Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers. I never have and I never will.
Can I Say Goodbye?
Tori woke up the next day in her own bed, still in the clothes she wore from the previous night. There were bloodstains on them but she didn't notice them or simply didn't pay any heed to them. The blonde thought that all the events that took place last night were all just a bad dream. She didn't want to believe that she lost both her parents in one night, making her an orphan and alone in the world. Tori pushed all thoughts from last night from her head and decided to act as if nothing had happened to get through the day ahead of her with the team.
When she rolled over and looked at the clock on her night table, she jumped out of bed, reading the time to be 2:30pm. Tori quickly ran to the shower and got dressed, all in blue, and was ready to face the day. She then went downstairs to see if her parents were home. When she didn't find them, she told herself that they were only out for the day and that she would see them when she got home that night. The teen grabbed her car keys from the table where she threw them after getting home late last night and went out to her blue van. Tori jumped into the car and got it started quickly. She then backed out of her driveway and drove towards Storm Chargers, where she told the boys previously she would meet them there.
When Tori pulled up, she noticed Dustin's bike outside the building and figured that the others would be inside already. When she pulled open the door, she saw Shane, Hunter, Dustin and Blake all in the back area, talking quietly amongst themselves. She found it a little odd that they were being secretive towards her when they broke away when they noticed that she was there.
"Hey Tori!" Dustin said enthusiastically as he came over and gave her a hug, which was also very strange as Tori was usually the one who initiated the hugs. The girl shrugged her previous thoughts off and looked forwards to the day they had planned out together. They were going to head off towards the skate park for a bit, for Shane, then to the track for Dustin, Hunter and Blake to get some practice in before their next race. After that, they were going to have supper at the beach where Tori could get some waves on her board and the boys could go for a swim.
"So Tori, now that you're finally here, are we ready to go?" Shane asked, eager to get to the skate park to jump on his skateboard and pull some fancy tricks.
"We are," Hunter said as he and Blake walked outside and over to Tori's van. Shane followed them out and Dustin watched them leave before turning back to Tori.
"You know Tori, if you ever need to talk, I'm here, ok?" Dustin told her in a more serious voice, giving her a concerned look.
Tori was taken aback and last night events jumped to her mind. Her smile fell for a moment and she looked almost ready to cry before her strong girl image popped back up into place and she gave Dustin a shove. "Wherever did you get the idea that something was wrong Dustin? Everything's fine, now come on before Shane decides were not fast enough and hotwires my van on me!" The teen said, grabbing Dustin's arm and hauling him out of the building, getting a laugh from the other boys when they saw Tori physically pulling Dustin out of the store.
The blond jumped into the driver's seat of her van and turned the key in the ignition and got it running. When Dustin had finally got into his seat, she pulled out onto the road and silently drove to the skate park, listening to the boys talk. She would usually join in the conversation, but Dustin's earlier comment threw her off completely and she needed time to pull herself back together.
Shane had the passenger door open before Tori even stopped and was off towards the park before she parked. "SHANE! Never do that again!" She yelled after him for the millionth time. No matter what, Shane was always out before everyone else and pulling tricks on his board before they even walked over to meet him. The boys all filed out of the van and continued their conversation, talking amongst themselves, leaving Tori behind in the van, simply sitting behind the wheel.
The blonde hadn't even bothered to take off her seatbelt. Tori couldn't help but feel isolated and alone from the rest of the team because of last night's events. She wanted to see her parents and be able to talk with them again, like she used to. They didn't know her secret of being a Power Ranger, but it was them who gave her all the right steps to becoming one. They enrolled her in the Wind Ninja Academy all those years ago and gave her the right training and the friends that made her who she was today. Tori needed to see them again, no matter what, and backed out of the parking spot she recently pulled into. She wanted to cry when she realized that the boys didn't even notice her not with them anymore.
Tori drove up to the hospital but continued past it and drove to a parking lot a few blocks down the road. She sat in her van a few minutes before grabbing the courage to go back to the hospital and ask to see her parents one last time. She undid her morpher from her wrist and put it in the glove compartment of the van, not wanting the boys to find her. The blonde then grabbed her bag and walked in to the hospital and in the front door, slowly making her way up to the front desk where a brunette nurse sat behind the counter.
The nurse looked up with a soft smile at Tori. "What can I do for you honey?" She asked with a genuine want to help.
Tori was completely tongue-tied and didn't know what to say for a minute. "Umm.. There was an accident last night, and.." The teen trailed off, hoping that the nurse understood what she was trying to say. When the nurse simply gave her a slow nod to go on, Tori took a deep breath. "I want to see my parents one last time," she said very quietly, barely audible.
The nurse's expression changed to one of concern and sorrow before nodded her head and picking up a phone beside the computer. "Doctor Lohman, come to the front desk, Doctor Lohman," she said over the PA system. She then looked back up at the teen in front of her. "May I ask for your name miss," the nurse asked in a gentle voice, coming around from behind the desk.
"I'm Tori Hanson," Tori said softly, with a few tears leaking from her eyes. She roughly brushed them away, not wanting to seem weak in front of people she didn't know.
The nurse led Tori to a chair and sat her down in it to wait for the arrival of this Doctor Lohman. The teen didn't say anything and the nurse let her sit in complete silence, until the distinct sound of footsteps approached them. Tori looked up into the face of Doctor Lohman. The doctor dismissed the nurse after she told the doctor Tori's name and took a seat beside the teen.
"Hello Tori," she said in a calm voice. "My name's Hillary Lohman and I was to the scene yesterday," she continued in the same voice. "We got a call in this morning about the accident and we arrived too late to save either of you parents. I'm so sorry," she said, putting a comforting arm around Tori's shoulders, which the teen shook off. She didn't want a random doctor putting her arm around her, no matter what for.
"Can I see them to say goodbye?" Tori asked in a whisper, not wanting to hear anything more the doctor had to say. She came here to simply see her parents, not hear details of their death. She was there, watched her mom die, and that was enough for her.
The doctor nodded her head and stood up, motioning for Tori to follow. The teen slowly stood up and followed the doctor at a distance to have time to try and pull her thoughts together before saying goodbye.
After going down one floor and down many halls, they came to a door with no window looking in and a small sign on the door stating it was the morgue. The doctor looked down at Tori with a concerned expression but proceeded to open the door and walk in, with Tori slowly following. There were two bodied covered by white sheets lying in the middle of the room. Tori didn't move towards them for a few minutes, needing to prepare herself to see her parents dead in front of her. The teen slowly took a few steps towards the first table and pulled back the sheet to reveal the pale face of her father. He looked like he was sleeping to her and she gently reached out and touched his cheek. His cold skin shocked her and she retracted her hand quickly. A few tears leaked from her eyes unchecked as she moved over to the other table to reveal the face of her mother. Tori put her hand to her mother's cheek and felt the same cold touch as she did with her father. Tears freely flowed from Tori's eyes as she looked at both of them, not wanting to believe they were both dead.
"Bye Mom, bye Dad. I love you," she whispered, only audible to herself before she fled the room, her vision blurred from her tears. Tori sprinted as fast as she could out of the hospital and to her van. The blonde started the van and drove back towards her house, to the scene of the crash. She parked her van on the side of the road and noticed there was still blood on the road and an impression in the grass from where their car was the night before. Tori went and sat in the grass where the impression was and let all her emotions out. The teen wanted her parents back so badly that her tears hurt her and made her cry even more. She sat there until she could cry no more and was numb inside, the feeling of being utterly alone growing deeper inside her.
A/N: So this is up a little later than I would have liked, but I was working and studying for exams a lot this past week! I hope you enjoy the next installment to the story! Please Read and Review!