FIGHT FOR CONTROL

DISCLAIMER

Takes place during "Follow The Leader" in the scene where everyone was yelling at Sam to get out of the line of fire. Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. Flashpoint belongs to CBS. Reference to "Between Heartbeats". Slightly AU since I'm taking out Steve and I can't remember the name of the bar they mentioned, so I'm making something up.

Julie inhaled nervously as everyone around her yelled at Sam to back away and get out of the line of fire. It was as times like this that she had to fight for control. Her adrenaline was running, she was scared, and her Dino and Ninja Spirits instinctively reached out for her teammates. However, she couldn't let the Pterodactyl or the Crane be noticed, so she yanked them back and shoved the telepathic link back down. The last time she had had to fight for control like this was when she had gotten shot, she could feel the Crane calling out to the Falcon, and then she had thought of Jason-when he had the Tyrannosaurus Powers-and with the two of them invading her mind, she had almost allowed the link to linger. However, she had come to her senses and pulled back just in the nick of time. She couldn't risk any of the others knowing where she was. That defeated the whole purpose of hiding.

"Sam, get out of the way!" Ed shouted.

"Sam, come on, you've done your job. You need to get back," Julie said angrily with just a bit of fright in her voice. Rexy, Dragon, I don't know what to do. What do I do? He's a teammate, I don't want to lose him, she thought to herself. Please. Please, Sam. Get out of the way, she thought again. It was hard to stay in control when things got like this. Okay, Kim. Just calm down. Everything's going to be okay. Everything will be okay. Sam knows what he's doing, she reminded herself. When the situation was finally diffused, they quickly left.

"Idiot," Julie spat out, angrily punching him in the shoulder.

"Jules!" Sam gasped.

"We're a team! We're supposed to follow orders!" Jules reminded him.

"I took a chance!"

"No! You nearly got yourself killed is what you did!" With that, she stomped past him.

"Jules, everything okay?" Ed asked.

"Stupid boy! Can't gung ho to save his life!" Jules seethed.

"Gung ho?" the others queried, but received no answer. Then, as they interrogated the subjects that they had taken into custody, Jules had to go into a mental breathing exercise Tommy had taught her. Oh, I miss you guys, she thought tearfully. It was getting harder and harder to keep her emotions in check. She just wanted her team back. She just wanted to be Kimberly again. More and more she was missing it. In fact, just the other day, she had gone to a gym and had done some beam work. And it had felt good. She had just wanted to remember who she was. But, she also had to be careful. There was no telling if her stalker could come back. Sure, it had been years, but why take the chance? After the situation had been contained, they all went to Gossip and Giggles, where the team laughed, drank, and talked. All except for Jules, who just sat by herself and drank her beer. Presently, Ed came to sit beside.

"Hey, you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Well, no offense, but you don't seem like it."

"I'm fine, Sarge. Honest." She gave him a brief smile. "Besides, it's nothing major. I'm just feeling nostalgic and missing some old friends."

"Tell me about them."

"I can't. You wouldn't understand." She drank her beer and turned away, effectively ending the conversation. It was times like these that she had to fight for control. To keep the Pterodactyl and Crane down so that she didn't reach out to the others. But it was getting harder and harder. She was missing them so much. It was something that she kept doing every day. She did it because she had to. And she'd do it for as long as she could.

THE END