A/N: So, I'm a little iffy about this one. I like Cassie as a ranger, but I don't know if she's right. I'm basing her being a bad singer on "Passing the Torch," because she was really off key singing on the bus, at least to me, but her bio says she was pursuing a music career. Feedback for this one is much appreciated.

This one is for Superspyder CJ, who requested Cassie and TJ.

Those Little Things

1.) She wanted to be a singer more than anything. It didn't matter that she wasn't very good, that she sang off key sometimes.

All throughout school, she was a member of the choir, end even though she never got a solo, she never gave up.

2.) And even though they had to know she wasn't very good, her friends and family always supported her. When she was denied another solo, she would get a "maybe next time" from her mom, or a "the choir director doesn't know what she's doing," from her friends.

It was these types of comments that made her feel special.

It was those encouragements and support that made her decide to try.

She was on a bus at sixteen, ready to face any challenges she might find, and hopefully everything would work out.

3.) That bus ride did change her life, just not in ways she would have expected.

She met a boy, one who was trying to achieve his dreams. She liked that they were kindred spirits.

And then they were off on a crazy adventure, along with three others.

She had left to do something meaningful in her life.

Now she had.

4.) She developed a crush on her new friend TJ almost immediately after they met. He knew he had some big shoes to fill, but he was brave and smart and determined. It didn't hurt that he was just so nice.

She admired him for always doing his best.

But even though she liked the new red ranger, she couldn't help but be intrigued by the Phantom Ranger.

It wasn't until much later that she realized how her brief infatuation with their mysterious colleague hurt her friend.

5.) She was afraid the day Divatox won. She had no idea what was coming for them next, and it absolutely terrified her.

Then they all got another chance when Andros came and gave them new morphers.

It reminded her that it was never too late. Not really.

6.) Sometimes, she watched Ashley get ready to go out with Andros with a heavy, jealous heart. She would silently wish it was her preparing for a date with a certain blue ranger.

But then she would smile at her yellow clad friend before going to help choose accessories.

After all, if it was going to happen, it would.

7.) It was too similar to what happened with Divatox, the Countdown to Destruction. They almost lost, again.

But then, suddenly, the wave caused by Zordon's sacrifice reverberated through the galaxy, and it was all over.

They had made up for their mistakes.

They had won.

8.) It was TJ who helped her most after Kendrix's death. She often woke, breathing heavily and covered in sweat, another nightmare having plagued her mind yet again.

Then she would call TJ, and he sat up with her for hours at a time, never complaining he'd had a rough practice or game the day before. He constantly reminded her that it wasn't her fault; that as rangers, you had to be willing to do certain things for the good of the team, and that was what Kendrix had done.

He gave her too much credit, informing her that he was sure she would have done the same thing for any of them.

Sometimes, she wasn't exactly so certain. She was the veteran ranger; she should have been the one to sacrifice herself.

9.) What'd she'd wished for as a ranger finally came true four years after the "Z-Wave."

She went to TJ's house when she heard from Ashley that all the reds had gone off to the moon for some insane red-exclusive mission.

She waited for hours, refusing to leave until she had seen with her own eyes that he was safe.

When she'd seen the headlights, she'd bounded off the porch and run to him, not caring about anything but the fact that he was still in one piece.

She'd barely managed to say his full name angrily before he finally, finally kissed her.

It was even better than she had hoped.

10.) Many years later, once they'd gotten married and had their children, nothing made her smile more easily than seeing TJ play with the kids. Their sons aspired to be just like their father, and their daughter adored him.

And the feelings were mutual. TJ was an amazing, loving father who thought the world of his kids.

Somehow, she'd always known he would.