As soon as Mr. James pulled into their driveway, Kira was enveloped with an overwhelming sense of peace. Home! She was so exhausted her mother had to help her out of the car. But the thought of being in her own house gave renewed energy to her weary limbs and she stumbled eagerly up onto the porch. She was surprised when her mother steered her not to her bedroom, but to the bathroom.

Kira stared stupidly at her mother from her perch on the toilet seat as she puttered around the bathroom gathering bath items and fluffy towels. Her mother had turned the water on in the tub, and when it reached a certain temperature started adding bath oils. Kira automatically identified the scents and the associated properties: Jasmine to ease exhaustion; Sandalwood to easer grief; rose to grant peace. Breathing the familiar scents in deeply, Kira began to truly relax. Her sisters could scorn her mother's holistic tendencies, but they never turned their noses up at a bath like this, particularly when they were feeling down or upset.

Angie Ford came to stand in front of her weary and wrung-out daughter. She gently took Kira's face in her hands and kissed her head. "Oh my Heart, "she murmured as she gave Kira a gentle hug. Kira smiled at the familiar nickname which had taken on a whole new light after this weekend; it made her wonder if her mother knew more than she let on. Angie began to tug at the top layer of Kira's clothing. "It's okay, Mom. I've got it." Kira reassured her.

Her mom kissed her head again. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes to make sure you haven't fallen asleep in there, and then it's right to bed with you." Kira leaned in and grabbed her mother in a spontaneous hug. "Thanks, Mom. I love you."

Angie returned the hug and responded, "I love you too, my Heart. Now jump in before the water gets cold."

Kira eagerly followed orders and allowed herself to sink into the heavenly bliss of the bath. Surrounded by a mountain of bubbles she allowed the scents to sooth and reenergize her. And slowly, she turned her focus inward and regained her center. All too soon a gentle knock on the door announced her mother's presence. Kira gave a little jump and then laughed at herself; she really had started to doze off.

Angie poked her head into the bathroom. "Okay, kiddo, time to dry off and jump into bed." She gave her daughter an appraising look. "Need help, honey?"

"Nope." Kira responded sleepily. "I can manage." And she did. Shortly she was ensconced in the oldest, rattiest, most comfortable pair of pajamas she owned, sitting comfortably on the end of her bed while her mother braided her hair. Shortly after that she was tucked in with the shades drawn and the lights out.

Kira drifted off immediately into a semi-doze, but the replay of the day's events kept her from falling into a true sleep. As she had done in the hospital when they'd first brought Conner in, Kira found herself examining her feelings, and one was coming through loud and clear – guilt.

She was acutely aware of how the loving attention she'd received from her mom contrasted sharply with the horrific display from Conner's mother. She felt relaxed and rested, comfortable and safe, but she was certain that Conner was not feeling that way, and it was breaking her heart. She tried desperately to come up with any way she could help him, but felt cut off and ineffective now that she was no longer at the hospital.

Restless, Kira rolled over onto her back and stared at the ceiling. She began to ponder her role – if, according to Sensei Kanoi, she represented the heart of the team, there should be some tangible way she could aide in Conner's recovery. Being the heart shouldn't make her weak or less able. In fact, it was the heart that never stopped working…but Kira couldn't see how that applied to her or how it helped in this situation.

Kira had watched as Red Ranger after Red Ranger made contact with Conner. She was jealous of the tangible contact they had – it seemed to help all of them even if it didn't outwardly affect Conner. Haley, Billy and Ethan – they all had their computers and data to analyze; again, they had something tangible to work with. What did she have?

Kira's thoughts turned to Kim, Aisha and Dana. What was it that they were doing that she could emulate? Kim was feeding everybody; Aisha stuck to Rocky's side like glue; and Dana took care of all of them. Kira bit her lip. What it really came down to was being unafraid to love anyone who needed it. Kira would not have chosen to spend any quality time with Rocky in the mood he'd been in all day, but Aisha knew he needed her to love him. Dana acted like a bully, but only because she wanted the best for all of them.

And Kim - it was hard not to pick up on the tension between Kim and Dr. O. Kira noticed that Kim tried to defer to Jason when Dr. O was struggling. But when they were in the coffee shop with their parents, Kim sensed Dr.O's anguish. She never hesitated from flying out of the booth and across the room to ease his pain. She gave of herself because that's what he needed.

Can I do that for Conner?

Kira closed her eyes and let her thoughts drift to the injured Red Ranger. When she shifted slightly the scent of rose wafted up to her, her eyes popped open, and she thought of her mother. Her older sisters thought their mom was something of a kook with all of her herbal remedies and visualization techniques, but Kira felt more and more that her mom was on to something. Scooting herself up against the pillows, Kira rearranged herself into a semi-seated position. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes again.

What would Mom say? Picture some place positive - some place safe. She decided on Haley's CyberCafe. It was familiar to both her and Conner, and was a place where they liked to relax. She pictured herself sitting on the overstuffed chair by the window. She was dressed in her favorite jeans and Avril inspired long-sleeved t-shirt. She pictured Conner relaxing on the couch opposite her. He was also dressed in jeans wearing a red work shirt over a white t-shirt. Kira was struck very suddenly by the fact that this was a memory, not just a visualization exercise. It had been last week. She and Conner were hanging out together waiting for Ethan to lose his last life on whatever video game he'd been playing. Ethan was a lot better at the game than they'd expected, so they'd spent almost the entire afternoon together hanging out.

Focus, Kira!

Kira pulled her thoughts away from the past and returned them to the task at hand. What was it she wanted to accomplish? She wanted to be like Kim and Aisha, supporting their teammates. In her mind's eye, Kira found herself with a guitar in hand. It shouldn't have surprised her. But it was weird, she didn't want to sing to just Conner with him looking at her from his couch. In the visualization, Kira had Conner swing his feet up onto the couch and stretch out in an even more relaxed posture. He had his head propped up on a pillow and was looking into space. Now that he wasn't staring at her she felt more comfortable. So she started to sing.

At first she found herself singing songs she knew Conner would know; songs he'd heard her perform. But she quickly found herself drifting into other songs, obviously heavily influenced by her mom; why else would the Mamas and The Papas pop into her head? But the song seemed awfully appropriate for the situation so she shared it with Conner.

While I'm far away from you my baby
I know it's hard for you my baby
Because it's hard for me my baby
And the darkest hour is just before dawn

Each night before you go to bed my baby
Whisper a little prayer for me my baby
And tell all the stars above
This is dedicated to the one I love

Over and over, Kira sang to Conner, reinforcing each verse and each phrase with all the support she could muster. She sent him wave after wave of reassurance that he was not alone, that he was not forgotten. She vowed that they would never give up fighting for him. But overriding all of these, she sent him her love. Her apprehension about loving him melted away. So caught up was she in projecting these emotions in her vision, she never noticed when Conner turned his head so he could listen to her sing.

Lyrics from "Dedicated to the One I Love" by the Mamas & The Papas.