Silver Hills General Hospital

The world seemed to be swirling around him, nonstop motion that threatened to envelop his senses completely, making him stumble around without direction. He was faintly aware of his sister's presence next to him, answering questions for him and directing the hospital staff with the baby. His baby, his and Courtney's baby. But Courtney would never meet the baby; she died before they could bring them together. She's gone, the woman that helped heal him from losing Jen, the woman who he'd loved for the past seven years and given him two other beautiful children. She was gone, dead, lifeless in the operating room where they'd had to immediately remove the child from her to save its life when Courtney was already gone.

"Wes." Rachael's voice echoed into his brain. "Wes they're asking if you have a name for the baby." He tried to speak, but his mind couldn't create a sentence so he resorted to shaking his head. Rachael's hand gripped his shoulder and he ducked his head in his hands, not wanting to see whatever was happening around him.

Rachael was trying to hold herself together for Wes' sake only; there wasn't much else she could do. She was still numb, very numb, and unable to function. She needed help, but Eric had to stay with the children, and their Dad was out of the country.

"Rachael, oh my God, Rachael." A woman's voice entered her mind, barely giving her time to comprehend who it was before she was nearly suffocated in her grasp. She just held her for a few minutes before releasing her enough to face each other.

"You always know when to show up."

"I try." Bronwyn held Rachael with one arm, the other sliding to grip Wes' shoulder with as much comfort as she could.

One Month Later

Fury seemed to radiate from the young woman who was storming down the halls of the pristine building. Her eyes were set ahead in a glare, her simple clothing sticking out from the people in uniform who were ducking out of her way from fear of getting plowed over. She came up to a set of double doors and flung them open without any sort of pause, and entered the room without breaking speed. The room before her was like a forum, layers of desks and chairs circled a center console. There were only a few people in the room, but they all looked up and stared as she immediately descended the aisle stairs and faced the man in the center with her hands on her hips.

"My brother is dying." She sneered at him with all the ferociousness in her being. Captain Logan's eyes were wide with fear and surprise at her entrance.

"What?" Katie's voice came from behind Rachael, pure shock radiating from her and the other former Time Force rangers in the room, but the dark haired woman ignored their shock and continued to stare down the man in front of her.

"I've supplied sufficient proof and evidence for my proposal, and Bronwyn has offered more than her fair share of work and time for this. You know it's the right thing to do, and as time passes you're threatening to ruin the future that you hold so preciously in your hands." She straightened her back, hands balled into fists at her side. "Just do it already." Her face slipped to a more tired look and the others caught a glimpse of her current state.

Rachael looked terrible, once a dark radiant beauty, she was now tired and drawn, aged beyond her years. Her once shiny long black hair was dull and tied haphazardly behind her head, dark circles around her eyes, not a touch of make-up anywhere near her face. She looked thinner than before, the unhealthy thin that left her clothing hanging off her body. But her face was set in a determined stare, using every ounce of power she had to stare down Logan.

"Execute the plan immediately." Logan stood up as Rachael's shoulders relaxed, her hands coming up as if she were going to pray or salute, but her weak state just managed to drop them back to her sides. Her eyes closed and legs started shaking when Bronwyn got up from where the rangers were and helped her to a chair where Rachael leaned over her knees, surrounded by her friends, her eyes filling with tears.

"We got it." Bronwyn stroked Rachael's hair slightly. Rachael lifted her head to see Lucas, Tripp, Katie and Jen looking at her with concerned faces, concerned for her and their friend, colleague and her brother.

"Rachael what happened?" Katie asked, resting her hand on Rachael's back.

"Courtney went into labor, and the next thing we knew she was gone." She whispered, covering her mouth with her hands, feeling the horror of her friends around her. "Wes isn't handling it well, he refuses to see his children, he refuses to eat or leave the house, he's just killing himself slowly." Rachael sniffed. "It's so hard."

"What did you need from Logan?" Tripp asked curiously, looking right into Rachael's eyes as she looked up. She didn't answer but her eyes darted to Jen and then to Bronwyn who straightened.

"Jen." Bronwyn looked at her sister. "We're taking you to 2009." Jen's mouth opened in shock.

"You're the only one that can help him." Rachael looked pleadingly at the former pink ranger who was shaking her head in shock. "He won't like it at first, but we've," she gestured to Bronwyn, "Been researching what little of the timeline we're allowed access to, and it all falls perfectly into place." Rachael nearly pleaded. "One of the Lieutenants from the future told us all we needed to know." Bronwyn's back straightened immediately as her eyes fixed on something over their heads at the doorway and they all looked up where she was looking.

A girl stood in the door way, arms and legs crossed as she leaned against the doorframe. Her face was set into an intent stare, a concerned look toward the rangers. Her hair was tied behind her head, and in the dark, you could only tell it was a dark color, matching her intense dark eyes. Her clothing was simple, jeans and a black t-shirt, a few silver jewelry accents scattered around her thin frame. As she got the rangers attention on herself she smiled warmly at Rachael, nodding to her, Bronwyn and finally looking directly into Jen's eyes, staring down the pink ranger who was gaping. Without warning she pushed herself up from the doorframe and turned on her heel, leaving in a whirl of dark hair, as if she had never actually been there.

"She's so weird." Bronwyn shook her head and pulled Rachael to her feet.

"Who is she?" Lucas looked at his wife with a frown and she shrugged.

"We don't know, we're not really allowed to." Bronwyn answered.

"She's even after my time." Rachael added. "And Logan tries to keep me in the dark about a lot, and I don't blame him, but this." She looked back at Jen. "This we got by pulling a few strings, and twisting some regulations." She sent a wince toward Bronwyn who was trying to stifle her own embarrassed grin. They composed themselves and Rachael looked at Jen, who still looked as if she didn't know or like what was going on. "Bronwyn will help you pack your things; I'll meet you guys in Silver Hills, the new clocktower." She looked at Bronwyn who nodded.

"New clocktower?" Katie asked with slight confusion. As far as she and the other rangers knew the clocktower had been destroyed by Ransik back in 2001.

"Dad rebuilt it, made it into a sort of power ranger museum." Rachael's face got a hint of a grin. "I work there now instead of Silver Guardians; I couldn't take being a secretary anymore."

"You mean you and Eric weren't going to stay married if you had to keep taking his orders." Bronwyn gave her best friend a knowing look and Rachael's face broke into a smile.

"Yeah, pretty much." She looked up, a shadow of her normal self showing through. "We love each other, but we still don't get along all the time." She stretched her back as they started to walk up the stairs as a group. The talk was sparse, small updates on Lauren and her cousins, and updates from the future occupied their conversation as Rachael sat down with Tripp, Katie and Lucas while Bronwyn and Jen packed up her things.

"Bronwyn I can't do this." Jen said, pausing her packing, holding a shirt in her hands, gripping it carefully. "Why should I do this? I haven't seen him in years; he just lost his wife, why would he want to see me?"

"He'll get over it." Bronwyn didn't look up and snatched the shirt from Jen's hands, stuffing it into the duffle bag they were packing.

"What do you know that I don't?" Jen tried to ask, knowing the answer before it came.

"A lot." Bronwyn finally looked up. "And you know how stubborn he is, but you're just as stubborn, maybe worse." She tried to smile. "You have to save his life Jen."

"Why?"

"Because he thinks he killed Courtney."

"What?" Jen was taken aback. Her eyes wide, her mouth dropped as Bronwyn explained.

"Rachael told me that the day Chris was born Wes told Eric he felt guilty because he still loved you." She sighed. "Rachael says that he really loved Courtney, but he never resolved the feelings for you, so it never left him. When Courtney died, he somehow got it into his mind that if he had given you up completely she'd still be alive."

"That's insane."

"We know, but he doesn't." Bronwyn threw the stuff down and took her sister's face in her hands. "He needs to figure this out, and we have concrete evidence that you and Rachael are the informants in that time period. That's all I can tell you."

"But you know more."

"Only a little, but I'm not supposed to, I accidentally saw it, even Rachael doesn't know." Bronwyn shook her head. "Trust us Jen, you can save him, we need you to save him. Even if he doesn't want you to."

Silver Hills

Rachael closed the door to the inside of the mansion carefully and quietly, trying to not disturb Wes or the kids who should have been asleep by now. She motioned for Jen to follow her up the stairs and up to her old room where she threw down the bags. "You can stay here."

"Your room?" Jen asked.

"Yeah," Rachael smiled at the walls, "There's a hologram computer under the floorboards." She pointed to three floorboards that were perfectly lined up, odd in the immaculately staggered flooring. She swung back around the bed and out the bedroom door again, motioning for Jen to follow her. They went down the hallway and came to a small nursery like room where Rachael pulled a tiny baby out of her crib. "This is Ashlynn." She murmured, holding the baby close to her. "Bronwyn and I named her."

"She's precious." Jen said, tilting her head to look at the baby, wringing her hands together. Rachael held the baby to her and Jen awkwardly took her into her arms. Ashlynn lay on her back in the crook of Jen's arm, eyes closed, sleeping peacefully through this small introduction.

"I'll be back tomorrow before they're up." Rachael said reassuringly. "If she cries the night nanny will take care of her, so don't worry about that." She sighed. "Wes won't come out for a while, so don't worry about seeing him." She frowned briefly before sighing. "Just lay her on her stomach when you're done." She touched Jen's shoulder as she exited the room and ultimately the house. Jen sat carefully down in the rocking chair in the corner of the room, trying to make sense of what Rachael had told her as they stepped through the time warp. She was supposed to make a life here as she did her job, but since her job with Time Force was suddenly less demanding, she was going to try and get Wes out of his depression and save his life, giving Rachael and Eric a break from their full time babysitting.

Myers Home

Rachael closed the door behind her and all her brain could concentrate on was getting to her bed, but as she turned around, movement in the dark startled her. "Oh my God." She put her hand to her heart and then her forehead. "You could have said something."

"Sorry." Eric murmured as he came up and pulled her into his arms, holding her in their small kitchen. She rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes, finally comforted and relaxed. "Did it work?" He asked after a while.

"Yeah." She murmured softly, falling asleep standing up. Eric leaned over and scooped her up into his arms and carried her to their bed, the same bed that nearly six years earlier they had started their relationship. He laid her down, and in a few minutes had her dressed in comfortable pajama pants and one of his old t-shirts with minimal help from her. She curled up into his arms as he slid into bed next to her; he stroked her hair until she was asleep a few minutes later. Eric kissed his wife's forehead, relaxed as he was wrapped around her. His last thoughts were hopeful ones as he drifted off to sleep, hope for his best friend and his family, hope for his own little family, and hope for their futures.

Early Morning, One Week Later

Rachael slid into the huge mansion smiling at the scent that met her, but her heart leaping at the sight of who was standing at the top of the stairs. Wes looked horrible, and it had been almost two weeks since she'd actually seen him like this. He was wearing loose sweatpants and a large red t-shirt, looking with an intensely curious face over the railing. He looked into his sister's face and his head tilted, and she immediately knew what he was wondering.

The whole house smelled like pancakes, or waffles, but it was a warm scent, coupled with maple syrup the distinct touch of bacon. Previously the only reason that there would have been such a breakfast created this early in the morning would be if Rachael had made it for Chris before he went to Kindergarten, but Rachael had just walked through the door. He'd seen her. The silent moment between the siblings was broken when Chris bolted past her, tugging his red backpack on his back as he ran, yelling behind him.

"Bye Aunt Rachael!" His impish voice called as sprinted out the door to where Eric was waiting in the SUV to take both him and Lauren to their school. She didn't answer, but that didn't matter to the five year old. Wes took the steps down the stairs and went to the kitchen door, Rachael following behind him to see what he saw, unable to warn the occupant of what was happening.

The sight that met Wes' eyes in the kitchen stunned him into a standstill. Jen was leaning over the counter to where Miranda was trying to eat her food as fast as the four year old could with her little fork. Her brown hair was tied up behind her head in a bun, a smile on her face as she talked to the little girl who happily giggled back. There was an apron over her pink t-shirt, jeans behind the counter. Ashlynn lay peacefully in a little bassinet beside her, all clean, fed and dressed for the day.

"Yeah, and then what did you do with the flower?" Jen asked.

"I gave it to Aunt Rachael." Miranda replied matter-of-factly. "It was a pretty purple flower, she likes purple." She nodded like Jen should have known that. It was then that Jen caught sight of the two people standing in the doorframe, one with a look of fear, the other in complete shock. She straightened and Miranda looked at what she was looking at. "Daddy!" She shouted and leapt off the chair and toward her father, face-planting into his legs, holding off like she was never going to let him go. Wes tore his eyes from Jen and pulled Miranda off his legs, hoisting her up into his arms. Rachael opened her mouth to speak, but Wes just turned and went to the table, holding Miranda tightly in his arms as she gripped him back, sitting down in the chair.

Rachael and Jen exchanged looks of horror, they knew this was coming, but they'd hoped to bring him out slower, not just throw him back into family life. Rachael went to the counter, a few feet from where Jen was standing and watched Wes silently interacting with his daughter.

"Why don't you go upstairs and play with your dolls for a little bit?" Wes finally spoke to her and she nodded happily, and blissfully unaware of the tension in the room, she skipped out and up the stairs to her room. He looked between the two women and leaned forward on the table.

"She's working with me." Rachael finally spoke. "I'm sorry to have her intrude here, but there's no room at our house for her to stay." Her back straightened as he looked up at her.

"I don't want her here." He nearly snarled.

"Tough." Rachael shot back. Jen ducked her head and Wes felt a pang of guilt, but he brushed it away. Jen raised her head and glared at him.

"I'm not leaving." She said simply, picking up Miranda's left plate. "Rachael needs my help, and so do Chris and Miranda." Her eyes met his defiantly. Wes stood up from the table and left the room without a word, the definite slamming of a door telling them he'd returned to his room.

"That didn't go well." Rachael sat onto one of the barstools that sat at the counter and rested her head in one hand as Jen leaned against the counter.

"For him, that was a pretty easy defeat."

"No kidding." Rachael leaned back and placed her hand absently on her stomach. Jen noticed and smiled.

"Hungry?"

"Yeah." Rachael smiled weakly, eyeing the pan of pancakes. "When did you learn to cook?"

"I've been single for five years; I got bored so Bronwyn taught me." Jen frowned and rolled her eyes. "It's more of a hobby in Millennium City, but Chris and Miranda seemed to like it." She set a pancake in front of Rachael who took a quick bite, her back straightening like something had hit her. Rachael's eyes went to Jen's, a look of surprise on her face.

"This is delicious!" She exclaimed. "What is in it?" Jen blushed happily at the compliment.

"I just followed Bronwyn's recipe." She shrugged happily. "Glad you liked them." She continued to make more and placed them carefully on a plate as Rachael ate hers, watching what Jen was doing curiously, but silently. The brunette took the plate out of the room confusing the other woman who just stayed. A minute later Jen came back and started cleaning things up methodically, Rachael paused and couldn't take it anymore.

"What did you do with that plate?"

"I gave it to Wes." Jen replied simply.

"What?"

"I knocked on the door and left it on the floor."

"He won't eat it."

"That's his problem.

Rachael looked down at her plate, trying to think of what to do, but Ashlynn cried out from where she lay and she got up to hold the baby and calm her down. Holding her niece in her arms, Rachael just shook her head and hushed the baby easily, laying her down in her little bed underneath the colorful mobile above her head.

"If you've got things here, I guess I'm going to work." Rachael nodded and left the mansion, incredulous to the nerve that both Jen and Wes had. They'd make it, they had to, for the sake of those three little kids, they just had to.