It had been nearly thirteen years since Tommy Oliver, now Dr. Oliver, and his former girlfriend Kimberly Hart had spoken. As he flipped through his old high school photo albums he smiled to himself as he perused his past. While some of the pictures were with Jason, Zack and Trini and some featured Adam, Rocky and Aisha, one thing never changed. At the center of every picture, Tommy and Kim were side-by-side smiling brightly.
There was something about her, even after thirteen years and the infamous "letter" that kept Tommy attracted to her even though he hadn't seen or spoken to her in over a decade. Deep down inside, he knew that he would always love Kimberly but on the surface, no one could imagine that the mild-mannered and level headed high school science teacher was aching for the woman he had lost so many years ago.
He quickly shoved the book back into its hiding spot in his desk as he heard a knock on his front door. He was expecting Connor, Ethan, Trent and Kira so he instinctively yelled for them to come in. The four teenagers immediately entered the room and flung their backpacks onto the nearby sofa.
"What's up, Dr. O?" Ethan called out as their teacher and mentor came out of his office.
"Not much guys. How are you?" he asked.
"Exhausted," Connor replied "That history test today kicked our butts."
"Correction, Connor," Kira interjected "That history test kicked your butt. The rest of us actually studied for it."
Connor turned beet red as Tommy shook his head and forced a smile. He always gave the appearance that nothing was bothering him but every once in awhile Trent would shoot him a look as if to ask what was wrong and today was no different. When Tommy saw the look he instantly turned on the Oliver charm that he had been blessed with and shifted gears like nothing had happened.
Tommy shared a bond with Trent that no one other than the two of them knew about. Both had been loners turned evil Rangers before they were rescued by a team of friends. The Dino Thunder Rangers had been there to embrace Trent with open arms just as the original Power Rangers had done with Tommy.
Trent would sometimes go into fits of guilt about the things he had done as the evil White Ranger and Tommy was always there to re-assure him that the things he did weren't his fault and if the others could forgive him then he should be able to forgive himself. Oddly, it was the same speech that Kimberly had always given Tommy and when he spoke to Trent it was as if he was passing on a piece of his old flame to his young friend.
Tommy looked at the other Rangers and smiled at how each of them reminded him of his past. Trent was so much like Tommy in his younger days it was eerie. He wore his emotions on his sleeve and attacked everything he did with a fiery passion.
Ethan was a carbon-copy of Billy intellectually and Adam emotionally, though darker and a little chubbier. He was always up to date on the latest technology like Billy was but, like Adam, he always seemed more comfortable blending in with the others.
Connor reminded him of Rocky, always shoving his foot in his mouth after saying the wrong thing and Jason, always willing to take command and put the well being of the team above himself.
Kira was like a combination of Trini and Kim wrapped in one. At seventeen she was becoming a very pretty young lady, an extremely talented musician and she was also savvy enough to take care of herself which were qualities that Tommy admired in both the former female Rangers.
Tommy smiled to himself as he continued to survey the room. He was proud of the team he had helped to create and somewhere deep down, he knew Zordon was proud of him too.
The four teenagers had just started to do some homework before their training as Tommy insisted that school should always come first if possible. Having been a Ranger as a teenager he understood the difficulty of balancing school and duty but he also tried to instill a work ethic in the teens that carried over from the battlefield into the classroom.
Connor had just begun to work on math homework with Ethan when the phone rang. Instinctively Connor grabbed the phone off the nearby receiver and answered it as Tommy shot him a "what do you think you're doing?" glare.
"Oliver residence," he answered.
"Uhh, yeah," the voice on the other end replied "Is the good doctor home?"
"Sure, one second," Connor replied as he handed the phone to Tommy.
"Dr. Oliver speaking," he said.
"Ooooh Dr. Oliver, the man of my dreams. Where have you been all my life?" the voice on the other end teased.
Tommy couldn't help but laugh out loud as he replied.
"Well if it isn't Mr. World Peace himself," he said with a chuckle "How the hell have you been?"
"I've been good, man," the voice answered "How about yourself? Still saving the world?"
"Everyday, bro," Tommy replied "And I got a Red Ranger here that would make you squeal like a little girl."
Tommy shot Connor a wink as the young teenager beamed with pride.
"Way to feed his ego, Dr. O," Trent said as he playfully pushed Connor.
Tommy smiled back at Trent as he continued his conversation.
"So what can I do for you oh-great-master-of-red-spandex?" Tommy asked jokingly.
"Well me, Zack and Trini have a summer break before we have to leave for Switzerland again and we thought that there was no better way to spend it then by having a little reunion," Jason replied.
"Oh yeah? Who all is coming?" Tommy asked secretly hoping that Jason would say her name.
"Well aside from the three of us, Billy, Kat, Rocky, Aisha and Adam have all said that they would come," he began "But we're still waiting on…"
"Kim," Tommy whispered, finishing Jason's sentence for him.
Kira had a sixth sense about her that immediately told her that this Kim person was someone that Tommy had shared a very special bond with in the past. While she didn't know exact details she knew that Tommy would much rather have this conversation free of prying teenage ears.
"Hey guys, let's go downstairs and work on the new Raptor Cycle we've been trying to make for Trent," she said.
Ethan and Trent immediately caught on to what she was trying to do as did Tommy who gave her a thankful smile but, of course, Connor was completely oblivious.
"No way," he replied "I'm listening to Dr. O."
Ethan and Trent both took turns punching him in the arm as he unwillingly got up and followed the others downstairs.
"So have you talked to her, Jase?" Tommy asked.
"We've exchanged e-mails a few times just to catch up and I talk to her on the phone every once in a great while," he replied.
"How's she doing?" Tommy asked. He was genuinely curious about how his former teammates were doing but Jason sensed that there was something else.
"She's good," he replied "And last time I heard, single."
Tommy smiled to himself at his friend's reply. Jason had always been able to read Tommy and there was no way he was going to be able to pass his interest in Kim off as just curiosity. What Tommy didn't know was that Kim had agreed to come only if Tommy did too,
"So are you in or what?" Jason asked trying to bait his friend "It wouldn't be the same without our fearless leader there, now would it?"
The man who had worn almost every color as a Ranger pondered the idea for a few moments before he realized that there was no point in trying to make excuses. If he didn't agree he was going to get phone calls from everyone else until he gave in. Agreeing to go now was worth not having to deal with the 3 a.m. phone calls he knew he'd get from Jason if he didn't say yes,
"Yeah, I guess so," Tommy replied.
Jason smiled to himself as his friend caved in. He had talked to Kim a lot more then he let on and he knew that she still had feelings for Tommy even after thirteen years of being apart. Jason and Kim had spent a lot of time together ever since the incident on Murianthis and he saw this as the one chance he had to re-unite the couple he knew were meant to be together.
"Good," Jason said to his friend "I'm sitting at my computer right now writing an email to everyone with details. Don't mess this up, bro."
"What do you mean?" Tommy asked although in his heart he knew what Jason was referring to.
"You know damn well what I mean, Tommy," he replied "But hey, Zack and Trini are yelling at me to get off the phone so I'll talk to you later ok, bro?"
"Sure man," Tommy answered "Tell Trini and Zack I said hi and that I'm looking forward to seeing them."
"Will do, Doc," Jason said "Later, bro."
Tommy said goodbye and hung up the phone as he ran to the computer to read the email that Jason had sent him,
To: Tommy Oliver (whiteknight), Kimberly Hart (foreverhisbeautiful), Aisha Campbell (yellowbear), Adam Park (quietfrog), Rocky DeSantos (redape), Katherine Hillard (alwaysanaussie), Billy Cranston (wcranston)
From: Jason Scott (jlscott)
RE: Ranger Reunion
Message:
Well guys, it looks like our fearless leader has agreed to come to our little reunion meaning all ten of us will be attending. Trini, Zack and myself have the months of June, July and August off for a little summer break so, obviously, we're shooting for some time during those 3 months. The three of us really have nothing to do so any time works for us as I'm sure it does for the good doctor seeing as how school will be out for summer break. What works best for you guys? Get back to me ASAP so we can set this thing in stone. We wouldn't want anyone backing out (TOMMY!!!). Hope to hear from all of you soon. May the power protect you all.
Sincerely,
Jason Lee Scott
Head of United States Peace Corps, California Division
Sacramento, CA
Tommy read the email at least three times and each time he did his smile grew brighter. Jason knew Kim was going to come and he had baited Tommy hook, line and sinker but he didn't care. After thirteen years he was finally going to get to see the only woman he ever really loved. Regardless of how Kim felt about him after all this time he couldn't help but feel excited.
He took a few moments to fully grasp what was going to happen in the very near future when he realized that he had left the four teenagers in the basement for almost an hour. He opened the door in the living room that led to the basement and began to laugh uncontrollably as the four Dino Thunder Rangers who had clearly been eavesdropping tumbled to the floor, landing at his feet.
