Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to Disney/Haim Saban

Silence reigned over the little group. Trev still sat on the ground, everyone else crouched over him. But their focus wasn't on the green ranger now, but on the pale faced, dark eyed yellow ranger. "You want to use your power to resurrect Dayton?" David asked finally, wanting to make sure he got what Ris had been trying to say right.

She nodded. "I…" for once, David had nothing to say. Hope was rising, inevitable and impossible to push back. But mixed with the hope was fear. Resurrection. Legend said the phoenix could only resurrect itself from its ashes. When it had died. What if Ris had to sacrifice her life for Dayton? The risk was too great for her to do it – but there was a part of him that screamed yes! Yes, bring him back! Since either part could burst out of him, he kept his mouth shut, not wanting to say the wrong thing.

It was Jeanie who spoke, Jeanie who voiced this thoughts with more eloquence than he could manage at the moment. "Ris. God Ris, that'd be beyond…just beyond. We need Dayton – but we also need you. Damnit, Ris, we don't know what could happen if you use your power. We don't know what you need. What your power needs. Trev's power hurt him and he was only Relocating us. Your power is resurrection. What if…what if your power demands life to bring back life?" When Ris only looked at her with those haunted eyes, Jeanie's temper snapped and her voice did too; "no way to fucking hell are you giving up your life for Dayton."

"He did it for us." Ris pointed out in a calm voice.

"And he'll do it again. But he'll never forgive us if we let you give up your life for him."

"Are you saying he's not important enough for me to give me life up for?"

"What? No. No, that's not what I'm saying." Agitated, Jeanie ran her hands through her hair, shot David a look that said say something, damn it.

"We can't lose you. We can't gain Dayton only to lose you," Eva said, bright green eyes hard. "I'm not going to let you do this. Don't be an idiot Ris."

"Idiot?" Ris's usually dormant temper rose, cracked out. Somehow, they were all standing, five rangers forming a semi circle facing her. "I'm an idiot for wanting to help? So what if something unexpected happens? Trev hurt when he Relocated us – and you don't mind. So why's it different for me?"

"Of course we mind!" Jay yelled, hot temper breaking, spilling, burning. "Of course we care Trev got hurt! What do you think we are? Bunch of Pleance's Frissons? Of course we care, damnit. Do you think if David had known it'd hurt him, he'd have asked Trev to do it?"

"Trev knew what could happen! David knew too! We all knew if Trev could have killed us when he Relocated us. David knew and he still told him to!"

"Because we could have been dead either way." Trev's cool broke as well, and his voice rose with it.

"So what? Better to die by our own hand than Pleance's, right? That's just what I'm saying."

"There was hope! There was a chance I wouldn't kill us and the chance worked out, didn't it? We're here and we're okay right?"

"Dayton's not!"

"SHUT UP!"

At David's roar – because there was no other word for it – the other rangers froze, turned to look at him. He was standing a little ways away, arms crossed over his chest, face deadly white and what could have been fear, what could have been anger or pain twisting its handsome features. "Damnit, will you all shut up?" He said, even though nobody spoke.

Eva took a hesitant step forward, put a hand on his arm. He was nearly vibrating with tension. "David."

At the mere sound of his name, he seemed to snap. "Damnit, don't ask me what to do okay? I don't know. I don't fucking know what the hell to do. Damnit."

"Eva."

Eva looked back to Jeanie, and the red haired ranger made a motion indicating that Eva should take their leader away. Eva's brow furrowed but Jeanie nodded and repeated the motion. So Eva stepped closer, put a hand on David's arm. "David, c'mon. No, don't say anything yet," she said when he opened his mouth, in case he said something he'd regret, something that would hurt the other rangers. "Just come on."

Though he was still tense, he followed her quietly enough, leaving Jeanie and three still stunned rangers behind.

They stopped once Eva was sure they were out of sight and hearing of the other rangers. Only then did she turn to David, put her hands on his shoulders. "Okay, David. 'Fess up. What just happened back there?"

For a long time, he didn't say anything, just stared at a point just above and beyond her left shoulder. The silence stretched long enough for Eva to be afraid he wouldn't answer. But then his eyes flitted to her face and focused in. "I don't know," he said in a heavy voice and, under her hands, his shoulders slumped. "Damned if I know."

Something in his expression made her want to draw him in and cuddle. Because she was afraid they'd both break if she did, she put her hand on his cheek instead, compelling him to look directly in her eyes. "Try David."

"Okay." He took a deep breath, held it, released it. "Okay." He closed his eyes, tilted his head up. "Man. I'm sorry Eva. I really freaked out back there, didn't it?"

Because he sounded a little more like David, she allowed herself a small smile. "Just a bit." He opened his eyes and that quick grin flashed. "But something happened to you. What?"

"I…I got to sit down first."

So they sat, she drawing her knees up to place her chin on them and he leant back to rest on his hands, legs stretched out in front of him. She didn't press him but simply sat, waiting for him to feel ready to speak.

"I'm the red ranger."

Eva couldn't help but blink at that more than obvious statement. Catching movement out the corner of her eye, she turned to seem him smile, albeit a grim and slightly bitter one.

"Guess you're pretty much thinking 'duh' aren't you?" He sighed. "But yeah. I'm the red ranger. God knows why. My mum was the blue ranger. My dad was the navy ranger. You'd think I'd be blue, right? But I'm red. I'm the leader. And leaders are supposed to lead." He fell silent, looking broodingly at his feet. "I'm supposed to lead."

"You're a good leader David."

"Am I?" He gave her a wry look.

"Yes. Yeah. David, I don't know anyone who could do what you do as well as you do."

He blinked at her. "Wow. I actually understood that." They grinned as one and, feeling it was more all right now, Eva reached out, laid her hand over his. He turned his hand over so they were palm to palm and entwined their fingers. "What I mean is I'm supposed to be the leader right? I'm supposed to lead this team. I'm supposed to be the one everyone leans on, the one everyone turns to when something goes wrong." Eva stayed silent but squeezed his hand, let him hold on tight. "Damnit, I supposed to be the rock. But sometimes…" he trailed off, released her hand. Standing up, he began to pace. "Sometimes I wish they'd ask someone else what we're supposed to do. I'm seventeen. I'm not even a legal adult yet. I don't have all the answers in the world. God knows I don't have the answers needed here. Now." He thrust all ten fingers into his hair, curled them there as he stared up at the impossibly blue sky. "What am I supposed to do Eva? Who am I supposed to lean on at times like this? My mum? Dad? Uncle Shane?" His laugh was harsh, bitter and all too cynical adult for Eva to stand. "I bet none of them had their mentor die on them. I bet they didn't seem him get killed."

She couldn't just sit there. Couldn't just sit there and listen to him beat himself up, bring himself down. Scrambling to her feet, she was in front of him in three strides. "David. David, look at me," she said when he didn't lower his chin. He did then so dark eyes met green. "Damnit, David you're not alone in all of this. You're not expected to be a rock. You're human, not some sort of unfeeling alien."

His lips curled minutely. "Watch it. My cousin's half-alien."

"I meant some sort of unfeeling alien who's not from whatever planet your aunt's from. Anyway, what I mean is you've got us. You've got Jeanie and Jay and Trev and Ris. And you've got me, David. You've got me. If you don't want to – can't – lean on any of them, lean on me. I'm not weak David. I can stand having the leader lean on me. So lean on me if and when you need to."

Now that minute curl bloomed into a real smile. Without thinking, he took her hand, turned it palm up to press a kiss to it. She blinked in real astonishment. "You're the most unique person I've ever met Eva."

"Thanks," she sad, looking and sounding baffled. "You're pretty unique yourself."

"I don't know how you do it," he said, more serious now, "but you always seem to say and do the right thing to make me feel better. To make everyone feel better. You have a talent for that and it's not something you should forget."

Now bafflement gave way to pleasure. "God. David. That's so sweet. Who knew a seventeen year old could be so sweet?"

He grinned. "I guess I get it from my dad. My mum said she thought he was the sweetest guy she ever knew when she met him. Though the idea of my mum being my age and moony over my dad is kind of hard to picture."

She laughed and felt light with it. Only David, she thought, could mix humour with responsibility, seriousness with foolishness and come out tops. "Picturing any adult our age is kind of hard to do." She said. Then she paused, tilted her head slightly. "Ready to go back?"

He squeezed the hand that still held hers and let himself hope that everything would turn out fine. "Yeah. More than ready."