A Ranger Retreat

by A Warrior's Prophet

Eric Myers has planned a surprise weekend get-away for his lover’s birthday. What does he have in store for Tommy and could it be that Tommy has a surprise for Eric? SLASH, Adult situations and language.

3. Masters of Mayhem

A Ranger Retreat

By

A Warrior's Prophet

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Authors' Notes: Again, we apologize for taking so long between chapters. Life, ya know…

Chapter 3— Masters of Mayhem

Eric tipped the room service waiter and shut the door behind the man, and then went over and joined his lover at the table. After making himself a plate off of the cart, he took a seat. "So what do you want to do today?"

Tom put down his juice glass after taking a long sip. "Man, that's good...fresh squeezed. Umm, as far as today goes...I don't know. You're the tour guide," he said with a grin.

"Well, we've got a couple of choices." He took a drink of his own juice. "That is good." He grinned back at his boyfriend. "We can go cross-country skiing."

"You ever done that?" the former commander asked, putting sausage links and eggs on his plate, "Cause I haven't..."

"No, but it could be fun. Slow, but fun." He chuckled softly. "Another option is to go snowmobiling."

A slow grin started in the corners of Tommy's mouth and quickly spread across his face. Looking up and meeting Eric's eyes, they said in unison while nodding, "Snowmobiling!"

Taking a seat at the table, still laughing, Tom looked at Eric while he picked up his fork. "Did you pack something appropriate for us?"

"Well, you didn't really have a lot of cold weather gear. So, I think a stop at the lodge's store will be necessary first."

"True. I'm a beach boy-never really had much use for snow gear. I'm sure you're well-equipped, huh?"

"Well, I wasn't, but since I did know where we were going, I bought a few things. Guess I thought you'd have more until I actually started packing your bag." He grinned. "But yeah, you're definitely a beach boy. Well, except you don't have blonde hair."

Tommy gave him an odd look. "Can you imagine what a freak I would look like with blonde hair? Ugh," he said with a shiver.

Eric laughed softly. "You might be right about that. Although, I think you'd look good in a wet suit with a board under your arm."

Replacing his coffee cup in its saucer, Tommy said nonchalantly, "I do, actually."

"Have to see that for myself. Get a picture of it." He grinned and started eating again.

"Sure...next time we're at the beach. I'd like to get a picture of you on one of David's stallions...shirtless...bareback...in the surf. Whatcha think?" he asked with a wink.

"I think you might have to teach me how to ride a horse first. It's one of the few things I've never done."

"Not a problem. Between me and David, I'm sure we can work that out."

"Then I say that it's a date." He grinned and winked at the other man.

"Nice. So...what do you think I might need to buy at the lodge's shop?"

"Well, your jeans are fine, but you might want some thermals to go under them. I'll probably get a pair of those myself. And if you don't want to use your hiking boots, we can get you a pair of boots. You'll definitely want some warmer socks."

"Alright. Umm, have you ever ridden a snowmobile?"

"Couple of times in the Rangers. We had to learn as part of our winter survival training."

Tommy nodded. "Anything like riding a wave runner?"

"Yeah, a lot like that just heavier. We'll get a short intro course once we get to the rental place."

"Good," he laughed. "Don't wanna embarrass myself."

"I don't think that'll happen." He finished eating and set his plate aside. "So once you're done, we'll get dressed and visit the shop."

"Deal." After breakfast was finished and they'd gotten dressed, the boys made their way up to the main lodge to see about acquiring some cold weather clothes.

Eric chuckled softly at a pair of red wool long johns, complete with butt flap. "As cute as these are, I just don't see you in them."

"If they had feet, they'd look like something I had when I was five!" Tommy laughed. "But no, I think these would work better," he said, holding up a pair of silk blend, thin thermals that would fit nicely under his close-fitting jeans.

Walking over, Eric looked at the thermals, and then nodded. "Yeah, those will work well." He picked a pair for himself as well. "So, socks and then we'll look at a pair of boots for you."

"Great, let's go look," he said, heading over to the footwear section of the shop. After glancing around for a few minutes, he frowned and looked at Eric. "Man, these things are expensive..."

"Better the expense be here than the medical bills necessary to treat frostbite."

"Okay, true that," Tommy said and turned back to the row of boots on the wall. Picking up one he liked, he showed it to his partner. "How 'bout these? I know nothing about snow boots-they look good, though," he grinned.

Chuckling softly, Eric shook his head. "Those are more for skiing or snowboarding." He walked over a bit and pointed to a section that had less clunky looking boots to choose from. "Any of these will work fine with the right socks."

Looking down the wall, the former Ranger Commander chose a black and grey pair that he found attractive. "These'll work? Even with thick socks?"

"Yeah, you just get them a half size bigger than what you need unless they already feel big in your regular size. Otherwise your toes get cramped. You also won't tighten the laces as much as you normally would."

"Alright," he said and turned to the sales girl who had come over to help. "Can I try these in a size-11, please?" he asked with a smile.

She nodded. "I'll be back in just a minute." With a grin, she disappeared into the back to get the appropriate size.

Eric walked over to a selection of socks and picked out 2 pairs. He brought them back and handed one to his boyfriend. "Try these on with the shoes."

After the boots had been chosen and everything paid for, they made their way back toward their cabin to change. "Okay Myers, I just spent $180 on a pair of winter boots...you have to promise me that I'll get to wear them more than once!" Tommy grinned.

The Guardian Commander chuckled softly. "I promise you'll get more use out of them than this one time."

After changing their clothes to add the thermals, heavy socks and put their boots on, both men grinned at each other. "So," Eric started, "Ready to go for a ride?"

"Oh yeah, I'm really excited about it-just hope I don't crash and burn," Tom said with a grin, zipping up his coat.

"Well, even if you do, as long as you don't hit a tree, the landing will be soft." He grinned and walked over to the former White Ranger. "Then I'll kiss any owies and make them better."

A laugh burst forth from him before he could stop it. "Awww... pwwomise?" Tommy answered in his best five-year old voice, looking up at his boyfriend.

Laughing softly, Eric leaned in and kissed the other man. "Pwomise."

"Okay then, let's go. Are we leaving from the main lodge?" he asked, opening the door of the cabin.

"Yeah, there should be a shuttle bus that takes us over to the rental place. Then it'll be back for us later this afternoon."

"And you've already got it arranged, I'm guessing."

The Quantum Ranger nodded. "I told them to hold reservations for us for both the cross-country skiing and the snowmobiling. That way we had spaces in both. While you were trying on your boots, I talked with the concierge and told him our choice." He grinned. "We'll even have an afternoon snack on the shuttle bus for us when it picks us up."

"You're spoiling me, Bear. How am I gonna go home to my lonely house and tired old job after living like this for a weekend?" he asked with a grin.

"Well, just remember that once you're out of that lonely old house and tired old job, you'll be living with me in a very active job that I think you'll really like and we'll be able to do stuff like this more often."

Tommy couldn't help but smile. He slipped an arm around Eric's waist as they walked. "That is such a nice thought...I just can't tell you how nice..." He leaned over and placed a soft kiss on his partner's temple.

"I'm glad you liked it because it'll be the truth in a few months." He sighed softly. "And I can't wait for it."

"Me either. It'll be great to be together every day." He paused as they reached the main lodge and went inside. The aromas coming from one of the restaurants reminded Tommy of something. "So, who gets to cook?" he added with a laugh, knowing that neither of them were very good at it.

"Guess we'll be learning. Either that or we'll have to get one of those services that does the cooking for you." He chuckled softly. "Maybe talk Rocky into some cooking lessons."

"Not a bad idea...Rocky is an awfully good cook. Have you ever tried his lasagna? Man..." Tom licked his lips just from the memory. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind helping us out some. It'd give him a chance to hang out in Silver Hills with Adam, after all."

"True." He grinned as they reached the shuttle van and nodded to the driver. "You ready to do this, Falcon?"

"You know it! Let's go!" the former ranger commander said with an excited smile as he climbed into the van.

Nodding at the driver, Eric slid in beside his boyfriend. "All right then, let's get this show on the road."

-o-O-o-

Driving through the winding, narrow roads so high up in the mountains, Tommy found himself mesmerized by the passing scenery. The drive from the lodge to the rental shop was at least twenty minutes and he sat back and took everything in.

Sitting beside the legendary ranger, Eric remained silent. He knew that his lover was enjoying the view and was happy to let the man that held his heart make as many memories as he wanted.

Once the van had descended the mountain a ways, the land became more level and open. There were fields and forests on both sides of the road. Tommy thought that it looked like it could be farmland in the warmer months of the year. Several minutes later, they arrived at a large building that resembled a huge log cabin.

"Here we are, gentlemen," the driver said, turning and giving them a smile. Just call when you're ready to be picked up, okay?" He handed a card to Eric as they got out of the van.

"See you at 4." Getting out, the Quantum Ranger looked over at his partner, grinning. "Ready to go tear up some of this beautiful snow?"

"Absolutely. Fine time to ask, but did you bring your camera?" he responded with a grin as they made their way to the front door of the shop.

Patting one of his pockets, the other man nodded. "Wasn't going to forget it."

They walked inside and while Eric took care of business with the attendant, Tommy stood beside his boyfriend, looking around. 'Wow, this is a big operation,' he thought.

Coming back over with one of the staff, Eric grinned at Tommy. "Tom, this is Carl. He's gonna show us to our snowmobiles and give us some instruction on them."

He looked up and grinned. "Good, cause this beach boy doesn't have much experience on snow," he laughed. "Lead on."

Carl laughed lightly. "Don't worry. We have trails that you can follow using GPS devices on the machines themselves. Plus, there are radios on board that will reach us back here no matter where you are on the trails." He led them out back and showed them to two machines: one red and one black. "These are the ones you'll be using and the GPS is preset for one of the more scenic, flatter trails."

"Very nice," Tom smiled, looking over at Eric. "I'm assuming the black one is mine, Red," he laughed.

Rolling his eyes, he laughed. "Yeah, think that one fits you a bit better." He shook his head and chuckled softly before taking a seat on the red one.

Tommy seated himself on the big machine and got comfortable. Before Carl started giving them instructions, the former commander leaned over so that Eric could hear him clearly. "Just so you remember who was Red first, Bucko."

Grinning wickedly, the Quantum Ranger met the dark, chocolate eyes. "Yeah, but who's still wearing it?" He winked and then turned his attention to Carl.

Mouthing the word 'bitch', Tommy, too, turned his attention to the man who was going to hopefully keep them from breaking their necks. 'He'll pay for that later-just wait,' he thought, wearing an evil grin.

Carl nodded as both men demonstrated how to start and stop the machines, plus all the gears. They'd also been shown how to make turns and dig themselves out of soft snow. With their short intro course complete, he shot them both a grin. "All right guys, you're all set. Just remember to turn your GPS units on before you start out from here so that they can calibrate to your trail."

"You got it," the former Green Ranger said, smiling over at his partner. He reached up to turn on the GPS unit and make sure the chinstrap on his helmet was snug. "Let's go!" he said, starting out slowly and heading toward the trail.

Waving at their instructor, Eric did the same and followed his partner out into the vast expanse of snow covered fields.

After about 15 minutes, Eric pulled up beside his boyfriend and signaled him to stop. When they were both at a standstill, he grinned. "Want to get some shots from here." He unzipped his jacket pocket and started pulling his camera out.

"It sure is beautiful out here...like a postcard. We've definitely gotta come back up here sometime," he said, still gazing out at the picturesque landscape.

"They offer horseback riding and fly fishing during the summer." He took several shots, including one of his lover gazing out into the distance from the back of the snowmobile.

"So how about we plan a trip back up here in the summer to celebrate us moving in together?" He stopped and laughed. "Sorta like a honeymoon, I guess."

"We can do that. Use it as a sort of vacation from moving in and getting everything settled before we toss you into the mix as an instructor."

"Sounds like a plan. Now, how about we tear up some more of this trail?" he asked, pulling the visor back down over his eyes.

Putting the camera back, the Guardian Commander rolled his eyes, and then pulled his goggles back into position. "Okay then, let's go."

The next part of the trail took them through a wooded area. Tommy was very careful to steer clear of the trees and bushes along the way. No wildlife could be seen along the trail-probably scared off by the sound of the engines, he thought. Once they'd cleared the trees, he pulled over and let Eric pull up beside him. "According to the GPS, this is about halfway. Wanna lead for the last half?"

"Sure, but let's get a few shots from here as well." He grinned. "I'm sure this will all be really beautiful this summer as well."

"Oh yeah, absolutely. One thing though...I'm gonna have to take you out to the res a couple of times before then so that David and I can teach you to ride."

He blushed slightly. "Yeah, wouldn't do for me to look like a total beginner when we come back out here."

"Well no, but the point is to keep you from getting hurt. Horses can be tricky, ya know. Mind of their own and all that..."

He raised an eyebrow. "Kind of like Technicolor rangers?"

Now it was Tommy's turn to roll his eyes. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. But no more so than Silver Guardian Commanders who still like to run around in red spandex." He punctuated that by sticking his tongue out at his lover and chuckling.

Shaking his head, Eric shook a finger at his lover. "Keep it up and I'll give you a face washing in the snow."

"Promises, promises..." Tom said, putting his visor back on. He motioned for them to head on and he let Eric go in front this time. Not too much further down the trail-only about ten minutes-the Quantum Ranger tried to take a curve a little too fast and ended up tipping the snowmobile over, throwing him into the snow. "Oh shit!" Tom exclaimed, quickly coming to a stop and vaulting from his machine to go and see about his boyfriend. "Eric! Are you okay?"

Sighing softly, the older man removed his helmet and goggles, lying in the snow. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thought I had that turn."

Tommy had come to a stop over the top of the Quantum Ranger. "You sure? Nothing hurts?" he asked, still plenty concerned for his lover.

"I'm a little cold, so asking me that right now probably isn't a good time." He held his arm up. "Help me up."

"Okay, here we go," he said, taking hold of Eric's arm and starting to pull. Unbeknownst to him though, he was standing on ice that was only lightly covered with powdery snow. As he shifted his weight to pull, his foot slipped on the ice and Tommy went crashing down on top of Eric, his elbow landing in the vicinity of the man's right eye.

"Shit!" Groaning, the Guardian Commander's hand flew to his eye. He didn't say anything for several moments. Raising his head slightly, he looked through his left eye at Tommy. "You okay?"

A sharp pain radiated through the wrist that Tommy had fallen on, trying to catch himself. He rolled the rest of the way off of Eric and held the painful appendage to his chest. "Think I messed up my wrist," he groaned.

Sitting up, Eric pulled his legs in a bit and turned to face his lover. "Let me see it." He wasn't a paramedic or anything, but he knew enough to be able to tell if something was sprained or broken. Taking careful hold of his boyfriend's wrist, he gently examined it. "Don't think it's broken, but it's definitely sprained."

Tommy winced again. "Great. How am I supposed to steer that snowmobile back to the shop with a bum wrist?"

"How about we use the radio to call back and tell them what happened? Or we can double back on mine and they can use the GPS to come back for the other one."

Tommy considered this for a moment while gently rubbing his wrist. "I think I'll ride back with you-we're more than halfway back anyway. They can come and pick up mine."

Nodding, the Quantum Ranger pulled a bandana from his pocket. "Here, it's not a lot, but it'll support your wrist a bit for the ride back." Taking hold of the injured limb once again, he wrapped the bandana around Tom's wrist, crossing it once over his palm. "All right, let's get back."

Just then, Tommy, who had been concentrating solely on his own injury, looked up into Eric's face and saw where his elbow had connected. "Oh baby...your eye. I'm so sorry," he apologized and touched Eric's cheek gently with his good hand. "Does it hurt much?"

"A little. Least it's stopped tearing up on me." He leaned in and kissed Tommy softly. "Come on, when we get back to the cabin we can pamper each other a bit."

"Okay...this is embarrassing," he groaned as Eric helped him up. He continued to cradle his arm while his partner brushed the snow off the both of them. "Hope we can get back to the shop without anything else happening."

"We'll take it slow and easy on the way back." He put his helmet and goggles back on after helping Tommy with his, and then righted his snowmobile and climbed on, scooting forward so that his partner could join him.

Tommy climbed onto the back of Eric's machine and gingerly wrapped his bad arm around his partner who carefully slipped Tommy's hand into the pocket of his jacket. "I'll hang on as tightly as I can, just don't go too fast."

"I don't plan on it." He hadn't said anything yet, but the fall had started his back to hurting again. Starting the machine, he headed slowly back to the rental place.

Once they arrived, they both slowly climbed off the red snowmobile and Eric helped Tommy get his helmet off after removing his own. Carl came trotting over almost immediately. "What happened? Did the other one quit on ya?"

Eric shook his head. "No, I took a turn too fast and flipped it. Then Tommy slipped trying to help me up and hurt his wrist."

"Damn ice," the former White Ranger grumbled, cradling his arm. That wrist was really beginning to swell and hurt by this time.

"You guys okay?" Carl asked, noticing Tommy's arm and Eric's eye.

"We will be. The ski patrol base back at the lodge has a small clinic. Figure we can get his wrist checked out there. Right now, I think things just look worse than they are." He blushed slightly. "But we wouldn't say 'no' to a couple of ice packs."

"Sorry about having to leave the other snowmobile out on the trail. I just couldn't steer it with this wrist," Tommy said, shaking his head.

"Oh please, don't worry about that. We'll run right out there and get it. You guys just get yourselves taken care of. Head right in the back door here and ask for my wife, Janey-she'll fix you right up," Carl said.

"Appreciate it, Carl." Eric put his arm around Tom's waist and led him towards the door.

Inside the back of the shop, the boys found Janey and she got some ice packs for them. She even put some bruise cream on Eric's eye for him. "Not to worry, fellas-I've seen much, much worse," she said with a motherly smile.

The Guardian Commander grinned. "Thanks Janey." He used the Ace wrap she'd given him to wrap Tommy's wrist, and then handed him the ice pack.

"What time is it? Shouldn't the driver from the lodge be here soon?" Tommy asked, looking like he was in need of something for pain.

Checking his watch, Eric nodded. "Yeah, he should be here any minute." He raised an eyebrow. "How bad is it hurting you?"

"It's stinging pretty good. I'll be okay, though-might need a pain killer or two for later. Things always hurt more at night," he said, holding the ice pack in place. "How's your eye feeling?" he asked, blushing slightly.

"It's not hurting that bad." He looked over at Janey. "Have any Tylenol?"

"Sure do, Sweetie. Gimme just a second," she said, heading into the office and coming back a minute later with a bottle. "Here ya go," and with that she shook two capsules out into Eric's hand. "Do you need some too, Honey?" she asked Tommy.

"No ma'am-I think I need something stronger. I'm sure I'll get all fixed up as soon as we get back to the lodge. Thank you, though."

Eric shook his head. "Take a couple, Tom. No matter what they give you back at the lodge, it won't hurt them to mix and it'll take the edge off." He took the capsules she handed him with a drink of water from the bottle she had given him earlier.

"Yes sir," he said, holding out his hand to Janey. "Bossman says I need 'em," he said, trying to grin a little.

"It'll help in the long run, Tommy." He grinned. "Besides, I tried to refuse the other day and Jason about jumped my tail across the compound and back."

"He'll do that...you'll soon learn him and his mother hen ways," Tom responded.

"So I'm seeing." He chuckled softly. After Janey had handed his stubborn lover a couple of the pills and the former Green Ranger had chased them with some water, they thanked her again and headed out to meet the van driver. "You really feel okay other than your wrist?"

"Yeah, as far as I can tell right now. Probably get achy tonight, though." He paused and watched Eric for a moment. "How are you...really?"

He sighed softly. "Think I twisted a bit when I landed, so it didn't help my back any. Other than that and my eye hurting a bit, I'm okay."

"Damn...and I can't even give you a massage because of this freakin' wrist. Maybe we can get the masseur back down to help you out."

"Maybe, but I'm really looking forward to sitting in the hot tub for a bit first. Then let the masseur work."

"Okay, hot tub it is. Right after I get this checked out," Tommy responded, indicating his wrapped wrist. "You said there was a ski patrol station nearby? They can look at my wrist?"

"The lodge has a ski patrol base not even a half mile away. They have a fully staffed clinic there." Eric looked into his boyfriend's eyes. "And we both get checked out before the hot tub, okay? I want to make sure neither one of us are hurt worse than we think."

"Deal," he said, nodding. "Here comes the van." Then he sighed and mumbled, "So embarrassing."

"It could be worse." He chuckled softly. "We could have gone snowboarding and broke a leg amongst all those young kids."

"Aww man," he groaned, shaking his head. "Let's just get back to the lodge with the other 'old folks'," he remarked with a half-hearted chuckle.

Opening the door, Eric helped the other man inside the van, and then joined him. He grinned when the driver handed him a small picnic basket. "Thank you." He looked over at Tommy. "Ready for a small snack?"

"Yeah, I suppose so. A little food might help me feel better."

"Well, it's not so much food." He opened the basket and pulled out a thermos plus two small bags. "Swiss hot chocolate and warm chocolate chip cookies with white chocolate chunks and macadamia nuts."

"Mmmm, looks like food to me," Tommy responded, his eyes brightening.

The Quantum Ranger chuckled softly. "That's the chocoholic speaking." He looked at the driver. "Can we stop at the ski patrol base? Need to visit the clinic."

"Absolutely, you fellas okay?" he asked and then noticed Eric's eye and Tommy's arm. "On my way," he said, putting the van in gear and heading out of the parking lot.

"For the most part we are." Opening the thermos, Eric pulled one of the travel mugs out of the basket and poured some of the hot beverage into it before handing it to Tommy. "Here. Maybe with something in your stomach, whatever they give you won't make you sick."

"That's a happy thought...thanks," he said, shooting Eric an odd look. "I'm sure I'll be fine-I tolerate pain killers pretty well."

He snorted. "Glad one of us does. Tylenol, stuff like that, I'm fine with. Get much stronger than that, depending on what it is and not so much."

"Oh...you mean like you can't hold your liquor," Tommy chuckled, remembering the last time they got drunk together. "You're a lightweight, you know that?"

Blushing slightly, he couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, like that." He sighed softly and poured the rest of the cocoa into his own mug, and then held one of the cookie bags out to the other man. "Cookie?"

"Thanks," Tommy said, taking one of the large, gourmet treats and immediately taking a large bite. "Mmmm...that's really good."

"Yeah, Adam passed some of them out when he got back with Jason. Figured you'd like it given your sweet tooth." He winked at him and took a cookie for himself.

"You know it," he mumbled, his mouth half full of cookie. "What's for lunch?"

"You mean dinner? Or are you that hungry?"

"I'm pretty hungry, yeah. That breakfast we had is long gone," he said, taking another sip of his hot chocolate.

"Okay, so we can have a light lunch or one of their appetizer samplers while we enjoy the hot tub?"

"That'll definitely work. But seriously, what's for dinner?" the former ranger commander asked again, beginning to feel a little better.

"Well, we try the other, less formal restaurant in the lodge or we can get room service and eat in the cabin." He leaned over and whispered in his lover's ear in a warm, sultry voice. "And we can eat in whatever we want."

Tommy gave a low chuckle. "I like that idea. Besides, not sure how we're gonna feel later on anyway. Maybe we can try that other restaurant tomorrow."

"Maybe." He shifted a bit closer to his boyfriend and put an arm around his shoulder. "I'm sorry you got hurt."

"Oh, I'll be fine. I don't think it's all that bad." He looked up into Eric's face. "Sorry about your eye, Bear."

"My eye will heal." He grinned. "Can always tell them that I got it defending your honor."

In spite of the pain he was still in, Tom couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Oh? And just how would that happen, pray tell."

"I don't know. Maybe 'gray suit' tried to put the moves on you."

"And my big, intimidating boyfriend had to puff out his chest and take care of things, huh? Don't know if Jase, Adam, and Wes will buy that."

He grinned. "We'll see." As the van came to a stop in front of the ski patrol base, he put their empty mugs back into the basket before turning to the driver. "Should we just call when we're done?"

"Yeah, that'll be fine. We can be here in just a few minutes to pick you up. Hope everything's alright-they'll take good care of you in there."

"Thank you," Tommy said, shifting over to get out. "Come on, O' Chivalrous One," he added in his partner's direction.

Eric grinned and followed him out the door. Once inside the clinic, they approached the desk. "Hi, um..." He blushed a bit then chuckled softly. "We had a bit of an accident with our snowmobiles."

The man running the desk chuckled softly. "Believe it or not, happens a lot. Least you didn't let it run you over." He handed Eric a clipboard. "There are two forms on it, one for each of you. Once you've got them filled out, bring them back up and we'll get you checked out. Neither one of you are bleeding anywhere at the moment are you?"

"No, no bleeding. Just a black eye and possibly tweaked back for him and a bad wrist for me," Tommy said, trying not to sound embarrassed but he was having difficulty.

"Not a problem. Go ahead and fill out the forms, and then we'll get you guys taken care of."

Eric nodded. "Thank you." He walked over to some chairs with Tommy and took a seat. "Least Jason isn't here. We'd never live this down."

Tom rolled his eyes. "Oh my god...we're still never gonna hear the end of it," he grumbled. "Here, give me one of the forms."

"Are you sure? I don't want you to hurt that wrist any worse."

"Yeah, I'm sure. I can just hold the clipboard with my bad hand."

"All right." He handed the form and clipboard over to him and got up to get another clipboard. They finished the forms in silence then went back up to the desk. "Here you go."

Taking the papers, the man nodded, and then stood up. "If you'll follow me, we'll get you guys looked at it." He led them back to an exam room. "Figured you guys wouldn't mind sharing."

"No, that's fine," Tommy said. Once the attendant had left, he turned to Eric. "You know, it's gonna be hard to go back to reality-where you and I have to act like best friends in public."

The Quantum Ranger sighed softly. "I know, but that won't be until tomorrow evening when we get back to Reefside."

"Yeah...guess we'll just have to enjoy it while we can, huh?" He looked down at his injured wrist and winced, shaking his head. "Damn it."

Before Eric could reply, a tall blonde stepped through the door. He raised an eyebrow at Eric's eye, and then grinned. "Did you hit a tree first or was it a Keystone Kops routine?"

Eric groaned. "Actually, it was his elbow. He slipped trying to help me up after I bought it on a curve. Thus, his probably sprained wrist."

Tommy sat quietly, turning three shades of red.

"Well, I'm Joe and I'm the doctor here." He grinned. "Pretty decent gig and I don't have to deal with all the hassle of a big hospital." He walked over to Tommy. "Let's get a look at your wrist first, make sure it's just a sprain." Carefully, he started unwrapping the Ace bandage.

"And what he didn't tell you was when he took the header off the snowmobile, there's a great possibility that he wrenched his back," Tommy said, getting back at his boyfriend.

Joe raised an eyebrow. "Well, we'll give you both a thorough exam, I promise." He frowned slightly as he examined Tom's left wrist. "I want to get some X-rays of your wrist. While it might be a bad sprain, there's also the chance you could have a small fracture."

"Oh lovely. I'm not gonna have to wear a cast, am I? My students will never let me hear the end of it," Tommy said.

"No, as long as it's not a serious break, you can wear a brace. We'll give you two and one is a bit more flexible so you can use it in the shower."

Tommy nodded even as Eric spoke up. "Never knew high school teachers were that vain, didja?" he asked the doctor.

"Oh shut up," Tommy mumbled.

The doctor chuckled softly. "Oh, I can believe it. Should see some of the other people that we get up here. Think lawyers are the worst." He opened the door. "Hey Steve, I got one for you that needs X-rays of the left wrist and hand. Go up to the elbow with them." He looked over at Tommy and nodded. "Step across the hall and Steve will take care of you. When you're done, just come back over. Knock first though."

"Alright, will do," the former White Ranger said, getting up from the examining table. "See you in a bit," he turned and said to Eric before walking out.

"Okay, I'll be here," Eric responded.

Joe shut the door behind the man, and then looked at Eric. "All right. So how bad is your back hurting?"

"Well, my lower back is where it's giving me the most problem. I've been pretty stiff and sore lately and this spill I took didn't help."

"Okay. I'm not gonna ask you to get on the table just yet, but I do want you to support yourself on your arms and lean on it a bit so that your back is kind of straight." Once Eric was in position, he started probing gently, but firmly on the man's back. "Do you have any old injuries that might cause you problems at times?"

"Nothing really serious, but I've been pretty hard on my body for years now. Martial arts, the Army, and now I work for the Silver Guardians down in Silver Hills. It's probably just cumulative."

The man nodded. When he pressed on an area of Eric's back on the lower left, he raised an eyebrow at the man's reaction. "I want to get some X-rays and MRI. Before I put you through that, I'd like to give you a mild muscle relaxer." He stepped back a bit. "Otherwise, you're gonna be extremely stiff when we get done."

"Alright, that's fine." A concerned look crossed his face. "You think something's wrong back there? My last physical didn't show anything."

"I don't think it's anything major or it'd have shown up by now. However, there is a chance that all the years of abuse you've put your body through has maybe knocked things around a bit. Add that to the spill you took today, and it's just a precaution. If I find something significant, I'll give you a copy of my findings to take back to your own doctor."

Eric nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Where you want me?" he asked, wondering whether to sit in the chair or hop up on the examining table.

"You can just stay there. I'll give you the shot in your hip and then we'll get the MRI first. After that, we'll get your X-rays." He walked over to a cabinet and unlocked it. "How is your tolerance for medications?"

Eric chuckled. "Well, according to Tommy, I'm a lightweight. It doesn't take much to put me out," he smiled.

"All right. What I'll give you is a mix of a mild pain reliever and muscle relaxer. Depending on what, if anything, I find, will determine what I give you afterwards." He drew up 2cc's of the meds in a syringe and grabbed an alcohol pad. "Now, cheek or hip?"

"Hip, I suppose," Eric said, beginning to undo his jeans. After he got them lowered a bit, he leaned across the table again. "Sorry if I jump a bit."

"Just relax." He opened the alcohol wipe and cleaned the area, and then quickly injected the meds. "All done." He got rid of the used syringe and looked over at the other man. "Take a seat on the table if you can and I'll go have Ted get the MRI ready." He left the room and went down the hall.

-o-O-o-

Tommy walked back into the room where he and Eric had been taken first. The X-Ray had shown that the former White Ranger had a hairline fracture in his left wrist, but aside from that and a badly bruised hip, that was the extent of the damage. Taking a seat in the chair, he noticed that the bed was missing, but thought nothing much about it at the moment. "So you're gonna show me how to put on this brace, right?" he asked the doctor.

Joe grinned. "Yeah, I will." He undid the straps and pulled the brace apart just a bit. "Okay, for the next 6-8 weeks, this is your best friend. I'm giving you another one so that you can swap them out to air a little and a soft brace so you can use that in the shower or hot tub. Either one is to be on your wrist at all times for the next four weeks. I'll give you a copy of your X-rays and chart. Make an appointment with your own doc for four weeks from now. He'll let you know if you can start taking it off to sleep or not." He showed the man how to put the brace on and adjusted it a bit. "It should be a little tight, but not enough to cut off circulation."

"Okay, I understand," he sighed and grimaced a bit. "Any chance I could get something for pain soon? It's really beginning to throb," he explained, indicating his arm.

"Rate the pain for me on a 1 to 10 scale."

"I guess it's about a 7 or so. More painful than I thought it'd be," Tommy answered, trying not to dwell on it because that only made it worse.

"Well, at least neither one of you are driving." He walked over to the cabinet. "Are you allergic to anything?"

"No, not that I'm aware of," Tom replied.

Drawing up a dose of meds into a syringe, the doctor took it back over to his patient. "This will help with the pain. It shouldn't make you drowsy, but if it does just go with it. I'll write you a prescription for a couple of painkillers. One will be mild that you can take during the day while you're at work, with Tylenol or Aleve in between. The other will be stronger that you can take at night or when you're not doing anything." He grinned. "Hip, butt or arm?"

"Hip please. Do you have any samples you can give me until we go home in a couple of days? Unless you have a pharmacy here," he said standing and loosening his pants so that the doctor could get to his hip.

"I can give you some samples of both, plus a muscle relaxer for your hip, but you shouldn't need that for long." As he talked, he gave his patient the shot. "The others you can get filled when you get back."

"Okay, that'll work. Any idea what's going on with Eric?" he asked in a concerned voice, redressing himself and sitting down.

Joe raised an eyebrow. "You do know that unless you're a spouse or relative, that I'm not technically supposed to tell you anything."

Tommy sighed. "Yeah, I know. We deal with problems like that all the time. No, I'm not married to or related to him-he's my partner...my boyfriend," he responded, looking directly into the doctor's eyes, waiting to see how he'd respond.

Sighing softly, the man nodded. "Aside from his eye, I found some tenderness on the lower left side of his back. Part of it is likely from the spill, but I think it could also be partly from an old injury acting up. I gave him a small dose of a mild muscle relaxer before he was taken to get a MRI and some X-rays of the area."

Relieved that the doctor actually had the confidence to give him the information, Tom gave him a small smile and nodded. "Thank you. I appreciate you telling me. Eric has always been rough on his body, so I don't doubt he's got some old injuries that could be acting up-probably army-related."

"From what he said, it's highly possible. Depending on what the tests show will determine how long I tell him he needs to take it easy for."

"Okay. I'll try my best to make him listen to you...he's a little hard-headed."

The man chuckled softly. "I kind of got that. Why don't you just take it easy and try to rest for a bit until they bring Eric back?"

"Yes sir, I'll try," Tommy said, settling in the chair and trying to keep the ice bag on his hip. Once the doctor had left, he began wondering what all could be wrong with his lover's back. 'I hope it's nothing serious-poor Bear.'

-o-O-o-

Eric couldn't stop the small groan that escaped him as the X-ray tech tried to position him properly on the table to get the pictures he needed. He screwed his eyes shut and tried to relax.

Walking into the X-ray room, the doc looked down at his patient. "Eric, the tech told me that you were in some pain. How bad is it?"

"Having to lay flat on my back on this hard table is killing me. I can't seem to be still," the Quantum Ranger confessed.

"All right, I'm going to give you something for the pain. It'll work quickly, but it might put you to sleep. If it does, don't fight it."

Eric nodded and continued to try and relax. "How's Tommy?" he asked while the doctor was preparing the meds.

"He's got a hairline fracture in his left wrist and he was hurting a bit. I gave him something then came to check on you." He quickly injected the meds into Eric's hip. "Let that work and in a few minutes we'll get the pictures and get you off this hard table."

"Okay...but he's alright?" he asked, waiting for the meds to take effect.

"Yeah, he's okay. I gave him something for the pain. He's a little worried about you, but that's expected."

"Oh, I'll be fine-I wish he wouldn't worry," Eric said, sounding a bit sleepy.

Chuckling softly, the doctor looked down at him. "Kind of hard for people to do that with the people that they love. Relax now, Eric, and we'll be done before you know it."

Normally, the Guardian Commander would've reacted to that, but as the drugs had already started taking effect, he didn't. Before much longer, his dark eyes closed and his body relaxed.

Forty minutes later, two techs wheeled the bed Eric was on back into the room. After settling the bed, they left as Joe entered. He walked over to the light box and put the X-rays up on it, but didn't turn it on before going over to the bed. "He's just asleep. I had to give him something for the pain when we started getting the X-rays."

Despite his bruised hip, Tommy had jumped up the moment that the door had opened and he'd spotted Eric in the bed. "Just asleep? He's okay?"

"Not exactly okay, but it's not anything serious. I'm going to recommend that he take it easy for the next couple of weeks. I'll give you some samples of a muscle relaxer for him and a painkiller. I suggest he see his regular doctor when you guys get home."

Tommy nodded, sitting on the edge of the bed and looking into Eric's sleeping face. He reached up and stroked the man's thick, black hair and caressed his cheek. A noise from behind reminded him that they weren't alone and he turned to look into the doctor's face. He blushed slightly and gave the man a sheepish grin. "I'm just worried about him," he said by way of explanation.

"I understand." He went over to the light box and turned it on. "Your boyfriend has an old fracture in his back that, when it healed, developed a calcium deposit on top of it." He looked back over at Tommy. "When he strains or over-stresses the muscles around it, the area swells. That pushes the nerves in the area against that calcium deposit. Right now, that's what's causing his pain."

Tom grimaced. "Is there anything that can be done or is he just gonna have to deal with it?"

"I'm not a specialist in that area. Some more detailed tests will be necessary to determine how deep the calcification runs. They might be able to go in and scrape some of it away, but there's nothing to say that it won't come back."

"I see. Well, maybe I can get him to go to a specialist, now that we know about it," Tom replied. He turned back to watch his boyfriend sleep. "Poor Bear," he said a little louder than he meant to. The painkiller that the doctor had given him had impaired his judgment just a bit.

Chuckling softly, Joe turned off the light box. "Once he's awake and slightly alert, I'll let you call for the van to come get you two. For the rest of tonight, I suggest you both take it easy. If possible, I'd also suggest he only drives off the mountain. After that, it'd probably be better if you drove."

"If he gives me a fight about it, I'll have to call and let you tell him to give me the keys to the Hummer. He's so stubborn sometimes. But you think he'll be okay with just painkillers and muscle relaxers?" Tom turned back toward Eric and began stroking his hair again. "I wish you'd wake up."

"As long as he rests and takes it easy, yes I do." He grinned slightly. "That means nothing too strenuous in private either. Not going to say you have to abstain, just go easy. As for traveling, if possible, let him stretch out on the ride home and take a few stops to stretch."

"Yeah, I can do that. Thanks for looking after him, doctor," Tom said. He turned back to Eric when he heard a slight groan coming from the big man. "Eric? You waking up?"

The Guardian Commander blinked a few times before he finally opened his eyes. He gazed blearily up at his partner, and then sighed but didn't say anything.

Leaning in and placing a light kiss on his forehead, Tommy ran his fingers through the dark hair again. "Come on, Babe...wake up. You're gonna be just fine, okay?"

Finally, Eric turned his head and made actual eye contact with Tommy. "You okay?"

"Me? Oh, I'm fine. Nothing to it. How are you feeling, Love?" the former Ranger Commander asked, swaying slightly as he perched on the edge of the bed.

Shaking his head, he sighed. "Lay down with me for a bit, Falcon, before you fall off the bed."

"I can't lay down with you in here. This is a hospital...sorta."

"I don't care. If you don't want me moving around a lot, then lay down with me."

"They'll throw us outta here, Bear. I'm okay. My hip is just really sore," he said, rubbing it gently through his jeans.

Joe walked back into the room and looked at the pair. "Well, it's good to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

"I don't feel much right now-still really sleepy-but I'm not in pain," Eric answered, looking up at Tommy.

Nodding, Joe followed the man's eyes, and then fought down a laugh. "Um, Tommy? Why don't you stretch out there with Eric for a bit? You two can sleep for about an hour and then I'll wake you two when the van gets here."

"Why do you two want me to lie down so badly?" he asked, looking from one to the other.

Joe snorted softly. "Because you're swaying in place and I'd really rather not have you fall off the bed. So please, humor me if not your boyfriend?"

"Am I?" When they both nodded, he finally gave in. "Fine, fine. What did you give me anyway? Painkillers don't usually make me so loopy."

"A little bit of Demerol. I figured with your size, the standards wouldn't really take the edge off." Joe was quiet for a moment. "When was the last time you had a full meal?"

Tommy shrugged as he crawled into bed with his partner. "When was it, Sarge?"

Eric rolled his eyes slightly, and then looked up at the doc. "We had brunch before we went snowmobiling, but since then we've only had a couple of cookies and some hot chocolate."

"That's why the Demerol's hitting you a bit differently. If you had eaten a little closer to when I gave it to you, then you probably would have been fine." He looked down at Eric. "And you are going to have to take it easy for a couple of weeks."

After placing a light kiss on his boyfriend's head, the Quantum Ranger looked up at the doctor. "So what's wrong with my back?" He knew that much from how it had been hurting him.

"Well, like I told Tommy, you have an old fracture that developed a calcium deposit when it healed. Any time you strain those muscles, it presses on the nerves causing you pain. How did you injure your back, anyway?"

For a moment, Eric was quiet. "I was an Army Ranger for a while. We were doing night parachute training and our pilot took us off course. Later on, we learned that the instruments were not properly calibrated. Anyway, the change in course put us into a heavily wooded area for landing. My chute got caught up in a tree about 30 feet off the ground." He sighed softly while remembering the accident. "I didn't know how far off the ground I was, but I did know that I had to get down. After I cut my shroud lines and started falling was when I realized how high up I was. On the way down, I hit a couple of tree branches and then landed on a rock. When I woke up, almost a week had passed and I spent almost a month in traction from the fracture in my back. Shortly after that is when I left the Army."

He met the doctor's eyes again. "Three men were killed that night and another two were left permanently paralyzed. No one in our stick came out uninjured, a total of thirty men."

Joe grimaced and shook his head. "Man, I guess it could've been worse for you then. Does it give you a lot of trouble?"

"Most of the time it's okay. Other times, I'll do something in training or while working out that'll strain it or overstress it, but not often."

The former Ranger Commander looked into his boyfriend's face, greatly concerned after hearing his story. "You never told me about that. How come?" he asked, still feeling the effects of the pain killer.

The Guardian Commander sighed softly before turning his head and looking into his lover's eyes. "Because it's a part of my past that I don't like to think about. I've got some good memories from my time in the Army, but that night…" He shook his head. "I was the Sergeant for one section of our stick. Two of the men that died were in my section and neither one of them were even old enough to drink. It took the Army almost two years for them to finally say that the pilot was at fault and to pay their families what they were owed. And I couldn't do anything to help them because of my own injuries."

As the doctor stood by and listened, Tom reached up and gently patted Eric's chest. "I'm so sorry, Bear. That memory must be hard to deal with." He gave Eric his most sympathetic look. "Wasn't your fault though."

"I know it wasn't." Reaching up, Eric slowly covered Tommy's hand with his own. "And it's something I'm slowly putting behind me." He grinned slightly. "Believe it or not, working with the Guardians helps a lot."

"Good. We can talk about this later, okay?" Tom said, laying his head on Eric's shoulder.

Joe smiled slightly. "Eric, I'll give you a copy of the X-rays and my findings so that you can show them to your regular doctor at home. I want both of you to take it easy-you, particularly, need to for about two weeks." He noticed the look on his patient's face. "No arguments-you need to rest that back. And I don't want you driving any more than you can help, either."

The other man nodded. "All right." He was quiet for a moment. "Think I can get you to give me two different muscle relaxers? One heavier than the other and the same thing for the painkillers?" This wasn't the first time his back had put him out of action, so he was slowly learning what worked and what didn't.

"I can do that, but you've got to promise me you won't drive while on these meds. And you won't let him drive either," Joe said with a grin, gesturing toward Tommy who looked to be nearly asleep.

Chuckling softly, Eric looked at his partner before giving the doc a grin. "After we get back to his place, I promise neither one of us will drive while on the meds."

"Okay, that's good enough for me. I'm gonna let you two rest for a bit and then I'll call the van to pick you up and take you back to the lodge. Let us know if you need anything," he said, excusing himself so that his patients could sleep.

"Thanks doc." As the door closed behind the man, Eric turned his head and rested it against Tommy before closing his eyes and joining his lover in sleep.

-o-O-o-

Sighing softly, Eric eased down onto the couch. He was glad the people at the resort had started a fire for them. Looking up, he watched as Tommy came closer. "How's your wrist?"

"Not too bad, but the Demerol's still in my system," he said with a slightly loopy grin. "How's your eye?" Tom still felt terrible about giving his partner that shining black and purple mark on his face, even though he knew it was an accident.

"It's fine. I honestly don't even feel it." A soft chuckle came from the Quantum Ranger. "Although, that could be from whatever it is that he gave me for pain earlier, too."

"Good thing neither of us has to drive anywhere today. Think we'll be able to manage the trip back to Reefside tomorrow?" Tom asked, taking a seat beside his boyfriend.

"I can get us off the mountain, but that'd be about it." He picked up his lover's good hand. "Honestly don't think I could get us much further than that."

"I think I can handle it from there as long as I'm not on too much pain killer. You're actually gonna let me drive the Hummer?" he chuckled. "Better write this down in my diary."

"Either I let you drive or we're gonna have to get someone to come up here and drive us both down."

"I think you can trust me-I'll be fine. What do you want for dinner? We both really need to eat."

"Something from room service." He grinned slightly. "Don't really think I'm up to sitting in a chair in one of the restaurants."

"Oh yeah, I figured that. Let me go find the room service menu and we'll decide on something. After dinner, I'll start packing up some of our stuff while you rest your back. Deal?"

"Just don't overdo it, okay?" Eric gave the hand he held a slight squeeze.

"No, I won't. Be right back," he said, getting up to go in search of the menu.

Once they'd ordered, the two men sat back on the couch and enjoyed the fire while they waited on their dinner to arrive. "Yeah, we definitely need to get a little place like this of our own one of these days. Don't you think?" he asked, snuggling up to his lover.

Resting his head against the one nestled against his shoulder, the SG Commander sighed softly. "Definitely and we'll be able to do that one day."

"I can't tell you how much better I feel now that I've finally made the decision to turn in my notice at school. It's like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Moving in with you and living in Silver Hills is gonna be the best decision I've made in a long time-I just know it," Tommy said, stroking Eric's thigh.

"I'm glad you've made the decision, too. I really think you'll be happier working with us, Tom."

He looked up into Eric's face. "Think I'll look alright in the uniform?" he asked with a grin.

Chuckling softly, the Asian laid a soft kiss on his boyfriend's cheek before moving close to his ear. "I think I'm going to have trouble keeping my hands off of you in that uniform."

He gently nipped Tommy's earlobe. "If I'd been sure Jason wouldn't have killed me, I'd have loved to get my hands on you when you were wearing those tight, black spandex that hugged every inch of you and showed off just how gorgeous you are."

"Yeah well...I haven't gotten to see nearly enough of you in your tight, red spandex. You might have to give me a little show to appease me one day soon."

Dinner arrived not too long after and once they'd finished stuffing their faces, the two decided that one last soak in the hot tub was in order. In their birthday suits with towels in hand, Eric and Tommy carefully lowered themselves into the hot, bubbling water.

Shaking his head, Eric watched his lover grinning broadly. "What are you grinning about over there?"

"Oh nothing," Tom said, flicking at the water with his fingers. "I was just imagining myself peeling that spandex off of you. Like unwrapping a gift," he grinned.

Eric chuckled softly. "You and that mind of yours." He grinned. "Gotta admit, I might end up having a few fantasies of my own about stripping you out of that uniform."

"Maybe I'll strip for ya. Would ya like that, hmmm?" the former Ranger Commander asked with a mischievous grin.

"Oh yeah. Just the two of us, me stretched out on the bed, watching as you slowly remove each piece." He leaned in and gently nipped his boyfriend on the neck. "Bit by bit revealing the body that I love."

Tommy laughed. "I suppose you'd like me to wear a g-string..."

"Oh no, you can't wear anything underneath. The thought of you going commando in those pants…" He groaned softly. "Just imagining that, I can feel myself starting to get hard."

"But you are an Eveready battery, after all," he laughed and gently rubbed his boyfriend's back with his good hand. "You seem to have the same effect on me, though. Stopping to think for a moment, Tommy tilted his head and asked, "Would you strip for me?"

"As long as it was just us, yeah, I would. Not tonight though and probably not for a few weeks."

"Okay, I'll pencil you in for mid-March then," he giggled and splashed a little water at Eric. "I'll bet you could put on quite a show if you had a few drinks in you first."

"For you, I might skip the drinks." He blushed slightly. "Although they might definitely help."

"You? You need the drinks-you're not an exhibitionist like some people I know. The booze would help to loosen you up some," Tom laughed.

The Guardian Commander had to laugh. "Yeah, you might be right about that." When they quieted down again, he took hold of the other man's hand. "I'm glad we did this. Maybe not the snowmobile accident part, but everything else."

"Oh yeah, me too. Thank you so much, baby. This has been the nicest birthday I think I've ever had. I'm not sure I deserve you," he cooed, placing small kisses all along Eric's jawline.

"Glad you enjoyed it." He wrapped his arms lightly around the other man's waist.

"I really did. We definitely need a hot tub at our new house, by the way. 'Our new house'...has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" he smiled.

"It really does. I can't wait for you to take a look at it." He met the chocolate orbs and leaned in, kissing his partner lightly. "Anything you want to change, take out, or add, we can do."

"I can't wait to see it. I'll make a trip out as soon as I can and we'll go check it out."

-o-O-o-

Tommy glanced over at his boyfriend from the driver's seat of the Hummer. The SG commander was shifting again, trying unsuccessfully to find a completely comfortable position. The road back to Reefside had been rather smooth once they'd gotten down off the mountain, but Eric was just in too much pain. "Bear, why don't you take another muscle relaxer," Tommy suggested, looking at the dashboard clock. "It's been long enough."

"We'll have to get something to eat. I can't take it on an empty stomach." He wasn't even going to fight about taking something, especially if he wanted to be comfortable on the rest of the ride.

"Okay, that's not a problem. There should be something decent on one of the next few off-ramps. Whatcha in the mood for?"

"Nothing too greasy, if possible. Maybe one of those Arby's sandwiches."

"Sure, that'll work. Shouldn't be too hard to find an Arby's."

Sure enough, two exits further down the highway, Tommy pulled off the main road and right into the restaurant parking lot. "Wanna eat in the car or go in? Stretching your legs might make you feel a little better," he suggested.

"We can go in, but I'm not sure how sitting will be once we get in there."

"Okay, we'll compromise. We'll get out, stretch, go in and use the restroom and get our food, then retire to the comfort of the Hummer to eat. Deal?"

He nodded. "Sounds better." Sighing softly, he looked over at his boyfriend. "I hate to admit it, but I'm not going to be able to drive back to Silver Hills on my own."

"I'm way ahead of you, babe. I kinda got that idea earlier, so I decided that I was gonna talk to you about calling Jason and Adam to come get you from my house. I'd like to see those sneaky little bastards anyway...and that way you don't have to drive," Tom smiled.

As they pulled further into the parking lot and found a space, Eric leaned over slightly and kissed his lover on the cheek. "Knew there was a reason that I loved you. Although, I've gotta admit that having Jason around for the trip back will be a good thing."

"Yeah, he can drug your ass up if necessary. Not to mention, he'd have no trouble throwing you over his shoulder if the need arose." He chuckled and kissed his lover gently. "Now let's get out and stretch some. My butt feels as wide as this seat!"

"Least it doesn't look as wide." Grinning, he opened his own door after undoing the seatbelt. It was slow going as he climbed out of the Hummer, but he was glad that he'd taken the bigger vehicle since it made getting in and out easier.

Tommy moved quickly around the vehicle to help his partner if he looked like he was going to need it. Just as he got to the door, Eric's back seized up on him as he was climbing down and the SG nearly fell. "Whoa...take it easy," Tom said as he caught his boyfriend before he could connect with the pavement. "You okay, Bear?"

He shook his head slightly. "Not really. Back's really bothering me. Think I waited too long to take anything."

"Here, try to straighten up," the former White Ranger said, helping Eric turn so that he could put his hands on the seat. He began to carefully massage the knot in his boyfriend's lower back with his fist, trying to make the muscles relax some. After a few minutes of this, Eric was able to at least stand up straight.

Sighing softly, Eric looked at his partner. "Might have to make use of your entire water heater tonight and the downstairs guest room."

"Whatever it takes. Hey, here's a thought. Why don't we go ahead and call Jase and Adam and have them meet us at the house tonight if they can. Adam's a crazy-good massage therapist-did you know that?"

"I've heard rumors of it, but haven't experienced it for myself." He gave the other man a soft grin. "And that sounds like a plan. Things are a little slow right now anyway at the base."

"Cool. I'll call them after we eat. Need some help making it inside?" Tommy asked, taking Eric by the arm.

"At least to get going I will." He chuckled softly. "We might scare a few people inside."

"Huh? Why?" he asked, giving the SG commander a quizzical look.

"Cause we both look like we've been in a fight."

"Okay, then that's what we'll say if anyone asks," he grinned. "Come on." With that, they started toward the door, arm in arm.

After waiting a few minutes in line, which did nothing to improve how his back felt, Eric leaned against the counter a little as he gave the young woman behind the register his order.

"Oh my goodness...what happened to your eye?" she asked quite innocently.

Smirking slightly, he took the cup she handed him so he could get his drink. "I'm half of a tag team and we just had a competition yesterday." Winking, he made his way slowly to the drink fountain.

Tommy raised an eyebrow and grinned, looking down at the girl. "And I'm the other half," he said with a grin and held up his braced wrist.

Shaking her head, she placed the order, then handed him back his change. "If you two look like this, what about the other two?"

"Oh, they look like they were hit by a truck." He leaned in and grinned. "We won," he said with a wink.

She blushed slightly before sliding him the two bags with their food. "Well, hope the rest of your week goes better."

"Thanks. Have a good day," he said with a smile and joined his boyfriend. "Ready to head back outside, Bear?"

The Guardian Commander nodded. "Yeah, I got you a sweet tea. The sodas were kinda flat."

"That's fine. Need some help walking?" he asked, offering his arm.

"Yeah, just give me a second." He'd twisted a bit too far when he was putting tops on their drinks and it upset his back more.

"Don't let me forget to call Adam when we get back to the car. I hope those two can make it tonight." He stood by patiently and waited for Eric to feel like moving again.

Giving his boyfriend a small nod, he took hold of the offered arm. "I'll remind you, trust me on that one. I want to call Wes, too. Make sure it's okay with him."

It took several minutes, but they finally made it back out to the Hummer and Tom assisted Eric in getting himself settled. Once they'd both eaten, Jason's cell phone number was dialed. "Hey Rex! How's things goin' in Silver Hills?" he asked, emphasizing the location.

The former ranger snorted softly. "Considering we just got done with a hand-to-hand class where Mike wiped the mat with most of the cadets? Not too bad." He stopped when he realized what he was saying. "Who- When- Dammit Eric."

Tommy laughed out loud with that. "Ha! Gotcha!"

The other man blushed furiously. "We were planning on telling you Tom, but Adam and I wanted to do it in person." He grinned. "So how'd your weekend go?"

"Oh...it was great. That resort is amazing-thanks for suggesting it," he smiled and looked over at Eric who half-heartedly returned it. Raising an eyebrow, Tom carried on talking to Jason. "Umm, but we had a bit of an accident with a snowmobile and Eric's back has flared up something awful. Turns out he's got an old injury that was aggravated."

The paramedic frowned. "How bad of an accident?" He nodded at Mike, who came over. Pulling the phone away a bit, he spoke to the former SEAL. "Do you know if Wes is free right now? Eric was in a snowmobile accident."

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, we were going to take off early after this class. Is Eric okay?"

"Fixing to find out. Come on, let's go talk to Blondie."

Rolling his eyes at the nickname, the younger man fell into step with Jason.

"So talk to me Tom, how bad was this accident?"

"Well, it really wasn't too bad-Eric just took a curve a little too fast and he ended up in the snow. The problem is that it aggravated the other injury which showed up on the MRI. He's in a good bit of pain right now, so I'm driving us back." He turned to his partner. "Go ahead and take that muscle relaxer, babe."

The Guardian Captain didn't wait for a response to his knock before entering Wes' office. "If he's not putting up a fight with you about taking a muscle relaxer, then yeah, I'd say he's hurting quite a bit." He nodded at Wes. "Tom, I'm going to call you back in a minute. We're in Wes' office and you might as well tell it only once."

Eric nodded. He'd eaten about half his sandwich while Tommy talked. Pulling the sample pack from his pocket, he took one of the pills with some of the tea he'd gotten.

"Okay, call me back," Tommy said, hanging up and putting his cell phone down. "Is that all you can eat?" he asked Eric.

"I want to see how this settles then I'll finish the sandwich." The Asian looked over at the other man. "Pain's really killing my appetite right now." He sighed softly. "Might have been better to wait until tomorrow to try and get back to Reefside."

Jason looked at Wes, who was watching him and Adam. The former Black Ranger had spotted the Original Red Ranger walking down the hall with Mike and joined them. Mike stepped over to his boyfriend as Jason began to tell them what all he knew so far.

Shaking his head, Wes put the phone on speaker and dialed Tommy's number.

"Hello?" he answered, figuring it to be Jason but not recognizing the number. "Jase?"

"It's actually Wes, Tommy, but Jason, Mike and Adam are all here as well. Jason told me what you told him. How bad is he?"

"Well Wes...he's pretty bad right now but he thinks it's because he waited too long to take the muscle relaxer that the doctor gave him.

"And you're not having to force it down his throat?" The blonde looked up at Jason, who nodded minutely. "Tommy, how much longer until you two get back to your place?"

"Umm, probably about another two hours or so. We were wondering if maybe Jase and Adam could come and drive him back to Silver Hills and Adam could give him a good massage."

"They're both on their way and one of them will give you a call once they're on the road, but no one's driving for a few days. Jason will make the decision about when he feels the trip won't be too much for Eric." He met the midnight eyes of the paramedic, and then nodded.

"We'll meet you at your place, Tommy." Jason stated. "Should be there about the same time as you guys or a little after. Try to get Eric to lay that front seat back. It'll be easier on his back if he's flatter instead of sitting up."

"Alright, sounds good. I'll let him know. See you guys in a little while," Tom said, ending the call and turning to his boyfriend. "Jase said for you to lay the seat back and try to rest as much as possible. They're gonna meet us at the house."

Eric nodded his head slightly. "Help me lay back? I can get the seat, but I don't want to move too quick." The muscle relaxer was starting to work, but his back was still really tight.

Assisting the SG commander, Tom got him into a comfortable position and then headed out for Reefside. "Just go ahead and sleep if you can-it'll make the trip seem shorter. I'll get us home as quickly as I can."

"All right." He reached out a hand and laid it on one of the toned thighs of his boyfriend. "Love you, Falcon."

"Love you too-hope that medicine makes you feel better." He patted the hand on his thigh. Several minutes later, Tommy looked over to find that Eric was out like a light. 'Good, maybe his back will feel better when he wakes up.' He just concentrated on driving as smoothly as possible and getting them back to Reefside where Eric could rest properly.

-o-O-o-

Adam turned toward his partner as they drove from Silver Hills to Reefside. "Before I massage Eric's back, I need you to look him over to make sure I'm not just gonna make things worse. Did Tom say specifically what was wrong?"

"Apparently Eric has an old injury that flared up when he wrecked the snowmobile. Other than that, I didn't get much out of him, but we can talk to them once we get there."

"Well other than this accident, did they enjoy our resort?" Adam said with a sly grin.

A soft chuckle came from the former Gold Ranger. "I did get that impression."

"We need to make another trip up there ourselves, Rex. Whatcha think?"

"Hmm, a weekend alone with you in the mountains? Think I might be persuaded to go for something like that." Reaching a hand over, he placed it on a toned thigh. "Now, to get the bossman up there for a few days."

Adam laughed. "I suppose you think getting Wes and Mike up there will chill him out a bit? I don't know..."

"Well, he still needs to get away for a bit. Don't think he's left Silver Hills since the All Red mission."

"That's sad. The man needs a break," Adam replied, shaking his head.

"They could both do with a break before either one of them end up hurt." He chuckled softly. "You do realize this means you get to help out with the new class starting next week."

"Oh crap, that's right. With Eric probably out for a few days I'm gonna be busy!" Adam replied.

"Uh huh. Don't worry though. Mike and I can help out a bit as well as Wes." He looked over at the other man and winked. "Now you get to know what it feels like to want to take a newbie and hang them up by their bootstraps."

"Oh joy...can't wait," he answered, deadpan. "Wonder how long Myers is gonna be down? I hope it's nothing really serious with his back. You know Tommy..."

"Yeah, he worries himself to the point that he forgets to take care of himself. It'll probably be a couple of days before Eric can really travel, so we'll take care of both of them."

"Did Tom say anything about being hurt? I thought it was just Eric."

"No, but if he's worrying about Eric, then he's liable to forget to eat, won't sleep like he should and that'll give him headaches." He frowned. "You know, he really didn't say anything about himself."

"Well, I hope that no news is good news. He's driving them home you said, right? He must be okay if he can drive," Adam offered.

"Hope so, but either way until we actually get to Reefside, there's no way to know."

"How much longer?" he asked, getting antsy.

Jason checked the clock before squeezing Adam's hand. "About an hour. Think you can handle that?"

"Yeah, I'll be okay. Should we call T's cell and see how they're doing?"

"No, let's leave him alone to concentrate on driving. He's supposed to call once they get to his place."

Tommy gazed over at his sleeping boyfriend and sighed. 'I hope Adam and Jason are able to help him feel better. Poor Bear.'

Eric shifted slightly in the seat, but didn't open his eyes. His back was still hurting a little, but nowhere near as bad as it had been.

Finally reaching the turnoff for his little part of Reefside, Tommy slowed down and took the exit carefully to avoid jostling Eric any more than could be helped. "Almost home, bro. Hang in there," he said softly, not sure if his partner was awake or not.

Sighing softly, the other man opened his eyes and looked sleepily over at his boyfriend. "Think we can worry about the car later?"

Tom turned and smiled in his direction. "Hey Sleepyhead. Yeah, we can leave that until later. I just want to get you into the house so you can lie down."

"Looking forward to that." He watched his boyfriend for a moment. "How's your wrist?"

Until Eric mentioned it, Tommy had pretty much been ignoring the persistent pain in his bad wrist. Now that he'd brought it up though... "It's okay," he lied. "Nothing I can't handle."

"Uh huh, that's why you've got those lines around your mouth from the pain. How about when we get to the house, you take something for the pain and join me in getting some sleep?"

"Sounds like a plan." He shook his head and chuckled. "I couldn't hide a cold from you, could I?"

"Not when I can't hide things from you." He stretched lightly. "How much longer until we get there?"

"Only about ten minutes. I'll call Jase and Adam as soon as we get in the house-let 'em know we got home alright. How're you feeling?"

"Back's still hurting a little, but not like it was before. I'm going to need your help getting out though."

"Well yeah, I figured that. Wish I had a hot tub-that would really help," Tom said, reaching over to gently rub Eric's thigh.

"Yeah, me too. Think a shower might help some."

He gasped softly as the Hummer hit a bump in the road, jarring him.

"Damn...sorry baby. Couldn't avoid that one. You okay?"

For a moment, the Guardian Commander could only breathe and nod. Finally, he let out a long breath. "I'm okay. Just bounced me a bit awkwardly."

"We're almost to the house-just hang in there." The former Ranger Commander drove as carefully as he could to avoid the bumps and potholes now that they were off the highway.

"I'm not going anywhere, babe. I promise." Eric closed his eyes again, focusing on his breathing for the rest of the trip.

Finally getting to his driveway, Tommy pulled the Hummer in beside his black Jeep and parked. "Good to see Trent and Connor got my Jeep home okay. I wonder about those two sometimes." Once he'd killed the engine, he got out and went around to help Eric. "Just take it slow, babe. No rush."

"Yeah well, they need to quit dancing around the idea of getting together and just do it. They'll both be happier and Trent will settle Connor down some." He let Tommy help him out, and then stood there for a couple of minutes to let himself get situated.

"I think they're both afraid of the wrath of a certain former Yellow Ranger. You know how that is," Tom said with a chuckle, trying to take his lover's mind off the pain he was no doubt in. "If there's anybody that can fuck up your life, it's a yellow or blue ranger!"

"True, but I think Kira might be about ready to just knock their heads together so that they see sense." He nodded at Tommy, letting the other man know that he was ready. "Guess it's a good thing that Hayley made you wash the sheets in the guest room."

"And just how would you know about that?" Tom asked, looping an arm around Eric's waist so that he could help him walk.

"What? You think I was going to let anything go to chance? She helped me pack and did laundry for you before we left so that you'd have clean jeans."

Rolling his eyes, the man sighed. "People conspiring behind my back, I swear." He chuckled and looked over at Eric. "Take it easy-not so fast."

Nodding, Eric let Tommy help him up the steps and into the house. Once inside, he sighed softly. "Thanks Tom."

"No problem. You want something to drink before you take that hot shower?"

"No thanks." He looked over at his boyfriend. "You going to join me?"

"Sure," he answered with a grin. "Besides, you might need some help in there."

"That's true. Will definitely need another pair of hands to get to all those…" grinning, he leaned in and kissed the former Ranger Commander, "…hard to reach places."

"Alright, you don't have to convince me," Tom grinned. "Come on, let's get wet."

Chuckling softly, Eric let the other man lead the way to the bathroom. "Least this bathroom isn't really small."

"No, it's not too bad. Need some help getting undressed?"

"I can unbutton the shirt, but getting it off will be a problem, so yeah. I'd like some help here, handsome."

"I think I can manage that. Oh damn, I just thought of something. My other brace is in the car and I can't get this one wet." He stopped and thought for a moment. "I'll just do without it in the shower-should be okay." With that, he started helping his partner get naked.

"Or you can use an Ace wrap for today. That way you're still offering it some support." Slowly, the pile of clothes on the floor grew until they were both naked.

"Okay, start the water while I pull out some towels." After he did that, Tommy carefully took the brace off of his bad wrist and rubbed it gingerly. "Man, this is sore," he mumbled.

Looking over after checking the temp of the water, Eric frowned. "Looks a little swollen, too. Might want to rest it on something when we lay down."

"Yeah, I think it is swollen. Can't wait to tell Jase how it happened." He rolled his eyes and turned toward the shower.

"You didn't even tell him that you were hurt so I'm sure he's gonna be pleased."

"Yeah...I'll probably never hear the end of it. Let's get on with the shower-I need to take one of those lovely pain pills."

"Know that feeling." Eric stepped into the shower, moving carefully before standing under the almost hot spray. He sighed. "That feels so good."

"It should help your back. Here, I'll help you get washed and then we can both lie down for a while."

"I appreciate all of this." Carefully, he moved closer and placed a light kiss on his boyfriend's soft, warm lips.

"Not a problem. I just want you to feel better." As Tommy was carefully washing Eric's back, he pressed a little too forcefully with his bad wrist. "Ah, damn," he hissed, dropping the cloth that he'd been holding.

Turning slowly, the Asian put his arms around the other man. "Easy, let's go ahead and get out. We're clean enough and you need to rest that wrist."

"Okay, I think you're right." He leaned in and gently kissed his boyfriend. "That bed is gonna feel so good."

"You lying next to me is going to feel better." Reaching out carefully, he turned the water off and opened the shower curtain. Eric took hold of the closest towel and handed it to Tommy. "Come on, let's get dried off, pain pills into you, and laying down."

"Good idea." Tommy dried himself quickly and wrapped the towel around his waist. "Here, let me help you," he said taking the towel and drying Eric's back.

Less than fifteen minutes later, Eric sighed softly as he lay beside Tommy. "Never realized how good a bed could feel after a car ride." He put an arm around Tommy as the other man rested his head on the Guardian Commander's chest.

"Wow, those pain pills work fast," Tommy said, snuggling against his boyfriend. "How's your back feeling now?"

"Little better. Glad you convinced me to take at least half of a pain pill that he prescribed." Eric placed a light kiss on his lover's head. "Get some rest and when we get up we'll worry about other things." He closed his eyes, already feeling the pull of the meds wearing on him.

-o-O-o-

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