Those Little Things
1.) He liked to read. He didn't know a lot of kids his own age and hardly got a chance to hang out with the ones he did know.
He was a social guy; he could find something in common with most people that he talked to. But his father's protective (if not suffocating) restrictions ensured he spent a lot of time at the mansion.
Reading was great. At least when he read he could pretend to be somewhere other than San Angeles.
2.) When his world changed that fateful day, he was ecstatic. Here was his chance to see the world. Here was his chance to prove he wasn't just some spoiled rich kid with a huge house and access to just about everything anyone could imagine.
Here was his chance to know what it was like to have real friends.
3.) He thought Rose was one of the most interesting people he had ever met. She was intelligent, obviously, and very pretty, and she actually managed to laugh at his terrible jokes.
She seemed to be embarrassed the first time he told her she was beautiful, but she wouldn't tell him why.
He promised himself he would find out one day,
When he did find out why she was embarrassed, he just held her.
4.) At first, he tired not to be so blatant about his crush on Rose, not wanting to put her in any more danger than she already was just by being part of the team.
Even so, he couldn't help but notice all the little things she did. For instance, he knew she looked at her feet when she was embarrassed and that she combed her fingers through her hair when she was nervous. She bit her lip when she was deep in concentration, and when she was happy she smiled the prettiest smile.
Sometimes he caught himself staring at her and was certain that everyone could tell.
5.) Will knew, and called the red ranger on it several times, but even with his friend's insistence on being honest with Rose, Mack could never bring himself to tell her how he really felt.
It was Bridge who told him (before mentioning someone named Sky was going to kill him) that in his own time period, Mack and Rose Hartford were still an important asset to the ranger family and that they did work at a place called SPD.
That was definitely encouraging for him, but even when he went to see Rose in London, he couldn't even admit how much he missed her.
6.) Looking back at the facts, he should have known there was something wrong with him. Looking back, everything added up to the horrifying conclusion that he wasn't human.
No wonder his father was always so worried about him – he was an expensive piece of equipment. No wonder he shouldn't have been affected by luck – good or bad. No wonder he hadn't been able to go through the force field after Tyzonn and Rose.
7.) Even though he and his father made nice in the end, Mack never really forgave his father. Not until nearly three years later, anyway.
Rose spoke to her parents and sister as little as possible, but she had invited them to the wedding. She waited to hear back for three weeks and got no response. When she went to see them in person, her mother had coldly informed her they would not attend.
There was no one to walk her down the aisle, not until Andrew had stepped up and volunteered. The way Rose's eyes lit up and the tone of her voice as she thanked him was what really made Mack forgive his father.
8.) He hated being in the spotlight; hated that the family name was connected with immeasurable amounts of money, property and other investments.
Rose hated it too, which cemented his choice. It was the best feeling in the world to know that the person he had chosen to spend his life with loved him for him, not the status.
When they were newlyweds, they often ditched the mandatory black-tie affairs. They had their own parties, during which they found a reclusive spot where they talked and cuddled and wished they were somewhere else.
9.) He thought his kids were miracles. He supposed most fathers thought the same thing, but his really were. Without the fully assembled Corona Aurora, he never would have been human and they never would have existed.
He told every one of his three children how much he loved them every day, even when they were grown.
10.) He never once doubted how lucky he was to have Rose.