Parents and Children
by Selma McCrory
copyright 1998

part 1: Cecelia

Cecelia turned over in her bed, finding herself awake before the alarm was set to ring. Something had awoken her, and she hadn't the slightest idea what. Grimacing, she pulled a pink t-shirt and jeans out of their drawers, quickly put them on and then latched the catch on her communicator. She looked at the thing for a moment - it looked so much like a fancy watch! If she'd only been able to pass it off as one last night... now her parents knew, and she hadn't talked to them about it. Knowing her dad, she was sure he'd disapprove, maybe even demand she leave the Rangers.

There was a knock on the door, and then her father's voice. "Cecelia?"

"Just a moment, Dad," she said, psyching herself up to talk. She didn't really want to deal with this right now, but maybe it was better. Taking a final deep breath, she got up from the bed and opened the door. Her dad was in sweats, like he meant to do some exercising.

"Want to go jogging?" Tom Oliver asked his daughter. Cecelia blinked. Whatever she was expecting (and she wasn't too sure what that was), it wasn't an invitation to join her Dad on his jog!

"Sure, just a second, Dad, let me get into some better clothes." She went to the clothes drawers before stopping and looking back at her dad. "Dad, are you mad at me for not telling you?"

Her Dad seemed to hesitate, and then he seemed to come to a decision. "Yeah, I am, sort of. So is your mom. But we figured you had your own reasons - good or bad - and when you felt more comfortable telling us about them, then we'd talk. We know what it's like to be Rangers."

She gathered her own P.E. outfit together. "I'm not quite sure why I did, Dad. Maybe I was scared that once you knew I was a Ranger, you'd tell me to quit because you knew how dangerous it was!"

Her father took that in for a moment. "You're right, we are scared. But I know what being a Ranger meant to me, and you mother knows what it meant to her as well. No matter how scared we were, we would have *never* taken that away from you."

"Never?" Cecelia managed to ask somehow. She felt something unclench that she wasn't even aware had been clenched.

"Never," her father confirmed. "Tell you what, why don't we talk about it more on the way? We have a full day ahead of us...."

"What...?" Cecelia said, but her father had already shut the door. She looked at the bundle of clothes, and proceeded to change.

part 2: Lucas

Lucas had just finished his first kata of the morning when he became aware of his father's presence on the back porch. He looked up to find his father sitting on one of the outdoor chairs that his mother had recently bought. Abandoning his exercise for the moment, he went up on the porch to join his father, slipping back into his shoes while he was at it.

He regarded his father awkwardly as he settled down into the chair next to him. "Hi, Dad," he said, feeling like he'd been caught sneaking out of the house before he'd done his homework to go to the coffee place. This was a *little* different - he'd been sneaking out to fight monsters instead. On the good side, his father would understand- he'd done enough sneaking out when he was a Ranger - but on the other hand, his father might not understand why Lucas hadn't told him about the situation. Dimitria *had* told them that it was okay to tell their Ranger parents.

Lucas wasn't even sure he could explain satisfactorially why he hadn't told his father about it. Sure, they had saved the world a dozen times at this point, but there was nothing wrong in having the support of older Rangers. Like Dad.

His father was just sitting there staring at him. Lucas inwardly gulped and took a deep breath. "Dad, I'm sorry for not telling you about it. I don't know why I never did, I guess I thought it was safer...."

"If I didn't?" his father replied. "Look, I know you did what you thought was right. Sometimes you make wrong decisions - I'm just glad it was with me."

"Yeah, if I could do it all over again, I would have told you," Lucas said. "I guess that really was a stupid decision. There were a couple of places we really needed the support."

"Hey, the important thing is that you know where you screwed up," his father replied, putting an arm around his shoulders. "Being a Ranger doesn't mean you're perfect, and you shouldn't think you have to be. The important thing is that you've got to learn from your mistakes."

"And that's important in life as well as when you're running around in funny costumes," came a voice from behind them. Lucas' mother leaned against the doorway. "Hey, I may never have been a Ranger, but I've learned a thing or two as well. So, Lucas, is *this* why the plants keep going unwatered?"

"Uh, maybe, Mom," Lucas said, his face flushing.

"Well, we'll have plenty of time to discuss what this means - to *all* of us," Emily Scott replied. "Over breakfast. And if you're going to be a Ranger, Lucas, I have something to say to you about your diet...."

"Um, yes mom...." Lucas managed.

part 3: Ian

Ian liked working on things. It kept his hands busy, and sometimes even required making his brain work. There were some things he really didn't want to think about this morning. He reached for a tool, and found it missing.

"Looking for this?"

Ian froze, and then looked up. "Hi, mom," he said, casually accepting the tool she was holding.

"Morning, Ian. Why are you taking your bike apart?"

"I needed something to do," Ian said.

His mother nodded. "That's why I knew to look for you here. Every time you need to think about something, I always find you in the garage, either taking something apart or putting something together."

Ian shrugged. "I think better this way."

"I know. You want to talk about it yet?"

Ian shook his head. "Not really. I don't really want to face up to Dad right now, mom."

"You mean what happened at school that night?" his mom asked. "I think that you might find it easier than you think."

"Mom! It was because of me that Dad got kidnapped. It's because he didn't know that I was a Ranger that he insisted on shielding me and let Scorpina get her hands on him-"

"Honey, I think he would have done that even if he knew you were a Ranger. Rangers help Rangers, no matter what."

"Yeah, but he didn't-"

"He knew he was in danger. He took that risk and he would have done the same for anyone."

"But it was because of me he was in danger- if I hadn't been a Ranger, mom...."

His mother firmly grasped him on the arm as he was about to put his unused tool down. "But you are. You made that choice just like I did and like your father did. You can leave if you want- but I think that would be a mistake."

He looked up at her, wanting to ask her so many questions. She was his mother, she was a Ranger. She knew him and what he was going through. But he hesitated, suddenly afraid to ask. She let go of his arm.

"Your father and I will be in the living room. Come in when you're ready."

part 4: Forrest

"Hey, Dad! I'm going out to the batting cages, okay?"

Forrest picked up his helmet and bat, making sure he had enough money. He planned to spend as much time as he could there today, just working through the events of the last evening.

"Sounds good to me. Do you need a ride?" T.J. Somerton replied, folding his paper and getting up.

"Sure! I was planning to bike, but...."

"No problem," his father grinned. "I just hope that Regina gives you the day off. Seems to me like you need it. Like you all need it."

"Yeah, we do," Forrest grinned in reply. "I don't think it'll be as easy for everyone else. I mean, Teresa's Dad already knew about it, but everybody else is going to be plenty busy the rest of today. I'm just glad you're not having problems with it, Dad."

His father shrugged. "I know you know how to fight, and besides I know how close you are to your friends. I trust that they'll be there to back you up, and you'll be the same for any of them. Sure, probably I would have liked to know, but you're a big guy now. You can take care of yourself."

"Yeah, but I probably should have told you. There were some spots in there that I could have used some support."

"Hey, what I learned from being a Ranger is that you're closest to your Ranger teammates than anybody else alive. I'm not on the same team as you are- I'm one of your predecessors, that's all. It happens. You just gotta know who to turn to, and I think you do now."

"Thanks, Dad," Forrest said warmly, as his father hugged him and led him out to the car.

part 5: Teresa

"Morning, Dad, morning, Mom," Teresa said as she grabbed a plate and helped herself to her Dad's cooking. "How are things this morning? Ready to go shopping, mom?"

Her mother shrugged and grimaced. "I have to go out briefly this morning to a meeting with a client, honey. I guess we'll have to go clothes shopping when I get back."

That was normal. "Just get back whenever, Mom. I'll be ready."

Iz DeSantos grinned. "Thanks, dear. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Giving her mother's hand a brief squeeze, she turned to her father. "How about you, Dad?"

Her father smiled humorlessly. "I'll do whatever needs to be done. It's going to take some time for the others to sort everything out- they're going to need their space, and then they're going to need to talk."

She got up and hugged her father. "And we'll be there for them," she said.

-end