A/N: Here it is! This is the conclusion to the one shots I have been writing. I wasn't going to write this but I had so many requests that I thought you all deserved one! Thank you all for the kind words and please let me know if you like this.
As always, I do not own Power Rangers nor Rascal Flatts who sing the song, The Day Before You. A girl can dream though!
Enjoy!
The Day Before You
I had all but given up
On finding the one that I could fall into
On the day before you
I was ready to settle for
Less than love and not much more
There was no such thing as a dream come true
Oh, but that was on the day before you
The conference center was empty now, the sound of the cheering long gone along with the fans that had been the ones make the walls almost rattle with the noise level. All the was left was discarded programs, food wrappers and the empty ring in the middle of the room. And the petite brunette standing inside of it. Kimberly Hart looked the same as the last time Tommy had laid his eyes on her. That was before the events of the past two days. Back when she was just 17 and filled with hopes and dreams. When she was boarding the plane to Florida. When she was still his. He made little noise as he walked down the steps towards the ring. She didn't turn to face him until he was ring side. Her doe eyes looked slightly startled for a moment until she realized who it was. Tommy thought of the panic he had felt when he saw Kim's face on the screen in the Command Center when they learned she had been kidnapped with Jason. Sure, he had been worried about his best friend but his main concern was her. She had been gone for so long and there she suddenly was, being used as a human sacrifice for her purity. It made rage fueled fire burn in his belly, something he still felt licking at his insides. He shoved it aside as he pulled himself up on the matt and into the ring with her.
Now you're here and everything's changing
Suddenly life means so much
I can't wait to wake up tomorrow
And find out this promise is true
I will never have to go back to
The day before you
The breath in her throat hitched when her eyes landed on Tommy Oliver. Damn, he still looked good. It made everything that much worse to see that he was just as dreamy as she remembered him being. This was all difficult to begin with. Granted, she knew when she accepted Jason's offer of coming back it would be hard but he never imagined she'd land herself in the middle of Ranger business again. Having to be rescued by no one other than Tommy and Kat. She internally groaned at the thought of the blonde who had been draped over Tommy after the match. Kim had considered talking to him then but when he saw the two embrace, she couldn't bring herself to do it. So she hid in the back of the crowd until it trickled out, leaving her here with her thoughts. The last two days had been some of the most weirdly familiar days in the last few years. Being back in Angel Grove, getting kidnapped by aliens. It was all in a days work when she was a kid. When she had her friends and Tommy by her side. This time had been different. She thought for sure she didn't have anyone coming to rescue her. But, like usually, Tommy surprised her by saving the day.
In your eyes I see forever
It makes me wish that my life never knew
The day before you
Oh, but Heaven knows those years without you
Were shapin' my heart for the day that I found you
You're the reason for all that I've been through
Then I'm thankful for the day before you-
Yeah, yeah
"Hey." Tommy said, stepping towards her. "We were wondering were you had run off to. Ernie saved you a piece of cake."
"Oh. I was just trying to clear my head. That's all." She replied, giving him a small smile. He recognized it instantly. It pained his chest to think about how much he knew about her still. That he knew that it was the smile she used when she was trying to hide just how sad she was. What did she have to be sad about? Jason had told him that she was doing great in school and that she had land some singing gigs to build her career up. He wasn't quite sure why the gymnastic thing didn't pan out. He didn't see her compete during the games that they all had crowded into Billy's house to watch. Her name hadn't even been mentioned during the broadcast. He never had the hear to ask Trini or Jason about what happened. He was afraid if he did, they would realize just how much he still cared about her and it was something he couldn't let happen. Especially with Kat in the picture.
"Everything okay?" He asked, hoping with a small part of him that it had to do with him. That it was something to do with what she did to him. He watched as unshed tears well in her eyes and she looked up at him.
Now you're here and everything's changing
Suddenly life means so much
I can't wait to wake up tomorrow
And find out this promise is true
I will never have to go back to
The day before you
"What did I do to you to make you stop loving me, Tommy?" Kimberly asked, amazed by how brave she felt to actually ask the question that had been burning in her heart for two years now. She wasn't sure if it was courage or just heartbreak that made her ask but she just couldn't take it anymore. In a few short hours, she was set to be on a plane back to Florida. If she wanted answers, she was going to have to ask the questions she didn't want to. Tommy's eyebrows raised in show at her question and his mouth gaped slightly. "I've been asking myself that question since you sent me all my things back and I just can't take it anymore. What was it? Did I say something to hurt you? Was it the distance? Did it have something to do with being a Ranger?" A tear slid down her cheek and she wiped it away. "What was so bad that you just stopped loving me?"
"Kim, I didn't stop loving you." He croaked out, raw emotion lining his face. She could see it etched into his features, especially his eyes. They softened when they looked down at her and he could see just how much he was fighting with himself right now. "I only sent my things back to you after I got your letter about your new boyfriend. I was so crushed when I read it that I figured you would want it all back since you moved on."
Was the last day that I ever lived alone
And I'm never goin' back
No, I'm never goin' back
"What letter?" She asked, looking at him confused.
"The one you sent me breaking up with me." He said in a soft voice. Why was she acting so confused? Had she forgotten all about the letter that had ripped his heart out of his chest? How often had she written these that she couldn't recall the one she sent him? Reaching into his bag on his back, he retrieved his wallet and opened it. Inside the billfold, he puled out the faded folded piece of stationary that he had read a million times since he received it. It was worn now but the words were still there at the tips of his fingers as he held it out to her. Kim took it and gingerly opened the page so she could read it. Her eyes skimmed the page, confusing digging deeper into her eyes and forehead.
"Tommy, I didn't write this." She said, looking up at him. Shaking his head, Tommy rubbed the back of his head.
"I know it was a long time ago but it's from you."
"No, it's not! This isn't the stationary I used to write to you one. It's similar but not the same. And that's not my handwriting! I don't dot my I's with hearts except in my name." She replied, looking at the letter again. An image of the box she received from him came to mind, the handwriting scrawled on the label. A heart written above the I in Kimberly. "Did Kat help you send my stuff back to me?"
"Yeah. She mailed it out cause I had practice that afternoon."
Now you're here and everything's changing
Suddenly life means so much
I can't wait to wake up tomorrow
And find out this promise is true
I will never have to go back to
Yeah, I will never have to go back to
The day before you, the day before you
Anger was flooding into Kimberly's chest as she skimmed the page again. The words read as if she had wrote it, breaking up with Tommy for another man. No wonder he didn't try to call or write her. He thought she had moved on. Balled her fist, she looked up at Tommy and shook her head. "This is Kat's handwriting, Tommy. She just did a hell of a job making it look like mine."
"What? Kat would never do that." He said, defending her. Glaring at Tommy, Kim walked over to the corner of the ring where her purse was. She ruffled through it until she found a piece of paper Kat had written directions to her new house on. Walking back over to him, she placed the two pieces of paper together and handed it to him. He took it, gazing at the both of them. His jaw clenched as he realized what he was looking at, a curse coming under his breath. Reaching up, Kim gently set her hands on Tommy's wrists.
"Tommy, I was so in love with you that I would never dream of leaving you. Why wouldn't you try to fix things? To see what was going on? Did you think I could really do that?" Shrugging, Tommy casted his gaze towards his feet.
"I was a stupid kid. I figured you were happier there since you never tried to contact me after that." Silence fell over the two of them. "Do you still love me?"
"Yes." Kim said without missing a beat. "With my entire heart."
Now you're here and everything's changing
Suddenly life means so much
I can't wait to wake up tomorrow
And find out this promise is true
I will never have to go back to
Yeah, I will never have to go back to
The day before you, the day before you
Tommy's heart soared in his chest as Kim admitted her feelings for him. It was the words he had been longing to hear since he received that letter in the mail. Smiling, he cupped her face in his hands and pressed his lips against hers. He felt her hands wrap around his shoulders as he felt all the emotion the both of them were feeling dissolve into the kiss. He had missed her so much. Her smile, her laughter, her light. She was his beacon of hope for so long and here she was again, drawing him back to safety. Puling away, he pressed his forehead against hers and fought to catch his breath.
"Do you still love me?" She squeaked, her lips swollen slightly from their kiss. He chuckled, running a thumb over her right cheek.
"Beautiful, I think the answer to that isn't much of a mystery." He kissed her forehead as he wrapped himself around her. "I love you with ever fiber of my being. I should have went after you but I was scared to see if it was true with my own eyes. Its my fault we lost all the time but I am never going to waste another minute that I get to have with you."
"What does that mean?" She whispered, looking up at him.
"I think it's time for the Rangers to find a new leader." She gawked at him, obviously surprised by his response.
"But Tommy! Yesterday, you were leading them to stopping a demigod. Today, you're just going to quit like it's nothing?"
"That was the day before you." Leaning in, he scooped her up in his arms and kissed her again.