SPD 8- “Home Is… Part 1”
“I still don’t like this.” Angie said.
“Relax. I told you…if anything happens just call us. I’ll teleport us back right away.” Sammi said.
“Besides, you still have us.”
“Why does that not comfort me?” Angie asked.
“Hey!” Ava said.
“Nothing against you Av.”
“Sure.”
“Well, I for one am psyched! I can’t wait to go home!” I cried.
“We know you are Bre. You haven’t been talking about anything else all week.” Sage said.
“I miss Reefside.”
“Well miss it no more. Your parents are here Bridget.” Kara said as she walked in.
“SWEET!” I cried.
“OK guys, let’s move it.” Sammi said.
“Right behind you.” Clarissa said as we headed down.
We got to the front of the Academy and my parents were there waiting.
“Mom, Daddy!” I cried as I ran and hugged my parents.
“Hey guys.” Mom said.
“Hey Aunt Savannah.” Sammi said.
“You kids ready?” Dad asked.
“Yes sir.” Sage said.
“OK then, let’s head out.”
“See you guys Monday.” I said waving at Dallas, Ava, and Angie.
“Have fun!” Ava said.
“And keep your communicators.” Angie said.
“Dude, chill.”
“You all be careful.” Kara said.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come?” Mom asked.
Kara smiled, “Thanks for the invite Momma Savannah, but I am needed here.”
Mom smiled. She liked when Kara referred to her as ‘Momma’. “OK, we’ll talk to you soon then. I love you.”
“Love you too.” Kara said hugging Mom.
We all piled in the car and headed for Reefside.
“So I’m staying with Aunt Harley?” Clarissa asked.
“She’s expecting you, but you know you’re always welcomed at our house as well, right?” Mom said.
Clarissa nodded, “I know. I appreciate it. I think I’m gonna stay with Sammi.”
“Your Grampsrents are very excited about seeing all of you.” Dad said.
“I can’t wait to see Grams. I have a new song I can’t wait for her to hear.” Sammi said.
“Yeah, I think your mom said something about Michelle helping you get a record deal or something.” Mom said.
“Yeah, after Mirloc is taken care of she is finally going to let me focus on music.”
“I just can’t wait to be home. I miss Reefside so much.” I said.
Dad laughed, “It’ll be nice to have you home.”
We got to Reefside and drove to
“Aunt Lissie!” Sammi cried as she ran to hug her.
“Uncle Blaine I echoed as I ran to hug him. Aunt Lissie and Uncle Blaine had helped raise us and we were really close to them both…although Sammi was closer to Aunt Lissie and me to Uncle Blaine.
“Hey Sasami.” Aunt Lissie said as she used the nickname for Sammi that only she used.
“How are you guys?” Uncle Blaine asked.
“So glad to be home.” I said.
“Hey Clarissa, hey Sage.” Aunt Lissie said.
“Hey. Where is everyone?” Clarissa asked.
“The Lodge. They’ll be back any second now.”
“OK, well, while we wait, Clarissa and Sammi, go get your things out of the car so you’re ready when Harley gets here.” Mom said.
“Yeah, I’ll help you.” Aunt Lissie said as she walked out with them.
“So, how’s SPD?” Uncle Blaine asked me.
“Eh. Ok I guess.” I replied.
“Brooke was talking to Lilli the other say and Lilli told her that you guys have improved a lot.”
“I guess we have. How is Brooke?” I asked. Brooke was the former SPD Blue. She had served with Lilli and Aunt Lissie. She was also Uncle Blaine’s girlfriend now. She moved to Reefside to be with him when she left SPD.
“She’s fine. She’s working at Fernandez Research. She works a lot but she seems to enjoy it.”
I nodded, “That’s good.”
“Yeah.” Uncle Blaine said as Aunt Lissie walked back in with Clarissa and Sammi.
“Get everything?” Mom asked.
“Yes ma’am.” Sammi replied as her parents walked in with our Grampsrents and Uncle Andy, Aunt Lissie’s boyfriend…he’s former SPD too.
“Daddy!” Sammi cried as she ran and hugged her dad, “Mom!”
“Hey Uncle Josh.” I said waving to Sammi’s father.
“Gramps!” Clarissa squealed as she ran and hugged Gramps Hunter. OK, so he wasn’t really my Gramps…but he accepted me as his granddaughter anyway so it was close enough.
“Thanks for getting the kids Sav.” Aunt Harley said.
“Not a problem. You’re taking them back right?” Mom asked.
“Yeah. We’ll meet here Monday morning and I’ll pick up Bridget and Sage so we can head back.”
“Ok, sounds good. I’m going to get my kids home.”
“OK. See you Monday.”
“You’ll bring them by tomorrow so I can see them, right?” Grams asked.
Mom sighed, “Yes Michelle, if they want to come over I’ll bring them.”
I smiled, “We’ll see you tomorrow Grams.” I hugged her.
My parents took Sage and I home. It was so amazing to be back. The second they opened the door I sprinted to my room and fell on my bed.
“Oh yes! Home!” I cried.
I heard laughing from my doorway. I looked up and saw Dad standing there. I giggled.
“Excited?” Dad asked.
“Very. I miss this place so much.”
“Soon as Mirloc is gone you can come home. I promise.”
“You guys won’t make me stay at SPD?”
“Not unless you want to.”
“I don’t. I don’t.”
Dad laughed, “Ok. It’s late sweetie. Try to get some sleep.”
“OK. I can go to Cyperspace tomorrow right?”
“Of course.” Dad said as he came in and kissed my head, “Now get some rest.”
“Yes sir.” I said as I fell back on my bed again. It was so great to be home.
Sammi
~~~~~~
After Bre and Sage left Mom looked at me.
“Do you want to stay for a little while or are you tired?” she asked.
“I’d like to stay and hang out with Grams for a little while.” I said.
“And I want to visit with Gramps.” Clarissa echoed.
Mom nodded, “Ok. In that case I’m going to go take care of some things in the Lodge Lissie, Andy, Blaine, you guys can head home. Josh and I have it covered.”
“Ok, we’ll see you guys tomorrow.” Uncle Blaine said as he hugged me and then he headed out with Aunt Lissie and Uncle Andy.
“We’ll be in the Lodge if you need us. You kids have fun.” Mom said as she and Dad headed for the Lodge.
“I do need to go finish up some things in the office. You want to come help Clarissa?” Gramps asked.
“Of course. Catch up with you later Sammi.” Clarissa said as she followed Gramps.
“And how are you my little Sammi?” Grams asked.
I smiled, “Mom said she talked to you about my music.”
“She did. I’ve been speaking to some of my contacts and they are very excited about listening to you sing.”
“Yeah, I want to focus on that but Mom said I need to wait until Mirloc is gone.” I said.
“I know, but what if I worked on things for you so your career was ready to step into when Mirloc was gone?”
“How?”
“I thought we could record a couple of demo songs this weekend so I have something to let my contacts listen to.”
I smiled, “That would be awesome! I actually have a new song I want you to listen to.”
“I would love to hear it.”
I smiled and grabbed my pink guitar from it’s case and we went and sat on he front porch. I started playing ‘Place in This World’.
“What do you think?” I asked when I finished.
Grams smiled, “That was amazing. Sammi, you have a gift.”
“Thanks, but I’m nowhere near as good as you.”
“I think you’re better.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I do. I honestly do.”
“Any talent I have with this is inherited from you Grams. Your music inspired me.”
“Oh Sammi, I love you sweetie.”
“I love you too. Grams?”
“Yes sweetie?”
“Are you upset I didn’t take SPD Purple?”
Grams sighed, “Of course not sweetie. It’s up to us all to find our own paths. If being a Purple Ranger is not your path then I don’t be grudge you the chance to find your own way. I’m not thrilled so many of my family members are involved with SPD…but again, everyone has to find their own way.”
“What’s wrong with SPD?”
“I don’t trust them. I never have. I’ve come to tolerate them much more over the years but I still don’t like SPD. Something isn’t right…I’ve just never been able to prove it.”
“SPD is just trying to keep everyone safe.”
“Just watch your back.”
I nodded, “Ok.”
“Enough about SPD though. Let’s here more of your music.”
I smiled and started playing another song.
Clarissa
~~~~~~
I walked into the office with Gramps and sat down.
“So, I hear my girl is SPD Crimson.” He said.
I smiled, “Yes I am.”
“I’m so proud of you sweetheart. You worked really hard and it paid off.”
“I’m proud of me too. This is all I ever wanted…to be A-squad and to be a Crimson Ranger like you.”
“And you did it. How does it feel?”
“Amazing.”
“What’s the power like?”
“Oh my god…like nothing I’ve ever felt.”
“It’s a rush isn’t it?”
“Totally.”
“And what about SPD? Everything ok at the Academy?”
“Yeah. Fine. Why?”
“Just making sure. Your grandmother isn’t fond of SPD and truth be told I worry about you kids getting wrapped up with SPD sometimes.”
“It’s fine. SPD is my home.”
“I know. Speaking of home, how is your mother?”
“She’s fine. She wanted to come for a visit but she’s been really busy.”
“She keeps talking about moving back to Reefside but your father doesn’t want to leave SPD.”
“No, he doesn’t. He doesn’t want to leave Kara either.”
“How’s Kara doing?”
“She’s fine. She’s pretty much Commander Tate’s right hand officer. She loves that.”
“I bet he does too. He’s always wanted a closer relationship to Kara.”
“Yeah. I think it still bothers him that she doesn’t see him as her dad but he deals with it.”
“It’s a tough situation but I think everyone involved handled it well.”
I nodded, “Yeah. I can’t imagine what it would be like to find out you’d been kidnapped and your dad wasn’t your dad. I mean, I know I’m adopted but that was legal. Arion died and couldn’t be my dad.”
Gramps nodded, “Yeah. Does your mother ever talk to you about Arion?”
“Sometimes. I’ve seen pictures of him and I kinda know what he was like. It sounds like he was a good person.”
“He was. He was a very good man that made your mother very happy. It’s a shame you never got to meet him.”
“Yeah. I wonder what he’d think of me sometimes.”
“Arion would be terribly proud of you sweetheart. We all are.”
I smiled, “Thank you Gramps.”
Gramps and I talked for awhile then Aunt Harley came and told me it was time to go. We met up with Uncle Josh and Sammi at the car and headed back to their house.
“OK Clarissa, make yourself at home. Our house is your house.” Aunt Harley said.
“Thank you Aunt Harley.” I said.
“Come on Clarissa, you can stay with me in my room.” Sammi said as we headed upstairs.
We went to Sammi’s room and put our things down. I absolutely loved Sammi’s room. It was huge and even had it’s own bathroom. She had a beautiful queen size poster bed with purple and crimson drapes on it. On the left side of the bed, if you were facing it, she had an iron bench with a purple cushion and a pink pillow, which is where I had dropped my bag. Around the corner on the right side of the bed was a little alcove with a desk and window seat. It was a beautiful room.
It was getting late so we changed into our pajamas and got in bed.
“Remember when we were little and my mom would try to get us to go to sleep but we’d hide under the blankets and whisper anyway?” Sammi asked as she turned the light off.
“Yeah, but she’d always catch us because we’d start giggling.” I replied.
“Yeah, no matter how quiet we tried to be we’d always giggle. Clarissa, I’m really glad you came. It’s nice to hang out off campus.”
“Yeah, it is. Goodnight Sammi.”
“Night Riss.”
Bridget
~~~~~~
The next morning I got up and dressed in record time. I wanted to get to Cyberspace and see my friends. I got there and my friends Andrea and Connie were there.
Andrea Kay is my best friend. She attends Reefside High, which is my old school. Andrea is also my cousin. Yes, another cousin. Connie Fernandez is Andrea’s older sister, she attends Reefside U and works at Cyberspace. Yes, she’s my cousin as well.
“Bre!” Andrea cried when she saw me.
“Andie!” I cried.
“How have you been? Are you ok? Did they hurt you?”
I laughed, “Andie, chill…I was SPD, not a concentration camp.”
“Same thing.” She mumbled.
“What?”
“SPD isn’t the protectors of Earth that everyone wants to pretend it is.”
I rolled my eyes, “You’re crazy.”
“I’m serious Bre. SPD is dangerous. I’ve done a little bit of research and…SPD isn’t what it seems.”
“Do you even have any proof of this?”
“Nothing I can share…yet.”
“Riiight…ok when you find some let me know.”
“Bridget, I’m serious, really, I am. If you don’t believe me fine…just…watch your back.”
“OK…wow you are serious. Ok. I’m telling you it’s fine, but I promise I’ll keep an eye out.”
“Thank you.”
“Hey Bre.” Connie said walking over. She’d just finished with a customer.
“Hey Connie.” I said hugging her.
“How’s life at SPD?”
“I miss Reefside so much.”
“You’ll be back to stay soon enough, right?”
“I hope so.”