Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Megaforce. This story is fan-made.

Author's Note: This is not where the Megaforce series starts. If you want to read the series without getting lost, I suggest you read my stories in the order they appear:

No To Date Nights - The Party Night - Project Partners - Megaforce: Lives Behind The Masks - Prom Night - A Trip To Remember - First Meetings - Something She Loves – Protective Morans – Samurai In Harwood County – Rainy Days – Luck Had Nothing To Do With It – Ranger Support – Parents and Children – Hero Without The Spandex – Emma's Night – Emma's Mother – Bait And Switch – After Death – A Stormy Day – A Date For Tensou – A Mother's Advice

Emma got her pictures printed after another beautiful day out in the woods. She always came back with hundreds of photos of the things she had seen. Gia sometimes liked to tease her, saying she spent more time looking through her camera lens that at life itself, but Emma didn't care. She loved what pictures could show and how they captured a moment in time perfectly, without alterations.

She had a collection of photo albums from over the years. They were all in her closet, where she could easily access them and look over any picture she had taken in the past. While some girls like to write diaries, Emma's photo collection was her diary. There was no a special event that wasn't represented by at least a dozen photos.

She put her newest pictures into her picture album and sighed when she got to the last photo. There was hardly any room left because she had reached the last page. She only just managed to squeeze in the picture when she heard someone walking into the living room.

"Well, it's official," she said as she closed the book, "I'll need a new album."

"Not if you already have one," her mother answered and Emma looked up, surprised to see her there. She thought she had been talking to Gia or Mrs. Moran.

Mrs. Goodall held out a book, "I, um, I saw you were running low on space. You have a lot of these."

"What's that?"

"A new album to put your pictures," Mrs. Goodall said nervously and gestured to Emma to take the book. The pink Ranger hesitated.

"How did you know?"

"You left that one on the table this morning. Gia told me you keep your pictures there. I… had a look. I hope that's okay."

"Pictures were made to be looked at," Emma said but she still wouldn't take the gift from her mother. "You know, I can buy my own photo album, right."

"Emma, I bought this for you," Mrs. Goodall offered the album again. "I know you love photography, and it looks like you love collecting the pictures. I thought this would be a nice gift."

"I don't want gifts, mom. Not from you."

Emma took her filled up photo album and hugged it to her chest before walking off to her room. Mrs. Goodall stood for a moment with the gift album in her hands and a tear rolled down her cheek. She was trying. She knew she had made big mistakes, but she was trying to make up for them. She thought for sure the album would help her get a conversation going with her daughter.

"Mrs. Goodall?"

She turned around and saw Gia. She wiped her eyes and sighed, "What?"

"Oh… uh… mom's been staring at the den for twenty minutes," Gia gestured down the hall. "I think she's missing dad."

"Thank you, Gia," Mrs. Goodall sighed and walked down the hallway to find her friend. Gia watched her go and then looked up the stairs.

"I can't believe I'm going to do this," she whispered then climbed the stairs and knocked on Emma's door. She walked in before Emma could say anything.

"You know," she said and sat down next to Emma on the bed, "You do need a new album. It was nice of your mom to go out and get one."

"I can buy my own."

"She's trying, Emma," Gia sighed. "I mean, she's here, isn't she?"

"She's here for your mom. I didn't call her here because I'm ready to fix things. I'm not."

"She doesn't have to be your mom, though," Gia said. "I think it hurts her when you ignore her."

"So then she knows how it feels."

"You're not a vengeful person, Emma. Your mother's trying, doesn't that count for anything? It's not like she had any intention on being a horrible mom. It's not like…"

"She had seventeen years, Gia," Emma said. "Seventeen years to realize she was doing a shitty job raising me. Your mother even offered her a trip as long as she stayed here with me and she couldn't do it! My parents didn't want me."

"Emma," Gia wrapped her arms around her best friend and pulled her in close, "Your father fought for you, remember?"

"You mean that time he pointed a gun at us?"

"When he realized you weren't with your mother, he came here because he wanted to take you home. He wanted to be with you."

"If he had taken me home, I would have just been alone in New York."

"Yeah, but he wanted you. He's twisted, but you can't deny he wanted you."

"Fine, he wanted me."

"And now you're mother, without using guns, is trying to win you over. She really wants to be a part of your life, Emma."

"Okay, so they want me. That doesn't make up for everything. Or anything."

"I know," Gia said. "I don't expect it to, but… it just seems kind of weird that you're upset because your parents don't care about you, and then you ignore them when they try to. I really think you should… open up."

"To mom?"

"She's upset, Emma."

"So was I!" Emma pulled away from Gia and shouted, "Don't you think I was upset every time they pushed me away? Don't you think I was hurt when my parents announced they were going on some big vacation and I had to stay with you? Don't you think it hurt every time I walked into my own house and there was no one there?"

"I know you did, Emma, but…"

"Get out!"

"Em…"

"Get out, Gia."

"I just want to help."

"Well, you're not helping," Emma scoffed. "You're just being stupid."

"Emma…"

"My parents hurt me," Emma growled to Gia, "And now, just because my mom's upset I'm ignoring her, you're trying to tell me I should try and fix things? Why? Because she's sorry?"

"Emma, I didn't mean…"

"Oh, wait, I'm hearing something," Emma interrupted Gia and cupped her hand around her ear, "Oh, it's Cliff."

"No…"

"It's a message from him. From the afterlife. Oh, what's that, Cliff? You're sorry? Oh, well if you're sorry, then sure, Gia would love to talk to you. How does that feel, Gia?"

"I was just trying to help," Gia said as she got off the bed and walked over to the door, "You didn't have to be a bitch about it."

Gia slammed the door as she stormed out.