Power Rangers Dino Fury [A Dino Thunder Fanfiction]

Bearings

    I paced back and forth in the lab, chewing my fingernails until they bled. My face and chest were burning still, but it didn't hurt as bad as my heart did.

    I looked over to the examination table, where Daniel was laying. There was a monitor beeping periodically, letting me know that Daniel was still alive. His face had somehow avoided any major burns, but his body and legs were beyond easy healing.

    "How do you know this kid?" Nathan asked, pulling me from my thoughts. He had a large bandage on his cheek and his arm was wrapped.

    "He uh... he works with me at Jungle Karma." I swallowed. "I didn't hide my identity well enough, he was probably trying to save me because we're friends."

    "You can't blame yourself for him trying to help us. It was a stupid move, a decision he made, but we just have to hope he pulls through. You can thank him later."

    I nodded and crossed my arms, ignoring the burning in my chest from my skin wrinkling together. I walked over to the table and pulled up a chair, resting my arms and face on the table. "I'm sorry, Daniel..."

    "Why don't we go do something?" Lisa asked. "We don't want you to stay here alone."

    I shook my head. "I won't leave him. Not until he wakes up."

    Lisa sighed and rubbed my back. "Okay. Let us know if you need us, okay?"

    "Okay."

    With that, everybody left, leaving only me and Daniel, who was completely patched up, but looking very worse for wear. I couldn't decide if I wanted to stay and nurse Daniel back to health, or go out and kill Carcharo.

    Suddenly, Daniel stirred and opened his eyes, moaning quietly. "W-where... agh!"

    I put a hand on his cheek and sat up. "Shh, don't move. You're going to be hurting a lot."

    Daniel tried to keep his breath steady, but I could tell that the pain medicine wasn't enough to keep him completely calm.

    "Do you remember what happened?" I asked, pulling his longer bits of his hair off of his face, where it had been stuck from sweat.

    "I do..." He swallowed. "Are you and the other rangers okay?"

    I drooped my head. "Thanks to you..." I held back tears. "I should have hid my identity better."

    "No..." He whined, his voice cracking. "Don't you dare blame yourself..."

    "Who should I blame?" I asked.

    "Me. Or that monster, because he got me pretty good too." He chuckled.

    I smiled but couldn't laugh. "Why did you save us?"

    Daniel swallowed. "Do you remember when that woman Astronema attacked the earth?"

    "Yeah, 1998. I was 8, but I didn't live in the city where they started the attack."

    "I was 7." He swallowed. "I was being attacked by a group of those Quantron things... and a Ranger, the blue one I think, was trying to save me. He saved me, but I could tell they hurt his arm. I was too weak to do anything back then, so I owe my life to the Rangers, to you guys."

    I gently put my fingers on his, trying not to touch his burns. "You don't owe us anything. Although, I think Tj will be happy to know that you remember him saving you. He's a good guy."

    "Tj... that's his name?" He smiled. "It feels nice to put a name to the helmet."

    I chuckled. "Thank you for saving us, Daniel..."