Late that night, Scott was stirred out of his sleep as he heard someone moving downstairs. Despite having soundproof doors on their bedrooms, he had always been unable to sleep in completely silent environments, largely due to growing up on a military base where there was always a jet taking off, or a guard detail changing.
He pulled on his dressing gown and made his way to the door, and heard someone crashing around out in the main room. At first, he thought it was Dillon. Since the Black Ranger only shut down for a few minutes at a time and didn't really sleep, he often spent much of the night wandering around. As he heard a thickly accented voice swearing loudly, he realised he was wrong. It was Flynn.
He made his way downstairs, finding Flynn standing near a few overturned toolboxes. He had accidentally knocked them over as he reached into a cupboard. As the Red Ranger arrived beside him, he saw the Blue Ranger pulling out a bottle of whisky.
"That's your special stash." Scott commented as he put his hand on Flynn's shoulder. He knew that something had gone down between him and Sam at the hospital. He knew that she was still critically injured in the hospital, and they knew how serious her injuries were. Even if she did have the strength of heart to struggle through physiotherapy, it would be months before she would be able to walk again, and it was doubtful that she would completely recover.
"Lagavulin 18 year old single malt." Flynn stated, presenting the bottle to Scott. "Would you like some?"
Scott nodded and took the bottle off him, heading to the kitchen for a couple of glasses. He wasn't really a huge fan of whisky, but he knew that Flynn needed someone to talk to. He was understandably upset. They knew he had tried his best to save Sam from Tanaya 7's attack, but by the time the building collapsed, he had already used his time manipulation burst, and so he couldn't use it again. He had managed to save her from the worst of the damage, but he hadn't managed to completely shield her from falling debris. He blamed himself that he wasn't able to keep her safe. She had broken her back because he had failed. More than anything, Scott just wanted to talk with him and keep him calm.
As he sat with him by the table, he could see the many injuries he was still carrying. The Ranger exoskeleton had indeed done its job and taken the worst of the damage. Dr. K's computers were still running tests on it to ensure the repairs had been made and would hold up. His freshest injury was a heavily swollen cheekbone from where Dillon had punched him when he attacked Ziggy.
"How's the face?" Scott asked him. Flynn laughed a little as he cracked open the bottle and poured them both some whisky.
"I'm not getting any prettier." He laughed weakly. "How's Ziggy?"
"He'll be fine." Scott informed him. "He understands, you know that."
"That doesn't make me feel a whole lot better." Flynn sighed. "I lost it."
"This is good." Scott stated as he tried the whisky. "It's a lot smoother than some of the stuff you drink."
"I'd normally save it for a special occasion." He responded. "I just felt like having some tonight."
"I know you're upset about Sam..."
"I've ruined her life Scott." Flynn interrupted him. He looked to his feet and held his head sadly as he continued in a voice so weak that Scott could barely hear it. "It's over between us."
"Flynn, she's just upset." He replied sympathetically. "You did everything you could to save her. She's still alive because of you."
"She told me I should have let her die." Flynn recalled as he took a drink. "She hates me Scott, she told me to leave."
"Flynn, she's angry and she's upset. You have to give her time." Scott told him. "You love her."
"She doesn't want anything to do with me." Flynn responded. "I can't blame her for that. I've let her down."
"The only way you'll do that is if you give up on her." Scott assured him. "She might not want to see anyone right now, but you know this is going to be a long, hard road for her. She's going to need the help of people that care about her."
"How will she ever be able to forgive me?" Flynn asked him. "It's my fault she got hurt."
"Does that mean you're not allowed to be in a relationship?" Scott asked him incredulously. "You might want to tell Summer that. She's going through therapy, facing stuff I can't even imagine from her past for Dillon's sake. I know she's doing it for her own sake too, but you know as well as I do that the main reason she wants to face this is so she and Dillon can be together properly."
"That's different." Flynn muttered as he poured himself another glass.
"I don't see how it is." Scott responded, shaking his head. "Would you mind explaining to me what makes your situation so different?"
"Summer's a Ranger!" Flynn snapped at him, looking to his team leader. "Before that she was in the military. She knew the risks when she signed up for this, even before she met Dillon. Sam never asked for any of this. She didn't sign up for any of this."
"She knew what you did when she got together with you." Scott reminded him. "I don't know if she'll forgive you, I really hope for both of you that she can and that you can sort this out. The only thing is, either way she's going to need all the help she can get."
He sank his own drink, and got up from the table.
"You said you love her." He reminded the Blue Ranger. "If that's true, how will you forgive yourself if you walk away now? Even if it means that you'll only be friends, how could you live with yourself if you left her now?"
With that, he walked away, patting Flynn gently on the shoulder and leaving him to his thoughts. He hoped that his words had gotten through to him; he knew that Flynn would likely still feel awful about the situation they were in. He just hoped that he had given him enough to think about to make him realise that the only thing that was important now was Sam.
Meanwhile, at Venjix's headquarters, Tanaya 7 was still sitting in her chair, the restraints securing her hands and feet to it somewhat redundant considering the fact that she couldn't move as a result of Venjix's new implants.
She felt a tingling sensation in her fingers and looked down, finding them moving at her commands again. The implant in her upper spine had obviously been de-activated. She tried in vain to move her legs, but so far they still sat uselessly, as though they weren't even a part of her own body. The chair lurched forward and rolled out through the door into the main chamber, presenting her to the computer like a trophy.
"How are you enjoying the latest additions to your system?" It taunted her. Tanaya bit her tongue. Despite all the anger and pain within her, despite everything she wanted to say, she knew that it would be unwise to do so. He had activated the implants in her spine a few hours ago now, keeping her imprisoned within her own body. He had finally at least partly released her, allowing the feeling to return to her upper body. "I trust that now you will treat my orders more respectfully."
She nodded her head sheepishly, but gripped the arms of her chair as tightly as she could in her frustration over the impotence of her position.
She then felt the feeling returning to her legs, and it was like being released from a nightmare. She had never been so relieved at simply being able to move her own feet. She was still locked into the chair by her restraints, but now she had at least had the feeling returned to them.
"Is there something you wish to say?" Venjix asked her. Tanaya looked into her chest, barely able to contain her rage. This was humiliating, she knew exactly what this was, Venjix was making an example of her. Unlike his other minions, she had human emotions, and so it knew that she could feel humiliation.
"Thank you master." She muttered quietly, feeling her jaw tighten with her anger at being forced to thank her master for returning the use of her own body to her.
"Do not forget this." Venjix stated as her chair rolled back into the regeneration chamber. "I now control you completely."
This statement terrified Tanaya completely. Despite how horrifying it was to know that he could take away her ability to move her own body at will, there was one more terrifying prospect. The third implant, the one attached to her heart. As easily as turning on a light switch, Venjix could stop her heart from beating. As her chair arrived back in the regeneration chamber, the restraints sprang open, allowing her to get out of the chair.
Tanaya pulled herself to her feet, pacing shakily around the room as she got used to having the use of her legs back. She hated how much control Venjix had over her now. She had to get rid of these new implants, but there was no way she could do that herself. The only way was to somehow convince Venjix to remove them.
She made her way from the headquarters towards the city, hoping to find some way to ease her torment and work off some of the anger within her. She had an idea just where to begin.
Early the next morning, Summer and Dillon were getting some breakfast when Flynn came into the room. He took a seat with them and grabbed the fruit bowl, beginning to pick out his choice of fruit for his morning smoothie.
"Don't you want something a little more substantial?" Summer asked him. Flynn shook his head.
"I wanted to get to the hospital early." He informed them. "Sam's having some more tests done."
"Are you sure you're up to that?" Dillon asked him. "I know you were pretty upset last night."
"I'm still pretty upset, but Sam needs me right now." He told them.
"I'm really pleased to hear you say that." Summer said with a smile, handing him a peach. "I really hope things work out for the two of you."
"That means a lot Summer." He responded, taking the peach and cutting it open, removing the stone. "So how are you doing? I didn't see you after..."
His words tailed off a little. He knew that Summer had been a little self-conscious about going to therapy. He had known her for a while and he genuinely wanted to know how it had gone, but he felt a little awkward about asking her. Especially blurting it out openly like that. Summer smiled, she realised that he didn't mean anything by it. It was just like him to be so concerned about her feelings.
"It's ok to call it therapy." She told him. "I know I was self-conscious about it, but I'm going to have to be able to talk about it at some point. It went really well. Dr. Young talked to me for a long time last night. He made a lot of sense."
"Well I'm glad you're getting on well." He replied, blitzing the ingredients and pouring them into a glass. He threw the drink down quickly. "Anyway, I had a couple of drinks late last night. Would one of you mind giving me a lift to the hospital?"
Dillon looked at Summer a little apologetically. They had intended to go for a ride just as Dr. Young had suggested. Summer just nodded in understanding. Her boundary issues could wait; right now it was important that Flynn got to the hospital to see Sam.
"I'll take you." Dillon told him, picking up a couple of pieces of toast and leaning across to give Summer a gently peck on the cheek. "I promise I'll do it later."
"Thanks man." Flynn stated, gathering his jacket. "I really need this."
Meanwhile, at the hospital, Tanaya 7 took on a disguise and made her way through the halls, looking for Sam's room. She knew that the Rangers would show up here eventually. She made her way down the hall towards the intensive care ward.
She stood outside Sam's room as she realised that someone was in her room. She turned away and pretended to order a coffee from the nearby vending machine as they left her room.
She made her way over to the room, and went inside, finding Sam lying on the bed asleep. As she approached her bedside, ready to wait for the Rangers, she looked down on her. She didn't know why she still felt badly about the condition of the woman she had taken as a hostage. As she took a seat, the chair moved, almost causing her to fall. She leapt up quickly and turned to see that it was a wheelchair.
Her thoughts rushed back to being imprisoned in her regeneration chair, completely crippled and at Venjix's mercy. She felt something she never would have expected, tears were beginning to run down her face. She picked up the chart on the end of Sam's bed and looked at it, noting the doctor's findings. She had severe spinal damage. It was possible she would never walk again, and it was all down to her.
She looked down on the stricken woman and felt an unusual emotion she wanted to help her.
She grabbed the collar of her t-shirt nervously and pulled it down a little, noticing a slight, white mark on her chest and smiled.
As Dillon drove Flynn to the hospital, the Blue Ranger tried to find the strength within himself to face the woman he loved. It had only been the previous day that she had screamed at him and demanded that he leave her room and leave her alone. He hated to see her so hurt, but more than that, he hated to think that she blamed him for her plight. He already blamed himself.
He looked to Dillon, feeling a little regret. As much as they tried to hide it, he had noticed a little look between him and Summer that let him know that they had been intending to spend some time together. He knew that they would never tell him that, all of his friends were rallying around him in his time of need. He just wished he didn't keep messing things up for others while in the meantime.
"Look, I'm sorry if I messed things up for you and Summer." Flynn told him, causing Dillon to glance over briefly.
"You don't need to worry; we can get together any time." Dillon assured him. "I'm not planning on going anywhere."
"Well that's a big difference from when you first got here." Flynn reminded him. "I can remember you trying to get out a couple of times."
"I didn't know anything about myself; I didn't really have a reason to stay." Dillon told him. "I still don't know much, but I do know one thing. Summer's worth sticking around for."
Flynn smiled as he heard his team-mate say this. He hadn't trusted him at first, not least since he seemed to show an interest in Summer. Over time though, he had proven himself a few times, and Summer had shown a lot of strength in her will to survive the ordeal with Ronan and what it did to her, thanks in no small part to her growing feelings for him.
"How is that going?" He asked him.
"It's hard, but she's getting there." Dillon told him.
"I actually meant, you know, the two of you." Flynn said in clarification. "She seems happy."
"I'd like to think so." Dillon replied with a hint of a smile, thinking about the Yellow Ranger. "I'm feeling a lot better about things too. I wish I knew more about myself, but she seems to trust me."
"It doesn't matter to her." Flynn told him, feeling a little happier to hear that their situation seemed better now. "She knows enough about you."
"I hope so." Dillon told him as he shifted gear.
Sam woke up, blinking as she tried to focus. There was someone standing at the side of her bed. She could just about make out that it was a woman in her room, and she appeared to be performing some kind of procedure on her. There was a tube inserted into her left arm. Following the cable up, she realised that the other end was in the other woman's arm. She recoiled in horror as she recognised Tanaya's face. Tanaya leapt forward, grabbing her hand as she reached for the alarm button. She tore out the alarm switch, and placed a hand over Sam's mouth to stop her screaming.
"I know you have no reason to trust me, but I'm here to help you, I promise." She told her. "There is no need to scream."
Sam's eyes were full of terror, not that Tanaya could blame her. The last time they had met, she had almost killed the forensic scientist. She gently removed her hand from Sam's mouth when she was confident she wouldn't scream to alert the security staff. She knew that Sam would understand it would be a futile gesture anyway.
"What are you doing?" Sam asked her.
"Venjix regularly injects me with a serum that greatly increases the regeneration of my biological systems." Tanaya informed her. "I have had numerous such treatments recently. My bloodstream should still carry a significant level of the serum."
"You might not be a match." Sam told her, thinking about all the possible complications that could occur from such a transfusion. Flynn had told her that Tanaya was a cyborg, she wasn't sure about her biology anyway, never mind the possible complications that could occur from a transfusion anyway.
"My blood is O negative, the universal donor." Tanaya assured her. "I have no infections. You will be fine."
After the transfusion, Tanaya disconnected the tube from Sam's arm, and stopped the bleeding with a cotton bud, before placing a dressing over the small puncture wound. Sam couldn't explain it, but she already felt a lot stronger. Tanaya quickly tended to her own wound, before looking to Sam. She scanned Sam.
"I do not have enough serum in my bloodstream to heal you as efficiently as the serum itself, but your cellular regeneration is already increasing." Tanaya stated. "You will heal in time."
"Get away from her!" Flynn screamed as he arrived in the room, finding Tanaya standing over Sam. Flynn let out a huge yell and rushed her, dashing her to the floor. Tanaya threw him aside and made a dash for the door. Dillon tried to intercept her, but she managed to dodge around him quickly. She couldn't face another battle, not now. Not when she had done something that had made her feel better about what had happened in her previous battle.
"Let her go!" Sam called out to him as he and Flynn prepared to give chase. "She's gone."
"Sam, are you alright?" Flynn asked her, quickly coming to her bedside. "Did she hurt you?"
"No, she did exactly the opposite." Sam told him. "She helped me."
"She helped you?" Dillon asked her. "How?"
"She said Venjix has a serum which aids cellular regeneration. That's how she heals so quickly." She explained. "She said she had a lot of it in her bloodstream and she gave me a transfusion. She said it would help me heal faster."
"I'm getting a doctor to check her out." Dillon told the Blue Ranger. "You stay here and look after her."
He made his way out of the room, and down the hall in search of a doctor. All the while only one thought plagued his mind. Why would Tanaya help her?