A Darker Shade of Red (Time Force/Power Rangers, T, Chapter 40: Fights and Forgiveness)
This story is *finally* coming to a close. As something I began over a year ago now with no real plot in mind other than redeeming Alex, it's sort of sad to think about. It's got a few chapters left, but soon, I shall *FINALLY* have finished something. AND I AM NOT REWRITING THIS, DAMN IT. -Glares at Muses-
Fandom/: Power Rangers Time Force, slight crossover with S.P.D. (In Bright Skies universe)
Characters/: Alex
Pairings/: Alex/Jen, Lucas/Trip, Katie/OC, Wes/Eric
Rating/: T
Disclaimer/: Saban/Disney/Whoever sure didn't write *this* into the series. The plot comes purely from my own warped little mind, and the characters are merely borrowed from them for my own amusement. Lucky you.
Summary/: The legacy of Wesley Collins and Eric Myers didn't just affect the past - it affected the future. One thousand years after they became Rangers, one person is still struggling against the corruption of Time Force and the heritage he never wanted.
Warnings/: People used for scientific experimentation, corrupted Time Force, character with self-image issues
Author's Notes/: Wes and Eric totally stole the limelight from Lucas in this chapter. I was going to have *him* be the one to save Alex, but OverprotectiveParentMuses are scary. -Cowers-
And hey, Alex finally gets to spend time alone with his fiancée! That's right ... there was supposed to be romance in this story, wasn't there? Whoops.
Chapter 40:Fights and Forgiveness -- "You may not *want* me here, but I'm not going home until I see that man punished for what he did to my boys. Because you *are* my boys. Even if he raised you, even if ... even if I never got to know you before you were already too old for me to do the things I wanted to with you, you're still my son." --
Time seemed to slow as the words flickered through Alex's mind. He could see the laser coming at him, knew he could move if he chose to. The Time Force Rangers had been designed to manipulate time, after all.
-- "No matter how hard you try and tell me you're not, you *are*. Because I love you, and I've wanted to be part of your life even when I knew I couldn't. Even before I knew who you really were." --
Something hit him in the side, knocking him flying.
It wasn't fast enough; the blast caught him in the left shoulder, making him grunt in pain. His hand came up to cover it instinctively, and he hissed as he touched singed flesh. He landed on something soft as arms wrapped around him, shielding his head.
"Freeze!" someone ordered.
"Well, this is unexpected," Blakemore commented. "Come now, Benjamin, you know better than to turn against *me*," he scolded, sounding like he was speaking to a two-year-old. He reached for something in his pocket, his hand moving to press something they couldn't see.
"No!" Alex choked out. He struggled to get free from whatever was pinning him. "Stop him! That's an ESN!"
Hands caught his arms, holding him down. "ESN?" another voice repeated.
"Extra-Sensory Neuron Controller. He put one in Ben's morpher!" he huffed in frustration, shoving ineffectually at the person. "It's a shock device!"
"He did *what*?" the first voice growled.
Alex continued to struggle, but he couldn't get whoever it was to let him go.
"Why isn't this blasted thing working?" he heard Blakemore demand, looking up to see him aiming a small remote at the Quantum Ranger.
He pushed at - Red? Was the person wearing Red? - trying to get to his brother before Blakemore could shock him again. But the Quantum Ranger was already moving, lunching across the room to grab Blakemore by the throat and pin him against the opposite wall, his feet dangling above the floor. Blakemore made a strange, gasping sound.
"Eric, don't!" the person on top of Alex protested.
Wes? he realized. Wes is ... And that's not Ben. That's Eric? What is he doing -
"Maybe," Quantum hissed, fist tightening as Blakemore gasped for air, "You're pointing it at the *wrong*. *Ranger*."
Blakemore's eyes went wide, and he turned deathly pale. "M-Myers?"
There was a burst of red light, leaving Eric in the Quantum Ranger's place. His back was to Alex and Red Time Force Ranger on top of him, but whatever his expression was, Blakemore looked completely terrified.
"So you're the one," Eric said softly, and there was a current of anger in his tone that sent chills down Alex's spine. "You're the one who took my kids. You stole them from me, and hurt them in ways I don't even want to think about. You ruined my marriage. You kidnapped my husband. You're the reason I lost *everything*." His voice was barely a whisper now, and Blakemore was visibly shaking. "Give me *one* reason why I shouldn't rip you to pieces right now."
Alex stared at him, stunned. His ... his kids? Is he angry ... for me?
"Y-you're a Ranger," Blakemore sputtered. "Under Time Force! You - you answer to me!"
Silence.
"Wrong answer," Eric hissed, drawing back his fist.
The Ranger that had been holding Alex down was gone now, and he could hear shouting in the distance. Someone was screaming. He could see red. Blood? Someone was bleeding. Ben? he thought weakly. Ben's not ... am I?
His shoulder hurt, and he reached up to touch it, hissing slightly as pain flared. The flesh was blistered when he looked at it, edges of blackened fabric sticking to the wound. It would probably be painful to remove later.
But there was no blood, which meant the person bleeding wasn't him.
" ... Dad?"
The word slipped out before he could stop it, but it seemed to get the attention he wanted. Eric was looking at him. So was the Ranger ... Red Time Force. Wes, right? Wes was ... here.
Wes and Eric were hurting Commander Blakemore?
Eric stumbled toward him, hand outstretched. "Alex?" he asked anxiously.
Alex blinked once, then slowly shook his head. "You can't hurt him," he said quietly, looking at the blood on Eric's hand. The color of the Red Ranger. "I can't ... There's only so much I can do to protect you - "
"Let us handle that," Eric told him. His voice was soft and soothing. It didn't suit him, but it felt right somehow at the same time. "It's our job to protect you, not the other way around."
Alex shook his head again, blinking rapidly and swallowing. Eric wanted to protect him? "Time Force will - "
"That man just shot and threatened my kids, and I wasn't morphed when I hit him," Eric interrupted. "I know my rights. I'd like to see them try arrest me."
My kids. He blinked again. Eric kept saying that. Like it meant something. Like it mattered.
Like *he* mattered.
His eyes flickered to Blakemore. He lay curled up on the floor, his nose broken and bleeding, blending into the stream oozing from his lip. His right arm hung oddly, probably dislocated. And he was openly crying.
-- "Crying is for children, Alexander. You are not a child. You are a Ranger." --
The man he had lived in fear of for most of his life was curled in a ball on the floor.
And the men he had hated most of his life for making him what he was had put him there. Had put him there, saying it was for him and Ben. For them.
"Alex?" There was a hand gently touching his shoulder, avoiding the laser burn. "Talk to me, kiddo."
He blinked. "Kiddo?" he echoed dully.
"That's right. You're my kid, that makes you a kiddo." The voice was gentle, sounding nothing like when it had been snarling at Blakemore or speaking in cold fury.
He started, eyes widening in disbelief. "I'm ... yours?"
No one's ever ... No one wants me. No one ever has.
Have they? Somehow, he thought that sounded wrong. Like there was something he was forgetting about.
"Of course you are, buddy," another voice murmured in that same soothing tone. "We've never stopped thinking about you, remember? We've always wanted you with us."
"Always," the second added firmly, and the hand squeezed his shoulder.
"And now you're finally were you belong. We finally found you."
"Found ... " he repeated softly. His brow furrowed in confusion. "I was lost?"
"You're not anymore," the second voice promised as an arm came around him. "You're not lost. You're right where you belong."
An odd smile flickered across his face. "Where I belong ... " he murmured. That's a nice dream ...
He promptly collapsed against them, unconscious.
****
-- "He did *what*?"
"Eric, don't!"
"M-Myers?"
"Y-you're a Ranger. Under Time Force! You - you answer to me!"
"Wrong answer."
" ... Dad?" --
He was awake in an instant, but opening his eyes seemed like more effort than he was willing to make just yet. Instead he lay quietly, listening.
There were muffled voices somewhere nearby, but judging from the softness probably in a different room. The sharp smell with underlying lavender told him he was in the medical bay in Ranger Tower. Rustling meant that he wasn't alone, but he couldn't decide for sure who was sitting beside him.
"I know you're awake," a familiar voice murmured. "You might as well open your eyes."
For some reason, the sound made the last of the tension fade from his shoulder. "Too much effort," he muttered.
There was a soft chuckle, and a hand reached up to stroke his forehead. "Well, you did have a second degree burn from that blaster. They said you finally passed out from shock."
He made a noise of acknowledgement, even as he silently grumbled at the idea that he'd passed out.
"How are you feeling?"
He took a moment to assess himself. "Sore," he said finally. "Tired."
"How's the shoulder? Any more pain?"
He rolled it tentatively and shook his head. "Not a twinge."
"Good." The firm, casual tone was contrasted by the gentle touch to his cheek, and he finally forced his eyes open.
Jen smiled down at him warmly. "There you are," she murmured. "Hey."
"Hey," he whispered back.
She looked at him for a long moment, her expression soft. "We should get married," she decided suddenly.
He raised his eyebrows. "Isn't that why I gave you the ring?"
She rolled her eyes. "I mean, we should get married soon. While Wes and Eric are still here." She hesitated, biting her lip. "I'd ... I'd really like your parents to be there, too."
"That's never going to stop being weird," he muttered, and she chuckled at him.
"You think it's weird for you?" she teased back. "My best friend is my fiancé's father!"
He made a face. "Please stop saying that."
Her smile faded. "I thought you liked Wes."
He sighed, reaching up to scrub a hand over his face. The gesture was more tiring than it should have been. "I do. Sometimes."
"Sometimes?"
For a moment he was silent, staring at the ceiling as he tried to find the words to explain. "My whole life," he said finally, "I've been raised to believe that I exist to make Wesley Collins and Eric Myers into Power Rangers. That's the only reason I was made. I've been pushed to measure up to the standards they set, follow in their footsteps. And then they took everything I had away from me. My morpher, my job, my team ... " He swallowed. "You."
There were tears in Jen's eyes. "Alex - "
"And now ... now I know things about Wes that even Eric doesn't. I know every detail of his life. I know that he never lies, because he's been lied to most of his life. I know that he values people who earn what they want. I know ... I know he's a good person. And I want to hate him ... but I can't."
He swallowed again, and now the ceiling seemed to blur for a moment. "And after trying for months to stop hating him, to ... to accept that he's not the person I thought he was ... Now I have to accept that he's my *father*? That everything I was ever told, everything I believed, is wrong? I just - " He broke off, sitting up despite his exhaustion to bury his face in his hands.
"I want to hate them. And I want to love them," he whispered finally. "And I ... I just don't know who I am anymore."
Arms came around him, squeezing gently as she pressed her lips to his temple. "I know exactly who you are, Alex."
He snorted wetly. "Do you?"
"Yes," she insisted. "I know that you're strong, and brave, and loyal. That you love your friends more than anything. That you're a geek." She paused to nudge him playfully, her tone teasing. "That you'd rather spend a night watching the history channel on the couch than going out to a fancy restaurant. That you're horrible with people and you hate it, so you avoid talking to them unless you have to." She paused again, reflective now as she ran a hand through his hair. "I know that you're scared to love, because you're afraid of being hurt. And that's why you'd rather hate Wes and Eric, because if you love them, they can hurt you. Just like I did. Just like *he* did." Even without saying the name, the disgust and fury in her voice made her practically spit the word.
He swallowed again. "I thought you were mad at me for keeping more secrets."
"A little," she admitted. "But that's part of love, Alex. Being angry at someone, and learning to forgive them."
"I don't know if I can."
"I think you already have," she corrected softly. "You just don't want to admit it."
He closed his eyes, reaching up with one hand to grip her arm as she hugged him. "If ... if I love them, then everything is different. Then they're not who I thought they were. I'm not who I thought I was."
"Sometimes change is good." She paused to kiss his temple again. "Wes taught me that," she confessed quietly. There was a moment of silence as he could feel her looking at him, but he kept his eyes closed, not wanting to see it. "You're more like him than you know. And I mean that in a good way."
He sighed, leaning into her. "You wouldn't say it if you didn't," he murmured.
She snorted. "Oh yes, I would." Another pause. "Think about what I said?"
"Which part?"
She sighed. "Forgiving them, I suppose. But ... I really do want to get married, Alex. We've put it off for so long ... " She paused, and when she spoke again her voice trembled. "I could have lost you today. Again. I've almost lost you so many times, and I - "
He turned to cut her off with a kiss, eventually pulling away to look her in the face. They were both watery-eyed, even if it was for different entirely different reasons. "I want to see the end of this trial," he said slowly, carefully. "And after that ... "
He reached up to cup her cheek, marveling at the idea that even now, after all this time, she still loved him. Wanted him. "After that, we'll get married," he whispered. "For real this time."
The smile she gave him was like watching the sunrise. He resolved then and there to make sure to see that smile every day. For the rest of his life.
It left him with a surprisingly good feeling.
Fandom/: Power Rangers Time Force, slight crossover with S.P.D. (In Bright Skies universe)
Characters/: Alex
Pairings/: Alex/Jen, Lucas/Trip, Katie/OC, Wes/Eric
Rating/: T
Disclaimer/: Saban/Disney/Whoever sure didn't write *this* into the series. The plot comes purely from my own warped little mind, and the characters are merely borrowed from them for my own amusement. Lucky you.
Summary/: The legacy of Wesley Collins and Eric Myers didn't just affect the past - it affected the future. One thousand years after they became Rangers, one person is still struggling against the corruption of Time Force and the heritage he never wanted.
Warnings/: People used for scientific experimentation, corrupted Time Force, character with self-image issues
Author's Notes/: Wes and Eric totally stole the limelight from Lucas in this chapter. I was going to have *him* be the one to save Alex, but OverprotectiveParentMuses are scary. -Cowers-
And hey, Alex finally gets to spend time alone with his fiancée! That's right ... there was supposed to be romance in this story, wasn't there? Whoops.
Chapter 40:Fights and Forgiveness -- "You may not *want* me here, but I'm not going home until I see that man punished for what he did to my boys. Because you *are* my boys. Even if he raised you, even if ... even if I never got to know you before you were already too old for me to do the things I wanted to with you, you're still my son." --
Time seemed to slow as the words flickered through Alex's mind. He could see the laser coming at him, knew he could move if he chose to. The Time Force Rangers had been designed to manipulate time, after all.
-- "No matter how hard you try and tell me you're not, you *are*. Because I love you, and I've wanted to be part of your life even when I knew I couldn't. Even before I knew who you really were." --
Something hit him in the side, knocking him flying.
It wasn't fast enough; the blast caught him in the left shoulder, making him grunt in pain. His hand came up to cover it instinctively, and he hissed as he touched singed flesh. He landed on something soft as arms wrapped around him, shielding his head.
"Freeze!" someone ordered.
"Well, this is unexpected," Blakemore commented. "Come now, Benjamin, you know better than to turn against *me*," he scolded, sounding like he was speaking to a two-year-old. He reached for something in his pocket, his hand moving to press something they couldn't see.
"No!" Alex choked out. He struggled to get free from whatever was pinning him. "Stop him! That's an ESN!"
Hands caught his arms, holding him down. "ESN?" another voice repeated.
"Extra-Sensory Neuron Controller. He put one in Ben's morpher!" he huffed in frustration, shoving ineffectually at the person. "It's a shock device!"
"He did *what*?" the first voice growled.
Alex continued to struggle, but he couldn't get whoever it was to let him go.
"Why isn't this blasted thing working?" he heard Blakemore demand, looking up to see him aiming a small remote at the Quantum Ranger.
He pushed at - Red? Was the person wearing Red? - trying to get to his brother before Blakemore could shock him again. But the Quantum Ranger was already moving, lunching across the room to grab Blakemore by the throat and pin him against the opposite wall, his feet dangling above the floor. Blakemore made a strange, gasping sound.
"Eric, don't!" the person on top of Alex protested.
Wes? he realized. Wes is ... And that's not Ben. That's Eric? What is he doing -
"Maybe," Quantum hissed, fist tightening as Blakemore gasped for air, "You're pointing it at the *wrong*. *Ranger*."
Blakemore's eyes went wide, and he turned deathly pale. "M-Myers?"
There was a burst of red light, leaving Eric in the Quantum Ranger's place. His back was to Alex and Red Time Force Ranger on top of him, but whatever his expression was, Blakemore looked completely terrified.
"So you're the one," Eric said softly, and there was a current of anger in his tone that sent chills down Alex's spine. "You're the one who took my kids. You stole them from me, and hurt them in ways I don't even want to think about. You ruined my marriage. You kidnapped my husband. You're the reason I lost *everything*." His voice was barely a whisper now, and Blakemore was visibly shaking. "Give me *one* reason why I shouldn't rip you to pieces right now."
Alex stared at him, stunned. His ... his kids? Is he angry ... for me?
"Y-you're a Ranger," Blakemore sputtered. "Under Time Force! You - you answer to me!"
Silence.
"Wrong answer," Eric hissed, drawing back his fist.
The Ranger that had been holding Alex down was gone now, and he could hear shouting in the distance. Someone was screaming. He could see red. Blood? Someone was bleeding. Ben? he thought weakly. Ben's not ... am I?
His shoulder hurt, and he reached up to touch it, hissing slightly as pain flared. The flesh was blistered when he looked at it, edges of blackened fabric sticking to the wound. It would probably be painful to remove later.
But there was no blood, which meant the person bleeding wasn't him.
" ... Dad?"
The word slipped out before he could stop it, but it seemed to get the attention he wanted. Eric was looking at him. So was the Ranger ... Red Time Force. Wes, right? Wes was ... here.
Wes and Eric were hurting Commander Blakemore?
Eric stumbled toward him, hand outstretched. "Alex?" he asked anxiously.
Alex blinked once, then slowly shook his head. "You can't hurt him," he said quietly, looking at the blood on Eric's hand. The color of the Red Ranger. "I can't ... There's only so much I can do to protect you - "
"Let us handle that," Eric told him. His voice was soft and soothing. It didn't suit him, but it felt right somehow at the same time. "It's our job to protect you, not the other way around."
Alex shook his head again, blinking rapidly and swallowing. Eric wanted to protect him? "Time Force will - "
"That man just shot and threatened my kids, and I wasn't morphed when I hit him," Eric interrupted. "I know my rights. I'd like to see them try arrest me."
My kids. He blinked again. Eric kept saying that. Like it meant something. Like it mattered.
Like *he* mattered.
His eyes flickered to Blakemore. He lay curled up on the floor, his nose broken and bleeding, blending into the stream oozing from his lip. His right arm hung oddly, probably dislocated. And he was openly crying.
-- "Crying is for children, Alexander. You are not a child. You are a Ranger." --
The man he had lived in fear of for most of his life was curled in a ball on the floor.
And the men he had hated most of his life for making him what he was had put him there. Had put him there, saying it was for him and Ben. For them.
"Alex?" There was a hand gently touching his shoulder, avoiding the laser burn. "Talk to me, kiddo."
He blinked. "Kiddo?" he echoed dully.
"That's right. You're my kid, that makes you a kiddo." The voice was gentle, sounding nothing like when it had been snarling at Blakemore or speaking in cold fury.
He started, eyes widening in disbelief. "I'm ... yours?"
No one's ever ... No one wants me. No one ever has.
Have they? Somehow, he thought that sounded wrong. Like there was something he was forgetting about.
"Of course you are, buddy," another voice murmured in that same soothing tone. "We've never stopped thinking about you, remember? We've always wanted you with us."
"Always," the second added firmly, and the hand squeezed his shoulder.
"And now you're finally were you belong. We finally found you."
"Found ... " he repeated softly. His brow furrowed in confusion. "I was lost?"
"You're not anymore," the second voice promised as an arm came around him. "You're not lost. You're right where you belong."
An odd smile flickered across his face. "Where I belong ... " he murmured. That's a nice dream ...
He promptly collapsed against them, unconscious.
****
-- "He did *what*?"
"Eric, don't!"
"M-Myers?"
"Y-you're a Ranger. Under Time Force! You - you answer to me!"
"Wrong answer."
" ... Dad?" --
He was awake in an instant, but opening his eyes seemed like more effort than he was willing to make just yet. Instead he lay quietly, listening.
There were muffled voices somewhere nearby, but judging from the softness probably in a different room. The sharp smell with underlying lavender told him he was in the medical bay in Ranger Tower. Rustling meant that he wasn't alone, but he couldn't decide for sure who was sitting beside him.
"I know you're awake," a familiar voice murmured. "You might as well open your eyes."
For some reason, the sound made the last of the tension fade from his shoulder. "Too much effort," he muttered.
There was a soft chuckle, and a hand reached up to stroke his forehead. "Well, you did have a second degree burn from that blaster. They said you finally passed out from shock."
He made a noise of acknowledgement, even as he silently grumbled at the idea that he'd passed out.
"How are you feeling?"
He took a moment to assess himself. "Sore," he said finally. "Tired."
"How's the shoulder? Any more pain?"
He rolled it tentatively and shook his head. "Not a twinge."
"Good." The firm, casual tone was contrasted by the gentle touch to his cheek, and he finally forced his eyes open.
Jen smiled down at him warmly. "There you are," she murmured. "Hey."
"Hey," he whispered back.
She looked at him for a long moment, her expression soft. "We should get married," she decided suddenly.
He raised his eyebrows. "Isn't that why I gave you the ring?"
She rolled her eyes. "I mean, we should get married soon. While Wes and Eric are still here." She hesitated, biting her lip. "I'd ... I'd really like your parents to be there, too."
"That's never going to stop being weird," he muttered, and she chuckled at him.
"You think it's weird for you?" she teased back. "My best friend is my fiancé's father!"
He made a face. "Please stop saying that."
Her smile faded. "I thought you liked Wes."
He sighed, reaching up to scrub a hand over his face. The gesture was more tiring than it should have been. "I do. Sometimes."
"Sometimes?"
For a moment he was silent, staring at the ceiling as he tried to find the words to explain. "My whole life," he said finally, "I've been raised to believe that I exist to make Wesley Collins and Eric Myers into Power Rangers. That's the only reason I was made. I've been pushed to measure up to the standards they set, follow in their footsteps. And then they took everything I had away from me. My morpher, my job, my team ... " He swallowed. "You."
There were tears in Jen's eyes. "Alex - "
"And now ... now I know things about Wes that even Eric doesn't. I know every detail of his life. I know that he never lies, because he's been lied to most of his life. I know that he values people who earn what they want. I know ... I know he's a good person. And I want to hate him ... but I can't."
He swallowed again, and now the ceiling seemed to blur for a moment. "And after trying for months to stop hating him, to ... to accept that he's not the person I thought he was ... Now I have to accept that he's my *father*? That everything I was ever told, everything I believed, is wrong? I just - " He broke off, sitting up despite his exhaustion to bury his face in his hands.
"I want to hate them. And I want to love them," he whispered finally. "And I ... I just don't know who I am anymore."
Arms came around him, squeezing gently as she pressed her lips to his temple. "I know exactly who you are, Alex."
He snorted wetly. "Do you?"
"Yes," she insisted. "I know that you're strong, and brave, and loyal. That you love your friends more than anything. That you're a geek." She paused to nudge him playfully, her tone teasing. "That you'd rather spend a night watching the history channel on the couch than going out to a fancy restaurant. That you're horrible with people and you hate it, so you avoid talking to them unless you have to." She paused again, reflective now as she ran a hand through his hair. "I know that you're scared to love, because you're afraid of being hurt. And that's why you'd rather hate Wes and Eric, because if you love them, they can hurt you. Just like I did. Just like *he* did." Even without saying the name, the disgust and fury in her voice made her practically spit the word.
He swallowed again. "I thought you were mad at me for keeping more secrets."
"A little," she admitted. "But that's part of love, Alex. Being angry at someone, and learning to forgive them."
"I don't know if I can."
"I think you already have," she corrected softly. "You just don't want to admit it."
He closed his eyes, reaching up with one hand to grip her arm as she hugged him. "If ... if I love them, then everything is different. Then they're not who I thought they were. I'm not who I thought I was."
"Sometimes change is good." She paused to kiss his temple again. "Wes taught me that," she confessed quietly. There was a moment of silence as he could feel her looking at him, but he kept his eyes closed, not wanting to see it. "You're more like him than you know. And I mean that in a good way."
He sighed, leaning into her. "You wouldn't say it if you didn't," he murmured.
She snorted. "Oh yes, I would." Another pause. "Think about what I said?"
"Which part?"
She sighed. "Forgiving them, I suppose. But ... I really do want to get married, Alex. We've put it off for so long ... " She paused, and when she spoke again her voice trembled. "I could have lost you today. Again. I've almost lost you so many times, and I - "
He turned to cut her off with a kiss, eventually pulling away to look her in the face. They were both watery-eyed, even if it was for different entirely different reasons. "I want to see the end of this trial," he said slowly, carefully. "And after that ... "
He reached up to cup her cheek, marveling at the idea that even now, after all this time, she still loved him. Wanted him. "After that, we'll get married," he whispered. "For real this time."
The smile she gave him was like watching the sunrise. He resolved then and there to make sure to see that smile every day. For the rest of his life.
It left him with a surprisingly good feeling.