Dillon waited outside the examination room, slowly sucking another lollipop as Flynn and the doctors tended to Sam. In the room, Flynn held her hand tightly as the doctors concluded their tests. He passed the chart to his colleague with a confused look in his eyes. The other doctor's eyebrows disappeared into her hairline with shock as she looked at the chart.
"What's the prognosis doctor?" Flynn asked him. "Was she lying?"
"I should say not." The male doctor told him. "Frankly I'd love to know what she did."
"She gave me a blood transfusion." Sam informed him in a slightly worried tone. "What did it do?"
"You said that she told you she's injected regularly with a serum that regenerates her tissue faster?" The doctor asked her. Sam nodded in response. "Well I'd love to know what's in it. Venjix's medical technology is light years beyond anything we have. Your cellular regeneration has accelerated exponentially."
"You mean she was telling the truth?" Flynn asked.
"Her surgery scars are already healed, and she only went in three days ago." He informed him. "The x-rays show that the bone in her vertebrae has already knitted to a tremendous degree. Her lung seems to be functioning at close to full functioning efficiency. I'd estimate she's exhibited the equivalent of about a month's healing since the infusion."
"That's not the most amazing part. The CAT scan shows that the serum even seems to affect brain and spinal cord tissue. Neither of those regenerates naturally." The other doctor told them. "We were always expecting you to show some level of limited function in your lower extremities, even after physiotherapy."
"Are you saying I should make a full recovery?" Sam asked them.
"Unfortunately your body has identified this serum as a foreign body and is fighting it." The male doctor informed her. "We already don't have enough of it in your system to harvest for study. We estimate that your body will be clear of it by the end of the day, but if your cellular regeneration continues at this rate, we estimate your recovery will have been accelerated by about six months."
"We'll need to test you at the end of the week, but if our hypothesis is correct, we should be able to get you into physiotherapy by then." The female doctor concluded. "It'll be like none of this ever happened. God only knows how quickly you'd have healed if she'd given you a straight shot of the serum."
Sam held her hands over her eyes and started to cry after hearing the true extent of the gift Tanaya 7 had given her. Flynn wrapped his arms around her and held her as she wept; feeling his own eyes beginning to tear up.
"Why did she help me?" Sam asked him. "Why did she do this for me?"
"I couldn't tell you, I really don't know." Flynn answered her, releasing her and looking deeply into her eyes. "I don't know why she did it, but I don't really care. All I care about is that you're going to be alright."
"Flynn, I'm so sorry." She sobbed as she looked into his eyes. "I can't believe you came back. I was a complete bitch to you before..."
"You were upset when you found out about your back, I understand that." He told her. "I came back to tell you that I don't care if you hate me, I was going to stick by you. I was going to help you, no matter what."
"You were coming back? Even after everything I said to you?" She asked him. Flynn smiled at her and gave out a small laugh. "You wanted to help me, even after I nearly put that vase through your head?"
"If I thought it would have helped, I wouldn't have bothered ducking." He assured her. "You mean the world to me. I don't know if you've noticed this, but I love you to bits."
"I really am sorry." She told him. "I was just so frightened and angry and..."
Flynn cut her off with a long, soft kiss, releasing her and looking into her eyes as he gently stroked her hair.
"I understand." He told her. "I love you so much, I felt terrible about what happened."
He held her cheek warmly and sat on the edge of the bed as he tried to find the words to say the next part. He truly did love her, he cared about her more than anything, but she had already been targeted once because of him and it had almost cost her dearly.
"I know you didn't sign up for any of this superhero stuff." He sighed as his heart ached. "This all happened because of your relationship with me. If we stay together you could be hurt again, or worse..."
"OK, if you don't want me to get seriously annoyed and hit you stop that talk right now!" She warned him with a serious expression on her face. "If you haven't noticed, there's an army of robots out there that want to destroy every living thing in this city. I could be hurt or killed if I was sitting in my apartment watching television!"
"But..."
"I know you don't want this to end, and I sure as hell don't either." Sam interrupted him before he could argue. "Don't you think I'm the one that should make the decision what risks I want to take?"
Flynn smiled at her as he heard this. It was one of Sam's strong moments that he loved so much about her. When she stood firm on something, there was no way she could be argued with.
"I don't have a choice in this do I?" He asked her.
"Of course you don't." She replied with a grin. "Besides, I love you in that Spandex."
"I'll not tell Dr. K you called the suits Spandex." He chuckled as he drew closer. "I love you Sam."
"I love you too." She replied as they drew into another kiss. She had given him something he could never have hoped for. She hadn't forgiven him for what happened to her, it was better than that. She didn't even blame him for it, she had just accepted that it was a risk that would always exist in their relationship, and it was a risk she was willing to take.
Since she couldn't go for the ride with Dillon she had wanted to, Summer had opted instead to go with Ziggy as he went back to the orphanage to check up on Helen and the kids there. They arrived to find Helen outside the orphanage with a large, balding man in a dark suit, much like the one Ziggy had been wearing when she first met him, though he was considerably more presentable, and seemed to be used to wearing it.
"He's from the Scorpion Cartel." Summer stated as they arrived. Ziggy saw her noticeably tense up, and grabbed her shoulder.
"It's cool, Fresno Bob always sends two people for protection payments." He told her. "Benny, what are you doing here?"
"I heard about the attack on the orphanage the other day and I came to check it out." The huge mobster informed him as he shook Ziggy's hand. "It's great to see you again little guy."
Ziggy was almost pulled from his feet by his friend's powerful handshake, but he was happy to see him again. Back when he first entered the Scorpion Cartel, Fresno Bob had assigned Benny to show him the ropes, and the big guy had taken him under his wing. It was painfully obvious from day one that he was completely unsuited to the role he was assigned, but Benny quickly took a liking to him.
"Summer, it's alright; Benny's a friend of mine." He assured the Yellow Ranger. "He occasionally swings by here to keep an eye on the place for me."
Ziggy liked Benny, he was like the older brother he'd never had. The two had become close during their time as debt collectors, and Ziggy had talked to him at length about his childhood growing up in an orphanage. When they had to make collections from Helen's orphanage, they always made sure they were careful not to cause any damage, or hurt anyone. Benny kept up that habit out of respect for his friend. Before he helped Ziggy to leave the city, Ziggy had asked Benny to keep an eye on the orphanage for him just to make sure everything was alright.
"There doesn't seem to be any damage to the building." He told the Green Ranger as they went inside; to make sure they weren't seen together. So far Fresno Bob still didn't know what Ziggy had done with the shipment of medical supplies, or of Benny's involvement in Ziggy's escape from the city. As long as that was the case, they knew the orphanage was safe. The Cartels couldn't really target Ziggy now. Given his role as a Ranger, he was much too visible. Even if they managed to get the drop on him and attack him before he was able to use his powers, it would bring down a huge fallout from the military that would lead to their destruction. Benny and the orphanage were a different matter though. If Benny was found out, his life was almost certain to be in danger, and the orphanage would be at risk.
"This is the guy Dr. K was talking about?" Summer asked him as they arrived in the kitchen. "He's the one that got you out of the city?"
"Benny, I'd like you to meet Summer. Summer, this is Benny." Ziggy introduced them. The huge gangster shook her hand a lot more gently than he did with Ziggy. "He's one of my best friends."
Summer looked at him a little tentatively as he released her hand. Although Ziggy trusted him, he was still in the Cartel. He was still a criminal, a fact she had a little trouble with.
"I hope you're all treating Ziggy right." Benny said to her. "He was easily the worst gangster that ever lived, but also easily one of the best men I've ever met."
"I would agree with that." Helen said as she came into the room. "How are you Ziggy?"
"I'm still a little sore after the fight the other day, but I'll be fine." He told her as she ruffled his hair playfully. "How are the kids?"
"They were a little shaken, but a dose of ice cream all round always cures that." She replied. "I remember it used to always work for you."
"You looked after Ziggy?" Summer asked her as she realised what she had said.
"I ran an orphanage before I came to Corinth." Helen responded, thinking about happier times before Venjix had seized control. "Ziggy was one of the children in my care."
Ziggy looked up at her and nodded. He hadn't told any of the others that he had grown up in an orphanage. He had always kept that to himself. He didn't want anyone to know how truly lonely he had been. He had always craved a family, a place where he belonged, where he would get that unconditional acceptance and love that he saw all the other families share.
"I never knew my parents." He told her honestly as Summer sat at the table with them. "It's all rather clichéd, but I was found on the doorstep. I don't know anything about them, not even if they're still alive."
"I'm sorry Ziggy." Summer whispered gently, taking his hand gently. She'd experienced her fair share of problems in her life, but she'd always had others to love her. Her own family, Col. Truman, Scott and later Flynn had always been there for her. For the first time, she realised, just why Ziggy was so irritatingly enthusiastic about joining the group and fitting in. He was desperate to find somewhere he belonged.
"It's alright; I know I can be a little full-on when I find a new group of friends. I just always wanted to fit in." He admitted. "That's why I ended up with the Scorpion Cartel. I knew what I was doing was wrong, I hated the thought of hurting people, but Fresno Bob was the first one that accepted me."
Helen let out a little cough, at which Ziggy just looked a little apologetic.
"You know what I mean Helen. As much as I loved it when you looked after me, I always knew deep down that it was your job to do that. He accepted me without having to."
"I guess anyone could end up taking a few wrong turns when they had a start in life like that." Summer said, looking to her team-mate again.
"It's alright; I know I made a few mistakes." He stated. "I like to think I've started to make amends though."
"Well this place would have fallen apart if it wasn't for you." Helen chipped in. "Anyone can make mistakes. Not many people would risk their life to do the right thing."
"Well I'll let you know how you could thank me." Ziggy told her with a cheeky smile. "I'm still a little bruised up from the fight..."
"Mint choc chip's still your favourite flavour right?" Helen asked him, pre-empting the request. "How about you Benny?"
"I'm trying to cut down, but thanks for the offer." He replied as he got up to leave. "Fresno Bob will be wondering where I am. I'll be around next week."
"You know the kids always love it when you visit." She stated. "I'll see you next week."
She then turned to Summer.
"So how about you? Would you like some ice cream?" She asked.
"That would be great." Summer responded, smiling at the Green Ranger. "Thanks a lot Ms. Foster."
"Please, call me Helen." She replied as she left the room.
"Listen Summer, I haven't told the guys about any of this." He told her a little sheepishly. "Would you mind if we keep this on the DL?"
"I doubt they would think any less of you, I know I don't," she answered him warmly, "but if that's what you want, they won't find out anything from me."
"Well, here you are Ziggy." Helen chirped as she arrived with a couple of bowls of ice cream, setting one down in front of each of the Rangers. "You deserve it."
"Thanks Helen." He called after her as she left. Summer just took a mouthful without saying another word, and smiled to herself. She could see the deep bond between them in the way he spoke to her and the way she spoke to him. She felt good to know that Ziggy had someone like that in his life, and that he could leave the mistakes of his past behind him with her. It was then more than ever that she realised she could see Ziggy as being so much more than just the jumpy, goofy little guy that followed Dillon and the others around like an irritating little brother. He was the man that cared so much for his surrogate mother and the children under her care that he had faced all five of the Cartels for them. He was a man that deserved respect.
Back at the garage, Scott looked around, making sure none of his team mates were still in the building. He didn't often get the chance to be alone here; the Garage wasn't exactly a huge place. He knew that Flynn had gone to see Sam, and so he was unlikely to be back for quite some time. Dillon and Summer had said something about going for a ride, and he knew how Summer could get when she became lost in the middle of a high-speed ride through the streets of Corinth. Ziggy had only said he was going out. He didn't really know where Ziggy went when he went on one of his mysterious trips "out", and in truth he didn't really care. All that mattered was that he was finally alone.
He made his way down to the main room, took one last look around, and reached into the inside pocket of his jacket, pulling out a disk.
It had been quite a while now since he had been sent out of Corinth to retrieve the reactor from his brother's plane, but he could still recall that day vividly. He could remember every memory of the fateful day they were both shot down coming back to him as he approached the twisted, charred wreckage of the plane.
While he was there, he noticed a red envelope on the ground. It had been addressed to his dad, it was the one in which he had sealed his recommendation. He had always wanted to know what he had said in that report. He had thought about opening it, but his sense of duty had been stronger than his curiosity and so he had instead just taken it to give to his father. He picked up the reactor as was his mission, when something else caught his attention. The cockpit of the plane was almost completely intact.
He approached it with a little hesitation. It was all that was left in a recognisable condition of the plane. The glass from the cockpit was covered in soot and blacked out. He got to the side of the plane and pulled open a service hatch, allowing him access to the flight recorder.
Back in the present, he put the disk into the computer to play it. He had given the reactor to Dr. K as had been his mission, and he had given the letter to his father as had been his brother's intention. His father still hadn't told him what the letter had said. He figured that was because he didn't want to hurt his feelings by telling him his brother didn't have faith in him to lead a squadron.
Hitting the play button, Scott sat back and listened to the disk. He hadn't given the flight recorder to his father. He hadn't even told him he had retrieved it. He had listened to it now just about any time he had time to himself in the hopes he would hear something he hadn't noticed before now, something that would explain what had happened, how the great Marcus Truman had managed to become overwhelmed by Venjix drones.
A tear ran down his face as he heard his brother's voice, once again hearing the last transmission Eagle 1 had ever made.