Chapter 6

Carter was in his quarters attempting to fasten up his black necktie. He sighed in frustration at his fourth failure. There was a knock at his door. "Come in." he said. He looked up from his fifth attempt and saw Dana standing at the door wearing a knee length black skirt, a black blouse and black heels.

"Need help?" she said, giving him a small, but sad smile.

His shoulders sagged in relief. "Yes, please." She put down her coat and walked over to him. She quickly finished his necktie. "Thanks, Dana."

"What are friends for." she said while handing him his black suit jacket. When he slipped his arms through, he winced as his ribs protested to the movement. "You should be staying here and recuperating." she said, helping him fix his jacket.

"I'm going, Dana. It's not that I should go. It's that I want… I need to go." he corrected himself.

She eyed his pale face. She wanted him to stay behind and get better, but she knew Carter needed to do this to help him heal on an emotional level. He wouldn't be a better leader if he didn't. "I know." she said quietly. She grabbed her coat and put it on. Then they both walked out of his quarters in silence.

-:o:-PRLR-:o:-

It was raining outside, fitting for the mood. Family and friends of the little boy stood around the grave as the small casket was lowered in the ground. The six Lightspeed rangers stood back from the crowd, watching the mourners grieve. Soon the funeral was done and everyone was beginning to walk back to their vehicles. The rest of the rangers were climbing into their cars to return to the base when they saw Carter and Dana, sharing an umbrella, not moving. Dana turned around and gave them the okay to go with a small nod. This was something Carter had to do alone.

Steven's mother and father were the last to leave the grave. His father had an arm wrapped around his wife, who was openly sobbing. They walked by Carter and Dana and stopped. The mother looked up at the two rangers. "You're the red and pink rangers aren't you." she stated more than asked.

"Yes, ma'am." answered Carter nervously.

The woman stared at Carter taking in the bandage on forehead. "You were the one who was in the warehouse weren't you?"

"Yes. I…I just wanted to let you two know I wish I could have saved your son and I would have given my life if it could bring him back…I'm sorry." he blurted out. He looked at the ground, not wanting to see the pain in the parents' faces. He saw the mother move out of the corner of his eye and anticipated the slap to the face he rightfully deserved.

Instead, arms wrapped around him and the mother hugged him. "We don't blame you for his death." she said.

The father placed a hand on Carter's shoulder. "We know you tried your best and that's all we would ask for." he said. The mother broke away and both parents acknowledged Dana as well and then left the two rangers in the rain, alone.

When Dana and Carter returned to the aquabase, Carter left the car without another word. Dana went back to her room to change in her normal clothes. She went to Carter's quarters and found it empty. She began her search for the elusive red ranger in the mess hall and ran into Ryan. "Hey Ryan, have you seen Carter around?"

Her brother shrugged. "He said he needed to get some fresh air. I think he just wanted some time alone."

"Thanks, Ryan." she said. Dana hurried towards the garage. She hopped in her car and rushed off to find Carter, determined to not let him be alone and as usual bottle up his emotions.

After a half an hour of driving, she finally found him dressed in his normal clothes and leaning against a railing down at the industrial docks where this whole event started. The rain was pouring harder. He was staring at the water letting the rain soak his clothes and to his side his Lightspeed jacket hanged limply off the railing. She got out of her car, opened up an umbrella and slowly walked towards her broken friend. When she reached his side, he hadn't acknowledged her presence. "Hey." she greeted quietly.

Carter continued to stare at the water. "Hey."

"Do you want to talk?" she asked. She could see through his damp shirt his muscles in his body tense at the question.

"No."

"Good, then I won't be interrupted." she said, hoping to get at least a tiny smile. He didn't even flinch. "I know this is hard right now and it doesn't get any easier, but you can't keep bottling everything up inside. It's not good for you and it will ruin you as the good person I know you are." Carter stayed quiet, looking downwards. "No one blames you for anything, but you need to quit blaming yourself." She heard a hitch in his breathing, but couldn't see his face with his wet hair hanging down.

Reaching out, she placed a hand on his back. "Don't fight it, just let it go." He looked up at her and her heart broke when she saw the brightness in his eyes of unshed tears. She dropped her umbrella to embrace him as he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her shoulder. She heard his muffled sobs and they both sank to a sitting position on the pier as Carter let all of the trapped emotions of the past few days finally escape. She rocked him back and forth letting some tears escape of her own.

Carter was the first to pull away. He felt embarrassed for blubbering like a baby in front of Dana and couldn't even look at her. Dana probably thought he was weak for his break down and he kicked himself mentally for not having self control. He knew he had to say something. "I'm sorry."

When Dana heard his apology, she couldn't understand what it was for. "What are you sorry for?"

He still couldn't look at her. "For acting like a baby. You must think I'm pathetic."

If this wasn't such a serious moment she would have laughed at his comment. "Carter, look at me." she said in a firm voice with no room for him disobey. He looked up and she saw how ashamed he was. "You are the farthest thing from pathetic. You are one of the strongest people I know and…I love you for that."

Carter looked at her surprised and she gasped at what she let slip out. "Carter I…" she started, but was cut off when his lips were pressed against hers. Her eyes widened in shock. She couldn't believe what was happening; Carter was kissing her of all people. When he broke the kiss he looked at her with a questioning gaze and a small hint of apprehension, uncertain of her reaction.

She leaned forward and brushed a few strands of wet hair away from his face. Her fingers lingered on his cheek and then she kissed him back. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he circled his around her waist and pulled her close, deepening the kiss. When they pulled apart, they rested their foreheads together and were panting slightly. Carter involuntarily shivered from his wet clothes leeching away his body heat, snapping both rangers out of their thoughts.

Both stood up and Dana grabbed the umbrella as Carter put on his jacket, zipping it all the way up to the neck as he began to realize how cold he was. Dana opened up the umbrella and they both walked underneath it, even though they were soaked to the bone. As if by instinct, Carter's hand sought out Dana's and they walked hand in hand to the car. When they were seated, Dana turned to Carter. "What's going to happen when we get back to the base?"

He looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"What are we going to do about…us? We can't forget what just happened? And this completely changes things."

"Your right, we can't just forget all about this." he said thoughtfully. "But first things first, we're going back to the base and get warmed up." he said and received an unimpressed look from Dana. "Then I'm going to take you out for dinner. The rest we'll just have to wait and see what happens."

Dana smiled. "You're serious? You really want to go out? Just the two of us?"

Carter placed his hand on hers and looked straight in her cerulean eyes. "Dana trust me when I say, I've wanted to ask you out for a very long time." He then leaned forward and kissed her to reinforce his confession.

She smiled when they pulled apart and he smiled in return. She noticed it was one of his brightest smiles since this whole incident occurred. "Now, let's get back and warmed up. You must be freezing."

By the time they pulled into the garage both were shivering. Carter's quarters was closest, so he led her inside and grabbed clothes and out of his drawers for both of them. "You can change into these." he said and handed her a navy blue hooded sweatshirt which said 'Mariner Bay Fire Rescue' in bold white letters on the back, black sweatpants, and a towel.

She went to the bathroom to quickly dry off and change. When she entered the living area she could smell the beautiful aroma of hot chocolate. "The bathroom's free." she said. Carter turned around smiling and handed her a mug of hot chocolate. Then he grabbed his pajama pants and sweatshirt and went to the bathroom to change. When he came back out, Dana had a thick comforter spread out on the couch and both mugs resting on the coffee table. He sat down beside her and they wrapped the blanket around their shoulders, cuddled to together sipping the hot chocolate.

When they finished the hot chocolate, Dana could hardly keep her eyes open. She was completely content and comfortable with Carter's warm body pressed against hers. She turned to look at him and saw his eyes closed. She could feel his even breathing as he slept. She thought maybe she should leave to let him rest since the day had been not just physically tiring, but more emotionally. She went to move, but he subconsciously wrapped his arms around her, preventing her from standing. She smiled and instead of trying to leave she slowly coaxed him to stretch out on the couch. She lay beside him and brushed a wayward strand of hair away from his face as she watched him sleep. She soon let her own eyes close wishing for this moment to never end.

-:o:-PRLR-:o:-

Ryan stood at Carter's door, undecided if he should go in or give his friend privacy. He thought back on how Carter listened to him and gave him advice about his cobra tattoo. He never truly thanked him for just being there. He knew Carter needed someone to talk to and thought he could lend an ear to his good friend. He knocked on the door. "Carter?"

No one answered. Ryan didn't like that and knocked one more time. When there was no response again, he entered the red ranger's quarters. His eyes roamed the room, looking for his wayward friend. When they fell on the couch, he stopped in his tracks. He smiled at the sleeping couple and backed up out of the room to give them time alone. He then walked sown the hallway with more bounce in his step and a grin on his face.

(TBC) one chapter to go….