Author's Note: This is a writing prompt from user ChillPillBerry. The base plot belongs to them, I just got to add some of my style and creative input to it. So, before I start, I want to thank ChillPillBerry for giving me this challenge.
Prologue:
Billy:
"Billy, you have been here on Aquitar with me for more than eight earth years. You have done so much to help the people of Aquitar, the Rangers of Aquitar. But have your feelings of love changed for me?" Cestria asked Billy as they worked on a generator to help power the command center for the Rangers of Aquitar.
Billy Cranston, now an adult and married to Cestria of Aquitar for six years, still did not like being interrupted while working on a project for frivolities such as emotions. He did not know how to answer it. While he got better at expressing his own emotions, especially since he and Cestria had been together, it was still a challenge for him to express his own, let alone handle the emotions of others.
"Billy, are you even listening to me?" Cestria asked him.
Billy took a deep breath, putting his tools down. He took a minute to think about what he was feeling. He was pretty sure he still loved her, but since Cestria had told him that she felt ready to have a baby almost four years ago, she had been a lot harder on him. Billy hadn't made things any easier by telling her that while she was ready to have a baby, he wasn't. Since then, their marriage was almost always a fight.
"Cestria, I still love you. Just like I did when I decided to stay here on Aquitar instead of returning to my home world when you helped heal me," he replied to her.
"So, then what is wrong, Billy?"
"Cestria, things have changed between us," Billy admitted, unable to lie to his wife or keep avoiding the elephant in the room. "Our priorities have changed as a couple. You, while beautiful inside and out, with a mind that I absolutely love, want more in life. You want a family, children."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Cestria, I still haven't changed my mind about becoming a father. I don't feel I'm ready to father a child, and I don't know when I will feel ready to become a father. I'm sorry," he replied to her. "I understand that this hurts you. I'm your husband and I should be the one you start your family with, but I can't. You deserve that, and you shouldn't have to wait for me, Cestria."
"I thought you said you still love me as you did when you decided to stay on Aquitar," Cestria croaked out, trying not to cry.
"I do. I just can't be the man to give you what you deserve, what you want in your life right now. It wouldn't be fair of me to ask you to just put your life on hold for me like that, Cestria. I love you and that is why I'm saying this to you. For the last four years you've already put your dreams of motherhood on hold, hoping I'd change my mind, and I haven't. I can't ask you to continue doing that, not if I truly love you. Only a selfish man, one incapable of love, would ever do that to a woman."
Cestria didn't speak at first. She stood there looking at Billy in shock, taking in the words he had just said to her. When she finally spoke, her words sent Billy into shock.
"William Cranston, I regret the day I fell in love with you. I want you out of my life, forever. Don't come back to our home tonight or ever again. As the people of your planet put it, I want a divorce. Consider our marriage union dissolved."
Cestria walked away crying. Billy had no words. He had tried so hard not to hurt her, but in the end, that didn't matter. Cestria hated him. His heart hurt at her words, they hurt him worse than any injury he had sustained in any battle he had fought in over the years.
When Cestria was finally out of sight, having no idea what else he could do, Billy went back to working on the project for the Rangers of Aquitar. Once they returned and realized he was alone, they asked about Cestria. Billy, having had not only his life, but his planet saved by these Rangers, told them the truth. Delphine helped get the marriage dissolved while Cestro, the Blue Aquitar Ranger that Billy frequently teamed up with on projects, let him stay with him until it was finished.
Finally, Delphine came to let Billy know that his marriage was dissolved. Billy's heart broke and both Delphine and Cestro could see it. They also knew that Cestria had made up her mind and wouldn't even see Billy. They felt for their Earth friend, but this was all they could do for him. Billy said goodbye to the Rangers of Aquitar and made his way off of Aquitar to rebuild his life again.
Tommy:
Tommy Oliver, now a doctor of paleontology, and his on-again/off-again girlfriend Katherine Hillard, a teacher in Angel Grove, had had a rough few years. They tried to do the long-distance relationship thing when Tommy went to the East Coast to do his doctorate at MIT, but that didn't really work out. After he graduated, they got back together when he moved back west and he began working with a man named Anton Mercer. However, after an accident that destroyed all of their research and Mercer himself, nearly killing Tommy as well, Tommy decided he needed some time away from the familiar. This is how, Dr. Tommy Oliver wound up moving to the outskirts of Reefside, just outside the woods, isolated from basically everyone, and taking a position teaching high school science at Reefside High School.
Tommy had only been moved into his new place for a month, school was starting in just a few days, when someone knocked on his front door. He went into immediate alert mode. Nobody was supposed to know where he was. Cautiously he approached his front door from outside the house, having gone out the back door. The person standing there was the last person he ever thought he'd see again.
"Billy? Is that you?" Tommy asked from behind the man in surprise.
Billy turned to the sound of the voice behind him and smiled.
"Tommy. You've cut your hair. It looked better long, Old Friend," Billy said, laughing.
Tommy took Billy's bag from his hand and led him into the house. He watched as Billy took a good look around his new place. Billy's facial reactions spoke volumes to Tommy.
"So, could you just not let go of the team, or is there another reason that there seems to be a theme related to dinosaurs in your home?" Billy asked.
"I guess a little of both," Tommy replied, with a small laugh, before remembering how long Billy had been gone. "Right, you don't know."
"Know what?"
"I'm a doctor of paleontology now, Billy. I went to MIT," Tommy replied.
"You decided to study dinosaurs after what we did as teenagers?" Billy asked, with a smirk, before adding, "Though congratulations on MIT. It's a very prodigious school."
"Thanks, Man," Tommy replied. "So, what brings you back to Earth? You haven't been back since you left when the Zeo Rangers were active."
Billy went quiet for a minute. Tommy could tell that something serious was going on in his old friend's mind if he had trouble putting it into words. And, if it was something he was having trouble verbalizing, chances were it was something that had to do with feelings.
"Billy? Are you okay?" Tommy asked, pulling Billy out of his thoughts.
"Not exactly, Tommy," Billy replied. "You see, I returned to Earth because… well because…"
Billy turned away from Tommy, obviously unable to look him in the eye.
"Because my marriage to Cestria was dissolved after eight years! She kicked me out, told me she wished she'd never fallen in love with me!" Billy said, fighting to hold back the emotion that was still so raw in him.
Tommy pulled Billy into his arms, knowing it took a lot to make Billy Cranston get emotional.
"I really loved her, Tommy. I still love her, but she threw me away!"
"I know it seems like the hurt will never go away, Billy, but it does. It takes a long time, but it does get easier to deal with and eventually, you stop feeling it."
Tommy wasn't an overly emotional man himself, but he knew how Billy was feeling. And when it had happened to Tommy, it was Billy and Kat who had done everything that they could to pull him out of his head. If hugging Billy and letting him know he wasn't alone was something that would help him, Tommy could do that. After all, Tommy felt like nothing would ever be right in the world after Kimberly Hart had sent him that Dear John letter from Florida. Yet Billy stood by him. He was one of his oldest friends, even if they hadn't spoken in years.
Tommy just hugged his friend, the one who had always been awkward with girls, always hid his emotions, but who was the soul of the Rangers, just like Kimberly had been their heart. He knew he couldn't just fix his pain, but there was no way he would let him disappear into it. No matter what happened, he would be there for Billy just like Billy was there for him when Kim broke his heart, the way Billy was always there for any of the Rangers.
"Why don't you stay here in Reefside with me for a while, Billy? I start teaching high school science soon. And…" Tommy started, making Billy look at his friend, "come with me. I want to show you something."
Tommy led Billy to the basement of his house, which was only accessible through hidden switches. He was relieved when he realized that bringing him through the secret passages was having the intended effect on Billy… it was distracting him. Then Tommy brought Billy into the actual basement and Tommy could tell he was stunned in amazement.
"Tommy… This is a fully functional command center," Billy said. "Why?"
"Caution, more than anything," Tommy replied, bringing Billy over to a podium with three brightly colored stones. "After I found these back in college, I realized it might be better to be prepared for anything."
"These stones… are they from the end of the Cretaceous period?" Billy asked.
"Yeah, they are, Billy," Tommy replied. "These three gems are from the very same meteorite that made the dinosaurs extinct… and they're not the only ones out there. I know they're not. I just don't know how many more there are or where they would be. I just know that there is at least one more gem out there and each stone has powers."
"Do you mean to tell me these stones could be used to infuse someone with superhuman ability?"
"Yes, Billy, that's exactly what I'm saying. I just don't know how they work. I know that possessing them doesn't give someone access to the power of the gems. I've had them for years and while I can feel the power of the stones, I know I can't reach it."
"Maybe the gem needs to choose?" Billy suggested.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we were chosen by Zordon to be Power Rangers. So, it would be logical to both of us that gaining the power of these gems would be as simple as someone possessing it to access the power," Billy started. "However, what if these gems were more temperamental than our power coins?"
"I'm not following you yet."
"Think about it. Whenever Rita or Zedd tried to really put any of us out of commission, the only thing that ever really worked was to make us doubt our ability, our confidence to be a Ranger. If we didn't believe in ourselves, our power coins didn't work for us. Think about it, when we were trapped on the Island of Illusion, all being faced with our worst fears and doubts, we couldn't even see we still had our morphers and communicators. Or when Goldar tried to make both you and Adam doubt yourselves, you when they took the green power from you, Adam when he had just become the black ranger. The power needs to be met with a certain amount of self-confidence to work for a ranger. What if these gems need not only that, but are searching for specific types of people that are worthy of wielding the power?"
"Now I get what you mean. But I'm not just going to parade these around trying to see who is meant to wield these powers. They're nice and safe hidden down here."
"And if, for any reason, you end up needing the power?"
"Then I have to believe that the gems will find those who are meant to wield the power, Billy. I can't risk these being out of the safety of this command center."
Kimberly
Eight-time Pan Global gold medalist and two-time silver medalist, Kimberly Ann Hart was an accomplished international gymnast. She had medaled ten times at the two separate Pan Global Games she'd qualified for. In addition to that, she'd qualified for the Olympics once, winning three golds and a silver there, had been the US All-Around champion for the last six years, and had medaled at the international finals every year she'd been the US champion.
Kimberly left Angel Grove, her friends, her life, being the Pink Power Ranger, and her love, to follow her dreams. She had done just that. Now, at the age of 26, Kimberly was in her senior year of college, competing at the University of Florida, so she could stay close to her training center. She was considered old for a gymnast, but she still felt like a child in a lot of ways. Especially since Jason Lee Scott, one of her oldest friends, and the original Red Ranger, the team leader, had moved to Florida to be with her over a year ago. She was happy, so she decided that even after she graduated from the University of Florida, she would go at least one more season before deciding if she was ready to retire.
It was late. Training with the team had been hard because of the upcoming meet. It was the first meet of the season and coach was always hardest on them when the new season started. She wanted to make sure that they put their best work out so the competition knew they were not slackers. From there, they would get better with every meet like every team in NCAA gymnastics, but with them starting from a higher standard, it put them ahead of the field.
As Kimberly was coming out of the gymnastics center with some of her teammates who were as much as eight years younger than her, she saw someone standing watching. At first her body went on alert, but she was still with her teammates. Thankfully, by the time they all started going their separate ways, Kimberly realized that the person watching her was Jason, and her body relaxed. She didn't understand why her body had immediately become tense the way it had. Regardless, when she reached Jason, he pulled her into his arms and she felt like she was being paranoid.
"How was practice?" Jason asked her.
"Coach is kicking our butts," Kimberly replied.
"Is it like this all the time?"
"No. Mostly at the beginning of the season. It'll calm down a little after the first meet."
"Are you hungry?"
Kim hesitated. She was hungry, but she was at her target weight. It was easier for the younger gymnasts to stay at those target weights. For her, she needed to follow a strict diet, and even with that, she had to follow an even stricter training regimen."
"Kim, you didn't eat breakfast this morning. You need to eat. I worry about you. You know I love you," Jason said kissing her gently on the lips.
"I had a big lunch, Jase. I'm still stuffed from that."
"Really? Because you left your cash at the apartment."
"I know. I realized it when I got to campus before my first class. That's why I used my debit card to pay for lunch."
"You mean this debit card?" Jason asked, pulling her debit card from his wallet. "You left this with your money this morning, Kim. Is there something you want to talk to me about? I mean, I know pressure is tough about maintaining weight in gymnastics, and if you're worried about that, I'll work out with you tomorrow. We'll get up early and go for a run, do some strength training, whatever will help, so you don't have to worry about eating, Kim."
Kim was still hesitant. But she could see how much this was hurting Jason.
"Fine. I'll have a salad for dinner," she said.
"With grilled chicken?" Jason questioned. "The protein is good for athletes."
"Fine. I'll have a salad with grilled chicken. But we're getting up early and working out."
"That is fine by me," Jason said, kissing her again before leading her to her car, holding her bags. "As long as you eat, even if its only healthy food, I will help you figure out a balanced workout routine so that you don't gain unwanted weight. Deal?"
"Deal, Jason," Kimberly conceded. "You know, if you didn't have those dimples, I wouldn't give in to you so easily."
"So, its only my dimples that make you give me my way?" Jason said, with a teasing look on his face.
Kim looked at him and couldn't believe how unbelievably happy she was with him. He had been one of her best friends in high school. She had never guessed that after he left with Zack and Trini for the World Youth Summit that they would reunite the way they had and fall in love. He had been her rock for the last year and she knew she was lucky to have him.
Jason and Kim had been through so much together as Power Rangers. It had bonded them for life. Those were things that they could only talk about with other Rangers. But Jason had always been anything that Kim needed him to be. She never thought that he would show up in Florida all those years later, saying he had been travelling the world searching for himself after he helped both the Zeo team and, more recently, a team of Red Rangers led by Tommy who went to the moon to destroy Serpentera before the remnants of the Machine Empire could get it up and running. And yet, when he did show up in Florida, it felt natural for them to cross the line from friends to lovers. It had happened so seamlessly, one day they were best friends, the next day they were together. Not long after, Jason asked her to move in with him and she had. They had been ridiculously happy, sometimes their relationship didn't feel like they were dating.
"You still with me, Kim?" Jason asked, pulling her out of her mind.
"Yeah, Jase, I am."
"Where'd you go?"
"Just thinking about how unbelievably happy and amazed I've been at the last year of my life since you've been in Florida with me," she said, pulling his face closer to hers for a kiss.
"I love you, Kim," Jason said, wrapping his arms around her waist. "No matter what. Your happiness means the world to me."
He kissed her again before helping her into his car. They drove away from the campus, heading to the restaurant, the two of them discussing the workout they would have in the morning so she wouldn't feel guilty about eating.