Those Little Things
1.) The first memory he had was of his mom and dad. The three of them were at a neighborhood park just ten minutes from home. It was a sunny day, the temperature just right for playing outside.
He remembered being on the swingset, his mother and father just a few feet away. He remembered his father suggesting that his mom get on the swing so he could push her. His mom smiled and then rolled her eyes.
He remembered as the three of them went home his mom and dad were trailing along behind him. When he turned around, he saw them lean in to embrace. They walked home with their arms around each other.
2.) Sometimes he had nightmares about the day his dad died. He imagined different scenarios – the dreams were never quite the same.
When he woke up, he was always scared.
3.) When he saw some older boys pinking on two little girls, he dropped the basketball he'd been playing with and ran down the street.
He didn't actually touch the boys. He put up a shield in front of the girls to protect them and then yelled for the boys to pick on someone their own size.
The blond girl, who he recognized as being Aunt Dana and Uncle Carter's daughter, hugged him.
From then on, the girls never let him out of their sight, and it stayed like that for nearly all of their lives.
4.) Sometimes, when he thought about the way he acted towards his mother, he was ashamed of himself. He knew she always did her best, but angry as he was, he never cared. He pushed her away.
When he finished high school and enrolled at the academy, his mother actually cried.
5.) Being at SPD was the best. He loved running for miles at a time, training with firearms and zords and his special class where he learned to hone his power. He even had a close friend in Dru Harrington. It was easily the best he had felt since his dad's death, even counting the time he spent with Syd and Jamie.
When Syd showed up, determined to be with him, the happy bubble popped.
6.) He never really hated Jack. He hated himself for not being good enough to be red.
But being hostile to Jack was easier than feeling he had failed.
7.) When Syd got even the slightest bump or bruise Sky wished she would stop being a ranger before someone took her away from him.
Sometimes, he saw her looking at him and knew she was probably thinking the same thing.
8.) When he got to be red permanently, he wasn't nearly as excited as he thought he would be. Being in red was a dream come true…but it just didn't feel as right as he thought it would feel.
He knew, deep down, that it didn't feel right because he had never earned it. If it had been his color since the beginning, it would probably have been a better fit. The only reason he was in red was because Jack had left, and it was only expected that blue ranger be moved up to red.
He never really felt comfortable wearing his red jacket, or even wearing a red shirt. Blue was his color.
9.) He never told Syd how much it hurt him when she punched him. Hearing her tell him not to tease her with the prospect of marriage was just painful.
Didn't she knew he would never, ever be so cruel to her?
10.) There was no line he wouldn't cross if it was for his family. There was nothing he wouldn't do if it was for his Lizzie, or his Aaron, or his Kris. He would do anything for those kids, and for his Sydney.
It was what being a father and husband was all about.