After watching Haley drive away with Sensei, Tori returned to the kitchen looking for some food. She'd eaten enough to be satisfied, but she knew that when Shane and Dustin woke up they'd be ravenous; over the past few days they'd pretty much eaten Tommy out of house and home. Most of the "good" food was gone – all of the fruits, cold cuts and bread; everything salty and all of the chocolate. Tori scrounged around and debated between cooking pasta or heating soup. She settled on soup; it would take less time to cook and Dustin tended to be very particular about which sauce he would eat on pasta. When he eventually woke up she needed him to eat, not complain about the sauce or lack of meatballs.
Happy with her solution, Tori left a few cans of soup out on the counter ready for the boys to choose and returned to Tommy's lab. She felt very calm; relaxed. Talking to Haley had helped to put her mind at ease about Blake. It was hard to reconcile knowing that he was okay with the overwhelming feelings she'd had when he'd been injured; it definitely wasn't something she'd imagined, she knew Dustin felt it too. But she knew Haley wouldn't lie to her; and though she wasn't as sensitive to feelings the way Dustin was, she didn't pick up any extreme anxiety about Blake from Haley. For now, that was enough.
As she trotted down the stairs to the lab, it occurred to Tori how quiet everything was; it was so different from the way it had been over the past few days. As she hit the bottom step Tori automatically turned to walk toward Shane and Dustin, and for a moment she paused, overwhelmed by utter relief and happiness. A grin lit her face and tears of joy gathered in her eyes. He's back – we did it. It still felt a little unreal to Tori, so she trotted over to where the boys lay and sat back down with them. She settled on Dustin's left side, where she'd been laying before Sensei woke her, but she sat down near his feet so she could see the boys from where she was sitting.
Hugging her knees to her chest, Tori was content to sit and wait. She looked at the faces so familiar to her with new appreciation. They were both in the same position they'd been in when she left them – Dustin lay on his back and Shane lay draped across his chest. In the past, if she had caught the two of them sleeping in the position they were in now, no matter how innocent it might be, she would've held it over their heads as the ultimate blackmail item. Now, the thought didn't even cross her mind; she understood things on an entirely different level. She wasn't sure how much Dustin was conscious of what had happened, but she was frighteningly aware of how close they came to losing Shane. It shamed and distressed her that she hadn't noticed when he'd lost his connection to them; by the time she'd realized it, it was too late to help. Tori hadn't known how much she took Shane's strength for granted; it was so natural for her to count on him to keep her steady that it didn't occur to her that he'd need the same thing.
Tori swallowed hard to ease the lump in her throat. She scooted closer to Dustin's hip and reached over to lay a hand on Shane. Physical contact helped her feel better; she was reassured that he was really there. Sensei had brought him back, and he was going to be okay.
"He'll be all right, Tor." Dustin reached over to squeeze her leg.
Tori's face lit in a grin again. She gripped Dustin's hand with both of hers. She was so filled with emotion she couldn't talk, but it didn't matter; Dustin knew how she was feeling. Though he still looked sleepy and dazed, Dustin's happy, relieved grin matched Tori's own.
Tori distractedly wiped away happy tears; now that Dustin was awake and talking she didn't want him to go back to sleep. "What about you? Are you okay?"
Dustin didn't respond with an automatic "I'm fine." His gaze turned inside for a moment; that surprised Tori. Then he looked back to look at her face. "I'm really okay." He paused. "But I feel different." Dustin's gaze drifted again; Tori could see him thinking hard, but she couldn't control her gut reaction.
"Different? Are you hurt?" Her face was full of concern.
Dustin squeezed her hand gently and she could feel a wave of reassurance from him. She looked at him as though seeing him for the first time. He felt her reaction and smiled reassuringly. "Not hurt, just different." He paused looking for the right word. "Deeper." He gave her this look like, you know what I mean? And she was surprised to realize she did.
There was something very different about Dustin; he had this look in his eyes that spoke of wisdom gained through trial. Tori grieved for the loss of the carefree aura that Dustin had always projected. Of all of her friends, she thought he would be the one who would never really grow up; the one who'd maintain that child-like glee and wonder in his adult life. But that was gone now, replaced with something else.
He seemed somehow more settled and comfortable with himself. Though his aura wasn't carefree, there was a new strength about him; a confidence that couldn't be shaken. He'd been through the storm and survived. Tori wasn't sure how she could know all of this just by sitting next to him and looking at his face, but then, that was something different about her as well. She, Dustin and Shane had tapped into levels of their power they'd never attempted to delve before, opening up new avenues of awareness – it would take some getting used to.
Dustin pulled his eyes away from Tori's and tipped his chin down to get a better look at Shane. Tori could see him tighten his grip for a moment and then relax. Whatever connection he was seeking with Shane seemed to put his mind at ease. Then he looked back and Tori and nodded as he said again, "He's going to be all right." They shared a smile.
Shane didn't seem to be in any rush to wake so Dustin settled back against the pillow Haley had left for him. "What about the others? Blake?" Dustin's brow creased with remembered pain.
Tori was happy to report Haley's news. "Blake's going to be okay. He's at the hospital. Haley said Cam healed him. Did you know he could do that?"
Dustin shook his head. "What about Hunter?" With his free hand he rubbed his forehead. It looked to Tori that Hunter's reaction affected Dustin more than Blake's injury. "Haley described him as a 'looming crimson shadow'." Dustin barked out a laugh, and then froze before his movement could disturb Shane. He looked guiltily at Shane, but when he saw that his laughter hadn't awoken the former Red ranger he relaxed.
"I can just imagine Hunter drifting around the hospital." He and Tori shared a look and then said simultaneously, "Scary."
Dustin started to chuckle again, and Tori got the giggles. It was more out of relief than humor, but they found once they started, they were unable to stop. The look on Dustin's face made Tori giggle even harder. He was trying so hard not to jostle Shane, but trying to stop laughing and remain still just made him want to laugh harder. Tori clamped both hands over her mouth in a futile attempt to get herself under control, but it was no use.
Luckily a sleepy-voiced Shane asked "Did I miss the joke?" before Dustin hyperventilated himself into unconsciousness.
Tori and Dustin both switched from giddy giggles to enthusiastic welcome. "Shane!" cried Tori as she threw herself atop the still prone ninja. Dustin welcomed her back into his embrace, and Shane wormed an arm out from under the blanket that was draped around him to hug her too. Tori was amazed at the connection she felt with the boys – it was more than the mental connection she usually felt with Shane; Dustin's emotional connection was much clearer too. Deeper, like Dustin had said earlier. It was awesome.
Shane was the first to move. He rolled slightly so he could catch Tori up in a real hug; enthusiastically she hugged him back. "You okay?" he whispered in her ear. She nodded against his cheek. Pushing himself up away from Dustin, he wiped the sleep sand from his eyes. Seated upright he took a good look at the former Yellow Ranger. Then he placed his hand on Dustin's chest and leaned in to get a good look at his face. "Dustin?"
Dustin pulled himself into a seated position while holding Shane's hand in place on his chest; it seemed important for Shane to be connected. Dustin looked him square in the face. "I'm right here, Shane." He smiled encouragingly and squeezed Shane's hand for emphasis. "I'm really here. I'm okay."
Shane took a deep breath and released it like he'd been holding it all day. His lopsided grin didn't completely hide the fear he was still holding onto. Dustin peered at him intently, seeing something he didn't like but couldn't put his finger on. Now it was his turn to ask, "Shane?"
Shane looked away and instead scooted forward to pull Dustin into a bear hug. "You're back, so I'm okay." He released Dustin and before he could press him further Shane announced "I'm starving!"
Dustin's stomach grumbled in agreement and he was distracted from pursuing the shadows of fear he'd felt in Shane. Tori immediately took them both in hand, declaring it would take nearly no time to prepare a meal and led them up to the kitchen. Dustin was surprised to see it was still light out; his sense of time was off and he felt like it should be night. Looking around he sought a clock in the kitchen. Rubbing his eyes and running a hand through his unruly hair he asked the room at large, "It's four o'clock? What day is it?"
Shane looked perplexed and was happy to let Tori answer while he opened the cans of soup. "It's Tuesday."
"Doesn't feel like Tuesday." Dustin stated as he settled himself on a stool where Adam and Aisha had sat for breakfast what seemed like a lifetime ago.
Tori wrinkled her nose at Dustin, not sure what Tuesday should feel like. She scrounged in the cabinets for crackers while Shane put the soup on to boil. Dustin and Shane pumped Tori for all the information she'd received from Sensei and Haley before they'd gone to the hospital. Much of their conversation was filled with conjecture as they compared feelings and theories about what had happened. None of them were happy to talk about the injuries sustained by Conner and Adam; they were at a loss for what they could do for them.
After the soup was cooked and dished out, the three moved to the kitchen table. They ate in content silence, reveling in their reconnection and pondering the changes between them. Tori had more time to think as she watched the others eat. She thought she had put her finger on one of the changes she'd been feeling but hadn't had time to identify. In the past she had only called upon the Dolphin spirit in times of great stress or need; it had never occurred to her that the Dolphin was a permanent part of her, accessible in good times and bad. Now, sitting at the kitchen table, she was surrounded by the feeling of welcome from the Dolphin. The Dolphin shared in her joyous reunion with her team, and Tori's own deeper connection to her spirit.
Feeling this new connection with the Dolphin led Tori to wonder if the boys were feeling the same. She didn't know how to tell, or how to see if they were more deeply connected with their spirit animals. But again, the Dolphin came to her aide. It wasn't so much a matter of seeing anything physical; she just had to tap into the eye of her inner ninja. Tori expanded her awareness, but what she saw was confusing. Dustin was surrounded by a brilliant, bright yellow glow. He gave off a strength and confidence that astounded Tori, but it made her smile; he deserved it, he had earned it. It was Shane that had her confused. His aura was not stable; the red glow surrounding him looked repressed as though Shane was trying to hold in all of his inner light. It made no sense to Tori, why would he clamp on to his light so tightly?
She was about to ask him about it when something else came to her awareness. When she'd turned to her inner ninja to expand her vision of Shane and Dustin, she was able to reach further than she'd anticipated. Though her thoughts were not directed at Blake, her heart very naturally sought him out. Tori let out a gasp as she jumped back from the table. "Blake!"
Her cry startled both Dustin and Shane. Both of them rose as well. "What is it Tor?" asked Shane.
"I don't know." She shook her head. "I can't tell. Something is wrong!" As if to reinforce her fear a gust of wind whistled around the house. Shane peered out the window apprehensively.
"Is he hurt? Did something happen?" Shane asked. Dustin stood very still, looking inward.
"I think we need to get to the hospital." Dustin stated. A crack of lightning outside made Shane flinch, and the immediate peal of thunder that followed it made him wince.
"We don't have a car." Tori replied. "But we can streak into town and find it from there." She was already heading toward the door.
"No, Tor! Don't go out!" Shane didn't move from his spot by the table, but he held out his hands imploringly. There was an edge of panic to his voice.
Tori turned, confused and upset. "We have to go, Shane! Blake is in trouble!"
"Hunter too." added Dustin. "And Conner." he continued somberly.
"We can't…there's a storm." Shane explained.
"So we'll get wet!" Tori snapped. "Blake needs us and Hunter too." As angry as Tori was, it couldn't overcome Shane's growing panic. Another crack of lightning directly overhead caused him to jump. He stumbled into Dustin. Tori could see a look of stunned understanding blossom on Dustin's face, but there was no time to talk as Shane made a mad dash for the basement stairs. His hasty exit left the others breathless. And then the lights went out.
So there you go – Winds at last! Thank you so much for all your awesome responses to the last few chapters. Will make more notes next time