"Hey Buddy?" Mike pushed open the door with his foot; his hands were holding a tray.

"Leo?" Mike set the tray he was carrying on the table near the empty bed.

"Leo?" he called again.

A soft padding sound from the direction of the bathroom got his attention, "Mike, yeah?" Leo asked.

"Leo, what are you doing out of bed? And without telling one of us? What if you passed out again or got sick? And none of us knew you weren't here?" Mike's voice rose with each syllable.

Leo maneuvered around his brother carefully, heading to the couch at the window.

"Mike, I feel loads better now. I just had to go to the bathroom. It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal, Leo," Mike's voice betrayed his disbelief. "Leo, we have to stop being so careless. You have to stop being so careless. You can't afford to be lax anymore. I intend on keeping you around, so you gotta work with me brother."

Mike sat on the bed; the brothers' knees touching.

"Mike," Leo started slowly. "I was in the bathroom, but I have a feeling this isn't about that. You need to calm down," Leo said evenly. "I'm not in a rush to leave you anymore, brother, but for your sake, you gotta stop holding on so tight."

Mike was silent for a few seconds; he searched the younger man's face for a few seconds.

"How about this? You be honest with me about how you're feeling, whatever that is. And I , in return, promise to keep my worries quieter," surmised Mike.

"Knock, Knock," Kendrix called. "Oh hey Mike didn't know you were in here."

Mike smiled, a little sadly, "I was just leaving." Pausing, he bent down to place a hand on his brother's shoulder, but then turned it into a hug, relishing the fact that his brother was still there.

Walking to the stairs, he walked into the bathroom to turn off the light which Leo had forgot to close. His eyes lingered on the sink where a few drops of blood stained the counter. And he knew, instinctively, why Leo was in the bathroom.

The eldest Corbett stepped into the bathroom, closing the door, shutting off the light, and sank down to the floor. For the first time, in more than a decade, Mike prayed, silently trying to stifle his tears.

"Oh God please." He whispered. "Please, God. Let Leo be all right. Let him be okay. Please God."

Mike remembered the day his dad died and the way Leo had clung to him. And he remembered the day their mother left, found dead only days later, and the stoic expression on the younger Corbett's face. And Mike remembered the terror of being separated and the hell that they had both gone through, separated from the only person who knew that pain.



"Please, God. I can't lose him too. Take anyone, anything else. Forget anything else I ever wished for. For dad, grand-dad, anyone. Keep them, but please don't take Leo. He's the only family I got left. "

Mike rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hand. He slowly got to his feet and stared at his darkened expression in the mirror, before he clicked on the light.

As he cleared up the blood on the counter, taking pains to make sure it would not be seen by anyone else. "And God, please, "he finished, "if you do take him, please don't let him suffer too much. Help him through this. "

Satisfied that the blood was gone, Mike washed his faces of the tear. He stared at the water as it slipped through the drain. It reminded Mike of a stream he had seen once on a trip him, his youngest brother, and his parents had gone on when he was only 5 years old, one of the last family trips they had taken. The water here, like the water there, tumbled over itself as it moved on to the next best thing.

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"Hey Leo," Kendrix said softly.

Leo smiled up at Kendrix; the dazzling, bright, innocent smile that Kendrix had fallen in love with when they had first met. He stood up, "Hey baby," he whispered, catching a soft kiss. "What you doing up here?"

"Well, I was thinking of going out for a walk and I figured, you must be awfully sick of being cooped up in here…"

"Oh I am," he chuckled. "But before we go, I wanted to talk with you."

Kendrix shook her head, "We'll talk as we walk. The fresh air will do both of us good."

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"Hey Mike, "Kai called from the small kitchenette. "There you are."

Mike looked up, a questioning glance on his face. "Yeah?"

"Andros contacted us through the MegaShip, told us they would be here. And Principal Hage called asking where Leo was today. We, uh, forgot to call, in all the chaos, and let him know Leo would be out sick for a few days. But it should be all good, now. "

Mike nodded, a little distracted.

"Hey Leo," Maya cried happily. "What are you doing up?"

"Yeah man," Damon called from his spot near the coffee table, where some sort of manual was spread out before him. "It's good to see you out of the room, man."

Leo chuckled, "it's good to be out."



"What are you doing up," Mike asked suspiciciously.

Leo roped his arm around Kendrix' waist, pulling her close to him. "We were gonna go for a walk. Get some fresh air."

"That is maybe not such a good idea, little bro. "

At Leo's questioning glare, he continued. "It's just that Andros specifically warned us to stay away from any other people. That's why we didn't go to the sabers."

"Did he say why?"

Mike shook his head, "He'll be here soon enough though with the other rangers," he trailed off.

"As the rangers settled back into their routines preparing for the visitors and whatever was going to come next, a soft quiet fell over the room. Kai went back to dinner for them and the former rangers,; Damon continued to fiddle with the satellite system of the TV, while dutifully ignoring the manual. Maya was sitting on the couch reading one of Leo's school books and Mike was in the dining room pacing.

Leo joined Kendrix on the back porch holding some ungraded quizzes. The light breeze blew the air of sweet cinnamon all around them; its plant grew wild on Mirinoi.

"What are you thinking about" he asked lightly, setting himself down comfortably next to her.

Kendrix looked up at him, "Just…" she shook her head, "Let's not talk for now. Let's jus sit here." Leo looked at her, worry creased his brow. "Just tell me, are you okay?'

Leo's concern seemed to be the shattering point for Kendrix, "Oh Leo," she cried, "I had a dream last night that you died."