Disclaimer: I'm afraid that my limited brain capacity would never allow me to produce such a wonderful concept as Power Rangers, nor would my finances allow me to buy them. Therefore, I regretfully state that I do not own the Power Rangers, or any other characters that you may recognize. I'm not even sure if I own the plot.
Note: I'm assuming that you already know general information about the Power Rangers (covering all seasons). If you want further explanations about anything, please let me know in a review, and I'll email you back.
'Italics' stand for thoughts/letters or text
Author's Note: In this timeline, Tommy never dated Kat.
Happy Valentine's Day
There was soft tap at the door, but no one answered. Inside the room, Kimberly Ann Hart sat on her bed staring at a picture of two young people.
One was a petite girl with short caramel-colored locks and hazel eyes: herself. Standing next to her was a taller boy with long chestnut hair pulled into a ponytail and chocolate brown eyes. He had his arm around her and they were staring at each other, oblivious to the camera.
Flipping the photo over, she read the words on the back for the umpteenth time. 'Happy Birthday to my beautiful Kim. With love, from Tommy. February 14, 1995.'
Another knock made her call out irritably. "Cut it out Doug. Can't you leave me alone today of all days?"
Surprisingly enough, there was no answer. Relieved, Kim flopped back on the bed and studied the picture again. 'Where did things go wrong?' she wondered. She fell asleep waiting for an answer.
…………
The very person who was foremost in her thoughts was descending the stairs outside her dorm room. He wandered into a nearby park and sat down on a bench.
"So there really is another guy," he thought aloud. "But it didn't sound like she loves him. If they were really together, then they would be doing something. It is Valentine's Day, after all." The thought saddened him. Why would Kim want to be alone on her birthday?
"I can't just barge in; she'll have a heart attack," he mused. "And what if she's happy with him? Maybe there's another guy…" After several minutes of hard thinking, he finally made up his mind. Hailing a taxi, he headed to a nearby florist shop.
"I'd like to send a dozen roses to a Kim Hart," he informed the man behind the counter. "She's one of the gymnasts staying in the training compound down the street."
"Coach Smidt's place? The one that trains athletes for the Pan-Global competitions?"
"Yeah."
"What's your name?"
"Thomas Oliver, but don't put that on. I want it anonymous."
The clerk wrapped up the flowers and filled out the delivery slip. "Do you want to send a message?"
"Yes." Tommy pulled a heart-shaped card from one of the racks and drew a pen from his pocket. 'Beautiful, if you can, please meet me in the park across the street tonight at 8. Happy Birthday and Happy Valentine's Day.'
Once he had paid, he returned to his hotel room to make plans.
…………
"Wake up!" Kim opened her eyes sleepily. Her roommate, Julie, was standing over her holding a bouquet of roses.
"What?"
"You got a delivery." Julie thrust the flowers at Kim and sat down next to her. "I wouldn't expect Doug to spend money on roses. He's not normally that romantic."
Slowly, Kim opened the card and read it. Her face went pale. 'I know that writing,' she thought to herself. 'I have to go…but what if Doug finds out?' Quickly, she leapt to her feet and gently laid the roses down. "Julie, if I go out tonight, can you cover for me? Tell Doug I'm sick or something."
The other girl looked concerned. "Who are you meeting? Doug is not gonna be happy if you start cheating on him."
Kim just sighed. "Come on, I won't be gone for long. Please?"
"Oh, all right."
"Thank you!" Julie watched in astonishment as Kim gave her a wild hug before beginning to dig through her closet. "What am I going to wear?!"
…………
Tommy felt his heart pounding violently. In the distance, he could see her coming. Although she was too far away for him to see her clearly and it was getting dark, he recognized her stride, and a lump rose in his throat. The petite gymnast hesitantly walked up to the bench where he had been sitting earlier and glanced around. "Hello?"
He stepped out from behind a tree. "Hello, Kim."
"Tommy!" He was completely unprepared for the way her eyes lit up like candles when she saw him, but her expression gave him hope. Gently, he leaned forward and pulled her to him. After a moment, she gave in to his embrace and rested her head against his chest. They stayed like that for a few moments before she tipped her face up. Without even thinking about it, Tommy bent his head until their lips touched.
Kim was the first to break away, more from lack of oxygen than anything else. It took a moment for Tommy to realize what he'd done. "I'm sorry, Beautiful. I just…miss you so much."
"Then why did you stop talking to me?" Kim half sobbed. She raised her head and stared at him with tear-filled eyes. "What did I do wrong?" It pained Tommy to see her tortured gaze, but her words confused him.
"What are you talking about? You're the one that broke up with me."
"What?" She frowned, sincerely puzzled. "I never broke up with you, Tommy." He took out his wallet and extracted a creased slip of paper. Wordlessly, he handed it to her.
Kim could hardly believe what she was reading. "Tommy, I…I never wrote this."
"What? If you didn't write it, who did?"
She knew already, had known since the first few words had gotten through to her brain. Only one person would have done such a thing. "Doug."
Tommy's eyes narrowed. "Doug? Is that your boyfriend?"
"He's not my boyfriend," Kim stated flatly. "He wanted to be, but I wouldn't let go of you. That's probably why he sent the letter. Doug is an expert forger; he does it all the time."
"Oh, Beautiful, I'm so sorry," Tommy whispered. "I should have come right away, but I was busy with fighting and schoolwork, and I wanted you to be happy…"
"It's not your fault," Kim murmured. Leaning forward, she kissed him again. "Having you here is enough for me."
"So are we officially together again?"
"I'd like that very much."
…………
The couple would have talked long into the night, but Kim had to get back to her dormitory. Reluctantly, they said their goodbyes and parted ways.
Tommy was just about to call a cab when a faint scream met his ears. He identified the voice in a flash: Kim. It took him about five seconds to run to the scene, but it felt like eternity.
She was fighting a larger teen in a small clearing. Despite her smaller size and muscle mass, she was holding her own, but as Tommy arrived, her attacker backhanded her, and she went flying. Through his anger, Tommy took a moment to survey the other boy. He was clearly a skilled martial artist and very strong. No doubt this was Doug.
Feisty as ever, Kim rolled to her feet, deftly dodging a kick. "I don't belong to you, Doug! When will you get that into your head?"
"You will always belong to me! If I can't have you, then no one else will! Now tell me, who were you seeing?"
When he knocked Kim violently into a tree, Tommy lost it and flew out from the bushes in a fury. "How dare you! Leave her alone!"
Doug laughed, a cold malicious chuckle. "So this is the fellow you've been with? Ha! What a joke! What on Earth can you see in him?" Stepping forward, he met Tommy's attack easily.
Both teens were highly skilled, but Tommy had three advantages: he had the enhanced speed and reflexes of a Power Ranger, he was full of righteous wrath, and he had an ally. The two fighters had forgotten Kim, but she was still watching, waiting for her chance.
Doug would have gone down, if not for an unfortunate tree root. Tommy managed to stay on his feet, but he was thrown off balance and his foe grabbed the chance. Horrified to see her would-be boyfriend strangling her one true love, Kim circled around behind him, her face set with steely determination. "Hey, Doug?"
"What is it, Beautiful?" The muscular teen turned his face towards her — a big mistake. Throwing her fist forward with all her might, Kim socked him in the face and hit home. There was a 'crack!' and blood began to flow from his nose.
"That's for writing the letter and breaking us up," she snapped. Her assailant tried to grab for her, but Kim stepped forward and brought her knee up. "That's for trying to kill Tommy." Smiling, she punched him once again, this time aiming for Doug's stomach. "And don't call me Beautiful. Ever."
Letting go of Tommy, he doubled over, moaning. The ranger quickly struck him across the temple and the larger boy collapsed, unconscious. "Are you okay, Beautiful?" Tommy choked out.
"I'm fine. What are we going to do with this?" The disdain in her voice was evident.
"Leave him here. Are you sure you're all right? Your face is bleeding." He reached over and wiped a trickle of crimson liquid away. "You must have hit your head on the tree."
"It's nothing, Handsome. I need to get back to the dorm before lights out."
"I'll walk you."
Kim shook her head. "No, I'll be fine. Look, I have a surprise for you. Pick me up tomorrow at eleven, okay?"
Tommy reluctantly let go of her. "Well okay, but please be careful. I don't want to lose you again."
…………
The next morning, Tommy arrived at the gate to the training compound, and Kim skipped out carrying a duffel bag as well as her purse, which made him eye his girlfriend suspiciously. "Where are we going?"
"When are you leaving Florida?" she asked, ignoring his question. He raised an eyebrow.
"Tonight. I'd really love to stay longer, but the team needs me. Why?" Kim smiled happily.
"I'm going with you. Let's go book the flight, shall we?"
Tommy stared blankly at her. "You're going with me?" he repeated slowly. "But…what about gymnastics and the Pan-Globals and all that? What about your training and your dreams?"
"For a visit, silly," Kim giggled. "I told Coach that I was leaving unless he put a restricting order on Doug, or kicked him out. He said he would think about it and call me in Angel Grove when he makes up his mind."
"Then we have a whole day, right?"
"Yeah, until the plane leaves for California."
"Well, I can think of some things to do…"