Hayley parked Calvin's truck in his parents' driveway. She had promised to take Sarah home, but knew her parents would be by after work, while Calvin's parents were gone for the week visiting his older brother in college. They would have all the privacy they needed and she knew Calvin would be by later to offer his help.

"We're here," Hayley whispered to Sarah, who groaned uncomfortably at having to move again. Hayley let herself chuckle a little, "I know, but Calvin's got a big, cozy bed. It'll be like sleeping on a cloud."

"I don't want to know how you know that," Sarah whispered. Hayley hopped out of the truck then walked over to Sarah's side to help her. Sarah stumbled out of the truck and Hayley was barely able to catch her.

"Withdrawal is really beating you up, huh?" Hayley asked. "I've got to admit, it's not how I planned on spending some quality girl time."

"You think Calvin will be pissed I puked in his car?" Sarah asked with a little chuckle, which reminded Hayley to roll down the window before she left.

"He'll understand."

"He can understand and still be pissed," Sarah pointed out.

"Alright, well just promise us you won't scare us like that again and I promise not to let him get mad at you."

"I can't do that," Sarah shook her head, but regretted it when she felt nauseated. "Last time I promised not to scare someone, it happened again."

"Alright then… just don't puke in his bed," Hayley let herself and Sarah into the house and helped the pink Ranger up to Calvin's room. Sarah managed to crawl into bed herself and sighed contently when she could relax comfortably.

"His bed is like a cloud," she smiled. Hayley nodded.

"See, told you."

"I'm pretending you have no idea what I mean," Sarah said. "I'm aware of what you do, I just don't need to be thinking about it right now."

"Do you need anything?" Hayley asked. "A bite to eat? Something to drink?"

Sarah shook her head, but Hayley didn't know when she had last eaten. She excused herself from the room and went to grab a banana and some water from the kitchen. When she came back, she found Sarah in the middle of a staring contest with Calvin's stuffed orange gorilla.

"What are you doing?" she asked with a laugh.

"His eyes freak me out," Sarah whispered. "Does Calvin sleep with this thing?"

"Not when I'm around," Hayley said. She picked up the gorilla and placed it down on Calvin's desk, where she also put the banana and the water. She let Sarah know she could grab either whenever she wanted, and then sat on the bed with her.

"You wanna talk about any of it?" she asked. "Your mom sorta filled us in on what happened. Sounds like it's a lot to go through."

Sarah shrugged her shoulders. She leaned back on the headrest.

"I think I'd rather not talk about it," she said.

"Even what happened yesterday?"

"I'd like to get past it."

"It helps to talk."

"Hayley…"

"Sarah, you're my first girlfriend," Hayley interrupted. "I mean, I've had friends who were girls before but… we never really hung out. Once high school started we all kind of went our separate ways and… well, on a male dominated team, I'm glad there's one other girl."

"Me too."

"I kind of hoped we could lean on each other a bit," Hayley said. "You know, like when the guys are being dumbasses or when we just need another girl to talk to. I'd like to think right now is the latter."

"He didn't do anything," Sarah insisted. She knew what Hayley had to be thinking. Mick had asked her that same question. All her friends had to be wondering. "I didn't let him."

"It's still scary when it almost happens," Hayley said. "If it helps, I can ask Calvin to stay with one of the guys tonight."

"I trust Calvin. I trust all the guys," Sarah said. "I'm just… mad."

"At who?"

"Jenny," Sarah muttered. "At this."

"You're mad it happened."

"I'm mad I let it happen. I'm mad I'm one of those girls."

"The girl who survived?" Hayley asked. "The girl who, despite the odds, got herself out of trouble twice? Sarah, we were too late."

Sarah looked up at Hayley, "What do you mean? You were right there, right when I got out."

"Sarah, if you hadn't fought, you know what Drex would have done," Hayley told her. "By the time the guys and I got there, you know it would have happened. It didn't because you fought."

"Doesn't stop me feeling mad."

"I can't change the way you feel," Hayley admitted and as she nodded her head, Calvin's gorilla caught her eye. She walked over and picked it up and brought it back to the bed. She placed it down in front of Sarah. The pink Ranger glared at the gorilla.

"I'm mad at him too."

"So punch it," Hayley said. "I've always kind of hated this thing anyway. You can't punch what happened, and there's no way you're going to want to see Drex or Kathryn again, so punch Calvin's gorilla."

Sarah gave it a little punch, but found it felt good so she hit it again, and then again, but a little harder, and then as hard as she could. Finally, she let out a cry.

Hayley felt sorry for the gorilla. She really hoped Calvin had meant it when he said the toy meant nothing to him. Otherwise, she was sure she was going to have to replace it.

-Ninja-Steel-

When Calvin went home after school, he brought Brody and Preston with him. They hadn't gotten a chance to see Sarah since she woke up and were curious to how she was doing. Calvin offered they could all stay at his place for the night to be together, since his parents were out of town, so they stopped by their houses to pack a bag for overnight. When they got to Calvin's house, Hayley was in the kitchen, cleaning up a few dishes.

"Hey," Calvin smiled as he leaned in and kissed her. Hayley smiled back, then to her friends.

"Sarah's just upstairs napping," she said. "She's looking better."

"How is she feeling?" Preston asked.

"Better," Hayley promised, then reached to the counter behind her and showed Calvin his gorilla, "I can't say the same for Alfred, here."

"What happened to Alfred!" Calvin cried out, snatching the gorilla that seemed to be falling apart at the seams. He gave it a quick hug but when he remembered that Preston and Brody were watching, he released his hold and simply frowned at Hayley.

"Sarah needed something to punch," Hayley said. "And Alfred is a little… freaky looking."

"He's not!"

"He stares."

"He's a toy. They don't blink."

"Yeah, but he creepy stares," Hayley argued, then she picked up a rag and bucket from under the sink. She looked to Calvin apologetically, "But I don't think Alfred really the one you want to worry about."

Calvin gave her a worried, questioning look. Hayley continued to smile apologetically.

"I'll clean her up."

"Her?"

Hayley glanced very briefly to the window, where Calvin's truck could be seen. It wasn't long enough that she was staring, but enough for Calvin to get the hint. When he saw his truck he groaned, "What happened to my truck?"

"The important thing is that Sarah's okay," Hayley reminded him with a little chuckle. Calvin shook his head.

"What happened to my truck?"

"It's better if you don't know."

"What happened to my truck?" he asked again. Hayley placed the rag and bucket in his hands.

"If you're so curious, you can go check it out," she said. Calvin rushed out and Hayley shook her head as he did.

"What happened to his truck?" Brody asked and then chuckled when they could hear Calvin crying out from the driveway.

"Sarah may have gotten a little carsick on the way home," Hayley said.

"But she's okay?" Preston asked.

"She'll be fine," Hayley promised. "You boys hungry? Calvin's going to be cleaning for a while. We might as well order in a pizza."

"I'll take care of it," Brody offered, taking out his phone. As he called for pizza, Hayley went outside to check up on Calvin and his truck. Preston walked upstairs. It was his first time in Calvin's home, but he was quickly able to find Calvin's room, where Sarah was sleeping. The door was open, though barely, so he pushed it gently and peeked inside.

Sarah's face and arms were littered in bruises, each one deeper and darker than the last. Her wrists were bandaged up, cut open from where the cable ties had dug into her skin. Preston barely recognized Sarah like this. She certainly wasn't the Sarah he knew.

He first met her outside of school, while he was passing out flyers for his magic show later in the day. Most of the other students walked by him, never even bothering to look at him, never mind take a flyer. But Sarah had arrived on her hover board, stopped in front of him and let him offer her a flyer. She took it with a smile, read what Preston had written and seemed genuinely interested in magic.

She was the first person in years not to dismiss him. Even his parents were getting a little tired of his magic tricks and were asking him when he was going to start spending more time on his school work so he would have an impressive college resume. Preston knew they wanted to push him into business. They wanted him to be like them, but he couldn't imagine sitting in a cubicle for days, or talking about data and statistics and finances.

Later that same day, Victor had flown in on Sarah's hover board. He crashed into Preston and completely ruined his magic show; not that many people were paying attention. Preston followed Victor only to get back his dragon costume, but found Sarah had caught up to them as well to collect her hover board. When she did, she stood her ground against Victor and insisted that since he ruined Preston's magic show, he needed to apologize.

It wasn't the first time something had happened to his magic show. Often people booed, or no one watched, or some jock would throw or kick a ball and it would land on his table. No one ever apologized and instead just laughed. They told Preston they should thank him, because their actions earned a few laughs which was more than he would ever get on his own.

Victor didn't apologize, not that Preston expected him to, but it meant a lot to him that Sarah stood up for him. It meant even more when she insisted on helping him clean up.

That was quickly followed by the events that led them to become Rangers, and Preston learned that Sarah wasn't just kind, but she was also brave and a little crazy. She took her hover board and rode towards trouble, insisting on checking it out. When she and Preston saw Brody in trouble, she was the one who decided to help.

They became good friends after that. Sarah always cheered the loudest at Preston's magic shows, even when no one else watched. It always meant a lot to him to know he had at least one supporter.

But he never saw Sarah as vulnerable. She was never shy, never scared and always embracing new challenges. She started a new school with a bright smile. She faced danger head on. She supported her friends.

She didn't deserve this.

"It feels worse than it is," Sarah said, making Preston jump. He always felt maybe that's why they were such good friends. She was strong and brave. He was always a little nervous and cautious. Perhaps, they balanced each other out.

When Sarah saw Preston jump she let out a little chuckle. She sat up on the bed. Preston sat down on the side and looked to her.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"It wasn't supposed to make you feel worse."

"Are you okay?" Preston felt like he had been asking that question all day. When he arrived at school and saw Sarah was still unconscious, he had asked. Throughout the day, he would ask his friends how they thought she was. When Hayley was called to take Sarah home, he had asked it. When they stopped by to see Mick once school had ended, he asked again. When they got to Calvin's house, he asked and now, he had asked it again.

Sarah nodded her head and then leaned forward to hug Preston. He put his arms around her and held her close. He hoped she felt safe now, with him. He wasn't macho, or tough, or even fearless. He remembered feeling like he was going to wet himself when he was first face to face with Galvanax, while Sarah had opted to taunt the beast.

She would protect him if he ever needed it. He wanted her to know, despite his fears and doubts, he would do the same for her.

Down the hall, Levi had joined the others. After Mick's warnings earlier in the day, he decided not to leave school with the others. As close as they all were, he was a teacher in their school. He couldn't be seen hanging out with them all the time – not without someone getting suspicious.

But he couldn't keep his distance. Not when he felt Sarah needed all the friends she could get. So he went to his hotel room to freshen up, then stopped by the florist on the way. He wasn't sure if she was the kind of girl who liked flowers, but he didn't want to show up empty handed and he figured her stomach might not be settled enough for chocolate.

When he got to Calvin's bedroom though, he saw her in Preston's arms. He looked to the flowers in his hands and then sighed.

"I don't think now's a good time to ask her on a date," Brody said as he walked up the stairs. Levi turned around and shook his head. He gestured to the flowers.

"A get well soon gift."

Brody didn't look convinced, though Levi wasn't completely lying. He had brought the flowers to cheer her up. He had no intention on asking her out – today.

"Am I that obvious?"

"That, or I just know you really well," Brody said.

"Mick knew too."

"Then you must be obvious," Brody chuckled. "Though, writing a song for her the day you met is also kind of a giveaway."

"Do you think it's a good idea?" Levi asked. "You know, eventually?"

Brody shrugged his shoulders, "Hey, it's not me you're asking out. I don't know."

"Yeah, but, if it were you…"

"If it were me, I don't think I'd go out with a teammate," Brody said. "It's just not my thing. I have other things I want to focus on and I don't want to let something like a relationship get in the way of that."

"Hayley and Calvin…"

"Were dating before all this," Brody said.

"Mick thinks it's a bad idea. Just because I decided to be a teacher… she's not even in my music class."

"It would look a little weird," Brody nodded his head. "You would be dating a student. And you are older than the rest of us."

"She's… different from the other girls I met."

"So is Hayley," Brody pointed out and then he turned to Levi, "Here's the big question, though. Do you like Sarah, or do you like the idea of finally dating someone who doesn't idolize you?"

"What?"

"Levi, we may not have known each other for very long, but when we hang out, you always talk about how it's nice to finally have a normal life. You were happy when I treated you more like a regular person than a celebrity. Now you have a crush on the girl who wasn't happy that you singled her out for a song. Do you think, maybe, you like the idea of dating someone who sees you as a person, more than you actually like-like Sarah?"

"I don't know."

"Sarah isn't ready to date," Brody said. "Until then, she'll need a friend. Part of me thinks you do too."

Levi nodded his head. He couldn't argue with Brody's logic. Looking back, he had started to fall for Sarah once she started treating him like she would the rest of her friends. He offered the flowers to Brody, who took them and walked into Calvin's room, finally breaking up Preston and Sarah's hug. He gave the flowers to Sarah.

"From all of us," he said and glanced quickly to Levi, who nodded. "We thought maybe they might cheer you up."