Disclaimer - Don't own um don't sue.

Author's Notes – I went back and changed his age. He'll be turning 28 now instead of 25, and when he's turned back into a child he's now 7 instead of 11, even with his developmental problems and being sheltered during his childhood he was acting too young to be 11, so yeah changed that.

Summary – Tommy had a hard but amazing childhood; a dad who thought the world of him, nice home, bedtime stories every night, and constant help with little developmental problems he had. He wishes he could go back, he should be more careful what he wishes for.

-o-

Raising a Ranger

Tommy

-o-

Laying back and watching the storm roll in, I heave a sigh and turn myself over on my king size bed. What a lousy night. Nothing on TV so I go rent a movie, then the damn electricity goes out so can't even watch the movie, and now I can't sleep because of this storm. All I need now is for Mesagog to attack. Okay I did not just jinx myself with that thought.

Watching the candles flicker on my nightstand and dresser, I guess I should be thankful I at least had those and a lighter in the kitchen. Eyes roaming from the flames to the framed photos spread across the room, I without real thought reach out to pick up the closest one, tracing the smiling faces tenderly. Me and my dad, it's one of the few pictures I have left of us. Damn him for not being big on picture taking.

The five year old me definitely looks like the older man's son. We both had the same light brown hair, the same wide, almost puppy like eyes, it's really only the smiles that are distinguishing different. While his is bold and charming, a smile that reminds me a bit of Jason's, my own is small and shy, still though no less happy.

Setting the photo back in its place, I heave a weary sigh and pull the black comforter around me. It's not fair. It wasn't his time to go. I still needed him to protect me, take care of me, play with me, and love me. "I miss you, dad."

-oooo-

(Los Angeles 23 years ago)

"Tommy where are you? Come out, Tom, I'm gonna find you and when I do you're gonna get it." Walking around the livingroom and occasionally looking here and there, my daddy is sure trying hard to find me. Brown hair falling in his face every so often, and deep brown eyes glancing everywhere at the littlest sound, he's gonna find me soon, I know it.

Watching from my hiding place in the hall closet, I cover my mouth to stop myself from making any noise that might give me away. I feel like I've been in here forever, I hate staying still so long, but I don't want him to find me.

"Tooommy." Walking right by the door, and thankfully not seeing me peeking out from the crack, I wonder if he'll ever look in here. Suddenly as he no longer calls for me and I can't see him from the peeking place in the door, I nearly think he's gone upstairs to look, when suddenly the door is thrown open and I fall back onto a pile of clothes with a yelp. "Gotcha!" Grabbing and picking me up easily, he tosses me over his shoulder before quickly moving to the couch and letting me fall back on it. "Thought you could hide from me huh?"

"N-no." Panting and trying to squirm away, I realize I have nowhere to go and am basically at his mercy.

Maybe seeing this too, he grins evilly and before I can yelp again I'm being tickled to death. "Uh huh, sure, I know you, you fooler! You always pick the best hiding spots. No wonder you can find me so easy and I can't find you." Well I do pick good spots.

"Cuz I'm the bestest at hide and seek, daddy! Agh! No more tickling, daddy, please I'm gonna cry!" Wrapping my arms around his neck and letting him pick me up when he stops, I try to stop laughing and calm down. Not an easy thing to do when he gives me a tickle attack. "Play again?"

Trying to stop laughing himself, he carries me into the kitchen and sets me on the counter. "We'll play more after breakfast. First we need to make sure you get something to eat and I get my coffee, and then we'll get you some play clothes and go to the park, how's that sound?" Yay! I love the park.

"Push me on the swings?" I love the swings.

Ruffling my hair lovingly, he nods and begins pulling out things to make breakfast. "Sure, I'll push you on the swings all you want. Gonna help me make breakfast first though?" When I nod he smiles all the more. "Great, you can be the official pancake watcher. Now, here's what you have to do. I'm going to pour the mix on the pan and when it gets hot enough the little gooey circles will start to get holes and bubbles in them, when they get a lot you tell me and then we flip it over, k?"

Nodding and taking the flipper he hands me I watch the four round gooey circles like he told me to and wait to see the bubble holes. Not sure if he knows what he was talking about when I sit a long time and still don't see anything, I'm about to ask if he's sure that's what happens when the little holes do start showing up in the goo. "Daddy!"

Moving back to me quickly he gives me a questioning look. "What is it? Are they ready?"

Nodding and pointing to the holes, I hold out the flipper to him. "Flip now?"

"Not yet, give it a little more time to get more holes." Don't wanna, wanna flip it now.

"Now?"

"Not yet, almost." When I ask again he laughs and finally says okay. Taking my hand with the flipper in it he helps me flip the half ready pancakes over. "There now we just wait a little more for the other side to cook. Now what do you want to drink, milk, or orange juice, or apple juice?"

"All." Watching the pancakes, I hear him laugh behind the fridge door.

"All huh. Okay, you want some coffee with that too?" When I nod he laughs more. "Uh huh, well then Mr. Oliver, I think-" Cut off by the phone ringing, he groans and walks over to it. "Who would be calling this early on a Saturday. Hello, this is...what do you want?"

Looking up for a minute as he actually sounds mad, leaning my head over trying to hear a little better I forget about the pancakes for a moment.

"I told you not to ca-" Looking at me suddenly, he growls into the phone. "Hang on." Setting it down and moving to me, he picks me up off the counter gently and sets me down. "Baby will you do me a big favor and go change into some play clothes for me while I finish breakfast and talk to the person on the phone?" Really? But he always picks my clothes out for me, I like what he picks.

"Aren't you gonna pick my clothes for me?" Giving him puppy eyes, or at least that's what he calls um, I wait to see if he will.

"I know I usually do Tommy, but I need you to be a big boy this morning and go try and pick um out yourself, okay? I, um, I wanna be surprised, okay? Will you go do that for me?" But it'll take me a long time to make stuff match like he does and I have trouble getting myself all ready cuz it makes me tired and my arms hurt. Sigh, well okay if it'll make him happy I'll at least try.

"Okay, daddy." Moving for the kitchen door, I'm rewarded with a hug and kiss on the head.

"Good boy. If you have trouble after you try I'll help you okay." Wonder why he wants me to do this today.

Nodding and going to try I just don't see why he doesn't wanna help first. Besides why am I changing now anyways, I always get changed after breakfast. Hey yeah, what if I get food on my shirt. I better go remind him, he must not have remembered cuz he was so busy on the phone. Moving back toward the kitchen door, I stop as I hear him talking again, only he sounds really mad. I've never heard him sound like that. Staying near the door, I kinda listen, unable to help it.

"Listen I told you I am not putting my child through that. I know what he has Joyce, and I know what treatment and testing the doctors want to do. I don't care, I'm his father and I am not putting the poor thing through any more tests. If he still has the same problems when he's a teenager then I'll look back into it, but as of right now he is going to live a happy, healthy, stress free life." Doctors, ew doctors are bad. They hurt. Oh I hope he really won't take me back anymore, he said he wouldn't after last time I cried till I got sick. Well if he said he wouldn't then he won't, right, cuz he never ever lies to me and he won't let the mean doctors poke me anymore.

"I don't care, Joyce. He's getting sick from the stress and fear of the tests and treatments and the treatments for that matter haven't help his muscular development or helped him progress any faster at learning new things. So I am not going to keep putting him through that crap when he'll have the same development rate being just left to turn out how he turns out." Huh? Hey he said a bad word, daddy doesn't like bad words, he must really be mad about the mean doctors.

"Don't start with me, you gave up any and all rights when you signed the papers. If he has problems he has problems, I'll help him and I'll find some way to make his life as happy and healthy as it possibly can be. If he doesn't take to school and they won't make accommodations for his problems then I'll find a private teacher for him so don't even try it. Now I am going to finish making him breakfast, and then take him to the park, and once again tell him his mommy loves him dearly and isn't a nasty selfish bitch like she in reality is. As for you, you can protest as much as you want, but don't call here again and expect me to listen to it."

Stepping back and then moving slowly for the steps, I try to get what he's so mad about. Joyce? Aunt Joyce who comes by to see us every now and then? I know he doesn't like her lots, she is weird, but he shouldn't yell at her. Weird.

Before I can get up the stairs, he comes into the main room catching me. Uh oh. "Tommy I thought…oh Tommy, baby come here." Picking me up and hugging me tightly, I still don't get why he was so mad at aunt Joyce. "What am going to do with you? You are just too curious for your own good."

"How come you were mad at aunt Joyce?"

Sighing and moving to the couch, he sits down and settles me on his lap. "I wish you hadn't come to the assumption to call her that, but that's for another time, when you're much, much, much older. As for why I was mad, well… it's old people stuff, it's boring and you'd fall asleep before I could explain it all." Seems a lot of stuff he doesn't wanna talk about is 'old people stuff', like the time I asked him how the television and lawn mower worked.

"You said about the doctors." Looking at him sadly as I don't ever like when he talks about them, I really hope he won't take me back.

Smiling and looking sad too, he kisses my head and hugs me tighter again. "I know, I'm sorry, I know even talking about them scares you. I promise no more doctors and tests, not for a long time. We'll just help you get stronger here and work on your shaking and reading as best we can. It'll get better sweety, I bet you you'll be reading like a pro in no time and those little shakes, those aren't anything they'll go away when you grow some more and your muscles get a little stronger."

"How come it's like that again?"

"Well we don't know exactly what the whole thing is, but remember I told you your muscles just need time to get strong cuz you have Hypotonia." At my confused look, he laughs and shakes his head a little. "Never mind, it's just a fancy word for your muscles not being very strong yet. As for the other problems they're related to that in some way. You'll grow out of it, don't worry about it okay?"

"What if I don't?" That's what the mean doctors kept saying anyways.

Running his hand through my hair, he smiles again. I love his smile. "Don't worry. You're too young to be getting sick from stress and worry, Tommy. That's my job as your daddy. You're five, you're job is to play and have fun. Besides I'm here and I'm gonna make sure you're happy, and you make friends, and get to play fun games, and learn what you need to learn, okay? And if you don't get better with being stronger or having less trouble learning things then I'll still be here to help you. Cuz you're my baby and I love you more than anything else in the world."

Happy with the thought of him never leaving, I hug him back tightly. "K, love you more daddy. Promise no more worrying."

"Good boy. Now what's say we go back to the kitchen and finish those pancakes and then get you ready for the park."

"You gonna help me pick out my clothes and get ready?" I really don't wanna do it all by myself. By the time I'm done I'll be too tired to go the park and play.

"Of course, we'll do it together. Now up we go, time to get some food into you kiddo, and some coffee into me.

-oooo-

(Present)

Throwing an arm over my eyes, I shake my head. Yeah 'Aunt Joyce', what bull. But he was only trying to protect me. I mean like a five year old really would understand that his mom thought he was a plague on her life. Mommy loves you more then anything else in the world too, she wants to be here she just has to stay in the far away place and help all the sick kids. Riiight.

Closing my eyes against the flash of lightening, I try and will myself to fall asleep. Just fall asleep and dream of way back when things were just right. Way back when I had a dad, and security, and someone to play with, someone to chase imagined monsters out of my room instead of me fighting real ones. I know I've done so much better than any of those doctors said I could. Ha, call me stupid, I not only went to a normal school, but finished college, just like my dad said I could. And weak, bull, it may have taken years of hard work and training but I'm just as strong as anyone now. My dad knew, he knew I could over come that crap hand life dealt me and do whatever I wanted to.

Looking back at the picture one last time, I smile wistfully as I know if he is watching me from where ever it is we go when we go, he's proud of me for what I do. Still though, it would be nice to live that life again, just for a little bit, just to have him hug me and tuck me in at night, or at least be here for my birthday, I can't believe in a week I'll have made it to twenty eight. Crazy. "G'night daddy."

To be continued...