All characters belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, but I am not and don't expect to make money with them.

A/N: Rated PG for mild sexual references.

A Valentine’s Day assortment of romantic vignettes involving the Time Force Rangers. Not necessarily connected with my other stories.

Jen’s eyes opened and blinked foggily for a few seconds; her hand rose to her head. “What...” she mumbled, her voice slow and scratchy.

Wes leaned over her, smiling with relief. “You were hurt, Jen, but you’re going to be okay.”

“Wes...?”

“Yeah. You’re back in the clock tower.”

“Back home?”

“That’s right. How do you feel?”

“I’m not - not sure.”

“Trip said you’ll be fine.”

Just a hint of a smile softened the lines pain and fear had drawn on her face as her eyes met his. “You saved me.”

“We all went to find you. Barely got you out in one piece.”

“Thank you...”

“Jen, why did you go off alone like that? Why’d you take on Ransik and Fat Catfish all by yourself? I know you want to get back at them for what they did, but you could have been...”

He trailed off. Jen’s eyes had drifted shut again, and her breathing was deepening. She was asleep, or unconscious again. Trip had said she would be okay, all she needed was rest, but still - wouldn’t hurt to watch her. Make sure she didn’t fall off the makeshift bed they had set up on their picnic table. The others had all gone off to sleep, but someone should stay with her.

Not that he minded. Wes studied Jen’s face, so open, looking so young and soft and vulnerable as she slept. And so worn out. All those bruises and scratches. How could Ransik have done such a thing? He felt a stab of anger, and a pain as intense as if he were the one injured. Jen... What he had said was true. She could have been killed. Now a tide of fear swept through him. What if she died? What they were doing was dangerous. Alex had died. What if...

But there was nothing he could do. No way Jen would give up her mission, or let the rest of them take the risks for her. She was too strong for that, too much of a leader. If only you were different... he thought, if only you didn’t have that stubborn determination, that fearlessness... but all the things I’d want to change are the things I love about you...

Love? Wes sat back, startled. How had love suddenly popped into his mind? But a another glance at Jen’s face told him the answer. Even dirty and exhausted, her hair tangled, her face bruised and streaked with dried tears, she was beautiful to him.

“I love you...” It was only a whisper, and she couldn’t hear him. But he knew it was true. Somehow, sometime over the last weeks of shared struggle and danger, he had fallen in love.

She didn’t love him, of course; he knew that. Alex had died so recently, and she was still in pain over that. It would be a long time before she could think of another man. And even then, Wes wondered, could she ever look at him and not think of Alex?

Maybe it was hopeless. Maybe not. It hardly mattered. Somehow he knew this love would last, long after Ransik was gone. Probably after Jen was gone, back to her home in the future. He would never intrude his feelings on her; it wouldn’t be fair and might even destroy their friendship. He’d let her make the first move... if she ever did... Until then, if that time ever came, all he could do was wait. And watch...

He sat on the bench next to the table, standing guard over her, fighting off sleep. Finally he took her hand in his, leaned his arms on the table, laid his head on them, and drifted into dreams of brown eyes smiling at him.

I see her, across the lobby of Bio-Lab. Tall, beautiful. She stands there, obviously waiting for someone. Equally obviously, not for me.

We were never on exactly friendly terms from the first moment I saw her, standing with Wes and his other teammates. I hardly looked at her then, I was too busy insulting Wes for being the same spoiled, lazy rich kid I thought I knew in prep school; in reality for being luckier in life than I’ve ever been. Since then I’ve had to change my mind about him, and about the rest of them. Especially her.

We’ve hardly exchanged a dozen words, and most of them were angry. Fought at each other’s sides and yet never connected. I know their secrets, yet there’s precious little trust there. So why do I feel this way about a woman I can’t even call a friend?

I know one thing: I don’t want to be like Wes. Wearing his heart on his face every time he looks at Jen, eaten up by love for a woman who’ll be gone when all this is over, a woman he’ll probably never see again. I’m not a fool. Yes, she’s pretty. Yes, I remember the one time she smiled at me, that big warm smile with her face seeming to glow like the sun - can’t get it out of my mind. I am a fool, I suppose. But I’ll never show it. Won’t start something that can only end badly. Won’t give the rest of them the opening, won’t show that weakness, that vulnerability. I won’t let myself be hurt, not by them.

Still, I can dream... dream of her smiling at me again, dream of us together, of her warmth and kindness. I wonder sometimes if she could feel the same way... if she could overlook the past, if she could see what’s really there. I’m a realist, I know I have rough edges, a lot of them. But we’ve been getting along better, the others and me. I’ve helped them, tried to show them I’m not as bad as they obviously think. I was wrong about Wes, can’t they see they were wrong about me?

I do have some good qualities. A few things to offer her. Most men are probably scared off by her strength - but not me. I like strength, I respect it. A strong woman doesn’t threaten me. We could complement each other. My discipline, her cheerfulness. My ambition, her compassion. We could be so good together...

No, it would never work. No point in even thinking about it.

So I watch her, putting on my mask of a cool, indifferent face as I walk up to her in the lobby of Bio-Lab, watching the warmth of her eyes catch a chill at the sight of me. Still, she tries to smile when she greets me.

“Hello, Eric.”

“Katie. What are you doing here?”

“Wes and I were in the neighborhood on a job. He wanted to say hello to his father.”

“I see.” I try to find a reason to stay and talk to her, but there is none. “Well, see ya.”

“Eric, wait!”

I turn back. “Yeah?”

She smiles again, a little shyly maybe. “Look, Wes and I are going for lunch after this. Why don’t you join us?”

Lunch? With her and Wes? She doesn’t mean it, of course, she’s just trying to be nice, as she always tries to be nice. Sometimes I get the impression that all of them think I’m lonely or something. Lunch. Making conversation with the two of them, Wes and Katie trying not to show how much they’d prefer not to have me there. I don’t think so.

“No thanks. Got work to do.”

“Oh. Okay. See you, then.”

And I walk away, determined not to look back and see her standing there, tall, beautiful, warm and welcoming. But not for me.

Tonight, we’ll be together; I’ll hold her, and kiss her, and touch her... but only in my dreams.

“Hold it!” Jen called. Obligingly, the transport doors sprang open again. She went through them at a fast walk, only to jolt to a stop as she saw who was already inside.

“Jen,” he said coolly, his face firmly blank.

“Alex.” She tried to match his controlled expression, hoping her initial reaction of dismay hadn’t showed. Judging by the way his lips were pressed together, it had.

“Where to?” he asked.

“The training center. But have it drop you off first.”

“It’s almost on my way.” Alex reached for the destination control and keyed in the training center.

They rode silently, facing the entry door and not looking at each other, for what felt to Jen like eternity but was probably only a few seconds. Just like a twenty-first century elevator, she thought. Strangers avoiding looking at each other by facing the door. She stole a look at Alex’s profile. Strangers. Was that all they were now, after all they had meant to each other?

“How have you been?”

Alex’s question startled her with both its abruptness and its just perceptible undercurrent of strain. “I’m fine,” she answered quickly. “And - and how are you?”

“Getting along.”

“Good.” Polite words, not even scratching the surface of the issues between them. Jen glanced at the progress indicator. Why is it taking so long?

“Adjusting all right to being back in the thirty-first century?”

“Yes, I guess so.”

“Don’t you miss Wes?” The coolly impersonal veneer of Alex’s voice had cracked just enough to let a hot thread of anger show.

“I...” Jen stopped. How could she answer that without hurting him more than she already had?

“So you do.” With an abrupt gesture, Alex hit the stop tab.

Jen could feel the transport slide to a halt. “Alex, what are you doing?” she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

“I just want to ask you something. Been wanting to ask this ever since you came back. Actually ever since you handed my ring back to me.” Alex had stepped closer, his eyes like two chips of blue ice. Jen realized he was angry - not just surface anger, but a deep and intense rage that could only come from deep pain. He cornered Jen as she instinctively backed away. “After all, we were engaged. We made promises to each other. I think I have the right to ask why you broke them.”

Her own anger rose up to meet his. “Maybe if you hadn’t been so cold and distant when you were there! If you hadn’t tried to wipe my memories so I’d forget him...!”

“I was cold because we had a job to do that was more important than our own problems. Because I knew what could happen if we failed. I knew what could happen to you, Jen, if I couldn’t stop it! And I wanted to wipe your memories because I thought it would help you. I didn’t force it on you, if you remember. I even helped you when you insisted on going back and risking your life to save your precious Wes!”

“Alex...”

“Why did you do it, Jen? Why Wes instead of me? I know it wasn’t looks. Was he so charming, so funny, such wonderful company that you forgot all about me? Exactly what was it that made you choose a man you can never be with over me?”

There it was, the eternal question that had probably been asked since Man first learned to communicate. What does he have that I don’t have? “Alex, don’t do this,” she said as calmly as she could.

“You’re right.” The cool surface of his face returned as he stepped back. “What’s the point, after all? It won’t change anything.”

“No, it won’t.” She watched him as he touched the controls again and the transport began to move. How did it end up like this? she found herself wondering. They had loved each other, once. They had planned a life together. How could that love have turned into this distant hostility? “Alex...” She hesitated. “I can’t explain it. I have no excuse. It doesn’t make sense. But it happened.” After another pause, aware of his eyes still on her, she added, “I still care for you, very much. I hope you believe that.”

“I’m sorry, Jen. Shouldn’t have said those things.”

“It’s okay. I’m the one who should be saying I’m sorry.”

The transport stopped. The doors slid open with a soft sound. Alex stood as silent and blank-faced as before. Jen turned away from him and stepped out.

His voice seemed to come in a whisper from behind her, although she would never be sure whether it was real or only an echo of the past in her own mind. “You and me...”

“Forever...” Her lips moved in silent answer as the doors slid shut between them.

“I still don’t know what we’re doing here,” Lucas muttered.

“Oh, Lucas...” Nadira sighed, her cheerful manner slipping just a bit. “You know perfectly well. We’re going to tell Daddy about us.”

“Why? What do you want, for him to give me permission to court his daughter? That kind of stuff went out a thousand years ago.”

“No, silly. But he’s going to be getting out of prison someday, maybe soon. I want him to know that we’re serious about each other before that happens. And I want him to hear it from us.”

Lucas frowned, looking around at the white walls of the Time Force visiting room they were waiting in. Looking at the chairs, the table they were sitting at, the door through which Ransik would presumably come walking any minute. Anywhere but at Nadira’s face.

“Don’t see why you can’t tell him by yourself,” he complained, crossing his arms.

“But - but Daddy will want to talk to you. Get to know you better.”

“You mean he’ll want to tell me I’m not good enough for his little girl.” He listened to the pettishness of his own voice and was vaguely embarrassed.

“He approved of you before, remember? When I thought you had written that poem for me?” Her tone was teasing, and she looked at him hopefully.

“Yeah, but I also remember what happened after that.”

“It just wasn’t our time yet. I don’t blame you.”

“I bet he does.”

“If you really don’t want to do this, why don’t you leave?” Now she sounded upset. Lucas finally looked, to find her lips trembling.

“No, I said I’d do it, and I will.”

“But you don’t want to. You still hate Daddy, don’t you?”

“No, of course not. I know he’s changed and all.”

“Maybe you hate me, too!”

“Nadira, sweetheart...” Contrite, he reached over the corner of the table for her hand. “Look, I’m sorry. I’m just - just nervous, I guess. I mean, this is Ransik. What if he decides he doesn’t like the idea? What if he hates me?”

When her eyes reached his again, they suddenly widened. “You’re afraid of him!” she exclaimed.

“That’s stupid.” Lucas tried to look scornful.

“You are afraid of him! Of my daddy! How could you be so silly?”

“Well... this is Ransik we’re talking about, after all. Even if he’s human-looking now, even if he helped us with the Mutorgs - he’s still Ransik.”

Her voice much more serious, Nadira asked, “Don’t you believe he’s reformed?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Don’t you believe I love you?”

“Of course.” His fingers intertwined with hers again.

“Do you really think Daddy would ever hurt someone I care about? Even if he wanted to? Which he doesn’t.”

“I guess not.”

“Good. But Lucas, if you don’t want to talk to him, I understand. He was your enemy for a long time. You can leave right now, and I’ll tell him by myself. I wouldn’t mind.” She smiled, but her eyes were anxious.

“No.” His chin came up in sudden determination. “You’re right. He’s your father. We should at least try to be friends. We have something important in common, after all.”

“What?” Nadira was smiling again, that bright and playful smile that he loved.

He could handle Ransik. He could handle anything, as long as he could see her smile like that. “We both love you, silly...” he murmured with a grin.

“I can’t believe I’m going to be thirty.”

“You’ll survive. I’m thirty already, and the world didn’t end.”

Wes scowled at him. “You weren’t too happy about it either, as I recall.”

Eric shrugged. “Hey, consider the alternative.”

“Hmm. You know what they say. Live fast, die young, leave a good-looking corpse...”

“Don’t even say that.” Eric glared at him, but his expression quickly softened. “So what do you want for your birthday?”

“Not to be thirty.”

“Besides that.”

It was Wes’s turn to shrug as he glanced around Eric’s small living room, where they were relaxing after a quiet dinner. It was his favorite kind of evening, quality time alone with Eric, the kind of time they both had to pry out of busy schedules and the need to keep the nature of their relationship reasonably close to a secret. “I dunno. You give me stuff all the time. I’m always over here at your house. Eating your food.”

“You bring more than you eat.”

“Sleeping in your bed.”

“That’s as much for me as it is for you.” Eric gave him a rare warm smile, a gift in itself.

Wes grinned and reached for his hand. “I shower with your water... Use your electricity...”

“Yeah, I’ll send you a bill. Seriously, what do you want?”

“I’ve got everything I want.”

“Wes...”

“I am being serious.” Somewhat to Wes’s own surprise, he was. “I’ve got my dad, a great home, a job I like. And you’ve given me everything else I need.”

“Everything else? Like what?” Eric gave him what might have been a teasing look, coming from anyone else.

“You know what I mean.”

“Yeah, it’s been a really big sacrifice.”

Wes smiled at the sarcasm in his voice. “Well, sometimes it was. You waited for me all that time, when I didn’t know what I really wanted. You’re the first guy I was ever with. The only guy I’ve been with. I didn’t know anything about - well - anything, and you were very patient.” He grinned. “You taught me everything I know.”

“You’ve done okay. And it was my pleasure. Literally. Besides, you’ve been patient too. I know I’m no good at romantic stuff.”

“You’ve done okay.” Wes watched Eric smile and continued more thoughtfully after a few seconds. “Sometimes I wish I had been the first one for you, too...” He saw Eric’s eyes rise to meet his and realized how that might have sounded. “But it doesn’t make any difference, of course. Besides, then neither of us would have had a clue, I guess.”

Eric squeezed his fingers lightly. “But you were my first.”

“Huh? I know you were with other guys before me.”

“Well, yeah.” Now Eric looked slightly self-conscious, but he kept going. “But with you was the first time it was more than just - sex. The first time it was all of me, not just my body. It felt totally different. And it still does.”

There was only one answer to that. Wes simply leaned in and kissed him.

When he pulled back, Eric was smiling again. “Well...” he said, cleared his throat, and made an obvious attempt to change the subject. “You still haven’t told me what you want for your birthday.”

“You just gave it to me.”

He saw her first, and was already smiling when she caught sight of him and broke into a grin. Katie could always make him smile. Trip quickened his steps and hurried to meet her.

“Hi!” Katie came to a stop in front of him. “Where are you going?”

“Heading home, I guess.” He glanced down the Time Force corridor they were standing in towards the exit door, and then back up at Katie’s face. “Why? What’s up?” He didn’t need his Xybrian ability to sense emotions to know something was on her mind.

“Come on, I’ll walk with you.” She waited for them to get outside, and to start across the wide expanse of lawn in front of the administration building. “Did you get an invitation to the party?” she finally asked.

He nodded. Lucas and Nadira were throwing a major party on Valentine’s Day, partly for the holiday and partly in honor of Ransik’s finally being released from prison. “Yeah, it came today.”

“Mine too.” They walked together for a few more steps, an unaccustomed frown on her face, before she said it. “Who are you going with?”

“Me? I - I haven’t even thought about it.”

“Well - are you going to ask anyone?”

“I don’t think so...” He hesitated. And then he sensed a hint of anxiety and even embarrassment coming from Katie. Why should she... but then it hit him. “You want to go with me?” He promptly blushed at how shocked he had sounded.

She stopped. “I just thought if you didn’t have a date... and I don’t have one... we could go together... But if you don’t want to, just forget it!”

She was already turning to go. “Katie, wait! I meant - what happened to Roger?”

She turned her profile to him. “We broke up.”

“Why? What happened?”

“Oh, it was so stupid...” She shoved her hands in the pockets of her uniform and sighed. “Everything was going just fine between us... Then - well, we were sort of playing. Wrestling. You know.”

“Katie, you didn’t!”

“I didn’t hurt him! I just - sort of pinned him down so he couldn’t move, only for a minute. He acted like it was okay, but after that... All of a sudden he didn’t want to see me anymore.” She raised unhappy eyes to his. “Maybe he didn’t like being reminded that I’m different. Or maybe no one wants a girlfriend who can beat him up.”

“Don’t worry, Katie. He’s just an idiot. There’s lots of guys who’d love for you to beat them up - I mean...”

She tried to look offended, but the corners of her mouth twitched. “So, do you want to go with me, or not?”

“Sure, that would be great.”

Katie smiled and fell into step beside him as they walked into the trees of the small park inside the Time Force complex. She reached a companionable arm around his shoulders.

“Katie...” he said.

“What?”

“Just thinking. It’s kind of too bad we never - you know - got together.”

“Got together? You and me?”

“Yeah. We’ve known each other for years. Always been friends. We understand each other, because we’re both different. Haven’t you ever wondered what it would be like if we went out together?”

“Well... Sure, it’s crossed my mind.” She let go and faced him, looking at him intently as they came to a stop. “You know, there’s one way to find out.”

“How?”

He saw her glance around them. They were surrounded by trees, no one else in sight. Trip sensed what she was about to do even before she took a firm grip on his shoulders and leaned forward, bending her head to press her lips to his in a gentle but lingering kiss. Her mouth was soft, and warm... but this was Katie... It just felt strange... And his Xybrian powers chose that moment to kick in full strength, letting him clearly ‘hear’ her alarmed thought that it was just like kissing her brother.

He heard her make a small, muffled sound. A lot like the sounds he was trying very hard not to make. They both pulled back, stared at each other, and began to laugh.

“Well. At least we know that’s not going to work,” Katie gasped after a few seconds.

“Yeah, it sure won’t.” Trip grinned as they started on their way again, side by side. “But I’ll tell you one thing. That Roger really is an idiot.”