Here's the last part. It's a little longer, but it ties everything up, so enjoy. The songs are by Fisher and the last one is by Sarah McLachlan, because I have no songwriting talent whatsoever. Happy Holidays!

PRDT—A Very Ranger Holiday

Part Three: Realization: Oblivion

Sunday morning, Kira woke up to a small package and an envelope lying at the foot of her bed. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she eagerly tore open the envelope to find a pressed sprig of mistletoe and a note.

Dear Kira,

Sorry I couldn't be here to see you open this gift. Family thing. Your mom let me in, by the way. Anyway, I hope you like your present. I was in the mall, and it…it just screamed "Kira!" at me. Happy fifth day of Hanukkah.

Love, Conner

P.S. Here's some mistletoe. And yes, it's definitely okay if a Jewish person does it. Especially if that Jewish person is you. Happy Hanukkah.

Blushing, Kira ripped open the box. Inside was a black t-shirt that said 'SHUT UP' in bright yellow letters. She laughed at Conner's choice—she did say that to him a lot, didn't she?—and put it back in its box, making a note to wear it the next time she saw him. Maybe even tonight, if she was lucky…Kira blushed again at the thought and carefully folded the mistletoe back into the card. She shook her head.

"Conner, what am I going to do with you?"

-----

Later that day, Kira headed to the mall herself, determined to find Conner something for getting her all those gifts. While she was there, she picked up a brachiosaurus figure for Dr. O, a cookbook for Hayley, a new sketchbook for Trent, and a gift certificate to the electronics store for Ethan. Conner's gift, however, was proving to be harder than expected.

"A new soccer ball? Nah. He has like, five. Clothes? Boring. A movie? Maybe."

"Talking to yourself in a crowded mall. That means you're crazy, you know?"

"Conner! Don't scare me like that!" Kira scolded after nearly falling off the bench she had been sitting on. Conner just grinned.

"Hey, Kira. Didn't think I'd see you here. I see you got my present." he said, sliding next to her on the bench and nodding at her shirt. She smiled.

"Yeah. Thanks, Conner. Hey, what are you doing here? I thought you said you had 'family stuff'."

"I do. Last minute Christmas shopping with my mom." He waved to a petite woman who was in line at Auntie Anne's, and she smiled back at him. "What about you?"

"Oh…doing some shopping myself. You know, you are incredibly hard to shop for."

"Really? Well, you're not." He smiled widely at her. "You know you don't have to get me anything." Kira groaned.

"Yes, I do. Conner, you're buying me all these great things, and I have half a clue what to get you! I feel like I should. Give me a hint, Conner, please?" He just laughed at her.

"Kira, I really don't need anything from you. Well…actually, you could do something for me, but only after your last gift." He smiled mysteriously, and she pushed his shoulder.

"What? What is it? Conner!" But it was obvious he wasn't telling, and she sighed in defeat.

"Here," he said, handing her a bag from fye. "I might as well just give this to you now. Happy sixth day of Hanukkah." Curious, Kira took out a CD.

"Uppers and Downers. Who's Fisher?" she asked, inspecting the case.

"My cousin likes them. Her. Whatever. Anyway, their music kind of reminds me of you. Only, a little more piano than guitar, but still. I think you'd like it. Oh, listen to these two. They're good." He pointed to the first two tracks, and stood up. "Well, I should get going. More important shopping to do." He smiled one last time at her, then headed off to the bookstore, where his mother was standing, munching on a pretzel.

"Conner, wait!" But he was gone. Sighing, Kira stood up as well, deciding that her search for Conner's gift would be fruitless, anyway, so she headed toward the exit with her bags and a Fisher CD in tow.

-----

I didn't see anything in you when we first met
When I believed I would fall in love at first sight
Night after night we bared our souls over coffee
Now I know I love you…

Hmm…Kira mused after popping the CD into her car's player. This is pretty good…I wonder why Conner likes them so much, though…Oh, well. She scanned, skipping to the next track. …

Hey there, oblivious!
Here is your happiness
If you would only turn around
Isn't it obvious?
Mr. Oblivious
Love can so easily be found
Just turn around...

If I could be so bold
May I make a suggestion?
You've been searching so long
But in the wrong direction
I've been standing right behind you all this time…

Then realization struck. Oblivious…was Kira really that oblivious? "Oh, my God…Conner?" Kira was so shocked, she pulled over to the side of the road and just sat there. Did Conner…? Did she…? The presents. Dinner, especially. The stolen smiles. "Oh, my God." Kira repeated. Conner liked her. He had to. The question was, did she like him, too? With that thought, Kira pulled back on the road and sped home, a million thoughts burning in her brain.

As soon as she got home, she promptly locked herself in her room and sank down on her bed, her new CD set on repeat. She sat mutely for a few minutes, just thinking about Conner. Then, she seemed to jump with pure electricity, grabbing her guitar and fumbling in her backpack for her new song notebook—the one Conner gave her, of course. Flipping it open, she began to scribble madly, forgetting everything else except her guitar, her notebook, and a certain Red Ranger named Conner McKnight.

-----

"You're lucky you don't have school today, Kira," her mother told her as Kira dragged herself into the kitchen at 12:45. "I tried to wake you up around 10, but you were out cold. I don't think a bulldozer could have woken you up. Late night? I heard you playing." Kira yawned.

"Yeah, I was on a roll. Had to finish it. Do we have any Corn Pops?"

"In the pantry. Oh, Conner called again." Kira seemed to wake up a little more, and her mother smirked, noticing the change.

"Really? I mean, oh, okay. Great. What did he want?"

"He wanted to talk to me, actually." Off Kira's horrified look, she laughed. "He asked me a few questions about you. He's planning dinner for you, Kira. I won't spoil anything, though. He's a very nice boy, Kira. Cute, too. Why aren't you going out with him, again?"

Kira just muttered an "I don't know," into her cereal.

"Are you all right, sweetie?"

"I don't know. I'm gonna go…work on something, okay Mom?" With that, Kira disappeared up the stairs, and the sounds of a guitar filtered through the ceiling. Her mother just smiled into her iced tea.

-----

A few hours later, 5:30 had rolled around, and Mrs. Ford had left to see a movie, telling Kira that she wouldn't want to ruin her night. Kira was now pacing her room in her best jeans and a golden tank top, trying to figure out exactly what Conner was planning and putting some finishing touches on her newest song. Then the doorbell rang, and Kira nearly jumped a mile.

"You know, I was never this jumpy until you came along," she muttered to herself as she ran downstairs to open the door. "Conner, hey."

"Hi. These are for you." He smiled and offered her a bouquet of red and yellow roses.

"Conner, they're beautiful. You didn't really have to do all this." He smiled.

"You know, you're not the only one who's saying that. Ethan, Dr. O…maybe I am crazy." He laughed. "I don't care, though. If it makes you happy…" His voice trailed off, and he looked away, unusually self-conscious. "Hey, is that your stereo?" He walked over and took a CD out of his pocket. Soon, the sounds of Ella Fitzgerald filtered through the speakers, and Kira looked surprised.

"How'd you know I liked Ella? I haven't told anyone…Mom told you, didn't she?"

"Yeah. I was surprised. You don't seem like you'd be a fan of hers."

"Yeah, well, there's a lot of things you don't know about me, Conner McKnight." She smiled to show him she wasn't being nasty, and he grinned back at her.

"Of course. Are you hungry? I brought Chinese food and smoothies. Hayley says Happy belated Hanukkah, by the way." Kira grinned at him, and they dug into the lo mein as Ella played softly in the background.

"Hey, Conner?" Kira mumbled between bites of fried rice. "Why are you doing all this, anyway? I mean, getting me all this stuff. Cooking me dinner, getting me flowers. I mean…don't get me wrong, Conner. This is really great. But…why?" Conner stared into his lo mein as if it held the answer, and Kira immediately felt stupid. "I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that. Sorry."

"Open this," Conner said suddenly, handing her a large, flat package. She uncertainly tore it open and lifted the box lid to find a beautiful picture frame split into three parts. One small frame held a picture of the whole group—her, Conner, Ethan, Trent, even Dr. O and Hayley. The other small frame held a picture of her and Conner at the Cyberspace, smiling over smoothies. The middle frame was of her, Ethan and Conner, all grinning widely. Kira smiled softly.

"Conner, this is…sweet. Thank you. Where'd you get these pictures?" He actually looked up at her, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"There's some things about me you don't know either, Kira." They smiled at each other until Kira jumped up, determination sparkling in her eyes.

"Wait here, Conner. I have to give you my present." She rushed up the stairs before he could protest, and came back down with her guitar and notebook in tow.

"Kira, what—"

"Shhh. I wrote something for you." Pausing the CD, she began to play a soft, slow melody.

"I have a smile, stretched from ear to ear
To see you walking down the road
We meet at the light, I stare for awhile
The world around us disappears
It's just you and me on my island of hope
--A breath between us could be miles
Let me surround you, a sea to your shore
Let me be the calm you seek…

But every time I'm close to you
There's too much I can't say
And you just walk away…
And I forgot to tell you I love you
And the night's too long and cold here without you
I grieve in my condition
For I cannot find the words to say
I need you so…"

Kira finished, biting her lip in anticipation. "So…" Conner just laughed softly.

"What?"

"Well, this kind of ruins my last present."

"Why?" Conner looked at her, and she met his gaze.

"Well, I was…I was going to ask you…I was going to ask you if you wanted to go out with me tomorrow. Like, an actual date. Because…well, I like you, Kira. A lot. And I know that—"

Conner didn't finish, because Kira had put her guitar down and soundly kissed him, smiling as she broke away.

"Look, no mistletoe!" she quipped, sliding her arms around his neck. He laughed, kissing her back.

"So, can I take this as a yes?"

"Yes." They kissed again, slow and sweet.

"Kira?"

"Yeah?"

"You know, I think Hanukkah's my new favorite holiday."

"Conner!"

Hope you guys enjoyed this cheesy holiday spectacular. Hope you all had a great holiday!