A/N: Well, here's the beginning of the Super Dino Charge portion of my series. Hope you all enjoy it.
Legal: I do not own Power Rangers or the associated names, places, events, characters etc. Anything not covered by the above rights should be presumed to be purely the creation of the author.
Rating: T – May be some adult themes, including language and violence.
Kendall rubbed her eyes, yawning loudly as her alarm clock blared at an ungodly hour! She had been used to early rises once, when she was doing research under Anton Mercer, but one of the things she'd started to get used to since her move to the museum was the fact she had underlings to delegate tasks to. Being able to spend a little longer in bed, even if it meant that her breakfast more often than not consisted of a take-away coffee was one of the luxuries she had started to take a little for granted.
However, now that Sledge and his goons had been dealt with, there was really no way she could reasonably ask her team to stay, given how much they had sacrificed already. Though she was grateful for everything they had done to bring Sledge down for good, losing four full-time employees at once, while not exactly leaving the museum unable to run, did mean she didn't really have the same options for delegating responsibilities, meaning that once again she was opening up.
She already missed her warm, comfortable bed, just rolling out of it to head to the bathroom for her shower. It had been three weeks since her friends had left Amber Beach and gone their separate ways. Riley had gone home to Millport to spend some time with his family before renewing his scholarship. Riley really was an incredibly bright and dedicated young man, and his time studying under Kendall had been very beneficial. He had actually finished his High School diploma, earning very impressive grades under her tuition, meaning that he was now looking at his options with regards to college.
He didn't really want to move too far from home, despite all his complaining about his time on the farm. He loved his family and didn't want to be separated too far from them. Anton had offered to let him study some college work under Kendall in an extension to his scholarship. It would give him a head start, and look great on applications for when he finally made a decision what field interested him.
He had contacted Kendall a few times to let her know how he was doing and assuring her he was coming back soon. Kendall had been to the farm, and so she knew what it was like. She could understand the appeal. He had invited her to come, but she had politely declined the invitation. It had been a while since she and Matt had called things off. It had been a mutual decision, and they had agreed to part as friends, but whenever she thought about him, she couldn't help finding her thoughts drifting to their time together. She wondered what he was doing now.
Harvest season was passed, and it was a while before it was time to start sowing for the following season, so most of the work would be dedicated to the livestock. She smiled a little at the memory of the festival, where she had managed to catch the pig, setting a record that still stood. She had to shake her head and clear her thoughts. No, she couldn't think about him, that was over, and it was for the best. They both wanted different things from life; it would all have ended badly sooner or later. It was best that at least they could be friends...after a healthy separation of course. There was no reason to rush that.
After finishing her shower, she checked her phone while she got ready. There was a message on it from Chase. He had gone home to New Zealand to spend time with his mother and his sister. No one could really begrudge him; it had been just short of two years since he had been home. It was particularly cruel that they had spent time in New Zealand, but it was in the Northern Island. It was nowhere near where his family lived, so they couldn't even stop in for a visit while he was there. Given the time difference, he had been convinced to communicate through E-mail...after a phone call to Kendall which had led to him learning exactly how many curse-words she really knew! He had contacted his friends pretty much daily to tell them how great a time he was having, catching up with his old skateboarding buddies, being spoiled by his mom and hanging out with his sister. There was no indication of when...or even IF he intended to come back.
It wasn't that most of the team couldn't understand why, though it wasn't lost on Allison, the girlfriend he had left behind, that he still hadn't given any indication he intended to come back. Kendall only had time for a quick glance, but it seemed that the latest adventure he had undertaken was taking Chloe on a camping trip. Kendall sniggered a little, thinking that at least part of his motivation was keeping her away from the boys that she was starting to notice. He had freaked out a little when he found out about her hero-crush on Phillipe, and only a few well-chosen words had stopped him from doing something stupid that would likely cause an international incident.
There was no word from Tyler, he didn't check in quite as often. He and Shelby were out...somewhere...following up on leads regarding his father. Now that his Ranger duties were over, he had resumed his search. Shelby had shocked everyone with her sudden decision to go with him. While they were dating, her decision had been pretty much split-second, literally just packing a bag moments before he left. Kendall had already taken a rather irate call from Mr Watkins demanding to know where she had gone. After a visit from the cops, a call from the FBI that she was a little sceptical about, and even some threatening letters from his attorney, she had finally convinced Mr Watkins she genuinely didn't know where Shelby was and that she left of her own accord. It wasn't easy, but he had finally stopped hassling her for information on where his daughter had gone.
Heading back through to her room to begin changing, she looked to her alarm clock and muttered as she saw how ridiculously early it really was. She longed for the days when Koda would open up. Since he lived in the museum, and he didn't actually have much outside of the museum it made sense that he did the early shift. In his time though, he had started to gain more of a life for himself in this time period. His wrestling career was now progressing well. He and Jack were an impressive tag team that were making a lot of waves in the local circuit. It meant that he left the museum to work out most days, which meant an end to someone to open up every morning, but seeing how happy he was, especially when he went out with his girlfriend Alessandra, Kendall couldn't feel too unhappy about losing the odd morning sleeping in.
As she finished getting dressed and tied back her hair, she grabbed her keys and her Starbucks card, before heading out of the door. If she was lucky, she would have a little time before the morning shift arrived for the cafe to get a few more scans done for any sign of the remaining Energems. While they had eight already, somehow the last two seemed to be the most elusive. All they knew was that the Aqua Energem had bonded to someone, and so far there was no trace of the Silver Energem at all. Until she had a few more bodies at the museum to free up her time, this was the best way she could get the time to narrow their search down. She could only hope that now there were less attacks in the city, more people would respond to the ads and it wouldn't take too long before they could fill the vacant positions.
Over in the Embassy, Phillipe was in his office already. His position as ambassador to Zandar was one that had some odd hours at times, but on this occasion; his early morning was nothing to do with his job. He looked up from his desk as one of his messengers came in.
"Did you get it?" He asked. The man just nodded.
"It wasn't easy at this time of year, but I found some at the Botanic Gardens." He responded, handing Phillipe a pink orchid. The Prince smiled brightly as he saw it. "There's also a message from your father..."
"I'll check it later." Phillipe told him flatly. He took the orchid and cut the stem, before putting it in a small vase.
"But...Your Highness, your father was most insistent." The messenger told him. "You have ignored the last two messages."
"I'll get to his message when I have time." Phillipe told him as he got up from his desk. "Right now, I have more important matters to attend to."
He went through to the kitchen, where his chef was putting the finishing touches on a tray. Phillipe was amazed by the results as he looked to the plates before him.
"Gordon, you've outdone yourself!" He complimented him as he surveyed the food. "Is the salmon...?"
"The finest smoked straight from Aberdeen." He assured him.
"The eggs...?"
"Light and fluffy, not overly runny just as you asked." Gordon assured him. "And before you ask, the toast is wholemeal, freshly baked this morning."
"Gordon, thank you for all this." Phillipe said as he put the plate on a tray and covered it with a closh, along with a glass of fresh cranberry juice. He set up the vase on the corner, and started to look around frantically. "The tea, the tea man, where is the tea?"
"Earl Grey, brewed and allowed to strengthen for three minutes." Gordon sighed as he placed a tea pot on the tray. "Everything is just as you asked for it. Now, just to take it in..."
"Don't you dare, this is one delivery I want to make." Phillipe responded, taking the tray and heading for the door. Gordon saw the skip in Phillipe's step and just shook his head in disbelief.
As Phillipe got to the door he was looking for, he took a moment to compose himself, before knocking gently on the door, before letting himself in.
Margaret didn't have time to respond, and so was still in her bed when he came inside. Phillipe had her moved back to the embassy where his own physician could keep her under observation while she took the time to decide how she wanted to proceed with her treatment. Since her diagnosis, she had some tough decisions to make regarding her future, and Phillipe was doing everything he could to make her more comfortable. She smiled.
"Breakfast in bed?" She asked him. He brought the tray over, placing it down for her and removing the closh. "Scrambled eggs and smoked salmon! Cranberry Juice?"
"And Earl Grey, all your favourites." Phillipe told her. "I thought you could do with it."
"An orchid? Phillipe, you shouldn't have gone to all this trouble!" She stated as she saw it. She knew that they were out of season and would be difficult to track down.
"Can't a Prince spoil his favourite bodyguard once in a while?" He asked her.
"Phillipe, you've been waiting on me hand and foot since I was diagnosed." She reminded him. "You do have a job to do."
"Believe me, it's well in hand." He assured her as he looked to her. Even now, just having woken up, as ill as she was, she looked beautiful to him. He would do anything for her, even if all he could do was bring breakfast in bed. "So...have you decided on a treatment option?"
"I...I think I have, but...it's a pretty big decision." She responded, putting down her fork. "It...um...it's going to mean some pretty big changes."
"Whatever it is, we can accommodate it." He told her. "I promised you that you would always have a place in my household. Whatever you want to do, whatever it takes, just name it."
"Well...it's not so much a case of WANTING to do it." She replied. "There's an option...I've gone over it with all the doctors, and it's a big decision, but they all agree it's the option that's most likely to be successful."
"What is it? Chemotherapy? Radiotherapy?" He asked her. She took a deep breath.
"I'd need Chemotherapy, but they say the best option, the one that's most likely to lead to me beating this thing for good is..." She steadied herself for what she was about to say next. "...amputation."
"Amputation?" He asked her. "You mean...excising the tumour don't you?" Margaret shook her head. He put his arm around her. "And...you're sure this is what you want?"
Margaret didn't answer, but again just nodded her head. Phillipe held her tightly.
"Then just know that you'll have all the support I can give you." He responded, kissing the top of her head. Margaret settled into his arms, happy that she was there. She sincerely wished that there was more to Phillipe's devotion than sympathy, but right now, with her life in uncertainty, she was grateful for all he was willing to offer.
Meanwhile, in the small town of Bear Creek California, a red jeep pulled into the parking lot outside of a small B&B. Shelby got out and headed around the other side to help Tyler out. He moved a little gingerly as she helped him out, positioning herself under his arm.
"Ow, now that doesn't feel good." Tyler grumbled.
"Well, if you hadn't been digging around on that farmer's land..."
"I needed to see if that really was where my dad found..."
"Well it wasn't!" Shelby told him. "I told you it was junction 14, not 15."
"Hey, can I get a little sympathy here?" Tyler whined. "I still can't believe he shot me!"
"You were DIGGING UP HIS LAND WITHOUT PERMISSION!" Shelby reminded him. "Thank God his shotgun was only loaded with rock salt!"
"It still stings like a bitch though!" Tyler answered. "I can't wait to get in and get a nice hot bath."
"Maybe I'll join you." Shelby suggested, holding him closely as they arrived in the front door. Tyler smiled.
"Maybe I'll just take you up on that." He answered as he drew in and kissed her. The old lady behind the desk coughed a little to remind them she was there.
"Um...yes, we're looking for a room for the night." Shelby told her. The lady just looked down her nose at them.
"Well, I can see that." She responded. "That'll be fifty dollars...plus a twenty dollar deposit for linen."
"Seventy dollars?" Shelby yelled in surprise. "For THIS place?"
"You can always try the place next door." She suggested. "It's just down the highway..."
"Shelby, we don't have a lot of choice. It's a small town, there's like less than 300 people here." Tyler reminded her. "We'll take it."
"Here, put it on this." Shelby responded, handing over her credit card. The lady behind the counter put it in the machine and started to try and run it. It wasn't long before she pulled it out and handed it back. "I'm afraid there's a problem with this card."
"What?" Shelby demanded. "What kind of problem?"
"It's probably just a technical glitch. You might want to contact your card provider." She suggested, holding out her hand. "In the meantime, you'll need to provide another form of payment."
"Here." Tyler answered, handing over some cash.
"Tyler, that's the last of our cash!" Shelby reminded him.
"We'll get more." He answered. "We still have some jerky left anyway. I wasn't that hungry."
"Second floor, room five." The old lady said, handing them a key. As they gathered up their belongings, the lady just looked back to the screen before her, to the message it displayed. She waited until they left the lobby, before she picked up the phone and dialled.