Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to Disney/Haim Saban
"Hey."
Strong tanned arms slid around Kimberly's waist as she chopped vegetables for chicken stew. She smiled and set down the paring knife, leaning back and just enjoying the feel of her husband's strong chest against her back. He nuzzled the line where her neck flowed into her shoulder. "Where are the kids?"
"In the back yard, playing," she replied and smiled when his hands slid low on her belly.
"What say…" he nipped her shoulder, "we go upstairs and," he kissed the spot just under her jaw, "…play…?" He breathed the last word into her ear.
"Well –,"
Kim's answer was interrupted by a loud shriek of terror from the back yard. "Mummy! Daddy!"
They reacted instantly, dashing through the house to the back yard. Tommy cursed when he tripped over a tricycle and nearly went sprawling on the porch. Kim, luckily, had jumped over it and now dashed across the wide green expanse to the bottom of the yard, where their children played. "Mary," she said, kneeling and letting her youngest run into her arms. "What is it? What's wrong?"
"Neil's scaring me," she said in a tearful voice, clutching her mother's neck.
"Is he?" Tommy asked in a dark voice as Kim stood up, holding their four year old daughter. "Neil Jason Oliver! William Zachary Oliver!"
Meekly, their two six year old sons slipped out from where they'd been hiding in the bushes. "We were just playing dad," Neil said in a sulky voice, hiding his hands behind his back. It was obvious William – Billy – was hiding something behind his back as well.
With a stern face and voice, Thomas hunkered down, held out his hands. "Give," he said.
Billy stuck out his bottom lip. "Not fair," he said. "Mary's just bein' a baby."
"Am not!" Mary called out from the safety of her mother's arms.
"Are too," Neil shot back.
"Boys." Kim said in a stern voice. "Listen to dad."
"'kay," they chorused in sulky voices, and brought out what they'd been hiding behind their backs.
Kim's eyes widened. Neil was holding her old Pink pterodactyl helmet and Billy was clutching Tommy's old dagger – Sabba. "Boys," she said in a hushed voice. "Where did you get that?"
"From dad's office," Neil said, looking surprised by the urgency in her voice.
Kim's eyes narrowed. "Thomas James Oliver…"
"We'd better get inside," Tommy said hurriedly, taking both boys in his arms. "Before anyone sees."
Following the wisdom in his words, the couple – holding their three children – ducked back into the house. Kim put Mary down on the couch and Tommy followed suit so their children sat all in a row. Neil put the helmet between his legs.
Kim stood in front of them, hands on her hips, glaring at her husband, who suddenly looked very, very nervous. "Tell me, Thomas," she said in a threatening voice, "how did our children come across two of several items I told you to give to Trini?"
"There was more," Billy piped up, ignoring his dad's frantic head shaking.
Kim turned to face him. "More?" She asked, raising a fine brow. All three children nodded. "More what?"
"Cool stuff," Neil said in a – no, duh voice. "There was this red gun but Mary wanted this pink helmet and she didn't want to hold the red gun and she said she was gonna tell you if we didn't take the helmet so we did – even though it's pink," he added in a disgusted voice.
"Really?" Kim's voice was calm, and interested, but there was an edge to it that made the former black dino ranger wince. She went down on her haunches so she was even with her children. "And where was all this…cool stuff?" She asked.
"In the safe in daddy's office," Mary said in a proud voice.
"Really?" Kim straightened, turned to her husband with a narrow eyed glare. "In a safe. In a safe Tommy?"
"Now, Kim," he said, resisting the urge to back away. He recognised that light in her eyes – it was the look she had just before she attacked the monsters that Rita and Zed had sent their way. "You know, it's called a safe for a reason." He said lamely.
"It was a safe our children could break into!" Kim said. "Billy might be named after Billy but he's no genius! Tommy Oliver, how could you?"
"It was open," Neil said in a helpful voice.
Kim whirled to stare at them. "Open?" She asked in a horrified voice.
They all nodded. "Open," Mary confirmed.
She turned back to Tommy, who was turning a dull shade of red. "Open?" She asked again.
"I made a mistake," he said, "one mistake, Kim. I swear, it'll never happen again."
"You bet your boots it won't," she said in a furious voice. "'Cause I'm sending all this stuff over to Trini and Jason's right now."
"No!" This exclamation came from all three kids.
Their parents turned to look at them. "No?" Tommy echoed.
"No," Neil repeated with a furious shake of his head. "Don't send them away. They're cool. It's not fair just 'cause Mary's a scaredy cat."
"Am not!" Mary punched her elder brother in the shoulder. "And I don't wan' mummy and daddy to give them to auntie Trini n' unca Jason ee-ther!"
"Kids," again, Kim hunkered down to their level. "We have to give them to auntie Trini."
"Why?" Neil demanded.
"Yeah," Billy said, "Why? I wanted to show this to my friends as school." He held up the inanimate Sabba.
Tommy's look of horror mirrored Kim's. "No," he exclaimed, falling to his knees as well. "No. You can't do that. And you can't talk about them either."
"Why not?" Billy whined.
"Why?" Tommy echoed helplessly. He looked at Kim.
"Why?" Kim said. "Because…look," she said. "Do you want to know a secret?"
All three nodded eagerly.
"This," carefully, Kim extracted Sabba from Billy's tight grip, handed it to Tommy. "And this," she took her helmet from Neil. "And all the other 'cool stuff' you found in daddy's office is the secret, 'kay?"
They frowned as they tried to work that out in their heads. "But why?" Neil asked. "They're just toys."
"They're not t –,"
Swiftly, Kim cut Tommy off before he could say anything stupid. "They may seem like just toys to you but to mummy and daddy, they're not just toys. They're a very big secret and we need you to keep safe. So, don't tell anyone about them, okay?"
Mary nodded enthusiastically. Neil nodded reluctantly. But Billy pouted. "I wanted to show it to my friends," he repeated in a stubborn voice.
"I know honey," Kim swept dark hair out of his eyes. "But I'm sorry, you can't. 'Cause if you do, your friends' parents might take it away to show to other people and then mummy and daddy will be in a lot of trouble. You don't want that, do you?" He shook his head. "So, keep it a secret for us, okay? And one day, we'll tell you why. Okay?"
He nodded.
"Good." She kissed each of them in turn. "Now go wash up. Lunch will be ready soon."
They wriggled off the couch and ran to the bathroom, the boys shoving each other out of the way and Mary trotting behind them.
Slowly, Kim rose to her feet. Tommy followed her example, and turned toward her. By the look on her face, he knew he was in a no way out of the dog house. "Kim…" he started.
"I have to go finish making lunch," she said. "You are going to set the table, then you're going to take everything in that safe, and these two," she thrust the helmet into his belly and he clutched it even as all his breath left him, "to Trini and Jason and you will watch as they lock them up in the vault and you will not ask to see them again unless someone is there to watch you. And you will sleep on the couch tonight."
"Yes dear," Tommy said meekly and watched as she swept out of the room. He looked down at the helmet and Sabba in his hands. "And they say the yellow rangers are the scary ones…" he muttered.,
"Tommy!" Kim hollered. "Put those things away and make sure you lock the safe this time and come set the table. NOW!"
"Yes dear," Tommy called, hurrying off to do his wife's bidding.
And the sun shone on the perfectly normal on the outside, anything but normal on the inside family as they sat down to lunch in the sleepy suburbs.
A/N: This is just soomething that's been hanging around my computer for quite some time. I thought I might as well stick it on the net. Hope you enjoyed it! For those who actually follow my Spirit Riders series (please let there be people who follow it) I'm currently working on the fifth story and I have my ideas for the sixth and seventh story lined up. However, because I am anal and slightly obsessive compulsive, I will not upload it until it is completed and it could be a while. Meanwhile, please read the random oneshots I upload! Thanks!