This came to me just after Jungle Fury ended. I don't know where it came from, but here it is. Finally.

The Lost Can Be Found

The entire day at Jungle Karma Pizza had been slow, even the lunch rush was more of a trickle. However, the ever placid owner, RJ, appeared to take it all in stride. His employees on the other hand, were bored out of their skulls. They should have been thrilled with the lethargic stream of events, the not-so-copious influx of patronage. (Copious influx of patronage: a phrase coined by Jarrod soon after he began working at JKP. Casey's reaction: "You've been hanging around RJ too much. What does that even mean?") They should have been elated but alas, they were not. Their shift wasn't up for another three hours when they closed up shop for the day.

Casey spent much of the empty time sitting at various tables with his head laying on the tabletops, dragging his face back and forth across them; an act of boredom that resulted in a blank stare from Theo; complete disregard from Lily and Camille; an amused look from Jarrod; and a "Well, that is one way to wipe down the tables" from RJ.

Not one person had stepped foot into the restaurant in the past hour and a half (There had been two phone orders and Flit had taken care of those. After which, RJ gave him the rest of the day off, much to Casey's chagrin.), so Casey decided that it was the perfect time to seek enlightenment from his boss; a word of wisdom, if you will. He lifted his head up off the table, revealing a reddened face.

"RJ?"

"Yes, my young Tiger Master."

"Please enlighten me. Why can't we just close for the day?"

RJ didn't answer right away, but thought for a moment, leading Casey and the others to believe that he was going to give him some kind of Pai Zhua illumination.

"Do you like making money?" he finally said.

"Yes," Casey answered with the subtle hint of a "duh" in his voice.

"Well, there you go."

Casey dropped his head back onto the table with a groan and began to drag his face across it again.

Theo grimaced at the quick, frank, un-RJ-like reply. "Why can't all his answers be that straightforward?"

"Oh, come on, Theo," Casey drawled. "Where's the fun in always knowing what RJ means?"

Jarrod snickered at the remark. Camille elbowed him, going well out of her way to do so.

RJ grimaced at both remark and snickering. "You know sarcasm can—"

He was cut short by the sound of the door's bell ringing.

Casey groaned again. "Remind me again why you put that thing there."

"Welcome to Jungle Karma Pizza," RJ greeted, ignoring Casey's remark.

The tiger lifted his head as Jarrod and Theo headed for the kitchen. A man in khaki pants and a khaki button-down shirt over a navy blue t-shirt stepped in and slipped into the booth next to the door, giving a nod to RJ. He sat quietly, staring at the empty seat in front of him.

Lily started for the table but RJ stopped her. "I got this one."

"Good," Casey piped. "'Cause I'm really busy at the moment." Lily stared at him. "What?"

RJ stepped into the kitchen for a moment, overhearing Jarrod whisper to Theo, "That guy looks familiar. I know I've seen him somewhere before."

"You think you've met him before?"

"No. I think it's from a picture or something."

RJ brushed past them as he walked out. "Well, isn't that interesting," he said as he passed.

The two merely looked at each other.

RJ returned to the dining area with a glass of soda in hand for his patron who had yet to speak a word. He stopped just before reaching the table and turned around saying, "You know, Casey, you're right. We should close for the day. Why don't you lock up and you guys can go hang around the loft or somewhere else or something."

Casey jumped up. "Thank you!" And then ran for the door, locked it and flipped the sign over while Lily and Camille closed all the blinds.

Jarrod and Theo began cleaning up the kitchen. "Hey, guys," RJ said. They looked at their boss. "You can leave everything out." The two looked at each other, shrugged and headed upstairs with the others following.

When they were all in the loft, and after Lily, Camille and Theo came rushing back down and out the back, RJ walked over to the table, set the glass down in front of the man and took a seat on the opposite side.

"So…what brings you out here to Ocean Bluff?" he inquired. "Meeting a friend?"

"I was," the man replied. "But he's not able to make it."

"Oh, sorry to hear that. Some other time maybe."

"No. There's not going to be a 'some other time'," the man said soberly, turning the glass around. "There'll never be a 'some other time'."

The man's expression was solemn.

"Who were you supposed to be meeting?" RJ asked. The man looked up at him. His dark eyes were soft, full of sorrow, pain and…regret…that he was unable to hide. A tear trickled down his right cheek. The Wolf Master's smile faded quickly. "Oh, no. Man, I'm so…. What happened?"

"I got a call the other day. I missed it because I was still in class. I checked my cell at the end of the day. His dad had called. He left a message wanting me to call him back as soon as I could." He paused, choking back tears. "Before he said anything about it, I knew something bad had happened. I could here it in his voice when he said my name."

He ran his hand through his hair, letting out an anguished laugh. RJ waited patiently for him to continue, but the man across from him remained silent. He sat quietly, his elbow on the table, rubbing his right temple and staring down at his glass. He took a few deep breaths, trying to keep himself from breaking down.

RJ closed his eyes, taking a deep breath himself. He opened his eyes and asked softly, "You hungry?"

"Yeah," the man replied, not removing his gaze from the glass. "A little…."

"I'll go make you a personal pan." RJ stood up. "So, what's your style?"

"Cheese'll be fine. Thanks." He gave the Pai Zhua master a quick glance.

RJ smiled and headed to the kitchen. He turned the oven on and began putting a small pizza together. "Man, I've never seen him like this," he said quietly to himself. He took a quick look at his patron. The man was still staring down at his glass. RJ went back to the pizza. I don't know what happened between you two…. He put the pizza in the oven. "But I get the feeling you never took the chance to try and work it out." And now it's too late.

He set the timer and walked back out to the table, taking his seat again. "Should be ready in about twelve minutes."

"Thanks," the man replied.

RJ was about to say something when the man continued. "I didn't want to believe what I was hearing. I just kept thinking there's no way he can be gone. Especially not like that. Not him. It was like time froze."

The Wolf Master leaned into the table, resting his arms on the top. "What happened…? How'd he…."

"He committed suicide," the man said flatly, though there was a sharpness to his voice.

"What?" RJ gasped. Though he had only met the man in question a few times, he never pegged him as one to resort to suicide.

"That's the conclusion the investigators have come to, anyway. But I don't believe it. Neither does his family." He paused. "They've brought in one of the top medical examiners in the country to do an autopsy."

"When will you get the results?" RJ queried.

The man shrugged. "I just hope it's not suicide. That's just not him. He was the one trying to get ahold of me. He was the one trying to make amends. And he would never stop trying. He's more stubborn than me."

He leaned back, letting out a puff of air as hit the back of the seat. "But in the end, it doesn't really matter. Not for me. I blew him off every time he contacted me…. Coming up with some lame excuse for why I couldn't talk with him or meet with him. He was busier than me and yet he still…." He trailed off. "I guess I just thought he'd never forgive me, no matter how much we talked."

RJ glanced out the window. "I met you when I was on my journey to find my animal spirit. And even at that first moment," he turned back to the man across from him, "I knew that you were not someone who would ever have so little faith in his friends, no matter what happened between you and them. And though I only met him a few times, I can't believe that you would ever think so little of him…that he wouldn't forgive you."

"I know," the man said. "I can't believe it, either." Silence passed between them for a few moments before he spoke again. "I was at the game last week. I'm pretty sure he knew I was there. He probably saw me. We weren't that far away from each other."

RJ was about to inquire about what game he was referring to when the timer went off. "Ah…. Sounds like your pizza pie's ready," the Wolf Master said cheerfully. "I'll go get that for ya. I would have my employees do that, but I was convinced to let them have the rest of the day off. And I also closed for the day…. Would you like a refill?"

He couldn't help grinning and shaking his head at RJ's ability to switch gears so quickly. "Yeah, thanks."

RJ smiled. "Be right back." As he stepped into the kitchen he was hit with a sudden realization. The way he had spat out those sentences to his patron. Fran was rubbing-off on him.

The ball hit the backboard, rolled around the rim once and then fell off to the left.

"Figures," Jarrod said as the ball bounced towards Casey.

"Man, you are seriously off your game," Casey said, passing the ball back to him. "What's up?"

"It's that guy," he replied.

"What about him?"

"He looks familiar." Jarrod took a shot. The ball hit the rim and bounced back to him. "I know I've seen him somewhere before. I just can't think of where."

He took another shot, this time sinking it. The ball bounced towards Casey. "You think you've met him?" he asked, attempting a lay-up…and failing miserably.

Jarrod grinned, watching the ball roll towards the steps. "And my game's off," he said, picking it up and taking a seat on the top step.

"Oh, shut up," Casey said jocosely, sitting down next to his friend. "So…going back to my question…."

"I don't think so," Jarrod replied, handling the ball. "Maybe from a picture or something."

Casey replied with a 'hmm'. They were silent for a moment before he spoke. "I wonder what they're talking about."

Jarrod shrugged. "Probably not anything good. The guy looked depressed."

"Yeah…."

After a few moments of silence Jarrod dropped the ball, letting it bounce down the steps and roll across the floor to the wall. He stood up saying, "I'm gonna get something to drink."

Casey stood up after him. "Yeah, I'm thirsty, too."

As they neared the stairs to the kitchen, Jarrod suddenly stopped and turned around. Casey almost walked into him.

"What is it?"

"I have met him before," Jarrod said bemusedly. "It was when I lost my necklace."

"So you know who it is," Casey said. Jarrod didn't answer. He was definitely lost in thought. He waved his hand in front of Jarrod's face. "Jarrod!"

"Huh?"

"You okay?"

Jarrod shook himself out of his daze. "Uh, yeah. Sorry."

"So you know who it is," Casey said again. Jarrod rushed past him to the other end of the loft. "Is it that difficult to answer?" He turned around just as Jarrod was walking back to him, a brown, leather-bound book in his hands. "What's that?"

"It was just before I came to the temple," Jarrod said, laying the book on the lamp table. "One of the older students was meeting me in L. A. to take me there. While I was waiting for him at the bus station I was attacked by these weird-looking robot things. I was the only one sitting outside…."

"You'd think someone inside would have looked out a window and noticed," Casey said.

Jarrod shook his head. "Nah, there wasn't that many people inside."

That's weird, Casey thought. "Why'd they attack you?"

"Don't know. I fought back but was losing miserably. Then this guy just appeared out of nowhere. He kicked the crud out of those things. At first I thought he was the student that was supposed to escort me to the temple. But after watching him fights…."

"You figured there was more to him."

"Yeah…. He stayed with me until the Pai Zhua student arrived. He told me his name, but I didn't learn who he was until I got to the temple."

He opened up the book to a photograph and news article.

Casey let out a small gasp. "No way…. That's…." He blinked rapidly; making sure it wasn't his imagination. "Well, I can see why you didn't recognize him."

"Yeah." Jarrod stared at the book. "Whatever they're talking about down there…."

Casey sighed. "It's gotta be something personal. Maybe something happened to him."

"Who knows."

"What's all in that book, anyway?" Casey asked, changing the subject.

"Just articles," Jarrod replied.

Casey raised an eyebrow.

"Well, articles involving former Power Rangers." Jarrod flipped to the back of the book; he furrowed his brow.

"What is it?" Casey queried.

"I completely forgot about this. I was going to read it but I got distracted."

"What's it about?"

He picked up the folded newspaper, showing it to Casey. "I think I know what they're talking about."

"His parents asked if I would speak at his funeral."

"Are you?" RJ asked.

The man let out a soft huff. "I couldn't say no." He looked out the window. "I owe it to him." He looked back down at the empty pizza pan. "Or maybe I'm just looking for redemption."

"What makes you think you need to?" RJ said. There was no response. he leaned back in his seat, sighing, and looked out the window. "Don't do this to yourself. This isn't you." He looked back at his visitor. "Look, man—"

"I just can't get away from it."

RJ raised an eyebrow.

"The idea of him committing suicide's absurd. He had no reason to." The man paused and leaned back in his seat, staring down at the empty pizza pan. "I turned my back on him, RJ. That's what makes me think I need redemption."

Whenever his friends had a problem, an issue, he had an answer; an answer that was always helpful, but not always understood right away. There was always an aphorism of some kind, swimming around in his head ready to share with the unsure. This time, however, there was no axiom of enlightenment. There was never one when the death of a friend, especially one that you had pushed away, was involved. It was in those times, RJ had learned, that the only thing you could do, the only thing you needed to do, was listen. And maybe, maybe then, the words would come.

RJ took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm sorry, Tommy," he said softly.

The man looked up at him. "For what?"

"For thinking there was something I could say that it would make this all better."

Tommy gave him a small but genuine smile. "Don't be sorry for that. There's nothing anyone could say that would make it all better. But it shouldn't stop them from speaking at all." He looked out the window. "There's nothing I could say to myself that would make this all better. The only thing that would make it better was if I could go back in time and tell him I'm sorry for being an ass. If I could just go back to the last time he called me" he turned back to RJ "and just talk to him. But in real life you don't get do-overs."

"But you do get second chances," RJ gently said.

The old Ranger let out a small huff. "Yeah. I had a million chances…. And I blew every one of them because I was too damn proud to admit I was wrong."

"You just did."

Tommy raised an eyebrow at his host.

"Maybe not to Conner," RJ continued, "but you did to yourself. Admitting to yourself you were wrong is just as important as admitting it to him." The Wolf Master paused briefly. "It may be too late to tell Conner face-to-face, but when you speak at his funeral, you can tell them. If there is anything I can be certain of in all this, is that he forgave you for whatever happened. Otherwise he would never have taken all those opportunities to call you."

Tommy let out a more light-hearted huff. "That's what Kira and Ethan keep tellin' me."

"Well, they're pretty smart then," RJ replied with a soft laugh.

"He didn't commit suicide, RJ. I'm certain of that."

"For the record, Tommy, I don't believe he committed suicide, either." RJ thought for a moment and then said, "You know, you didn't blow every chance. You did say you were supposed to meet him here today."

"But it was one day too late." Tommy sighed. "Well, more than one."

"That may be true," RJ said, "but you still took that first step."

"I know….But it still doesn't make me feel any better. It doesn't relieve the guilt or lessen the pain." He sighed and looked out the window. A yellow convertible was pulling up to the curb. "Looks like my ride's here." He slipped out of the booth with RJ following suit. "Thanks for listening, RJ."

"Any time, my friend."

He shook RJ's hand, then turned to leave. As he reached the door and unlocked it, RJ spoke again.

"Hey, Tommy?"

The ex-Ranger stopped and turned around. "Yeah?"

"Stop by again sometime. You're always welcome here."

Tommy smiled and giving a nod of thanks he headed out the door.

RJ picked up the pizza pan and glasses and walked into the kitchen. He was nearly knocked over by a darting Jarrod. The Lion Master flew past him and out the door.

"What's with him?" he queried as Casey walked up.

"Uh, he has something he wants to say to our guest," Casey said.

RJ looked at him. "Is there something you'd like to share?"

He had just reached the car door when the restaurant door flew open, startling both him and the two occupants in the car.

"Tommy!"

The ex-Ranger turned around. "Yes."

"You probably don't remember me," Jarrod said, "but ten years ago you helped me out when I was attacked by these robots at a bus station in L. A."

Tommy looked at him curiously. He didn't say anything, so Jarrod continued.

"I never thanked you, so…thanks for helping me out back then."

Though he didn't acknowledge it verbally, Jarrod was sure Tommy remembered by the smile and nod the ex-Ranger gave him.

As he turned to get in the car, Jarrod spoke again.

"I'm sorry for what happened to Conner. And for what it's worth, if anything, I don't believe he committed suicide."

Tommy turned around to face him. "Thank you," he said softly. He got into the car and turned to Jarrod once again. With a smile he said, "And you're welcome."

The Lion Master smiled back.

As he turned to head back inside, Tommy called out to him. "Hey, Jarrod."

"Yeah?"

"I think this belongs to you." He tossed a small object to him.

It was a small arrowhead-shaped pendant with a piece of turquoise in the center of it on a silver chain. "My necklace," he said under his breath. "I lost this back…." He looked at Tommy. "Where'd you find—"

"It was laying by one of the vending machines at the bus station. I wanted to give it back to you at the temple, but I got a little sidetracked."

Jarrod smiled. "Thanks."

Tommy nodded and patted the back of the front passenger-side seat. "See ya around."

Casey was wiping down the table RJ and his guest had been sitting at when Jarrod walked back in. The Lion Master had a grin on his face. Casey noticed the necklace in his hand.

"Hey, what's that?" he asked.

"Something I thought I'd lost years ago," Jarrod replied.

"You don't believe he committed suicide, do you?" Casey asked, changing the subject.

"No, I don't."

Right as Jarrod replied, RJ walked out of the kitchen. "Hey, wha'cha got there?" he asked Jarrod.

"My necklace. I thought I'd lost it when I was a kid," he replied.

RJ grinned. "Well, the lost can be found."

Jarrod glanced out the window and then turned back to RJ. "Why exactly was he here?"

The Wolf Master's grin fell. "He was supposed to be meeting Conner here today."

Jarrod nodded.

"So…who's hungry?" RJ said, switching gears.

"I am," Casey chimed right as his stomach growled.

RJ grinned again. "Clearly."

"Yeah, so am I," Jarrod said in accord.

RJ's grin broadened to a smile. "I'll start on those pizzas," he said, heading for the kitchen.

Jarrod grinned, shaking his head.

"What's with you?" Casey said.

Jarrod looked at his necklace and then out the window. "Ya know, I don't think Conner was the one he was supposed to see today."

"I think you're right," Casey said. "He was looking for something he lost. Himself."

"Well, like RJ said…" Jarrod looked back at his friend "the lost can be found."

fin

I guess it's kind of a bittersweet ending. It's kind of an odd story and it didn't quite turn out the way I had thought it would. Probably for the better.

I hope it was worth the time it took you to read it.

Please review. I'd really like to know what you think.