The next couple weeks went by smoothly for the rangers. Vrak and Metal Alice had sent a couple of monsters, but the rangers were able to take them out easily. In their time away from being superheroes, their personal lives were also thriving.

Gia and Jake were able to go on dates more often, and they were closer than ever. Emma's mother had started work and that took a huge load off of her. Since she worked at the hospital, Mrs. Goodall was responsible for handling Gavin's transportation to and from treatment, so that was no longer something she had to worry about.

Emma also took Jake's words to heart, and tried to look after herself a little more. She took less shifts at the Brainfreeze, though still making sure it was enough to keep the family afloat, and used that extra time to sleep or study. Her grades had taken a bit of a hit, but she was a good student. She could graduate in the top 100 of her class if she was able to get it together by the end of the year, which was coming up extremely quickly.

On the days where Emma would be home and the black and yellow rangers would be out on a date, Troy invited Noah over. His parents always worried because since they moved often, he never really settled enough to make friends. For this reason, they were always open to Troy inviting friends over and even offered for Noah to stay the night whenever he wanted. The boys felt much closer.

It felt good to finally have everything looking up for the rangers. For the past few months, it had felt like one thing after another was going wrong. Gavin had arrived and everything turned around for Emma. Then, Gia's mother died in a car accident and the girls got into a nasty fight. There was tons of drama in between, then the rangers were turned against each other were nearly killed. On top of all that, Emma's mother had decided to come home, and everything was thrown into chaos again.

Now it felt almost abnormal that things were going well for the rangers. And while the opportunity lasted, they wanted to enjoy it to the fullest. That was why they had a big birthday planned for Jake. It was his eighteenth and they wanted to celebrate it together. The milestone was big, and they wanted to make sure it was special.

The rangers arranged for the party to be centered around a birthday dinner, so that afternoon, Gia took Jake out to a birthday lunch for just the two of them.

She took a seat across from him and smiled wide. "So, how does it feel to be an adult?"

Jake laughed. "I feel no different from yesterday when I was still a teenager. You and Emma are right on my tail, though. My day has been so good, especially with us being together, and I'm going to organize something extra amazing for you two."

Gia smiled. "It has been a bit of a crazy year, hasn't it? It feels like everything has blown by really fast, but we have been dating for months. It's felt like days at most."

The black ranger reached across and squeezed her hand. "I know. How are you doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've been so great with Emma and Gavin. You picked up shifts to help them out financially, and you have been Emma's rock through all of this. Even after everything happened with your mom. So how are you feeling?"

Gia gave him a small smile in hopes of reassuring him. "The first couple days were hard and I clearly did not handle the shock well. But, I'm working through it. It hurts because sometimes, I go home expecting my mom to be waiting with a hug. But then I remember that she's gone. Those are the hardest times. But all I'm trying to do now is be someone she would be proud of. That helps a lot with accepting the loss. The lawsuit my dad and the other families filed against the driver actually got taken to court, and he was found guilty. Something like that also allowed me to come to terms with it quicker, knowing he is behind bars.

I even voluntarily went to go talk to the school counselor about her a couple weeks after the incident happened. She helped me talk through it. I still miss mom a lot and I always wish things could be different. I hated having to lie to her everyday about my bruises, why I missed dinner, and the calls from school about my absence. But I would give anything to have to do that again. My dad has been so strong and great through this, but it's just not the same."

Hearing this made Jake happier than anything else. Above everything, he just wanted Gia to be happy, and that would be enough for him. Knowing she was handling everything so well and getting help when needed was all he could ask for.

"I know what you're saying. But, you should know your mom would be incredibly proud of you. I have to believe she is looking down on us, seeing everything that's happening. She knows about Emma and Gavin, and she sees how you have given up a lot to help them. And she sees us being rangers, protecting the planet. I'm sure she couldn't be happier with who you turned out to be. She raised you to be extraordinary, and that's exactly who you've become."

Gia was touched by the words. "Thanks, Jake. What did you mean when you said you knew what I was saying, though? You have both of your parents at home."

The black ranger let out a breath. "I told Emma about this a couple weeks ago to try and get her to realize something. You deserve to know." His date motioned for him to continue.

"My dad left my mom and me when I was a kid. I was only five, and he said he was going to the office for a meeting. He never came back. It hurt a lot and it was extremely hard on my mom to have him just up and leave. She was now a single mother, trying to struggle through her emotions, while also needing to provide for me. It was a really tough time. But years later, she married my dad. The guy I consider to be my real dad.

He's taken care of me, and been a better father than my biological dad ever was. But the feelings of abandonment stay with me. My dad and I are super close now and I wouldn't have it any other way, but like you said, it's just not the same. Knowing my biological father and I could have had this kind of relationship and he chose to leave me behind, hurts even to this day. If he had just stayed, my life would have turned out different and I'll never be able to stop thinking about that."

The yellow ranger was shocked by the news. "Jake, I don't know what to say. I'm sorry. You deserve so much better."

He just shrugged it off. "Nah, everything ended up alright. My dad and I are really tight, and he's the one who inspired me to become a professional soccer player. He does everything a dad should, and I got really lucky with him."

"First my best friend, now my boyfriend. I am giving my dad the biggest hug ever when I get home."

Jake laughed. "Yeah, you kind of won the dad lottery."

At that moment, the waitress came to take their empty dishes away and Gia handed over her card for the bill. Jake protested, but Gia pointed out that it was his birthday and that she should get to treat him at least once.

Once Gia's card was finally returned to her, they headed out to the park and sat on a bench. It was a beautiful day and the kids were outside playing. Gia pulled out a card. "So, I know we said we would do gifts at dinner with the rest of the group, but I did want to give you a little something while we had some time to ourselves."

She handed it over and Jake read it with tears in his eyes. "I love it. Thank you so much. You really mean the world to me."

Gia then handed over a bag. "Open it!"

He did as he was told and pulled out a stuffed animal. Jake instantly recognized it as a snake. "Where did you find a snake stuffy that was actually cute? I thought they were all ugly and scary."

His girlfriend laughed. "You would be surprised. I was online shopping and found a cute northern hairy-nosed wombat. I didn't even know those existed."

He reached further into the bag and pulled out a tiger and a shark. It brought out a large smile.

"It is to represent Noah and me. The stuffed animals will always be with you in the bed, and Noah and I will always be with you through life. I know you're a whole adult now and stuffed animals probably are not your thing, but I thought it would be cute."

Jake laughed and leaned over for a hug.

"I love it. You're the best."

They decided to spend a couple more hours together in the park before heading over to his birthday dinner.