Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Lovely time, lovely place, so why in the world did it not feel like it was like that today? Well, Jason could think of the answer, but he really didn't want to admit it to himself. He didn't want to admit that there was another monster out there after the rangers. He wanted his life to be going back to normal, especially knowing that his friends were coming home, for good. This day had been a long time coming, but it was still hard to believe that is was finally here.

Geneva, 2001. They had been in this country for close to six years and although the time had passed surprisingly quickly, it still did not feel as if this was home. They still needed to get back to Angel Grove and settle down where they were supposed to be, with the people that they loved.

Who was 'they' you might be asking? 'They' was Trini Kwan and Zack Taylor, neither knew what was ahead of them but they certainly remembered their past well enough to know anything was possible. They had been Power Rangers, they had been friends, and they were the first to be openly attacked by Mesogogg. No one knew what had happened to Tommy, except Jason because of the fact that Tommy didn't want to worry the others. The both of them hoped that it would go away, very soon without too much of a fight.

"Are you packed up?" Zack asked, as Trini nodded her head yes. She was more excited than words could explain. She hadn't seen Jason in a year and although they had parted on friendly terms, she didn't think she could remain just friends any longer and hopefully Jason would feel the same way. She didn't know what she would do if he just wanted to act like there was no spark between them and that they were only friends. She didn't know if she would be able to take that sort of rejection from him right now, when she needed him.

"I'm so ready to see Jase," Trini said bouncing up and down while Zack laughed at his hyper friend. Trini rarely acted like this, but when she did, she was worse than most of his other friends. Kimberly had been known for it, but Trini was the calm one and he didn't really know how to deal with her, no one did when she was like this.

"And he's ready to see you," Zack said, pulling his suitcase into the hallway and locking his door behind the two of them. It was the last time that they would see this place without being visitors and that gave them a sense of joy.

They had been waiting for this day ever since they had gotten the letter saying that they would be allowed to leave the program and return home. They were some of the last ones to leave from the original group, but it had been well worth it and the degrees that they had acquired also made it well worth their time. They were going back to Angel Grove after leaving their stamp on the world and that was all that they could have wanted. They finally got some credit for good, which was something they definitely didn't see when they were rangers.

"Zack, do you know why Tommy hasn't called lately?" Trini asked as Zack shook his head. It honestly surprised him that Tommy hadn't called, but Kim's silence was ten times worse. She had never been silent for this long without an excuse and she had yet to give them one.

"Who knows. We'll make sure to call him when we get to California. I'm sure he'd be able to come visit Angel Grove. It'll probably be a relief for him with the way that his job is right now," Zack said with a smile as they got into the elevator and then went through the lobby to the taxi.

"I don't know, he seemed awfully busy the last time he called," Trini said, while they piled in and their luggage was placed in the trunk.

"Tommy is always busy with something," Zack said as Trini nodded her head. She certainly agreed, but it just seemed to be more than normal, although he had not felt that it should be openly shared. Tommy had always kept secrets from all of them, except Kimberly, but she was no longer there to pull things out of him. "But what about Kim?"

"She…well I think she's back in California, but that is about all I know. She said she'd call when she settled into her home," Trini said as Zack stared at her. He had never expected to hear that from Trini, when they were about to board a plane back to California.

"They're in the same state? Do they know that?" Zack asked as Trini grinned. She had known that Zack would react like this when he heard the news, that was why she had kept quiet for so long. She had wanted to see that reaction so badly, but the shock value was so much better now.

"Kim knows, Tommy won't until we all meet up," Trini said while Zack nodded his head. He was sure that Tommy would explode, but six years was long enough for him to get over everything that had happened, hopefully some of his ammunition had decreased lately.

"How about Billy?" Zack asked. He knew Trini would know if Billy was back on Earth, but she might be the only one that knew.

"More of the same. He just likes exactly where he is today. I'm not going to try to convince him to come home unless he sounds like he is unhappy," Trini said as Zack knew he was still on Aquitar and they missed him more than he knew.

"I miss Billy," Zack said simply.

"So do I, but…wasn't that the airport?" Trini asked, as they passed the building and she realized the driver had a rather scaly face. "Zack…"

"What?" Zack asked as he saw Trini pointing at the mirror and he knew they were in deep trouble.

"Welcome friends," Mesogogg said as Trini and Zack stared and tried not to scream from utter fright. "This is going to be a lovely last ride."

"Puerta," Trini muttered and Zack nodded his head that he understood. They could only hope that the being had left the doors unlocked.

"Nope," Zack said and Trini tried to roll down the windows and they didn't budge. They were locked in the car with this demented thing and no way out.

"We could always," Trini said pointing to the 'watch' on her wrist and Zack nodded. They hadn't teleported anywhere in years, but it was always worth a try. When they pressed the button to teleport it took them to a place they had never seen, but they were sure that they were out of the car and maybe even in California.

"Hello!" Trini called into the room that looked like a modified Command Center and she was surprised when a door flew open and Tommy appeared at the top of the stairway.

"How'd you get here?" Tommy asked running down the stairs in a pair of jeans and both of them noticed he had no shirt on, so they couldn't help but wonder what he had been up to.

"Teleported. Why didn't you tell us that another demented creature is after you?" Trini asked as Tommy looked at her. Had they had a run in with Mesogogg or was there something else out there that he didn't know about?

"Mesogogg found you?" Tommy asked as he escorted them out of his Command Center and into his house.

"Yeah, you better call Jason and tell him we're here. He will probably want to know that we're not going to be coming in on the plane," Trini said and Tommy nodded his head although he couldn't believe the luck he was having today.

He had gone on a run in town and ran into a girl that he could have sworn was Kim, but he knew that was nearly impossible. She was still across the country from what he knew. Now two of his best friends landed in his basement because Mesogogg was after them. He was having one hell of an emotional roller coaster and he was not sure if it was done yet. There still seemed like there might be something else going on here that he didn't know about.

"Jase," Tommy said as he heard someone pick up on the other end.

"Yes," Jason said, cautiously, as he had heard that voice from Tommy before and he doubted that Tommy had any good news for him.

"Zack and Trini landed in my basement and told me to call you," Tommy said as he could tell it was taking Jason a little while to comprehend everything that had happened.

"I'll be up there in an hour and I'm going to try to pick up Kim if she doesn't drive herself over there first," Jason said and he hung up the phone while Tommy stared at it, hoping it would give him some answers. Had he just said that Kimberly was going to come with him?

"Trini!" Tommy roared as she nearly jumped out of her chair and into Zack's lap. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"We couldn't tell you. She moved back a few months ago and created a job in Reefside. We all thought it was best to just let the two of you handle it on your own," Trini said as Tommy glared at her. "We've been rooting for the two of you for years, maybe you'll get your shit straight now."

"Our shit straight? What do we have left to get straight? She dumped me for some asshole in Florida and all I get is a 'dear john' letter to soothe my soul. It's not that easy to just forget something like that Trini," Tommy said as they heard a tentative knock at the door and Tommy glared over at them before he went to answer it. He could only hope that it was some poor soul who got lost in the backwoods and was asking for directions out. If it was Kim, he didn't know what he was going to do, except slam the door in her face.

"If that is someone besides Kim, we're in deep shit. I knew that she would drive herself over here," Zack said as Trini nodded her head and heard Tommy slam the door closed. "I guess we're in deep shit either way."

"Let me in damn it!" Kim yelled as she beat on the door and Trini walked over to let her in. She did not care if Tommy wanted to be childish, they needed to talk this out, now. "What's going on? I didn't do a damn thing to make him mad."

"You showed up, that's something," Tommy murmured through gritted teeth as Kim glared over in his general vicinity, although she didn't make eye contact with him. He got the eerie sense that she couldn't and he didn't know why that bothered him.

"They're my friends too, Tommy, I deserve to see them," Kim said as Tommy just shook his head. She had honestly lost her mind to think that she could come in here and see them. She could see them somewhere else, when he was not involved and preferrably very drunk.

"Not here," Tommy said as Kim glared at him and then cautiously walked over to Zack.

"What attacked you?" Kim asked, worriedly, as she ignored the daggers Tommy's eyes were throwing at her. She was more concerned about her friends than with what Tommy might do to her. She had already been through the worst pain possible, anything he did to her would not hurt nearly as bad.

"Another one of Tommy's lovely friends," Zack said as Kim looked over at him.

"Another monster is after you? Tommy, do you just have a sign hanging out front that says 'Come after me, I used to be a Power Ranger'?" Kim asked as she turned towards him and he just stared at her. She had the right to be mad because of his cold reception, but this was not the way that she would usually act, he knew that much.

"No, I don't have that," Tommy said as Kim walked over to him and gave him a long look. "What are you doing?"

"My glasses are in the car, I couldn't see how pissed you are at me," Kim said as Tommy gave her a confused look. "I started losing my sight a couple of years ago. I was on a medicine that caused it and when I found out that was it, I stopped taking it, but the damage was already done. It's improved some, but I don't hope for much more than what I've gotten back."

"You make it hard for him to stay mad at you," Trini said as Kim looked over at her and shrugged her shoulders.

"Why should he be mad at me? I only did what was right to protect him, to protect all of you," Kim raged as they gave her a confused look. "Zordon didn't tell you?"

"Tell us what?" Tommy asked as Kim looked over at his fuzzy frame and handed him her keys.

"Please get me my glasses. I don't know this place well enough to not hurt myself," Kim said as Tommy took the keys. "When's Jason going to get here?"

"It takes him about an hour to get here," Trini said as Kim covered her eyes.

"I have to try to buy sometime before I tell Tommy what is really going on here," Kim said as Zack and Trini nodded. To be thrown back into this, Kim seemed more than prepared to do whatever she had to do to make it work out all right in the end.

"Here you go," Tommy said as Kim felt around for the glasses before Tommy placed them in her hands. He hated seeing her like this, helpless. It was something that had always made him feel a soft spot for her.

"Thanks, that's much better," Kim said as she put on her glasses then smiled at Tommy. It had been a very long time since she had really seen him and she had to admit that he had built on everything he had in high school. She, however, couldn't think of him like that right now or she wouldn't be able to think of a way to get herself out of this situation. "Look, I know you still have a lot against me, but it seems I am going to have to explain everything to you."

"Everything?" Tommy asked, tentatively, as Kim nodded her head yes. This was not something that she wanted to do, but she didn't really have much of a choice about it. "I have the feeling I need to sit down."

"Sit down? Tommy, what I have to say is not that bad," Kim said as she followed him into the living room, while Trini and Zack smiled before following them.

"I kinda have the feeling it will be for me," Tommy said as he sat down and Kim sat down across from him.

"When I left Zordon warned me about some things, I didn't think that I needed to take it seriously. Who the hell would want to come after me? A Power Ranger without powers who was living three thousand miles away, but I was wrong about that Tommy. They did come after me and they threatened much more than what has happened. I thought it was all gone, but now they've decided to come after you," Kim said as Tommy's eyes widened and he looked at the others. He was begging her to say something other than what he was thinking, to disprove that she knew about Mesogogg. "Mesogogg's not new, he's just decided that now is the time to break me down."

"Why do you matter so much to him?" Tommy asked as Kim looked away from him and gently rubbed her forehead. This was where things got sticky, if she didn't tell him everything then she would lose any chance of him ever trusting her again, but if she told him everything he was going to hate her, at least at first.

"I matter because I'm the only one that can stop him. He's the man I turned down for you and then the man I had to leave you for, to keep him from becoming your monster as well," Kim said as she stared out the window while she allowed them to let it sink in. None of them had ever heard any of this and she couldn't help but wonder why Zordon didn't tell them, he had known all about it.

Chapter Text

Tommy sat there letting everything hit him like the ton of bricks it really was. How could he not know about this? How could Zordon keep this from all of them, especially when he knew what it did to all of them? Then again, he now knew that they could do nothing, she really had protected them from something they couldn't handle at the time. There was far too much going on in their lives for them to have one more monster thrown at them. But why take five years to tell all of them about it? Why not tell them as soon as she knew that the threat was just too much for her to handle alone?

"Glad you found your way here. What's going on?" Jason asked as he walked in and saw all of them, sitting there in silence. He at least expected Kim and Tommy to be yelling at each other, but obviously something had already been said to bring about this kind of silence. The silence scared him more than the yelling, at least then the two of them would be venting their frustrations that had been building up for the last several years. This was much more ominous than anything that he had ever seen from the two of them. He had the feeling that his very presence was about to break the spell that had come over them.

"I told them everything," Kim said as she took off her glasses. In all honestly she didn't want to see their expressions and it was just much easier to deal with it this way. She had a legitimate excuse that would keep her away from hurting herself. If she looked at Tommy, she knew what she would see and that was something that she did not need to come from him right now. She needed hope, because she couldn't live without hope anymore.

"Crap," Jason said as he saw Kim gaze over at him and he had to look away. He knew better than anyone else did what all of this had done to her, but it might seem like base treason to Tommy to even mention what he knew. Although they never talked about her, Tommy had to think that he would say something about something this serious. The problem was that Kim swore him to secrecy and he didn't think it was worth risking his health to mention this to Tommy, even if it was just to give him a warning.

"I didn't expect to have to do this either, not at first any ways. I thought that I'd at least be able to say hey first, before I went into a long explanation of why things happened," Kim said as Jason nodded his head, although he knew Kim could not see him. He was the only one here that this story was not new to and although he was going to make Tommy mad, he had to comfort Kim, she needed it much more than him right now.

"It'll be all right," Jason said as he sat down next to her and she blinked as he came into focus.

"I just can't believe it," Tommy said as he stood up and walked over to the window. It disturbed him to look at Kimberly as she was, weak and tired and scared of what might happen to all of them, but more specifically him. He had never expected to see this type of emotion from her again. He thought that she had quit caring about him the moment that she sent the letter and now he was sure that she had never stopped. He just couldn't seem to grasp that all of the emotions that were pent up inside of him really had no one to be directed at. She had done something that he would have never been able to do, she had let him go to protect him. But what had it cost her? What had it cost them? "He's trying to get to you through us? And he's been trying to do that the whole time?"

"At first that wasn't what he wanted to do, he just wanted me for himself, but now he is finally able to go after you. He can't hurt me much more; I can't exactly fight with my eyes like this. He knows that a lot of you are still able to, to say the least. He knows that I can't protect you anymore. Now is the best time for him," Kim said as she closed her eyes in frustration. When she had noticed that she was losing her vision it had bothered her, but now it was much much worse. It made her feel helpless knowing that when her glasses broke, she was of no use to them. She had always been a person of action and now the action was greatly diminished because of her new limitation.

"You can't get contacts?" Tommy asked, as Kim shook her head no. "Why?"

"It'll degenerate my vision even more, from what I've been able to get the professionals to say. I can't really afford any more of that if I can help it," Kim said as Tommy just shook his head. He wished that she would have come to him when all of this happened.

"Kim, why are you here?" Tommy asked, rather bitterly, as Kim snatched her head over towards him. She couldn't see his face, but she knew the expression all too well. He was positively pissed at her and she could do nothing to make him understand that she couldn't help that she had to do this. She had had to give him up to save him.

"Because I still give a damn. I want to make sure all of you are all right. He's my problem, not yours Tommy. I want you to be safe, but I'm a bitch for doing what I had to do to make that real. You don't understand it and you never will," Kim said, bitterly, as she shoved on her glasses and flew out of the room. She couldn't stand to be there any longer and hear the hate in his voice.

"Kim...Kimberly," Jason called as he walked after her and Tommy stood there, stunned. She had never truly gone off on Tommy before and even now he could tell she really cared. She honestly broke up to protect him, but he was not ready to admit that to anyone, much less Kim. He still was not ready to give up being angry at her.

"Damn it!" Tommy yelled as he picked up the nearest lamp and threw it into a wall and watched it shatter into a million pieces. "I better go talk to Kim, she deserves that much from me."

"If not more," Trini muttered as Zack nodded his head in agreement. The two of them just had to talk this out, even if it was hard for them to do it. The others could no longer choose sides, they all knew that. There had been so many times when they had had to choose to invite one or the other, they couldn't do it anymore. It was time that they faced each other and at least tried to talk it out.

"Kim, don't go, listen to me; it's going to be all right. He'll calm down, just give him some time. It's a lot to take, we both know that," Jason said as Kim snatched her arm out of Jason's grip, as she turned to face him, angry tears rolling down her face.

"How's it going to be all right Jason? How am I going to make him believe how real this is when he doesn't even want me in the same room with him for more than a few minutes?" Kim yelled as Jason wrapped her in a tight hug as she balled up her fists and just hit his chest. She was so frustrated with everything in her life and she just wanted Tommy back, that was all she wanted was to go back in time and heed Zordon's warning. That couldn't happen though, so she had to do something here to make up for it all.

"I don't know," Jason whispered as the bitter sobs began and Tommy walked outside. He hated hearing that from her more than anything else in the world. The sick feeling that he got in his stomach made him want to go back inside. He hated knowing that he had made her break down like this. No matter how he felt, he still hated hurting her.

"I don't want to hear that," Kim said as she violently pushed Jason away and threw down her purse. She was tired of having no certainty in her life. She wanted for someone to tell her what she had to do and she would do it, no matter what it cost her. She desperately needed some direction and was beggin Jason to give it to her, but he had none. He had never been down this road before. "I can't rely on 'I don't knows' anymore. That is why I am in the position I am in today because of an 'I don't know' years ago."

"Kim, please listen to me," Jason said as Kim shook her head no and walked over to her car, before she remembered her purse on the ground.

"If you won't listen to him, listen to me or at least talk to me," Tommy said as Kim and Jason turned to face him. They honestly had not realized that he had come outside, but they both could tell he had heard their argument.

"Why should I?" Kim asked as she bent down to pick up her purse and her glasses slid off the end of her nose. "Damn it."

"Go inside, Jase," Tommy said as Jason nodded his head and went as Tommy picked up Kim's glasses.

"I don't want your pity. Give me my damn glasses so I can be on my way!" Kim yelled at him as she tried to find him, but there were too many blurry shapes for it to do any good. "It's obvious that you don't want me here."

"Only if you agree to talk to me, Kim," Tommy said as Kim stumbled towards his voice and felt around for his face. "Nope, you're not going to slap me."

"Tommy! Let go of me!" Kim yelled as he gently pushed her wrists down and watched as the angry tears fell. "It's bad enough I can barely see you, let me go!"

"I'll give you your glasses, just talk to me," Tommy said as he placed them on her face and she then fixed her gaze firmly on his face. If he was lying to her, he was going to pay.

"You'll listen to me? You promise you will, even if you dont' like what you hear?" Kim asked as Tommy nodded his head and Kim looked at her car. They might as well get this over with, so that they would both be on the same page. "Let's find somewhere away from here."

"Okay, whatever you want," Tommy said as Kim passed Tommy the keys and he just stared at them for a moment. "Kim, I don't think I should drive your car."

"You know the area better than I do and quite frankly my eyes are tired, Tommy. My vision is fine to drive, but it's not wise when I'm upset," Kim explained as Tommy nodded then got into the drivers seat, which he had to adjust before he could go anywhere.

"I just want to ask you one thing," Tommy said as he cranked up the car and looked over in time to see her nod. "With the glasses you're fine?"

"20/20, but you don't want to see what I'm like without them for a long time. I can force myself to squint it clear, but the headache I get is horrible. It kinda pissed me off to hear that he's after all of you now. I still forget every once in awhile that I am almost blind and just go on a rampage," Kim said as Tommy nodded his head and continued down his driveway.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Tommy asked as Kim let out a long sigh. She had had a feeling this question would come up with Tommy.

"I couldn't. It was best for all of us for me to turn my back on you. I didn't want to, but it was the only option I had left. He threatened to kill you and Tommy, I'll be damned if I live to see that day," Kim said as Tommy pulled the car off into a secluded patch of the woods and they both hopped out.

"I could have protected myself; you didn't have to do anything like this. We could have still been..." Tommy said as Kim just shook her head. He could not do that until now, his life had been in a constant battle of some kind for years. He finally got to a point where he had peace and Kim had no more control of Mesogogg's bidding. It had worked out for the best, but she just had a hard time letting Tommy take over something that she had kept secret for years.

"Not at the time. Tommy, you were a Zeo ranger and had to deal with the Machine Empire and Divatox and all sorts of monsters. Mesogogg would have been another problem, one you couldn't handle then. He would have revealed everything that had happened, why I really broke up with you. I knew, in time, you would be able to handle the truth. Now may not be the best time, but you can deal with it, you can learn to trust me again, because without me you cannot defeat him," Kim said as Tommy looked over at her and she reached over and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "I never wanted to do this."

"I know that now, Kim, but it's not been an easy thing to deal with," Tommy said as Kim nodded her head. She had never expected for it to be easy, but it was the safest thing that she could do for them. He was going to have to learn to deal with it if he wanted to be able to work through everything that was ahead of them.

"I know Tommy and it's cruel that I had to do this, but I didn't want you to have to deal with anymore because of me," Kim said as she sat down on the hood of her car and placed her glasses on the hood as well.

"I just don't understand why it took so long," Tommy said as Kim rubbed her eyes.

"It took me this long because I finally found out that I can't do it anymore, Tommy. I've done all I can, I've sacrificed my body and I can no longer do that. I have to look out for what I still can do and giving up what little gymnastics coaching I have left isn't worth it. It's time that I just let all of you take over," Kim said as Tommy nodded, wondering where she was coaching now. He had heard of the new gymnastics school in town, but he had honestly doubted that she had moved that close to him.

"So, what's going to happen? Is he going to just come after me or does he want to get all of us?" Tommy asked as Kim shrugged her shoulders. If she could predict what Mesogogg would do, she would not be dealing with this problem.

"I don't really know, Tommy. He only wants to get back at me and you sure as hell are one of the best ways to get to me, but he may not know that. He may be trying to figure out who he wants to concentrate on for the time being, that's why he hasn't nailed just one of you yet," Kim said as Tommy looked over at her and noticed she had taken off her glasses. He honestly felt like he could take his first good look at her in years.

The light and excitement that had once been in her eyes was now gone. He didn't know if that was because of hard times or because of her eyesight. God knew that he had missed this woman, but putting himself back out there was something he was not ready for. Sure, he wanted his rightful chance to be with her, but there was a lot more that needed to be done before that happened. There was a lot more that he needed to be sure of before he could even decide and he could only hope that she would understand that.

"You don't have anything to say?" Kim asked as Tommy snapped out of his thoughts and watched as Kim felt around for her glasses and her hand happened to land on his thigh, which made him jump at the unexpected contact. "Sorry, Tommy. I'll get them, I go through this every morning."

"You don't need them," Tommy said as Kim tilted her head towards him and smiled. "What do you think I can do now that I couldn't do a couple of years ago?"

"Tommy, I don't know, but I can't fight anymore, not the way I used to. Billy could at least focus without his glasses; I'm no good. And you can correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't you already had a run in with Mesogogg? When you found some powerful gems on a little island in the middle of nowhere?" Kim asked as Tommy's eyes widened and he stared at her. How could she know that he had had one run-in already? They had managed to keep that out of the news, but that had only been because of some of the connections he had made with the media in the town. He had known that he might need good connections one day.

"How'd you know that?" Tommy asked as Kim smiled and looked up at the sky. "Come on, Kim."

"I've been watching all of you for years. Have you ever seen a flash of pink in the sky and wondered what it was? Or maybe just thought that you were imagining things?" Kim asked, as Tommy's mouth dropped open and from the silence Kim knew it was best to go on. She knew that he was finally putting together some things that he should have put together a long time before. "I've jumped around the world to stop him from attacking all of you. I needed to come here. I needed to be where I could help all of you with what I know."

"You don't need to worry about us anymore. You need to take care of yourself now," Tommy said, as Kim shook her head no. "Kim, you're not even twenty-five and you're…you're…"

"Tommy, my eyes don't stop me near as much as my heart. Sometimes I just give up because it's easier, this is the one thing that I promised myself I'd never give up on. Now I have to, I have to put it in your hands and hope that you will take care of it because I can't anymore, I just can't," Kim said as Tommy picked up her glasses and scooted towards her.

"You don't have to," Tommy whispered as he put his arm around her and she gently leaned on him. "I'll find someone to take the powers and then we'll take care of it.

"You can't be one of them," Kim said looking up at his face and seeing him smile.

"I may have to be," Tommy said as Kim looked away from him and nodded her head that she understood. She just didn't want him out there. She wanted for him to be safe and she couldn't see that happening if he went out there. "We may want to go back, you know they'll talk."

"Let them," Kim said as she closed her eyes and rested against him.

"Kim, I'm not sure if I'm…" Tommy began as Kim looked up at him and nodded.

"Sorry, I should have thought about that," Kim said as she straightened up and looked out into the woods. "I've just missed you."

"Yeah, same here, but I need time and lots of it," Tommy said as Kim began trying to find her glasses again and Tommy gently slipped them on her face. "Give me sometime and I'll give you a chance."

"Thank you," Kim said as he gave her a hug and she then hopped off the hood of the car. "Come on."

Tommy had never thought this was where his life would be now. At one time, he had seen himself married to Kim with a couple of kids, when that idea was shattered he gave up, in some ways. Now she just landed back in his life and he knew the good it might do, but he also saw the reality. A being was after him because of Kim and that proved so many things that he had long denied. He thought he could let it sink in and it would be all right. He was not so sure about that anymore.

"Do you think they're fighting?" Trini asked, as Jason shook his head no. He knew Kim might be mad at Tommy, but she knew when to take that away, for the good of everyone. "Then what's taking them so long?"

"Maybe they finally decided to let go," Zack said as Trini and Jason sighed. They both wished that was it, but they highly doubted it.

"As much as we all want that to happen I really doubt it. I kinda think that they will do a lot more fighting, even if they cleared some things up," Jason said as they nodded. Tommy and Kim were going to be at each other throats until they got everything straightened out and that was going to take longer than one night.

"Yeah and I don't know how much she can take. Tommy's got a lot of pent up anger to deal with," Trini said as Zack nodded his head in agreement.

"She can take a lot, she has, but dealing with Tommy will push her. He still doesn't completely understand why," Jason said as Trini and Zack looked at each other then Jason.

"Why did you know?" Trini asked as Jason's face tensed and he looked away from Trini. Kim was not going to be happy with him.

"I saw it. I saw the first time he really attacked; Kim almost died but she was and is determined he won't get us," Jason said as Trini and Zack both nodded. They understood why Kim would do that, but she could have asked for help, they would have helped.

"But what's happened to change her mind?" Trini asked as Jason shrugged his shoulders. Kim hadn't told him and he didn't dare ask. It was something that was far too personal.

"You can ask, but I didn't want to," Jason said as Trini nodded as they heard the door open and looked back over to the others.

"You two still friends?" Zack asked as Kim nodded and Tommy smiled down at her.

"I think so, but I'm going to need some help. We've got to find rangers," Tommy said as they gave him a curious look. "I found some gems that will work well as a power source for morphers on that damn island."

"I'm glad you finally agree with us about the name," Jason said as Tommy just shook his head. He had to admit that they had been right to cal it that, he had just finally gotten all the conformation that he needed to join them.

"I'll see you around," Kim said as she gave Trini, Zack, and Jason hugs. She didn't want to push Tommy anymore. She knew that he needed some space and time and she had to give it to him. She had to give him time to think all of this out on his own. "Call me when you find them Tommy, you're going to need my help."

"Please tell me it's not as bad as it sounds," Trini said as Tommy looked away from her and looked over at the door Kim had not completely closed. He couldn't lie to her, they had a very long road ahead of them.

"He can't do that, none of us can," Jason said as Tommy stood up and walked into the kitchen. He might as well get down to business.

Chapter Text

"Class…class. Attention please," Tommy said as he walked into his last class of the day. Principal Randall had just handed him some horrible news, he had detention duty this afternoon, with three students that hated each other, and that meant that the all important Power Ranger search must be delayed. This was the sort of news he expected when he got to school late, with his shirt half-buttoned; he didn't like getting this sort of news when he was actually having a good day. "Class!"

"Whoa, what's gotten into him?" Kira muttered as he slammed his books on the desk and glared out at the class. Dr. O was usually a pretty calm person, but he was jumping off of the cliff today for some reason.

"James, Ford, McKnight, you have detention with me after school today," Tommy said as they looked at him in shock, Dr. O knew this was pure torture for the three of them and it was sure to be of some sort of torture to him as well, but he was going to make the most out of it, if at all possible. "Not my choice, just the messenger. Meet me outside and I'll explain everything that is going on to you. Now, the problems on page 248 are calling your names. If you have any questions, I'll be here all class to answer them."

"This is crazy, I have to be stuck with you all afternoon," Conner murmured to Kira as she nodded her head in agreement and turned to the page Dr. O had assigned. 'They might as well get down to work.

"Why do we have to serve detention together?" Kira asked as Dr. O shrugged his shoulders and picked up his books. The other two had things to do before they had to meet up for detention.

"I'm just doing what Principal Randall said. I don't have much of a choice if I want to keep my job. Just be glad we're not staying at the school," Tommy said as Kira gave him a confused look. How in the world had he gotten clearance to leave the school? Or had he even gotten clearance? Was he just going off on his own, not really caring about the consequences? "Ethan, Conner, glad to see you found my car."

"This is your jeep?" Conner asked as Tommy unlocked the door and nodded his head yes. He had never really thought about what he drove, as this was just his favorite car. His other one was for whenever he had to load up and go with his friends somewhere. "Dude, you're too old to have something like this."

"Don't ever call me dude again," Tommy said as he undid his tie and hung it around the rearview mirror. His cell phone then rang and he couldn't help but give it an odd look. Who would be calling him now? One look at the caller-id told him that he didn't know the number, but he felt that he needed to answer it anyway, something was not right. "Hello."

"Tommy," Kim whispered as she squatted down behind a garbage bin. Mesogogg had been able to find her and had managed to sling off her glasses as he smacked her to the ground. Lucky for her, something else had gotten his attention long enough for her to make a desperate phone call. She needed him to come or at least send someone else, because she couldn't defend herself now.

"Kim? What's wrong?" Tommy asked as he motioned for them to get into the jeep. Something was not right; she had said that she'd leave him alone, so why was she calling? And how had she gotten his phone number?

"I'm next to some pizza place in Reefside, in an alley. He attacked again," Kim said as she squinted around. As she looked up she saw a dark blur in front of her, which could only mean one thing right now. "Tommy, hurry, please. Tommy!"

"Kim…Kim…come on answer me…Kim!" Tommy yelled into his phone then flipped it shut. He knew something bad was happening, he just had to get there as quickly as possible. That is why he floored it out of the teacher's parking lot, causing many of the students to stare.

"Who's Kim?" Conner asked as Kira sat up from being slung across Conner's lap.

"A friend, in trouble," Tommy said as his phone rang again and he gave it a desperate look. He could only hope that that was one of the others saying that they had Kim and that she was all right. He could calm down and just come check on her at their place this evening. "Ethan, answer it and if it's Kim keep her on the phone."

"Hello," Ethan said as Tommy sped down the road. He could only think of one pizzeria in town with an alley next to it. He just prayed he could get there in time. He knew that she probably couldn't see a damn thing now and that screwed her over more than anything else did. She couldn't fight him if she couldn't see him.

"Put Tommy on the phone, please, put Tommy on the phone," Kim cried as Ethan heard a strangled yell and looked over at Dr. O. He had no clue how to handle this sort of phone call and he hoped that Dr. O would help him.

"Just tell her to hold on," Tommy said as he heard Kim scream through the phone and pressed the accelerator even further towards the floor.

"Hold on, we'll be there soon," Ethan said as he heard Kim let out a scream again.

"Tommy! Please hurry!" Kim yelled as Tommy's jeep screeched to a halt and he jumped out of his jeep, barely letting it come to a full stop.

"Leave her alone!" Tommy roared as he stepped into the alley and Mesogogg looked back at him. This was what he had been waiting for, to see if Tommy dared to show up and face him for her.

"Dr. Oliver, we meet again," Mesogogg said as he tightened his fingers around Kim's neck and lifted her from the ground as her phone fell out of her hand.

"Let her go!" Tommy roared as he picked up a pipe and stalked towards Mesogogg.

"Kill him, Tommy," Kim muttered as Tommy looked at her, then heard his three students run up behind him. Obviously they had heard the phone clatter to the ground and had to be wondering what was happening, but would they understand the actions he had to take? Would they judge him if he actually did kill this being, with only a pipe as a weapon? If he did, he would have a lot of explaining to do, but if he didn't he might lose Kim.

"He can't do that, sweetie. He's not strong enough," Mesogogg hissed as Tommy swung at Mesogogg's head and Kim dropped to the ground, gasping for breath, but still alive. Tommy had managed to scare him enough that he wanted to be able to flee easily without her added weight. "You're her little protector, why did you leave her alone for so many years? Why haven't you protected your pretty Miss Hart?"

"Kill him, Tommy," Kim whispered, as Tommy swung again and Mesogogg cowered from the look in his eyes. He then dove through an invisaportal before Tommy could hit him again. He knew he would not be so lucky as to not receive a deadly blow by that look.

"He's gone," Tommy said as he squatted down next to Kim and helped her sit up, while brushing the hair out of her face so that he could look her in the eyes and assure that she was only scared. "I'll take you back to my place and get you cleaned up."

"Do you see my glasses Tommy?" Kim asked as she felt Tommy's face and he shook his head no. They had either been crushed or Mesogogg had taken them with him. "Damn."

"Come on, I got you," Tommy said as he picked Kim up and looked back at the three shocked teens. They had no clue how to react to this and their actions were not helping them, any. They needed to be hauling ass back into his vehicle, but they didn't knkow that. "Ethan, Kira, Conner, this is Kimberly Hart. I guess we have a lot to explain to you."

"I need to go to the hospital," Kim said as she felt Tommy shake his head no. "I'm having a hard time breathing, Tommy. Take me to the hospital."

"Don't worry, I have enough to take care of you and several other people at home, you'll be fine," Tommy said as he placed Kim in the passenger's seat and buckled her in. "It's going to be all right."

"Dr. O, do you want us to come along?" Kira asked as Tommy nodded his head yes as he looked at the three of them. They might solve a problem for him, they just didn't know it.

"You might be just what I need, but let's swing back by the school so Conner can pick up his car," Tommy said as they hopped in and Tommy looked over at Kim for a brief second. He knew that he needed to leave as soon as possible, someone had had to hear all the noise they made. "Hold on for just a little while, Kim."

"Don't worry about that Tommy," Kim whispered as Tommy zipped down the street towards the school and then his home.

"Wow," Conner said as Tommy pulled up to his home and quickly shut off the jeep and hurried to get Kim out of the vehicle. She had gotten worse the closer he had gotten to his home.

"Conner, no time to oogle at his house," Kira said as she pulled him out of the car as Dr. O carried Kim to the door.

"Can you hold yourself up?" Tommy asked as Kim nodded her head yes, as Tommy propped her against the door jam and unlocked the door.

"Check on others," Kim mumbled as she finally fainted against Tommy's shoulder as he picked her up again.

"Pull that jaw," Tommy said as Conner pulled it and a piece of the floor opened.

"Who the hell are you?" Conner asked as Tommy looked over at him and smiled. He had expected to hear something like this when they figured out that something was definitely odd about him. He might as well explain it and see exactly how they reacted to it.

"A Power Ranger, actually a former one to be more specific, so was she," Tommy said nodding towards Kim, who was still passed out in his arms. "All of this happened because she wanted to protect us. Why did she want to do that?"

"You've got to be kidding," Kira said as the light in the Command Center flashed on and their jaws dropped open.

"Does it look like I'm kidding?" Tommy asked as he placed Kim on a table and walked over to get the oxygen mask. She was going to need it for awhile be the looks of things. "I have to make some phone calls, feel free to look around."

"This is all just too weird," Ethan said as he walked over to the modules.

"That coming from a computer geek is not very comforting," Conner said as Ethan glared over at him, but was prevented from making a nasty retort.

"Don't get into it, okay? I think we need to worry more about what all of this means to us," Kira said as they encircled a round table with three gems on it. "I wouldn't…"

"Wouldn't what?" Conner asked as he grasped the red gem and the blue and yellow gems flew towards Ethan and Kira.

"Do that," Ethan finished as he looked at the gem in his hand. "This can't be good."

"Just depends on who you are," Tommy said as he looked at the three of them. He had thought that one of them might get curious enough to actually touch a gem and risk it bonding with themselves. "You've been chosen, but you can decide to call it quits before things get too heated."

"We're Power Rangers?" Conner asked as Tommy nodded his head yes. "You tricked us."

"Technically, I didn't. You came here of your own free will, I told you I was a Power Ranger and you still took a gem. I say you are as much to blame as I am," Tommy said as Kim's eyes fluttered open and he walked over to her with a smile on his face. He was really worried about her, but he was glad to see that she had woken up on her own. "Hey, honey. Good to see you again."

"How long was I out?" Kim asked as she continued to take shallow breaths. She couldn't see the astonished teen's faces and even if she had been able to, they'd have a lot to explain to her.

"About fifteen minutes, I've seen worse from you," Tommy said as Kim tried to locate him, but couldn't. She really just wanted to be able to touch him, to know that he was real. "I'm right here, it's all right, everything's fine."

"And the others?" Kim gasped as Tommy took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"They're fine and I have good news for you," Tommy said as she turned her face towards his voice.

"What's that?" Kim asked as Tommy let go of her hand and pulled the three new rangers to her side.

"We have three new rangers, Ms. Hart," Tommy said as Kim gave them a weak smile before Tommy walked them over to the side. "Guys, think about it tonight. I need to take care of her right now."

"We'll help," Kira said as Tommy smiled, but shook his head no. He needed to do this on his own. "But, Dr. O."

"Don't 'but Dr. O' me, Kira. That creature may not know much, but he knows I still care. I don't want him to know we have rangers and I don't want any of you here in case something happens. Go home and think long and hard about it," Tommy said as they nodded their heads, knowing they would not deny this job. They had already seen far too much to turn away from their responsibility.

Chapter Text

"Little help here Tommy," Kim said as she sat up and took off the oxygen mask. The rangers had been gone for a few hours, but she really had no clue as to what was going on. During that time she had heard Tommy making something and the only thing that she could think of was a morpher, which they were all going to need soon. Mesogogg was not going to let them sit around and prepare; they were going to have to do all of this on their own and very quickly from what she had seen.

"You feeling better?" Tommy asked as Kim nodded her head yes and she felt her way off the table and started stumbling towards his voice. She wanted for him to comfort her, even if he didn't want it. "I got you."

"Thanks," Kim said as she felt around for Tommy's hand and grabbed it, as he gently encased her hand. "I'm sorry Tommy. I didn't mean to be a burden to you. I'll be gone as soon as I can."

"I'm just glad I got there in time, so don't worry about being a burden to me," Tommy said as he steered her over to a chair and sat her down. He wanted to hold her, to comfort her, but he was afraid of what might happen. He was afraid of what he might do to himself. "Who's your eye doctor?"

"I can't remember his name right now. It's the only eye doctor in town," Kim said as Tommy nodded his head that he knew who she was talking about. "That's another pair of glasses my insurance won't cover."

"It'll be all right," Tommy said, as Kim shook her head no. "Nothing else is going to happen to you, I promise."

"We both know you can't guarantee that, Tommy, although you want to," Kim said as she placed her head on her arms. She was tired of having to live like this, she just wanted to be normal again, if that was even possible.

"I just have a little bit more to do, then I'll take you upstairs," Tommy said as Kim nodded, and Tommy saw the sad look on her face. "Don't be sad, it's going to work out."

"I'm completely useless without my glasses, I can't even protect myself," Kim said as Tommy looked over at the half finished morphers, then put down his tools. Hayley could come help him when she got off work, he knew that Kim's emotional well-being needed to be helped if she was going to make it.

"You need a pick me up and I need…well I don't think a beer would be appropriate right now, but it is what I need," Tommy said as Kim snatched her head towards him. Obviously he had just hit another sore spot for Kim that he didn't know about.

"You drink? When did that happen?" Kim asked as Tommy grabbed her hand and she jerked it away. She did not want for him to touch her.

"Not often, just when I've had a stressful day and you cannot say that this day was a perfectly peaceful day," Tommy said as Kim stood up and started feeling her way towards the exit. She needed to get away, now. "Kim…"

"No, I send you to drinking. Don't touch me, leave me alone," Kim said as she bumped into the stairs and then started feeling her way up them.

"Kim, I had a bad day before you were attacked. This doesn't have anything to do with you," Tommy said as he put his hands on her waist and she batted them away. She could make it up the stair on her own. She did not need any help from him.

"You don't understand Tommy. Mesogogg, he drank when he was human and he was abusive, to everyone. I can't stand drinking because of that," Kim said as she hit her head and muttered a couple of curse words, which made Tommy stifled back laughter. Even mad, she was cute and she always had been, except when she was in her full blown fury.

"Okay, I get it, no beer Kim. You can't leave, you're basically blind and I'm basically screwed until I can get you to the doctor," Tommy said as Kim turned around and glared at him.

"You don't have to help me! I'm fine by myself!" Kim roared as Tommy grabbed her hands and walked her off the stairs, he did not want to risk her falling back down them.

"What's going on?" Hayley asked as she walked into the kitchen to see Tommy glaring down at a petite woman.

"More Mesogogg problems. Can you go downstairs and finish the morphers?" Tommy asked as Kim wheeled around to try to locate Hayley.

"Who are you?" Kim asked as Hayley looked between her and Tommy, wondering why the woman would demand an answer in such a tone. "Come on, someone spill it, I can't exactly see your facial expressions."

"She's blind?" Hayley asked as Kim grabbed Tommy and pulled his face down to where she could see his expressions. She absolutely hated being left out of the loop.

"Pretty close, but I can still see enough to not be legally blind," Kim said as she stared into Tommy's eyes, now able to read his emotions much better. "Will you answer me?"

"This is Hayley, she's a friend of mine that happens to be a rocket scientist. You didn't think I made that on my own, did you?" Tommy said as Kim gave him a perturbed look. "Sorry, I keep forgetting."

"Big surprise," Kim muttered as Tommy gave Kim a harsh look and Hayley hid the smile on her face. This girl must know Tommy very well to say that, he had gotten much better at covering his tracks lately.

"Kim, we don't need to get into a fight," Tommy said as he guided her over to a chair and she sat down, rather reluctantly. "I'll be back in a little bit."

"Okay," Kim said as Tommy and Hayley walked down to the Command Center.

"Wow, when are the two of you going to call each other for a date?" Hayley joked as Tommy got a sad look in his eyes. "Oh…you really do like her, don't you?"

"Actually love her, but I need time, more time than I think I am going to have," Tommy said as Hayley gave him a sympathetic look. She knew who she was now and she knew that Tommy had to be fighting a battle that he had thought was over years ago.

"That's your Kim," Hayley said as Tommy nodded his head yes. There was nothing else that he could say about her that would describe her any better.

"I asked her for more time, so I could get things straight and I now know why Mesogogg has taken such an interest in me," Tommy said as Hayley gave him a questionable look. "He's been after all of us for years, but Kim has been able to hold him off until now."

"Tommy, go be with her, I'll finish this for you. The rangers stopped by and they actually seem to be accepting it all right, for now at least," Hayley said as Tommy gave her a hug and then left the Command Center.

"What do you want to eat?" Tommy asked as Kim looked up at him and shrugged her shoulders. "Come on, you always have an opinion."

"Whatever you want is fine with me, Tommy, I'm just tired," Kim said as Tommy gave her a concerned look and then went over to his freezer and pulled out some chicken and then Italian dressing out of the fridge. If she was going to be here, he planned to make her time as enjoyable as it could be.

"You want to go lay down?" Tommy asked as Kim nodded her head yes and then stood up.

"I think I can find the way," Kim said, as she knew that Tommy had stopped to help her, but she would be fine. She had learned to cope over the past few years.

"Okay, just yell if you need me," Tommy said as Kim nodded head as she felt her way out of the kitchen and towards the living room. "God help me."

"Yeah, I agree," Hayley said as she walked up the stairs. "They're done, you must have had a real head start on me."

"A couple of hours. I'm more worried about how we're going to hide her bruises because she has to go to the eye doctor tomorrow, if at all possible," Tommy said as Hayley nodded. "I guess I'll have to take part of the day off."

"I can take her," Hayley said as Tommy looked over at her and shook his head no. He felt that he needed to be the one with her. "Tommy, you know you'll be missing enough school with ranger things. Just let me do this for you."

"Okay, but don't be surprised if she's touchy," Tommy said as Hayley smiled and then gave him a hug. "You want to stay?"

"No, I think the two of you need time together, maybe you'll get more things straightened out," Hayley said as Tommy gave her a grateful smile. He was just being nice and was secretly glad that Hayley understood that he needed to be with only Kim tonight. "Call me tomorrow with a time."

"I will," Tommy said as he placed food in the oven then walked Hayley to the front door. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bright and early," Hayley said with a laugh as Tommy nodded then closed the door. He then walked into the living room and sat down in his comfy, old recliner. Kim had already nodded off, so he didn't dare to turn on the television, he just sat there letting his thoughts engulf him.

"This is absolutely insane," Conner said as Kira and Ethan nodded. They all agreed that they wanted to be rangers, but they still couldn't get over the un-realness of the moment. They had heard the occasional story from someone from Angel Grove, but other than that, the Power Rangers seemed fake. They weren't anymore, not to them at least.

"I'm sure they felt the same way," Kira said as Conner and Ethan nodded. "At one time they were new too."

"Yeah, but that was close to ten years ago. They probably have forgotten what it was like to have these jitters," Conner said as Ethan shook his head in disagreement. "Well what do you think since you know more than we do?"

"I actually think that they know a lot more than we do and that they remember exactly what it was like. I think it would be hard to completely block out something of that magnitude," Ethan said as Conner and Kira nodded.

"But why not explain anything to us?" Conner asked as Kira and Ethan could only stare at him. Had he not even been in the same room with them this afternoon? "What did I say?"

"You didn't notice Kim was passed out," Kira said as Conner's mouth formed an 'o' while the other two just shook their heads. "That's why he didn't explain anything to us. He has priorities to be taken care of first. I'm sure that he'll explain things to us when the time is right, but he had to take care of her."

"But who is she? I've never seen her around town before and he seemed to know her pretty well," Conner said as Ethan gave him an odd look. "I'd notice and remember someone that hot."

"That talk will get you in a world of trouble with Tommy," Hayley said as they looked over at her. "We're friends and let's just say that he has had second thoughts about their friendship."

"So that's his girlfriend?" Conner asked with just a hint of disgust evident. He really couldn't think of Dr. O having a girlfriend or any significant other.

"No, that's what's so sad about it. He wants it, but he doesn't want to get hurt again," Hayley said as she sat down next to Kira.

"You know you have to tell us the story," Kira said, as Hayley shook her head no. "Come on, you tell us all of this then quit on us."

"Tommy needs to be the one to explain everything. It is his business, after all," Hayley said as the three of them exchanged a glance. It looked like they suddenly had more to ask Dr. Oliver about.

"Kim, wake up," Tommy said as he gently shook her shoulder and her eyes blinked awake. "You feeling better?"

"Not really, can you come closer," Kim said as Tommy moved his face closer to hers. "You have a bruise."

"I can deal with it," Tommy said as Kim continued to stare at him and reached over to touch the bruise. "Ah!"

"That's what I thought, put some ice on it Tommy," Kim said as Tommy gently touched her neck and she grimaced as well.

"Right after we eat, we'll deal with these," Tommy said as Kim sat down and held out her hand, which Tommy took and then pulled her off the couch.

"Thank you for saving me, Tommy," Kim said as Tommy placed his arm around her and she leaned on him. She couldn't help but notice that he was picking her up some as they walked, but she was grateful as she was so exhausted.

"You're welcome," Tommy said as he pulled out a chair and Kim sat down in it.

"I'm sorry to be such a nuisance, but you're going to have to fix my plate," Kim said rather helplessly as Tommy placed a plate and glass in front of her.

"Kim, it's all right, I understand," Tommy said as Kim shut her eyes and took in a deep breath. She hated being dependent on other people every time her glasses broke. "Don't Kim, it's fine."

"It is for you, but I'm tired of always having to depend on people. I want to be normal again," Kim said as Tommy let out a gentle laugh and Kim stabbed a forkful of food, waiting to hear what he was laughing about.

"Kim, you used to be a Power Ranger. I don't think you can ever be normal after that," Tommy said as Kim nodded her head in agreement.

"But you can wish, haven't you ever wished for it? Haven't you ever wished that you could have a normal life?" Kim asked as Tommy looked down at his plate. He was shocked that she could still see through him so well, but he knew that this was Kim. Why should several years apart change her?

"I wish for it everyday, but I'll never have a normal life, Kim and neither will you. There's not much that we can do about it now," Tommy said as Kim accidentally knocked over her glass and she then shoved her food away and stood up. "It's no big deal, I'll get it."

"This is exactly what I'm talking about, Tommy," Kim said as she marched off into the living room, while managing to stub her toe.

"Here you go," Tommy said passing Kim her plate and fork as he sat down next to her and noticed the frustration coming through her features. "Kim, you have the right to have things happen, you can't help it. I'm not mad."

"I know, but I'm mad at myself, after two years I still can't cope without my glasses," Kim said as Tommy put his arm around her and she leaned on him before straightening herself up. Tommy needed time and she certainly was not giving him that right now. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Tommy asked as she scooted away from him and began silently eating her supper. "Kim, what's going on?"

"You want time, I need to give you that," Kim said as she concentrated on her plate and felt Tommy stand up, although she was not sure where he was going. Tommy walked over to the other couch and looked down at his plate. He was not hungry anymore and he couldn't believe himself. She was right he had asked for his space a couple of days ago, but right now he no longer wanted space. He, however, knew it was best to give her some distance until he had his thoughts together.

"Here you go," Tommy said handing Kim a bag of ice as he picked up her plate and she looked at the bag then watched Tommy's blurry shape leave the room.

"Tommy…" Kim murmured as he walked back in and settled down in front of her.

"It's okay, I know you're just trying to do right by me," Tommy said as Kim held out the pack of ice and Tommy smiled as he sat down on her right side. "You ice me and I'll ice you?"

"Sounds like a good trade off," Kim said as she placed her head on his chest and the ice on his shoulder while Tommy took care of her neck.

"Kim," Tommy said as she tilted her head up and he moved the ice over.

"Hm?" Kim asked as Tommy closed his eyes and gave himself a final mental smack. He was not going to ask her back out, not yet anyway, he needed to know more and right now was a good time for that.

"How did he become Mesogogg?" Tommy asked as Kim squirmed and he held her still. He needed to know all of this if he was going to be able to really help.

"He found my morpher one-day, thought it would be funny to play around with it, he didn't really know what it was. Then he eventually figured out what it was. After I rejected him, he figured that only a living monster would keep me away from you and he dug far enough he was able to find some source of evil willing to turn him into a monster. He's haunted me ever since then," Kim said as Tommy nodded and rubbed his chin on top of her head. He wanted to take this away, but he couldn't manage it. He couldn't make her feel better.

"So why is he trying to kill you now?" Tommy asked as Kim rolled over to where he had full access to her neck and she had full access to his shoulders.

"I don't know Tommy, for years he was happy just destroying my life, lately he's moved onto other things, like trying to kill all of you," Kim said as Tommy touched a particularly bruised spot and she let out a low moan.

"It's not going to happen," Tommy sad as Kim just gave Tommy a sad smile. "I know, no guarantees, but as long as we're all here, we'll protect each other, somehow."

"But, Billy," Kim said as Tommy placed a finger on her lips and she stared at him, wondering what he had to say that would make him do that.

"Is fine on Aquitar, I doubt he'd go there just to get back at you and if it'll ease your mind I'll contact Billy," Tommy said as he leaned closer and Kim turned her face away from him. "Please don't turn away from me, I can't take it."

"This is a lot less time than I thought you would need," Kim said as she looked up at him and he smiled.

"I hate seeing you like this," Tommy said as she just shook her head and he gently moved the ice again.

"I hate being like this," Kim said as Tommy brushed a piece of hair out of her face. "Tommy, don't do anything you are going to regret."

"I regret pushing you away," Tommy said as he gave her a gentle kiss and then pulled her closer to him. "I've missed you."

"Glad to hear that," Kim said as she let out a yawn and Tommy looked over at the clock.

"Give me that," Tommy said as Kim released the bag and sat up. "I think we need to go to bed."

"The couch is fine for me, Tommy. I'm really no good at stairs, I was just mad earlier," Kim said as Tommy walked back over and scooped her up. "Tommy, really, I'm fine down here."

"If anyone is sleeping on the couch, it's me," Tommy said as Kim gave him a reproachful stare and he just smiled at down at her. He still had to be a gentleman, even if she didn't want for him to be one. "We probably need to wash what you have on, since I don't know where your place is."

"Can I borrow a t-shirt?" Kim asked as Tommy nodded and then placed her down on his bed.

"Yeah, let me find one," Tommy said as Kim felt around on the bed and then grabbed one of the pillows and hugged it to herself. "Here you go, I'll be right outside the door, just yell when you're done."

"Tommy, where's the bathroom?" Kim asked as she stood up and began feeling around the wall.

"Hold on, I'll show you," Tommy said as he grabbed her hand and walked her over to the bathroom.

"Thanks I should be able to find my way around," Kim said gently closing the door as Tommy looked around his room and sighed. It was obvious that he was a bachelor, but as long as Kim got a good night's sleep, he didn't really care. "Here you go."

"Good night," Tommy said as he gave her a hug and he felt her wrap her arms around him in return.

"Night," Kim said as she crawled into bed and curled up under the covers as Tommy switched off the light and silently closed the door.

Chapter Text

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Damn," Tommy said as he swatted at his alarm clock. It was five o'clock and he had a hell of a day in front of him. He knew he had to get in a good work out and he could only hope he wouldn't wake Kim when he went to get his clothes. She needed to get her rest, as her body had to be reeling from the pain that had been inflicted yesterday. He, however, needed some sanity today and that all began with a good workout.

"Tommy," Kim murmured as he stumbled around picking up his sneakers, shorts, and shirt. He had failed at keeping quiet enough for her to stay asleep, but he could hope that she would fall back to sleep as soon as he left.

"Shh, go back to sleep. It's only my morning routine," Tommy whispered as he gently pushed her back down on the bed and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll come get you when breakfast is ready."

"Okay," Kim murmured as she rolled back over and drifted back off to sleep.

"I thought I'd find you down here," Hayley said as Tommy continued to throw punches at his punching bag. He barely heard Hayley say anything to him, but he did realize that she was there, which was better than what he usually did. He usually would look up and then jump away because he would see her there, where she hadn't been five minutes before. He was legendary for being able to zone out and focus on only what was in front of him. Today, however, he seemed to not want to go that far into his workout today. He seemed to want to stay on the surface this morning. "You all right?"

"Just venting some frustrations, as usual Hayley," Tommy said as he walked over and picked up a towel. "What are you doing here?"

"Well I came to check on the two of you," Hayley said as Tommy gave her a skeptical look and Hayley then sighed. She might as well tell him the truth before he pulled it out of her, which would not be pleasant for either of them. "Actually, I came to see how you were holding up. It has to be hard to be around her so much after the shock you've had. It's got to be messing with your mind a little bit Tommy."

"I kissed her," Tommy said, as Hayley snatched her head towards him as he moved to the next machine without missing a beat. He didn't want to look Hayley in the eyes because of the surprise that he was sure would register there. He didn't want shock and awe; he just wanted for someone to accept it and not question him on why he did it. He was not even sure that he could answer that without having to be overly honest with himself.

"How did I know you wouldn't last long?" Hayley asked as Tommy just shook his head. He would almost bet that his friends had been thinking the exact same thing. He had always been a sucker for Kim, no matter what else happened. "So are you going to jump in head first?"

"Not yet," Tommy said as Hayley gave him an odd look. "I just want to make sure I know what I'm getting into."

"To me you sound like you are sure, Tommy, you're just afraid. You're afraid to really love her again, but Tommy you can't be because you already do, you just haven't admitted it to yourself. You've got to do that soon, for the both of your sakes. It'll hurt you if you keep on waiting for things to just suddenly be solved. They never will be completely solved, but you just have to accept it," Hayley said as Tommy looked over at her, racked his weights, and stood up. There was no way that he was going to be able to work out anymore this morning. He now had far too much on his mind to even attempt it.

"You're right, but telling her that is relationship suicide. I wanted some time from her and she's giving it to me, I need to keep myself in check," Tommy said as he ran up the stairs with Hayley hot on his heels.

"You've got to be kidding; you can't control yourself with her. You kissed her, you're taking care of her, and you saved her life from a creature that nearly killed you only a few weeks ago. Tommy, you're in too deep to try to keep yourself from showing her your true feelings," Hayley said as Tommy heard Kim let out a yell and he sprinted up the stairs. "I'll let myself out!"

"Thanks Hayley!" Tommy yelled down as he ran down the hall and slung the door open to his own room. "Kim…"

"Over here Tommy," Mesogogg said as Tommy wheeled around to see Mesogogg holding Kim up by her neck again, which he knew was not a good thing. She was already injured in that area and she just needed for it to heal, but Mesogogg didn't want that. He seemed to want to kill the woman that he had been after for all of these years.

"Shit," Tommy said as he grabbed a tall lamp, slung off the shade, and began attacking Mesogogg with his remaining energy.

"Good-bye Dr. Oliver," Mesogogg said as he flew threw an invisaportal before Tommy could dive after him.

"Damn it!" Tommy yelled as he tossed the lamp aside and jumped to his feet. "Damn it!"

"Tommy, what's going on?" Hayley asked as Tommy planted himself in front of her car. "Tommy, what happened?"

"He took Kim," Tommy said as Hayley stepped out of her car and caught Tommy in a strong hug. "I have to go to school to warn the rangers. I need you to call Jason, Trini, and Zack, and then get Trini to contact Billy. Mesogogg's asking for one hell of a fight."

"Are you sure you should be driving at all, Tommy?" Hayley asked as Tommy looked over at her and Hayley just turned and walked inside. Tommy was not a person to mess with when he was this thoroughly pissed off and she knew that the driving might just let him get his scatterbrained thoughts together, somehow.

"Dr. Oliver?" Principal Randall asked, tentatively, as Tommy stormed into the office, signed the faculty sheet and was halfway to the door before he even showed any recognition to her voice.

"I'm only working half a day, you need to find a sub for me," Tommy said and then went out the door without another word. He did not have time for any meaningless conversation this morning, even if it was with the principal.

"What's going on with him?" Vanessa Malone asked as Principal Randall shrugged her shoulders. She didn't think it wise to question or stop him. He was in a mood that she had never seen before. He seemed like he was mad about something, but she didn't know what it could be. He actually made it to school on time today, which was always a good thing for Tommy.

"Conner," Tommy said as he walked up behind him and Conner turned to give him a smile, but he stopped halfway. Something had gone terribly wrong for Dr. O to have that look on his face. "Find Ethan and Kira and come to my room, as soon as you can. There are some things that you need to know about."

"Okay," Conner said as he walked off and began looking for Ethan and Kira. He knew that Dr. O didn't have a lot of patience left in him.

"Conner, what's that look for?" Kira asked as she and Ethan walked up to Conner.

"Dr. O wants to see us and by the looks of things, he's pissed about something," Conner said as Kira and Ethan hurried along after him. In a matter of minutes they were standing in Dr. O's room, watching him jot down lesson plans and scan through books.

"Dr. O?" Kira asked, breaking him out of his world. "What's going on?"

"Mesogogg took Kim and he'll kill her if we don't get there in time," Tommy said as he raked his fingers through his hair and then looked up at the ceiling. He had been through this before, but right now he was not prepared to deal with all of the stress it was causing for him. He had not expected to see her be taken away from him, again. He had thought that Mesogogg would be happy to have him thoroughly concerned for her health and safety. He didn't think that he would get that much further and actually capture Kimberly.

"How come I get the feeling we're about to break into the ranger world," Ethan said as Tommy nodded his head yes and slammed down his books on the desk and then continued his frenzied preparations.

"I'll be here for a couple of hours, then I'm going home. Mesogogg's ass is mine," Tommy said as they could only stare at him. Dr. O had always had a mysterious side and now they saw exactly what it was and what it could do. They knew that he must be a deadly fighter, but the look in his eyes let them all know that deadly was probably the least accurate description that they could come up with because there was not a word in the english language to describe that look well enough.

"What are we supposed to do?" Kira asked as Tommy looked up at them and just shook his head. He forgot how inexperienced they really were and he honestly didn't feel like explaining things, but he knew that he had no choice about it. If he did not take the time to explain things to them, they would be left out in the dark and today that did not need to happen. They needed to do this as flawlessly as they could for being new rangers. Kim's life might just depend on them.

"If anything weird happens, come straight to my house even if you have to check out of school. No matter what, come after school, we're going to need your help," Tommy said as the bell rang. "Go to class, everything will be fine."

"Okay, why the hell are we here?" Jason asked as Hayley glared at him and Trini put her arm around him. They had been lucky enough to get the Aquitarians to teleport Billy here and he was waiting for the explanation along with everyone else. He couldn't be as patient as the rest, especially with the time window that was pressing down upon him.

"Kim has been captured by Mesogogg and Tommy thought I needed all of you. Now, what do you know about finding Power Rangers that I don't?" Hayley asked as Billy and Trini exchanged a glance before Billy spoke.

"Kim doesn't have any powers that we know of, correct?" Billy said as Hayley nodded her head yes. This was not going to be pretty and they all knew that all too well. They knew that the powers left a trace, but a ranger without any powers would not have a trace. That was something that he was certain of, he had seen that when this had happened before. They were going to be in for one hell of a fight right now. "Let's just pray Tommy put in that sort of equipment. Anything changed lately?"

"She was already hurt, I don't know how bad, but I don't think she can take much more," Hayley said as Trini looked over at Billy and the two of them shook their heads. They all knew Kim was resilient, but if Tommy had been worried enough to call all of them in, something was seriously wrong already.

"Please just let her be smart enough to get a tracer," Billy said as he walked over to the computer and began clicking away.

"A tracer?" Hayley asked as Jason and Zack pulled out their morphers and Hayley gave them an odd look. They still carried their old morphers on them? Were they absolutely crazy? Did they want for these beings to continue to come after them, because they had something to prove?

"I set up our morphers as tracers years ago in the event this ever happened. I don't think she had hers on her, but maybe she grabbed one of Tommy's," Billy said as he got a signal for Tommy as the school and another in the middle of nowhere, if that was not Kimberly, then someone had gotten ahold of his morpher without him knowing it. "I've got her, but you're going to have a hell of a time getting there."

"At least we have her," Hayley said as Trini and Billy shook their heads. Something was definitely wrong with the signal and they had only seen it once before and the results had not been in the best interest of the person.

"We won't have her for long," Trini said as Jason and Zack looked at each other then looked away. This was not something they wanted to hear from Billy or Trini right now. They wanted to hear that they had plenty of time to get to Kim and that Tommy didn't need to freak out when he got here. That was not the picture that they were painting and it honestly worried them all. "We need something to get Tommy's attention, something big. It's not going to be long before she disappears from our sights. The tracers only really work for the ranger that originally owned it."

"Zords?" Hayley asked as they looked at her and smiled. It was a good idea, but they knew they could get in trouble for that. The zords tended to be destructive, even if they weren't fighting against evil monsters.

"Last resort; let's just hope for an attack. It's something they'd do at a time like this to try to keep Tommy as far away from Kimbelry as possible," Jason said as he walked over to the morphers and just shook his head. He didn't like the way that things looked right now, for any of them. "They're going to need more than this to be able to sustain a long defensive attack."

"Lucky for all of us, Tommy thought ahead," Hayley said as she punched in a code and steel doors slid open to reveal their bikes.

"I'm sure he wasn't thinking about this happening," Jason said as Hayley nodded then walked over to help Billy.

"You said she was hurt, but did she have her glasses?" Billy asked as Hayley shook her head no and Billy let out a sigh. That was one more thing that they were going to have to worry about and he was not sure that they would be able to compensate for Kim not being able to make it out under her own power. They had only had this happen once before and it had nearly killed Tommy to pull it off. "Tommy will have a plan when he gets here; we all need to be ready for whatever he might ask, no matter how crazy it is."

"Tommy is going to be so pissed it's not even funny, all he is doing right now is fuming," Hayley said as they looked over at her. Had something happened that they didn't know about?

"What's gone on between the two of them?" Zack asked as Hayley looked towards the trap door and then motioned for them to sit, which everyone except Billy did. He had to keep monitoring Kim's signal as long as he could.

"Yesterday she was attacked by Mesogogg and he brought her here to look after her. Sometime last night he must have just let his emotions overtake him. He kissed her and from what I can tell gave her his room last night and slept on the couch. It doesn't sound like he can hold much against her for long, even if he tries," Hayley said as the four rangers exchanged a glance. If Tommy was beginning to commit his heart again, then they were going to see some more emotions than they expected from Tommy. They all knew that he would be mad because it happened in his house, but the added pressure that Tommy was beginning to associate much more with Kim worried them. They now knew that Tommy was not going to be anywhere near rational for the time being.

"So much for taking everything slow," Zack said as Trini covered her mouth. "Tri, what are you thinking?"

"We lose her now, we lose him too," Trini said as they heard the door open upstairs and they immediately moved themselves to productive looking positions. They did not want Tommy to know that they had been talking about him, even though that was rather childish. He probably could figure out that he was going to be the center of their conversation because of his actions.

"Thanks Hayley," Tommy said as he entered the Command Center and saw his teammates standing around. They couldn't do much, but them being here made him feel loads better. It let him know that he would be able to pull this off, even if things didn't seem like they were going to go well. "Billy?"

"I couldn't miss this," Billy said as Tommy stared at him in awe for a moment, then got down to business. These past few hours had given him too long to lull over the details of what needed to be done before he returned. He just hoped that they had done all of it.

"Do you know where she is?" Tommy asked as Billy nodded his head yes. He knew that Tommy knew finding a person was only half the battle, getting to them was often what caused the most problems, especially with only limited resources. He had not even fathomed that this sort of thing would happen so soon, so he did not have some of the devices necessary to jump into another teleportation portal and they did not hav the time to build the technology.

"But we don't know how to get to her, a teleportation system has not been established here, although I can work on that," Billy said as Tommy nodded. He had thought he'd have more time to build something like that, but Mesogogg had other plans.

"That probably wouldn't do much good; we could rarely teleport into Lord Zedd's lair whenever we needed to get to a captured ranger. The only time that a ranger did was when you went after Kimberly," Trini said as they nodded in agreement.

"I know and that was just a rare exception in itself," Tommy said as they just looked at him. "I'm more worried about being able to track her if he moves her."

"I don't think he's going to move her though. I think he wants you to come to him, for some suicidal reason," Billy said as Tommy nodded, but said nothing to them. He had known that it would come to a one on one confrontation, but that was not something that he wanted. He had wanted to be able to resolve this some other way.

"Want to let us in on your plan?" Jason asked as Tommy just shook his head. Nothing would please him more than killing Mesogogg, but he knew that would not realistically happen, not with all of the things that he had stacked against him already.

"The rangers and I will go, hopefully they'll be enough of a distraction that I'll be able to get Kim and get out. That may mean teleporting to the Power Chamber, but I'll do whatever I have to, to get her out safely," Tommy said as they nodded.

"And if that doesn't work?" Hayley asked as Tommy looked over at her and then at his fellow rangers.

"That's where we come in," Jason said as Hayley nodded and they then dispersed to working on their different tasks, which were mentally delegated to one another.

"Why fight me any more?" Mesogogg asked as Kim struggled to break her bonds, not that that would help her get out faster, but it would make her feel better to know that she could protect herself some.

"Stay away from me," Kim said through clenched teeth as Mesogogg brought a whip down across her chest.

"Wrong answer Ms. Hart, let's try it again," Mesogogg said as he leaned closer to her. "Why keep fighting me, Kimberly?"

"They'll come for me, they'll save me. You know nothing about them," Kim said as he hit her again and slashed open her shirt. She had known it would eventually happen, she had just hoped it would hold out longer.

"Your dear Mr. Oliver can die trying. He won't make it past my tryannadrones," Mesogogg said as Kim glared at him. "We're just waiting on you, come to my side and they'll be free of all worries."

"No," Kim said through gritted teeth as she was hit yet again. She could only hope that they would hurry to her side; she didn't know how much more she could take.

"School's not over," Tommy said as Kira, Conner, and Ethan rushed in, looking to be scared out of their wits.

"Attack in the city, not Mesogogg, just a lot of the same thing," Conner said as Zack and Jason stood up and picked up their keys. "Who are all of you?"

"No time to explain, let's go. Billy, Trini contact me if there is anything I need to know, our old communicator frequency still works," Tommy said as Billy nodded as Tommy passed out the Dino Rangers morphers.

"What are these?" Kira asked as she slipped on the bracelet and Tommy started up the stairs. "Dr. O?"

"They're morphers and you're going to need them," Tommy said as Jason and Zack hopped into their vehicles and the others piled in.

"Tommy, how much do they know? Let's face it, they may not be ready for this," Jason said as Tommy looked over at Jason. He knew the risks of what might happen, but he knew now was not the time to sit back and wait. He had been down this road far too many times to decide to do that now.

"Why do you think I called all of you? They have the powers, but no expertise; that's what we have. I'm sure Zack is filling them in as well as he can," Tommy said as Jason looked over at him in concern.

"What are you going to do?" Jason asked as Tommy put on the jacket he had grabbed on the way out.

"Dive through the invisaportal when I get a chance. Don't send the rangers after me, I don't want them to be killed," Tommy said as Jason nodded as they drove up on the fight and they jumped out.

"Be careful," Jason said as Tommy ran towards the open invisaportal and managed to dive through as the rangers' battled the tryannadrones.

"Where'd he go?" Zack asked as Jason pointed towards the invisaportal and then jumped into the battle as well. He could only hope Tommy had been right in thinking that he could do this alone.

Tommy landed on a hard steel floor and he took a moment to get his bearings himself. At the far end of the corridor there was light, but the noise was coming from the other end, which held no light. There was nothing like walking into the darkness and praying you didn't get ambushed, but that was all that he could do. He knew that he had to get to Kim and that meant he'd just have to take his chances about the ambush.

"They'll save me!" Kim yelled as Mesogogg struck her again and the first shriek of pain left her lips. "They'll save me!"

"Just hold on," Tommy muttered as he quietly navigated the corridor until he walked into a steel door.

"The calvary?" Mesogogg asked as he watched the door slide open and he stepped outside. "Funny, no one is here."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Tommy said, from behind him, as he jumped up to grab the lip of the door way and hit Mesogogg with the full force of his body as he swung through, then dove back in as it closed.

"You don't have long, Tommy. He'll get back in," Kim murmured as he glanced down at her and felt his heart jump into his throat as he saw the shirt ripped to shreds.

"Oh God," Tommy said as he reeled from the sight and then scooped her up in his arms.

"Just get me out of here," Kim said as Tommy grasped his old communicator and teleported out, which landed him in the old Power Chamber.

"It's going to be okay," Tommy said as he placed her on the floor. "Why'd it bring me here?"

"Probably closer," Kim gasped as Tommy began scrounging around for medical supplies. He knew it would be awhile before Billy could get here and she needed some medical attention now.

"Billy, Billy, come in," Tommy said as his communicator crackled to life and Kim let out a low moan.

"Yeah, where are you?" Billy asked as Tommy found some old sheets and a bottle of alcohol. It was going to have to do for the time being, hopefully the others would be able to find things that were more suitable.

"The Power Chamber, as soon as my rangers get back load up. I'm going to need your help," Tommy said as he walked back over to Kim and placed the supplies next to her.

"Will do," Billy said as he ended the transmission and Tommy closed his eyes to try to focus. He had very little medical expertise, but he knew that cleaning and bandaging had to be done as soon as possible. Billy could take care of scar management; he had always had a knack for making sure that they didn't show up on them.

"This is going to sting," Tommy said as he ripped off a chunk of the sheet and poured alcohol over the wounds.

"Ah!" Kim moaned as Tommy wiped off the blood. The cuts weren't that deep, but the number did worry him. There was barely any skin that had not been affected and he was honestly disturbed by that. He didn't know how she would be able to heal away from a hospital. "Just take off the shirt Tommy, it's not covering enough for you to really worry about being a gentleman anymore."

"Kim," Tommy said, worriedly as he pulled at the edges and she winced. "I don't know if I should."

"I don't have on a bra, but I have on panties. Take the damn shirt off, scrub me down, and bandage me up. If you do it right, it won't take very long," Kim said as Tommy nodded and then ripped off the remainder of the shirt with ease. "Do what you can, I know it's bad."

"What did you do to deserve all of this?" Tommy asked as he continued to clean the wounds and she writhed in pain.

"I told him you'd save me, that I wouldn't join him," Kim said as she brushed her side against his arm and he then gently rubbed her side to try to calm her down.

"It's almost clean," Tommy said as she gritted her teeth together and nodded. "Come on, sit up."

"You're a good doctor," Kim said as Tommy began wrapping the strips of sheet around her.

"You won't say that once Billy is here," Tommy said as he tied it up as best he could and then sat down behind her and leaned her back against him. "It's going to be okay."

"It always is when you're here," Kim said as she closed her eyes and snuggled against him. "I owe you one."

"You don't owe me anything, Kim," Tommy said as he gently placed his arms around her and placed his chin on her shoulder.

"Thank you," Kim said as she turned and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"You're welcome," Tommy said as his communicator beeped and his quickly answered it. "Yeah."

"Your rangers need to be taken care of; we'll get there as soon as we can," Billy said as Tommy looked at Kim's chest and saw that the bandages were already being bled through. He knew that there was no way to relay to Billy just how bad things were there, but his rangers had priority. Kim would be fine, he wouldn't let anything happen to her.

"I'll try to teleport to you," Tommy said as he grasped the buttons and they went nowhere. "Just get here when you can and bring a few sheets and some old t-shirts and some shorts. She's not going too good."

"You want me to go ahead and send Trini?" Billy asked as he placed an ice pack on Conner's shoulder and walked over to Kira to check and see what needed to be done to her.

"No offense to Trini, but she needs you. This isn't my specialty or hers," Tommy said as Kim tensed as Tommy sat her up straighter so that he could get to his communicator easier.

"Just hold on and we'll be there," Billy said as Tommy ended the transmission and just shook his head.

"Looks like it's just you and me," Tommy said as Kim leaned back against him and closed her eyes. "I know it's hard but try to stay awake as long as you can."

"All I feel like doing is sleeping, Tommy," Kim said as he shook her rather roughly and she let out a low moan. "Why'd you do that?"

"You're losing a lot of blood, you need to stay with me as long as you can," Tommy said as Kim looked down at the blurry red streaks and closed her eyes.

"Okay, Tommy, but whatever happens don't let him get to you," Kim said as Tommy's eyes widened at her reaction to the situation. He knew it was serious, but not serious enough for her to be talking like this.

"You're not going to die, I just want you to stay with me as long as you can. I promise you'll make it," Tommy said as Kim smiled up at him.

"Then why are you worried about me sleeping?" Kim asked as Tommy let out a laugh and then gently pulled her closer to him.

"Because if Mesogogg shows back up, I need you to be with me," Tommy said as Kim nodded, although she didn't know how he was going to get into the Power Chamber. She honestly didn't think that it was possible with all of the defensive barriers that this place had.

"Okay Tommy, just keep me awake," Kim said as Tommy smiled and settled himself in for the wait. They had a long day and it seemed they were going to have a long night ahead of them as well.

"Kim! Tommy!" Billy yelled as they all walked into the dark Power Chamber.

"Over here," Tommy said as Billy turned and saw the two of them. "She couldn't stay awake, she fell asleep a few minutes ago."

"Good lord," Billy said as he squatted in front of the two of them and tentatively pulled at the bandage, which caused Kim to groan.

"Where do you want her?" Tommy asked as he shifted Kim around in his arms.

"Let Jason and Zack move her and let Trini look you over, just in case," Billy said as Zack and Jason moved her carefully and Tommy watched them carry her away.

"Here's the clothes you asked for," Trini said, as she looked Tommy over. He was fine, except for the blood that seemed to be all over him.

"They're not for me," Tommy said as he stood up and walked off in the direction Billy had headed in. "Kim will need something that is not tight on her. She's going to be sore, to say the least."

"You did a good job," Billy said as he unwrapped the bandages and Tommy walked over to prop her up.

"Why hasn't she woken up?" Jason asked as Billy immediately stopped unwrapping the bandages and began gently slapping Kim's face.

"Come on, Kim," Billy said as her eyes barely opened. "Come on, wake up."

"Where's Tommy?" Kim asked as they all heaved a sigh of relief.

"I'm right here, but you gotta stay with me," Tommy said as she leaned back against him and let out a pain filled cry. "It's okay, it's okay."

"I have some ointment that will help minimize the scarring and then I'll wrap her up again. Other than that, we'll just have to wait," Billy said as Kim reached up and wrapped her hands around the back of Tommy's neck and pulled herself closer to him. "This is going to sting, a lot."

"Thanks for the warning," Kim said as he put on the first bit of ointment and she pulled away from him.

"You gotta stay still, Kim or he'll have to hold you still," Billy said as Kim buried her head in the crook of Tommy's neck and nodded. "I'll be done as soon as I can."

"It's okay, it's all going to be fine," Tommy whispered as Kim's fingernails dug into the back of his neck.

"All done," Billy said as Kim suddenly realized who had been talking to her the entire time.

"Billy? Where'd you come from?" Kim asked as she turned towards him and he smiled up at her.

"I couldn't miss out on something like this. I knew it was trouble if you and Tommy were somehow involved in a disappearance, somebody had to look out for his mental well being," Billy said as Kim smiled and then moved to hug him. "Let me wrap you up first, I'd have to put all that stuff back on you."

"Sit up, Kim," Tommy coaxed as she groaned, then sat up straight.

"Do we have any big ace bandages around here?" Billy asked as Tommy shrugged his shoulders and Billy handed him the sheet. "The pressure will help stop the bleeding if we have one around here."

"He's not going to stop until he gets what he wants Tommy," Kim said as Tommy wrapped the strips of sheet around her torso.

"He's not going to get you," Tommy said as Zack and Jason exchanged a glance.

"We won't let him," Jason said as Trini and Billy walked back in to see Tommy holding Kim in his arms.

"I won't let him," Tommy whispered as Kim nodded as she reached up to give him a kiss, which he accepted as the others smiled at them. They were truly back home again with each other. It was just sad it had taken them this long to get back there.

"Let's get out of here. We need to get you in a bed some time tonight," Jason said as Tommy released her and Kim sat by herself.

"Put these on, then we'll go," Tommy said handing her a t-shirt and a pair of shorts.

"Let's go home," Kim said as she reached out for Tommy's hand and he gently squeezed hers. He had always wanted to hear those words from her and now he did and couldn't help but love the sound of it.

Chapter Text

"Do you think Dr. O is going to make it?" Kira asked as Conner and Ethan shrugged. They had honestly thought he would be back before they left, but he wasn't. Whatever was going on with Kim must have been more serious than anything they could imagine.

"I doubt he's going to leave Kim today," Ethan said as they nodded their heads in agreement. Last night had let them know just how hard Dr. O had fallen for this woman and they knew that he would protect her, even if it hurt him.

"But that doesn't mean he won't send a substitute," Conner said as Billy walked past them into Dr. O's room. "This is going to be cool."

"We don't know him, remember," Kira said as Conner nodded then walked into Dr. O's room. "Conner…"

"Just a simple question for him," Conner said as he walked in and Billy looked up and smiled. He had been warned by Tommy that the rangers might not take it well that he was not there. That was why he sent Billy in the first place.

"Dr. Oliver is taking a personal day, some emergency I'm told," Billy said as Conner nodded and they exited the room.

"How'd you sleep?" Jason asked as Tommy stumbled down the stairs and poured himself a cup of coffee. He looked pretty rough, but Jason didn't think that he needed to mention that fact to Tommy. He was not going to be polite in his response if he dared to say that.

"I didn't," Tommy said as he took a gulp of the coffee and then shook his head to try to clear his thoughts. He had thought of so much in the past few hours and he had to straighten it out before he talked to Kimberly. If he didn't he was going to be in a lot of trouble.

"You're not going to be able to protect her forever," Zack said as Tommy glared over at him, then walked back upstairs.

"There's no use in trying to change his mind, he's determined to keep her safe at least until she heals," Trini said as Jason sat down next to her and placed his arm around her. None of them liked seeing one of their own like this, but there was not much that they could do about it.

"How long do you think that will take?" Zack asked as Trini shrugged her shoulders. There was no telling with that many wounds. "Tommy, hell none of us, have enough time off to wait for her to get back up to 100 percent. It's going to take weeks with an injury that severe."

"Well, he's been able to get in touch with her eye doctor and he's making her some new glasses right now. Once she can see again, it won't be as big of a deal, he'll be able to go back to work," Trini said as Zack nodded his head that he agreed.

"What about her job?" Zack asked as Jason and Trini both smiled.

"She's the boss and she's got a good staff that will take care of things until she is able to get back on her feet and they don't ask any questions, which makes things a lot better," Jason said as Tommy walked down the stairs with Kim in his arms.

"She awake?" Trini asked as Tommy shook his head no and then laid her down on the couch.

"She's bled through these too, will you go into town and get one of those ace bandages Billy was talking about and check with the doctor. He said he'd rush them through since her sight is so bad," Tommy said as Trini and Jason stood up. "Thanks, guys."

"Are you going to rewrap her?" Zack asked as Tommy nodded his head yes and walked over to get the strips of sheet and ointment Billy had left before he had gone in to be Tommy's substitute. Tommy had never thought that he would ask this big of a favor of his friend, but he did and he was so thankful that Billy was good at science. He would be some comfort to his young rangers, although he knew that it wouldn't be as good as him being there.

"As soon as I wake her up, I'm afraid this is going to hurt more this morning," Tommy said as he gently shook Kim's shoulder and she shrugged away from him. All she wanted to do was sleep, so she hoped that Tommy would just leave her alone. "Come on, I need to change your bandages."

"Not the words I wanted to here from you when I woke up," Kim murmured as she opened her eyes and propped herself up, although that was very difficult.

"You've bled through them, again," Tommy said as Kim just shook her head and grabbed his arms to pull herself into a seated position.

"Wrap me up good," Kim said as he undid the bandages and she grimaced as he tugged at particular pieces, some of it had worked it's way into the cuts and was clinging in ways that she never thought possible.

"It looks a little bit better, but I don't know why you're still bleeding," Tommy said as he cleaned the wounds again and she pulled away from him. "I know it burns, but we have to keep these clean to keep you out of the hospital."

"It hurts," Kim murmured as Tommy looked over at Zack and then handed him the ointment. Kim was going to need someone to hold onto during the next part from how she had reacted to the alcohol. "Ah!"

"I know it hurts," Tommy said as Kim wound her arms around him and pulled him closer. "Hey, it's okay, it'll all be over in a few minutes."

"Ah!" Kim cried again as she pulled away from Zack and Tommy gave him a sympathetic look, as Kim clawed the back of his neck. "Jeez!"

"You weren't this bad last night," Tommy said as Zack finished applying the ointment and Kim began shaking in Tommy's arms. "You want to let it air out some?"

"Just wrap me back up and get me the strongest medicine that you have. I should be all right after that," Kim said as Zack passed Tommy the bandages and he began wrapping them around her body. Kim then began laughing, for no reason, which caused Tommy and Zack to stare at her. What could possibly be funny about this situation?

"What could you possibly be laughing at?" Tommy asked as he secured the bandages and looked down at her, with a confused look on his face.

"It's really stupid, to be honest, Tommy," Kim said as Tommy and Zack exchanged a glance and then Tommy nodded that she should go on, which she was just barely able to see. "I just never thought this would be how you'd see me topless."

"I'm not enjoying this, at all," Tommy said as Kim smiled up at him and Zack just shook his head.

"You two can have your little, whatever this is, later, when I'm not here," Zack said as Tommy and Kim looked over at him and he shrugged. "We have things to do besides take care of her, working on the teleportation system being right up there on our list. If she had been worse off, we would have had to break about a million ranger rules, namely revealing a Command Center."

"Come on, why can't we have some fun? We need to after yesterday," Tommy said as Zack gave Tommy a stern look and he nodded that he understood. "Let's get breakfast before we do anything else. We're all going to need our energy."

"At least that's productive," Zack said as Kim sat up and held out her hand, which Tommy took and gently pulled her off the couch. "I'll go on downstairs."

"Okay," Tommy said as Kim sat down and he began searching for something they'd both eat for breakfast.

"What are we now Tommy?" Kim asked as he set a glass of orange juice in front of her and put some eggos on a tray and placed it in the oven. He was going for what was easy; he didn't feel like really cooking.

"Whatever you want us to be," Tommy said as Kim motioned for him to come and sit down next to her.

"No, you tell me because I'm not in control of this relationship anymore," Kim said as Tommy sat down next to her and placed his arms around her.

"I'm yours," Tommy said as Kim looked over at him and then pulled his face closer to hers.

"So you'll have me back?" Kim asked as Tommy's hands worked their way up to her neck and hair, just barely touching them.

"Yeah, I'll have you back," Tommy said as he gave her a gentle kiss and then kissed her on the tip of her nose. "All you ever had to do was ask."

"But you needed time," Kim whispered as the buzzer on the oven sounded and Tommy stood to pull out the eggos.

"That was more for me to get my thoughts together than anything else," Tommy said as he placed a couple of eggos in front of her and she grasped for them, then cut them with her knife and fork. "You're pretty good at that. Have you been fooling me all this time?"

"I go through about four pairs of glasses a year, with my run-ins with Mesogogg and them falling off my face when I do gymnastics. I'm kinda used to having sometime without them. I always wind up breaking my back-up pair before I can get another pair made," Kim said as she rubbed her torso against the table and let out an involuntary groan.

"Well the doctor is rushing them through. We can't exactly leave you alone until you can see," Tommy said as Kim gave him a mock glare. "I know, you're not a kid, but I don't want to risk anything else if I can help it."

"I agree with you there," Kim said as Zack popped up to see the two of them eating breakfast. He had thought pop-tarts, but they did have sometime to waste. "I don't know what I'll do if anything happens. My body can't take much more right now."

"Yeah, I can't go through another day like yesterday anytime soon," Tommy said as Kim nodded her head in agreement.

"How do you think your rangers are doing? I mean, they didn't see you after you saved me and you know what that used to do to us," Kim said as Tommy shrugged his shoulders.

"They know that I'm alive, so they shouldn't be too worried about me. They don't need to see me to be able to hear my voice," Tommy said as Kim gave him a skeptical look.

"They're new to this, alive may not be good enough for them. You know we had to see each other at first," Kim said as she pushed her plate away and Tommy took both of their plates to the sink.

"If they had seen the way you looked, they would have second guessed being rangers; we can't really afford that right now," Tommy said as Kim nodded and he came over and grabbed her hand and pulled her out of her chair. "Can you make it down the stairs?"

"As long as you tell me when I'm on the last step, I should be fine," Kim said as Tommy opened the trap door and they started into the Command Center.

"Whoa, Tommy," Jason said as he came in and could see Tommy descending into the Command Center.

"Just follow us down Jason, unless you have my glasses, I can't do this alone," Kim said as Tommy looked at the bags Jason held u and smiled.

"Trini has your glasses, I have the ace bandages," Jason said as he walked down behind them and then Trini came in.

"I'll wrap you up," Tommy said as Kim nodded, then pulled off his t-shirt so Tommy could wrap it around her.

"Here you go," Trini said as she passed Kim her glasses and she slipped them on.

"This is so much better," Kim said as she could finally see all of them again and could finally see some of the damage done to her body. "I need to go by next week and order a back up pair, since I broke them already."

"Do you want to see how bad it is?" Tommy asked, as Kim shook her head no. She could fee just how bad it was without seeing it. "Hopefully this will help stop the bleeding."

"If not, I've been through worse," Kim said as Tommy tightened the bandages around her torso, then wrapped on the ace bandage.

"Okay, Billy left us directions for the teleportation system and the materials we need to get it to work," Trini said as Kim pulled on Tommy's shirt and stood to go help them.

"Kim, sweetie, you need to rest," Tommy said as Kim placed her hands on her hips and glared up at him. "You can't tell me that you're not sore and worn out."

"Yeah, but I can help," Kim said as Trini looked over at Tommy. They had to talk her out of helping, somehow.

"You can't crawl around and that's what we need you to do. Please just sit down and rest," Tommy said as Kim nodded her head and sat down in a chair in front of the computer.

"Can I actually use this as a computer?" Kim asked as Tommy nodded his head yes, then walked over to help the others. He knew that a teleportation system was extremely complex, but with Billy's directions and Trini's skills, they'd be able to figure out a way to do most of it.

"We're going back to Dr. O's," Conner said as Kira and Ethan nodded. They had a lot of questions to ask him and they had to be answered this time.

"What I want to know is why is Billy still here?" Kira said as Ethan gave her a confused look. "He doesn't live here anymore, at least that was what it sounded like."

"Talk about that somewhere else," Billy said as he walked by them and they nodded. They didn't know why it was so important to keep quiet, but they were sure they would learn more as time went along. They were still too new to be scared of being discovered by the outside world and they didn't know the repercussions of something like that happening, the older rangers did.

"Are you all like this?" Kira asked as Billy smiled over and shook his head no.

"Some are worse," Billy said as he walked over to Zack's car and they watched as he climbed in and drove off.

"Who could possibly be worse?" Kira asked as she climbed into the passenger's seat and Conner looked over at Ethan, he could think of one right off the bat.

"Dr. O," Conner said as Kira gave him an odd look. "Come on, he got us out of there so fast it's not even funny. He knows how much is at stake if we are revealed. He may even be more fanatical than we can even imagine."

"I didn't think you know what the word fanatical meant," Ethan said as Conner glared into the rearview mirror at him.

"I heard it in a movie and I actually do pay attention in English class, even if I don't act like it," Conner said as Kira quickly jumped in to stop the brewing argument.

"You can fight later, more important things are going on than Conner's knowledge of the English language," Kira said as Ethan and Conner spared each other one more look before nodding.

"Do you think Dr. O is actually starting a new relationship now?" Ethan asked as Kira shrugged her shoulders. She only cared about the relationship if it affected them.

"I don't think it's a new relationship, did you see the way they acted around each other," Conner pointed out as Ethan and Kira stared at him. This was snot the same Conner McKnight that they had gone to school with for the past two years.

"I didn't know that you had this side to you," Kira said as Conner shrugged his shoulders.

"It doesn't help in soccer, but I guess it helps that I notice these things somewhere in life," Conner said as he pulled into Dr. O's driveway and parked his car. He was sure that Ethan and Kira were shocked, but he wasn't the asshole that he acted like all the time. He couldn't even stand himself if he was like that all the time.

"Hello? Dr. O?" Kira called as she walked in the front door with Ethan and Conner right behind her.

"Downstairs, Kira," Tommy called as they turned and headed for the trap door. "Billy was just telling me about school. How were your days?"

"The best part is that it is over," Conner said as Kira and Ethan nodded their heads in agreement. None of them had had a great day today. They had had a bunch of crap piled on them by a couple of their teachers and all they wanted to do now was get home so that they could do their homework and sleep.

"I honestly agree with them, for once school was not a pleasant experience for me as well," Billy said as Tommy could only smile over at him. "You're still not looking so hot."

"You wouldn't either after having your chest slashed," Kim said, grumpily, as she slowly sat up and looked over at Tommy and the others. The soreness had definitely had a chance to set in and she did not enjoy it at all. She just wanted to get back to sleep, but the noise down here had even kept her awake upstairs.

"Can we see?" Conner asked as Tommy glared at him and Kira smacked him hard on the back of the head.

"Nice try Conner, but not only would seeing my boobs turn you off; you can't really tell where they are because of the swelling," Kim said as she stood up and walked over to him. "Plus, Tommy might have to kick your ass."

"So, the two of you did have something in the past," Conner said as Kira smacked him again. "What did I say that time?"

"It's none of our business if they did or didn't. The only thing we need to know is that they're good terms now," Kira said as Kim and Tommy looked at the two of them.

"Have you taken anything for the pain?" Billy asked as Kim nodded her head yes and then pulled off Tommy's shirt. She was pretty sure the bandages needed to be changed again. "I'll change the bandages, the rest of you need to keep on working."

"He gets to see her?" Conner asked as Jason, Zack, Trini, and Tommy looked over at him and Kira held up her hand.

"He's the closest thing we have to a doctor and he'll take better care of her than the rest of us," Jason said as Tommy's fists shook and he could only shake his head.

"Do I need to smack him again?" Kira asked as Tommy nodded his head yes and Kira smacked him one more time.

"Why'd you come?" Tommy asked as they went back to work on the teleportation system. Nothing had happened today, so he didn't understand why they would stop by.

"We have some questions," Ethan said as they all heard Kim let out a moan and Tommy put down his tools and walked off.

"What about?" Trini asked as she crawled under the machine and began installing various parts.

"Everything, we've only heard the rumors of how you formed. We have never heard the actual story," Conner said as Jason walked over to the computer and pulled up a file.

"Sit back and watch, it should answer your questions," Jason said as he then went back to work.

"I don't understand why you're not healing," Billy said as Kim shrugged her shoulders. If Billy didn't understand it, then she sure as hell was not going to be able to understand it. "I'm afraid to let you air these out because of the risk of infection."

"It'll just take sometime Billy, we're not on Aquitar where everything heals in mere minutes," Kim said as she looked up at the screen and saw the rangers' story being told.

"I left out the letter," Tommy whispered as Kim leaned back against him and smiled. She was definitely thankful for that. These rangers did not need to be exposed to the real reason that she and Tommy were only dating right now. "What do you want for supper?"

"How about you come to my place?" Kim whispered back as Tommy merely nodded his head that he liked that idea.

"Lovebirds, come on, teleportation system to finish here," Zack said as they both blushed then walked over.

"Are you going back to Aquitar when this gets done?" Kim asked as Billy shook his head no. "What made you decide that?"

"It's just time for me to come back. I can't have the life I want there and I think I'll be able to find that here," Billy said as Kim gave him an odd look.

"Kat's still single, isn't she?" Tommy asked as Kim gaped over at Billy as he nodded his head yes.

"She doesn't know I'm back yet," Billy said as Kim continued to blatantly stare at him. "You okay?"

"When did this happen and where was I when it happened?" Kim asked as the rangers finished their video and looked over at their predecessors in awe. They could not believe half the things that they had done, that no one knew about.

"Let's just say we were only friends because it made things easier on us," Billy said as Kim's mouth dropped open and she stared up at Tommy.

"You knew," Kim said as Tommy nodded his head yes.

"First words out of her mouth when she broke up with me," Tommy said as he smiled. "It wasn't really so unexpected, not after what I had seen."

"You know that this deserves more of an explanation," Kim said as Billy just shook his head, then booted Trini out of the crawl space.

"All of that is true," Conner said as Tommy nodded his head yes. In the one place that he could be honest about his ranger history, he was going to be. He had needed the stress relief when he made the video and he had felt so much better to actually do that.

"Please tell me that you only get seriously injured as a freak thing," Kira said as she looked over at Kim.

"For old pros like us, it's a freak thing, but you'll have some ugly injuries at first, but as you get better the injuries will go down…well, usually they do," Tommy said as Kira nodded her head. It was not a blanket statement no, but it was better than him saying it was a guarantee with the job.

"No one can be more superficial than me when I first became a ranger," Kim said as Jason and Trini laughed. They could all remember her complaining that her hair was going to get messed up by the helmet. "Trust me, an injury like this is extremely unusual and I honestly doubt Mesogogg will take his time to do something like this to you. He wants to get back at me and he's figuring out what the best way is."

"I think we might as well call it a day. My brain is too addled to honestly be able to finish this correctly. If I can bunk down somewhere, I'll finish this tomorrow," Billy said as Tommy nodded and the young rangers took this as their cue to leave.

"My room's free, I'm taking her home," Tommy said as the others gave them a suspicious look. "It's not like that."

"Sure, Tommy," Jason said as Kim just shook her head.

"Go get you some clothes," Kim said as they all looked at her. "He is spending the night, but I honestly doubt we'll do anything more than watch a movie."

"All right missy, but the two of you be careful," Jason joked as Kim gave him a hug then walked out to Tommy's car. She knew that nothing would happen and so did he. Neither of them was that willing to jump into their relationship. In all honesty a nice dinner would be most appreciate by both.

Chapter Text

Tommy drove into the heart of Reefside and looked over at Kim. He had not thought she'd buy a place here. He thought that she would honestly want some peace and quiet, not the hustle and bustle of the inner city. When she told him to stop, he realized he was in front of the newly formed gymnastics academy. Now he understood it all too well. She was the one that had built this place and was working her ass off here everyday this last summer, he just didn't know it was her. If he had, he probably would have avoided this part of Reefside, but now it just seemed that he had been on some odd lucky streak to not see her until the day that Trini and Zack landed in his basement.

"My humble abode," Kim said as she pulled out her keys and unlocked the gym. It was uncharacteristically quiet for this time of afternoon, but she knew that her staff could only do so much when she was missing. She couldn't expect them to keep it running at full steam, when she had even given them any warning that she was not going to be there. "I guess they cancelled the afternoon class, not that I blame them. It's usually my class to take care of."

"Please tell me we're not sleeping on the mats and eating power bars from the vending machine," Tommy said as Kim shook her head no and headed towards her office.

"My apartment is above my office. I couldn't afford a payment to a landlord, so I'm my own now," Kim said as she trudged up the stairs into her apartment. "It's not much, but it's home."

"It's nice, Kim," Tommy said as she smiled over at him and he watched her walk over to her closet and get out some of her own clothes. "Why don't you air out your cuts for a little while. I'll order some Chinese. I guess I'm going to have to go downstairs to get it."

"Yeah, but do you really want someone to come upstairs and see me like this?" Kim pointed out as she lay down on the couch and closed her eyes. She had loved being with Tommy, but she had missed her own place. She liked the little bit of independence that she had here.

"Good point," Tommy said as he picked up the phone and walked into the next room. "Twenty minutes and it'll be here."

"That's good," Kim said as she flipped on the television and looked through the channels.

"Kim, you really up to being by yourself?" Tommy asked as Kim smiled over at him and shook her head. It was cute that he was worried, but he had to let her have a life. The both needed to be seperate right now, more than anything else. "I'm just worried about another attack."

"And I'm worried about you, so we're even," Kim said as Tommy laughed. "You don't think that makes us even?"

"You have a lot more going on than I do. Mesogogg doesn't like me because of you, but I can readily defend myself. You can no longer do that Kim and although I would love to let you be by yourself, it's a big risk. He's not going to stop picking on you because you're hurt," Tommy said as Kim slipped on the button up shirt she had pulled out of her closet.

"It's no bigger a risk than me teaching a class, going shopping or going for a run. Sometimes I have to be alone and I'm not scared; he's been after me for years Tommy; I'm kinda used to what can happen to me," Kim said as Tommy placed his arm around her and pulled her close.

"Well, I'm scared for you," Tommy said as she snuggled closer to him and closed her eyes.

"You've always been, Tommy and it's something I love about you, but you have to trust me when I say I'll be fine," Kim said as Tommy nodded then looked away from her. "You don't trust me?"

"That's not the problem, I trust you, but I don't trust Mesogogg and you can't tell me I should. You know he will kill you if he has the chance," Tommy said, as Kim shook her head no. She honestly doubted that Mesogogg would kill her, that was never what he had wanted to do. He wanted to torture her as much as he possibly could and make her feel guilty about not being with him, but that was about it. "Why won't he kill you?"

"He's obsessed with the idea of having me. I don't think he'll kill me, he'll just get very close," Kim said as Tommy closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.

"Yeah, but close can turn into you in a casket and I don't want to see that until we are much older. I care too much to let you die," Tommy said as Kim reached up and cupped his face in her hands.

"I know, but he wants to hurt me, much more than you and you are the best way to do that. I don't want you to get yourself killed because of me," Kim said and she then gave him a tender kiss. "Please don't worry about me. You know I'll call if things start to go wrong."

"And I don't want the day to come when I'll be too late to save you, Kim. I just don't feel comfortable with all of this," Tommy said as they heard a knock downstairs. "Hold that thought, I'll be right back."

"The day won't come, Tommy," Kim said as he walked back up the stairs and then went to get some paper plates.

"Can you guarantee that?" Tommy asked as Kim shook her head no and looked up at him with a sheepish smile. "That's what I thought."

"It's not like we can just move in together, neither of us is ready for something like that, not yet anyway," Kim said as Tommy nodded his head in agreement. He loved waking up next to her this morning, but he knew the two of them had to show some control and if they lived together, that wouldn't happen. They would have regrets and they didn't need anymore of those to add to the pile that their relationship had already accmulated.

"But you can promise me some things," Tommy said setting a plate in front of her.

"And you can promise me some things," Kim said as she gave him a hard look and he nodded that he agreed to it as well. He knew it was his only way to not get into a fight tonight and he wanted for things to work out for them.

"You won't go anywhere by yourself if you can help it and you won't go up any dark alleys for no reason," Tommy said as Kim nodded that she would do that. She just wouldn't tell Tommy if she went wandering into any alleys, she sometimes did it just because she saw something weird. She had to make sure that Mesogogg didn't attack anyone that was not protected from him.

"You won't go hunting the streets of Reefside for him so that you can pay him back for everything he did to me and you won't go out to fight him unless you have to help the rangers," Kim said as he reluctantly nodded his head that he would.

"What do you want to watch?" Tommy asked as Kim shrugged her shoulders and began eating. "Let's see, there's a Law and Order marathon on."

"Hey, that's fine, go back," Kim said as Tommy had already flicked over to the next station and was going to keep going if at all possible. He liked Law and Order but it was not his favorite show in the world. He was honestly hoping to catch some football and just be able to forget everything that had happened today.

"Ball game?" Tommy questioned as Kim looked over at him and he then flipped it back. Tommy knew he had better choose another time to watch a ball game by the look on her face. "I guess you don't like football that much."

"I do, but if the two of us watch football, I won't get any chance to really talk to you," Kim said as Tommy nodded his head and then focused on the television. "Tommy…"

"Sorry…did you say something?" Tommy asked as Kim grabbed a pillow and hit him on the side of the head. "I'm just kidding, what do you want to talk about?"

"I know you are and I haven't had a chance to really ask you about what's gone on in your life over the past few years," Kim said as Tommy looked over at her. He found it hard to believe that she had hopped around the world to save him and didn't know anything about what he had done. But at this point, he thought it best to humor her, he did want to stay the night.

"What do you want to know?" Tommy asked as he piled more food on his plate and Kim gave him a confused look, he had never eaten this much food before now. "I'll work it off in the morning."

"I'm sure my staff would love to see you, especially some of the younger ones," Kim said as Tommy looked over at her and shrugged. He was sure that he had been hit on by worse during college.

"Kim, I've been hit on by professionals, I can handle them. You still didn't say what you want to know," Tommy pointed out as Kim looked over at him, then spotted the edge of a tattoo peaking out from under his shirt sleeve. She didn't know how she could have missed that earlier.

"A tattoo?" Kim asked as she pulled up the sleeve to get a good look at it. It was a cross with a flacon flying in the background and there seemed to be enough room for a name, but obviously, he had not wanted one. It had never struck her that he would get a tattoo, it just didn't seem like something Tommy would do.

"Jason never told you about his tattoo?" Tommy asked, as Kim shook her head no. It suited Tommy just fine and it also explained why he had so many long sleeved shirts, but it did shock her that she had never noticed Jason's. She had been in contact with him over the last eight or so years. "As soon as we graduated high school, we took a little vacation, the town we were staying in had a tattoo parlor, we both were going through some hard times, so we each got one. I have another one on my ankle, but that's it for me."

"Too much pain?" Kim asked, as Tommy shook his head no. He really had not had too much pain from either of the tattoos that he had gotten. "Then why no more?"

"I haven't had a reason and I really don't want to get anymore unless there is a good reason for it," Tommy said as Kim nodded and then laid herself down on the remaining part of the couch.

"Why'd you choose teaching? I never really thought this is where you'd wind up, I honestly pictured a dojo overflowing with students," Kim said as Tommy nodded. At one time, it had been his dream, but college had changed him in many ways.

"That still may happen, but I'm happy with teaching science. It lets me have a chance to settle down, not worry about as many things," Tommy said as Kim nodded. "You're being quiet."

"I like listening to you, Tommy, I never feel like I have to come up with something to say, you're fine with me just sitting here," Kim said as Tommy smiled down at her, then picked up their plates and took them to the kitchen.

"You have anymore earth shattering questions?" Tommy asked as he picked Kim up and then settled her back down on his lap.

"No, do you have any for me?" Kim asked, as Tommy shook his head no. As much as he wanted to ask her some serious questions, he felt that it was trivial to do so now. She had been his sole reason for existence for years and now he could have her again. He did not want to truly upset her so soon and if it was important enough she would tell him. He wouldn't have to ask about it.

"This is just sad," Tommy said as Kim gave him a bewildered look. "We're watching Law and Order and it's not even eight o'clock."

"Law and Order puts me to sleep most nights," Kim said as Tommy gently unbuttoned her shirt and handed her the ointment. "Does it look any better?"

"A little, but Billy said it would take a couple of weeks to really tell any difference," Tommy said as he let out a long sigh. He wanted to hunt Mesogogg down and make him pay, but Kim's safety was more important to him than getting his revenge. "You want me to put it on?"

"Yeah, I can't exactly do that to myself," Kim said as Tommy nodded and then began applying the ointment. "Tommy…"

"Yeah?" Tommy said as he looked up at her smiling face.

"Thanks again, for everything," Kim said as he nodded and then motioned for her to sit up.

"You'd do the same thing for me, Kim," Tommy said as Kim wiped her eyes and Tommy quickly finished the bandages. "Why you crying?"

"I was just thinking, it's really stupid Tommy," Kim said as she sniffed then wiped her nose.

"I won't laugh if it is," Tommy said as Kim just shook her head and then gave Tommy a strong hug.

"I love you, Tommy," Kim said as Tommy gave her a gentle squeeze and a kiss on the lips.

'I love you too," Tommy whispered as he settled her back on his lap and she snuggled closer to him and closed her eyes. Within minutes she was asleep in his arms and he was the happier than he had been in years. "Sleep good Beautiful."

Chapter Text

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Damn that clock," Kim said as she went to swat at her clock and as she rolled over, she realized she was about to fall off the couch and couldn't stop herself in time. "Ah!"

"What time is it?" Tommy murmured as he felt around for Kim and realized that she was no longer there, but he didn't know where she was. "Kim?"

"I'm on the floor, but don't worry, I'm perfectly fine, Tommy," Kim said as she fumbled around for her glasses. She didn't remember taking them off, but she also didn't remember falling asleep next to Tommy on the couch. "It's 5:30, if you want to get in a workout you better get up. You can use whatever you want to downstairs, I have to take a shower."

"When do your people come in?" Tommy asked as Kim padded towards her bedroom to shut off the still beeping clock.

"About six, but I'll be down by then," Kim sad as Tommy stood up and headed for the stairs. The Kim he knew had never been able to get ready in only thirty minutes, but lots of things had changed since they were in high school.

"New instructor, I call dibs," Abby Parish said as she entered the gym to see Tommy working out on the far end. To anyone watching, it was obvious that he was a trained athlete, maybe not a gymnast, but a trained athlete nonetheless. The both of them were sure that they could teach him gymnastics, even if it was a little late for him to start learning.

"No fair, I saw him first," Jennifer Battle said as Kim walked into the gym, wearing her loosest coaching clothes. She was sure that her trainers would just think that she was under the weather, they wouldn't suspect that she had slashes all across her chest that prevented her from even wearing a bra. "Kim, who's the new guy?"

"He's not a coach, he's a friend," Kim said as Tommy looked over at her and smiled before continuing with his workout.

"A single friend?" Abby dug, as Kim shook her head no. "Damn, thought I might finally get one. Why weren't you here yesterday?"

"I felt a little under the weather," Kim said as Tommy walked into her office, then disappeared up the stairs.

"He stayed the night?" Jennifer asked as Kim nodded her head yes. "I hope his girlfriend is all right with it. We wouldn't want a fight on our hands."

"I'm perfectly fine with him staying the night," Kim said as the others stared over at her. She hadn't even gone out in the entire time that she had been here and now she suddenly had a boyfriend. That just didn't add up in their minds. "Come on, let's get ready for the toddler class that comes in at 7:30."

"That is an hour and a half from now; it's time that you spill it," Abby said as Kim looked between the two of them. The rest of her staff would know right after they entered the building what was going on, but they were some of her best teachers, so she just had to deal with their chattiness.

"There's not much to tell about him; he's a teacher at the high school and an old friend of mine," Kim said as she walked over to pull out some mats. "I really want to keep this hush, hush. We're just starting back over."

"Starting back over? Now that doesn't sound like you were only friends way back when," Jennifer said as Kim gave her a harsh look then let out a sigh. Why had she had to mention that they were starting over? Why couldn't she have just said that they were getting to know each other again? That could possibly mean friendship, not an old relationship being rekindled.

"I dumped him when I was in Miami, but he's always been my guardian angel, even when I didn't want him to be," Kim said as she remembered Divatox and shuddered. That had not been a pleasant time for her and she was sure that Tommy felt the same about it.

"So what's this guardian angel like in bed?" Abby asked as Kim dropped the mat out of pure shock. She would have never asked a question like that of them and they worked for her, not the other way around. "You've never had sex?"

"No, still a virgin," Kim said as they gaped at her. Kim had had more than her fair share of hot men hit on her and yet she had still not had sex with any of them. They did not know how she had that kind of self control, especially with some of those men. "The whole waiting on the right one thing."

"And he's not the right one?" Jennifer asked as Kim looked towards her office and smiled. That was something that she had questioned for a long time, but she knew the answer to it and she had known it for a long time.

"He is, but he's too much of a gentleman to ask," Kim said as Tommy's bare arm stuck out and motioned for her to come here. She was glad for an excuse to get out of this conversation, she just hoped that they would drop it when she came back. "What do you need?"

"Come with me," Tommy said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her up the stairs. "Does anything look different to you?"

"Oh my goodness," Kim said as she noticed her files had been rummaged through. "What else does he want? I don't have anymore to give to him."

"That's my point; he's digging now. I have to finish getting ready, but keep your eyes open. I want you to be able to have a good day today," Tommy said as Kim nodded and turned to walk back downstairs. "Yell if you need me."

"I will," Kim said as she jogged down the steps.

"What did he want?" Jennifer asked as Kim walked back out.

"To know where the blow dryer was," Kim said as she bent over to pull one of the mats and clutched her stomach. It had felt sore when she woke up, but this was ridiculous. She didn't know how she was going to get through the day without someone noticing that she was honestly hurt.

"You okay?" Abby asked as Kim straightened up and nodded her head yes. "Let's get back to your man."

"What else about him?" Kim asked with a sigh as Abby and Jennifer looked at each other.

"Like is he still a virgin?" Jennifer asked as Kim shrugged her shoulders. She honestly thought that Tommy was, but she hadn't been around enough to know if he was or wasn't. She also didn't have the nerve to ask him that, it was something that would come up in good time. "You should definitely know that at the very least."

"Please, just stop the interrogation; we're just starting to get to really know each other again," Kim said, rather desperately as one of the male members of her staff walked in.

"Hey Kim, you feeling any better?" Benjamin Russell asked as he walked over and gave Kim a hug. He was the co-owner of the gym, but he couldn't stand to live here. He liked to separate his work and real life.

"She should be with the man she had stay with her last night," Abby said as Kim glared over at her and Ben gave Kim a concerned look.

"He's a good friend Ben, it's not like what you think," Kim said as Jennifer and Abby gave her a stern look. "Okay, he's my boyfriend, but you know I'm not like that."

"I know, just don't let him hurt you," Ben said as Tommy walked into the gym and Kim walked over to him.

"I need to be going," Tommy said as Kim gave him a hug and he gently ran his fingers up and down her back. "Do you mind if I come by this afternoon?"

"Doesn't Billy need some help?" Kim said as Tommy nodded his head yes. He just didn't want to leave her alone; he had a bad feeling about it. He felt like he needed to come by and just make sure she was okay. "I'll be fine, go help him."

"Okay," Tommy said as he gave her another hug. "Call if you need me, I'll tell the office to let you through."

"I will, have a good day," Kim said as Tommy smiled down at her and then walked out of the gym.

"Tommy?" Ben asked with a laugh as Kim nodded her head yes. "You're one lucky girl."

"Yeah, I am," Kim said with a sigh and then she turned to truly go to work.

"Dr. O," Kira said as she walked up to him after the last bell.

"Yeah, Kira," Tommy said as Kira gave him a concerned look. He had seemed a little bit spaced out today.

"I need some help with the science of hand combat. Can you possibly find some time to help me with that?" Kira asked as Tommy nodded his head yes.

"Get the others and meet me at the center," Tommy said as Kira nodded, then ran off to get her fellow rangers. "I better get home before my heart changes my mind."

"He said he'd help," Kira said as Conner nodded and motioned for her to climb in the car, where Ethan was already situated.

"We've got a lot to learn," Conner said, worriedly, as Kira and Ethan nodded their heads in agreement. They knew that they were no where near as close to where Tommy, and probably Kim, were. They had never done any type of combat and now they were being thrown into being rangers. "I don't know if we're ready for all of this."

"From what I've heard about Dr. O, he's a hell of a fighter. You saw what he did to Mesogogg in that alley, imagine what would happen if he had powers. He'd be unstoppable," Ethan said as Kira and Conner looked back at him.

"I get the feeling Kim would go off the deep end, for some reason she doesn't want him out there," Kira said as Ethan pondered this for a second. He had gotten the same vibe and Kira's assumption answered one thing for him and brought up an odd theory.

"What if Mesogogg doesn't really want to get at Dr. O? What if it's been Kim the whole time?" Ethan asked as they looked at each other. It was an interesting theory, but they doubted Dr. O would explain this to them. All they needed to know was that they had a crazy monster coming after them. "All we can do is ask, he's answered everything else so far."

"But this might be too personal," Kira said as Ethan nodded that that thought had crossed his mind as well.

"I still think it's worth the risk, let's face it we need to know everything we can," Ethan said as Conner and Kira nodded their heads in agreement.

"Last class of the day, right?" Ben asked as Kim waved good-bye to some of her students.

"Yeah, I need the rest of today alone," Kim said as Ben gave her a concerned look.

"Is Romeo coming by?" Ben asked as Kim shook her head no. She had told him to go help Billy and she was sure that he would, although she really wanted to see him right now. "Why not? I thought you'd want to see him, especially after a day like today."

"I do, but he's got things he has to do," Kim said as Ben put his arms arm around her as they walked over to clean up the mats. "Actually things I'm making him do. I'm worried about him."

"You always worry about Tommy, even when things weren't good between the two of you, I'd find you going off to help him with something," Ben said as Kim bent to pick up a mat and clutched her stomach. She had been able to hide it all day, but it hurt so much now and she couldn't help but let the agony show when she was with her most trustest co-worker. "You weren't sick yesterday, were you?"

"I wish I had been sick," Kim said as she gingerly rubbed her stomach.

"Mesogogg again?" Ben asked as Kim merely nodded her head yes. "What did he do to you this time?"

"I have slashes across my chest that are sore as hell, I'm just lucky to be walking around," Kim said as Ben pulled off her t-shirt to look at the bandages. "Give me that. You know people could walk by and I don't need anymore rumors to start up about me."

"So he knows?" Ben asked as he began dragging the mats over to their corner of the gym.

"Yeah, Tommy knows about all of it, I had to tell him after he saved me," Kim said as Ben nodded.

"Are you sure I can leave you alone tonight?" Ben asked as he sat down on a balance bean and Kim joined him. "What if he comes back?"

"I'll be fine, Tommy's on call in case anything happens and don't worry, he can kick Mesogogg back to the age of the dinosaurs if he's mad enough," Kim said with a smile as Ben nodded then stood up.

"Well, Ms. Hart, have a good night and I'll see you bright and early," Ben said as Kim gave him a hug then he walked away.

"Good night to you Mr. Russell," Kim said as she walked her office and sat down to pay some bills, but before she knew it she had snoozed off.

"Why am I here? What do you want with me?" Tommy asked as Mesogogg snarled in front of him.

"The dino gems, Mr. Oliver," Mesogogg said as his tongue flickered in and out.

"Too bad, they're already bonded with someone. You know the gem picks you, you don't pick the gem," Tommy said as Mesogogg pointed the laser at his chest.

"Mr. Oliver, you have just received a ticket to the graveyard," Mesogogg said as he fired off the laser and Tommy jumped from the table before lying motionless again. "Good-bye Dr. Oliver…now onto your precious Kimberly."

"Tommy!" Kim screamed as she jerked awake in her chair and looked around, as she wiped the cold sweat off her face. Dusk was beginning to fall and the streets were still rather busy. Kim reached around until she found her phone and then punched in Tommy's number. "Please answer me, please don't let me get the machine."

"Hi, you've reached the Oliver residence, leave a message after the beep and I'll try to remember to get back with you," Tommy's voice said as Kim slammed down her phone and picked up her keys. She just had to see if Tommy was all right.

"Dr. O, you're a lot better than you let on," Conner said as he rubbed a particularly tender spot on his shoulder.

"Conner, the six black belts should have told you something," Kira said as she was rubbing her side.

"Dr. O, I have a question," Ethan said as Tommy nodded that he could go on. "Is Mesogogg really after you or after Kim?"

"He wants to get to Kim and that might mean me or any of the other old rangers getting attacked," Tommy said as they emerged from the edge of the woods.

"Why go after her at all then?" Kira asked as Tommy looked over at her and shrugged his shoulders.

"It's an old grudge from what I can tell and taking Kim out will only do so much. He really wants to hurt her by hurting us," Tommy said as Billy walked out of the cave to meet them. "How's it looking?"

"As if I am going to have to go to Angel Grove. There are some components I can only get at the Command Center," Billy said as Tommy tossed him his keys and Billy headed straight for Tommy's jeep. "I'll get back as soon as I can."

"If you don't happen to run into Kat," Tommy said as Billy just shook his head.

"I'm going to do that this weekend; you're going up there, right?" Billy asked as Tommy shrugged his shoulders, that really all depended on how things were going around here. He couldn't leave the rangers alone if all hell was breaking loose in Reefside. He still had to protect them until they truly had their feet under them. "Okay, I see how this is going, we'll talk when I get back."

"You know, for a genius, he doesn't talk like one," Ethan said as Tommy laughed as they walked into the Command Center.

"Wait until he talks about technical things, then you'll see his true vocabulary. Trini's not here to interpret for him, so he's going to talk more like us," Tommy said as he walked towards the stairs.

"Dr. O, are there more gems?" Kira asked as Tommy turned to her and nodded his head yes.

"I didn't get them when the damn island exploded," Tommy said as he heard someone beating on the door upstairs. "I'll be right back."

"Tommy! Tommy! Tommy, please open up!" Kim yelled as she pounded on the door. His vehicle was not there and she was truly beginning to believe that the dream she had had was coming true. "Tommy!"

"Hey, what's wrong?" Tommy asked as Kim threw her arms around him and sobbed on his chest. "Kim, what happened? What's wrong?"

"You died," Kim murmured as Tommy picked her up and carried her into the hall, while closing the door with his foot. He didn't like the way that this sounded.

"I'm all right, I'm right here, everything is fine," Tommy said as Kim continued to sob and Conner peeked his head up to see what was going on. "I'm all right, it was only a dream."

"He killed you," Kim cried as Tommy rocked her back and forth.

"It's not going to happen," Tommy said as Kim's sobs became less racking and then started to die away. "It's all right, I'm fine, Kim."

"It scared me Tommy," Kim said as Tommy smiled down at her and slowly let her go.

"I know, come on downstairs and we'll look over some things," Tommy said as Kim nodded and followed him down the stairs.

"Girls are way too emotional," Conner said as Kira glared at him. "She's crying over nothing."

"Sorry but from what I heard, she was crying because she had a dream of Dr. O dying," Kira said as Tommy and Kim looked at each other, knowing it was best to not let this go too far.

"That would make you cry?" Conner asked as Kira nodded her head that it would. "I'm just trying to understand what you're thinking."

"Conner, a little bit of advice, don't try, it usually makes things worse," Tommy said as Kim just shook her head. The bickering between these two reminded her of another ranger pair, but she didn't think they'd want to hear that. "And you're acting exactly like Rocky and Aisha."

"I'm confused, I know that they're rangers, but what does that have to do with us?" Kira asked as Tommy and Kim both smiled. They were going to have to figure it out on their own.

"You're not going to tell us?" Conner asked as Kim shook her head no. "Let's go see what Hayley knows about this."

"Does Hayley even know them?" Kim asked as Tommy nodded his head yes. "She won't tell?"

"Who knows, but they're off our backs about it," Tommy said as he took a long look at Kim's face. "Kim, I'm going to be fine."

"I really want to believe that, but it seemed so real," Kim said as Tommy wrapped his arms around her.

"You want to stay the night?" Tommy asked as Kim nodded her head yes and he began playing with the ends of her hair. "I'll fix supper."

"I meant what I said about not being ready to move in together," Kim said as Tommy let her go and nodded his head as he smirked. He knew that she did, but they hadn't spent more than a night in a different house since they had re-met a few days ago. "I really did."

"I know," Tommy said with a smile as he placed an arm around her. "I'm not ready for that either, I can't really control myself around you."

"Same here," Kim said as Tommy walked over to the fridge and Kim sat down at the table. She then took off her glasses and rubbed her tired eyes. "Don't fix anything too hard Tommy, I don't care what we eat."

"Hamburgers it is," Tommy said as he pulled out a box and Kim smiled. "I guess Billy won't get back in time to eat."

"That's where your jeep is?" Kim asked as Tommy nodded his head yes. "I'm sorry I freaked out, but I couldn't get you on the phone, then I drive up and your car isn't here. It really made me worry that something had happened to you."

"It's okay, I would have done the same thing," Tommy said as he sat down next to her. "Why don't you go find another old sheet and you can put on one of my t-shirts to let that air out."

"I will in a little while, right now I just want to sit here with you," Kim said as she grabbed Tommy's hand. "Tommy, I need to ask you something and don't take it the wrong way, but someone brought it up and I want to know the answer."

"Slow down, whatever you want to ask can't be that bad," Tommy said as Kim gave him a sheepish look. She couldn't believe she was actually going to ask this.

"It's kinda personal," Kim said as Tommy nodded she could go on. "Are you still a virgin?"

"Where did that come from?" Tommy asked, shocked, as Kim's face turned deep red and she looked at the floor.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked. One of the girls asked if we had and it made me wonder…" Kim babbled as Tommy gently took both of her hands, which caused her to look up at him. "You don't have to answer, I really don't need to know, it's not that important."

"Shh…"Tommy said as he gently placed a finger on her lips. She then dared to look up at him and saw an amused look in his eyes. "I am, but not many people know it. They all think I had sex with Kat or you or just a one night stand in college, but I couldn't do that. God knows I wanted to sometimes, but it wasn't right."

"You just wouldn't ask," Kim said, softly, as Tommy looked over at her in awe. "I knew how you felt, Tommy, I just wouldn't say anything either. I really can't believe I am saying something now."

"So you still are too?" Tommy asked as he walked over to flip the burgers and Kim stood up to follow him.

"Yeah, never could break the fairy tale," Kim said as she slipped her arms around him. "None of my boyfriends understood it, except you."

"So, you're still going to wait until your wedding night?" Tommy asked, as they had had this conversation in high school, he just couldn't believe they were having it again.

"I don't know anymore," Kim whispered as he looked down at her. He did not want to hear this from her right now, his resolve had already been greatly weakened. He didn't need an excuse to just let it completely fall. "I thought I'd be married by now, so I may wait, I just don't know."

"Don't tempt me, Kim," Tommy said as she stood on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll go change," Kim said as Tommy nodded as she walked away.

"I'm in deep trouble," Tommy said to himself as he looked down and shook his head. "I won't ruin it for her. She'll get her fairy tale, even if it kills me."

"What are you talking about?" Billy asked as his head popped up from the Command Center.

"Nothing, how'd you get back so fast?" Tommy asked as Billy shrugged his shoulders. Tommy knew better than to ask what Billy had done to his car. "You want one?"

"Yeah. Who else is here?" Billy asked as he sat down at the kitchen table and gave Tommy a knowing look.

"Kim," Tommy said as he let out a long sigh. "I never thought I'd fall in love so fast."

"You never stopped loving her, we all know that. What's holding you back now?" Billy asked as Tommy raked his hands through his hair.

"I want to give myself time to realize that I love her and I can have her. At this pace we'll be married in under a year," Tommy said as Billy nodded. He was sure Tommy would rather have this conversation with Jason, but Billy was there and willing to listen.

"You act like you don't want that," Billy sad as Tommy heard Kim coming down the stairs. "It wouldn't be a bad thing."

"I just don't know," Tommy said looking back at Billy and seeing Kim at the bottom of the stairs in one of his old t-shirts.

"Hey Billy," Kim said as she put her arms around him in a tight embrace.

"Hey Kim, you doing better?" Billy asked as Kim nodded her head yes. "I guess you're staying."

"I had a bad dream, I need to stay," Kim said as Billy gave her a worried look.

"What about?" Billy asked as Kim looked over at Tommy as he continued to cook supper.

"He died," Kim said as Billy nodded and she sniffled.

"That explains a lot," Billy said as Tommy looked back in time to see his pointed gaze. "I'll take that downstairs, I still have some work to do. Have a good night."

"Okay, Billy," Kim said as he fixed his plate and then headed down the stairs. "What's with him?"

"I don't know," Tommy said as Kim gave him a tentative smile.

"Tommy, I didn't want to make things uncomfortable between us," Kim said as she looked over at him and saw him tense. "Tommy, please don't pull away from me."

"Kim, right now I don't trust myself to be alone with you. No, I didn't need as much time as I thought, but you have to heal, I'm not doing anything to jeopardize that," Tommy said as Kim placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I know, Tommy, I know," Kim said as she gave him a firm kiss. "I didn't mean to Tommy, I just let my feelings take me too far."

"Kim, I want this more than you know, but you deserve what you've always pictured happening," Tommy said as he wrapped his arms around her and felt her trembling.

"And if I say it's you?" Kim asked as Tommy looked at her and shook his head. That was just one more temptation that he did not need to hear. "Tommy, you've been my first for so many things, it's only right that…"

"Not now, maybe sometime in the future. Kim I want it to be your fairytale, so we'll wait," Tommy said as he gave her a kiss. "Now, can I trust you not to make things harder on me?"

"Yeah, I'll try," Kim said as she picked up her plate and went to sit down at the table as Tommy sat down beside her. The two of them knew that they were beginning to love each other again, they just didn't know what the next few hours would bring them.