(A.N. Here we are, chapter 17 of It's Time For Time Force. This is gonna be a long one. Can I just say, bloody Alex couldn't even show any kind of concern that Steelix had been unfrozen. No freeze of the hand or stopping his typing to show any form of worry that someone who'd be seeking revenge directly on his fiancee was released. I mean come on. I'd go out on a limb and say that Wes shows more concern for Jen in any episode of Time Force than every scene with Alex combined. Or maybe I'm biased, I'll let everyone else be the judge of that. In his defence, I can understand how hard it would be to watch your fiancee slowly fall for another person – especially one that's distantly related to you – but I don't think it was helping his case either. Regardless Jen and Wes always - geez that's dorky. Also, the hug between Katie and Trip in the background when Jen goes to grab the cookies out of the oven is too cute not to mention here. Anyway, before I embarrass myself anymore with this author note, I hope you enjoy this chapter and feel free to let me know what you think :) )

Time Force Traitor

Jen and Wes were in the kitchen, making up the batter for cookies. He was stirring the contents in the mixing bowl before Jen handed him the pitcher of milk. "Thank you." He poured it in and resumed mixing before he looked up at her. "How did you guys survive in the year 3000 without any cookies?"

"Not just cookies," she shrugged, "there isn't any junk food."

He gaped at her. "Sounds like torture." To accompany his words, he ate a handful of chocolate which Jen couldn't help but smile at before they got back to preparing the mixture. "Alright, eggs please." She looked around the cluttered table and went to reach for the eggs but accidentally knocked them off the edge. They cracked open on the floor and Wes laughed in good nature while Jen groaned. "Oh, Jen."

"Darn it," she picked up the broken shells, tossing them back into the carton. "Don't worry, I'll run out and get more."

"Oh, I'll come with you." He said as they both started undoing the knot on their aprons. He offered for two reasons: the first being that it gave them more alone time together and the second being that he didn't entirely feel comfortable with her walking through the streets by herself at this time of night. Not because she couldn't handle herself, he knew she could but the protective side of him wanted to accompany her regardless.

"No, it's ok. It'll just take a minute." She reassured in an upbeat tone.

"Ok."

"You just keep stirring." She instructed as she removed the apron and grabbed her jacket, tossing it on as she walked out. He made a point to dramatise his stirring but smiled nonetheless as he watched her leave.

As it turned out, he had a right to be worried because too much time had passed and she hadn't returned, nor was she answering their calls. Trip tried one more desperate attempt. "Jen, come in."

Wes couldn't take the sitting around anymore as he ripped his apron over her head. "I'm going to look for her." No sooner than he said the words, their attention was caught by Jen stumbling into the room. "Jen!" They all ran over to her but she avoided their touch. "Are you ok?" He asked at the same time Katie asked.

"What happened?"

She pushed away from them. "Don't worry, I'm fine." She gripped her shoulder as she sat at the computer. They watched her press a few buttons before Captain Logan appeared on the screen.

"Logan here."

"Captain, Steelix has been unfrozen."

The other three rangers looked at each other with concern as Wes stood cluelessly. The captain responded. "That's very bad news, you know he'll be coming after you."

"He already found me."

Wes shook his head as he asked her. "Who's Steelix."

She ignored him, asking the captain. "I need every bit of information you have about him. Can you send Circuit his Time Force records?"

"We'll get on it right away. And Jen, he'll stop at nothing to get you."

"I know."

He nodded. "Be careful."

"I will sir."

The transmission and Wes turned to the group, his frustration hiding his desperation as he asked. "Alright, will someone please fill me in?" He walked over to Jen, asking. "Who is this Steelix?"

She only looked down, avoiding his gaze and Lucas approached him, answering. "Steelix was Jen's first partner in Time Force... but he went bad."

"Very bad." Jen added even as she struggled to stand and walked towards the group. "He started making deals with the very people we were trying to stop. He was selling top-secret information to the mutants... I was the first one to find out. When I reported it to the captain, Steelix tried to escape. Thanks to the Time Force, he didn't get very far. He was convicted and put into deep freeze containment. And that's the last time I saw him... until tonight."

Wes moved next to her and in an attempt to be optimistic, told her. "One maniac doesn't have a chance against five rangers."

"You mean four rangers," he looked at her confused, "he took my morpher." She finished, showing her empty wrist from under her sleeve.

Jen turned and walked off to the closet, grabbing a blaster from its hook and tucking it into the waistband of her skirt. She felt a hand on her shoulder – stopping her – and looked up to find Wes looking at her with a serious expression. "Hold on, where do you think you're going."

"I have no choice." She said blankly. "Look, I know Steelix, he'll do whatever it takes to draw me out even if that means hurting innocent people." She walked off determined as she added. "I cannot let that happen."

Katie looked at her sternly. "You're gonna waltz right out and meet him."

"You don't even have your morpher." Trip added.

She didn't respond and went to walk out the door but her path was blocked by Lucas who displayed a similar expression to the rest of the rangers. Wes pushed passed the other rangers to be face-to-face with his girlfriend. "We're all Time Force officers, we have to stick together." He watched as she swallowed and softened his gaze. "Do you trust me?"

She nodded softly with a sigh. "Yeah, I trust you."

He fought to keep the smile off his face as he gave a single nod. "Then here's the plan."

Unfortunately, the plan full didn't work out the way they hoped and the rangers instructed Jen that she was to stay with at least one of them but when Wes and Lucas returned to the clock tower, Jen was nowhere to be found. She'd gone off to fight her own battle... again. They had no idea where she was or if she was ok, they felt useless and overcome by worry for their teammate.

It was just lucky that Jen seemed to have reclaimed and activated her morpher so they were able to track her location to the warehouse.

"Jen, where are you?" Wes yelled as they walked in but they froze for a second as they found her collapsed on the floor. "What have you done to her?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Steelix cackled as he ran off.

"Stop!" He yelled as the rangers ran to Jen's side, watching as she demorphed. Wes collapsed on his knees beside her. "Jen!" He turned his attention to his teammates. "I'll take care of her, you guys run for Steelix." The rangers went and Wes demorphed. He placed his hand under her head to support her as he gently patted her cheek, a stark contrast to the franticness in his voice. "Jen! Jen!" When she came to, he helped her to sit up before he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to stand. His arm held firmly onto her waist as the other hand held hers. "Are you ok? Jen?"

She thrashed to pull herself away and her hands scrunched into fists. When she turned around, his eyes widened. Her eyes were red. She was under a spell. An evil smirk covered her face as she responded. "I'm fine."

"Jen?" He swallowed, fear creeping up his spine.

And before he could think, she attacked. It was probably the hardest situation he'd been in, not only was she his teammate but she was his girlfriend. He couldn't fight her and he didn't want to hurt her.

On the other hand, Jen - under the influence of the spell - had no problem with fighting Wes. She got some hard hits and he wasn't sure how much longer he was going to last.

He managed to catch her and pull her into a hug - caging her into his arms. She thrashed against him but he held strong as he struggled out. "All Time Force offers have got to stick together."

And just like that, something in Jen snapped. She stopped thrashing as she was assaulted by flashbacks and she stopped trying to fight him. When he felt this, he held her for a few more seconds - his hold becoming a hug rather than a restraint. He pulled back, keeping his hands firmly grasping her shoulders as he repeated his earlier words. "Do you trust me?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Jen fell against him and went limp. When she opened her eyes, the spell was gone and looked up at Wes. She nodded slowly as she mimicked her own words. "Yeah, I trust you." Her expression fell as she looked at him – looked at what she'd done to him – and had to swallow her guilt. She'd acknowledge and apologise for everything that she'd done later but right now, she needed to help her teammates to give Steelix a taste of his own medicine.

Wes pulled her back into a hug for a few more seconds, his arms firmly around her back as he reassured himself that she was ok and tried to take away some of the guilt that was so clearly in her eyes before he pulled back and looked at her confidently. "Now let's go take down Steelix."

And that's exactly what they did. They faced a hard battle but they managed to defeat him and he was placed back in deep freeze containment - for good, this time. She had just finished informing the captain and cut off the transmission as the oven beeped. The other four rangers shared confused looks as they watched her pull a tray of cookies from the oven. Wes walked up beside her, asking. "Hey, what's this?"

"I made them for you," Jen offered softly, "I figured it's the least I could do after - you know." She said, gesturing to her face in reference to the black eye and other assorted injuries she inflicted on her boyfriend.

"Oh yeah, I know." He responded but in good nature. "But you shouldn't have." He pulled a cookie off the tray, juggling it for a few seconds due to the heat from being pulled from the oven only moments earlier before he glanced at the other three rangers. "Hey, do you guys want some?" They immediately shook their heads, looking fidgety as they responded with 'oh no, it's ok' and he only shrugged. He took a bite and though he tried to hide it, he really couldn't as he told her. "You really shouldn't have."

She was irritated by his reaction, she was trying to do something nice for him after what happened but she immediately understood once she took a bite. The cookies were not good.

Katie seemed to recognise that they needed some time alone because she'd convinced Trip and Lucas to accompany her to something - some activity that Wes and Jen hadn't been paying attention to when she told them. Seeing how disheartened she'd been when her cookies hadn't turned out and the others had been so quick to refuse them, Wes suggested that they try making another batch, for two reasons. One: because they never ended up finishing the cookies they'd started making the previous night and two: as a little payback to Lucas, Trip and Katie for not believing in her. 'No one's perfect on their first try' he said, 'but if anyone's going to be, it's Jen Scotts.' She rolled her eyes at the cheesy line but couldn't help but smile at him anyway.

As he stood there making the dough and instructing her on each step, she couldn't help her mind wandering. She didn't want to admit it but she was subconsciously comparing Alex and Wes and though it felt selfish to say, the man in front of her was making her question everything she'd had with her fiancee. Though they looked the same, that was where the similarities stopped. Where Alex was serious with a laser focus, Wes was determined but fun-loving. Where Alex was stoic and often unreadable, Wes wore his heart on his sleeve. Alex was by the book regardless of the consequences but Wes was willing to break the rules if it meant doing the right thing. Alex could come across cold and distant no matter how long you'd known him for but Wes wasn't afraid to show how he felt and his actions showed how much you meant to him. Where Alex had built Jen up to be strong and able to face anything, Wes had taught her not to hide behind her tough exterior and she learned that it was ok to be vulnerable around those she trusted - that didn't make her weak, in fact, it made her the opposite.

Jen knew that she'd loved Alex but that comparison scared her because she knew how much she already cared for Wes. How could he make her feel things in the few short months they'd known each other that Alex hadn't in the years they'd been together. If her love for Alex was any indication, she was scared of how strongly and how deeply she would grow to feel for the man in front of her. And when – not if but when – it happened, how was she meant to turn it all off once they left?

She offered Wes a small smile when he grinned at her but she couldn't match his upbeat energy, her previous thoughts putting a dampener on her good mood. Because though she wanted to ignore it, she knew they couldn't - it was coming whether they liked it or not. And considering that they'd recaptured a fair chunk of the mutants that Ransik had released, Jen assumed that that day was going to come sooner than they thought.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Wes put the tray in the oven and turned to her. "Now we wait thirty minutes and we'll have cookies."

She faked a smile as she told him. "Terrific, can't wait."

He looked at her cautiously as he moved back towards her, his hand moving to rest on her hips. "You said it was terrific when I was gonna go on a date with Angelique... why do I get the feeling you only say that when something's wrong?" She only shrugged in response and she felt his hold on her tighten. A yelp almost escaped her throat as Wes lifted her up and set her on the bench, moving to stand between her legs. His arm wrapped around her back, fingers interlocked together as he looked up at her, worry shining in his eyes. "What's wrong Sweetheart?"

He was an empath when it came to her and at this moment, she couldn't decide whether she loved it or hated it. She also couldn't help the feelings she had at both his arms around her and the use of the endearment. She and Alex had never used them – he thought pet names were corny and immature – and until this point, she had too but the butterflies in her stomach were making her re-evaluate that decision. Not wanting to burden him or worry him with her thoughts, she looked for something to use as an excuse but as she looked up at him, she didn't need one. Her guilt resurfaced in full force as she looked at him. Her hands came up to cup his cheeks, her left thumb grazing the black eye she'd given him. She leaned forward to kiss the injury, her lips barely brushing the skin before she pulled back to find the angry reddish-purple bruise glaring back at her. Her hands slid down to his shoulders and she could barely look him in the eye as she sighed. "I'm so sorry Wes."

"Don't be, Jen." His thumb and index finger gently tipped her chin up, forcing her to meet his gaze. "It's not your fault. Steelix put you under a spell and you weren't yourself. I don't blame you and I don't want you to blame yourself either." His thumb rubbed over her cheek as he added. "I don't want you to beat yourself up over it, ok?" She nodded hesitantly but he could still see her indecision. "You're here, you're safe and we're all ok so everything's fine."

"If you're sure."

"I'm positive." He said, kissing her forehead. "Now, we do need to talk about a few things though... When we came up against Dash, I asked you if there was anyone you thought might want revenge against you. Why didn't you tell me about Steelix? Did you think of him when I asked you?"

Jen nodded. "He did spring to mind when you asked me, but so did a lot of other mutants. I didn't think there was a point of telling you because I didn't want you to worry. We could've faced none of them or we could face all of them but what's the point of stressing ourselves out over them until the threat actually comes into fruition."

"I can appreciate that, just promise me that you'll fill me in on everything if another mutant is after you?"

"I promise."

He nodded before he sighed. "Now, we agreed that we'd stick together today and you weren't gonna go after Steelix on your own. Why did you go after him by yourself?"

"Because it was the only way."

"No it wasn't Jen, we had a plan."

"He knew what we were planning!" She said in exasperation before softening. "I didn't tell you guys the whole truth. That box he set up, it said that he knew it was a trap and he told me to meet him at the old warehouse by myself. It was the only way I could get him to show. I had to do it."

Wes stepped closer to her, tightening his hold. "You could've told us and we could've tried again, there's always another way. We could've set him up and stayed one step ahead to capture him, it would've saved a lot of hurt." She looked down and he tipped up her chin, realising how she would've taken the words. "I'm not talking about me, Sweetheart, I don't care about any of that. I'm talking about this." He said as he traced over the cuts on her face.

She leaned into his touch as she told him. "It's fine, they're not that bad especially compared to yours."

"That's not the point, Jen. Do you know how worried I was? Do you know scared I felt when we couldn't find you and had no idea where you were? You had no morpher and no way for us to contact you, what if something happened? What if you got badly hurt or kidnapped and we had no way to find you? You fought well and you got your morpher back, and I'm glad for that. I don't doubt your abilities, Jen, I know you can handle yourself and I have full faith in you but God..." he shook his head as he exhaled. "I don't think I've been more scared in my life than when you were gone. Please never run off like that again. Talk to us, let us in or at least tell us where you're going and what your plan is. Just please don't do this again."

Tears filled her eyes and she swallowed hard. "I'm sorry."

Wes pulled her into a tight hug, the girl falling into his embrace, gripping him tightly. One hand splayed across her back and the other cradled the back of her head as he kissed her temple. "You don't have to be sorry Sweetheart, that's not why I'm saying this. I'm only telling you this because of how much I care about you - how much we all do. I never want to face the chance of losing you, especially if there's a chance that I can prevent it."

"But Steelix was my partner," she said quietly as she pulled away to look at him, "and he wanted revenge on me. It was my job to bring him in, he was my problem to deal with."

Wes's hands moved to grip her shoulders as he told her. "We're a team, Jen, and we're together now. Your problems are mine too. If someone's after you and wanting revenge, I want to be right there fighting beside you. We all do."

"Ok."

"Ok?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "you're right, we're a team and we should be fighting these battles together. Going off on my own will just drive a wedge between me and you guys, and I don't want to do that... And besides, this conversation was a lot more civil than I expected it to be."

Wes sighed once more. "We've had this conversation, Sweetheart, we both may lose our cool sometimes and get frustrated but at the end of it all, when we're sorting out any issues, I'll listen to your side, you'll listen to mine and we'll have a civil mature conversation about it all. This isn't a fight, it isn't you against me, it's you and me against the problem."

"I like that."

He smiled in response before he added. "I can't speak for Katie, though, you'll probably get an earful from her later on." Jen groaned and let her head fall to his chest, making him chuckle. "She's so sweet though, I can't imagine her going off."

The pink ranger shook her head. "She's a sweetheart but she gives it to me when she needs to... which I'm glad for. I'd never want to be someone my team is afraid of speaking up to. I have my lapse in judgement and I make mistakes, I want my team to be able to call me out when they need to. I never want to be a leader that my team is afraid of and make them feel like they can't speak up or question me."

A small radar went off in his head at her last sentence but the oven dinging interrupted their conversation. As he took the cookies out of the oven, he decided to let it go for the night. He could approach that conversation another time but Jen had opened up a lot tonight, and for now, that was more than enough. He set the tray down to cool before he returned to his previous position, Jen's arms looping around his neck as he declared. "We'll let them cool for a bit and then when the others get back, we'll show them." She only laughed in response and he mirrored her expression before he softened it. "And to address what you said before, you don't have to question your leadership. You're a fantastic leader and I like to think we make pretty good co-leaders."

She smiled as her fingers played with the back of his hair. "I think so too."

Silence encompassed them and Wes got that intense look in his eyes once more. Jen always seemed to be so put together, so in control of everything but in that moment, under his heated gaze, she felt as though she'd melt. Shallow breaths escaped her, the rise and fall of her chest visible through her shirt as he leaned his forehead against hers, whispering. "I can't believe it..."

"What?" She asked, just as quietly.

"That you're mine."

In any normal circumstance, she'd roll her eyes and nudge him in the shoulder before telling him he was cheesy but she couldn't do that. The feeling of his fingers tracing random designs on her back that showed beneath her shirt stopped any sarcastic retort she could think of so she didn't. She simply leaned forward to brush her lips against him. The hand that wasn't on her back moved up to her neck, gently holding her in place as he returned the gesture. And that brush of lips turned into something more. Gone was the soft tenderness they'd shared with each other throughout the evening, it was now replaced with all the emotions and desperation they'd felt that day. He pulled her flush against him, her chest colliding with his and it was almost as if he feared she would slip between his fingers if there was even an inch between them.

Their moment was cut short, however, as the downstairs door opened and they ripped apart from each other. The rangers' timing was probably for the best, otherwise, the desperate kisses and touches would've most likely led to something neither of the rangers were entirely sure they were ready for. Wes helped Jen down from the bench, looking at each other bashfully, feeling like two teenagers who'd just gotten caught. They straightened their clothes in time to look presentable as their friends walked through the door. The two boys seemed oblivious and they'd have assumed they'd gotten away with it without being caught, until Katie smirked at them with a sly wink, making them both blush and avoid her gaze.