Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Ninja Steel.
It felt like Madam Oedius had won – like her father was right in the end. The Rangers hadn't been able to stop her. Sarah hadn't been able to protect her own family and in the end, it was them who paid the price.
More than a year before, Sarah had been a little over eager. She was new to Summer Cove and entering her junior year, having skipped a year due to her high grades and dedication to her school work. Summer Cove, unlike her past high school, had many choices when it came to classes and extra curriculars. It was a High School that was well funded and very well supported by the parents. The teachers there were dedicated to the all-around success of their students and so made sure that there was at least one club where any student could feel included and successful.
For Sarah, that meant there were plenty of wonderful options to choose from. She wanted to boost her college resume and make it stand out from all the others. While good grades would go a long way, and though she was at the top of all her classes, that wasn't all colleges were looking for. They wanted well-rounded students, kids who could do more than score well on a test.
So, Sarah picked four clubs to join: camping, chess, track-and-field and archery. She excelled in all four areas already, so she thought it might be easy and fun to participate. Not to mention, she had friends who had joined each club, so she would have someone to talk with about it.
However, all the clubs were meeting at once, and if Sarah wanted to keep her spot, she would have to be at all the meetings. It wasn't much of a problem. She had already been toying with the idea of clones and this pushed that idea to the front of the line. She created holo-clones that took her place in each club. They were capable of doing everything Sarah could do, nothing more and nothing less, so it wasn't really cheating.
Unfortunately, her technology ended up in the wrong hands. By that time, she had been fighting against Galvanax and his monster crew for a couple of months and knew that they were from a distant galaxy where the technology was far more advanced than anything Earth had seen. It crossed her mind that cloning technology could pose a problem, but since Galvanax's tech was so advanced, she thought maybe clones were the equivalent of a flip phone, still somewhat useful, but mostly outdated.
She was wrong. Very wrong. Galvanax used the technology to create eight clones of himself, which he unleashed on the city. To date it was still the most devastating attack the city had seen, and still had the highest death count. The eight giant Galvanaxs destroyed everything in sight and crushed people and buildings in the wake of his damage.
Her father was one of those people. He had gone missing the night of the attack and remained missing long after the search was called off and the city was cleaned. Sarah and her mother were sure he was dead.
But the lack of a body left Sarah with many questions. She didn't like questions without answers and so, after Brody was reunited with Aiden – or rather, Levi – Sarah thought it might be possible to find her father again as well. Since there was no body, there was a chance, however small, that he was still alive. She created a time machine with Mick that would take her back to the moment of the attack. While she and the Rangers from the past would be busy keeping stopping Galvanax, she could focus on finding her father. She had a good idea of where he was at the time of the attack and started there.
To her surprise, she did find him. He wasn't in a good way but she was sure that if she got him back to the present and to a hospital, he might have a chance. She tried to bring him back, but Mick had claimed he lost the time machine and without it, they couldn't go home. While she was looking for it, Mick was left to watch her father. Sarah didn't know the details of what happened, and she never bothered to ask. All she knew was Mick let her father die. It was a sacrifice Mick still claimed was necessary at the time, and it had been the only way to ensure they both made it back home safely. Part of Sarah had yet to forgive him for that, but at least it answered her question. Her father was buried under an impossible amount of debris. Even if his body was recoverable – he was dead.
It was a hard blow, but Sarah bounced back from it eventually. Now that she knew for sure her father was gone, she could focus on building a life without him. It was never the same, and his absence was always felt at home, but with Jenny stepping up as sole parent, Sarah started to feel like she had a family again. At the very least, Jenny provided her with the unconditional love, support and guidance that she still needed as a teenager.
Though it seemed impossible, Bill did return home. Madam Oedius had saved him from the debris and nursed him back to health. She let him live, though kept him prisoner until he was strong enough to return home. Once the time came, she released him under the condition that he work for her and do as she asked. If he were to betray her, she would target his family.
Sarah couldn't understand why her father wouldn't ask for her help right away. If he had explained what happened and warned the Rangers of the trouble he was about to bring, she was sure they could have protected him. Instead, he sealed Anne's fate, selecting her as the Ranger parent who had to lose her life, a choice that couldn't be forgiven. From there, he pleaded with his family that he had no choice but to work for Oedius, and chose her over them, claiming it was for the best. Sarah had to hope his intentions were good, but he caused a lot more trouble for the Rangers than anything.
She finally had enough of her father when he did return home and asked for help. He pleaded with her and Jenny, while Kelly watched, that he would turn his back on Oedius. Whether he meant it or not was irrelevant, as Oedius arrived, furious she had been betrayed. She attacked Kelly, smashing her repeatedly into a wall until she was bleeding from the head and unconscious. While that hadn't been the cause of Kelly's paralysis, Sarah still blamed Oedius for what happened. The only reason they had to rush to help Kelly was because Oedius had attacked her. The only reason they couldn't wait for 911, or take her to the hospital themselves was because they didn't want to panic the city. Oedius was attacking Rangers and their families. The cities and civilians were safe from random attacks, but the Rangers couldn't explain that to anyone without outing themselves. A second attack from Oedius was sure to cause panic, and panic would lead to trouble.
They had to make do with help from former Ninja Rangers. They had to rush Kelly to Ninja Ops and risk her recovery to save her life. Somewhere in the transport, they further injured Kelly's back, causing the paralysis. No one was sure if she would recover from it or not, but the damage was already done.
After Kelly's diagnosis, and after conferencing with Hayley, Kelly, as well as the other Rangers, Sarah had to make a tough decision. She wanted to believe her father was trying to make up for what he had done. She wanted to believe he meant well, but he was too far gone. He was responsible for killing Anne, and he had to claim some responsibility for the harm that came to Kelly.
Hayley and Kelly had made their desires clear. They would support Sarah in any way they could if she wanted to help her father, but they wanted nothing to do with him directly. If they were successful in bringing Bill home and freeing him of Oedius, they didn't want to see him, speak to him, or even hear his voice. Regardless of what he chose at the end, he would always be the man who sentenced their mother to death. Sarah could understand that. Her best friend and her girlfriend were already doing more than she could ever ask of them by offering to help. She didn't want to pressure them into forgiving and embracing a man they viewed as a monster back into their lives.
But Sarah contemplated the position that would put her in, especially the strain it would put on her relationship with Kelly. Even if Sarah could forgive her father and trust him to be back in her life even part time, she would never be able to have him and Kelly in a room together. There would be no family dinners and holidays would have to be split. Though she was young, her relationship with Kelly was long term. They talked about a future together. Sarah didn't want to have to choose between her father and her girlfriend. She didn't want to constantly feel torn.
So, with help from her friends, and after talking with her mother, she knew what she needed to do. Through everything, her friends had stood by her. Kelly had stood by her. When Sarah had suffered from her brain injury, which caused unpredictable fits of rage, seizures, stuttering, and admittedly, some depression, her friends had stood by her. Kelly had been by her side, fighting to help Sarah recover. Sarah could trust her girlfriend and her friends with her life. She could no longer say that about her own father.
Jenny packed his bag and Sarah asked him to leave. She would protect him from Oedius, but she didn't want him in her life anymore. She wanted that chapter to be closed. She had just gotten through to him, and she was sure he had been about to leave, but Oedius followed through on her promise.
It was swift, but at the same time, time stood still. Oedius appeared in the workshop at the Romero home. She reminded Bill of his deal and how, if he betrayed her, she would kill his wife and daughter. Sarah had morphed and hoped to defend her parents until the others could hear there was trouble and arrive, but Oedius was far more prepared. She was stronger and, despite what Sarah wanted to believe, far faster than the pink Ranger. Sarah had never been in some much pain before as she was struck down. Oedius wasted no time dropping her bomb and in exploded as soon as it hit the ground. Sarah was still morphed when the workshop blew up. Her Ranger suit was the only reason she was still alive.
Her parents weren't as fortunate. They didn't have time to escape and didn't have the protection Sarah did. Neither of them had a chance to say goodbye. One minute, Jenny was promising to be a good mother to Sarah, claiming Sarah was her daughter and asking Bill to keep his distance out of respect. The next, she was gone. She didn't survive long enough for the ambulance to arrive.
Bill was dead instantly.
Sarah held on long enough for an ambulance to show up. The explosion was deemed a freak accident, so the Rangers could leave Oedius' name out of it. Sarah was in and out of consciousness on the way to the hospital, then rushed into surgery.
When she came out of it, she had no idea the state her parents were in. She held onto hope that, like her, they survived.
Though it was called a freak accident, the explosion still needed to be investigated. Summer Cove police got the case, but Gia took over the investigation and officially ruled it an accident, deeming there was no foul play and the two deaths, though tragic, were there result of an accident.
Since it was her case, she was the one to break the news to Sarah. It wasn't her first time having to break news this upsetting, so she was confident she knew how to handle it. Sarah reacted as expected – with anger first, then she was uncontrollably upset. Gia could calm her enough, so it wouldn't delay her recovery, but it was Sarah's team who could comfort her completely.
Bill couldn't have an official funeral, since he was already dead, but the Rangers, with Aaron's help, were able to delay Jenny's funeral until Sarah was out of the hospital. Though the pink Ranger stated repeatedly that she couldn't bring herself to go, her friends knew they still couldn't take that choice away from her. Sarah did end up attending Jenny's funeral but stayed in her room for the wake afterwards. She didn't want anyone's pity or sympathy. She didn't want people to apologize or ask her what would happen now or tell her that things would get better.
A week after the funeral, she was clear to go back to school. It would be Kelly's first day back too. Sarah thought that, together, it might be easier, but the morning of, she wasn't well. She hadn't slept the night before and when three AM rolled around, her stomach was unsettled. Before the hour was up, she was puking in the bathroom.
When her alarm went off at six, she still wasn't in bed. Kelly had to get herself out of bed and discovered the bathroom door was locked. She couldn't open it on her own. Fortunately, Aaron knew how to pick a lock. He opened the door and he and Kelly discovered Sarah had passed out over the toilet. When Kelly woke her and asked it she was alright, Sarah responded with an honest no. When Aaron asked if she thought she might be able to go to school, Sarah started heaving. There was nothing left in her stomach to come back up, but that wouldn't stop her body from trying.
Though Kelly and Hayley wanted to stay home, Aaron told them it was probably best they head to school. What Sarah needed right now was her mother, and since they couldn't bring Jenny home, he felt it was best they give the pink Ranger some space. They would see her again later, and Aaron thought maybe if Kelly told her about school, it might help Sarah return the following day.
Shane took over trying to comfort Sarah while the girls got ready for school. Jenny had just named him Sarah's legal guardian if anything happened, and it was a responsibility he would take seriously. Cam had already granted him all the time off he would need, as he, Tori and Dustin were more than willing to cover all his classes to help.
Shane sat with Sarah on the bathroom floor until after Hayley, Kelly and Aaron left the house. He tried to get Sarah to leave the bathroom, but she was dizzy when she stood up. He went to the kitchen and brought her back some toast to give her some energy. Sarah barely ate, and what she did eat came back up.
Shane wasn't sure what to do. He knew what Sarah needed, but he couldn't give it to her and he didn't know what to do or say to help. When the school called after Shane for confirm Sarah's absence, he explained what happened. They were, after all, professionals at handling children. They had to have at least some suggestions.
After speaking for an hour with Principal Hastings, there was at least a plan in place for Sarah's return to school. Principal Hastings seemed sure that a return to school would bring with it a routine that Sarah could depend on. From there, the predictability of the routine, as well as the support that would be in place for Sarah to cope and grieve at school, she was sure Sarah would start to feel better. All Shane had to do on his end every morning was push a little harder for Sarah to get to school.
After the talk with Hastings, Shane was expecting Serena to arrive. While she worked at the school as an aide, her priority was Sarah. In Sarah's absence there were other students she could help, but Principal Hastings had decided that school could extend beyond the building's walls. She allowed Serena to leave the grounds to help her student from her home. Serena arrived at the Thompson house and Shane opened the door.
"You'd think you were the one puking all morning."
"I'm in so far over my head," Shane admitted to her. Jenny had said it to him when she first became Sarah's primary parent. In fact, she had said it to him before even marrying Bill. He knew it was new-parent jitters, but that didn't mean it wasn't true.
"You asked for help, so you're doing something right," Serena told him with a smile.
"I know she wants – needs, rather – Jenny," Shane said. "I don't know… what do I do for that?"
"Has she eaten?"
"Nothing that'll stay down," Shane shook his head. "I've contemplated calling 911 because of how sick she is…"
"It's just anxiety," Serena assured him. "I'll check her out, maybe talk to her a bit, and if she's still not well, we can take her to the doctor later."
"You're sure?"
"No, but that's why I'm going to talk to her," Serena said with a chuckle. "Relax, red. I've been sick. I know what's fine and what's not."
"Didn't you let yourself get so sick, there was no turning back?" Shane asked.
"That's how I know what's fine and what's not," Serena told him. "Just make something light for Sarah for breakfast. Once she eats, she should start to feel and look a bit better."
"I… I'll figure something out, then," Shane said. "Sarah's upstairs in the bathroom."
As Shane went to try to fix up something Sarah could keep down, Serena made her way to the bathroom. By now, Sarah was sitting on the floor, leaning back against the tub, though keeping her eyes on the toilet. Serena sat down next to her. She figured it was obvious how Sarah was feeling, and asking her if she was okay would be a little redundant. Talking about it would only cause Sarah to think about her pain, so Serena decided a different approach was necessary.
"Kelly got to school this morning," she said. "The ramps and stuff were already there, as you know, but she made her way into the building like a pro. She got her elevator pass and was only a few minutes late to her first class. Mrs. Finch told her that if she's running late because it's hard to get through the halls, that she can just sneak in quietly. Once we're back at school, we can get her caught up.
"We?" Sarah asked.
"Well, she doesn't need an aide for learning, but you've walked those halls between classes. You know how hard it is when you aren't in a chair. Mrs. Finch said we'll sit together at the back and co-learn together. She can take notes for both of you and summarize readings and stuff when she is in class, and you can listen and absorb the material if she's late. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me."
"If I go back," Sarah muttered. She felt her stomach turn but didn't feel the need to rush to the toilet.
"You'll go back," Serena told her confidently. "Maybe not today, or even tomorrow, but I'm sure, pretty soon, you're gonna get tired of spending your days with Mr. Toilet."
"I can't even imagine that," Sarah said. "I just… I think about leaving and…"
She dove for the toilet. Serena winced as she heard the vomit coming up and splashing into the water. After two kids and dealing with many, many bouts of the flu with all the members of her family, that sound and the smell still made her sick. She managed to keep her own breakfast down and when Sarah was done, she offered a comforting smile.
"We're not going to make you go until you're ready," Serena promised her. "But you have to know we're going to do everything we can to help get you ready, right?"
"I don't think I…"
"Shane's making breakfast. I know food's the last thing on your mind right now but you really should eat," Serena told her. "After you've had a few bites, you don't have to finish anything, we'll think about maybe… stepping outside."
Sarah shook her head, "No."
"Sarah…"
"No," Sarah refused. She couldn't bring herself to go outside. She could barely consider leaving the bathroom. Serena looked at her stubbornly. She would afford Sarah some room to resist, but she wasn't going to allow the teenager to outright refuse help when it was offered.
"We'll just go out to the front lawn," she suggested but Sarah shook her head again. Serena sighed, "Fine," she said and noticed Sarah looked like she had won. Serena continue, "If you can give me one good reason why."
"I…" Sarah said but drew a blank. She couldn't think of a good reason, but she still didn't feel comfortable leaving the house. Serena pulled in a little closer to her.
"Why?" she asked her. "Why does it scare you so much?"
"If I leave, then it's real," Sarah said. "Jenny's… gone."
"Moving on?" Serena asked and Sarah nodded her head. "You're afraid if you move forward…"
"It'll be like she never existed."
Serena could admit that was a good reason. Learning to live without someone you depended on for most of your life was difficult, and it was normal to feel like you were leaving them behind, or disrespecting them completely by living without them. Simply feeling happy, or anything positive without them around could feel like a huge betrayal.
However, it wasn't the reason Serena was looking for to stay inside. It was more reason to get out of the house. Sarah couldn't live the rest of her life trapped inside, waiting for Jenny to come home. While she could speak for Jenny personally, she knew as a mother, if anything happened to her, she would want to know that Terran and Sammie could find happiness again. She would want to know that they would learn to live without her.
"Come on," Serena said as she got up off the floor. She offered her hand to the pink Ranger who nervously took it. "We'll take this a step at a time first. We'll eat, then we won't even go out on the lawn. We'll stand on the porch."
"But…"
"Your mother loved you, Sarah," Serena reminded her. "As hard as it is for you, you have to know that Jenny would want you to get back to your regular schedule."
"I'm gonna be sick."
"You'll be fine," Serena assured her. "Just… try it. If it feels like too much, let me know, we'll spend the rest of the day in here. I've never hung out with a toilet before, but if it helps you feel better, I'll get to know the guy."
Sarah cracked a very small smile. It was barely existent, but Serena caught a glimpse of it. She smiled back and helped the pink Ranger up.
"Baby steps. No one said you have to do this quickly."