A Darker Shade of Red (Time Force/Power Rangers, T, Chapter 43: Moments of Clarity)
Akume is a dork.
I went to add Chapter 43 of ADSoR to my LiveJournal, and thought I never posted Chapter 41 or 42. And then I got confused and re-posted something that was already posted ...
-Coughs- So. New chapter of ADSoR today. Finally. Enjoy. c.c;;;
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/: Whoot! New chapter! I rock!
(I swear, I'm not ignoring this story. It's just that my muses are bouncing all over the place, and I'm going with whatever they've got.)
Love to phantom_blue for beta! ♥
Chapter 43:Moments of Clarity
When he found himself at Time Force an hour later, he wasn't really surprised. After all his life had always started - and ended - with Time Force. No matter how much he hated it or Wes denied it, Time Force was really the reason he existed.
It was the reason Wes and Eric had met again. It was the reason he'd made Wes a Ranger. It was the reason Eric had become a Ranger. And it was the reason he'd spent his entire life manipulating the flow of time to make sure things happened as they were expected to.
He took his time heading up to Ranger Tower. The efforts to clean up everything the Newtech Rangers had done had already taken care of a lot of the damage, and Time Force looked to be getting back on its feet already. They'd probably be starting the trials up again within the next few days.
He keyed his morpher into the system with a long sigh, absently acknowledging Circuit's surprised greeting with a nod. There were nine messages already waiting for him when he entered the comm room, and he raised his eyebrows in surprise even as he went to check them. He hadn't been gone *that* long, had he?
Six were from Sky.
He immediately dialed in the appropriate code with a frown, not bothering to take the time to listen to any of them. His fingers tapped impatiently on the console in front of him as he waited for two comms to establish a link, trying not to imagine what could have Sky so anxious he was that desperate for an answer. Was something wrong? Did he need help? Was he all right?
Sky's face flickered in front of him abruptly. "Are they there?" Sky demanded before he could say anything. "Are they safe?"
Alex stared at him blankly. " ... I'm sorry?"
"Mom, Eric, R.J., and the others," Sky explained impatiently. "Did they get there all right? Have they found Dad? Is he okay?"
Alex blinked. "Wes was with us," he said slowly. "But yes, Eric and the others are here. They're at the house right now."
Sky's expression darkened instantly. "Are you *kidding* me? Dad's been with you this whole time, and you didn't even think to contact us and let us know where he was?!"
"We were going to return him before you noticed he was gone," Alex told him, trying not to sound as irritated as he felt. Did they honestly think he was that inconsiderate of how many people cared about Wes? "He was brought forward without our knowledge to be a surprise witness for the defense in a high-profile trial we've been involved in, and when Wes found out who it was for, he insisted on staying to see the verdict. The next day Newtech Rangers tried to blow up Time Force while we were on break for lunch, and we've been trying to clean up the mess ever since."
"They *blew up* Time Force?" Sky looked horrified.
"Not all of it," Alex admitted reluctantly. "They just disabled some very specific areas. Supposedly it was a distraction while they went after Wes, but as soon as Eric found him they started helping us with repairs and rounding up prisoners instead. Once they found out why Wes has been staying, they all insisted on it." It was a struggle not to show his annoyance.
Sky let out a long sigh, rolling his eyes. "Sounds like something they'd do," he muttered. "Especially when it's Dad."
There was a long moment of silence.
"How are you holding up?" Sky asked finally.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Alex returned, raising his eyebrows. Sky was, after all, stuck in the past alone with all four of his parents in the future.
Sky snorted. "Yeah, right. I know better than anyone what it's like to be stuck in the shadow of The Great Wes Collins."
Alex frowned.
Another pause, and Sky shook his head. "He's a war hero. He nearly gave his life in the line of duty - twice. He lost his sight and still managed to become an even *stronger* fighter. He has this way of getting through to people that just makes them fall all over themselves to help him. He's got his own memorial statue. I mean, he saved *time itself*. Even Commander Cruger calls him the best of the best of Rangers, and they can hardly stand each other." Another head shake. "How do you compete with that?"
Alex swallowed, his throat feeling very tight suddenly. "You don't," he said softly.
"And the worst part is that you can't even hate him for it," Sky raged on. "Because he's honestly a nice guy, and he really does care about people. And to make things worse? He doesn't even get why so many people admire him. It's like it just goes over his head or something. So no matter how frustrated you get, he doesn't understand. And then he gives you that stupid puppy-eyed look, and you can't even be mad at him anymore!"
There was another moment of silence.
"You shouldn't say that," Alex said finally, his voice still quiet. His throat was still tight, but there was a feeling of indignation building inside him he couldn't ignore. "You shouldn't say things like that about Wes." He tried to swallow again, finally closing his eyes for a moment.
-- "Even knowing what happened, I'm still proud of you. And I still love you." --
"Wes deserves everything he gets," he said finally, and wasn't *that* something he never thought he'd say. Was it only three months ago he'd hated Wes for everything he was? For everything he'd made Alex into?
"I never he said he didn't," Sky snapped back. "But that doesn't make it any easier being his son."
He wanted to say he wouldn't know, but he couldn't get the words out.
"I love Dad," Sky went on, frowning down at the table in front of him. "He's ... I've always wanted to be just like him. I'm not, but that's never mattered to him. But even then ... There are people who expect me to be the next Wesley Collins, and it's hard when you don't measure up."
He supposed he could agree with that.
He watched Sky for a moment, silently acknowledging that this was something he'd never expected to have in common with his younger brother, and he didn't like knowing that he did. Because it wasn't fair to either of them, anymore than it was fair to Wes. Because Wes had never asked to be special, and they'd never asked to be compared to their father.
But then, he'd never expected to even *have* another younger brother, either.
A loud meow distracted him from his thoughts, and he started as Sky looked down with a frown. "I already fed you," Sky informed whatever he was looking at. "I'm not feeding you again."
Alex frowned, puzzled. "What are you - "
But Sky was already bending down with an irritated sigh, lifting a large ball of black fuzz into his lap. "Let me guess?" he asked it. "You wanna be brushed again."
It meowed again.
Sky rolled his eyes, reaching for something across the table. "I swear, you're spoiled rotten," he muttered.
"What is that?" Alex asked suspiciously, as Sky began to take a comb to the black fuzz. It immediately made some sort of strange, rumbling noise.
Sky glanced back up at him. "This is Sheep," he explained. "He's Eric's - well, my, cat."
Alex stared at it blankly. "That's a cat?"
"Oh, very funny," Sky snapped, glaring at him. There was a moment of Sky scowling as Alex continued to stare at ... Sheep?, before the glare finally began to fade. "You've ... never seen a cat before?" Sky asked slowly.
Wordlessly, Alex shook his head.
Sky stared at him for a moment. His hand slowed in combing the fuzz, which resulted in a paw reaching up to pull at his hand. Sky jumped slightly, looking down before beginning to comb it again.
"Why are you doing that?" Alex asked finally, curious despite himself.
Sky looked up again. "What? Brushing him?"
"Yeah."
"He's a Persian, which means his fur is really long and really fine," Sky explained. "It needs to be brushed daily to keep it from snarling. And then you have to wash it about once a week or more, so it stays soft and clean."
"Sounds like a lot of work." Alex raised his eyebrows skeptically.
Sky shrugged. "He likes it."
Judging by the noise the thing was making, that was certainly true.
"You really don't have cats in the future?" Sky asked after a moment, frowning.
Alex hesitated briefly and finally shrugged. It wasn't like Sky would live long enough to do anything about it. "Animals are very rare in our time. Most of them are kept in exibits, and keeping one for personal use requires a permit. There are cats, but I've never seen one personally. Just in pictures. It wasn't part of my training."
Sky's frown darkened into a scowl.
"Sky?" an unfamiliar voice spoke up, and Alex tensed in horror as someone appeared behind Sky. "What's taking so - oh." The teen blinked at Alex, dressed in the strangest green sleepwear he'd ever seen, hair rumpled and blinking sleepily. "Hi," he said after a moment. "I'm Bridge. You must be Alex."
Alex stared. "How do you know my name?"
Sky snorted, even as he continued to brush his cat. "Alex, *everyone* at S.P.D. knows who you are. Dad talks about you all the time."
He paled. Wes was - "Are you serious?" he demanded sharply. "Wes has been sharing knowledge of the future?"
He was going to kill him. Father or not, he was going to *strangle* him.
"Well, no. Not exactly," Bridge spoke up, pausing to run a - were those mittens? - hand over the cat's head. "Uncle Wes doesn't talk about the future so much. It's more that he talks about the Time Force Rangers? And you and Ben, obviously. Because y'know, he misses you and all."
"When Dad joined S.P.D., everyone wanted to know why he and Eric broke up," Sky added, lifting the cat's tail as he carefully ran the comb through it. "And Dad explained about you and Ben being kidnapped by Time Force."
"Uncle Wes still blames himself, even though no one else does," Bridge put in. "But they're all really careful not to take sides between him and Uncle Eric, too."
Alex frowned. "Why would they take sides?"
There was an awkward pause.
"Well ... because no one's really sure that Uncle Wes did the right thing," Bridge offered, looking uncertain. "Not telling Uncle Eric about what was going to happen, I mean. But they're not sure he did the wrong thing, either. So, since they don't know if the right thing was the wrong thing, or the wrong thing was the right thing, or the right thing was right or the wrong thing was - "
"Bridge," Sky cut in.
"Nobody knows if they agree that he shouldn't have said anything. Or if he should have told, like Uncle Eric thinks. So they don't say anything. It makes things easier that way," Bridge finished.
Alex stared.
"Dad thinks he did the right thing not telling him about you two, and Eric thinks he was wrong," Sky clarified without looking up. "No one else is giving their opinion."
"What do you think?" he heard himself ask. He winced the moment he did; dragging Sky into this was probably one of the dumbest things he could have done. He opened his mouth to tell him he didn't have to answer, but Bridge was already speaking.
"I think there is no right answer," Bridge said absently, looking thoughtful. "Because we don't know what might have happened either way. I think if he had told, things would be different, but they wouldn't necessarily be wrong. Just like they're not necessarily right the way they are."
Sky let out a long sigh as Alex tried to work through that statement. "I think," he said slowly, "That Dad did the right thing. Because there's no way Eric would have just let it happen. And I think the fact that he did ... " Sky paused, shaking his head after a moment. "I've always thought Dad was one of the bravest people I've ever known. This just proves it."
Alex frowned.
Sky looked up abruptly, his eyes shining with emotion. When he spoke, his voice seemed oddly thick, and Bridge leaned in closer to rest against his shoulder. "I wish he hadn't. I wish for a lot of things. And I know ... I know it was the worst choice to make. But I don't think he was wrong. Even with everything ... " Sky swallowed. "I think he did what had to be done."
The strange, tight feeling in Alex's chest loosened a little.
It occured to him, vaguely, that if he and Ben *hadn't* come to the future, it was entirely possible Sky would never have been born. Wes and Eric would have raised him and Ben together, as a family, and there would never have been a night in a bar resulting in his younger brother. A world without Sky.
Surprisingly, he realized he wouldn't have wanted that.
Even with everything ... the pain, the suffering. The feelings of being inaddiquate, of being used, of being useless. His life was what it was. And if it hadn't been, Sky wouldn't be his little brother. Trip wouldn't be his brother. He wouldn't know Katie and Lucas, wouldn't have Katie crushing his ribs and insisting they were and would always be friends, wouldn't have Lucas lurking around like some sort of creepy bodyguard.
He wouldn't have Jen.
It was odd. For months, years even, he'd been dealing with everything Time Force had done. Everything Wes had been and was and would always be. He was struggling to adjust to the idea that he had two parents, that Eric was his father, not just DNA. That Ben was alive again, six years younger than him instead of the same age. That he had another brother he'd never had the chance to know except for late-night comm calls in the dark, learning about someone who was so much like him and yet so different.
And yet in a sudden moment of clarity, Sky's words ...
They didn't magically fix anything. That was ridiculous. But knowing that his brother didn't hate him, that he wished things could have been different, too ...
Maybe his life wasn't perfect. Maybe his family was twisted and warped, separated by time and different bloodlines. But it was *his*.
And that was what truly mattered.
A smile touched his lips before he stopped to think about it.
Sky frowned. "Alex?"
" ... Are you okay?" Bridge added warily, looking concerned.
Alex shook his head slowly. "I'm ... I'm ... " He struggled for the right word. "I'm satisfied," he said finally, even though it wasn't quite the word he wanted. He smiled a little. "Actually ... Sky. There was something else I wanted to ask you."
Sky looked suspicious. "What is it?"
I went to add Chapter 43 of ADSoR to my LiveJournal, and thought I never posted Chapter 41 or 42. And then I got confused and re-posted something that was already posted ...
-Coughs- So. New chapter of ADSoR today. Finally. Enjoy. c.c;;;
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/: Whoot! New chapter! I rock!
(I swear, I'm not ignoring this story. It's just that my muses are bouncing all over the place, and I'm going with whatever they've got.)
Love to phantom_blue for beta! ♥
Chapter 43:Moments of Clarity
When he found himself at Time Force an hour later, he wasn't really surprised. After all his life had always started - and ended - with Time Force. No matter how much he hated it or Wes denied it, Time Force was really the reason he existed.
It was the reason Wes and Eric had met again. It was the reason he'd made Wes a Ranger. It was the reason Eric had become a Ranger. And it was the reason he'd spent his entire life manipulating the flow of time to make sure things happened as they were expected to.
He took his time heading up to Ranger Tower. The efforts to clean up everything the Newtech Rangers had done had already taken care of a lot of the damage, and Time Force looked to be getting back on its feet already. They'd probably be starting the trials up again within the next few days.
He keyed his morpher into the system with a long sigh, absently acknowledging Circuit's surprised greeting with a nod. There were nine messages already waiting for him when he entered the comm room, and he raised his eyebrows in surprise even as he went to check them. He hadn't been gone *that* long, had he?
Six were from Sky.
He immediately dialed in the appropriate code with a frown, not bothering to take the time to listen to any of them. His fingers tapped impatiently on the console in front of him as he waited for two comms to establish a link, trying not to imagine what could have Sky so anxious he was that desperate for an answer. Was something wrong? Did he need help? Was he all right?
Sky's face flickered in front of him abruptly. "Are they there?" Sky demanded before he could say anything. "Are they safe?"
Alex stared at him blankly. " ... I'm sorry?"
"Mom, Eric, R.J., and the others," Sky explained impatiently. "Did they get there all right? Have they found Dad? Is he okay?"
Alex blinked. "Wes was with us," he said slowly. "But yes, Eric and the others are here. They're at the house right now."
Sky's expression darkened instantly. "Are you *kidding* me? Dad's been with you this whole time, and you didn't even think to contact us and let us know where he was?!"
"We were going to return him before you noticed he was gone," Alex told him, trying not to sound as irritated as he felt. Did they honestly think he was that inconsiderate of how many people cared about Wes? "He was brought forward without our knowledge to be a surprise witness for the defense in a high-profile trial we've been involved in, and when Wes found out who it was for, he insisted on staying to see the verdict. The next day Newtech Rangers tried to blow up Time Force while we were on break for lunch, and we've been trying to clean up the mess ever since."
"They *blew up* Time Force?" Sky looked horrified.
"Not all of it," Alex admitted reluctantly. "They just disabled some very specific areas. Supposedly it was a distraction while they went after Wes, but as soon as Eric found him they started helping us with repairs and rounding up prisoners instead. Once they found out why Wes has been staying, they all insisted on it." It was a struggle not to show his annoyance.
Sky let out a long sigh, rolling his eyes. "Sounds like something they'd do," he muttered. "Especially when it's Dad."
There was a long moment of silence.
"How are you holding up?" Sky asked finally.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Alex returned, raising his eyebrows. Sky was, after all, stuck in the past alone with all four of his parents in the future.
Sky snorted. "Yeah, right. I know better than anyone what it's like to be stuck in the shadow of The Great Wes Collins."
Alex frowned.
Another pause, and Sky shook his head. "He's a war hero. He nearly gave his life in the line of duty - twice. He lost his sight and still managed to become an even *stronger* fighter. He has this way of getting through to people that just makes them fall all over themselves to help him. He's got his own memorial statue. I mean, he saved *time itself*. Even Commander Cruger calls him the best of the best of Rangers, and they can hardly stand each other." Another head shake. "How do you compete with that?"
Alex swallowed, his throat feeling very tight suddenly. "You don't," he said softly.
"And the worst part is that you can't even hate him for it," Sky raged on. "Because he's honestly a nice guy, and he really does care about people. And to make things worse? He doesn't even get why so many people admire him. It's like it just goes over his head or something. So no matter how frustrated you get, he doesn't understand. And then he gives you that stupid puppy-eyed look, and you can't even be mad at him anymore!"
There was another moment of silence.
"You shouldn't say that," Alex said finally, his voice still quiet. His throat was still tight, but there was a feeling of indignation building inside him he couldn't ignore. "You shouldn't say things like that about Wes." He tried to swallow again, finally closing his eyes for a moment.
-- "Even knowing what happened, I'm still proud of you. And I still love you." --
"Wes deserves everything he gets," he said finally, and wasn't *that* something he never thought he'd say. Was it only three months ago he'd hated Wes for everything he was? For everything he'd made Alex into?
"I never he said he didn't," Sky snapped back. "But that doesn't make it any easier being his son."
He wanted to say he wouldn't know, but he couldn't get the words out.
"I love Dad," Sky went on, frowning down at the table in front of him. "He's ... I've always wanted to be just like him. I'm not, but that's never mattered to him. But even then ... There are people who expect me to be the next Wesley Collins, and it's hard when you don't measure up."
He supposed he could agree with that.
He watched Sky for a moment, silently acknowledging that this was something he'd never expected to have in common with his younger brother, and he didn't like knowing that he did. Because it wasn't fair to either of them, anymore than it was fair to Wes. Because Wes had never asked to be special, and they'd never asked to be compared to their father.
But then, he'd never expected to even *have* another younger brother, either.
A loud meow distracted him from his thoughts, and he started as Sky looked down with a frown. "I already fed you," Sky informed whatever he was looking at. "I'm not feeding you again."
Alex frowned, puzzled. "What are you - "
But Sky was already bending down with an irritated sigh, lifting a large ball of black fuzz into his lap. "Let me guess?" he asked it. "You wanna be brushed again."
It meowed again.
Sky rolled his eyes, reaching for something across the table. "I swear, you're spoiled rotten," he muttered.
"What is that?" Alex asked suspiciously, as Sky began to take a comb to the black fuzz. It immediately made some sort of strange, rumbling noise.
Sky glanced back up at him. "This is Sheep," he explained. "He's Eric's - well, my, cat."
Alex stared at it blankly. "That's a cat?"
"Oh, very funny," Sky snapped, glaring at him. There was a moment of Sky scowling as Alex continued to stare at ... Sheep?, before the glare finally began to fade. "You've ... never seen a cat before?" Sky asked slowly.
Wordlessly, Alex shook his head.
Sky stared at him for a moment. His hand slowed in combing the fuzz, which resulted in a paw reaching up to pull at his hand. Sky jumped slightly, looking down before beginning to comb it again.
"Why are you doing that?" Alex asked finally, curious despite himself.
Sky looked up again. "What? Brushing him?"
"Yeah."
"He's a Persian, which means his fur is really long and really fine," Sky explained. "It needs to be brushed daily to keep it from snarling. And then you have to wash it about once a week or more, so it stays soft and clean."
"Sounds like a lot of work." Alex raised his eyebrows skeptically.
Sky shrugged. "He likes it."
Judging by the noise the thing was making, that was certainly true.
"You really don't have cats in the future?" Sky asked after a moment, frowning.
Alex hesitated briefly and finally shrugged. It wasn't like Sky would live long enough to do anything about it. "Animals are very rare in our time. Most of them are kept in exibits, and keeping one for personal use requires a permit. There are cats, but I've never seen one personally. Just in pictures. It wasn't part of my training."
Sky's frown darkened into a scowl.
"Sky?" an unfamiliar voice spoke up, and Alex tensed in horror as someone appeared behind Sky. "What's taking so - oh." The teen blinked at Alex, dressed in the strangest green sleepwear he'd ever seen, hair rumpled and blinking sleepily. "Hi," he said after a moment. "I'm Bridge. You must be Alex."
Alex stared. "How do you know my name?"
Sky snorted, even as he continued to brush his cat. "Alex, *everyone* at S.P.D. knows who you are. Dad talks about you all the time."
He paled. Wes was - "Are you serious?" he demanded sharply. "Wes has been sharing knowledge of the future?"
He was going to kill him. Father or not, he was going to *strangle* him.
"Well, no. Not exactly," Bridge spoke up, pausing to run a - were those mittens? - hand over the cat's head. "Uncle Wes doesn't talk about the future so much. It's more that he talks about the Time Force Rangers? And you and Ben, obviously. Because y'know, he misses you and all."
"When Dad joined S.P.D., everyone wanted to know why he and Eric broke up," Sky added, lifting the cat's tail as he carefully ran the comb through it. "And Dad explained about you and Ben being kidnapped by Time Force."
"Uncle Wes still blames himself, even though no one else does," Bridge put in. "But they're all really careful not to take sides between him and Uncle Eric, too."
Alex frowned. "Why would they take sides?"
There was an awkward pause.
"Well ... because no one's really sure that Uncle Wes did the right thing," Bridge offered, looking uncertain. "Not telling Uncle Eric about what was going to happen, I mean. But they're not sure he did the wrong thing, either. So, since they don't know if the right thing was the wrong thing, or the wrong thing was the right thing, or the right thing was right or the wrong thing was - "
"Bridge," Sky cut in.
"Nobody knows if they agree that he shouldn't have said anything. Or if he should have told, like Uncle Eric thinks. So they don't say anything. It makes things easier that way," Bridge finished.
Alex stared.
"Dad thinks he did the right thing not telling him about you two, and Eric thinks he was wrong," Sky clarified without looking up. "No one else is giving their opinion."
"What do you think?" he heard himself ask. He winced the moment he did; dragging Sky into this was probably one of the dumbest things he could have done. He opened his mouth to tell him he didn't have to answer, but Bridge was already speaking.
"I think there is no right answer," Bridge said absently, looking thoughtful. "Because we don't know what might have happened either way. I think if he had told, things would be different, but they wouldn't necessarily be wrong. Just like they're not necessarily right the way they are."
Sky let out a long sigh as Alex tried to work through that statement. "I think," he said slowly, "That Dad did the right thing. Because there's no way Eric would have just let it happen. And I think the fact that he did ... " Sky paused, shaking his head after a moment. "I've always thought Dad was one of the bravest people I've ever known. This just proves it."
Alex frowned.
Sky looked up abruptly, his eyes shining with emotion. When he spoke, his voice seemed oddly thick, and Bridge leaned in closer to rest against his shoulder. "I wish he hadn't. I wish for a lot of things. And I know ... I know it was the worst choice to make. But I don't think he was wrong. Even with everything ... " Sky swallowed. "I think he did what had to be done."
The strange, tight feeling in Alex's chest loosened a little.
It occured to him, vaguely, that if he and Ben *hadn't* come to the future, it was entirely possible Sky would never have been born. Wes and Eric would have raised him and Ben together, as a family, and there would never have been a night in a bar resulting in his younger brother. A world without Sky.
Surprisingly, he realized he wouldn't have wanted that.
Even with everything ... the pain, the suffering. The feelings of being inaddiquate, of being used, of being useless. His life was what it was. And if it hadn't been, Sky wouldn't be his little brother. Trip wouldn't be his brother. He wouldn't know Katie and Lucas, wouldn't have Katie crushing his ribs and insisting they were and would always be friends, wouldn't have Lucas lurking around like some sort of creepy bodyguard.
He wouldn't have Jen.
It was odd. For months, years even, he'd been dealing with everything Time Force had done. Everything Wes had been and was and would always be. He was struggling to adjust to the idea that he had two parents, that Eric was his father, not just DNA. That Ben was alive again, six years younger than him instead of the same age. That he had another brother he'd never had the chance to know except for late-night comm calls in the dark, learning about someone who was so much like him and yet so different.
And yet in a sudden moment of clarity, Sky's words ...
They didn't magically fix anything. That was ridiculous. But knowing that his brother didn't hate him, that he wished things could have been different, too ...
Maybe his life wasn't perfect. Maybe his family was twisted and warped, separated by time and different bloodlines. But it was *his*.
And that was what truly mattered.
A smile touched his lips before he stopped to think about it.
Sky frowned. "Alex?"
" ... Are you okay?" Bridge added warily, looking concerned.
Alex shook his head slowly. "I'm ... I'm ... " He struggled for the right word. "I'm satisfied," he said finally, even though it wasn't quite the word he wanted. He smiled a little. "Actually ... Sky. There was something else I wanted to ask you."
Sky looked suspicious. "What is it?"