Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Megaforce. This story is fan-made.

Author's Note: This is not where the Megaforce series starts. If you want to read the series without getting lost, I suggest you read my stories in the order they appear:

No To Date Nights - The Party Night - Project Partners - Megaforce: Lives Behind The Masks - Prom Night - A Trip To Remember - First Meetings - Something She Loves – Protective Morans – Samurai In Harwood County – Rainy Days – Luck Had Nothing To Do With It – Ranger Support – Parents and Children – Hero Without The Spandex

Emma never quite understood the walk of shame until now. Unfortunately, for the next couple of weeks she was trapped inside a tiny motel room with Gia and her parents. This made sneaking in in the early hours of the morning very difficult.

She had spent the evening at Jordan's. He had made her a nice dinner and they watched a movie on the couch. Emma wasn't sure when the night turned into something romantic, but one thing led to another, and before either of them knew what had happened, it had.

They hadn't said I love you yet. Jordan had been about to say it before he had been brainwashed –Emma was sure – and now that he was back, Emma didn't want to chase him away by saying it too early. He remembered a lot, but there were gaps in his memory. She didn't want to push him too hard too fast; worried it would cause him to run off.

However, this night, they had done everything by actually say the words. For the first time ever, Emma had given herself to a boy. It wasn't something she took lightly. After seeing how a mistake destroyed her best friend, Emma wanted her first time to be with someone who respected her and who actually wanted the best for her. Jordan was that person, she was sure. As it stood, she had absolutely no regrets.

The Moran parents weren't going to see it that way. Emma tried to sneak into the motel room without disturbing anyone – which meant finding her way to the bed in the dark. She slipped through the door, took off her shoes, and as she was about to tip-toe past her parent's bed, she ran into something hard.

"It's four in the morning," Mr. Moran said. "Your curfew is eleven."

Emma couldn't even try to lie. The Morans had done too much for her. They had always supported her, even years before they had taken her in as their daughter. When her parents abandoned her, they took her into their home without question. They treated her with the same love and respect as they did Gia, and they made it clear that though they were sometimes tough, they wanted the very best for her. She couldn't return the favour by lying to them.

The truth, however, was none of their business.

"I'm sorry…"

"You're going to be more than sorry in the morning," Mrs. Moran said. "Do you have any idea how worried we were? You're supposed to call when you're late."

"And if it's after midnight, we need to pick you up," Mr. Moran added. "I don't trust the freaks on the streets."

"We tried calling Jordan's house. We got no answer," Mrs. Moran continued. "We tried your phone. No answer."

Emma checked her phone and saw a large number of missed calls and text messages.

"It won't happen again."

"It better not," Mr. Moran said. "Bed, now."

"I just need to get into my pyjamas," Emma whispered. She grabbed her pyjamas and hurried off into the bathroom. When the door closed, Mr. Moran turned to his wife.

"Her shirt was on backwards."

"Joe…"

"She didn't leave here with her shirt on backwards."

"Joe, calm down."

"Calm down? There's only one reason that girl would have had to take her shirt off…"

"She's seventeen. Jordan's a good boy."

"Good boys don't touch my girls," Mr. Moran growled as he climbed into bed. "I say we ground her. No more dates until she's forty."

Mrs. Moran chuckled. She climbed into bed next to her husband and put her hand around his waist, "Don't you think you're just being a little overprotective? We ground her for staying out after curfew and not calling to tell us when she would be home. That's it."

Mr. Moran shook his head and sighed. His wife was right, he knew it. His fatherly instincts didn't, though. He held out his hands.

"Do you remember when the girls were this big," he held his arms in front of him like he was holding a baby, "You remember when they fit right here? When all we had to worry about was who had to change the next diaper?"

"I remember worrying about a lot more than that," Mrs. Moran rolled her eyes. "The girls are growing up, Joe. You need to trust that they're going to make the right decisions. At this point, we've done all we could. It's up to them."

"You remember a time when the boys who tried to hurt my girls were no taller than my waist? You remember when I could beat up any person who made my girls cry?"

"You remember what I told you?" Mrs. Moran replied, "Don't protect your daughter by making the boys weak. Make her strong enough to fight her own battles. I think we've accomplished that. Emma picked a good one."

"I'm less sure."

"Dad didn't think you were right for me," Mrs. Moran leaned in and kissed her husband. He smiled and leaned closer into her and slowly brought her down on the bed.

"GUYS! Come ON!" Gia cried and pulled the blankets over her head from the bed right next to theirs. "Your daughter is trying to sleep."

"We should have paid the extra fee for a second room," Mr. Moran sighed as he rolled over to his side of the bed, "Goodnight, Gia."

"Gross," Gia rolled over and put her pillow over her head. Emma came out from the bathroom and climbed into bed next to Gia. She saw her best friend was buried under the blanket and the pillow and frowned.

"What's going on?"

"Mom and dad are hypocrites."

"Goodnight, girls," Mrs. Moran chuckled.

-Megaforce-

In the morning, Mr. Moran left for work before any of the girls were awake. He and his wife would talk to Emma about her punishment when he got home, giving Emma one final day of freedom until she turned forty – at least, that was what Mr. Moran would push for. He was sure his wife had a different prison sentence in mind.

Mrs. Moran got up about an hour later and decided to get some take-out for breakfast. The frozen meals were getting a little boring for her taste, and she was sure the girls would enjoy something different.

When she was gone, Gia sat up. She threw away her side of the blanket and then smacked Emma awake with her pillow.

"You and Jordan!"

"What time is it?" Emma groaned and looked over to check the clock, "Gia? It's not even nine! I was up late last night…"

"Doing it? You and Jordan were… you know…"

Emma rolled over and looked up at Gia. With a sigh, she sat up and nodded her head.

"We did," Emma wasn't sure where to proceed from there, given what had happened to Gia in the past. She wasn't sure what to expect from her best friend. Gia would either be frustrated, angry, happy, or upset.

Three out of four of those options weren't great.

"Did you… was it… I mean… did he… you know…"

"It just kind of happened," Emma shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't pressure him and he didn't pressure me."

"So… so you… you're… I… I mean… are you…"

"Gia," Emma took Gia's hand and looked her right in the eyes, "I'm okay. Last night was the most amazing night of my life. I'd take whatever grounding I get. It was worth it."

"But what about… in the future? What if… what if everything changes?" Gia looked up at Emma sadly. "As soon as sex became a part of our relationship, Cliff… turned. Our first time was…"

"Gia, this was nothing like that," Emma shook her head and smiled brightly, "I have no intention of hurting Jordan, and he didn't do this to hurt me. I feel closer to him. I really… I love him, Gia. This was right."

Emma pulled Gia into her arms and hugged her tight, "I'm happy this happened. I promise. I'm okay. You don't need to worry about me."

"I just… I don't want you to get hurt," Gia whispered. She looked down at her arm and started to trace circles on her cast. "I went through hell. You don't deserve that."

"That's not going to happen to either of us. Not anymore," Emma shook her head. "I… I haven't told him yet, but I really love him. That's what last night was. I don't think we have to say it anymore. We proved it."

"By having… by…"

"What we did, Gia, is completely different from what you and Cliff did," Emma nodded and she was starting to see Gia's confusion. She pulled her in for another hug, "I'm happy, Gia. Jordan makes me really happy."

"You're sure?"

"Positive, and if he didn't, you'd be the very first person I told…"

"The moment it happened."

"The moment it happened," Emma confirmed. "I know how badly you want to beat him up."

Gia chuckled. She wrapped her arm around Emma.

"I'm happy for you. Jordan is… a good guy."

Emma squeezed Gia before letting go. She smirked at the yellow Ranger, "So, I know you want to hear all the details…"

"Lalalala!" Gia covered her ears with her hands and cried out as Emma teased her. The teasing didn't last for too long as Mrs. Moran walked through the door with breakfast.

"Girls, get off each other," Mrs. Moran rolled her eyes as she placed the take-out bags on the little table. "The fan-boys are already shipping the yellow and pink Rangers. We don't need behind the scenes confirmation."

"They are?" Emma looked up with a frown.

"Avoid fan sites," Mrs. Moran passed her a breakfast sandwich. Emma took it and then looked down at Gia.

"I could do worse."

She was smacked in the side of the head with a pillow.