Legal: I do not own Power Rangers or the associated names, characters, places, events etc. Anything not covered by the above rights should be presumed to be purely the creation of the author.
Rating: T – May be some mild adult themes.
Emma and Gia got back to the Goodall place after a day of training. They were both exhausted afterwards, not least because training in the woods meant that they also had a long walk home. Gia threw her bag just in the door as she arrived.
"God, I could soak in the tub for a month!" She groaned. "I'm used to working hard, but that boyfriend of yours is a real drill sergeant. How are you not ready to pass out?"
"I guess hanging out with him has given me a lot more energy." Emma answered with a shrug. "He has incredible stamina. It's a real workout just keeping up with him."
Just then, there was a little cough as Eric let them know he was there. Emma looked a little nervous at first, like she regretted what she had said, realising that it could have been taken the wrong way, but she quickly seemed to get over it. If anything, her face took on a distinctly cold expression.
"Dinner's on the table." Eric told them. "And no, I didn't cook. Gia, your mother's here. She made her famous venison stew."
Emma and Gia looked at each other hearing this. They still hadn't had a chance to talk to Eric and Louise about what they had seen the day before. It wasn't a subject they were in a hurry to bring up. It was a little awkward for them both in a number of ways.
"Um...actually we...uh..." Emma started to stammer.
"We...had that thing to do...at the place...with the guys..."
"You spent all day with the guys." Eric put down flatly, pointing in towards the dining room. "I'm sure you can be spared long enough to have dinner."
"Eric..."
"Don't make me tell you." Eric interrupted Gia, gesturing inside again. Emma and Gia just sighed and headed inside, finding Louise finishing up setting the table.
"Hi girls." Louise greeted them a little nervously. "Did you have a good time with the guys?"
"It was pretty good." Gia replied. "School goes back soon, so we're just enjoying what little time we have left."
"I remember it was just the same back in ou...er...my day." Louise replied. "Please, take a seat, pour yourselves a drink. I'll bring the dinner through in a minute."
As Louise left, Gia and Emma sat down. Gia just looked to Emma.
"I think we just passed the exit for awkward." Gia commented. Emma just shrugged, but didn't say anything. As Eric came in, sitting down with them, they all just sat wordlessly for a moment, until Louise came in with the stew. Setting the plates down, she took her seat.
"So...senior year huh?" She began. "Are you looking forward to it?"
"I guess." Gia replied. Emma just shrugged. Eric looked around the table, before setting down his cutlery.
"Alright, let's just get rid of the elephant in the room." Eric stated. "You know what you saw last night, and I...we...thought that maybe it would be best if we all talked about it...as adults."
"What is there to explain?" Gia asked. "We're 17, we're not stupid, we know what we saw..."
"Gia, this isn't something that we're rushing into." Louise assured her. "I know it all seems rather sudden, but this is something we've been feeling for a long time."
"Mom, you're still divorcing dad." Gia stated.
"Uh...actually the divorce came through yesterday." She said to Gia, looking a little sheepish. "I came around to tell you, but with everything else..."
"Mom, dad's a lunatic, I get that!" Gia told her. "I know he lost it, hell he kept me chained to a radiator and tried to brainwash me into being straight! I understand you not wanting to have anything to do with him..."
"Gia, let's be honest about this, you've known as well as I have your father and I haven't been working out for a long time." Louise told her. "We tried...ok, I tried to make it work, but you know that we haven't been right together for years."
She took Eric's hand, looking to him for support.
"You know that Gerald, Eric and I have been friends since High School." Louise continued. "Eric and I...we've cared for each other for a long time, recently though, we just figured out what we have."
"Gia, I really care about your mother." Eric assured her. "Look, I know all of this has to be strange. It was for us too."
"So...this isn't a sudden thing?" Gia asked. Eric and Louise just shook their heads.
"It just took us a while to figure it out." Eric told her. "We're really sorry you had to find out like this."
"Gia, we're not saying where this is going. We really don't know ourselves." Louise told her daughter. "Just know that we're not rushing into anything."
"The most important thing to us is you girls." Eric added. "We both agreed, if this is too difficult..."
"I think I just lost my appetite." Emma stated, pushing herself out from the table. She got up and started to head for the door.
"Emma?" Eric asked as he saw her. "Emma, we need to talk about this..."
"No, we really don't." Emma put down flatly. "It sounds like you've made all the decisions already, so there's really nothing else to say."
"Emma, come and sit down." Louise invited her. "Please, I'd like it..."
"Yeah, well we don't always get everything we'd like do we?" Emma asked her coldly.
"Emma, get back here!" Eric called out. "Louise worked very hard on..."
"I'm not hungry!" She yelled back, slamming the door as she left. Gia just looked to Eric and Louise.
"I'll put this away." Louise sighed, seeing the look on Emma's face. She just waved her off. "You should go after her."
With that, Gia just got up and left the table, heading after Emma. Eric just looked to Louise.
"I'm sorry." He told her. "That was completely..."
"It's alright." Louise assured him.
"But..."
"Eric, we both knew that this wasn't going to be easy." Louise told him.
"No point in letting all of this go to waste I guess." Eric replied. "If I remember rightly, your venison was always amazing."
"Eric, I was thinking." Louise started to say nervously. "Maybe..."
"Just...don't say it." Eric told her. "We can try again when they're ready. Just...let's eat. It's getting cold."
With that, they both started eating, realising that there was nothing they could do right now. Not until the girls were ready to talk.
Elsewhere in the city, Noah, Jordan and Troy were in the Brainfreeze when Noah came in. He saw the others and came over, sitting with them as the others were laughing at something Jake said.
"Guys, I'm serious, how perfect is it as a nickname? Jake the Snake!" He said, looking to them with a huge smile on his face. "I mean...think about it, I slip through the defence on the soccer field, I'm fast, I'm agile...and my Ranger animal is a snake!"
"Jake, you do know that Jake the Snake is a wrestler right?" Jordan chuckled.
"Even I know that." Troy stated. "Jake the Snake Roberts?"
"That's just another thing that makes it cool." Jake stated.
"You are aware that Jake the Snake is an alcoholic and drug addict right?" Noah asked him as he sat down. "He was fired by pretty much every company he worked for."
"Well, I still think it sounds cool." Jake replied defensively. "Just because you can't come up with a cool nickname..."
"Yeah, I'm sure it must be really taxing to think of something humorous to say about a guy named Noah that works in a wildlife park." Noah answered sarcastically.
"Speaking of which, the others were getting me caught up on what I've missed." Jordan said with a knowing smirk. "From what I heard, the animals aren't the only ones going in two by two."
"A bit obvious, but we'll let it slide." Troy stated, patting Jordan on the shoulder.
"I'm sorry, what are you talking about?" Noah asked.
"Please, we all saw that little skip in your step." Jordan stated. "Apparently you went on a date with a certain co-worker last night."
"Yeah, to the dinosaur exhibit." Jake added, looking at Noah expectantly. "So...how did it go?"
"Pretty well, the exhibit was great." Noah told them. "I had a good time."
"AAAAANNND?" The others all asked, looking to Noah expectantly. He just looked a little sheepish.
"Alright, I had a great time. Quinn's really cool." Noah responded impatiently. "I took her home and..."
"And what?" Jake asked.
"And nothing." Noah told him. "Look, she's a great person, really smart and funny, I had a great time with her."
"Really?" Troy asked, nudging Noah slightly. "So, when's the next date?"
"I don't know if there's going to be one." Noah replied. "I mean, she's great and everything...sure it would be great to hang out with her again."
"So...here's a novel idea." Jordan suggested. "You say Quinn, would you like to hang out some time?"
"I did." Noah protested. "She said she'd like that, but we haven't made any plans." Noah told them. "Besides, we're...we're kind of friends. Why would I screw that up by expecting anything more?"
Jordan just looked to the others.
"He's kidding right?" Jordan asked him. Jake and Troy just shook their heads. "Dude, she's totally into you! Ask her out! She'll say yes, I'm sure of it!"
"You think so?" Noah asked. Jordan just rolled his eyes and looked around, grabbing a random kid who was buying ice cream.
"You're in our year at Harwood County High right?" He asked.
"Yeah." The kid answered.
"So you know who this guy is right?" Jordan asked. The kid just shrugged.
"Yeah, Noah Carver, the kid who always wins all the science prizes." He answered. Jordan just gestured him in closer.
"If I was to ask you who's into him, what would you say?" He asked.
"Quinn." He answered with an expression on his face like Jordan had asked him if grass was generally green. "You know, the weird animal girl with the glasses?"
"Yeah, thanks for your time." Jordan replied, gesturing that he could leave. The guy just walked away, thoroughly confused.
"So...you guys think she'd say yes?" Noah asked them.
"Do I need to harass another innocent bystander?" Jordan asked him. "Dude, there are tribes in the rainforest that have never had contact with the outside world that know she's totally into you."
"But...she's never said or done anything..." Noah just paused as he thought about something. He suddenly thought about something that Cole had said to him earlier. "I am...I am such a tool."
"I could have told you that." Jake chuckled, playing with his milkshake.
"So...everyone knew about this but me?" Noah asked. Troy just nodded.
"Pretty much." He answered. Noah just allowed himself a little smile.
"Wow, I...I don't know what to say." Noah answered. "What do I do?"
"Like I said, you might start with, you know...asking her out again?" Jordan stated. Just then, Gia came in, looking around. Seeing Troy, she came across, looking to him.
"Hey, I thought you went..."
"Have any of you seen Emma?" Gia asked.
"Um...not since training earlier." Troy replied. "Why, what happened?"
"She...um..." Gia didn't know how to explain without going over the situation with their parents. "She got a bit of a shock when she got home and ran off."
"That doesn't sound like her." Troy said, looking concerned as he dialled his cell phone. He only got her voice mail. "She's not answering. I'll head into the bathroom and try the morpher. She wouldn't ignore that."
As he headed away from the table, Cat came over to the table.
"Gia..."
"Cat, have you seen Emma?" She asked. Cat just shook her head.
"Not since earlier when you all headed out to train." She told Gia. Just then, Troy came back, putting his morpher away in his bag.
"She answered, I know where she is." Troy told them. "I'll go after her."
"I should..."
"Gia, just...let me do this." Troy interrupted her as he gathered his things. "I'll catch the rest of you tomorrow. Remember Noah, we know your schedule, so no excuses for skipping training."
"We have tryouts for the soccer team tomorrow." Jake reminded him, gesturing to himself and Jordan. "We'll be there though."
"Speaking of which, we should probably get an early night." Jordan stated, getting up from the table. "Come on Jake the Snake. If you want to be striker again this season, I suggest you do the same."
"Let us know about Emma alright?" Jake asked as he gathered his stuff. He, Troy and Jordan left shortly afterwards.
"Sorry, I um...I have a lot of ironing to do." Noah told Gia. "I have to make a good impression, and for some reason all my clothes are messed up."
As he left, Cat just looked to Gia.
"It's a long story." Gia told her. "I should probably..."
"Gia, can I talk to you for a minute?" Cat asked her. Gia just nodded and went with her into the back. Cat got there, and looked at Gia a little nervously for a moment. Eventually, she pulled an envelope out of her pocket.
"This came for me in the lunchtime post." Cat told her. "My brother dropped it off earlier."
"OK?" Gia asked, taking the letter from her. She started to read it, seeing that it was a very official looking letter, on headed paper.
"Last year I applied to the Los Angeles School of the Arts for their senior year programme." She told her. "I've...I've been accepted."
"Cat, that's...that's amazing!" Gia yelled excitedly, hugging Cat tightly. "I know you always wanted to get more serious with your art studies! This looks amazing!"
"Gia..."
"And...this is a full-ride scholarship!" Gia stated, reading further. "Cat, this is amazing, you have to..."
"Gia..."
"I know it'll suck that we'll go to different schools, but this is an opportunity you can't pass up." Gia told her. "It says here that about 90 percent of their alumni go on to university!"
"Gia...that's not all it says." Cat told her. "Look at the address."
Gia read the address, and her face fell. She felt her chest tighten.
"Hollywood?" Gia stated. "Los Angeles?"
"Gia..."
"Cat, that school's almost the opposite end of the state!" Gia protested. "Where'll you live...?"
"My brother's already sorted out a transfer with his firm." Cat told her. "He...he said that it's for the best. I'll get to a good school, we'll both have more money, I'll...I'll be in a city where we won't get attacked by monsters every other day..."
"So...you're really going?" Gia asked her, gulping as she tried to take in everything Cat was telling her. "When are you leaving?"
"We go at the end of the week." Cat informed her, reaching out for Gia, only to have her swipe her hand away. Gia glared at her angrily.
"So that's it? You're just telling me that you're leaving?" Gia yelled at her. "It sounds like your mind's already made up. So is this just the courtesy of letting me know you're leaving me?"
"Gia, it isn't like that." Cat told her. "This is an amazing opportunity, one I can't afford to turn down. I might never get another offer like this."
"So, all that crap we went through? All those kids who called us names and said stuff about us on the internet? The girls who beat you up? All of that was too much hassle for you?" Gia snapped at her.
"Gia, I'd never have done any of that if it wasn't for you." Cat told her, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "I love you, I don't want to leave you but this is something I can't turn down. Please, try to be happy for me!"
"After everything we've been through, you just want to pack up and leave?" Gia asked her. "Don't you think there are times I wanted to just grab all my shit and get the hell out of town? Of course there were, but I didn't, I can't! I can't because I won't just let anyone else rule my life for me!"
"Gia, please..."
"As soon as things start to get real, you get scared and run away." Gia screamed at her, thrusting the letter back into Cat's chest. "You're a coward Cat! Just...have a nice life."
With that, she stormed out of the kitchen, unable to hold her tears in any longer. As she was going, she brushed past Ernie, who could see she was upset. Unable to go after her, he went into the back.
"Cat, what happened...?" He asked. He saw Cat leaning against the wall, breaking down in tears. He just made his way over, grabbing her in a warm hug, and held her tightly as she wept into his shoulder.
Elsewhere, Troy made his way into the woods, looking for Emma. He hadn't really managed to reach her, but he didn't want the others to worry unless there was a reason. He had been with Emma for a couple of months now, and he was starting to learn a fair bit about her and what made her tick. He knew if she wasn't with Gia, or at the Brainfreeze, and if there weren't any protests, there was one other place he wanted to try first.
He found her sitting at the foot of a tree, completely oblivious to his presence. He was grateful that it was him that found her. In this state, she didn't notice until he was right next to her. She just looked up, seeing him there.
"Gia said you ran off." Troy told her. "It's not like you."
"I have a lot on my mind." Emma told him.
"Well, it's a nice enough place to think I guess." Troy stated, patting the tree. "Not to mention the company you're keeping."
Troy knew that Emma liked to come out here whenever something was really troubling her. She had brought him to this spot a couple of times, the first one completely by chance, back before they faced Dizchord. It was the tree that Emma and her father had scattered her mother's ashes.
"Did Gia tell you what happened?" Emma asked him. Troy just shook his head. Emma took his hand, letting him help her up. "We found her mom and my dad in the Living Room."
"OK?" Troy asked, not quite getting where she was going with this. As Emma just looked at him, the penny finally dropped. "Oh, right."
"They wanted to have a whole sit down discussion about it." Emma told him, holding her arms around herself for comfort as she looked to the tree. "I...I just didn't want to hear it."
"Do you think this will change anything?" Troy asked her.
"I don't know." Emma muttered. "I don't know what to feel."
"Well, what about what your dad feels?" Troy asked her. "Or Mrs Moran?"
"How long could it really have been going on? She only just got her divorce through." Emma told him. "There were all those rumours in the papers a while back, and dad always maintained they weren't true. He told us that they weren't having an affair."
"Do you think he was lying?" Troy asked her.
"I don't know, I just...I don't know." She insisted. "And Louise...I've known her since I was a baby. She and mom were best friends. Now, she's with my dad? It kind of feels like...like they're cheating on her."
"I'm sure this is confusing for her too." Troy told her. Emma just looked at him.
"Can you please not try and explain this?" She asked him. "I think for now, I just have to be angry with them."
"Of course." Troy told her, holding her tightly. "Take all the time you need."