The Christmas Cabin
When the happy couple woke the next morning, they were snuggled together, toasty from the piles of blankets on their bed. Rose yawned as she moved her head to rest on her boyfriend's chest. She looked up at him, smiling sleepily, and he tightened his arms around her small figure.
"Good morning, Rose," Mack murmured, brushing hair out of Rose's eyes. "Sleep well?"
Rose bobbed her head before straightening up. She stretched, yawning again. When she was done, the pink ranger found her bathrobe and slippers and proceeded to bundle up. "Should stuff for French toast be in the kitchen?"
Mack had joined Rose in the process of gathering warm clothes. "There should be. Do you want me to start the coffee?"
"I knew there was a reason I kept you around," Rose said in a teasing tone as she left their bedroom. The tiny pink ranger bustled into the cabin's cozy kitchen, going straight for the biggest cabinet at the opposite end of the room.
She was pleased to find a small container of cinnamon. Rose set it on the counter before going to the refrigerator for the eggs and milk.
The petite raven haired girl hummed a Christmas song as she mixed the batter. Mack came in as the first piece of batter coated bread was put in the frying pan. He joined his girlfriend in humming as he prepared the coffee.
"It is cold outside," Mack grinned. "Breakfast smells good." As the coffee maker bubbled and dripped, Rose stacked the French toast neatly on a plate. She crossed the kitchen, breakfast plate in hand. Mack poured the coffee and joined Rose at the kitchen table.
"So, what do you want to do today?" the retired red ranger asked when they had nearly finished breakfast. He took a sip of coffee as he waited for Rose to respond.
The pink genius considered Mack's question. She chewed thoughtfully. "I think first things first. We need to pick a tree."
The smile that broke out on Mack's face was reminiscent of a small child receiving a new toy. "I hoped you would say that. I did a bit of research. We need a permit to cut down a tree, and because I think ahead, I took care of it already. We can go right after breakfast."
It was hard for Rose not to smile back. This was Mack's first real Christmas, too. Her family's celebrations were far from joyous, and last year Mack had still been away with his father. But he seemed determined to do this right, and Rose appreciated the effort.
After showering and bundling up in coats, gloves and scarves, the Overdrive couple headed off to find the perfect tree. They crunched through the snow hand in hand, eyes peeled for any suitable candidate.
Rose had her heart set on "The Tree" only ten minutes later. She walked around the Douglas fir, studying the specimen with a careful eye. "It's this one. It's a great tree: perfect size, no bare spots, no bent branches…" Rose stepped back to where her red clad boyfriend stood, an eager grin plastered on her pretty face. "Cut it down."
He could not resist this anxious, childlike smile. "Only 'cuz you're so cute when you really want something," Mack clarified with a smile of his own. He leaned down to kiss Rose quickly before removing the ax he had been carrying over his shoulder.
Due to Mack's super strength, one blow was plenty to chop the tree down. However, he made a near fatal mistake in judging the position of Rose and the Christmas tree. As the Christmas tree started to tip, Mack realized the flaw. Rose was far too close to the tree, and she wasn't paying attention.
Mack only had about five seconds to make his move. He did the only thing he could do: he reached for the tree, gripping it tight, and yanked it back. Rose finally looked up, her beautiful chocolate eyes wide with horror.
The red ranger set the murderous Christmas tree back on the snow gently. He slowly backed away, stopping at Rose's side. Had the tree not just tried to kill Rose, Mack might have laughed. The once perfect Christmas tree now looked like someone had attempted to strangle it. "I'm sorry, Rose."
"You broke the tree," Rose said finally, staring up at him. "You killed it."
"If I didn't break the tree, it would have broken you," Mack pointed out. "I'd much rather have a mangled tree than a mangled Rose."
0o0o0o0
The red and pink rangers bought their first Christmas tree together at a tree lot in town. "Maybe next time," Mack amended before taking a bite of the candy cane the worker had given him. "I'm sure there's at least one tree that doesn't want to crush someone."
"I hope so," Rose muttered. "Where to next? Do we need decorations?"
"We sure do. I also insist that we buy cookie dough and cookie cutters. Christmas is not Christmas without sugar cookies shaped like snowmen." Mack pressed the button on his keychain to unlock the red SUV doors and let Rose get in while he mounted the tree on top of his vehicle.
With the tree secured to the roof of their car, the retired rangers trotted into a store. They got a few curious gazes as they looked for the section to find decorations in, but no one seemed brave enough to actually speak. "I could get used to this," Mack whispered to Rose. She nodded in agreement.
Then, bright as the sun, was the decorative aisle. Mack let out a laugh and ran down the section, pulling off random items from the shelves as he went. Rose rolled her eyes before letting a smile come over her. She knew how much this Christmas meant to Mack.
Rose Ortiz was nothing if not practical. She carefully selected five strands of red tinsel and a box filled with different sized pink bulbs. The retired ranger put the decorations for the tree into the green grocery cart. As she continued down the aisle, Rose hummed the same song from this morning.
By the time she finally caught up to Mack, Rose had added an array of ornaments to the cart as well as a few boxes of multicolored lights for the tree. Mack was examining two ornaments, that slightly crazy smile Rose connected to utter childishness clear on his face.
"Can I see?" the tiny pink ranger asked of her boyfriend, reaching for them. Mack proudly forked over the small items for Rose to look at.
It was them. Well, the rangers, anyway. There was a red ranger posed with his Drive Lance, and a pink with her Drive Geyser. "Cute, aren't they?" Mack asked.
Rose didn't answer, but put them in the cart. She then went to find the baking portion of the store.
Casually, Rose tossed in two rolls of sugar cookie dough and a jar filled with different cookie cutters. "Let's go home."