Disclaimer: Don't own PRWF
A/N: this is my first Wild Force story and my first Merrick x Shayla fic so pls. go easy on me.
A Not So Secret Love
Merrick worked at Willy's Roadhouse when the wild force rangers entered; Alyssa wasn't present as she had classes.
"Merrick, I need to talk to you" Taylor said
Merrick gave her the cold shoulder; Taylor came near so she could whisper her next words where only he'd hear them
"It's about Princess Shayla," she whispered and they left the roadhouse.
"What about her?" Merrick said
"Why don't you stay with her to protect her constantly?" Max asked
"Because… I can't…" Merrick started to walk away but found that he'd have to get through a brick wall, better known as Danny Delgado.
"Why can't you?" Danny asked
"Because if I stayed with her I'd do something I shouldn't"
"And what, pray tell, is that… admit that you have feelings for her" Taylor said
Merrick didn't reply
"I guess we can take your silence for a yes," she said after a few moments silence
"Merrick, what if I told you that by keeping your distance from her, physically and emotionally you were hurting her worse than Master Org could ever do" Danny said
"That's impossible" Merrick insisted
"If it is so impossible… then why was it, when we left Animarium today, she was crying?" Cole asked, finally entering the conversation
"She was what?" Merrick asked in shock
"She was crying, Merrick, what happened?" Danny demanded his shyness had long since left the building as he had seen Merrick's actions as hurting another of his dear friends… Princess Shayla.
"We had an argument today… she said that she wanted me to stay with her… but I knew that if Master Org knew the truth he'd go for her with all his might, and I can't have that…"
"Is that the case, or is it that you didn't want to give in to your emotions… you made mistakes, Merrick, deal with it, you aren't the only one in the world that has!" Taylor practically screamed
"Shayla doesn't care what you did in the past, that stuff is history, and no matter what you do, history cannot be changed, but you can make the future better than the past!" Cole said
"Merrick, if you don't show her that you care about her, she may spend another few thousand years wondering if she was trying to love someone who was incapable of loving her back!" Danny said, his eyes bored deep into Merrick's, and Merrick knew that Danny wasn't going to back down, and he was more than a little intimidated as he figured Danny could, most likely, break him in half without even the slightest thought of morphing!
Merrick backed away and broke eye contact with Danny, they were right, completely right; he had been lying to himself that he was doing Shayla a favor by keeping his distance.
"I am only supposed to protect her… love will…"
"Only make you want to protect her that much more" Danny said
"And if Master Org destroys me…"
"At least she will be able to go on with the comfort of knowing how you felt…" Taylor interrupted sharply
"I'm getting tired of you making excuses… there was something Cole didn't mention… Princess Shayla was injured slightly when some rocks fell… it isn't severe, thanks to the Black Bison Zord and the Deer Zord, she just has a few scrapes, Alyssa treated them and she should be better in a few days" Danny said
"What?" Merrick demanded "I'm going to tell Willy that I need some time off, I've got to set things right with Princess Shayla… I never realized what I had done to her... I have to make sure she's okay"
Danny looked at Taylor who nodded and he stepped aside to allow Merrick to pass him by.
"Willy… I have an emergency to take care of, I need to take a few days off" Merrick said
"That's fine Merrick" Willy smiled slightly "emergencies need tending to immediately so why don't you head off to take care of it now?"
"Okay, thank you"
"No problem… the business here is moving really slow so it's okay for you to head on out"
Merrick turned around to see that the rangers were gone, they had left… but he was surprised to find that they hadn't gone to the Animarium.
He approached where Shayla sat and heard soft sobs… Cole had told him the truth; Shayla was crying… the sound broke his heart. Then he saw a bandage through the more translucent fabric of her sleeve supporting Danny's account of the rockslide.
"Princess…" Merrick said
Shayla lifted her head and turned to see Merrick standing nearby.
"Why are you here?" she asked and stood
"I'm here to say… I'm sorry… I was being selfish when I really should have been thinking about you" Merrick sighed and approached her
Shayla was more than slightly surprised when she felt both Merrick's hands on her waist as he guided her to face him straight on
"What made you change your mind?" she asked as he hugged her
"Let's just say that, the rangers… minus Alyssa, can be pretty intimidating…. especially a certain Iron Bison ranger"
"Danny wouldn't hurt you…"
"True, but you hurt his friends and he can certainly make you wonder what he might be able to do with you…" Merrick chuckled remembering the way the, normally gentle Danny looked, when one finally found the limit to his patients where his friends were concerned.
Shayla couldn't help but smile; Danny was always one to use his brute strength to protect his friends if he felt they were threatened. She returned Merrick's embrace and felt warm and comforted in his protection.
"I love you, Shayla" Merrick whispered in her ear
"I love you too"
Merrick and Shayla kissed passionately… unaware that, a very clueless, Alyssa had just arrived on the Animarium
'What did I miss?' Alyssa wondered before she felt someone grab her and pull her into a hiding spot.
"Danny?" she asked
Danny shushed her rapidly as they didn't want to interrupt the moment between Merrick and Shayla
"We want Merrick to keep Princess Shayla close to him, and if he knew we were here he'd let her go... we had to practically threaten him with physical injury to get him to come here and face her" Danny whispered
"Okay" Alyssa replied "you want him to express his affection for her, and if he knew we were around he would stop showing her that emotion" Alyssa finally understood why they were whispering and why Max was conveniently not present everyone knew he'd be too loud to have around when they wanted to be quiet.
Merrick and Shayla would never know that the rangers were watching them in their moment.
The rangers left silently as Merrick and Shayla reveled in each other's embrace, they needed each other more than they had wanted to admit and in realizing what they had been missing they had come closer than ever before.
That night came and Shayla was sure Merrick would leave for Willy's Road House again and leave her alone, but she was pleasantly surprised to see that, long after sunset… he was still there.
"Merrick, aren't you going to leave?" she asked
"No, not tonight…" he replied, unsure of his next words… he tried to select his words carefully as not to shock her too much "I thought I would stay here with you tonight… if you don't mind"
"Not at all… I could use the company" she smiled as he approached her again and they left the immediate temple area and found a beautiful little spot to enjoy each other's company in peace. The couple soon fell asleep in each other's arms knowing fully that they were in the presence of someone that they had loved and always would love.
The End
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