Title: Where Your Road Leads
Author: Sarafu
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Power Rangers do not belong to me.
Summary: After ten years of hard work, the Dino Thunder team has found success, but for two of them, happiness remains elusive. Can they find it in each other?
Dedication: A Valentine's gift to everyone.
Chapter 12: Apologies and A Council of War
May 2014
Kira wasn't terribly surprised to find Ethan on her doorstep later that day. His expression was unreadable, but she thought she saw anger in his eyes. "I didn't know you were in town, Ethan. Want to come in?"
"You would have known if you actually picked up the phone or read an email. But I always have to show up on your doorstep," he retorted.
She winced, already feeling bad about the way she had handled things. "I'm sorry. Come on in."
"Thanks," he said, walking into her apartment and surveying the messy room with surprise. He glanced at the uncharacteristic crumpled up papers around her notebook; Kira knew he was aware of how many drafts and ideas she kept. "Writer's block?"
"Something like that." She let the silence hang between them before she asked, "Did Conner send you?"
"Something like that." It hurt to hear him be so flippant, but he immediately apologized. "I'm sorry, Kira. We've all been so worried about you that it's hard to believe that maybe you went going through an equally rough time."
"Well, you know, my best friend kind of took the side of my ex-boyfriend, an experience I'm not exactly used to."
Ethan turned a harsh gaze on her. "You're missing a few words from that sentence, Kira."
"Conner chose to give up the friendship when he got us into this mess, Ethe."
"That's not being fair to him or you. He never wanted to put your relationship above your friendship; otherwise, he would have spoken up much sooner than he did and put up with a lot of less of your crap matchmaking tendencies. And you're a consenting adult."
"Stop making me feel like it's my fault then."
Ethan glared at her. "If you had told me that this loser was the whole reason you wanted to stop your relationship with Conner, what do you think I would have said?"
Kira swallowed hard, trying to resist the tears that were suddenly clogging her throat. It was a fair question. "I don't know what you would have said, Ethan. You've always been the one who's been so protective of me."
"Because you were afraid of my answer, afraid of the one you didn't want me to give you because it goes against every instinct you have to run away." His angry truthful words made a knot form in her stomach.
"He's threatening the secret that we've kept for the last ten years," she argued.
"This so-called secret - it's nothing to our friendship. Hell, it's nothing to how happy you've been these last few months with Conner . I never would have told you to break it off with Conner. These letters and idiotic threats are nothing more than a stupid excuse to protect your heart."
"What?"
"You're still so afraid that Conner is going to break you apart the way that Trent did that you won't even entertain the notion that he might be more committed to you than anything else in his life. You don't think he'd give up soccer in a heartbeat if you crooked your finger at him?"
"He would never do that. Just like I would never do it for music. We're still separate people, Ethan, no matter what you like to think." But an uneasy feeling was starting to wend its way up her spine.
"He would do it the second you gave any kind of real commitment to him." Ethan followed up this startling revelation with a stern look. "He'd do it today if you asked him to."
"And the World Cup?"
"I'll grant that he's wanted the World Cup for longer than you, but he sees what you don't, Kira. You guys could be forever. He's already almost too old for for soccer and you know that scares him more than he'd admit to either of us. And even though he's going to retire with a fat bank account, he's searching for something to latch onto after soccer is out of his life. You're the only other thing he's ever wanted as much as he wanted soccer and being with you is something special. You haven't heard the way he talks about you when you're not around. It's sort of gross. He doesn't know what to do with himself when he has to fill the hours without soccer or you. Do you know how much time I had to spend talking him down over the last few weeks?"
"No," Kira said even though she had a pretty good idea. Hadn't she been lost since that night, struggling to commit to anything? And she hadn't even had the comfort of Ethan to soothe her pain. "I guess I should have talked to you about it."
Ethan finally gave her a real smile. "Damn right. Even if you felt you couldn't go to Conner, you should have come to me. Dumbass mistakes are not usually your style, Kira. You should leave that to your boyfriend."
"Ethan," she said warningly. "We're not that yet. We're not even close to being okay."
"But you will be," he said in his annoying self-assured voice, the one that had always driven her crazy. When she started to protest, he held up a hand. "Uh-uh, you know I'm always right, Kira. It's just a fact of life like spring following winter."
"What a dumb simile."
"You're a dumb simile," he told her, but they both relaxed and exchanged grins.
"Why did Conner really send you?"
"I'm supposed to keep an eye on you." He held up his hands in quotation marks. '"Make sure she doesn't do something stupid like try to run out of town." Also, I think he knows I wanted the chance to get in your face about your constant decisions to abandon someone before they leave you.'
"Did he really think I would run?"
Ethan gave her a knowing look. "You've been running for a very long time, Kira. From life, from your friends, and mostly from Conner. Now, mind you, I understand the last one a lot. I feel like I spend most of my time trying to avoid the guy."
Kira laughed and smacked him in the arm. "You do not, Ethan."
His smirk was the obnoxious one he liked to use around Conner when he was feeling particularly superior, but it softened into a grimace. "Kira, I wasn't kidding about the threats and stuff. It's one thing if it's physical harm, but this secret getting out is not the end of the world. There have been how many teams of Power Rangers? And how many have gone public without it being a huge deal?"
"It's not my decision to make for the whole group, Ethan. If one of us is found out, then everyone's at risk."
He reached over to give her a hug. "You're an idiot, Kira, but you're our idiot. Honestly, did you ever even think about how cool that being a Power Ranger would make us?"
"You're cool enough, Ethan, without the additional street cred," she said dryly.
"Says you," he said with mock severity. "I see it differently." He picked up a crumpled piece of paper. "Do you want to explain?"
"Writer's block just like you said," she answered. "It's horrible, but I've been so off-balance that I can't even imagine being able to write anything decent. Remember how much writing I did after Trent and I broke up? I haven't been able to write a single measure of music much less think of a way to put the pain and loneliness into words."
He nodded and dropped the paper on the ground. "It's because everything was left unfinished between you two."
"Sometimes you're kind of wise, Ethan."
"I told you. I'm always right."
"And too full of yourself by far. How did I wind up getting along so well with you and Conner again?"
He nudged her playfully. "Because the truth is the three of us are too much alike in a multitude of ways," he answered.
"How much of that is a long-standing friendship, Ethe?"
Ethan shrugged carelessly. "Don't know. I wasn't the psychology major."
"None of us were psychology majors," she pointed out.
"Then I don't know what to tell you, K."
Conner burst through the door at that moment, looking very excited. "We've got to go!"
"Go where?"
"You'll see." He jumped around like a puppy, a giant Mastiff puppy, but Kira thought it was wise not to say that particular thought aloud.
He looked at her for the first time. "Are you even dressed?" he asked, his voice full of something like scorn.
She shifted defensively. "I haven't had a chance. I've been innunudated with company, Conner. You sent your guard dog!" she muttered, gesturing at Ethan.
"Hey!"
"Sorry, Ethe," she said, only half-sincerely. It served him right for being so very right about this whole crazy thing.
Conner seemed to have recovered from his surprise. "Well, go get dressed then. They're expecting us."
"Who? My God, Conner, who do you know that would be up this early in the morning on a weekend?"
"You. Clothes. Something respectable."
"Says the guy who's wearing a pair of holey jeans and a tank top."
He glared at her mutinously. Ethan grinned widely as he looked at them both. "Admit it, you two have missed this whole thing as much as I have." Their voices rose up in tandem.
"Missed her?"
"Missed him?"
"Yep. You two crazy kids were meant to be. And trust me, I'm emphasizing the crazy part. No one else could put up with you for extended periods of time."
Kira shot him a look of pure exasperation, but she accepted the implied rebuke and moved into her bedroom. She barely made it to her doorway when she heard Ethan's voice again.
"Bro, where are you going?"
"To talk to her."
"Do you really think you guys are ready to see her naked again?"
She didn't hear Conner's reply as she closed her door, but she couldn't help the grin on her face at the same time. She searched through her closet for what Conner might consider respectable although she was more interested in what she considered respectable. Respectable to Conner meant wearing something short and tight. She felt slightly ashamed that he had not caught her at her best, but she had given up dressing to look her best when she dumped him. Somehow putting on jeans and a T-shirt and a little bit of make-up was too much effort if she wasn't leaving the house. She was actually kind of surprised the gossip rags hadn't been all over her appearance anyway. They delighted in bringing everyone down to humanity's level. It's not that she would have minded being photographed in sweats, but at least, she still had a little pride that Conner hadn't seen her on the days where she could barely manage to get out of bed much less leave her apartment.
When she emerged, she looked much closer to the way she looked before she broke her own heart. She had also decided that she was going to get her hair cut as soon as possible. She caught Conner's approving expression, but she turned to Ethan. "Do you know where we're going?"
"I have a pretty good idea," he said cryptically.
"I'm driving," Conner announced to them.
Ethan rolled his eyes. "Of course you are."
"I gotta make sure she doesn't change her mind."
"She is standing right here, Conner."
"Really, I hadn't noticed."
Ethan stopped them both before it got even more heated. "Truce, you two. I get that there are things you need to talk about without me being around, but you guys got along . . . well, most of the time, before you were together."
Conner's narrowed eyes shifted to Ethan. "Fine, it's the only way we're going to pull this off anyway."
"Pull what off?" Kira stopped two feet from the door.
"Look, just get in the car."
"No! You tell me to trust you, but you won't tell me why I should trust you."
Ethan groaned. "It's worse than I thought." He looked directly at Kira. "Do you trust me, Kira?"
"Of course I do," she said immediately, feeling guilty at the way Conner took a step back with a hurt expression. "But his plans are a little crazy, Ethan, and I don't want to run into something that might be half-baked."
"Will it make you feel better to know that it's mostly my idea?"
"Depends."
Conner's voice interrupted. "Can we have this discussion in the car?"
"Dude, shut up already. Look, Conner came over last night and we had a war council . . ."
"Now it's war?" she asked sarcastically.
Conner grunted menacingly. "Kira, you're not helping. It was a discussion about what we might do. This was my idea. You just need to trust me," Ethan said. "Please."
"I don't like this," Kira said softly.
"Look, it's a solution to your problem, okay? It's nothing terribly crazy."
She gave Ethan a long direct look before she nodded. "I'll go with you and hear you out, but we can't just act with talking about it, okay?"
"Excellent," he muttered. "Stubborn dumbasses." The second comment was just loud enough for both Conner and Kira to protest immediately and loudly.
As Kira turned to lock her door, her phone chirped. She paused. "That's David."
"Are you expecting his call?" Conner asked gruffly.
"No, I told him to take today off." She looked puzzled. "I better get this." She clicked to take the call and smiled down at her assistant. "Hey, David, what's going on?"
"I just wanted to know if you were free this afternoon. I thought maybe we could hang out at the beach. It's a beautiful day." He smiled back at her with a trusting expression.
Conner snatched the phone from her hand. "Sorry, dude, she can't. She's spending the day with me and Ethan."
"Um, okay," David said shortly. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kira."
Kira glared at Conner as she took back her phone. "Of course, David. Have fun today. " When she had tucked the phone away, she whirled on Conner. "What the hell was that?"
"What?" he said defensively.
"The Neanderthal jealous bit. I didn't agree to spend the whole day with you. Maybe I would have liked to have gone to the beach. I haven't done it in forever, you know."
"It was a crap invitation," he said. "That guy is weird."
"Says the guy who thought that a rock in an underground lair was a pretty thing to pick up."
"You guys both picked up your Gems after me. Don't hate me because I'm a leader."
"Argh," Kira and Ethan both said in frustration. "Way to miss the point."
When they arrived at Conner's car, Kira touched the hood of the car with a thoughtful look. "You and your cars."
But Conner surprised them both by touching the hood with an affectionate pat. "She's surprisingly sturdy considering Eric's had her locked up in his garage without taking her for a drive or anything. I had to take her out and have them wash and wax her by hand. Plus, the seats were all gross."
"I'm surprised no one reported him dead on the news yet," Kira said lightly. Something about Conner's car gave her a good feeling inside. Maybe it was the flood of memories in her brain or maybe it was just the fact that he looked so damn happy about the whole thing.
Conner's mouth tightened. "He's very lucky he wasn't home when I went to find him."
"You also like Lindsey," Ethan reminded him. "And she'd kick your ass if she found out you were threatening him harm."
"Some things are more important than my brother's girlfriend liking me," Conner said flatly.
"Mmmhmm," Kira said, sharing an amused glance with Ethan. In spite of the wealth of warm feelings she was having, Kira still chose to sit in the backseat, a seat that had usually been reserved for Ethan. With a flash of insight, she realized that had been something the guys had decided together. It must have been a way for Conner to get closer to her. She giggled when she remembered the way he used to slap her hand whenever she tried to change the radio station.
Conner had appeared crestfallen when she sat down in the backseat, but then he heard her giggle. "What?" he asked suspiciously.
She laughed harder at his suspicion. "Oh, Con, you really did like me back then, didn't you?"
Craning his head, Ethan peered at the floor around her. "I'm just checking to see if Eric ever left his stash in here."
"What?" The car swerved slightly.
Ethan leaned against his seat, looking a little green. "Dude, watch the road."
"Are you telling me you saw Eric smoking weed in my car?"
"No, of course not," Ethan said smoothly, but Kira caught the twinkle in his eye in the rearview mirror. Either he was winding Conner up or he was serious. She clearly found that she didn't care though as she grinned at Ethan. "Besides, weren't you haranguing Kira about her giggle?"
"Thanks, Ethan," she said as Conner's attention shifted immediately back to her.
"No problem." He hummed underneath his breath.
Conner kept trying to look over his shoulder at her during red lights. "What did you mean?"
"I was thinking about how you always wanted me to seat in front so you wouldn't kill Ethan but hated me touching the radio."
"That's cause your indie crap gave me hives," he protested, but there was a tremble in his tone that meant he was lying.
"You liked Ethan's techno music," she reminded him.
"No, I didn't," Conner said a little too quickly.
"Liar," Ethan added.
As a fight was threatening to break out in the front seat, Kira watched the "Welcome to Reefside" sign pass out of view and breathed a sigh of relief. "Idiots," she muttered, swatting them both for good measure. "All you had to say was that we were going to Dr. O's."
"Tommy's!" the boys chorused in unison.
"It's not like I haven't been down this road a hundred times in the last few weeks," she continued. "Instead of being alone, I spent a lot of time with Kim and the kids. In fact, I was supposed to babysit them today."
Conner smirked at her. "I knew you would have told David no."
"I take back idiot," she announced. "You're a moron."
Ethan intervened at that point. "Don't worry, you're off the hook for babysitting," he said. "They cancelled their plans for today."
Surprised, Kira studied Ethan's impassive expression. "Why would they do that? It's their anniversary."
Ethan looked flabbergasted. "Oh, crap, why didn't they tell me that?"
"Because you probably told them that it was an emergency and that you wanted them to talk to me about everything and blah, blah, blah. You know Tommy would never leave if any of us were in trouble." Kira's eyes flashed. She could already seen Conner pleading with them to talk sense into her. "And damn it, I didn't want them to be involved at all."
"Of course you didn't. But Kira, you've got to accept that sometimes we all need help and this is something that they want to help you with," Ethan said reasonably. "And what happened to your whole it's putting everybody at risk spiel from this morning? Don't you think they should know?"
Kira curled up miserably on the seat. This was pretty much the last result she had wanted of this whole endeavor and not for the first time, she cursed the guy that had upended her life. "I suppose you invited Trent."
"Yes." Ethan looked over at Conner. "Along with some other people."
A dreadful suspicion started to grow in her stomach. "I'm not going to like this, am I?"
"You promised to listen, Kira," Ethan said with a small smile. "No matter what."
"Jesus, and Tommy is going to try to talk me out of the whole thing because he feels like it's his responsibility to protect me."
"Be fair, Kira," Conner said. "He feels that way about all of us. His devotion is more than just a mentor. You know that. He loves us. Hell, we might as well be his own kids. He's been a better parent to us than our own. Same thing with Hayley."
"Hayley's on that list of other people, isn't she?"
"Of course Hayley's on the list. Do you think that we'd really leave her out of something as important as this?"
"No," Kira said, but she was mostly surprised at the fact that they had actually thought to invite Hayley. Civilian or not, she was part of the team. Sadly, Conner and Ethan didn't always think of her right away when they were talking about the team especially when they used to argue about the smartest person on the team. Kira was always quick to shut them up by reminding that that Hayley was a brilliant genius. Neither of them could ever contest that so they didn't even try.
As they pulled into Tommy's driveway, Kira peered at the unfamiliar car. "Who does that belong to?" she asked.
"You'll see," Conner said grimly, hopping out and holding her door open.
She looked at Ethan who shrugged. "I only suggested the team," he mouthed. "Anyone else is Conner's call."
"Don't worry so much. It's someone that can help us," he said.
Kira looked uncertain, but she followed them into the house without another word. Kim rushed up to give her a hug and Hayley smiled congenially across the room. Tommy looked flustered as he poked through his couch cushions for something he had lost. It was hard to be in this room with her favorite people, knowing that she had somehow put them all at risk.
"Dr. Oliver, this is a sweet pad," said a voice from the other room. Devin appeared in the doorway and Kira jumped with surprise. "Guys," he said, nodding at them in greeting. He hadn't changed too much from the last time they had seen him at graduation, but as he pushed his floppy hair back on his forehead, Kira thought she glimpsed an earring of some kind. He also wore a black T-shirt and khakis that seemed to overshadow everyone else's casual wear.
"Hi, Devin," Kira said softly, glancing at a beaming Conner. Devin being in the room was weird. Sure, he knew their secret, but he didn't have any kind of say in what was going to be said today.
"Devin, dude, I'm glad you were able to make it," Conner said, striding forward to shake his hand.
Ethan's greeting was slightly less enthusiastic and Kira remembered the way he had asked about Cassidy. She knew Cassidy missed Devin like crazy, but she didn't know if Devin breaking her heart was the reason or if it was because they had lost a lifetime friendship with that. Some things had never changed; apparently, Devin was one of them. He was extremely friendly and curious about the whole operation. He greeted them all with the same amount of fond remembrance. To break the ice with Ethan, Devin inquired about a new game that Ethan's company was developing and asked some probing questions about a top secret project. "Bro, I can't tell you any of that. You, of all people, should know that."
"Sorry, Ethan, once a journalist, always a journalist," he said.
Her best friend grinned at him and held out his fist. She watched with a sigh as they engaged in a fist-bumping ritual that she was sure was going to result in broken bones. "Is everyone here?"
"Nah," Conner said, glancing at his watch. "Trent's late. And someone else." He avoided someone's eye although Kira wasn't sure whose.
"No, I'm not," Trent replied, waltzing in through the front door. "I had to hike up Tommy's driveway because somebody's car was blocking the last spot available."
"Oh, sorry, dude," Conner said, genuinely looking sorry for the inconvenience. Kira wondered why he was suddenly so concerned with Trent. It was strange behavior considering how much he still disliked the guy . . . or if he didn't dislike him, he did hold stuff against him, things that he considered pretty unforgivable. She wondered if Conner would like him any better if the break-up had been amiable instead of gut-wrenching. There had been a time when she was still dating Trent when Conner treated him with some kind of friendship, but that had fled with Kira's heartbreak. She felt Conner's hand on her arm and she looked up at him. Had he only treated Trent with kindness because he had made her happy? Conner wasn't really that unselfish, was he? But she knew the answer to that as much as she knew the answer to anything else. He liked to pretend that he was a huge jerk who didn't deserve positive attention, but it was about as far from the truth as anything.
"It wasn't your car," Trent said lightly although his gaze rested on Conner's hand curiously.
"No, it was mine," a familiar voice said, strolling into the room and trailing her distinctive perfume behind her. "Sorry, Trent," she said, less sincerely than Conner's apology. Her eyes traveled around the room, meeting Ethan's with surprised pleasure. "Ethan!" she said and moved to hug him. "I wish you'd let me interview you for the local news." Ethan smiled weakly at her, but then he glanced at Devin and moved away. Cassidy caught his gaze and turned her head. "Oh."
He ducked his head shyly. "Hi, Cass," he said with a friendly smile.
"Oh, Devin," she replied. In a moment, none of the kids (or Tommy) ever thought they'd witness, Cassidy ran across the room in her stiletto heels and threw herself at Devin. He hugged her, patted her back, and whispered something to her that made her sound like she was crying a little bit. Kira felt her own lump in her throat. Cassidy had repaid her own karma over and over again just to be able to have Devin speak to her and hug her without flinching. When she turned around again, her own smile was a little droopy and her eyes glittered with moisture.
Ethan appeared dumbfounded at the reunion so Kira caught his eye and pointed at the way they held hands. "I'm so glad you guys are back together," he said.
That made Cassidy and Devin both laugh for some reason. "We're not together, Ethan. Not in that way. Cassidy and I haven't spoken in almost ten years," Devin explained. "It would be presumptuous to assume that Cassidy isn't already married to someone." But Kira had a sneaking suspicion that he was nowhere near as unaware of her as he pretended to be.
"Oh." Ethan wrinkled his brow before he shrugged.
"I'll explain it to you later," Kira finally hissed at him. "It's complicated."
"Complicated like you and Conner?" he whispered, earning a glare.
"No!"
Meanwhile, Conner made the introductions for the whole group. Kira watched in amazement as he graciously showed everyone to their seats. She was less amazed when he stood in the center of the room, flashed her a reassuring grin, and announced, "You might be wondering why you're here."
"Pompous ass," Ethan whispered to her as he sat beside her on the love seat. She stifled a grin when Ethan's whisper earned him a death glare from Conner.
"Anyway," he said, watching them closely, "we're here because one of our own needs us."
"Oh my God," Cassidy said loudly with a roll of her eyes. "Conner, we all know that Kira's having a problem although you wouldn't tell us what it is." Ethan nodded at Cassidy, acknowledging that his friend was an idiot.
He glared at her as well, but Hayley quickly interrupted. "Kira, why don't you tell us what's going on?" When Conner looked like he was going to protest, she gave him a steady look that made him subside in quiet.
Kira traded places with Conner, trying to ignore the thrill that ran up her skin when he grabbed and squeezed her hand. She stood in front of the whole group and looked at everyone. They all watched her with concern and love and she wondered why she had ever avoided talking to them about it. But she hadn't been sure of herself; she had never really doubted the others. "Well, you all know Jorge, right?" She bit her lip and glanced at Devin. "Jorge's the bodyguard my record label hired to protect me. Only Ethan and Conner really know that there have been specific physical threats against me." A brief flash of their fight about the weirdos popped into her head and she flinched. "But recently there's been a different kind of threat. When I started dating Conner and it became public to the whole world, someone was extremely offended by my choice and decided that Conner would be the subject of his angry threats. He didn't send them often, but there was an increasing intensity to the threats."
"Excuse me," Cassidy said, pausing in her writing. Kira wondered where the notebook had appeared from, but she realized that Devin was also writing everything down. Only everyone else had given her their whole attention. "What kind of threats were they?"
Kira wracked her brain, trying to remember exactly what they had said. "Break up with Conner before someone gets hurt." She thought again. "It was mostly threatening a generic somebody, but Jorge thought it was was probably me or Conner that was the intended target. But as time went on and nothing happened, Jorge and I both decided that it was a nutjob who was never going to act on it. I suppose that was my first mistake."
"A few weeks ago, I received an -"
Kim raised her hand. "Kira, honey, you said that was your first mistake. What do you mean?"
"Um," Kira stumbled over her words. "Well, I mean I made other mistakes. I should have talked about it with Conner, of course, since he was one of the people in danger, but he's been so busy and I didn't want to bother him . . ." The excuses sounded weak to her ears, but Conner had given her the sort of look that turned her knees to water. He still loved her in spite of everything which was a little overwhelming, but he had just accepted her implied apology with the kind of grace he hadn't ever mastered before.
"Okay," Kim said, letting her off the hook. "We just want to make sure that you're staying safe." She held Tommy's hand, and Kira realized that Tommy's knuckles were white. The revelation made her feel even worse; she was so often without Jorge because she needed to be by herself and that was yet another mistake that she didn't want to acknowledge.
"A few weeks ago, you received -" Cassidy prompted her with an impatient look.
Hiding a brief smile, Kira answered, "I received an email that changed everything." She took a deep breath. "The threat this time was much more personal. It simply said that he knew my secret and he would tell everyone if I didn't break it off with Conner."
"What's so scary about that?" Trent asked with interest.
"There was a picture attached with the five of us as Power Rangers," Kira said. Nearly everyone in the room had a revelatory look in their eyes. "I was impulsive. Conner called and I broke up with him because I didn't want to put anyone else at risk."
"Oh, Kira," Kim said, coming out of her seat to give her another hug. Kira appreciated the human contact, but her eyes were on Trent, Hayley, and Tommy. Hayley looked at her with a calm expression, Trent looked intrigued, and Tommy just looked apprehensive. They were the ones who it affected the most.
Kim touched her hand before she went back to her seat near Tommy. Kira looked at Ethan. "Now what?"
"I don't know," he said with a shrug. "My master plan only involved bringing the issue to the attention of the grown-ups."
She waited in vain for a lecture that didn't come. "I know I was wrong not to tell you," she flailed.
"Stop," Hayley announced. "Mistakes were made and you know that. You don't need us to tell you what you might have done differently. I think we were brought in for input, right, Ethan?" Her sharp glance caught Ethan by surprise and he straightened in his chair. Kira relaxed a little at Hayley's authority. She really was the best.
"So someone wants to reveal that we were the Power Rangers?" Trent mused. "I assume it's not you or you." He pointed at Cassidy and Devin before he looked at Kim. "And it's definitely not you."
"Yeah, I think we've established that," Conner said sarcastically.
Hayley shot Conner a quelling look before she smiled kindly at Kira. "I think the only real choice is obvious." She looked at Tommy and sat back in her chair rather than stealing the spotlight any further.
Nodding at Hayley, Tommy stood up, his hand still clutching Kim's and spoke for the first time. "Hayley's right, Kira."
"She usually is," Kira said with confusion. "But what is it this time?"
Ethan shifted on the couch and he looked excited when she glanced at him. "Oh!"
Even Conner had relaxed, leaning back on the couch to smirk in her direction. Whatever they had decided, he had clearly hoped that it would be the outcome. He kept his eyes on her. "Like Penelope and Rod always want, babe."
Since it wasn't the time to pick a fight, Kira looked back at Tommy. "He's right, Kira. We'll just have to go public first."