Chapter 14
It had been over an hour since Conner had been admitted to the hospital. When Tommy and Kimberly had left to have their long awaited talk, it had left Jason and Hayley to help the kids through the tough time. Hayley had left to go home, she had to open the Cybercafe early so the repairmen could fix the window. That left Jason alone with Kira and Ethan in a situation what was a little more than uncomfortable. Jason had no problems helping people through difficult situations, but these kids were a different story. These kids were not his, he didn't know them very well, it was just awkward. This was where Tommy would shine, being their mentor and teacher. He decided that he had to do something to make up for Tommy's absence. As he walked over to where Ethan was, he noticed that Kira was missing.
"Where's Kira?" Jason asked.
Ethan had his head buried in his hands when he heard the voice. He didn't bother looking up. Jason was received with a muffled, "With Conner."
"Why aren't you?"
"I can't go in there."
"Why not?"
"I can't stand to see him hooked up to those machines with bruises and blood covering him."
"Haven't you seen him hurt before?"
"Yes, we've all been hurt before, Jason, but not like this."
"The three of you are pretty close aren't you? I haven't known you for very long, but that closeness is obvious."
"He's the best friend I have. I mean Kira's great, but Conner and I-- I don't know, maybe it's because he's a guy and I can talk to him about things that I can't with Kira. You know it's funny, when we started, the three of us couldn't stand each other. Now, with Dr. O's guidance and time spent together, I can't see myself without either one of them. And now, one of them is lying in that room with machines hooked up to him. It's just too much, I just can't go in there."
"From what I know, our team had it pretty easy. We were all friends before Zordon ever picked us to be rangers. You guys had to learn to be friends, but the main thing is, you are a team. Bounded together by a common goal. The most important thing that I learned as a ranger and the one thing that you need to realize is that yes, you are a team, yes, you are friends,
but most importantly, Ethan, you three are a family. I used to say that we were a team by fate and a family by choice."
"How do you mean, Jason?"
"I always thought that there was a reason that Zordon picked us and not five others. Think about it, why was it you three and not three others that happened to find the gems. As for the family part, family is who and what you make it. It's not just restricted to blood. Fate and choice, two different things that are always interacted with each other to reach a common answer."
A small smile slowly creeped it's way across Ethan's face as the realization of what Jason had just told him came to make sense.
"Thanks, Jason."
"No problem, Ethan. Come on, let's find Kira."
(In Conner's room)
Kira sat at Conner's bedside just watching the young man with anxious eyes. She had left Ethan alone in the waiting room,
but that seemed like forever ago. She had no clue how long she had been in there. Ever since Conner flew through the window, time seemed to cease. Kira was hesitant at first to come into the room but after talking with Anna, she knew it was something she had to do. Anna had been her rock throughout this entire mess. Normally, Ethan would have helped her, but Ethan needed help as much as she did. It was the first time Kira had ever seen him cry. Now, Anna stood outside the door, allowing Kira her time wit Conner. Although she knew he couldn't hear her, Kira decided to talk.
"Conner, Conner, I know your in there, so right now I just want you to listen. Conner, I need you, I need you more than anything in this world. Without you, I don't know what I'd do. I can't go on without you by my side. Please wake up, I need you to tell me who did this to you. I need you. I love you."
Outside, Anna saw Jason, Ethan, Tommy and Kimberly walking up.
"Hey, how's he doing?" Tommy asked.
"No change."
"Kira in there with him?"
"Yeah."
"Can we go in?"
"She's talking to him, let me go see."
Anna walked into the room to catch the last of Kira's statement.
"Kira, the other's are outside, they want to know if they can come in."
"Yeah, bring them in."
"Okay."
Anna returned a few seconds later with everyone in tow. Kira never left Conner's side as everyone said Hello. She felt a pair of arms rest around her as she returned the hug that Ethan gave her.
"Any change?" He whispered.
Kira shook her head no. She proceeded to get up and greet everyone in the room. As she left Tommy's embrace, she heard a low moaning noise coming from the bed. She turned to see Conner starting to squirm. Everyone gathered at bedside as Kira wrapped her hand in his.
"Conner? Conner can you hear me?"
The squirming seemed to stop and all was still until they all heard a soft "Kira." She looked up to see Conner staring back at her.
"Conner."
"Hey babe."
"How do you feel?"
"Like I flew through a window."
"Conner, who did this to you?"
Conner hesitated for a few minutes.
"Conner, who did this to you?" Kira asked again.
"I can't tell you."
"Why not?"
"You wouldn't beleive me."
"Conner, please." Kira pleaded. "Please."
"Kira, it was Trent."
With that, Conner again lost conciousness.
TBC.