On Fire (Power Rangers Samurai)

86 - Curious / Mother

"Mike?" Antonio's voice startled Mike, causing him to jump.

Mike quickly shut the case he had opened and retreated his hands into his pockets.

"What were you doing with that?" Antonio stood at the door of the walk-in closet, which was filled with a collection of samurai relics from the Shiba house.

The small space also included some of the archives that didn't fit on other shelves.

"I was um... I was just.." Mike couldn't muster a feasible excuse for his actions. What could he say when he was caught reaching for the Uramasa.

"It's not what you think, I was just curious." Mike attempted to defend himself.

"Sure you were." Antonio shook his head. He hated having to be serious just as much as Mike. "I don't want to bring everyone else into this. So just leave it alone and don't open the case again."

~~~

"Lauren." A sweet, motherly voice whispered. "I love you.. but I can't love you too much."

"Mom?" Lauren only saw darkness but felt a soft kiss on her forehead with a tight hug.

"You can't love me either." The voice held back sobs as it loosened its hold on Lauren. "I'm sorry baby, but maybe we'll see each other one day."

"Come back." Lauren couldn't feel or hear them anymore, but she immediately missed the warmth of that person's touch.

"Come back?" Mia sat on the side of Lauren's bed after hearing her distressed voice from across the room. "You must have been dreaming."

When Lauren saw Mia, a wave of relief washed away the tension in her heart.

Lauren could only think of how much she missed Mia as she launched herself into her open arms.

Though Mia did expect a hug, she was still caught off guard by Lauren's eagerness and was nearly knocked right off the bed.

Mia laughed a bit after facing a sudden fright from Lauren's tackle. But her giggles died down quickly when Lauren flinched from a sharp pain in her shoulder.

"Remember you're injured and sick." Mia's tone became more stern as she urged Lauren to take it easy. "Seriously, how can you let yourself get sick with these injuries."

As Mia scolded her, Lauren turned and relaxed her head on Mia's lap; a better position for her injuries.

Being at the Watanabe house truly put her at ease.

The moment Lauren was well enough to leave the hospital, she was situated in her old home.

The decision seemed to be a consensus between the mentors and monks. But for Lauren, it meant that she would never get to see the rangers again until the final battle.

"What happened to your arm?" Lauren looked up into Mia's brown eyes with her blue ones.

"You should know Jen Shiba. When we went to kidnap you, Jen almost shot me dead. Luckily, she just grazed my arm with a bullet." Mia replied while sweeping the hair off Lauren's face.