Chapter 10: Forever and Always

At the Power Chamber…

"Shouldn't you be in the park with your friends, Rocky?" Zordon asked gently, studying the Blue Zeo Ranger with unease. Rocky had been unusually quiet since the Rangers teleported back into the Power Chamber.

"In a minute, Zordon," Rocky replied nonchalantly, his hand still laced in Elizabeth's. Zordon sighed inwardly, knowing that Rocky needed to be alone.

Swiftly, a black teleportation sequence materialized in the Power Chamber, and Zordon watched as Adam's tall frame appeared out of the black light. The Black Zeo Ranger looked up at Zordon and gave him a small smile, and then his eyes immediately fell on his two best friends.

They've been friends for such a long time, Zordon mused, watching as Adam quietly strolled to the medical bay. They need each other more than ever.

"Rocky?" Adam's quiet, shy voice penetrated the silence. Rocky turned around promptly, expecting Alpha or someone else. Not Adam. His eyes widened in surprise as his best friend stood a few feet away from him and the medical bed. Rocky almost smiled as he watched Adam shuffle his feet timidly, his head slightly bowed, just like when he had met him. Things don't change, do they?

"Adam, I'm glad you're here." Rocky said truthfully. Adam looked up surprisingly. Rocky smiled and stood up, closing the distance between the two. He felt Adam lean against his embrace, and he reminisced their past, when he often held Adam whenever he was down.

"I'm glad I'm here too, Rocky." Adam replied bashfully. He swallowed the lump that was rising in his throat. "I'm sorry I wasn't here earlier. Actually, I'm sorry I haven't been here since we moved to Angel Grove."

Rocky stared at his best friend confusingly. "What do you mean?"

"You, Elizabeth, and Aisha gave up so much so that you could protect me. The three of you formed a safe haven for me. And once we moved here, I just…let myself get so entangled in everything…school, new friends, Power Rangers…that I failed to really acknowledge everything you've done for me. I owe you big-time, and I'm sorry I wasn't around so much for the last three years. I feel like such an idiot, doting on Tanya and dumping Elizabeth without so much of an explanation, not being there when her parents, the same parents who took me in like a son, who took all of us in willingly, died, not being there when Jen died, and trying to pretend that Aisha leaving us meant nothing to me. I really am sorry, Rocky. You have every right to be mad at me. I never properly thanked you for everything, but I'm telling you now that I love you. I love you like I would my own brother. You are the brother I never had. And despite the fact that I was so selfish and caught up in my own affairs, I really do appreciate everything you've done for me, Rocko. I just wish I could express it in a better way."

Rocky gulped the unfamiliar pang of homesickness. Adam's speech made him realize how much he did miss the family he left three years ago. He rarely ever thought about his family anymore. At first, after moving to Angel Grove for the first couple of months, he missed them terribly, often crying himself to sleep or looking over old family albums. Gradually, the pain disappeared as he separated his old life from his new. He tried his hardest to forget his family and focus on Adam and his friends- his second family. After being selected as the Red Ranger, it became easier to forget. With new responsibilities and duties, Rocky hardly ever thought about his mom and his siblings. And the past few years had then flown by quickly, without a trace of the family he once knew. Now, the old feelings swelled and Rocky found his eyes brimming with tears.

"Adam," Rocky murmured, drawing his friend into another hug. "Look man, you never pushed me to leave Stone Canyon and my family. I took the chance. And so did Aisha and Elizabeth. We left our hometown because we care first and foremost about you. And I don't regret leaving. And I'm certain Aisha and Elizabeth don't regret it either. We all love you, Adam. The four of us, the Golden Quartet, are now and forever. Even if Aisha's gone, even though we're not as close as we once were, we're still best friends and we'll always be," Adam nodded feverishly, choking back tears of his own. "And I know you appreciated our help. I could see it everyday."

"God, Rocky, what would I do without you?" Adam whispered hoarsely.

"Lucky for you, you'll never have to find out." Rocky chuckled.

"Hey, don't I get to be apart of the action?" A third voice interrupted. Rocky and Adam looked up startlingly, discovering where the source of the voice had come from. Elizabeth was perched on the edge of the medical bay, her legs swinging playfully and her eyes bouncing with happiness.

"How long have you been up?" Rocky demanded, instantly by her side.

A wide grin spread across the Green Ranger's face. "Long enough to wonder whether your sexual preferences are what they appear to be," She ducked as Rocky tried to tackle her with the pillow, laughing. Adam joined in the fun, attempting to tickle Elizabeth, while Rocky slugged her in the stomach with the pillow. Infectious laughter rang in the Power Chamber, followed by the pants and chuckles as the three of them fell on the floor in laughter.

Elizabeth sat up, holding out her two hands. Without being told, Rocky and Adam each took one, smiling.

"Know this, you two. I love you both. Adam," she squeezed his hand. "Like Rocky, I don't regret leaving Stone Canyon. Sure, I miss the old bluffs and caves and all the adventures and fun we had there. But I'm not sorry I left. As long as I had you and Rocko and Aish, I was perfectly content. And you know," she glanced at Rocky and then Adam, "it's not too late for us to rekindle our friendship and become even closer than before, even closer than we were when we were little."

Rocky and Adam exchanged grins and nodded. "That sounds like a plan to me." Rocky smiled. "What about you, Adam?"

The Black Ranger gazed at his two best friends, memories once again flooding him as they watched him eagerly, waiting for the answer they knew would come. "I promise," He declared, "we'll be friends, now and forever."

Concluding Notes: Yes, yes, I know...another scene between these three...but then again, the story is mainly focused on Adam, Rocky, and Elizabeth.