Outside, the heavens had indeed opened up, greeting them with cascades of water once they emerged from the mountain. A saturated twilight had descended upon the forest, but there was still enough light left to do some necessary damage assessment. Blake gently eased Hunter to the wet ground beneath an enormous pine tree, but still the older Bradley grimaced in pain. "Remind me to remind you that streaking with fractured ribs is a bad idea," he said through clenched teeth. Blake was about to grace him with a smart-ass answer when all of a sudden the air a few feet ahead of them crackled and erupted in a bright flash of light. An instant later, Lothor's abomination stood in their midst in all its monstrous glory, shrieking furiously.

"Yeah, I didn't think that Lothor would just let us up and leave," a familiar voice next to Hunter remarked almost casually and the Thunder ninja turned his head to see Cam crouched by his side. They exchanged a quick look and for an instant Hunter had the urge to reach up and touch his boyfriend's cheek, but the raging creature was already advancing on Dustin and Tori, claws raised and fangs bared.

TLC would have to wait until later.

"Guess we're in for round two," the Green Ranger said.

"Or round three, four and five," Hunter's expression was tight. "This thing's tougher than it looks."

"So are we." Blake clasped Hunter's shoulder. "Time to send this sucker back into extinction." The Navy Ranger gave his brother a look that unmistakably said 'don't even think about moving' before his visor clicked shut and he was off in a dark blue blur.

Cam, strangely enough, was still crouched next to Hunter. He had expected the samurai to leap up and join the fight, but he seemed reluctant to leave Hunter's side.

With his helmet off, the downpour had plastered his black hair onto his scalp and was running in rivulets over his face and neck, but he didn't even seem to notice. "Shane, your morpher should be working now," the Green Ranger yelled over the noise of the monster and the torrents of rain. "Try it!"

"With pleasure. I have a score to settle with that thing," Shane barked from a few feet away, raised his wrist and transformed into the Red Wind Ranger.

"Oh, it's so on now!" he cried, drew his sword and charged the beast with a battle cry worthy of a true ninja warrior.

Hunter leaned heavily against the trunk, his good hand pressed to his side, looking up at Cam. "Go, I'll be ok," he mumbled. Cam held his gaze for a moment, aware of how frustrated Hunter was to be incapacitated and unable to help.

"I'll make sure to whack him a couple of times for you," Cam cracked a smile and started to rise, but Hunter caught his wrist and gave him a strained grin. "Have I ever told you that you look damn sexy in that outfit?" he winked.

Cam shook his head with a mixture of amusement and incredulity on his face. "Only you would say something like that right now."

The Thunder ninja shrugged casually, still grinning. "Gotta love me."

"Who says I don't?" Cam replied without missing a beat, touched his morpher and the next instant his head was covered by his green Ranger helmet. He shot to his feet and sped off, joining the rest of the team in their attack of the dino-monster.

Hunter was left propped up against the tree trunk, staring after his boyfriend, the grin replaced with an incredulous look on his face.

Final Confrontation…

Five Power Rangers against one monster, and the battle was not going the way they wanted it to.

The creature seemed impervious to their attacks. Its scales, its natural body armor, were simply too thick, and the Ranger's swords were not doing nearly enough damage as was necessary. That, combined with the monster's white-hot rage, quickly tipped the scale to favor the abomination despite the uneven odds.

Dustin went down after a vicious blow sent him sprawling into a large puddle of muddy water. Tori followed the same example not long after as she was thrown backwards at least twenty feet with a single swipe from the beast's tail. Thankfully, the Ranger suits deflected the worst of the damage, but they were still being pounded mercilessly. Blake and Cam worked hard on distracting the monster while Shane was helping his two teammates back up.

"Time to pull out the heavy artillery," the Red Ranger exclaimed, whipping out his Hawk Blaster. Tori and Dustin produced Dolphin Fin and Lion Hammer, and they quickly combined their weapons with long-practiced efficiency.

The blast from the Storm Striker finally showed some effect - the creature was knocked to the ground for the first time. Smoke was curling upwards at the impact site even through the heavy rain, yet before it could clear, their spirits plummeted at the sight of the creature re-emerging though the grey curtain. The Rangers were dumbfounded.

"No way!"

"Impossible!"

"You've got to be kidding!"

Incredibly, the dino-monster was coming towards them again, weakened, but ready for more, not to mention at the peak of its rage. When it let out its earsplitting shriek this time, every tree seemed to vibrate with its echo. It hurled itself forward, plowing into Shane and Dustin like a wrecking ball and sending them flying once more.

All the while, a thoroughly soaked Hunter was forced to watch the battle from the sidelines. His fists dug into the ground, raking up clumps of wet earth as helpless rage built up inside him at the sight of his friends being thrashed about by this freak. Hurt or not, he couldn't just sit here and watch this! And that's when an idea suddenly came to him.

'One blast wasn't enough, but two simultaneously…' Hunter wiped the rain out of his face, then clutched at a low branch of the pine tree, pulling himself up to his feet determinedly. His ribs were screaming in protest, but he clenched his teeth against the pain and raised his wrist. His morpher arm was also his injured arm, so he decided to skip the usual theatrics and just pressed the button, transforming unceremoniously. The Crimson Ranger suit helped to steady him somewhat, and he lurched forward, towards Blake and Cam, who had regrouped a few feet away with their backs to him, seemingly as transfixed by the creature's display of invincibility as the Winds were.

Blake, however, sensed his approach and turned. "Bro, what are you doing?" he scolded. "You can't fight!"

In response, Hunter pulled out his Crimson Blaster. "I don't intend to fight, but I do intend to pull the trigger."

Blake's helmeted head turned towards Cam, expecting the samurai to back him up with some sharp words, but oddly enough, the Green Ranger stayed silent.

Hunter was getting impatient. "Blake, I want that shot."

The Navy Ranger could feel his brother's intense gaze even from behind his darkened visor, could sense the need to even the score between him and Lothor's creature. Cam must have sensed this, too; that's why he hadn't retorted against Hunter's actions.

"All right." Blake knelt and held the Navy Antler up for assembly. "But if this doesn't work, you're back under that tree while we whip out the Zords on that freak, you hear?"

From a few yards away, on the opposite side of the creature, Shane watched the Thunder brothers combine their weapons, and correctly interpreted their intentions. He nudged Dustin and Tori. "I think I know what they're up to. Come on, let's put them together again." A moment later, the Rangers were in position on either side of their opponent, weapons aimed and poised.

"Storm Striker!"

"Thunder Canon!"

Hunter felt a grim satisfaction at the fact that he was pulling the trigger, and he was pretty sure that Shane felt the same way right now. The Thunder Canon's energy discharge was in perfect synchrony with that of the Storm Striker, and both blasts hit the creature simultaneously, instantly engulfing it in a wall of flames.

Unfortunately, he had no opportunity to enjoy his victory since the Thunder Canon's recoil, normally faint enough not to bother the Crimson Ranger, now went straight up his injured arm and into his chest, spreading downwards like liquid fire. It was promptly followed by a wave of nausea. Hunter staggered and would have fallen if Cam hadn't caught him. The Green Ranger eased him to the ground, half-covering him with his body at the exact time the dino-monster exploded, showering them all with its revolting, foul-smelling debris. Thankfully, the heavy rains quickly rinsed them of the worst of it.

Dustin leapt into the air, whooping. "All right! We came, we saw, we kicked its butt!" he cheered, and the others broke into relieved laughter.

Blake and Cam were helping Hunter back on his feet, and Cam kept his arm firmly around his boyfriend's waist, looking up into the still falling rain. "Let's get you home. Broken ribs are bad enough; no need to add pneumonia to that."

Hunter nodded stiffly, threw a last look over his shoulder at the still smoldering remains of the ex-monster, and held on to Cam for the streak out of the forest.

Back home…

When the six sopping wet figures entered Ninja Ops, Sensei was already waiting for them.

Cam disappeared into the back of the room, re-emerging a moment later with a stack of towels, which he handed out to the dripping team, and a first aid kit.

"Shane, Hunter, it is good to have you back." The guinea pig's eyes took in Hunter's stooped form while the Rangers were spilling into the control room. "Hunter, do you require hospitalization?" But the Crimson Ranger merely shook his head, accepted the towel and the aspirin bottle from Cam with a nod and slumped down onto one of the cushions strewn around the command table. "I'll be all right, Sensei. Shane and I have already started the healing process."

Sensei inclined his head. "Very well. Why don't you get some rest, and we will talk when you have recovered."

The guinea pig waited until the team had toweled themselves off, then his eyes fixed on the Red Ranger. "Shane, may I speak with you, please?" he said in his most authoritative teacher's voice, and without waiting for an answer he somersaulted towards the far side of the room. Shane, knowing what was coming, swallowed heavily, hung his head and trotted after his teacher.

The tongue-lashing lasted for a while, and Cam took that opportunity to tightly bandage Hunter's torso and arm. During the entire time Hunter was trying to catch his eye, but Cam kept his gaze firmly on his task, an unreadable expression on his face. The only time he looked up was to frown into Hunter's face after examining the wicked-looking slash on his arm. The Asian man's eyes looked almost guarded now, a fair change from his smile and warm gaze in the forest. Not to mention his words…

With the rest of the team so close by, it was not possible for Hunter to straight out ask Cam what was bothering him, so he made a mental note to address whatever issues were occupying Cam's mind later.

When Shane re-joined his teammates a few minutes later, he seemed to have shrunk a few inches. "I…I think I'm gonna go home now," he said meekly and made a show of yawning for emphasis. "I'm dead on my feet."

The others played along, nodding empathetically, for they had all, at one point in time, been at the receiving end of one or more of Sensei's 'speeches' before.

Dustin briefly wondered whether it was a ten or twenty-mile penalty run his friend had to complete tomorrow when they all returned to Ninja Ops. He clapped Shane on the back. "You want some company, dude?"

Shane looked into the Earth ninja's eyes for just a moment too long before he casually replied, "Yeah, sure, you can crash on the couch."

The two Wind ninjas turned to go, but stopped at the sound of Hunter's voice. "Shane."

Shane turned to watch Hunter rise and slowly make his way towards him. The blue eyes regarded him intensely, then the Thunder ninja held out his hand. "Thanks, man."

Shane took the offered hand, and the two Rangers embraced quickly in a one-armed hug, slapping each other's backs.

"Anytime, bro." With a last grin, Shane grabbed Dustin and headed up the stairs.

Blake appeared at Hunter's side, grinning up at him. "Glad to see you've settled your differences, but next time could you maybe just…talk about it?" the Navy Ranger said half-jokingly. "That way we can just skip that whole 'fight the huge, tough, alien dino-monster' part."

Hunter grinned back softly. "I don't think there's gonna be a next time." He draped his arm around his little brother, leaning on him, and together they walked towards their room. When they passed the kitchenette, his eyes locked with Cam, who was busy preparing dinner. The samurai smiled - weakly, yet at least it was a smile, and the Crimson Ranger returned it gladly. But despite the smile Hunter still sensed the lingering tension in Cam.

They definitely had to talk, but right now all Hunter wanted to do was sleep.

The Brothers…

Inside the guest room, Blake eased Hunter onto the mattress.

"It's good to have you back, man." Blake leaned against the closed door, regarding his brother for a moment. "For a while I thought I might have lost you there."

Hunter looked up. "No chance. I couldn't leave you here all alone. You wouldn't know how to tie your shoes without me, dude," he grinned weakly.

Blake grinned back and lifted his boot. "Don't need to know. It's all Velcro." But then the younger Bradley's expression turned somber. "I'm still damn glad you're ok."

"You haven't told me yet how you guys ever found us." Hunter said, settling into a more comfortable position on the bed, back leaning against the wall. Blake plopped down onto the mattress, mirroring his brother's position. "It's kind of a bizarre story…" he began.

For the next twenty minutes, Blake recounted the details of the Ranger's rescue operation. When he choked up at the part of their parents' appearance, Hunter automatically put a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder. "Hey, you gonna be all right?"

Blake nodded wordlessly, trying to compose himself. Hunter looked at his little brother intently, while trying to hide his own bafflement; up until now he had not known about this particular element of the story. It was unfortunate that he hadn't been able to share their parents' encounter with Blake; or maybe fortunate, judging from the emotional state it had left Blake in. Hunter put his arm around the younger man's shoulder and said softly, "At least we know they're there, watching over us." It was a pathetic attempt at comfort, he knew that, but it was all he had to offer.

It seemed enough for Blake. "Yeah, if it hadn't been for them, we might not have found you in time," the Navy Ranger said, and suddenly Hunter could see his brother's eyes brimming with tears. Embarrassed, Blake broke out of their half-embrace, turning his head, but Hunter promptly reached out for him again. "It's okay, bro. Just let it out."

"I'm not a crybaby!"

"I know that." Hunter pulled his brother back towards him. "C'mere."

Deflated, Blake buried his face into Hunter's shoulder. "It was so hard seeing them, I mean…it broke open some old scars, you know…" Even though muffled by Hunter's shirt, the misery in Blake's voice was audible, and the older Bradley patted his brother's hair. "I know, bro. I miss them, too."

For a long moment they sat immobile, Blake crying silent tears into Hunter's shoulder. Against his will, he felt hot tears shooting into his own eyes, but he stoically blinked them away, tightening his grip around Blake instead.

After a while, Blake spoke again. "There was a moment when I'd pictured you there next to them…"

"What? As the third spirit? Now that would be a classic Star Wars moment," Hunter teased, trying to lighten the mood, and, oddly enough, it worked. Blake chuckled and raised his head, wiping his eyes. "Yeah. Hunter Kenobi. Only dressed in leather."

Hunter patted his head one more time, stitching his trademark crooked smile onto his face. "Well, I'm here now, and I don't know about you, but I'm pretty wiped out."

"Me, too. Tough day." Blake yawned.

To say the least. "Come on," Hunter said, leaning back and pulling Blake down with him. "Let's get some sleep, man."

"Dude, I'm not sleeping in the same bed with you," Blake protested half-heartedly, but Hunter looked at him wearily. "Look, I know we're not kids anymore, but I could use the company tonight, bro."

Blake had to admit that he could use it, too, and he put his head down onto the second pillow with a sigh and closed his eyes.

"Love you, little brother," he heard Hunter say. "G'night."

"I love you, too, bro, but if you ever scare me like that again, you're in for a thorough butt-whooping, even if you're the older one." Blake mumbled, sleep already creeping up on him.

Hunter's only response was a snort and a garbled exclamation that sounded something like 'sure, whatever'. Blake grinned, then let sleep pull him into oblivion.

Epilogue…

Cam carefully pushed open the door to the Bradley's room after knocking twice had yielded no results. "Hunter?"

The Thunder Ranger in question was visible only as a lone, unmoving lump on the bed, wrapped up in his crimson comforter. Blake had left for school hours ago and Cam had given him an apology slip for Hunter's teacher, complete with forged signature, effectively keeping Hunter out of school for a few days.

In the faint light of the bedside lamp, Cam regarded his slumbering boyfriend for a moment. Sleep had softened his features, had all but eradicated the 'tough guy' look he always wore when awake. Cam wanted to reach out and tuck the stray strands of blond hair that hung over his eye back into place, and more than that; he wanted to cradle Hunter in his arms, kiss him senseless and tell him how happy he was to have him back safe and sound. But he also wanted to slap him upside the head and yell at him, chastise him for having endangered himself and Shane solely because of something as stupid and senseless as their childish need to outshine each other.

'But I don't have to bother with that,' Cam thought with a faint smirk, 'before the day is over, Dad will have read him the riot act for sure. Not for the abduction, of course, but for letting their rivalry distract them enough to become easy targets for the enemy.'

There had been a real possibility that Hunter could have died yesterday. The thought had hit him dead on yesterday, after he saw the horrible gash the creature left in Hunter's arm. The sight had scared the crap out of Cam.

Now it also fueled his anger. He knew it was an irrational reaction, but that didn't help him shake it; he was only human after all. So instead of waking Hunter with a kiss, he merely bent forward and grasped his shoulder to shake him awake. Hunter was apparently sleeping more soundly than Cam had anticipated, for it took a while until the Crimson Ranger's eyes finally fluttered open.

"Oh, hey," he muttered sleepily. "Good morning."

"Good afternoon, you mean," Cam replied, straightening his back. "How're you feeling?"

Hunter seemed to consider this for a moment before he replied, "Okay, I guess." He sat up carefully, patted his side and rotated his arm stiffly. "Doesn't hurt any worse than yesterday." Suddenly, Cam's remark struck him and he looked up. "Afternoon?"

"It's almost one o'clock," Cam said. "I was going to ask you if you wanted some lunch."

Hunter's eyes lit up. "Are you kidding? I'm starving. What're we having?"

Cam almost smiled. "Same thing you would have had for dinner yesterday, if you hadn't slept through it. Ravioli, compliments of Chef Boyardee."

Last night he had knocked on the Bradley's room to call them to dinner, and, after receiving no answer, had entered to find the two brothers curled up with each other, sleeping soundly. The sight was so poignant that, if Cam had had a camera at that moment, he would have taken a picture.

Now Hunter awkwardly rose from the bed, grimacing. Apparently his ribs were still hurting him. Concern briefly overshadowed Cam's irritation and he reached out for Hunter's arm, helping him up.

"Here, let me see." The samurai reached for the Thunder ninja's T-shirt, and Hunter obediently raised his arms, grinning mischievously. Cam threw him a warning glare as he slowly pulled the shirt up to just above his chest. "Don't even think about it."

"Hey, can't blame me for thinking it…normally you can't get my shirt off me fast enough."

Cam didn't go for the bait. "That's under…different circumstances," he replied stone-faced and examined the tight bandages he had placed around the injured ribcage yesterday. They were still firmly in place; no need to re-wrap them. Cam nodded, satisfied. "It was a good thing that Shane started regenerating you yesterday; otherwise you'd be in the hospital right now. Your ribs should be fully healed in a few days."

"Thanks." Hunter adjusted his shirt, then reached out, intending to pull Cam into an embrace, but the samurai drew back. Hunter threw him a puzzled look. "Cam, what's wrong?" he demanded.

"Nothing." Cam was good at guarding his feelings, but by now Hunter knew him well enough to recognize the small signs that contradicted this statement; the distance in his voice, the way stood with his arms defensively crossed before him, the cool look in his eyes...

"Like hell. You should see your face." Hunter was insistent. "Something's bothering you, has been bothering you since yesterday, and you might as well spill it, because I'm just gonna bug you to death about it until you tell me."

"I don't want to talk about it, Hunter," Cam said tightly, broke eye contact and turned, intending to walk towards the door, but a strong hand curled around his arm, holding him back. Hunter's sapphire eyes bore into him. "You are mad at me, aren't you?"

Cam whirled around, facing him again, eyes blazing now. "Hunter, you were…what? maybe two minutes away from dying yesterday. And so was Shane. Do you even realize that?"

So Hunter's initial assessment had been correct; Cam was most definitely ticked off at him, and with good reason. "Well, we didn't, okay? And it's not like I asked Lothor to snatch us," the blond man retorted weakly.

"Oh, yeah, and that's supposed to justify it all, now?" Cam snubbed. "Look, I believe in everyone's inalienable right to be stupid every now and then, but when it involves endangering your own or somebody else's life, then yes, I think that's definitely a valid reason for being pissed at you."

Hunter flinched. Cam's sharp tone cut deeper than the monster's claw had. Not to mention the glare the samurai was directing his way. If that look had come from anyone else Hunter would already have gone into his defensive act by now, complete with the patented downward stare and intimidating posture, but this was Cam.

Besides, yesterday's mess had been a direct result from one of those defensive acts.

So instead, Hunter took one step closer to Cam, searching his face – and saw something beneath the anger in those almond eyes he hadn't expected.

"You were worried," Hunter stated simply, but Cam heard the subtle tinge of surprise hidden in the calm tone.

"Worried to death about you, you idiot," he snapped. It came out harsher than intended, but Hunter only smiled. "I'm glad to know that."

"What? That you're an idiot?"

The Thunder Ranger's face turned serious. "That you care enough to worry like that."

At that, something in Cam's face changed. Hunter couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, but something…His thought process was cut off abruptly when Cam suddenly moved, fast and smooth. Before he could react, Cam was in his face and in his personal space, and Hunter found himself on the receiving end of a crushing embrace.

The samurai's right arm was tight around Hunter's waist and dangerously close to his rib cage, but unless Cam squeezed hard enough to actually crack one of his ribs again, Hunter had no intention of moving. This was too good to move, - but it was also very un-Camlike behavior. Not that Hunter was complaining…

Cam didn't say a word, just held on to him. Hunter closed his eyes and clung back, listening to the wordless message Cam's touch conveyed. 'Yeah, I was worried that I would never see you again, either, Cam. And, yeah, I love you, too.'

He wished he could say it out loud, but instead he decided to say something else. Turning his head slightly, he murmured in Cam's ear, "Let me make it up to you, okay?"

Cam took a step back, breaking their embrace. "And how, pray tell, do you plan on doing that?" he asked.

Hunter decided to conveniently miss the mocking tone. "Well, how about I take you out? To dinner."

Cam just looked at him, an unreadable expression on his face, and after a moment Hunter sighed. "Come on, Cam, I'm really trying here. I can't change what happened, so all I can do is try to make amends now." The Crimson Ranger looked at him under lowered lashes, and the sight made Cam grin. "I don't know…" he drawled, "This will take a real restaurant. The kind that actually has plates and silverware."

Hunter rolled his eyes in mock exasperation. "Fine, whatever." Suddenly, his finger shot up. "But no white tablecloths; I draw the line at tablecloths. And no suits! I don't even own a suit."

That got a laugh out of Cam. "Don't worry, I won't push the boundaries of your endurance of civilized society. We can try out that new Olive Garden that just opened up in town."

Now it was Hunter's turn to grin and draw Cam into his arms. The samurai held fast to him. This time it was a gentle embrace, intended to comfort but also to reassure them both that, despite everything that happened yesterday, they were still going strong. Hunter let out a barely audible sigh and rested his head against Cam's. Only after they had both thoroughly satisfied their need for comfort did they finally part again, but only barely to arm's length. The Crimson Ranger looked into almond eyes. "So it's a date?"

Cam held his gaze. "All right, if you're up to it."

Hunter nodded. "How about tonight?"

And with a start Cam realized that this would be their first official date that couldn't also be excused as 'hanging out'. He also found that this didn't bother him at all; he actually looked forward to it. Now if only the preceding circumstances would have been better…

He grinned at the Thunder ninja. "I can probably squeeze you into my schedule tonight."

Seeing that smirk on his boyfriend's face, Hunter simply couldn't resist. He tightened his arms around Cam's waist, just enough to press their bodies together even closer. "So, Doctor Watanabe, when do you proclaim me fit enough for 'practice' again?" He made it a point to slur the word suggestively, combining it with his lopsided grin, and judging from the color that now crept into Cam's face, the implication was not lost on him.

"Tomorrow," Cam managed to say without sounding too hoarse. "Tomorrow for sure."

"Good. Can't wait." Hunter's mouth was moving towards Cam.

"And I'll be sticking close to you, to make sure you don't…overexert yourself." Cam's head moved forward to meet him.

"I would like that," the Crimson Ranger mumbled with a smile in his voice before his lips captured Cam's in a lingering kiss that was long overdue. Cam's lips parted in invitation, and Hunter's tongue slipped inside.

Having something like this to look forward to was definitely a very good incentive for quick healing.

THE END

A huge hug to Camille, my incredibly talented beta, for her eagle eye on all the mistakes I've made, and for her invaluable input and suggestions on the story line of this, as well as all of my other Power Ranger fics.
They're much better because of you, Cmar. Thank you very much!!