Bright Skies (Multi - Season Crossover/Power Rangers, prompt #32: Fixed, T)
This was suprisingly harder to write than it should have been. -Frowns- I don't like that.
I have also come to the conclusion that there are not enough father/son vids in this fandom, and most of the father/daughter ones are about growing up or general angst. What about good old fashioned father/son bonding? We need more of those.
Author/: Tsukino Akume
Fandom/: Power Rangers Time Force moving into S.P.D., multiple Rangers from each season
Characters/: Wes (Time Force), multiple Rangers from other teams (Literally too many to list)
Pairings/: Post - Wes/Eric, Rocky/Adam, Shane/Dustin, Hunter/Cam, Carter/Dana, Andros/Ashley, Zhane/Karone, Carlos/Ronny, Jason/Taylor, Conner/Ethan, Justin/Rose, Tommy/Kimberly, Tyzonn/Mack, Cassie/OC, Nick/Maddison, Zack/Aisha, Trent/Kira, Post - Billy/Cestria. Future Ryan/Carter and Billy/Hayley. More couples will most likely be mentioned, but not shown.
prompt/: #32: Fixed
Rating/: T (For non - graphic mentions of people having babies and being violent with one another)
Disclaimer/: I don't own the Power Rangers, but if Disney's hiring any new writers I volunteer.
Summary/: When Wes' life starts to fall apart, an accident gives him a chance at a fresh start in New Tech City, with Space Patrol Delta. But even a new life has its ups and downs - and weird friends. Meanwhile, Eric tries to move on.
Warnings/: A mentally handicapped person living in a medical facility, angst, male and female slash, non - cemented couples (In otherwords, pairings that will be separated), children created by scientific means
Author's Notes/: For phantom_blue, because she helped me explain Time Force to a four-year-old, and challon86, because she needs to smile, and few things are cuter than LittleSky. ^_~
"Ah, got it."
Wes mopped the sweat from his forehead with a rag that was probably dirtier than he was. There was something refreshing about spending a weekend working on his motorcycle. Dressed in a battered T-shirt and jeans, covered in grease, and a radio playing quietly in the background, he couldn't think of a better way to spend his Saturday.
It was barely a week since Jason and Taylor's wedding had ended, and all assorted guests had gone home. Eric had apparently left that same night; he wasn't sure if he was relieved by that or not. The chaos was over with, life was back to normal, and everything was as it should be.
He slid out from under the bike to toss the screwdriver aside and jumped at the solemn blue eyes staring down at him. "Sky!"
"Can I help, Daddy?" Sky asked quietly.
He let out a breath, laughing at himself. A Power Ranger and S.P.D. Sergeant, and he hadn't even noticed his own son sneaking up on him. Wasn't he on edge today?
But the fact that he wasn't on edge was strangely comforting.
"Sure, buddy," he agreed with a warm smile. He didn't get to spend every day with son, and he liked to cherish the ones he had. "You wanna help me fix my bike?"
"S' broken?"
Wes grinned. "Not exactly. I'm giving it a tune up, so it doesn't break."
A puzzled frown crossed Sky's face. "So you fix it when it's not broke?"
"Something like that. Why don't you pass me that ratchet right there?"
"This one?"
"That's the one."
They worked in mostly silence for awhile, as Wes quietly explained what he was doing, allowing Sky to lay down on the ground beside him and see up into the engine. He pointed out parts and talked about what they did, and answered Sky's occasional questions. It was surprisingly even more relaxing than he'd been by himself, and Sky's quiet fascination with how it all worked made it fun to share his passion.
"Were you an' Uncle Eric really on a team t'gether?"
Wes jumped again, nearly smacking his head on the underside of his bike. He turned to look at Sky in surprise. "What?"
"Were you an' Uncle Eric really on a team t'gether?" he repeated.
Wes stared at him, completely startled by the question. "Of course we were. What would make you think we weren't?"
Sky frowned. "You don' act like the other teams."
"We don't?" he echoed, too stunned to think of a better response.
Sky shook his head. "You were upset when you saw him. An' Uncle Eric went all ... stiff. And then nobody'd let you talk to each other." He looked up with a strangely penetrating stare. "Why?"
Wes took a long, slow breath, sitting up to run a hand over his hair as he tried to think of what to say. How could he explain this? Let alone to someone as young as Sky. He could barely understand everything that had happened between him and Eric himself; how was Sky supposed to?
"Daddy?"
He blinked as a small hand settled on his arm, squeezing gently, and looked into Sky's suddenly concerned gaze. "You don' halfta tell me if it hurts," Sky told him earnestly.
He stared at him for a long moment, pondering this amazing, wonderful child, and what he could have possibly done to deserve him after everything he'd done to his older brothers.
Abruptly he pulled Sky into his lap, hugging him close and resting his chin on his head. He paused to kiss Sky's hair, letting out another sigh and trying not to shudder. "I love you, Sky. You know that?"
Sky snuggled closer immediately. "I love you too, Daddy. I don' want you sad."
He took a deep breath. "It's kind of a long story. Are you sure you wanna hear it?"
"You don' halfta."
He was sorely tempted to make Sky let it go. But ... his son deserved to know something at least. And the longer he kept it to himself, the longer it was going to take him to get over it. Past experiences had taught him as much.
"Uncle Eric and I were friends, a long, long time ago," he began slowly. He paused for a moment to decide exactly how much Sky needed to know, and what he felt comfortable telling him. "But we lost touch for awhile. When we met up again, I was a Power Ranger, with a whole team of four of my friends. My friends were ... " He hesitated. "They ... came from a very special place, and they brought special toys that let them go back and fix things they didn't like."
The exasperated look Sky shot him was pure Vanessa. "M' four, Daddy. Not stupid."
Wes chuckled in spite of himself, squeezing his son a little tighter. "I'm sorry. It's kinda complicated." He turned Sky in his lap, leaning down to look him in the eyes. "They were from the future."
Sky's eyes went wide. "Really?" he breathed in awe.
He nodded. "Yup. They came back to the past so they could catch some criminals that escaped. And when they met me, they let me become their Red Ranger." Eventually, he finished to himself ruefully.
"You got t' be the leader o' a bunch of future Rangers?" Sky was beside himself in delight.
His excitement was contagious, and Wes found himself grinning back. "That's right."
"What color was Uncle Eric? Where'd your friends go? Does your morpher still work? Do you have more toys from the future?" Sky demanded, grabbing for his father's morpher excitedly. He'd always known his father was a Power Ranger; it was hard not to when he spent a great deal of time at S.P.D. near his parents and their friends, but Wes had never exactly explained what sort of Ranger he was before.
"One question at a time!" Wes laughed, gently prying his wrist free from eager hands. "Uncle Eric was our Sixth Ranger, the Quantum Ranger. My friends went back to the future when we caught all the criminals. Yes, my morpher still works, and no, I don't have any more toys from the future. They went back with my friends."
Sky paused, looking up with another frown. "So Uncle Eric *was* on your team? But ... why aren't you bestest friends, like Uncle Rocky an' Uncle Adam an' Aunt Aisha? Or Aunt Rose and Uncle Dax?"
Wes sighed. "We used to be bestest friends, Sky. We weren't at first, because Uncle Eric didn't want to have friends, but ... after the rest of our team left, Uncle Eric and I ... became very good friends." He was acutely aware that he was on the receiving end of another of Sky's penetrating stares, but he chose not to respond to it. "But then, I did a very bad thing, and Uncle Eric decided that he could never forgive me for it."
There was a long silence, and he glanced down to see Sky frowning at the ground. "Sky?" he asked cautiously, uncertain as to what his son might be thinking of him now.
Sky looked up at him. "Tha's stupid," he said bluntly.
Wes blinked. "What?"
"That you think Uncle Eric'll never forgive you. Teams *halfta* forgive each other, or else they're not a team no more. So even if he's mad now, he'll still forgive you someday." Sky explained.
For a moment, Wes just looked at his son and wished that the rest of the world could have the wisdom of a four-year-old. "I don't think so, Sky," he said finally, and he swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. "What I did to Uncle Eric ... It was *really* bad. He was really hurt by it."
"Are you sorry?"
He closed his eyes. "Very, *very* sorry."
"Then he has t' forgive you someday, Daddy. Because tha's what friends do. I'd forgive Bethie if she did somethin' real bad, and she's my bestest friend ever." Sky shifted, and something brushed against his cheek. "So don' cry, Daddy. S' gonna be okay."
Wes let out a long, shaky sigh, and just hugged his son for awhile. "Thanks, Sky," he whispered.
Eventually he pulled away to look at his son, giving him a tired smile as he brushed the hair from his eyes. Then he paused, looking Sky up and down, and sighed at the grease staining his face and clothes. "Your mom is gonna kill me."
"Prob'ly," Sky agreed.
"Definitely."