AN: Mild language contained within.
The room was radiant with light as the four Rangers donated their powers to their teammate. Conner's gem flashed, and suddenly he was in morph. But the power was still dragging from the four Rangers, pulling at them so strongly that they wouldn't have been able to break it if they'd wanted to. Stripes of light went up Conner's legs and arms, zigzagging across his chest and head, as his red outfit got speckled with blue and yellow diamonds instead of the white, as gold appeared on his shoulders and helmet, as his insignia changed to incorporate five points instead of three. Conner glowed slightly, drawing from some great power, almost ethereal, and the other four Rangers promptly lost their morphs, weak and tapped for power.
"The Triassic powers," Dr. O. said. "They come from our significant contributions. Conner has never tapped into this kind of power before. None of us have."
Their leader began to convulse, his red-clad body shaking something fierce. Kira squeaked in fear, made a step towards him but no more, seeming to realize that there was nothing she could do for him. "Dr. O., what's going on?" asked Ethan.
"I don't know," Dr. O. confessed. "The power is still healing him, I think."
"It sure doesn't look that way," Kira said sharply, and even Trent looked moderately concerned as Conner convulsed.
And then he stilled.
"Is that--" Ethan began, but before he could finish the thought, the morph exploded off of Conner's body, leaving him back in his hospital gown, groaning and blinking. "The power was unstable," Dr. O. puzzled it out. "His body and the power would feed off each other, so the power made its appropriate contribution, but his body didn't have enough energy to maintain the morph."
Conner's eyes opened. "What happened," he said hoarsely, and with a choked sound, Kira hugged him. She released him before he had a chance to process the move or reciprocate.
"How do you feel?" Dr. O. said with a warm smile.
"Hey, dude, you're out of the suit," Conner said, nodding very slightly.
Dr. O. laughed. "Long story."
"I feel tired," the boy said. "But other than that...weirdly okay. I shouldn't feel okay, should I?"
"Then it worked," Dr. O. said. "We combined all of our powers, hoping to jump-start your gem and attempt to heal you, but it kicked in the Triassic powers."
"The what?"
"The Triassic powers, sort of a combination of all of our powers together. We all used our gems to help strengthen yours, and you went Triassic."
"All of you..?" Conner said, frowning, his eyes landing on Trent. Trent grunted and looked away. Conner glanced questioningly at Ethan, who nodded. "Hey man," Conner said quietly, looking to the White Ranger, "thanks." Sincerity was just as apparent in his voice as confusion, and Kira hugged him again. This time, Conner had the presence of mind to hug her back, however briefly. He tried to search her face for answers, but she wouldn't meet his gaze.
"Dr. O.? That left me pretty drained," Ethan admitted. "I mean, like, really drained. Like I should be in that bed myself."
"Me too," Kira said, and Trent jerked his head once in affirmation, still staring at something else.
Dr. O. frowned. "I feel it, too."
Conner noticed for the first time that they were all stumbling somewhat, leaning against things for support and breathing heavily. "Guys..." he said.
Ethan waved it off, hearing the concern in his friend's voice. "Don't worry about it, man. You would've done it for us."
Conner nodded. His fellow Rangers sat down, looking so exhausted that he couldn't help but be anxious. "Should we call a nurse or something?" he asked.
"This really isn't something we want to concern the public with," Dr. O. pointed out.
"Bit late for that, Dr. O.," Ethan said.
Conner looked to each of them for a long moment, noticing the tense expressions. "Wait...what aren't you telling me?"
"They know," Ethan said, when no one else would step up to the plate.
"Who knows what?"
"Everybody knows. About us."
"You mean...that...people know we're the Power Rangers?" Conner said, looking at each of his friends. Kira's gaze was fixed on her lap, where her fingers twisted in and out and around each other. Dr. O. looked tired. Even Trent looked edgier than usual.
"Yeah," Ethan confirmed. "Your parents, too. They're here somewhere."
"How long was I out of it?" Conner stammered finally. "What's going on, exactly? What son of a bitch exposed us?" He raised out of his bed slightly, glaring at Trent. "I bet it was you, you filthy traitor, when I get out of here, I'm going to--"
"You're going to what, exactly?" Trent snarled, tensing in his chair, ready to battle at a moment's notice.
Before Conner could answer, Kira made an incomprehensible sound, and was halfway to the door. "Kira..?" Conner asked, but she was gone, into the hallway, accompanied by a dull roar and a flash of light that he wasn't sure he understood.
Conner glanced at Ethan. "What's wrong with her?" he asked.
"You, idiot. It's always you." Ethan rolled his eyes, but didn't seem that upset. "It was Kira."
"What was?"
"She exposed us. It was an accident. She was saving your life."
"I don't get it."
Ethan quickly outlined everything that had happened since Conner had fallen unconscious, leaving out the detail of Kira's little confession, knowing that it was something the two of them would probably want to go over privately.
Conner threw off the sheets and attempted to stand up.
"Conner, what do you think you're doing?" demanded Dr. O., putting his hand on Conner's shoulder and attempting to push him back down. It was hard to determine whether it was the power transfer giving Conner strength in the face of Dr. O.'s tired state, or whether it was the Red Ranger's determination to follow his friend. "I have to go talk to her, Dr. O. You don't understand."
"The press is out there, Conner," Hayley attempted. "They've been out there ever since the Rangers fought Elsa. You've been in a coma for awhile now, and all reports were saying that you weren't going to make it. If they see you just walking around, they're going to know."
"They were going to figure it out sooner or later anyway," Conner said logically, though his tone was resigned. "There's nothing I can do about that. But I have to find her."
"Let him go, Dr. O.," Ethan said, and the teacher sat back down.
"Thanks, everyone," Conner said, and it took him a moment to steady himself, because he hadn't used his legs in awhile. But the moment passed, and he was out the door.
The crowd descended on him furiously. "It's the boy!" someone announced. "He's awake!"
"He's more than awake, he's fine," someone else said.
"He's a Ranger, too!" a third voice shouted from the back of the crowd. A flurry of bulbs exploded in his face, and Conner blinked. "I'm looking for the girl who came out," he said to the large man in a beige uniform next to the door. They'd given him hospital security? It was weird to suddenly get recognition for the thing he'd been doing in secret for ages.
The man blinked at him in surprise. "You're awake."
"Yeah."
"They said you were going to die."
"I'm not dead," Conner assured the man. "Have you seen the girl? Blond hair, about yay high, wearing yellow?"
"Miss Ford went that way," the man said, pointing down the hall.
"Thanks," Conner said, clapping the guard on the shoulder with a grateful smile, and he headed off after her. Behind him, he could hear the guard trying to hold the paparazzi back from following him.
Passing a window, a flash of movement caught his eye, and he stopped, doubling back, to check in the room. It was empty, save for a pacing Kira. Conner went in and shut the door behind him. She looked up sharply at the sound, having not noticed him coming in. "Conner."
"Hi," he said softly. "Ethan told me everything. Listen, I'm sorry I was such a jerk. It just seemed like--"
He shut up when he found her arms around his waist. "I didn't think you were going to make it," she said, hugging him tightly. She let him go and stared at him. "I thought you were going to die."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence."
"It's not that...it was..." she sighed. "I don't even know anymore. I'm glad you're okay, Conner."
"I have you to thank for that," he said. "According to Ethan, I owe you my life some three times over."
"You'd do the same for me," she insisted. He stared at her for a long moment. She looked like she hadn't slept in ages, and he knew she probably hadn't. But he still thought she looked beautiful. "Kira... Thank you. For everything." He smiled at her, but she was looking at the floor.
"I should get back," he said, realizing it was only going to get more awkward. He was too tired to keep trying with Kira at the moment. "They'll want to, you know, check me over and stuff. It's crazy out there, with all the people asking questions."
"You like attention," she said softly.
"Not like that, I don't," he said. She flinched, and he realized maybe her silent treatment was guilt. "But it's okay, you know..." he covered hastily. "I mean, it's always been out there for everyone to see and everything; we've just gotten lucky that no one's figured out the truth. It's not your fault, Kira." Still she said nothing, and Conner gave up, heading back towards the door. He was still really tired, and he wanted to talk to his parents.
"Conner, wait," she said, and he felt her hand clamping around his wrist. He stopped, turning to look at her. "I love you," she whispered, and she actually had tears in her eyes, Kira Ford crying over him. Conner didn't know which stunned him more, the tears or her admission. "I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't realize it before now, and you probably think I'm insane, but..."
Conner kissed her. It was the only thing that made sense at the moment. She didn't protest, rather, she kissed him back quite eagerly, both of them obviously thankful that they were alive, that the other was alive, that they'd somehow made it out of this whole crazy thing. Her hands were around his neck, warm against bare skin--bare skin? With horror, Conner stepped back from her to remember that he was still wearing his hospital-issue paper nightgown. Over boxers, which he discovered were not the ones he'd been wearing when this whole debacle had started, his mom must have brought him a new pair from home, thank God.
"Um, we should get back," he coughed, flushing with embarrassment. Kira attempted to hide her laughter, with moderate success. Conner winced, knowing that his picture was going to be plastered all over the paper by tomorrow morning, and it would be a photo of him in a paper dress. Fantastic. Another one of those days.
Except this time, as they headed back towards Conner's room, Kira took his hand.