Yeah, so…I know I should update my other fic, but I've been wanting to write a standalone for a while now. I'm usually much better at one-shots. This one, however, is all over the place, but I was pulling it off as I went. It doesn't really have a plot; it's just Rose musing with a bit of Mack at the end.

This takes place sometime after Kick into Overdrive, but still relatively early into the series.

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"Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true." – Leon Joseph Cardinal Suenens

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Safety in Numbers

Rose was feigning sleep.

It was something she enjoyed doing, actually. When the group was together and just chatting or hanging out in the game room, she would lie down on the couch and close her eyes.

It was interesting to hear them all interact from an outsider's perspective. They were a loud group, and she was generally quiet in nature. She had her obnoxious moments just like anyone else, but she usually preferred solitude.

Usually.

She was part of the group, but sometimes she liked to detach herself. When she was on the outside looking in, it made her appreciate her spot on the team even more. It must have been some insane luck that brought her into the spotlight for Andrew Hartford to find. She loved every single minute with the friends she had made.

Constant companionship wasn't something she was wholly used to yet. It was the main reason she liked to sit on the sidelines, or find a small corner to read and be away from everyone. She spent most of her childhood shying away from others and focusing her all on schoolwork. She never really understood how the two concepts could coexist. Work was work and play was play. She distinguished the two and tore a line right through them, not letting one mingle with the other.

Becoming a ranger was one of the biggest life lessons she had ever gone through. She had loosened up considerably, integrating herself into their games and activities. If she didn't want to join, they understood, and would leave her alone. It was something so trivial, but she appreciated it more than anything else.

Times like now, she would join in but stay off to the side, listening to her team and trying not to smile while she pretended to be in dreamland. She liked this best. She was still in the mix of everything, but at the same time she had a corner of her mind to escape to if she felt too confined.

They were always close by if she needed to reach out.

Social situations were one of the very few things she didn't have a knowledgeable grasp on. She knew how they worked in theory, but when it came down to actually applying that theory she was totally and utterly lost. She blamed it on her upbringing, but she now had a chance to break free of her isolated habits and have a life with people she had learned to call family.

They were all very special to her. She was in their debt and they didn't even realize it. She had flings and friendships in the past, but none of them were worth remembering and all were short-lived. Now, she would lay her life on the line for any of her team and wouldn't blink twice about it.

It was scary, but it wasn't something she would give up for the world.

A sudden dip in the couch behind her head knocked Rose out of her reverie, but she managed to keep up her illusion of sleep. A finger began incessantly poking her forehead, but she just ground her teeth together and kept her eyes closed.

A low laugh made its way to hear ears and she almost grinned. Voices she had been listening to moments earlier were still loud and abrasive, and the tone of conversation hadn't changed. The only thing different was the new itchy spot on her forehead.

"I know you're not asleep, Rose." She could hear the small amount of laughter in the voice, and fought the urge to roll her eyes. The grin she had been fighting made its way to her face as the familiar voice sunk in.

"Hi Mack." Her eyes remained closed; she wanted to soak in the moment with the rest of her senses.

The smile hadn't left his voice, but it became a bit concerned. "Why aren't you joining in with the rest of us?"

She scrunched her eyebrows together, and his hand reached down to her forehead to drag his thumb across the still-itchy spot. She sighed. "Because you're all loud enough without me."

"We're going to go play a board game or something. C'mon, I'll promise to punch Dax in the ribs if does another banshee impression."

Her instincts told her to say no; she was enjoying her solitude. But once she opened her eyes and looked into his bright blue ones, she felt her slight apprehension melt away. He stood up and grabbed her hand, helping her to her feet before dragging her off into the other room. She smiled.

Some chances were worth taking.