A while later the three siblings collapsed in the grass, staring up at the sky as they caught their breath. Jason had chased his sisters around the yard for a while before Madison had finally gotten free, mostly because he couldn't hold on as tightly with his injured hand, and the girls turned on him. Now, tired and out of breath from running and laughing, they were ready to stop for a while. After a few moments, Jason shifted and propped himself up on his elbow as he turned to look at his sisters.

"So," he said to Madison. "How much do you really like this kid?"

She blushed, but didn't look away.

"A lot," she said. "I really do, Jason. Please don't scare him away…"

"She really does," Vida confirmed. "They've been dating since right after Christmas."

"That long?" Jason said, a little surprised. "And you're still with him?"

Madison reached over and smacked his arm, but Jason just laughed.

"Ok, ok," he said. "So you're serious…But am I at least allowed to prank him?"

Madison rolled to look at him, frowning.

"What kind of prank are you talking about?" she asked hesitantly, not really sure how she wanted to answer that question.

"Oh, I won't hurt him," Jason said with a smirk. "Permanently."

"Jason!" Madison exclaimed.

He just laughed again. Madison rolled her eyes as Vida snickered, too.

"Hey," Jason said as Madison grumbled about him being overprotective. "I get to be the overprotective big brother. I reserve that right. And besides, he's a red. He's going to get pranked one way or another—call it an initiation."

Madison sighed.

"Just don't hurt him," she said.

Jason smiled, falling back in the grass again.

"Jason?" Vida asked a little while later, breaking the silence.

"Yeah?" he said, turning his head to look at her.

"We really are sorry for everything we did…" she said quietly. "And we do want to be a part of the rangers…"

He smiled, nodding.

"I know," he said. "And I want you to be a part of this—well, as much as I can, anyways."

The girls frowned, looking at each other.

"What does that mean?" Madison asked.

He sighed, sitting up and leaning forward on his knees. They followed his lead, curling their legs underneath them.

"I never wanted you to be rangers," he admitted, glancing over at them. "It's not exactly a safe thing. And then I found out about the magic and, well—let's just say this hasn't been easy for any of us. It's been hard for me to stand back and let you purposefully put yourselves in harm's way—"

"Because that's what you've always done for us," Madison finished softly.

Jason nodded.

"Exactly," he said.

"We can handle it, big brother," Vida said. "And if we do need help, we'll tell you. Promise."

"Yeah, I know," he sighed. "And I suppose you're going to keep using magic, aren't you?"

"Umm…yeah," Vida said. "We're all still in training and—well, it's what we want to do. That magic is a part of us now and we don't just want to lock it away again. We want to use it to help people."

"I guess I can't argue against that," he muttered. "But the instant one of you starts using it for other things I'm getting you out of there."

"But Jason," Madison started to protest.

The look he gave her didn't leave any room for argument. She sighed, relenting.

"And we really are going to do something to the rookie," he said, grinning again. "It's become a tradition for the reds to initiate the newest red in some way."

"But you won't hurt him, right?" Madison pleaded.

"Not on purpose," Jason said. "Probably just get him drunk and let him fall all over himself and then wake him up with a hangover in the morning. He can't be any worse than Cole was and is far less likely to hurt himself."

The girls frowned, exchanging confused looks.

"Who?" Madison asked.

"Cole," Jason said. "Wild Force red—he's not exactly the favorite red of the rangers. His first night out with us he ran into a door frame and broke his nose. The door was wide open…"

The girls snickered.

"So when do we get to meet this guy?" Vida asked, still laughing. "And the rest of the rangers?"

"Eventually," Jason shrugged. "But you have already met most of the reds."

"We have?" Madison frowned. "When?"

"Back in high school," Jason said. "We got back to my house to find you two waiting and had to scramble for a quick cover. Good thing Eric thought fast or we'd have been caught…"

His sisters frowned, trying to remember the incident he was talking about. Then it dawned on them.

"Wait—all of those guys are rangers?" Vida exclaimed.

"Every one of them," Jason grinned. "And every one of them a red. So the only reds you haven't met are the ninjas—Shane and Hunter."

"Which they are not happy about," someone interrupted.

Jason, Vida, and Madison turned to see Trent and Kira standing behind them, each holding one of the twins.

"Not in the slightest," Kira agreed. "Not only have they not met any of you, but you didn't even send them a letter when you attempted to contact the rest of us."

The girls frowned.

"Yes we did," Vida said. "But it just kept reappearing on the table… We couldn't figure out what was blocking it so we gave up…"

Kira and Trent exchanged surprise looks.

"Well, Cam and Hunter will be happy to know the shields on their academies are still strong," Trent commented. "Though I'm surprised it didn't go to Blake when it couldn't reach the others. He doesn't live at the academies—normally, anyways."

Kira nodded and then paused.

"Wait," she said. "It couldn't have. If it came around the same time ours did, that was right after Hunter grounded him."

Jason frowned.

"Grounded?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "What did Blake do this time?"

Kira sighed, shaking her head.

"Remember that accident he had just before Christmas?" she said. "The one that had all of the ninjas in an uproar because some idiot ran him off the track?"

Jason nodded.

"Well, it turns out he didn't just sprain his knee like they initially thought," Kira continued. "He actually tore his ACL up pretty badly…"

Wincing, Jason nodded sympathetically. All of the rangers had experienced similar injuries at one point or another—though usually while they were actually active rangers and had the benefit of the healing effects of the morphing grid.

"And you know how Hunter is," Trent smirked.

"Oh, I know," Jason said drily. "Overprotective of his little brother to the extreme."

"Exactly," Kira said. "Between Hunter and the rest of the ninjas they've managed to confine Blake to one or the other of the academies for the duration of his recovery. They don't let him go anywhere without someone keeping eyes on him—whether it's one of them, Sensei, or even some of the students."

Jason laughed, shaking his head.

"Poor kid," he laughed. "That's got to be driving him nuts."

Kira and Trent nodded.

"Yeah, he's got like three months left of his grounding," Trent said. "Or longer if the doctor doesn't clear him for driving."

Vida and Madison, who had been listening in interest, exchanged glances. Both of them were thinking about offering to talk to Udonna about healing spells, but something told them it probably wouldn't be a good idea. So they kept quiet.

"Anyways," Kira said. "We ordered pizza for everyone."

"Dad is paying," Trent added. "He figured he could handle that—especially after I told him what's been going on today…"

Madison and Vida exchanged shocked looks.

"You told your dad?" they said in surprise, looking at Trent.

He shrugged as he and Kira stooped to sit on the grass with them.

"Yeah," he said. "Dad knows everything anyways."

"He was our villain," Kira clarified.

"What?" Vida exclaimed.

"Don't worry," Trent said quickly. "He's not anymore. We saved him."

"Uh-huh…" Madison said, not really sure what to think.

"Long story," Kira smiled. "Do either one of you want to hold the babies? You haven't officially met them yet."

Smiles lit up the twins faces as they nodded eagerly. Holding out their arms, each of the carefully accepted the little girl they were passed.

"The little dark haired cutie you're holding is Jacquelyn Elizabeth," Kira said to Madison. "And Vida, you have Kimberly Leanne. She definitely has her momma's hair."

Vida smiled, cooing down at the tiny baby with the little shock of red hair in her arms. The twins were delighted to hold the tiny twins.

"We didn't even know Hayley was pregnant," Vida murmured, looking down at Kimberly.

Jason exchanged glances with Kira and Trent.

"Tommy tried to come tell you…" he said slowly. "Right after Christmas. But you wouldn't even see him—or call him when he left you a message."

Madison and Vida both flinched. They remembered that day.

"I guess we don't really have any excuse…" Madison sighed. "It's our own fault."

"And we won't argue with that," Kira said, leaning back on her hands.

The twins exchanged guilty looks and Kira sighed.

"But we're moving past it," Kira continued. "And Vida, I'll unblock your number now if you want to give me a real call. I really do think you have talent—I just didn't want anything to do with you after what you did to Dr. O."

"I can understand that," Vida nodded. "And I'll do that."

"Great," Kira smiled.

"Hey, Jason?" Madison said, frowning as she turned to look at her brother.

"What's up, sis?" he asked.

But before she could ask her question, they were interrupted by shouting. Zach was bolting toward them from the forest, waving his arms frantically. At first they couldn't understand him, but as he got closer they finally realized what he was shouting.

"Get inside!" he shouted. "Get the babies inside!"

The group in the grass stood quickly, looking around for the problem.

"Zach, what's going on?" Jason asked, starting to jog over to meet him.

Zach didn't get a chance to explain because the question was answered by the arrival of several new figures. Xander came bolting out of the trees heading across the yard with Nick right on his heels, yelling something at his teammate they couldn't hear from where they were. Coming behind them were three large creatures that Madison and Vida stared at in shock. Ethan was clinging to the back of one of them, laughing as he tried not to fall off. And following behind the whole group was a red blur that turned out to be Conner, trying to herd the raptors back toward the trees—but laughing too hard to be very effective.

"Oh, that's great," Kira muttered. "Who let them out?"

"I don't know," Trent sighed. "But we'd better corral them before they tear up the whole yard…"

They took off across the yard in the direction the raptors and the other young rangers had disappeared.

"Jason, what are those things?" Vida asked, eyes wide.

"Those would be the raptors," Jason said, turning and shooing them toward the house with the babies. "And we're going to go inside before things get rough."

"But what about the others?" Madison asked in concern.

"They'll be fine," Jason said. "The Dino rangers are used to rough housing with the things and they won't let them hurt Xander or Nick—well, not too badly. They can survive a few bumps and bruises, right? Or possibly a concussion?"

"Jason!" the girls exclaimed, glancing behind them one last time in concern.

Trent was disappearing into a shed as Kyra continued running. A moment later, the doors burst open and he came out riding on a white ATV. Gunning the engine, he sped off in the direction of the raptors.

"Oh, good," Jason muttered. "Inside, quick, before they really get riled up."

Moving to Briarwood

"Just a little more to the left," Jason said, watching closely as they maneuvered the couch through the doorway. "Little more—careful!"

Adam and Tommy both glared at him. Rocky also shot a glare from behind them where he was trying to carry an armchair up the stairs by himself.

"Hey Jase?" Tommy said, panting from the effort of carrying the couch up the stairs. "Got a question."

"Yeah?" Jason asked.

"How come we're carrying all of the heavy stuff while you supervise?" he said. "They're your sisters—we're just being nice by helping you out."

Tommy, Adam, and Rocky were with Jason in Briarwood helping move Vida and Madison into their new apartment. They were starting their first year of college in a couple of weeks and wanted to get settled in before classes started. Xander and Chip were moving in, too—same complex, different apartment. All four of them were also starting a new job later that week at a local record store.

"Because," Jason said. "I'm making sure nothing gets knocked over or broken."

Tommy snorted.

"Yeah, like none of us could take a turn at that," he said.

"Just hold on a second and you can put it down," Jason retorted.

They'd gotten it inside the apartment now. Inside, boxes were piled to either side of the door. The rest of the furniture was already in place, the couch being the last thing in the truck. Madison and Vida were darting around the apartment trying to decide where to put everything. Seeing the guys carry in the couch, they hurried over.

"You can put that right over there against the wall," Vida said. "And Rocky, the chair can go—in that corner."

She pointed to the respective places.

"Thanks!" Madison added, beaming at them.

Moving carefully, Adam and Tommy moved the couch to where the girls directed them and set it down. Rocky set down the chair, too. Sighing in relief, all three relaxed for a moment as they caught their breath. The girls frowned as they looked at the couch. They spoke quietly for a moment, gesturing as they glanced around.

"Umm…So, we think the couch might look better over there…" Madison said after a moment, pointing to another spot partway across the room.

Both Tommy and Adam groaned, but reached down to pick up the couch again. They moved it to where the girls asked them to and set it down again. But Vida and Madison immediately started shaking their heads.

"It looks better back in the first spot…" Vida said sheepishly.

Now the two men glared at her.

"Sorry…" Madison said, giving them a pleading look.

"Alright," Tommy sighed. "But you're sure that's where you want it? Because we're only moving it one more time."

"Yes," they said together, nodding.

Reaching down, Adam and Tommy picked up the couch again. Vida was watching them hesitantly.

"Well, maybe it is—" Vida started to say.

But Madison elbowed her and she let it go. The two men moved the couch back to the original spot and put it down. They then plopped down on it, sighing as they leaned back and stretched out their legs. Rocky was already sitting in the armchair he'd brought up. Jason, still standing, crossed his arms as he frowned at his friends.

"Hey, don't get comfortable," he said. "There are still boxes of stuff by the door to move into the kitchen and their bedrooms."

"Nope," Tommy said, shaking his head. "I'm done. Your turn, Rex."

"Come on," Jason insisted. "There's not that much more."

"Sorry, can't," he said, leaning his head back against the back of the couch. "I'm under strict orders to relax the moment I start to feel faint or lightheaded."

Jason frowned.

"Whose orders?" he said. "And since when do you feel faint or lightheaded? You're fine."

"Doctor's orders," he said. "And besides, how do you know if I do or not? For all you know, I could pass out any second. They never did explain that coma last year."

Jason snorted.

"Unexplained?" he said, shaking his head. "Tommy, you shocked yourself into a coma."

"But that shouldn't have put me in a coma," Tommy countered, smirking at Jason and crossing his arms. "So, therefore, it is medically unexplained."

Jason glared at him as Rocky and Adam exchanged knowing looks.

"You did something stupid and landed yourself in the hospital," Jason growled, crossing his arms. "Doesn't mean you can't help now. You're fine."

"That's not what my medical records say," Tommy grinned, not making a move to stand. "And that's what we have to go by. Don't make me call my mother—she'll be happy to explain exactly why I should be relaxing."

Jason rolled his eyes.

"Well, if that's the case," he said. "Then we should be rushing you to the hospital right now."

Madison and Vida exchanged concerned glances as Tommy shook his head.

"Tommy, are you ok?" Madison asked, moving to sit on the couch next to him.

He smiled, slinging and arm around her shoulders and giving her a quick one-armed hug.

"Oh, I'm fine," he said. "Well, I'm fine as long as I don't have to pick anything else up—can't do anything too strenuous."

Tommy smirked at Jason as Madison and Vida nodded.

"That's ok," Vida said. "You've helped enough for today. Jason can do something now."

Jason frowned.

"I have done something," he said.

"Sure you have," Adam grumbled.

"Jason, you really haven't done much," Madison said, looking at her brother. "Tommy, Adam, and Rocky carried all of the furniture up—and most of the heavier boxes…"

"I have too," he argued. "I helped unload the truck and the other vehicles."

"Yeah," Rocky retorted. "Because yelling 'don't drop that' at us is so helpful."

"Yeah, yeah," Jason muttered. "But I did help load everything."

"No you didn't," Vida countered. "You were too busy making sure Mark didn't hide in a box or behind a piece of furniture in any of the cars."

Adam, Tommy, and Rocky were smirking at him, enjoying watching their friend called out by his little sisters.

"I—fine," Jason grumbled. "Remind me—why I am I helping you again instead of dad?"

"Because dad had to work," Madison said. "Besides, you volunteered."

Jason frowned.

"When exactly did I do that?" he asked. "I don't remember volunteering to do this."

"Dad said you did," Vida answered. "So take it up with him."

Jason opened his mouth to protest and then decided against it. Tommy laughed and stood up, stretching.

"Well, this was fun, girls," he said, giving each of them a hug. "But I'm out of here. Hayley's making dinner tonight so I need to get home."

The twins exchanged looks and then looked back at Tommy.

"So you're going to rush all the way home for dinner instead of just eating with us in a little while?" Vida asked.

He grinned, shrugging.

"Hey," he said. "You'll probably understand this better later, but I'm technically still a newlywed. Add that to the fact that I only had about a month with Hayley before I left on a four month dig out of the country. Oh, and school starts in three weeks. I'm spending as much time with her as I can before we're both too busy to see each other for more than passing remarks."

Jason, Rocky, and Adam were now exchanging amused looks as the girls just shrugged.

"Come back and visit soon," Madison said.

"Of course," he said. "Help each other with school and don't get yourselves in trouble. And remember—you can always call me if you need me."

Hugging them again, he headed out the door. Jason was shaking his head.

"Well, guess we're down one for dinner," Vida sighed, looking around. "Why is he in such a hurry to get home?"

Jason exchanged amused looks with Rocky and Adam.

"He's going to go home and make out with his wife like a teenager," Jason grinned.

Both of the girls groaned, shaking their heads.

"What?" Jason asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We didn't need to know that," Vida said.

"You asked," Jason said. "And you're old enough now. Besides, Trini and I do it all the time."

"Eww!" the girls cried, grimacing.

"That is not something we want to think about," Madison said.

"No kidding, big brother," Vida added. "Unnecessary information. Tommy is one thing, but you? That's just—ugh."

Jason rolled his eyes.

"Stop being babies," he said. "How else do you think we ended up with Mark? A stork?"

"Stop it!" they exclaimed.

Adam and Rocky were laughing so hard by this point that they could barely breathe. Rocky had slid out of the chair and was now shaking in laughter on the floor at the absolute horror on the girls' faces. Adam had just fallen over on the couch, shaking his head.

"Jason, no more," Madison said. "Please—we don't need that in our heads."

"Alright, alright," Jason said, laughing. "I'm done."

They sighed in relief, both still trying to get the conversation out of their heads.

"Now," Jason said, looking around the room. "Let's finish moving everything before dinner."

Adam and Rocky sobered up, looking at the large stack of boxes just inside the front door.

"Umm… I forgot I promised Tanya I'd be home for dinner," Adam said quickly, getting up off the couch. "Sorry girls, gotta bail. Have a good school year."

Rocky was up, too, following Adam.

"And he's my ride," Rocky said. "Bye!"

They were both gone before Jason could protest. Sighing, he shook his head and turned back to his sisters.

"Well, I guess you're really helping now," Vida said. "Cause we packed those boxes expecting help."

"What does that mean?" Jason frowned.

"It means that a couple of them are too heavy for us to lift alone," Madison clarified. "We aren't strong enough to lift them—which is why we were counting on you…"

Groaning, Jason rubbed and hand over his face as he turned to look at the pile. He regarded it for a moment and then took a deep breath.

"Alright," he said. "Let's get stuff moved and get dinner—you two can unpack the boxes later."

Nodding, the girls followed him to the pile and they all started moving boxes to the correct rooms.