with his story and give Dax the benefit of the doubt, even though he was still skeptical. "All right… if you say you can jump from New Zealand to Africa, do it. Right here, right now." Mack raised an eyebrow.

Dax didn't even flinch. He jumped up and dusted himself off. "Alrighty!"

Mack's eyebrow rose even higher. "You're serious?"

"Yeah!"

And incredulous look came over Mack's face. "Dax…you're not seriously going to try and jump to Africa." It was a statement, not a question.

Dax just gave him a little sly smile. "Five seconds, right?"

Mack's eyebrows came together in a frown. "…yeah. Five seconds." He wasn't sure whether to be amused or terrified. Lightning went off in the distance, and an ominous roar of thunder ran its course through their ears.

Dax took no notice of the storm and ignored it completely, opting instead to run off out of the room and around the corner. Mack, surprised, sat dumbfounded for a few seconds, but quickly jumped up and ran after the blue ranger. As soon as he got around the corner he was met by Dax, standing in front of the indoor rock wall. Mack was taken aback at his sudden appearance and fell right onto his back. The sound of Dax's chuckling hit him as he fell to the floor, and he couldn't help but grin at himself.

The blue ranger offered him a hand up, and he took it. "Alright Dax, what's all this about Africa? You're not really going to attempt this are you?

Dax looked at Mack like he had grown another head. "Attempt? Are you crazy? I'm gonna actually do it!"

Mack opened his mouth to protest, but before he could get a sound out, Dax had bounced his way over to the rock wall and had hoisted himself onto one of the rocks closest to the ground.

"Now, Mack. New Zealand." He jumped up onto a rock situated a bit higher. "Africa!"

Mack took note of the map on the wall under the rocks and let out an annoyed puff of air. "You're not serious…"

Dax, of course, wasn't put off by look on Mack's face. Not in the slightest. He jumped to another rock across the map. "The United States! Hello New Jersey!"

Mack couldn't help but laugh at the blue ranger. "Dax, last time I checked, Jersey was on the east coast," Mack pointed at the map, "Right about now you'd be talking to the lovely people of Arizona."

Dax shrugged, and jumped off the wall, landing next to Mack with a thud. "I failed at geography during high school. See, there was this really nice girl that sat next to me and she-"

Mack interrupted, laughing. "I get it Dax, I don't think I need the whole story to figure that one out."

Dax smiled and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Yeah, now that I think about it, well…y'know, she sort of looked like Mira." His face fell suddenly, and he shoved his fists into his pockets, clamming up. The sudden, awkward silence was thick. The only sound to be heard came from the patter of the rain outside the mansion.

Mack gave Dax a sympathetic look and put a hand on his shoulder to try and comfort him. "Miratrix, Dax. She's not a good person, never was. Look," he gave him a shake of the shoulder in emphasis, "I know it sucks, but there's no sense brooding. She chose her own destiny."

Dax nodded, "Yeah, I can't let myself get so let down about it. We only went on a date or two. S'not like it was anything serious." His sad eyes and half smile spoke volumes.

Mack knew the other boy was in denial, but he decided to drop the subject. The wounds were still too fresh for the upbeat blue ranger. He veered the conversation into a different direction. "Right. So, no jumping from the actual New Zealand?"

Dax laughed, and he was back to his old, happy-go-lucky self again. "Man, if I actually tried that, I'd kill myself!"

Mack teased him. "Yeah, but you could just start out with New Zealand. Think of all the things you could do! First to Africa, then to Jersey-Arizona, then the moon!"

Dax scratched his chin in thought. "Y'know, I could make my way through the solar system! I have always wanted to visit Pluto. It's my favorite planet!"

But before Mack could answer, a tired, empty voice came from the doorway. "Pluto's not a planet anymore, Dax. It got demoted."

Mack, recognizing the voice instantly, turned to smile at his team's pink ranger, but when his eyes reached her, the sight wasn't nearly what he expected to see. He frowned in concern. "…Rose?"

The pink ranger slouched, her back to the wall, with an exhausted look in her eyes and a frown on her face.

Dax was concerned about the forlorn presence of their pink ranger, and gave her a confused look. "Hey, Rose? You all right?"

She heaved a sigh and walked wordlessly past the two rangers into the sitting room they had occupied minutes before. They followed her in and sat down, waiting for an answer. She remained standing, looking anywhere but at the two other rangers.

"I overheard an… interesting conversation a few minutes ago. More of an argument, actually." Rose didn't look too happy at the thought.

Dax let out a breath. "That doesn't sound too promising. What happened?"

She turned to Mack. "It was your dad." She turned back to staring at the wall, finding more comfort in the blank nothingness than in the depths of the red ranger's eyes.

Mack noticed her odd behavior and eyebrows came together in a slight frown, but he ignored her strange actions. The argument was obviously bothering her, and he wanted to figure out what was going on. "Well, why would my dad be arguing with anybo-"

"-it was Will and Ronny." Rose interrupted, and shook her head at the boys' confused look before continuing. "You know how they've been sneaking into each other's rooms, right?"

Dax answered, not missing a beat. "Yeah, how could you miss it? Spencer's been prowling the halls for a week."

Rose nodded, and closed her eyes, calling up an unpleasant memory. "Yeah well, I don't know exactly what happened, but somehow…they got caught."

Dax grimaced and Mack mimicked the face, an unknown feeling making his chest twinge. It felt something like a mix of guilt and regret. He ignored it and looked up at the pink ranger, but she refused to meet his eyes. "How angry was he?"

Dax snorted. "Who, Will or Andrew? I'd imagine they were both yelling at each other."

Rose raised her eyebrows and nodded before taking a seat opposite Mack and Dax. "Yeah, they were both pretty fired up. Will couldn't understand what his problem was, and Mr. Hartford kept slamming arguments about duty and honor down his throat."

Dax rolled his eyes. "I honestly don't see the problem myself. It's not like they've been making out in the hallways or anything. They're not trying to make a problem out of it."

Mack shrugged. "You know my dad well enough by now. He's always been a sucker for harsh rules, and when those rules are broken…" Mack shook his head. "The guy definitely isn't much fun."

Dax nodded his head emphatically in agreement.

Rose continued to look somber. "I just feel sorry for Ronny, though. I didn't hear her talk much, but I knew she was upset."

Mack nodded. "How could she not be?"

Rose shrugged. "I just wish I knew what was going to happen to them. I didn't stick around long enough to hear the rest of the argument. As it was, it was almost a screaming match."

A horrible thought came to Dax. "He's not going to fire them, is he? I mean, he can't, right?"

The red ranger gave a rueful smile. "I hardly doubt he'd be that extreme. Besides, who would replace them? I know for damned sure that I won't let anyone else take their place on this team."

Rose's eyebrows rose. "Good luck telling that to your dad."

Mack shot her a defensive look. "Hey, my dad might be running most of this show, but he's not the one wearing red. It's my job to protect this team, and I'm not going to let my dad rip us apart, especially when we all work so well together. No one's going to kick Will and Ronny out, end of story."

The determination in his eyes was enough to make her smile, even if it was just a little twinge of her lips. She was more proud of him in that moment than she had ever been before, and she was glad, more than anything, that he was their red ranger in the place the elder Hartford.

Dax smiled and bumped shoulders with older boy. "Hey, thanks Mack. That means a lot, you know?"

Mack smiled at the other rangers. "Hey, you guys are my friends. Nothing can change that, not even my dad."

Rose smiled at Mack, and he was glad to see some light enter back into her eyes. Where she was deeply troubled before, there was only a glimmer of worry left. He had managed to put whatever was troubling her at the back of her mind, and he was glad he did. He loved seeing her with a smile on her face.

Rose sighed. "Mack, you're horribly cheesy."

Dax laughed. "Yeah, man. This is totally a group hug moment."

Mack shrugged and held out his arms, a sly look on his face. "Hey, if you insist, I'm happy to oblige."

Dax chuckled again and slung his arm around the red ranger. Rose got up from her spot and walked over to Mack's other side, slinging her arm around him before reaching over and hugging the blue ranger. Dax smiled and let go of the two, while Rose did the same. Mack, a sad smile on his face, kept his arms around the shoulders of the two rangers next to him.

Rose sighed. "I hope Mr. Hartford doesn't do something rash. Or stupid."

Dax nodded. Mack looked down at the pink ranger and gave her a reassuring smile. "They'll be okay, Rose. It's just a stupid argument. We'll all get through it."

Dax turned to the two of them. "Yeah, hopefully sooner than later."

Mack nodded, and a flash of light momentarily caught the group's attention. Almost immediately after, a clap of thunder sounded right outside the mansion.

Rose looked over to the windows. "Seems like the storm's getting closer."

Mack shrugged and Dax grinned. "Yeah, this thing's supposed to hit us hard. They're saying it's going to get pretty bad."

"Well, thank God for that."

Rose and Dax looked over to Mack, confused. He shrugged. "Well, with weather like this, we don't have to worry about and big, bad, and ugly monsters attacking. They'd be crazy to even try."

Dax looked over to Rose, and she nodded. "Hey, he's got a point."

The blue ranger smiled. "Well, this should be a fun day, then."

The lights flickered. Mack looked around, confused. "Hey…what-"

The teens were cast into darkness. The only light coming into the house was from the gloom outside, and from the occasional flicker of lightning.

Rose sighed. "So, Dax. You were saying?"

He gave her an annoyed glare and looked in what he thought was Mack's direction. The next flash of lightning proved him right. "Hey, you live here. Where can a guy find some candles and matches in a place like this?"

Mack gave him a dry look. "You know, you live here now, too."

Dax shrugged. "Small technicality. So, about those matches?"

The red ranger lifted his arm into the air, giving Dax a half shrug and motioning towards the whole house. "Well, they're somewhere. Exactly where…well, who knows?"

Dax stood up. "Well then, I'm going to go look around for some. Anyone want to go with me?"

Rose gave a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "And run into walls because I can't see anything? No thanks."

Mack looked over at Rose, noticing that the pink ranger was still unsettled by something. He was concerned; it wasn't like Rose to dwell on sad thoughts.

He turned to Dax. "I think I'll stay here, too. Running into things doesn't sound at all appealing."

Dax nodded, and walked out of the room, giving a small wave.

Mack looked over at the pink ranger. She was sitting with her back against the seat cushions, slouched over, and was frowning slightly. Her eyes were trailed at her hands resting on her lap with her thumbs twiddling every which way. She looked almost… nervous.

Mack frowned. He couldn't think of a time before where Rose was uncomfortable when the two of them were alone. It worried him.

"Rose… are you alright?"

Rose looked up from her hands to stare blankly at the wall in front of her. She sighed and turned to him, dismissing his question. "A blackout, huh? Shouldn't you guys have back-up generators for this sort of thing?"

Mack knew she was avoiding his question. He let it slide. "Yeah we do, actually." He looked confused for a second. "It's strange….I wonder why they're not working?"

Rose looked back down at her lap. "…yeah."

He focused his attention on the pink ranger once more. "What's eating at you, Rose? This isn't like you at all."

She turned to him, her face carefully blank. "I guess… I guess I just can't stop thinking about Will and Ronny."

Mack sent Rose a reassuring smile. "It sucks right now, I know. But you shouldn't worry so much. They'll be fine. My dad's fair, he wont do anything crazy."

Rose looked over at him again, the sad smile on her face matched her gloomy eyes perfectly. She laughed a harsh, trinkling laugh. The sound was pitiful.

"I don't think you see where I'm coming from at all, Mack."

Mack turned his upper body towards her, a frown of concern masking his face. "Rose, I…"

She laughed again, its raw sound grating at his ears and tearing at his heart. He closed his eyes to steady himself, and when he opened them again he saw Rose staring into his soul, tears in her eyes.

"Don't you understand, Mack?" She was pleading with him to understand, "This isn't just about Will and Ronny."

Her eyes shined and her features flickered in the lightning coming from the windows. She had never looked more beautiful. "We've been doing the exact same things. Sneaking out of bed, hugging in the hallways… what happens when we get caught?"

It was a thought that had plagued him since the day he realized his attraction to the team's pink ranger. He knew they couldn't keep things a secret forever; their yellow and black rangers were a perfect example of that. It pained him to think that he would, some day, be yelling at his dad like Will had done earlier. He could imagine pleading with the older man, begging to let their relationship continue… it wasn't something he liked to dwell upon.

Rose sighed, taking his silence as an act of defeat. She threw her hands into the air and sighed to herself, half-listening to the thunder rolling in the distance.

"Maybe," her voice caught in her throat, but she pushed past it, "Maybe we should end this, Mack." Her voice was choked, and tears were almost spilling out of her eyes. "…before things take a turn for the worse."

He clenched his fists and turned to look somewhere, anywhere, but her face. Mack could feel wetness stinging at his own eyes. He spoke, but didn't dare turn to face her. "You're okay with just letting this… letting us, end? Just like that?"

She sat in silence, refusing to answer him. He stood up and walked in front of her, his hair covering up his eyes. A lone tear fell down her cheek, and she brushed it away angrily. He knelt down in front of her so his face was on the exact same level as hers.

Mack set his mouth in a firm line. "Just… if anything, answer me truthfully." He looked straight into her eyes, down to the depths of her soul. His chest hurt. He wasn't about to let her go without a fight. He couldn't just give up on her; he needed her with him. "Do you feel anything for me, Rose?"

Her tears were flowing down her cheeks freely now, and she wanted desperately to announce an undying love for him and throw herself into his arms, but she had already crossed a line. She was resigned to her fate. She choked on a sob and forced herself to look away from his piercing gaze, away from any future she could possibly have with him.

He was desperate; her silent stare was eating away at him. He grabbed onto her shoulders, squeezing them harder then he intended to, but drastically needing to hear her voice, her reassurance that their fate together wasn't destined to end in heartbreak. He felt his own tears fall down his face. "Rose, please. Answer me." He loosened his grip on her shoulders, but the tension in his heart refused to ease. His resolve steadied. He'd do whatever it took.

She turned her head back to look at him. "Mack, please don't make this harder then it has to be." The look in his eyes was unsettling.

He grabbed her face and smashed his lips to hers.

Her first kiss with him was everything and nothing like she expected it to be. He was frenzied, scared, holding onto her like he had nothing to lose, and it scared her, shocked her to the core. She couldn't help but respond; her emotions were just as intense, just as desperate as his own, and she needed the release. She needed to convey to him that yes, God yes, did she have feelings for him, but she had no idea how this, the two of them together, could possibly work out.

He held onto her for dear life, tasting the tears on her lips, wondering, but not knowing exactly which one of them the tears belonged to. His heartbeat resounded in his chest, and he drew his face back from hers, missing her warmth, but needing to know what she felt. "Tell me… tell me that meant nothing to you." He dared her, his bright eyes staring directly into hers, unflinching, but still desperately nervous.

She closed her eyes, her heartbeat hammering in her chest.

Her tears had stopped, but the intensity of her emotions hadn't lessened. He felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach. He grabbed her face in his hands and whispered, "Tell me you don't love me."

Her resolve shattered.

She grabbed his hands and intertwined her fingers with his, feeling the wet marks on her own face. She shook her head almost imperceptibly and, with a sigh, let her face fall into the crook of his neck, finally feeling at ease with her own feelings.

He sensed the shift in her demeanor, and sighed audibly, glad he got through to his stubborn pink ranger. He let go of her hands and wrapped his arms around her waist, thankful that he could continue to stay close to her. He pulled her close, still kneeling in front of the couch with Rose's knees wrapped around his sides. He held her as tight as he could, and rubbed her back, waiting for both of their hearts to stop their heavy beating. The storm outside was still raging, but the one between the two of them had finally passed on.

Finally, he loosened his arms and brought one up to her face. He cupped her cheek and kissed her again, slowly this time, memorizing everything about the feel of her body close to his. When they finally came up for air, he looked at her and smiled , and she gave a hesitant one right back.

His eyes were bright as he spoke to her, his tone soft. "You're still worried."

She closed her eyes and leaned up against him. " How are we going to make this work, Mack?"

He grinned. "We'll manage, somehow."

She sighed and looked up at him, an eyebrow raised. Another sharp crack of thunder sounded overhead. "We'll manage? That doesn't sound too reassuring." She was grinning up at him.

The smile remained plastered to his face. "We'll keep it a secret for as long as we can, Rose. After that, we'll probably get chewed out by my dad and we'll be bitter for a week or two. But to tell you the truth, I honestly don't think anything drastic will happen."

She closed her eyes, the lightning that flashing through the window curtains was playing havoc on her senses. "…and what about rangering?"

Mack let up a confused eyebrow. "What about it?"

She gave a half smile, uncertain. "You're sure this won't get in the way of out duties?"

The red ranger laughed and smiled at her. "Not if we don't let it. Besides," he grabbed a lock of her dark hair and twisted it around his fingers, "we're both adults here, Rose. And we both know that our duties as rangers have to come before anything else."

Rose was fully smiling now. "It won't be easy."

Her smile was reflected back to her on Mack's face, his grin just as big as hers. "These things never are. But it's not impossible, Rose. It'll take some work, but we'll be fine."

She nodded, but something was still plaguing her. "…and Will and Ronny?"

"They'll be fine, too." The look in his eyes gave her hope that everything would turn out for the best.

Mack gave a small tug on the lock of hair he was playing with, and then let it go. "You're entirely too stubborn sometimes, Rose," He wrapped his arm back around her waist and interlocked his hands behind her back, "You worry to much."

She laughed and punched him in the arm. "Sometimes I don't think you worry nearly enough."

A sudden announcement echoing from the hallway knocked the two out of their reverie, and they jumped away from each other. Mack reached the couch opposite of Rose just as Dax entered the dark room, a bright light coming from an object in his hands. If he noticed their tearstained faces, he didn't mention it.

"Hey guys, guess what?" He motioned to the object in his hands, "It's crazy, I can't believe I didn't think of it before!"

Rose strained her eyes to see what Dax was holding, interested. "Think of what, Dax?"

He smiled. "Our trackers! If you change the settings, you can get it to let out a beam of light instead of reading hazard levels!"

Mack looked up at him. "Really?"

"Sure." He walked over to Mack and took a seat. He walked the red ranger through the process of setting up the flashlight. Rose grabbed her own morpher off of her sleeve and toyed with the settings, getting the flashlight to work easily enough.

She smiled. "How'd you figure it out, Dax?"

The blue ranger looked a little sheepish. "I didn't, really." He laughed. "Actually, I ran smack into Spencer. He showed me how to do it."

Mack nodded. "Where is Spencer, anyway? He's been suspiciously absent, what with all that's been going on today."

"He told me he was going back to the command centre; had some stuff to do." Dax shrugged.

Rose opened her mouth to say something, but immediately shut it when she spotted Ronny walk into the room, a mixture of sadness and frustration on her face. Rose patted on the seat next to her, and Ronny sat down with her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands.

She sighed. "This sucks."

Rose put and arm around Ronny's shoulder, offering the other girl what comfort she could. Dax looked up and gave a small sarcastic laugh that was very unlike him. "The weather totally matches your mood and everything."

She lifted her eyebrows in agreement. "Tell me about it." She sighed again. "So…you guys know what happened, I take it?"

Mack answered with a small smile, trying to be supportive. "Yeah, for the most part."

Ronny's face was blank. "How?"

Rose spoke up. "Me. I was in the zord bay earlier, helping out Spencer. I left to take a break, and on the way back upstairs I heard Will and Mr. Hartford…talking."

The yellow ranger just shook her head and gave a rueful laugh. "Talking, right. If that's what you want to call it."

Dax sighed. "How bad is it?" Ronny gave him a small, piercing, look. "I mean… Andrew's punishment. He didn't sound too happy, from what I could tell."

Mack visibly tensed, and Rose, seeing him tense, felt the weight of Dax's question sit heavily in her mind. The consequences Ronny got for her actions meant a whole lot more to she and Mack than it did to Dax.

Ronny continued, not noticing the tension between the red and pink rangers. "Cleaning duty for a month, extra physical training menus, monitored free time, hourly check-ins with Hartford and," she sighed, shaking her head, "…and very limited contact with Will."

Mack let out an angry grunt. "That's bullshit."

Rose, though surprised at Mack's language, couldn't agree more. Ronny nodded. "I know."

Dax scrunched his eyes together, confused. "You're not going to stand for this are you? I mean., limited contact with one of your teammates? That's ridiculous!"

Another voice from the doorway surprised the four rangers. "Of course it is, but what the hell are we supposed to do about it?"

They looked over to see Will in the doorway, using his tracker as a light to lead him around the dark house, followed by Spencer who was carrying a tray of lemonade and a large candle.

Ronny looked up and gave a defeated sigh. "Will, you're not supposed to be here."

"I don't care."

The black ranger walked over to the couch, taking up the unoccupied seat next to Ronny. He put a hand on her neck, lightly rubbing the stiff muscles. She finally relaxed a bit.

Mack looked up at his butler, who had put the tray of lemonade on the coffee table between the couches, and was trying to light the candle he had brought. "Spencer…you don't have a problem with this?"

The older man finished lighting the candle before turning to speak to the younger Hartford. "While I usually agree with your father's judgment on most disciplinary matters, I happen find this particular punishment quite ridiculous."

Mack smiled at the butler, then turned his attention to the couch opposite him. "It's been bugging me and I can't help but wonder… how in the world did you manage to get my dad so angry in the first place?"

Ronny laughed, and Will, for once in his life, looked embarrassed. The yellow ranger answered for them. "Well, basically… he caught us making out in the command centre."

Rose snorted with laughter, and Dax applauded. Mack had a huge grin on his face. "Oh, I wish I could've seen the look on his face."

Spencer rolled his eyes. "I hope you never have to, Mack. I'm sure he was livid."

Will nodded and raised an eyebrow. "That's definitely the word for it."

Spencer gave the two a stern look. "Now, let's hope you learned a lesson from this. As long as you keep your relationship separate from your work, I'm just fine with it. But don't expect me to be lenient with my punishment if I find you slacking."

Ronny nodded. "I know, Spencer. We know. No need for the lecture."

He nodded. "Well, now that that's settled, I'm going to go look into fixing this blackout problem we seem to be having. Enjoy the lemonade."

Rose answered. "Sure thing, Spencer."

Will shrugged to himself after watching the butler leave the room. "This whole situation is still pretty horrible, though."

Dax threw him a reassuring look. " Don't worry yourself too much over it, Will."

Mack nodded. "Yeah, we've all got your back. We're behind you one-hundred percent of the way."

Ronny smiled at the rest of the team. "Thanks guys."

Rose smiled right back. "It's not a problem at all Ronny. We're a team, we stick together no matter what. Mack will make sure of that."

She sent Mack a grin that he returned enthusiastically. "Without a doubt, guys."

Dax slapped his hands to his knees. "Enough with all this crazy talk, I'm sick of the whole subject!"

Will looked over at Dax. "Oh, and what do you propose we talk about? You?"

"Sure!"

Mack shot Rose a small, secret smile as Dax went on about various movies and stunts he had once performed. She winked at him, and then sat back into the cushion and leaned her head back against the frame of the couch. She was perfectly content to listen to the rest of the team talk and banter amidst the light rain she could barely hear on the edge of her senses.

Her team would always stand up for each other, and the thought was comforting. She knew she could lean on Mack for support, but it was a great feeling knowing that she had the rest of the team to lean on too.

It was a relief knowing that when the inevitable time came for her and Mack's secret to be announced to the rangers, she wouldn't have to worry.

The chatter eventually died down to a murmur, and the group of rangers fell into a soft silence, listening to the rain fall lightly and the thunder boom outside the house.

The quiet wouldn't last long, but she knew that when another storm broke out, the rest of her team would always be there.

'So maybe,' Rose thought, 'the future won't be so hard to deal with after all.'