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

Kendall woke with a start from a restless sleep. These types of night occurred more often than she cared to admit. She rubbed her eyes, stretched out a little in her bed, then reached to her nightstand, fumbling around until she found her glasses.

She pulled herself out of bed and glanced out her apartment window. The sun wasn't up yet. There were still a few hours before she was needed at the museum, which gave her plenty of time to get a head start on her work. She walked to her kitchen, opened up her laptop and pulled out her most recent project.

She was able to focus on her task for a couple of minutes before she found herself drifting off. She shook her head, believing she just needed to wake herself up a little more, and grabbed some water. She took a sip and tried to get back to work.

"Sorry, Kendall, but I just can't put up with this bitch for another minute!"

"Oh, that's rich, Tom. You're calling me a bitch right in front of your daughter?"

"I'm just telling it like it is!"

Kendall shook her head. She didn't have time relive the nightmare; she had work that needed to be done. A new dinosaur had just been discovered, and the museum was counting on her to find out as much as she could on the large reptile before they put it up for display. Not to mention, the Rangers could always use new weapons and power ups. The more she could get done in a day, the better off she was at both her jobs.

"You know what your problem is, Tom? You're good for nothing!"

"Oh, I'm good for nothing? Well, maybe if you got off your fat ass every once in a while and got yourself a freaking job, we wouldn't be in this mess! Have you ever thought of that? Hell, maybe if you just didn't eat like a cow, we'd have enough money to pay our god damned bills!"

"If you had gotten that promotion, like you were supposed to..."

"Will you ever let that go?"

"You just want me to let go of the fat ass lie you told me a year ago? You promised more money would be rolling in. You swore everything would be alright, and then you went and blew it..."

Kendall shut the lid of her laptop and sighed loudly. Maybe working wasn't something she needed right now. She made her way to the bathroom, hoping a good shower would help her get her day started. She stripped down, turned on the water and stepped inside.

"Where the hell are you going to go?"

"Somewhere far enough so that I don't have to hear that whiny, bitchy ass tone of yours every again!"

"You can't just leave, Tom! We have a daughter together..."

"So what? I never wanted her anyways!"

"You take another step, and I'll sue you for all you're worth! Between alimony and child support, you won't have a dime to spend on yourself, you ungrateful, cheap ass bastard!"

"Now who is the one name calling in front of the kid? You can't take anything from me, Amy. Because of you, I've already got nothing!"

"Well, that's all you've ever done for this family!"

"Family? You call this a family? All I see is a fat ass cow and a kid that doesn't do anything!"

"Tom!"

"She's flunking first grade, Amy! What else do you want me to say? Do you want me to lie to her face and get her hopes up for nothing?"

"Kendall, upstairs!"

Kendall stepped out of the shower and dried off. She wrapped the towel around herself as she walked back to the bedroom to pick out her clothes for the day. Maybe if she got out of the house and down to the museum, her nightmare would stop haunting her.

"Mom? Are you home?" Kendall carefully hung her bag up on the hook, knowing how angry her mother got when she left it on the floor. She grabbed her spelling test from inside the bag, the one she had spend many hours up in her room studying for.

"Living room," her mother called to her, and Kendall made her way over. She found her mother pouring herself another glass of wine, which wasn't an unusual sight, so she made nothing of it. She handed the test over with a smile.

"I aced it, mom," she said proudly. "If I keep this up, Mrs. F said I would pass first grade!"

"Good job," her mother tossed the test on the coffee table. Kendall picked it up.

"Can you mail it to daddy?"

"The only thing I'm mailing to that man is our divorce papers," her mother got up and walked to the kitchen. Kendall followed eagerly.

"Maybe when he sees this A, he'll come back."

"He's not coming back. This is what people do, Kendall. They break your heart."

Kendall had to slam the breaks on her way to the museum. She snapped herself out of her thoughts just in time to see the pedestrian crossing the street at a designated crosswalk. She waved her hand apologetically then continued on her way. She made it to the museum with no further distractions and unlocked the doors to let herself in. Right away she was greeted by the bones of the T-Rex display in the entrance.

"Kendall! For the last time, clean up your shit!" her mother shouted and Kendall jumped up from the kitchen table right away to get it done. She gathered up all her papers and stuffed them into her bag, but one slipped out. Her mother picked it up. "Dinosaurs? Still?"

"They're pretty cool," she explained. Her mother shook her head as she handed her the paper.

"In the five years he's been gone, your father's only sent you one birthday gift, and you hold on to it like your life depends on it," she rolled her eyes. "It was probably just some last minute toy he picked up off the shelf of whatever discount store's closest to his dirty, rotten, good for nothing crap shack."

"It's not... dad's not why I'm..." Kendall glanced down at the toy in her bag. Technically, it was a plesiosaurus, which wasn't a dinosaur at all. However, at first glance, most people mistook it for one. Her father had sent it to her for her seven birthday, and it had sparked her interest in dinosaurs, even when she found out it wasn't one. In her little mind, she thought maybe learning more about his interests would bring him back, even though her mother insisted he was gone forever. "I just like studying dinosaurs... on my own. Dad's got nothing to do with this."

"It better not. You know how I feel about that... man."

"He's a good for nothing neanderthal whom you regret ever meeting. I know, mom."

"I'm just saying," her mother poured herself another glass of wine, emptying out the bottle she had only opened a couple hours before, when Kendall got home from school. "Don't you ever open up your heart, young lady, because people are only..."

"Going to break it," Kendall nodded her head. She closed up her bag and hurried upstairs to her room, where she could work in peace while her mother started on dinner. She set her bag down on her bed, grabbed her binder and books, and then picked up the plesiosaurus. She looked to it with a sigh, then opened the drawer by her bed. She grabbed the picture inside and looked longingly at her father.

Since he had taken off, she had sent him countless letters in the mail. Some of which were report cards and aced tests. She hoped, if he saw she was doing better and taking her education seriously, he would come back. Others letters were full of facts she learned on her own about dinosaurs and early life. She had faint memories of him telling her all about a time where monstrous beasts ruled the world. He had such a passion for them, Kendall hoped sharing in that passion would bring him back.

But nothing ever did. She only heard from him once, despite the many letters she sent.

"Kendall okay?"

"Uh?" Kendall shook her head and snapped out of her thoughts again. She found herself down in the lab, with her hands busy working on the dino chargers. Then she looked to Koda and saw a curious look on his face.

"Kendall... um... stares at nothing," Koda said.

"Sorry. I was just thinking."

"About?"

"Nothing."

"Like Chase," Koda snickered and Kendall heard the black Ranger protest. She jumped at the sound of his voice, and turned around to see him skateboarding in the lab.

"Chase! When did you get here, and how many times have I told you..."

"Alright, alright," Chase picked up his board and held up his hands, "I'm sorry, alright."

"Just... go upstairs, both of you and open up the cafe."

"Already opened," Chase said and laughed, "How long have you been in that head of yours, mate?"

"Just... go do something. Away from me," Kendall snapped. Chase and Koda did as they were told and made their way back up to the museum.

"Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Chase made a comment on his way out. Kendall rolled her eyes and tried to get back to focusing on her work, if only she knew what she had been trying to do.

"Mom?" Kendall hung her bag up on the hook as she got home from school and made her way to the kitchen. "You home?"

She saw the empty wine glass on the counter and picked it up with a sigh. She tossed the wine bottle in the recycling then made her way upstairs to her mother's bedroom. If her mother wasn't up drinking, she was likely napping.

Kendall opened the door to her mother's bedroom and looked inside only to find a note on her mother's bed.

"Sorry, Kendall," the note said, "but it's like I always tell you: people break your heart."

Kendall read the note a couple of times but couldn't figure out what it meant. Her mother's stuff was still in the room. The car was still in the driveway and she never walked anywhere. Seeing the bathroom door shut, Kendall had to hope her mother was just taking a bath. She knocked but got no response. She opened the door and walked to the tub. She couldn't see her mother, but couldn't stop herself checking, just in case.

Suddenly, she gasped and ran for the phone. She dialled 911 with shaky hands.

"I need an ambulance! It's my mom. She... she must have slipped in the bathroom and... she's in the tub underwater and... Help!"

"Ms. Morgan," Kendall shook her thoughts from her head again and glanced across the lab to see Shelby.

"What?" she snapped. Shelby offered her a burger.

"You haven't been upstairs all day," she said. "Koda said you came in without a lunch so I figured... you were hungry."

"Just... put it down," Kendall said. Shelby set the stray on a nearby table.

"Need any help?" she asked. "You've been working on those all day. Maybe..."

"I'm fine, Shelby," Kendall grumbled. "Just get back to work..."

"I just clocked out," Shelby said. "I'm done for the day. So if you need a hand on..."

"I'm fine on my own."

"Are you..."

"Shelby, I assure you, I'm fine!" Kendall snapped for the second time that day without meaning too. She saw the way Shelby jumped and sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. I just... I work better alone."

"Alright," Shelby said and turned to leave. "Well, if you change your mind, just let me know."

Kendall nodded her head and waited for the pink Ranger to be gone before she let out a long sigh. She checked her watch and saw a whole day had gone by, wasted, because of her nightmares. She packed her bag while quickly wiping away the tears in her eyes.

As she went to pick up her bag, she lost her grip. She hadn't closed it up so everything spilled out. Cursing under her breath, she knelt down to gather up all her papers. She was about to shove the first handful inside when she noticed a letter lying at the bottom of her bag. She laughed it off, but grabbed it, leaving the rest of her stuff on the floor. She walked over to her chair, sat down, and stared at the envelop marked "return to sender".

"What an idiot," she muttered and tore open the envelope to see what was inside. "He'll never show up, kid. He can't be bothered."

She unfolded the letter and read it with a shake of her head.

"Hey, dad. It's me again. Kendall. Your daughter. Just writing to let you know my middle school graduation is this month, if you wanted to come. My teacher says I can invite up to three people. I'd be great if you could show up, but I get it if you're too busy.

"Also, just letting you know that mom's funeral was last week. I told you about it in my last letter, but I guess you had other plans. Social services says I'll be with my foster family until they can reach you, so please come and get me.

"Love, Kendall.

"PS: my foster family's address is on the post-it note at the back of the letter so you can pick me up whenever you have time."

Kendall tore up the letter then tossed it in the trash, "Don't let them in, Kendall. People only break your heart."