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Disclaimer: The usual

Disclaimer: The usual ... All things PR belong to Disney/Saban ... blahblahblah ... no money ... just fun ... blahblahblah ...

Note I: I'm truly sorry this is taking so long. I assure you, I had every intention of getting this done sooner, but general lack of time conspired with a lazy Muse (kicks Ted) to bog me down. (The next chapter won't come until late September at the earliest, I'm sorry to say, as I'll be on vacation during most of August, with either no computer and/or net access.) But I do know where I'm going with the story; it's just the getting there that's turning out to be more problematic than usual. sigh

Note II: I'd originally planned to carry this further, but various family stuff compels me to cut this chapter short once again, a decision made easier by the fact that I've reached sort of a natural caesura anyway. Thanks all for staying with me so far regardless, enjoy, and leave a small contribution in the feedback box on your way out, please? My Muse is complaining about not getting enough ... of whatever. Ahem. DB



Times Present, Times Past

Chapter 13: Facing The Music





/Angel Grove, Two Days Later /

"So, what channel are they on?" Zack asked the room in general as he took a seat near the coffee table, with a good view of the large-screen TV set. Billy had offered to 'host' a communal viewing of both the press conference at Angel Grove City Hall and the Harvey Garvey show later in the evening. Mr Cranston was busy in his office grading papers, so the friends could watch Jason and Kat meeting the press in reasonable privacy.

"Already tuned in," Rocky answered, over the current commercial's jingle. "It'll be only ten more minutes."

"Cool." The former Black Ranger reached for a soda. "Man, I sure don't want to be in Jase's shoes right now!"

"Or Kat's," Aisha nodded. "But I do wish I could be with her - them."

There were nods all around as the eight teens settled themselves, drinks and a few munchies conveniently at hand. It was almost, but not quite, like those times when they'd all met at one or the other's home to watch a movie together during their school days. Only, tonight was far more serious than that.

"You're not the only one," Tommy grumbled. He'd tried calling both Jason and Katherine last night, but had run into opponents far more formidable than any he'd ever encountered as a Ranger: Helen Scott and Doris Hillard. Both mothers had thanked him warmly for his concern and promised to pass his encouragement on, but had been adamant about not calling their respective children to the phone. "I called both, and their moms wouldn't let me speak to either of them," he complained. "I wonder why!"

"Maybe they were afraid their lines could be tapped?" Tanya wondered aloud. Her friends exchanged worried glances at the thought.

"That is extremely unlikely," Billy replied soothingly. "To the best of my knowledge, you would need a court order to listen in to a private phone line, and as there is neither a crime nor a danger to national security involved, I doubt that any judge would issue such a permit to the police, much less the media."

Kimberly, no stranger to the insistence of paparazzi through her minor-celebrity status as a Pan-Global athlete, snorted indelicately. "Thank God for small favors," she sighed. "Nobody would have /any /privacy left if these jerks could spy on people via their phones!"

"Yeah - being incurably nosy doesn't count ... yet," Rocky agreed. "Or the Rangers would never have been able to keep their identities secret."

They had all exercised considerable caution while still actively on duty, but as the private use of their communicators had fallen under Zordon's strictures of not using their abilities for personal gain, regular phone lines had often been their only option. And there had been times for all of them when 'business' just had to be discussed and meeting face-to-face was impossible.

"Right," Trini sighed. "But to get back to Jason and Kat, does anyone know how they're going to play this?"

The gang exchanged glances, then one after the other shrugged.

"Apparently not," Tanya remarked. "We'll just have to wait and see, I guess."

"Oh joy," Adam mumbled disgustedly, reaching for his drink. He hated waiting and not knowing as much as the others - and all were agreed that they'd had more than enough of both to last them a lifetime during the four harrowing days just past.

The commercial break ended a moment later and the station switched back to news coverage. He sat up excitedly. "Any minute now, guys!" Instantly, eight pairs of eyes were riveted to the screen.

"God, look at that swarm of reporters," Aisha murmured in fascinated horror as, after a few introductory remarks by the on-site news anchor, the camera panned towards the steps of Angel Grove City Hall. Police had cordoned off most of the staircase and kept a parking space cleared right up front, but there was still quite a milling crowd of media present, cameras and tape recorders held ready. "I /really /wouldn't want to be there!"

"Jase and Kat will be fine," Rocky said, but sounded rather dubious even to his own ears. "I mean, there are guards and stuff ..."

"You've worn the uniform long enough to know that Boswell won't let that stop him," Tommy muttered, frowning as he recognized the pesky reporter in the front line, pushing as close to the cordoning ropes as he dared. "If he takes one step closer, he'll break the rope!"

"Let's hope he does," Kim said with a positively evil grin. "Maybe then he'll get his butt hauled off to ... wherever."

"We should be so lucky," Zack grimaced. "Unfortunately, the jerk knows exactly how much and how far he can push."

Trini opened her mouth to comment, but was interrupted by Billy's voice. "There they come!"

Two cars were approaching City Hall, inching to a stop in front of the stairs. First to draw up was John Scott's burgundy Ford sedan, followed closely by the silver BMW driven by Robert Hillard in person. Cameras went off everywhere as a group of burly policemen formed a pathway. The door opened, there was a moment of breathless anticipation, then Jason stepped onto the curb, blinking as he was nearly blinded by the barrage of flashing lights.

"Look, he's shaved and gotten a haircut," Tanya said, casting a critical eye over his appearance. To someone who knew him as well as they did, the signs of his ordeal were still present - the loss of weight, the hardened muscles visible under his black polo shirt ... but most of all, his body language fairly shouted 'keep away' at the throng of reporters. "He looks ... normal again."

"Yeah. Kat's looking fantastic," Tommy murmured as he spied his girlfriend joining his best friend. The others nodded in agreement - to both comments. Jason might almost seem his old self again, but he nearly faded into the background next to the blonde smiling a bit embarrassedly into the camera. From her casually-styled locks to her modishly shod feet, the young woman was positively radiant in a deep fuchsia dress that moulded itself to every slender curve. The media ate it up, shouting questions and snapping furiously away as the two greeted each other with a brief friendly hug, then ascended the stairs side by side. Just before they entered City Hall, their parents close behind them, they turned and waved at the crowd - obviously prompted to do so by Mayor Carrington.

The scene on TV switched from the pair back to the reporter on the curb, who gave a short recap on what was being shown. The friends gathered in the Cranstons' living room relaxed back into their seats with a collective sigh.

"What's happening now?" Rocky wanted to know.

"If the press conferences we've seen at Geneva are anything to judge by, Jason and Kat will be taken to makeup first before they get to the microphones," Trini explained with a small smile.

Rocky did a classic double-take. "Makeup? Jason?!?" Beside him, Aisha nearly choked on her drink at the mental image.

"No way!"

"Yes way. Man, I can practically see Jase's expression now," Zack snickered. "Trini, remember his comments when the guide back in Switzerland explained why official occasions like that demanded face paint on everybody?"

Trini's almond eyes sparkled with laughter. "Do I ever!"

"What did he say?" Adam asked, torn between horrified fascination and amusement. Never had he been more grateful that his own appearance on the Harvey Garvey show years ago had been in uniform; their helmets had spared them that particular ordeal.

"Trust me, you don't wanna know," Zack said, an unholy grin lighting his mobile features.

"Aw, come on!"

"No way. There's ladies present."

"That bad, huh?" Rocky smirked.

"Under certain circumstances, Jason's vocabulary tends to turn quite, um ... colourful, and he has been known to deliver very pithy comments," Billy reminisced with an innocent expression that set Kimberly to giggling.

The petite girl had kept silent so far, feeling slightly unbalanced by Tommy's rapt attention towards Katherine. She knew about his feelings for the slender blonde, had watched their reunion in the Power Chamber two days ago with a mixture of happiness for them and regret for herself, but still hadn't been quite prepared for the naked admiration radiating off him as he caught his first glimpse of Kat all decked out for a public performance. He'd called her looks 'fantastic'; that barely began to cover it. Whatever Kat had done in her two days of rest at home to make herself presentable again certainly worked.

Not for the first time in her life did Kim wish she were just as tall and leggy. She smothered a tiny sigh. She couldn't complain, really - she'd certainly earned her fair share of male admiration over time, and yet ...

Stop it, girl. There's nothing you can do anyway.

She met Aisha's concerned look with a small, deprecating grin and shrugged, not wanting to open this particular can of worms now. Or anytime soon, truth be told. She knew that her friends would lend an ear (or a shoulder) should she ever need either. Aisha confirmed that with a raised eyebrow followed by a nod, then deliberately glanced away, giving Kim her privacy.

"Zack's right," Kimberly chimed in, grateful for the safe topic. "Jason has said stuff on occasion that can't be repeated in public."

"You gonna tell us in private, though - right?" Rocky stage-whispered.

Kimberly winked, then everybody's attention was diverted back to the television when Tanya leaned forward eagerly.

"There they come!"

The picture had changed to one of the assembly halls, where a dais had been set up with a table holding microphones and water glasses. On the floor, rows of chairs rapidly filled with reporters, notepads, tape recorders and cameras held ready. Mayor Carrington led the way, followed by Kat and Jason as all took seats.

"See? They /did /get made up."

Adam looked questioningly at Trini. "How'd you know?"

She pointed. "Just look at Jason's face. When he got out of the car, his chin and cheeks were paler than the rest of his face. Now they aren't."

"A natural consequence of not having shaved for an extended period of time," Billy concurred softly. "Hopefully, if anybody noticed, his dark coloring will provide a logical reason. After all, even in four days a heavy growth of beard may leave traces."

"But Jason isn't heavily bearded," Aisha protested.

"No, but a great number of dark-haired men are. Luckily, the reporters don't know that he isn't."

"Oh. Okay."

##*##

Mayor Carrington leaned forward and tapped on her microphone, clearly intending to start proceedings, but before she could do more than express a general greeting, she was interrupted by two streaks of flashing light to the left. Startled, she glanced over and automatically rose when she recognized the Red and Blue Turbo Rangers.

"Rangers," she exclaimed, a worried frown suddenly creasing her forehead. "Is there an emergency?" It was a natural-enough question ... because usually, there was a monster attack or something of the sort going on whenever the unknown heroes made an appearance. National television broadcast or not, the safety of Angel Grove's citizens /had /to come first.

The Red Ranger stepped forward.

"No, not at all, Ms. Mayor," he said pleasantly, calming her fears. "I apologize for barging in like that, but we heard of this event and thought that maybe we could provide some of the information Miss Hillard and Mr: Scott are not aware of - on the efforts made on /our /part during their absence, for instance."

Instantly, there were some excited murmurs from the few scientifically-minded reporters.

"That's very nice," Louise Carrington replied, sinking back into her seat. Her pulse rate slowly went back to normal as she realized the unexpected showing of two Rangers for once did /not /mean yet another emergency. She was even more surprised, though, when Jason stood up without warning, facing the Red Ranger. Without preamble, he spoke, looking directly at the face hidden behind the helmet.

"Please let me take this opportunity, first of all, to offer a public 'thank you' to the Rangers," he said in a controlled, clear voice as his dark eyes briefly swept over the assembled reporters who were listening intently. He quirked a small, apologetic grin. "I'm sure I also speak for Katherine when I say that without their help and technology, who knows how long we would've been stuck in the past. These four days were more than enough for us." Jason had to make an effort not to put an undue emphasis on this last part; he'd only realized late last night that his and Kat's resolution to keep the real length of their stay secret might be blown completely apart by a chance remark from somebody else.

Next to him, Kat nodded emphatically, sending her own covertly beseeching glance towards the Rangers. Their only hope was that TJ would get the message. "We deeply appreciate everything you've done for us and our families."

"It was our ... well, pleasure isn't exactly the right word, is it?" Red Ranger replied, the smile in his voice audible even through his helmet. "And duty sounds so cold ... but, we're committed to help all citizens of Angel Grove, even if your ... um, accident ... wasn't strictly monster-related. I'm only sorry that Divatox's attacks delayed and interrupted us several times so that we couldn't retrieve you earlier than after four days." He nodded slightly, showing them unobtrusively that he understood.

Jason breathed a silent sigh of relief. One potential disaster averted - and just in time, too! He could still kick himself that he'd forgotten to contact any of the Turbo Rangers last night, after his conversation with Kat, but ... his mind had been on other things.

"We understand," Jason said, shrugging slightly. "We survived," he added dryly, further downplaying their ordeal for the reporters' benefit.

And hopefully nobody would ever learn how long or how hard /that /had been!

"Well then," the Mayor interjected, anxious to take control of the press conference again. Time was pressing, after all. "Was there anything in particular you wanted to tell us, Red Ranger?" She hated not being able to use names, but whoever the Rangers were, they kept their identities secret, even after four years.

"Indeed, Mrs. Mayor," TJ replied genially. "I believe these ladies and gentlemen would like to learn the facts of Jason and Katherine's trip into the past, and how we managed to retrieve them?"

There was instant, murmured agreement from the massed media. TJ gestured to Justin, unrecognisable in his morphed state. "The Blue Ranger, who was instrumental to the rescue, will fill you in."

Justin swallowed once. "Well, first of all we had to determine when exactly the time hole had deposited Jason and Katherine."

"How many years back into the past did you go, Miss Hillard?" a woman from the back row asked loudly.

Kat looked rather sheepishly at her, then towards the Rangers. "Um ... somehow, we never got around to asking ... or did you?"

Jason cleared his throat. "Er, no. But from the few trees I recognized - namely the big oaks near what's now the park entrance, how small they were then compared to now, I knew it must've been a couple hundred years at least."



Justin grinned to himself inside his helmet. It was true, the exact figure he and Billy had calculated had never been mentioned. "Three hundred and seventy-two years," he said calmly. As he'd expected, there were a few shocked gasps and astonished murmurs. He waited for the room to calm down again, then launched into a recital of what the Rangers had done to effect a rescue. He also fielded several questions from the few science reporters, but managed to be as frank as they'd considered safe - keeping the exact nature of who had done what under wraps.

"... So, in the end we managed to open an artificial time hole in our headquarters, where Jason and Katherine arrived safely at 4.27pm two days ago. From there we teleported them directly to their homes and families," he concluded.

"Does that mean you've seen the Rangers' secret base, Mr. Scott?" Jack Boswell shouted from his second-row seat. His eyes flitted greedily from the duo on the dais to the two Rangers and back.

"Yes, we have," Jason replied curtly. How he detested that guy!

"But please understand that we're not going to tell you anything about it," Kat spoke up quietly. "We owe the Rangers far too much to spill any of their secrets - which I'm sure they're keeping for a very good reason," she added, smiling.

"We had other things on our minds than try and figure out what all the high-tech stuff there could be good for anyway," Jason chipped in with a deprecating grin. "Like, how worried our friends and families must be ... Just let me say this much: think the latest sci-fi blockbuster, then multiply the technology by a factor of ... oh, ten or so ... and you just might get close!"

"It was pretty amazing," Kat smiled. "But frankly, neither one of us knows enough about high-tech stuff to have had a clue what anything was for anyway. I for one am just happy to be able to open an email program on the school computer! It all looked very impressive, though."

Her remark was greeted with a round of polite laughter. There were a few more probing questions, but the reporters soon subsided when Jason and Kat remained adamantly silent. Then, the Red and Blue Rangers took their leave, teleporting out, and the station switched to a commercial break.

##*##



The nine friends gathered at the Cranstons' house leaned back with a collective sigh.

"All things considered, things went pretty well, don't you think?" Aisha asked the room at large while several quick trips to the bathroom went underway and Billy refilled everybody's glasses.

"So far at least," Zack concurred. "I think it's great that TJ and Justin showed up to handle the technical stuff."

"One less thing for Jase and Kat to worry about," Adam murmured.

"They wouldn't know most of what went on on our end anyway. I mean, it's not as if they had a chance yet to get the low-down from one of us. Or did they?"

"Not to my knowledge," Billy replied to Tanya's question as he resumed his seat. "What I find most remarkable, though, is that they apparently decided to hide the exact length of time they spent in the past from the media."

"Yeah. I wonder why," Rocky mused. They all had exchanged astonished looks at the brief interplay.

Kimberly shrugged. "Probably because they don't want to answer any stupid questions about what they did in the past for two years."

"Can't say that I blame them," Zack winced. "Can't you just picture the headlines if Justin hadn't redirected the time hole to the Power Chamber and Boswell had gotten a good look at their outfits when they came back? No way they would've gotten that tattered in only four days!"

"Don't even go there," the petite girl shuddered. "Ick!"

"Exactly."

"In any case, it's something we'd better remember ourselves, just in case a reporter catches up with any one of us," Tommy cautioned.

"Yeah, they'll probably want a comment or something - about how glad we are to have them back, or whatever," Rocky groaned. "As if that isn't self-explanatory!"

"We're their friends; we witnessed their disappearance," Trini ventured. "It's sort of a logical progression to want to know how we feel now that they've returned."

"Well, duh," Aisha scoffed. "What do these idiots think we're feeling, anyway?"

"Beats me," Adam shrugged. "But enough of that; commercial's over!"

Within seconds, the comfortable room was silent again as the friends' attention was directed back towards the TV screen.

##*##



In the conference room, Mayor Carrington opened the floor to questions. Immediately, a middle-aged reporter jumped up, for once beating his colleagues from more ... well, some would call them 'frivolous' ... ventures to the punch.

"Mike Leibman, /National Geographic/. Miss Hillard, Mr. Scott, what can you tell us about conditions in this area 400 years ago?"

"What conditions?" Jason asked, puzzled.

Obligingly, Leibman explained. "Well ... were there any major geographical changes compared to the present, was the wildlife significantly different, were there any signs of civilization maybe? That kind of thing."

Jason and Kat shared a glance. "Well, we could see that we had landed in what's now Angel Grove Park. Things looked pretty much as they do now; except for nothing being landscaped and some trees being smaller, nothing has changed drastically that I - we - noticed," Jason said finally.

"If you don't count that there was no pollution whatsoever," Kat added. "I mean, the lake's water was absolutely perfectly clear and sweet - like a mountain spring's. And the air was incredibly fresh, too."

"I take it that means you saw no signs of early settlers?"

"None. Neither settlers, explorers or Native Americans. And if we had ... we probably wouldn't have sought them out unless there had been a real emergency."

"Why not?" a voice from the left called.

Kat tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Because we were afraid that, if we did, we might alter history somehow. It just wasn't worth the risk."

The questions continued to pour in, wanting details, asking about what they had done for food, shelter and the like. The two time-travellers answered as best they could, always careful to give no hint whatsoever to the actual length of their stay.

"Weren't you getting sick of a diet of fruit only?" a woman reporter from a regional TV station inquired.

"Oh my, yes," Kat replied with a small laugh. "Jason managed to catch a few fish, though, and as we had a fire, it wasn't too bad."

"We were just lucky that there were enough fruit already ripe to tide us over," Jason sighed. "It would've been much easier to find food if this had happened later in the year."

Kat nodded, then decided to inject a little levity. "At least I managed to lose that pesky couple of pounds I never seemed to be able to get rid of," she said with a small grin.

The woman grinned back in perfect sympathy, instinctively patting her own hip. "I hear you. Fruit days /do /work, then - as my personal trainer keeps telling me. But don't you think going into the past to lose weight was ... well, a bit extreme?"

"Oh, definitely."

"It wasn't exactly voluntary," Jason interjected, a bit more sharply than he'd intended. Kat sent him an astonished look, then glanced back at the reporter, rolled her eyes and shrugged minutely, as if to say 'Men. What do you expect?'.

Her reaction achieved the effect she'd hoped for, and there were a few chuckles around the room, but the topic /had /been exhausted. A brief lull followed as the assembled media went over their notes, trying to think of more questions without becoming repetitive, clearly not wanting the session to end. They'd bombarded Jason and Katherine for the best part of two hours, but now it seemed as if everything of importance had been said ...

Not for Jack Boswell. He'd been quiet so far, biding his time, scribbling down a few things here and there, but to his mind, the really juicy stuff hadn't been addressed yet. Time travel was big news, sure, and he supposed there would be some yokels out there somewhere who might actually be interested in these boring details, but it wasn't why he'd come. No, now was the time to get the kind of information he wanted. He rose to his feet.

"Boswell, /National Inquisitor/," he introduced himself lazily. Not that he needed to, he thought, but it was the done thing at a press conference like this, so ...

"Mr. Scott, you said earlier that you found shelter in a cave of sorts ... and that you had only one thin, small blanket for the two of you."

"Yes, that's right." Jason groaned inwardly. He'd feared that someone would take this approach, had suspected it might be Boswell, but there was nothing they could do to prevent it. He only hoped things wouldn't go too far.

"Well ... we are in California and the climate here is generally quite nice, but ... judging from the way things are in this time at this time of year, didn't it get rather cool at night? Especially staying so close to the lake?" Boswell tried to project an aura of avuncular interest, but anyone who bothered to look into his cold pale-blue eyes could see the malicious light in them, the greedy curiosity of a man who went looking for any kind of incriminating information anywhere.

"It did." Jason didn't dare look over to Kat, hoping she would manage to conceal her blushes. It wasn't going to be easy, not with her fair coloring. He kept his reply deliberately short, even discouraging, but feared it wasn't going to deter the man.

He was right, unfortunately.

"What did you do then? I mean, you had no idea how long you'd be marooned in the past; surely you had to be aware of the dangers of catching cold?"

"We were. But even if we had, a cold is hardly a life-threatening event," Kat said, hoping her voice sounded more certain than she felt right now. "I'm sure we would have managed."

"Sure, sure. But ... did you do anything to keep it from happening?" Boswell positively oozed concern. He only managed to sound about as genuine as a three-dollar bill.

"We followed basic survival techniques," Jason answered curtly, doing his best to hide his distaste at the man's phoniness.

"Such as?" When no immediate answer was forthcoming, the reporter prodded. "Come now, Mr. Scott - tell us. We're all curious here. Surely you don't have any secrets from the public, do you now?"

Jason wanted to punch the guy. If he only knew! But there was no way to avoid the question - not if he wanted to allay suspicion. He gritted his teeth. "We shared body warmth."

Boswell unsuccessfully tried to hide a triumphant smirk. "Ah, you slept together!" His tone made that simple fact into something very sleazy and unwholesome.

Kat felt herself color to the roots of her hair - and was unhappily aware that everybody in the room noticed. She swallowed down a sudden rush of tears. Next to her, Jason nudged her gently under the table - he didn't quite dare touch her openly for comfort and thus add fuel to Boswell's fire - and answered for her.

"Yes, we did. So?"

"So, that was all you did?"

"Of course."

"An attractive, healthy, red-blooded young man like you, all alone with a very pretty young woman, lonely, scared and quite likely in need of ... comforting?" The emphasis on the last word didn't go unnoticed by the other reporters, either, and a few sat up with sudden renewed interest. To their credit, most of the serious-minded media people present rolled their eyes, groaned or shook their heads in disapproval over this line of questioning - as if there weren't other, more important issues to talk about! However, considerations of this sort had never stopped the tabloid reporter.

Jason swallowed a pungent oath.

"What else should we have done, in your opinion?" he asked, forcing a calm he was far from feeling. "We both needed comfort, both physically and yes, emotionally. And that was all we gave each other - not what you're implying." It even was the truth; or had been, for the first year at last. As the words left his mouth, however, Jason realized that he should've kept quiet. But it was too late now - Boswell had them exactly where he wanted them.

"Oh really? I wasn't aware that I did anything of the sort. And even if I did - not that I'm saying I did, mind you - what could that possibly be?"

Jason stared coldly at the reporter. "You know perfectly well what you're fishing for. We shared moss and leaves for a mattress and our blanket for warmth, that's it."

Boswell pursed his lips in a badly-disguised sneer. "Of course you did. Right. "

##*##



Back at the Cranstons' house, the friends shared shocked glances which only intensified when Tommy nearly exploded.

"What the hell's wrong with that guy?" he sputtered. "As if Jase or Kat would do anything of the sort!"

"Of what sort?" Rocky asked without thinking, then kicked himself mentally. He'd caught the drift of Boswell's questioning as well, and shrugged sheepishly when Aisha, Zack and Tanya glared at him in exasperation. Even Billy and Adam shook their heads. "Sorry," he mumbled, blushing.

"Anything ... improper," Trini said tactfully, reached over and patted Tommy's knee consolingly. "Calm down, Tommy. You/ /said it yourself; they'd never do anything wrong."

Tommy huffed, still enraged. "They would /never /betray me like that!"

What if it wasn't betrayal - at least not to them, not in the situation they were in, though?

Kimberly wisely kept that thought to herself as the others agreed with their former leader. She didn't have any proof, naturally, but she had /seen the look in Jason's eyes two days ago when Katherine had practically fallen back into her boyfriend's arms in the Power Chamber. That hadn't been the expression of someone who was just glad to be back home; no, to her - admittedly slightly biased - eyes it had been the look of someone wounded to the quick. /He looked the way I felt.

Out loud, though, all she said was, "I'm sure you're right, Tommy. Boswell's a jerk for even suggesting it." And hoped that her voice sounded natural enough not to give her doubts away.

"He doesn't know Jason and Katherine the way we do, after all," Billy interjected quietly. He thought there had been something odd about the way Kimberly had spoken, but her normally expressive face revealed nothing - Strangely so. I wonder why? - and it was possible that he'd been mistaken, so he decided to keep his own counsel for the time being.

"Yeah - if he did, he wouldn't have dared," Adam muttered, shooting a dark glance at the TV screen.

"Exactly," Aisha agreed. She opened her mouth to say more, but was shushed by Zack.

"Quiet," the first Black Ranger cautioned. "I wanna hear how Jason's gonna fry that guy!"

##*##



Jason controlled himself with an effort. The worst thing he could do now was lose his temper, he knew that much, even if the temptation was almost irresistible. It would give the sanctimonious idiot only the kind of ammunition he was searching for. His mind was racing furiously in several directions at once, evaluating possible answers which might help deflect this line of questioning ... if possible without appearing overly defensive. He finally hit on one - but would it work? Only one way to find out. Silently thanking the experiences in debating he'd gained in Geneva, Jason launched what he thought of as a counterattack.

"Right indeed. Mr. Boswell, you know that Katherine and I were stuck in the past for four days. During that time, we really had other things on our minds than, um, getting closer to each other than we already were. Like, survival ... where to find food, and -"

He was rudely interrupted by the reporter, who didn't want to be sidetracked. "Define 'close'," he challenged.

By now Katherine had largely regained her composure. "We were ... no, we are friends," she said with what calm she could muster. "Our friendship started when we were in school together, and has continued since."

"'Friendship' is one way of putting things," Boswell smirked.

"It's the /only /way," Jason stated with just enough force to make it believable. "For your information, I am not so hard up for female companionship that I have to jump every beautiful girl I'm alone with, here, there, now or then." He turned his head and smiled briefly at Kat. "Not even one as pretty as Katherine."

She blushed again, this time with pleasure. "Thank you," she murmured.

"Besides, she doesn't have to look to me for that kind of closeness, either - after all, she's no longer single."

Jason was fixing on Boswell again, the expression in his dark eyes faintly mocking. "Katherine is already dating a really great guy - who just happens to be my best friend. What's more, I've earned a Black Belt in karate and Kat has won a dancing scholarship to the Royal Academy in London. We couldn't have done that if we hadn't learned dedication, control and most of all discipline. Never mind such intangibles as honor and faith. You are familiar with those concepts, Mr. Boswell, aren't you?"

##*##



"Go Jase!" Zack cheered. "You tell him!"

"Very well said," Billy concurred.

"Yeah. And just look at the creep's face," Tanya snickered. "He can't counter that!"

"Jason's turned the table on him well and good," Rocky grinned.

"And put in a compliment for Kat, too," Aisha smiled. "Nice!"

"Well-deserved, too," Tommy glowed.

"Yes," Kim agreed - thinking of the way Jason had described Tommy. Not that Kat isn't pretty, but about Tommy, he definitely forgot to add gorgeous... and I need to forget this. Now. /Which was easier said than done, with him sitting so close. /

"Looks like it's done the trick," Adam observed. "Boswell's gasping for air like a fish on dry land."

"Serves him right," was the friends' consensus.

##*##



"I, well, yes, I ... of course I am," sputtered the reporter, furious at the not-quite-suppressed snickers coming from his colleagues at Jason's comment. There even was a stage-whispered "yeah, right!" and a Bronx cheer from somewhere at his back. If he ever found out who that had come from, there'd be Hell to pay ... How /dare /that snotty kid put him on the spot like that anyhow? Didn't he know who he was?

Jason knew /exactly /who he was dealing with, and used the momentary commotion among the media, caused by their amusement, to look beseechingly at Mayor Carrington.

"This line of questions is really leading nowhere. I think we covered most of the pertinent information anyway, don't you agree, Madam Mayor?" he asked politely.

Next to him, Kat covered her mouth with one hand, hiding her sudden smile. Jason had put on what she and the other female Rangers liked to call the 'little boy lost' look - the one that every one of their male colleagues had tried on /them /repeatedly, usually with little to no success. The girls knew better than to fall for /that/! Apparently, though, Jason's charming smile worked just fine on older ladies.

"I believe you're right, Jason," she agreed warmly. The look she darted at the still-fuming Boswell spoke volumes, as did the sardonic moue playing around her lips. He clearly wanted to continue digging, but knew from experience that the Mayor wouldn't allow it - not when the interviewees were so clearly reluctant to play ball. There was no love lost between her office and the obnoxious reporter, after all. "Besides, the two of you don't want to be late for Mr. Garvey's show, do you?"

Kat couldn't quite suppress a groan, but had to join in when the elegant, white-haired woman laughed, placed her palm over the microphone, leaned towards her and whispered conspiratorially, "Don't worry, I think he has a thing for pretty blondes."

"Oh great," Kat mumbled. Luckily, her comment was swallowed by Louise Carrington's next announcement to the room at large.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the press, I believe you have everything you need for now. Any further interviews you'll have to arrange privately with Miss Hillard and Mr. Scott, or their legal representatives. We thank you for your attention and will read your copy with great interest over the next few days." She grinned sweetly at the moans rising from the local reporters. "What, did you think just because my office isn't directly involved, I'd pay less attention to what you'll have to say? You are dealing with two of Angel Grove's citizens!" Louise routinely kept a very firm eye on the media - there never was a violation of the First Amendment, no censorship of any kind exerted in Angel Grove, but everyone knew that there were boundaries they dared not violate. Slightly biased reporting because of political leanings or moral attitude was one thing, slander and/or too-indelicate innuendo quite another. It was one of the reasons why this California town was such a popular place to live, monster attacks notwithstanding. A reporter learned quickly how far they could take things in Angel Grove ... and if that invisible line was crossed, the offender would find it very hard, if not impossible, to get any information out of City Hall in their professional future.

"Thanks everybody, and good-bye." The finality in her firm, no-nonsense voice ended the press conference as effectively as the switching off of the microphones and headlights at her signal.

Jason let out a long breath and slumped in his chair, blinking as the bright lamps dimmed and his vision adjusted to regular daylight again. A few flashlights still snapped, but it looked as if it was all done. Around them ensued a general hubbub of scraping chairs, collecting of camera and recording equipment and scuffle towards the rear doors as the reporters muttered among themselves about what they'd heard. "Whew."

"I hear you," Kat sighed, stretching her legs as she pushed back from the table. "I'm so glad this is over!"

"Yeah, me too. One down, one to go."

The blonde rubbed her forehead tiredly. "Will the Harvey Garvey show be like this?" she asked curiously. The Hillards didn't watch the show, although the host's name was familiar to them.

"Not quite," Jason replied. "It's ... well, a lot like Letterman or the Tonight Show in format, just not late-night and with a definite slant towards local people and events whenever possible."

"I thought it was broadcast nationally?"

"It is. Still ... it's hard to explain, really," he smiled. "I guess you have to be a fan, or been born here, to get it completely."

Kat chuckled. "Well, I guess I'll find out soon enough, right?"

"As soon as we get there." With a sigh, Jason heaved himself to his feet and held out a hand towards Kat. "C'mon, let's see if that limo they promised to send for us has come yet."

She accepted his help gracefully and stood as well, hiding her disappointment when Jason let her hand drop again immediately. In the past - literally! - he would've draped an arm around her shoulder as he led her away. She never knew how hard Jason found it not to do exactly that. "What if it hasn't?"

"Then I'm having a look whether there's a bathroom in this joint ... and maybe a cafeteria afterwards," he winked. "I was so nervous before, I could neither eat nor ... um, you know."

Kat nodded; she'd experienced much the same. However, as if mentioning them had flipped an internal switch of sorts, her stomach growled softly and certain other urges suddenly became rather pressing. She grimaced ruefully.

"Good idea. Lead on!"

"This way, I think ..."

Quite unexpectedly, the closeness they'd shared in the past was back, even without any touching. Once again, it was them against the world, and they drew strength from the sensation. Simultaneously, it lightened both their moods and brought identical smiles to their faces. Together, they stepped off the dais, holding each other's hands after all ... and there was no reporter present to witness it, no camera running anywhere anymore to record their departure.

##*##



"All things considered, I think that went really well," Tanya commented as the on-site reporter signed off and the station switched to yet another commercial break. "We don't really need to stay on for the commentary, do we?" The others agreed. "How long until the Harvey Garvey show?"

"A little over two hours," Trini replied, checking her watch. "It still starts at 8.30pm, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," Rocky said. "Jason and Kat have to get from City Hall to the studio in Los Angeles first ... time enough for us to have dinner, don'cha think?"

The others groaned good-naturedly, but the popcorn and nacho chips they'd been munching on weren't very filling, so Billy switched off the TV for the moment and got menus from various local delivery services from the kitchen bulletin board. The gang quickly decided on Chinese food, and a large order was soon placed. While they waited, they discussed the press conference.

"I found it quite remarkable how many serious media persons from reputable publications were present and how thus a goodly number of genuinely information-seeking questions were asked," Billy mused. "To be honest, I had assumed that there would be more enquiries of a sensationalist nature."

"Like from that jerk Boswell?" Zack groused. "Man, I can't believe that guy!"

"We should be thankful that the other reporters didn't jump on that bandwagon," Adam sighed. "I mean, Jase handled him okay, but he was lucky that the press conference was almost over."

"Yeah, I kinda doubt that Boswell would've shut up otherwise, if he'd had more time." Aisha grimaced. It had been a while since she'd held a Power Coin, but she still remembered how pesky the man had been even then. "Or help from somebody else."

"Serves him right for not speaking up sooner," Rocky smirked. "Not that I wanted him to bug Kat and Jason with his crap, but ..."

"He probably did it because he figured that his colleagues wouldn't interfere towards the end. After all, the really important questions were already done with."

Kim's comment sounded as if she were speaking from experience; a quick look into her eyes told Tommy that that was precisely the case. He grinned slightly, giving her a small nod - showing that he, too, understood all too well. As much as he enjoyed his success on the racing circuit, the inevitable media attention was something he could really do without. Tommy assumed correctly that Kimberly, as a medal-winning Pan Global athlete, was living in an even bigger fishbowl than him. However, it went - unfortunately - with the territory of having become minor celebrities.

*Very minor! What does Mom call it again? The price of fame? Shit. I never asked for it in the first place, and it's definitely not worth it if it means putting up with a load of crap from types like Boswell.*

As there was nothing he, or any of the others, could do about it, though, Tommy only sighed. "Yeah. Still, I wish Boswell hadn't brought it up. Couldn't he see he was upsetting Kat?"

"That's kind of the point of this line of questioning, Tommy," Tanya said. "I think he does it on purpose just to get a reaction."

"Uh huh. And hopefully one that reveals more than his interviewees planned on telling him in the first place," Zack added. "It's pretty much common practice for tabloid journalism."

"Yeah, okay, but it bugged me to see Kat so ... uncomfortable."

"Don't you think it upset Jason, too?" Kimberly asked, a little more sharply than she'd intended. While she was fully sympathetic for Katherine's plight, it bothered her more than she liked to admit how overprotective of Tommy was of the blonde. /And not just because I'm ... admit it, girl ... jealous. /Kat had survived two years in the past under primitive conditions; it was - to Kim's mind - more than reasonable to assume that a pesky reporter wasn't likely to make her lose it. "After all, Boswell practically accused him of making a pass at her, or worse!"

Billy threw a quick, astonished glance at the petite girl; it was unlike her to make her point in such an aggressive fashion. But he had to concede that she was right. He opened his mouth to comment, but instantly felt two sharp jabs in his sides. Eyes wide with surprise, he looked first at Trini, then at Aisha, who were flanking him on the couch. Trini imperceptibly shook her head in warning, while Aisha surreptitiously put a finger over her lips. He nodded, to show that he understood he was supposed to keep quiet ... but his mind started working furiously.

Why would they command my silence like this? It is unusual for Kimberly to voice her displeasure in that tone of voice - especially towards Tommy. Unless ... /His razor-sharp intellect plus his knowledge of his friends /provided him with an answer that had an uncomfortably high probability of being accurate. Uh-oh. It would not be as out of character if she is experiencing some kind of animosity, or at least somewhat negative emotions, towards Katherine ... who has, after all, replaced her not only as a Ranger, but also in Tommy's affections. Judging by Trini and Aisha's reactions, I am not alone in making this assumption. If that is the case, they were right to prevent me from voicing my surprise. This definitely bears further observation, however.

He glanced at Tommy, who was looking decidedly sheepish.

"Yeah, well, I know, but Jase can take care of himself," he said lamely.

"Why? Because he's a guy?" Kim shot back, doe eyes flashing. "That's /so /chauvinist!"

Across the table, Rocky and Zack, who were sitting on either side of Tommy, stared at her with sudden alarm, then - acting almost simultaneously - tried to scoot away from Tommy. Billy had to suppress a snicker as he saw Zack mouth "Duck and cover, fast!" to Rocky behind their former leader's back. Adam sighed softly, and next to him Tanya stifled a giggle. Really, either one of them was bad enough on his own, but together ... she prayed that they would never have opportunity to concoct a prank on /anyone/.

Lucky for all of them, Tommy never noticed the byplay going on around him. All his attention was focussed on Kimberly.

"So what?" he challenged her, not quite convincingly. He knew she had a point, but somehow he couldn't find it in him right now to admit it. /Besides, Jase could always take care of himself. Kat needs me. Well, someone, anyway. /His conscience nudged him with a reminder that his girlfriend had proved more than once that she was no pushover and hardly as helpless as he thought she was at times, but he chose to ignore it.

"So he's your best friend," Kim snapped, getting angry now. "You could at least show some concern for Jase's feelings, too - not just for Kat's!"

"He's handled that jerk pretty well - Adam said so, too!"

"That doesn't mean he wasn't hurt by the insinuations!"

"He didn't look as if he was," Tommy replied, his voice rising, then winced. Even he knew, as soon as he said it, that this was not a true indication of Jason's state of mind. For all his sometimes formidable temper, Jason had enough self-discipline and then some to hide his feelings if he wanted to.

Come to think of it, he must've been really bummed by Boswell's questions; Jase had that hard look at the end, and his voice had gone all cold ... Something Tommy had learned from experience rarely boded well for whatever opponent Jason was facing. Goldar would've recognized it, I bet!

Right now, though, it was Kimberly who was visibly fuming. The first Pink Ranger's temper, once roused, wasn't something to be taken lightly, either. Before she could explode, however, the doorbell rang.

"I bet that's dinner," Rocky cried, jumping up to hide his relief. "I'll get it!" He made a grab for the money the group had already laid aside and dashed for the door, followed more sedately - but with as much alacrity - by Aisha and Adam. Behind them, Trini and Tanya started to pass out plates so that all could share the various dishes. Rocky paid for the delivery and while the three juggled the various cardboard containers, he whistled softly. "Were we 'saved by the bell' or what?" he asked under his breath.

"At least Tommy was," Aisha agreed as quietly. "I've never seen Kim quite like that!"

"Me neither - and I'm not sure I'd want to, especially not if she were mad at me," Rocky muttered. "She seemed worse than Mama when I forget a chore!"

Adam grinned fleetingly. Mrs. DeSantos' tirades when anyone of her offspring misbehaved in any way were rather legendary among friends and neighbors. To think that petite Kimberly was capable of the same kind of behaviour boggled the mind. What set her off, I wonder? /Then, he had a sudden flash of insight. /Oh boy. Duh! "She never had to be jealous of someone over Tommy before," Adam murmured, looking at Aisha for confirmation. He found it in her thoughtful frown.

"You got that, too, huh?"

"One would have to be an idiot not to," Rocky mumbled. "Even if she had dumped him. Why the hell did she do that anyway?" Naturally, neither of his oldest friends had a ready answer. Then, because the situation made him uncomfortable, because the hot food was starting to chafe his hands, and because he was really, /really /hungry, he shrugged and forced a smile. "Not our problem. C'mon, let's eat, okay? Please?"

"That's probably best," Aisha sighed. "But I swear, I'll sit that girl down soon and get to the bottom of everything." She nodded determinedly, then marched off with no further ado, carrying with her the rice and a handful of chopsticks.

"Poor Kim," Adam whispered to Rocky as they followed her back into the living room. They'd both seen Aisha in this mode more than once. Rocky almost choked over the comment, and broke into giggles, infecting Adam as well. Their chuckles helped to further defuse the tension in the room, and their meal was shared companionably until the Harvey Garvey Show started.







To Be Continued ...