Janelle stared at the little bundle in her arms. She almost couldn't believe he was hers. After everything her and Warren had gone through to get just one child and they got a perfect little angel. The doctors thought he was a little small, but in her and her husband's eyes, he was absolutely perfect. She moved the baby blue blanket farther from his face, and smiled. The baby yawned and then opened his crystal blue eyes.
"You are my angel. I'll always love you no matter what happens." She whispered to the baby. "You're my baby, Billy. That's all that matters to me."
Janelle hugged her little boy as he sobbed on her shoulder. "Oh baby." She sighed.
"Mommy, why do they say that? Why are they so mean?" The little boy asked as he clung to his beloved mother.
She sat down on the couch and pulled her son onto her lap. "Because they don't understand. They don't know what a wonderful little boy you are, Billy. They're scared of you, and the kids feel like they have to show you that you're not better than they are. So to make themselves look good in front of the others, they pick on you."
"I don't want to be picked on." Billy wailed.
"No one does baby. But sometimes you have no choice. Sweetheart, there are lots of people in this world that are afraid of what they don't know. And many of them will never get over being afraid because they don't want to know. They don't want to find out what a person is like because it's easier to fear them than to get to know them."
"So what do I do?" Billy asked, sniffling and wiping his eyes on his shirtsleeve.
"Do all the kids pick on you?"
Billy frowned as he thought about it. It always seemed like they did, but now that he thought deeper, there were a lot of kids in his class that just watched and didn't actually tease him. And there were even a few that refused to watch that walked away. "No, some of them just watch or walk away."
"Then try going up to the people that walk away and see if they want to be friends. Billy, the next time another kid is being picked on, don't just stand by. Sometimes it takes more courage to help someone than to just let it happen."
Billy nodded, and then gave his mom a tentative smile. "Thanks mommy."
"Anytime Sweetie."
Billy stood frozen outside of the hospital room where his mom was lying. As much as he wanted to go in there, he couldn't seem to make his feet move. He wanted to see her, he wanted to tell her how much he loved her and how she couldn't leave him. How he needed too much for her to ever leave him.
"Billy?" A soft male voice asked.
Billy turned and saw his dad standing behind him. "Dad...I can't go in. I can't make my feet move." He whispered, desperation filling his young voice.
Warren Cranston put an arm around his son's shoulders and gave him a soft smile. "Then we'll do it together. You and me."
Billy nodded and together they walked into the room where Janelle Cranston was clinging to life. The car accident that had left Billy unscathed had been brutal to his mother. "Mom?" He whispered as he walked to the bed as if in a trance. Machines were all surrounded his mother and he knew, instinctively, that it was the machines that were keeping his mom alive.
"Mom." He called again, trying to get her attention. "Mom, you can't leave me. I-I don't want to know what life is like without you. You can't leave me, Mom. You can't." He begged softly as tears pooled in his eyes and ran down his cheeks. He needed his mom, she was the one that always understood him. His dad tried, and he loved his dad, but mom was the one that was there for him. She was the first person he saw when he got up in the morning and the last person he usually saw when he went to bed.
"Baby...I...don't want to...leave you. Remember...I...will always...love you. No matter what." Janelle opened her eyes and gave her son a loving smile. "You'll...be...a great man, Billy. Follow your...father. He's...a good example to follow."
Janelle turned her gaze to her husband. "Warren...I'm...sorry. I know...we promised...each other...forever. I guess...my forever starts...a little...earlier."
"Oh darling, don't worry about that. Just concentrate on yourself right now. Getting better. I love you so much, honey. It hurts for me to see you like this."
"I...love you...too. Both...my boys. You...watch out...for each other...now." She whispered as the heart monitor went flat and the whine made Billy's ears hurt.
"I love you too, Mom."
Billy knelt down and carefully placed a bouquet of snapdragons on the grave. He smiled as he remembered being scared of the colorful flowers because someone had told him that snapdragons would bite his finger off if he wasn't careful. For all his intelligence, he had been pretty gullible.
"Mom, I just wanted to tell you about the most amazing thing. I still don't know exactly why he chose me, but maybe you know.
"Mom, this inter-dimensional being called Zordon picked me to defend the Earth. Yeah, I know it's a little farfetched but Mom it's the craziest thing. He really thinks I could do it. Jason and the others were chosen too, and I keep wondering if he chose me just because of the others. So I finally asked him and he said that I was a very important part of the whole thing. Me! I know it's dangerous, we're risking our lives everyday, but...I feel like I have to do this, Mom. That some part of me is telling me that I was born to do this.
"I guess it sounds nuts, but it's the stuff that you always raised me to be conscious of. That inner voice that defies logic and science. I'm thinking that maybe you knew about this. Maybe...not consciously, but deep down you knew that something like this would happen and you raised me to be ready for it.
"I almost said no, Mom. I really did, but then I remembered what you told me in the hospital...that I'll be a great man, and to follow Dad. And a long time ago when you told me that it took more courage to stand up for someone else than it was to just let it slide. I thought about it and I have this feeling that I'd be letting you and Dad down if I didn't go for it. Dad will never know about this, I can't tell anyone about this, so I guess I'm technically breaking the rules by telling you, but I think Zordon would understand.
"I just wanted to talk to you. I know you're out there, somewhere, watching me. Because I always feel better after talking to you. I don't feel so stressed out about this now, Mom. I feel like I could really do it. I just wanted to tell you, thanks, and that I love you."
