Kasey just stands there, not sure what to say or do. Her emotions were getting the best of her. Now she knows what people meant when they said 'dumbstruck'. Tommy stays silent as he walks over by the tree Kasey is cowering by. She watches him as a couple tears enter her eyes. She tells herself not to cry but it's no use. The rivers flow freely.

"Tommy? But..." She can't get the words out. She can't move from her position on the grass. She can't do anything, except… "Why does this have to happen? I come to Reefside with Jason and Trini to get away from everything and this is what I come back to!" She starts to slam her fists into the grass, frustrated at Tommy, frustrated at herself, frustrated at the world. She's just so tired of being slapped in the face with everything when she just wants to get away from it. Every muscle in her is tight and sore and stiff and now her hands are hurting as she continues to pound them.

"Kasey I know and I wish it didn't have to be like this," Tommy tells her quietly as he makes eye contact to the brown eyes that match his own. He walks over to her, preparing to squat down next to her. Kasey jumps up as he gets near her, still not sure what's going on. She doesn't know how to take it all in.

Tommy stops a foot away from her, a little hurt by her reaction. "What's wrong Kasey?

"What's wrong?" Kasey whispers, crossing her arms over her chest. "What's wrong? I want to get away from all this ranger stuff and now you're telling me you're one again? That's what's wrong! After everything…" she trails off, remembering she had told herself she was over it. Over how he almost never saw her. Over how he was always too busy. Over not really having an older brother.

"I'm sorry Kasey," Tommy says earnestly. "I really am. It's just…I had to do this."

"Did you?" Kasey raises a hand to wipe away a tear sliding down her face, forcing herself to stop crying. She knows she shouldn't be too dependent on people because they leave and in the end, only herself stays.

"Kasey, I'm sorry. But it's late now. Why don't you come to my house and we can sort it all out tomorrow," suggest Tommy, trying to have some sense of control over the situation. What he really wants is to explain everything and hug Kasey and tell her he loves her but he can't. Not yet at least.

"Okay," Kasey agrees, knowing that Tommy will tell her everything when he's ready. That's just how he is. "Do you live close?" She's doing her best to make small talk, knowing the heavier things will come soon enough.

"Yeah, pretty close. Come on, let's get going. I want you to meet the other rangers tomorrow and you'll need all the energy you can get."

"I'm sure," Kasey smiles and follows after her brother, noticing his barely stiff posture and the way he keeps his arms limp to his sides when he really wants to wring his hands.

"I've missed you," she mouths quietly, knowing he won't hear her and not quite ready to say it to his face.

"I need you guys to come over today," Tommy says to the four young rangers. They look at him curiously, books in hand as they accompany him out the school's front doors.

"Is that why you didn't assign us any homework?" Ethan asks, swinging his somewhat-lighter bag on his shoulder.

"Thanks for that, by the way," Conner grins. "I already had enough from my other classes and what with saving the world and soccer, I don't have a lot of free time."

"Don't we know it," Kira chimes in, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, does this have anything to do with…you know?"

Tommy nods as he switches his briefcase to his other hand. "Yeah, it does. I found her last night fighting Zeltrax."

"What?" Trent gasps. "Is she alright?"

"Yeah, she was fine," Tommy answers, his stomach tightening slightly. "But I showed myself to her and…well, things went on from there. She's staying with me now, even though she came with Jason and Trini. I called them too, so they'll come over as well."

"The original rangers?" Conner's eyes grow big. Tommy nods.

"Wow," says Ethan slowly, whistling as they reach Tommy's car. "That's going to be fun." He nudges Conner who shrugs.

"Shotgun!" The red ranger calls out, jumping into the front seat. The others roll their eyes at his eagerness and grumbling, get in the car.

"It'll be fine guys, trust me." Tommy climbs in the front seat as the others situate themselves in the black car. Kira is in the middle with Trent's leg warmly pressed against hers and she tries to keep herself from blushing, instead focusing on her nerves from meeting the original rangers. Oh yeah, cause that's so much better. Tommy starts the car and they pull out of the parking lot. "They're really nice."

"You have to say that, you were their friend," Conner argues, leaning his arm against the side of the car as Tommy turns onto the highway. "You're used to them."

"You'll be fine." Tommy doesn't take his eyes off the road but his mouth curves slightly at his student's nervousness. They don't know how anxious he was when he first met the rangers. They don't know how twisted he was when he was turned evil against them. They don't know how much it killed him inside to hurt them when it wasn't his control.

Well, maybe Trent does. Trent had gone through that same thing. He knew how much it had pained him when he hurt the others. Jason, Trini, Kim…

His fists tighten on the steering wheel. Don't think about it.

Instead, he lets his thoughts wander back to the white dino ranger. He knows how much it killed Trent inside to hurt the others, especially Kira. There is something going on between those two. As much as he'd rather no inner team romance, he can't really stop them from it when he's guilty of it as well.

"Is that her?" Ethan asks, breaking him out of his thoughts. Tommy looks up to see Kasey standing on the porch of his house and he realizes the ride had flown by quickly. Nodding, he pulls into the driveway.

"I thought I told her to stay inside," he mutters under his breath. He notices one car that's parked on the street in front of his house. They're here.

As much as he knows the others aren't really fans of this, he just can't wait to see Jason and Trini again. He wonders if they've gotten together by now…

"So they're here," Kira says nervously, still uneasy about being in the presence of the first yellow ranger. Trent nudges her and smiles and instantly, her nervousness settles a bit.

"Yup." Tommy stops the car and unbuckles his seatbelt. "Come on gang."