Bright Skies (Multi - Season Crossover/Power Rangers, prompt #40: Choices, T)
-Yawning-
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/: #40: Choices
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, character death
Author's Notes/: I think I have rewritten this chapter at least three times. Not sure if I'm happy with it yet, either.
He'd thought Wes' secret mission for S.P.D. was the scariest time of his life. The not knowing, the constant squeals of alarm from his morpher that he couldn't stop. Understanding that Wes was in danger, but there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.
He was wrong.
Predictably, it was yet another board meeting he'd been forced to attend. Thankfully Mr. Collins was here, which meant he might actually get to voice an opinion this time. The rest of the jerks hadn't improved their opinions of him much over the years, but he'd learned to live with it. Not like he particularly cared anyway.
He'd been in the middle of trying to stay awake for yet another boring proposal that was good in theory, but would take a lot more effort and footwork on his part to instate than any of these idiots realized. Of course, it didn't matter if he tried to remind them of that. *He* was just a Guardian after all. Heaven forbid he actually show signs of intelligence.
"Eric? What do you think?"
A blink was the only sign that his thoughts had wandered, but he could see faint amusement in Mr. Collin's eyes. While their relationship was better now than it had been in the wake of the separation, he still didn't always feel comfortable around his boss and former near father-in-law. On the upside, they understood each other better than they had in the beginning. For one, Collins actually realized now that despite the type of work he did, Eric was far from stupid.
He opened his mouth to answer, and was cut off by a sudden flare of bright light from his morpher. Caught off guard, he glanced down at it in confusion. It flashed again repeatedly, and without warning, began to shriek.
He clapped a hand down over it, trying to muffle the stupid thing with his sleeve. It wailed louder, clammoring for his attention. He scowled at it before looking up at Mr. Collins.
The older man had paled slightly; after all, he knew *exactly* what his morpher was doing. He hesitated. "Would you check into that for me, Eric?"
Fighting back the instinctive urge to protest at the idea of trying to ask someone about Wes, he forced himself to nod. "Yes, Sir." He made for the door before anyone else could make any smart comments about his 'excuses' like they usually did.
The Quantum Morpher had been acting strangely for a few weeks now. There had been random light bursts every so often, but they'd usually faded fairly quickly. It was similar to what had happened during Wes' mission.
But shrieking was never a good sign. At the moment, it looked like his morpher was trying to -
Without warning, light flared around him, and Eric found himself blinking at the world through a tinted visor.
What the ... ?
His morpher hadn't activiated on its own since his first few days as a Ranger, when he'd tried to refuse to help the rest of Wes' team. It would tell him when Wes was in trouble, but it never did *this* anymore. Which meant whatever was going on, Wes in serious trouble.
He hesitated. Wes wasn't his problem anymore. They were separated, and had no reason to ever see each other again. They'd ended things almost four years ago. He had no reason to go running off to save Wes' butt just because -
"Look at this! We are *Power Rangers*, Eric. And friends or not, we're the only hope this city has right now."
He cursed softly under his breath and headed outside. "TF Eagle!" he shouted.
As he leapt up into the pilot's seat, he could only mutter "You'd better make this worth it, Wes."
And you'd better still be there when I get to you.
****
The view over Newtech City was beyond words. Signs of attack were everywhere, and he found himself following the largest trail toward the west side. He could see people being herded along in long lines below him, with people in matching navy and gray uniforms directing and helping them along.
He flew over a large open area and felt his heart stop.
Rangers were milling through the remains of a battlefield, moving aside rubble to get through things. A few he vaguely recognized from the wedding that weren't morphed were trying to help. Off to one side, one man was screaming, struggling to get past two more that prevented him from getting closer to what looked like a body. In front of a fountain someone was carefully pulling a body bag closed.
And between the two bodies, a large crater with a familiar red form at its center.
He leapt from the Eagle before he was even consciously aware of doing so, racing for that form with no other thought in his head but to be at his side. He nearly lost his footing when he landed, scrambling past cracked and broken pavement. He tripped, and barely glanced down to acknowledge that he'd stumbled over Wes' Chrono Sabers.
But the moment he reached the side of that still form, he knew in an instant he'd been too late.
"Wes?" He never knew his voice could sound so soft, so broken. "Wes ... "
Slowly, carefully, he turned him over onto his back.
Wes' helmet had shattered, just as it had so long ago, in that moment that had changed his life forever. Once again, black marks had smeared his face around eyes closed with a expression of pain, and he had to glance down at himself to make sure he truly wasn't reliving that time. But his Ranger uniform was still there, and unlike then, Wes wasn't pushing himself up again.
Someone had grabbed his shoulder, and other hands were reaching for Wes. On instinct, he flung himself over Wes' body, holding tight and shielding him. "Stay away from him!" he snarled, kicking out randomly. He was rewarded with a sharp cry of pain, and felt a surge of vengeful satisfaction.
"Eric!"
Something smacked the side of his helmet hard enough to knock his head to one side, forcing him to look up. The Red Mighty Morphin Ranger was staring down at him. "Eric, we can't help him if you don't let go," he said, his voice surprisingly gentle.
And just like that, the world realigned.
He wasted only another moment blinking stupidly, feeling like an idiot for the way he'd reacted. Then he was attempting to feel Wes' neck, cursing under his breath at the thick material covering his hands and Wes' neck. "Power Down!" he snapped impatiently, settling for the more simple method of laying his head on Wes' chest and listening for a heartbeat.
"Eric, what are you - "
"Shh!" he growled, holding a hand up in a gesture for silence. He waited, slowly, painfully, for any chance, any sign that Wes might not be -
A heartbeat. So faint he could barely hear it, the rise of Wes' chest barely noticeable. But they were *there*.
He sat up so fast it was painful. "He's alive!" he shouted. "I need a doctor over here! He's still alive!"
And this time, when the hands reached for Wes, he helped them along, steadying his head and moving with them. His eyes never left that blackened face.
****
No one seemed to notice him waiting outside for some sort of news. People passed by, looked in anxiously, turned to comfort one another with expressions of grief. Holding onto each other as though the world was coming to an end.
Who the heck did they think they were? Wes wasn't *dead*. He had a heartbeat, and he was a fighter. Wes would be fine. He would.
"Eric ... ?"
He looked up instinctively at the voice and stared. "*Taylor*?"
She was crying.
"I h-heard ... that you were the one who ... "She jerked her head roughly in the direction Wes had been taken, and nodded, sniffling. "Thank you."
"I'm not about to let him be destroyed just because we're not a couple anymore," he said flatly, annoyed at her strange need to thank him. "And he's still alive, so stop acting like he isn't."
Tears welled in her eyes again, and she let out a sudden sharp sob. "I ... Eric, it's not ... "
He frowned, growing concerned at her lack of control; this wasn't like her at all. "Did something happen to Jason?" he demanded, belatedly wondering if the Ranger who'd gotten his attention earlier was Jason or Rocky - he couldn't remember the difference. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine." He heard her swallow, and her voice steadied. "Jason and I are both fine. It's ... Look Eric, I - "
"Taylor, I walked out of a business meeting two hours ago, and found myself standing in uniform with my morpher shrieking at me to go to Newtech City. Don't you *dare* tell me everything's fine. What the heck is going on?" He paused, realizing what she hadn't said, and another chill ran down his spine. "What's the news about Wes?" he asked carefully.
There was a long silence, broken only by the sound of Taylor's shaking breaths.
"He's in ICU now," she said finally. "We've been under attack for the last few weeks - his team ran into the monster that took out the others. Wes is ... " she faultered, and he could hear her struggling to regain control over herself. "Wes and Chip are in ICU. The rest of his team ... didn't make it."
He froze, staring at her. "Jen and - "
But she was already shaking her head. "Not Time Force. Wes has an S.P.D. team now. Had," she corrected, the tears returning to her eyes. "Chip is alive, but he may lose his arm; we'll know in a few days if there's any chance to save it. Tori and Dax were ... Mirloc destroyed them." Her eyes glazed slightly, turning to stare at after where Wes had gone. "He went after Dino Thunder first - we didn't even know until Trent came to tell us he'd gotten Conner, Ethan, and Kira. And then Lightspeed ... we lost Joel, Chad, and Kelsey."
A cold feeling settled over him. Former Rangers were ... they'd *lost* them? He *knew* the Lightspeed team - not well, but they'd fought together. And Conner ... he was one of the Reds. Didn't he just get married a few years back?
Wes had lost his *team*? The two Rangers he'd been fighting with were ...
"What happened to the guy that did it?" he asked finally, his voice cold.
"Zhane got him." There was a fierce satisfaction to her voice that he could definitely appreciate. "He ... I guess he realized something was wrong ... I don't know how. He tried to get there to help, but by the time he did, it was too late. Andros said he just went berserk; Mirloc never had a chance."
"Didn't know he was that strong," he muttered.
She shrugged slightly, trying to discreetly run a hand across her eyes. "The Silver Astro Ranger was always rumored to be one of the strongest Rangers in the galaxy; I guess they weren't kidding."
"Mommy?" The young voice broke through the riot of emotions going through him at the moment, making him look up. Across the hallway Sky, much older than the last time he'd seen him, was tugging on his mother's arm. "Mommy, why can't I see Daddy?" he demanded.
The blond woman next to him was struggling to control herself, struggling to find something to say to him. At last she crouched down in front of him, reaching out to touch his cheek. She bit her lip when he shyed away. "Sky ... Your father is hurt. They can't let anyone in to see him while they try to make him better."
Sky stiffened, his eyes narrowing. "Why not? I'm not gonna do anything to him."
She sighed. "It's something to do with contaminates, Sky. We know you won't hurt him on purpose. It's just ... "
She was hesitating, and for a split second, Eric almost felt sorry for her.
Almost.
At last she sighed again, and even from this distance he could see that there were tears in her eyes when she looked up at Sky again. "Your father is in a coma, Sky," she said softly. "He went to sleep, and they don't know ... if he'll wake up."
The world blurred around Eric. Wes was ... what? A coma? Might not make wake up? No! This wasn't possible! Wes couldn't - couldn't -
Something small and blond streaked past him, and distantly Eric could hear someone shouting for Sky and Taylor calling his name.
He shook her off without thinking about it, going after the boy instead.
Sky wasn't hard to find; he hadn't made it far. The kid had collapsed just outside the main entrance to S.P.D.. He hadn't bothered to get up, still hunched over against the ground.
Eric crouched down beside him. "Sky," he said quietly.
The boy looked up, tears streaming down his face. "U-uncle Eric?" he sniffled.
Eric's face softened ever so slightly, and he reached out to gently rub Sky's shoulder. "Sky - "
Sky jerked back angrily, pushing his hand away. "Don't touch me!" he snapped, glaring up at him furiously despite the tears still streaking his cheeks. "Y-you're not ... " He hiccuped.
In spite of himself, Eric felt his heart break just a little more. "No, I'm not Wes," he agreed quietly. "But your dad's gonna be fine."
Sky blinked, startled. "He is? But ... Mommy said .... "
"Wes is *going* to wake up. He's already lived when everyone said he wouldn't before. He's always claiming he can make his own destiny, and he won't quit now," he insisted.
The tears were slowing, and Sky watched him wonderingly. "You really think so?" he whispered, his eyes begging him for it to be true.
In that moment, Eric had never felt so sure of anything in his life. He lifted his left wrist for Sky to see his morpher. "I *know* so." he said fiercely.
Sky nodded solemnly, then looked down for a moment. "Is ... is it okay to be worried anyway?" he asked hesitantly, sounding small.
He hugged the kid tightly without even stopping to think about it, swallowing the sudden lump in his throat. "Yeah, Sky. It's okay," he murmured.
Don't make me a liar, Wes, he prayed silently.
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/: #40: Choices
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, character death
Author's Notes/: I think I have rewritten this chapter at least three times. Not sure if I'm happy with it yet, either.
He'd thought Wes' secret mission for S.P.D. was the scariest time of his life. The not knowing, the constant squeals of alarm from his morpher that he couldn't stop. Understanding that Wes was in danger, but there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.
He was wrong.
Predictably, it was yet another board meeting he'd been forced to attend. Thankfully Mr. Collins was here, which meant he might actually get to voice an opinion this time. The rest of the jerks hadn't improved their opinions of him much over the years, but he'd learned to live with it. Not like he particularly cared anyway.
He'd been in the middle of trying to stay awake for yet another boring proposal that was good in theory, but would take a lot more effort and footwork on his part to instate than any of these idiots realized. Of course, it didn't matter if he tried to remind them of that. *He* was just a Guardian after all. Heaven forbid he actually show signs of intelligence.
"Eric? What do you think?"
A blink was the only sign that his thoughts had wandered, but he could see faint amusement in Mr. Collin's eyes. While their relationship was better now than it had been in the wake of the separation, he still didn't always feel comfortable around his boss and former near father-in-law. On the upside, they understood each other better than they had in the beginning. For one, Collins actually realized now that despite the type of work he did, Eric was far from stupid.
He opened his mouth to answer, and was cut off by a sudden flare of bright light from his morpher. Caught off guard, he glanced down at it in confusion. It flashed again repeatedly, and without warning, began to shriek.
He clapped a hand down over it, trying to muffle the stupid thing with his sleeve. It wailed louder, clammoring for his attention. He scowled at it before looking up at Mr. Collins.
The older man had paled slightly; after all, he knew *exactly* what his morpher was doing. He hesitated. "Would you check into that for me, Eric?"
Fighting back the instinctive urge to protest at the idea of trying to ask someone about Wes, he forced himself to nod. "Yes, Sir." He made for the door before anyone else could make any smart comments about his 'excuses' like they usually did.
The Quantum Morpher had been acting strangely for a few weeks now. There had been random light bursts every so often, but they'd usually faded fairly quickly. It was similar to what had happened during Wes' mission.
But shrieking was never a good sign. At the moment, it looked like his morpher was trying to -
Without warning, light flared around him, and Eric found himself blinking at the world through a tinted visor.
What the ... ?
His morpher hadn't activiated on its own since his first few days as a Ranger, when he'd tried to refuse to help the rest of Wes' team. It would tell him when Wes was in trouble, but it never did *this* anymore. Which meant whatever was going on, Wes in serious trouble.
He hesitated. Wes wasn't his problem anymore. They were separated, and had no reason to ever see each other again. They'd ended things almost four years ago. He had no reason to go running off to save Wes' butt just because -
"Look at this! We are *Power Rangers*, Eric. And friends or not, we're the only hope this city has right now."
He cursed softly under his breath and headed outside. "TF Eagle!" he shouted.
As he leapt up into the pilot's seat, he could only mutter "You'd better make this worth it, Wes."
And you'd better still be there when I get to you.
****
The view over Newtech City was beyond words. Signs of attack were everywhere, and he found himself following the largest trail toward the west side. He could see people being herded along in long lines below him, with people in matching navy and gray uniforms directing and helping them along.
He flew over a large open area and felt his heart stop.
Rangers were milling through the remains of a battlefield, moving aside rubble to get through things. A few he vaguely recognized from the wedding that weren't morphed were trying to help. Off to one side, one man was screaming, struggling to get past two more that prevented him from getting closer to what looked like a body. In front of a fountain someone was carefully pulling a body bag closed.
And between the two bodies, a large crater with a familiar red form at its center.
He leapt from the Eagle before he was even consciously aware of doing so, racing for that form with no other thought in his head but to be at his side. He nearly lost his footing when he landed, scrambling past cracked and broken pavement. He tripped, and barely glanced down to acknowledge that he'd stumbled over Wes' Chrono Sabers.
But the moment he reached the side of that still form, he knew in an instant he'd been too late.
"Wes?" He never knew his voice could sound so soft, so broken. "Wes ... "
Slowly, carefully, he turned him over onto his back.
Wes' helmet had shattered, just as it had so long ago, in that moment that had changed his life forever. Once again, black marks had smeared his face around eyes closed with a expression of pain, and he had to glance down at himself to make sure he truly wasn't reliving that time. But his Ranger uniform was still there, and unlike then, Wes wasn't pushing himself up again.
Someone had grabbed his shoulder, and other hands were reaching for Wes. On instinct, he flung himself over Wes' body, holding tight and shielding him. "Stay away from him!" he snarled, kicking out randomly. He was rewarded with a sharp cry of pain, and felt a surge of vengeful satisfaction.
"Eric!"
Something smacked the side of his helmet hard enough to knock his head to one side, forcing him to look up. The Red Mighty Morphin Ranger was staring down at him. "Eric, we can't help him if you don't let go," he said, his voice surprisingly gentle.
And just like that, the world realigned.
He wasted only another moment blinking stupidly, feeling like an idiot for the way he'd reacted. Then he was attempting to feel Wes' neck, cursing under his breath at the thick material covering his hands and Wes' neck. "Power Down!" he snapped impatiently, settling for the more simple method of laying his head on Wes' chest and listening for a heartbeat.
"Eric, what are you - "
"Shh!" he growled, holding a hand up in a gesture for silence. He waited, slowly, painfully, for any chance, any sign that Wes might not be -
A heartbeat. So faint he could barely hear it, the rise of Wes' chest barely noticeable. But they were *there*.
He sat up so fast it was painful. "He's alive!" he shouted. "I need a doctor over here! He's still alive!"
And this time, when the hands reached for Wes, he helped them along, steadying his head and moving with them. His eyes never left that blackened face.
****
No one seemed to notice him waiting outside for some sort of news. People passed by, looked in anxiously, turned to comfort one another with expressions of grief. Holding onto each other as though the world was coming to an end.
Who the heck did they think they were? Wes wasn't *dead*. He had a heartbeat, and he was a fighter. Wes would be fine. He would.
"Eric ... ?"
He looked up instinctively at the voice and stared. "*Taylor*?"
She was crying.
"I h-heard ... that you were the one who ... "She jerked her head roughly in the direction Wes had been taken, and nodded, sniffling. "Thank you."
"I'm not about to let him be destroyed just because we're not a couple anymore," he said flatly, annoyed at her strange need to thank him. "And he's still alive, so stop acting like he isn't."
Tears welled in her eyes again, and she let out a sudden sharp sob. "I ... Eric, it's not ... "
He frowned, growing concerned at her lack of control; this wasn't like her at all. "Did something happen to Jason?" he demanded, belatedly wondering if the Ranger who'd gotten his attention earlier was Jason or Rocky - he couldn't remember the difference. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine." He heard her swallow, and her voice steadied. "Jason and I are both fine. It's ... Look Eric, I - "
"Taylor, I walked out of a business meeting two hours ago, and found myself standing in uniform with my morpher shrieking at me to go to Newtech City. Don't you *dare* tell me everything's fine. What the heck is going on?" He paused, realizing what she hadn't said, and another chill ran down his spine. "What's the news about Wes?" he asked carefully.
There was a long silence, broken only by the sound of Taylor's shaking breaths.
"He's in ICU now," she said finally. "We've been under attack for the last few weeks - his team ran into the monster that took out the others. Wes is ... " she faultered, and he could hear her struggling to regain control over herself. "Wes and Chip are in ICU. The rest of his team ... didn't make it."
He froze, staring at her. "Jen and - "
But she was already shaking her head. "Not Time Force. Wes has an S.P.D. team now. Had," she corrected, the tears returning to her eyes. "Chip is alive, but he may lose his arm; we'll know in a few days if there's any chance to save it. Tori and Dax were ... Mirloc destroyed them." Her eyes glazed slightly, turning to stare at after where Wes had gone. "He went after Dino Thunder first - we didn't even know until Trent came to tell us he'd gotten Conner, Ethan, and Kira. And then Lightspeed ... we lost Joel, Chad, and Kelsey."
A cold feeling settled over him. Former Rangers were ... they'd *lost* them? He *knew* the Lightspeed team - not well, but they'd fought together. And Conner ... he was one of the Reds. Didn't he just get married a few years back?
Wes had lost his *team*? The two Rangers he'd been fighting with were ...
"What happened to the guy that did it?" he asked finally, his voice cold.
"Zhane got him." There was a fierce satisfaction to her voice that he could definitely appreciate. "He ... I guess he realized something was wrong ... I don't know how. He tried to get there to help, but by the time he did, it was too late. Andros said he just went berserk; Mirloc never had a chance."
"Didn't know he was that strong," he muttered.
She shrugged slightly, trying to discreetly run a hand across her eyes. "The Silver Astro Ranger was always rumored to be one of the strongest Rangers in the galaxy; I guess they weren't kidding."
"Mommy?" The young voice broke through the riot of emotions going through him at the moment, making him look up. Across the hallway Sky, much older than the last time he'd seen him, was tugging on his mother's arm. "Mommy, why can't I see Daddy?" he demanded.
The blond woman next to him was struggling to control herself, struggling to find something to say to him. At last she crouched down in front of him, reaching out to touch his cheek. She bit her lip when he shyed away. "Sky ... Your father is hurt. They can't let anyone in to see him while they try to make him better."
Sky stiffened, his eyes narrowing. "Why not? I'm not gonna do anything to him."
She sighed. "It's something to do with contaminates, Sky. We know you won't hurt him on purpose. It's just ... "
She was hesitating, and for a split second, Eric almost felt sorry for her.
Almost.
At last she sighed again, and even from this distance he could see that there were tears in her eyes when she looked up at Sky again. "Your father is in a coma, Sky," she said softly. "He went to sleep, and they don't know ... if he'll wake up."
The world blurred around Eric. Wes was ... what? A coma? Might not make wake up? No! This wasn't possible! Wes couldn't - couldn't -
Something small and blond streaked past him, and distantly Eric could hear someone shouting for Sky and Taylor calling his name.
He shook her off without thinking about it, going after the boy instead.
Sky wasn't hard to find; he hadn't made it far. The kid had collapsed just outside the main entrance to S.P.D.. He hadn't bothered to get up, still hunched over against the ground.
Eric crouched down beside him. "Sky," he said quietly.
The boy looked up, tears streaming down his face. "U-uncle Eric?" he sniffled.
Eric's face softened ever so slightly, and he reached out to gently rub Sky's shoulder. "Sky - "
Sky jerked back angrily, pushing his hand away. "Don't touch me!" he snapped, glaring up at him furiously despite the tears still streaking his cheeks. "Y-you're not ... " He hiccuped.
In spite of himself, Eric felt his heart break just a little more. "No, I'm not Wes," he agreed quietly. "But your dad's gonna be fine."
Sky blinked, startled. "He is? But ... Mommy said .... "
"Wes is *going* to wake up. He's already lived when everyone said he wouldn't before. He's always claiming he can make his own destiny, and he won't quit now," he insisted.
The tears were slowing, and Sky watched him wonderingly. "You really think so?" he whispered, his eyes begging him for it to be true.
In that moment, Eric had never felt so sure of anything in his life. He lifted his left wrist for Sky to see his morpher. "I *know* so." he said fiercely.
Sky nodded solemnly, then looked down for a moment. "Is ... is it okay to be worried anyway?" he asked hesitantly, sounding small.
He hugged the kid tightly without even stopping to think about it, swallowing the sudden lump in his throat. "Yeah, Sky. It's okay," he murmured.
Don't make me a liar, Wes, he prayed silently.