Disclaimer: You should know it by now, I don't own them. If I did, I would have done things a lot differently.

A/N: All of my reviewers have been great. Thank you so much for your feedback. You just make me want to keep getting better.

Saturday morning Jason woke up, stretching before getting out of bed. He looked at the clock, seeing that he still had 4 hours before Derrick's funeral. He got up and headed for the bathroom, wanting to get a shower before he went and had his breakfast.

Jason looked at his reflection in the mirror, standing there in his black suit. Memories started coming on him as he straightened his tie, the sadness coming over him.

Jason looked at his class, watching carefully as they moved in unison. He smiled as one of them frowned in concentration. He stopped the class, moving over to Derrick's side and putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Don't try so hard, Derrick," he said softly. "It should come naturally to you. You need to concentrate, but don't look angry. Look determined." He stood beside Derrick, slowly showing him the motions once again. After he had finished, he moved to the front of the class, letting his students try it again. He smiled as he saw Derrick do it this time with a more relaxed look on his face.

Jason sighed, fixing his tie tightly and stepping back from the mirror. This was going to be one of the hardest days of his life and he was not looking forward to it. He turned from the mirror and headed out of his room, going down the stairs as he heard a knock on the front door.

Steven looked at Jason as he opened the front door, trying to smile but not quite making it. "Hey, Jason," he greeted. "I hope I'm not too early."

Jason opened the door wider, motioning for Steven to come in. "You're not, Steven," he replied. "I just need to get my keys and we can go." He headed for the kitchen, grabbing his keys off the table. He stopped in the hallway, looking at Steven as he stood with stooped shoulders. Jason quietly walked up to his friend, tucking his keys away as he reached out to him.

Steven let Jason pull him into a hug, not resisting as the reality of what they faced came upon him. He leaned against his friend, not trying to hold back the emotions that came flooding to the surface. His arms went around Jason as the tears came on strong.

Jason stood still, holding his friend and letting him let go of his grief, his own tears flowing down his face. For a good ten minutes they stood there, both letting go of emotions they had kept inside for the past week.

Neither of them saw Karen Scott standing at the top of the stairs, watching her son comfort his friend and receiving comfort in return. She smiled through her tears, feeling so proud of her son. He was hurting just as much as Steven, but was giving a friend much needed comfort as well. She turned silently from the stairs, heading for her room without saying a word.

Jason felt Steven pull back and relaxed his arms, pulling back as well.

Steven wiped his eyes, letting a small smile come through. "Thanks, Jason," he managed to whisper. "I needed that."

Jason wiped his own eyes, feeling a small sense of relief come over him. "No problem," he replied, his voice just as soft. "We better get going before your parents come looking for us."

Steven nodded and turned to the door, opening it and walking out without another word, Jason right behind him.

At the same time on the moon palace, Zedd stalked into Finster's lab, in a good mood for a change. "Finster, I have a special task for you," he said. "I need you to make me a master putty. One who will be able to take Jason's place."

Finster looked at Zedd, surprise showing on his face. "But, my lord," he protested. "Rita all ready tried to find a putty to replace the red ranger. There is none. How do you expect me to make one?"

Zedd turned to face him, his body glowing a soft red. "You will make a new one," he ordered. "I know Rita tried this before, but I will give you something that will make the difference." He leaned right into Finster's face. "So, just get started on it and I will provide you the necessary ingredient." He stepped back, looking at Finster with a knowing smile. "You will have his blood. Right when you need it. Do you understand, lab rat?"

Finster smiled as understanding came over him. He nodded and moved over to his table of clay. "It will be done, my lord," he said, taking some of the clay and beginning to mold it into to shape. "I will have it ready in two days."

"Excellent, Finster," Zedd said happily. "Let me know when it is finished and we will go from there." He turned and walked out of the lab, whistling as he went.

Trini opened the front door, smiling when she saw Zack standing there. "Hey Zack," she greeted. "What brings you by today? Do you want to come in?"

Zack shook his head, meeting Trini's eyes. "I actually thought we could go for a walk," he answered. "I think we need to talk."

Trini's smiled wavered as she saw the look in his eyes. She nodded and turned from the door. "Mom, Zack and I are going to the youth center," she called. "I'll be home in time for dinner."

"Be home by four thirty, Trini," her mom called. "You have to watch your brother and sister tonight, remember? Your dad has that business dinner tonight."

"Okay, mom," Trini called, going out the door and joining Zack on the front porch. "Let's go some where quiet," she said softly to Zack. "Where no one can hear us." She and Zack walked off the porch, heading for the park and some privacy."

Jason sat down next to Steven, feeling the tension of the day slowly slip away. He put his hand on Steven's shoulder. "You doing okay," he asked. "You haven't touched your food at all."

Steven sat back, his eyes going to his friend. "I don't want to eat," he quipped. "That won't bring my brother back."

Jason took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before he stood up. He tightened his hold on Steven's shoulder, pulling him to his feet before he could resist. "Come on," he ordered, pointing his friend's feet toward the door. "Let's go for a walk."

Steven tried to wrench his arm free, but Jason's grip was strong. He found his feet heading for the door, not able to pull away from his friend's grip. "Jason, I don't want to go outside," he growled.

Jason just gripped him tighter, forcing him out the door. "Tough. Either you walk with me willingly or I carry you, your choice." He forced Steven outside before he could say anything.

Steven let Jason force him outside before he wrenched his arm free. He took a few steps then turned and faced Jason with an angry scowl. "Get off me," he ordered. "Just leave me alone." He tried to push past Jason to go back inside, but Jason blocked his way. Steven pulled away from Jason's' grip, backing up a step and swinging his right arm at him.

Jason ducked under the swing that Steven took at him, watching as he staggered off balance from missing. He moved in quickly, bending down to wrap his arms around Steven's waist. Before Steven could resist, Jason lifted him off his feet, carrying him toward the small grove of trees just outside the cemetery. Jason carried Steven until he as was the foot of the nearest tree, then he let go, watching his friend fall onto the ground in a heap. "You can stay here until you calm down," Jason growled. "Or, if you're feeling stupid, you could try to take me on. But you should know, you're going to loose."

Steven rolled over to his hands and knees, pushing himself to his feet and turning to face Jason,, his clenched fists in front of him. "I can take you any day, Jason," he snarled, swinging his right fist in a blow that would take Jason's head off his shoulders.

Jason blocked Steven's blow, the force of it jarring his shoulder muscles. He saw Steven's other arm coming up and blocked that one as well. Backing up, Jason dropped into a defensive stance, meeting Steven's angry glare with a calm stare. "Come on, Steven," he whispered. "Take your best shot."

Steven let out a growl and stepped forward, his right arm swinging out again. He almost snarled with rage as Jason blocked his blow once again. He began advancing on Jason, swinging his arms wildly.

Jason moved with Steven, blocking each of the blows that came at him. He moved in a small circle, keeping Steven off balance as he let his friend release some built up stress. His arms began to ache as he blocked blow after blow, but he did not let his guard down for a second.

Steven tried his best to knock Jason off his feet, but each time he felt his blows blocked. For three minutes, he kept swinging as his anger slowly ebbed away. After the three minutes, he found that he could not continue and his arms slowly sagged to his sides. Frustration and anger gave way to sorrow and he slowly sank to his knees as the tears began to flow.

Jason slowly lowered his arms, watching as Steven crumpled to the ground and covered his face with his hands. Jason walked up to his friend, kneeling down and putting his hands on his shoulders, giving him time to let it all out.

Steven's father stood just outside the church, watching all that happened. He had followed the two boys outside, wanting to make sure that Jason could handle himself. He saw Jason comforting his son, smiled and walked back into the church, knowing Jason had things under control once again.

Jason knelt in front of Steven, letting his friend release his grief. When he felt Steven's shoulders stop shaking, he sat back, resting his forearms on his knees.

Steven sat back, wiping his eyes and looking at Jason. "How did you know," he whispered. "Why would you let me do that? I wanted to kill you."

"I've wanted to punch somebody for a few days now, and he wasn't my brother," Jason answered, wincing as he moved his arms. "I'm glad you didn't connect with any of those punches, Steven. I don't think my head would still be on my shoulders."

Steven chuckled, wincing as he moved his arms as well. "That was my intention, Jason," he chuckled, moving his arms gingerly. "I guess I should have picked a better target. One that wasn't a black belt in karate." His smiled faded a little and he looked Jason in the eyes. "Thank you. I needed to let that all out."

Jason smiled, coming to his feet. He held out his hand, helping Steven to his feet. "Your welcome, I think," he grinned. "My arms will be sore for a couple of days now. I'm going to have a hard time at football practice on Monday."

Steven put his arm around Jason's shoulders, turning him back towards the church. "Well, maybe a good meal will help," he said softly. "I don't know about you, but suddenly I'm hungry enough to eat a horse." He walked with Jason back towards the church, silently thanking God for bringing Jason into his life. He realized that Jason was the best friend he could have.

Trini sat in silence, listening to Zack explain Jason's reasons for wanting to leave the rangers. She sat back, leaning on her arms as Zack finished. "I wondered exactly what had happened," she commented. "I couldn't think of a good reason for Jason to just walk away from us. Now, I think I understand. That all must have hurt him."

Zack nodded, looking Trini right in the eyes. "You should know something else," he stated. "If Jason leaves the rangers, he won't go alone. I'll be going with him. Nobody treats Jason like that and gets away with it."

Trini looked out over the lake, nodding in agreement with Zack. "The same goes for me," she stated. "If this is the way things will go, I'm not staying either."

Michael Scott was sitting at the kitchen table, reading a book when he heard the front door open that evening. He stood up and walked over to the doorway, smiling as he saw Karen put her purse in the closet. "Long day," he asked as she walked over to him.

Karen smiled and nodded. "Very long," she said. She looked behind Michael, expecting to see Jason in the kitchen. "Where's Jason," she asked.

"Not home yet," Michael answered. "He called to ask if Steven could come for dinner, then spend the night. Said they would sleep in the den. I told him it was fine, hope that was okay with you."

Karen smiiled at him as she put her jacket away. "That's fine," she replied. "What's for dinner?"

Michael smiled, turning towards the kitchen. "I put some steaks on the grill," he answered. "The potatoes are in the oven and the salad is made. Only thing left to do is set the table."

Karen walked over to the counter, reaching up to the cupboard and pull out the plates. "I'll take care of that," she replied. "They should be here soon."

Before Michael could answer, the front door opened and they heard Steven and Jason come into the house. "Looks like the quiet time is over," he whispered. "I think I'll head out and check the steaks."

Karen slapped him on the arm, grinning as he walked out the back door. She turned towards the table and set the plates out as Jason and Steven walked into the kitchen. "Just get relaxed boys," she ordered. "Dinner will be ready soon. Steven, it's good to have you."

Steven smiled at her. "Thanks for letting me come over, Mrs. Scott," Steven greeted. "I hope it wasn't any trouble."

Karen shook her head. "No trouble. Why don't you put your things in the den and let Jason get out of that suit?" She looked at Jason, shaking her head. "I see that your tie didn't last too long."

"Hey, I kept it on for the entire service," Jason answered. "But, I lost it as soon as it was done." He looked at Steven, before heading for the stairs. "I'll be down in a few minutes. Let me show you where you can put your things."

Karen turned back to setting the table as they walked out of the kitchen, smiling. She was so glad that Steven and Jason were friends. This looked like a freindship that would last a lifetime.

A/N: That's the end of this chapter. Let me know what you think.