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

Chase swung in the hammock at Shelby's family's cottage. It overlooked the lake, where Cammy was playing in the water just off the dock. Despite technically being kidnapped, the little girl was having a blast with the pink and black Rangers. So far, they had been swimming, had campfires, made s'mores and stayed up late – it was a child's dream vacation.

For Chase, it was mostly a headache. He had to ignore calls on his cell phone from Ivan, Koda, Riley and a few from the Prince. He also had his morpher turned off, meaning he didn't know when the other Rangers were in battle or if he was needed.

Though, he was sure the other Rangers wouldn't call on him. After the mess Heckyl put him in, he was sure he was the last person any of them wanted to see.

His cell phone rang again, interrupting his thoughts. He looked to the screen and saw it was Kendall calling. By now, he doubted she was worried about him too much. The Fishers had been called into work last minute during one of Cammy's soccer games, and so had to ask Shelby to keep an eye on the girl and bring her back to Kendall after the game. However, when Shelby got to the Fisher home with Cammy, she saw Chase. Right away the pink Ranger knew something was up and at the time imagined taking off with Cammy would only be for a few hours.

A couple of days later, Cammy was still in their care, but until they could be sure the others were ready to listen to Chase's side of the story, it was too dangerous to head back into the city. The Fishers had no idea where their daughter was, and Kendall was likely going out of her mind with worry. For all Chase knew, her last memory of him involved a few punches and horrible exchanges. If she even suspected he had Cammy in his care, she would definitely panic.

However, he knew Cammy was safe. He'd never hurt her, and if Heckyl did take over his body again, he knew Shelby would protect her. Chase shut off his phone and dumped it in the hammock before turning to Shelby at the barbecue.

"Are you sure you don't want help with that?" he asked, mostly to take his mind off Kendall and the trouble he was in back home. Shelby grumbled as she looked up.

"I've done this before."

"Doesn't look like it," Chase chuckled. Cammy had requested barbecued hot-dogs for lunch and Chase and Shelby, knowing they would be in big trouble with the Fishers and Kendall upon their return, thought that spoiling the little girl and giving her the trip of a lifetime might soften the blow of their scolding a little bit. After all, worried parents only wanted to see their kids home safe and sound. Hearing they had a blast while away might just reassure them that there was never any danger.

Suddenly, Shelby let out a cry as the barbecue started up with a big flame. She jumped back, tongs in hand, ready to attack. Chase smirked at the sight.

"Well, that's one way to pluck your eyebrows."

"Shut up," Shelby muttered, pulling her hat down a little more over her face. "This was an impromptu trip. I couldn't really pack anything."

"I offered to buy you tweezers when we were in town."

"On your credit card," Shelby frowned and placed a few hot-dogs on the grill. "Your girlfriend is Kendall Morgan. When you're trying to hide from her, you have to know better than to use your credit card."

"Good point," Chase conceded, then turned his attention back to the water again. Shelby's parents had a beautiful view of a clear, blue lake, and since it was the middle of the week, there were very few people. Chase had an uninterrupted view of the water.

Suddenly, he sat up. His view wasn't supposed to be so breathtaking. There was supposed to be a little girl splashing around by the dock. He had suited her up with water wings and a pool noodle, but he knew he had to keep his eye on her. Anything could happen in the water.

"Cammy!" he cried out, jumping from the hammock, rather ungracefully, before he charged towards the dock. Seeing the black Ranger take off in a panic, Shelby forgot all about the hot-dogs and chased after him. They had to find the little girl and fast.

"It was your turn to keep an eye on her!" Shelby shouted just before Chase leaped off the dock and into the water. The fact that he swam straight down, and Shelby couldn't see any trace of the little girl had her worried.

"I got it!" Shelby suddenly heard Cammy call out and turned to face the shore. There, along the coast was Cammy, with her water wings, covered in mud, with a frog in her hands. Shelby put her hand on her heart and let out a deep breath.

"Thank god!"

"I caught a frog!" Cammy held up the little critter happily just before it squirmed. She was surprised by the creature's fight and accidentally let it go. "Oh, wait!"

"Cammy!" Chase shouted again as he emerged from the water and ran to shore. He scooped her up. "What the hell were you doing?"

"I caught a frog," she repeated with happy innocence and pointed to the water. Chase looked to the water, then to Shelby who had her hand in front of her mouth and was laughing.

"You had me worried sick!" Chase told her. Cammy frowned.

"Why? Are frogs dangerous?"

"I couldn't see you from the hammock!" Chase said and pointed back to the cottage, where his view of the hammock was obstructed by the drop down to the water. "You have to stay where I can see you."

"But the frog came this way," Cammy pouted. "You didn't see me walk this way?"

"No."

"You have to be watching me all the time," Cammy told him as she wriggled out of his arms. "I'm playing in the water. Kendall always watches me in the water."

"Yeah, well, I can't always keep both eyes on you. You need to stay where I can see you so I don't freak out again," Chase said then noticed Shelby was still laughing over by the dock. He frowned. "Your tweezers are burning lunch."

"What?" Shelby asked before he pointed to the barbecue. "Shit!" she called out, racing back to the cottage. Chase took Cammy's hand.

"We should get cleaned off before lunch," he said to her. Cammy pulled her hand free and raced to the end of the dock, jumping off. When she surfaced, she looked at Chase, grinning happily.

"Done!"

Chase massaged the side of his head and grumbled under his breath, "I have a new respect for your parents."

-Dino-Charge-

Jeremy touched his energem gently with his fingers as he rode the elevator down into the lab. When the doors opened, he looked around, spotting his sister sitting on an old work bench, staring at the painting of Keeper that Koda had drawn on the wall in memory of the alien.

"Do you miss him," he asked, startling Kendall slightly. He sat down next to her, looking to the painting.

"I still can't believe he's gone," Kendall answered. She turned to her brother, "How did it go?"

"Anna's pretty thrilled about it," he shrugged. "She thinks it's pretty cool her dad's a Power Ranger."

"And Tracey?"

"She's got mixed feelings about it. But she does want to push back the move."

"We already have two Rangers worldwide," Kendall said. "I don't know how I feel about having a third on call instead of at the ready."

"Relax, I'll be staying here," Jeremy said. "She's just worried about Anna. She doesn't want Anna getting caught up in this mess. She offered to take Cammy too."

Kendall looked away from her brother as tears quickly filled her eyes. He put his arm around her, pulling her in closer.

"Hey, we're going to find her. And wherever she is, she's with Shelby. That's got to mean something."

"I just want to know what's going on," Kendall said, wiping away her tears, though to no real avail. "First the lab, then Keeper, then Chase, and now Cammy and Shelby? It just feels like things are falling apart."

"That's just how it feels," Jeremy insisted. "Life's like a pendulum that way. Whenever things feel bad, you just have to remember that the pendulum will swing back. And you've got to remember..."

"Cherish the good times. They won't last," Kendall finished. "You're really taking after Jon, you know."

"Yeah, that's what happened when I became a dad," Jeremy chuckled. "Now, we know you're not really in the mood to celebrate, but mom and dad did make a little something for you upstairs. Just the family, though."

"I'm not hungry."

"Kendall..."

"I'm really not."

"You only get one birthday a year."

"I'll have one next year."

"Doesn't feel right celebrating without Cammy, huh?"

"Or Chase."

"Kendall."

"That wasn't him back there."

"You took a pretty hard hit to the thinker back there," Jeremy shook his head. "I saw him, clear as day. That was Chase."

"I don't want to believe that," Kendall argued and her brother sighed.

"You finally have faith in someone. Really? Now?"

"Doesn't that count for something?"

"And how many of your phone calls has he answered?" Jeremy said and watched as Kendall lowered her head. "He's hiding. Anna used to do the same thing when she knew she was in trouble."

"It's not like that."

"I saw him, Kendall. I saw what he did to you. I know what he would have done to you if I hadn't shown up. Maybe all the power's gone to his head, or..."

"Energems don't work that way. His energem's still bonded to him. That has to mean he's still Chase."

"He is the black Ranger," Jeremy pointed out. "Black's is associated with evil. Maybe there's an evil energem out there."

"Keeper only mentioned ten, and he mentioned they were all good."

Jeremy sighed. He knew he wasn't going to win this fight. Kendall had spent the past few years of her life dedicated to learning all she could about the energems, their power and their potential. He could argue that maybe she was wrong, but he didn't feel like deciphering the scientific jargon that would be sure to follow.

"I just came down here to see if you were okay, and to let you know mom and dad really want to celebrate a birthday with you. It's just dinner, and especially given all that's going on, they really deserve a couple of hours of celebration."

"But Cammy..."

"It's not a sin to enjoy yourself even at the worse times," Jeremy reminded his sister. "Mom and dad still celebrated their anniversary the day after you left. It didn't make them miss you any less, but it let them feel whole again for one evening. They deserved it; so do you. We even have cake."

"What, no presents," Kendall rolled her eyes as she turned away from her brother. Jeremy shrugged.

"Some things we want to have Cammy home for," he said.

"I don't need a present."

"You're going to like this one."

"I don't even want a cake. Jeremy, I don't feel like celebrating my birthday."

"Then let us celebrate and you just come have dinner with mom, dad and Koda," Jeremy offered. "You need to eat something."

When Kendall didn't answer, he leaned forward to look at her. He smiled.

"You're a good big sister," he said. "No one's saying you're not. We're not even asking you to turn off your communicator or your cell phone. Cammy comes first. But since we're not getting through to her, Shelby or Chase, and their communicators are off, can't we just take a break, spend time with family and hope they'll reach out to us?"

Kendall picked up her communicator. It was tempting to be able to set it aside for a couple of hours and not have to worry about trying to locate her friends. Chase was strong enough he could look after himself and Kendall also trusted Shelby would take care of Cammy until they could find their way home.

It wasn't going to be easy, but maybe for a couple of hours, Kendall could let herself have a good time.

"Atta girl," Jeremy smiled, seeing his sister was starting to come around. "We'll save a piece of cake for Cammy and we'll celebrate again with her, I promise. For now, let's just have a good time. I know it's not every day my baby sister turns twenty-seven."