Tommy burst through the hospital doors gently dragging Trini with him.
"Tommy!" Kimberly called out. She was standing by. She went over to him.
"What happened?" He asked, catching his breath. Kimberly took Trini from him. She looked over to a nearby nurse.
"Heather." She said. Heather walked over.
"Yes, Dr. Hart?"
"Can you please take my daughter to the children's area?" She asked. Heather nodded. "Sweetie, go with Heather, okay?" She asked.
"Mommy, what's going on?" Trini asked as Kimberly handed her to Heather.
"Just go with Heather, please?" She said softly. Trini slowly nodded and left with Heather. She turned to Tommy.
"Well?" He asked.
"There was a car accident." Kimberly explained.
"Where are they?" Tommy asked.
"Kira's with a doctor right now, she got some scratches and hurt her arm."
"And Conner?" He asked. Kimberly dawned a pained expression. The cold hand of fear gripped Tommy's heart. "And Conner?" He asked again.
"He's in surgery." She said softly. She looked around to make sure no one was near by and then pulled something out of her pocket. "Before Kira went to be checked, she gave me these." Kimberly whispered. Tommy looked down to see two dino bracelets. Kira and Conner's bracelets. "Come on, let me take you to the waiting room." She said, taking his arm. Tommy pulled his arm away.
"I want to see Kira." He said. Kimberly sighed; she knew he was going to say that.
"I'll try to get you in to see her after the doctor's done with her. In case anyone asks, you're her uncle Tommy." She said. Tommy sighed and let her take him to the waiting room. "There's a payphone over there." She said, pointing to the side. "After you calm down a bit, call Kira and Conner's parents. I'm going to go check on Kira." She said. Tommy sighed and sat down, taking a few deep breaths as he watched Kimberly walk off. He got up and made the calls. He got through to Mrs. McKnight but was only able to get the machine at The Fords. He sighed and sat back down. Kimberly came back to the waiting room. "You can go see Kira now." She said. Tommy stood up and followed her to a room. He saw Kira sitting on an examination bed. She had a soft cast on her left arm and scratches on her arms and face.
"Kira." Tommy breathed softly, walking into the room. Kira looked up at him. There were tear tracks down her face. Tommy walked over and hugged her gently, careful not to hurt her. Kira buried her face in his chest and sobbed.
"…He…..He said the brakes were gone and then…..We crashed. He covered me and then everything went dark for a while. The next thing I knew…..the-the car was upside down and Conner wasn't moving…" She sobbed. Tommy rubbed her back gently.
"It's okay, it's okay." Tommy said.
---
Eric and Ethan walked out of school together. Ethan had computer club and Eric had tagged along with him. They were by the parking lot when a car screeched to a halt before them. They saw it was Mrs. McKnight in her car.
"Mom?" Eric asked, she looked distressed.
"Eric, get in the car." She said.
"What's wrong?" Eric asked.
"Conner and Kira are in the hospital." She said. Eric and Ethan's eyes widened. Eric quickly got in the passenger side.
"I'm coming with you." Ethan said getting into the back seat just seconds before Mrs. McKnight sped off.
---
Kira sniffled and looked up at Tommy.
"Have you heard anything about Conner?" She whispered. Tommy shook his head.
"No, he's still in surgery." He replied. Kira nodded. She wiped at her eyes with her good hand.
"You can go sit in the waiting room, if you want." Kimberly said. She had been standing back and letting Tommy comfort Kira before. Kira nodded. Tommy helped her hop off the bed and took her to the waiting room. Kimberly sighed and watched them leave. Tommy and Kira walked to the waiting room and were surprised to see Mrs. McKnight, Eric and Ethan. Mrs. McKnight looked up and saw Kira's tearstained face.
"Oh, Kira." She said softly. Kira rushed over to her side and sat down. Mrs. McKnight held her as the two cried, fearful of what was going to happen to Conner. Eric sat by the two of them and tried to comfort them while trying to keep his own tears at bay. Ethan walked over to Tommy.
"Did you hear anything about Conner?" He asked. Tommy sighed and shook his head. Ethan stood against the wall and ran his hands over his face. Ethan looked at Tommy.
"Do we know what happened?" He questioned. Tommy shook his head lightly.
"All Kira told me was that the breaks were shot and then they crashed." He replied. Ethan sighed then stood up straight when an idea struck him.
"Dr. O, what about Conn-"
"Kira gave hers and his to Kim, she gave them to me." Tommy said, knowing he was asking about Conner's gem. Ethan nodded.
"Oh."
---
Naomi walked into her house. She passed the answering machine and saw there were two messages. She hit play.
"Hi sweetie, I just got called out to Chicago for work. I'll call you when I get into my hotel." Naomi sighed at the message from her mother. Her dad was away on business too, which meant another night alone for her. There were times she wondered what was the point of them taking her out of boarding school since they were away all the time. The next message came out. "Well, Mimi, I'm in my hotel room, and I guess you're not home from school yet. I left you some money so you can do something about dinner. I should be back by tomorrow night. I love you." Naomi pressed erase on both messages, not seeing the point on saving them since both messages were for her. She dumped her book bag on the couch and went to the kitchen, finding two twenties her mother left her on the fridge.
"Geez, what does mom think I'm going to have for dinner, lobster?" She asked herself. She took the cash and placed it in her pocket. She ran her fingers through her hair and walked up to her room. She opened her door and gasped loudly when she saw who was sitting at her desk. "Trent?" She whispered.
"Hey Naomi." He said, giving her a smile.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Naomi asked. Trent stood up.
"You seem tense. What's wrong?" He asked. Naomi backed up.
"I thought I told you it was over, what the hell are you doing here?" Naomi asked. Trent took another step towards her.
"And I thought I told you, it's not over until I say it's over." Trent said. Naomi stepped away from him, stepping towards her bed.
"What do you want?" She asked, trying to keep her voice steady. Don't let him see you sweat. She told herself. Trent looked down. He walked over to her.
"I….I need to talk to someone." He said. Naomi gulped and waited for him to continue. "I did a bad thing today."
"Well, that's the understatement of the year." Naomi muttered.
"No, not that, something else." Trent said. Naomi looked over at the phone on her nightstand. She was trying to calculate the chances of her getting to the phone before Trent could grab her.
"W-What did you do?" She asked, trying to keep him talking as she slowly inched towards the other side of the bed in hopes of getting to the phone.
"Well, after the fight, I went to Conner's car." Trent said.
"Uh huh." Naomi said, not totally paying attention.
"And I messed it up." He said. Naomi looked at him.
"What, you scratched the paint or something?" She asked. Trent was silent. "Oh god, please tell me you just scratched the paint." Naomi pleaded.
"I cut the brakes." He said. Naomi gasped and put her hand over her mouth. She knew Conner and Kira had driven off.
"Oh…….Oh my god……." She whispered. She gave up on the idea of being stealth and ran to the phone. She picked it up.
"Who are you calling?" Trent asked. Naomi tried to dial 911 but her hands were shaking too much. He got right behind her. "Who are you calling?" He demanded. She didn't answer. Trent growled and ripped the phone out of her hand and slammed it down. Naomi gasped and backed away from him, only to find herself against the wall.
"Trent, we need to call someone and tell them what happened." Naomi said softly. Trent got closer to her.
"What? You want me to go to jail?" He asked. Naomi shook her head frantically.
"No, no. You need some help….Professional help. If you just calm down, I can make some calls or something for you." She said, trying to keep her voice in soothing tones. Trent shook his head. He slammed his hand against the wall, right by her head. Naomi jumped with a small yelp.
I don't want help." He said lowly. Naomi took a deep breath, trying to remain calm and not get scared.
"Okay, okay, I won't call anyone, just please, calm down." Naomi said. Trent sighed. He looked terrible. His face was pale and there were beads of sweat on his forehead. He lowered his head. Naomi knew she had to get away before he went bizerk again. All right, screw being calm! Her mind screamed. She shoved him away and tried to make a break for the door. Trent growled and grabbed her by the back of her neck and slammed her against the wall. Naomi didn't have time to react before Trent put his hands around her neck and started to squeeze. Naomi gasped.
"You don't want to help. You just want to destroy me, just like everyone else!" Trent yelled as he squeezed a little harder. Naomi tried to pull at his hands but he was too strong. Naomi gurgled and coughed as she kept pulling at his hands. One of her hands went around his wrist as she kept pulling. She accidentally pushed the sleeve of his white button down shirt up, revealing his bracelet. Wh……That looks like the bracelet Ethan has……….but……… Her mind tried to process what she was seeing. Her knee shot up and caught him in the groin, causing him to stumble backwards with a grunt. Naomi put her hand against her neck as she breathed. She looked at Trent. Her head cleared as everything came together.
"It's you.." She whispered. "You're the white ranger.." Trent glared at her. He stood up straight and backhanded her. Naomi's head collided with the wall and everything went dark.
---
A few hours had passes since the accident and the teens, as well as Tommy, Mrs. McKnight and Kim sat quietly in the waiting room. Kira had long since fallen asleep across three chairs, her head resting against Eric's stomach. Eric was snoring softly, his head against the wall. Mrs. McKnight has dozed off slightly and was using Eric as a pillow and Ethan was asleep on the floor beneath the chairs. The only two who had remained awake were Tommy and Kimberly. A doctor or two passes every so often, never stopping. A few minutes later, a doctor walked towards the sleeping teens, and Tommy, Kim and Mrs. McKnight.
"Excuse me? Are you with Mr. Conner McKnight?" He questioned. Tommy lightly shook Eric and Kira awake, while Kim woke up Mrs. McKnight and Ethan. Tommy nodded.
"Yes we are." He replied. The doctor removed his glasses and looked at them.
"Conner is out of surgery...." he stated.
"Is….Is he all right?" Mrs. McKnight asked. The doctor sighed, hesitating
"Jeff." Kimberly barked at her colleague, not in the best of moods. "Is he all right?" The doctor looked at them.
"There was some swelling in his brain from hitting his head in the accident."
"Is my brother all right?" Eric asked, his voice desperate.
"He hasn't regain consciousness." The doctor said. "We were able to stop all of the internal bleeding, now it's just a matter of time before he wakes up."
"And, of course, you can't tell us how much time, can you?" Ethan said bitterly. The doctor chose to ignore that.
"Can we go see him?" Kira asked.
"I'm sorry, only family is allowed at the moment." He said. Mrs. McKnight looked at everyone, seeing how they had spent so long at her and Eric's side waiting to hear about Conner, she looked at the doctor.
"They are family." She replied. The doctor sighed, knowing better then to go against her.
"Very well." He said. "He's in room 145." He said, walking away. Mrs. McKnight stood and looked at them.
"Lets go." She commented. Eric helped Kira up and they followed Mrs. McKnight towards Conner's room. Tommy grabbed Ethan's arm and pulled him back lightly.
"We have a problem now that Conner's out of commission." He told the blue ranger who nodded.
"So what do we do then?" Ethan questioned.
"Fine a replacement. I guess….Until Conner gets back on his feet."
"Yeah, but who?" Ethan asked.
---
Kira sat in the hallway, waiting for Eric and Mrs. McKnight to finish up with Conner. She couldn't believe this was happening. This type of thing didn't was a power ranger, and power rangers aren't supposed to end up in the hospital in a coma. Kira put her head on her knees, letting a few tears slide down her cheeks. Conner had to come out of this all right. It wasn't fair. She wasn't going to let him risk his life for her and not be all right. The door to the room opened and Eric and Mrs. McKnight walked out. Eric had to help her stand upright; she was so distraught at the sight of her son like that.
"You can……..uh, go in now." Eric said, trying to remain calm.
"Thank you." Kira said softly. She stood up and walked into the room. She saw Conner lying there. She put a hand over her mouth as some sobs escaped her. She slowly walked over and sat down next to his bed. She gently took one of her hands in his. "Hey, Conner." She whispered softly. "The doctor's said you've got some swelling in your brain." She said. "I'm sure Ethan would say that at least your brain now fills out your big head." She said, trying to make a joke. She laughed softly only to then break down in tears. She rubbed his hand gently. "Conner, Conner, please, you've got to wake up soon." She said. She wiped at her cheeks. "You have to wake up because there's something I have to tell you." She took a deep breath. "When I woke up in the car and I saw you there, not moving, you don't know how scared I got. I…….I thought you were leaving me…..And……I just…..The thought of that just made me feel like I was dying. So……You have to wake up so I…So I can tell you how much I love you." She lowered her head and rested it against his hand. Outside, Tommy and Ethan were ready to go in and join Kira. Kimberly had said she wanted to go check on Trini. Tommy and Ethan walked in and saw Kira crying. Ethan went and sat beside her, rubbing her back gently. He looked at Conner.
"Hey, buddy." He said. "So, you're brain's swelled up……I guess it fills out your big head now." He joked. Kira couldn't help chuckle slightly through her tears. Tommy walked over to Conner's other side and sat down.
"Hey, Conner, just so you know, when you wake up you're in big trouble for scaring us all." He said. They stayed with Conner for a little while before they were told that visiting hours were over and they would have to leave. Kira refused to leave Conner's side, but in the end Ethan reminded her that she had to go home so her parents didn't freak. Kira knew he had a point and let him take her home. Tommy waited for Kimberly and Trini. Tommy gave Mrs. McKnight his number and told her that she could call him if anything happened, or if she just needed someone to talk to him. Mrs. McKnight thanked him and he, Kimberly and Trini went home.
---
The next day, Kira's parents tried to get her to stay home but she left and went to the hospital. She found Eric asleep in the waiting room and sat beside him, shaking his shoulder gently. Eric woke up.
"Kira, hey." He said.
"Hey." Kira said. "Where's your mom?" She asked.
"She stayed by Conner's side for the night." Eric said, sitting up fully and rubbing his eyes. "How are you?"
"Why ask questions you know the answer to?" She asked softly. "What about you?"
"Same." Eric sighed. "You going to go to school?" He asked.
"No. You?" She asked. Eric shook his head. She sighed. Eric put an arm around her shoulders. Kira leaned on him.
---
Tommy sighed as he watched his students walk into the classroom. He noticed that Kira and Eric weren't amongst them, not that he was surprised. They were probably at the hospital. He also noticed that Trent and Naomi were missing, but didn't think much about it. Everyone took their seats.
"Good morning, class." He said. "Uh, as you may or may not know, two of your fellow students, Kira and Conner, were involved in an accident yesterday after school." He said. Cassidy's hands shot up. Tommy sighed. "Yes, Cassidy?" The blonde news reporter wannabe slowly rose to her feet.
"The accident was on the news last night." She pointed out gently. "And, well, on behalf of everyone else, I hope that they both have a quick recovery." She said before sitting back down.
"Thank you, Cassidy." Tommy said. Ethan sighed and tried his best to pay attention to class, but his mind kept wandering to Conner and Kira, and Naomi. He wondered why she wasn't in class. He didn't give a hairy rat's ass as to Trent's whereabouts.
---
Naomi slowly opened her eyes. She looked around, not recognizing where she was. It wasn't her bedroom. It looked more like some sort of warehouse. She tried to sit up but found it difficult since her hands were bound behind her back.
"Oh, you're awake. Finally. I thought you were dead or something," came a voice. Naomi looked up to see Trent sitting off to the side. He got up and walked over to her. She blinked as what had happened the day before came flooding back to her. She instantly began struggling away from him. Trent laughed. "Where do you think you're going?" He asked.
"Away from you!" She screamed. "You're evil!" Trent laughed again.
"Ding ding ding, you are correct! Give the girl a prize!" Trent said. Naomi continued trying to get away but Trent went and blocked her path. He sat down beside her. Trent looked at her. "Do you want me to untie you?" He asked as if he was talking to a child.
"You're crazy." Naomi said. Trent laughed.
"You know what, you might be right about that." Suddenly, a green vortex appeared in the warehouse. Out of it came a woman dressed in black. Naomi recognized her as the woman who attacked her way back a few days after she first arrived to Reefside. Naomi gasped in fear. Trent smiled, standing up. "Naomi, allow me to introduce you to Elsa." He said. Trent looked at Elsa. "What brings you down here?" He asked.
"Trent, what is it you plan on doing with this girl?" She asked. Trent shrugged.
"Hmm, I haven't really thought about it. How about I kill her?" He asked sarcastically. Naomi whimpered in fear. Elsa smirked.
"What you lack in imagination, you do make up for in disposing of one of the rangers." She said. Naomi's eyes widened. Is she saying that Conner or Kira or dead?
"Well, do you have any suggestions?" Trent asked.
"Not me. But Lord Mesogog has decided you will use this girl to get the other dino gems." Elsa said. "I was told to come and deliver the message." She cast a look to Naomi. "Whatever you choose to do after we get the gems is up to you." And with that, she disappeared. Naomi looked at Trent.
"Well, you heard the lady." Trent said, crossing his arms with an amused expression.
---
Ethan walked out of school about to attempt to enjoy his lunch. He sat down at an empty table and pulled his cell phone out of his bag, which he had turned off for class. He turned it on, ready to call Kira's cell phone to see if there was any news on Conner. He was surprised to see there was a voicemail message waiting for him. He accessed the message and placed the phone against his ear. He wasn't expecting to hear the voice he heard in the message.
"Ethan," came Trent's voice. "Wow, sucks that I could only get your voicemail. I really wanted to talk to ya." He heard Trent give a sarcastic sigh. "Oh well. Anyway, listen, I was wondering if we could talk, you know, about Naomi? I'm down at the warehouse, you know, the one at the edge of town. So, how about we meet up here after school?"
"ETHAN IT'S A TRAP! TRENT'S THE WHITE RANGER!" Ethan gasped as he heard Naomi yell in the background. "Ungh!" She exclaimed. He heard the sound of someone being hit and something falling on the ground.
"Well, I guess my secrets out." Trent said. "Guess I can drop the act. You come here with the dino gems, or she's dead." And with that the message ended. Ethan's hand trembled as he stared at his cell phone in shock. He resisted the urge to run to the warehouse and went to find Dr. Oliver. He ran to Dr. Oliver's classroom and was glad that the only one there was he. He was sitting at his desk.
"Dr. Oliver!" Ethan said frantically. Tommy looked up. Ethan walked in. "Naomi, she's in trouble."
"What?" Tommy asked.
"Trent, he's got her."
"I don't understand."
"Trent's the white ranger!" Ethan hissed. Tommy's eyes widened. "He wants me to bring him the dino gems or……He's going to kill her.."
---
Ethan walked to the warehouse. He took a deep breath.
"Trent!" He called out.
"Glad you could show up," came Trent's voice. Ethan looked up to see Trent in full ranger gear standing on the roof. He held Naomi in front of him, his drago sword pressed against her throat.
"Ethan!" Naomi cried out. Ethan took a deep breath.
"You got what I want?" Trent asked.
"Yeah, I do. Now let her go."
"Sure." Trent shrugged. He pushed Naomi off the edge of the roof.
"No!" Ethan yelled.