Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers

Chapter 6 – Strange Relations

Kira, Connor and Tommy returned to the house to find it a flurry of activity as everyone helped get dinner ready. Kim, who had heard the entire conversation through her and Tommy's bond, had more or less given a play-by-play, leaving out only those facts they always left out. So, by the time the three arrived inside there was no group waiting on them, no more heavy talk or scathing looks. Kim had obviously ruled those out and informed everyone the discussion was over, agreeing that there was really nothing else to be said today and so things should just return to normal and the big deal this whole thing had been was to be dropped. Kira was immensely happy about this and accepted hugs from her mother, Uncle Jason and Justin, along with silent apologies from the latter two. With the seriousness over with, Connor and Ethan really got to see what the Ranger family was like. They quickly discovered that the Dr. Oliver they knew at school and the one he was at home was vastly different. Gone was the suit and tie and stern demeanour, replaced by a fun loving twenty-six year old. That was probably one of the biggest shocks for them, discovering that the age difference between seventeen and twenty-six wasn't that big. Your teacher was always much older and wiser then you, that's why they were the teacher, so to see their teacher with his family and friends behaving much the same as they did with their friends was a little unnerving; though Connor took great delight in catching his teacher when Tommy did exactly what he'd told Connor not to do.

"Dude come on!" Tommy cried as Jason started in on an embarrassing story about him from high school once they were all seated, or rather, due to the sheer number of them, perched on whatever surface they could find, for dinner. "Do you really want to go there bro? Cause I know just as many embarrassing stories about you man."

"Dude? Bro? Man?" Connor snickered with a raised eyebrow. "Kira was right, you do say those words a lot. So where do you get off telling me not to use them?"

"I never said you couldn't use the word dude, I said not to call me dude." Tommy replied with an un-amused look. "You've still got nine months until you, either of you, can call me anything besides Dr. Oliver or sir. Alright fine, I'll give you Dr. O, but that's it!"

"Sir?" Jason, Rocky and Zack laughed.

"Tommy, no matter how hard you try, you're never gonna be Ms. Applebee." Said Zack.

"I can be intimidating if I want to be!" his three friends made a point of looking at Connor and Ethan who scrunched their faces up in a non-committal expression as they pretended to think on it.

"Keep this up and I'll give you detention for the year. Forget Randall." Tommy muttered to his students. Neither Connor nor Ethan looked very impressed, in fact they both just raised an eyebrow as if daring him to follow through.

"You see, that's one of the two differences between you and Ms. Applebee." Said Jason. "She never made threats she wouldn't, or couldn't, follow through with."

"Second you'll never be able to control a class or incite fear with a single look." Rocky finished. "And it's just laughable when you try." Tommy sent them a glare, which sent them into peals of laughter, proving their point. After that the conversation turned slightly more serious as the veteran Rangers told the rookies tales of their enemies and the battles they fought. They offered advice, welcomed questions, and allowed the new team to get an idea of what they were facing. Kira, of course, knew most of it having lived with it her entire life, but hearing frank discussions about battle tactics was somewhat new to her. Then, Connor and Ethan were treated to story time as the others regaled them with tales of their lives, Ranger and otherwise, forcing their newest family members to get to know them a bit. They especially told them of the origins of the Power Rangers, allowing Alpha to tell much of the tale and introduce the two to the being that was Zordon of Eltar.

"So how do you have a PhD, Dr. O?" Ethan asked when it was Tommy's turn. "I mean you're only twenty-six."

"I too am only twenty-six and have three PhDs." Said Billy,

"That question doesn't apply to you Billy, you're a genius." Trini said. "No one who's met you would ever ask that question."

"And I'm only nineteen and I'm half way through my second PhD." Justin chimed in.

"Yeah, but you're weird even on Power Ranger standards." Said Kira, teasing her older brother figure.

"Oh am I?" Justin asked pulling her into a headlock and giving her a noogie.

"I mean, you're just so smart!" she backtracked with a laugh, half-heartedly fighting him off. "Your intelligence rivals, nay surpasses, that of Uncle Billy and Alpha combined!"

"And don't you forget it." The Blue Turbo Ranger reinforced before letting her go.

"So, Dr. O?" Ethan asked again.

"Through Lightspeed Rescue largely." He answered.

"Since when does Lightspeed Rescue award doctorates?"

"They don't. But they can speed up the process. I told you how when I found the Dino Gems I needed to become an expert in Palaeontology, and fast. Well, Captain Mitchell helped out with the fast part. My research was expedited, and part of the degree was honorary. He pulled the Power Ranger card, showed them all the work Alpha could scrounge up on dinosaurs that he and Zordon used to create our original powers, told them it was from a Power Ranger, which is not completely a lie considering Zordon created us, and that it was for a Power Ranger. Between that and the research I actually did he got me my degree and kept my name out of it."

"It didn't take much convincing actually." Added Kim. "They were pretty keen on presenting an award to a Power Ranger, so when Tommy agreed to appear at their graduation ceremony, fully morphed of course, so they could publically present it, they jumped at the chance, even if the name on the doctorate was 'The Original White Ranger.' "

"Then the Captain worked his magic again and got a copy made with my actual name on it so I could use it in real life."

"Isn't that cheating?" Connor asked. "And why did you even need a PhD? Wouldn't just learning everything you could on Palaeontology be just as good seeing as you had to keep the Gems a secret anyways?"

"I guess it's kinda cheating, but it's the cheating you have to do sometimes as a Ranger when your identity's a secret." Tommy answered. "And yes to a point you're right about not needing the degree, but it's actually very useful. I never would have gotten to work with Anton Mercer without it; I'd never have known Mesogog existed and had the Morphers ready."

"Speaking of which, you never did tell me who made those Morphers." Kim said, shooting Tommy a look, still peeved that he never told her about them. You'd think after the 'Red Mission' he'd have learned.

"Wasn't me or Alpha." Billy offered up immediately, turning any attention off of them before it could even be turned on.

"It was Hayley." Tommy admitted.

"Hayley?"

"Yep. She offered her help should I ever need it after discovering we were Rangers."

"How did she discover that?" Adam asked in surprise. Tommy had met Hayley during their undergrad, which he'd earned over four years all on his own, but only he and Kim knew her well. The others had only met her occasionally.

"During second year, when we disappeared during the battle against the Cyborg Rangers."

"That battle with the Lightspeed Rangers that nearly levelled the state and resulted in the 'Power Ranger Act of 2000.' " Ethan said, recalling that event, though he wasn't the only one to recall it.

"What is it?" Kira asked Connor who had flinched at Ethan's words.

"I forgot how much that event shaped Ranger history…which I'm now a part of."

"Dude, it was only four years ago that all of California was nearly destroyed. How could you forget that?" Questioned Ethan.

"Supressed memory." At Kira's raised eyebrow he sighed dramatically and continued. "The, um, General from the Pentagon that ordered the Cyborg Rangers to replace the human ones…he's my uncle."

"What?!" cried every single person in the room.

"General Albert McKnight…good ol' Uncle Al. I wonder what he'd say to me being a Power Ranger." The Rangers stared in silence, unable to formulate words as they were given a close connection to someone who, in their opinion, was worse then some of their enemies. Their enemies had the excuse of being evil when their attacks destroyed cities and killed people. General McKnight was merely a self-entitled, pompous idiot. While their enemies weren't the brightest of beings, they also weren't stupid. When they discovered that the 'new and improved' Rangers they fought were machines, they quickly turned the tide and brought the Cyborgs to their side. At that point General McKnight could have done the smart thing and given the Lightspeed Rangers their Morphers back and let them fix his mistake. But being a pompous idiot he decided he still knew better and called in technical experts from across the country to try and bring the Cyborgs back to their side, even though the then Ms. Fairweather, creator of all Lightspeed technology, told him it was impossible. While his tech experts went to work, the Cyborgs rampaged through Mariner Bay, before moving on to the rest of the state, and naturally drew the attention of past Rangers. The Space Rangers, the only other open identity Rangers, came to their aid first upon discovering the Lightspeed Rangers had had their Morphers taken from them. When they weren't powerful enough they called in every other team of Rangers on Earth before being forced to contact the Lost Galaxy Rangers on Mirinoi. When five teams of Rangers wasn't enough, the Lightspeed Rangers finally decided to screw protocol and disobeying their commanding officer, Lightspeed was a branch of the military at the time, and took their Morphers back by force. In what was the largest gathering of Rangers to date, all six teams were finally able to destroy the Cyborgs, but at the cost of thousands of lives and more destruction then they could count.

"So then," Carlos continued, as the Rangers had traded off telling the story. "All twenty-nine of us were incredibly pissed, and understandably so. The idiocy of one human caused all this death and destruction, which, we realized, never would have happened had Lightspeed Rescue, and a team of Power Rangers, not been under the command of the United States Military."

"Or anyone's command." Trini added. "No team of Power Rangers should take orders from anyone who is not a Power Ranger, or like most of our mentors, not directly involved in Ranger business. And even then we don't blindly follow orders."

"We then went to Washington D.C." said Aisha. "Where very conveniently the G20 summit was being held, meaning many of the world's leaders were in one place."

"It was hilarious," Zack laughed. "Twenty-nine Rangers burst into their meeting room fully morphed and told the world's leaders that they were never, under no uncertain terms, to ever meddle, interfere or even get involved in Ranger business. When it came to saving the world, we were to be left alone to do it our way. They refused, of course, but they reconsidered when we promptly said we'd leave the planet and Earth would be screwed."

"Wait, you'd leave Earth unprotected?" Ethan demanded. "Isn't that exactly what we're not supposed to do?"

"You're right Ethan." Said Billy. " But it's bad enough to be fighting evil beings who possess enough power to destroy Earth entirely. However, to be fighting against the people who are supposed to be on our side is too much. It would be a lost cause and no matter how hard anyone fought, Earth would fall. And we are not just the protectors of Earth, but of the universe. So if the planet was going to be destroyed no matter what we did, we were not going to risk our lives, and thus the safety of the rest of the universe, for an already lost cause."

"It's the question of the individual versus the group." Said Tommy. "It's a decision we hope never to actually have to make."

"So then, once we had the verbal cooperation of the world's leaders, we decided to get written cooperation." Said Kat, returning to the story. "Forgoing lawyers who would draw up an extensive document with lots of footnotes and clauses, Billy took a piece of lined paper and wrote the agreement down in two sentences. And I kid you not, this is exactly what the 'Power Ranger Act of 2000' says: 'We, the undersigned, hereby promise and swear to never meddle, interfere or in any other manner become involved in any past, present, or future endeavours, workings, and/or business involving the Power Rangers in any way, shape or form. We acknowledge and understand that should we meddle, interfere or in any other manner become involved in any past, present or future endeavours, workings and/or business involving the Power Rangers in any way, shape or form, said Power Rangers reserve the right to not fix our mistakes, to pack up and depart Earth, leaving us to try to clean up the mess we got ourselves into.' "

"Really?" Connor asked with an amused smile. "That's really what it says?" The Rangers nodded.

"Ever since, the Power Rangers have been declared above the law when it comes to saving the world." Said Kim. "We can't, you know, break the law for whatever reason and try to play the Power Ranger card, it has to very specifically be in relation to us protecting Earth, and since our battles are incredibly obvious, any law breaking tends to be incredibly obvious."

"And Lightspeed Rescue has been charged with keeping us in check." Cassie added. "Captain Mitchell, Mrs. Rawlings and the six Rangers have the power to order the President himself around, they've got to walk that line on when using that power is actually necessary or not, and they're constantly under a microscope, people just waiting for them to screw up, for the first sign that the power has gone to their heads so they can swoop in and try to get us under their control deeming us dangerous otherwise."

"But that's not going to happen." Said TJ. "The Power wouldn't choose us to be Rangers if it would go to our heads, so those people are going to be disappointed."

"The six Lightspeed Rangers are also the heads of their field worldwide." Kira said. "Carter is Pyro Rescue, head of any fire rescue team in the world, and also as Red Ranger helps Captain Mitchell run Lightspeed. Chad as Aqua Rescue is head of the Navy, Joel as Aero Rescue is head of the Air Force, Kelsey who is Haz Rescue is head of the Army, Dana as Med Rescue is head of paramedics and doctors, and Ryan as Solar Rescue is head of NASADA."

"But Lightspeed didn't just declare one day that their Rangers were the top dog above experts with many years of experience." Said Jason. "That would be abusing their power. They each had to prove themselves experts in their field, which thanks to Lightspeed technology and their expedited learning, they were able to do. Dana was a paramedic at eighteen and a doctor by twenty, but just because she got to avoid years of med school, doesn't mean she doesn't know it all."

"Kind of like with me." Justin added. "I've got a Masters, a PhD, and am halfway through my second PhD at nineteen, which should be impossible. But if you prove yourself capable, and in Lightspeed's case pull some strings, you can avoid the time constraints placed on most people."

"That's kind of awesome." Said Ethan. He knew some of what they'd been told but Google and second hand accounts could only take you so far. Hearing it from an insider's view was entirely different.

"Yep." Kira agreed with a yawn. Tommy and Kim turned to the clock and saw that it was well after midnight. Seeing how late it actually was the two said in unison "Bedtime!" before they began hustling Kira upstairs.

"Dude are we all crashing here tonight?" Jason called as he and the others shuffled into the living room just before the Olivers had made it to the stairs.

"Of course you can…oh right, there's a lot of you." Tommy and Kim stopped to try and figure out how they'd fit everyone.

"We'd actually better be getting these two home." Said Ashley, to which Andros agreed and they began to pack their sleeping twins up.

"Yeah the rest of us will go too." Said TJ, and everyone save the Originals nodded their head.

"Looks like you just got us five then." Said Zack, motioning to himself, Billy and Kat and Trini and Jason.

"Seven." Tommy corrected. "Connor and Ethan are staying too. We didn't know how long it would take for the bond to stabilize so we cleared it with their parents for a few days."

"Alright seven then." Any further questioning as to sleeping arrangements was cut off as goodbyes were said to those leaving. Everyone got a big hug from Kira, the twins getting a kiss on the forehead as she smiled down on her baby cousins before the large group, Alpha included, teleported home.

"Alright well Trini and Jason or Billy and Kat get the spare room with the other two getting the pull-out couch. The guys can fight for the chair and floor space." Said Kim. "I'll bring down some blankets and pillows after we've put Kira to bed."

"I'm ten, not two, I don't need to be put to bed." She grumbled, but obediently said goodnight to her aunts and uncles and followed her parents upstairs. They made it to Kira's bedroom when they noticed they had an add-on to their group.

"Goodnight Connor." Tommy said pointedly.

"Uh…right…goodnight." He replied, though never tore his eyes away from Kira. Both wore a slightly pained expression and not knowing what else to do, Kira came forward and gave Connor a lingering hug before whispering goodnight and giving him a small push in the direction of the stairs. He went down to the first landing then stayed there, watching as her parents said goodnight and her door closed for the final time. Only then did he pry himself away and make his way downstairs, grabbing a pillow off the couch and curling up on the floor, barely noticing as a blanket was draped over him as he fell into a fitful sleep.

-C/K-

The next morning, Tommy and Kim awoke feeling calmer and more rested then they thought they'd be given the day they'd had yesterday. Knowing that their guests would be up soon, and wanting to beat Jason to the kitchen to avoid his cooking, the two got up and started their day. As they made their way downstairs it became apparent that they were the first ones up, or so they thought. Jason and Trini had taken the pull out couch and they, along with Zack and Ethan were all still asleep, but Connor was mysteriously absent. A search of the kitchen yielded no results and the two shared a look before heading back upstairs, this time to Kira's room. Sure enough that's where they found him, fast asleep on the floor, his head resting on the bed and his hand intertwined with Kira's.

"I thought I made it clear last night he was to stay away." Tommy growled.

"At least he's on the floor." Kim said, placing a calming hand on his shoulder. "And can you really blame him? Remember how the bond wanted us to always be around each other in the beginning? And the pain when you stayed away because of what happened? They need to be around each other right now. And I think it shows just how strong he is that he was able to restrain himself from holding her as close as possible. No doubt out of respect for us."

"You always have to see the best in people don't you?" he grumbled. "Can't you just let me hate the guy who's my daughter's future? I am her father after all and it's my duty to hate any guy who gets close to her."

"Nope, sorry, not going to happen on my watch. And it's not your duty to hate him, it's your duty to make sure he's worthy of her. But given the special circumstances and the fact none of us have any choice in it, even that's not your duty, instead it's to be kind and welcome him into the family."

"Fine." He conceded, knowing it was useless to argue against her. "But I swear after these first few days when he's gone back home I better not find him sneaking into the house at night or I swear..."

"Oh don't worry." She said as she led him away. "Jefferson will watch over her. You know how protective he is." Tommy smirked and turned back to the cat who sat atop his daughter, claws very close to her and Connor's joined hands. It was true, ever since a seven-year-old Kira had brought the stray cat home, he'd taken it upon himself to watch over her, or at least that's what they called it, for whenever she was upset or in trouble that cat always seemed to know, so Tommy had no doubt that his claws would sink into Connor if anything happened to Kira.

"So what now?" Tommy asked as they made their way back downstairs. Kim merely shot him a look and headed outside, clearly expecting him to follow. Once they were outside, and a fair distance from the house, Kim turned to Tommy and opened her end of their bond fully, allowing him to feel all the feelings of hurt and anger she'd supressed and hidden from him since yesterday.

"Well now that we've had a chance to stop and breathe I thought it would be a good time to have a little chat on why you've been hiding things from me." She said with a sharp edge to her voice. "And I'm not talking about hiding things in general, bonded or not we have a right to privacy if we want it and I don't expect you to tell me about every little thing that happens in your day. But when you found the Gems, I'd expect to hear about something that big. I mean it's not even just finding the Gems, it's the fact that you knew an evil being was after them, putting our family in danger so long as they remained in your possession, that you had Ranger powers made behind my back, bringing one of our friends in on your secrets yet not your wife, that our house has a basement, which you converted into a command centre, and not to mention the gigantic fact that our daughter was kidnapped, then became a Power Ranger, and you hid all that from me! Why Tommy?" Tommy sighed, having known this conversation was coming and not been looking forward to it in the least as he had absolutely no excuse that Kimberly would accept. Knowing she was right and that he really shouldn't have hidden something this big from her, he could tell her nothing but the truth, and so told her exactly that.

"No excuse?" She repeated.

"No excuse that you'll accept." He amended.

"Is this going to be that same bull-shit you tried to pull when you didn't tell me about the 'Red Mission?' That you did it to protect me?"

"Pretty much, yes. Though I'll also add I did it to protect our daughter."

"How do you figure that? How does not telling me protect us?"

"Because Mesogog has proven to be smarter and more ruthless then a lot of our past enemies and he will do anything to get his hands on those Gems. He may have come after you or Kira anyways because you're my family, but if he questioned you about the Gems and you truthfully could say you had no idea what he was talking about, and given some of his powers he'd know if you were lying, then you'd just become collateral giving me a chance to get you back unharmed. But if you knew…he'd torture you. I know both of you and there is no way in hell that either of you would tell him anything, but if you knew, he would not hesitate to torture you in trying to extract the information." That thought had Tommy sitting down as he tried to get his emotions under control. It was for this exact reason that he hadn't told Kim, for he knew what Mesogog would do to them and it terrified him. "I've said before that I'm not programmed to let you knowingly go into danger, I'm programmed to protect you and Kira, at all costs. That's why to this day I still haven't taken back my order from when your Power Coin was stolen. I will do anything to protect you, and this is no different. I know you can protect yourself, I know you're strong, but if I can do something to protect you, even if it means keeping things from you, I will." Kim could tell that what he said what true, their bond was wide open and there were no more secrets. Which is why she also knew there was something Tommy wasn't saying, not because he was trying to hide it from her, but because he couldn't bring himself to say it, so he let her know through their bond allowing him to not actually have to say the words.

"Oh Tommy." She whispered as she came over and sat in his lap, wrapping her arms around him. It wasn't for his rationale about protecting her that had her anger and hurt receding, they'd had that discussion before, and she was sure they'd have it again. No, it was because of the terror she felt through their bond. In this instance she recognized that wanting to protect her and Kira was only a part of why he hadn't told her, but what had ultimately stopped him was his terror over what could happen to them. In the past, their enemies had naturally wanted to destroy them, they had to, to be able to conquer Earth, but destroy had always meant kill, and while it was certainly not something any of them were ok with, facing death was nothing new to them and they'd accepted from the very beginning that there may come a day their enemies succeeded. Where Mesogog differed was where Tommy was certain the dinosaur mutant would take delight in making them suffer, in destroying them in the worst way possible.

Then, to top it all off, Tommy was brought back ten years and nine months to when he'd captured Kim, to when he was determined to destroy her in the worst way possible, though she would not have death awaiting her at the end for he'd intended to keep alive and with him always, living in that hell. The defeated look he'd seen on the Kim's face from his own Zeo quest haunted him for he knew that mental and emotional destruction was most often worse then physical pain. He himself would rather be stepped on by the Megazord then feel half of what he knew the alternate Kim had felt. All of these emotions had been too much for him and he'd reacted in the only way he knew how: protect his wife and child at all costs.

"Tommy you can't keep things like this bottled up." She said. "You need to talk to me, Handsome. I'm your mate and one half of you and just as you're here to protect me, I'm here to protect you and I can't do that if you supress everything. Protecting you doesn't just mean keeping evil villains away from you. So don't do this anymore. Let it all out." And he did. Tommy broke down in her arms as he had that day behind the school shortly after he'd been released from Rita's spell, and just like that day Kim said all the right things, knowing exactly what to say and helped him work through it. Once he'd calmed down he'd then launched into a detailed explanation of everything he'd kept from her, and the two returned to the house once again thinking life was unfair, that no twenty-six year old, or anyone for that matter, should have the problems they do and no one should have to go through what they had. Yet, even through all of this, they couldn't find it in themselves to truly wish things to be different, for it would mean they wouldn't have each other, and they wouldn't have that little girl who brought more meaning into their lives then they'd ever thought one person capable of.

A/N - And the last of the talking chapters (for awhile anyways). Next chapter brings back some action and has a familiar plot line from the show, with, naturally, my own twists!

'The Power Ranger Act of 2000' both made me laugh and was a necessity for this story, and in my opinion should have been for the show. I loved Lightspeed Rescue, its one of my favourite seasons, but the Cyborg Rangers episode never sit well with me. Given that they are the only ones standing between the evil dudes and Earth's destruction I am fully of the belief that Power Rangers shouldn't be under the command of anyone but themselves, that includes the worlds' governments. This does not mean that they should be able to run around unchecked, but rather to avoid any situations like with General McKnight, who, by the way, I couldn't help but make related to Connor.

Lightspeed Rescue does have all this power, and basically everyone in the world is answerable to them. The Rangers are also, as stated, the heads of their respective fields worldwide. While they will not abuse the power, the Rangers are slowly and quietly letting the world see that they count anything to do with the safety of Earth and its people as 'Ranger business,' not just anything to do with supernatural beings. This means, the wars humans wage against themselves that cause lots of death and destruction, is considered by them to be 'Ranger business' so Lightspeed is working towards the end of uniting Earth, not as one country or anything, but rather to stop things like wars breaking out. More information on this, and how well they succeed or don't succeed, is given later in this fic. ;)

Review please!