Of Anime, Poetry and Falling in Love: Mack and Rose

Disclaimer: Nope. I am not Saban/Disney.

Challenge: Album

Timeframe: Post Pirate in Pink.

Summary: In which Mack explains where his father went.

Mack accompanied her down to the base to lock away the pink jewel. As she wrapped it up in a piece of velvet and stuck it into the safe, something hit her.

"Mack, where's your father?"

Mack, who had been grinning as he watched Rose lovingly put the jewel away, suddenly frowned. "He likes to be alone on this day. See, he misses her and it's easier for him to be alone."

Rose looked confused. "Who does he miss so much?"

"My mom," Mack answered softly. "Today is her birthday. He went to go…pay her a visit, you might say." There was a sadness in his blue eyes that Rose hadn't seen there before, and she found herself wanting to find a way to bring some comfort to her red ranger.

"Oh," she replied, moving closer to him and putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Mack. Maybe I shouldn't have asked."

Mack shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Rosie. I don't even remember her, not really. It's just that my dad will come home all depressed and I don't really have anything to say to make him feel better…"

"That's sweet, though, that you would at least try." Rose thought for a moment. "Do you have pictures?"

He nodded. "Tons. I could show you, if you wanted to see them…" And Rose saw a glimmer of hope in his eyes, hope that maybe he'd be able to shed a little of his own sadness onto someone sp he could still be strong for his dad.

"I'd like that," she answered softly, and then Mack removed her hand from his shoulder and held it, tugging her along after him up the stairs into the main house.

He led her into his bedroom and motioned for her to sit down. She plopped down onto the red bed and watched as he shuffled through his desk drawers and found what he was looking for: a white photo album. "Here," he announced as he joined her. He pointed to a picture on the first page, and Rose peered at the photo, interested.

It was a much younger Andrew Hartford and a pretty young woman in a white dress. She was kissing him on the cheek and smearing a piece of cake all over him at the same time. Both were smiling the way actors in a toothpaste commercial did.

"Their wedding day?" Rose asked after a moment of studying the photograph. Mack bobbed his head.

"Yeah. And they were so young when they got married, not much older than us. She was only twenty-six when she died."

"She was pretty, Mack," Rose said quietly. "You have her eyes." Rose scooted a bit closer to him. She wanted to hold him close and try to let him know that she was there for him whenever he needed her but she wasn't sure if now was exactly the right time to do so.

"He misses her more than he lets on. And I know it has to be hard for him to let me go off on all the missions and wonder if I'll even come home. He doesn't want to have to miss me, too, I guess."

"Oh Mack," Rose sighed, leaning against her red ranger. "You'll be fine."

Mack turned the page to another picture of his mother. This one showed her a few years older than the wedding one. She looked exhausted, and tucked into the crook of her arms was baby Mack, only a few hours old.

"Aw. How sweet," Rose cooed. Mack managed a smile, and then he shut the photo album and slipped his arms around Rose, resting his head atop hers. She returned the embrace, secretly pleased that she was the one he shared what memories of his mother he had.