(A.N. Here we are, chapter 23 wow. I thought Xybrians were completely trusting and honest so even though the story was unbelieveable, shouldn't they have believed him? And isn't it cute that Lucas can be really sweet when he wants to, when he's not trying to be 'too cool'. I love how the group is very physical with their affections, they've always got a hand on each other's back or shoulder, etc. Coming from a school and upbringing that was very 'huggy,' it's familiar and really nice to see. And how adorable is it that they were all up the whole time he was gone . Also why do these stupid villains always go after Jen more harshly, even this stupid knight who doesn't have a grudge against her was still more brutal when attacking her than the other rangers. So I hope you that you enjoy and please feel free to let me know what you think :) )

Beware the Knight

Jen paced while the other three rangers were sitting at the table. Katie finally broke the silence. "I'm worried, he's been gone too long."

"I agree," Wes said, "let's send out a search party." His hands slammed on the table as he added. "We've got to find that pizza."

"Let's go." The blue ranger nodded which was mirrored by Jen.

They ran to the exit and narrowly stopped themselves from colliding with Trip. "Hey, you guys!" The green ranger exclaimed but the group had already ripped the pizza out of his hands and were back at the table, their voices all jumbling together as he ran to join them. "Listen, the most incredible thing just happened." Lucas took the pizza away from everyone and saw that the box was crumpled, he opened it as Trip continued. "Hey, listen to me. I was walking home and this - hello? Hi?"

"What happened to the pizza?" Was the only question the blue ranger asked.

"That's what I've been trying to say. I was attacked."

"Attacked?" Jen asked before Katie added.

"By who?"

"By a knight."

Wes looked at him in disbelief. "You mean, like on a horse?"

"Right!" The green ranger exclaimed, glad someone was finally listening. "A-and he had on this like - like black armour and - and a sword like this long." He said, showing the length with his arms.

Katie laughed, resulting in an elbow in her ribs from the pink ranger as she saw Trip become discouraged. Lucas walked over to him, a smug expression covering his face. "Let me guess, it was after your pizza."

"I'm serious! Look what he did to my hat." He said as he showed the top that had been sliced off.

"You don't have to make up some ridiculous story." Wes teased. "Just admit you dropped the pizza."

"But it's true!" Trip stressed.

Lucas patted him on the shoulder. "Whatever you say."

"Ok, that's enough." Jen said, seeing how deflated Trip was becoming. She smiled and tapped him on the chin as she told the group. "Let's go find something to eat."

As each of them walked off and looked at him with amusement, he couldn't help the frustration he felt. He was telling the truth, why didn't they believe him?

A Frankie Chang movie had been playing and of course, Jen insisted that they went to see it. They walked out with the crowd as Katie revealed. "Wow, that was the scariest movie I've ever seen."

"Scary?" Wes asked in disbelief. "Come on, it was totally unbelievable."

"Kind of like Trip's story about the black knight." Lucas teased, a hand grasping the ranger's shoulder as the group laughed.

"I'm telling the truth." He insisted but their attention was caught by a horse's neigh.

They looked up at a crowd of people running away and went to investigate. When they stopped in the middle of the street, they couldn't believe their eyes. Wes managed to mumble out a 'what?' "See," Trip exclaimed, "I told you."

Wes took a step forward, staring at the figure. "Who are you?"

"That's none of your concern." A gruff voice answered back. "Now get out of my way fools." With his sword swinging in the air, he rode towards them.

"Watch out!" Jen called. The rangers split, she and Trip running to one side while Katie and Lucas ran to the other. She looked back to see Wes still in the same spot. "Wes!" At the last second, he flipped over the knight and landed on the roof of a car. As the other rangers came to join him, they watched as the black knight rode off into the distance.

Back at the clock tower, Trip was working hard to find the knight, looking through the computer to find any research or information about him. "Trip, why don't you try looking under medieval mutants." Circuit suggested. Wes stood behind the green ranger, following along with the screen as Katie and Lucas had fallen asleep at the table. Jen came downstairs in her pyjamas, she stood beside Wes and her hand moved to his back. She looked at her boyfriend in silent question and he shook his head. "There's no record of him in our database anywhere."

"Whoever that knight is," Trip shook his head, "he isn't a mutant."

"Mutant or not, we've gotta stop him." Jen replied as Wes paced a few steps away from them.

"I have a feeling he'll be back but next time, we'll be ready."

Just as they'd expected, the knight did attack again and they lost him. They searched through the woods but to no avail. Meeting back up in the middle, Jen asked the group. "Did you find anything?"

"Nothing." Katie was the first to respond as Lucas shook his head.

"You guys should head back," he said, his hand falling to Jen's upper arm, "keep an eye on the city." He took a few steps forward away from the group as he told them. "I'm gonna stay here and if I'm right, when the sun goes down, he'll be coming back."

Jen followed him, her hand touching the back of his shoulder as she told him. "Be careful." He gave a slight nod and she swallowed quietly before she addressed the other three rangers. "Alright guys, let's go." Her hand moved to Trip's shoulder as they turned to walk away and she felt Lucas's hand rest on the middle of her back.

The hours passed and the night turned dark as Jen sat on the window sill, looking over the city. Her fingers tapped anxiously on the bricks and even though she knew the rangers were in the room behind her, she wasn't paying attention. Footsteps beside her caused her to look up as Lucas offered her a mug and she smiled in thanks as she took a sip. Her gaze immediately went back outside and the blue ranger looked at her empathetically, reassuring her. "Don't worry Jen, he'll be ok." She nodded silently as he offered. "Why don't you let me watch for a while."

She was a little reluctant but smiled appreciatively as she squeezed his hand. "Thanks."

She jumped down and Lucas took her spot on the window sill as she joined Trip and Katie.

It had been a rough battle and until Wes had shown up, the black knight had been particularly harsh with his attacks on Jen. But with the help of the battle fire, Wes was able to defeat him and his reign of terror was over. They made it back to the clock tower, intending to return the sword to the cave the next morning. As Katie, Trip and Lucas climbed up the stairs to turn in for the night, Wes grabbed Jen's wrist, pulling her back. She turned to face him, looking up at him curiously, as she felt his hands around her waist. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"I'm fine, really." She assured him. "Just another fight."

"I saw what he was doing to you, Jen, that wasn't just a normal fight. He threw you. He stood on you and pinned you down. And he kicked you out of the way." He shook his head. "Katie had to help you up, his attack was brutal."

She sighed, lifting her hand to his cheek and smiled as he leaned into her touch. Her thumb ran back and forth over the skin. "I appreciate your concern Wes and it's sweet that you care so much that you're worried but I promise I'm ok." Her hands moved to his shoulders as she told him. "I know this isn't what you want to hear but we're going to be in fights like that until we capture all the mutants. There's no way around it, some mutants will violently attack me, some will attack you and some will attack the others. You worry about me the same way I worry about you but we do have to accept that this danger comes with the morpher."

"I know that but it doesn't mean I won't stop worrying."

"I know that and neither will I." She agreed. "But sometimes we both tend to act first and think later. You jumping off the roof to follow Eric when we were trying to control the quantasaurus springs to mind." He looked down and she raised his chin back up. "It's just lucky that most of your quick decisions have turned out successful. Mine, on the other hand, get me into trouble sometimes."

"But that's only when you go off on your own and take on mutants by yourself." His eyes widened and he immediately redacted the statement. "No, I mean - what I meant to say -"

"Was exactly what you said Wes." She finished, looking at him confused. "You're right, with Fatcatfish and Steelix, I got in over my head and went into those fights by myself, and it got me in trouble... Why were you trying to take back what you said?"

"Because I don't want you to feel bad about it."

"But it's the truth."

"I know but..." He didn't finish the sentence, only looking down.

"Wes, tell me the truth please."

He softly admitted. "I don't want to be like Alex, I don't want to berate you or make you feel bad like he did."

Jen sighed, lifting his chin once more. "Sweetheart, you don't have to worry about that. You're not like him and I know you'd never intentionally make me feel bad about myself. What you said was true, I have lapses in judgement and sometimes when I go off by myself, that gets me in trouble. There's nothing wrong with you saying that." He still seemed unsure and she tapped his chin in the same affectionate manner she'd done to Trip earlier that day. "I want you to feel like you can be honest with me Wes. One of the things I've always loved about you was that we could always speak freely to each other."

"Really?"

"Really." She nodded. "I like how you tease me and how you can call me out when you need to, you've never done that aggressively. I don't want that stuff to change just because we're together, ok?"

"Ok." He nodded, smiling down at her. "I think we got a little off-topic."

"All I was going to say is that every single mutant, robot or whatever else we face is going to be brutal in their attacks. They aren't going to show mercy... And we're going to get hurt. But as long as we fight together and look out for each other, at the end of the day -"

"We're all going to be ok." He finished and she smiled.

"Exactly."

They were quiet for a few seconds before he asked. "So, you're really ok?"

She rolled her eyes but answered. "Yes Sweetheart, I promise. As long as we have a quiet night, I'll be good as new by tomorrow." He recognised her use of the endearment – not just once, but twice – and couldn't help but lean down to kiss her. When they pulled back, she grabbed both his hands and started walking back towards the stairs. "Come on, it's getting late. We better call it a night."

Just as she'd promised, Jen truly was good as new by the morning. It was a quiet day with a few odd jobs but otherwise, it was uneventful. They sat down for the evening and decided to watch a movie after finishing their pizza. Wes suggested Titanic as everyone had been raving about it since its release four years earlier. The rangers had no complaints and they sat down to watch the movie. Trip, Katie and Lucas sat up on the lounge while Jen and Wes sat on the floor leaning up against it.

He wouldn't admit it but the red ranger actually spent most of the movie watching Jen, rather than the screen. It was intriguing that for someone who could keep such hold on their emotions, he could read her like a book as she watched. Every emotion she felt could be seen through her eyes. He felt more than heard her gasp when Rose mentioned her engagement as Jack confessed his love to her, and her hand quickly grasped his. Tightly. He pulled his hand free, instead, wrapping it over her shoulders and pulling her a little closer. He quickly glanced up at the others to see that their focus was on the movie and he kissed her temple in reassurance.

The rangers smiled at some scenes, they felt sad in others and they couldn't help but shift in discomfort at the drawing and sex scenes. Because even though they were all adults, they had become family and there was always a hint of awkwardness when you have to watch a sex scene around your family.

When the ship began to sink and the people were falling from the stern, Jen gripped his other hand, her knuckles turning white. He inhaled sharply at the pain before he twisted his hand so their fingers were interlocked. Her grip was still just as tight but it offered her some comfort. He could see the tears in her eyes throughout the scene and when Jack died, they finally fell. She tried her hardest to silence them but when Rose let him go, she couldn't do it anymore. She buried her head into Wes's chest and tried to be as quiet as she could. Wes held her tightly in an attempt to comfort her as his hand rubbed circles on her back. Her hands grasped fistfuls of his shirt and he felt the material tighten over his chest. He kissed the top of her head as he whispered. "It's ok Sweetheart."

"But she let go." She struggled to regain her composure before she whispered back. "I know it's just a movie and they didn't know each other for long but they loved each other and he just got taken away."

"A heart that's broken is a heart that's been loved Sweetheart. When you love someone that much, you're willing to do anything even if that means dying for them." He told her as he brushed the hair from her face, tucking it behind her ears. "But it's ok, I think you'll like the ending a little better."

"But how? He's dead."

"Shh, you'll see." He said as he placed them back into their earlier position. Jen had her head leaning on his chest and could feel his arm firmly around her. She kept her fingers interlocked with his and felt his head rest on top of hers as they turned their attention back to the end of the movie.

What they didn't realise was that they'd caught the attention of their friends. Lucas smiled as he watched them before nudging the yellow ranger so she and Trip could also see the sweet moment between their leaders. Katie smiled as she watched them and wrapped Trip in a one-armed hug as she saw the grin on his face. She knew that Jen and Wes didn't want Trip and Lucas to know just yet but when those two were together, sometimes they fell into their own little world and nobody but them existed in it. What they didn't know was how proud Katie, Trip and Lucas were that they were together and how much the three wanted them to be together.