Jake couldn't stop fiddling with anything he could get his hands on. He, Noah, and Jordan were at Emma's house, waiting for an update on Gia to know if she would be okay.

Jake had been to the hospital recently, but it had been different. He had been the only one there for Gia when she had gotten hurt, and he knew she would be okay. None of her injuries would be life-threatening, and he had been sure she would tell him off for getting the paramedics involved. This time, though, was different. Cliff had hurt Gia badly. He had tossed her out of a second story window, or she had been so scared she had jumped, Jake wasn't sure of the story yet, and wouldn't be until Gia told him. Only she knew what had happened inside the house.

The boys had gotten an update from Emma once, stating Gia would be okay physically, and the doctors were positive she would have a full recovery physically, but that continued to worry Jake. Emma kept saying physically, like she knew there was something more. Jake couldn't imagine the position Gia had been in with Cliff. He could hardly get Gia to pass him a napkin when they hung out at Ernie's, so for someone to have her willingly be the weaker person and submit…

Cliff had played a cruel mind game. Jake was no genius in psychology, but he knew the damage done was more than just physical, and so now he feared the hospital would take someone else from him. He worried, when Gia was free to leave, that she wouldn't come home. He worried Cliff had destroyed her, and Gia wouldn't be the same. He worried he would lose her for good, and he couldn't bear the thought.

Noah came over and sat beside him. He handed him a sandwich. He and Jordan had made dinner in the kitchen and they had called for Jake several times, but the black Ranger never answered. Noah decided he would go to him, sit with him, and comfort him. He put his hand on Jake's shoulder.

"It's going to be okay."

"What if she's really not okay? What if this is it? I mean, the first time…"

"The first time lasted a lot longer," Noah reminded Jake. "Remember what Emma said? That would have been, like, October to August. He got away with a lot more. We rescued Gia in a day."

"But she's more fragile, she's…"

"We're going to help her," Noah insisted. "We're going to be there, supporting her. C'mon, Jake, you've never given up on her before. Show her you're better that guys like Cliff. She needs to know there are people, boys that actually do care about her. And you do."

"Noah…"

"I've always known you cared. I've always known you were a great guy."

"You told me I didn't have a shot with her," Jake said. "You kept saying…"

"You know what I meant. And besides… I kind of hoped you would give up. You tried so hard, and you were always so good to her. The others guys would push and they would make comments about her, but you just…"

"Annoyed her."

"You had a good heart. I knew you did. I didn't want her to crush that. She was cold, and I was worried one day she wouldn't turn you down nicely. I was worried she would get fed up, say something that would get through that thick skin of yours, and then… you'd be hurt. I was just trying to look out for you."

"And now that she's broken, you think I have a shot? Noah, I'm not even thinking about that right now!"

"No, no that's not it," Noah shook his head to emphasize his point, "I just… now I know why she's so cold. Now I get it. I'm not scared she's going to hurt you anymore. And I know you're a good guy. You're my best friend. You stood up against your crush for me. I think, you're the guy who can show her we're not all assholes."

"If she ever comes back? What if Gia's never the same again?"

"She'll still be my friend," Noah said. He took the sandwich and offered it again to Jake, "We can't give up on her. You can't give up on her. If you really do care about Gia for what she's got on the inside, and I know you do, you're not going to give up and let her walk away."

Jake nodded his head. He took a bite from the sandwich. Noah gave his friend a smile.

"The hospital isn't taking her away.'

"Thanks, dude. I owe you."

"Naw," Noah shook his head. Just then, the front door opened. Troy and Emma stumbled inside. All eyes turned to them. They looked okay, maybe a little messy from having been out in the woods for a couple of hours, but there was something wrong. Jordan set his plate down and rushed to Emma.

"What happened?"

"Please don't yell…" Emma winced. Her head was pounding, her ears hurt, she was out of breath, and she was exhausted.

"I'm not…" Jordan started; saw the look of pain on Emma's face, and the continued with a softer voice, "I wasn't yelling. Emma, what happened? Are you okay?"

"You mean, you didn't her it?" Troy asked. Noah and Jake came over and walked him to the couch. He was in just as much pain as Emma, "We thought it came from the city."

"What did?" Jordan looked at Emma worriedly. He held her a little closer, "Em…"

"A loud… screeching noise," Emma explained. "Just… it was noise, and there was a lot of it. I… I can't explain it. You didn't…"

"Nothing," Jordan shook his head. He pulled Emma into his arms, "Was it a monster? Do you think…?"

"I don't know," Emma groaned. "I just need to lie down."

She moved away from Jordan and walked up the stairs to her bedroom. Her footsteps on the stairs hurt her ears, and she could only make it half way up before she dropped to her knees and clutched her head. Jordan raced up after her and carried her the rest of the way. His footsteps hurt her ears, but at least, once he got her in bed and left her to rest in the peace and quiet of her room, it would all be over with.

As Jordan walked around upstairs, Troy winced in pain. It hurt him too, but he had to talk to the boys.

"Jordan…," the sound of his own voice hurt, "Jordan might be right. You need to check it out. Just… don't let him blast out your eardrums like he did with us."

"Ranger ear plugs. Noah?" Jake turned to his best friend.

"Use your IPod," Noah said, "If we can drown out the monster's noise with our own music, maybe it can't affect us."

"Worth a shot," Jake reached into his pockets. He always had his IPod with him. Noah was the same way. Jake looked to the blue Ranger once their headphones were in and their music was on. "How loud should we play it?"

"What?" Noah asked, raising his voice slightly. Troy winced in pain and blocked his ears with the pillows on the couch.

"What?" Jake asked in return.

"I can't hear you!" Noah said, "The music needs to be loud enough to cancel out the other noises!"

"What did you say?" Jake cried. Troy ripped the headphone jacks from the boys IPods.

"Just please leave," he begged them. They nodded and rushed out of the house.