Serena got to her hotel room and crashed on the bed. She had never been so happy to come home after a long day at work.

And the day had been long. On her very first day at the new school, she had lost the one kid she was supposed to keep her eye on, chased her out of town into the woods, chased her and her abusive boyfriend back into the city, hired a team of friends to kick the abusive boyfriend's ass (though Emma did that job on her own), took the girl to the hospital, gave her statement to the police because she had been a witness, comforted the best friend, and now, only now, was she finally able to rest.

She had ordered room service, thinking she deserved it after her day, and decided that while she waited for a warm meal to come to her door she turned on the TV. She flipped to the news. She wanted to see just how far Gia's story had spread already, and how much damage control she would have to do when she started her second day at work.

The news wasn't covering Gia's story anymore. Instead they had moved on. A monster was attacking the city, blasting people with sound waves that caused them physical pain from hearing it, and left them with a sensitivity to even the slightest of sounds. Serena took her Samuraizer from her pocket and fiddled with it nervously. This city had its own Rangers so she wouldn't likely need to intervene, but she still got worried.

And fortunately the Rangers did show up, but there was something off. Even the reported noticed it. This was the first monster attack in several days, and only two Rangers showed up to save the day. Serena bit her lip nervously but decided to give the team time. Sometimes, it took longer for some Rangers to reach the battlefield than others. Help wasn't coming. Five minutes passed, ten minutes passed, and the only Rangers on the scene were black and blue – literally and figuratively. They didn't seem to be affected by the monster's spell, but they were taking a beating.

"Daddy's not going to like this," Serena whispered and rubbed her stomach gently before leaving her hotel room and morphing as she raced to the sight of the battle. She saw the boys on the ground, reeling in pain after an attack and knew she had to jump in quickly. She drew her Spin Sword and attacked the monster from behind. When the monster turned around, he tried to counter with his own attack. It seemed he created the painful sound waves by playing on his guitar shaped body. Serena blocked his attack, using a think earth wall to stop the waves from reaching her. Then she shot the earth towards the monster, burying him.

The monster crawled out from under all the dirt and started to run, "No one told me about a white Ranger!"

Serena watched the monster flee and felt a little disappointed. She knew she shouldn't push her luck. She was supposed to be retired and pregnant, but she had expected a little more action than that.

"I've fought Moogers who were tougher than you!" she called to the fleeing monster before she turned to the two Rangers. They picked themselves up and walked over to her.

"Who are you?" they asked. Serena shook her head.

"It's probably best if we don't spill secrets. My team's trying to stay in retirement."

"Fair enough," the blue Ranger nodded his head, "Thanks for your help."

"You looked like you needed it," Serena said. "I saw the news. Any reason why it's just the two of you?"

"That monster already attacked our friends," the black Ranger said, "They're at home resting."

"And how come you two weren't affected?"

"We blocked out his noise with our own music. We could still hear a bit of it though. I'm no musician, but even I know that was terrible," the blue Ranger rubbed the spot on his helmet that covered his ear and then tapped the black Ranger on the chest; "We should probably get back to them."

The black Ranger nodded and then turned to the white Ranger, "Thanks again for your help."

"Anytime," Serena said and watched them run off. Then she looked around before she powered down. She heard her phone ringing softly and answered it with a sigh, "James, before you yell at me let me explain…"

-Megaforce-

In the hospital, Gia was resting in her bed. Her parents stayed by her side, but for now they were in the cafeteria getting dinner. Gia had asked for some time to herself and at this point, anything she wanted she got. Her father had even promised to bring up a slice of cake for her as a treat when they came back.

Gia lay in silence, staring out the hospital window sadly. She couldn't close her eyes. Whenever she did, all she saw was Cliff's face. Tears stung at her eyes and her body hurt badly. She hurt badly. She couldn't believe she had let Cliff control her like that. Though she had put up a fight, she had been no match for him. Even the yellow Ranger was too weak to fight Cliff.

Her phone started to ring. Gia knew the ringtone well. It was Emma calling. She thought about ignoring it and rolled over to turn away from it. She let it go to voicemail. Then it rang again. She ignored it. It rang again. Finally, she turned over, grabbed her phone, answered it, but didn't say a word.

On her end, Emma hear the ringing stop, and could hear Gia's breathing on the other end. Her ears were extremely sensitive to even the smallest of noises. This phone call was physically painful for her, but she couldn't sleep without checking up on Gia.

"Gia? Are you there?"

Gia hung up the phone and buried it under her pillow. It rang again. She could hear it. She answered it again without a word and set the phone on speaker.

"Gia, please say something. I really need to sleep but I can't until I know you're okay. Gia? Gia? Are you mad? I swear, I was there. I was with you! I was in the ambulance. I sat by your bed but you were sleeping. Gia? Please don't ignore me."

Gia wasn't ignoring her. She was listening. She wouldn't say anything, though. There was nothing to say.

"Your parents probably told you, but Cliff's gone. We don't have to worry anymore. Gia?" Emma's voice started to sound shaky. She was likely very worried. Gia couldn't think of anything to say. She continued to listen as Emma worked herself up.

"I had to tell them. I needed to tell them what had happened. I know you asked me not to but… Gia, please don't be mad. I did it to help. I did it so Cliff would finally be gone for good. I promise, he's not going to hurt you again. I'd kill a cow and eat it before I would ever let that creep near you again. Gia?"

Hearing Emma say it made Gia feel better. Emma wouldn't lie to her. She trusted Emma when she saw Cliff was gone. She trusted her best friend over her parents, the police, and the nurses, who tried to make light of what happened by telling her it could have been a lot worse. They had no idea.

So Gia said that, "I believe you."

"Gia! You're there! I was so worried."

"Emma…"

"Yeah? … Gia? Gia, it's going to be okay. Do you… you should get some rest. I should hang up. Goodnight, Gia."

Neither made a move to hang up. They sat silently for a moment before Emma spoke up again, "You didn't hang up?"

Gia didn't want to hang up. Listening to Emma talk took her mind off Cliff. She closed her eyes and listen to her best friend speak.

"Gia? I know you're there. I can hear you breathing. You know it's going to be okay, right? We can put this behind us. Serena really wants to help, and I think she can. When the hospital lets you go, maybe the three of us can go to Ernie's. My treat. You can get whatever you want. And we'll do whatever you want. We… we can… well, you just name it. We'll have a lot of fun, I promise. Gia… Gia, are you, is that snoring?"

Gia had fallen asleep. Emma could hear the light snoring. On her end, she gave a little smile and then hung up the phone. Her head was killing her and she still hurt, but at least she knew Gia was okay.

After hanging up the phone the room was silent. Emma could hear her thoughts again. She closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.