The following morning, Ziggy was woken gently from his sleep with a little shake. Looking up the arm grabbing his shoulder, he found Dr. K standing over him.

"It's time Ranger Green." She told him, gesturing to the workbench that had been set up for the procedure. "Help me get her onto the bench."

Ziggy rubbed the sand from his eyes and crawled out of the sleeping bag, before making his way to the side of Tanaya's chair. He smiled at her.

"We're about to remove the second implant." He said reassuringly. "It's time."

"I have to warn you that this procedure is very delicate and is very risky." Dr. K warned her as she began disengaging the restraints on her chair. "If the slightest mistake is made, there may be some, or even complete paralysis, do you understand?"

"I do." She whispered as Dr. K and Ziggy each took one of her arms and lifted her from the chair to the work bench. They laid her face-down on the bench, before beginning to fasten restraints around her arms, legs, waist and neck, securing her in place. She was left unable to do anything but stare straight down through a hole in the bench for her face.

"Because of the nature of the surgery, you have to be completely immobilised." Dr. K explained. "Because the procedure deals with the spinal cord, we'll need to know of any feelings you have so we know immediately of any danger, so you'll only be under local anaesthetic. We need you to be conscious during the whole operation."

"I understand." She responded as they finished securing her to the bench. "Will...will it hurt?"

"The anaesthetic should stop it hurting, but you will feel some discomfort." Dr. K warned her as she began cutting away her bodysuit. Ziggy turned from her and turned a little pink as Dr. K started to remove her clothing. "Ranger operator green, is something wrong?"

"Um...I just...do you need me here?" He asked the doctor, trying not to look at the stricken cyborg shackled to the table.

"I suppose I only need you here when the procedure's over to help me get her back into the chair." Dr. K said with a shrug, still not certain as to why he was uncomfortable around her.

"Ziggy, please stay." Tanaya begged him. "Please."

He let out a small sigh and came over to the side of the bench, gently running a hand through her hair as he pulled her hair up clear of her back to allow Dr. K access.

"If you don't want me to go, then I'll stay." He responded, taking a seat next to her, trying hard not to look at her body as Dr. K marked out where the implant was and prepared the area with iodine lotion.

"I'm beginning the anaesthetic." She warned Tanaya, injecting the area. "I'll begin in a few minutes."

Meanwhile, Summer was taking Dillon for another ride on her motorcycle, skidding to a halt by the bay. Staring out over the river, they dismounted and removed their helmets. Summer smiled as Dillon put an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry you had to end up with the freak-out artist as a girlfriend." She whispered, putting an arm around his waist and pulling him in closer to her.

"Look, you know I'm here for you." He reminded her. "I just want you to be happy."

"I know I'm not the easiest of girls to be with." Summer responded. "The therapy sessions are making my think about a lot of things I've put out of my mind. I can't explain how much I just want all this to be over."

"Listen, after what Ronan did, I'm not surprised that you're taking a little while to get over this." He reiterated, squeezing her a little.

"That's just it, I think what happened with Ronan's just brought up a lot of other insecurities that I hadn't realised I had." She explained. "Dr. Young had me talking a lot about my childhood, and it brought up a lot of really bad feelings in me. I think he's convinced that something there is the real cause of this problem I have."

"Summer, you don't have to tell me if it makes you feel uncomfortable." Dillon assured her as they walked. She took a seat on a nearby bench, and Dillon joined her. "I know that you're a very different person now than the one your parents arranged to marry Chas."

"Please, don't remind me." She grumbled, remembering the farcical wedding ceremony they tried to pressure her into at the Garage. "Chas was more interested in how he looked in his dress fatigues than marrying me."

"Well he showed his true colours anyway when he hid behind Dr. K." Dillon remarked, remembering the ceremony himself. "How did a joker like that ever get to become an officer?"

"His parents bought him into a fast track course in the officer's corp." Summer informed him. "He went straight after graduating High School. I sincerely doubt he's ever seen the front-line, never mind fought on it."

"Well it's reassuring to know that our military is led by men who earned their rank." Dillon said sarcastically. "I'm sure Colonel Truman has to feel so much better knowing he had someone like Chas on his staff."

"Chas is on the administration corp." Summer told him. "I'm sure he can't do too much damage there."

"You know so much about him; it makes me wonder if you really are happy to get out of that wedding." Dillon teased her. "He's such a catch, maybe you should look him up."

Summer just sniggered and shoved him away playfully. There was a time she'd have thought nothing of going through with the wedding. She and Chas had been introduced when they were five years old, her parents had arranged for her to marry him long before she even understood what a wedding was. They had made a point of giving her regular updates on what he was doing and talking up his successes in school and the military in order to impress her.

"Come on Dillon, if I can't let you hold me, what chance do you think Chas has?" She asked him. "I'd probably end up breaking something he'd miss."

"Well you did look good in the dress though." He complimented her.

"Thanks, I just wish my first time in a wedding dress hadn't been a farce." She sighed. "I can't believe I used to even think about marrying him. Now the thought of him touching me makes my skin crawl. I'm sure if mom and dad had their way from the start I'd probably already have their first grandkid."

"Now that's a scary thought." Dillon laughed. "Can you imagine what those kids would have looked like?"

"I try not to think about it." She muttered with a small shudder. "No doubt Chas and I would have been as close as my mom and dad were."

"Your mom and dad weren't close?" Dillon asked her. Summer shook her head sadly.

"They were arranged too. Mom married my dad at her parent's request when she was 19." She explained. "They tried to make a go of things, they really did, but they were just too different. It seemed like they spent most of their time screaming at each other. The servants tried to keep me away from that, and tried to keep me in the dark, but I found out. It felt like they hated each other."

"They didn't seem that close when I met them, but they didn't seem to be that bad either." Dillon remarked.

"They would never argue in front of company. They'd think that was beneath them." She explained, a little bitterness creeping into her voice. She started to imitate her mother's voice. "We're Landsdowns honey, people look up to us. We don't do that kind of thing."

"OK, please do me a favour and don't do that again." Dillon stated with a slightly pained look on his face. "You sounded way too much like your mom."

"They were always so worried how other people saw them than they were always at each other's throats behind closed doors." Summer told him, wiping away a tear. "If they'd had the choice, they'd probably have gotten a divorce like other couples, but they wouldn't do that. It would bring shame on the Landsdown name if they split up."

"So instead they stayed together even though it made them miserable?" Dillon asked her, a little surprised. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Welcome to my world." Summer said with a weak laugh. "Now it doesn't matter though. After the wedding, I doubt the Winchesters will be speaking to my family again, much less trying to arrange another wedding."

"But they tried to force you to go through with the wedding even after the fight." Dillon reminded her.

"I'm a Landsdown." She said as though this explained everything. "Even penniless, my family name carried the same prestige. They'd rather have Chas marry a penniless Landsdown that a nouveau riche."

"I doubt I'll ever understand that." Dillon said, shaking his head in defeat. "Would you like to get back?"

"Not yet." She said quietly, holding out a hand to him. "Do you mind if we just sit here for a while?"

Dillon took her hand, lacing her fingers with his and smiled at her.

"Take all the time you need." He told her. She rested her head on his shoulder and looked out over the bay, taking in the view as the early morning commuters began their day. Sitting there, just watching the rest of the world going about their business, he felt happy to be there with her. Even if he did want more from her, as long as he was with her, holding her hand was more than enough.

Back at the lab, Dr. K picked up a cloth and mopped some sweat from her brow as she continued to work on the operation. It had now been a few hours since they started, and the stress was beginning to take its toll. She took hold of a clamp, holding the implant gingerly as she reached for another tool.

"I've found the implant and immobilised it." She informed Tanaya as she watched the monitor, manoeuvring into position. "There seems to be six hooked probes inserted straight into the spinal cord. I'm going to start cutting through the first probe. Tell me whatever you feel."

Ziggy placed his hand on the back of her head, stroking it gently in a reassuring gesture as he kept his eyes glued to the monitor. Tanaya felt a little twinge as the doctor started carefully cutting away the probe.

"I can feel my fingers." She told her.

"Are you in pain?" Dr. K asked her. Tanaya smiled slightly as she twitched her fingers.

"No, it doesn't hurt, it feels strange." She informed them. Ziggy saw her fingers moving. "I can feel my fingers."

He took her hand gently, holding it as the feeling started to return to her. The gesture raised another smile from Tanaya as she held it gently, taking comfort in his soft grip.

"There goes the first probe." Dr. K informed her, using a pair of tweezers to gently remove the probe and dropped it into a kidney dish. She mopped a little more sweat from her brow.

"Are you experiencing any pain or numbness in your arm?" She asked.

"No." Tanaya replied, squeezing Ziggy's fingers a little. "Right now I'm feeling pretty good."

Flynn arrived in the main room, finding Scott tearing it apart looking for something. He had a look on his face that made him look like a man possessed. He knew about the flight recording, and he was becoming a little worried about him. It seemed like only the disk could cause him to react like this.

He was due to pick Sam up from the hospital to take her back home today. She still needed crutches for support, but she was now strong enough on her feet to be able to function, and she was becoming a little bored with the routine at the hospital. Scott finally realised he was there and walked over to him intently with a look of unreasoned rage on his face. Flynn figured that Sam could wait; right now it was Scott who was in trouble. Scott grabbed him roughly by the jacket and thrust him against a wall forcefully.

"Where is it Flynn?" He snarled, getting into the Blue Ranger's face. "What have you done with it?"

"What are you talking about?" Flynn asked him. Scott's mind had been prone to wandering so much lately that he knew there was only one thing that was likely to get this kind of reaction from him. Scott slammed him into the wall again.

"You know damn fine I mean the disk!" Scott snapped back in response. "You've been trying to get me to turn it in since you found out, and this morning it's gone. You're the only one that knows about it. What have you done? Did you hide it? Did you go behind my back and give it to dad?"

"I promised you I wouldn't!" Flynn reminded him, ripping Scott's hands from him and shoving him away. "You know my thoughts on the subject but I wouldn't betray your trust like that! It's not my place!"

Scott backed down a little and took a step away. He still wasn't thinking entirely clearly, but taking a second to breathe, he realised it didn't sound like something Flynn would do. Even if he didn't think what Scott was doing was right or healthy; he valued trust more than anything. He wouldn't have gone behind his back unless he felt like it was in Scott's best interests, though he certainly wouldn't do so and lie to his face about it. He would have come clean about it.

"I've looked everywhere, I can't find it." He stated, taking a seat on the stairs and running a hand through his hair. Flynn came and took a seat next to him, putting an arm around him.

"Look, do you really think that's such a bad thing?" Flynn asked him. "You have been a little scattered lately. You said you wouldn't let this thing affect your duties, but how long do you really think it'll be before you do?"

"Flynn, I'd never..."

"You've missed training, and even when you do train, you have been kind of sleepwalking through it lately." Flynn reminded him. "When was the last time you gave your car a tune-up?"

"This disk is important Flynn." Scott told him flatly. "It's all I have left of him. It's the only way I can get answers..."

"What answers do you really expect to find?" Flynn asked him. "I know you found the plane was empty, but that only means he got out at some point."

"It means..."

"It means he was alive when the plane crashed." Flynn interrupted him. "Either he bailed out before the plane hit, or he survived the crash and left after it hit, but even if he did survive, don't you think you'd have heard something about him by now?"

"He could have been hurt." Scott reminded him. "He could have amnesia or be in a coma or..."

"Scott, he was the hero of Corinth. Everyone knew who he was. If he made it back to the city he'd have been identified." Flynn reminded him. "That only leaves the option that he was out in the wastes when the shields went up."

"But Dillon..."

"Dillon wasn't injured." Flynn concluded. "He's been out there since he crashed, injured and without supplies. I know there're people I would love to believe made it, but you have to face the facts. If he was still out there, he probably never made it."

"I just want to know." Scott muttered, a couple of tears starting to form. "Even if I do find out the worst, I want to know. I just can't get the thought of him being lost somewhere and needing my help."

"Look, I know this is messing with you, but you need to move on." Flynn told him. "Maybe you should talk to someone."

"I talked to a therapist the first time." Scott whispered. "How can I go back to a therapist now? Dad's sure to think I'm nuts."

"This is nothing to do with your dad." Flynn said reassuringly. "If you aren't ready to talk to him about this, then you don't have to. This is about you and what you need. Maybe it's time you let go."

Flynn got up and straightened out his jacket, before making his way towards his hummer. He turned back to him and smiled.

"I'm going to pick up Sam." He informed him. "If any of this has taught me one thing, it's that the most important thing isn't to mourn for those we've lost. It's to look after the ones we love that are still here."

"I guess you're right." Scott replied. "I'm just going for a drive to clear my head and think about a few things. Give Sam my love won't you?"

"I will." He replied, getting into his hummer. "I'll see you later."

Meanwhile, in the lab, Dr. K finished stitching up the incision after the operation. She had removed the implant successfully, and was storing it in a jar of spirit for further study. A small bleeping sound went off.

"What was that?" Ziggy asked her. Dr. K smiled as she heard the sound. Her curiosity had gotten the better of her upon finding Marcus' flight recording in Scott's jacket and she had opted to download a copy to her computer. The sound was a warning that the download was complete.

"It's nothing to worry about." She replied, beginning to unhitch the restraints. "Ranger Gr..."

Her words tailed off as she remembered her talk with Scott the night before.

"Ziggy, would you help me get her back to the chair?" She asked him. Ziggy looked at her a little bemused. She never used their names. It didn't seem like much, but he was so taken aback by the gesture, he didn't really know how to respond. Instead, he just took Tanaya's arm and helped Dr. K help her into the chair, where she began connecting up the support systems again.

"How are you feeling?" Ziggy asked her, making sure he didn't look at her. Dr. K began helping her into a gown.

"My chest hurts and my back hurts." She replied, smiling a little. Despite the pain, it was such a relief to have the feeling returned to her upper body. "Thank you."

"You understand of course that we'll have to keep you under surveillance." Dr. K told her, presenting a wide, silver cuff bracelet to her. "I designed this as a way of keeping track of you. It disengages the system which allows you to access the weapon in your right hand and separating it from your body. It also has a GPS tracking device in it. Would you give me your right wrist?"

Tanaya presented her wrist to her, allowing Dr. K to lock it in place. She stopped by the computer and took out the flight recording, slipping it back into Scott's jacket and gathering it up in her arms.

"I'll leave you to recover. I've programmed the unit to administer some painkillers to make you a little more comfortable." Dr. K informed her. "I'll be back to check on you tomorrow."

"Dr. K!" Ziggy called after her as she reached the door. She stopped and turned back to him. "Thanks."

"You're welcome Ran...Ziggy." She replied. With that she left the room. Ziggy turned back to Tanaya, seeing a small tear running down her face.

"Are you alright?" He asked her. "Does it hurt?"

"It's not that." She whispered to him. "It's just...you've all done so much to help me."

"No one deserves what Venjix has done to you." Ziggy responded, holding her hand gently. Tanaya smiled at the gesture, and a small, nervous laugh escaped from her lips. His touch was warm and gentle. It created a comforting feeling in her she had never felt within Venjix's compound.

"Will you stay with me?" She asked him. "I don't want to be alone."

"I will." He assured her, kneeling beside her. "Sorry about the clothing, we didn't have any other choice. I know the robe isn't exactly ideal."

"Don't worry; the catsuit isn't exactly something I'll miss." She replied. "It wasn't ideal in warm weather."

"I think Summer's about the same size as you. I'll ask her if there's something she wouldn't mind lending you." He told her. "There's no reason for you to be too uncomfortable."

"Thank you Ziggy." She replied with a smile. "You have no idea how much all this means to me."

"Tell you what, when you feel a little better, maybe you can make us another cake." He suggested. "The one you made for Summer's wedding was amazing."

"I think I could manage that." She replied as she held his hand a little more tightly. She was still a prisoner, but at least here she wasn't being treated with cruelty and disdain as she had been by Venjix. Here, her captors treated her with respect, care, and even kindness. She couldn't have hoped for that much.

Meanwhile, Dr. K went into Scott's room, looking around for him. She laid his jacket out on the bed and found a notepad, writing him a quick note. She was about to put it in the same pocket as the disk, but thought better of it. Instead, she sealed it in an envelope and laid it on top of the jacket. If Scott had wanted to talk to her about the disk, he would have told her he had it. He had obviously just forgotten it was in the pocket.

She turned and left the room, taking one more look at the jacket on the bed and smiled. She knew she had made the right choice for her team leader. He had done everything to keep the team together and functioning properly. She only hoped that at some point she could do something to repay him for everything he had done.