Those Little Things
1.) He had so many dreams riding on his baseball career. He'd been playing as long as he could remember. He put in hours and hours of practice. His Little League and middle school coaches always admired his drive.
He wanted to go all the way to the majors. He wanted to buy two big houses, one for him, and one for his hardworking parents. He wanted to be hounded for autographs and have kids ask to take their pictures with him.
When he got on that bus, he was expecting things to change.
2.) He hadn't expected one of those changes to be that he would fall in love.
That girl on the bus…she just blew him away. She was pretty, but it didn't look like she tried too hard. And the way she was singing her heart out, moving her head to the music… There was just something about her.
And her name. What a perfect name. Cassie.
3.) He also hadn't expected to become a power ranger. Who knew that those colorful protectors were teenagers?
And now he was one of them. Red was his favorite ranger color. As a kid in middle school, he'd had a poster of the red morphin' ranger.
He did get kids wanting to take pictures with him. Just not in his baseball uniform.
4.) He wanted nothing more than the Phantom Ranger to reveal himself to Cassie. He obviously meant a lot to her. It would give the rest of them peace of mind to know that all the mysteries were solved.
And Cassie would be happy. That was what mattered. If Phantom was who Cassie wanted, then he only wanted the best for the two of them.
That was what he told himself, anyway.
5.) He failed. He didn't lead his team to victory like the other red rangers had.
He was a failure. He was such a failure that when they met Andros, he could hardly stand to talk to him, though he didn't let himself show it. Why had he been the only red ranger to fail?
He deserved nothing that came with more responsibility than being the blue ranger.
Sometimes, he wanted to rebel against perfect Andros' orders.
He would have given anything for another shot at being red.
6.) When they got out of the Countdown to Destruction mess, he was so, so glad. He was done being a ranger for the time being.
There were just too many close calls. After each one, he had to remind himself that they might not be so lucky next time. "Close call" could turn into tragedy.
Next time, it could be Ashley or Andros. Next time, it could be Carlos or Zhane. Next time, it could be him.
Next time, it could be Cassie.
7.) Cassie was a wreck after the battle she and Kendrix had fought against Psycho Pink. She was convinced that the death of her fellow pink ranger was her fault.
She cried for hours after they left the Galaxy team. It was late in the night when he woke up and went to her, cradling her as she sobbed. He stayed with her until she went back to sleep.
When he tried to gently detach her from his torso, she clung to him even more tightly.
8.) He had known Cassie would be waiting at home for him after the red ranger mission. When Andros had called Ashley to check in, he had told his fellow red to mention to Ashley that all the reds had participated. He knew that Ashley would be sure to pass along the message to Cassie.
And sure enough, she was there on his porch when he arrived home. He had never seen so terrified.
That was why he kissed her. He was trying to tell her he'd never scare her like that again.
9.) He invited Kendrix and Leo Corbett to he and Cassie's wedding as an extra surprise for his bride.
He couldn't help but grin as he watched Kendrix hug Cassie. She bore no grudges, and that helped finally put Cassie at ease with her ranger career.
10.) Sometimes he got asked what the hardest part of his job was.
It wasn't facing different pitchers or the constant jet lag. It wasn't even that he could barely keep track of where he was going next.
It was being away from Cassie, from Sam and Freddie and Carly.
The first thing he did every time he came home was hug his kids before turning to Cassie and reminding her he loved her.