Roses and Thorns

Chapter Thirteen

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Power Rangers, Ninja Storm, and I'm not making any money from this fic

Author's Note: Ok, Lila does go back to Hunter's place... But nothing really happens... Well, it doesn't!

Oh, I have a temporary muse! He's a character from one of my original stories, a dark angel called Apollo who was originally a light angel but he got turned bad cos of torture and now likes causing mischief

RedFox: So, remind me again why we had to have him?

Apollo: -Says in a soft tone- Because I'm the only one who was able to come on such short notice

DarkAngel: -Is hiding from Apollo behind the author- He's scary!

Replies to reviews:

garnetred: Well, you're partly right...

BlueAngel07: Yeah, I agree . Except then, of course, there's the whole Lila being one of the silk rangers problem... -Innocent look-

CamFan4Ever: Good, thanks. -Smiles- I hope she helps you out. Glad you liked the last chapter

Jorgitosbabe: Well, you'll have to wait and see -Evil grin-

RedFox: -Glares at Apollo-

Apollo: -Looks steadily at RedFox- Was there a problem?

RedFox: -Grumbles, but remains silent-

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Lila looked up at Hunter. "Um, ok," she said, a little nervously. It's not like I've got anything better to do. And, besides, going with Hunter is probably going to be quite... interesting, to say the least.

"Great." Hunter smiled, and slowly released Lila. For a moment, he wondered if he had made the right decision in kissing her. But he couldn't worry about that now. For better or worse, he and Lila were now technically together.

Hunter dropped a light kiss onto the top of Lila's head, and started walking. After a moment, the silver silk ranger followed him.

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Hunter let himself into his house, holding the door open for Lila.

Lila stepped into the hall, glancing around. "No one else in?" she asked, noting the quiet.

"Well, my brother's the only other one who lives here," Hunter answered. "And he's out on a date with Tori."

No parents? Lila wondered. She didn't say anything out loud, though. She didn't think that it was really any of her business.

Lila followed Hunter into the living room, where they sat down on the sofa next to each other.

"You want a drink or something?" Hunter asked.

"No, I'm all right," Lila replied, placing her hands in her lap. "You think maybe we should talk about... what just happened?"

"If you didn't like what I did, then I apologise." Hunter's expression was unreadable.

"I... didn't say that I didn't like it," Lila said in a low voice.

The crimson thunder ranger watched Lila carefully. At least she had decided to come back to his house with him. That was something.

"So... What would you do if I kissed you again?" Hunter wanted to know. Whoa. Talk about being blunt.

Lila gave Hunter a slightly startled look. "I... wouldn't mind," she admitted after a moment's hesitation.

Hunter reached out to gently lift Lila's chin, and he kissed her gently on the mouth, cupping the back of her head with a gentle hand.

Lila felt a kind of tingling feeling spread over her entire body, almost like pins and needles, only much more pleasant. She kissed back, her hands slipping down to clutch reflexively at his shirt.

After a few moments, they pulled back from each other to get some air. Hunter's hands stroked over Lila's hair and back, and the two just sat in silence, neither of them feeling the need to speak.

"Are you sure you don't want a drink?" Hunter asked after a few moments.

Lila smiled up at Hunter. "No, I'm fine," she insisted. "I'm not thirsty. But I don't mind if you want to go and get a drink or anything."

"I'm all right," Hunter replied. "I was just wondering about you."

Lila rested her head on Hunter's shoulder. She was rather surprised, and a little scared, at how quickly she had come to care for Hunter. It wasn't something she had expected to happen.

Hunter idly traced his fingers down Lila's arm, his expression thoughtful.

"I'd probably better get going," Lila said slowly. She didn't particularly want to leave, but it was getting quite late. If she stayed for much longer, it would be too dark for her to see her way home.

"You know, you don't have to go back to your house tonight," Hunter told Lila. "You could just stay here for the night. It would make more sense."

Lila looked at Hunter, her expression slightly worried.

"We have a guest bedroom," Hunter quickly added.

Lila smiled at that. "I'd love to stay," she replied. "Can I please use your telephone to just call and let my brother know where I'm going to be?"

"Yeah, sure," Hunter answered. "The phone's just in the hallway." Hunter watched Lila as she walked into the hall, then sighed and looked at the ceiling. Man, I never expected this to happen. Not even anything close. I'm really attracted to Lila, and I just want to spend time with her. Is this what Blake feels with Tori? I'll have to ask him.

A few moments later, Lila came back into the living room, and smiled at Hunter. "I'm good to stay," she told him, sitting down next to him again. "But I have to warn you... I am not a morning person. You'll probably have to drag me out of bed. That's what Peter does."

Hunter laughed, shaking his head. "No way," he replied. "I don't particularly want to end up dragging a wildcat out of her bed."

Lila began to laugh at that. "I should tell Peter that," she commented. "It would probably be a good thing for him to refer to me as."

"Glad to be of help," Hunter smiled.

"So... What do you want to do?" Lila asked Hunter after a few moments of silence.

Hunter gave a soft laugh. "If you're looking for us to do something, you'll have to stay round another night as well," he said. "I'm completely exhausted." What with that fight with the tentacled alien and trying to remember just what it was the three light rangers said to each other... Not to mention then having a couple of full days working at Storm Chargers.

"Will your brother mind me staying round?" Lila asked.

"Blake?" Hunter shook his head. "No, he won't," he answered. "He had been pushing for me to tell you how I feel about you, after all."

"Same with Peter." Lila gave a light laugh. "I did try to tell him that I wasn't going to Storm Chargers just to see you, but I don't think he believed me."

Hunter chuckled a little, and then leaned over to give Lila a light peck on the lips before standing up. "Come on," he said. "Might as well show you to the room."

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Cally lay between waking and sleeping. She was drifting, just drifting, her mind playing over the memories she had stored deep inside. Her mind was too active for her to sleep, but she felt too ill to get up and do anything.

Maybe I'm delirious, Cally thought to herself. Maybe, when I wake up, I'll be in a hospital with a doctor telling me that there are really no such things as Power Rangers.

That hadn't been a worry that had bothered Cally since she had first received her morphing abilities. Or maybe that was now? The violet light ranger wasn't sure of anything anymore.

Cally's mind flashed on the day that Dustin had discovered her cheating on him with someone else. Had that really happened yet, or was that still waiting to happen?

I wish that Dustin could know how sorry I am for how I hurt him.

FLASH. Sitting in a room with a counselor. The woman was holding a clipboard and was asking Cally loads of questions, trying to find out exactly why the teenager had tried to kill herself. But Cally was as close-mouthed with her as she was with everyone else.

FLASH. Cally in the bathroom, holding the kitchen knife she had gotten from one of the drawers.

FLASH. Dustin kissing Cally.

FLASH. Cally attempting to do a somersault through the air, but failing because she was really scared of heights.

FLASH. Cally explaining to Dustin, David, and Faye that it was all a question of balancing one's weight.

FLASH. Dustin discovering that Cally was cheating on him.

FLASH. Dustin, Faye, and Cally receiving their morphers.

The crystal embedded in Cally's chest began to glow with a soft violet light, and the violet light ranger slipped into a coma.

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Cam came to with a headache and a dry feeling in his mouth. He got himself a drink, but didn't feel a whole lot better. Which was not what was supposed to happen. Sleep was supposed to make you feel better, not worse.

It feels like I had energy pulled out of me while I slept, Cam thought to himself, frowning. But how is that possible?

"Feeling any better, son?"

Cam glanced up to see his father standing in the doorway. Immediately, he tried to force a smile onto his face. "I'm feeling... fine," he replied. The last thing he needed was for his father to insist on him going back to bed. "Did CyberCam find anything else out?" he wanted to know.

Sensei slowly shook his head, a very weird action on a guinea pig. "No, unfortunately," he answered. "There doesn't seem to be any link between the catalysts other than the one you already discovered."

Cam thought for a moment. "Maybe it's linked somehow to genes?" he suggested. "I can check to see if the catalyst ability runs in families or whatever." It was a slim chance, but it was the only theory Cam could think of. Then, of course, he'd have to know the true identity of the two light rangers so that he could see if their family had the catalyst ability or not.

"You can do that later," Sensei told Cam firmly in a tone that brooked no argument. "You have been spending too much time on the computer lately, son."

Cam grimaced slightly. So much for his father not noticing his condition. He almost said that he didn't think it was related to him spending time on the computer, but stopped himself. What could he say that he thought it might be? His father would probably just think that he was making excuses.

"Hey, is there anyone around?" The green samurai ranger recognised Dustin's voice, and moved into the main room before the yellow wind ranger took it into his head to start playing around on the computer or whatever.

"Hey, Cam," Dustin grinned. "Wow. Must be the first time I've entered NinjaOps to you not working on the computer."

"My father made me stop to get some rest," Cam replied shortly. "According to him, I've been spending too much time on the computer."

"Well, dude, you are, like, on the computer just about all the time," Dustin pointed out. "I thought that the whole reason you created CyberCam was so that you wouldn't have so much work to do."

Cam rolled his eyes. "No, Dustin, that was so that I would be able to devote more of my time to being a Power Ranger," he corrected.

Dustin shrugged a little. "Same difference."

Cam raised his eyebrows. "So did you come in here just to argue with me, or was there another reason?" he wanted to know.

"There was another reason." Dustin lost his smile, and his expression turned serious. "Did I tell you about Cally?"

Cam nodded slowly. "I think so," he answered. "Wasn't she the one who cheated on you?"

Dustin nodded, and then explained about what had happened between him and Cally the other day. "And then, she left, and David came into the shop," he added.

"David?" Cam frowned a little.

"Cally's older brother," Dustin explained. "I know that he and I were quite good friends... But that was no reason for him to start seeming to hate Cally."

"What do you mean?" Cam asked.

"Well, he wasn't really acting like himself," Dustin told Cam.

"Well, he probably seemed a bit strange because you haven't seen him for a while," Cam replied.

Dustin slowly shook his head. "Cam, it seemed like David was trying to tell me that it was all right for me to hurt Cal," he said to the green samurai ranger.

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RedFox: -Glares at Apollo- This whole coma business was your fault!

Apollo: -Only smiles- Yeah, it was, wasn't it? Oh, well. Looks like Cally is going to pay for what she did to Dustin

DarkAngel: -Says really quickly, still hiding behind the author- Read and review, please!