"I mean, we were sixteen! Who the hell knows what they want at sixteen! No offense, Sarah."

"None taken?" Sarah frowned and watched as Hayley continued to pace in the school's garage. She had run off there at the end of Calvin's speech out of embarrassment and so she would have some time to cool down before she murdered him. Sarah and Kelly had followed her out, reasoning that if Hayley wanted to discuss what had come up, she might be more comfortable with the girls.

"So, he and I discussed it and while neither of us could really agree over what was the best decision, we both knew we couldn't do this right now. So, we went together and ended the pregnancy together. And he's throwing that in my face now? Now, he's the good guy and I'm the bad guy because I'm the one who brought up abortion?"

"You're not the bad guy," Kelly said, but Hayley wasn't done her rant.

"I mean, why did he have to say anything?" Hayley asked. "He didn't have to answer that question. He could have said no comment and moved on. He could have just said that since he was in the accident, he had a bit more passion behind the issue. Why did he have to bring that up? With the whole school watching!"

"I don't know," Sarah answered.

"Now the whole fucking school knows!" Hayley shouted and kicked over a tire rim. "I mean, we both agreed we didn't need the gossip, the rumours, or people sticking their noses where it didn't belong. Our parents don't even know! It was for the best that way. We both agreed to that. This was all our decision!"

"And there's nothing wrong with it," Kelly stated.

"Yeah, and you know what, even if this wasn't our decision, he's not the one carrying a freaking baby for nine months. He's not the one walking around the school with a watermelon strapped to his gut, squeezing into our desks, running to the washroom every five minutes."

"He's not," Sarah agreed. "You're right."

"But even if I made the call and he disagreed, that no one else's business, right? I mean… it's just… why do they get to be the good guys in all of this?" Hayley asked and finally took a seat and stopped pacing. She looked to Sarah and Kelly. "Why do the guys always look like the freaking heroes? Either they're against it, and everything sees them saving the baby's life, and they're so giving and selfless and women are monsters. Or they go with it, and everyone thinks it's so sweet that they're being so supportive and understanding and women are still monsters for making them do this? How… how is that far?"

"I don't know," Kelly shrugged. "It's… it's not."

"Where do you stand?" Hayley asked as she looked to the girls. Sarah shrugged. She hadn't been in a relationship before Kelly and with Kelly, the issue of abortion really wasn't an issue at all. This wasn't a position she had to take yet.

"I mean… I guess we support you," Kelly said. "You shouldn't have a baby if you don't want it. Too many people do."

"But if this happened to you?" Hayley asked. Kelly and Sarah pointed to each other.

"Science isn't that good yet," Sarah said.

"But… with Drex," Hayley said. "Let's say… after what he did, you were pregnant. Would you go through with it?"

"Okay!" Sarah chimed in, getting to her feet so Kelly wouldn't have to answer and Hayley, in her desperation for support, wouldn't ask anymore invasive questions. "Let's just all agree that regardless of what we would do, Kelly and I completely support the decision you and Calvin made together and what he did was real shitty, alright?"

"Alright," Hayley nodded. Sarah looked to Kelly, who whispered a quick thank you.

"Good. So… now what?" Sarah asked. "School's almost out soon, right?"

"Ten minutes. No sense in even trying to go to class," Kelly said. "The speeches are probably just ending now anyways, so it might be early release. Should we just go home?"

"No. Calvin's going to look for me there first and… I might just kill him," Hayley said.

"Want to come back to my place?" Sarah offered. "If he comes by, you can hide in my room and I can send him away. I can tell him I haven't seen you and I'm busy working on the power Stars."

"Deal," Hayley said.

-Ninja-Steel-

After the speeches were done, Principals Hastings let the students leave a little early. Calvin already knew it was time to do damage control. However, he wasn't going to start with addressing rumours. He could care less what people thought of him. Right now, his only concern was making things right with Hayley.

He had let his mouth run a little too much. When he had done his speech, he went with what the crowd wanted instead of speaking about his own issues. He had mocked Victor because it earned him a few laughed, which made him feel comfortable, and when the question about how he could be better than Hayley came up, Calvin's mind went blank.

Hayley was everything to him. He loved her more than anything and he wanted nothing but the best for her. At times, he would just sit and ponder how he was so lucky to be with a girl like her. She was sweet, she was patient, she always found a way to cheer him up or make him laugh. She was the best thing to happen to him and the minute he was against her, he threw her under the bus.

They had only been dating a couple of months when Hayley approached him with the news one day. After one awkward night together, Hayley was pregnant. Calvin had no idea how it could have happened, but it did.

Hayley was in a panic. They were barely finished their sophomore year and still kids themselves. They couldn't happily raise one of their own. She confessed honestly to him that having a baby was not part of her plan and she didn't want to keep it.

Calvin remembered he protested at first. He didn't want to end the pregnancy and tried to get Hayley to consider adoption. Hayley refused. She didn't want her parents to find out and she didn't want to walk around the school pregnant. She didn't want people to know what happened and abortion was the way to make that happen.

"Is it really that bad if they know?" Calvin remembered he asked her. "I mean, so you're a bit bigger for a few months and people give you funny looks. We can handle that, right?"

"Calvin, I don't want to do this," Hayley said with tears in her eyes. She went on to explain to Calvin how this might affect her. Her body would be flooded with hormones, there would be doctor's visits and medical expenses and the hours of labour that she would have to endure. There would be the recovery, the search for a family capable of raising a child. Coming out to her parents and Calvin's parents and dealing with their own opinions and the pressures they would put on her. Rumours would spread, there would be strange looks, isolation, laughter. People would criticize, there would be no more dating, not in high school at least.

There would be the strain on her relationship with Calvin, which was still fresh. There would be the constant worry that he would leave her alone with the baby, with her only reassurance being marriage. However, marriage at a young age was still more pressure, especially for a new couple with a child.

All she wanted was to get through high school. She wanted to graduate, to move onto college and find her way in her own time. She didn't want to have to balance being a student with being a mother.

"If you were the one carrying a baby, you could do whatever you wanted," Hayley had told him, "But I'm the one taking the hit here, and it's not a hit I think I can survive."

Calvin told Hayley he would think about it, but she informed him she had the appointment made already. She had told him as a courtesy – to give him a heads up before it was too late. She did want his input on the matter, just to be sure she had considered all angles, but that the choice was hers in the end.

She told Calvin when the appointment was and that she would swing by the school on her way, in case he wanted to come, but he could take the night to decide what he would do. If he didn't support her, he didn't have to show up. They could break up.

So, Calvin took the night. He researched everything he knew, hoping he could find something to make Hayley change her mind, but the more he learned, the more he relented to her point. This really wasn't a call he could make. By the time he had to get ready for school, he knew what needed to be done. He walked to the parking lot. Hayley pulled up in her parent's car and stopped in front of him. He sat in the passenger seat.

"I don't like it," he told her, "But this is the best choice. I'm with you, every step of the way."

"For the record," Hayley said. "I don't like it either."

He knew that. He could see it all over her face. She had clearly been upset and spent the morning crying over this. He just took her hand, squeezed it and offered her a smile. He waited with her. When it was over, he sat in the car with her. When she started to cry again, he held her. When she tried to second guess her decision, he refused to let her doubt herself.

"You did the best thing you could do," he told her. "You know what you want, and you went for it. It wasn't the easy way out."

"Someone could have adopted him."

"Too many people have kids they don't want," Calvin said. "There's no guarantee we would have found a good home in time. And, if you think about it, this baby could have taken the spot of some kid already out there, waiting for a good home."

"I guess… Maybe that's true."

"There was no right choice here," Calvin assured her. "There were just options, all of which have their own struggles. You made the best call you could. No one can be angry with you for that. And if they do, they can tell it to me."

"So you don't hate me?"

Calvin shook his head and smiled, "Just what happened, but we're going to be more careful from now on. Next baby we have together, it'll be because we want it."

"The next baby?"

"Uh… I mean," Calvin remembered being nervous. He and Hayley's relationship was still new and they were still young. Children shouldn't have even been a thought on his mind. "Just… hypothetically. You know, the next time we have a baby, together or not, it'll be intentional."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Back to school?" Calvin asked and Hayley started the engine and drove off.

In the present, Calvin couldn't believe he had thrown that in her face. It was easily the hardest decision Hayley ever had to make, and though she had been ready to do it by herself, she had counted on his support. They had promised each other that this was a decision they agreed to together, and that it wasn't something that could be brought up out of anger. Even if they broke up, they promised to always respect that deal they made.

And Calvin had blown it. All due to nerves – all as word vomit. The whole school was aware of what happened now, and Hayley had been painted as the bad guy.

He tried to find her at home, but her parents told him she wasn't there. Calvin didn't know where to look next. She wasn't on a walk with Kody, since the dog had greeted him at the door. If she wasn't with Kody, she was usually with him. He didn't know where else she might hide.

But since Kelly wasn't home either, he decided he would try Sarah's house. At the very least, the girls might know something. They had left with Hayley, after all.

As he walked up the driveway, he saw Sarah working in her garage. She had been tasked with rebuilding the Power Stars, just like Kelly's. It was a slow process, since there was nothing Sarah could access that would give her the same powers as the original Stars. Even the green Power Star wasn't as powerful as the other Ranger suits, and Madam Oedius had made that one on her own. Calvin thought maybe Sarah didn't want to be distracted, but he needed to find Hayley.

"Hey," he called out and Sarah looked up.

"She's not here," the pink Ranger said.

"Do you know where she is?"

"Can't say."

"Come on, Sarah…"

"What you did was seriously shitty," Sarah frowned. "You know that, right?"

"Yes, I know."

"Nerves can't explain it away. I mean, I thought we would have to do some serious damage control after your jokes about Victor but… you really crossed a line."

"I know."

"So I can't tell you where she is. Not until she's ready to talk."

"Can you give her a message for me?"

"Maybe."

"Can you tell her I want to make things right? I mean, I don't know how, yet, but whatever I have to do, whatever she wants me to do…"

"Take it back," Sarah said. Calvin shook his head.

"I can't do that."

"No, but since it's out there already, how about telling the truth," Sarah said. "Look, Hayley didn't exactly tell us what happened, but she did rant about it, a lot. What you said doesn't match up with her version of the story and, forgive me for assuming, but I'd like to think hers is a lot more accurate."

"I'm sure it is. I have no idea what I was saying."

"So, tell the truth. Or don't, I don't care, but you made Hayley the bad guy in a decision you both made. This is your mistake. You take the heat for it."

"How?"

"There's final speeches right before the elections tomorrow," Sarah said. "You'll be addressing the whole school again. Do it then."

"Okay, but how?"

"I…"

"Sarah, Hayley isn't going to talk to me and… the guys aren't going to get it. Not in a night. You're my best shot."

"I've never been pregnant," Sarah shook her head.

"Yes but… two heads are better than one, right?"

"One head got you into this mess."

"Exactly. I'm the face of this campaign but… you're the brains. Please. Please, Sarah."

Calvin saw Sarah glance up, and took that as an indication that in spite of her claims, Hayley was with her in the house. However, he didn't push it.

"I'll tell her this isn't you taking my side. You're helping her and you are," Calvin said. "I'm making this right. I just know I'll need help for that. Please."

"Fine," Sarah said and set down her tools. "But if Madam Oedius shows up and I don't have a single Power Star ready, that's on you."

"Deal."