"You have to do this, Adam. You know you do."

Adam pulled away slightly. "I...I can't, Rocky. I...I just can't see her like that. Don't make me do this." Adam shrank away from him.

Rocky gathered his younger friend in his arms and slowly, gently, herded him into the room. "You need to do this Adam. If you don't, you'll hate yourself afterwards. I'll be right here with you. I won't leave you I promise."

Adam clung to his best friend. Rocky had never intentionally hurt him before, physically or emotionally. He was probably the only person he trusted implicitly. They had been through everything together since the first grade.

Rocky held his friend as they crossed to the bed. He knew Adam was going to need some major support, especially with his parents in China. He felt Adam's grip ease as he looked down at his girlfriend. Rocky had to swallow a gasp as he looked down at his fallen friend. Machines and tubes seemed to be attached everywhere.

Adam dropped into a chair with an audible thud. "Oh god..." He moaned. Sabra looked so small and vulnerable to him. He couldn't help but blame himself for the whole mess. "This is all my fault."

"It's not your fault Adam. Sabra pushed you out of the way. She knew the risks."

Adam's face hardened as he looked up at his leader, Tommy. "What are you talking about? If you hadn't done your 'Leap to my doom' bullshit, none of this would have happened."

Tommy frowned at him. "What are you talking about?"

Adam stood and his brown eyes flashed. "You know damn well what I mean. The way you just leap into battle without even informing us of your plan. What kind of leader are you?"

Tommy glared at his second in command. "What difference would it have made? All of you, and especially Sabra, never follow my orders anyway."

Adam moved toward his leader. "If we did, you'd be dead a dozen times over. We only broke rank to save your hide."

Rocky put a hand on Adam's shoulder. "I think you should leave Tommy." He said quietly, giving the other teen a pointed look before glancing at Sabra. Tommy however didn't get the hint.

"I came here to get Sabra's morpher and to know if you guys had anyone in mind for her replacement."

Rocky bit back a groan, and tightened his grip on Adam. Sometimes Tommy had all the sensitivity of a dump truck.

Adam growled deep in his throat. "She's not dead Tommy!" he felt all the emotions that had been churning inside of him coalesce into a single, overwhelming desire to beat the garbanza beans out of Tommy. His body tensed as he readied himself to wipe the floor with his leader when Rocky stepped between him and Tommy.

"Not here, Adam. It's not worth it." Rocky said softly.

Adam moved forward anyway only to feel Rocky's hands on his chest gently pushing him back. "Get out of my way, Rocky."

Rocky just pushed him back farther. "Listen. You duke it out in here and they'll throw you out. For good. Tommy's not worth losing your visiting privileges. Trust me on this one."

Adam glared at Tommy, but relented. "Do me a favor and get him out of my face. He doesn't belong here."

Rocky nodded, and breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay. Just don't fly off the handle until I get back." Rocky waited until he was sure Adam was settled before he rounded on Tommy. He shoved his leader into the hall and up to a wall. "What were you thinking? Adam's upset enough about this and then you waltz in and talk about finding her replacement." Rocky let him go, but didn't back away.

Tommy shook his head. "Listen, I'm sorry, but we need a Gray Ranger. Zedd and Rita aren't going to just sit there and let us lick our wounds. We have to be ready." Tommy glanced back at the room. "Answer a question for me Rocko. Do you honestly think Adam is able to fight?"

Rocky stilled, and then glanced back at the room. Adam was back in the chair, and was holding his girlfriend's hand. Even from his position, Rocky could see the utter devastation in the younger boy's posture. "No, but he won't give up his morpher. Not to you, not now. He's going to want revenge, Tommy. And that's going to get him killed." Rocky reached into his pocket and handed Tommy a morpher and communicator. "They're Sabra's. As for a replacement, try Allin." With that he went back to his best friend.

Adam sat next to his girlfriend and held her hand. An intern had come about an hour ago and suggested that he could talk to Sabra. He just stared at her, what was he suppose to say?

"Anything that comes to mind." Allin said.

Adam looked up at his girlfriend's twin brother in shock.

Allin smiled grimly and then looked back down at his sister. "It's hard seeing her like this. It doesn't seem real some how. The doctors say she's got about a fifty-percent chance of waking up, but that's bullshit. She's going to wake up, Adam. You'll see." He took Sabra's other hand and then bent over to whisper in her ear. "Don't you even think of making a liar out of me. You've got quite a crowd out here pulling for you. Don't let them down." He kissed her forehead and then straightened. "Are you going to be all right?" Allin asked softly, coming around to sit next to Adam.

Adam shook his head. "My girlfriend's in a coma, and it's all my fault. I should have done something, anything. I should have seen it coming."

Allin frowned. He could hear the self-hatred and unshed tears in the younger boy's voice. "What happened? I heard the official version. What really happened?"

Adam hesitated a moment and looked around. "We were fighting the Tengas and Zedd had some screwy new weapon. Sort of like our Power Cannon. They took a shot at Tommy, but he managed to dodge it. The tengas then went after me. My back was turned, but Sabra saw it and shoved me out of the way. The blast hit her and slammed her into a tree. I swear I could hear her skull crack. Maybe if we were fully morphed she could have deflected the blast...but just Ninja morphed..." Adam shook his head. "She never had a chance."

Allin shook his head. "It sounds like you did everything you could, Adam. The blast came from behind. There was nothing you could've done."

Adam shook his head. "You didn't listen to me. I should have taken that hit. It should be me in that bed. Not her, not someone whose got so many people that are going to miss her."

Allin silently stared at the younger boy. What does he mean? Before he could ask anything about it, Adam's communicator went off.

Adam stared at his wrist. He had to answer it, but he didn't want to leave. How could he when Sabra could wake up at any minute? Besides, if Zedd and Rita were at all intelligent they'd grab the Gray Ranger and ransom the Rangers, or just kill her.

"Go on." Allin said quietly. "It's all right. I'll watch her."

Adam stared at Allin a moment before his wrist chimed again. "Okay. I'll be right back."

Allin stared hard at the younger teen. "Don't come back like this. And don't come back dead."

Adam nodded quietly, and then teleported out of the room.

Allin waited a few minutes before 'talking' to his mother.

What's going on?" Adam asked. He managed to keep his voice reasonably steady, but he refused to look at any of the other rangers. He could keep the tears and pain at bay as long as he didn't look at them. He felt a hand on his shoulder, but refused to look at who it was.

"Adam? Adam look at me, bro." It was Tommy, his mind recognized. Before he was even full conscious of what he was doing he turned and decked his leader.

Tommy fell back and watched as Rocky and Billy moved in to keep Adam from hitting him again. Kim went over to him and helped him up.

"What was that all about?" She asked, her brown eyes flickering between Adam and Tommy."

"It's all right Kim. I deserved that." He walked up to the Black Ranger, and was taken aback by the hatred he saw deep in the brown eyes.

Before he had a chance to make peace with Adam, Zordon spoke. "Rangers. Rita and Zedd have sent down the Harley Hog. Observe the Viewing Globe." As one the teens turned and watched as a monster that vaguely resembled a Harley Davidson Motorcycle ripped it's way through downtown. "Rangers, this monster is extremely strong and agile. You will need all your remaining talents to defeat him. Teamwork is the key. Only with all of you remaining Rangers working together will you be able to defeat him."

Billy spoke quietly, unsure of how Adam was going to take this particular bit of news. "I...uh rigged Sabra's Zord with a remote control so if we have to we can call on it."

Tommy nodded. "That's a good idea, Billy. Thanks." He turned to Adam only to have him glare back and say. "Let's get this over with." With that he morphed and teleported out.

"Guys, we really need to watch Adam's back." Tommy said. The others nodded.

"I've got him Tommy." Rocky said. He left the rest of his thoughts to himself. He glanced over at Aisha and the rest and gave a barely perceptible nod. They already knew what the formation to take to keep Tommy alive, but they had never thought to have Adam on the 'Leap to my doom' list. "All right, let's go before Adam gets himself killed." Rocky declared mailing Adam's behavior on the head.

The others nodded, morphed and quickly teleported to the fight. Rocky surveyed the fight, looking for any sign of his best friend. He finally spotted him surrounded by at least twenty Tengas. "Guys, over there!" He yelled pointing briefly before joining the fray. He battled his way over to Adam, trying vainly to get the Tengas to make him a target.

Adam, beaten and bloody, managed to keep on his feet. He felt the anger and pain, the helplessness that he tried to bury bubble up and consume him when he saw the Tengas. Everything else ceased to exist. There was him, his rage and the tengas. He didn't care that he was outnumbered in fact he was enjoying it. He was going to make those tengas pay for what they'd done to Sabra.

Rocky could see that although Adam was doing some major damage, the Black Ranger could barely stand up. "Adam! Teleport to the Command Center. We'll handle this." If Adam heard he gave no acknowledgment. Rocky quelled the fear rising in his stomach. Adam had never before ignored any of them, especially when it came to his safety or strategy. He was battling as fast as he could to Adam's side, but the Tengas were determined to keep him and the rest of the Rangers away from their tortured friend. Not only that, but as Rocky checked the field, he saw exactly where the tengas were herding Adam.

"Adam! Harley Hog is behind you!" Aisha shrieked.

"Rangers! Let's go!" Tommy yelled. He motioned for them to move around to flank the Harley Hog with the exception of Rocky. He wasn't going to leave his best friend to be ripped apart by tengas.

Adam didn't even notice his friend's arrival or Aisha's shout. It wasn't until tengas started to go flying without him even touching them that he managed to pull himself out of his all-encompassing rage. "Rocky?" He asked startled as the Red Ranger suddenly appeared next to him.

"Come on pal. We're going back to the Command Center." Rocky said, gently grabbing Adam's arm.

"What? I can fight Rocky. The others need us." Adam exclaimed. The adrenaline that had been flowing through his veins dropped off and he felt his legs buckle beneath him.

Rocky rolled his eyes as he caught his best friend. "Adam, you can barely stand, you're in no condition to fight. The others can take care of it."

Adam wasn't finished. "I can fight damn it! I wanna fight."

Rocky set his jaw under his helmet. "That wasn't up for discussion. We're going back to the Command Center." With that he tightened his grip on the Black Ranger and teleported out in two colored flashes of light.

As soon as they returned to the Command Center Adam rounded on Rocky. "What the Hell are you doing?! Zordon said it's going to take all of our combined strength to defeat this monster and you pull me out?!"

"You can't even stand without help Adam. How did you expect to fight. Dammit Adam, I already lost my dad I'm not losing you too. The others can handle. Hell half of the time Tommy takes Zedd's goons by himself."

Adam stared at his best friend for a moment and winced as he tried to take a cleansing breath. "Maybe I did over do it a bit." He acknowledged.

Rocky gave him a small smile. "I understand what's going through your head Adam. Just remember we're a team." He replied as he helped the Black Ranger over to a med. table.

"Go back to the fight, Rocky. The others probably need you. I'll be okay, I promise I won't go back to the fight."

Rocky gave Adam a skeptical glance, but nodded and with a flash of red light was back to action.

Adam grimaced as Alpha ran the scanner over him. "This was not one of my smarter moves." He said to no one in particular.

"Aye yi yi Adam! You could have been really hurt." Alpha exclaimed as he waited for the results.

Adam shrugged, not wishing to voice his thoughts in front of Alpha and Zordon, Zordon especially. The floating head was more of a father to him than his own flesh and blood. He winced as Alpha taped up his ribs. I wonder if they would even show up for my funeral. It almost was my funeral, should be my funeral. he sighed as Alpha finished patching up. I wasn't supposed to be born. A shrimp and weakling, never worthy of anyone, not even my own parents. The only reason I was chosen as the Black Ranger was to keep my mouth shut. I don't know why they hang out with me. And Sabra...she was-is everything to me. Everything I'm not, and she's in a coma because of it. The team's two short because of me. All of this is my fault. MY FAULT!!

Adam stared down at the morpher in his hands. He knew what he had to do. He looked up as the rest of the Rangers teleported in, smiling and laughing. They stopped as he painfully got to his feet. "I've made a decision. I'm quitting the team." Adam said quietly as he handed Tommy his morpher and communicator.

"This is just temporary right?" Aisha asked.

Adam shook his head. "You guys deserve someone better than me."

"What about you Adam? What do you deserve?" Kim asked gently. Adam shook his head. "I deserve...deserve to be in that hospital room instead of Sabra! I made my decision stop trying to talk me out of it. I know why you guys picked me. I'm not stupid. I'm just saving you guys the hassle of kicking me off the team and out of your lives." Adam felt the tears slid down his cheeks, and felt his face flush. To him it was one more reason why he shouldn't have friends like he did. He was absolutely pathetic.

The rest of the Rangers looked at each other shocked as Adam teleported out of the Command Center." What the hell was that all about?!" Tommy demanded.

Rocky and Aisha glanced at each other. The same thought went through their heads. It was never this bad before.

"What was he talking about, he knows why we picked him?" Kim asked, looking at Rocky and Aisha.

They looked at each other again before Aisha answered. "Adam...he sort of...well he..." Aisha trailed off and looked to Rocky for help.

"The way he explained it to me was that you guys only picked him because Aisha and I would have turned you down otherwise." Rocky admitted sheepishly.

"What?! Where would he get an idea like that?" Tommy demanded.

Rocky shrugged. "He wouldn't tell me, but he believes it. There's one other thing too. Adam's parents...well they aren't exactly there for him." Rocky said rubbing the back of his neck. He knew he was breaking his oath of silence, but the others needed to understand where Adam was coming from. "They have a habit of taking...business trips...and leaving Adam behind to fend for himself."

"Oh my god..." Kim said bring her hand up to her mouth.

"It's not like he has to go beg for food or anything like that. They just-don't care about him." Aisha hurriedly clarified.

"Still, that's horrible. Why haven't you guys done anything about it?" Tommy demanded.

Rocky bristled at the accusation. "What would like us to do? Squeal on his parents? At least he knows where he's going to be every night, and if you haven't noticed he isn't exactly vocal about it."

"Guys! This isn't helping Adam!" Billy yelled getting the attention of everyone there. "I take it this isn't the fist time this sort of thing has happened?" He asked once everyone was quiet.

Aisha shook her head. "No, but it's never been this bad before. I'm really worried about him."

"We have to find him!" Kim announced. "We have to tell him the truth before he does something stupid."

"Adam's not like that." Aisha insisted her face going pale. "He wouldn't even think of that...would he?" She asked turning to Rocky for confirmation.

"Of course not. He's got low self-esteem not suicidal thoughts." Rocky replied, but his voice lacked the strength to ease Aisha's fears.

"We have to find him period." Tommy said. "Rocky is there someplace where Adam goes to get away? Some where that's private?"

Rocky bit his lip, he'd given enough stuff away already that Adam would hate him. If he told Tommy Adam's favorite thinking spot, he'd never speak to the Red Ranger again. Aisha didn't even know about this and they'd been friends since second grade. But maybe he could give Tommy some of Adam's lesser haunts. "He likes Ko's garden and secluded parts of the park."

"You guys won't find him if he doesn't want to be found." Aisha said quietly. "Believe me, we've tried. It's like he disappears off the face of the planet."

"Let's split up and look for him." The others nodded and teleported out.

Adam kicked the loose stones and watched as they fell down the thirty-foot bluff. He'd tried to run through a kata to settle him down, but it hadn't helped. If anything he felt worse. He wanted nothing more than to go back in time and take that blast. His heart wouldn't be breaking and Sabra wouldn't be lying in that hospital bed fighting for her life.

"Why?!" Adam yelled at the blue sky. He wasn't likely to be overheard, he was a good ten miles from town. "Why Sabra?! Why not me? What has she ever down to deserve that? What have I? Why can't I have a normal life?" He dropped to his knees as the sobs began. "Why does everybody leave me?" He whispered. He closed his eyes as the sobs wracked his body.

He felt a pair of strong arms wrap around his shoulders and pull him close. His own arms wrapped around the slim waist. A hand came up to stroke his hair. "You didn't do anything wrong Adam. Nothing at all."

"Then why? Why don't my parents want me? Why...why is Sabra in the hospital if it isn't my fault?"

"You must believe that there is a reason for everything in life, Adam. You have to trust that those reasons will be revealed in time."

Adam continued to cry, but as he sobbed, the fear and pain slowly changed to peace. Finally his sobs eased and he raised his head to see his comforter.

The woman had long blond hair and eyes the color of sapphires. She wore a medieval style gown of dove gray and her expression was one of quiet understanding. She smiled softly at him.

She released him and Adam sat back. He wasn't sure what to think. He didn't feel threatened or scared; in fact he felt completely comfortable with her. "What did you mean, that everything happened for a reason?"

"There is a reason for everything, Adam, even if it is not obvious. In time those reasons will be revealed, even if you don't understand them."

"But-" He said shaking his head. "I don't understand."

"But you will. I will tell you this, only you can help the one you love." She touched his cheek.

Adam turned as he heard his named called. When he turned back, she was gone. He looked around for a minute trying to figure out exactly where his comforter had gone.

"Adam!" He heard his name again and saw Allin at the bottom of the bluff. Adam hurried down the bluff, but his mind was still with his mysterious guest.

"Hey! How're you doing?" Allin asked as Adam made his way toward the other teen. He could see the telltale marks of tears on Adam's face, but didn't mention it. He deserved to shed his tears in private.

Adam felt his face flush. Allin couldn't miss the tear streaks on his face. "I-I'm a little better." He stared at his feet and waited for Allin to comment on the tears. When he didn't Adam breathed a silent sigh of relief. "Uh...what are you doing here?" He finally asked.

Allin shrugged. "I had to get away from the hospital. It was starting to close in on me. I felt like I was in a tomb." He took a deep breath. "You can only take so much waiting before it gets to you. This is my favorite spot. No cars, no pollution, just me and the ocean. What about you?"

"The same I guess. I like to come here when I want to be alone."

Allin nodded. "Say no more. Your secret is safe with me. Everyone needs a place to get away from everyone else." They walked together for a minute. "By the way, who were you talking to?"

Adam glanced at his girlfriend's brother and wondered what the statement was supposed to mean. "I don't know. She just appeared out of nowhere. We talked for awhile and then she just disappeared. It was weird."

Allin nodded his agreement. "That's...definitely weird. What did your mystery person look like?"

Adam shrugged. "That was another odd thing. She wasn't dressed current. It was a medieval style dress. Like the ones that Sabra has for court? She had blond hair and blue eyes." Adam shook his head. "I wasn't scared or embarrassed or anything like that." Adam blushed faintly. "That's usually doesn't happen with me."

Allin cracked a smile. "What did she tell you?"

Adam frowned. "She told me to remember that everything happened for a reason, and that I was the only one that could save Sabra. What did she mean?" He turned to Allin.

Allin drew in a deep breath to fight off the sudden chill that went up his spine. This whole thing was just too strange, and he didn't like the reference to his sister. Still, Adam was waiting for some kind of answer. "I don't know what to tell you Adam..." He mulled the idea over in his head. "I think I know a place where we can find some. Come on." He said moving faster back the way he'd come.

"Where? Where are we going?" Adam called, jogging after the older boy.

"You'll see. Hurry up, I want to see Sabra before we go home."

Adam stopped. Allin glanced back and came back to the love of his twin's life. "What's wrong?" He asked quietly.

Adam looked at Allin. "I can't."

Allin frowned at him. "What are you talking about, Adam? You can see her, you did before." Allin watched Adam's face. Guilt, pain and fear warred for dominance. "Mom doesn't blame you for this, Adam. No one does, even me and I know the whole story. Mom wants you to stay with us. I talked to her after you left. You shouldn't be by yourself right now. It isn't good. Look, think of it this way, you want answers to you mystery girl, right? Sabra's got all the books, and if we're going to do some heavy duty research you might as well stay over."

Adam looked down at his feet. How could he tell Allin that he was more scared of his friends? That he wanted nothing more than to curl under a rock and die? "It's not...that...I just...I don't think I can face anyone right now." He said. "Especially the Rangers." He barely murmured.

"Why? Because you gave up your coin? Rocky told me about that. If they're really your friends they'll understand." Allin replied. He frowned, that didn't seem to relieve the Asian teen.

"They'll be waiting for me. They'll try to-try to tell me that I'm their friend no matter what...but I know it's not true." Adam trailed off and to his horror felt the tears threaten again. He tried to turn away only to have Allin stop him.

"You're afraid they'll embarrass you. You have to ask yourself one question, Adam. Would they bother if they didn't care? Now let's go, I promised Mom we'd be home by dark. You're staying with us whether you like this or not. You're sure as hell not staying by yourself in that empty house. Consider yourself under house arrest." Allin turned and walked back to the car.

Adam smiled to himself. He wasn't sure if he should be ticked off or elated. His parents never put him under "house arrest" they didn't care enough. He met up with Allin at his car and the two of them drove away.

Adam hesitantly made his way to Sabra's cubicle. He didn't want to see any of his friends; all he wanted to see was Sabra. Then he was going to eat at the Cullen home and he and Allin were going to search Sabra's library of magic books. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't see Tommy until Tommy spoke up.

"Adam, wait up!"

Adam quickly turned around and started to walk back to the exit. He'd come back later and see his girlfriend when the others weren't around.

Tommy wasn't going to let the ex-black ranger get away that easily. He hurried up to him and pulled him aside. "Adam, can we talk?" He asked him.

Adam turned his head away. He didn't want to talk didn't want to hear the truth he already knew in his heart. "I-I don't think so. Allin's waiting for me. I really should go." He tried to pull away, but Tommy held him fast.

"We really need to clear the air between us, Adam. I'm sorry about before, in Sabra's room. That was...really stupid and I wish I could take it back. I know this is really hard on you, it's hard on all of us, but we are your friends no matter what you think. We're here for you if you want to talk. I'm here for you." Tommy let go of the Asian teen.

Adam stared at his feet and tried to think of something, anything to say. He shifted from foot to foot, but nothing came to mind. "Uh...thanks, Tommy." He finally managed to get out.

Tommy watched Adam a moment longer before turning to go.

Adam watched him a mixture of relief and pain coursing through him. It was a relief that Tommy had apologized seemingly on his own, but his leaving only reinforced what he already knew. They really didn't want him as their friend. With a heavy heart he walked to his girlfriend's room. This time he didn't hesitate going in. He knew what to expect.

Nothing had changed. The machines were still there; the ventilator tube still coming out of her mouth, a literal line between life and death. Millions of tubes came from her, and Adam couldn't help but compare them to snakes sucking the life out of his girlfriend instead of the other way around. He sat down in the vacant chair next to the bed and gripped her cool hand. The silence was deafening, the only sound coming from the hiss of the ventilator as it forced air into his girlfriend's lungs.

"I...I don't' know what to say. I'm so confused right now. This lady said only I could save you. How? I don't know anything about comas. I don't...I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"That will come in time." Adam looked up to see a man with unruly red hair and amber colored eyes smiling down at him. One hand rested on Adam's shoulder although until that moment he could have sworn he was alone.

"What? What will come in time?" Adam asked hesitantly. He wasn't scared exactly, just surprised that he had shown up, although he had no more of an idea of who this was than his last visitor.

"You will know when the time is right."

"But..." Adam tried to protest, but the man was gone. He twisted around a little trying to find him. "This is getting weirder and weirder by the minute." He turned his attention back to his girlfriend. "Sabra, please don't die until...well just don't die. I need you; the team needs you. Please don't leave me. I don't want to find out what my life would be like without you." Adam squeezed her hand, and just sat with her.

Kim turned to go when she spotted Allin walking toward the room. She hurried over to intercept him, anxious to stall the boy until Adam woke up. "Uh...Allin, hi. How are you?" She said quickly.

Allin eyes her suspiciously. What was going on with her? "Kim, are you okay?" he asked instead.

Kim bit her lip. Allin would know if she was lying, and she wasn't all that great of an actress to begin with. "Actually Adam's with Sabra right now, but he sort of doze off. I...didn't mean to spy on him. I was going to talk to him, but he was asleep and..."

"Kim. Don't worry about it. Who do you think brought him here? As for spying...I sort of don't blame you. Adam's been a ticking time bomb since this happened." He gave her a small smile. "Don't worry, I'll be gentle."

Allin walked into his sister's hospital room. There he found Adam dozing off, still holding Sabra's hand. He hesitated to wake the other boy, it was probably the first decent rest he had in a while, but Allin's parents were waiting and there was research after that. "Hey Adam. Wake up pal." Allin said gently trying to wake his friend.

Adam opened his eyes and stretched. "How long was I out?" He asked Allin. He looked over at Sabra, but there was no change.

"Hey, you're asking the wrong person. I just came to check on you, and her. Mom just told me dinner's in 10 minutes. Are you ready?

Adam nodded. "Yeah, just let me say goodbye."

Allin nodded and slipped outside to wait.

"Sabra, I'll find a way to save you, I promise. Don't give up fighting. I'll come visit tomorrow." He brushed his knuckles over her pale cheek and kissed her forehead. "I...love you, princess. Don't give up." He squeezed her hand one more time before leaving.

"So...exactly what are we looking for?" Adam asked as he and Allin went into Sabra's room.

"Nothing will be in here." Allin replied as he went to the closet.

"What?" Adam asked as he picked up a framed picture of him and Sabra right before the Homecoming dance. He smiled slightly, he'd been so sure she was going to say no that it had taken Rocky, Kim and Aisha to get him to ask her. Was he ever glad they made him do it. He turned his attention back to Allin, only to find him looking amused at the younger boy.

"That's her favorite picture of the two of you." Allin said with a grin.

Adam put the picture down and blushed faintly. "So where...ah...are Sabra's magic books?" He said taking them back to the subject at hand.

"Back here. You're not going to mind going through her closet are you?" Allin asked as he opened the door on the far side of the room.

"I don't understand." Adam said, but followed Allin anyway.

"You will." Allin replied with a grin, opening the secret door in the back of Sabra's closet.

"Why does everyone keep telling me that?" Adam shot back.

Allin grinned and went through the door. "Watch your head." He called back. Adam came through and stood speechless.

The room was small, but the light blue walls made it seem bigger. A roll top desk faced the only window and a desk lamp was the main source of illumination, even though there was a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling. On the desk there was a small pencil holder, some paper and two crystals, one clear as glass and the other amber colored. The amber crystal rested on a pewter pedestal of three dolphins, their beaks holding the stone in place. The other crystal sat on a white piece of cloth and when Adam touched the cloth he found it was silk.

To the left of the desk was an odd assortment of pillow, cushions, beanbag chairs and blankets piled up haphazardly in the corner. The wall opposite the desk was lined floor to ceiling with bookshelves. There were painted a creamy beige color and two cases were full of bound books of varying ages and repair. The third bookshelf was different. Instead of simply shelves, this one was pigeonholed half way down. About a quarter of the pigeonholes held some type of scroll.

"You likes? I found this as we were moving in and traded rooms with Sabra so she could have a place to put al her magic books and supplies. Mom even found her this roll top desk, but she rarely locks it. But, you can't tell her you know about this, because she'll come and kill me." Allin said with a smile as he started searching her books.

Adam joined him. "What am I looking for? I'm not sure I can read all this stuff."

"Most of it, is Gwyneddi origin, which means it's in Latin, but the rest should be in English, hopefully. Just be careful with the scrolls, some are originals and over 200 years old."

"Got it, don't touch the scrolls." Adam said smiling a little.

"Actually, here take a look through this. Maybe you'll find your mystery girl." Allin passed a fairly large heavy book to his research buddy.

"What is it?" he asked glancing at the title, but not understanding the words.

"It's called The History of the Deryni. It's about the Restoration, there are pictures of people in there, a lot of pictures."

"Okay." Adam moved over to the pile of pillows and cushions and settled in to check out the pictures. "Uh...hey Allin? What would you say if I told you I had another mysterious visitor?"

Allin looked over at his sister's boyfriend. "I'd say let's here it."

Adam bit his lip, but continued. "I was visiting Sabra, and I was telling her about my first visitor and what she said.