The Reluctant Ranger Chapter 29 - Together

“Cultivating?” Grace asked with a frown.  “Like growing them?” 

Carlos waved his hand in a so-so gesture.  “More like creating conditions in which Rangers are selected then keeping them active.  Think about it.  How many attacks were there in Minneapolis since the invasion started?  How many have there been since your team appeared?” 

“Too many,” Grace answered. 

He nodded.  “The attacks were always targeted at large events, where lots of people would be in danger, and some might just step up to try and fight back.  I don’t know what the tipping point is for a Ranger team to appear, and I don’t think the Sylan know either.”

“You and I were chosen,” Nicole muttered, staring down at her hands.  “What made us different?  Why are there two different types of Rangers?  Just what the hell is going on?” 

“Wish I knew, kid,” Carlos said, patting her shoulder.  “I’ll leave you two alone for a bit, go check on the others and let them know you’re awake.  They’ll probably be by to visit tomorrow if the hospital doesn’t want to discharge you first thing in the morning.” 

“The government knows who we all are,” Nicole added.  “They don’t need to worry about their identities, they’re already forfeit.” 

Grace had stiffened in her arms, and Carlos could only return a grim nod to that confirmation.  Had Xavier not told him about that, keeping it a secret, or were they still working out the best ways to confirm Ranger identities at the time those two first met?  She knew several laws were fast tracked, and the entire government had to relocate and change protocols in order to operate effectively when the invaders could just appear in the streets. 

Some of those laws were no doubt designed specifically to single out Rangers so they could be monitored.  That begged the question, what about the smugglers?  Were the government also tracking them?  It might be worth looking into if that was the case, if she could convince them the government was snooping, and knew who they were, maybe she could get them out of her city without a fight. 

She wasn’t naive enough to think she could turn them to the side of ‘good’ or whatever one might call it.  People were motivated by many things, greed being one of the biggest motivators in history.  Shouldering the burdens of the world wasn’t something she even tried to entertain, not with how fragile her mental state remained.  Her only concerns were her city, and her people. 

Nicole could worry about all of that later, for the moment, she had a Grace to cuddle and could have gone for another nap, or breakfast.  She wasn’t feeling particularly picky at the moment.  A doctor came and gave her something for the lingering aches, and she found herself in a pleasant haze, drifting in and out of sleep. 

Breakfast did eventually come, though she wasn’t sure how much time had passed between Carlos leaving and the meal arriving.  Given it was a pasta dish with grilled chicken and roasted green beans, she might have actually slept through breakfast.  They even brought a second one for Grace, though she just let Nicole have it when she had ate everything on her own tray in minutes. 

Nicole thanked her with a peck on the cheek. 

It wasn’t long after that another doctor came in, one that wasn’t a secret Ranger.  Probably.  And after a short medical exam, Nicole was cleared to go home, after being given one more dose of the medication that was preventing her from being in too much pain on the ride home.  She was still tired, but they insisted that would pass within the next day or two. 

She hoped it would. 

It was late evening when Grace helped Nicole into her dorm, and the pair were promptly glomped on by a frantic Becca.  Oh right, Nicole hadn’t been able to check her phone since it was lost in the battle, and thus, her oldest friend had been left in the dark. 

“I was so fucking worried!” Becca said.  “I saw bits of it on the news, but I didn’t even know if you were alive until Jeff and Kayla came by.” 

Nicole blinked, but Grace headed off her question.  “I asked them if they could keep her up to date.  I didn’t have her number and your phone was a lost cause following the double morph thing.” 

“And it’s a good thing that she did,” Becca said with an adorable pout.  “I was worried sick, you know!” 

Nicole winced.  “I’m sorry.” 

“Not your fault,” Rebecca said, poking at her sternum.  Nicole could only laugh at how she tried to act tough.  “You were in a coma after almost dying.  I know I can’t tell you to stop fighting, I just…  Just let me hug my friend, okay?” 

Tears pricked at Nicole’s eyes as she swept Becca into a hug.  It was almost funny, Becca was so much taller than her, yet Nicole was considerably stronger, even before she became a Ranger.  She recalled one time when they were Juniors and some kid stuck gum in Becca’s hair.  Nicole had held her, literally, as she cried into her shoulder. 

So, leaning on those memories, Nicole swept Rebecca into a princess carry and held her close, letting her friend cry it out.  It was almost nostalgic, holding her friend again.  Nicole was stronger now, and Becca felt almost weightless, but her feet weren’t steady, likely because of the medication they gave her on the way out.

Grace patted her on the shoulder and made her way over to the kitchen where she filled the kettle and set it to boil.  Nicole wasn’t much in the mood for tea, but a bit of chamomile wouldn’t hurt.  Plus, with how Becca was sobbing, she could probably use something warm on her throat. 

Fingers twined through Becca’s hair as Nicole gently massaged her friend’s scalp, humming a gentle tune as she did.  After a few minutes of that, Grace returned with three mugs in one hand and a steaming kettle in the other.  She pulled a coaster over and put the kettle on it before setting the cups out and filling them with steaming hot water. 

The gentle smell of tea filled the air, and Grace took the seat beside Nicole, snuggling up against her shoulder, but not invading the space where Becca was situated on her lap.  Nicole accepted the offered cup and Becca finally scooted aside, staying close but maintaining contact.  Moreso, Nicole snuck a glance at her girlfriend and found not a hint of jealousy in her expression, something she was rather appreciative of.

“I saw you on the news,” Becca said after a moment, her voice soft.  “They actually got a pretty good shot of when you transformed again.” 

A few days ago, that would have alarmed her far more than it did.  Knowing the government already knew who she was, the only real risk was that someone might leak her identity and she would be forced to go public.  That would be annoying as hell, but she could deal with it.  Hell, maybe Sinclair could even help keep things under wraps.  It almost felt like he was doing exactly that during their conversation.

Carlos was an open Ranger, so he could probably offer some pointers if her life blew up over it.  Only time would tell.  For now, she would just take a wait and see approach. 

“I’m sorry you had to see that,” Nicole said, pulling her best friend and sister in all but blood into a close hug.  “Not really much I can say to reassure you there, unfortunately.”

“Just…  Can you promise not to do that again?” 

That was a promise she couldn’t make, no matter how much she wanted to speak the words and mean them.  She wasn’t eager to repeat the experience, but if someone she loved was in danger, then she wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.  Nicole refused to stand back when there was something she could do to help. 

“I’m sorry,” Nicole said.  “But if that is the price for you, or Grace, or anyone else I care about coming home alive, I’d gladly pay it.” 

Becca whimpered, snuggling closer as she did.  Grace tossed an arm over her shoulder and pulled Nicole in tight.  Sitting there, wrapped up in the affection of people who genuinely cared for her, a damning thought popped into Nicole’s head as she began to drift off. 

She wanted to live. 

Nicole had people in her life that genuinely cared for her well being, something she knew before, but didn’t fully understand when it was just her moving in with Rebecca’s parents after she lost her own.  That only lasted a few months, but she always felt like she was imposing on their hospitality.  That was when her spiral started in earnest, when she started letting the insults get to her, because children were cruel. 

Worse, Rebecca’s birth father tried to force himself back into her life, insisting that he would reclaim his son.  Colin almost went to jail when he kicked the piss out of Becca’s sperm donor.  Nicole still looked back on that moment fondly, one of the few bright spots in those days.  Nicole got a fair bit of government assistance back when she first emancipated herself, which she had offered to Becca’s parents as often as they would accept it. 

Even with all of that, Nicole hadn’t felt like part of their family, just an inconvenience that they took care of out of an obligation and nothing more.  Now, sitting on a couch in the early afternoon, Nicole felt like she had found a place she belonged, and something worth fighting for.

*** 

Waking up with two girls sprawled across her was not something Nicole ever expected in life, but she was all too happy for it given the circumstances.  Becca’s head was in her lap, Nicole’s own fingers tangled in her hair from where she had been gently stroking her friend’s head.  Grace’s arm was still slung over her shoulder, but her girlfriend’s face was buried in said shoulder and half her shirt was damp with drool. 

Even with superior Ranger healing that she had, there was more than a little stiffness from the position.  Nicole could only imagine how bad Becca would have it if she spent the whole night there.  That left her with a bit of a conundrum as she didn’t want to wake either of them. 

She started by gently coaxing Grace’s arm up and over her shoulder, setting it on the back of the sofa, then lifting her head away from the rather damp perch it had been resting upon.  Nicole couldn’t help smiling at the sight, even if it did mean she would need to change before getting into bed proper. 

With her girlfriend untangled, lifting Becca was much easier.  Nicole put one hand under her head and another under her knees and lifted, giving her just enough room to get to her feet and keep Becca’s head aloft.  From there, she carried the tall girl with an ease that could only come from being a Ranger.  She’d done it before, the first time Becca came stumbling back to the dorm drunk along with some of her friends, including their designated sober girl to watch for spiked drinks. 

It was almost nostalgic carrying her back into her room and tucking her in.  Nicole wasn’t about to try and get her changed into pajamas, but she was grateful that shoes didn’t need to be removed.  Becca was very much a boot girl and those things tended to smell ripe after a full day. 

Once her friend was tucked in, she brushed a few loose hairs from her face and Becca muttered something incomprehensible that brought a smile to Nicole’s face.  Once she was content that her friend was nice and cozy, she turned, planning to return to the living room and do the same with Grace, but her girlfriend was already standing in the doorway, a bit bleary-eyed, but otherwise alert and grinning. 

“That was sweet of you,” Grace said, pulling Nicole into a hug before she kissed her on the forehead. 

“How much did you see?” Nicole asked, fighting off a fierce blush. 

Grace hummed, pulling her along and towards Nicole’s own room.  “Since you put my arm on the couch.  I didn’t want to spoil things for you, so I just played along.” 

Nicole found herself pouting, but still snuggled up against her girlfriend as they crawled into bed, neither bothered to change clothes since they had already spent much of the evening sleeping in them.  Even with her being unconscious, that didn’t really count as sleep, and neither her best friend, nor girlfriend, had slept much.

“Brat,” Nicole muttered, not really meaning it.  

It actually felt a little strange to call the much taller woman a brat, given she always imagined someone small when tossing out that insult, even if it was a minor one.

“Your brat,” Grace said, kissing her cheek.  “Now and always, for as long as you will have me.” 

Tears pricked at Nicole’s eyes, the tenderness and sincerity of those words hitting her like a sledgehammer, or one of Bartran’s punches.  Somehow she knew that a normal person with a sledge probably wouldn’t do much damage so long as she had time to morph. 

Tangents aside, Nicole snuggled closer to her girlfriend, relishing the warmth spreading through her from that statement.  How did someone answer something like that?  She considered some corny lines, or other such cliches, and really, what was wrong with one of the classics?  It wasn’t like it lost meaning just because a bunch of people agreed that it worked, she would just need to put her own spin on it. 

“Then you had best strap in for the long haul,” Nicole finally answered.  “Because I don’t plan on going anywhere without you, even if we’re going into hell itself.” 

Because in the end, what was war except for another hell?  Nicole would fight at Grace’s side, no matter what came, and they would see things through to the very end. 

Together.