Disclaimer: For the final time in this story, I don't own the characters. The ones you recognize belong to Saban. Hasbro. Whatever.
CHAPTER 11
"Kid's all muscle," Rocky noted, eyeing Jenna's competition. The girl from Turtle Cove was half a head taller than Jenna and pretty sturdy. It was surprising to Rocky and Adam both that she was in Jenna's same weight category.
Adam nodded. "Yeah, no kidding. But," he added, "there are other ways to win."
Jenna stood, facing her opponent. The referee signaled for the match to start. The two competitors bowed respectfully, and then, the fight began. Adam could tell Jenna was still rattled from the confrontation in the hallway, and her opponent scored the first point with a side kick, striking Jenna in the side with the heel of her foot. Jenna grimaced but came back up to her ready position, mindful of the ticking clock.
"Focus," Adam called to her from the edge of the mat. Jenna nodded, blocking a second side kick from the other girl, then reaching back with a hook kick, catching her opponent in the helmet. Three points to Jenna.
"Yes!" Adam could hear Rachel in the stands, sitting with some of the other kids from Path of Light watching Jenna's match. He caught her eye and smiled, then returned his attention to Jenna. Jenna had blocked a punch from her opponent, but didn't move fast enough to avoid a spinning hook kick from the other girl. The kick hit her in the chest and Jenna staggered.
"Tied," Rocky murmured to Adam, and Adam nodded, well aware. He glanced at the clock-thirty seconds.
Come on. He caught Jenna' glance out of the corner of his eye, and nodded to her. You got this.
Jenna bit her lip, a move Adam had seen often enough in practice to know she was about to put her full effort into something. As he watched, the girl from Turtle Cove kicked at her again, but Jenna blocked it with a foot to the other girl's knee, pushing her leg away. Then, the teenager arced backwards with her foot and swung her leg around, her foot catching the other girl in the side of the helmet.
Four points to Jenna, as the buzzer sounded. Rocky's hand squeezing Adam's shoulder kept him from jumping into the air with excitement, even as Rocky let out a very excited yelp of victory next to him, as Jenna and the other girl nodded to each other to complete the match. Then, she turned to Adam with a grin, and launched herself at him. He gave her a hug, lifting her off her feet. "You had it in you the whole time," he told her over the applause from the bleachers. "Great job."
"Thank you," Jenna whispered in his ear, and Adam knew she meant for much more than just the lessons. Before he could say anything else, Abbott somehow got between the two of them and pulled her away into a crowd of students from the dojo.
Adam blinked. What just happened? Up in the stands, Rachel Connors was on her feet, cheering for her daughter. He saw the smile on her face, and felt the corners of his own mouth turning upward in return. Happy. She was happy. In that moment, they both were.
And, Adam realized, that was all he ever wanted for either of them. For any of his friends. Rocky, Billy, Tommy. Kira. Tanya. And now Rachel and Jenna. And maybe, he thought, that's all they ever wanted for him, too.
What does that look like, Adam Park?
Rocky had told him that there must have been a reason he kept getting called back to duty. Because maybe, maybe part of being somebody's hero was being a friend. Someone who would look out for someone else. Someone who would be there when others needed them. Someone to talk to, someone to listen. Someone who didn't just need a spandex suit and a Power Coin to protect someone.
And that someone, Adam realized, just might be me.
He and Tommy, Billy, and Rocky had all talked about what life was like after being a Ranger. What your purpose was after hanging up the morpher.
Being a Ranger might be over, but that didn't mean that being a hero had to stop.
Maybe, Adam realized, he was doing exactly what he was meant to be doing.
"So what happens now?" Adam asked Rachel later. The team had done well in the county tournament, even bringing home some hardware Rocky couldn't wait to get into the case by the office. Most of the team was gone; Adam was certain he'd seen Abbott and Jenna exchange phone numbers before Abbott got in his parents' SUV and drove off. That left Rachel, Jenna, and Adam standing out in front of the dojo in the afternoon sun.
"Pizza?" Jenna asked hopefully, hefting her bag onto her shoulder.
Rachel laughed. "Pizza can be in your future, yes." She handed Jenna the keys to their car. "Go start the car, get the A/C going."
Jenna grinned. "Okay!" She looked at Adam. "Thank you again, Sensei Park," she told him.
He felt his ears tinge red. "You're welcome," he told her. Then, she was off, leaving the two adult standing in front of the window.
There was a bit of an awkward silence. "I, um, I hope everything can work out with Jack," Adam said finally. "I could see it today, there's part of him that wants to be with you guys and back to normal again. Hopefully he can get some help and you guys can be a family again."
"I hope so, too," Rachel said. "Thank you, Adam, for everything you've done. For me, for Jenna…" She smiled. "For not roughing Jack up too much today."
Adam nodded. "He's got some monsters to deal with for sure, but he's not one. I hope it works out for you guys."
Rachel glanced back at Jenna, then to Adam. "Do, um…someday, when this is all…" She shrugged. "Back to normal, I guess?"
He chuckled. "Normal. What's that?"
She smiled. "Some days, I'm not even sure myself," she admitted. 'But someday…I mean, I'd like for you to be able to spend time with Jenna. Not just as her coach. Until Jack's on his feet…well, she could use a positive male figure in her life."
Adam quirked an eyebrow. "You know, I think she's got Abbott's number for that," he told Rachel.
Rachel eyed her daughter, leaning out of the passenger side window. "Yeah, and that's another talk I'll be having with her. But-"
"Yeah," Adam said. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind being a friend, for both of you," he told her. "In fact, I've got this thing coming up in Reefside next weekend, you guys should come along. Have you heard of Kira Ford?"
Rachel's eyes widened. "Are you kidding me? Jenna listens to her on repeat. Daily."
"Well, a friend from high school used to be her science teacher, and she's having an album release party next weekend, if you guys wanna come? Rocky-Sensei DeSantos-he'll be there, with his girlfriend, and a couple of my friends from high school, so we won't be the only adults."
"That sounds great," Rachel said. "Jenna would love that."
The horn honked, making both of them jump. Adam shook his head. "That's a hint," he told her.
"You think?" Rachel smiled. Then, she gave him a hug, one that he returned after just a moment of hesitation. "Thank you, Adam, again. You're a really good friend."
"Anytime," he told her.
As the Connors women drove off, Adam heard the door latch behind him, and turned to see Rocky standing in the doorway. "Finally figured out how to talk to a girl?" Rocky teased him.
Adam rolled his eyes. "Just needed to be the right girl," he said after a minute.
"You good?" Rocky questioned, serious now.
Adam glanced down the road. Then, he looked at his best friend. "Yeah," he said, nodding. "Yeah, I'm good."