"Good morning."

Chad startles, and my laugh is only interrupted by my yawn. "Dude. It's-"

"Five AM? Yeah."

There's the telltale opening of the fridge. "And you don't have class until…"

"No class today. Canceled. Got the email-" I yawn again, "While I was sleeping."

"And you were sitting in the dark because…"

I shrug, and a prepackaged slice of lemon loaf from Starbucks bounces against the side of my head. "Did you at least eat?" Chad mutters, voice muffled since he's probably still rummaging through our leftovers and groceries, "Where's the other loaf…"

"Brah," I dust off the crumbs from my shirt, "where do you think it went?" I grab the tossed loaf and glance over my shoulder, only to spot Chad with his hand already outstretched. My throw lands the snack perfectly in his grasp.

"Also, why are you up this early." It's not a question so much as an accusation, which I think I'll take as an insult.

"Well. It's been a month since Carter asked me to choose between my own damn family and the team. So that's a thing."

Chad shakes his head, tears open the clear package, and eats half the bread in one bite. "You know what I think?" Oh no. "I think he expects way too much of you, regardless of whether he realizes it or not." It takes me a few seconds to piece together what he said, especially through his bread-stuffed mouth.

"Is that an insult, or…"

The blue ranger shrugs, tosses the empty package into the trash and dusts off his hands over the bin. "Nah. An observation." He steps closer, ruffles my hair, "You shouldn't have to choose."

"If only he knew that."

Carter trods out into the hallway, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He'd already washed his face in the bathroom sink that he and the rest of the guys share. Turns out that wasn't enough to get rid of the tossing and turning he'd done last night. He tries to tell himself it's not guilt, but his better sense screams What else could it possibly be?

"Good morning," he calls out. Chad glances up, nods a quick greeting.

"Morning. Just about to go on dawn patrol."

Alyssa blinks up at him from the couch. "You patrol the fish?"

Chad waves her away, scoffing. "You know what I mean." The two exchange a look, then Chad straightens up, slinging his towel over his shoulder. "Have a good morning!"

Carter opens the fridge, only to find the lemon loaves already eaten. "Chad, did you-" The front door shuts, and he sighs.

"If you're asking what I think you're asking," Ally breezes, joining him at the kitchen counter, "Yeah, we ate 'em."

He reaches for the egg carton instead, grabbing up the bag of bread on the counter as well. "Want some egg toast?"

"Sure," the purple ranger replies evenly, "Uh. Over-easy would be good."

Yikes. He might as well have straight-up asked how she likes her eggs in the morning. Carter slides the pieces of bread into their toaster, then starts on the eggs. Alyssa steps past him, rummaging through their cabinets. "Hot sauce?"

She glances up at him, and their eyes meet for the first time that morning. "You know me too well, Grayson." As fast as their gazes had met, they slip away, and Alyssa stands, hot sauce in hand.

"Just not well enough, huh?"

The pan sizzles, oil popping. "If you want my answer that badly," Alyssa whispers, putting her back to him as she sets the table, "Then, yeah. I'm staying."

Carter hates how much she sounds like she regrets her decision.

"Dude," Kelsey calls over to me, apparently done with her poor imitation of Chad's tai chi movements, "You don't want in on this?"

Chad relaxes his stance and peeks over at me. "You could use it, considering I left you alone with Carter this morning."

Kelsey cringes. I sigh and straighten up from where I've been leaning against the temple's outer stone wall. "Look, guys. I'm stayin', alright?"

The two exchange a glance, one that I can't read. Kelsey fully turns to face me, and Chad crosses his arms. "Chad," the yellow ranger starts slowly, "I know we weren't supposed to tell her, but it's also not like her opinion of him can get any worse."

Oh. Oh, no.

The blue ranger huffs. "Fine-"

Whatever either of them are about to say is interrupted by the low drone of a motorcycle, then two. Of course, their riders are a couple. The guy hops off his bike and pops his collar, the whole deal. Chad steps in front of me and Kelsey, as if we need protecting. As if any of us need protecting.

"Well, well," the man breezes, arms outstretched. Looking for a challenge, "if it isn't the illustrious Rangers." He leans forward ever so slightly. "I thought you guys fought monsters. Not each other."

"I'm-"

I step out from behind Chad, jerk my chin in the most local way I can. "Eh," I spit, "What, you like scrap?"

The man's gaze rakes over me, not in any sexual way, thankfully. "I… have no idea what you said."

"Good thing there's way more where that came from."

Realization flashes behind the man's eyes. "You're the one from Hawaii. Makes sense I can't understand a thing you're saying. You guys even speak English over there?" Somehow, impossibly, I don't swing at him. Lord knows the kind of media coverage that would get us.

Kelsey narrows her eyes at him. "Watch your mouth, man."

The guy pauses, glances at each of us in turn, and starts laughing. His girlfriend and the other boy join in, and soon they sound like a trio of witches. "Oh, you think you're tough shit, huh?"

"I-" Chad frowns, "No?"

"I bet they're nothing without their fancy Ranger suits," the girl scoffs.

"Yeah," the guy sneers, "Take that off, what are they?"

"Your protectors," I retort, "Whether or not you wanna acknowledge it."

The man rolls his eyes. "Hey, blue. How about we go a round? See if your bite matches your bark-" He raises his fists, and Chad and I can barely grab at Kelsey's arms to hold her back. "That's what I fuckin' thought! Without your powers, you're nothing!"

Great. That's not at all what had been running through my mind all last night.

If I chose to leave, I'd be giving up this life. These powers. And for what? My old life?

Is my old life even worth it, still? "He's nothing, Kels'," I whisper, "Let's go."

Chad nods. "I don't need to prove myself to anyone." He glances over his shoulder at the man, "I know who I am."

On Carter's orders, I'm speeding through the rubble surrounding the destroyed parking garage. Every time I come across someone who needs medical help, I send a ping to the others that Dana and Joel read immediately. The work doesn't stop my mind from wandering, though.

Don't get me wrong, what that old guy said didn't get to me. It just… got me thinking.

Without this job, this suit, these powers, I still have a life to lead. A life I would lead without quarrel. But the others? Do they have that luxury? Or are they just so damn good and righteous that they wouldn't be able to put this all behind them-

"'Lys, I think I spot some commotion in the alley you just passed." Shit. I lean into a quick U-turn, then start back the way I came, only to find that Joel's right.

"Thanks."

Really got me thinking.

I guess Diabolico forgot to send enough minions for his demon's entourage today. A few of the Battlings wrestle with Carter, Dana and Joel, but leave Kelsey, Chad and I free to follow the monster, Smogger. After a few minutes of running, we make it to the older warehouse district, and I stop to catch my breath. Lot of good endurance training is doing me, huh?

"Rolled right through those doors," I indicate, nodding towards the steel doors across from us, "But we should be care-"

Kelsey pulls out her blaster. "Nah. If its smoke is as explosive as I think it is, then a few bullets should do the trick-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Chad interrupts, "Let's think about this."

"Kels, this thing took down an entire building. Won't take it more than a few seconds to destroy us."

"I know what I'm doing."

Must be nice.

"No, wait!" Her blaster's lasers leave tiny bullet holes in the steel doors, ones that the monster's smoke leaks out through.

Leak out of, then float right back in.

I run before I can even think about my next plan of action, barreling towards Kelsey and knocking her out of the way just as the flames burst out of the warehouse doors.

Ouch. My eyes flutter open to the early morning sunlight filtering through a window. The window of my hospital room, at least according to the beeping of the monitor next to me.

And the fact that Carter Grayson has just entered the room with a weirdly shaped lump under his jacket. "The righteous Red Ranger, sneaking me breakfast?"

He grins, setting down a McDonalds bag onto the counter. "Pancakes, two hash browns, and orange juice. If I remember your order correctly." Of course he'd be the type to write down our fast food orders.

"And where's your egg McMuffin and coffee, old man?"

"Hey, enjoying certain food items doesn't make me old." I stab my straw into my orange juice and take a long sip, only then deciding to shrug. Carter follows suit with his coffee. "I think… I think I've misunderstood you."

Something in my chest clenches unbidden. "Carter-"

"No," he interrupts, "I don't know why I made it so hard on you. I guess… I guess I saw that your morpher specifically chose you, and thought that you'd just…"

"Stay?"

Carter nods. "Yeah. That. And I just wanna say that I don't want to force you to, either."

Geez. Not what I'd been expecting. "I meant what I said the other day. Each of you put aside your lives to do this job. I want to do the same."

The Red Ranger smiles, and I shovel a bite of pancake into my mouth to try and hide my blush. "Great to hear it. But, uh, to be frank, the best thing you can do right now is rest."

"Man, say freakin' less."