As Long As He's There, a power rangers fanfic

A/N: Kim, songfic. This is the prologue to my story, "We have History". Kim decides it's time to move from Florida to California. She missed her friends, but most of all she missed Tommy. This is what happened before she left Florida to come back to California.

A/N: This is based on the song, "As Long As You're There." I guess Donnie Mcclurkin sang the original, but Charice did a cover of it for "Glee". I gotta give props to Charice. She's representing the Philippines well. =)

As Long As He's There

January 2004

The clock flashed 11:57 am. A young woman was in her apartment. She was wearing a pink, henley, long sleeved shirt, blue jeans, and beige boots. The woman was holding a cup of hot chai tea while staring out her balcony window. Her daydreams were getting the best of her at this moment.

(Flashback)

Kim was in Angel Grove, and she's at his house.

It had been a long couple of days. Kimberly almost died, her boyfriend of two years thrusted himself into a kamikaze-like mission against their enemy, and Kim was physically exhausted from being cut off the morphing grid so quickly.

Her and her boyfriend, Tommy, were on his bed lying down. Her head was lying on his chest, and she started drawing circles on his chest with her fingers. Tommy was playing with Kim's caramel colored hair.

His parents weren't home, they were on vacation due to the Dad's job. He had conferences to attend to, and his mom went along. They trusted their son, so he got to stay home for the weekend.

"Tommy." Kim said. She rose her head up a bit and looked into his eyes. "I love you."

They've said 'I love you' before, and they both knew they were in love. However, this time the 'I love you' that came from Kim's mouth sounded different. There was more behind it.

Tommy opened his mouth. "I love you too." He bent down and kissed her. She ended up deepening the kiss. While their lips were still attached, Kimberly climbed on top of him. She continued to kiss him feverishly. There was love, lust, soul all mixed into this kiss. Their animal spirits called out strongly, professing their own love.

He pulled away. Kimberly looked at him. She grabbed his ponytail and pulled him back in. She moaned against his mouth.

She pulled away. He looked at her. He grabbed the back of her head and pulled her back in. He heard her moans getting louder, and knew they were about to reach the point of no return. Both pulled away.

"Are you sure?" Tommy asked her. There was love in her eyes.

She nodded. "Our lives as power rangers and teenagers, we are never sure what's going to happen to us." She kissed him. "I've never been so sure in my life."

Tommy went to his side drawer. He took out a condom, Jason gave him that condom, and then he looked closer at it. "Shit." He screamed.

Kim looked at him concerned. She grabbed the condom. "It's expired." She pouted a little. She got off of him.

He laughed at her. "It's not the end of the world, you know." Tommy got up and made sure to throw it away. Obviously, he hid it way deep in the trash just in case his parents ever went snooping. "That's the last time I trust Jason with something." He joked.

She ignored his sort of joke. Kim thought about it harder. She decided to do it, and she'll deal if the consequences ever rose up. "I still want to." She stated.

Tommy gasped. "Beautiful, you can't be serious." Tommy shook his head. However, she nodded. "What happens if a baby results?"

"I'm already on birth control, and there's the morning after pill." Kim mentioned.

"And, we've taken sex education. How many times have they said those contra- contra-" Tommy couldn't remember what those things were called.

"Contraceptives." She finished for him.

He nodded. "Aren't always 100% effective." Kim looked down. He went to sit in front of her. "Beautiful, I love you. God knows how much I truly love you, but we can't do it. Not this way. I'll go to the store and get some." Tommy got up from his spot.

Kimberly grabbed his arm and pulled him to her. She kissed him with passion. Consequences be damned she thought. She wanted this, needed this. The crane cawed loudly in satisfaction. She was slowly starting to win over her prey.

Tommy continued the kiss. His falcon screeched in worry, but slowly screeched in love. The falcon needed this, and Tommy needed this. What if he never got the chance to? After seeing her lying on the table, he almost wasn't able to have this chance.

They pulled away. He looked at her. "If you're absolutely serious, I will do this right now." Tommy warned.

Kim nodded. "I want you. I need you. It's always been you." She confessed.

"Lie down." Tommy commanded in his leader voice.

Kim instantly got wet at the tone of his voice. Without hesitation, she laid down for him. Her body begged for his touch, his kiss, his love. It complied willingly. There was no turning back.

(End Flashback)

After that day, they did it all time. Even though, they didn't use protection the first time, Kim never did get pregnant. They started to use protection to ensure, she would never get pregnant. The last time they made love was when she came back for Christmas. However, that was eight years ago.

Kim broke up with Tommy in one of the worst ways possible. She wrote a letter. This was a hurtful letter, and she knew it. Kim even called Tommy a brother. A brother? Not in that daydream of hers. Also, in the letter, she wrote about Mr. Kind-Wonder-Caring. What a joke that was. He ended up cheating on her six months into their relationship. However, that was one more reason why she broke up with him. The other? She didn't want to be his weakness anymore. As a power ranger, Tommy fought countless monsters, foot soldiers, and the bad guys. Kimberly had been used as a pawn against him, she didn't know how many times. She needed to end it. The choice of words was wrong, and she hated herself for it.

While he was fighting monsters, her life was consumed with training for the Pan Globals then Olympics. It was ridiculous how she trained day and night. Sometimes, she didn't even know what day it was because she lost track of time. Her body almost gave out on her.

After she won gold, she quit. Her motivation was gone, and it was because of her. It killed her all the time to know she was the reason for him being gone.

Her phone rang.

"Hello?" Kim answered.

"Hey Sis." Trini said.

Kim smiled. "Hey. How's Jase and Baby Bren doing?" Kim went to put her cup down. She sighed, she missed her friends in Cali.

"We're doing great. Jase is still sleeping in. His physical therapy is getting less grueling for him. That's great, and my baby boy is still sleeping. I swear once he starts school, I'll never be able to get him out of bed." Trini giggled at the thought.

Jason Scott, her surrogate big brother and 'original red' and former gold Zeo ranger, was now married to her best friend Trinity 'Trini' Kwan, 'original yellow'. They had been married for 4, almost 5 years now. Kim didn't get to fly in for the wedding, she was too busy traveling with a gymnastics team she was coaching. However, she was there for the birth of her Godson, Brennan. The godfather to Brennan? Tommy Oliver of course, her ex boyfriend. He wasn't there for the birth because of the paleontology dig he was on.

Kim and Tommy's lives were so different from each others. She missed him, and she believed her Crane had been calling out because she missed her falcon.

"I miss you guys." Kim said. It had been close to a year, since she had last seen them.

Trini sighed through the phone. "We miss you too. Have you thought about coming home to Cali?"

"I think about it everyday." Kim admitted. She looked out her window. "How is he?"

Trini didn't need to ask who 'he' was. She knew. "He's good. Um, he's a ranger again."

"What?" Kimberly choked out. For her, she was worried. Was Tommy ever going to give it up? "I thought he was only going to be the mentor."

Kimberly had been informed by her friends that Tommy had found the Dino Gems while on one of his digs. A lot of the former power ranger teams had helped to build the Command Center that was under his house. Billy even showed her the floor plans once, while she was out there in Cali for a visit. She planned on talking to Tommy her last visit, but again something came up. Coach Günter Schmidt had suffered a heart attack, and she had to rush back to Florida to start coaching, since he was out of commission.

"Mesogog, their baddie, ended up capturing our fearless leader. It was, I guess a life and death situation, and he grabbed the Dino gem. It bonded to him, and he ended up taking his fourth color as well." She could hear Kim gasp. "He's now a black ranger." Trini explained.

Kim shook her head. "Jeez. So now he's a science teaching-rainbow colored power ranger kicking-mentor for the power rangers." Kim giggled at the thought.

Baby Brennan started to cry. "Kim, I gotta go. If you're ready to come home, you know all of your friends would help. I'm sure with your music and liberal arts degree you can find something out here in California. Maybe, even at Tommy's school. I love you." She said.

"I love you too, Sis. I'll think about it. Bye." Kim hung up the phone. She thought about it.

Last year, she finally finished her schooling. She now had her Bachelors degree in Music with an Associates degree in liberal arts. Right now, she was a gymnastics coach at the gym she used to train at for the Olympics. Maybe, she should finally put her new degrees to good use.

She decided to call her other 'sister'.

"Hey girl!" Aisha answered. There was a smile on her face.

Her other best friend/sister. Aisha Campbell, former second Yellow Mighty Morphin, and Bear Ninjetti, was currently engaged to the Ape Ninjetti, and former second Red Mighty Morphin, Rocky DeSantos.

Kim smiled at her enthusiasm. She's another person she missed dearly. "I was wondering, what you thought of me coming home?"

Aisha screamed. "OHMYGOSH! You definitely should. You are the only one of Zordon's rangers to not live in California you know."

Zordon's rangers, from Mighty Morphin to part of Turbo, all lived in California. Trini and Jason lived in Angel Grove. Justin Stewart, now 20, moved back to Angel Grove after he finished college. He lives with his girlfriend. Adam Park and Tanya Sloan-Park live in Stone Canyon. Rocky and Aisha live in Stone Canyon as well. William 'Billy' Cranston and his wife, Katherine 'Kat' Hilliard-Cranston, live in Los Angeles. Zackary 'Zack' Taylor and his wife, Angela Taylor, live in Baldwin Hills, a suburb of Los Angeles. Obviously, Dr. Thomas 'Tommy' Oliver, lives in Reefside. Kim was the only one out the state.

"I was just on the phone with Trini. She mentioned that I should." Kim said. She grabbed her cup and took a sip.

Aisha nodded. "You should, and I believe it's time for you and a certain Christmas Tree Ranger to finally soar as one, Crane."

All of Zordon's power rangers, believed they should have been back together a long time ago. Every one of them were pushing for them to start dating each other again.

"'Sha, I love him and miss him so much." Kim admitted. "I want to be with him again. I do."

"Girl, then you better start packing. We will be here to help you. Hurry! I miss going shopping with you."

Kim nodded. "I gotta start looking for a job, place, a plane ticket, and movers then."

Aisha laughed. "All the high schools are looking for a music teacher. I'm sure you'll pick the right one." She said. "And you have the money to look for all the other stuff."

"Alright, I gotta start planning. Bye." Kim hung up the phone.

Determination had set in. It was time for her to get Tommy back, and of course it was time for her to be back in California with her friends. But Tommy had been on her mind for the longest time.

All my life I've waited for the right moment to let you know,
I don't wanna let you go,
But now I've realized there's just no perfect time
To confess how I feel,
This much I know is real

The next day, Kimberly put in her two weeks notice at the gymnastics training center. She informed Coach Schmidt it was her time to leave Florida. He understood, and he made sure to give her a bonus in her last paycheck.

Next, Kimberly started to check on the internet for job openings. Aisha was right, all the high schools down there were hiring for music teachers. The ones that she would've considered were: Angel Grove, Stone Canyon, and Reefside. She definitely applied to be Reefside High School's newest music teacher. Since, she wasn't physically there, she was able to submit her resume via fax.

Kim made sure to call her Mom, who was still in Paris with her husband, Pierre, and let her know she was coming back to California. Her mom thought it was about time she went back. Her mom even told her it's time she get her man back. Kim was shocked. Caroline Dumas, Kim's mom, admitted she took a liking to Tommy, and was upset when her daughter let him go. However, she explained that if things were meant to be then they could continue where they left off. She knew her daughter and Tommy and a very extensive history. Love like theirs isn't forgotten. She believed her daughter was lucky to find love at such an early age. Mrs. Dumas gave Kimberly access to the account, she had started when Kim was a little girl. It was her plan to only give the account when she was 30. Pierre and Kim's biological father had been putting money into that account. There was enough money, that Kimberly didn't even need to work, but she wanted to.

A week later, Kimberly was sleeping. She woke up in a cold sweat. She wasn't sure whether to classify it as a dream, nightmare, or maybe even a premonition. The cold sweat indicated it was a nightmare.

(Flashback)

Kim's dream

Kim was encased in what looked like amber. She looked around, and she was getting nervous. What was happening? The amber was finally gone, and she walked out. She took in her surroundings. There was a lab. It looked like a base of operations. A black brachiosaurus started to approach her. The brachiosaurus had chocolate, brown eyes. Those eyes stared at her intently. Kim knew those eyes.

Tears started cascading down her face.

The brachiosaurus started to walk away. Then thunderbolts started coming towards the brachiosaurus. It cried out in pain, the current started coming out faster and stronger. It screamed.

She watched in horror. "Tommy! Tommy! I'm so sorry! I love you!" Kim felt helpless as she watched the dinosaur get hit.

The brachiosaurus collapsed, and they're eyes closed. Kim started to walk towards the brachiosaurus. She could tell there was still life. She could hear the slight breathing.

(End Flashback)

Kim looked at her clock. It was 4 in the morning. She left the dream alone. It came back to haunt her though. Jason called her, and he told her about Tommy being in a coma. Kim freaked out, and she didn't know what to say. That's when she knew she needed to get back to her home her real home, Tommy's arms.

So I'll refuse to waste one more second without you knowin' my heart
Baby, 'cause I don't need anything else but your love,
Nothing but you means a thing to me,
I'm incomplete
When you're not there,
Holding me, touching me I swear
All of the rest could just disappear
And I wouldn't even care,
As long as you're there.

The next day, Trini called to let her know Tommy was alright. He was able to fight the next hour. Kim was relieved. She had already called for movers, a company to transport her car, and now she was looking for an apartment in Reefside. Granted, she hadn't heard from anyone about the job she applied for. That didn't matter, what mattered was her going to California to be with her falcon.

A month later, Kim had her apartment packed. All she needed to do was clean to get her deposit back. She felt triumphant about her return to California. She was going to be with her friends, and the man she loved with her heart, soul, and literally her spirit.

One of Kim's closest friends in Florida, Renee Morrow, was helping her clean the apartment. Renee was worried Kim might be making a mistake about moving back.

Renee was cleaning that grout through the tiles in the kitchen, while Kimberly was painting some of the scuff marks on the walls.

"Kim, are you sure you are doing the right thing?" Renee questioned her motives.

Kim kept painting. "I'm very serious. I need to be home, near my friends." Kim said.

"What about the guy you are also moving back for?" Renee asked her that.

Kim had told Renee about Tommy. She knew they had dated for three years, and Kim had let him go. Kim has admitted about Tommy dating Kat, and for that Renee thought he was a jerk, and Kat was a no good friend. To be honest, Kim was sick of Renee's opinion of Tommy and Kat. Kim and Kat had talked about their problems a long time ago. Kim wanted Tommy back, and moving to Reefside was step one of her plan.

"Tommy is just not some guy." Kim stated adamantly. "I made a mistake, and I am going to fix it."

"What if he's dating again, or what if he doesn't want to try again?" Renee fired questions.

Kim rolled her eyes. Melissa don't know shit, Kim thought to herself. "He can hear me out and go from there. If he's dating, then I don't know. I'll think about what to do next, but I'll be glad to be back in California with best friends."

"And what about if you don't get a job out there?" Renee questioned.

Kimberly sighed in annoyance. Thankfully, she never had to see Renee after this. She felt like she was a robber, and Renee was the cop. The interrogation was getting annoying. "It's a risk I have to take, and I am sure I can find a job somewhere else." She answered honestly.

Take these words,
Don't let them go unheard,
This is me reaching out,
I hope you can hear it now
'Cause, baby my heart said stay,
Take it, it's yours to break
I'd rather try and lose,
Than keep this love from you, yeah

Two weeks later, Kim bid farewell to Florida. Her stuff was already being shipped back, as well as her car. She was on a plane ride to Cali. Trini, Jason, and Baby Bren were going to pick her up.

An older woman was sitting next to her. She had noticed Kim was holding a beat up, what used to be white, stuffed teddy bear.

"Is there a reason why you are holding that?" the older woman asked.

Kim nodded. "It was given to me by an ex boyfriend of mine." She answered.

The older lady nodded. "Are you two getting back together?" She looked at Kim. "Is that why you are coming to Cali, to visit him?"

Kim shook her head. "I'm coming back because I miss living in Cali. He doesn't know I'm coming home."

"Oh, do you want to be back with him?" She was curious now.

Kim smiled. "He needs to know what's in my heart." Kim replied.

It was now June. Kim had been settled into her apartment in Reefside for a couple of weeks. Adam, Billy, Zack, Rocky, and Justin came to help her move her stuff in. Jason couldn't do much help because of his back. Aisha, Kat, Trini, and Kim were able to do some shopping. Which was a good welcoming party for Kim. All of them promised to keep this a secret from Tommy because, they wanted this to be a surprise for him.

Her cell phone rang.

"Hello?" Kim answered.

"Ms. Hart?" Principal Mercer wondered if she got the right number.

Former, evil henchwoman, Elsa, who's real name was Eileen, had married Anton Mercer. They had a history before she became his evil sidekick. They were really engaged for a year, but after Anton had experimented on himself, and he became Mesogog and made Eileen, Elsa. After reflecting to the side of good, Eileen and Anton quickly married.

"Yes, this is she." Kim said. She was hoping this was for the job she applied for back in February.

"This is Principal Mercer from Reefside High School." Eileen Mercer could hear Kim breathe a sigh of relief, she smiled. "I was looking over your job application to be our new music teacher."

"Yes, ma'am. I know I don't have any experience, but I've completed the required hours to be a teacher. I can send you my references from Florida." Kim informed her.

"Ms. Hart, that won't be necessary. You're hired. Orientation is next month, I decided to implement a new plan to get new teachers comfortable. I can't wait to meet you." Principal Mercer said.

Kimberly shrieked in excitement. This was going along with her plan nicely. Step two completed. "Sorry for the outburst, but I would love to! Thank you for this opportunity."

"No problem, so I'll see you then. Have a nice day."

"You too." Kim said. She hung up the phone.

She was so excited, so decided to treat herself to a shopping trip. As she was driving to the mall, she thought about how much her life had changed since the beginning of the year. She was now going to be a teacher to high school students, and she was going to be closer to Tommy, and she could tell him what's in her heart.

Each day and night,
That I've kept this a secret,
It'd kill me; it's time to share what I feel inside

Eight years she had been without his love, his touch, and now she was going to see if they could work things out. Her only hope was that Tommy didn't have a girlfriend, if he did, then possibly all of this could be for nothing. What if Tommy hated her for everything she did to him? Did she jump into this too soon? Maybe Tommy didn't want to try again. Her face became hot with fear that Tommy would reject her. She should blame herself for not talking to Tommy. After all, she never put in the effort to come after him. Hell, she made all of her friends not tell anything to Tommy. The element of surprise? Fuck the element of surprise.

After her shopping trip, Kim came home feeling down. All the questions and doubts had attacked her tenfold. What had she gotten herself into?

A month later, it was the morning of the Orientation. Kimberly was supposed to attend. She was contemplating whether or not to go. Kim walked to her bathroom, and she looked at herself in the mirror. Could she start teaching at Reefside High? Grabbing the face wash, she began to pour some out, and she lathered it. She washed her face. No, she couldn't start teaching there. Tommy, her falcon, would probably reject her, or something else. That's when she made the decision to stay home. Her crane called out though. The crane said, 'It's time to stop running. We need our falcons, nothing else should matter, but their love.' The crane, her animal spirit, needed Tommy's falcon.

Kim heard, and it was loud; she made the decision to go to orientation. As long as he's there, everything was worth it.

I don't need anything else but your love,
Nothing but you means a thing to me,
I'm incomplete
When you're not there,
Holding me, touching me I swear
All of the rest could just disappear
And I wouldn't even care,
As long as you're there...