It didn't take long for Jayden to settle back into his regular routine. With his friends at his side, everything was much easier.

He had been given an extra few hours of training as punishment from Mentor Ji for running off, which he accepted gracefully. He also had to endure disappointed looks from Mike, who reminded him constantly about the lecture he had given the green Ranger when he had abandoned his friends. In order to get Mike off his back, and because he thought he deserved it, Jayden finally lifted Mike's punishment and was allowing the green Ranger to leave the Shiba house whenever he wanted, as long as he did come back. Not only did these rules apply to Mike, but everyone intended on following them. The Ranger group was a family, and family always stuck together, even when things were difficult.

Just after dinner the day after Jayden returned home, he was sitting outside, staring up at the sky as the sun slowly set and the stars covered the space above him. One of the things he had always loved about the Shiba house was that it was so isolated from the city that the stars were always flooding the sky at night. There weren't many places left where Jayden could see the stars which such clarity. After all, he had never really left the house. He had been too focused on training.

He decided to wait up for Mike and Emily, who were taking advantage of Mike's punishment being lifted to go on a real date as a follow up to the kiss they had shared in Jayden's absence. While he waited, he couldn't help but think about everything that had happened, from his friends learning about his secret power, to them fighting to get him back on their side. He felt badly for hurting them, because he knew how much it hurt to watch someone walk away, without knowing if he was going to return.

He sighed deeply before hearing footsteps approaching from the house. Without glancing over his shoulder he knew it was Mia who was coming out to join him. Her footsteps were light and gentle, making almost no sound. But Jayden heard them and welcomed her company.

"Are you bored too?" she asked as she took the spot next to him. Jayden shook his head.

"Just thinking."

"It'll probably be a few hours before Mike and Emily get home," Mia said, "Why don't the three of us do something? Tori had a few old games in her van that she left for us. We can try them out."

"You and Kevin can go ahead," Jayden continued to gaze up at the stars, "I'm just going to sit out here."

There was a brief silence before Kevin walked out of the house with a Popsicle in his mouth and two unwrapped in his hands. He sat beside Mia and handed her and Jayden the treats.

"We didn't get dessert today," he told them, "I figured why not."

"Thanks," Jayden accepted the frozen treat and popped it in his mouth. His gaze returned to the sky. By now the sun had set completely and darkness had fallen over the Shiba house. Only the moon and the stars offered any light. Mentor Ji was in his bedroom on the other side of the house, and all the lights in the rest of the home were shut off.

"You know, the house is never this quiet," Kevin commented, "It's amazing how much peace we can find when we take both Emily and Mike out of the picture."

"They are the loudest," Mia chuckled with a nod. She looked at Jayden, "You're lucky you don't have to wake up to either of them."

"Technically," Kevin smirked, "I don't wake up to Mike. I wake him up. That kid could sleep through a hurricane."

"Then he and Emily are perfect together," Mia laughed, "She doesn't have a snooze button."

Jayden turned to his pink and blue teammates, "Are you two trying to distract me from my own thoughts?"

Kevin and Mia exchanged a look.

"You just seem so quiet and…"

"You're not still beating yourself up about leaving, are you?" Kevin asked. "You know we forgive you, right? Everything's okay. You're our leader and no matter what we're going to trust you."

"And you're our friend," Mia smiled. She rested her head on Jayden's shoulder, "And friends don't let friends stay in the past. We're moving on. We'll forget what's happened. We'll forget everything. We're a team, you, me, Kevin, Mike and Emily and that starts now. No more what ifs."

"Or buts," Kevin smirked.

"Or if only."

"Or should have."

"Or…"

"I get it guys," Jayden chuckled. He took Mia's hand and looked at Kevin, "Thanks."

"So are you up for a game?" Mia asked as she lifted her head and looked Jayden in the eyes, "We can probably squeeze in a few proper games before Mike comes home and ruins it with all his new rules."

Jayden nodded and followed his friends back into the house. As they pulled out one of the many new games Tori had left for them, Jayden's eyes strayed to the gap sensor and he had a nagging feeling he had forgotten something. Just as Kevin claimed the race car, Jayden figured out what it was.

"Dammit!" he cried out and bolted for the door. Kevin and Mia exchanged looks.

"Way to go," Mia rolled her eyes teasingly, "I told you Jayden would want to be the race car."

"Let's just go after him," Kevin shook his head before he and Mia raced after Jayden.

-Samurai-

Mia and Kevin only caught up with Jayden once they reached the city. They had never walked the city streets this late at night, not unless a Nighlok was attacking the city. It was eery and silent and very empty. Naturally, there wasn't a single person in the streets aside from the Rangers. Everybody was indoors.

Jayden was kneeling by a curb. When Mia and Kevin approached him, they saw he was fiddling with a miniature version of the Gap Sensor they had at home.

"So, that's how the map picks up on Nighlok activity," Mia pondered a loud as she and Kevin dropped down beside Jayden. "What are you doing with it?"

"When I ran off I deactivated them," Jayden explained. "I didn't want you guys knowing there was trouble. I was scared you were going to get hurt."

"And you didn't turn them back on?" Kevin asked. Jayden shook his head before the little Gap Sensor lit up briefly. He smiled and stood up.

"Only a few more to go."

"How many is a few?" Mia frowned. It was a rather large city, and if the gap sensors were scattered everywhere, there were definitely more than a few.

"We should be done by morning," Jayden answered her, hiding the smirk on his face as he teased. "If we split up, we may be done earlier."

Mia groaned as Jayden started to walk off in search of the next sensor. She glared at Kevin.

"You should have just let him be the race car…"

-Samurai-

On the date, Mike had decided to take Emily out to dinner and a movie. Unlike Kevin and Mia's date, where the couple had a hard time finding a conversation starter, Mike and Emily couldn't stop talking and trading stories over dinner. They laughed, they smiled, and at some points, when one of them would go back to their childhood and talk about any hardships they faced, they would even tear up.

They had gotten so lost in their conversation, though, that they had forgotten they needed to be at the theatre on time. When they did arrive, they were sad to find out that the movie they planned on seeing was sold out. But instead of turning around and heading home, Mike decided they would catch another movie: Zombie Monster Horror IV. Emily had been reluctant at first. She had never been a fan of zombies, or monsters or horror. Hell, she wasn't even a huge fan of the number four, to be quite honest, but Mike talked her into it.

There was no reason for her to be scared. The visual effects were terrible and she knew the blood, guts and severed body parts were all fake. Not to mention the fact that the characters in the movie were doing something similar to what she did on a daily basis – fighting ugly looking monsters.

However, Emily was terrified. And to make matters worse, Mike wanted to watch the movie in 3D. Emily's only saving grace occurred halfway through the movie when she jumped and the glasses fell from her face, under her seat, and she was too terrified to retrieve them.

By the time the movie ended, Emily was curled up in Mike's arms. Her face was buried in his chest and Mike could feel her tiny body shaking. Convinced the fear was only temporary (it always was with him), he tapped the top of her head and laughed.

"Em, it's over."

Emily stopped shaking and looked up at Mike. She glared at him.

"I hate you."

"You fight monsters every day," Mike chuckled. He took her hand and led her out of the theatre, "Don't tell me cheap effects scare you to pieces."

"Please don't talk about pieces," Emily whined. She pulled in closer to Mike, "I would rather not think about pieces of anything until I get that movie out of my head."

Mike grinned and wrapped his arms around her as they stood on the street, "You're safe with me, you know that."

"Yeah, I do," Emily nodded as she held him tightly. She knew that if anyone else had taken her to this movie, this would be the point where she would be completely frozen in terror. But because it was Mike, she knew she was safe. Even if the movie was real and zombies did start attacking and eating every human in sight, she knew Mike would protect her.

They were about to hop onto the bus to head home when Mike spotted Jayden, Mia and Kevin across the street. Unsure of why they weren't home at this time of night, he told Emily to forget the bus and as it drove off, he walked her across the street to join the others.

"Aren't you guys taking this older sibling thing a little too far?" Mike teased playfully when he knew they could hear him. "I promised I would be a gentleman and I've kept my word. You don't have to spy on me."

"You're not the screw up this time, Mike," Kevin chuckled, "Our red Ranger forgot to turn on all the gap Sensors."

"What do you mean?" Emily frowned. She turned to Jayden, who was kneeling next to a restaurant wall. She looked at his hands and saw he was fiddling with a little gap Sensor, "Isn't there just like… a little switch or something?"

"If there was, we wouldn't be out here turning them all on manually," Mia sighed with her arms crossed. She looked at Emily and Mike, "So, how was the date."

"The world ended, people were eaten alive and the living dead took over the earth," Mike said casually, ignoring the look on Mia, Kevin and Jayden's faces and they turned to him. He chuckled and shook his head, "Wait, sorry, that was the movie."

"The date was good," Emily smiled, "The movie… eh…"

"Why does that sound like a horror movie?" Kevin frowned.

Jayden went back to activating the gap Sensor, "Because it is one. I saw the listing for Zombie Monster Horror on the internet. I didn't think you would go there on your date."

"Not by choice," Emily said. "The movie we wanted to see was sold out."

"But Zombie movies don't faze me," Mike grinned. He wrapped his arm around Emily, "And this one isn't afraid of a little zombie attack, right Em?"

"Zombies aren't real," Emily said, hoping she sounded convincing. She knew the truth was that Zombies weren't real, but her imagination was still rather active. She nestled in closer to Mike.

"If you're both sure," Mia said sceptically. She turned to Jayden, "So, how many more gap sensors are left now?"

"Just a few," Jayden answered with a chuckle. Mia rolled her eyes. Jayden stood up and clapped his hands together, "I'm serious this time. It only takes a few hours when you know where all the sensors are."

"So we will get some shut-eye after all," Kevin nodded.

"Anyone care to tell me why all these sensors were turned off in the first place?" Mike frowned. He knew there was no way a regular civilian could turn them off if they noticed them. And a Nighlok would trigger them long before he had the chance to deactivate even a single one. There was no reason why they should have been turned off.

"Let's just say I went a little overboard trying to keep you guys safe," Jayden answered. He pointed in various directions, "There are only a couple more. If you guys don't mind…"

"Anything to get home sooner," Emily nodded as she pulled Mike towards one of the sensors. Zombies weren't real and she knew that very well, but standing in the middle of the street in the middle of the night wasn't helping her imagination at all. She just wanted to get home.

When she and Mike found the sensor, Emily got to work activating it. The sensor was rather small, and Emily's fingers were much smaller than Mike's, making it easier for her to work her way around the device.

As he watched her, Mike couldn't help but notice her hands were shaky. It almost felt like he was watching her diffuse a ticking time bomb and there were only a few seconds left. He knelt down next to her.

"Em, are you sure that movie didn't scare you," he asked. "It's okay if it did. I'm a little freaked right now. But it's not real. There are no such things as zombies."

"I know," Emily nodded. She kept her focus on the Gap Sensor, "I am a little jumpy, but it's like you said, I know I'm safe with you."

"Good," Mike smiled. He placed his hand on her back, "I would never let anything happen to you."

"I know," Emily nodded again. The Gap Sensor lit up briefly as she turned to Mike. He turned his back to her before looking over his shoulder.

"Hop up," he said, "if you're lucky, you might fall asleep before we get home and you won't have to worry about being alone tonight."

"Okay," Emily grinned as she climbed up on his back, "But you have to promise you'll tuck me in and stay with me until I do fall asleep. I trust Mia, but I don't think she'll be able to fight off zombies like you."