“You’re accurate, it’s not your place.” Billy cut him off, frowning. He wasn’t angry with the teen for hearing his phone call. More just angry with himself for letting the boy hear.

“Billy, what ever it is, you should tell them the truth. Remember what happened to Dr. O?”

“Believe me Trent; what I haven’t told them is a lot more severe than being a power ranger again.”

“You haven’t been, have you?” Trent asked, raising an eyebrow. Billy just shook his head.

“No, of course not. I haven’t apprehended any command since my Triceratops coin.” Billy told him. “Don’t worry. I’ll tell them in due course. I just needed someone to converse with,” he indicated his cell phone. Trent sighed and nodded.“Well, excuse me for having a temporarily evil dad,” Trent said mildly. With a slight edge to his voice, he added, “Mr. Never-had-to-live-in-a-cyber-café-because-I-was-afraid-of-getting-killed-in-my-sleep.” Conner considered this, and gave Trent an apologetic look. A tad annoyed, Trent added, “Do you have any idea how many times I had to jump out of Kira’s bathroom window in a towel?”

Far from strengthening his case, this made everyone give him shocked looks. Conner was too busy gaping at him to try and puzzle out any other meanings this statement might have.

Trent and Kira’s faces both burned brightly as they realized what everyone was thinking. “Because she used to let me borrow her bathroom,” Trent clarified in a pathetic sort of tone, “back when Dad was evil and I wasn’t.”

“Oh,” everyone said awkwardly.He had been very good to her. She didn’t know what she’d do without him. Her parents had been shocked when they told them that the baby was his. Her mother had remained calm, but had given her a cold hard stare. Her father and brother had simply left the room. The fact that Billy was a long term family friend and that they would soon be married meant little. Their disappointment in her was obvious. It hurt her and the sting was deep.

In contrast, Billy’s father was thrilled. He’d even purchased a bassinet for her and loaded it with every conceivable baby item he could find. They hadn’t heard from Billy’s mother yet, but he wasn’t concerned. He assured her they would hear from her eventually.