Kendall stood over her mother's grave. She hadn't visited since the burial. She had always been too angry with her mother to return. Yet right now, her anger towards her mother didn't seem to hurt her as much. Now, Kendall looked down at the grave and could only feel stupid.
"People break your heart," Kendall whispered with a little shake of the head. "Those were your dying words, huh?"
She remembered every time her mother had uttered those words. The divorce with her father had been a messy one. He had said and done things that had ruined her, and she had screamed and drove him off. In hindsight, they were both to blame, but Kendall always felt her mother got the bitter end of the deal. Her father was still alive, and while his life seemed rather pathetic in her eyes, at least he was still alive. Her mother had been left with a six year old and a wounded heart and never quite recovered. Her only advice to her little girl was to keep her heart away from everyone. So much so, an apology and those words were all she left in the suicide note.
Kendall had grown up trying to embrace her mother's words. She had shut everyone out of her life, no matter how much they tried to push back. Then she met Chase and Koda and was forced to work with them. Kendall always tried to keep the boys at arm's length, keeping a professional relationship, but eventually let her guard down. Koda was so innocent to the modern world; he wouldn't know how to break a heart if he tried. He was so sensitive and caring; Kendall couldn't help but let him in. Chase... he still baffled her. He drew her in, despite her reservations. Thanks to them, and the three other Rangers, she had started to see that maybe being a little less distant wasn't so bad.
She started to forget her mother's words and appreciate the comfort of having people she could count on. In a way, it made her happy to know she didn't need to face everything herself. And the more she relied on them to do their jobs, and the more they pushed to get to know her a little better, she more she let herself go.
Now, she was Cammy's big sister and frequently let her walls down around the little girl. She was back with her foster parents, who seemed to care for her more than anyone else she had met in her life. She had even reconnected with her foster brother, and over the course of a single meal felt a familial bond. They had talked about how annoying their parents could get. Like how when Mr. Fisher ate chips, the whole house could always hear him chew. Or how Mrs. Fisher, whenever she was nagging, would always start her sentences with, "Sweetheart, I know you hate when I remind you, but..."
Kendall felt a connection to her foster brother. It was one she hoped would grow the more time they spent together. She had been hoping, maybe, he would invite her to coffee, or ask for a tour of her museum. If she was lucky, maybe he would invite her to see one of Anna's school recitals. He could introduce her as his sister, or Anna's aunt, or even just his friend. Kendall didn't care. She just wanted to feel close to someone and thought, finally, she had a shot with her brother.
Yet the news that he was headed home, and that home was an airplane ride away, had crushed that hope. Jeremy wouldn't be around. If she wanted to hang out for coffee, she would have to book off an entire weekend, at least. And for the foreseeable future, that wasn't possible. Not with five energems still missing and Sledge, Fury, and their army attacking the planet every other day.
So, just like everyone else, Jeremy had let her down. He left her, just like her father and her mother.
"Good choice," she muttered to her mother's grave, then turned around and walked away.
-Dino-Charge-
The rest of the day went on without Kendall returning to the museum. The Rangers had been sure she would come back. She was so task-oriented, they were confident she would deal with this upset just like she did everything else: by immersing herself in her work. Shelby had even joked that maybe this was the push Kendall needed to find the next energem.
But Kendall never came back. By closing time, Tyler, Riley, and Shelby decided to call it a day. They were worried, but if Kendall wasn't at the lab, she was probably taking some time to be by herself at her apartment. Koda lived under the museum where she worked, so maybe she didn't want to talk with even him. They hoped they would see her in the morning.
Koda went back to his cave, and Chase followed. He hoped his friends were right, and Kendall would show up by morning. If she did, he wanted to be there for her. To let her know that her brother leaving wasn't the end of the world. She still had him and Koda and the other Rangers by her side, as well as her foster parents and Cammy. She wasn't alone. Not anymore.
Koda went to bed, but Chase in the lab. He sat in Kendall's chair, just so that, when she did come in, she would have to wake him up if she wanted to work. He did try to stay awake, but as the hours ticked by, he grew more and more tired. By early morning, he was fast asleep, and didn't wake up again until the other Rangers showed up for their shifts.
"I take it Ms. Morgan is a no-show," Shelby asked. Chase rubbed his eyes then looked around. Her computer and all the Ranger equipment was still where it was supposed to be. If Kendall had worked around him, she would have at least had to move her laptop. Chase sighed.
"I can check her apartment," he suggested. "My shift doesn't start until later anyways."
"Want someone to come with you?" Tyler asked, but Chase shook his head.
"Hey, it's hard enough to get Kendall to open up. Bringing the entire squad might not be a good idea."
"I talk to Kendall," Koda offered.
"Thanks, but I... I kind of want to do this alone," Chase said with a little shrug. "Besides, I actually saw it happen. She probably doesn't want you guys to know."
"Well, not showing up would let us know something was up. She'd have to expect us to be worried either way," Riley pointed out, but Chase shook his head again.
"I'll let you know if I need you, alright," he told them. "Just, let me talk with her first. If that doesn't work, you can try your hand."
Chase grabbed his bag and headed out. He drove quickly to Kendall's apartment and knocked on her door. He hoped for an answer, but received none. He knocked again. At the same time, her neighbour was stepping out of her apartment.
"Hey, you wouldn't happen to know if Kendall Morgan came home last night, would you?" Chase asked her. The neighbour shrugged.
"Don't think so, but I'm never sure. I don't know why she bothers with the place. She spends more time out than in."
"Okay, but last night," Chase asked. "I work with Kendall and she didn't show up after lunch. Did she come by here?"
"If she did, I didn't see or hear her," the neighbour said. "Sorry."
The neighbour then left to catch the elevator. Chase sighed, knocked one more time, but the considered it futile. He glanced up and down the hallway quickly, to be sure the neighbour and any others were gone before pulling out his Dino Com.
"Kendall? You there?"
No answer. Chase was starting to worry now. When he first became a Ranger, he had forgotten to take his communicator with him when he went skateboarding. A few Viviks attacked, leaving an inexperienced Koda shorthanded and quite bruised. When Chase later returned to the museum, Kendall had given him an earful about the importance of always having the communicator on hand and always responding to any call.
"Come on, Kendall. At least let me know you're okay and..."
"Is this thing on?" Kendall asked as her face appeared on the screen. It was a real close up shot, though First of her eye, then her mouth. Chase frowned.
"Kendall, you're there? Is everything okay?"
"Can you hear me?" she asked loudly. Chase winced, moving his communicator away slightly.
"Kendall, I can hear you fine. It's like a phone, remember. Just... talk normally."
He found it odd he had to explain how the communicators worked. She had built them. She had given him and the other Rangers a two hour lesson on how they worked. Something was wrong.
"Hey. I built this, you know," Kendall chided him and Chase noticed her slurring a little bit. "You don't need to tell me how this works."
"Are you... drunk?"
"Are you?" Kendall playfully shot back, then laughed loudly before hanging up. Chase shook his head, sighed, and then called back again. Kendall answered quickly this time, frowning when she saw him. "You again? Didn't I just talk to you?"
"Where are you?"
"Here," Kendall said and aimed the communicator at her feet. Chase rolled her eyes while she laughed again.
"Where is here?"
"It's where I am," Kendall giggled. "Okay, now my turn. Where are you?"
"Coming to get you."
"That's not a place. You lose, I win!" Kendall cried out happily then Chase saw her chug what was left of her drink. Chase pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Kendall, where can I pick you up?"
"At my place."
"I'm at your place," Chase groaned. "I want to take you back to your place."
"At least buy me dinner first, hot shot," Kendall smirked and winked. Chase sighed loudly.
"This is not flattering for you, Kendall. I'll track you down on the communicator. Just, whatever you do, keep it on you."
"I'll be waiting!" Kendall sung, and then hung up on him. Chase sighed again as he started to leave the building.
"This is a side of you I never thought I'd see."