Chapter 3: 9PM

"Day!" shouted an excited Kelsey Winslow Slater as she made her way through the crowd. Not an easy maneuver with a baby attached to her hip. Even though the girls had just seen each other last week, they always found something to chat about. In fact, Dana was going to ask Kelsey what she and Ryan had been talking about for the past hour. And then she was going to give Ryan some grief for not stopping to say hello to her first. All kidding aside though, she was hoping the two of them would finally get together.

"Well, look who decided to show up." Will Aston remarked as Ronny and Mack walked in, arm in arm no less. Ronny just smiled as she greeted her friends and former teammates.

"Thanks." Mack whispered to Rose knowing she had been the mastermind behind this whole plan. "Hey, we just wanted to see you happy." She replied softly. Tyzonn nodded his agreement behind his girlfriend.

"Hey isn't that Ronny Robinson?" declared an excited Dustin as the Ninja Storm team walked among the various groups of rangers. "She's like the best race car driver ever." He continued on in amazement as he rushed over to meet here, the rest of the team following much to Ronny's embarrassment and her friends' amusement.

"Ronny Robinson, number 17, won 86 races, favorite food pasta, favorite band Maroon 5, former yellow operation overdrive ranger… "Dustin rambled before losing his breath.

"Yes." She replied simply and slightly taken aback by his eagerness and his knowledge of her life. "I apologize for Dustin; he's just excited to meet you." Tori explained his strange behavior. "We all are actually." Ronny shrugged it off as she met others who had the same love of adrenaline as she did.

"You're the Ninja storm team aren't you?" Rose guessed with a laugh at their exuberance. Shane nodded as he introduced himself and Cam.

"Maybe you could take me for a drive sometime." Dustin flirted shamelessly with Ronny as she instinctively moved closer to her date, hoping that he would get a clue. "I'm on vacation." She explained with a polite smile.

"Come on guys, let's keep moving." Tori suggested, noticing the not so subtle glare Dustin was getting from the leader of the overdrive team. She sighed in exasperation as she found herself babysitting her teammates once again. "Nice to meet you guys." She said quickly, moving her friends along and away from an annoyed Mack.

She strongly suggested they stay in the game room until they were capable of enjoying the party without making asses out of themselves. "This time they're on their own." Tori muttered, vowing to have a good time, and making her way to the bar.

When another drink suddenly appeared without her ordering it, Tori looked up for the reason. Not that she particularly cared what the reason was, she wasn't about to turn down another margarita. At the end of the bar sat a guy, who looked to be in his 20's sitting alone. Curious she approached him, sensing in him the same loneliness that she felt. "Thanks." She offered with a smile as an icebreaker.

"Where's the rest of your team?" He asked curiously, wondering how she could be alone at a reunion like this. "Where's yours?" She retorted back smugly.

"Hey Ronny, can I have your autograph too?" Will teased, taking off before Ronny could catch him for his remark.

'I wish I had my super speed.' Ronny grumbled, picking up her dress and trying to catch Will in her high heels. "If I weren't in a dress…" She yelled out to the black ranger who was across the room by this time.

"Blake couldn't make it, some competition in Colorado or something." Hunter said, gauging her face for a reaction to her ex-boyfriend's name. Even though Blake was his brother, he couldn't understand for the life of him how he had let Tori go. She was one of those girls you looked for all your life and possibly never found. But Blake had found her when the Bradley brothers became members of Ninja storm and the two quickly became involved. But just as quickly as the brothers had come so did Blake leave as soon as a sponsorship became available and his obligations to Ninja Storm were over.

Hunter had always had a thing for the beautiful blonde, and unlike Blake he wasn't going to let a chance to be with her pass him by.

If she were truthful, she was glad Blake wasn't here. They had broken up on bad terms, and though she wasn't in love with him anymore, she wasn't ready to pretend to be civil either. "I left them in the game room until they could behave themselves." Tori admitted with a grin.

"Some things never change." Hunter remarked with a laugh.

"They could be there all night." She agreed, very glad that she had Hunter to keep her company. The night was beginning to look up.

She spent the next few minutes fruitlessly chasing the former spy and found herself outside on the veranda with a chilly breeze coming up off of the ocean. She closed her eyes and imagined herself living back in California. She missed her home, the ocean, Him. She hadn't needed much convincing to come back, the thought of seeing him again cheered her considerably during the hard training she endured to keep her top spot on the racing circuit. Though she was only 21 years old, she never considered racing something she would do forever. The problem was she didn't know what else to do either. But the prospect of going back to North Carolina and the continual loneliness was losing its interest.

She had been quick to leave after they had rescued the Corona Aurora. Ronny hadn't been able to face her feelings for Mack after he had lain lifelessly during their last battle. Though he had been given human form again, the thought of losing him scared her to no end. She had never felt that way about anyone before him and despite her best efforts of the last year she hadn't found anyone she cared about half as much.

He had searched for her after Will had come back without being caught by Ronny. "I missed you." He said simply, catching up to the stunningly beautiful girl he had fallen for without knowing it many months before.

Even though he and Rose were more alike, he had been attracted to Ronny from the first time he met her. He had never met someone so full of life and energy. She challenged him daily and he found her presence contagious. He found himself reading less and doing things with her more. She had taught him how to drive her racecar, took him rock climbing, and they learned how to kayak together. He missed those times, the few moments that were not intruded on by Moltor or Flurious. Most of all he had missed her when she left. He hadn't expected her to stay close by like the others, nor did he know he would miss her when she didn't.

"Me too." She whispered softly, tearing her gaze away from the beautiful scenery to look at the man standing next to her. Her next statement shocked him. "I don't think I'm going to go back." His heart leapt at her admission, but he remained silent as she continued.

"Tonight, I look around and I see the love they all have for each other. How could I just walk away from the opportunity to find that with you?" Ronny declared as she placed her hand on his cheek. "Ronny," he whispered speechless at her confession. He covered her hand with his own and gently pulled her into him.

"God," he sighed. "Do you know how long I wished for a moment like this? To tell you how I feel and just to hold you?" He wrapped the blonde beauty in his arms, enjoying the quiet moment between the two of them.

"Is Ethan coming?" Dr. O, as he was known to the Dino Rangers, asked his former students and teammates.

"Last time we talked he was in Japan at a comic's convention." Connor commented as the foursome approached the bar before looking for old friends. "For such a computer guy, he's terrible at staying in touch." Kim noted with a wry grin.

"4 beers." Tommy ordered from the bar tended, intending to give a quick toast with his wife and the McKnight's. "Just water is fine please." Kira pleaded, refusing the alcoholic beverage. Connor, already knowing her secret, couldn't help but tease his wife.

"What's wrong honey? Are you feeling alright?" He asked overly concerned, the smirk on his face giving away his true feelings even as he checked her forehead for a fever.

Kim smiled at the pair, remembering when she and Tommy had been pregnant with their first child. Discretely she moved her oblivious husband into the crowded room and looked for their best friends. "Congratulations." She whispered with a grin, leaving the two alone.

"You knew." She hissed in disbelief. She couldn't believe he knew. Connor just hugged her tighter, knowing she wasn't really mad at him. "I was just waiting for you to tell me." He said, kissing her forehead.

"I'm still getting used to the idea of being a mom." She admitted nervously. "You're going to be great Kira." Her husband reassured her, softly rubbing her back soothingly surprising Kira at how gentle he could be.

"Little Chase is such a good baby." Carter declared non-chalantly to his wife as they sat down for the first time that night. "He's got a great mom." Dana replied slowly, trying not to engage in this conversation for the millionth time in their marriage. Carter wanted to have lots of kids, and have them right away but Dana wasn't ready yet. She loved her career as a pediatrician and loved kids, but right now both she and Carter were just too busy. She didn't want to have any regrets when it came down to having kids. Dana had been raised by her workaholic father and wanted her kids to have a parent to come home to everyday. Accepting the fact that she would have to give up her career was a hard decision that her husband unfortunately didn't understand.

"Ryan hasn't left Kelsey's side since she arrived." Dana observed, trying to change the subject. Carter sighed unhappily, as Dana changed the subject as she always did whenever he brought up them having kids. He knew Dana was great with kids and loved them; he didn't get her reluctance to start a family right away. Being a former power ranger, he knew how precious life was and that you weren't guaranteed tomorrow.

Though Ryan was giving most of his attention to his former female teammate, he couldn't help but keep an eye on his sister as well. His job kept him traveling and it had been months since he had seen Dana. He couldn't help but wonder if everything was as happy in her life as she told him it was. Watching her and Carter, he decided it was time to get the truth out of his sister. But first he would try to get some information out of her best friend.

"Dana say anything about her and Carter?" Ryan questioned cautiously as the two walked outside. "No which is weird, because Dana tells me everything, which makes me wonder if everything is okay." Kelsey declared slowly, a worried look crossing her face.