About an hour later, Dana rushed into the waiting room with Angela on her heels. Things had calmed down at little for the rangers waiting in the hospital and they had all settled down in chairs. Jake had gotten food delivered not long after the women got off the phone and now they were all just trying to be patient. Several were dozing, including Rocky, and JJ had passed out. He was using Tommy's backpack as a pillow.

Seeing Dana, Trini and Kat were both immediately on their feet and moving across the room.

"Dana, thank you for coming to the rescue," Kat said, hugging her. "The doctor here keeps saying Tommy is a drug addict."

Dana frowned and so did Angela.

"Tommy a drug addict?" she said, shaking her head. "Getting Tommy to take prescribed medication is a battle in itself—he's not going to take something else on his own. Now where is Dr.—"

She paused, trying to remember the name Trini had given her.

"Stevens," Trini said. "I'll ask a nurse to get him."

She walked over to the desk.

"Have you had any other updates?" Dana asked Kat.

"No," she sighed, shaking her head. "Not since the first one. And that was hours ago. He could be awake and I wouldn't know it…"

"Just give us a little bit more time," Angela said. "Dana and I will get everything settled and then you can see Tommy before we move him. And ride with him as long as everything is stable."

"And unlike this Dr. Stevens Trini was telling me about," Dana added. "I don't have a problem with you being in the room with your husband. It will be easier to keep him in bed when you are there to yell at him for me."

Trini came walking back over.

"He should be out here in a moment," she said. "They are paging him now."

It took a few more minutes, but Dr. Stevens finally came out to the waiting room. Everyone was more awake now that Dana and Angela had arrived. Adam had to shush several people—he was trying to let Rocky actually fall asleep. But sleeping went out the window when Dr. Stevens came storming out.

"What now?" he demanded, snapping at Trini. "Haven't you taken up enough of my time tonight?"

Rocky shot up in his chair, looking around quickly.

"Where's the emergency?" he said.

Adam sighed.

"Dana is here," he said, knowing there was no point in trying to convince Rocky to go back to sleep. "And so is Dr. Stevens."

"Oh, good," Rocky said, stifling a yawn.

He stood, stretching, and then grimaced. He rubbed a hand over his chest where Tommy had kicked him earlier.

"Forgot about that," he muttered. "That's gonna bruise. Probably the rest of me, too…"

Across the room, Dana was showing Dr. Stevens her certifications.

"I'm Tommy's primary physician," she said. "It's in his records. I'm here to transfer him to a private facility."

Stevens glanced briefly at her paperwork and then handed it back.

"No," he said.

"What do you mean, no?" Dana said.

"Look," Stevens said. "I get it. We need pediatricians. Someone has to take care of nervous parents and scraped knees. But you need to leave real medicine to those better qualified."

"Excuse you?" Angela snapped. "Do you want to run that by us again?"

"You heard me," he said dismissively. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have patients to tend to."

"I wasn't done yet," Dana snapped. "I will be transferring Tommy out of here—whether you like it or not."

"Listen closely," he said shortly. "This is my emergency room and he is my patient. I will not be handing him over to an underqualified doctor just because someone is offended. So go back to kissing boo-boos and putting on bandaids and stop interrupting my work."

"You have no right to tell us we can't transfer him," Trini finally snapped. "That isn't your choice."

"And you have no authority here," Stevens said, crossing his arms. "Neither of your… doctors… works for this hospital. As for you, you may feel powerful at work but in this hospital you are no one. So why don't you just run along and go back to playing politics? I have more important things to do than argue with the three of you."

Leaving the three women glaring after him, Dr. Stevens turned and stalked out of the room.

"Dude," Zach said, leaning forward. "Does he have a death wish? I'd put money on the one in pink hitting him first."

"I wouldn't take that bet," Wes said, shaking his head.

He and Eric had hung back a little, though they were still watching Trini from where they were standing.

"I might," Eric said thoughtfully. "Because I think Trini or Angela might beat her to it—they are not happy."

With Dr. Stevens gone, one of the nurses came out from behind the desk to talk to Trini, Dana, and Angela.

"I'm sorry," she said. "He's like that with everyone… it's not you."

"You have to deal with that all the time?" Dana asked in surprise.

"Unfortunately," the nurse sighed. "You said you were wanting to transfer Dr. Oliver? I can help you get the paperwork together. But you're going to be on your own convincing the doctor to sign it…"

Dana sighed.

"Well, paperwork is a start," she said. "We'll deal with signatures when we need to."

"And my lawyers will be here soon," Kat said, joining them. "Anton said they will be here within the hour."

"Perfect," Trini smirked.

"Follow me," the nurse said. "I can get you everything you need from the desk."

Thursday June 21st, 2018

Angel Grove, CA

A couple of hours later, Ethan and Conner rushed into the waiting room. It was after midnight now and Anton and the lawyers had arrived about an hour before and had taken over one of the tables. Two of them were on the phone while the third was going over some paperwork with Dana and Angela. Jake was sitting with the lawyers, also on the phone. Trini was pacing around nearby while Eric and Wes just watched. Kat was standing next to the table, talking with Anton.

The rest of their group was a short distance away. JJ was still passed out across several chairs. Kim was sleeping in a chair next to him. Rocky was standing, leaning against a wall as Adam tried to convince him to take a nap. Hayley was between JJ and Adam on her phone. Any other patients waiting were on the other side of the room, avoiding the large group there for Tommy.

"I'll sleep later," Rocky yawned, waving him off as he accepted a cup of coffee from Zach.

Leaving Rocky and Adam to argue, Zach turned to take the second cup he was holding to Kat. Jason walked with him, carrying coffee for Dana and Angela.

Conner and Ethan made a beeline for Kat the moment they walked in. Not paying attention to anyone else, Conner nearly ran over Zach walking with the coffee. Ethan bumped Zach aside just in time to avoid a collision. Conner didn't pause.

"Dude, what was that?" Zach exclaimed, saving the coffee from sloshing over.

"That was Conner," Ethan said. "And he almost ran you over."

Zach frowned, looking at him.

"And you are?" he asked.

"Ethan," Ethan replied. "I'm with Conner."

Zach glanced over at Jason who just shrugged.

"Don't look at me," Jason said. "I don't know him. I know the other one. I'm not sure why he's here, but I've met him. Ethan is right though. From what I do know, Conner definitely would have run you over if you'd been in the way."

"Alright," Zach said slowly. "Well, I'm Zach."

"I know who you are," Ethan grinned. "Hi, Jason."

He turned and walked away, leaving the other two men staring after him in surprise.

"Ok, that was creepy," Zach said. "How does he know us?"

"I have no idea," Jason said, shaking his head as they continued on to deliver the coffee.

After rushing past Zach, Conner went straight to Kat.

"Kat!" he exclaimed. "What is going on? Where's Dr. O?"

"Conner," she said, a little surprised. "I wasn't expecting you so quickly."

"Not a lot of traffic this late at night," he said with a shrug. "So, no one in the way. Has there been an update?"

"He made me let him drive," Ethan inserted. "We almost died."

She shook her head as Conner shot Ethan a look.

"Not yet," she said. "Oh, thank you Zach."

She took the cup of coffee he offered.

"I really shouldn't have any more of this on an empty stomach," she said ruefully. "But I desperately need the caffeine right now…"

She hadn't eaten any of the food Jake had delivered a couple hours before, too upset to be hungry.

"I can fix that," Conner said, glancing around. "As long as…Ah!"

Seeing the backpack JJ was using as a pillow, he darted across the room. Being careful not to disturb JJ too much, Conner gently tugged the backpack out from under his head. JJ shifted, opening his eyes a little and mumbling for him not to touch it.

"It's just me, kid," Conner reassured him. "I just want a snack. Go back to sleep."

"Mmmkay…" JJ mumbled.

Setting the backpack on a chair, Conner unzipped it and started digging through the contents.

"I thought no one was supposed to touch the backpack," Zach said to Kat as they watched Conner. "JJ made that point very clear. No one but Tommy was allowed to touch the backpack."

Kat shook her head.

"Conner is one of the few exceptions," she said with a shrug.

Still digging in the backpack, Conner was pulling out handfuls of candy bar wrappers and several squished candy bars.

"Where did all of this come from?" he said, looking at it in surprise. "I know this isn't Dr. O's candy."

"Wes bought it for JJ," Eric said with a smirk. "Oh, that reminds me."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out Wes' wallet.

"This is yours," he said, handing it back.

Wes snatched it out of his hands.

"How much did you buy the kid?" he asked.

"Enough," Eric said with a shrug.

Wes scowled. But Conner was ignoring them now.

"Ah ha!" he exclaimed, finally finding what he was looking for.

Zipping the backpack back up, he carefully reinserted it under JJ's head.

"It'll be fine there for the moment," he said.

Then he ran back over to Kat.

"Here," he said, handing her a bag of trail mix. "Food. Or at least something for the moment."

"Thank you, Conner," she said gratefully.

"Now what's going on with Dr. O?" he asked, taking her coffee cup so she could eat the trail mix.

Kat gave him and Ethan a brief rundown of what was going on as she munched on the trail mix. She occasionally reached out and took the coffee back from Conner to take a sip before handing it back.

"So now we are just finishing up the paperwork we need to officially transfer Tommy to Dana's care," Kat finished. "Then we just have to convince his doctor to sign it."

Conner and Ethan frowned, exchanging looks.

"Why wouldn't he sign it?" Conner asked.

"Because he's a—" Hayley started to snap.

Adam clapped a hand over her mouth.

"And JJ is still in the room," he said.

Kat sighed.

"He's not a very nice doctor," she said. "He hasn't been giving regular updates at all. The nurses are telling us what they know, but it isn't much. I don't even know if he's woken up or if he is still asleep."

"So, no one is with him?" Conner said, surprised. "I thought maybe Billy was sitting with him since I don't see him."

Kat shook her head.

"Billy is in Mariner Bay," she said. "The doctor hasn't let us see Tommy at all. We've been stuck out here all night…"

"Is he allowed to do that?" Ethan asked, looking around at the lawyers.

"Well, sort of," Joe answered. "If he is with Dr. Oliver, then yes. He can claim doctor-patient confidentiality and keep everyone out. Though we could argue Kat has a right to be there as his wife. But if he isn't, there isn't really a reason someone couldn't be with him so long as they aren't in the way or causing trouble. This is an ER so there are technically no set visiting hours. So, it's a bit of a grey area."

"Uh huh…" Conner said slowly. "So, then you know what room he's in?"

Joe shook his head. But the nurse who had been helping make copies and filling things out glanced up from what she was looking at with Dana.

"Oh, he's just down the hall in room 10," she said. "But Dr. Stevens threatened to call security if we let anyone down there."

"But he's not in there, right?" Conner said.

"No, not right now," she said.

"Alright," he grinned as she went back to the paperwork. "Then I can work with that—it's a grey area. I don't need permission."

He bolted in the direction the nurse had indicated, disappearing rather quickly. Joe stared at where Conner had been standing just a moment before.

"Conner!" Trini exclaimed in exasperation.

Trini was glaring in the direction Conner had gone.

"What just happened?" Joe asked, turning to Anton and Kat.

"You don't want to know," Anton said, shaking his head.

"You're right," Joe agreed. "I don't think I do. I think I'd rather finish this last form."

"I'm going to kill him," Trini muttered. "We already have enough problems—he doesn't need to create a new one."

"Trini, you're lucky you saw him go," Ethan said, shaking his head. "You could have not seen him at all. At least he had enough presence of mind to just use a little boost. You don't even want to know how many traffic laws he broke getting us here."

Trini sighed. She knew he was right, but that didn't make her any happier. Zach looked between Trini and Ethan and then glanced in the direction Conner had gone. A thoughtful look crossed his face, but he didn't say anything. Kim, who had been sleeping in a chair, jerked awake when Trini yelled after Conner.

"What's going on?" she said, looking around.

She got up, yawning as she walked over to Jake.

"Are we leaving yet?" she asked. "And—who's that?"

She pointed at Ethan.

"Umm… I'm not entirely sure," Jake said. "But from what I've gathered, he's Ethan."

"Are we supposed to know him?" Kim asked.

"He's Conner's friend," Jake said.

"Wait—Conner is here?" Kim said, looking around.

"Yes?" Jake said hesitantly. "Or at least he was. I'm not sure where he just went—but he might be breaking into Tommy's room."

"I thought the doctor said no one could go back there," Kim frowned.

"That's why he's breaking in," Jake said shrugged.

It wasn't long after that the three lawyers finished compiling all their paperwork.

"Alright," Dennis said, hanging up. "The judge is on standby if it comes to issuing a court order."

"Hopefully we don't have to go that far," Kat said, shaking her head. "I really just want to get him out of here and away from that horrible man."

"Then let's go," Dana said.

The nurse who had been helping them led the way back. Dana, Kat, Hayley, and Angela followed behind her with Anton and the lawyers behind them. The rest of the group followed as well, except for Adam who had volunteered to stay in the waiting room with the still sleeping JJ. The hallway got crowded very quickly. Reaching the room just down the hall, the nurse paused when they heard shouting inside.

She opened the door to peek inside. Conner was leaned back in a chair next to Tommy's bed. Tommy was still unconscious, but Dr. Stevens was in the room yelling at Conner who looked extremely unfazed by the doctor's anger.

"You aren't allowed to be in here," Stevens snapped.

"Why?" Conner asked.

"Because he isn't allowed visitors."

"But he's in a room that allows visitors," Conner countered. "I checked. And there is currently no medical reason he should be isolated."

"Visiting hours are over," Steven said irritably.

"Ah, but there are no set visiting hours in an ER," Conner smirked. "Because emergencies happen at all hours of the day. So, friends and family can visit at any time within reason as long as they aren't in the way or causing a disturbance."

"Which you are causing," Stevens fumed.

"Actually, I'm just sitting," Conner said, shrugging. "You're the one being loud. And I'm on Dr. O's list—I'm allowed to visit. You can check if you don't believe me."

"Get out!" Stevens snapped.

"He doesn't have to," Dana finally interrupted, walking into the room. "But you do."

"What are you doing in here?" Stevens demanded, spinning as the rest of the group crowded in behind Dana. "None of you should be back here!"

"We need you to sign these," Dana said, holding out the transfer papers. "If you take a look, everything is in order. Legally you can't tell us no. We are transferring Tommy into my care immediately and I will be removing him from this hospital."

Stevens sputtered, not taking the papers from Dana.

"And if you don't cooperate," Joe added. "We have a judge on standby to issue a court order for Dr. Oliver's release. And when the courier delivers the court order, they will also be serving you with a lawsuit."

"What?" Stevens exclaimed. "Lawsuit for what?"

"We can start with malpractice," Travis answered. "Neglect, abuse… and I'm sure there are a few more things we could throw in there."

"You can't—"

"Drop it, Stevens," Rocky said, leaning against the doorframe with a smirk on his face. "You are in way over your head here. Angela used to be in the military, Dana's dad is military, and both of them are fantastic doctors with connections you wouldn't believe. Trini—who you keep insulting—is a UN ambassador with connections to the Power Rangers. Anton is an angry billionaire with a fleet of lawyers—and is also one of Tommy's best friends. Your friends on the board can't save you this time."

Stevens scowled at Rocky and then glanced around the room. Angrily he snatched the pen from Dana and signed the transfer papers. Without another word, he stormed out, bumping into Rocky as he went. Rocky just let him go. With Stevens out of the way, Dana immediately went to Tommy.

"You're not going to get in trouble with work for getting on that doctor's case, are you?" Jason asked, looking at Rocky with some concern.

Rocky snorted.

"I work for the city," he said, shaking his head. "Not the hospital. My captain would just laugh if he tried to complain to him. Actually, he might reward me."

"Still, take my card," Joe said, holding it out to Rocky. "Just in case he does try and cause problems. I wouldn't mind doing some pro bono work."

"I really just want to hit him," Kim muttered.

Jake shook his head, wrapping his arms around her.

"That would be assault," he said. "So how about no. Unless he bumps into you in the hallway, then you can say he started it."

Rocky immediately started shaking his head.

"Stay away from him," he said. "He's had some run ins with some of the nurses…"

Jake tightened his grip on Kim.

"Ok, never mind," he said. "Stay away from him."

The other two lawyers in the room held out cards to Rocky now, too, as most of the other rangers looked at him in surprise.

"I told you he was a jerk," Rocky said. "And he's got powerful friends who keep sweeping everything under the rug. But maybe with some extra help… Hey Dana?"

"Yes?" she said absently, looking through Tommy's chart.

"How long before you need me?" he asked.

She glanced up.

"Well, I need some time to make sure he is stable enough to travel," Dana said. "So at least thirty minutes."

"Perfect," Rocky said, turning back to the lawyers. "You three—come with me. I have a few people you should talk to."

He led the way out of the room. Dana, temporarily distracted from Tommy's chart, realized just how many people were actually in the room.

"Ok," she said firmly. "Everyone out. Tommy deserves at least a little privacy. So, if you aren't Kat, Hayley, or Conner—back to the waiting room."

There was some grumbling, but the group started moving out of the room.

"So how come they get to stay?" Zach protested, looking at Conner and Hayley. "I mean, I understand Kat but…"

Dana shook her head. There had been no formal introductions, which meant Zach had no idea of the true connection between Conner and Tommy. Or just how close he and Hayley really were. Or how protective the Dinos were of each other.

"Because it's not worth the argument to try and get them to leave," she said drily. "It will go much faster if I just let them stand in a corner. Conner, move."

As the last of the group trickled out and let the door shut behind them, Conner got out of the chair and went to lean against the door. Anyone trying to come in was going to have to physically go through him. Kat was leaning over Tommy, holding his hand tightly as she kissed his cheek. Hayley stood out of the way, texting on her phone again. Dana and Angela got to work checking over Tommy and making sure he was ready to be moved.

It was nearly 4am by the time they finally got Tommy loaded into the Lightspeed ambulance. While Rocky was outside helping Dana and Angela, the rest were inside getting themselves ready to go—-and figuring out who was going where.

"I'm heading straight to base with Wes and Eric," Trini said. "I need to touch base with Billy and Carter. Kat, are you riding with Tommy?"

Kat nodded.

"Dana said that would be fine," she said. "Conner, can you take JJ with you? He's still asleep."

"I'll get him," Wes said, walking over to collect the sleeping boy.

"Yeah, we can," Conner said. "We're going to follow you in the ambulance. I already messaged Trent and Kira to head there instead of Angel Grove. They haven't answered so I think they are still in the air."

"Anton said he was heading to the airport to get them, anyways," Ethan inserted. "So, he'll bring them by the base before he heads home. Or to a hotel if he wants to stay closer."

"I'm heading straight to base, too," Hayley said. "Since Billy and my girls are already there."

"Are you going to be alright driving alone?" Trini asked. "It's late… or early. And you haven't slept either."

"I'll be fine," Hayley assured her. "It's not my first sleepless night. And knowing this group it probably won't be my last."

The rest of the group was planning on heading back to Adam's house to get some sleep before heading to Mariner Bay. They wanted to update Tanya and Aisha again and figure out a better vehicle situation. And there was no need for all of them to go straight to Lightspeed since Tommy was still unconscious.

Wes had collected JJ and walked back over. JJ was sleepily holding on to Tommy's backpack. Conner reached over and gently started tugging it out of his hands.

"I'll take it now, kid," Conner said. "Let it go and go back to sleep."

It took a moment, but Conner finally coaxed the bag out of JJ's hands. He slung it over his shoulder as they all moved outside to the parking lot. Rocky helped Kat up into the back of the ambulance with Angela. Hayley headed straight for her van, on the phone with Billy.

"Ethan, let's go," Conner said, jerking his head toward the car.

Ethan groaned as he stood.

"He still has my keys," he sighed dramatically. "Pray for me."

"The Power protect you," Zach said with a grin.

Ethan stopped and turned to look at Zach in surprise. Neither he nor Conner had actually said they were rangers to Zach. So, he was not prepared to hear that from him. Not that he actually cared if Zach knew.

"Oh—thanks," Ethan said after a moment. "I'll probably need it. I don't think he used the brakes the entire trip to the hospital. I thought we weren't going to make it a few times."

Zach laughed as Ethan jogged off after Conner. He was very pleased with himself over his correct guess about the two young men. Wes followed with JJ, getting him settled in the back of Ethan's car before going back to Eric and Trini.

The ambulance pulled out followed by Eric, Wes, and Trini with Conner following them. Rocky jogged over to the rest of the group.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"I told Tanya we would be home shortly," Adam said.

"So, who is riding with me?" Zach asked, looking around the group.

Kim frowned.

"I thought we all were," Kim said slowly. "You're the only one with a car here, Zach."

"Well, that's going to be a problem…" he said. "I can fit five if three people squish in the backseat… there are six of us…unless one of you wants to sit on a lap?"

They all looked around at each other for a moment. None of them had even thought about that.

"I can call Tanya back," Adam sighed. "I'll just wait here for her. The rest of you go ahead."

"Hold that thought," Rocky said, shaking his head. "Hey! Henry!"

Rocky jogged off in the other direction, waving at a paramedic who had just climbed out of the back of an ambulance. He hurried over to him.

"Rocky!" Henry waved back with a grin. "What are you doing here? You aren't on shift today."

"Obviously," Rocky answered, shaking his head. "I was here with a friend."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Henry frowned. "Is he alright?"

"He'll be alright," Rocky said. "Especially now that we've gotten him away from Stevens…"

Henry grimaced.

"Now I'm really sorry…" he said. "You'll have to update me later. But I have to ask—what happened to your face?"

"Ah… hostile patient?" Rocky said, touching his chin gingerly.

"Ouch," Henry said sympathetically. "Anyways—We've got to get back to the station."

"Right," Rocky said. "Could you do me a favor?"

"Sure. What do you need?"

"We didn't plan well, and the rest of our group is gone already," Rocky said, glancing back at his friends. "Zach's car won't fit us all. Could you drop Adam and I off at his house before you head back to the station?"

"No problem," Henry said. "We just finished cleaning up and were going to head back to the house. But you'll have to ride in the back."

"That's fine," Rocky said gratefully. "It's been a long night and I don't want to make anyone wait for a ride…"

Rocky ran back over to the group.

"Kim, Jake, and Jason go with Zach," he said. "Head straight to Adam's house. Henry is going to give Adam and I a ride in the back of the ambulance. We'll see you back at the house."

When they got to Adam's house, the door was still unlocked and there was a light on in the kitchen. They quietly let themselves in and headed into the kitchen to see if Tanya and Aisha were still awake. The two women were sitting at the kitchen table talking quietly.

"You're home," Tanya said, standing to greet them. "How is Tommy?"

"He's on his way to base," Adam said, giving Tanya a hug and kiss. "Dana said he's stable. We're going to head that way later today. But we all need to get some sleep first."

"What did the doctors say happened?" Aisha asked. "No one ever said—you all just kept saying you'd explain later."

"Well, it's complicated," Rocky said slowly. "Stevens claims it was an overdose…"

"Could it have been his—" Aisha paused, hesitating as she looked at the others.

She had found out about Tommy's anti-anxiety meds on accident like Rocky and Adam and had been very careful not to say anything to anyone.

"Stevens blew that secret," Rocky scowled. "But no. There's no way this was an accident. Someone did this to him—we just don't know how or why yet. Because we know Tommy didn't do it to himself—he was stressed, not suicidal. And he had every right to be with everything that happened. That's part of why we pushed so hard to get him to base tonight. He'll be safer there if someone really is after him."

"So, I know this isn't what anyone is going to want to hear," Jason said slowly. "I don't really want to be saying it… But we all know he was taking anxiety medication now. Is it possible he was more stressed than you all thought? I don't want it to be that but—"

"No," Rocky said firmly, shaking his head. "There is no way."

"You can't know that for sure though, Rocky," Jake said. "I don't want to butt in—because I really don't know any of you that well—but there aren't always signs when someone is that far gone. He could have been thinking about it for a long time and not told anyone anything… it's easy to hide for some people…"

"It wouldn't be for Tommy," Adam said. "His life is too entwined with too many people for no one to notice anything off. And even if he did manage to hide something like that—he never would have done it in front of us. No one would have seen anything until it was too late. He does have guilt issues that he still struggles with sometimes, but that's the very reason that would stop him from ever going through with it. He still feels like he owes everyone and has to make up for that. Killing himself would be against everything in him that says he has to make it better."

They were all silent for a few minutes.

"We should all get some sleep before we need to leave for the base in a few hours," Tanya finally said, trying to break the tension.

"You keep talking about a base," Jason said. "What base? I didn't want to ask at the hospital, but now that we aren't in public—"

"Jason's right," Kim interrupted. "You guys have been dropping hints and weird comments since we first reconnected. Not to mention whatever it was that happened two months ago that everyone keeps talking around and now all of the cryptic comments and conversations that happened tonight. Tommy said he wanted to set up a meeting with me and Jake and maybe those two now that we're back in California. What is going on? Tommy said I could know now."

Adam, Rocky, Tanya, and Aisha exchanged glances, hesitating.

"That's not a quick conversation," Adam said after a moment. "And not one we usually handle… that's not really in our job descriptions."

"So, who does?" Zach asked curiously. "And job descriptions?"

"Tommy," Rocky answered. "So right now? Probably Trini or Billy. And that's another part of the complicated explanation…"

"Oh," said Zach.

"But Tanya is right," Adam said. "We all need to get some sleep. Trini and Billy will both be at base later when we get there and they will have more answers."

"The kids will be up in a few hours," Aisha added. "Or at least mine will be. And then no one is sleeping. It's nearly 5a and they'll be awake between six and seven."

"We don't have any extra rooms," Tanya said apologetically. "Because we put the boys in the spare room. But we do have the couch and some recliners."

"That will be perfect for a few hours," Kim assured her. "I don't know that I could sleep more than that right now anyways."

They all moved toward the living room.

"I'll grab some extra pillows and blankets," Tanya said. "Come on, Adam. We'll be right back."

She disappeared down the hall, towing Adam behind her. Rocky didn't wait for them. He just grabbed one of the decorative pillows off the couch and threw himself on the floor in the corner.

"Umm… are you going to be alright down there, Rocky?" Jason asked, frowning.

"Just leave him," Aisha said, shaking her head. "He's had years of practice sleeping in weird places. If it was going to be more than an hour or two, I would make sure he was more comfortable, but he'll be fine for this short of a time frame."

Rocky was already passed out. Adam and Tanya came walking back in with armfuls of bedding. Aisha took one of the blankets and threw it over her husband.

"I'm going to head back upstairs," she said. "I was lying down with the girls earlier, so I'll be fine there. That will also mean I'll hear Damien get up—I hope."

She headed up the stairs. Tanya and Adam also said goodnight and headed up to their bedroom.

"Why don't you two take the couch," Jason said to Jake and Kim. "Zach and I can each take a recliner."

They all agreed that was the best way to break up the space. Grabbing pillows and blankets, they got comfortable and settled down for a couple hours of sleep.

About two hours later, three-year-old Damien slipped silently down the stairs. He found the group sleeping in the living room and stared at them for a few minutes before he saw Rocky sleeping on the floor in the corner.

"Wake up daddy!" he yelled, running over to Rocky.

That was all the warning Rocky got before Damien landed on his chest. Rocky groaned as the other four woke up with a start, looking around in surprise.

"Wake up, daddy," Damien demanded, bouncing on his father.

"I'm up, I'm up," Rocky muttered, pressing one hand to his chest in pain.

He caught Damien to stop him from bouncing on him, grimacing as he slowly sat up. Jason, Zach, Kim, and Jake were all yawning, looking around the room. Aisha came hurrying in a few moments later. She was holding Liam and the three girls were trailing behind her.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't know he was up until Liam came and woke me…"

"It's fine," Rocky said, shaking his head as he worked on taking a few deep breaths. "I just wasn't prepared to wake up with him jumping where Tommy kicked me—it's fine. I'm pretty sure nothing is broken…"

Aisha sighed.

"Damien, come here," she said. "You can't just keep jumping on people… and you know you aren't allowed to wake daddy up without asking first. What if he just got back from work?"

Damien pouted but climbed off Rocky and went to Aisha.

"Did it always hurt this much the next morning?" Zach grumbled as he untangled himself from his blanket. "I haven't done this in a long time…"

"Stop complaining, Zach," Rocky muttered. "We didn't hit you that hard—and Tommy only knocked you off your feet. He didn't actually hit you at full strength like he did me."

"Still…" Zach muttered.

Aisha rolled her eyes.

"I'll get you some aspirin," she said to Zach. "Rocky—do you want anything?"

"Just the aspirin," he said, slowly getting to his feet. "I'll work through it. I really don't think anything is broken. And bruises heal."

Aisha raised an eyebrow as she looked at her husband.

"The most I have is maybe a cracked rib or two where he kicked me, Aisha," he insisted, leaning back against the wall. "Nothing major. So, I'll be fine. I promise. And if you really insist, I'll see if Dana can take an x-ray while we're there."

"Come on, kids," Aisha sighed. "Let's go get breakfast."

She led the kids off to the kitchen while everyone else got themselves up. Tanya and Adam, having heard the kids getting up, joined them downstairs.

"Are you alright, Rocky?" Adam asked, eyeing his friend as he stood leaning against the living room wall.

"I've been worse," Rocky said. "How are you feeling this morning?"

Adam shrugged.

"A little stiff," he said. "But that's what I get for not stretching anything out before I slept. I'm used to hitting the mat against Tommy though, so I've learned to roll with it."

"You hit a wall, not a mat," Rocky retorted. "If your back isn't one giant bruise, I'd be shocked. But you're doing better than other people."

Adam raised an eyebrow.

"Zach is whining," Jason said as an explanation, standing up and stretching himself. "I think he needs to spend more time at the gym with you, Adam."

Zach started shaking his head.

"Nope," he said adamantly, keeping his voice low. "I think that's a horrible plan. I'm not a fighter anymore. Last time I fought anyone was that Megaforce thing—and I was morphed for that fight."

Adam laughed, shaking his head. Tanya had already disappeared into the kitchen to help Aisha with the kids.

"Let's eat," Adam said. "And figure out where to go from there. I'll let Trini and Billy know we are up."

"How are you feeling, Jason?" Kim asked as they headed toward the kitchen. "This stress can't be good for you right now with how often you've been sick the last few weeks."

Jason shrugged.

"Tired," he said. "And worried about Tommy. But physically I feel fine. I've been feeling a lot better in the last week."

"Just make sure you keep taking it easy," Kim insisted. "Just because you've been feeling better doesn't mean it's gone away…"

Jason sighed but didn't argue. In the kitchen, Adam had just finished sending a message and was grabbing stuff out of the refrigerator for Tanya and Aisha. Kim started opening cupboards and getting out dishes and cups for everyone with Jake's help, leaving Jason standing in the doorway. Rocky was sitting at the table with the kids and still rubbing his chest a little—Aisha had insisted he sit down until the aspirin kicked in. Zach joined him to get out of the way. He had finally stopped grumbling.

"I'm going to go wake up Marc," Jason said. "If I don't, he'll sleep half the morning."

"Jason he's a teenager—I think you mean half the day, not half the morning," Jake said, chuckling.

"Have fun," Zach grinned.

Jason left the kitchen and headed up the stairs to find Marc. The fourteen-year-old was passed out in a pile of pillows and blankets on the floor.

"Marc, time to get up," Jason said, turning on the light. "Tanya and Aisha are making breakfast."

But he didn't get up. Marc just grumbled incoherently and pulled the blanket up over his head. Jason sighed.

"Not today," Jason said. "You went to bed plenty early—time to get up."

Walking over, Jason reached down and pulled the blanket off of Marc.

"Dad!" Marc complained.

"If you don't get up, I'll let Rocky's kids come wake you up," Jason said with a grin. "Damien would be happy to jump on you—with permission from me, of course."

Marc groaned but slowly sat up.

"Fine," he muttered.

Jason's phone started ringing. Pulling it out of his pocket, he glanced at the caller ID.

"Get downstairs," Jason said as he headed out of the room. "After we eat, we have to work on getting clean clothes. Don't make me come back up here."

Stepping out into the hallway, he answered the phone and continued down the stairs.

"Hello, Christine," Jason sighed. "What do you need?"

"Oh! Jason?" Christine said, sounding surprised. "You answered."

"Why wouldn't I answer?" Jason asked, a little irritated. "You called my phone. I know I've been ignoring you a lot, but I did promise to try. Even after the disaster that was last night."

"Oh, no! It isn't—I mean," she stammered. "Umm… you were supposed to call me this morning."

Jason took a deep breath, rubbing a hand over his face.

"Christine," he said evenly. "It is seven o' clock in the morning. I have had maybe two hours of sleep. I was at the ER most of the night. Can we please do this later?"

"Were you sick again?" she asked quickly. "Why didn't you call me? I would have come to sit with you."

"It wasn't me," he sighed. "I'm fine. And I didn't think you'd care that Tommy was in the hospital."

"Tommy?" she repeated.

"Yes," Jason said shortly. "Now I've got to go. I really can't talk to you this morning—there is still too much going on."

"Wait!" Christine said quickly. "Isn't there anything I can do to help?"

"Not right now," Jason said. "I'll tal—"

"There has to be something," Christine insisted, interrupting. "Is there anything you or Marc need from the house? I can bring it over."

Jason said, running a hand through his hair.

"Well, I guess you could bring us a change of clothes," he said slowly. "There should still be something at the house that will work. Then I don't have to try and make a trip to the resort this morning."

"I can do that!" she quickly agreed. "Are you still at the hospital?"

"No, we're at Adam's," he said. "But we aren't going to be here for more than another couple of hours. I think Adam wants to be out of here by ten. I'll text you his address."

"Of course," she promised. "I'll be there as soon as possible."

"Thanks," he said.

Hanging up, Jason yelled up the stairs for Marc who still hadn't come downstairs.

"I'm coming!" Marc yelled back.

Shaking his head, Jason headed back into the kitchen to get something to eat.

Hanging up the phone, Christine stormed back up the stairs to Will's room. She pounded on the door and waited impatiently for him to answer.

"What?" he snapped when he opened the door, still half asleep in his pajamas. "Do you know what time it is?"

"It didn't work!" she snapped back.

"What are you talking about?" Will said, stifling a yawn.

Christine scowled.

"Jason," she said. "He's fine. That's why I never got a call last night. He didn't even get sick."

Will frowned.

"But you saw him drink it," he said slowly. "And didn't you put in like twice the amount you had been giving him?"

"Of course, I did," she said irritably. "But somehow he mixed up his cup with Tommy's—because it wasn't Jason who ended up in the emergency room."

"Tommy?" Will repeated.

"Yes, Tommy," Christine said.

"Eh, good riddance," Will said with a shrug, grimacing as he did so. "He deserved it."

He reached up to rub the shoulder Tommy had dislocated the night before. Christine rolled her eyes.

"That's not the problem right now," she said. "The problem is that Jason is still alive—and we still don't have the money. Which means we still have a problem!"

"So, try again," he said. "You still have some left, don't you?"

"Well, yes," she said. "I saved some just in case. But it's only enough for one more try."

"Then don't miss this time," Will said shortly.

She scowled at him, crossing her arms.

"I have less than three hours before I'm supposed to deliver clothes to Jason and Marc," she said. "Jason is all upset about Tommy, so who knows when I'll get another shot. I may not get him alone for weeks—I can't continue this charade forever."

"Alright, fine," Will sighed. "Let me get dressed and we'll figure something out."