As they walked home, Mike was always a few paces behind Kevin. He always knew that Kevin was fitter than him as a result of his swimming training, but he was no slouch himself. He had always kept up his fitness and his hand-to-hand training even long before it became clear he was needed as a Ranger. Still, Kevin seemed to leave him in his wake, even just walking with a purpose.

"Kev!" Mike called out. "Kev!"

"You're not talking me out of this Mike." Kevin put down flatly as he paused for a second to admire the ring. He loved Mia; he loved her with all of his heart. There wasn't a thing in his life he wouldn't sacrifice in a heartbeat to make her happy. All he wanted was for her to be happy, and he wanted that to be for the rest of their lives. He wanted to offer Mia her Prince Charming, her Happy Ending, no matter what it cost.

"Kevin..."

"Mike, you can help or you can stay out of the way!" Kevin snapped as Mike tried to intercept. "I have to get ready!"

Just as Kevin stormed into the house, Jayden and Antonio were coming out. They planned to inspect his equipment before an inspector came to check it out. Jayden just looked after him.

"Kevin looks pissed." He commented. "More than usual."

"Isn't he always?" Antonio commented. "What...?"

"I think this might have something to do with it." Mike commented, showing the guys the article in the newspaper. Jayden and Antonio both gasped in disbelief.

"But...I thought..."

"I think we all know what this means." Mike commented. "If we don't stop him, he might just make the biggest mistake of his life."

Meanwhile, Emily and Mia were busy in the city, looking out things to take to Peter when they next visited. None of them really knew the guy, but he was important to Serena, so by extension he was important to them.

Mia noticed that Emily was a little less than enthusiastic when they were in the soft toy aisle of the local toy store. Normally they had to peel her off the shelves, despite the fact she was technically an "adult" at 18 years old.

"Emily?" Mia asked. Emily just looked to her.

"I was just thinking." Emily told her. "Maybe Peter would be happy with..."

"I'm alright Emily; I don't burst into tears when I see kids' toys anymore." Mia assured her. Emily just shuffled a little uncomfortably.

"Sorry, it's just..." She began to stammer, playing with her sweater as she did so. "With Aaron showing up..."

"I can't say that wasn't a shock." Mia stated bluntly. "If I have any problems, I'll tell you."

"Promise?" Emily asked, holding up a hand and extending a pinky. "Pinky swear promise?"

"I promise." Mia assured her, locking pinkies with her as a memory came to her.

It had been a few months since Mia had come to the playgroup, but things were definitely different. Instead of dreading coming to face the kids, she now loved the time she spent with them. The kids treated her as a friend, and always invited her to join their games, despite the fact she was a "grown-up", and by extension untrustworthy in their games.

When the arrow landed, she knew exactly what it meant. Her family had prepared her for her whole life for that moment, but that didn't make it any easier. The kids had all buzzed around the arrow, thinking it was 'cool' that it had fallen out the sky, but Mia knew its real intent.

As she packed up her bag, she turned to the door, finding Billy standing there with tears in his eyes. She knew that some of the other kids picked on him, but she had never witnessed anything, so she couldn't intervene. Billy had a special bond with her, having seemingly chosen her as his "playgroup mommy", and always stuck close to her when she was there.

"You're...you're not coming back are you?" He asked her. Mia felt a lump in her throat as he asked her this, but shook her head.

"No." She answered honestly. "I have something important, really important to take care of. I may not be back for a long time."

"But...I thought you were only going for a few days!" Billy protested. "I thought..."

"It isn't a holiday Billy; I have something really important to do." Mia assured him. "By the time I come back, you might already be in school..."

"NO!" He shot out, running up and hooking his arms around Mia's left leg with a grip that showed the kind of desperation only a four-year-old could muster. "You're not going, not without me!"

"I promise I'll be back." Mia assured him as she tried to peel him off her leg. "You need to stay here with your mommy..."

"But you're fun!" He protested. "Did I do something wrong? Was I naughty? Please stay, I'll not do it again..."

"Sometimes grown-ups just have things they have to do." Mia replied as she knelt down, finally able to pry Billy from her leg. "I swear I'll come back."

"Pinky swear?" He asked, extending a pinky. Mia just smiled.

"Yeah, pinky swear." Mia replied. Locking pinkies with the little boy. She knew that the odds were that if she came back at all, by the time she did Billy would already be in school and have forgotten her long ago, but she couldn't bring herself to let him down. Billy was a sweet kid, and one of the first she was able to relate to following what happened with Evan. He was just as important to her as she was to him, and she was determined to come back.

As the horn honked again, she gathered her things, leaving a pre-typed letter behind. She always carried a letter with her, at first because she didn't know if she'd cope with the kids being around her, reminding her of what she had lost with Evan, but later it was because she didn't know when she would be called to do her duty.

Back in the present day, Emily just nudged her.

"Mia, the bus is here." She reminded her. The Shiba House was on the outskirts of town, and there was still a fair distance from the bus stop to the house. "Mia!"

"Sorry Em, I was a million miles away." Mia confessed as they boarded and Emily paid the fare. Mi never admitted it to Emily because she didn't want to insult her by insinuating she was a child, but one of the things she loved about having her on the team was that it gave her someone to mentor, someone that looked up to her. Emily was, in some ways, filling a gap in her life that she had since she came to the Shiba House.

As they sat down, Emily's phone bleeped. She pulled it out; grinning as she saw it was from Mike.

"You know, you two do live together." Mia reminded her. "You share a room."

"I know, it's just..." Emily blushed as she thought about her boyfriend. "It's really sweet. He wants to know I'm alright."

"Well I have a boyfriend too, but we're not joined at the hip." Mia reminded her. She saw Emily pouting a little and felt bad about it. "Sorry, I guess all the stuff that's been happening recently...I guess Kevin and I haven't been that cutesy recently. If I'm honest, I'm kind of jealous."

"Really?" Emily asked her. "Serena's still on my case all the time asking if Mike's pressuring me..."

"He would never do that, we all know that." Mia put down flatly. "Put it this way, I wish I had a big sister like Serena. Maybe if I had..."

Her word tailed off. She didn't need to explain, Emily already knew the intended message. She just gripped Mia's hand. Mia held it, squeezing it in return.

Meanwhile, Kevin was heading back to the Shiba house intently, his pace still leaving Mike in his wake. The Green Ranger was struggling to keep up.

"Kev!" He blurted out again. "Think about this!"

"I have Mike, I've thought about nothing else." Kevin stated. "I'm asking her..."

"Kevin!" Mike stated again as he grabbed the Blue Ranger's shoulder, spinning him around. "I saw the paper, I get it man..."

Kevin didn't answer though. Clenching his jaw in frustration, he thought for a moment, before turning back, throwing a fist into Mike's jaw, knocking him out cold.

He didn't want to hurt Mike, although there were a lot of times he had wanted to punch his lights out over the time they had been in the house together, Mike was kind of like a brother he never had. He always looked out for Kevin. The time Kevin had accidentally broken a Buddha statue with his bokken during training, Mike had accepted the blame. On another occasion, Mike took the blame for a damaged bonsai.

He regretted hurting Mike, but his mind was made up. He was asking Mia to marry him.

Mentor Ji was out on the porch, just finishing off a cell phone call when Jayden arrived. He was smiling, which was a good sign.

"Thank you my friend." Ji stated. "Yes, I look forward to you kicking my ass on the golf course."

He hung up, before turning to see Jayden.

"Antonio need not worry; his full licence will arrive in the mail on Monday." Ji assured him. "No consequences."

"I don't even want to ask what connections you had to use to pull that off." Jayden chuckled, looking around nervously. Ji couldn't help smiling. It had been a long time since he had seen Jayden like that. He had raised the Red Ranger since he was six-years old, and knew intimately that he was a hopeless liar. He always knew when Jayden was hiding something, and now, it was almost like the time Jayden was seven, and trying to hide a stray dog in his bedroom.

"Is there something you would like to discuss?" Ji asked him. Jayden just nodded.

"I forgot how good you are." He replied. "Ji...I want to talk to you about Antonio."

Ji just stood, his cane in a relaxed grip as he witnessed Jayden struggling with what he was about to say.

"You know that conversation we had a while back?" Jayden asked him. "The one where...you know...I told you about myself?"

Ji just smiled and nodded. In truth, he had already guessed about Jayden and Antonio, but he wanted his 'son' to tell him for himself. He knew that it was a big deal for Jayden, and that it was not something that should be forced.

"Well, you know how Antonio and I are...the same way inclined in...you know...that way." Jayden continued. Ji just nodded. "The thing is...we're more than just friends."

Ji just pulled Jayden in, hugging him tightly. He hadn't ever planned on what was happening, but he had known early on, even before Jayden had admitted it that the Red Ranger was not destined for a traditional family life.

"I trust your judgement." Ji assured him as he released him. Just then, the girls came back in, carrying a heavy load of shopping bags.

"I see you two have had a busy day." Jayden sniggered.

"I am never shopping with Mia again." Emily muttered bad-temperedly as she pulled a soft toy from one of the bags. "This is all I bought!"

Mia just shrugged as she put down the bags, resolving to move them later. She looked to Jayden.

"So how's the shoulder?" She asked him.

"Antonio thinks it's a great marketing gimmick." Jayden told her. "He sold out at lunchtime."

Just then, Kevin came storming into the Shiba House, looking around frantically. As soon as he saw Mia, his face lit up.

"There you are." He breathed, coming over to her. "Mia, I have something really important to ask you."

"Uh...alright?" She stammered, seeing the state he was in. It looked like he had run all the way from town. If he was that desperate to see her, especially since they shared a room, and he knew he would be seeing her eventually, then it had to be important. "What is it?"

"I wanted this to be all romantic and special and fairy tale...hell, you deserve all that." Kevin rambled as he looked to her.

"Kevin, slow down and breathe." Mia instructed him, seeing the way he was acting. "Just, take a deep breath and tell me what's going on."

"Mia, you are by far the most beautiful, wonderful, kind-hearted person I have ever met." Kevin told her, before lowering to one knee. He reached into the front pocket of his hoodie, pulling out a little box, before presenting it to her. Mia just stared as he opened it, revealing an engagement ring. "That is why I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you. Mia...will you marry me?"

Mike stormed into the room at that point, but seeing Kevin on one knee, he already knew he was too late. Everyone else was just staring in disbelief.

"Kevin..."

"I know you want the fairytale, the big beautiful wedding, I can give you that!" Kevin rushed out. "I have money, savings, believe me, I can get you all that..."

"Kevin, this is a bit sudden." Mia told him. He just took her hands in his.

"Love is sudden, it's like the arrow Mentor sent us. It's a bolt from the blue, but when it happens, you know its right." Kevin continued. Mike ran over.

"Kev." Mike interjected. "Can I have a word?"

"Not right now, we're doing something." Kevin insisted. "Mia, please, you want a prince charming, please let that be me."

"Kevin...I don't know what I'm thinking, let alone feeling." Mia told him honestly. "Seriously, between Rhinosnore and Aaron and..."

"I was there for all of that." Kevin told her.

"Kev..."

"I'll put you on your ass again if I have to!" Kevin snapped at the Green Ranger. He turned back to Mia. "Please, I've never been more serious about anything in my life. I want to be with you Mia; I want to be with you for the rest of our lives. Please, will you marry me?"

"Kevin...I don't know." Mia told him. "I'm not saying no, it's just...my head's all over the place right now. I can't possibly make that kind of commitment..."

"It's Aaron isn't it?" Kevin interrupted her, his face growing colder. Mia just looked to him in shock.

"Partly, but..."

"You want Aaron!" Kevin stated, beginning to shake his head in disbelief. "I should have seen this coming..."

"Kevin, I didn't say..."

"You had a kid with the guy!" Kevin barked angrily. He looked around the room, seeing the judgemental looks from the others before he threw the ring down on the ground.

"Here, take it." He spat. "I'm sure you and Aaron can pawn it."

As he stormed out of the house, almost knocking Antonio on his ass on the way out, the Gold Ranger just looked after him.

"Wow, someone's friendly." He remarked. "What happened?"

"I think we'd all like to know." Emily replied. "Kevin came in here and proposed, then went all Tonto."

"What did I say?" Mia asked. "I know I didn't say yes, but..."

"It wasn't anything you said." Mike told them, picking up the paper. His jaw was already a little swollen from Kevin's sucker punch, but he wasn't running after him to seek vengeance. He turned it to a page and handed it over to Jayden. "I think this set him off."

"The sports' page?" Jayden asked. "What...?"

"Read it." Mike told him. Jayden continued to read until he found a particular article, the one he figured Mike was talking about.

"Local Olympic tryout team chosen?" Jayden asked. Mike just nodded.

"The tryouts were last week; Kevin missed them because of this." Mike told them. "That means..."

"He's not going to the Olympics." Emily sighed. "But...what about next time?"

"The next games are in 2016." Mike reminded her. "Kevin's already 22. Most athletes retire in their mid to late twenties. If he didn't make it this time..."

"It's unlikely he'll make it next time." Antonio concluded, looking to the door Kevin stormed out of sympathetically.

Meanwhile, in the city, Kevin was storming around, shoving people out of his way angrily as he made his way to a view point. He ignored the insults and angry comments as he did so, he genuinely didn't care anymore.

All he had ever wanted, from the moment he could swim was to compete in the Olympics. It was his dream to compete, regardless of what actually happened at the time, to stand before a world stage and give it his all.

He already knew that he would never make the tryouts this time around, his Ranger duties came first as they always had, but when he read the local team list, it was driven home like a stake to the heart. He knew every name on that list, and he knew he was better than every one of them. He could leave every one of them in his wake barely breaking a sweat. He always knew that when he took up the morpher earlier that year, it was unlikely, virtually impossible that he would make the tryouts, but now he knew they were over.

He sat on a bench, his head in his hands and broke down in tears. He was 22. By the time the next games came around, he would be 26, and most athletes retired in their mid to late twenties. If he returned to full-time training the following day, it was still up in the air whether or not he would be ready for the 2016 games. Although there was a chance, he was realistic about the odds.

His dream was over.

Fin.