7NOTE DE AUTHORA:
It's generally a REALLY, REALLY bad idea to start writing romance fic for a show that's in progress (granted, that doesn't stop all of us from doing it :P), with ever-changing characters and storylines. That said, the WORST of all possible ideas probably has to be to write a romance fic for a show that's in progress and have the fic take place AFTER the show has ended. I have no idea how Power Rangers Jungle Fury will end; I began this fic on June 23. This is all speculation.
But the plot bunnies. They would NOT leave me alone, and I had to write this, lest I go insane. Therefore, this fic is very, VERY AU. Casey, Lily, Theo and RJ are the only Rangers (even though the series is over in this timeline), Dai Shi has been defeated, and this is only harmless fluff. I realize the series will not end this way, and I don't claim that it will.
So, hope you enjoy. I haven't written het in forever. :D
(Also, yes, the title is a play on "Knocked Up". And I realize "Zhuq" is pronounced "Schwa". I think it's funny either way.)
What has happened here, the actions which took place, the battle which was fought, the lives that were claimed, the sacrifices that were made, must, from this moment on, remain locked in absolute secrecy, until the very last of us has come to the end of our time in this realm. Never, never must anyone know of this, lest history repeat itself.
Now, my students, my comrades, begins the real trial: living as civilians in a world which must never know what you have done for its sake.
I wish you great happiness, peace, and prosperity. Farewell.
And, just like that, it was over. RJ's time as a Pai Zhuq master, a Power Ranger and a mentor came to a close. A permanent close, and one that would take some getting used to.
And, just like that, almost as suddenly and almost as shockingly, Fran was late to work. Fifteen minutes late, to be exact. The cause of her lateness would take even more getting used to.
The Rangers- the kids- RJ's employees almost didn't know what to do with themselves. The clock hit 9:01. Then 9:02. Then 9:05. And Fran wasn't there.
"She's never late," Lily said, needlessly. Someone had to state the obvious fact and break the unnerving silence.
The door opened, and everyone perked up, waves of relief washing over them. Their relief was unfounded, and they had to put on impassive, professional masks of friendliness as they realized it wasn't Fran arriving, but a mother and her children.
"Do you serve pizza for breakfast?" the woman asked, stifling a yawn.
Theo led them to a booth, inwardly groaning as he noticed that the youngest of the children was carrying a carrying case full of neon, glow in the dark Play-Doh.
"Hey, RJ," Casey said quietly, pointing to the clock, which now read 9:14. "I mean... you think we should call her, or something? You know, maybe she overslept?"
"Maybe she's sick?" Lily chimed in. "Maybe all those mozzarella sticks..."
RJ shook his head and tried to look nonchalant.
"Could be traffic..." Casey continued. "Uh...oh! Hey! Maybe her doorknob fell off?"
"Yeah, that's a good one," Lily said, nodding. "Or else, maybe she was watering her azaleas, and the hose got tangled, and she stepped in the middle of it and then-"
"I'm sure she's just... late," RJ said. "Everyone has to be late once in a while. It's just as they say, time waits for no-"
The door burst open, and there was Fran, hair disheveled, shirt untucked and stained, dark circles under her eyes, and a distressed, sickly expression on her face.
"RJ?" Fran gasped. "We gotta talk about three Fridays ago."
"Oh...man," RJ sighed.
He let her sit in his chair. Ordinarily, Fran would have been moved by his chivalry, but today, right now, all she could think about was how in the world she was going to tell him what was going on.
"You look hungry," he said, looking at her face carefully. "You... I know just what you need-"
"Ohhh, no," she moaned. "No, I'm sure not hungry. Oh, boy, am I ever not hungry. I was hungry this morning..."
"This morning?"
"But then, I got so sick and every bit of it, just, blah." She stuck her tongue out and made a waving gesture with her hand.
"Blah," RJ repeated. "Okay, scratch the asparagus, lentil and chocolate smoothie."
"Oh, no..." Fran drew a shaky breath and covered her mouth with both hands.
"Fran, maybe you should... I don't know, take the day off and just go home and realign your inner selves. Or, at the very least, take a nap..."
"RJ," Fran said slowly. "My inner selves... are fine."
RJ raised an eyebrow.
"How fine?"
Fran felt tears coming to her eyes, and she got up from the chair and fanned her face with both hands.
"Oh, RJ, at first, I wasn't sure. At first, I just thought, maybe I got the date wrong. Maybe I forgot, or... or something, but I always kept really, really close track of it and it never came any later than the 17th, ever, in my whole life, no matter what."
"Uh, well... okay," RJ said, still standing by the chair, a puzzled look on his face.
"And, I mean, I'm no dummy, RJ. I wasn't born yesterday. I know what that means. But I didn't know how I was going to tell anyone, I mean, I even know the guy at the drugstore, he used to tell me when the new Carla D'Arcy Moonlight Serenade novels came out and he's known me since I was 13 years old and, you know, how could I tell him that I needed one for me? For... little Frannie the bookworm?"
"Indeed, quite the conundrum."
"You're telling me!" Fran laughed nervously. "Can you believe I actually hopped the bus and rode 45 minutes into Fairbanks just so I could get one from a store where I didn't know anybody?"
"I admire your... spunk," RJ was running out of appropriate yet neutral responses, and he realized that if Fran didn't get to the point rather soon, he might just have to come right out and ask her what she was getting at.
"Aww. Well, thank you," Fran nodded. "So, then, I get home, and I use it. And I read the directions and it says that purple is inconclusive and red is definitely yes. But blue is definitely no."
"Uh... so, what is yellow?" RJ asked.
"Yellow?" Fran frowned.
"Yellow... you know what, let's start over."
Fran nodded, taking a deep breath.
"Now, Fran, what exactly are we talking about?"
Fran gave him a stricken look.
"What? We're talking... well, we're... we're talking about the fact, RJ, that I think I'm pregnant!"
Her voice became so shrill as she approached the word "pregnant", that it came out as an almost unintelligible shriek.
The air between the two friends thickened and the events of three Fridays ago came rushing back to them as RJ sank down into his chair, eyes wide.
There had been food. And drink. And celebrating. Dai Shi was defeated. The world was safe. There were more customers than ever. There had been much to celebrate, much joy. And amidst the joy, there had been a strange kind of energy. A feeling of invincibility, to be sure. A distinct air of "the hell with the consequences".
And, indeed, they had taken little heed of the consequences when Fran had stayed late to clean up. When she had been so tipsy she could barely stand, so giggly she could barely see. When she had picked up a tray of plates and immediately dropped them. When she had inexplicably decided to do a handstand on the stairs.
When he had held her legs so she wouldn't fall. When she had fallen anyway, and complained of dizziness. When he had suggested she go upstairs and lie down. And carried her. And touched her cheek. And kissed her.
When she had taken off her glasses and looked at him with emotion as deep as he had ever seen, and told him she loved him so, so much.
When she had woken up in his bed in a purple sweatshirt, and had quickly decided to go home with only a quick smile in his direction.
These memories, of course, omitted a major portion of the events, but neither of them could really call up any recollection of the undeniable that which must have taken place. Yet, here was proof, or at least, a strong possibility that that had happened between them.
And what were they going to do now?
"Oh, boy," RJ finally said. "Oh, boy, Fran."
"Yeah," Fran half-laughed. "Yeah, I, uh..."
"Oh, boy."
"I don't know what I'm going to tell..." Fran trailed off. She didn't know how she was going to tell her parents. Her grandparents. The owner of the drug store. Casey. Lily. Theo. Everyone.
"How old are you, Fran?" RJ asked suddenly.
"What? Oh, I'm... I'm twenty-two," Fran said, quietly.
"That old."
"I look... young for my age."
It was horribly awkward. It was as if they were meeting for the first time; the barbed silences, the careful choosing of words, the underlying fear of rejection.
Rejection. From him. From her. It wasn't to be believed. They trusted one another, didn't they? They liked one another, didn't they? Maybe they even loved one another.
Indeed. No maybe about it. One way or the other, they did feel a great deal of love.
"Fran, listen," RJ said softly. He didn't look at her. "You know how I feel about you. I mean, you're like..."
She nodded, too many times.
"I know. I know. So are you. I mean, so do I. I mean..."
"This doesn't change that. Does it?"
"No! No! No! Of course not! We're still... no!"
He nodded.
She nodded.
"So..." Fran looked at her feet. "Um... what are we gonna do now?"
RJ stared at one of his TVs. He then stared at the floor, and gradually, he met her eyes again. His expression softened, and he shook his head.
"I don't know. What do you think we should do?"
Fran hesitated, probably too long. She shrugged.
"I mean... it's a pretty big deal," she said. There was a distinct thickness in her voice, and she blinked several times. "You know, it's not like..."
RJ stood up. Fran drew a breath, and felt her heart thudding in her chest.
"It's not like we can just..."
And then, he was beside her. He had his hand draped somewhat awkwardly on her shoulder, and she swallowed.
"We have to do something," she finished.
"What do you want to do, Fran?"
What could she say? What did she dare say?
"I want to get married," she blurted out. And, immediately, she regretted saying it. She gasped and turned away from him, her hands covering her face. "No, no, no. I didn't mean that. I didn't mean that. I don't know what to do, RJ, you tell me what to do."
RJ let out a shaky laugh.
"Sadly, I'm... just as new to all this as you are."
"But you have to have SOME idea; you have to have something... I don't know anything about all this, RJ, I really don't. I'm a good girl, I don't get into messes like this, oh, RJ, especially not with my friends. Especially not with you. Can't you just tell me what I'm supposed to do?!"
By now, she had begun crying. Heavy, dramatic sobs, fists pressed against her mouth. Everything was happening so fast and everything was so wrong, so completely and totally wrong.
And then, she was facing him again, and he had his hands on her wrists and his face close to hers.
"Fran. Fran! Fran!" he tried to get her attention repeatedly. "Fran, come on, Fran, honey, it's okay. It's okay! It's going to be okay."
"No, it isn't! We ruined it! We ruined our friendship! How could we do that, RJ? How could we ruin it like that?!"
"Ruined? No! No, nothing's ruined! Come on, look at me! Nothing's ruined."
"Yes, it is!"
"No! No, come on."
"But what are we going to do?"
RJ looked at her soberly. His eyes ran from her face to her hands, then back to her face. He gently took her left hand in his.
"Well, why don't we get married, like you said?"
Fran gasped and drew her hand back.
"RJ! Come on, this is serious!"
"It certainly is. In fact, I can't think of anything more serious."
"I know! So think! Think of something!"
"I did. Well... actually, you did."
He took her hand back. She felt her heart in her throat as he slowly dropped down on one knee and clutched her hand in both of his. Their eyes locked, and she felt her mouth open, and a tiny squeak came out.
"What do you say, Fran?"
I can't! I can't! I can't! I can't!
"Well," she finally said, "I'm here all the time, anyway."
"That you are."
"I already have a bunch of stuff in your fridge."
"Which I already know enough not to touch without permission!"
Fran felt color rising in her cheeks, and she laughed.
"Oh, wow. Okay. Let's do it! Let's get married!"
The hug they shared dripped with friendliness. Ultimately, it was only a hug, however.
