Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers: (Super) Samurai. This is purely fan-made.


"OW!"

"Hold still, squirt," Serena gently lowered the ice down onto Emily's nose, trying to get as much of the bruising as possible. Now that they were in a real home and no longer on an island above the Shiba House, Serena had a real first aid kit and could work on making sure her sister's face wasn't too black and blue. Between the punch in the jaw from Nighlok Mike, and her own clumsiness in the woods when she tripped and smashed her nose in the ground, Emily's face was covered in bruises. Her eyes were surrounded by what almost looked like a raccoon mask, and one of her cheeks was pretty badly beaten. There were also cuts and scrapes everywhere on her body. If she went out into public, she would get a lot of very strange looks from people. Most would assume someone had beaten her. They weren't far from the truth, but there was a huge difference between domestic abuse and a Nighlok beating the crap out of her.

The Shiba House was long gone. After it had been crushed and flooded from two separate attacks by Emily's and Kevin's clones, there was no going back to it. Ji had already made a few calls and promised he had some friends who were working on rebuilding it just as it had been, but that was going to take time.

Until then, James had offered his home temporarily. He lived in the middle of the city, and though he would gladly take all the Samurai, and even Storm, in for as long as they needed, he couldn't do that. If the Nighlok found out where the Samurai were living, his entire neighbourhood would be in danger. So he was on the computer, trying to get a look around the city to see if there was anywhere the Rangers could stay until they had their house back. He was also checking over his shoulder constantly. It turned out; Serena's foot hadn't been broken. It had been badly sprained, and the swelling made it difficult to move, but she would make a faster recovery than they expected – as long as she stayed off of it. James knew Serena very well though. The chances of that happening were slim to none unless someone intervened.

Jayden was fussing over Ji. The older man had a few bruises on his back from when he had shielded Kevin in the stone storm, and he had also been hit in the head. Though he insisted he was fine, and just had a headache, Jayden was being cautious and checking up on him every few seconds. Ji was sure Jayden would be waking him up in the middle of the night to make sure he was still alive. It was annoying, but he let it happen with a chuckle. It was a good feeling being taken care of, and it was nice to see Jayden was finally strong enough to look out for him.

Mia and Kevin were on the couch. Mia had fallen asleep in Kevin's arms, and he sat in silence with her and played with her hair. He seemed relieved that she was okay.

Antonio was applying ice to Mike's back. It was healing up nicely and he was getting back to his regular, daily activities, but the cool feeling from the ice felt really good. Back on the island, the closest Mike could get to pain relief was a dip in the water.

"OW!" Emily cried again and James turned his attention to her. Serena had removed the ice from her face and was now getting a closer look at the shape of Emily's nose. James couldn't see anything truly wrong with it, but it seemed like Serena was convinced her sister's face was deformed.

"Maybe we should see a doctor…"

"No," Emily pulled her head away quickly and nearly fell off her stool. Serena caught her just in time and steadied her. Emily shook her head, "I'm fine!"

"But it looks…"

"It's fine! It's just sore. It'll heal by itself."

"Are you sure…?"

"I'm not disfigured!" Emily huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, and then groaned when the change of expression hurt her nose."

"But I just…"

"James!"

"Leave her alone, Serena," James chuckled. "Her nose is just as crooked now as it was before."

"HEY! I do not have a crooked nose!" Emily hopped off the stool and walked over to the playpen. Terran was inside with all his toys, but he seemed to be most fascinated by the dog standing on the other side of the gate. This was Storm and Terran's first meeting. Storm wasn't used to babies, and thought Terran had spent most of his life with Scruffy, Storm was a completely different dog in personality and in physical appearance. It was a whole new experience to Terran.

Emily lifted Storm into her arms and cuddled her dog, "You love me, don't you?"

Storm licked her face. It hurt, but Emily tried not to let it show. She looked down at Terran with a smile, "And you love me too, don't you?"

"No one here doesn't love you," Serena smirked, "We just have to learn to love the crooked nose."

"It's not crooked!"

"It's cute, Em," Antonio chuckled.

"It's not crooked!"

"There's still a bit of swelling," Ji said and he waved Emily over so he could have a look. Thinking Ji was doing this to help her with her argument with what seemed to be every person in the house, Emily approached him. Ji gave her nose a quick check and then smiled at her, "We won't know until the swelling and the bruising go down. But even if it is crooked…"

"It's not crooked!"

Emily stomped over to Terran and picked him up. With him and Storm in her arms, she walked to Terran's bedroom. They were the only ones on her side, so she would only play with them.

Serena laughed to herself and then rolled her chair over to James' desk to see how he was getting along with the house search.

"Find anything yet?"

"Hotels are risky, for the obvious reason, and there's really no house for sale that isn't pricey or in a neighbourhood."

"Money isn't an issue," Ji insisted.

"How loaded are you Samurai?" James asked rhetorically and then he looked Serena in the eyes, "The only option you guys have might be to rough it."

"Rough it?" Kevin asked.

"Camping," James nodded. "I love camping, so I've got plenty of supplies stored away. You can use that."

"So you mean we go from living in a mansion to sleeping in sleeping bags for maybe months? Freezing to death at night, and burning up in the summer?" Mike asked, "And on top of that, I have to live with no electricity? Nahuh. You heard Ji, money's no option."

"Michael," Serena frowned but Ji gave his head a little nod.

"I have plenty of money saved up for emergencies," he insisted. "It you can find a neighbourhood that's safe…"

"That's just it," James shook his head, "There really is nowhere that's safe. Anywhere you guys go, you'll be putting people nearby in danger. We're in the city. We're not miles away from our neighbours. Hell, t night, I'm lucky when I can't hear mine blasting their music at three in the morning."

Serena started to bat her eyelashes, "I love you."

"Oh no," James groaned. He knew what that look meant, "What do you want?"

"Do you mind if my parents stay here with you for… however long it takes Ji's friends to…"

"Nope. I'll do a lot for you, Serena, but I'm not having your parents stay here for months," James shook his head, "Camping is…"

"We need protection too," Serena put her hand on James' arm, "We already don't have a working Gap Sensor. I mean, the Samuraizers will go off if there's trouble, but everyone knows they aren't as strong."

"Serena…"

"And a tent, when you think about it, is really no protection at all. If a Nighlok comes, there's only a thin, thin, practically non-existent wall between us and him."

"But I don't want to have your parents over," James groaned. "I already hate going up to visit them. Your dad always ropes me into doing farm work and I get all gross and sweaty and too tired for the drive home, and neither of them give me a minute with Terran!"

"If my parents are here, you won't have to do farm work," Serena told him, "And…"

"No…"

"A house out in the country keeps everyone safe. The people in the city aren't in danger because we won't be around, and there will actually be walls with doors and locks. It'll take the Nighlok longer to break in and kill us. You wouldn't want a Nighlok to kill us, would you?"

"If you make me have your parents over for a couple of months, I would. Besides, there's no guarantee…"

"At this point, the Nighlok are more focused on killing us than on destroying the city. All the recent attacks have been centered on killing us, or tearing us apart," Serena said, "They'll follow us out to the country."

"They will," Kevin nodded his head. Though the others had no idea, he was speaking for the Nighlok. If the Samurai all went out to the country, where they were isolated and far from help, it was better for him. Though terrorizing the city meant more people suffered, destroying the Rangers would leave the city wide open for later. "Serena's right, the attacks have been Ranger focused."

"But I don't want to have your parents over," James whined to Serena, "A few days, maybe, but months…"

"Dude, why don't you just come with us?" Mike suggested. "You totally kicked Nighlok Jayden's ass. You're strong enough to protect yourself should something happen, and if we're going to isolate ourselves, we'll need someone looking out for us in case something happens. It'll be perfect."

"I don't know…"

"SERENA!" Emily's scream interrupted the conversation and startled everyone. It even pulled Mia right out of her sleep as she sat up in a panic. All together, the Rangers rushed to Terran's bedroom and then stopped right in their tracks. Their eyes were wide. Their jaws dropped. Serena fell to her knees, and not just because her foot was hurting from use.

Emily was squatting, with her arms held out to Terran, but he wasn't within arm's reach. He was up, on his own feet, a little ways away from the wall, and a little ways away from Emily. He was about halfway between the two of them and on wobbly legs he was walking closer and closer to Emily.

"C'mon, Terran," Emily coached him, waving her hands to keep him interested. He had already gotten bored once and fell on his butt after a couple of steps. Emily knew he could make it all the way, as long as he had somewhere to walk to. She made a silly face, and then blew a raspberry. Terran smiled and wanted to play along. He continued to put one foot in front of the other until he was close enough to Emily's arms. He threw himself forward and she caught him. She lifted him in the air, "YAY! You did it!"

Terran babbled excitedly until he was set back down on his feet. Emily kept her arms around him and repositioned him so he was facing Serena. She could see her sister was tearing up and wanted to share in the moment.

"Terran, go give mommy a hug."

Serena held her arms out, inviting him over. Terran tried to hurry up, but ended up falling over before he could take a step. The fall wasn't very far with his short legs, so it didn't shock him. Emily lifted him back onto his feet and he tried again. He wobbled, and several times he looked like he was going to fall over, but Storm came to the rescue. When Terran would tip, she would gently push him back up and let him balance on her. She stuck close to him the entire walk, until he was close enough to Serena's arms. Terran babbled happily as he launched himself into his mother's arms and she pulled him into a hug, showing his cheek with kisses while her own were showered with tears of pride and joy.

"Dammit…" James muttered. He too felt a sense of pride as he watched his son take his first steps, but another feeling came up inside of him. One he was sure would haunt him for a while: guilt. He couldn't make any promises to Serena about their current living arrangements. He had custody of Terran until the war against the Nighlok was over. With the way things were going now, that looked to be a while still. She had been lucky enough to catch his first steps, but James could in no way promise she would be around for his other firsts.

Maybe letting his in-laws stay in his home for a few months wasn't such a bad idea. And maybe going out to the country with the Rangers wasn't too dangerous.

If anything, it was worth a little extra trouble. Seeing the way Serena lit up as Terran continued to practice his walking skills by travelling back and forth between Serena and Emily, James knew he owed it to the little family to give them as many moments as possible.

After all, the war could be won, but it was very possible not all the Rangers would come home. It was likely that Terran never see his mother again next time they were forced to say goodbye.

James pulled out his cell phone and hit speed dial number two.

"Hey, Jack, it's James. Listen, this is going to sound really crazy, and it kind of is… but can the Samurai and I borrow your house? … You'll stay at my house… Serena and Emily know how to take care of the farm, right? … Well, actually, that's kind of a long story, and it ends with the Shiba House being crushed and flooded… why don't you just talk to Ji."

James handed his phone over to Ji, "Here, you make the arrangements. My son's walking."

James passed the phone over and Ji started to explain the request in detail so Jack, and Ellie if she was listening, would know exactly what they were agreeing to. Meanwhile, the other Samurai were all gathered around Terran, taking in everything of the moment where he took his first steps. They were all smiles and Terran was all laughs. Walking, for him, was now a trick that, if he did it right, made all the people in the room smile.

All but one. His uncle Kevin was smiling, but not like the others. Terran waddled over to him and grabbed his legs, pulling tightly on his pants. Kevin lifted him and gave him a gentle hug.

"You're a very special little boy, aren't you?"

"Stop hogging him!" Mike called, "Put the kid back on his feet and send him my way!"

Kevin nodded and obliged. After all, by the looks of things, it seemed he would be hanging around for a while.