Calvin looked across the table, almost apologetically. He knew this wasn't his fault. Hayley losing her mother had nothing to do with him. There was nothing he could have done to prevent it.

Still, he felt an apology was needed. Though he had already told Hayley how sorry he was for her loss, he wanted to say it again. Maybe it would make him feel better if he did. Still, he didn't dare utter those words again. He knew it wasn't what Hayley wanted to hear.

"How's the ice cream?" he asked her. She shrugged. He had hoped taking her for ice-cream might help, though he knew it was putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. It wouldn't do much, if anything, but at least it wouldn't hurt. At least she was with him, and he knew she was safe.

Hayley pushed around the ice cream in her bowl. At this point, she didn't know how to feel. She knew Calvin was waiting for her to cry, or get angry, or storm off like Sarah and Kelly had done. She knew it might help him to know she was feeling something, and maybe it would help her too. Any kind of emotion over what had happened had to feel better than this numbness.

She never imagined losing her mother. No one ever did, but for Hayley, it had never been a thought to cross her mind. Her mother, both her parents in fact, were healthy. They took care of themselves physically and mentally. There had never been a medical scare as long as Hayley had been alive. While there was now the added threat of monster attacks, her parents weren't often near the sight of any attack. They didn't work downtown like most people and since most attacks that were in the city took place right in the core, her parents weren't in harm's way often.

"If you wanna cry, we can go somewhere private?" Calvin offered, and Hayley knew he was trying. She loved her boyfriend for many reasons, but his desire to always be helpful and caring was at the top of that list. Though he could be a little thoughtless at times, his heart was always in the right place. He always tried to do the best thing for the people he cared for.

Unfortunately, at times where there wasn't much he could do, Calvin tended to get very uncomfortable and very anxious. He wanted to help. He wanted to do something to make her pain go away. Unless he could bring her mother back, he just had to wait for time to do the healing on its own.

Still, Hayley didn't see the need in them both being upset. Though she didn't want to be happy right now, or feel any emotion at all, the practical side of her knew that being around someone who was feeling good, who was emitting positive energy was better than being around another person who felt helpless. Maybe, getting him to think he was helping her, might help her too.

"I don't want to cry," she told him. "But… can you check up on Kelly for me?"

"Yeah, sure. Anything," Calvin said and almost jumped out of his seat to make the phone call. Hayley did feel herself crack a small smile as she watched him step out of the store to make the call. He would do anything to make her feel better. Despite all the pain, at least that was still good.

Checking up on Kelly was something Calvin wanted to do anyway. Both Kelly and Sarah had stormed out of the hospital and while they had different reasons for being upset, both were in very emotional situations and weren't likely to be making the best choices for themselves. Calvin knew his priority needed to be Hayley, but the other two were his friends as well. He couldn't let too many hours go by without a check in.

He called Kelly's phone, thinking he might get a quicker response than if he sent a text. The phone rang a few times before going to voicemail and Calvin left a message asking Kelly to call him back and telling her he would reach out again soon. Then, while he was making calls already, he reached out to Sarah. He got her voicemail as well. He sighed.

"You girls are really freaking me out," he said into her voicemail. "Just call me back, Sarah. As soon as you get this. Please."

He was worried, but he didn't want that to play on his mind. Hayley had enough to deal with without having to worry about her friends. Kelly and Sarah, while they were vulnerable right now, could take care of themselves, at least for a few hours.

He headed back into the store and smiled. Hayley had taken a few more bites of her ice-cream, which was a good sign. He sat across from her.

"I got their voicemails, but I did leave a message. I'll try them again later."

"Them?"

"Kelly and Sarah," Calvin said.

"Right, Sarah."

"You forgot your best friend?" Calvin said and let himself chuckle for a second. Hayley shrugged.

"I guess… It's just…"

"Relax, I get it. You have bigger things to worry about," Calvin told her. Hayley nodded, then showed him her phone.

"Dad texted. Jenny invited us to stay with her. Makes sense, I guess. We can't really go home."

"Shall we head over then?"

"Can you… stay?" Hayley asked. She was sure Calvin would say yes. He wanted to help, and he would do anything he could. This was a time for her to be with her family and to lean on and support them, but Calvin was just as important to her. In this painful time, she wanted him by her side. "If it's okay with Jenny. Dad just said he, Kelly and I could stay but…"

"If Jenny's alright with me crashing, I'd be happy to stay," Calvin smiled. "What if we swing by my place, grab some things for the night, and then head to your place and I can run in, grab some things you, your dad and Kelly need and then head over."

"We don't have to go there," Hayley said. "I… I don't think…"

"Hayl, I know it's scary but… you do need your things," Calvin said. "Pyjamas, toothbrush, a change of clothes…"

"Can't we buy new stuff?"

"I mean… we can but…" Calvin looked to Hayley. He could understand her reluctance to go home. He didn't even want to head inside the Foster house, but he knew the family would need some things. They certainly couldn't be expected to head back to the place where Anne was killed. "Don't you want your things?"

"I…"

"And Kody's got some food and his favourite toys," Calvin said.

"Yeah…"

"You won't have to go in, I promise," he assured her. "I'll just grab the things you need, even just for tonight."

"Alright," Hayley nodded. "Sounds good."

-Ninja-Steel-

As night started to fall, Sarah waited outside the Silver Guardian's HQ. She had found her way to the building after confronting her father and Oedius and knew she would need someplace safe to run. Feeling like she couldn't go home just yet, she opted for the safest spot she could think. Not only was Gia a Silver Guardian, but she was also a former Ranger. The former Pink Ranger, Emma, also worked in the building. If Oedius did show up again, at least Sarah knew she would have allies to watch her back.

Gia had been kind enough to let her stay at HQ to process her thoughts. She even let Sarah play around with Tiger for a bit. While it had helped, Sarah still left the building feeling guilty. She wasn't sure how she could face Hayley and Kelly, or even the rest of her team.

"Someone call an uber?" Serena asked as she pulled up next to Sarah in her car, looking out with a smile. Gia had called Serena to pick Sarah up. With everything that had happened, she didn't want to ask Jenny to drive all the way out to Angel Grove when she was caring for Aaron and dealing with her husband's betrayal. At the same time, Gia needed to stay close to HQ. With Oedius attacking a random civilian, at least in the public's eye, fear was widespread. If she was found running errands instead of keeping an eye on the cities in her care, word was sure to get out and the trust she had built would be broken.

Serena was a safe bet for a ride. She knew Sarah and the Ninja Steel team well, and so could help them deal with the tragedy. However, she had also seen hard times of her own. She would know how Sarah and her friends were thinking and hopefully could prevent anything serious from coming from this.

"Normally you pay for uber," Sarah said as she climbed into the passenger seat. Serena held out her hand.

"You're right. Fifty bucks, please."

"You're joking," Sarah frowned, and Serena chuckled. She put her hand back on the wheel and started to drive off.

"Fine, but only because I like you."

"Thanks for coming," Sarah said.

"It's not a problem," Serena told her. "In fact, I'm glad I got the call."

"You are?"

"You think a Ranger mother gets killed and Rangers everywhere won't want to do what they can?" Serena asked with a laugh. "We all have families and people we care for. We've all worried for their well-being."

"So Mrs. Foster isn't the first to be directly killed?"

"Nope," Serena shook her head. "On my team, Jayden and Lauren, the red Rangers, both lost their father. He was the red Ranger at the time but… well, it still hurts."

"They were all red Rangers?"

"It's a generational thing," Serena said. "Samurai, and eventually Ranger powers, were passed on from parent to child, or more recently, sibling to sibling. The war against Xandred was a long, hard one. Lauren was first born, so she was the true red Ranger, but Jayden took her place, leading the new team, just like his father."

"Who died because of Xandred."

"Mia's father also died," Serena said. "She took it hard. Their relationship was complicated and… well, when people die and you're left without closure, it's a hard pill to swallow. They both wanted me to pass on their sympathies. Everyone on my team does."

"So your team lost some parents but… the monsters did that."

"Yeah. Gia told me about your father. It's kind of like her own story."

"Her story?"

"It involves clones and… well, let's just say Gia's father thought it was Gia he was talking to when the clone stabbed him and left him to bleed out. That was a hard one for the whole family to take."

"Gia's dad died?" Sarah asked, then frowned. "Wow, fathers have bad luck."

"Glad I'm a mom, then," Serena chuckled, then stopped when she saw Sarah wasn't amused. "Sorry, kid. It's just… these things… they happen. It's part of the job. It's something we all try to avoid but… there are going to be casualties."

"I know that," Sarah muttered. "I had my own clone problem."

Sarah glanced out the window and sighed, "Maybe the team's better off without me."

Serena, hearing this, slammed the breaks. Fortunately, it was late and Oedius' attack had kept most people off the streets, so there was no one coming up behind them. However, there was nothing in front. Sarah hadn't anticipated a sudden stop and flew forward in her seat, with only her seatbelt to keep her from smacking her head on the dash.

"What the…"

"I want to take you somewhere. Text your mom. Tell her we're headed to Panorama."

"Panorama?"

"My hometown," Serena smiled. "I want you to meet my sister."

"Your sister?"

"Emily. You'll like her."

"Serena, by the time we get to Panorama, it'll be three in the morning."

"And?"

"Won't she be in bed?"

"She's my sister," Serena said. "Besides, she used to wake me up in the middle of the night all the time for less that this."

"Why are we going to meet her any way?"

"Because of what you said.

"What I said? What did I say?"

"Something absolutely ridiculous."

"Which was?"

"You'll find out when we get there."