Fic: An Unexpected Mission: Chapter 7 (Power Rangers)

[rivulet027]

Title: An Unexpected Mission
Authors: rivulet027 and moonlite_n_rose
Fandom: Power Rangers with an AU ending for the Operation Overdrive Team-up.
Pairings: Billy/Trini, Tommy/Hayley eventual slash and het.
Rating: Pg-15
Summery: The Once A Ranger vets team continue in Angel Grove with a new set of villains. Wherein Adam gains a team, gets a girl, a couple of tattoos and might just lose his sanity in the process.
Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Power Rangers, neither does MnR. We’re just playing in their toy box and we promise to put everyone away when we’re finished. We also don't own anything to do with 'The Exorcist'.
A/N: Some spoilers for 'The Exorcist'. Also don't worry about Trent, he will eventually redeem himself.


Chapter 7:


Xander entered the living room, final bowl of popcorn in hand. Several others were already scattered on the tables along with everyone’s drinks. He took in his teammates and raised an eyebrow. Kat and Adam were on the loveseat talking. Bridge was on the floor in the middle of the room obviously excited to be seeing a movie he’d never seen before. It wasn’t any of them that got the raised eyebrow. Cuddled up on the couch were Tori and Kira, with Dustin between them. He started to smirk. He never got to open his mouth to comment. Dustin shot him a look, “Don’t Dude.”

Xander laughed. He’d heard that Dustin had a hard time sitting though movies sometimes and that cuddling with him assured that he’d stay. It was just a bit unfair that he got both girls. Shrugging at his luck Xander turned off the lights and flopped down beside Bridge and offered him some popcorn.

“Oh popcorn,” Bridge smiled as he took some, then frowned, “Why’d you turn the lights off?”

“Scary movies are better in the dark,” Xander explained, “And ‘The Exorcist’ definitely counts as scary.”

"It's like one of the scariest movies EVER," Kira said with a little shiver.

"Nightmare central," Tori agreed. "I had nightmares for a week the first time I ever saw this movie."

"Wimps," Adam teased, ducking down to avoid the hail of popcorn the girls were sending his way.

"Need I remind you who stopped watching scary movies for months after a certain dream," Kat poked Adam in the side.
"I swear it was so real," Adam grumbled.

"Hush,” Kat replied poking him again.

“Yeah, hush Dude,” Dustin echoed before he reached around Tori, snatched up the remote and hit play.

“It can’t be that scary, it’s old. The effects are probably not even that great,” Bridge protested.

Xander poked Bridge in the side, “Hush.”

"What is with all the poking?" Tori laughed softly.

"Hush," Kira reached across Dustin and poked Tori in the side.

"You started a trend," Adam murmured to Kat.

"Guess so," Kat giggled before resting her head on Adam's shoulder as the movie started. "Bridge the movie might be old, but there's a reason it's near the top of the One Hundred Scariest Movies of All Time."

Bridge nodded. Jack had always tried to get them to watch it on their movie night, but Syd had always put her foot down and said no. Once Z had tried to convince her and then it’d been Sky who’d shot down the idea.

“It’s strange to be having a team movie night without a ball of light,” Bridge said referring to Sam. After Jack left they’d stopped having them. He’d never been sure if it was because it’d been something Jack had started or if they were too busy stepping into their new positions as the leading SPD squad.

“A ball of light?” Xander asked with a confused look.

“Sam was…and I probably shouldn’t explain that,” Bridge sighed as he took more popcorn.

"It must be hard for Bridge," Kat murmured to Adam softly, "He always has to be so careful with what he tells us about himself and his team."

Adam nodded, "I know, but at least he's adapting a bit better. He's learned how to use the toaster."

Bridge tilted his head back when he heard his name. It was hard some days, but when it got to him he reminded himself that’d he’d be going home as soon as the mission was over. He’d take a bit of his personal time, Sky couldn’t possibly object, then spend some time with his family and friends.

Xander poked Bridge, not putting up with the melancholy look. Bridge blinked at him and promptly got a soda shoved into his hands.

“Dude, is that the caffeine-free one?” Dustin whispered not wanting to get shushed, but not wanting to see Bridge on a caffeine high again.

Xander snatched the soda from Bridge and smelled it. “Yep,” he confirmed before he handed it back. Bridge looked mournfully down as his now sniffed into drink. He laughed, well smelling it probably hadn’t harmed it, and took a drink.

"Is this the extended version?" Kira asked, changing the subject and reaching for the DVD box. "Oooh it is, that means the creepy spider walk is in the movie," she shivered.

"I hate that part!" Tori said snuggling up closer to Dustin. "It's so gross."

"Shush," Adam called over to them. He chuckled at the twin tongues sticking out at him in response.

Kira snuggled into Dustin as the movie showed the little girl being wheeled into the operating room. "I hate this part. I feel so bad for her, and I hate needles," she winced as the girl was injected with a sedative.

“Me too,” he whispered back as he wrapped his arm around her and gave her a comforting squeeze.

Xander glanced back at them and suppressed a laugh, he gave Tori a smirk. She had to be seeing the same thing he was, but he was almost certain Dustin didn’t have a clue.

Tori shook her head and rolled her eyes as she nodded towards Dustin and Kira, "Clueless," she mouthed to Xander.

Kat watched Dustin and Kira out of the corner of her eye. What was going on with them, she wondered. She nudged Adam and nodded towards the couch, her eyes asking silently if he knew anything about them.

Adam shook his head at Kat's unspoken question. He shrugged his shoulders and then refocused on the movie. "That is so disturbing," he muttered, as the possessed twelve year old screamed obscenities at her mother and the doctors, rubbing herself obscenely.

Xander gave a nod of agreement with Tori almost laughing when he saw Kat notice too.
He turned back to the movie and jumped slightly when Bridge buried his head into his shoulder with a mutter of, “That’s gross.”

Laughing he shoved Bridge off, “Thought the effects would be too old fashioned for you.”

“You didn’t mention convincing acting,” Bridge winced with a look of disgust.

"Told you there was a reason this movie is still at the top of the list," Kat teased.

They watched in relative silence until the next horrifying scene, Tori gasped, "I didn't remember this part!" She exclaimed covering her eyes. "She did not just shove… up her…"

"She did," Kira mumbled her head buried into Dustin's shoulder.

Kat covered her mouth to stifle her giggles at the way the girls were reacting, though she herself was snuggled up to Adam tightly.

Bridge was too disgusted to respond to Kira’s comment. His eyes widened and his nose scrunched in disgust. Then there were hands covering his eyes. He tilted his head to look at Xander who grinned at him, then poked him.

“It’s just a movie,” Xander told him.

“It’s just wrong,” Dustin winced as he pulled both Kira and Tori closer and peeked at the screen through barely opened eyes.

Adam surveyed the family room, seeing them all wincing and squinting and looked over at Kat, sharing a look between them that said 'kids'.

"They're so cute," Kat whispered into Adams ear, causing him to snicker under his breath. As the girls head began to spin Kat laughed, "This is my favorite part of the movie," she admitted.

Kira looked up, "That is so creepy!"

"For sure," Tori added, watching in awe.

Xander laughed, it just wasn’t that scary to him, but he didn’t protest when Bridge snuggled closer.

“Dude,” Dustin shook his head, “I forgot how creepy that was.”

Adam watched and waited until Kat was relaxed beside him, then poked her in the side, "Wha!"

"Ahhh!" Kat screamed, spooked by the unexpected poke.

"What ?!?" Kira jumped, half into Dustin's lap.

"Eeeee!" Tori let out a very girlie scream.

"You are so cruel Adam Park!" Kat punched him in the arm.

"Owwww!"

"It serves you right!" Kira threw a handful of popcorn at him.

"Yeah!" Tori chimed in with a handful of her own.

Dustin jumped when the girls jumped. He threw Adam a look that clearly stated ‘not cool Dude’ before he snuggled back down between them.

Xander laughed at all the popcorn throwing. He had no intentions of being the one to clean it all up. He tilted his head back to warn them, “Don’t expect me to get refills.”

“But I’m not allowed to get my own,” Bridge protested having been told that while he was allowed to work the toaster by himself that was all, everything else was off limits.

"Nah, we'll make Adam get the refills," Kat said pointedly.

"Sorry," Adam said with a snicker.

"Sure you are," Kat said smacking him upside the head. "Now knock it off and watch the movie."

"I hope Kat stays for awhile," Kira whispered to Dustin and Tori, "She keeps Adam calm. I like her."

Tori nodded, "Me too. Adam's better when she's here, he doesn't freak out so much when she's around to ground him," she murmured.

Dustin silently agreed with them.

As the movie continued and the little girl spewed green puke at the priest Kira gagged, "Oh that is so disgusting," she groaned.

"It's only pea soup and oatmeal," Tori pointed out.

"Doesn't make it less nasty," Kira retorted.

“That’s pea soup and oatmeal?” Bridge questioned, “You mean if I mixed…”

“Don’t even think about trying it,” Xander told him.

Bridge blinked up at him, “I was just asking.”

“Sure and then your asking turns into a disaster for you and Dustin in the kitchen and while it’s amusing to walk into seeing,” Xander nodded his chin towards the screen, “that is not something worth repeating in real life.”

As the movie played on, they fell in relative silence, commentating every so often on a scary part, or explaining to Bridge how an effect was done. They were so engrossed in the movie that they hadn't even heard the knock on the door, or the door opening.

Trent walked into the living room. He'd come to see how his girlfriend was fairing with the new team. He stopped at the entrance of the family room and just stared, he hadn't expected to see his girlfriend draped on some guy. He cleared his throat, causing everyone in the room to startle.

Kira looked up, "Trent," she smiled up at him. "I didn't expect to see you here," she said happily.

"Obviously," he remarked flatly.

Kira immediately tensed up at the inflection in his voice, "What's that supposed to mean?" She asked a bit hotly.

"You tell me," he retorted, glaring at Dustin.

Dustin met Trent’s glare with a confused look. What had he done now? “Ah hi Dude,” he attempted to greet with a small wave.

Kira got up, and grabbed his arm, dragging him out of the family room and out the patio doors.

Tori looked over at the patio, "That is not going to end well," she commented. "What the hell was his problem?"

Adam saw her starting to get up, "Tori it's between her and Trent, let them alone." He ordered softly.

Dustin hugged his knees and leaned into Tori as he whispered, “What’d I do wrong?” If anyone would know it’d be her.

Xander snorted as he heard Dustin’s question. Why did Dustin always assume he was at fault? He moved away from Bridge and grabbed up the remote then turned down the volume on the TV. The voices from the patio could now be heard.

Tori glared at Xander for the snort and then hugged Dustin, "You didn't do anything wrong. Trent is being an asshole," she said hotly.

"Tori…" Adam warned.

"Sorry, but he is," Tori retorted.

As that was going on, the voices on the patio got louder, as Kira's voice rose so did Trent's. "You were hanging on him," Trent yelled.

"It's Dustin, Trent! Dustin cuddles during movies," Kira retorted angrily. "Stop being a dick…"

"Ooh, I'm a dick… when my girlfriend is hanging all over some guy, I'm the dick…"

"Yes! You are! I thought you trusted me…"

"I do!"

"Bullshit," she yelled hotly, "If you trusted me, you wouldn't be here being pissy about me cuddling with Dustin and Tori while watching a movie."

"I do trust you…it’s everyone else I don't trust," Trent retorted.

"If that isn't the lamest…" her voice trailed off as she began to speak in a quiet but furious tone of voice.

Adam had heard enough, "Xander… turn the movie back up, what is going on between Trent and Kira is between Trent and Kira," he ordered. It didn't matter if he wanted to go out there and slap Trent upside the head for being an idiot. He just knew that wasn't going to end well.

Dustin flinched as he heard his name being thrown around. Tori might have said he hadn’t done anything, but obviously Trent didn’t think that. He buried his head against Tori’s shoulder hoping that the fight wouldn’t end too badly.

Xander glanced at Adam. He’d never heard Adam use that tone before and realize that if he didn’t listen well…he turned the volume up one notch and gave Adam a cheeky grin.

Bridge frowned. It wasn’t only their voices that were going to threaten to give him a headache. Deciding he was done with scary movies for awhile Bridge got to his feet, “I think I’ll go see what Alpha decided to watch in the other room.”

"He's watching a marathon of Robot Wars on the tech channel," Kat murmured absentmindedly.

"You are being a complete asshole!" Kira's voice rose up over the T.V.

"I wasn't the one throwing themselves at another guy!"

"You…I…" Kira growled angrily. "If I was interested in Dustin, I would never throw myself at him while I was dating someone else… I'm not that type of woman… but obviously you think differently. So now… it wouldn't matter if I threw myself at him… because I don't have a boyfriend anymore!"

"What?" Trent looked at her in shock.
"You heard me! Get the hell out of here, and don't bother coming back," she said hotly, pushing him towards the side of the house. "Just get out!"

"Fine!" Trent said hotly and stormed out the backyard around the house to his car.

Kira walked back into the house and didn't say a word to anyone; her face was a mask of rage, and pain. She ran up the stairs to her room and flung herself on her bed, pulling a pillow to her chest and burying her head into it. How could he be such a jerk? It was Dustin, and she wasn't the type to just throw herself at somebody when she was with somebody else.

Dustin’s head shot up. What? They weren’t seriously breaking up were they? They couldn’t…not because of…crap. His eyes widened as Kira rushed through the room. Not even pausing to question he took off after her. He didn’t question that action until he found himself outside her room. He stared at his feet for a moment. How did you apologize to a girl for messing up her and her boyfriend’s happiness? He felt like a complete jerk. He knocked.

“Kira, hey I’m sure once he cools off he’ll realize he’s being stupid,” he tried to reassure.

"It's not locked," she called from inside the room. "And I don't care if he realizes he's being an asshole. It's his fault. I mean… the fact that he would even think I'd do something like throw myself at somebody while I'm with him, I'm not that type of girl," she said hotly. The waver in her voice and the small sniffle after she stopped speaking, gave away that she was on the verge of tears.

Dustin took her in as she talked about not caring, saying the heated words had been Trent’s fault and okay in a way he could admit that they had been, but he also felt partly responsible. If he hadn’t been cuddling with the girls than none of this would’ve happened. “Hey,” he soothed enveloping her in a hug.

Kira buried her head into Dustin's shoulder, letting herself be wrapped up in his hug. He was warm, comfortable and Kira felt herself relax in his arms. "Just know… it's not your fault," she murmured. "You cuddle during movies, we all know that. He knows that… he was just being an ass."

Dustin felt himself finally relax at her reassurance. “He’ll get over it. He’s an idiot if he doesn’t,” he whispered, giving the top of her head a friendly kiss before easing them both down so that they were sitting on her bed. He was less concerned about Trent than her, “Are you going to be okay?”

"He's an idiot whether or not he gets over it," Kira muttered, resettling her head onto his shoulder. "I'll be alright," she said answering his second question. "I'm just so infuriated," she said hotly, her temper still flaring at the thought of the argument. "The fact that he thought I would cheat on him," she huffed.

“You wouldn’t,” Dustin agreed as he carded a comforting hand through her hair, “he knows that, he just forgot for a moment.”

"It doesn't matter if he forgot for a moment, or forever… the fact that he did says everything I need to know," she said firmly, taking a deep breath. "I'm not taking him back Dustin… ever."

Dustin almost protested that, but it was Kira’s decision, Kira’s life. He gave her a squeeze and used his thumbs to brush the tears from her face, “Then I’m sorry it didn’t work out, you two have been trying for awhile.”

"Me too…" she said looking up at him as he brushed away her tears. "But… I should have seen it coming, he's always been the jealous type and I've always had issues with that." For some reason, looking up into Dustin caring eyes, she didn't feel nearly as awful as she had before he came upstairs.

He found himself caught in her gaze. How had he not realize how absolutely beautiful her eyes were before? He blushed and ducked away. He shouldn’t be thinking like that, especially not after she just had a fight with her boyfriend, seemingly ex-boyfriend and about him. He flopped down onto his back, “Do you want to finish watching the movie? They’re probably going to restart it?”

Kira shook her head, "I'd forgotten just how creepy that movie is," she said softly. "Besides… I really don't want to deal with anybody else right now," she added. "You can go back down if you want," she said, though she hadn't loosened her grip on him any. She really didn't want him to go, she didn't want to be alone.

He hadn’t expected her to follow him as he laid back, but somehow they’d remained tangled around each other. He closed his eyes, it was far too comfortable, “No, I’d forgotten too.” He opened his eyes and smiled as he brushed a stray hair out of her face, “I guess team movie night was a bust then. Maybe we should’ve picked something a bit more fluffy.”

"Yeah, I guess so, or at least if we were gonna watch a scary movie, something less scary," she said with a sigh, crinkling up her nose as he brushed the hair away. "Thanks for coming up here Dustin… I appreciate it," she said softly, relaxing as she snuggled into his arms.

Dustin resisted the urge to kiss her nose when she wrinkled it, instead he answered her, “Couldn’t like leave you up here by yourself after what happened.”

Kira smiled, "You're sweet," she said leaning over and kissing his cheek. And he really was, she'd always thought he was a bit of a goof, but getting to know him after he took a hit for her, she'd come to see a different side of him. He was a goof, but he was also a total and complete sweetheart.

“Thanks, you’re pretty,” Dustin whispered, blushing at the compliment, but knowing enough to pay her one back. He snuggled closer as he drowsily tried to keep his eyes opened, but this was so comfortable. “I’m beat,” he murmured. A part of him knew he should get up, leave her to get some sleep, but he couldn’t seem to make himself do so. He wanted to stay, he was too tired and too comfortable to question why.

Kira blushed at the return compliment, she'd never thought of herself as the pretty type. "Thank you," she said softly, ducking her head into his shoulder so he wouldn't see her blush. I wanna kiss him, she thought to herself but quickly pushed that idea aside. Get over Trent first, she scolded herself, Dustin deserves better than being a rebound. Despite her scolding’s, she snuggled up closer to him, "Don't go," she held on tighter to him, and closed her eyes. She was glad she'd changed into her PJ's before the movie started, because she would have slept in her clothes right there.

“Mmm, staying,” Dustin barely managed to respond as he drifted off.

~~~~~*****~~~~~

Xander’s eyes widened as he watched Kira storm through the living room, “I think now I understand all your warnings about yellows.”

Kat watched Dustin tear up the stairs after Kira and sighed, "Trent was being a jerk, I'm not surprised Kira reacted that way."

Adam nodded, "Seriously, ranger boundaries are a hell of a lot more blurred than normal boundaries. Trent should've realized this sooner. He was over-reacting to something stupid."

"Isn't that the truth," Tori growled. She'd like to have a few words with Trent right now.

Adam sighed, "We need to stay out of it though," he warned all of them. "It's between Kira and Trent, understood?"

“And somehow I think Dustin is going to be involved,” Xander added before he shook his head.

"Dustin is going to be involved because he's Dustin… and Kira needs somebody to be there for her," Kat smiled. "I think it'll be alright."
Tori sighed, "I hope so, we need to be one hundred percent, this personal drama is just going to distract us."

Kat looked over at Adam and raised an eyebrow at Tori being so leader like. "Reminds me of you in our Turbo days," she murmured.

Adam nodded smiling at that, "She's definitely my second in command," he murmured in reply.

Still frowning towards the patio Xander said, “That was a total V type blow out on both their parts.”

"Tommy mentioned something about your pink and how she'd of made a better yellow," Adam said with a laugh.

“I guess V had that attitude, but she was also the one to pull us together when we were falling apart. And Chip’s goofy like Dustin so I guess he fit yellow a bit better than V. Udonna gave us our wands so she’d probably know better than me why we got what we did,” Xander shrugged through his attempt to change the subject.

Kat looked over at Xander, "Why don't you put the movie back to the part when Trent came in, so we can finish watching it in relative peace," she suggested.

“Do you think I should get Bridge?” he asked already missing the good snuggling he’d been getting.

Kat shrugged, "You can go see if he wants to come back," she replied.

Tori looked at the empty spots on the couch, "If he doesn't come back, you can always come up here Xan… I don't mind," she told him. And she really didn't, she knew there were still some scary parts of the movie coming up, and she knew she'd be jumping. She wanted somebody to grab onto, even if it was Xander.

Xander thought about it while moving the movie to the place they had stopped. Without a hint of joking he concluded, “Bridge is probably enjoying Alpha’s choice more than ours anyway. I’ll let him be.” That decided he flopped down on the couch next to Tori and offered her some of his popcorn.

"Not that the chance of snuggles with Tori had nothing to do with that decision," Kat whispered to Adam, causing him to choke off a snicker.

Tori smiled and took some popcorn, "Thank you," she said before looking at the screen and seeing the child doing some weird contortionist walk, "Oh my god that's freaky," she said grabbing his arm.

Xander stared down at his arm. After all the times she’d nearly lopped his head off he’d honestly thought she’d been joking about the snuggling. He grinned a large Cheshire cat grin, obviously he’d made the right choice.

Tori looked at his grin and rolled her eyes. She pinched his arm, "Don't get any ideas," she grumbled and then gasped as the climactic finale began. "Good lord that demon has a foul mouth," she murmured, cringing as the girls body convulsed and her head began to turn again. "So gross," she looked away into the couch and his shoulder.

No ideas, right, he was always full of ideas and she knew it. Xander blinked at the screen, “I think I have to agree with you on that one.”

Tori gasped as the priest finally cast the demon out of the child, taking it into himself, and then threw himself out the window, killing himself to keep the demon from harming the child or anyone else ever again. "Oh my god," she buried her head into his shoulder.

Kat had her body wrapped around Adam's arm, "I love this movie," she murmured.

"You're crazy," Tori called from where she was not looking.

“Oh, I think she’s not. I’m beginning to think I love this movie too,” Xander smiled.

Tori poked Xander, "Shadup," she muttered.

"So Xander, should we watch the sequel?" Kat asked with a laugh, knowing she'd get a reaction out of both Xander and Tori.

"No!" Tori exclaimed turning to give Kat a 'don't even think about it', look.

"I think we should go to bed," Adam said shutting the DVD player and the TV off.

“Normally I’d say oh yeah, but I think I agree with Adam on this one,” Xander responded as he tried to suppress a yawn.

"Smart man," Tori said getting up off the couch. "G'nite folks," she said heading up the stairs.

"G'nite Tori," Kat replied with a smile as she gathered up the dishes of popcorn. "I'm gonna clean these up before I hit the sack," she told Adam as she headed into the kitchen.

Adam watched her head into the kitchen and turned to Xander, "See you when the suns up," he said with a laugh, before heading for the stairs himself.

Xander nodded and watched for a moment as Kat began to clean up before he moved to help her. He shook his head, “Dustin just starts to automatically pick up after us, when it involves food, I almost starting to think I’m taking it for granted. Do you think he’s alright?”

Kat nodded, "We can't take him for granted, it wouldn't be fair to him." She began to run water in the sink as she answered his question, "I think he's fine, Kira will make sure he knows it wasn't his fault. And I think he'll believe her," she said rinsing out the bowls. "He's a good bloke," she commented.

Xander nodded his agreement as he began to dry and put away, “As long as he isn’t blaming himself, he does that too often.”

"I've noticed," Kat said with a sigh, "But I don't think Kira will let him in this instance, because it's not his fault at all… it's all on Trent, and the fact he obviously doesn't trust Kira… Adam was right about the boundary lines, they are definitely blurred when it comes to rangers. It’s friendship and a bond that goes beyond conventional standards. Trent should know that… any ranger couple should."

Xander thought about how close he’d seen Chip and V be, more than friends, but never really crossing that line though he thought they were idiots not to. He remembered how Maddy had instantly connected with Nick, even before they got their morphers. Was it fate? And his own reactions to his teammates, he might flirt, but when it came to another ranger he was never serious about the follow through. Other people were for dating, his teammates were too precious to let something as stupid as a night of passion get in the way of saving the world. “Do other rangers tend to do that, date other rangers?” he asked curiously, “I mean Maddy and Nick were a given from day one and some days I swear V and Chip need to realize what’s in front of them, but for me it’s always been teammates are teammates and yeah you flirt with them but woman or men not part of the team are for dating. Maybe I’m just wired differently.” He shrugged then frowned, he hated being different, it made him feel insecure and he hated insecurity. Maybe he’d call Briarwood tomorrow, get a much needed V styled pep talk.

"I don't think you're wired differently Xander," Kat said with a smile. "Let me explain this… because there's two sides to the, do rangers date other rangers thing," she said turning around to lean back against the sink. "For us older rangers… it's easier to date inside the group, we spent all of high school fighting monsters, that was a big chunk of our lives. A part of our lives we can't talk about to anyone else but each other… we dated in the group because it was easier for us to be free with our thoughts. So the older rangers, we tend to date inside the team. Trini married Billy, but I know she went on a few dates with Jason and Zack back when they were doing the peace conference. Tommy dated Kimberly through high school, and he and I dated for the summer after high school. Tanya and Adam dated while in high school, then she went on a few dates with Zack as well… well, let's just say most of us girls have gone on dates with Zack," she laughed softly. "But I digress, you… you and your team served for what? A year… maybe a little bit more. You had a life outside of rangering before, and you'll have one after. I don't think, well with the exception of Nick and Maddy, and Kira and Trent, none of the ranger teams since Wild Force have had significant couplings in the group." She shook her head at herself, "I gave a speech didn't I?" She sighed, "Anyway… the point was, there is nothing wrong with valuing the bond of friendship with your teammates enough to not want to risk altering it by adding a romantic element to it."

Xander nodded then smiled, “No, not a speech, an explanation and I see where you’re coming from. I guess I should’ve already understood that. Nick turned out to be Udonna’s long lost son, after she’d already taken us in as if we were her children. Daggeron was stuck in a frog form before Maddie gave him a kiss that released him. You don’t get those kinds of things in everyday life so we’re bound to be a bit closer for it.”

Kat nodded, "Exactly. So like I said, you're not wired differently, you appreciate what you have," she said with a grin. "Now, you should probably head to bed, I think Adam has a training session planned for tomorrow morning."

“Training session?” Xander grumbled before he yawned, “Good idea.” Adam couldn’t be any harder on him than Daggeron was could he? Well Daggeron had had good reason to be so if Adam was than Xander realized that it would only be to make him a better fighter, a better teammate.

"So I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning," Kat laughed. She pushed away from the sink and headed to the kitchen door. "G'nite mate," she said heading out to the stairs.

“G’nite,” he echoed heading for his own room.

Kat stopped at Kira's door and poked her head in to check on her young friend. She smiled seeing Dustin and Kira wrapped up around each other. She was glad someone had gone to be there for the heartbroken girl.