Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Ninja Steel

The sound of the doorbell ringing was not a common sound in the Thompson household. While Sarah and Jenny were no strangers to guests, there was usually just a knock, or their guests would let themselves in.

Sarah glanced up from her phone when she heard the strange sound and Jenny set her book down. Cautiously, they approached the door. Sarah peeked through the window to see who was on the other side and her excitement grew as soon as she did. The door flew open.

"Gramma! Grandpa!"

Jenny's jaw dropped and her blood ran cold.

"Jim… Luiza… I… We weren't expecting you."

Sarah's grandparents smiled politely at Jenny as they set their bags down. They hugged their granddaughter tight.

"Well, of course not. We didn't tell you we were coming."

"I wish you had," Jenny said, forcing a smile. "I would have cleaned up."

"Oh, nonsense. We're not here to see the house. We're here to see our granddaughter," Luiza smiled and pinched Sarah's cheek. "She's doing well, I hope."

"Very well," Sarah said as she picked up her grandparents' bags. "I'll take these up to the guest bedroom for you."

"Excellent," Jim answered and kicked off his shoes as he made his way to the living room. "This is a nice place."

"Uh… thank you," Jenny said, following behind her in-laws nervously, wishing they had given her a bit of a heads up. The cleanliness of the house wasn't much of an issue. Since Shane had moved out to go back to work, it was just her and Sarah living there. Sarah liked to spend most of her days out with her friends, and so there was never much of a mess to clean up. However, the heads up would have been nice for Jenny to prepare herself mentally for the visit.

Sarah's grandparents, Jim and Luiza, were kind people. They had welcomed Jenny to the family when she was first engaged to Bill and he always spoke lovingly about his parents and they always treated Sarah well.

But there was a tension, still. Jenny wasn't sure what the culprit was, exactly. She noticed it the first time when her in-laws were over for a visit years ago and Bill had to step out. Jenny had still been new to being a step-mother, but she was trying to be a good parent to Sarah. When her step-daughter had asked if she could have some cookies, Jenny told her that they would be having dinner soon, and it would ruin Sarah's appetite.

Sarah threw a fit, Jenny sent her to her room. It was the consequence Bill always gave Sarah when she acted out, and Jenny was only following his lead. Luiza made a comment when Sarah was gone about how Jenny was trying too much to be Sarah's mother, when the fact was that she wasn't, and since then, Jenny always received the look from either of her in-laws when she tried to be a parent to Sarah.

It was uncomfortable, and Jenny was sure now that she was Sarah's only parent, this visit would be filled with the look. She wasn't ready to deal with it. Not now.

"So, uh… how long do you plan on staying?" she asked. The upside to in-laws who lived out of state was that they didn't visit often. The downside: when they did visit, they tended to overstay.

"Not too long," Jim answered, which by now Jenny knew was code for 'until about a week after we've gotten on your last nerve'.

"Well, you're welcome to stay as long as you like," Jenny forced another smile, code for 'Please leave soon'.

"We're actually here to see how things have been going since Bill passed," Luiza explained. "You know, check up on Sarah and see how she's coping with not having a parent around."

"Sarah's been doing well," Jenny answered. Ranger business, kidnappings, homophobic journalism and time traveling not included.

"Has she made friends since the move?" Jim asked. Jenny was sure this wasn't just curiosity after their granddaughter, but a real interrogation. They were judging her abilities to be a good parent to Sarah – or rather, adult presence, as they had once said.

"Plenty," Jenny answered. "She's with them all the time. I almost never see her at home."

"You mean you aren't keeping an eye on her?" Luiza asked. "A sixteen-year-old girl running around the city with her friends can get into a lot of trouble."

I'll say, Jenny thought to herself. "Uh, no. I see her every day. She's always home by curfew, but she's made some good friends. Close friends, actually."

"Grandpa, you have to see what I've done to my hoverboard since you last saw it," Sarah called excitedly as she rushed into the room. Her grandfather looked to her with a bright smile as he lifted himself off the couch.

"I've been excited to see it the whole flight over," he smiled. "I'll be right there. Are you still working in the garage?"

"Always!"

"Meet you there," he said and Sarah raced off to get her hoverboard ready for her grandfather. As she did, he noticed the limp in her step. He looked to Jenny, "Is she hurt?"

"It's just some bruising," Jenny answered, hesitant to mention Sarah had been struck by a car. "As you can see, it's not really slowing her down."

"You've got to keep a better eye on her," Jim said just as he left. Jenny nodded her head and then turned back to Luiza, once again smiling politely. Luiza forced a smile back.

"So, the reason we're here is because we wanted to talk to you," she said and Jenny sensed from her tone that this was not going to be good. Her muscles tensed.

"Okay…?"

"Jim and I have been discussing this since the funeral and… we want Sarah to live with us."

"Wh…what?"

"Well, since her mother is an unfit parent and since Bill is passed, we believe it's best for Sarah to have real parents in her life. And these monsters attacking the city all the time makes this an unsuitable place to raise a teenager. Who knows what kind of trouble she could get into, especially with you not watching her all the time."

"Sarah is perfectly safe here," Jenny insisted. Ranger business, kidnappings, homophobic journalism and time traveling aside. "I can assure you, I'm taking excellent care of her."

"As a temporary solution, I trust you are. Now, I know Bill wanted you to be Sarah's guardian if anything should happen to him but I really don't think having a step-mother raise a girl is the most nurturing environment for her. I mean, no offence but you can't exactly offer the love that a real mother can."

"No offence?" Jenny frowned.

"Now, of course, we understand you and Sarah have been friends a long time, so you would be allowed to come and visit, with a heads up, of course."

"Of course," Jenny rolled her eyes. "Because just showing up would be rude. Wait? Friends?"

"We want structure for Sarah," Luiza said. "And we want the kind of environment that can only be provided through real parents. Jim and I really think that in the absence of a parent, grandparents are the best choice."

"But… but…"

"We just want what's best for Sarah," Luiza smiled as she rose to her feet. "We'll be flying back home in a week. We've already bought Sarah's ticket, but we'll need the time now for her to pack up her backs."

"But Sarah has friends here. And a girlfriend and…"

"She made friends quickly when she moved here," Luiza stated. "What's to say she won't adjust wonderfully again?"

"But… but…"

"I'm off to see the hoverboard. Isn't it incredible what she can do?"

Jenny stayed on the loveseat as her mother in-law walked out. She was completely stunned by the announcement, and by the fact that Luiza seemed to think that she didn't have a say in the matter – or that she hadn't even asked Sarah what she wanted to do.

"They… they can't take her," Jenny shook her head, then reached for her phone on the coffee table. "Can they?"

She quickly dialled the number for her lawyer. After Bill had passed, she had done everything she needed to ensure Kathryn had no rights or access to Sarah. It never occurred to her that she might need to protect her from her own grandparents.