Disclaimer: I do not own any characters related to Power Rangers they are owned by Saban/Disney et. al
I do however own all things Tanzetti and reserve the right to reuse them as I please.
Marcy stepped into Sarah's hospital room and stopped short. Sarah was sitting on the bed laughing about something. She was dressed in her regular clothes because she was supposed to be going home today. The bruises on her face had gone dark from healing, but were starting to shrink, and someone had styled her hair so that the large cut over her temple didn't' show.
At the end of the bed sat Rocky DeSantos.
Sarah stopped laughing when she saw Marcy enter.
"Hey, I didn't know we were having a party," Marcy said.
Sarah blushed a little but smiled. "Rocky just brought me some cream puffs from his parents bakery," she said. "You should try one, they're delicious."
Rocky smiled and proudly held out the red and white bakery box to her. "They're my mom's special recipe."
"He made them himself," Sarah said.
"I just helped," Rocky said. "My mom did most of the work."
Marcy smiled. "I like a man who bakes," she said selecting one of the cream puffs and taking a bite. It was good, she had to give him that.
"Are you ready to go?" Marcy asked.
"Yeah," Sarah said. "I just have to sign out."
Marcy nodded. "Good, you're parents are waiting at the apartment and Ashley and I spent the whole day making burgoo."
"How much did you make?" Sarah asked, her face looking a little tense. She threw a glance over Marcy's shoulder to the man still sitting on the edge of the bed. "I kind of invited Rocky for dinner."
Marcy nodded, feeling a little tension herself. "Oh."
"You can invite Billy too if you want," Sarah said quickly. "I mean, it's only fair."
"Okay," she said. "Are you sure? That's a lot of people in the apartment. I figured you'd want to spend the evening with your parents since they're leaving tomorrow."
Rocky shifted on the bed. "Oh, I don't want to intrude," he said. "You should see your parents."
"No, it's fine," Sarah said. "I've been seeing them all week. I want to have a nice dinner with my friends."
"Okay," Marcy said. "If that's what you want." She lifted the last of the cream puff up to finish off and stopped short, taking a good look for the first time. "These have pink filling."
Rocky smiled. "That was my idea. We usually only do it for Valentine's Day, but I thought Sarah would like it."
Marcy laughed. "That's really nice of you. It's cute."
This time Rocky blushed.
"Why don't you go call Billy and tell him about dinner while I get Sarah checked out," Marcy said.
"Okay," Rocky said jumping from the bed and rushing out of the room.
The second he was gone Marcy looked at Sarah and smiled. "Pink frosting?" she said. "He put pink frosting in them?"
"I know!" Sarah said and burst out laughing. "You don't think he's gay, do you?"
Marcy controlled her laughter and sobered quickly. "No," she said taking a seat on the bed. "I think he likes you."
Sarah covered her face with her hands. "I know!" she said.
"How do you feel about that?" Marcy asked, the psychiatrist coming out in her.
"I don't know," Sarah admitted. "I-I guess I like him too but…" She sighed. "I don't know what to do. I still feel like I'm with Jasper. I just-" She buried her face again.
Marcy reached out and rubbed Sarah's shoulder. "It's all right," she said softly. "You need time to heal. You still have to get through the trial and everything too. Rocky will understand that."
"That's what the hospital therapist said," Sarah admitted. "She said to tell him I need time."
"Morgan told me Jasper accused Rocky of attacking you," Marcy said.
Sarah looked down and nodded, fresh tears welling in her eyes. "It was my fault," she said. "I had the notes he wrote for me in my backpack. He found them and flipped out. I tried to tell him what happened but he just…"
"Hey!" Marcy said firmly. "That was his fault. He had no right to go through your stuff in the first place and definitely no right to beat you up for it. Don't turn this around on yourself."
Sarah still hadn't looked up but she nodded and wiped the tears away slowly.
"Does Rocky know?" Marcy asked.
Sarah shook her head, a few thin locks of her hair falling in her face. "Not unless you told him."
"No," Marcy said. "I haven't even told Billy. I won't if you don't want me to."
Sarah shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it doesn't matter."
"We'll just let it go for now. Do you still want him to come to dinner?" Marcy said. "You could back out. Or I could go break his leg or something."
Sarah laughed. "No, I want him there, and Billy to," she said firmly. "I want everyone there."
"You don't feel safe there alone."
Sarah shook her head and Marcy could see the tears welling in her eyes. "I'm going to see him when I walk in there. I don't want that."
"He's in jail," Marcy said. "And even if he gets out, he can't come to the apartment without getting arrested again. Plus, I'll be there. I'll re-arrange my schedule so you won't ever have to be there alone."
"I can't ask you to do that," Sarah said.
"It's not a big deal," Marcy said.
"But what if he does come back?" Sarah said. "You could get hurt."
Marcy scoffed. "Honey, I'm the state boxing champion. He takes a swing at me I'll plant his nuts in his throat."
"I wish I could have done that," Sarah said.
"You still could," Marcy said. "I can show you a few moves. Or better yet, you could take one of Tommy's classes. I think he has a new one starting next week."
Sarah shook her head. "I could never do that."
"Sure you could," Marcy said. "Just takes a little practice, and in the meantime I'll stay with you. We all will: me, Ashley and Devon, and Rocky too if you want…or not." She added the last part not sure if putting Rocky into this situation was a good thing or a bad thing. On one hand she knew Rocky was a great support and easy proof that Sarah had better options, on the other, Sarah really needed time to be alone and heal before jumping into another relationship. "I can ask Billy to talk to him if you want, tell him to give you some space."
Sarah shook her head. "No, I'll tell him. I just want to get this over with."
Marcy nodded. "Make sure you're packed up, I'll go find a nurse."
She leaned in and hugged her friend tight. "It will be okay," she said softly. "Don't worry."