Something's Gotta Give

Summary – Being a ranger is hard enough, but try being one when you're on the run. Jason needs to get out of Angel Grove as soon as possible to protect his family and friends and to correct his mistake. When too much pressure builds up... something's gotta give and the fallout may be too hard to handle.

Chapter 01

Jason's hands shook as he stuffed clothes into this duffel bag. He forced himself to take a deep breathing and ran both of them through his hair, resting them on top of his head. Closing his dark eyes he took a few couple breaths, trying to make himself calm down. His hands still shook, resembling jostled bowls of Jell-o. His knees started to shake, forcing him down onto the side of his bed. He moved his hands to cover his face and continued to take deep breaths, all until his breathing evened out and the shaking stopped. Thank god the shaking stopped; if he kept going…he wouldn't be sure he would have the guys to do it. But he needed to; he needed to get out a soon as possible. Later that night, early the next morning, under the cover of darkness was the best way to go.

Jason looked at his watch; he needed to keep packing if he was going to get there on time. Jason stood up and went back over to his dresser, grabbing a few more t-shirts. He glanced over his shoulder, his cell phone letting out a peal that caught his attention, and he grabbed it as he passed by his desk.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Zack! Man, when are you getting here? The party's just getting started!" In the background, Jason could hear Kimberly and Trini laughing and Billy's and Tommy's cries of protest mixing in with it as well. "You should see what the girls are doing."

"I can imagine it has something to do with makeup," Jason said with a chuckle. He ran a hand through his hair and started to pace the room. "I only made that mistake once, turning my back on them when I thought they were unarmed." This time he laughed along with Zack. "Yeah, I just have a few more things to do here and then I'll be over there in a few minutes."

"See you, man," Zack said. Now it was his turn to chuckle. "I'll try to keep Trini and Kim at bay until you get here, but if I'm a goner, I'm letting you know that you're my best friend."

Jason swallowed a thick lump in his throat. "Yeah…" he said quietly. "Yeah, I know. Thanks Zack." Zack made a sound in the back of his throat, a low 'hm' sound but hung up without asking Jason about the change in his tone. Jason hung up his phone and checked his bag for the third time before zipping it up completely. He then grabbed his wallet and his keys before going back to his bag. Lifting it off of his bed, he walked over to the window and opened it as far as it would go, then threw the duffle bag to the ground. He closed the window, took another deep breath, and headed downstairs. "Mom, I'm going over to Kim's place, I'll be back later!" He said to his mother, Marissa, as she stood by the counter, flipping through mail.

Mrs. Scott turned to her son with a bright smile that radiated her beauty even more. "Have fun, Jason. But please try not to stay out too late; you know your father is still a bit testy about what happened last time."

Despite the nerves that still rocked his guts, Jason managed a light laugh. He and his friends had been studying for their mid-terms and thinking that it would keep them away, they had ingested numerous amounts of sugar filled candy as well as a couple of mugs of coffee—which was also filled with sugar and crème as they didn't particularly like the taste of coffee—and managed to stay up for over twenty-four hours. Even when Jason had gone back home, he kept everyone awake from his jitters and constantly moving mouth. How he managed to pass his tests before passing out, he wasn't sure, but they had promised to never make that mistake again.

"I won't Mom, I promise," Jason said. He leaned over and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek, the pressure against his mother pushed his power morpher into his stomach. "But I might be a little late, it depends if I need to give someone a ride back home or something."

Mrs. Scott let out a playful sigh. "Alright, but if you are going to be late please call home first so we won't worry." Jason smiled at her and she grinned as well. The both knew she didn't have to worry about him; he was always responsible enough to let his parents know whatever he was doing or where he was going even when he was a kid. When he had first gotten his license he even went as far as to call them each time he had left the house to let them know how long it would take to get there and when he was leaving his destination to return home. Leonard Scott eventually had to sit Jason down and remind his son that he didn't have to call for every little thing.

Jason merely shrugged and smiled at his father, letting him know that he'd back off a bit. But Jason was always the responsible one. The thought alone made Jason's smile fade a little bit. How were his parents going to react if they found out…when they found out? There was no doubt about that, they were going to find out and they were going to be disappointed. How could a lawyer not be disappointed that his son ended up making a mistake as bad as he did? He tried to reassure himself the best he could, but he knew it would be better if he could get out of town for a while.

"Honey? Are you OK? You've gone kind of pale," Mrs. Scott said. She reached out a hand and placed it on Jason's forehead then cupped his face with her hands. Jason held his breath as he looked back into his mother's eyes, hoping they wouldn't give anything away. "You're not getting sick, are you?"

"No, I'm fine." Jason gently pushed her hand away, shaking his head. "I'm OK, Mom, don't worry about me." Please don't worry about me. Everything is explained in the note I left in my room. I just hope you don't see it until I'm long gone. He gave her another smile, pulling back away from her. "I've got to get going or I'm going to be late." He leaned in and gave her another kiss. "Love you, Mom."

Mrs. Scott gave Jason a funny look. "I've you too, sweetie," she said.

Jason paused as he turned away from her. "See you, later." He completely turned away from her and walked out of the kitchen and through the picture lined hallways. Photos of him and his mother and father as he grew up along with photos of him and his friends all smiles or in costumes for Halloween, or exchanging gifts they had for each other. Each one sent another pang of guilt that radiated through his bones and landed in his stomach with a sickening thud, making his muscles slam tightly together. He could stop right there and confess everything and hope for the best…

Jason bit his lower lip and forced himself to look away from the photos and continue out the front door. Closing the door behind him, his eyes shifted back and forth scanning the yard. He wasn't sure what he was looking for exactly, a person or a squad car, or the FBI or something. That may have been reaching a little bit, but no one said that your imagination stayed with you when you were practically turning to a puddle of goo on the inside. Jason scooped his duffle bag off of the ground in mid-stride and continued to his car. Popping open the trunk he threw the bag inside and slammed it shut with the flat of his palm. He climbed into the front seat of his car, turned it on, and peeled out down the road, heading towards Kimberly's house.

He wanted to have a little bit of fun before everything went to hell.

And it was only a matter of time before it did.

A/N: Cliffhanger for the first chapter…mwahaha! I hope you guys liked the chapter and are interested in what the story will bring. I'm working on the next chapter to All The Blame as well.

-Avalon