Author's Note: Got a special Christmas bonus chapter for you! Usual rules apply.
She knocked on the door before she walked into the room. Ryan was just a little girl so she always had someone close by. Her mothers, Troy, or Rebecca were either in the room with the little girl, or roaming the hallways while she napped. Dana didn't want to interrupt anything so she made sure she walked in slowly. She smiled when she saw Claire was sitting on the bed, with Ryan in her lap, and they were reading a story together.
"...And I'll blow the house down!" Claire said in a playful booming voice before she blew on the side of Ryan's face. The little girl giggled and then did the same back to her mother.
"Whoa, look at you," Dana smiled when she saw Ryan taking in a deep breath. "You're just getting stronger every day."
"She's amazing," Claire lightly hugged the girl as Ryan tried to turn the page. "It's like none of this ever really happened. She's back to being one of the happiest little girl's I've ever known."
"Kids are extremely resilient under the right circumstances," Dana said. She placed her stethoscope in her ear and gently took Ryan on her own lap. While Ryan continued to look at the picture of the book, Dana placed the bell on her chest, just over her heart. Ryan didn't even seem to notice the cool touch, she was so entranced by the story of the three little pigs. "And with a mother like you, she'll be fine."
"That's the first time I heard that," Claire rolled her eyes. Dana looked up curiously as she moved the bell from Ryan's heart to her chest.
"Big breath, Ryan," Dana said and then demonstrated to the little girl what she wanted her to do. Ryan looked up at the doctor and recognized the big blow from the wolf in the story. She repeated it to blow on Dana's face. The former pink Ranger had to close her eyes as Ryan spit a little on her face, but got a good listen at her lungs. She did it once more on Ryan's back and the little girl was only too happy to oblige. When Dana got what she needed, she put the stethoscope back around her neck and set Ryan back down on the bed. She turned to Claire, "You mean with Emma?"
"I wasn't around," Claire nodded. "I kind of let my dreams take priority instead of my daughter. It took me seventeen years before I realized what was missing."
"You and Emma seem pretty close now."
"A lot of hard work."
"You're willing to put in the effort. That counts for something," Dana smiled. She started to fill out Ryan's chart with her result from the day's test. "You wouldn't believe how hard my dad had to fight to win my brother over."
"What do you mean?"
"Dad, my brother Ryan, and I were in a car accident when I was just little," Dana said and then pointed to Ryan, "Maybe just a year or so older than this one. We rolled off the side of a cliff and I was lucky enough that dad caught me in his arms. Ryan slipped a little further and had to hold on to my father's foot. We were hanging off the side of a cliff when Diabolico appeared. Ryan was going to slip and dad couldn't do anything to save him. Diabolico offered to save Ryan's life, but take him in."
"Diabolico being..."
"One of the demons we fought as Lightspeed Rescue," Dana clarified. "Dad was left with no choice and Ryan was raised by demons to believe dad let him die. It took quite a bit of convincing to remind him what really happened."
"I'm so sorry."
"We're closer than ever now," Dana shrugged her shoulders. "And where dad and Ryan are concerned, it's like nothing's happened. Dad got his chance to prove to Ryan how much he really cared and Ryan came around."
"That seems a little different than leaving your daughter behind on purpose, though," Claire said.
"I guess. But you're back now, aren't you? If I've learned anything from what happened, it's that it's never too late to start over."
Claire smiled and nodded her head. She took Ryan back in her arms and cuddled her tight.
"You know, when I came back to Harwood, I only intended on making amends with Emma. Maybe even being her friend. I never expected she would let me back into her life as her mother, or that I'd get this beautiful little girl."
"From what I've seen, you deserve it," Dana smiled. She gestured to the door, "I'm going to input Ryan's results and then I'm stepping out for some lunch. Carter insists if I don't take an hour to eat today he'll shove a sandwich down my throat. I doubt that's true, but a little time off sounds great."
"You've earned it," Claire nodded and let Dana go before she picked up the book to resume her story with Ryan. She was just about to flip the page to read about the pig who built his house with sticks when there was a knock at the door again. Thinking it was just Dana coming for something she had forget, Claire didn't even bother to look up.
"Spoiler alert: the stick house falls down," Claire heard Gia say and looked up to see the yellow Ranger standing at the foot of the bed. Ryan gasped and crawled over to Gia.
"What are you doing here?" Claire asked as Gia picked up the little girl.
"Just thought I'd stop by and make sure Little Red here's doing okay," Gia kissed Ryan's cheek. The little girl then blew on her face. Gia shook her head, "Oh, we've learned a new trick."
"It's the huffing and puffing," Claire explained.
"There's no more of that, right?" Gia asked. Claire shook her head.
"Before you know it, she'll be running circles around us all again. You on duty?" Claire pointed to Gia's gun and badge. Gia nodded her head.
"Jordan and I are on patrol today. Since we've taken Poacher into custody, a lot of people have become very... let's call it opinionated."
"What do you mean?"
"I think we all agree going after Ryan was bad, but some people have twisted the story a little bit. Apparently, I started the fire at the factory as a message to all the Ranger haters out there that I'm still in charge and anyone who doesn't agree will be burned."
"Creative."
"I like the poetry behind it," Gia nodded, "But it's not true. There's been some vandalism. Some restaurants where we Rangers have been seen have been broken into and trashed. Stores that sell anything Ranger related have been robbed, and there are a lot of reports of people with Ranger memorabilia being hassled."
"I thought Poacher took full responsibility," Claire said. "Why are people making you the bad guy?"
"They think he was only saved by the fire when he promised to take the fall for everything. They think he's being blackmailed."
"Please tell me he's still doing time for what he did to Ryan."
"Yes. Everyone agrees kidnapping a baby is evil. He's off the streets, Claire."
"Good," Claire said and then looked to Gia sadly, "But it's not good people are putting this all on you."
"I'm a big girl," Gia shrugged her shoulder and then set Ryan back down on the bed. With only one arm to hold her, the growing girl got heavy quickly. "I can put up with it. As long as the kid is fine, that's all I care about."
"Ryan's perfect," Claire assured her. Gia nodded her head and then left the room.