Title: Aftermath
Fandom: Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers
Rating: Gen
Length: 1000 words
Author notes: Fluff and blatant wish-fulfillment!
Summary: Jason and Trini decompress after a battle nearly ends in disaster.



Smoke still smudged the city skyline hours after the attack. Trini tried not to notice it as she made her way to the park to join her friends. It was hard to pretend things were normal, that a monster the size of a building hadn't just blown up most of downtown, but Trini was trying her best to be practical. The way she saw it, she had two options: she could carry on and help her friends pick up the pieces after their near-failure, or she could give up and let Rita win.

She put one foot in front of the other and refused to stumble as she walked the familiar path. It had been a close thing, this time. They'd almost lost. As it was, a big part of the city was in ruins. It would take ages to clean up. Angel Grove might never be the same. Downtown almost certainly wouldn't.

It had shaken her deeply to come that close to failure, to almost go over that edge. It was worse, she suspected, for some of her teammates.

As she made her way through the park, she wasn't sure where she would find them. Everything had been chaos after the monster was finally defeated and complete disaster at least temporarily averted. The other Rangers had gone their separate ways, desperate to check in on family and friends, but they'd agreed to meet up again at the park after things settled down. They all knew that Rita wouldn't stop here after she'd come so close to victory. They would need a plan. There was no time for rest.

Trini had the relative luxury of knowing her parents were out of town for the weekend and therefore safe from Rita's attack. She'd only had to pick up the phone and call to let them know that she was fine, the house was in one piece, and her friends were okay. And no, she didn't need them to cut their anniversary vacation short to come home to be with her – she'd visit with Kim or the boys if she needed company. Her parents hadn't liked that answer, and she didn't doubt they'd be home as soon as they could regardless of what she'd told them, but for now she at least knew they were safe.

Her friends were another story. Their families had all been in town and at risk during the attack. She knew they'd all been scared to death during that fight, as losing had become an increasingly real possibility. It had terrified her to have to be the calm one, the one everyone could rely on to look at the situation objectively and see what they needed to do in order to win. She never wanted to be under pressure like that ever again, but knew there would be a distinct possibility of that happening in the days to come.

She was so caught up in her frightened thoughts that she almost ran right into Jason before she even realized he was there.

She stumbled away as he reached to steady her, trying to hide the worst of her surprise and knowing he saw it anyway. "Jason! Are you okay? Is your family okay?" she asked, aware that she wasn't giving him a chance to respond. She was almost afraid to hear his answer. They had gone their separate ways so quickly after the battle…

"Everyone's fine," he assured her.

She stared into his dark eyes, unsure of what she wanted – needed – to see there. He reached for her again, and this time she did not back away. His hands were a steady and reassuring pressure on her shoulders, supporting, rather than trapping her. "They didn't want me to leave, but when I told them your parents were out of town…" He managed a small, but not unforced, smile. "Dad's on his way to your parents' house. I said I'd check the park for you and we'd meet back at your place."

She struggled to process what he was saying. "Jase…"

He understood without her having to explain. He lowered his eyes and sighed. "This is really bad, isn't it?" He chuckled, but it sounded forced and ugly. "We almost lost the city back there… She finally almost had us beat, and we know it's only a matter of time before she tries again, so we need to prepare…"

Trini watched him, feeling sympathetic and understanding too well what he was saying. It was as if he'd taken the words right out of her mouth. She'd been wondering some variation of exactly those things ever since the monster blew up.

When it came down to it, they were superheroes… but they were also just kids, themselves. This was too much, but there was no way out.

So she wondered over and over: how much longer do we have before the next attack?

But now she was also wondering if it was even safe for any of them to go home, if they shouldn't go back to the Command Center instead. Rita knew who they were, underneath their Power Ranger uniforms. She'd come close to victory today, and she might strike even closer to home next time.

Trini squeezed her eyes shut and wished she could shut out the doubts and fears – and the entire world – as easily.

"Come stay at my house tonight," Jason said. "You shouldn't have to be alone after today."

She nodded numbly, and found herself enfolded suddenly in his arms. She clung to him for a moment even as he squeezed her close, and faintly wished that Zack and Kimberly and Billy could be here, too, even though she knew they should be with their families right now. This was too much for any of them to deal with alone, but together, they just might be able to get through it.

"What are we going to do?" she murmured, not really expecting an answer.

"We'll think of something," Jason told her. "We always do."