Disclaimer: Characters and situations are the property of BVE, Village Roadshow, and Jetix. No copyright infringement is intended. Leaky Mules belong to Rebel Entertainment and Nickelodeon. The parts of the is story that aren't covered by those copyrights is copyright 2006, but in no way is this meant to subsume the rights of the aforementioned companies.

Authors' Notes: This started as a ficlet challenge on LJ and grew into a full length story. It bears little resemblance to the challenge, but the main scene from the result is more or less intact. (Not bad for a 500 word or less challenge that's grown to over 15,000.)

Rating: 13+ for innuendo

Trent was starving. He wasn't sure if he'd run into his dad in the kitchen on the way to the shower, but he hoped so. What had happened in school that day had been too weird.

Not that having his dad for a science teacher while Dr. O was stuck in morph wasn't weird enough, no. Dad had to almost turn into Mesogog halfway through first period.

Trent opened the back door, lowering the headphones of his iPod as he came in from his run. He frowned--why was there a pile of camping gear and a box with a... brand new 12 inch Powerbook in it? The heck? His dad had been making him suffer on a Dell for years.

There was an envelope with his name on it, which Trent tore open eagerly.

Dear Trent,
Given what happened in school today, I don't think it's safe for you to be near me anymore. I've included everything you need--don't tell me where you're camping, just pick somewhere safe.
Let me know if you need more money or food.
I love you, take care of yourself,
Dad

In the envelope was several hundred dollars in cash. Trent unpacked the computer, putting it in the case. He then sorted through the gear: camp stove, tent, more canned goods than he could shake a stick at.

Trent wondered, absently, where he was supposed to store all this stuff during the day. He sighed.

And dashed to his room. He needed to pack clothes and grab a quick shower--preferably in reverse order.

And before Dad got home.

Not that Dad would hurt him or anything, but just in case.

Trent just hoped his father would figure out how to cure himself soon.

* * *

Late that night, Trent lay in his sleeping bag. Which was green, much to his disappointment. Not that Trent understood why he was disappointed, green was his favorite color. White was so nice, but... no. Green was his favorite color.

There was some kind of ripping noise and thumps from outside the tent.

Trent jumped. Was that a bear?

He cautiously poked his head out of the tent, to find a raccoon poking around at his discarded bean can. Trent chased it off, resolving to get something to keep the trash in that wasn't a plastic bag.

He returned to the tent and climbed back into his sleeping bag, finding himself humming Freak You Out for no apparent reason. He hoped that Kira made it really big--if for no other reason that the rest of the world would get to know that ear worm.

Trent yawned, absently planning a picnic for himself and Kira similar to what Ethan and Cassidy had tried to share. Only without the klutzy moments and Dr. O having to intervene. The tension eased, and Trent wasn't sure if his plans had drifted into dreams.

"Whoooo!"

Trent jumped. "Owl," he told himself, trying to recapture the dream.

There was a rustling outside.

"'coon's back," Trent told himself fiercely. But he couldn't relax. He was convinced it was a bear.

Trent sighed and climbed out of the sleeping bag, poking his head out of the tent. Sure enough, the raccoon was still going through his trash. Trent sighed and climbed back into the sleeping bag, pulling it over his head.

He tried to think calming thoughts, but soon went rummaging around for his iPod. Soon, he fell asleep to the soothing sounds of Kira's demo CD.

* * *

Trent put his head down on the table while the team was waiting for Dr. O to start class. He closed his eyes for a minute, knowing the others would let him know when Dr. O arrived.

"He can't be late; he's never late," Kira said.

"Hayley would claim otherwise," Trent muttered.

"What's going on with those two anyway?" Conner asked.

"They got eaten by wolves," Ethan said authoritatively.

"Those must have given them some wicked roofies," Conner replied.

Conner, Kira, and Ethan giggled while Trent stared at them. What on Earth were they on about? And since when did Conner talk about drugs like that?

"Fernandez," Dr. O bellowed.

Trent jumped, sitting up again. Hadn't he just done that? He blinked. He must've dozed off. His chair scraped across the floor like nails on a chalkboard.

"I realize Mr. Quintana gave you guys a paper on Joyce for today, but I'd appreciate you catching up on your sleep on your own time."

"Sorry, Dr. Oliver," Trent murmured, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Don't be sorry. Pay attention!" Dr. O snapped.

Trent opened his notebook an picked up his pen, trying to take notes on glycolysis.

A few minutes later he was leaning heavily on his left arm while taking notes on pyruvate recycling. His head drifted ever closer to the desk.

Clang! His chair moved sharply.

Trent sat straight up, and glared at Conner who was smiling at him.

Dr. O sighed. "Do I have to separate the two of you like a couple of first graders?"

They shook their heads mutely, looking contrite.

Trent picked up his pen, threw a glare at Conner, and started catching up on his notes.

* * *

"Thanks a lot, Conner," Trent snapped as soon as they had exited the classroom and were away from Dr. O's prying eyes.

"Okay, dude, next time I'll just let you fall asleep and spend the hours you're supposed to be working at Hayley's in detention."

"Oh," Trent said mutely. "Sorry. Thanks."

They stopped as they reached a fork in the hallway.

"It's OK dude. Are you all right? Usually I'm the one falling asleep in class." Conner studied Trent carefully, as if checking for spots.

"I just had trouble sleeping last night is all," Trent shrugged.

The warning bell rang.

"See you guys at lunch," Ethan said, hauling Trent in the direction of their English class.

"Think Dr. O will pulverize me during practice?" Trent whispered as they entered the classroom.

"No, but bring earplugs. You and Conner are going to hear about it."

* * *

Dr. O did ask Trent and Conner to stay a moment after practice. "Do you two have something you want to talk about?"

"I was trying to keep Trent from falling asleep," Conner said.

Trent nodded emphatically.

Dr. O sighed. "Try not to pull any more all nighters, OK, Trent?"

"I'll try Dr. O," Trent replied.

"Dude, don't stay up all night busting your butt, it's bad for you." Conner shoved his shoulder affectionately.

"Some of us have bigger plans than a soccer scholarship," Trent said, shoving back.

"Someone in the family's gotta get one and it ain't gonna be Eric!" Conner retorted.

"Guys!" Dr. O said.

"Sorry, Dr. O," Trent and Conner said at once.

"OK, go home," Dr. O said. "And try and sleep tonight, huh, Trent?" he asked gently.

"'kay, Dr. O," Trent said. Hopefully the forest wouldn't be as stressful on the second night.

* * *

"Did your iPod crap out on you on the bus to school again?" Hayley asked as she came in carrying a large box of straws.

It was about a week after Trent's father had kicked him... sent him camping. Trent had needed excuses to keep his iPod and computer charged.

Trent shot over, relieving Hayley of the bulky box. "Hayley you should get help with this stuff."

"You're supposed to be off today," Hayley scolded.

"I'd rather do my homework here than at home," Trent said evasively. Actually, he had a paper due and the Cyberspace had two advantages over the tent: power outlets and wireless internet.

Both of which he needed. The power to charge his iPod and his laptop, and the WiFi to keep him sane.

"Are things that bad with your father?" Hayley asked.

Trent gulped. "I don't really see him much," Trent said; that, at least, was the truth. "It's just friendlier around here."

And quieter. With fewer animals.

Hayley smiled. "Ok, as long as it's not burning you out being at work when you're not working."

"Not in the least," Trent said. "And thanks for letting me charge the 'Pod back here."

"No problem," Hayley replied. She studied him carefully. "Trent is something wrong?"

"Why do you ask?" Trent asked, hoping his tone was even.

Hayley shrugged. "No reason."

Trent sighed with relief, hoisting his computer case and heading for the front in search of a seat near an outlet.

* * *

Trent settled in, booting Fire and logging on to AIM. Then he booted Word to work on his history paper. He was two paragraphs through explaining the economic basis that started slavery when the chime of a new window popped up.

KungFuGold: There you are, Malfoy. I haven't seen you in a week.
DragoComic: Sorry, Norbert, been busy. What's going on?
KungFuGold: We missed you on Mule Barn. Everything OK?
DragoComic: Senior. AP English and History. Science kicking my butt.

'Not to mention keeping my science teacher from figuring out where I live,' Trent thought.

KungFuGold: Things OK with your guardian? Last we talked he was giving you a rough time about your art.
DragoComic: We worked it out.
KungFuGold: He letting you draw?
DragoComic: Did you know you could do an art/business double major at NYU and your Dad wouldn't know about the second one?
KungFuGold: You're slick.
DragoComic: The trick would be hiding it at home over breaks.
KungFuGold: The beauty of college: you don't have to go back.
DragoComic: Is it bad that I want to count the days?

Trent started typing on his paper when he didn't get a response right away. 20 minutes later, Fire finally bounced at him.

KungFuGold: You there, man? It says you're typing, but I'm not seeing anything.
DragoComic: Must be me typing in Word getting caught by Fire.
KungFuGold: You're not being distracted by Illustrator?
DragoComic: Not much good for a history paper.
KungFuGold: You mean I'm contributing to the delinquency of a minor? Great, I'll just keep chatting with my high school friends.
DragoComic: Stay on IM, OK? It's weird, but it makes me feel better.
KungFuGold: Sure buddy. You do your homework, capice? Don't want you grounded from the 'net again.
DragoComic: I was 12!
KungFuGold: History or I'm logging off.

Trent sighed, and settled back down to work.

* * *

The next few weeks progressed in a blur for Trent. School, practice, work at the Cyberspace. Stay until closing when Hayley wasn't getting suspicious, then go back to the tent and try to sleep.

Then came the combination koala bear brownberry. The battle seemed pretty routine--one moment they were fighting the monster, and then Trent was piloting his zord against the 500 story version of it.

The Thundersaurus Megazord swooped its triceratops arm, slashing at the monster with its horns. A well placed jab from the monster's antenna sent the Thundersaurus zord cart wheeling into the sea.

"Kira!" Trent called, starting the Dimetrozord saw spinning, swiping blindly at the monster, cleanly taking off his father's head. His....

Trent leapt out of the zord as the version of his father shrunk, lightening leaping from his head to his body. "Dad?"

The head turned, rolling towards him. "It's your fault, Trent!" Its mouth grabbed onto his hand, Trent trying desperately to shake it off.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Trent," Dr. O said, arms crossed. "You were supposed to destroy the monster."

"He was..."

"You didn't tell me you..."

Trent sat up, breathing hard, pulling his sweat-soaked t-shirt away from his back. He grabbed for his water bottle, drinking heavily. He lit his camp light, taking a few moments outside the tent, then returned, shivering from the cold night air.

His morpher bleeped.

Trent frowned. "Go."

"Trent, it's Doctor Oliver. Are you OK? Your vital signs spiked."

"Huh?" Trent asked.

"Your heartbeat and breathing were off the charts, it set off an alarm. By the time I got down here you were mostly back to normal. Are you OK?"

"Just a nightmare, Dr. O. Sorry I woke you."

"It's OK, Trent, I'd rather get up for a non-emergency than sleep through a real one. Is there anything I can do?"

Come pick me up and get me out of this tent and fix everything. Trent sighed, knowing he couldn't really say that. "No, Dr. O, I'm fine. I'll see you in school tomorrow."

"OK, buddy. Pleasant dreams this time. Good night."

"'Night. And thanks," Trent said.

The connection clicked off, and Trent was alone again, still shivering. He burrowed into his sleeping bag, wrinkling his nose at the smell. It would have to go to the laundromat the next day. Trent decided to cross that bridge when he came to it, and closed his eyes, trying to relax.

He was still wide awake when the sun came up four hours later.

* * *

"Cream of burger fries and a side of garden chocolate milkshake," the customer said.

Trent wrinkled his nose, wishing he could shake his head to clear out the sleep from it. "I'm sorry, ma'am, I missed that. Can you please start over?"

The woman frowned. "Cream of mushroom soup, a barbecue bacon burger, french fries, a garden side salad, and a chocolate milkshake."

Trent scribbled furiously. "Anything else on the burger, ma'am?"

"Lettuce and tomato," she replied.

"All right, I'll put that order in."

Trent returned to the counter, handing the order to Hayley.

"Trent, are you all right?" she asked.

"Yeah, fine Hayley, just a little tired," Trent replied.

Hayley frowned. "You know if there's something bothering you, anything at all, you could tell me, right?"

Yeah, but then you'd tell Dr. O and I'd have to destroy my dad, Trent thought.

"I know, Hayley. I just didn't sleep too well last night," Trent replied.

Hayley frowned at that. "Well, that's an open ended offer, all right?"

"Yeah," Trent said.

Cassidy started snapping her fingers.

Trent rolled his eyes. "I think I'd better go see what crawled up her..."

"Trent!" Hayley exclaimed.

"Sorry," he muttered, heading in Cassidy's general direction.

* * *

"Trent, could you stay, please," Dr. O said one day after practice.

Trent yawned, nodding. All he really wanted to do was go bury his head in his sleeping bag and try to catch a few Z's.

"We'll wait for you upstairs, dude," Conner offered.

"Thanks, Con," Trent said sleepily. He really needed to go to the Cyberspace and work on his English paper.

"Is there anything you want to talk to me about?" Dr. O asked gently once the other three had left.

Trent wanted to tell him everything, but how would Dr. O react? Would he go kill Trent's father as he slept? No, better to keep quiet. "No, thanks, Dr. O. I'm fine, just tired."

"Have you been having nightmares about being evil?" Dr. O asked bluntly.

Oh. Of course Dr. O would think that. "A few."

"You sure you don't want to talk about things?" Dr. O offered. "Hayley says you're out of it at work, I know you're out of it at school--and your other teachers have noticed too. In fact the only reason no one's called your dad is because I said I'd talk to you."

"Thanks, Dr. O."

"Don't thank me yet, if I don't get some answers out of you I'll call him right now," Dr. O said.

"He'll drag me to a shrink," Trent said. "And I'm bad at lying. How long do you think before our secret's out?"

"I know a psychologist whom we can trust," Dr. O replied. "Trent, I'm worried about you."

"I'm fine, Dr. O, just butt out," Trent said, grabbing his backpack and thundering up the stairs.

What was the worst that could happen? His Dad would snark at him via e-mail for drawing attention to himself?

* * *

Trent, Hayley, and Dr. O watched Conner, Kira, and Ethan fighting the Ninja Rangers in downtown Blue Bay Harbor.

"So how come we're not having the others try to kick their asses into next Tuesday?" Trent asked.

"Trent, watch your language," Hayley scolded.

"Really, Trent, I'd expect you, of all people, to understand that," Dr. O said. "They're people, not evil creatures. And they were good, the trick is helping them remember. Like with what happened to you. Or me."

"What about... well, Elsa?" Trent asked. "Is she a person?"

"That's a good question," Dr. O said, "I don't have a good answer."

"So if we could catch her unaware and..."

"Trent, never escalate a battle, you know that," Dr. O said. "And since there's a chance Elsa's a person... well, I'd rather not destroy her unless we had to."

"What if there was a way to help her be good?" Trent asked.

"I've been toying with that, but we don't really know enough about her to do anything," Dr. O replied. "But if we could... Trent, is there a reason you're asking me all this stuff?"

"Not really," Trent said.

Hayley draped an arm around his shoulders, giving him a maternal one-armed hug. "Trent, no one's going to hurt you if you turn evil again. And if Conner tries it, I'll kick his ass."

"With a mike stand?" Trent asked, smiling at her. "Or is that reserved for early morning intruders?"

Hayley blushed. "It depends on how fast Conner runs like a girl at the threat."

"Mike stand?" Dr. O asked, swiveling around in his chair.

The comm beeped, and Dr. O swiveled back to answer it.

"Let's have that be our little secret, OK, Trent?" Hayley whispered.

Trent mimed zipping his lips, trying to keep the smile tugging at them at bay.

* * *

"Trent it's a bad idea," Anton said, and Trent could hear his father frowning at him over the phone.

"Dad, listen to me, he'd try to help you," Trent said. He needed to convince his father that telling Dr. O was a good idea. The best thing. For both of them.

"Do you want to tell him because he'd help me or because he'd help you?"

Trent's heart thudded. Why... "Both," he said finally.

"I think you're being selfish, son."

"I... I..."

"You what, Trent?" Anton asked.

"I have to go," Trent said, closing his cell phone. He collapsed backwards on his sleeping bag, hugging his pillow to him tightly.

* * *

Trent woke up to a wet face, he wiped away the water with his sleeve, only to feel more drops a moment later.

"Why the hell are we having a rainstorm in California at this time of year?" Trent muttered. He looked at his morpher, as though daring it to bleep. The drops on his face intensified, and he realized that the water was starting to soak through his sleeping bag.

Trent grabbed his raincoat, keys and backpack, intending to make a dash towards town.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, he quietly let himself into the Cyberspace, making it a point to be stealthy.

He had no desire to run into Hayley and a mike stand at 2 in the morning. Especially because he had a feeling Dr. O would not take kindly to him seeing Hayley in her pajamas.

Trent found a towel and the spare set of clothes he'd stashed in the back room for emergencies, quickly drying off and changing into the dry clothes. He was tempted to curl up on the couch in the back room, but elected instead to sleep in the cafe itself, knowing the sun would wake him when it rose well before Hayley got in for the day.

Trent relaxed on the couch and soon fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

"Trent, what are you doing here?"

Trent fell off of the couch at the sound of his boss's voice. "I uh..."

"Trent, quit acting innocent, you weren't here when I locked up last night," Hayley said. "Talk fast before I take away your keys."

"Dad and I... had a fight," Trent said, lamely. "I needed a place to cool off."

"It wasn't about work again, was it, 'cause I'd hate to get between..."

"No it... it was about my art," Trent said, thinking fast. A knot forming in the pit of his stomach. All he wanted was to tell Hayley he'd needed somewhere safe to get out of the rain. That sudden awakenings aside, he'd just had his first good night's sleep in over a month. That he needed help, this was too much, and he just needed someone to make it better.

But his Dad was counting on him. And he was Ranger--he was responsible for the whole city, he couldn't go screaming for protection to anyone. So he just had to hope that Hayley didn't fire him.

"Next time call me," Hayley said. "It's quite a walk into town, you must've gotten soaked!"

Trent flushed. "Just a bit." He checked his watch. "Dangit, I was going to toss my clothes in the dryer at the laundromat."

"They'll be fine on the clothesline in the back," Hayley said. "You get going before Tommy has to give you detention."

"Thanks, Hayley," Trent said, shouldering his backpack and making a break for it. It was a good thing the rain had given him a decent cleaning--he was not going to get a chance to sneak into the locker rooms to shower before school.

* * *

"Trent, can you stick around for a minute?" Dr. O asked after practice.

Trent sighed, and nodded absentmindedly. The last thing he wanted was another lecture.

"Trent, you know you can tell me anything, right?"

Trent blinked. That wasn't what he was expecting. "Yeah, Dr. O. I know that."

"Is everything okay at home?"

"Yeah, sure. Pretty much. Why?"

"Well, when I talked your dad on the phone he seemed pretty... distracted. And Hayley tells me you spent last night in the Cyberspace--and here's the weird thing--today you seemed better rested than you have since.... well, since about the time I demorphed, finally. At least this morning." Dr. O looked at Trent appraisingly. "I just... Is there a reason you're not sleeping so well at home?"

Trent's stomach sank when he realized what Dr. O was asking him. He knew it must've cost his mentor a lot to even think that about the great Anton Mercer. Dr. O worshipped the guy. As tempting as it was to tell Dr. O that his father was in fact abusing him, thus getting Trent safely out of the house without telling anyone about Mesogog, it was a terrible idea. Mostly because of what might happen to innocent policeman or prison guards should his father go Mesogog in police custody.

"No, it's just stress," Trent said.

Dr. O frowned at him, unconvinced.

'He knows you're lying; just 'fess up," said a quiet voice in the back of Trent's head. Trent wondered, absently, if the lie detector came with the morpher or the teacher training. 'Can't,' he told the voice in his head.

Dr. O sighed. "You'd better catch up with the others before Conner decides to leave without you." He turned back to the console without another word.

The knot that had been forming in Trent's stomach settled in for a long stay.

* * *

Two days later, Trent was exhausted again. After he and Hayley finished closing the Cyberspace, he spilled into one of the couches, then nearly jumped as Hayley sat down next to him.

"At ease, Ranger, I'm not going to hurt you," Hayley said reassuringly.

Trent smiled at her tentatively. Hayley wasn't really one for after work chats.

"Are you and your dad fighting again?" Hayley asked bluntly.

"Did Dr. O put you up to this?"

"What, Tommy has the exclusive license on being worried about you?"

Trent stared, thunderstruck. His father wasn't very worried about him, had barely even spoken to him. And Dr. O was worried. And Hayley was worried.

"No, I guess not," Trent said, quietly.

"Trent," Hayley said, wrapping a protective arm around his shoulders, "please tell me what's going on. We're all very concerned about this. We can't help you if you don't tell us what's wrong."

Trent gulped. He wanted to spill, he wanted to tell Hayley everything and bury his face in her shoulder until he felt safe. But that wouldn't happen. She'd pull away in shock and probably never talk to him again. Make sure he found somewhere safe to live, but probably a foster home.

Trent was not going back to foster care. Ever.

"Nothing's wrong, I've just got a lot on my plate is all. Ask Dr. O about A.P. classes and being a Power Ranger. Then add in work and chores and..."

Hayley frowned at him. "All right, if you insist. If you change your mind, you know where to find me." She got up, letting go of Trent and making his stomach knot again. "Come on, Trent, I gotta lock up."

Trent got up reluctantly, not really wanting to face his tent again. He'd call his dad. Tell him everything about the last two days. Hope to hell he could talk some sense into him.

He wanted to tell Hayley and Dr. O. He did. But his dad was so proud... or said he was. There were times Trent wasn't so sure anymore. Even if it was true, that pride would last about thirty seconds if Trent started airing his family's dirty laundry to his teammates.

Trent followed Hayley out the door.

* * *

Trent drummed his fingers on his leg, wishing his Dad would just pick up the phone all ready. The wind outside was cold, but thankfully the tent managed to kill most of it.

"Hello?"

"Dad, it's Trent." He paused for a moment, trying to remember what he'd rehearsed to himself a hundred times. Trent didn't want to do this, but he was running out of options. He was going to try to get his father to find more permanent arrangements--getting out of the tent didn't necessarily mean telling Dr. O about Mesogog.

And that was his father's objections to the plan, right?

"Do you need something, Trent, or did you just call to be selfish again?"

"I need help, Dad. I can't... Look, Dr. O and Hayley are freaked. Dr. O all but asked me if you were abusing me."

"He what?"

"You should've seen the look on his face, it was like he didn't believe it, but he had to ask me. Look, Dad, something... I can't sleep out here. I'm not safe, I don't feel safe. If you won't let me go to Dr. O for help, at least get me out of here. I need..."

"You're being selfish again. You need, you can't sleep."

"Dad, please," Trent said quietly. Was it really selfish to want to feel safe? "I've had one night's real sleep in the last month. This is... camping, the ten, it's too much. I just can't handle this anymore, it can't be a permanent solution. You're supposed to be my dad. You're supposed to love me. Help me. Please."

"Trent, it's not that simple," his father said.

Trent took a deep breath, trying to will his father to listen. His heart to stop pounding. Dad had to listen. He had to. "What's not simple? I'm living in a tent, one that's not even rain proof. It's cold, it's scary, and Hayley's going to really get suspicious if I keep charging my iPod and my laptop at the Cyberspace." Trent paused, taking a few, deep, calming breaths like his shrink had taught him.

"We'll discuss this when you've calmed down, Trent. You can't see the big picture."

With that the cell phone disconnected.

Trent's heart started pounding harder, his breathing turning rapid and shallow. Trent closed his eyes, trying to imagine running water. Trying to calm down. He was safe. He was. He was a Power Ranger. Nothing could hurt him.

His morpher bleeped. Trent touched it automatically, trying to speak, but unable to catch his breath.

"Trent are you all right?" Dr. O's voice came through the morpher.

Trent tried to talk, but couldn't stop panting long enough to make a sound.

"Trent? Where are you?"

Trent hit the morpher, trying to turn it off.

"Trent? Stay put, we're coming, OK?"

Trent couldn't reply. He didn't want them to come. He took off his morpher, flinging it across the tent. It worked all the time on Mutant X, right?

Trent tried again to even out his breathing, which had grown so ragged he was getting dizzy. The universe had decided he needed to remain in his tent, ill, in his own personal Alcatraz. At least until he finished atoning for his sins. He had to have done something. Why else would his father have deserted him? He knew why his father was afraid of going to Dr. O, but would renting Trent and apartment in town or something have been that big a deal? Just somewhere safe.

He wasn't safe. His panting increased.

Water. Trees. Power Ranger. Calm.

"Trent?" Hayley called from outside.

"Trent? Are you all right?" Dr. O added.

They both sounded near panic. Realizing there was no power on this Earth that would make them leave him alone, Trent tried to call out to them, but the words were lost in his panting.

Hayley unzipped the door to the tent. "Trent?" She scanned him quickly with a handheld device. "Panic attack," she muttered, gathering him in her arms. "Shh, easy. Just take deep breaths." Somehow, Hayley's coaching helped more than his own attempts.

He could feel Dr. O nearby, just as he could in battle. Only now his presence was soothing. Trent knew that Hayley and Dr. O wouldn't leave him until they knew what was wrong, what he was doing out there.

He knew they wouldn't leave without him.

"Easy, Trent, you're OK," Hayley said, still holding him, hugging him close.

Trent leaned into her embrace, hugging back as tightly as he dared. He suspected Hayley wasn't going to want to hug him when she found out what he was doing here.

"I'm going to call his Dad," Dr. O said, pulling out a cell phone.

Trent shook his head vehemently, trying to speak, and failing.

"Easy, it'll be OK," Hayley said.

"I'll call him later," Dr. O said, closing his phone and pocketing it again. "Let you tell me what this about, OK?"

Would Dr. O still feel so kind when he knew the truth?

"Deep breaths, Trent," Hayley said.

"We won't let anyone hurt you," Dr. O soothed.

'He really does think Dad's abusing me,' Trent thought incredulously. He couldn't do anything about that right now. He needed a little safety first. Just a bit. He held tightly to Hayley.

"You're OK, Trent, you're safe," Hayley soothed.

After awhile, Trent's breathing evened out. Dr. O grabbed his computer case and duffel bag. "Let's go back to my place and talk. We can clear up the rest of this stuff tomorrow."

"'kay," Trent said, fear gripping him again.

Dr. O reached out, squeezing his shoulder. "We'll fix it, Trent."

"You can't," he said miserably.

"We will, one way or another," Dr. O said.

Trent gulped. He hoped Dr. O didn't change his mind.

* * *

"You ready to talk?" Dr. O asked gently when they were settled in his living room.

Trent took another sip of his juice, closing his eyes. "Just a minute."

Hayley was still holding him, a warm arm around his shoulders, but it wouldn't last. Trent knew the moment he explained why he'd been living in a tent, she was going to let go. And he wouldn't be warm and safe anymore.

God, this was going to be harder than he thought.

"Trent?" Dr. O asked gently. "It's going to get harder the longer you put this off."

Trent sighed. "I'm so scared."

"We noticed," Hayley said. "We can't help you if you don't tell us what's scaring you."

Dr. O leaned forward. "How long have you been sleeping in that tent, Trent?"

"Since about the time you demorphed and turned invisible," Trent replied quietly.

"What?" Hayley and Dr. O chorused.

"Why didn't you say something before now?" Dr. O asked.

"Dad told me not to," Trent said miserably.

Dr. O scrubbed a hand over his face. "Trent..."

"Wait, it gets worse," Trent said quietly. "He asked me to camp out because... because... Mesogog is one of Dad's failed experiments." Trent paused, searching for a way to explain.

"I know that, Trent," Dr. O said kindly. "I don't see how that fits in..."

"He performed it on himself," Trent blurted.

Dr. O stared at him blankly. "Which means..."

"He and Mesogog, they're separate, but..." Trent couldn't figure out how to explain it. "Ever watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer?"

"Yeah," Hayley said.

Dr. O pointed at Hayley. "She forced me."

"Remember Glory and Ben?" Trent asked.

Hayley pulled away, standing up.

"What?" Dr. O asked, joining Hayley in standing.

Trent had never seen him more upset, not even the times Trent fell asleep during science. "They share a body. Dad used to be able to control it, but... around the time you went invisible, he almost turned into Mesogog in class. I got home from a run that night to find the tent, some supplies, and cash. I've been living there ever since."

"How long have you known?" Dr. O asked, jaw tightening.

"Oh, god, he's not going to hit me is he?" Trent thought. Out loud he said, "Since sometime when I was evil. He made me promise, Dr. O. I've been badgering him. I... I wanted to tell you, ever since I saw how you handled the Wind Rangers going evil, but I couldn't convince Dad..."

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't take your morpher away and chuck you out right now," Dr. O said.

"He made me promise!" Trent said desperately. Anger he'd been expecting, but this? "Because I wasn't sure what you'd do. What if you tried to kill him in his sleep? After Lothor showed up, I knew it would be OK. But going against Dad..." Trent shook his head. "For the first time since he adopted me, I knew that he loved me. That he was proud of me. You can't imagine how hard this is."

"I can't imagine how you kept this a secret! You lied to us, Trent," Dr. O said. "I can't... Trent, we trust you with our lives every day. How can I do that if I can't trust you to tell me the truth?"

Trent took a deep breath. "I'm only telling you because it's only a matter of time before my reactions get too slow and someone gets hurt. What if a monster had shown up earlier? I have to tell you. For the team."

"And if you hadn't had the panic attack?"

Trent's heart started racing again. He wanted to say he was going to tell Dr. O tomorrow, regardless, but lying now seemed like a bad idea. "I don't know, Dr. O."

"You don't know?" Dr. O fumed. "Trent..." He spilled onto a sofa, shaking his head.

Trent sat, waiting for another blow up, for anything other than disappointed silence.

"What are we going to do with you?" Dr. O asked miserably.

"Let me crash on a couch in the Cyberspace for a couple days and then I'll just go back to the tent," Trent said quietly.

"Like hell you will," Dr. O said.

Trent stared.

"I'll talk with your Dad about keeping you here," Dr. O said.

"I thought you were mad at me."

"Yes, but you're my teammate, and that means I have to keep you safe," Dr. O said.

"Thanks, Dr. O," Trent said. He was relieved not to have to go back to the tent.

"You may not thank me later," Dr. O said sternly. "I'm going to go make up the guest room. Do you have clean clothes?"

Trent nodded. "Just went to the laundromat."

"OK, Hayley can you show him where the towels are? Trent looks like he needs a real shower."

"Sure, Tommy," Hayley said quietly.

It was only then that Trent noticed how pale she was. His stomach twisted.

"Come on, Trent," Hayley said.

Trent sighed--she sounded resigned instead of helpful.

He had a feeling it was going to be a long night.

* * *

Trent sat on the bed in his pajamas. Unsure quite what to do with himself. He was warm, he was safe, and it was Friday night. He was emotionally exhausted, yet a little too wired to just sleep.

He was in Dr. O's guest room. And that was just weird.

There was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Trent asked. He wasn't quite ready for Hayley to see him in his pajamas.

"It's Dr. O. Your dad sent over some stuff. He'll send the rest with custody papers in a day or two."

"That was easy," Trent muttered. His dad was sending his stuff and.. what was the other thing?

Dr. O knocked again.

"Come in."

"Hey," Dr. O said, dumping Trent's green duffel bag onto the white sheets. "We need to explain to your dad about color coding."

"It's an old bag." Trent frowned. He needed to ask about something, what was it?

Dr. O looked at him for a moment.

"I think this is the part where you rattle off the ground rules," Trent said, smiling encouragingly. But that wasn't it.

"No drinking, no drugs, no unprotected sex..."

"Dr. O!" Trent said, blushing.

"You call if you're going to be late, you do your homework, you use that head on your shoulders and you're grounded until 2004, so straight home from school unless you've got practice or a shift at the Cyberspace."

"January?" Trent repeated. He'd expected a grounding, but over two months?

"Want it to be February?"

"Sorry," Trent replied.

"That's better. Does that shiny new laptop have an Airport card?" Dr. O asked.

"Yeah," Trent said tentatively. There was still something else. Something he needed to ask Dr. O about.

"Let me see and I'll log you into the WiFi network," Dr. O said. "But if I catch you reading porn or giving out your location or anything personally identifiable without checking first, I'm changing the password and you won't get the new one, are we clear?"

"Are you counting IM screennames and my Gmail account?" Trent asked.

"No," Dr. O said. "Just..."

"Dad and I had the common sense on the internet talk when I turned thirteen, Dr. O. I don't really need a rehash."

"Okay," Dr. O said, looking at Trent awkwardly.

Trent stared, then he finally realized what had been bugging him. "Wait a minute, custody papers?"

"Yeah. Easier on everyone if it's legit. Besides, we don't want Mesogog trying to drag you back home, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. It's just..."

"It's just what, Trent?"

Trent sighed, casting for a way to put the knot in his stomach into words.

"Trent, you have a bad track record right now. Don't make it worse by lying to me."

"I'm just..." Trent sat on the bed, drawing his knees to his chest. He sighed. "Can I let you know when I figure it out?"

"Trent," Dr. O said, exasperatedly.

Trent buried his face in his knees. And took a couple deep breaths.

"You okay?" Dr. O asked, sitting next to Trent.

Trent wanted to beg him to just sit there and not yell at him for awhile. Just to be there. He had a feeling, however, that it would make things worse.

"I need you to at least try to tell me, Trent."

"I'm pretty freaked out."

The words hung in the air for a few moments. Trent tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry. He took another deep breath and exhaled, trying to imagine his fear exhaling with the bad air like his therapist had told him.

"Are you having another panic attack, Trent?" Dr. O asked. His voice was kind. This was Dr. O from before, the one who didn't know about his dad.

Trent guessed he must've been in there somewhere, just really mad.

"Not yet," Trent said quietly.

"Your dad sent your Xanax," Dr. O said.

Trent sighed.

Dr. O unzipped Trent's duffel bag, rummaging around. "Here, man."

"I can't dry swallow right now."

Dr. O smacked his own forehead. "I'll be back in a second, buddy."

Trent looked up, watching Dr. O book it out of there. He was back very quickly, with a glass of ice water.

Trent took it gratefully, enjoying really cold water for a change. He took several extra gulps after swallowing his pill.

"Better when it's filtered, isn't it?" Dr. O asked gently. He took the glass away. "Go easy, you'll make yourself sick." He put the glass on the bedside table. "You're okay. You're safe."

"Am I?" Trent asked.

"Safe? Of course."

"No, your buddy," Trent said quietly.

"Thinking slowly, right now, huh?"

Trent nodded.

Dr. O looked at him gently. "Maybe you should try and get some sleep."

Trent sighed, his breathing quickening a little. Why wouldn't Dr. O answer him?

"Shh, calm down," Dr. O said, draping a protective arm around him. "You're OK. Just take some deep breaths."

Black's here, the voice in his head seemed to say. All is well.

Trent leaned against Dr. O, needing to take comfort in the presence of his teammate. But Dr. O tensed, and Trent sat up like a shot.

"Sorry," he said. Great, another unloving home.

"Trent, it's okay, don't be..." Dr. O trailed off as Trent moved away.

"I'm pretty tired Dr. O," Trent said quietly.

His mentor stood, peeling back the covers.

"Into bed, Trent."

Trent rolled his eyes, scrambling into bed. Dr. O smoothed the white blanket over him. Trent wrinkled his nose at the white sheets.

"You warm enough?"

"Yeah," Trent replied, turning on his side, facing away from Dr. O.

Dr. O walked over to the light switch, turning off the lights. But instead of his footsteps fading away, they approached the bed again. He perched on the bed, next to Trent, making comforting circles on Trent's back with his hand. "You're safe now, Trent. Get some rest, you must be exhausted."

Trent relaxed in spite of himself. The white, hospital like bed was warm, snug. And Dr. O's presence was like cocoa, warming his insides.

* * *

Trent blinked at the bright sunlight. He wasn't up at dawn.

He was in a bed.

Dr. O's guest room--no, his room. At least, Trent guessed it was his room now. He sat up, rubbing his eyes, and glanced at the clock. And did a double take. It was noon? It couldn't be noon. He was late!

Trent swore under his breath, bounded out of bed and bolted towards the bathroom, nearly colliding with Dr. O.

"Trent, whoa, where's the fire?" he asked, grabbing Trent by the arm.

"I was supposed to be at work at ten!" Trent said. "I could've sworn I set that alarm clock. Can..."

"I turned it off," Dr. O said gently. "Hayley found someone to cover your shift; we figured you needed the sleep."

"I uh... oh." Trent flushed.

"Take your time, OK?" Dr. O said. "You in the mood for breakfast or lunch?"

Trent shrugged, not really awake yet. "Let me get dressed and I'll let you know, OK?"

"Yeah, sure," Dr. O said.

Trent sighed with relief, shutting himself in the bathroom.

* * *

"Hey, Trent," Kira said as Trent let her, Ethan, and Conner into Dr. O's house. "How'd you beat us here?'

"You've got mustard on your shirt," Conner added.

"Drat," Trent said, making for the kitchen and a wet paper towel.

"Where's Dr. O?" Ethan asked, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"He had to get a couple of things from the store," Trent replied evasively.

"So first he calls practice early then he's not even here?" Conner asked. "Are we sure he's over whatever happened to him in that coma?"

"I kinda called practice early," Trent said, flushing a little. "I wanted a chance to talk to you guys without Dr. O around.'

"So why meet here?" Ethan asked.

"I kinda spent the night here."

"What?" Conner Ethan, and Kira said at once.

"He wouldn't... I mean..."

Trent winced as he realized what Ethan was stammering around. "Ew. Gross! Ethan, get your mind out of the gutter, you pervert. Dr. O let me stay here 'cause I had a panic attack last night."

"What?" Conner asked.

"I thought you hadn't had one in three years?" Kira asked, moving a little closer to him.

"Why here?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah," Conner added. "Why didn't Dr. O just take you home? Actually, why weren't you home in the first place?"

"Did your dad..." Ethan paused, as if uncertain how to continue. "Well, did he have something to do with the panic attack?"

Trent sighed. "Yeah. He told me... he..."

"Don't tell me this was over your art again."

Trent rounded on Conner, glaring. "Yeah, Conner, I couldn't breathe because of a few stupid pictures."

Kira frowned at that. "Trent, calm down. Conner, chill out. Trent brought us here to tell us something, maybe we should let him tell us instead of pelting him with questions."

Conner sat next to Ethan, crossing his arms and tipping backwards in his chair.

Trent gulped. He and Conner were never going to get along now, were they? "Dad... I've..."

"Trent, just tell us, OK?" Kira asked.

"Don't mind Conner, he's just... being Conner," Ethan added.

"We'll make him behave," Kira finished.

'I doubt that,' Trent thought. He swallowed. Hard. "Mesogog is one of Dad's failed experiments. One he performed on himself."

"Huh?" Conner asked.

"Is this some kind of Ben/Glory thing?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah."

"Complete with memory spell?" Ethan asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not," Trent said quietly.

"You want to translate that for those of us who don't speak geek?" Conner said irritably.

"Dad and Mesogog... they share the same body."

"And you knew," Conner said.

"How long?" Ethan added.

"Since... since the gem overtook me and I chameleoned on the side of his lab."

"Trent!"

"You've been living there this entire time?" Conner asked. "Are you crazy or just stupid?"

"I've been living in a tent since about the time Dr. O demorphed," Trent said. "Dad almost went evil in class, and ever since he's pretty much stayed away from me."

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Kira asked.

Trent gulped. Was it just him or was Kira biting back tears?

"Dad asked me not to," Trent said.

"He had you living in a tent," Conner said.

Ethan glared. "You weren't sleeping well, you're always even hungrier than the rest of us. What if you'd gotten pneumonia or something?"

Trent sighed.

"What if you'd gotten one of us... one of us... what if you made a mistake and one of us had been destroyed?" Conner said, having to change sentence structure in mid-sentence. "Dude, you'd think Dr. O could have fixed that by now."

"What are you guys doing here?" Dr. O asked irritably. His arms were full of grocery bags, and he was glaring at Trent over them.

"Trent was just telling us what a moron he's been for the last couple months," Conner said irritably.

Normally such a statement would've earned a lecture from Dr. O about respect. "Normal," however, was not the watchword. "Trent shouldn't be talking to you guys right now. Trent shouldn't have friends over, being grounded and all. In fact, Trent, what are you doing out of your room?"

"Huh?" Trent asked. "You didn't say anything about solitary last night."

"Don't get smart with me young man," Dr. O said. "Now get back upstairs before you're grounded until Valentine's Day."

Trent took off like a shot, ran up to his room, swung the door shut harder than was strictly necessary, and threw himself face down on the bed, burying his head under the pillow.

Out of the frying pan, into the fire.

* * *

Conner, Ethan, and Kira stared at Dr. O as Trent flew out of the room. Dr. O winced when Trent slammed the door, then sighed, turning his attention to putting groceries away.

Conner was the first to find his voice. "Since when could you ground Trent?"

"Since his Dad agreed to sign over custody," Dr. O said matter of factly.

The other three exchanged glances.

"At least we know he's safe," Kira said, sitting on a chair.

"At least?" Dr. O echoed, raising an eyebrow.

"That was pretty brutal, Dr. O," Conner said.

"How long is he grounded for now?" Ethan added.

"'til January," Dr. O said.

"Um, Dr. O? Halloween's next week," Kira pointed out.

"I'm well aware of the date, Kira," Dr. O said shortly.

"It's just, isn't that a little harsh?" Conner asked. "Especially if he's not allowed to leave his room."

"Tell me you're not pissed at him," Dr. O said, in a tone daring them to do so.

"It's just... two months is a long time to have him in solitary," Ethan said.

"Are you the parent here, Ethan?" Dr. O asked.

"No."

"So butt out."

* * *

KungFuGold: Hey, Norbert, you're on kinda late for you these days.

Trent looked at the Fire window, grinning. There were a couple advantages to Dr. O's house.

DragoComic: New guardian (yes, again). It's a long story, short version is I now have WiFi. Look out world!
KungFuGold: What happened?
DragoComic: I really don't want to talk about it. I'm grounded until 2004, and new guardian is really, really pissed and I just... don't want to talk about it.
KungFuGold: Something I can do?
DragoComic: Got a magic wand you can wave and make it better?
KungFuGold: Nope, but I got a pair of ears--well, eyes.
DragoComic: You should've heard the internet safety lecture that came with the WiFi password. I think it's a no go. :(
KungFuGold: This guy treating you OK? Other than the grounding?
DragoComic: Last 24 hours have been mixed. I can't tell if he hates me or is just really pissed.

Trent paused for a moment, staring at the screen.

DragoComic: He probably *should* be really pissed. I was in big trouble and had to have a panic attack to ask for help.
KungFuGold: Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the last time you had that in fall of '01.
DragoComic: Yeah.
KungFuGold: Situation with the old guardian must've been pretty tough.
DragoComic: Got that way.
KungFuGold: But this new guy's taking good care of you?
DragoComic: He's... pretty hot and cold.
KungFuGold: Maybe give him some time to calm down? He's probably going back and forth between being worried and being angry.
DragoComic: Yeah, that must be it. Thanks.
KungFuGold: Anytime, kid.
DragoComic: I'm not a kid.
KungFuGold: Whatever you say, Norbert.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Trent said.

Dr. O stuck his head in. "It's getting late, Trent. You should get to sleep, you have a lot of catching up to do."

Fire beeped.

"Say good night to your IM friends," Dr. O added.

Trent turned back to the screen.

KungFuGold: Man, first Ray starts talking about the GRE, now you're claiming you're not a kid, what's next.
DragoComic: Me complaining about college apps.
KungFuGold: I'm getting *old*. Next thing you know I'll be taking the bar.
DragoComic: I thought that was next month.
KungFuGold: Argh. Don't remind me.
DragoComic: You're off the hook, I've been told it's bedtime. Gotta go.
KungFuGold: Good night little dragon.
DragoComic: *sighs* I hate that nickname. 'night.

He signed out, turned off the computer, and started getting ready for bed.

* * *

The next day, Trent sighed miserably as he surveyed the tables at his new lunch period. Conner, Kira, and Ethan all had the first lunch, as had he. Until being adopted by his science teacher landed Trent into the third lunch period.

And the only people he knew eating lunch at this time were Cassidy and Devin. Trent vaguely wondered if it would be worse to eat alone or to eat with Cassidy grilling him.

"Hey, Trent!" Devin waved at him excitedly.

Trent decided that hurting Devin wasn't worth escaping Cassidy.

"You OK, man?" Devin asked. "There's some pretty wild rumors floating around school."

"The really wild thing is half of them are true," Trent said quietly.

Devin stared. "Dr. O really went blazing into your dad's office to keep him from beating you?"

"No, but he did find out I'd been living in a tent and take me in," Trent said.

"Why..." Devin asked, looking at Trent as if he'd grown a third arm and second head.

"Dad has some stuff to work out," Trent said.

"So he sent you to live in a tent?" Devin asked.

"Yeah."

"When?"

"Um," Trent thought, he couldn't remember how long it had been. "Right before Dr. O got back? I've lost track."

"That's a month!" Devin exclaimed.

Trent shrugged.

"No wonder you've been a walking zombie," Devin said.

At that moment, Cassidy sat down next to Devin and shoved a microphone in Trent's face. "So, Trent..."

Trent pushed her hand away. "No comment, Cassidy. I've all ready gotten the third degree from Ethan, OK?"

"Trent, students want to know..."

"Cassidy, didn't Vice Principal Burgess have a chat with you about not using the school TV station as your own personal tabloid show?" Dr. O asked, arms crossed.

"But Dr. Oliver, this is..."

"Look, Cassidy, you can argue the point if you want, but you might thank me when you still have a friend at the end of lunch."

Cassidy stared.

"Trent, can I borrow you a minute?"

Trent wanted to say no, but he also didn't want to be grounded until Valentine's Day. "Yeah."

He got up, following his guardian a little ways away.

"Gee, Trent, sitting with Cassidy Cornell today? Could you have asked for more trouble? Are you nuts?"

"Devin waved me over, what was I supposed to do? Pretend I didn't see him and sit by myself?" Trent snapped. "In case you haven't noticed, Dr. O, there's only about four students in this school who like me. Five if you count Cassidy, but let's face it, mostly she tolerates me because Devin likes me. Do you see Conner, Ethan and Kira here?"

"Are you seriously talking back to me?"

"I'm not meaning to," Trent said, holding back a sigh. Couldn't he vent?

"Would you talk to a teacher like that?"

"No, of course not." What did that have to do with it?

"Then why did you just talk to me like that?"

Trent stared, unsure how to respond. Wasn't Dr. O not being his teacher anymore the whole reason for this mess?

"Trent, answer me."

"Because... because I'm confused about our relationship?" Trent said, honestly. What the hell did he do?

"Are you asking me or telling me?"

"I'm confused," Trent repeated, shifting uncomfortably. Why make him change classes if he was still just a student?

Dr. O sighed. "Go eat your lunch before it gets cold."

Trent scampered back to his seat.

"What was that about?" Cassidy asked.

"Off the record?" Trent asked, eying her skeptically. He did not need the whole school talking about this.

"Yes," Devin said, shooting Cassidy a withering glare.

"He hates me," Trent said quietly.

Cassidy and Devin just stared.

* * *

Trent's afternoon didn't go any better. Not even art last period. In fact, since Mrs. Leonard had a head cold and couldn't hear very well, it was quite probably his worst class as everyone was interrogating him over their projects. He was glad to get out of school and go to the Cyberspace for work.

"Hey, Hayley," Trent said cheerfully.

Hayley handed him a tray. "These drinks go to table five, and tables six and seven need busing."

"It's nice to see you too," Trent said, wondering what had Hayley in such a bad mood.

"Trent, you're here because the last time I was without you this place fell apart. Just do your job, OK?"

"Fine," Trent said. "But I am sorry."

Hayley waved him off irritably.

Trent sighed. Wishing he could somehow change the past. Hadn't Kira said something about Rangers who could time travel? Maybe they'd take him back to just after his gem had been purged, and he could just go tell Doctor Oliver before his other self knew what hit him.

He delivered the drinks and bussed the tables. Then went to take the order of the jocks sitting at the couches. Unfortunately, they didn't have Conner in tow. Which left Derrick as the de facto leader... the word "jerk" was probably putting it mildly.

"What can I get you guys?"

"How 'bout an A in science?" Derrick asked.

"What can I get you guys to eat?" Trent asked, ignoring the implications.

"So are you and Dr. Oliver doing the Michael Jackson thing?"

"Guys, if you don't want to order anything right now, I'm walking away," Trent said. Normally he'd have threatened to kick them out, but Trent didn't think Hayley was going to back him up.

"Do you say that to your sugar daddy?" Mike asked.

"Right, let me know if you guys get thirsty," Trent said, and stalked off towards the group of junior high kids that had just walked in.

He didn't know their names, but he knew the little latino girl had a crush on him. Right now, the attentions of a 12 year old was preferable to the jock set.

* * *

"What about the soccer team, sans Conner?" Hayley asked when Trent went to turn in the Harry Potter set's drink orders.

"All they wanted was to harass me, so I walked off," Trent said.

"Trent, go over there and get their order."

"Can I ask them to leave if they start making sexual comments about me and Dr. O again?"

"Trent, just go," Hayley said.

"Okay," he said quietly, stomach sinking. She wouldn't even back him up? Trent wondered, absently, if he should threaten to quit.

Of course, Dr. O probably wouldn't let him pound the pavement for another job until his grounding was over. And he needed as much time out of his room as he could manage.

He decided they had thirty seconds and then damn the raptor pens, he was using his morpher to call Conner for backup. Or his cell phone. He'd have to decide if cleaning the raptor pens was worse than being grounded until Valentine's Day. Unless Dr. O would extend his grounding even on Ranger transgressions.

He wondered, absently, if it was against the rules to ask. Trent forced a smile as he approached the group on the couches.

"So are you jokers ready to order?" Trent asked cheerfully.

The group this time actually chimed in with orders for milkshakes and juice.

"And whatever Dr. O slipped you to get you to leave that huge mansion and move into him," Derrick added when they were finished asking for drinks.

"I'd be more worried about what the lunch lady slipped you if I were you," Trent threw back, and stalked back to the counter. "Here." He shoved the order at Hayley.

"Was that so bad?"

"He implied Dr. O was drugging me into sleeping with him," Trent said. "Or Derrick doesn't know the difference between 'into' and 'in with' it's hard to tell."

Hayley handed him a tray of ice cream. "Which one gets the extra whipped cream?"

Trent grinned. "Can you just give me the can?"

Hayley did so, eying him skeptically.

Trent went to the table, handing round the ice cream. He placed the banana split in front of his young fan and shook up the whipped cream. "Just tell me when, okay?"

She giggled, and told him to stop after a few moments--but not before he'd probably added 100 grams of fat to her sundae.

"Thank you," she said, smiling widely. Her braces sparkled at him.

"Anytime, sweetie," Trent said winking.

The group of girls giggled as he headed back to the counter.

Hayley was fighting a smile. "You're irrepressible. Order up."

Trent sighed, and took the tray of drinks back to the jocks.

* * *

Trent's next week of school went much like his experience with Derrick and his gang. The only haven being his second period AP English class where he could sit next to Ethan.

Battles were still exhausting, but at least when they were fighting his fath--er, Mesogog's minions, he knew what Dr. O expected of him. The rest of the time... not so much.

Sometimes it seemed like it took very little to set Dr. O off.

Like that Friday, when Trent climbed into the jeep at the end of the day, buckled his seat belt, then leaned against the window.

"What's with you?"

"I had a long day."

"We still have practice this evening."

"I know, Dr. O, but it's just Conner, Kira, and Ethan. They know the truth, and it's not so bad."

"You really could do more to kill the rumors."

"I'm trying. No one wants to listen!"

"Trent, what did I say about talking back to me?"

Trent sighed. "I'm sorry. Can you just take me home? I'm bushed."

"Trent, it's not safe for you there, that's why you're living with me, remember."

Trent closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Yes. So wasn't Dr. O's place supposed to be home now?

"Trent."

"Yes?" Trent asked, staring out the window. He was NOT going to cry.

"Look at me."

Trent turned, hoping Dr. O didn't notice he wasn't blinking.

"Promise me you won't go back there."

"I promise," Trent said, quickly. He looked away.

"Good."

They fell into silence and Dr. O finally started the jeep.

* * *

DragoComic: He hates me.
KungFuGold: Who? Why? What are they on?
DragoComic: My new guardian. I lied to him. And nothing, trust me.
KungFuGold: Always. What happened?

"Sure you trust me," Trent muttered. "You don't know what I did."

DragoComic: I asked him to take me home, and got a lecture about how it wasn't safe to go back to my dad's.
KungFuGold: I take it you meant where you are now?
DragoComic: Yeah. The kids at school are brutal. Spreading nasty rumors about his motives and stuff.
KungFuGold: Why are they so interested in that?
DragoComic: That's classified/compartmentalized, I'm afraid.
KungFuGold: Okay. Is there something I can do?
DragoComic: Distract me? Every thing's scary and no one else cares.
KungFuGold: Have you told your guardian about this?
DragoComic: About what?
KungFuGold: Being scared.
DragoComic: Given what he said when I asked him to take me home I'm afraid to.
KungFuGold: Did you ever consider maybe he misunderstood you?
DragoComic: No.
KungFuGold: Maybe you should give him a chance.

There was a knock on Trent's door and Dr. O poked his head in.

"Trent, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Yeah," Trent said.

DragoComic: He just walked in. Here goes nothing. BRB, don't go anywhere.

Trent put up an away message. "What's up Dr. O?"

"I just want to talk a little more about what you said after school today."

"I meant here," Trent said quietly.

"Huh?"

"When I told you I wanted to go home, I meant here," Trent repeated, looking up at Dr. O. He wanted... something. Confirmation that he really was home.

"Oh, okay, good," Dr. O said, awkwardly.

Trent's face fell a bit.

Dr. O squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. "This is your home, Trent, and I'm sorry if I made you feel otherwise. Actually, I'm glad you feel that way. Here's safe." He let go of Trent's shoulder and turned to leave.

"It doesn't feel safe," Trent said quietly, stirred on by Dr. O's small show of kindness. "After the tent, nowhere feels safe."

Dr. O looked down. He reached out, looking almost guilty as he squeezed Trent's shoulder. "Welcome to the real world, Trent," Dr. O said. And with that he left.

Trent sighed. Damn. He had to push his luck, didn't he?

Trent went back to available.

DragoComic: Told you.
KungFuGold: What'd he say?

Trent repeated the conversation.

DragoComic: Oh, I forgot, it looked like he felt guilty for squeezing my shoulder. What's wrong with that?
KungFuGold: Ouch. No wonder you're so confused.
DragoComic: Go for blunt, OK? Is the real world really like that?
KungFuGold: Sometimes. But the trick is not to go it alone. People help each other, look out for each other. Makes it a lot safer. Also? There's dead bolts.

Trent laughed in spite of himself.

DragoComic: Thanks, Norbert. You're the only one who can make me feel better lately.
KungFuGold: I thought your friends were on your side?
DragoComic: They are. But I'm grounded, I barely have classes with them, and they're grounded too. And they get grounded from IM, and can't visit me at work either.

Unfortunately, Dr. O couldn't always cover for them when they were out late battling evil.

KungFuGold: Bummer.
DragoComic: Can you give me a good reason not to run away the second I hit 18?
KungFuGold: You want to go to college or not?
DragoComic: I don't know if I can hold out 'til next September.
KungFuGold: Pick a school that starts in August.
DragoComic: Ha ha.
KungFuGold: You can do this, buddy, I have faith in you.
DragoComic: You're the only one. You still coming to NorCal?
KungFuGold: It's still up in the air, but I've got some personal business to attend to. I don't want to get you in more trouble though.
DragoComic: Don't worry about me.
KungFuGold: I worry about you. Seems like someone has to these days.
DragoComic: Thanks. I think.

"Trent, bedtime," Dr. O called.

Trent sighed.

DragoComic: The jailer has informed me that I must now go to sleep.
KungFuGold: I should too, anyway. Sweet dreams.
DragoComic: 'night, Norbert.
KungFuGold: 'night, Malfoy.
KungFuGold has logged out.

Trent sighed and started to get ready for bed.

* * *

The next week was midterms. Which sped by. Everyone was too worried about school to tease Trent, even at the Cyberspace.

Trent was just wrapping up his English paper when Dr. O knocked on the door. "Hey, Trent."

"What's up Dr. O?"

"Your godfather's coming out to visit in two weeks--after he passes the bar."

"I have a godfather?" Trent echoed. "Is he a fairy?"

"Do we need to have a talk about derogatory language?"

Trent rolled his eyes. "I was thinking more like the fairy godmother in Cinderella, Dr. O."

"Oh. No, he's not a fairy, but he is a former Red Ranger."

"Oh, yay," Trent said.

"You'll like Jason," Dr. O said.

"Okay, Dr. O," Trent said, hoping to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. "Thanks for the heads up."

"No problem," Dr. O said, closing the door.

Trent sighed, then returned to his homework.

* * *

Trent logged onto the Leaky Mule board during lunch a week later to find details on a miniMuleMeet (as opposed to the one held at the annual Leaky Mules convention) in Old Sacramento. He nearly swore when he saw the date. It was the day his godfather came to town. The bell rang, and he headed for his next class.

It was later that day that Mrs. Leonard, the art teacher, had them working on abstract paintings.

Trent's looked like a storm brewing over the ocean, a combination of grays, misty blues, and angry purples. It was the end of school, and Trent had quietly worked the whole period, so he was pretty surprised when Mrs. Leonard asked him to stay after class.

"Is everything all right, Trent?"

Trent shrugged, not sure what to say.

She pointed at his painting. "This isn't your usual style."

"I felt like trying something new," Trent said with a shrug. "Is there..."

"Trent, this isn't about your grade," Mrs. Leonard said reassuringly. "I'm just worried about you. You haven't been yourself since... well, it's hard to say really."

Trent had to agree. Between being evil, living in a tent, and then moving in with Dr. O, he wasn't sure what 'himself' was anymore.

"I'm just... going through a lot right now," Trent said. "I think I just need some time." And some sympathy. The problem was, as well intentioned as Mrs. Leonard was, he couldn't explain enough to her for her to help.

"All right, Trent, you'd better get going, I'm sure Dr. Oliver is waiting for you."

"Yeah, I guess," Trent said, heading for the science classroom.

"Class go over?" Dr. O asked when Trent walked in.

"Mrs. Leonard asked me to stay a minute," Trent said.

"Everything ok?"

"That's what she wanted to know," Trent said quietly. "It was like deja vu, her asking questions I couldn't really answer."

"Being a Ranger is tough sometimes," Dr. O said.

"Yeah," Trent said, surprised at the show of empathy.

"But you need to try not to draw any more attention to yourself," Dr. O said. "You've got a lot of people keeping too close an eye on you."

"I don't mean to Dr. O..."

"You never mean to, Trent," Dr. O said sternly.

Trent sighed. "I'm sorry." For a second there, he thought Dr. O had understood. Had empathized.

That he wouldn't have shot him down when he already falling.

"Let's go home," Dr. O said.

At least he was allowed to call it home now.

"'kay," Trent said, chastised. He needed a break. Sometime away from the scrutiny of the school.

Away from Dr. O constantly judging him. He needed KFG, damnit.

'Sacramento or bust,' Trent decided as he climbed into Dr. O's jeep.

* * *

Once he was in his room, Trent signed back into Mule Barn and looked over the details of KFG's posting to Mule Barn and its replies. The plan was for some of the barn denizens in the surrounding area to meet up in Old Sacramento in the late afternoon.

"Some denizens" meaning about four, including him. It read like a list of people Trent really needed right now. Besides KungFuGold, MickiMule and RayBan were coming. Micki lived in Sacramento proper, and Ray was a senior at UC Davis. When Trent lost his parents, he'd gone through a really rough time. Ray had been a freshman back then, taking a film class. He recruited Micki and the two of them made the craziest film ever. Full of comic book geekery and Mule Barn in jokes. It had sent Trent laughing hysterically for the first time since his parents died. He never could get Ray to tell him what kind of grade he'd received on it for his class. Trent suspected it wasn't up to Ray's usual high standards.

Trent hit the Greyhound site, playing with timetables. He could make it--if he skipped his study hall last period and managed to trade his shift at the Cyberspace, but that meant less time he'd have to deal with Jason over the weekend if he played his cards just right. No, wait. Better to switch with Jack the following Monday. Jack had an exam on Wednesday and would want the day to study. And it could look to Hayley like he was trying to spend more time with Jason. It was a drawback, but hopefully after some time with people who actually liked him, he'd do better.

Jason was also planning on coming in late that evening, so Trent could probably make it home before Jason's arrival. He could tell Dr. O that Hayley needed him a little longer, and Dr. O probably wouldn't know the difference. And he'd still be there in time to meet his doom, er, godfather.

Why Dr. O seemed so determined that Trent would like his new godfather was beyond him. Jason certainly wouldn't want to help him after what he'd done. No matter what KungFuGold said. Adults connected to Dr. O hadn't been very trustworthy or understanding. Not even Hayley.

Trent started to hit reply to say he was coming, but decided against it. The bus itinerary had a couple of very close connections. Better not to get everyone's hopes up.

Instead, he sent a private message to MikiMule, who was playing "host" to the group.

Hey, Mik:
Assuming I can make all the buses connect and swap my shift, I'm going to try and come to the MiniMuleMeet in Old Sac. I'll text you from LJ if I don't make the bus that day. Otherwise--see you then!

Drago

His finger lingered over the send button, remembering all sorts of internet safety scare stories. He needed this, he did, but was it smart?

'Gold will help,' said the small voice in the back of his head.

Trent frowned, wondering, absently, if this was wishful thinking or not. He decided he didn't care. What was the worst that could happen? He was a Power Ranger.

Trent clicked send, then fired up Mail to e-mail Jack.

* * *

Trent hopped off the bus, turned the corner, and walked down the sidewalk. Soon, instead of a jet black, tar street, he was walking on cobblestones down a street full of cheesy tourist trap shops on the left--selling everything from colorful kites to saltwater taffy. He passed an old style schoolhouse on the left, heading for the dock area beyond it.

But MickiMule swore that the riverboat cruise was worth the ambiance, so Trent passed the one room school house in search of the pier, and his fellow Mule Barn denizens.

He was soon rewarded by spotting a group of three people all wearing identical black t-shirts.

"Drago!" A hispanic woman with dark hair down to her waist waved excitedly. "You made it!" She caught him in a bear hug.

Trent beamed, hugging back briefly.

"Bright move, Malfoy, what if we were all ax murderers?" asked a dark haired man with broad shoulders in a bass voice.

"Well, Norbert, then I wouldn't be clearing 911 out of my cell phone," Trent replied, reaching into his back pocket.

"I'm surprised your guardian didn't want to come." KFG was eying him skeptically, his arms crossed.

Trent looked around, as if searching for something. "He was just here."

"Quit harping on him, KFG," said a young man with sunglasses that looked disappointingly like they'd been bought cheap from the grocery store and weren't Ray Bans. "He gets enough of that at home, right Drago?"

Trent just nodded, trying to hide his disappointment. He'd expected KFG's reaction to be more like Micki's--glad to see him.

"Well you're here," KFG relented, "we might as well have fun."

RayBan produced a ticket. "Here, dude, they were nearly sold out, figured it was better than cash."

"Thanks, man," Trent said. "I've got that extra poster in my backpack."

"Later, man," Ray said. "I left my backpack in my car. You want to ditch yours?"

"There's no time," Trent said, pointing at the clock. "Sorry, the bus was late. At least it was only the last connection, or I'd still be in downtown Mariner Bay!"

"Let's go," KFG said, guiding Trent by the shoulder, and squeezing it affectionately.

The knot in Trent's stomach untwisted.

"Figured out who everyone else is yet, Drago?" asked Ray.

"It's not that hard once Norbert here called me 'Malfoy'," Trent laughed. "Plus that video you made me a couple years ago kinda gives it away."

"Except we never told you who was who. How do you know I'm not MickiMule?" Ray asked.

"Does that mean Ray goes in for cross dressing?" Trent asked, nodding at Micki as they went down the steps towards the landing.

"You," Ray shoved him affectionately.

Trent smiled, glad to be amongst friends for once.

* * *

"People like that should not be allowed to have kids," Micki whispered, frowning at a couple ignoring their kids hanging far over the rail as the boat sailed back down the Sacramento River.

"There should be parenting licenses," Ray echoed.

"Drago's guardian would never get one," KFG added.

"Or have it revoked," Trent muttered. If Dr. O knew where he was...

The sound of "I Want to Be a Success" filled the air. Micki, Ray, and KFG all looked down.

"Me," KFG said, unfolding his cell phone. "Hello?.... Hi, Tommy."

Trent blinked at the name.

"He what?" Whatever it was about, KungFuGold sounded worried.

Trent reached up to scratch his nose, his sleeve pulling down from around his morpher.

KFG stared at Trent's wrist. "Um, he wasn't wearing a Mule Barn t-shirt and white pants was he? White Jansport backpack?"

Trent started backing away, but KungFuGold grabbed his arm. "It's for you, Drago." He pressed the cell phone into Trent's hands.

"Hello?"

"Trent Jacob Fernandez what the hell are you doing in Sacramento with Jason?" Dr. O sounded livid.

"Jason?" Trent echoed. KungFuGold was his godfather?

"Yes, Jason," Dr. O said. "Why are you in Sacramento?"

"I was meeting up with people from the Mule Barn," Trent said quietly.

"You idiot! What if they were ax murderers? What if Jason wasn't there? I'm assuming you didn't know about him being there."

"I didn't know his real first name until ten seconds ago," Trent said.

"Well, what are you doing there?"

"I told you," Trent sighed, "I just wanted to spend some time with my friends."

"Trent, that wasn't smart."

"Dr. O..." Trent was pulling his arms in. His fists were clenched so tight that his fingernails were digging into his skin.

KungFuGold--Jason--gently took the phone away. "Tommy, he's with me, he's safe. Try not to worry, I'll bring him home later tonight... Look, the three of us need to have a long talk.... No, I agree, but don't you think there might have been extenuating... Yes, I'm very concerned about what caused this, but I also have a good idea... because you don't ground kids who barely know you the way your folks grounded you, you moron."

Trent sagged with relief. It was clear Jason believed every word he'd said over IM. He'd found help at last.

After another moment, and a second promise to bring Trent home safe, Jason slammed the phone shut. Then gave Trent a hug. "See, I told you to call your godfather."

"You knew?" Trent asked.

Jason tapped Trent's wrist and winked.

Trent took that to mean his Dinobrace had been the tip off.

Ray and Micki were staring.

"What was that about?"

"My old friend I'm staying with tonight had his knickers in a knot 'cause his new 'son' had disappeared," Jason replied, wrapping a protective arm around Trent's neck. "Turns out Drago here is my godson and his guardian's getting an earful or six tonight."

Trent beamed. "Yay."

Jason looked down, mustering up a glare. "You are damn lucky we're not child molesters or something," he scolded. "Do not go running off to one of these things without telling someone."

Trent sighed.

"And if I knew you'd wanted to come, I'd have been happy to meet you at the bus station," Jason added.

"Like Dr. O would ever have let me come."

Jason looked at him sideways, but didn't comment on why. "I think he could have been persuaded."

* * *

"So you want to tell me what's with this Dr. O stuff?" Jason asked as he and Trent climbed into his rented Chevy Malibu convertible.

"He's my teacher."

"Correction, Trent, he was your teacher."

"Well, he's never said anything about calling him anything else," Trent said. "So I just keep calling him Dr. O."

Jason sighed.

"He hates me," Trent said miserably.

"No, Trent," Jason said, looking at him, "he doesn't. When he was grounded, his parents would make it very clear they didn't approve of him. They weren't terribly affectionate and a lot of the time they wouldn't even talk to him. Then the minute his grounding was over, they were back to their usual selves. Tommy just doesn't realize that's not how most people do that."

"Wouldn't be so bad if I weren't grounded 'til New Years."

"You think that's unfair?"

"I could handle it if there was someone who liked me," Trent said. "That's the real reason I came up here today, I just needed some time with people who weren't mad at me."

"I know," Jason said. "I'm sorry I gave you so much grief at first, but what you did just wasn't smart. Especially when no one knew you were coming."

Trent checked his watch. "Well, everyone's about to get a detailed itinerary via e-mail anyway since I left later than I was planning and I was supposed to be home by now."

"You could be halfway to Bora Bora to be sold into slavery by now," Jason said.

"OK!" Trent said angrily. "I get the point."

Jason put the car into gear. "I'm sorry, Trent, that was a bit much."

"I just... knew I could trust you. Don't ask me how."

"Power calls to Power. Though this is the first time we've known it to work over the internet."

Trent just sighed. "Being a Ranger sucks sometimes."

Jason ruffled his hair. "Yeah, it does."

Trent smiled, glad for some agreement.

* * *

They pulled off the highway at Silver Hills.

"Rest stop?" Trent asked.

"I know this great ice cream shop," Jason said, grinning.

"Dr. O will kill me..."

"Who says he's going to find out?" Jason asked.

Trent smiled. "Can I get chocolate?"

"Absofragginglutely damnit," Jason replied.

"Thanks, Snuffles," Trent said.

"Snuffles?" Jason repeated.

"Well if you're my godfather..."

"I wouldn't mind so much if I hadn't read Order of the Phoenix," Jason said.

"Planning on dropping behind the veil?" Trent teased.

"Not anytime soon," Jason replied.

"Good."

"Any chance you can talk Dr. O into letting me have ice cream every once in awhile?" Trent asked as they pulled into the parking lot.

"No," Jason said simply. "I knew I should've sent you a care package before now."

"Sure he won't find out?"

"There was a six month period when I was sending stuff to Justin on Kat's behalf. You'll have to ask your big brother for advice."

"No thanks," Trent said, pulling his legs in to his chest.

Jason put the car in park and then ruffled Trent's hair. "Come on, Malfoy, let's get some processed sugar in you, you'll feel better."

* * *

"Ready?" Jason asked about an hour later as they pulled into the driveway of Dr. O's house.

"I will be, just give me another minute," Trent said as Jason parked the car.

"You may not have a minute," Jason said, turning off the ignition.

Dr. O was running out of the house.

Trent got out of the car and gulped. He just hoped Dr. O wasn't a smacker.

He need not have worried. Dr. O hugged him. Hard.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again!" Dr. O didn't let go, wrapping one arm around Trent's waist and burying the other hand in Trent's hair. "I didn't know where you were, there was no note, what if Jason hadn't been there to protect you?"

"A couple of Barners has nothing on a bunch of Tyrannodrones," Trent said.

Jason chuckled.

"What if they'd had a gun?" Dr. O said, still holding on tight.

Trent leaned into the embrace. He knew he was supposed to be feeling guilty right now, but he was too busy feeling safe. Wanted. Cared for.

It was a good feeling.

"Let's go in before something decides to ambush two unsuspecting Rangers in the dark," Jason suggested.

Jason ushered the two of them inside, Dr. O only letting go enough to let Trent walk.

"You thirsty, Jason?" Trent asked. Not that he minded all the hugging--much, but he sort of needed to breathe.

"Water, please," Jason said.

"Me too, buddy," Dr. O said.

Trent looked up at him hopefully. "Am I?"

"Are you what?" Dr. O asked.

"Your buddy," Trent said.

"Always, but I'm pretty ticked with you right now," Dr. O said.

"What else is new?" Trent asked with a shrug, and headed for the kitchen.

* * *

Tommy blinked, turning to Jason. "Am I not laying it on thick enough?"

"From what I gather, he's been starved for affection since before he moved here," Jason said. "Might take awhile for him to overload. Right now, he's just too busy being relieved that you weren't happy to see him go."

Tommy stared. "You can't... he wouldn't think..."

"I've lost track of the number of times he's said 'he hates me' over IM in the last month or so," Jason said, sternly.

"I don't..."

"I know, but he doesn't," Jason said. "Look, Tommy, the way your parents treated you when you were grounded only works if the groundee is very secure with their home and their relationship. You grounded Trent from the second he was here."

Tommy nodded. "Good point. Though I'm wondering if I shouldn't have given him the WiFi password."

"I didn't know who he was until I saw his morpher!" Jason said. "Tommy, he went up there today looking for a little acceptance. I think the solution is to make sure he gets that a little closer to home."

"So you're saying I shouldn't extend his grounding?" Tommy asked.

"I'd keep laying on the guilt," Jason said. "And maybe take him off solitary, it's not doing him any good."

"Right," Tommy said.

Trent came in a moment later, carrying a tray, a pitcher, and three glasses of ice. In one hand.

"He's got a waiter's balance," Jason said. "No wonder Hayley's so fond of him."

Tommy smacked his forehead. "Hayley wanted you to call her, Trent."

"Great," Trent said.

"She's worried about you too, buddy," Tommy said.

Trent had the grace to flush. "I guess I can do that from my room."

"Then come back down," Tommy instructed.

Trent beamed and scrambled upstairs.

"Are you sure I shouldn't be making him miserable?" Tommy asked.

"That's what caused this," Jason said. "Sit, I'll tell you what I know."

"He didn't spill everything on the way up?" Tommy asked.

"He wasn't feeling too talkative, and I didn't want to push," Jason said.

"Okay, man," Tommy said, flopping back on the couch. "Hit me."

* * *

"How's Hayley?" Dr. O asked when Trent came back downstairs.

"Worried, but she seems better now," Trent said, trying to sound meek about it.

"You sound almost glad," Dr. O said, frowning.

Trent glanced at Jason, not sure if he should explain.

"He needs to hear it, Trent," Jason says gently. "And you need to tell him."

"I'm not happy that I worried her," Trent says. "Just that... well..." He sighed. How to put it? "If she was worried, that means she cares what happens to me. Lately, it hasn't... it just feels good, you know? To be cared about."

"I care about you, Trent," Dr. O said.

"It doesn't feel like it," Trent said.

"Trent..." Dr. O's tone was warning.

"See," Trent said. "Every time I try to say something--that I'm scared, that I had a bad day and I want to go home you just... shoot me down. Say something to make it worse. God, all I wanted to do is come here and go hide under the covers and I get yelled at for wanting to go back to my dad's place. I tell you I'm scared, you say 'welcome to the real world.' It feels like you hate me, it feels like you only took me in because I'm a Ranger, and maybe what I did today was stupid, but Jason's been the only adult who's been on my side and I just... needed to know he was real."

Jason stared, but Tommy got to his feet, enveloping Trent in a warm hug.

"It's OK, buddy. I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe."

Trent leaned into the embrace, holding on tightly.

"No more shooting you down like my folks did, OK? You don't have to stay in your room all the time, but I'm changing the WiFi password and you can't have it for two weeks."

"Can I at least go to the library for some books?" Trent asked. "Otherwise there's not going to be much to do around here."

"We'll see," Dr. O said.

"OK, thanks, Dr. O."

"Is there a reason you keep calling me that?"

"You've never told me not to," Trent said. "And you've been so pissed at me as it is..."

"I told you..."

"No, you didn't."

"I could've sworn... ow! Jason!" Dr. O reached up to rub the back of his head.

"You idiot. That was a bad thing to space about."

"Wanna know how you know a guy's your best friend, Trent?" Dr. O asked, letting go of Trent and swatting at Jason affectionately.

"How?"

"He insults your intelligence twice in one day and you don't kick the crap out of him."

"That doesn't have to do with his second degree black belt in kung fu?" Trent asked.

Jason laughed. "Tommy can take me. When I'm having a bad day. The rest of the time..."

"Dream on!"

"You wanna prove it?"

"I would, but my 'son' nearly gave me a heart attack," Dr. O said, flopping down on the couch.

"Hey!" Trent said, flopping next to him.

Dr. O wrapped an arm around Trent's shoulders. "Better?"

"Much," Trent said, leaning against him.

"You chicken, Oliver?" Jason teased.

Trent tensed.

"Tomorrow morning," Dr. O replied, glaring at Jason. "I'm kinda busy now."

Trent sighed with relief. "Thanks, Dr. O."

"Tommy."

"Right," Trent said, closing his eyes. "Tommy."

* * *

Trent was startled awake by a heavy weight flopping down next to him on the bed. No, three weights.

"Wake up, slug a bed," Ethan's voice said.

Trent rubbed his eyes against the bright sunlight. Hadn't he been in the living room with Dr.... with Tommy and Jason? He must've fallen asleep.

"What time is it?"

"'bout eight," Conner said. "Dr. O wanted us over early for practice."

"Of course, not this early," Ethan said. "Where is he, anyway?"

"Probably went jogging with Jason," Trent said, sitting up. "Or they busted each others' ribs in a martial arts contest. So what's with the human alarm clock impression?"

"Dr. O wouldn't let us stick around 'til you showed up," Conner said. "And you didn't call."

"We were worried," Ethan added.

Trent made a valiant effort to hug all three of them at once, which ended up with a heap of teenagers on the bed.

"Guys, careful, you're squishing me!" Kira exclaimed.

Ethan and Conner sat up. Reluctantly.

"You really did play soccer as a kid, huh?" Conner asked, indicating Trent's t-shirt.

"Yeah," Trent said. "I'm amazed you can read this thing."

"Barely," Conner said. "I'll never forget that shirt, though. Your team kicked my team's ass in the regionals."

Trent stared. "Oh my god, I knew I'd met you before! Small world!"

"Freaky," Conner added. "Don't scare us like that again, okay?"

Trent nodded. "Sorry. I just..."

"We get it," Kira said. "But next time tell us and we'll sneak out and go to the movies or something..." She trailed off, looking for the right word.

"Less stupid," Conner chimed in.

Trent hit Conner playfully, musing a bit about what Dr. O had said last night.

"It was!" Conner said.

"Yeah, probably," Trent said miserably. "If I'd known KungFuGold was staying here anyway, I probably wouldn't have done it."

"Again, I'd have met you at the bus station," Jason said from the doorway, a towel draped around his shoulders. He raised an eyebrow at them, then shrugged.

"What's up, Jase?" Tommy asked, joining him in the doorway. "Oh, hey, guys you're early." He eyed Kira and Trent skeptically, then exchanged glances with Jason, whose eyes flicked to Conner and Ethan. "I guess Conner and Ethan are sufficient chaperones."

Trent flushed.

"Why don't you guys come downstairs and let Trent get dressed, then we'll start practice early," Dr. O said.

"I get breakfast too," Trent said, resignedly climbing out of bed.

"We'll see," Tommy said playfully, winking.

"Snuffles?" Trent asked, hopefully.

"You'd have gotten more help if you called me Norbert, but I won't let you starve. Much."

Trent rolled his eyes as his team shuffled out of the room, then went to his closet to hunt down some work out clothes.

The End

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