Author's Note: Thanks for all the positive feedback for the last chapter. I know it's sad that Kaylee and Dustin both lost their daughter, and I know that according to my profile, they are going to have another, but you can never replace a child. It's definately going to take some time for them to heal.
I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!
"I came as soon as I could!" Kira Ford smiled as she ran into the Bradley household and found everyone in the living room. She hugged Dustin gently, whispering I'm sorry, in his ear before sitting down next to Kaylee, who was once again curled up on the couch, with her doll in her arms. "How are you holding up?"
Kaylee looked up at her friend before letting her body fall forward. Kira understood immediately and pulled the blonde in a hug. "You didn't deserve this, Kayl," Kira frowned. As she pulled away from the hug, she noticed the streak in the blonde's hair was now pink, instead of its usual green. She also noticed that Kaylee was only wearing pink and black, whereas she would usually wear something green. "Did I miss the theme?"
"The baby was supposed to be a girl," Leanne whispered to the yellow Ranger.
"Ah," Kira breathed, turning to Dustin and seeing the pink in his hair. She looked down at what she was wearing and frowned. "I'm only doing this because I love you guys."
With that, Kira walked away.
"Tough love?" Hunter frowned, seeing his ex leaving the room, when Kaylee and Dustin needed her most. Dustin frowned at the dirty blond, but knew he was only trying to lighten the mood.
When Kira finally came back, everyone noticed she had changed her shirt. It was no longer the regular yellow and black, but it was solid pink. Ignoring the scarred looks from the guys, Kira took her spot on the couch again.
Kira wasn't known to wear anything pink, at anytime. And even though this was a very emotional moment for Kaylee, the guys just thought that Kira was going to offer support. They never would have thought she would actually go as far as putting on something pink, never mind bright, solid pink.
Conner chose that moment to come inside. He made his way to the living room, where he figured everyone would be. He failed to notice Kaylee and Dustin were in the room, so thinking it was only the guys, he came in all happy. That is, until he saw what he thought was his fiancée, dressed in pink.
"Who the hell are you and what have you done with Kira?" he asked. Kira's head whipped around as she glared at him, telling him it wasn't the time to joke around. Conner caught the glare and noticed that the green and yellow couple was, in fact, in the room. He smiled a sad smile as he walked up to Dustin, patting the older man on the shoulder. Conner then went over to the couch, pulling Kaylee in a hug and kissing the top of her head.
Kira noticed Kaylee clinging to the doll and made an attempt to take the doll away, so that Kaylee could focus on her. When she did, she heard Kaylee whisper something.
"What did you say?" Kira asked as she and Tori leaned in closer.
"Don't take my baby," Kaylee whispered again, loud enough for everyone to hear.
Tori turned to Blake, with a look of fear in her eyes.
"Kayl," she whispered, looking back at her little sister. "It's only a doll."
"No it's not," Kaylee whispered, holding the doll closer to her. "It's Sammy. Can't you see it?"
"Is she on painkillers or something?" Conner asked, only to be punched, hard, in the arm by Dustin. He also received a warning glare from the yellow ninja, telling him to keep quiet.
Dustin knelt down beside the couch, hoping Kaylee would listen to him. "Kayl, Sammy's... gone. Remember, we had her funeral so we could say goodbye?"
"It's probably denial," Leanne remarked.
"Are you a psychiatrist as well?" Blake frowned, looking up at his semi-adoptive sister.
"Stages of grief," she explained. "I'm guessing this one is denial. Kaylee refuses to believe she lost her daughter, so she's replacing it with the doll."
Kira smiled as she turned back to the green Ranger. This time, she didn't try to take the doll away and jumped right into the conversation.
"I know you've already had the funeral and all, but I was thinking. Maybe you could do something more to say goodbye to Jamie?"
"Sammy," Conner whispered, having heard of the name from Dustin.
"Sammy," Kira corrected herself. "You know that hobby we both have, and haven't been able to do together in like, forever?"
Kaylee looked up and shook her head. Conner smiled as he stood up and pulled some papers out from his pocket.
"I rented out this neat little arena in Ocean Bluff," he smiled. "I took care of the tickets and advertising myself. Thanks to the internet and both your lovely voices, we're going to put on a show to allow not only you and Dustin, but fans around the world to say goodbye to Sammy."
Kaylee looked up at her second Ranger leader as her jaw dropped to the floor.
"You, did all that?" Kaylee asked. "In a few short days?"
"Well, Ethan helped with the internet stuff, and Haley made some posters to attract fans from Cyberspace, but everything is paid for. Hell, my soccer campers are also going to be there, selling things from tiny soccer balls, to stuffed toys to raise money to help other women suffering from their miscarriage," Conner finished.
Kaylee bit her lower lip and smiled. She watched as Dustin and Conner hugged, thanking the red Dino Ranger for all his hard work. Then, Kaylee handed her doll to Tori and jumped into Conner's arms. Conner wrapped his arms around her small body and squeezed her tight when he felt her starting to cry.
"You're the best, not really brother in-law in the world!" she smiled, choking back tears. "Oh, what the hell! You're the best brother in-law ever!"
Blake turned from Kaylee, to Tori and frowned. Tori just shrugged, laughing.
"He kinda bought her hope," she explained.
"I put pink in my hair for her!" Blake frowned, pointing to what little pink was left in his dark hair.
Tori just continued laughing as she pulled her husband in a hug. "Aw, well if it makes you feel better, you can be my best brother in law."
Blake glared down at Tori as the blonde bit her lower lip in a playful way. "It's just weird now."
-----Earning-The-Leopard-----
Kaylee and Kira had been on stage for nearly an hour now and the fans were still going strong. All of them had shown their support for Kaylee throughout the whole show, and it really made the unfortunate mother happy to know that people outside her little family cared for her.
The fans already knew why the two singers were doing the show, but Kaylee felt as if she owed them a little more of an explanation. After finishing the song, she gave her guitar to Dustin, who took it off the stage, and she sat on a stool, beside Kira.
"Before we start this last song, I just wanted to thank you guys," she smiled. "I know I haven't done much singing lately, and Kira's still starting out her career, but it really means a lot to me and Dustin that you guys showed up."
"As you probably all know, I had a miscarriage a few days ago. The doctors still have no idea why it happened," Kaylee lied. She couldn't let the world know about her ninja training just because of Samantha, "but that doesn't change the fact that it happened, and it hurt. Though I had no idea I was pregnant before I lost Sammy, that didn't change anything to the way I felt about losing her. Since the day I was born I've always wanted to be a mother. My dollies would be real babies to me, and I took better care of them then my older sister took care of me."
At that, the crowd started laughing. Tori also had to laugh too. She knew it was true. Even before their parents passed away, Tori was always a protective older sister to Kaylee. But she had to admit, that her care for Kaylee came nowhere near Kaylee's care for her dolls.
"Some of you guys can probably relate to how I'm feeling. Losing a loved one is never easy; especially when that person was growing inside of you. So Sammy, this song is for you."
I miss you
Miss you so bad
I don't forget you
Oh, it's so sad.
I hope you can hear me
I remember it clearly...
-----Earning-The-Leopard-----
"That was beautiful," a girl smiled, walking up to Kaylee and Kira as the two finished putting their instruments away.
"Thanks," Kaylee smiled weakly, longing to get back home where her doll was waiting for her. Leanne had hit the money when she said Kaylee was going through a stage of denial. "Did you like the show, Lils?"
"Yeah," Lily nodded, happy one of her idols remembered her.
"We're glad you made it then," Kira smiled. "I know it really means a lot to Kaylee to see her fans show up."
Kaylee nodded before taking her guitar and Kira's backstage, promising the yellow Ranger she would be back soon. Kira could understand why Kaylee was being unusually cold, but wanted to make it up to the girl who seemed to only have Kaylee's best interest in mind.
"She's still a little heartbroken about everything," Kira explained. "But how about I sign your ticket for you? Who do I make it out too?"
"Lily Chilman," the girl answered, giving the singer her tickets to sign. Lily had already met Kaylee before, but she didn't get the chance to meet Kira. Quickly, Kira put her name on the paper and gave it back.
Kaylee can back as Kira finished with the tickets. "Kir, we gotta go," she said. Kira nodded and gave Lily a hug goodbye before turning to Kaylee.
"Can you do me a favour and take the amps to the car?" Kira asked as she put her bag over her shoulder and held the extra concert shirts in her other hand. Kaylee nodded, walking up next to Lily, who was beside the amps.
She knew she had been a little cold to Lily moments ago, so she smiled at the girl and gave her a hug as well.
"Thanks for the support, Lils. You always seem to have my back in times like these," Kaylee smiled.
When Lily's body came in contact with Kaylee's, visions went through her head. She saw Kaylee in the hospital as a woman told her the bad news about the miscarriage. Then it moved onto Kaylee holding her little doll, as if it was her child. It finally stopped on a vision of Kaylee and Kira singing on stage, with Kaylee not paying much attention to anything going on.
Kaylee and Lily broke apart and smiled before the green Ranger took the amp and walked off.
"Thanks for coming to the show!" she called.
-----Earning-The-Leopard-----
After saying their goodbyes, and many thank yous, Kaylee and the other ninjas parted ways with Kira and Conner. After all, the two had only planned on coming down from Reefside for the day. Conner had to get back to his camps and Kira was working on her music, so they didn't want to stay too long.
Dustin and Kaylee finally went back to their own house, instead of going back with Tori and Blake. When they got inside, Kaylee walked straight up the stairs, with her doll in her arms, and got ready to put it to bed.
"If she's not snapping back to reality in a few days, I'm so doing an intervention," Dustin whispered to himself as he pulled the milk carton out from the fridge. He forgot to check the expiry date and quickly poured himself some milk. He took a sip, and spit it out as soon as the sour milk passed over his lips.
"Alright, maybe not something as harsh as an intervention, maybe just a good talk," he frowned, wiping the milk from his mouth.
He was about to get a glass of water to wash the taste down, when he heard a loud thump coming from upstairs, followed by another few.
Dropping the glass, he bolted up the stairs, taking them two, even three at a time as he ran to his and Kaylee's bedroom. He opened the door and found Kaylee, in the middle of the room, crying. She was holding her doll with one hand, and its head in the other.
Kaylee looked up at her fiancé and threw the head at him.
"It's your fault!" Kaylee yelled, ripping the doll's limbs off for more ammo. "Everything's your fault!"
The doll's head missed Dustin's by a few inches, and the yellow Ranger was lucky enough to catch the two arms and legs. The body however hit Dustin in the stomach.
"Would you mind explaining how it's all my fault?" Dustin asked, picking up the doll's head and body and putting it back together. Kaylee probably didn't want the doll back, but it was her doll since she was a toddler, so he didn't want to have to throw it away.
"Because you and your stupid proposal!" Kaylee yelled, dropping to the ground. "If you never proposed, we never would have had sex, I would have had my period and life would be normal!"
Dustin slowly shook his head in understanding. Kaylee had put a lot of color into her explanation and he could see why she thought it was his fault, especially when she was in her anger phase.
He sat down next to her and pulled her onto his lap. He rocked her gently as he spoke softly.
"Kayl, this isn't your fault, and it's not my fault," he whispered in her ear. "It was a freak accident. No one could have known, and no one could have stopped it."
"I could have known," Kaylee whispered. "If I wasn't so stupid and took freaking pregnancy test when I knew I was late... Sammy would still be here."
Dustin let his head fall back in frustration. Apparently the anger phase had two parts to it.
"Kayl, don't blame yourself," he whispered.
"But I even saw I was getting bigger... and I was too stupid..."
"Will you shut up already?" Dustin smiled. "It's not your fault. I noticed it too and the one time I act like a gentlemen it bites me in the butt."
Kaylee looked up at the man she loved and frowned. "You thought I was fat?"
"Not fat exactly... but gaining a few pounds... in the belly, and the butt, and maybe the boobs... yeah!" Dustin stuttered, regretting pulling the angry woman on his lap. Now she had him pinned down.
Kaylee bit her lower lip and raised her eyebrows. Just like with Tori, that was never a good sign.
"But you were still beautiful Kayl," Dustin smiled. "And cute, and funny, and strong! So strong, that you could beat the shit out of stupid me. But you were also smart. Smart enough to know that beating a poor, innocent boy is wrong."
Kaylee smiled and gently pushed Dustin away. Dustin could have sworn he heard a laugh coming from her, so he kept the compliments coming. "And, you're the bravest person I know. You've risked your life so many times to help keep the world safe from people like Lothor, or that frozen dude!"
"Flurious?" Kaylee laughed.
"Yeah! Frosty!" Dustin smiled. "And, you're giving. Like, at Christmas when you bought not only the overdrive Rangers expense gifts, without getting a gift in return, but you bought me a gift, and your sister and Kira. Hell you bough Blake a gift, and I don't think you even really like him!"
"He took Tori away," Kaylee pouted. Dustin laughed and hugged his future wife. Since Tori and Blake had gotten married, the blue Ranger had been spending more time with Blake, and less with Kaylee. And since the girl's parents were dead, Tori was the only family Kaylee had. Though the younger sister was happy for Tori and Blake, there was still a part of her that hated Blake for taking Tori away from her. It was a feeling you would expect from a two year old, but if anyone knew Kaylee at all, they would know that a lot of the things she did mimicked the actions of a two year old.
"But you know what," Dustin continued. "Even when you were getting fatter, you were still putting other people's needs before your own. Remember when we met the wild force team? You gave up your life for Alyssa's?"
A small smile can to Kaylee's mouth as an idea hit her. She still had power over the gems of souls. It was inside her. She could summon it and she could bring people back to life! It could cost her her own life, but she didn't give a damn at this point. She jumped up and ran for the door.
"Where are you going?" Dustin called, getting up off the floor and following the blonde.
"Monkey butt!" Kaylee yelled from downstairs, not wanting Dustin to know her plans. If he did, he was sure to stop her. That was the last thing she wanted.
Dustin groaned when he heard the infamous Monkey butt. Kaylee was hiding something from him. Normally he would just let it go, but with the miscarriage and Kaylee's sensitivity to it, he thought it would be best if he followed her.
He knew the stages of grief. He had been through them all already. First there was denial, which Kaylee had gone through with the doll. Then there was anger. Kaylee had just shown him she was in her anger phase by ripping up her doll and chucking it at his head.
After that, there was bargaining. Dustin had no idea if Kaylee had just reached this stage or not, but he knew he had to be careful with it. He was afraid that Kaylee would go back to blaming herself, and would try to change her look, or personality to see if it would bring Samantha back.
After bargaining, there was depression. Dustin didn't even want to think about what that would mean. So he decided to cross that bridge when he got to it.
Finally, the best stage was acceptance. Thanks to Shane, Dustin had gone through all five stages before Kaylee showed much denial to the death of Sam. He was really thankful now that Kaylee was proving to be unpredictable.
"You know I don't understand monkey speak!" Dustin yelled out the door while putting his coat on. When he got one arm through the sleeve, he saw something shine from the ground. He picked it up and frowned.
"Kaylee..." he sighed, shoving the thing in his pocket and running after Kaylee, only to realise she took the car. "Daughter of an ass!"
-----Earning-The-Leopard-----
After calling both Tori and Leanne, the three arrived to the beach and found Kaylee standing on the grassy ledge, looking out to the ocean.
"Thank God," Tori smiled, looking up at her sister.
"The hell do you think you're doing, Blondie?" Leanne yelled. Kaylee looked down the three and frowned.
"Bringing Sammy back," she said. "I can do it! I know I can!"
"Kayl! If you use that, you're going to die!" Dustin yelled, holding up the piece of the gem of souls he found at the house. Kaylee must have accidentally knocked dropped the rock when she summoned it from inside her, because she held the other half in her hand.
"I don't care!" Kaylee yelled.
"Get down here, and we'll start training again! If you're still mad about all this I'll let you beat on Hunter!" Leanne frowned.
"I'm not mad," Kaylee smiled innocently.
"This must be anger and a half way to bargaining," Dustin frowned, earning confused gazes from Tori, Leanne and Kaylee.
"Kayl, get back here!" Tori smiled. "You don't have to do this! Sammy wouldn't want you to!"
"I want to, Tor!" Kaylee frowned. "She's all I didn't have!"
This time, Kaylee was the one receiving confused looked from the three down at the beach.
"What do you mean?" Tori asked. "You have Dustin, and me, and..."
"No I don't!" Kaylee yelled. "You're always with Blake! I'm never at home because of stupid Ranger business and everyone else just sucks!"
"Thank you," Leanne frowned.
"At least with Sammy... she could have been there with me... she could have had Dustin tag along with me when I leave the city... she was going to make us a family again! Now she's gone!"
Tori started climbing up the small hill to reach her sister. She stood in front of her and smiled.
"Kayl, I'm always here for you," she whispered. "We're still a family... but we're just a little messed up because of everything."
"No we're not," Kaylee sighed. "Sammy's gone... we're never going to be a family again."
Tori took the gem of souls from Kaylee's hand and put it in her pocket as Dustin and Leanne joined them up on the hill.
"Kayl, if you wanted me to come with you, you should have just asked," Dustin smiled, pulling his wife in a hug.
"You're going to have to be trained though," Leanne smirked.
"I don't care," Dustin smiled. "Kaylee's wrong about not having a family, but she's right about us having to spend more time together. I promise you Kayl, I'll be with you for this mission."
"And I'll show up whenever you need me," Tori promised. "Hell, I'm sure even Kira's going to tag along."
Kaylee smiled and put her hand on her stomach. Maybe Sammy was dead, but she did bring Kaylee closer to her family.