The Boss

Disclaimer: Not mine and will never be mine.

"Thanks for the ride, Hayley," Tommy said as Hayley held the entrance door open longer to let him walk in. He was still invisible and hanging around the house for nearly a week had started getting to his nerves. They still hadn't found a solution to bring him back to normal, but at least he was no longer trapped inside the suit. It was so damn hot to be under the spandex all the time, particularly at this time of season. Given the situation, he had asked Hayley to give him a ride downtown.

"Don't worry about it," She replied and was halfway towards the counter when she turned and asked in a hush voice. "Tommy?"

"Yeah,"

"How about a drink? We have a new flavor this week," She offered, directing her eyes at the source of her friend's voice. It felt weird at first, but later she began to get used to it.

"That'll be nice, thanks," He answered, smiling though he realized she couldn't see it. As Hayley sauntered off to the counter, he turned to look for his teammates and students. Usually, when there's no monster attack, they could be found pretty easily. Tommy approached the round table where Connor, Ethan and Kira were enjoying their afternoon smoothies and sat at the only empty chair next to the red ranger quietly. Something that Ethan said afterwards halted him from making his presence known.

"Why don't you just sell cookies like normal people? I've always known that you're cheap, but selling Dr. O pictures? That's just low," The guy in a blue T-shirt commented dryly, clearly pointing the remarks towards his tall leader.

Now that was something that he certainly would have missed if only the situation had been different. What did Ethan mean by selling his pictures? Through eBay perhaps? The highest bidder would win the picture of Tommy Oliver, the legendary ranger? Tommy groaned under his breath. It had been almost two years but he couldn't fully forgive his red ranger friends for having so much fun talking about him behind his back.

"It's a shame that he always wears dress shirts or long sleeved shirts," Connor went on wistfully, totally unaware of the death glare his science teacher sent him. "I mean, a shirtless picture will worth more,"

"Maybe he has something to hide under those clothes," Kira suggested and sipped her pineapple smoothie. "Although Dr. O looks well built for me," A light flush crept over her and Tommy's face when the words passed her lips. "What? He's alright, for a guy his age," She quickly covered and kicked Connor's leg under the table when he leered at her. "Dr. O is okay, but Jason is more like my type,"

"The first red ranger?" Connor nearly spit the smoothie in his mouth. "Geez, Kira…,"

Who would have thought that his teammates were busy gossiping about him when he was not around? He was there for less than ten minutes and now he knew that being a student, a soccer player and a superhero whose job was to save the world in daily basis, hadn't been tiring enough for Connor that he had to look for a side job.

Or that Kira had a thing for Jason.

"A tattoo, maybe?" Ethan said after thinking for a moment.

Tommy grinned remorsefully, his fingers tracing at his right biceps that's exposed thanked to the tight muscle shirt he had on. Hell, he could have wandered around in his pink polkadots boxers Aisha gave him without being seen by anyone.

"That could be it. A tattoo," Connor nodded his head. "But what's wrong with that? His hair was nearly as long as Kira's. A tattoo… It suited him, don't you think?"

Tommy repressed a heavy sigh. Damn, it was difficult. Caroline Hart's petty remark once upon a time echoed in his ears. "Kim, he's a thug. Look at him! You can have someone better than him." It's a shame that while his folks thought so highly of Kim, her mom wanted her daughter to date somebody else. Knowing that he was fond of karate and had long hair and piercings made her think that he was in a gang or something like that.

"What kind of tattoo? A skull?"

Tommy flinched. He didn't have to be reminded of one of his friends that much.

"Tommy the Champion," Ethan rubbed his hands together with a wide smile. "That's cute,"

"O for Oliver," Kira came up with another idea.

"A heart with 'I am the Legend', perhaps?" Connor burst out laughing and leaned back comfortably against his chair. "Or maybe, 'I am the oldest living Power Ranger',"

It took all of his efforts not to explode then and there as the three teenagers broke into peals of laughter. He definitely wouldn't let them go for making fun of him like this. A presentation about the Middle Ages or one hundred page essay about the Triassic history would serve them right, especially Connor.

However, Connor was right. He did have a tattoo on his arm that he couldn't let anyone to see. Tommy closed his eyes, recalling the disaster that happen a couple of years ago. It was after the mission to the moon. His flight was delayed for three hours and Jason dragged him to join the others to celebrate their victory.

"Come on, man," Jason poked his bro's shoulder who wasn't much of a drinker. "Let's drink!"

He did and he had to pay the price. He woke up at T.J.'s motel room with 'Kim Hart is my Heart' tattooed on his upper arm. Not only he missed his flight, he also marked himself with something that would last Forever; forever with a capital F.

Of course, he considered having it removed, but in the end he let it be. Jason and Rocky couldn't stop laughing for twenty minutes straight after they saw it. Showing it to the kids was simply not an option since he's sure they would never live it down. He's too old to deal with that kind of thing.

"Maybe it's his girlfriend's name," Ethan pointed out with a knowing grin.

"Or his wife's," Kira continued in amused tone. "A wife that he never told us,"

"Or his kid's," Conner gladly finished, laughing out loud. "Or maybe all of them. You know, like a family tree,"

Tommy rolled his eyes, feeling desperate already with his students' behavior. Two hours extra training this weekend would surely shut their mouths shut. He couldn't remember even one time when he and his friends gossiping about Miss Appleby or Mr. Caplan.

"I have a question," Connor asked and raised his hand as if he was in the class. "I mean, we know that Dr. O is invisible and all, but how about his clothes? I remember his towel floating around his neck when he worked out, but not his clothes. He isn't… you know," He stopped, feeling uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"Naked?" Ethan filled in with a sly smile.

"Oh my God," Kira groaned and immediately covered her ears. "Do we really have to discuss that?"

Tommy could relate to the yellow ranger. He too would totally lose his appetite if only Jason suddenly brought the topic about Zordon being naked when they were eating.

"Hayley said Dr. O used his invisibility power a bit more to make his clothes unseen," The American-African boy kindly answered, much to Connor and Kira discomfiture. "So our teacher is fully clothed, or at least I think so. He's not that outrageous to walk around nude. Besides, he could catch a cold,"

Tommy buried his face in his hands, thinking if maybe this was the right time to announce his being there. They wouldn't be thrilled.

"Anyway," Kira cleared her throat, feeling the urgent need to move on to a new topic. "Cassidy asked me if this was a friendship bracelet," She lifted her left hand, her finger tapping at the yellow gem around her wrist. "You know, since we all have it,"

The science teacher and martial arts sat a bit straighter. Connor and Ethan regarded her with concerns in their faces. It was an issue that had nagged his mind at first, especially now with him wearing the same cuff. The last thing he needed was to have Principal Randall to accuse him for assembling an inappropriate organization or a secret sect outside the school hour.

"And what'd you say?"

"I told her that we're so different from each other that we don't have to wear matching bracelets," She shrugged, toying with her straw. "Which is not entirely untrue. I mean, even now I still can't understand what the fun in playing football is. Having twenty people chasing one ball is a silly concept,"

"It's called teamwork," Connor answered with a smirk. "Or maybe you're not familiar with that concept?"

Tommy was spared from the teens' disagreement when his cellphone vibrated in his pocket. Connor, Kira and Ethan were too busy to pay any attention. He looked around to make sure noone was looking and pulled out the electronic device and put it on the chair between his legs. It was not a smart move to bring it around, but he ended up taking it with him anyway.

"… South pole,"

Ethan looked at Connor with mirth in his eyes. "North. There's no bear in South pole,"

"Maybe he meant yeti," Kira quipped.

"Or yeti for that matter,"

Tommy felt a bolt of lightning struck him on the head when he read the text message from Kimberly. The same Kim whose name he had tattooed on his arm.

"Africa…," He unconsciously muttered.

"Africa!" Connor banged at the table. "That's right. It's Africa,"

The owner of the Cyberspace unwittingly chose that time to come over with a tall glass of smoothie for Tommy. She put it on the table in front of the seemingly empty seat and looked around.

"A polar bear in Africa?" Ethan looked at his friend as if he had lost his mind. "Did you pass your elementary school?"

"Oh, thanks, Hayley," Kira smiled up at the genius redhead. "But we didn't order it,"

"Wait a minute. Who said Africa? I heard someone said Africa," Connor asked, perplexed as he casually move to rest his hand on the empty chair next to him. "Hey!" He hissed when an invisible hand slapped his hard.

"No, it's for Tommy. Don't you know that he's here? Tommy?"

"Dr. Oliver is here?" Ethan asked in alarm, making Connor widen his eyes and look at the chair beside him with disgust.

"My son…," Tommy didn't intend to say it out loud, but did it anyway. Connor was still a bit freak out to register its meaning, but Kira and Ethan was fully taken aback by their teacher's words.

"Your son?" The blonde singer's mouth gaped open in surprise.

Connor's face grew pale. "Dr. O? Please don't tell me I just touched your-,"

"Shut up, Connor," Tommy pocketed his cellphone and pushed the chair back. "We'll talk later and don't think you can get away from this," He said darkly. "All of you,"

"Aw, Dr. O! You're eavesdropping?" Connor shook his head and slowly wiped his hand on the fabric of his jeans. The thought of touching his mentor's leg, tigh, or another unmentionable thing was enough to make his stomach lurch. "That's illegal!"

Receiving no responds, the team realized that Tommy had left the place.

"I don't get it," Ethan looked at Hayley and back at his yellow companion. "Dr.O has a son… named Africa?"

--

It happened when he visited her in Florida. They had missed each other so much and cuddling was simply not enough anymore. One thing led to another and they made love for the first and last time. Sure, it happened so suddenly and quickly that neither was prepared, but could Kim really get pregnant? It was his best night ever; having Kim in his arms in a way that he only dared to hope. He loved her so much; he would give anything to be with her but then a certain letter showed up and everything seemed didn't really matter anymore.

Now she threatened to kidnap his son to Africa if he didn't come home.

Home?

Tommy paced around a secluded corner near the parking lot. It would make the headline if there's someone saw a cellphone floating in the air. He had a kid. A son. A nine year old son if his calculation was correct.

After a long time, Aisha finally picked up the phone and he spoke breathlessly. "Aisha? Is Kim there?"

:: Okay, this was fun. I wanted to make a story where they finally talk, but I haven't got a good reason why Kim sent him that horrible letter. Thank you for reading and please let me know what you think. No flame please, thanks!

- Yuuri :)