What Was Lost: The Return Home

by superdory57

When life happens people change and time can pull apart even the closest friends. That doesn't stop the rangers from coming together when the world needs them. Will the original rangers be able to come together to save each other from themselves? Will the rest of the rangers be able to keep them safe from a threat unknown? And what does Jason's wife have to do with it?

31. Chapter 31 Rising tensions

Monday June 25th, 2018

Mariner Bay, CA

Angela walked into Jason and Tommy's room doing a round to check on the rangers in the medical bay. Turning the lights up just enough so she could see, she stopped in surprise when she saw Tommy sitting in his usual chair by the cryo chamber.

"Tommy, what are you doing?" she asked quietly, hurrying over to him.

"Sitting," he answered.

She rolled her eyes.

"I can see that," she said drily. "It's nearly 3a, so why aren't you sleeping? Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine, Angela," Tommy sighed. "And if I could sleep I would—believe me."

"Do you want something to help?" Angela offered.

Tommy shook his head.

"I really don't," he replied.

"Tommy, there's nothing wrong with—"

"I understand that," he interrupted. "And I appreciate it. But that still doesn't mean I want it."

"You'll heal faster if you get real rest," Angela reminded him.

"I know," he said. "But it's just one night. If it keeps happening I'll tell you or Dana, but I would really prefer not to take anything. I don't like not being able to wake myself up."

Angela sighed but didn't argue. Instead, she headed over to check on the settings for the cryo machine, carefully avoiding the fort and the two boys still sleeping inside. As she was checking the readings, her phone rang. She answered it and started quickly finishing up what she had been doing as she spoke.

"Ok, ok," she said calmly. "Don't panic. I'm going to be right there. Just stay with him and let him be—I'm sure he's going to be fine. I'm on my way."

Tommy, his attention immediately drawn to her call, started to get up as Angela hurried back toward the door.

"Stay here, Tommy," she said. "I'll let you know if there is anything you need to know or can help with."

Without waiting for an answer, she rushed out of the room leaving Tommy staring after her.

A few hours later, Tommy wasn't the only one awake. There was a crowd in the hallway that had spilled into his and Jason's room, too. JJ, who had woken briefly when people started showing up, was now asleep in Tommy's bed. Marc was still curled up in a pile of blankets and pillows in the fort. Jake and Zach had grabbed chairs and were sitting with Tommy and Kat next to the cryo chamber.

Out in the hallway, Kim was sitting in the hall with Aisha and the kids. Aisha's three plus Lilla and Jazz were sitting on the floor eating a quick breakfast Rocky had grabbed from their suite before they came up. The twins were only picking at their food. They hadn't said a word since being woken up earlier. Rocky was pacing back and forth in the hall near them. Trini was sitting next to Kim, checking emails on her phone and mumbling to herself. A little further down the hall between Tommy and Conner's room, Billy and Hayley had claimed another bench. Hayley was working on her tablet. Kim had been talking on and off about just about anything, trying to keep her friends distracted. It hadn't been helping.

"Come on girls," Kim encouraged, shifting to sit on the floor with the twins. "Eat your breakfast—it's yummy! And then maybe in a little while you'll be able to see your dad."

The girls just continued to pick at their food. Kim sighed. Aisha glanced over at the door. Tanya had been inside since she came up with Adam earlier. He'd had a seizure again somewhere around 3a, waking Tanya up and sending her into a panic. Angela had come racing down to help and had him moved back up to the medical bay. The rest of the rangers had slowly followed them up over the course of the morning to wait for news.

"He's fine, Aisha," Rocky insisted, pausing in his pacing when he saw her looking at the door again. "Adam is fine. It's normal when dealing with seizures and balancing medication. It happens. He'll be tired and we'll have to keep a closer eye on him, but he's fine."

Aisha sighed but nodded. Rocky had been insisting on the same thing on repeat since they came up—though his nonstop pacing showed he was just as worried as the rest of them. Dana walked out of Adam's room and paused to look around at the group. They all turned to look when the door opened.

"Sitting around here is not going to help anything," she said, shaking her head.

"We know, Dana," Aisha said. "But we're going to wait until we can see Adam."

"He's going to be asleep for a while," she reminded them. "This kind of thing wears people out. And we need to let him sleep."

"That's fine," Trini said, glancing up from her phone. "It's not like we can go anywhere anyways."

Dana flinched at the implication in Trini's tone but didn't say anything.

"Alright," she sighed. "Just please don't crowd him when he does wake up. I'll be by again in a little while."

She headed down the hall toward her office.

In Tommy and Jason's room, Jake was frowning as he studied Tommy. Kat had fallen asleep in the chair next to Tommy, who was stifling a yawn.

"Did you get any sleep last night, Tommy?" Jake asked.

"I'm not gonna answer that…" Tommy muttered, stifling another yawn.

"So that's a no," Jake said, shaking his head.

Tommy didn't answer. He looked over at Kat instead, brushing some hair out of her face. Zach was half asleep in his chair, too.

Back out in the hallway, Trini looked at the time and sighed. Putting away her phone, she stood and stretched.

"I need to go finish getting ready for my meetings," she said. "Please keep me updated. I'll stop back down later this afternoon."

"We will," Rocky promised.

Nodding, Trini turned and hurried toward the elevator. She still had a lot of paperwork to get together. Not to mention taking time to shower and change into whatever she could pull together from her wardrobe—she hadn't packed with UN meetings in mind. She was already supposed to be back in New York.

"Hayley, do you need to be working on that right now?" Billy asked quietly.

He'd been watching her work single-mindedly on the tablet since they came up with the others. She hadn't eaten breakfast with the group or really said anything.

"I'm trying to figure out what happened to them, Billy," she said shortly, not taking her eyes off the tablet. "This is what I can do to help. They don't need me for anything else right now. There's nothing I can make or fix or—"

She paused, shaking her head.

"This is what I can do," she continued after a moment. "I can figure out why this is happening. I can find out who is trying to hurt the people I care about so we can stop it from happening again."

"How can you investigate?" Billy said. "Carter locked you out, too."

Hayley scoffed.

"You know better than that," she said. "Carter is only making it harder by denying me access. He can't actually stop me. I wrote half of the security programs."

Billy continued to watch her as he processed what she was saying. This was the most she had said to him since their fight Saturday night, but he was starting to understand more of why she was reacting the way she was.

"I understand," Billy said quietly, putting an arm around her shoulders.

Hayley looked up in surprise. Billy smiled at her.

"I am sorry," he said. "You care about them as much as I do and want to keep them safe. Even if it does seem your actions are a little extreme at times. But I do understand more now why you have been so worked up."

Hayley smiled faintly back at him, leaning into his shoulder a little.

"How can I help?" Billy asked, looking closer at what she was working on.

Back in the room, Kat had woken up and was checking on the boys. Both were still sound asleep.

"Tommy, why don't you take some time and get out of here," Jake suggested. "Get some space from the group and stretch your legs—we've been crowding you all morning. You can go down to your suite for a bit."

"Thanks, Jake, but no," Tommy said, shaking his head as he glanced over at Jason. "I'll try to take a nap later, but I'm not going anywhere."

"Not to sleep," Jake chuckled. "Take a shower and get something to eat. Enjoy a slight change in scenery for an hour or two. And then come back. I swear I'll stay right here the whole time."

Tommy frowned, eying Jake hesitantly. Jake sighed.

"I know Kim thinks you're just overreacting," Jake said. "But I do understand a little, even if I don't completely agree with you either. I will stay here with Jason until you're back just in case they come by."

Tommy hesitated for another moment and then nodded. Kat, who had been listening, sighed in relief.

"Alright, I'll go," Tommy said. "Thank you."

"Anytime," Jake smiled. "Take Kat with you. I'm sure Zach will be glad to keep me company."

"What?" Zach exclaimed, shooting up in his chair when he heard his name. "What's going on?"

Jake, Tommy, and Kat all laughed. Getting up, Tommy grabbed his cane and headed out of the room with Kat.

"Seriously, man," Zach grinned. "All you have to do is ask. I could get you some fantastic dancers for any kind of commercial. Our company is always looking for new clients."

Jake laughed and shook his head. They were sitting in Jason and Tommy's room, talking while they waited for Tommy to come back. Everyone else had left a while before.

"I don't really do commercials," Jake said in amusement. "Not the kind of company I run. I can't even begin to think what I'd use dancers for. And how did we get this far off topic?"

"Come on, work with me here," Zach complained.

Jake just laughed. His retort was interrupted by the door opening. Chad came in with Christine and Will. The laughter trailed off as Zach and Jake exchanged a look.

"Oh, hi," Zach said.

Christine scowled at them.

"What are you doing in here?" she demanded.

"Sitting with Jason," Jake answered.

"Why?" she said. "It's not like he knows you're here. So why bother?"

"Same reason you come to visit?" Zach answered, raising an eyebrow.

"Whatever," Christine said, rolling her eyes. "Now get out."

"Or not," Zach snorted. "He's my friend and I'm visiting him right now."

"Like that matters," she scowled. "Go away."

"Nah, we're good," Zach answered, settling back in his chair.

"I want some alone time with my husband!" Christine snapped.

"Why?" Zach smirked. "It's not like he knows you're here. So why does it matter?"

Christine glared at him as Jake and Chad both tried not to laugh. Will was scowling at Zach now, too.

"It's not for him," Christine hissed. "It's for me."

"Oh!" Zach said. "Then we're here for the same reasons!"

Out of arguments for the moment, Christine huffed and dropped into a chair. Irritated, she tapped her nails on the chair as she continued to glare at Zach. Ignoring her, he turned back to Jake who just shook his head.

"Anyways," Jake said. "As I was saying earlier. He just drops this contract in front of me that is like thirty pages thick. Thirty pages. And expected me to sign it right then and there. Without reading it."

Zach snorted.

"Yeah, that means one of two things," he said. "Either he's extremely confident and thought you'd be stupid enough to do it or he's just extremely incompetent and legitimately thinks that's how things work. But good call on walking out of there. I probably would have run."

Christine, who was still huffing as she scowled at them.

"Why are you taking his advice on your business?" Christine interrupted, gesturing at Zach as she spoke to Jake.

Jake and Zach exchanged a look.

"Uh… because he works for one of the biggest music companies in LA?" Jake said, looking back at Christine. "And he knows a lot of important people and has a fantastic understanding of how businesses work?"

"Aww… you flatter me," Zach grinned at Jake.

He turned to Christine with a shrug.

"I'm really just the guy who knows all the other guys," he said. "I do actually spend a lot of time doing choreography, after all. The business thing just comes with it. So, I do a little bit of everything from choreography to casting and even some venue planning."

Christine looked at him in surprise, her glare gone.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "I didn't know."

"It's difficult to know when you don't ask," Zach snorted.

Christine eyed him.

"Well, when all of this is over maybe you and I can talk more," she said, smiling now.

Zach raised an eyebrow.

"About what?" he asked.

"All kinds of things," she said. "I love knowing people."

"Uh huh…" Zach said slowly, not falling for her sudden change of attitude.

"And if you ever need anyone to work security or anything—" Will started to offer.

"I won't call you?" Zach interrupted. "Man, I was there when you fought Tommy—remember? That was just sad. So, no thanks. Not even gonna go there. I've got better resources."

Will scowled at him, but Christine waved him off as she turned her attention back to Jake. She started grilling him on what kind of events he had coming up and what kind of guests he was allowed.

"I'd love to keep Kim company while you're talking," she offered.

Shaking his head, Jake politely brushed her off. It didn't take long for her to get frustrated and eventually she and Will stormed out. Chad sighed and followed.

"Well, they're just a barrel of laughs, aren't they?" Zach commented after they were gone.

"Yep," Jake sighed. "I just love people like that…"

"I can see why Tommy doesn't like them," Zach agreed.

Jake shook his head, glancing toward the door and Jason before looking back at Zach.

"I think it's more than that," he admitted. "I don't know what. But my gut is telling me there's more to the situation than meets the eye. And Tommy feels it, too."

Zach nodded slowly.

"Alright," he said. "So, be wary. Got it. I take it that's why we're sticking around til Tommy comes back?"

"I gave him my word," Jake shrugged.

Ryan yawned, rubbing a hand over his face as he strode down the hallway, holding tightly to a folder. It was midmorning and he'd finally gotten back to base. Stopping in front of the Command suite, he knocked on the door and waited for an answer. The door slid open to reveal Kat. She looked at him in surprise.

"Oh, Ryan," she said. "Did you need something?"

"I just need to talk to Tommy," he said. "Is he here?"

She nodded.

"Come on in," she said. "He's in the kitchen. We were having a late breakfast."

Ryan followed her inside. Tommy was sitting at the kitchen table, so he headed straight toward him.

"Hey, Ryan," Tommy said, looking up from his food.

"I finally got everything taken care of," Ryan said, dropping into a chair and setting the folder on the table. "You aren't going to believe—"

Tommy held up a hand to stop him.

"Two questions," Tommy said firmly. "One—are they alright?"

"Yes?" Ryan said, frowning.

"Two—is everything back to normal?"

"I mean, as normal as it can be for a ranger team…" Ryan said slowly.

"Great," Tommy said, nodding. "Then take those reports to Carter."

Ryan sighed. Kat sat down, though she didn't interrupt.

"I take it further talks did not go well?" he asked.

Tommy shook his head.

"Carter has decided that, in my current condition, I am not fit for leadership," Tommy said shortly. "Apparently, he's been talking to the reds about it since the last incident because it took me a little longer to get my feet back under me. So, I'm hands off until further notice."

"Are you serious?" Ryan grimaced. "Who has he been talking to?"

Tommy shrugged.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I can eliminate a couple and I'm trying to give a few the benefit of doubt, but…"

He sighed, shaking his head.

"Carter is an idiot sometimes," Ryan muttered. "Do you need to rest more while you're recovering? Probably. Is your ability to lead suffering? Not in the slightest."

Tommy smiled faintly at Ryan's irritation on his behalf.

"Well, it doesn't matter now," Tommy said. "I'm taking care of mine and that's it. I even gave Carter the tablet and the phone. So, if you need me, I'll be back in Jason's room as soon as I'm done with my breakfast."

"Wait—did you really move back to the Mighty Morphin' suite?" Ryan exclaimed. "If anything, I would have thought you went to the Dino suite or you and Kat went to Zeo."

Tommy shook his head.

"No," he said. "Jason's room in the medical bay."

Ryan stared at him in surprise.

"Wait—what?" he said. "He was fine when I left—what happened? What did I miss?"

Tommy sighed.

"It's a long story," he said. "But the short of it is this… Jason and Zach slipped off base late Saturday night with Conner's help and went to Angel Grove. The Ninja's followed them at Conner's request. They were attacked while they were there and both Jason and Conner were shot—"

"What?" Ryan exclaimed.

Tommy nodded.

"Shane and the others got them back in time," he said. "And they're all going to be fine. However…"

He paused, shaking his head as he scowled.

"Carter decided the best course of action when they showed up injured—and potentially dying—was not to call us immediately," Tommy explained irritably. "Because it was more important to make sure we were resting and not reacting rashly to the new attack then it was to tell us our teammates and friends had nearly died and still weren't out of danger. Which is why he preceded to lock us all on the residential level to make sure we couldn't wander up there on our own and then try to wait until morning to inform us."

Ryan groaned, dropping his head into his hands, his elbows resting on the tables.

"I swear he's getting way too far ahead of himself," Ryan muttered. "Carter seriously needs to slow down and think this through more instead of just reacting. I know he has all of your best interests at heart but…But sometimes he really can be an idiot…"

Tommy just shook his head again.

"The only reason I found out as soon as I did was because my group realized Conner and Krista were missing and we went looking," he sighed. "We had to use the override to even get to Carter for answers."

Ryan took a deep breath and straightened up.

"But they're going to be alright?" he asked in concern.

Tommy nodded, rubbing a hand over his face.

"Yes," he said. "They'll obviously need time to heal. And Jason is going to be in the cryo chamber for at least a few more days. So, I'm staying up there for the time being."

Ryan grimaced at the mention of the chamber, then shook his head.

"Wait, why are you staying up there?" he asked.

"Because Carter and Dana also brought Jason's estranged wife and brother-in-law here without talking to anyone first…" Tommy sighed. "I know they weren't aware there were issues but…"

He shook his head.

"Carter knew Christine knew nothing about us," he muttered. "That was made clear at the meeting when we discussed Jake. And the restraining order Marc has against her just makes everything more complicated."

"Restraining order?" Ryan frowned.

"It's complicated," Tommy said as Kat scowled. "But I'm his temporary guardian until Jason is awake again. So, I'm keeping an eye on him."

"Good," Ryan said. "Let me know if I can help out in anyway."

Tommy nodded.

"Thanks, Ryan," he said gratefully.

Glancing at the time, Tommy pushed himself carefully to his feet.

"I really should get back," he said. "I've been gone a couple hours now and I shouldn't leave Jake and Zach there all day."

"And we might be able to see Adam, too," Kat added, pausing to look at Ryan. "He had a seizure early this morning and is back in the hospital…"

"I'm sorry…" Ryan said, following Tommy in standing up. "You guys are really not having a good week…"

"You're not kidding," Tommy muttered.

Kat just sighed, shaking her head as she handed Tommy his cane.

"I'm going to go give Carter this report," Ryan said. "And try and talk some sense into him again…"

"Good luck," Tommy said as Ryan turned to leave.

Eric and Wes both looked up when the door opened. They were sitting in their living room, waiting for Taylor to arrive. She had messaged Eric not long before to let him know she was almost there.

"I am so sorry I'm late," Taylor said, walking in holding Devin's hand. "You would not believe the extra security I had to deal with trying to get in. Not only were there extra guards at the gate who triple checked my car, but there are actual guards stationed in the garage watching, too. What on earth is going on here, Eric?"

Eric, who had gotten up when she walked in, didn't get a chance to answer because six-year-old Devin interrupted.

"Daddy!" she yelled, letting go of Taylor's hand and racing straight to Eric. "We're here!"

Eric smiled, catching Devin in a hug and spinning her around.

"Yes, you are," he said with a laugh. "Did you have a good trip?"

"Momma made me get up early so we could sneak out so Danny wouldn't catch us," she answered.

"Does that mean you need a nap?" Eric asked.

"No," Devin said, shaking her head adamantly.

He just laughed as Taylor walked over to give him a hug and kiss.

"Now—explanations?" she asked. "Because—and I know I don't come here often—but the security seems a little over the top right now for the information that's been sent out. It's ridiculous. Unless there is an ongoing threat that hasn't been shared…?"

She crossed her arms, looking at Eric expectantly. Eric sighed and set Devin back down.

"Mom and I need to have a private conversation," he said, looking down at her.

"So, I should bother Uncle Wes?" she said.

"Yep."

Devin immediately bounced over to Wes who was still sitting in a chair.

"Good morning!" she exclaimed, immediately climbing into his lap. "Are you gonna show me around while momma and daddy talk? Do you know where we are? Can you take me on a tour?"

"Good morning," Wes chuckled. "Why do you need a tour? You'll only be going places with adults anyways."

"Because momma says I should always know my surroundings so if there's an emergenty—emergency—I can go somewhere safe," she said.

"She's not wrong," Eric said with a smirk.

Wes just sighed, scooping Devin up as he stood.

"Why do you have to be so smart?' he asked. "But alright, come on. Let's go exploring."

Devin started firing off more questions as they left the room. Alone, Eric and Taylor sat down so they could talk.

"Alright, out with it," Taylor said. "I already know something weird is going on or you wouldn't have asked me to come."

Eric sighed.

"So, you know what happened with Tommy, Rocky, and Adam," he said.

Taylor nodded.

"Everyone does," she said. "That's not a secret. So why did I have to sneak out of our house without Danny hearing this morning?"

"Well, the situation got more complicated," Eric said.

"And…?" Taylor asked. "What does more complicated mean?"

"The whole thing started last week, which you know," he continued. "Partially because the originals are back and wanted to see each other."

"Eric," Taylor sighed. "Trini, Billy, and Tommy have been around for years. You talk to Tommy constantly."

"Not them, the rest of their team," he said. "They were all together last Wednesday when Tommy ended up in the hospital."

"Really?" Taylor said in surprise. "I didn't think they were really involved anymore."

"Really," Eric confirmed. "Including Jason—who has pretty much talked to no one since he left except for the couple of times he's shown up to help."

"Well, that's unexpected," Taylor mused. "I'd love to meet him—and the other two, as well."

"So, that's where we run into the current problem," Eric said, rubbing the back of his head.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Taylor asked, raising an eyebrow. "You're being very cryptic."

"Jason was shot Saturday night…" Eric finally said.

"What?" Taylor exclaimed. "Shot? But who…?"

"We have no idea…" Eric sighed.

"Ok, you need to start from the beginning," Taylor said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I need some details."

"Alright," Eric agreed. "So, Trini called Wes and I on Wednesday night from Adam's dojo…"

"What were you thinking?" Ryan demanded, storming into Carter's office without knocking.

Carter jumped in surprise, nearly dropping the tablet. He scowled at Ryan once he realized who it was.

"When did you get back?" Carter asked, setting down the tablet.

Ryan dropped his folder on the desk, leaning on it as he glared at Carter.

"We need to talk," he said shortly. "I was just talking to—"

"Ryan, not right now," Carter interrupted. "We can talk later."

"Now would be better," Ryan snapped back. "I'd rather—"

"Ryan—" Carter tried to argue.

Ryan stopped in surprise when Charlie suddenly popped up on the other side of the desk. Carter sighed.

"I know, I know," Charlie grumbled. "I'm going…"

Charlie, with his backpack on and an armful of books, walked around Carter's desk and headed for the door.

"Hi Uncle Ryan," he said as he walked past. "Bye Uncle Ryan."

And then he was out the door. Once he was gone, Ryan turned back to Carter.

"Ok, I didn't know the kid was there," he said. "But we still need to talk."

"Ryan—"

"It's fine, Carter," Ryan said, shaking his head. "I'll just buy him ice cream later."

"You can't just buy him ice cream," Carter said.

"Right, that was Charlie," Ryan muttered. "I'll get him a book. Later. Because we still need to talk."

"Seriously, Ryan?" Carter sighed. "Can't you wait? I really am in the middle of something."

"No," Ryan snapped, slamming his hands down on the desk. "What were you thinking, Carter? Locking them on residential? You should have told them immediately! Things are so messed up now. Tommy has never willingly handed that tablet over to anyone else besides Hayley or Trini—let alone the phone! Which means you really made him mad. And that's on top of invoking that stupid clause and trapping them here."

"Tommy needs time to rest and recover," Carter snapped back. "Waking him up that late at night to tell him they were hurt and we had no idea if they were going to be ok was just going to stress him out. All I wanted to do was wait until I actually had answers for him. As for the rest—Tommy needs a break after everything that's happened and he wasn't taking one."

"He didn't need someone to force him to take one, Carter," Ryan exclaimed. "He needed someone to help him through it. And he was getting help!"

"That was before someone almost killed him," Carter countered.

Ryan scoffed.

"Look at Tommy's history," he argued. "How many times has he almost died before? More than any other individual ranger—"

He paused, frowning.

"No, no," he muttered. "He still has me beat."

He shook his head.

"The point is—he's never almost lost a son before, Carter," Ryan continued. "It was bound to mess with him. But he was handling it as best he could and his work for the rangers never suffered. Being behind a few reports for a couple of weeks wasn't going to hurt anything."

"It wasn't just being behind in the reports, Ryan," Carter scowled. "He wasn't taking care of himself. He was getting upset, not sleeping—"

"He never sleeps," Ryan interrupted. "And again, he had every right to be upset after what happened. But if you seriously think his leadership abilities are compromised because of that incident, then I think you need to sit down and talk to my dad so he can set you straight."

Carter frowned.

"Why would—" he started to ask.

"Dad went through the same thing," Ryan reminded him. "He lost a son. At least Tommy got JJ back right away. Dad thought he had lost me forever. And he continued to lead Lightspeed that whole time without a problem."

"It's not the same thing," Carter argued.

"Yes, it is," Ryan snapped. "You're just so sure you're right you don't want to hear anyone else's opinion."

"I am not the only one who thinks Tommy needs to take a break for a while," Carter snapped.

"Fine—maybe a couple of the others agree with you," Ryan scowled, crossing his arms. "But you are not in the majority. And this is going to come back to bite you."

The ranger phone, sitting on the corner of Carter's desk, started ringing. He sighed, picking it up.

"You have my report," Ryan said shortly as Carter answered the phone. "I'm going down to the med bay."

Spinning, Ryan stalked out of the room.

"Danny?" Carter said, answering the phone. "No—I haven't talked to Taylor today. Did you try calling her?"

He paused, rubbing a hand over his face as he listened.

"Well, if her text said to leave her alone, maybe you should do that," Carter sighed. "…No, Danny. How am I supposed to know if you did something wrong?"

"So, now we're all just in limbo here waiting for answers," Eric sighed. "Which don't seem to be easily forthcoming…"

He had just finished bringing Taylor up to date on the events since Wednesday. Including the incident Saturday night with Jason, Conner, and Zach—which hadn't been shared with the rest of the rangers yet. Though Carter had announced to the rest of the rangers on Sunday morning that he was temporarily taking charge of the rangers.

"And Jason's wife being here is complicating everything—she is a piece of work," he muttered. "Plus, she knows nothing about us."

"And Tommy really thinks they're up to something?" Taylor asked.

"He does," Eric said. "Everyone else thinks he's just overreacting. Honestly, I don't know if he is or isn't, but frankly I wouldn't have been alright if someone had let Sarah start making decisions for Wes when they were in the middle of their separation and divorce. So, I can see where he's coming from."

"I guess with that logic I'd have to agree," Taylor admitted. "So, since it sounds like everyone else is against it, why don't we just stay a neutral party? We'll help him, but not try and convince everyone else."

"That's what I've been thinking," Eric agreed.

The door opening interrupted any further conversation. Wes walked back in with Devin now riding on his shoulders. She was talking happily as she leaned on his head. Devin was now wearing one of Joel's hats.

"This place is awesome, daddy!" Devin exclaimed in glee. "There are free hats!"

Eric looked at the hat she was wearing in surprise.

"Where did you get that?" he asked as Wes sat her down. "Did you take that from someone?"

"Nope," Devin said, bouncing over to the couch.

She climbed up between Eric and Taylor.

"She found it," Wes shrugged. "I let her run around and explore. She opened a trunk in one of the training rooms where they store extra pads. It was just sitting in there. So, I think we found one of the girls' hiding spots."

Eric chuckled.

"Did you tell Joel?" he asked.

"Nah, haven't seen him," Wes said, shaking his head and sitting back down. "Figured I'd just wait and see how long it takes him to notice."

"Wes, she's going to get attached," Taylor said, raising an eyebrow.

Wes just grinned.

"Well, I guess Joel better work on his negotiation skills," he snickered.

Chad sighed as he waited for the elevator to open on the medical floor. Christine and Will, standing with him, were far more impatient. When the elevator arrived, however, they were all surprised to see someone else inside already.

"Stupid plan," Ryan was muttering to himself. "Idiot. Just making things—Oh. Hey, Chad."

"You're back," Chad said.

"Yeah, I'm back," Ryan said irritably. "And apparently I shouldn't be allowed to leave because everything goes insane when I do!"

Chad winced but Christine and Will just shared an annoyed look.

"So, I guess that means you've talked to Carter," Chad sighed.

"Just came from there," Ryan said shortly. "Figured I'd check in with Sis before I went to sleep."

Christine cleared her throat next to Chad.

"Right…" Chad said, looking at her. "This is Ryan—Dr. Grayson's older brother. You'll see him around a lot."

"Oh, pleasure," Christine said, eyeing Ryan.

He just nodded.

"And this is Christine Scott," Chad continued. "She's Jason Scott's wife."

He gave Ryan a look as he spoke. Ryan nodded, catching the silent message and acknowledging it. He knew they knew nothing.

"It's been so horrible," Christine said immediately, sniffling. "With Jason in the condition he's in. And that horrible machine. We were yanked out of our beds and dragged here with practically no information. I wasn't even told my husband was alive!"

Ryan raised an eyebrow, turning from Christine to appraise Will.

"And you are?" Ryan asked.

"I'm her brother," Will said, crossing his arms.

Ryan nodded, stepping aside so they could finally get in the elevator. Christine continued to complain all the way down to the recreation level. Mostly about how horrible everything had been for her rather than expressing any concern about Jason's condition. When the elevator stopped Ryan opened the door and then held it open. Christine, Will, and Chad got off. Ryan stayed, leaning against the frame of the door to keep it open for a moment.

"Chad, if you need anything, I'll be around," he said. "Things have settled down for the moment. So just give me a shout."

Chad started to answer but was interrupted.

"Actually, that's perfect," Christine said brightly. "If you would be a dear, the pillows in my room are completely subpar and unacceptable."

Ryan raised an eyebrow, looking at her.

"I need goose down," Christine continued. "But still firm. Nothing squishy. I also need something more hypoallergenic than the horrible sheets we're currently expected to use. They're awful and scratchy."

"Mrs. Scott, I don't think—" Chad tried to intervene.

"It's not a problem," Christine said, waving him off. "I'm sure Ryan can come up with something while we're eating. You'll take care of it. Won't you, sweetheart? It would make me feel so much better in this horrible time."

She looked at him expectantly.

"No," Ryan answered.

Christine stared at him in surprise and Chad groaned quietly.

"I'm sorry, what?" Christine sputtered.

"I said no," Ryan repeated, crossing his arms. "I won't be taking care of that for you."

"What did you just say?" Will demanded, crossing his own arms as he glared at Ryan.

"I said no," Ryan said one more time. "Do I need to say it louder? I'd be happy to."

"There's no reason to be like this," Christine pouted. "Would it really be that much of a bother? I mean, with everything happening…"

She sniffed, dabbing at her eyes. Ryan just stared, his face blank.

"It's the least you could do considering you offered help," Will scowled.

Ryan scoffed.

"No, the least I can do is nothing," he countered. "And I offered Chad help, not you. He knows what I will and won't do. When people offer help, they do still have boundaries after all."

Christine started to sniffle more, crying a little. Will dropped his arms, stepping forward to get in Ryan's face. Chad grimaced, ready to yank Will back.

"You made my sister cry!" Will said accusingly, jabbing a finger at Ryan. "You're a horrible person!"

Ryan shoved his hand away and shrugged.

"Maybe," he scoffed. "But that means I recognize horrible, awful people when I see them. I can pick them out of a crowd. Like you."

He stared pointedly at Will.

"You're a bully and an idiot who doesn't have the brains to think for himself," Ryan said. "And an ego big enough to serve three. So, your sister does all the thinking and you're the brawn. That way you don't have to strain yourself."

Will sputtered as Ryan rounded on Christine.

"And you," he said coldly. "You are a gaslighting witch. Someone who uses other people's caring nature and insecurities to manipulate them into doing whatever you want. Works on just about everyone, doesn't it? Except the people who have had it done to them before and learned to recognize the behavior."

He shook his head.

"I grew up with people manipulating me," Ryan spat. "Took a long time for me to see through it. But now that I have? Makes it real easy to spot it. So, good luck getting anything from me."

Ryan turned to Chad again.

"Chad, good luck," he said, taking a step backward. "You know how to find me."

The door shut, leaving Chad alone with the siblings. Christine immediately turned on him.

"I want to speak to whoever is in charge of that man!" she demanded. "He should be fired immediately! So who do I have to talk to?"

Chad grimaced.

"That's a—well, a complicated answer," he said slowly, thinking over his answer as he ushered them down the hall to the cafeteria.

He knew Ryan wasn't going to listen to Carter. That had never been their relationship. Carter couldn't control Ryan and didn't usually try since the only time Ryan followed orders was in an emergency. Captain Mitchell could exert some control, but probably wouldn't unless absolutely necessary. And if he went to Dana it would stress her out and cause a fight. Tommy was also out because he was recovering and Chad wasn't about to put Ryan on his list of things to worry about.

"I'll see what I can do…" Chad sighed. "Here's the cafeteria."

Chad ushered Christine and Will into the cafeteria, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw a group of the other rangers already there and eating. Kim, Jake, Aisha, Rocky, Zach, Billy, and Hayley were all grouped together at one of the long tables talking quietly while the kids were at the one next to them. The kids were quiet, too, for the most part. It had been another early morning for them—and that was after everything late Saturday night into Sunday morning.

"Oh perfect," Aisha muttered, glancing up to see Chad heading their way with the siblings. "I do not need to deal with this right now."

Everyone else glanced around and several echoed Aisha's sentiments.

"I know, I know," Kim said quietly. "I hate her, too. But we have to try and cut her some slack. Remember, she's in a strange place around people she really doesn't know and Jason isn't able to help her."

"Can we sit with you?" Christine asked expectantly as they reached the table.

"Of course!" Kim said with a smile, ignoring the looks from her friends. "How are you this morning?"

As Christine started into a rather long-winded explanation of her apparently terrible morning, Chad took the opportunity to slip away—much to the amusement of the other rangers. Kim listened patiently, though the rest of the group could tell she was forcing sympathy. And probably regretting putting herself forward.

"And we ran into the rudest man on the way down here," Christine scowled.

"He was almost worse than Tommy," Will scoffed.

"You gotta learn your audience, dude," Zach scowled.

They ignored him as Christine continued to complain.

"He offered to help and then refused to do anything I asked," she continued. "I mean, he wouldn't even try and get me better sheets!"

Confused looks were exchanged.

"Who are you talking about?" Rocky frowned. "One of the embassy staff?"

"No," Christine huffed. "That lady doctor's brother. I don't remember his name."

"Wait, are you talking about Ryan?" Rocky sputtered.

"Sure," she said, rolling her eyes. "Like I care. But my sheets are scratchy and he wouldn't even help! I need hypoallergenic or I'll never be able to sleep."

As she continued to complain, Zach leaned over to Rocky.

"Does she realize hypoallergenic sheets can be scratchy?" he asked quietly. "I mean, look at hospital sheets."

"I have no idea…" Rocky muttered back.

Joel hurried over, interrupting as he looked for Chad.

"Where's Chad?" he asked, ignoring the scowls at the table. "Did he skip out early?"

"I believe he muttered something about getting a drink," Aisha answered, turning away from Christine. "And then left."

"Of course, he did," Joel muttered.

"Oh, good," Christine said. "You're here. Be a dear and get us something to eat. I just don't understand all those fancy machines you have. Something light."

She turned away, essentially dismissing Joel. He stalked away, muttering to himself. Trini walked into the dining room and straight to the table with the rest of the rangers. Dropping into a chair, she interrupted whatever complaint Christine was about to voice next.

"This morning was terrible," Trini sighed, tucking her briefcase under her legs and leaning on the table. "Carter only had half of the reports ready and half of the notes on what he did finish were illegible. I had to come up with so many excuses..."

She sighed, putting her head in her hands.

"I miss Tommy," she said. "His shorthand may be awful, but at least I know what I'm reading…"

The rangers murmured sympathetically.

"I can help you after lunch if you would like, Trini," Billy offered.

She shook her head, looking up. Christine was scowling that her complaints had been interrupted by someone else.

"It's fine, Billy," she said. "I'm going to corner Carter after I eat something."

"I'll grab you a sandwich," Zach volunteered, hopping up to go grab Trini something to eat.

"Thanks, Zach," Trini smiled. "So, how's Adam doing? Did you get to see him, yet?"

"Yeah, we did," Rocky said as the rest of the group nodded. "He slept most of the morning, but we finally got to pop in on him just before we came down for lunch. He's tired but doing ok. Dana says that she doesn't foresee any lasting effects and that he'll be alright. Just like I said he was going to be."

"Yes dear, you told us," Aisha said, patting Rocky on the arm.

"At least you can talk to your friend," Christine interrupted, sniffling. "I can't even hold Jason's hand because they have him in the awful machine. And every time I try to visit him, I can't just sit quietly because someone is always interrupting. This is the worst hospital I've ever been to."

Looks were exchanged, though Christine either didn't notice or ignored them.

"No one is stopping you from visiting Jason," Aisha pointed out, rolling her eyes. "We are all concerned, too. So no, you are not going to get the complete privacy you want—especially since Jason isn't rooming alone. We all understand you are upset, but there's no need to be so dramatic. Jason couldn't possibly get better care literally anywhere else on the planet right now—the same with Adam and Tommy. No one else is complaining about free medical care from the most advanced facility available."

Christine scoffed.

"Like your opinion makes a difference," she said. "Just because you are all used to tiny rooms and crappy food doesn't make this place any better. It's not my fault all of you are used to living like this. This place is torture for me."

Aisha rolled her eyes and stood.

"You know what?" she said shortly. "I don't actually have to listen to you. And if I stay, I'm going to say something I shouldn't. Rocky, I'm taking the kids to take a nap."

She stalked away to gather up their three plus the twins. All five of them immediately started protesting at the mention of a nap.

"Nope, no arguments," Aisha said, starting to usher them toward the door.

Rocky was cleaning up plates. Jake stood, giving Kim a quick kiss and striding over to help Aisha.

"I want to take a nap!" he announced, taking the twins by the hand. "You all are so lucky you still get to take naps. Can I take one, too?"

"Oh, wait for me!" Kim said, standing to hurry after them. "A nap sounds wonderful."

"But—" Christine started to protest as even more people started standing.

"I have some work I need to complete in my lab," Billy said as he stood, too. "Hayley?"

"I need to talk to Tommy about something," Hayley said, following suit. "Could you take the girls for a while? I'll come get them later."

"Of course," Billy quickly agreed. "I am not working on anything they cannot be around. Take your time."

"Thank you," Hayley said.

Spinning, she rushed out of the room. Billy collected Rae and Izzy and followed. Christine huffed. All that was left were the siblings, Trini, and Zach, who had just returned to the table with food for Trini.

"Thanks, Zach," Trini smiled.

"No problem," he said, frowning as Trini stifled a yawn. "You ok?"

She sighed.

"Just tired," she admitted. "It's been a long few days and then this morning…"

Trini shook her head.

"I could have used a lot more sleep last night," she said.

"Go take a nap," Zach suggested.

"I can't…" Trini sighed. "I have more meetings this afternoon and I need to eat—"

"Then eat your sandwich on the way back to the suite," Zach interrupted. "Then you can take at least a short nap. Come on."

Not giving Trini a chance to argue, Zach pulled her up and stuck the sandwich in her hand. He grabbed her briefcase and started shooing her out of the room.

"Let's go," he said as Trini protested.

"Great," Joel muttered to himself as he came back with food. "Alone with them…"

After leaving the cafeteria, Hayley headed straight up to the med bay to talk to Tommy. He was finishing up eating the lunch Kat had brought him. Marc was sitting in a chair by Jason's bed, but JJ was nowhere to be seen.

"I need to talk to you," Hayley announced as she walked in.

"Hayley, I was spending time with Kat," Tommy sighed.

"Oh, right," Hayley said. "I'm sorry, Kat. Can I borrow him for a while?"

"I'm not an object to borrow!" Tommy protested.

Kat just laughed.

"Go ahead, Hayley," she said. "I need to go figure out where JJ disappeared to, anyways. He didn't eat lunch with us."

"Or in the cafeteria with us," Hayley said.

Kat nodded.

"Alright, Marc," Kat said. "Come with me. No protesting allowed."

Marc sighed but hopped up and followed Kat out of the room. Hayley took the chair Kat had vacated. Tommy sighed.

"Alright, what's so important, Hayley?" he asked.

"There is something weird going on with Christine and her brother," Hayley said.

"I know—" Tommy tried to agree, but Hayley kept going without listening.

"I know she's supposedly upset over Jason—blah, blah, blah…" Hayley said, rolling her eyes. "But hear me out. She's hardly spent any time here since she arrived—and yes, I am aware that was yesterday. But if she was really as upset as she claims, why would she ever leave this room? No matter who was in the room. But she wants it all to herself. And wanting to know how the cryo machine works. So she can what? She shouldn't be touching it. And—"

"Hayley," Tommy finally interrupted. "I agree."

"What?" she said, looking at him in surprise.

"Hayley, I agree with you," he said again. "Why else do you think I've been refusing to leave Jason alone in here? I don't trust her intentions."

"Oh," Hayley said. "Wait—I'm right?"

Tommy sighed.

"Yes, Hayley," he said. "You're right. As usual. Or at least I think so. No one else really seems to believe they're suspicious, just annoying… so they don't believe me. Except Conner and Trent. Maybe the other two. Even Kat thinks I'm just being paranoid…"

He shook his head and shrugged. Hayley huffed.

"I'm trying to figure out what happened to the three of you," she muttered. "So, I don't really have time to figure out why they're being weird."

"I didn't ask you to," Tommy said, raising an eyebrow.

Hayley wasn't paying attention again.

"What about Ethan?" Hayley said, looking up at Tommy.

"What about Ethan?" Tommy asked.

"He can look into her," Hayley said.

"Into Christine?"

"Well, of course," Hayley said, rolling her eyes. "Who else would I be talking about?"

"Alright," Tommy nodded, rubbing a hand over his face. "I'll talk to him and see what he says…"

Hayley frowned, studying Tommy for a moment.

"Tommy, are you alright?" she asked with some concern.

"I'm fine," he said, waving her off. "It was just a long night and I'm tired."

"Take a nap," she said.

Tommy shook his head.

"There's no one else here to watch over Jason," he said. "Unless you plan to stay? Plus, every time I close my eyes someone else walks in. I'll just sleep tonight."

"Tommy—"

"I'm fine, Hayley," he repeated.

Hayley eyed him for a moment and then sighed and stood.

"Fine," she said. "I need to go, but you talk to Ethan."

"I'm texting him right now," Tommy said, pulling out his phone. "I'll ask him to stop by as soon as he has a minute. Happy?"

"No, but it'll work for now," she said. "Text me if you need anything."

"Why don't you have some of my soup?" Krista suggested. "I can hold the bowl so you can use the spoon."

Krista, Trent, Kira, and Ethan were eating lunch in Conner's room. They were pretty much done eating, but still trying to convince Conner to eat something. The Ninjas had left a little while before after finishing their food. They were eating a late lunch because when Trent and Kira had tried to go get food earlier they had seen Christine and Will in the cafeteria, so they had decided to wait until the siblings left again.

"I don't want soup," Conner answered.

Krista sighed, setting the bowl back in her own lap.

"Well, what do you want?" Trent asked. "I'll go get it for you."

"I'm not hungry," Conner said, shaking his head.

"You have to be hungry," Kira argued. "You're always hungry and you haven't eaten anything since Saturday. There has to be something you want to eat."

"We will get you literally anything from the cafeteria," Ethan said.

"Nope, not hungry," Conner reiterated.

"Could you still at least try some jello or something?" Krista pleaded.

"I'll even go get you ice cream if it will get you to eat," Kira added.

"I said I wasn't hungry!" Conner finally snapped. "It isn't that hard of a concept."

The other four exchanged surprised looks as he continued in a small rant.

"All of you just need to leave me alone," Conner scowled. "I don't want anything. No medicine, no food. Nothing. Just peace and quiet."

Kira frowned and opened her mouth to argue, knowing Krista wouldn't want to aggravate him. But Kira was willing to let him be mad at her if he would eat something. Trent put a hand on her arm to stop her.

"Alright," he said. "We'll give you some space for a little while. Ok?"

Conner didn't say anything. He just lay back in his bed, staring at the ceiling. Trent pulled Kira up out of her seat and they grabbed the dishes to take back down to the cafeteria. The couple left without another word. Ethan hesitated, looking at Krista.

"Dr. O needed me to swing by," he said. "He messaged me a while ago but we hadn't eaten yet so I waited. Are you gonna be ok?"

Krista nodded.

"We'll be fine," she said. "I'll let you know if he changes his mind…"

Leaving Conner's room, Ethan headed straight over to Tommy and Jason's room. Walking in, Ethan saw Marc and JJ playing a board game on the floor at the back of the room near the control panels. Tommy was sitting by Jason again.

"Hey Dr. O," Ethan said. "What's up? You weren't very specific in your message."

"I just need to talk to you about something," Tommy said.

He hesitated, glancing over at the boys. Grabbing his cane, he slowly pushed himself to his feet.

"Let's talk in the hall," he said.

"Oh, sure," Ethan said, turning to lead the way out.

Out in the hallway, Tommy leaned against the wall and waited for the door to slide all the way shut before he spoke.

"So, how would you feel about doing some digging on someone for me?" Tommy asked.

"Uh…sure?" Ethan said, frowning. "But why—and who?"

Tommy sighed.

"There's something going on with Christine," he said. "Something more than her usual gaslighting act. I don't know what it is but…"

He shook his head.

"The point is, she's been acting off even for what I remember," he said. "And I'm concerned that whatever she's planning is going to hurt Jason. And Hayley is busy so—well, I was hoping you could look into her."

"Alright," Ethan agreed. "Anything specific I should be looking for?"

Tommy shook his head again.

"Just anything that raises red flags," he said. "Things she'd be hiding from Jason. So, money problems, job issues, whatever. Something just doesn't feel right, and I want to figure out what."

Ethan nodded.

"I'll start poking into her background and finances," Ethan said. "But you realize this is probably gonna take a while, right?"

"I know," Tommy said. "Just work as fast as you can and let me know if you find anything. And if you haven't found anything after a few days we'll let it go."

"Alright," Ethan nodded. "I'll go grab my computer in a bit and get started."

Frowning, Ethan studied Tommy for a moment.

"Are you alright, Dr. O?" he asked slowly. "You look kind of pale…"

"I'm just tired," Tommy said, shaking his head. "I'll be fine."

Ethan opened his mouth to protest but Tommy put up a hand to stop him.

"I will go sit back down," he said.

Nodding, Ethan followed Tommy back into the room. Rather than returning to his chair, Tommy headed over to sit on his bed. Sitting down, he rubbed a hand over his face as Ethan hovered in concern. JJ and Marc looked over to see what was going on.

"Dad, are you ok?" JJ asked anxiously.

"I'm fine," Tommy said, glancing over at JJ. "I just overdid it a little and got a little dizzy. I'll be fine."

"Dr. O, I think maybe I should go get Dana," Ethan said slowly.

Tommy didn't answer, his face blank.

"Dr. O?" Ethan repeated. "Dr. O—"

Tommy collapsed over onto the bed. He'd passed out. Ethan didn't hesitate. He turned and bolted out the door to go get help. JJ and Marc were both on their feet now, too.

"Dad!" JJ cried, staring at Tommy in bed.

Marc immediately started hitting the emergency button on the control panel. Tommy had shown him where it was the day before to assure him there was a way to call for help if his dad needed it. JJ was by Tommy's bed now, shaking him as he tried to wake him up.

"Dad, wake up!" he cried. "Dad!"

"Dad? Dad!"

Tommy shifted, hearing the panic in JJ's voice.

"I'm fine, JJ," he mumbled. "I just needed to close my eyes for a minute."

"Oh, yes," a familiar voice retorted. "You're absolutely fine. Which is why I've been trying to wake you up for the past fifteen minutes—oh, and why you're now on oxygen."

"Dana?" Tommy said, shifting and trying to blink his eyes open.

He fought through the fog in his head and slowly full awareness returned. Dana had indeed put him on oxygen, and the closeness of a beeping heart monitor told him that wasn't the only thing on. Finally, he managed to get his eyes open and focused. Dana was standing next to his bed looking down at him in concern. Turning his head, he could see JJ bouncing anxiously nearby as he watched.

"What happened?" Tommy asked, looking up at Dana.

"Your blood pressure bottomed out and you passed out," Dana said, checking over him now that he was mostly awake. "Is there any reason you decided not to tell anyone you weren't feeling well? You promised me you'd be honest about it."

"But I did," Tommy protested.

He paused, frowning as he tried to remember.

"Didn't I?" he muttered. "Ethan was here… I said I was dizzy and sat down…"

Dana sighed.

"Well, either way, you aren't getting up for the rest of the day," Dana said firmly.

Tommy didn't argue. He knew there was no point and something else had caught his attention at this point. JJ had slowly inched closer to the bed and was staring at Tommy. He was fidgeting anxiously with the communicator he was wearing on his wrist. Tommy held out a hand and gestured for JJ to come sit on the edge of the bed, which he did immediately.

"Dad, are you really ok?" JJ asked anxiously.

"I'll be fine," Tommy assured him.

The door slid open and Kat came racing in followed by Ethan.

"Tommy!" she exclaimed. "Dana, what's going on?"

Dana quickly explained as Kat hurried over to Tommy's bed, taking his hand as she listened. Ethan, relieved to see Tommy awake, dropped into the chair by Jason's bed. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, dropping his head in his hands as he steadied his breathing. Marc was still sitting in one of the other chairs. He'd been silent since Dana had arrived a while before.

"He'll be fine—" Dana said.

"See, I'm fine," Tommy interrupted, squeezing Kat's hand and looking at JJ.

"No, you will be fine," Dana corrected. "You aren't right now. But you will be alright if you listen."

Sighing, Tommy nodded. Dana stuck around for a few more minutes, making sure everything had stabilized and that Tommy's blood pressure wasn't going to suddenly drop again. Once she was sure he was alright for the moment, Dana left them alone with the instructions that Tommy was to stay laying down until she came back to check him again.

Glancing around the room again, Tommy frowned when he saw Ethan still sitting with his head down in the chair.

"Ethan, are you alright?" Tommy asked after Dana had left.

Ethan's head shot up to look and Tommy and he nodded.

"I'm alright," he said. "It was just—it was a lot and I just needed a minute to process everything."

Shaking himself, Ethan pulled out his phone. His fingers flew over the screen as he sent a quick message. Tommy nodded but frowned as he watched the other ranger.

"I should go tell Conner and the others," Ethan muttered. "Before they find out from Dana…"

Tommy sighed but Ethan ignored it as he stood and stretched, stifling a yawn.

"Just don't let Conner out of bed," Tommy warned Ethan. "I know he's not supposed to be up yet, either."

"I'll try," Ethan said. "Maybe I'll go find Kira and Trent first… then we can all tell him together?"

Shaking his head, Ethan headed toward the door as he continued muttering to himself.

"Do you think we could go back up there, yet?" Tori asked, looking over at Blake. "It's been a while. Maybe they finally got him to eat something. I feel bad running out like we did…And I'd like to see Adam, too."

Blake and Tori were relaxing in their bedroom for a while, taking a break from everyone and everything for a few minutes.

"I think we should wait until we get an update saying he's taken a nap," Blake said, shaking his head. "Kira already told you she's going to avoid his room for a while. They aggravate each other enough as it is on a good day."

Tori sighed.

"You're right…" she muttered.

Before Blake could say anything else, the door to their room suddenly burst open to admit Dustin.

"Dustin!" Tori and Blake exclaimed.

"Sorry!" he said. "But you need to come out here right now. Something happened to Dr. O!"

Blake and Tori immediately leapt to their feet and followed Dustin out to the living room. The rest of the team was already there.

"What's going on?" Tori asked.

"Shane got a message from Ethan," Cam answered.

"He said Dr. O passed out in his room," Shane said. "And the boys were both there. I'm still waiting to hear, but we may need to go get Marc and JJ."

Concerned looks were exchanged.

"Did he say what happened?" Hunter asked.

Shane shook his head.

"He didn't," he said. "But I don't know if he knows. He ran to get Dana and texted me on his way to get Kat. I guess Dr. O passing out like that triggered a panic attack for JJ so he might need someone to help. We'll have to wait til he gets back up there and updates us."

"Do you think his heart stopped again?" Dustin asked quietly.

Shane hesitated.

"I think Ethan would have been a lot more panicked in that case," Cam answered. "However, that doesn't mean it's not possible…"

They all fell quiet for a moment as they process that thought.

"What else could it be?" Blake asked after a moment. "I mean, there are lots of other reasons he could have passed out—right?"

Cam nodded.

"Yes," he said. "But I don't think it will do us any good to guess… we'll need to wait to hear from Ethan…"

The others sighed but didn't argue. So, for what seemed like forever, they all paced around the living room and waited for answers. They didn't want to go up to the med bay and get in the way. Finally, Shane's phone went off again. He quickly read the message, relaxing a little as he did.

"Dr. O is awake," he said.

Most of the tension immediately drained from the room.

"Ethan says his blood pressure bottomed out," he continued. "But he was fortunately already sitting on his bed so it could have been worse if he actually fell. He's going to be on oxygen and probably bed rest for the rest of the day."

"But he's alright?" Tori asked.

"Ethan says he'll be fine," Shane nodded.

"Do we need to go tell anyone else?" Blake asked.

"I don't think so," Shane answered. "Ethan already got Kat up there by time Tommy woke up. And he says he's going to tell the rest of the Dinos. Which means Hayley. It'll spread from there."

Now that they knew Tommy was going to be alright, the Ninjas relaxed again and went back to what they had been doing before the text message.

"Yeah, I talked to Dr. O," Ethan said, his phone pressed between his ear and shoulder. "Well, mostly. That was right before he passed out—"

He sighed, trying to get his computer set up as he listened to Hayley grumbling about Tommy.

"Hey, I told you as soon as I could," Ethan protested. "I figured alerting Dana, making sure JJ didn't have a complete panic attack, and then getting Kat were the most important things. It's not like I forgot you—"

He rolled his eyes.

"Hayley—Hayley!" he interrupted. "I was just calling for suggestions on where to start. It's not like I spend a lot of time trying to dig up dirt on people…That is not what I said!"

Shaking his head, Ethan finished plugging in his laptop and went to grab a snack and drink to have while he worked.

"Headphones," he muttered, heading to his room after he set his snack down. "Because Conner not being able to interrupt doesn't mean no one will run in here—I wasn't talking to you, Hayley. But alright. I'll start with finances and go from there. Does she have a job?"

Ethan snorted as he listened to Hayley's response.

"Alright, well that makes it easier," he said. "And harder. I'll text you if I need anything. Oh! So… Is there anything specific on search rules that I should know about or…?"

He paused again as he sat back down.

"Alright," he said. "Don't get caught and don't tell Carter where I got it. Gotcha!"

Hanging up with Hayley, Ethan set his phone down next to his computer and plugged his headphones in. Putting them on, he got straight to work.

"Alright," Joel sighed, opening the door for Will and Christine. "Go ahead and order dinner. Let me know when you're ready to go and I'll escort you."

Letting them enter the cafeteria first, Joel started ushering them toward the ordering computer. There was a small group already eating at one of the tables.

"I've already told you I don't understand that thing," Christine said, rolling her eyes. "So why don't you take care of it? I just need something low carb. Like an ahi tuna, lightly seared. Or maybe sushi?"

Joel sighed.

"I don't think—"

"Did I stutter?" Christine interrupted. "No? Then go."

Spinning, she stalked over to an empty table and sat down with Will following her. Joel just grumbled and turned to go order food. As he walked past the table where the others were eating, he stopped in surprise.

Eric, Taylor, Wes, and Devin were eating and, to Joel's great surprise, Devin was wearing the hat she had found earlier. Taylor had used some hair clips to help hold it in place on the six-year-old's head.

"That's my hat!" Joel exclaimed, walking over to them.

The group all looked up. Devin shook her head.

"No, it's mine," she said. "I found it."

"Just because you found it somewhere doesn't mean it's yours," Joel said. "It's my hat. Where did you find it?"

"If you didn't know where it was then you don't need it," Devin answered. "Momma says if you can't keep track of your things you deserve to lose them for at least a little while."

Joel scowled, looking over at Taylor who just grinned.

"I take it she's yours?" he asked, looking between Taylor and Eric.

They both nodded, smirking at Joel.

"This is Devin," Eric said. "Devin, this is Joel—Lightspeed green."

"And the owner of that hat," Joel added.

"I don't know, Joel," Taylor grinned. "She wasn't wrong about needing to keep track of your things."

"But it's mine," he protested. "And I didn't lose it!"

"Then why didn't you know where it was?" Devin asked, tilting her head.

"Because someone stole it," Joel muttered.

"How did that happen?" Devin asked curiously.

Joel didn't get a chance to answer because he was interrupted by Christine demanding to know where her dinner was. Sighing, Joel excused himself to go take care of the siblings. After he got them food, he came back with his own and joined the group at the table and left Christine and Will to their own devices. Dana had come in with Trevor and Charlie while he was up. They had grabbed a nearby table for themselves.

"Alright, kid, let's talk hat," Joel said, looking at Devin again.

She grinned but made no move to hand it back.

"Aww… he found it…" Izzy said behind them.

Joel looked over his shoulder to see Hayley and Billy with Rae and Izzy. Izzy was pouting as she looked at the hat on Devin's head.

"No, I found it," Devin corrected. "In a box."

"That was yours, Izzy," Rae said, smirking at her sister.

"See, it's mine," Joel said, looking at Devin. "They just said they hid it. Can I have it back?"

"Nope," Devin answered. "Finders keepers."

"But it's my hat…" Joel grumbled.

The other adults were all exchanging amused looks. Taylor finally sighed.

"Devin, it sounds like it's Joel's hat," she said. "You should give it back to him."

"But how do I know it's his?" Devin pouted.

"It does have his name in it," Izzy admitted. "He put it there after I stole it the first time…"

Hayley and Billy both just shook their heads. This game had been ongoing for a couple of years now. Izzy had started it and her sister had followed her lead. Leaving Hayley with the girls, Billy went to actually get them food.

"Oh," Devin said. "Well… I guess…"

Still pouting a little, she took the hat off with some help from Taylor and handed it back to Joel.

"Thank you," he said, putting it on and shooting a look at Rae and Izzy.

"It's still only your second favorite hat," Rae grinned at Joel as she sat down next to him.

He scowled at her.

"You know, sometimes I think you're just a little demon," he retorted.

Rae laughed and shook her head.

"I'm not a demon," she snickered. "But mommy says I have an evil side."

She grinned at Joel again as Hayley and the other adults laughed. Devin was shaking her head.

"She doesn't look like a demon, Joel," Devin said. "I've seen demons."

Joel frowned as he looked at Devin.

"Where have you seen demons?" he asked.

"In pictures," she answered. "You were fighting them."

Joel looked over at Eric in surprise. Eric just shrugged.

"Taylor and I aren't hiding anything from her," he said. "After all, my job does kind of put me at risk of running into ranger situations on a regular basis. Like that last one—though it was Wes who managed to put himself in the middle of it this time. Devin needs to know what to look for."

Wes scowled at Eric, but Taylor spoke before he could snap a reply.

"He's right," Taylor agreed. "I'd much rather her know what to look for. Though we won't go overly into detail until she's older, of course. We aren't trying to give her nightmares."

"I guess that's fair," Joel admitted. "Angela and I certainly didn't hide any of that from Amelia… And Trevor and Charlie are both well aware of having rangers for parents."

He glanced over at Dana eating with her sons. Billy rejoined the table, handing plates to the rest of his family.

"It makes sense in both of your situations to be as up-front with your children as possible," Billy said, sitting down next to Hayley and the girls. "Izzy and Rae are both well aware of mine and Hayley's work with the rangers—though neither of us is an active ranger like some of you."

Billy's comment got him several looks, but no one called him out. They were all aware that Izzy and Rae didn't actually know Billy was a ranger. Or at least they weren't supposed to. If they did, they'd never said as much in front of anyone. Devin was still studying Joel.

"You were skinnier in the suit," she suddenly announced.

Joel whipped his head around to look at her.

"Wait—what?" he sputtered.

Eric, Wes, Taylor, Hayley, and Billy all burst out laughing at the look on his face. Joel scowled at all of them.

"Don't laugh at that!" he protested. "Or are all of you agreeing with her? Are you saying I need to lose weight?"

"No one said anything," Hayley snickered. "So take from it what you will."

Joel glared at her before glancing down at his plate and the cheeseburger and fries on it.

"If you wanna lose weight you shouldn't eat that," Rae said.

"Or you could not eat the bun," Izzy suggested. "That is what Uncle Tommy does. Or the fries. And mayo."

"But mustard is ok," Rae said. "Oh! You should have chicken. Chicken is better."

"You let them spend way too much time with Tommy," Joel muttered, shooting a look at Hayley and Billy again.

"She's not wrong though," Hayley said. "If you want to lose weight, chicken is a better choice than that burger."

"I'll get you some!" Rae announced.

Before anyone could stop her, Rae jumped off the bench and ran toward the ordering screen.

"I want chicken," Devin said, watching Rae go.

"You need to finish your dinner first," Eric answered, pointing at the spaghetti and garlic bread on her plate. "Then if you're still hungry you can have chicken."

"With ranch?" she asked brightly.

Eric raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Taylor. She shrugged.

"Sure," he said.

"Then no thank you," Devin said, going back to her spaghetti. "Ranch is gross."

Taylor frowned as Wes laughed.

"You just had carrots and ranch as a snack like two days ago," Taylor said.

Devin shook her head.

"That was spicy white sauce," she said.

Taylor started to correct her and then sighed, shaking her head.

"Ok, honey," she said.

She glanced at Eric over Devin's head.

"It was ranch," she mouthed to her husband.

He just chuckled. Rae came running back over with a plate of plain boiled chicken and set it in front of Joel.

"Chicken!" she said proudly.

"Great…" Joel sighed, looking between the chicken and his burger.

"Just eat your burger, Joel," Hayley said, shaking her head. "Rae, eat your dinner, please."

"Mom, can I have syrup?" Devin asked suddenly, looking at her plate.

"Why?" Taylor asked.

"For my garlic toast," she answered.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Taylor answered, shaking her head.

"Why?" Devin asked. "I eat it with French toast."

"That is not the same thing, kiddo," Wes inserted. "It's going to make your garlic bread taste gross."

"Oh…" Devin said, frowning.

But she didn't argue. A little while later more of the rangers were starting to come into the cafeteria with their kids for dinner. The volume was slowly increasing. Eric, facing the door, saw Trent walk in and immediately turn around to leave when he saw Christine and Will at one of the tables.

"I'll be right back," he said to Taylor.

She nodded and turned her attention back to Devin. Eric hurried toward the door, passing Dana and her sons as he went.

"Finish up, please," Dana said, looking at them. "I need to switch with Angela so she can eat dinner, too."

"You could leave us here, mom," Trevor said. "You don't have to watch us eat."

"After you spent all afternoon fighting with each other?" Dana asked, raising an eyebrow. "Now come on."

"We're eating," Trevor muttered, taking another bite of his food.

Next to him, Charlie was eating and reading at the same time.

"Dana, they can come sit with us if you need to go," Joel offered.

"No thanks, I'm good here," Charlie said absently, his eyes never leaving his book.

Trevor rolled his eyes at his brother.

"Mom, can I go hang out with my friends after I eat?" he asked.

"Sure," Dana said. "You and Charlie need a break from each other, anyways."

"Really?" Trevor said, suddenly excited.

"Yes," Dana said, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sure JJ and Marc would love to do something—"

"I was talking about my friends off the base, mom," Trevor muttered. "When can I go see them again?"

"When your father says," Dana sighed.

"Whatever," Trevor said shortly.

He stood abruptly with his now empty plate and stalked away to take care of his plate. Dana sighed. Joel also stood, Christine and Will now demanding to leave. Hayley grabbed his plates so he could go. Standing, she glanced between Dana and Trevor stalking away. Eric had returned and disappeared again with a tray of food.

"Already acting the teenager?" she asked.

"Very much," Dana said, a little irritable. "And now he's trapped here because Carter doesn't want to risk him off base—but we can't fully explain why… so now he's just mad at us and everyone else."

She sighed, rubbing a hand over her face.

"We need to get this figured out, Hayley," she sighed.

"Oh, I'm working on it," Hayley said shortly. "No thanks to your husband."

Dana frowned and then shook her head.

"I don't need to know," she said. "The sooner this is under control, the better."

Hayley shrugged and walked away. When she came back to the table, Billy was talking with Taylor about something he'd been working on.

"I'm going to take the girls and go check in with Ethan," Hayley said. "Last I heard from him he was in the Command suite working—so no guarantees he's remembered it's dinnertime."

"Let me know if I need to bring him something," Billy said, glancing up.

Hayley nodded and she and the girls headed for the door and to the elevator. Reaching residential, Hayley didn't bother knocking on the door of the Command suite. She generally didn't. Ethan was still at the kitchen table working on his computer. He was wearing headphones and frowning at his screen. He'd gotten out a tablet, too, and was taking notes on it next to him. He didn't look up when they walked in.

"Go play," Hayley said to the girls. "I need to talk to Ethan."

The girls both nodded and took off into the living room to entertain themselves. Hayley walked over to Ethan and pulled out a chair to sit down.

"Find anything?" she asked.

Ethan jumped and turned to look at her in surprise.

"Hayley!" he exclaimed, taking off his headphones. "Umm… how long have you been here?"

"We just got here," Hayley laughed. "But you were a little absorbed."

"We?" Ethan said, glancing around and seeing the girls. "Ah."

Hayley looked at him expectantly when he turned back to her.

"What?" he frowned. "Oh!"

Picking up his tablet, Ethan scrolled back up through his notes to give Hayley an update.

"So, I haven't found anything that screams illegal yet," he said. "But definitely some weird things that could be considered red flags."

Hayley nodded, taking the tablet when he held it out to her.

"She hasn't applied for any jobs in the last six months since she left her last one in New York," Ethan said as she glanced through. "I found some large cash withdrawals from the account she shares with Jason that don't fit her normal spending habits. It looks like she usually just likes to swipe her card. Besides a few large ones in the last month or so, cash withdrawals are practically non-existent."

Hayley nodded along as Ethan spoke, her eyes flying across the notes on his tablet.

"She also made a random trip to LA a week ago?" Ethan said. "GPS in her car—which I was kind of surprised it had GPS—says she stopped at a bank and a restaurant and then came back to Angel Grove. Oh, and Saturday? Yeah… her car was nowhere near where she should have been. It was definitely still at the house for most of the night."

Hayley looked up in surprise.

"What?" she said.

"I thought that was probably the weirdest thing I found," Ethan said, nodding. "Cause from what I've heard, her being stranded was the whole reason Conner even took them to Angel Grove in the first place."

Hayley nodded, reading quickly through all of his notes again.

"I'm not really sure where else to go from there," Ethan admitted. "Short of hacking into her phone and stealing her text messages…"

He shrugged.

"So, I'm not sure this helped but—" Ethan started to say.

"No, this is perfect," Hayley interrupted. "Actually… I mean, this isn't what I thought but—it makes sense…"

"What makes sense?" Ethan asked.

Hayley stood abruptly, still holding his tablet.

"I need to talk to Rocky and Adam," she said, walking toward the door. "Watch the girls for a while, please. Thanks!"

Before Ethan could voice a protest, she was out the door. Ethan stared after her for a moment and then glanced at the time.

"I'm guessing you two already ate dinner?" he asked, looking at Rae and Izzy.

"Yep," Izzy answered. "But daddy said he would bring you food if you needed it. Mommy was supposed to tell him."

"I can tell him!" Rae exclaimed.

"That's fine, Rae," Ethan said, shaking his head. "Or not…"

Rae had already pulled her phone out of her bag and was texting. Ethan just sighed and went back to his computer. He went to jot another note and realized Hayley had never set his tablet down.

"Guess I'm done for now…" he muttered, closing his computer.

Tommy scowled at Dana as she checked over his oxygen levels and the other monitors. She had just shooed Kim, Jake, and Zach out of his room. And Kat and the boys, as well, saying they all needed to go eat dinner and let Tommy rest for a while. Now he was just annoyed.

"Try and get some sleep," Dana said. "I know you haven't really slept since Friday or Saturday night."

"Yeah, sure…" Tommy grumbled.

Dana left, leaving him alone in the room with Jason. Tommy sighed.

"This isn't relaxing," he muttered. "I hate hospital rooms and now I've pretty much been confined to one alone…"

The door slid open and Tommy sighed.

"I haven't moved, Dana," he said shortly, not bothering to turn to see who it was.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you aren't supposed to right now anyways, so that's good."

Tommy's head whipped around, because it wasn't Dana who had answered him.

"Adam?" he said in surprise.

"Hey," Adam smiled, making his way across the room. "I heard you were confined to bed, so I thought I'd come for a visit while Tanya's gone checking on the girls."

He sat down in the chair by Tommy's bed. Tommy sighed.

"Unfortunately…" he muttered.

"We're doing great, aren't we?" Adam sighed.

"Yeah, great," Tommy snorted. "Remember when we could get blown up in a zord and be thrown out of the thing—nearly dying in the process—and still make it to karate practice or school without a problem?"

Adam chuckled.

"Yeah, it was nice," he said. "Life was easier when we could get beat up by a giant alien and just walk away."

"It's official…" Tommy sighed. "We're old…"

Adam laughed.

Hayley strode into the cafeteria in search of Rocky. Seeing him over by the window to collect food, Hayley hurried over to him. He was picking up the bowl when she reached him.

"Rocky!" she exclaimed.

"Hayley!" Rocky yelped, jumping as he spun in surprise. "What are you doing sneaking up on me? This soup is hot—and I almost spilled it!"

"I need to talk to you," Hayley said impatiently.

"Ok," Rocky said, grabbing a spoon. "Can I eat my dinner fir—"

"Just bring it with you," she said. "Come on."

Grabbing his arm, Hayley started pulling him after her.

"Bring it where?" he protested. "Hayley, Aisha and my kids are over there."

"I don't want your kids interrupting," she said, shaking her head. "This won't take long. Sorry, Aisha!"

She called over her shoulder even as she continued to haul Rocky after her. Aisha just watched them go in surprise.

"Alright, alright," Rocky grumbled. "I'm coming. You can let go. Lead the way."

Hayley glanced back at him but let go and continued to hurry down the hall to the common room. Once inside, Rocky grabbed a chair by the table so he could set his soup down to eat.

"Ok, what happened?" Hayley asked, sitting down across from him and looking at Rocky expectantly.

Rocky paused in taking a spoonful of soup, frowning at Hayley.

"Can you clarify?" he asked. "Because I think I've missed part of the conversation."

Hayley sighed, pulling out a stylus as she balanced the tablet she'd been carrying on her lap.

"Thursday, Rocky," she said. "I need to know what happened on Thursday."

"You already know what happened," Rocky said. "I'm pretty sure you know more than I do since I don't remember half of it."

"No, not that," she said, shaking her head. "I need to know what happened before it happened."

"What?" Rocky asked. "You lost me, Hayley…"

She sighed again.

"I need to know everything you did leading up to realizing you had been poisoned," she said.

Rocky paused, frowning.

"Alright…" he said slowly. "Where do you want me to start?"

"Anywhere is fine," Hayley said.

Rocky nodded, thinking for a moment as he ate some of his soup.

"Well, we came straight here from Adam's house," he said. "I followed Adam the whole way and we made no stops. Then we were here and saw Tommy."

Hayley nodded, the stylus still posed over the tablet as she listened.

"When we left I was driving," Rocky continued. "The only place we stopped when we left was the gas station. We got some water to drink and a snack—pretzels, I think…"

He frowned, rubbing his forehead.

"It starts to get fuzzy around the gas station," he admitted. "But I know everything we bought was sealed. I followed Adam inside after I filled up with gas. It was all sealed and nothing looked weird. And the only person other than the two of us who touched it was the guy running the register—and one of us would have noticed him messing with it."

Hayley was still nodding, scribbling a few notes.

"And that's the part I don't understand," Rocky said, shaking his head. "How could it have come from there? There's no way anyone could have known ahead of time what we were going to buy—let alone which specific ones we were going to pick up. It's the only place but it doesn't make sense…"

Hayley frowned, scribbling a few more things.

"I don't have an answer yet…" she admitted. "But I want to talk to Adam now, too."

"Well, he's still up on the med floor," Rocky said. "Dana said we couldn't bring him to dinner yet. Maybe tomorrow."

Hayley stood and headed toward the door.

"Hold on," Rocky said, abandoning his soup. "I'll come with you."

Upstairs, they headed straight for Adam's room from the elevator. Walking in, they both stopped in surprise at the empty room.

"Where is he?" Rocky exclaimed, panic crossing his face as he stared at the bed where Adam had been.

Hayley, however, spun and headed to the next room. The door opened to show Adam still sitting and talking with Tommy.

"Rocky, I found him!" Hayley called, sticking her head back out in the hall.

Not waiting for him to catch up, Hayley walked over to Adam and Tommy.

"Was I missing?" Adam asked.

"Not technically, but I think you may have just given Rocky a heart attack," Hayley smirked.

Tommy chuckled as Adam rolled his eyes.

"Why do you do this to me?" Rocky demanded as he joined them. "You could have at least told me you left your room."

"Rocky, Tanya wouldn't be downstairs eating with the girls if something was wrong," Adam pointed out. "Chill."

Rocky grumbled but grabbed a chair and sat. Hayley didn't bother, balancing the tablet in one hand so she could still write on it.

"I need to talk to you, Adam," she said.

"Alright," he said. "What about?"

"I need to hear about Thursday from your point of view," she said. "I need to know what happened."

"We really don't know what happened, Hayley," Rocky inserted.

She shot him a look.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out, Rocky," she said. "Adam?"

"I don't really remember much after leaving Lightspeed," he admitted.

"All we did was stop at a gas station," Rocky said. "So pretty much nothing."

"Rocky, stop interrupting," Hayley said.

"Yes, we stopped at the gas station," Adam said slowly. "We got water and… a bag of pretzels to share?"

"See!" Rocky exclaimed.

Hayley glared at him, and he fell silent again. Tommy snickered, but that just got him a glare, too. Sighing, Hayley turned back to Adam.

"That's what Rocky said," she said. "But did anything out of the usual happen? Like was someone weird hanging around your car or…?"

Adam shook his head, as did Rocky.

"Nothing like that," Adam said. "Wait—"

He paused, frowning.

"We were hungry when we left," he said slowly.

"It was after lunch," Rocky pointed out.

"Rocky," Hayley frowned. "Adam, if you were hungry then why didn't you get something other than pretzels? Or eat before you left?"

He didn't answer right away, his eyes closed as he tried to remember.

"We didn't buy a lot because we had eaten something in the car already…" he said slowly. "Jason's lunch. We shared Jason's lunch."

Hayley raised an eyebrow.

"Jason made you lunch?" she asked in surprise.

"No," Adam said, still trying to concentrate. "He gave us lunch…"

"Because we were hungry," Rocky said.

Adam's eyes opened so he could glare at Rocky. Hayley scowled.

"Alright, that's it," she said. "Tommy, I'm taking Adam so he can concentrate. Keep Rocky."

"If I must," Tommy smirked as Rocky scowled at Hayley.

Hayley, with Adam in tow, headed out and next door to Adam's room where they could talk without interruption. Sitting back down, Adam closed his eyes again to try and get his train of thought back.

"Jason gave you lunch," Hayley prompted.

Adam nodded.

"We were hungry but needed to get home," he said after a moment. "And the cafeteria would have taken too long to get something to-go…but Jason had a lunch box he hadn't eaten. So, he gave it to us to split."

"Why did he have a lunch box?" Hayley asked.

Adam paused again.

"He brought it with him," he answered after a moment. "It was—wait."

His eyes flew open.

"Christine gave it to him right before we left my house," he said. "She dropped off a bag of clothes and a lunch box for Jason and a paper bag of food for Marc."

"She gave them separate lunches?" Hayley said, raising an eyebrow. "How small was this lunch box?"

Adam shook his head.

"I can't explain that," he said. "But it definitely came from her. I'm sure of it."

"That's perfect," Hayley muttered, scribbling on the tablet again. "Thank you!"

Jumping back to her feet, Hayley rushed toward the door with a surprised Adam watching her go. She nearly ran into Tanya and the twins on her way out.

"Sorry!" Hayley exclaimed. "I've gotta go!"

Ethan looked up when the door opened this time. He was eating dinner and talking to Billy while the girls were still playing in the living room.

"You're back," he said. "Does that mean I can have my tablet back?"

Hayley frowned, stopping next to the table.

"Your—oh!" she said sheepishly. "Yes. Just let me…"

She quickly sent herself all the information Ethan had gathered before she handed him back his tablet.

"Sorry," she said. "Now."

She turned to Billy.

"I need to go back to our room," she said. "I'm so close to a breakthrough. Are you coming?"

"Yes, I will come with you," he said. "I will watch the girls for a while as you work. My current program needs a few more hours to run itself before I check it."

As Billy stood to get the girls, Hayley turned back to Ethan.

"I know Tommy is going to want to know if you found anything," Hayley said. "So, go update him with what you found."

"And what about your idea?" Ethan asked.

"I'll talk to him once I have it all organized," Hayley said. "He knows how I work."

Hayley, Billy, and the girls left as Ethan packed up his computer to head back up to the next floor.

Will looked up from the TV as Christine came storming into the suite. If she had been able, she would have slammed the door behind her.

"Whoa, chill," Will said as she stalked over and dropped into a chair, fuming.

"I can't chill!" she snapped. "I'm too angry at this point. I just went back up there and he's there—again! He's always there! And on the rare occasion he isn't, his friends are!"

Will sighed, leaning back in the recliner as he eyed his sister.

"Well, what can we do?" he shrugged. "Everyone says it's his room, too."

"I don't care if it's his room," Christine snarled. "He should still have to leave it once in a while!"

"Then what are you going to do about it?" Will asked.

"What am I going to do?" she sputtered. "It's what are we going to do. I'm not in this alone, Will."

"And what exactly do you expect me to do?" he said with a scowl. "Go pick him up and throw him out of the room? I think someone would notice and that would defeat the purpose. You have to get him to want to leave. Or maybe get all of his friends to turn against him and chase him out."

He paused, thinking.

"That second option might be easier," he suggested. "I'm pretty sure half of them think he's crazy already for how he acts about us."

Christine frowned.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Oh, come on," Will scoffed. "I know you better than that. Are you seriously telling me you haven't heard any of their whispers? If you sneak around them when they're not paying attention they say he's being overprotective. They don't think anything is wrong, they just can't do anything about it. I mean, they still don't like us, but…"

He shrugged. Christine leaned back, a thoughtful look on her face now.

"Interesting…" she murmured. "That's good information to have. I may be able to work with that."

Ethan walked into Tommy and Jason's room to find Rocky still sitting and talking with Tommy. He had made a stop next door in Conner's room first, only to find he was even crankier than earlier. Krista was even starting to lose patience and Kira had officially declared she wasn't coming back until he slept and ate something or they would probably end up hating each other forever. Ethan had tried to distract Conner, but it had just gotten him snapped at.

"Hey Dr. O," he said, shifting his bag on his shoulder. "Sorry I didn't come by earlier. I lost track of time and then became Hayley's babysitter, and I really haven't been able to actually figure much out and then I got distracted next door—"

"Ethan, it's fine," Tommy said, shaking his head. "I wasn't expecting instant results. Relax."

Sighing, Ethan nodded and grabbed the chair Adam had been sitting in earlier so he could join them. He immediately pulled his laptop out.

"Did you want me to tell you what I found or…?" he asked.

"Just email it to me," Tommy said. "I'll read through it later."

Ethan nodded as Rocky frowned, looking between the two of them.

"Do I want to know?" he asked slowly.

"Nope," Tommy answered, watching Ethan.

Ethan stifled a yawn as he started putting all of his notes into an email. He was muttering under his breath as he stabbed at the keys. Tommy shifted in place and hit the button to move the bed to a sitting position as he continued to study the younger ranger.

"Ethan, what's going on?" Tommy asked after a few minutes. "Is everything alright?"

"What?" Ethan said, looking up quickly. "Oh, it's fine. I'm just a little tired. But I'll get some more sleep tonight. Everything is fine."

Tommy snorted, shaking his head.

"You're going to have to lie better than that if you want me to believe you," he said. "Now what's going on?"

Ethan hesitated.

"Ethan," Tommy said sternly. "I don't need you to hide things from me, too."

His shoulders slumping, Ethan sighed.

"I'm sorry, Dr. O," he said quietly. "We weren't actually trying to hide anything from you. We just…well, we were going to tell you and then you passed out and we didn't think it was that important anymore…"

Tommy nodded, understanding where Ethan was coming from.

"That's fine," he said. "But I'm asking now. What's going on?"

"It's Conner," Ethan finally admitted.

Tommy frowned.

"What's wrong with Conner?" he asked sharply. "Dana didn't say—"

Ethan shook his head.

"He's fine," he said quickly. "Or as much as he can be after someone shot him. It's just—well, he didn't sleep last night. At all. He refused to take anything and then his shoulder was causing him too much pain for him to actually sleep. And he…"

Ethan hesitated again and Tommy waited expectantly.

"He hasn't eaten anything since Saturday…" he finally admitted. "So, he hasn't eaten or slept since he finally woke up yesterday. And now he's pretty much reached completely irrational between exhaustion, pain, and not eating anything."

Tommy grimaced, as did Rocky. As much as they all gave Conner a hard time about how much he ate, they knew it was important that he did eat because of how much faster his metabolism worked than normal people.

"Why didn't any of you say something earlier?" Tommy asked, shaking his head.

"I already told you," Ethan sighed. "You've already got so much stress, Dr. O. And we thought we could handle it. But you know how stubborn Conner can be…"

"Extremely," Tommy muttered.

"Trent is pretty sure he's afraid something else is going to happen if he lets Dana knock him out again," Ethan admitted. "Something about Christine and Will being here? I didn't press for details. And then add that he is feeling guilty about taking Jason and Zach to Angel Grove and all three of them nearly getting killed…"

He sighed.

"Dana won't even let him up to come over here," he said. "And if we helped him out of bed the monitors would go off and she would know immediately. So, he's stuck in that bed and feels useless when all he wants to do—"

"Is make sure all of us are safe," Tommy interrupted, sighing. "I'll go talk to him in a little bit and see if I can help."

Ethan nodded.

"Thanks, Dr. O," he said gratefully.

He started to go back to his computer when the door slid open and Carter walked in. Tommy sighed.

"What do you need, Carter?" he asked.

"I need your help with this," Carter said, holding out the phone. "It won't stop going off and I can't get any of my own stuff done let alone anything for Trini and she won't stop getting on my case about it. I need you to talk to them."

Tommy crossed his arms instead of taking the phone.

"I can't help you," he said. "You'll have to figure it out."

"Why?" Carter groaned. "Just tell them to back off for a while."

"Why?" Tommy repeated, scowling. "Carter, you know why. First of all, I'm not allowed to do anything official for the rangers right now. Remember? You were the one who made sure of that. Second, I've been assured by several people today that if I don't stay in bed and relax, they will kill me themselves. So, no. You'll have to deal with them on your own."

"They don't want to listen to me," Carter muttered.

"Again, you'll have to figure it out," Tommy said shortly. "You wanted to be in charge—welcome to being in charge."

Carter sighed. Ethan and Rocky were shaking their heads, neither one trying to help him.

"Tommy, I didn't do this just because I felt like it," Carter said. "And it doesn't have to be a bad thing that you aren't making the decisions right now. It's supposed to be giving you a chance to recover. And even Rocky has agreed that you need a break."

He gestured toward Rocky as he spoke. Rocky stared at Carter in surprise, but Tommy turned to look at Rocky in shock.

"Oh, is that right?" Tommy said stiffly.

"What?" Rocky exclaimed, looking between Tommy and Carter now. "No. Tommy, that is not—"

"I was there at the meeting, Rocky," Carter interrupted. "And I was part of the conversation, too. You were the one who said something to the effect of keeping an eye on Tommy to keep him from overworking himself—and that he never took breaks on his own so you had to make sure he did."

Tommy was looking at Rocky in shock, and Rocky could see the hurt on his face. Grimacing, Rocky shook his head again.

"Well, yes," he said. "But that's out of—"

"Just get out," Tommy snapped.

"Tommy," Rocky pleaded. "Just let me—"

"Out!" Tommy ordered. "Both of you out. I'm not dealing with this right now."

Ethan was watching in concern now, as Tommy's heart rate had spiked. Rocky stood but hesitated again. Carter was already heading toward the door.

"Tommy, please," Rocky said.

"Just leave me alone, Rocky," Tommy snapped, turning away.

Shoulders slumping, Rocky spun and stalked out after Carter. Ethan stayed where he was but stayed silent. He knew there was nothing he could say right now to make anything better. They were both silent for a moment.

"Ethan, go get some sleep," Tommy finally said, rubbing a hand over his face. "You need it. I'll still talk to Conner."

"Ok, Dr. O," Ethan agreed quietly, standing with his computer. "But text me if you need something, ok? I'll keep my phone turned up."

Tommy just nodded, not looking at him. Grabbing his bag, Ethan slipped out into the hallway and past Carter and Rocky who were now shouting at each other.

"Why would you say that to him?" Rocky demanded out in the hall. "And without context, Carter! Tommy thinks I've betrayed his trust!"

The moment the door had slid shut behind both of them when they left the room, Rocky had turned on Carter. He was angry now.

"You can't tell me you didn't say those things," Carter snapped back.

"Yes, I said them," Rocky snarled. "But that was months ago. And I also said that Tommy didn't need to think that any of us doubted his ability to do his job and that he just needed time! You can't just pick some of the things I say to try and support your opinion!"

"He had time!" Carter snapped back. "And then something else happened and he almost died, Rocky! He needs to take a step back and let himself recover and none of you were making him do that."

"No, we needed to let him make the decision for himself!" Rocky exclaimed. "He's not fourteen anymore, Carter. He knows his limits and is perfectly capable of asking for help—and we were already helping! Just ask Billy and Trini!"

They were both shouting now, and the loud voices had drawn attention. Dana came racing down the hall and straight into Tommy's room to check on him because of the monitors, glaring at the pair fighting as she passed them. Adam and Tanya came out of Adam's room to see what was going on and Trent popped out of Conner's room. Even Ryan, who had been talking with Dana was watching from a short distance down the hall.

"Rocky, what's going on?" Adam asked. "You shouldn't be shouting here. It's a hospital."

"Blame him!" Rocky snapped, pointing at Carter. "He essentially just told Tommy I betrayed his trust—and I didn't!"

Adam looked at him in surprise.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Rocky quickly repeated what had happened in the room. Adam, who had been ready to stop the fight, turned and glared at Carter now, too. Even Trent, who hadn't actually attended the meeting in question, was scowling at Carter as he leaned against Conner's door with his arms crossed.

"Seriously Carter?" Adam exclaimed. "That is the last thing Tommy needs right now!"

"Or Conner," Trent snapped. "Lucky these doors and walls have at least some soundproofing or he'd already be out here."

As the shouting continued, Ryan spun and headed for the elevator. Intervening himself was only going to make things worse—mostly because he wasn't on Carter's side. But he also knew letting this continue wasn't going to be good for any of them in the long run.

"How are they actually doing?" Cruger asked. "I've been hearing all sorts of rumors but haven't had the opportunity to speak with any of them myself."

Captain Mitchell sighed. They were talking in his office on the main levels of the base. He had been trying to remain hands off and just observe unless needed since it was a ranger matter. But it was getting harder. The tension had been rising.

"Tensions are only getting worse," Captain Mitchell admitted. "We still have no answers and they're all locked in together. So, they're frustrated and worried—and scared. They don't want anyone else to get hurt or worse. But there's no enemy to turn all of this pent-up energy on and things are starting to slip…"

He shook his head.

"I don't want to interfere," he sighed. "But—"

The door to his office opened and Ryan rushed in.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, dad," he said quickly. "But Rocky and Carter are fighting down on the medical floor and if it continues like this they may just come to blows. I only caught part of what sparked it but Rocky is extremely angry with Carter right now… And even Adam and Trent have no intention of stopping it."

Captain Mitchell immediately stood to follow Ryan.

"And this is what I was afraid of," he said, nodding at Cruger as he and Ryan raced out of the office.

Frowning at her computer, Hayley picked up her phone. Hitting the speed dial she wanted, she set the phone down on speaker so she could keep use of her hands. But the response she got wasn't what she was expecting.

"What do you want, Hayley?" Tommy snapped at her.

Hayley stopped what she was doing to look at the phone in surprise. Billy, who was reading across from her, was surprised as well.

"I'm sorry," Hayley said. "Did I call at a bad time?"

Tommy sighed.

"I'm sorry…" he said quietly. "I didn't…"

He fell silent for a moment. Hayley didn't press.

"I'm sorry, Hayley," Tommy said again after a moment. "I'm just—I'm tired…"

"Then go to bed," Hayley said, sharing a look with Billy.

"No, it's not—" Tommy said, sounding frustrated again. "It's not that. I'm just—I'm tired of everyone needing me but treating me like glass with everything going on. And no one believes me about Jason being in danger, they all think I'm just paranoid. So, no one is actually listening to me but they still want me to have all the answers and…"

He sighed, trailing off. Billy reached across the table for Hayley's phone.

"Tommy, it is ok," he said.

"Billy?" Tommy said, sounding surprised.

"Yes," Billy said with a faint smile. "I was with Hayley. But it is ok, Tommy. It is ok to not want to do this anymore. No one would hold it against you."

"I'm not so sure about that anymore…" Tommy muttered.

Billy and Hayley exchanged looks again.

"Tommy, why don't you try and get some sleep?" Hayley suggested. "I know you're tired."

"Not while there's still a chance Christine and Will might show up tonight," Tommy said.

"Isn't Rocky still there?" Hayley frowned. "And what happened to Ethan?"

"I sent Ethan to bed," Tommy answered. "And Rocky—he left."

She heard the edge in his voice at the mention of Rocky but didn't press.

"Alright, I'll figure it out," she said. "Just give me a couple of minutes, ok?"

"Yeah, sure…" Tommy said.

Hanging up, Hayley picked up the phone to make another call.

"They are supposed to be resting and recovering, Carter!" Aisha snapped. "None of them need you stressing them out."

Aisha, coming to find Rocky to see where he had disappeared to, was snapping at Carter for causing the recovering rangers additional stress. She had left all of the kids with Kim, Jake, and Zach. Eric and Wes had shown up right before her. The hallway was a little crowded now. Dana, who had checked on Tommy when she first arrived, was out in the hallway, too. She hadn't said a word, hesitant to take a side. She was mostly just upset that Tommy was as aggravated as he was.

"Come on, guys," Wes said, shaking his head. "Ok, so maybe his timing wasn't great. But Carter has a point about Tommy relax—"

"Tommy relaxing is not the problem, Wes," Eric interrupted. "That's his call. The problem right now is Carter throwing Rocky under the bus for something he didn't do. He had no right to call him out like that—especially with no context!"

The fight, which had initially been between Carter and Rocky, had quickly devolved as more parties got involved. Rocky had already repeated what Carter said to Tommy several times, so they were all mostly on the same page with where the fight originated.

"None of this would even be a problem if everyone had just let Tommy be in the first place," Rocky snapped, glaring at Carter. "He was fine! Billy and Trini were helping with the paperwork. All he was really doing was handling the phone—"

"Which he likes doing," Trent pointed out, still leaning against Conner's door. "Dr. O likes knowing what's going on with the other rangers. So, the phone was never a problem."

"You interfered when you shouldn't have," Adam said shortly, crossing his arms.

"And this is why!" Carter snapped back. "Because none of you are able to take a step back. You are all still stuck on these attacks being some kind of weird coincidence that have absolutely nothing to do with Tommy—but none of you can explain it differently."

"Because you didn't give us the chance!" Rocky hissed. "You shut us out, Carter! You decided we were wrong. You decided we weren't thinking clearly. And, without talking to anyone—except whoever you got to agree with you—you decided we needed to get out of the way so you could run with your theory!"

"It's the only thing that makes sense!" Carter exclaimed. "Someone is after people close to Tommy! Probably trying to get to him since they didn't kill him the first time!"

"Then why—" Rocky started to snap back.

"ENOUGH!" Captain Mitchell shouted, interrupting the fight.

He pushed his way to the center of the group, stopping between Rocky and Carter.

"That's enough," he said a little quieter once he had their attention.

Everyone had fallen silent, looking at Captain Mitchell now. Ryan had stopped outside of the group and was watching with his arms crossed.

"Now," Captain Mitchell said, glancing around. "Everyone is to return to their own quarters immediately. All of you need sleep and some time away from each other."

"Sir—" Carter tried to protest.

"Even you, Carter," he said firmly. "You may have charge of the rangers, but this is still my base. And I will enforce peace if I have to. So…"

He held out his hand to Carter.

"The phone, please," he said. "I'll monitor it for the night. You can have it back tomorrow."

Carter handed over the phone without argument, though he was clearly not entirely pleased with the intervention. Captain Mitchell put it away in his own pocket.

"Alright," Captain Mitchell said to the group. "Everyone back to their own quarters now. I—or Kelsey and Chad—will be around shortly to collect your children."

"Wait—what?" Aisha said.

"As I said, you all need a chance to just rest and relax," he said. "So, I'll handle the kids for the night. There is plenty of space in the Lightspeed quarters down here on the ranger levels since none of them actually use the space except in an emergency. They'll have a sleepover with me tonight and I'll get them all back to you by lunchtime. So, jammies and a change of clothes for the morning."

"I know you mean well," Tanya said hesitantly. "But—"

"If there is an emergency I will know right where to find you," he said reassuringly. "It will be fine. So please, go get your kids ready and I'll be along shortly. I'll handle messaging anyone who isn't here. And I don't want to see any of you back up here until after breakfast—understood?"

There were reluctant agreements echoed around the group, all of them recognizing he wasn't taking no for an answer. Slowly they started breaking up and walking away. Trent was the first to disappear, though he only went back into Conner's room. Tanya took Adam's arm and gently tugged him back to his room. Rocky hesitated, looking at Tommy's door.

"Come on, Rocky," Aisha said, grabbing his hand. "Let him cool down and you can talk to him tomorrow. It'll be fine."

"Yeah, sure…" Rocky muttered.

But he let her pull him away down the hall. As they headed toward the elevator, Shane, Dustin, and Tori came walking past heading toward the rooms. They looked around at the group breaking up in the hall hesitantly. Eric and Wes stalked past them, still arguing heatedly as they headed toward the elevator, too.

"I think we missed something," Dustin said, leaning over to the other two.

"What's going on, Captain Mitchell?" Shane asked.

"Nothing anymore," he said. "What are you three doing here?"

"Hayley sent us," Tori supplied. "She said we were supposed to sit with Jason so Dr. O would be able to relax and sleep."

Captain Mitchell nodded.

"Alright, go ahead," he said. "I'll let Angela know why you're there."

The three of them disappeared into Tommy's room. Captain Mitchell turned to Dana, Carter, and Ryan—the only three still in the hallway.

"Well?" he said, looking at them expectantly.

"I have patients—" Dana started to protest.

"Nope," he interrupted. "Angela will handle them tonight. And I'll be taking the boys, too. So go."

Dana sighed but didn't argue, turning to head toward the other elevator. Ryan started walking with her.

"You went and told on us to dad, didn't you?" she asked irritably.

"Mostly just Carter," Ryan retorted. "But someone had to."

"You're impossible, you know," Dana snapped back.

They continued to bicker as they headed down the hall. Captain Mitchell just sighed and turned to Carter. He didn't say anything for a moment, then he sighed again.

"Carter, I know you are trying to act in their best interests," he said quietly. "And that you're only trying to protect them because you care. But you're falling into the same trap you fell into when you first became a ranger. You're rushing ahead because you think you know the answer and you've become focused so much on it that you've become blind to anything else. Remember what you learned in the shooting range all those years ago and be careful. Bad habits have a way of creeping back in if you aren't mindful. I don't know everything that is going on—but neither do you."

Carter nodded slowly, frowning as he thought about what Captain Mitchell was saying.

"Now go get some sleep," Captain Mitchell said. "I'll see you in the morning."

"What are you three doing here?" Tommy asked suspiciously.

Shane, Dustin, and Tori had just walked into his room. The shouting in the hallway had stopped, but Tommy didn't ask.

"Hayley sent us," Shane answered. "So you would get some sleep."

"Right…" he sighed. "She did say she'd take care of it."

"Yeah, she didn't really explain much," Dustin shrugged. "Just said to get up here so you would actually close your eyes. Something about babysitting Jason?"

Tommy rolled his eyes. He carefully moved to a full sitting position, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. Sighing again, he eyed everything that was currently monitoring his vitals.

"Can one of you go find…" he hesitated, not really wanting to see Dana again.

"Angela?" Tori offered. "Captain Mitchell said he'd tell her we were here, so she's probably in charge for the night now."

"Angela," Tommy confirmed, nodding. "Ask her to come see me, please."

"Got it, Dr. O," Dustin said.

He headed out the door leaving Tori and Shane to figure out plans for the night.

"We all brought phones or books with lights," Tori said, holding up the small bag she was carrying. "Essentially things we can do in the dark so you can sleep. That's what took us so long to get up here."

"And we'll take turns napping so that way we all at least get some sleep," Shane added.

"The lights won't be a problem," Tommy said. "I—"

The door opened and Dustin walked in with Angela. She had already been heading to check on all four patients when Dustin found her in the hall.

"Is everything alright, Tommy?" she asked in concern.

"I need to sleep," he admitted. "And I'll probably need help."

"Oh, of course," Angela said. "I'll go—"

"Hold on," Tommy said before she could turn and leave. "I can probably convince Conner, too. But I'll need to go to his room and…"

He gestured at the oxygen and other monitors. Angela nodded in understanding.

"Everything looks alright so I think I can release you for the moment," she said with a smile. "Will you be able to get to the next room alright?"

"We'll help," Shane said as Tommy nodded.

Angela started with the oxygen, hovering for a few minutes after she took him off the oxygen to make sure everything stayed stable. Once she was sure he was fine, Angela turned off the rest of the machines.

"I'll go get everything together and be back in a few minutes," she said. "So, get yourself ready for bed and head over to Conner's room. I hope you'll be better at convincing him than the rest of your group. And if you manage to get him to sleep, I need you to get him to eat next."

Tommy sighed.

"One thing at a time, Angela," he said.

She headed out the door, leaving the Ninjas to keep an eye on Tommy as he moved rooms. Not wanting a repeat of earlier in the day, Tommy took his time getting up.

"Do you need to take anything with you?" Tori asked.

"Just my bathroom bag," Tommy answered. "It's in the bathroom. I've got my backpack."

"I got it!" Dustin exclaimed, running to get it.

Tommy nodded and, moving slowly, headed toward the door. Shane shadowed him as he headed toward the door while Tori stayed, sitting down in one of the chairs by the cryo chamber. Dustin quickly caught up. Tommy waved them off at the door, taking his bag from Dustin.

"I'll be fine from here," he said. "Please make sure someone stays with Jason until I get up in the morning."

"Of course, Dr. O, we won't let you down this time," Shane said. "Whatever you need. Good night."

Tommy nodded as the two younger men headed back to sit with Jason.

After pulling Adam back into his room, Tanya didn't leave immediately. She wanted to make sure Adam was going to be alright before she left to get their girls ready for Captain Mitchell to pick them up. Inside, he dropped onto his bed and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, resting his forehead in his hands.

"Adam, it'll be ok," Tanya said soothingly, sitting next to him. "We'll work it out."

She could tell he was still very agitated by the fight in the hallway. Adam shook his head.

"I'm sorry," he said, not looking at her. "I don't want to upset you, too."

Tanya smiled at him, putting a hand on his knee.

"You don't have to feel bad about having emotions," she said, shaking her head. "You're allowed to be upset. And your emotions aren't going to upset me unless you take them out on me—which you haven't done."

Nodding, Adam sighed and took a few deep breaths. He shifted into a comfortable position on the bed and Tanya pulled back. Eyes closed, Adam took a few minutes to meditate and calm down while Tanya waited patiently. When he opened his eyes again, he looked over at Tanya.

"I still can't believe Carter would actually say that," he muttered. "Tommy already has to be stressing over who actually agreed with Carter—and Carter pretty much told him it was Rocky. It wasn't Rocky."

Tanya nodded.

"Rocky would never," Tanya agreed. "He'd just talk to Tommy. But I only partially caught what Carter actually told Tommy."

Adam sighed.

"I wasn't in the room," he said. "But from what I understand, Carter said that Rocky was telling the others that we keep an eye on Tommy to keep him from overworking himself—and that he never takes breaks on his own so we have to make sure he does…"

Tanya shook her head.

"Why would he even bring that up?" she asked. "Or say that?"

"I have no idea," Adam said. "Since I didn't hear what Carter was talking to Tommy about. Rocky and Ethan were the only other people in there…"

"But did Rocky even say something like that?" Tanya frowned.

"Not exactly," Adam said slowly. "He used those words—but in a completely different context. And that was months ago, not Saturday."

"Ok?" Tanya said, looking at him expectantly.

Adam paused, rubbing his forehead as he tried to remember.

"It was at the red meeting in April," he said. "Tommy was still having a really hard time after Draven."

Tanya nodded, staying quiet so Adam could explain.

"The meeting was over but some of us stayed to talk for a while—like we do all the time," he continued. "A couple of the younger reds were concerned about Tommy and the subject came up that it seemed like he could use a vacation—a real vacation."

"That's not wrong…" Tanya sighed.

Adam smiled faintly.

"See?" he said. "We agreed, too. And when Carter walked into the conversation he asked how long it had actually been. It's not a secret that Tommy hasn't taken a real vacation from pretty much anything in ages, so we said as much. I had already vetoed Rocky's suggestion that we just kidnap him."

Tanya rolled her eyes.

"He would," she muttered. "If only to annoy Tommy."

"But Rocky tried to explain why it seemed like we all just let him go," Adam explained. "I think… Rocky said that one thing Tommy never really learned to do was take a break and enjoy life on his own. He was always too focused on keeping the rest of us alive."

"Which is true," Tanya admitted.

"It is," Adam agreed. "Which is why Rocky continued on to explain that's why the rest of us all learned to keep an eye on him—so he didn't overwork himself so things didn't fall apart. Carter questioned why we weren't calling Tommy out on how he was acting if that was the case."

"Because he didn't need us to," Tanya scoffed. "He needed our support, not our criticism."

"Exactly," Adam said. "And Rocky tried to explain that Tommy needed us to support him, not doubt his abilities. And reminded everyone that he just needed time. Maybe a little more than in the past, but time."

He sighed.

"We all just wanted him to be able to spend more time with his family," he said. "Not stop being our leader…"

"And there's nothing wrong with that," Tanya said, shaking her head. "Unfortunately, I can also see where Carter misunderstood. He doesn't know Tommy like we do, even though they've worked together for years. They never fought together—not long term. It's a different relationship…"

Adam nodded and took a deep breath.

"I just wish he hadn't dropped it in like that," he said. "Rocky's got to be kicking himself now…"

"They'll be fine," Tanya said. "Rocky will talk to Tommy tomorrow and they'll work it all out."

"I know…" Adam sighed. "It's just—well, being stuck like this has everyone on edge and it's bringing out the worst in all of us. Honestly, if this really is a bad guy somewhere trying to take out some of the rangers, they are doing better than any of the ones we fought in high school. They've nearly killed five rangers in the last week—with Zach being close on number six. And they've managed to start turning us on each other."

"I really hate to agree with that," Tanya muttered. "But you're right…"

Adam smiled, taking her hands and pulling her closer to him.

"Thank you for helping me calm down," he said, hugging her.

"Always," she said, leaning into him.

Adam looked at her, keeping one arm around her as he let go of the hug.

"How are you doing?" he asked. "I know I've been kind of out of it, but are you still taking care of yourself?"

Tanya hesitated.

"It's been a rough week," she admitted after a moment. "But we'll get through it. I'm much better now that I know you're going to be alright. I think the worst of it was when we didn't know where you were. I thought…well, every worst-case scenario just kept repeating in my head…"

Adam hugged her tightly again and they sat like that for a few minutes. After a little while Tanya sighed. Adam shifted so one arm was still around her shoulders as she leaned against him.

"How have the girls been doing?" Adam asked. "I know this has to be stressful… and I was finally back with you just to end up here again…"

"They're handling it better than I thought they would," Tanya admitted. "And they keep talking about capture the flag—they want to play again."

Adam chuckled.

"They did have fun," he said.

Tanya nodded.

"They're all starting to get a little stir crazy," she said. "The kids, I mean. Though having places to explore is helping. And for the youngest ones it's been kind of like a vacation since we've tried to keep them away from the worst of what's happening. But not being able to take them outside?"

She sighed and shrugged.

"Hopefully just a few more days," he said, then he paused. "Tanya, have you been working while we've been here? I should have noticed but—"

"It's fine," Tanya said quickly. "I pushed back everything til at least the end of this week citing a family emergency. Anyone who had an emergency or absolutely needed to keep their appointment were given resources to make sure that could happen. I may have talked to Dana about tapping into some of the new therapists here… They can't do in person, but it's better than nothing."

Adam relaxed.

"Good," he said, resting his head against hers.

He yawned and Tanya glanced at him.

"You have to go, don't you?" he mumbled. "Captain Mitchell is going to be picking up the girls…"

"Maybe Aisha will get their jammies ready so I can stay here longer," Tanya said. "Let me text her. You lay down, because either way you need sleep."

Adam sighed, nodding as he stifled another yawn. Sending a quick text to Aisha, Tanya was relieved to get a quick response.

"I guess we've been talking longer than I thought," she said sheepishly. "Kelsey and Chad already stopped by to escort the kids from our suite to the sleepover. Aisha didn't want to bother us, so she had Kim come over to help since Rocky was a bit distracted."

"That's good," Adam yawned.

Tanya laughed, setting her phone down on the table.

"It's going to be a tight squeeze," she said. "But scoot over."

Adam shifted to make room for Tanya to climb into the bed with him. He wrapped his arms around her as she cuddled up against him and closed her eyes.

When Tommy walked into Conner's room, Trent and Krista were talking quietly a short ways away from the bed. Conner was sitting upright, leaning against the back of the bed. All three of them looked at Tommy in surprise when he walked in.

"Dr. O, what are you doing here?" Trent asked.

"I'm here to sleep," Tommy answered. "We both need it."

He looked at Conner as he spoke.

"What about Jason?" Conner frowned, ignoring Tommy's comment.

Tommy shrugged.

"The pain in the butts have it covered," he said, heading toward the empty bed.

"Which ones?" Trent snickered.

"The Wind ones," Tommy answered.

"Ah, gotcha," Trent nodded.

He hesitated, glancing between Tommy and Conner.

"Are you actually planning on sleeping?" he asked. "Krista and I were just talking about one of us staying with Conner…"

"That's the plan," Tommy said, sitting down on the bed. "Krista—when was the last time you left this room?"

"Umm… last night," she admitted.

Tommy shook his head as the door opened.

"Say goodnight and go get some sleep," he said. "Trent, if you want to stay that's up to you."

Trent nodded as Krista hurried over to say goodnight to Conner. Angela walked in with a tray. Conner saw it as Krista started to walk away and immediately started to protest.

"I already said I don't want it," he snapped, glaring at Angela.

She didn't answer, walking straight over to Tommy instead.

"Here you go," she said, handing him two cups. "Your meds and some water to take them with. Something to help you sleep as well as a partial dose for any pain in your ribs."

"Thank you, Angela," he said, taking the meds and handing her the cups.

He paused, looking over at Conner who had been watching him in surprise.

"You'll heal faster if you get some rest," Tommy said casually.

Conner frowned but didn't say anything. Tommy stood carefully and headed toward the bathroom.

"I'm going to brush my teeth before I'm out," Tommy said.

While Tommy disappeared into the bathroom, Trent dropped into a comfy chair he set between the two beds. Angela turned, looking at Conner to see if he would change his mind. He was looking hesitantly between her and the bathroom door. He rubbed his right hand across his face.

"I—I know…" he said, stumbling a little on his words. "I just—I don't want to be in a fog all the time. I hate feeling so out of it. Or feeling like I'm always about to fall asleep… I want to be able to be awake. And not stuck in this bed…"

"Well, the sooner you get some more rest the sooner I can get you out of that bed," Angela said. "And Dana and I figured out a better system. It's a timed drip that will help manage the pain so you can sleep through the night, but let you wake up more or less naturally come morning."

She held up the tray she was holding to show she had the IV set up and ready to go. Conner eyed it hesitantly. The bathroom door opened and Tommy walked out, yawning as he headed toward the bed again.

"Whatever you gave me is already working," he muttered sleepily.

"Well, it helps that you haven't really slept in almost two days," she retorted. "Conner?"

Conner sighed.

"Alright," he agreed. "I'll try…but if it doesn't work, I'm not doing it again."

"That's fine," Angela agreed.

She quickly got the IV hooked up while Tommy was getting comfortable in the other bed. Once Conner was set and laying down, she went over to Tommy.

"I'm not putting you on oxygen again, but I am going to monitor your heart rate and blood pressure for the night, ok?" she said.

"Mmhmm…" Tommy mumbled, his eyes closed.

Angela just smiled in amusement as she set up the monitors. By the time she was done Tommy was breathing evenly. He'd fallen asleep, much to her relief. Turning, she saw Conner was half asleep already, too. She paused next to Trent.

"Are you alright if I turn the light off?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, it's fine," Trent said. "I'll probably just sleep in the chair anyways. I'm really only here cause Krista is still afraid to leave Conner alone—and Conner would be upset if she slept in a chair again…"

Angela nodded in understanding.

"I'll try not to wake you up when I check on them," Angela said.

Trent nodded and she made her way quietly out of the room, turning off the lights to let them sleep.

"Is this really how the rest of the night is going to be?" Taylor snapped, crossing her arms.

She was standing between Eric and Wes. The three of them were in the Time Force suite for the night. Eric and Wes had either been snapping at each other or ignoring each other since they got back to the room. And every time she tried to ask what was going on it had just sparked another argument.

"Not if he—" Eric started to snap in Wes' direction.

"Don't start," Taylor said irritably. "You either!"

She'd seen Wes smirk and turned to scowl at him.

"You are both acting like children right now and I'm done," Taylor snapped. "Go to your rooms."

"Taylor—" Eric tried to protest.

"Rooms," she ordered. "Both of you. Now."

"Sure, yeah," Wes muttered. "That way he can just blame everything on me when I'm not there to defend myself."

"Knock it off, Wes," Taylor said. "I'll be sleeping in Devin's room tonight while both of you think about how to best handle your differences."

"Seriously, Taylor?" Eric frowned.

"Rooms," she ordered again, looking at them expectantly.

Scowling, both men spun and stalked to their respective bedrooms and slammed doors behind them. Taylor sighed and dropped on to the couch as she shook her head. Devin, who had been quietly playing while the three adults were arguing, walked over to Taylor and leaned on her legs.

"I know, momma," Devin said, patting Taylor's hand. "It's hard when they act like babies."

Taylor couldn't help it. She laughed.

"You're right," she said, pulling Devin into her lap. "And since daddy is being a baby today, I'm going to borrow your bed while you get to go to the sleepover with the other kids."

"Ok!" Devin said happily.

Standing, Taylor headed toward Devin's room to get her ready for the sleepover.

Billy was surprised to see a light on when he walked into the suite late that night. After Captain Mitchell had messaged them, he complied by getting Rae and Izzy ready to go with the rest of the kids. But with a time-sensitive project going in his lab, he'd had to ignore Captain Mitchell's request they all take the time to get some sleep. He'd only intended to be gone for a little while but had quickly lost track of time, so he'd expected to come back to a dark suite.

"Hayley?" Billy said, stopping just inside and looking at her in surprise.

Hayley was sitting at the kitchen table staring at her computer, her tablet next to her for notes. There was no sign of the other four people who shared the suite with them. She looked up when he spoke.

"Oh, Billy!" she said. "What time is it?"

"Late," Billy admitted. "I lost track of time. Why are you still awake?"

"Trying to make it make sense," she sighed, going back to staring at her computer. "There is something here—I know there is. I just have to figure out what it is…"

Billy, who had walked over to her while they were talking, glanced over her shoulder.

"You should come to bed," he said.

"As soon as I—" she tried to protest.

"Hayley," Billy said. "You will do better if you sleep. Let it sit for the night and look at it fresh in the morning."

She hesitated and then sighed, nodding as she closed her computer.

"Alright," she conceded.

Grabbing her hand, Billy pulled her out of the chair.

"And if you are still stuck in the morning, I will see what I can do to help," he said as they headed toward their room.