Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Power Ranger characters; they are the property of Saban and Disney.
Timeline: This story takes place after the finale of Dino Thunder as Tommy decides to finally move on from his life as a ranger and settle down. It will also flashback to his time in college. I'm not too sure about the title so it may change. And I haven't forgotten about Unexpected Attraction, I'm still working on the next chapter and hope to finish that story soon.
Dr. Thomas Oliver looked around the room making sure that everything was in place. His former students would be there any second. It seemed funny to him to think of them as former students since they had only graduated a few weeks earlier. He had invited them over for what would seemingly be the last time he'd have with them before they left for various colleges and life experiences. He looked at the table one more time to make certain all the places were set when the doorbell rang.
"Hey Tommy," Haley said as he opened the door and moved aside to let her in.
"Right on time, like always," he teased.
"I just wanted to make sure you had everything under control, besides I knew the kids wouldn't be here yet," Haley told him.
"Well as you can see, everything's ready," Tommy replied as he led her into the dining room.
"Wow, everything smells great, I'm impressed," Haley said.
"Hey, just because I don't cook a lot doesn't mean I can't do it at all," Tommy said in mock protest.
"I was only kidding, did you make dessert too?" she questioned.
"No, Connor called a little while ago and said that his mother was making her famous strawberry short cake," he answered.
"I guess everything's ready then, so how are you doing, I mean now that everyone is leaving," she said as she followed Tommy into the kitchen.
"I'm sad to see them go, it won't be the same without them barging in here at all hours, but I'm also glad that they're getting ready to start new chapters of their lives without having to worry about fighting monsters," Tommy replied.
"Do you remember what that was like, college just seems like such a long time ago," Haley remarked.
"Tell me about it, I didn't have a clue about anything, I left racing on a whim that I needed to have something to fall back on in case my career didn't take off," Tommy said.
"Yeah but you never went back to racing after that," Haley reminded him.
"That's because a certain tutor convinced me that I wasn't as clueless as I thought I was and that I might actually make something out of myself," Tommy pointed out.
"Well, you expressed a genuine interest in dinosaurs, all I did was steer you in the right field of study," Haley told him.
"I was so shocked at how well I started to understand everything and after I graduated, it was only logical that I should continue with graduate study," Tommy said.
"And that promise of a job from Anton Mercer after you received your doctorate didn't hurt either," Haley replied.
"I'm not so sure about that I mean I gave up a lot for that job and sometimes I still wonder if maybe I didn't make a mistake," Tommy said seeming to space out.
"Tommy if your referring to what I think your referring to then I think…."Haley began to say but stopped when the doorbell rang again.
"It doesn't matter it's too late for regrets now," he said as he left to answer the door.
"Hey Dr. O, the party can officially begin," Ethan said as he entered the house followed by Kira, Connor and Trent.
"Come on in you guys, Haley's already here," Tommy told them.
"Let me take that for you," Haley said holding out her hands to take the cake from Connor.
"Um, Dr. O I think you set two places too many," Kira said as they all went into the dining room.
"No I didn't, there are still two people unaccounted for," Tommy told her.
"But the team's all here, who else could we be missing," Connor remarked.
"Why don't you answer the door and find out for yourself," Tommy said as the doorbell rang again and he walked toward the kitchen.
"Thanks so much for inviting us, we know this is a private celebration and we're honored that your letting us take part in it," Cassidy said as she and Devin joined them.
"You didn't give away our secret and that makes you a part of this team just as much as anyone else," Tommy said as he came back into the room.
"I know that's not true but it's nice to hear anyway," Devin replied.
"No, Dr. O's right, we owe you guys a lot," Trent said.
"Alright, who's ready to eat?" Tommy said as he and Haley brought in the food.
"I still can't believe you can cook," Connor said as they all sat down.
"There's a lot you don't know about me Connor," Tommy informed him.
"Yeah I mean if we hadn't found that diary, we still probably wouldn't know about your past as a ranger," Ethan replied.
"My life's really not that complicated, it's actually quite boring," Tommy told him.
"I don't know, I'll bet Haley has some stories about you from college," said Kira.
"Yeah, spill the dirt, what was Dr. O like in college," Devin pleaded.
"I'll bet there were girls after him all the time," Cassidy piped up.
"There were a few," Haley told her.
"Hey, Dr. O how come you've never dated anyone, don't you get lonely in this house all by yourself," Connor quipped.
"I hardly think that's any of your business, besides how would I ever find time to date with Mesogog around not to mention the fact that my students spent so much time here," Tommy replied.
"Well neither of those things is in your way now, so what's stopping you?" Kira asked.
"Can we please leave my personal life out of this?" Tommy requested.
"Come on Haley you never answered my question, I'm sure Dr. O had lots of admirers, maybe even you were one of them," Cassidy inquired.
"Sorry to disappoint you guys but it wasn't like that between Tommy and me, but yeah he definitely had a lot of girls chasing after him," Haley replied.
"So what's the deal Dr. O, did you have a girlfriend in college or not?" Connor asked.
"Actually, I had a girlfriend before college," Tommy said with a sigh realizing they were never going to let this go.
"Right, you were dating the former Pink Zeo ranger," Kira said.
"Who told you that?" Tommy questioned looking surprised because he'd never mentioned it.
"Oops, I must have let it slip out at some point," Haley remarked.
"Well, whatever happened to her?" Cassidy asked.
"We just lost touch that's all, now no more questions about my personal life," Tommy said.
Hours later, the kids finally said their goodbyes to their teacher and mentor and only Haley stayed behind to help him clean.
"That was certainly an interesting dinner," Haley told him as they did the dishes.
"I can't believe all those questions they asked," Tommy replied.
"You can't blame them for being curious, the only side they've seen of you is this serious guy who's all about work and being a ranger but you don't have to be that serious anymore, your days as a ranger are finally over and as for work, you've got the whole summer off, maybe you should give the whole dating thing a try," Haley told him.
"Not you too," Tommy replied.
"Look Tommy, I know you've been hurt a lot in love but if you're not careful the right person could walk into your life without you even noticing," Haley told him.
"That's the problem Haley, I had her once and I just let her go," Tommy replied.
"She let you go too," Haley said.
"It's been a few years but I still remember the first time I laid eyes on her," Tommy said his mind wandering back in time.