Those Little Things

1.) He wished he remembered more of his mother. He had exactly two memories of her. One was of her all dressed up to go out to some fancy party, laughing as she fixed his father's tie.

The other was of her showing him to make cookies. She showed him the recipe and helped him measure out the ingredients. He remembered when the cookies were finished, she brought him a big glass of milk and they enjoyed their snack together.

But then she died when he was five, and these memories were the only reminders he had of Rachel Collins.

2.) He knew his dad really tried to be a good father to him, especially after his mom died. He remembered his dad trying to rearrange his schedule to spend time with him.

But as he got older, it became apparent to him that he and his dad were just too different to be close. He didn't care about money and expanding the company the way his father did. His father didn't care about doing good with the wealth and power he possessed like Wes did.

And so, their relationship was strained.

3.) He always liked Eric Meyers. He didn't feel sorry for him, or whatever it was Eric seemed to think. He actually preferred that Eric was at prep school on a scholarship. He didn't care about money.

But still, Eric kept his distance. That was just his way; being alone was his habit. Wes tried to respect that; he really did.

It would have been nice to have a normal friend for once, though.

4.) He was sure for a very long time that Jen had bipolar disorder. How else could she be so different from one minute to the next?

Sometimes, she relaxed with the rest of the team. She was willing to try new things, especially when he was the one showing her.

And other times, she was so wound up about their side jobs, or training, or catching yet another criminal that he wondered how she could breathe.

5.) He really hated the Silver Guardians at first. This was his thing, saving the city. Rolling up his sleeves and getting his hands dirty was for him, so he knew he wasn't just some spoiled rich kid.

Everything had been fine.

But no. His father had to stick his nose in every single aspect of his life.

6.) When he found out Jen had been engaged to someone who looked eerily similar to him, something in him broke. There was no way she would pick him, even if she ever got over Alex.

He tried to understand, though. Of course she wouldn't want the painful reminder of her fiancé. He could relate; if he were in her shoes he wouldn't want some carbon copy of the person he'd loved.

He tried to focus on the insight to Jen that this revelation gave him. Now he knew why she worked so hard, and why she loathed Ransik.

Now he knew why she sometimes looked at him with unexplained sadness in her eyes.

7.) He was going to die. He was prepared to die for Katie and Lucas and Trip. He was prepared to die for Jen. All that mattered was that his friends got to live; that they were safe.

When he stood by Eric's side that day, surrounded on all sides by Ransik's soldiers, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Jen flashed through his mind, and then he was ready to keep going no matter what happened.

And then, miracle of miracles, there were sudden flashes of color. His friends were there, fighting with him.

It was worth everything they had gone through when Ransik turned himself in.

8.) He hadn't been planning on getting a real good–bye with Jen. He had just assumed he would not be seeing her again.

It was harder, he decided, to actually be alive and missing her, rather than dying for her. He thought about her constantly. He wondered what she was doing; if she had made up with Alex.

It was even harder to have her leave him again.

9.) "Too good to be true," was what he thought when she came back for the third time. Hadn't she explained that she could not stay with him? Wouldn't her being in the past ruin the timeline?

But she told him she had to come back so history would run its proper course. They would have a son who would go on to be both a power ranger and a base commander – a base that would help establish Time Force.

Basically, Jen went on, they were meant to fall in love.

10.) He was proud of everything he had accomplished over his years as a ranger, a Silver Guardian, and later an SPD officer.

But none of those things even came close to the way it felt when he looked at his son.

Hearing Sky ask him to play, or even just calling him "Dad," was the very best feeling.