Disclaimer: I don't own PR, I just wish I did.

Jason got a rental car after landing in Reefside. First things first, he drove to the Cyberspace, where Hayley was wiping the counter. As he approached, she continued to wipe the same spot meticulously, and he noticed it was ridiculously shiny, working on worn. "Hayley?"

She looked up. "Jason!" she said, with recognition but not relief and certainly no excitement.

He ducked behind the counter and gave her a hug. She seemed to need one, and since he couldn't offer hugs to any of his other friends, she was next in line. "How are you holding up?"

"Horrible," she said. "I know it's only been a few days, but it hurts more than I ever could have expected. I just keep thinking I'm going to see him walking through those doors, and…"

"How are the kids?" he asked.

"Devastated. None of them are even speaking, even." She pointed over at the couch under the large picture window, where Ethan, Conner, and Kira were sitting in a row. Their backpacks were spread at their feet, untouched. They all just stared into space. Jason let go of Hayley. "I'm going to go talk to them," he said. She nodded, and resumed wiping the bar. Jason went over and pulled up a chair. "Hey, guys."

"Oh, hi, you're back," Conner said.

"How are you doing?"

"How do you think we're doing?" Ethan said darkly.

Jason sighed. "Tommy left me his house," he said.

Kira looked up, meeting Jason's eyes for the first time. "Does that mean you're coming here? Are you going to take over for him?"

"He asked me to," Jason said, the first time he'd discussed it since Tommy had dropped him off at the airport. "He said that if anything were ever to happen to him, he wanted me to mentor you guys. Ops is going to be officially mine in a few short hours, so it's up to you guys. If you want, I can shut it down, go back to L.A., and you guys don't have to worry about this stuff anymore." He couldn't believe he was giving them an out. But after what these kids had been through… "You can be normal again."

They stared at him a moment. "We can stop being Rangers," Conner said, "but Mesogog won't decide to stop being evil, just 'cause we've quit. And he killed Dr. O. You think I'm just gonna let that slide?" He glanced at Ethan, then at Kira. "You two can do what you want." He looked at Jason again. "I'm staying in."

"Hey, once a Ranger, always a Ranger, right?" Kira said. A corner of her mouth lifted in a pseudo-smile. "Dr. O. taught us that one."

"Beats sitting around all day," Ethan agreed glumly, but Jason knew that the kid fully supported Conner's statement. He was just being himself.

"Then that settles it," Jason said, standing up. He felt somewhat better, knowing that he was going to be continuing Tommy's work and his dream.

The next day, Jason was back in L.A. "I'm moving to Reefside," he announced to Emily over a TV dinner.

She looked up sharply. "Jase, no. Why?"

"Tommy left me his house," Jason said, staring down at his half-baked chicken and poking it once or twice. Emily had been working all day, and his flight had only gotten in that afternoon, so they didn't have time to make anything better.

"So? You can just sell it, can't you? I mean, the money would go to a good cause…"

"I can't just do that, Em."

"Well, are you expecting me to come with you?" she asked. He frowned, not sure how to answer that. To be honest, he hadn't really thought much past the need to move to Reefside and take care of the kids, as per Tommy's wishes.

"I don't know."

She reached across the table and grabbed his hand. "Jason, I know you're upset, and you have every right to be upset. I know how close you two were. But you're not thinking clearly! You can't just drop your life and move to some Podunk town in southern California."

"I grew up in some Podunk town in southern California," Jason snapped, then realized he didn't want to get angry at Emily. He sighed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell. This was important to Tommy, is all."

"Jase, I love you, but I can't just move to Reefside. Can't we just stay here?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't. I made him a promise."

"And you didn't make me a promise when you proposed?" she asked.

He looked away. He loved Emily, and she had been his lifeline when his life had gone south after losing the Gold powers. He had made himself a life here, and he loved working at the studio and coming home to Emily every night. If he sold Tommy's house, the money could go to the wedding that they couldn't quite afford.

But he'd promised Tommy. And those kids needed him. They had the best intentions, but with all this rage they were harboring, they were going to short-circuit themselves before they accomplished anything.

"Em, baby, I'm sorry. But I have to do it. A promise is a promise."

"But why," she said. "I don't want to be a nag, Jason, but I think I have a right to know why."

He had never told her. He loved Emily, and he trusted her explicitly, but he had just never told her. He grasped her hand firmly in his. "I have something to tell you."