Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers.

Chapter 4 – Working It Out

Connor found her exactly where he had left her a couple hours ago; still sound asleep, though there was now a cat sitting at the end of the bed, as if to watch over her. The cat was looking at him, staring him down, and Connor got the distinct impression that it was judging him, and determining if he was a threat to the girl it watched over. Connor stayed where he was, allowing the cat time to assess him and hoping it decided in his favour. Finally, the cat did decide he wasn't a threat; it stood and hopped off the bed, bypassing Connor without a second glance as it trotted out of the room. Connor shook his head, wondering if he was going crazy. Here he was thinking of a cat as a person whose approval he needed. Of course his crazy theory seemed more probable as he turned his attention back to the girl who lay peacefully in the bed a few feet away from him. Two hours ago the only feelings he had for her were caution at her being his teacher's daughter, annoyance at her out witting him, and finally trust as his new teammate. All that had changed within the space of a few seconds; brought on by that first skin-to-skin contact. Suddenly she meant everything to him. 'There's no one more important.' He thought. Beyond that, he couldn't pin down his feelings for her. Connor walked forward and sat down on the edge of the bed, watching as Kira shifted in her sleep as the mattress dipped with his weight. Unable to resist, he reached over and grasped her hand, running his thumb over the back. At his touch, Kira stirred and lazily opened her eyes. Connor stilled any and all movements, unsure if he wanted her to go back to sleep or stay awake and acknowledge him. The decision was taken out of his hands, however, when Kira turned her head towards him and their eyes met.

"Connor…" she said, her voice still heavy with sleep. He shot her a small smile that gave away his uncertainty. In return she squeezed his hand in reassurance and smiled back. "How long have I been asleep? Did mom and dad tell you everything?"

"It's been about two hours, and yeah, they explained it all. Their past as Rangers, the Ninjetti, the prophecy, your dad's past as the Evil Green Ranger, all of it."

"I'm sorry you've been brought into this." She murmured.

"Not your fault. From what they said, I gather that there's not much of your future that's your own or under your control. And now you even lose control of your present. That's where I come in apparently."

"Still, it's a lot to take in. One day you're normal, the next you're a Power Ranger and not only that but a key player in an ancient prophecy. I've at least grown up knowing all this."

"Yeah, well, if your parents are to be believed I got the better end of this deal. Information overload seems a small price compared to what you get." Kira sat up and crossed her legs, facing him straight on, though he noticed she didn't let go of his hand.

"Speaking of control and our parts of this…deal." She began. "Let's just have it all out. There's things we both want to say, to know, so let's just get it over with. You have the control in this…relationship, or whatever we wanna call it, and I want to know what you feel about all this."

"I might have control over you because of some ancient power, but I don't want it." He countered. "Besides we don't even know if I do. Dr. O said that he doesn't know exactly what to expect from this. The prophecy says we have a bond like the one your parents have, but we don't…not yet anyways. Mrs. O said that when Dr. O cast the spell on her there was a lot of…sexual attraction…and those feelings played a big part of it, that's how you were…" he broke off unsure how much she knew and realizing too late that he might have shot off his mouth where he shouldn't have.

"How I was conceived."

"Yeah, that." He breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that she's already known. "But I don't feel any of that. Dr. O said it was because you're ten, and not physically mature and that the bond would probably change when you are, but that could mean that the rest of the bond hasn't fully developed right?" He knew he was rambling, but this was awkward enough, and she was right, there was a lot to be said and heard. He knew that if he didn't just get it out now he wouldn't be able to do it at all.

"It could." She admitted, though it was obvious she didn't believe it. "But I don't think so. I could have imagined it, I was kinda delirious and all, but, Connor, when you told me to rest earlier, I'm pretty sure there was something else making me fall asleep, I was just too tired to fight it."

"I said one word to you. How could it…?"

"It was still an order. The power binding us together responds to what you say and how you say it."

"So when I told you to rest, the…forcefulness I guess, activated the power?" Kira nodded and Connor hung his head.

"I guess Dr. O was right. I'm gonna have to watch what I say to you."

"Yeah, but let's try it, just so we know for sure." Kira didn't like the self-loathing she saw in him. She'd known Connor for two days but already she had gathered that he was confident and self-assured. Now he just seemed lost. "Order me to do something."

"Like what?" he asked, raising his head to look at her as if she was crazy.

"Anything. Just give me an order and we'll see if I have to fight to not do it."

"Uh…ok…stand up." Kira felt her legs shift beneath her, beginning the motion of standing up, however she was easily able to squash it and remain seated. However, her disobedience cost her as the mark over her left hipbone burned. She cried out and doubled forward, pain etched onto her face.

"Kira!" Connor cried as he reached out to steady her, grasping onto her t-shirt covered shoulders. When the pain continued he instinctively pulled her onto his lap, wanting to hold her and comfort her, to make her pain go away. Kira burrowed her head in his chest and brought her arms around his neck, seeking the comfort he willingly gave, and when her hands touched the bare skin of his neck, the pain subsided instantly, leaving her a bit out of breath, and both of them a bit scared.

"Are you ok?" he asked, when her breathing had returned to normal. Kira nodded into his chest but then lifted her head to look at him, though she made no move to disentangle herself from his lap.

"It didn't hurt too much, I overreacted, it caught me by surprise. But every second I continued to disobey you, got worse."

"Watch what I say from now on, got it." Was his reply, he was determined not to see her like that again. Though even as he thought that he knew he'd probably have to put her through it at least once more. "Kira, Mrs. O said that if she left Dr. O, like even just walked away from him in the literal sense, like heading to a different room, it burned." Kira nodded in understanding and stood up, pulling herself out of Connor's grasp.

"Let's try it."

"Maybe we should wait." He said, not letting her pull away from him completely. "You just went through that, we can wait."

"No, we need to know. The sooner we know the sooner we can try to find a solution if one's needed." Connor didn't like it but he knew she was right. They had a couple days to work things through but after that he'd have to return home, and to school. Having a ten-year-old tag along because she couldn't leave him would send off warning bells faster then he cared to admit. So it was with reluctance that he released her and watched as she walked out of the room. He had prepared himself to rush to her side if needed, so not even a second after her cry of pain reached his ears he was by her side, pulling her into his arms. This time, however, her cry had been heard downstairs and thundering feet came rushing towards them, followed shortly by the appearance of Tommy, Kim and Ethan.

"What the hell was that?" Tommy demanded of Connor, obviously this was all the younger man's fault, he was not prepared to accept any other explanation.

"We were testing the bond." Came his slightly defensive answer. "Looks like you were right, Dr. O. She can't disobey me, and she can't leave me." Both Tommy and Kim's lips thinned in displeasure to which Kira rolled her eyes.

"Oh get over it, guys. There's nothing you can do about it."

"We can worry." Said Kim.

"And not like it." Imputed Tommy.

"We're your parents, we'll always be allowed to worry."

"And not like it." Kim smacked Tommy on the arm but didn't correct him. Once again Kira rolled her eyes, but she kept her mouth shut knowing it'd be no good.

"Let's go downstairs." Suggested Tommy. "Now that you're awake we can talk about this and try to find a solution." Everyone agreed with him and began the descent back into the living room. Kira found herself swept up into Connor's arms, being carried down the stairs.

"You know, I can walk Connor." She said irritably. "Not being able to walk away from you does not equal not being able to walk period."

"I know. But two minutes ago you were doubled over in pain. So humour me." Kira grumbled but allowed him to carry her without a fight. They joined Ethan and Kim in the living room and Connor set Kira down on the couch, taking the spot directly beside her. He didn't exactly want to let her go, but he didn't think keeping her in his lap would earn him any points with Dr. or Mrs. O; or Kira for that matter. Tommy chose that moment to enter with another coffee, bringing one for Kim and Ethan as well.

"I'm gonna get some water." Said Kira, realizing how thirsty she was when she saw the others' drinks.

"Stay right there, I'll get it." Said Connor as he jumped up and rushed into the kitchen. Kira grumbled as she sat back down. She could feel the power compelling her to obey his unintentional order and saw no reason to fight it and feel the mark burn over a glass of water. Connor returned moments later with her water for which she begrudgingly thanked him.

"Well, that leads us pretty nicely into what we're going to be doing for the next couple of days." Said Tommy, turning his attention to Connor. "You have got to watch what you say. You just gave her an order and you didn't even realize it."

"No I knew what I was saying." Connor assured them. Kira's head snapped in his direction, anger rising up within her at his statement.

"You knew you were giving me an order?" she hissed. Tommy and Ethan instinctively leaned back in their seats away from the girl who greatly resembled her mother in her anger. Connor however, was completely oblivious to the warning signs.

"Yeah." He said as if she was missing the obvious. "You were spasming in pain mere minutes ago. I don't want you walking after that." Kira's eyes narrowed.

"Ok, first of all, I am not your responsibility nor do you have any right to dictate what I can and cannot do."

"I'd say you're wrong on both counts. The fact that this bond and the power it gives me exists is proof of that."

"I don't give a damn about this bond and power or what it's existence means!" she yelled. She would have jumped up in her anger but the power was still compelling her to stay where she was; Connor had not rescinded his earlier command. "I am in charge of my own future, I will dictate my own movements, not you!"

"Well you're wrong about that. I am a part of your life now. So you're going to have to get over yourself." If it were possible Kira's eyes narrowed even more.

"Listen here, McKnight, I-"

"No, you listen!" he growled, surging forward to trap her between his arms which he placed on either side of her, leaning over her and forcing her to sit back in the couch. "Everything has changed. Your life is no longer your own, you are no longer your own person, there is no you. Like it or not there is an us. It is our life, we are one person; you are a part of me just as I'm a part of you."

"That doesn't mean that you have the right to dictate my every move!" She countered, using all her meagre physical strength to shove him away from her. "It goes both ways, Connor. You say it's not my life anymore, well it's not yours either. We may now be one person, one soul in two bodies just like my parents, but to an extent we're still different people, and I get to have as much say in our life as you do!" The two stared each other down earning shocked and amused expressions from the spectators.

"I don't remember us fighting this much." Tommy muttered to Kimberly, though it was loud enough to Ethan to hear.

"That's because she's your kid too. She's got my kick-ass fire but your stubbornness."

"A deadly combination." Tommy agreed. Eventually, Connor backed down, moving to sit back on his end of the couch.

"You're right. It is our life, and we're gonna have to learn to compromise."

"You can start by taking back your order for me to not move from the couch." She growled, proving she did indeed have her father's stubbornness by not immediately letting it drop once Connor backed down.

"Fine. You can get up if you want to." He said and Kira felt the power she was getting well acquainted with wash over her, this time liberating her.

"Thank you." She muttered and they all lapsed into silence, allowing things to sink in and for things to calm down.

"So what now?" Asked Connor.

"How did you guys fix this?" Kira asked her parents.

"We didn't." Tommy said plainly. "It's been nearly eleven years and it's still there."

"Ok, guess I should have asked how you got it so mom could walk away from you."

"And so you didn't have watch what you said 24/7." Connor added.

"It wasn't easy." Said Kim. "And we don't know if you'll be able to do it."

"Why?"

"Cause it was our love for each other that allowed us to override the old magic binding Kim to me."

"Oh, that would be why." Muttered Connor.

"But it doesn't have to be love does it?" Kira asked. "It can be any emotion so long as we feel it deeply, right? Like it can be this…whatever this is between us? Even though we don't know exactly what it is I think we can both say we feel it deeply."

"Are you sure you're ten years old?" Ethan asked speaking for the first time in awhile.

"Yes." Kira laughed.

"You don't sound it." Connor added.

"That would be because my childhood consisted of monsters being after me, my closest age appropriate friend being nine years older then me who's also a Power Ranger because I can't actually make friends or risk exposing all our secrets, and not to mention growing up with the knowledge that I'm supposed to be the most powerful person in the universe who's basically bound in slavery to some unknown…well, now known, dude, and the fate of the universe depends on me cause either I'll save everything, or destroy it all." She snapped. "I've never been a normal kid and I'll never be a normal person. I dare you to show me a ten-year-old who has all that on their shoulders and still acts their age." Ethan and Connor had no idea what to make of all that, but they supposed that if these were the facts of their life they'd either have crumbled under the pressure, or risen to the challenge as Kira had and been a ten-year-old in body, but far older in mind. After the initial shock wore off the two turned to Tommy and Kim and saw their heads were hung in shame; it was obvious they didn't like that these were the facts of life for their daughter. The girl in question, however, softened when she saw her parents and got up, going over to them and sitting in between them, the three leaning into each other. The two boys supposed they'd be getting used to sights like this, sights that contradicted each other. Seeing a ten-year-old cuddling up to her parents for comfort was normal, the fact that the kid wasn't the one seeking the comfort but giving it was a testament to the weirdness that was now their lives.

"Ok, so assuming Kira's right and the specific emotion isn't important, what do we have to do?" Connor asked.

"Close your eyes." Tommy instructed. "Look inside yourself and-"

"Seriously dude?" Connor deadpanned. "More 'close your eyes and look deep inside' shit?"

"Ok, first," Tommy said with a glare. "Mature or not she's still only ten so watch your language. Second, I've told you not to call me dude, and third, you're going to be hearing those words so often that there will come a day when you just do it automatically."

"He's right about that last one." Kira muttered, before shooting her dad a smirk and continuing in mock whisper. "And don't worry about the dude bit. Uncle Jason says every second word out of dad's mouth in high school was dude, man, or bro."

"Kira…" Tommy growled playfully, as he always did when she did anything kid like which he was supposed to be annoyed or upset with; none of them could be mad at Kira in the rare times she did act her age.

"What? You were the one who said it was better that they knew the real you if they are going to be a part of this family."

"And you were fast asleep in your bed when I said it." Tommy answered with a raised eyebrow. Kira's smile faded when she realized her dad was right.

"I…y-you're right. How did I know that then?"

"Because Connor was there." Kim answered for her. "That's another part of the bond I guess you have. Telepathy."

"They can communicate telepathically?!" Ethan asked. "That is so cool."

"Wait, doesn't that mean I can hear her thoughts, cause I'm not hearing her thoughts." Connor said.

"Neither am I." Kira added. "So how…?"

"No idea then." Kim said. "I guess we'll find out over time."

"Alright, so closing eyes and looking deep inside." Connor said, going through the actions as he said the words. Kira closely followed suit. "Now what?"

"Search yourselves. Look for the power that surrounds your bond, and tap into whatever feelings are inside." Tommy instructed, trying to remember what Zordon had told him to do all those years ago. "Use those feelings to shift the power surrounding it into whatever you want it to be. Instead of it being one-sided try to shift it, control it, so it's mutually beneficial." The two did as instructed. Kira, being used to this kind of thing, found her end of the bond faster than Connor. She travelled along it to his end and felt him searching, her appearance in hid mind sending off a sort of homing beacon, allowing him to latch on to her. It didn't take them long to work things out and mould the bond to their will. Unlike with Tommy, who had battled the two parts of him, one wanting nothing to change and to keep Kim with him, while the other wanted her to be free, Connor had no such challenge. He felt no fear that Kira would leave him; they had, after all, not had the same start as Tommy and Kim, and so every part of him was in agreement that changing the bond to give Kira her freedom would not cause him to lose her. As such, they found it relatively easy to combine their power and came out of their reverie quickly. Without a word Kira stood and walked out of the room to the kitchen, returning some minutes later with a bowl of ice cream. Connor's order to give him some of her snack was met with a scoff and nothing else, allowing everyone to sigh in relief. "Good." Tommy said. "That's step one. Now, you just need to be careful, both for the next little while as this is all still new, especially in battle, but also should your emotions flare up. That's something you're really going to have to become aware of and watch, if your emotions spike, especially if its in anger, the bond may automatically revert back."

"I'll try my best." Connor said.

"And I'll be there to help him." Ethan assured them. "I may not have a big part, or really any part, to play in all this, so the least I can do is keep him in line."

"Ethan, just because you're not part of the prophecy does not mean you don't have a part to play." Kim told him, letting him know, as she had with their friends when this had happened to her and Tommy, that he was still just as much a part of this team. "You're an integral part of this team, and everyone will count on you just as they'll count on Connor and Kira."

"They're the ones who are gonna save or destroy the universe, not me." He countered.

"And how do you think they're gonna get there?" Tommy asked. "One thing you'll learn very quickly as a Power Ranger is that everyone, doesn't matter if they have added power or a seemingly larger part to play, everyone is needed. We succeed as a team, only as a team, just as any failures are that of the team as well. The old saying is 'there's no I in team.' That's never been more true then as a Power Ranger."

"When you meet our friends you'll see what we mean." Kim added, sending a spark of realization through both her and Tommy. "And speaking of our friends…"

"We gotta call your aunts and uncles." Tommy directed to his daughter.

"Don't you think we should wait a bit?" she pleaded, not really wanting to face her aunts and uncles just yet. This was all so new to her, and all of them together could be smothering, especially when it came to the topic of the prophecy.

"Nope. We've got a few days until Connor and Ethan need to be home, so now's as good a time as any." Kim said and Tommy began to smirk evilly.

"Jason and Trini first, I think." He said, his evil smirk landing on Connor, who paled.

"Why is he looking at me like that?" he whispered.

"Cause Uncle Jason and Aunt Trini, who also happen to be my godparents, aren't just that, they're also the Original Red and Yellow Rangers. But it's not Aunt Trini you gotta worry about, at least not unless you get on her bad side."

"But I gotta worry about your uncle?" Kira nodded.

"From what I've been told, he and my dad made a pack to castrate the guy the prophecy spoke of if ever I met him. Your introduction to my uncle may not be to Jason Scott…but rather to the Original Red Ranger."

A/N - Not much action going on right now, lots of talking, and there's one more chapter like this before it winds down. I think Kira's response to why she's so mature for her age is spot on, I don't think there's a person alive who wouldn't be if they were dealing with half of what she is. Unless you know, they caved under the pressure, but Kira didn't so it works. Next chapter brings the entire extended family, extended Ranger family that is, into the mix!

Also I got a question from a guest reviewer as to whether Kira Oliver is Kira Ford. The answer is no, she isn't. She's obviously replacing Kira Ford as the Yellow Dino Thunder Ranger, but she's not her. Kira Ford will actually make a brief cameo a couple chapters from now.

Review please!