Title: Just a Dream
Chapter (s): 1/1
Settings: after Dino thunder, though present day time.
Summary: It's been five years since the DT rangers defeated their villain (DT was from 2004-05, so it's 2010), life has moved on for the rangers and Tommy finds himself reflecting about what happened since his last reign as a ranger, what could have been and he makes a decision to change his future
Pairings: past Tommy/Hayley
Story Word count: 4244
A/N: I've had this idea in my head for a while and I thought I'd post it; enjoy.
He stood in the crowd and cheered as his former student performed on stage; listening to her was slightly bittersweet and nostalgic as she reminded him so much of her. He frowned a bit, but shook it off and concentrated on the performance. When she was finished, he, along with the rest of the former rangers, was cheering louder than anyone else.
He headed towards them and watched as his former red ranger Conner McKnight, hugged the blonde before kissing her to the shock of the others. He could only laugh as he walked up to them.
"What the hell?" the tanned-skin asked as he looked between them; his name was Trent Fernandez, son of Billionaire Anton Mercer.
"Dude," a dark skinned boy in a blue tie spoke up. "Why are you kissing Kira?"
"Man Ethan," he laughed as he stopped behind them. "I didn't think you'd lose your genius at prom." Everyone laughed.
"Dr. O," Ethan rolled his eyes with a smile before turning back to the two. "Explain."
"You mean," he chuckled, "you didn't realize that they were a couple? Why do you think Conner was such a jerk to Trent when he first got here?" he had laughed when he first noticed what was going on as it had reminded him of his own past.
"You mean?" Ethan turned wide eyes to the two.
"Yeah," Conner blushed slightly. "I saw how close he was getting to Kira and well…all I wanted to do was punch his lights out."
"He knew I wouldn't like that," Kira smiled up at her boyfriend, "so he settled for glaring at Trent and being rude."
"Aww man," Trent groaned. "No wonder you were so reluctant to trust me or be my friend."
"We thought you knew," Kira turned to smile at Ethan. "All those comments you kept making about us being like Posh and David Beckham."
"I was just teasing," Ethan shook his head. "I really had no idea."
"Hayles," Trent turned to the redhead tech advisor. "Did you know?"
"As all knowing as I am," Hayley smiled. "Even I didn't see this coming; I mean, I thought they were really close and that something might be going on, but I never suspected that they were an actual couple." She paused. "Although, looking back now, I can definitely see the signs."
"But wait?" Angela, Ethan's date spoke up. "What about Krista?"
"Yeah, I mean, you guys got close," Ethan nodded.
"Uhm," Krista blushed as she looked at Trent. "That was because I liked Trent and when Conner started being nice to me, I thought since they were friends, I could talk to him. That's all we've been doing when we hang out; he's been encouraging me to tell Trent how I felt. He asked me to prom since Kira was going to perform, and told me I had tonight to tell him."
"You like me?" Trent looked at her.
"Yes," Krista nodded.
"Okay," Trent smiled, "what do you say to a dance to get to know each other better?"
"I'd like that," Krista smiled and the two headed to the dance floor.
He smiled as he watched Ethan and his date, Conner and Kira join them. He was glad that they found happiness, but as that thought completed itself, he frowned; he had had a chance at happiness, more than one, and he had let each chance pass him by.
"Tommy?" he shook his head and turned to the redhead.
"What is it Hayley?" he asked.
"Do you wanna come over to the café for late night smoothie?" Hayley asked hopefully; she had been crushing on him since they met in college and over the years, the crush had developed into respect, then to like and now to love and she hoped that some part of him felt the same for her.
He looked at her before looking back at his teens; seeing the love-filled looks on their faces, especially Conner and Kira's reminded him too much of what he had missed. He had had his chance and had allowed fear to stop him from getting it, but now, there was nothing standing in his way.
"Actually Hayles," he smiled and his eyes filled with determination, "but there's just somewhere I've got to be."
"Oh," Hayley looked despondent, "ok."
"I'll be back," he smiled before hurrying from the gym. Determination flowed through him as he made his way out to his jeep. He was going to do something he should've done a long time ago; he was going to get his heart back.
~…~
BRRRING! BRRRING! BRRRING!
"What the hell?" a guy groaned as he rolled over in bed.
"Jase," his wife murmured, "someone's ringing the doorbell. Go see who it is."
"Alright, alright," Jason mumbled as he threw back the covers and stood from the bed; he grabbed his boxers from where they had landed earlier in the night and dragged them on. He left the bedroom and went down the stairs before walking down the hallway to the front door.
BRRRING!
"Hold your horses," Jason grumbled, "I'm coming." He unlocked the door and swung it open. "Somebody better be dead or dying—Tommy?"
"Hey Jase," he smiled sheepishly as he made his way inside his best friend's house. "I'm sorry for coming by so late."
"What's going on man?" Jason rubbed his face as he followed Tommy over to the couch.
"Prom is just about over," he said as he sat down, "and I was watching the kids when I realized something."
"What is it?" Jason asked.
"You remember I was telling you about my red and yellow?" he asked.
"Yeah," Jason nodded, "Uh, Conner and Kira, right?" suddenly he knew where his friend was going.
"Yeah," he nodded, "looking at them tonight made me realize that I had that chance and I let it pass me by, but I'm done with that."
"What are you saying?" Jason perked up; he hoped Tommy was going to say what he thought he was. He had been waiting for this day for what seemed like forever.
"Jase?" Jason's wife came in the room, "who is it? Oh, hey Tommy."
"Hey Trini," he smiled at the Vietnamese woman.
"What's going on?" Trini asked as she sat down on Jason's lap.
"Tommy came to a realization tonight when he was watching Conner and Kira at prom."
"You mean?" Trini turned to look at him with hopeful eyes. Like her husband, she too had been waiting on this day.
"I'm going after her," he smiled, knowing his words would make them happy and he wasn't wrong.
Yes!" Trini squealed and jumped from Jason's lap to throw herself at Tommy. "Do you know how long I've waited for this?"
"It's about time bro," Jason laughed as he stood up and walked over to the two.
"I know," he nodded, "so, can I get her number in Paris?"
"No," Trini shook her head, "you can't get that number."
"What?" he looked between the two. "Why can't I?" he couldn't understand why she wouldn't give him number, especially since she wanted the reunion to happen almost as much as he did.
"You can't get the number," Trini smiled, "because she's not in Paris anymore."
"What?" he was shocked.
"Yeah bro," Jason smiled, "she's back in town; came back a few months ago."
"Seriously?" he looked at them, shock and delight in his eyes.
"Yes," Trini nodded excitedly. "She lives in an apartment just a few blocks from here. Here, I'll give you the address and room number." She moved to the small table and opened it to grab a pen and the small notepad. She quickly wrote the address down, tore the sheet off and handed it to him.
He took it and looked down at it before looking back at the two. "Thanks you guys."
"No thanks," Jason smiled, "just go do what we've all been waiting for."
"Go get your crane falcon," Trini smiled, "she's all yours."
His smile was wide as he hugged the two before hurrying out of their house; the door closed behind him and Trini and Jason looked at each other.
"Fingers crossed?" Trini asked.
"Fingers crossed," Jason nodded and the two smiled before moving to their phones; they wouldn't be going back to sleep as they had some phone calls to make.
~…~
Though he wanted to speed, he drove carefully from Jason's place to the address on the paper. He pulled up at an apartment complex, turned his jeep off and jumped out. He looked down at the paper once more before making his way inside the building. Finding the right floor, he moved down the hallway until he came to her door. Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, he raised his hand and knocked, once, twice and a final time.
"I'm coming!" a voice shouted from inside and his heart sped up; hearing her voice after all these years felt like coming home.
The door swung open and he smiled down at the petite woman looking at him in shock.
"Tommy," she breathed and his pulse sped even more.
"Hello Kimberly," he smiled, "can I come in?"
"Sure," Kim nodded and stepped back so he could move into her apartment; she closed the door behind him and pressed her forehead against it for a few seconds before turning to look at him.
He moved directly to the couch and sat down. "Can we talk?"
"What about?" Kim asked as she looked at him; despite his changed appearance, he was still easily recognizable to her and she knew that they could be one hundred years old, wrinkled and graying and she would still recognize him. "What are you doing here Tommy? How did you know I lived here?"
"Jason and Trini," he shrugged, "I went to them after I had a realization and they told me where you were."
"What sort of realization?" Kim asked as she moved towards; she couldn't help it. They hadn't seen each other since college when Zordon had died and they had talked out the letter and truly happened to them; they had been able to put the past where it belonged and move on, renewing their friendship, even though it was obvious they had both wanted more. But it never happened.
"School prom was tonight," he started, "two of my rangers, Conner and Kira, red and yellow respectively, told their friends they were dating. Seeing them together and remembering the way they were throughout the last year reminded me of high school…of us."
"Tommy," Kim said softly; a part of her was terrified as to what he was getting at, but another part of her still wanted to know…to say something.
"No Kim," he shook his head to stop her, "let me say this. I know we already talked about the letter but what I never told you was how much I regret not going after you. My heart was screaming at me to teleport down to Florida and kick the guy's ass that dared to take you from me, but my mind told me you were happy and your happiness was what I wanted more than anything, so I stayed in Angel Grove. That was the first chance I let pass me by at true happiness.
"Then you came back home. When I saw you on that screen, it felt like my heart had been iced over; every emotion I had for you that was locked away in my heart burst open and flooded me. Seeing you hanging over that pit, I was completely terrified. When you turned evil, I felt my heart break; that happening to you was the one thing I never wanted you to experience because I knew how it felt. After the tournament, it was another chance again; all I wanted was to go to you and hold you and kiss you, but I didn't. I stayed away because I knew if I even got close to you, I wouldn't stop myself and also because I was worried about Kat. So, instead of doing what would've made me happy, I did what would've made Kat happy."
Kim could only look at him; everything he was saying to her hit close to home. She too had noted the chances they had missed to be together and she had eventually allowed it be let her believe that they maybe didn't deserve second chances and that things were truly over between them.
"And then Zordon died," he continued, "we came together and then we finally talked. We yelled, we screamed and I'm pretty sure some crying went on (Kim chuckles), but we talked. We rehashed everything and we repaired our friendship which was something that I was really missing. The ZEO and TURBO teams were great, but it wasn't the same. I was so used to having either you or Jason to talk to after a battle or if I'm just feeling down, and not having that really messed me up, you know? Zordon's death put things into perspective for me and I realized that I wanted to be with you, but I didn't say anything; we were starting to rebuild our friendship and I wanted nothing to happen to that. And then things changed."
"But you're here now," Kim said softly. "Why? Why now?"
"Because I'm finally free Kim," he turned to her and grabbed her hands in his, "I have no obligations to anything; not anymore. The rangers defeated their villain, I no longer work for Anton Mercer and I'm on summer break from school. Life has finally settled down for me and since there is nothing stopping me, I can finally do what my heart was telling me to do all along."
"And what's that?" Kim's heart was pounding; she had waited so long to hear these words from him.
"I still love you Kim," he smiled at her as he lifted a hand o brush a stray lock of hair from her face. "And I wanna be with you; I messed up years ago by not coming after you, but I'm doing it now. I know that there's still something between us and I know that we deserve another chance because, and as corny as this sounds, we're meant to be together. Beautiful, it's you…it's always been you."
"Tommy," Kim smiled tearfully, "I don't know what to say. I mean, I've dreamed about this moment for years and I guess…I can't believe it's here."
"It is here," he smiled, "just believe it. Tell me you feel the same."
"I do," Kim admitted with a small laugh. "I've never stopped loving you Tommy, if anything, my feelings have grown. The day I first saw you at that competition, I knew you were something special and I knew somehow you'd change my life. Meeting you in school the next day was like a fairy tale, but that didn't stop it from being real. I was attracted to you from the start and when we started hanging out, that attraction grew, but the moment I knew you were it for me was the night you cried in front of me when you lost your green ranger powers for good.
"To see you, someone so powerful and strong, someone who was always willing to go the extra mile for his teammates, cry in front of me, someone who showed me a side they'd never shown to anyone else, it moved me. I knew in that moment, it would always be you. I loved then and I love you now."
"Beautiful," he leaned in, "you have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that."
"I think I do Handsome," Kim whispered before closing the distance between them and capturing his lips in a kiss long overdue; it was sweet and sensual and reminiscent of their first kiss. The kiss went on for a few minutes before they pulled away slowly; looking into each other's eyes, they smiled before leaning in to kiss again, which was longer and more passionate.
The rest of the night, they spent in lying in Kim's bed, talking with each other about things they had missed in the last year of the other's life. By next afternoon, all of their friends knew they had gotten back together and were very happy for them; high on their joy, the original rangers had invited the newest members of the family, the DT teens, to Angel Grove for a get together. They were more than happy to go. The only one not seemingly happy was Hayley, but no one really noticed.
~…~
Time passed and before they knew it, five years had gone by. He and Kim had gotten married nine months after renewing their relationship, placing their wedding day on February 14th 2006, Valentine's Day and also, Kim's birthday. Two years after that in 2008, Kim had given birth to son Jayden Travis Oliver. It was now 2010.
He rolled over in bed, eyes opening when he felt it shift.
"It's ok Handsome," his wife, Kim, whispered, "go back to sleep; I'm just gonna go check on JT."
He smiled sleepily at her before doing as she said. He snuggled back into the pillow with a smile, knowing that his life was perfect as he had everything he ever wanted. An hour later, he was being shaken awake by his wife.
"Tommy?" Kim shook his shoulder gently, "Tommy, wake up."
"W-what?" he turned to look at her.
"Wake up Tommy," she smiled, "I'm hungry…wake up…it's time to wake up…wake up daddy."
"Wake up daddy," the voice drew him out of his sleep and he opened his eyes further with a groan. "I'm hungry daddy."
Kneeling over him wasn't Kimberly or his son; it was his four year old daughter.
"Up daddy!" the little girl demanded as she shook her daddy.
As Tommy shifted on the bed, his eyes took in his daughter's looks; from her shoulder length, curly, reddish-brown hair, to her chocolate colored eyes, her small mouth and nose, his head fall back into the pillow as his mind cleared of its foggy state and he remembered. He hadn't gone after Kim that night, instead, he had gone with Hayley to the café for the smoothie and after that, they had gone back to his place, where he had gotten drunk as he spilled his heart out to the redhead. One thing led to another and he and Hayley had ended up in bed together; the next morning they apologized and that would've been that, except that two weeks later, Hayley found out she was pregnant. Nine months later Jasmine Thaylene Oliver was born; the kicker was, she was born on February 14th 2006, which happened to be both Valentine's Day and Kim's birthday.
Tommy thought Fate was playing a twisted joke by having his daughter be born on the same day of his ex girlfriend, who was still the love of his life.
Sighing, Tommy grabbed his daughter around her waist. "I'm up munchkin…I'm up."
"Yay!" Jasmine giggled as her daddy tickled her.
He sat her on the bed as he ducked into the bathroom. Ten minutes later, he walked back out and Jasmine raised her hands in the air; smiling, Tommy lifted her and she placed her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder as they made their way downstairs.
~…~
As he sat at the table watching his daughter eat, Tommy couldn't help but to remember his dream.
'It had seemed so real,' he shook his head. 'Why didn't I go after her? Why did I go to Hayley's that night? I should've done what my heart wanted.' He looked at his daughter and smiled, 'but then again, I wouldn't have Jazz. Even though I regret going with Hayley, I don't regret having Jazz.'
"Done daddy," Jasmine smiled up at her dad.
"Alright munchkin," Tommy smiled as he reached for a napkin, "let's get you cleaned up."
He took the empty dish from her and wiped her hands and face off before lifting her from her seat.
"Go play," he told her gently.
"Ok daddy," Jasmine giggled as she ran into the living room.
Sighing, Tommy turned back to the table and cleared away the rest of the dishes. He reached over and turned up the radio before turning back to the sink. As he rinsed off the dishes to place them in the dishwasher, the words to the song that was playing caught his attention.
I was thinking 'bout her, thinkin bout me
Thinkin bout us, what we gon' be
Open my eyes yeah, it was only Just A Dream
So I travelled back, down that road
Will she come back, no one knows
I realize yeah, it was only Just A Dream
As Tommy listened to the lyrics, he stopped what he was doing and his eyes fell shut; he couldn't help but to think of he and Kim and how their lives had gone or could've gone. He wished with everything in him that Jazz belonged to the both of them and not he and Hayley, but he couldn't change the past.
'But maybe I can change the future…maybe I can change my future.'
With that thought, determination filled him; it was time to make his dream a reality. Quickly putting the dishes in the dishwasher, he headed to the living room where his daughter was playing.
"Hey munchkin," Tommy called out and Jasmine turned to look up at him. "Wanna go see Uncle Jason and Aunty Tri?"
"Okay," Jasmine got off the floor and ran to Tommy. "Let's go."
"Alright," Tommy laughed as he lifted her in his arms. He turned and headed up the stairs to his daughter's room to pack a bag for her. He set her down and watched as she ran to her dresser to grab some clothes. He pulled a small bag from her closet and placed it on her bed; as he did so, his gaze caught the picture on the bedside table. It was picture of her mother holding her as a baby. Hayley had a smile on her face as she looked down at her daughter; it was the last time she would smile so openly.
After Jasmine was born, Hayley had been a devoted mother, but she was still a woman and she had hoped that the birth of their daughter would make Tommy propose to her or at least admit to some type of love for her, but he hadn't. He couldn't. Tommy couldn't commit to Hayley because his heart still belonged to Kimberly. Hayley had started resenting him for that and soon enough, they had started fighting. Their fights were frequent, though they made sure never to fight where their daughter could hear them.
Two months after Jasmine turned two, they had their biggest fight of all. Hayley had found a picture of Tommy and Kim taken the night the rangers had come together after Zordon's death. Kim had broken down and Tommy had held her in his arms to comfort her; Jason had snapped the picture. What had gotten Hayley really mad was that, later that same day the TV was showing an old clip of the '96 Pan Globals and Jasmine had seen it. The two year old had squealed with delight and had tried, keyword being tried, to do some of the things she had seen.
Coupled with the picture and their daughter's subsequent happiness in Kim, Hayley had blown her top. They had fought long and loud until Tommy had left the café to stop himself from doing something he'd regret. He had grabbed their daughter from the babysitter's and headed straight home to cool down. An hour later, cops showed up at his house to tell him that Hayley had been in a car accident and had died on impact.
He was shaken out of his thoughts by something hitting his face. He looked down at his lap and saw his daughter's stuffed tiger sitting on his lap. Looking up, his daughter was watching him with her hands on her hips and a pout on her face.
"Sorry munchkin," Tommy apologized before smiling at her. "Why don't we finish packing so we can go see Aunty Tri?"
Jasmine smiled and helped her daddy put her stuff in her bags before going to his room to do the same for him. Half an hour later, Tommy was buckling his daughter into her car seat. Closing her door, he moved to the driver's side and opened his door, as he did so, his wallet fell out. He picked it up and opened it, moving the seams aside to pull out a faded picture of Kimberly from high school.
"Hang on Beautiful," Tommy whispered as he caressed the picture, "I'm coming for you and I'm never letting you go again."
He got in his jeep and closed the door behind him. Starting the car, he recalled his dream and the song he heard on the radio.
'It may have been just a dream,' he thought, 'but that doesn't mean it can't come true. It's time I did what was best for me.'
With a smile, he started his jeep, pulled out of the driveway and headed to Angel Grove where his heart and future was. It was time to make his dream a reality.
A/N 2: I know the words to the song didn't really work, but I thought, or rather my muse thought, the chorus was good enough, so I hoped you guys liked it. Read and review.
Song: Just a Dream-Nelly