He Would Be Sixteen

by PRfan4ever

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. They belong to Saban and Disney. Don't sue me. He Would Be Sixteen is a song by Michelle Wright. I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

A/N: This is an AU fanfic/songfic. Brief mentions of Tommy/Kim. One shot. Kimberly goes to Reefside, and looks for her son. She thinks of him, one night, as she passes by Reefside High. This is a "what if" type of story. What happened to Kimberly and Tommy's son? Big surprise! Please feel free to R&R!

She gets in her car, October Friday night
Home from work, down 31, past Franklin High
She can see the stadium lights, she can hear the band
A thousand crazy high school kids, screamin' in the stands
Quarterback and Homecoming Queen
Love too young to know what it means
She goes back in time, oh in her mind, it's like a dream

Reefside, California. It was a crisp and cool October night, Friday. Thirty-three year old Kimberly Hart got into her car, started the engine, and drove home. She was tired from work. She was supposed to go home, but suddenly, it was as if she didn't know what she was doing, 

but knew exactly where she was going. She turned left onto 31st Street. Reefside High. She had heard from her new neighbors that it used to be called Franklin High, in honor of its patron, Benjamin Franklin. She stopped the car. She had to stop. The varsity team had another game. She could hear the school's marching band. She could hear the screaming of a thousand crazy high school kids in the stands, as they cheered their home team on. She couldn't help but laugh. It seemed like so long ago, when she was in Angel Grove High. She remembered the craziness of high school.

Tommy was the star quarterback for Angel Grove's home team. She was unanimously voted as Angel Grove High's Homecoming Queen. They were young and so in love. Or at least they thought they were. As it turned out, they didn't know a thing or two about love. The typical teenager, she thought, smiling, Those were the days. Everything had been like a dream to both of them. They always thought they would be together. But then, came the letter. It was the hardest thing she ever had to do. She fell in love with someone else while she was in Florida. Or so she thought. Again, she didn't know a thing or two about love.

By the time she had mailed the letter, she had discovered she was pregnant with Tommy's child. It all tied in to when Tommy visited her in Florida. They had missed each other, so much, that they got physical. They had made love anywhere possible. The showers in the girls' locker room. Kimberly's dorm room. On the balance beam, at the gymnasium where they were training for the Pan Globals. On the mats.

Yes, she was carrying Tommy's child, by now. But she couldn't tell him. She had already pushed him away with the letter. And she was sure that her new boyfriend Jack Hunter would never agree to her decision of carrying the baby to term. Why would he? After all, it was 

someone else's child, not his. She wanted to abort the baby. But she changed her mind. She would raise it on her own, if only she could. But she couldn't. She couldn't get Tommy back, and the minute Kimberly told her new boyfriend about her decision, the jerk left her.

So much for being wonderful, kind, and caring, she smirked, as she remembered how she had described the guy to Tommy. Karma, I guess, she thought, with a shrug.

He would be sixteen
The son she never knew
It hurt so much to give him up
But what else could she do
He would be sixteen

She gave birth to her son, and it was very painful for her, to see him being taken away from her. It hurt so much. But what else could she do? She was too young to raise him. It tore her heart. It ate her up. She had always justified it by saying at that at least, adoption was better than aborting the baby. That would've hurt her more. She couldn't bear the thought that she killed her son. She wouldn't be able to live with it. There would be a lot of "what ifs." Adoption had its "what ifs" too, but at least, she knew her son would have a very good future. She would rather die, before her son did. And so, no matter how painful it was for her to do, she opted for adoption.



Suddenly, she was overcome with emotion, again. Moisture filled her eyes, and the tears threatened to spill. Water cascaded down her hot, burning cheeks. I'm sorry, Conner. I never wanted to do this to you. To your father. Forgive me, Conner. I wasn't able to raise and take care of you, she said, sobbing.

A child should have a home, she knows her folks were right
She never heard the couple's name, just that they were nice
She wonders if he's taller than his father was
Does he drive a car by now, has he been in love
She shakes back to reality - she knows
Things turned out the way they should be
But she can't help but ask herself - does he know about me

Her mom was right. Conner needed a home. She had already broken up with Tommy, and he didn't know, and Kimberly's jerk of a boyfriend left her, the instant she changed her mind. She couldn't raise him on her own. Conner had to have a family. The McKnights, then, volunteered to adopt him. They seemed nice enough, and it appeared Conner was raised up well.

She looked in the direction of the stadium, her eyes hurting. Yes, not only was her son's biological father working as a teacher at Reefside High, but her son was also playing for the school's soccer team.



She pulled out a recent photo of her son. Their son. Ever since the adoption, the couple promised to send her a picture of the boy, every year, as he grew.

She looked with so much love at the picture. It was reminiscent of the cute, boyish, high school charm of Tommy Oliver—his father. He had his eyes. The boy looked just like him, at sixteen.

She caressed it, lovingly, as a tear fell onto it.

"Are you taller than your father, now?" she thought, aloud, "Who am I kidding? What am I saying? I forgot you don't know your father. I wish I could tell you."

I wish I could tell him too, Kimberly added, at the back of her mind.

"Do you drive a car, by now?" She said, stroking the picture, and looking toward the direction of the stadium. Then, she turned her attention back to the picture. It was a picture of him, with another friend. Or was it his girlfriend? From the looks of it, she might be.

I wonder if he's been in love. Does he have a girlfriend? Is this her?

She was deep in thought, thinking about her son, and what it would have been like, had she not given him away. She shook back to reality. She knows things turned out the way they should be. It was the best decision, at that time. Nothing else would do. Being too young at that time wasn't the only issue—she could deal with budget, and all that stuff. She could find a job—continue her schooling, after awhile. That wasn't the real issue. The real issue was that the boy would not have a father. And in her family, being a single mother was frowned upon—she saw enough of that, after her mom's divorce to convince her enough to give the baby up for adoption. It seemed like the best plan, at that time.



Still, she couldn't help but wonder, "Does he know about me?"

He would be sixteen
The son she never knew
It hurt so much to give him up
but what else could she do
He would be sixteen

Conner McKnight would now be sixteen. He was the son Kimberly Hart never knew. Yes, there were pictures, and yes, there were letters and e-mails, but still, it felt like she never knew him. He would be sixteen. It hurt so much to give him up. She was there, the day the McKnights took him home. She slumped onto the floor, crying. She cried herself to sleep, each night, knowing her son was out there, and he would never even know who she was. She was depressed, for weeks. She didn't eat. Didn't sleep. She took all kinds of antidepressants. Nothing worked. She just had to deal with the fact that she couldn't do anything but give her son away. What else could she do?

She never even got to hold him
And nights like this, it hurts to miss
The son she's never seen


He would be sixteen
He would be sixteen...

I never even got to hold my baby, she thought, as she sobbed. She shivered, and pulled her jacket tighter, to prevent from the cold. But it wasn't just the cool October breeze that chilled her. It came more from the heart. The soul. At nights like this, it hurts to miss the son she's never seen. Yes, it was his birthday, today. He would be sixteen.

He would be sixteen, Kimberly thought, as she wiped her tears, and went back to her car.