“I’ll buy you that necklace you wanted,” Rocky responded to Aisha who pulled him into the pool, wrapped her legs around him and kissed him.

Conner looked at Kira. “I never said anything to begin with,” he assured her.

“I know,” she laughed, doing a back float.

“So, both teams would be at an unfair disadvantage?” Kimberly asked Tommy who just grinned, blushing a bit (or maybe it was just due to the fact that he’d swam faster than he ever had in his life). The only thing scarier than a disgruntled sea monster was a disgruntled black ranger, and he now had two of them to deal with.

“Well, we beat the reds,” he stated.“Guys!” Tommy said, trying to keep the note of panic out of his voice. He still hadn’t decided on what to wear; he waved four shirts at Jason, Zack, Billy, Conner, Ethan and Trent. “Which shirt should I wear?” He had gone past the green shirt and the white, adding a red polo and a black sleeveless T-shirt.

“I like the white,” Trent said.

“Me, too,” Zack said hurriedly.

“Nah, go with the red,” Conner said.

“No, the green,” Ethan said. They paused and looked at him. “What? Someone had to argue for the green.”

“In that case, I suggest the black one,” Jason said with a smile.

“Guys!” Tommy whined. “You’re not helping!”He rolled over and spooned against her and she smiled. It was his way of telling her he was awake and getting ready to leave. Rocky had given up trying to wake Carri in the mornings. Unless her communicator was going off, it was a hopeless cause. His arm slid around her and he pulled her close, absorbing her warmth for just a few more seconds. Then he kissed her neck, released her, and sat up.

She sighed contentedly and pulled the covers over her head as he dressed; then both of their communicators went off.

“Shit.” Carri spat, throwing the covers off and rubbing her eyes. “These things are starting earlier and earlier on Fridays.” She stood up and began to search out the cloths she wore the night before, stopping only when she noticed him grinning at her.