Disclaimer

I own nothing so please don't sue

Background

Okay, so here it goes again. My second go at an attempted sequel for Always a Frog, Never a Prince. If you haven't read my first story that you're probably not gonna understand what's going on here…sorry. And now to the apologies, yes I know, I do that a lot and I'm not gonna make any excuses for my own ineptitude. All I can do is say that I'm sorry to the readers who enjoyed the first story and were hoping for a sequel. I did attempt a sequel a couple of years ago, the story before I re-edited it contained the first chapter however after a couple of months of banging my head against a brick wall I decided to pack it in. But now I'm back again, I don't know, maybe I'm a glutton for punishment. To try and atone for the extended hiatus on this story I present to you the first two chapters of my rewrite. I'm still trying to get back into the groove so I apologize for any mistakes and if the story isn't as good as the first one. Anyways, thanks for reading this and I hope you enjoy the story.

Regards

Boulder

Always a Frog, Never a Prince: The Man in Black

The landing was a soft one.

Kimberly Anne Hart sat silently in her window seat listening to the roar of the burly engines as the pilot applied the brake, slowing the plane. It was funny, when she'd first started flying the increased volume had made her nervous. Her overactive imagination had wondered if the engines were making that noise because there was a problem. Images of overheating machinery and an ear splitting explosion had danced through her mind and she'd always kept her eyes firmly closed until the sound had dissipated and the plane had begun to trundle slowly towards the docking station, much as it was now. Now, though, it was different. She didn't exactly remember when she'd stopped being a nervous flier, but the memory of all those times had stayed with her.

A soft ping echoed throughout the cabin followed by the soothing voice of the Captain who announced that they had arrived at their destination. He stated the time, the weather and the usual warning about waiting until the seatbelt sign had been switched off before standing before thanking all passengers for traveling with the airline and wishing everyone a pleasant stay.

Kimberly often wondered if all Captains said the same thing, although she could never remember to make a mental note about what the last had said. She decided that this time she would.

The scramble, as people left their seats the instant the seatbelt light blinked out, was normal. It occurred to Kimberly that people always seemed to think that if they didn't rush then maybe the plane would take off again. It was a handy mentality to have, say, for a bus or a train, where that was a very real possibility. But on a plane it just seemed silly.

She sat patiently, watching the people around her removing their hand luggage and stretching stiff limbs. Smiling at her neighbor, as he made room for her to exit her seat, Kimberly slipped by him and removed the single, pink, handbag that she'd stored in the overhead compartment and stood silently behind him listening to others around her chatting about seeing family, or sightseeing.

For the first time since she'd left Florida, Kimberly felt nervous and her stomach had wrenched uncomfortably as she'd stood. The butterflies inside her felt like they were less dancing and more like they were having a full blown keggar. She felt bloated and about to be physically sick.

It was stupid. She knew that.

"People don't change in six months," her reasoning soothed, temporarily calming her before it added a rather harsh, "I think."

She took deep, calming breaths and tried to relax. Her feelings about him hadn't changed, and, after what they had been through, she was pretty sure that his wouldn't have changed either.

So why this feeling?

There was movement ahead of her and a few seconds later Kimberly was shuffling her way towards the exit along with the rest of the passengers, all the way trying desperately to keep her lunch down. Before she knew it, she was at the door.

"Thank you, enjoy your stay," a young female flight attendant with a dazzling white smile chirped as Kimberly passed her and exited the plane.

An, "Urgh," was all she could muster.

Moving up the tunnel, Kimberly felt the fresh, Californian air wash over her, and though it eased her slightly once she cleared the tunnel exit she moved slightly to one side, so as not to cause an obstruction, and leaned against the hard, stone wall of Angel Grove Airport.

It was all fear she decided. Fear of the unknown, fear that what had happened to her in the past would happen again. Fear that when she walked through that arrivals gate, instead of seeing his smiling face, the only thing that would greet her would be an awkward smile and an uncomfortable conversation. Fear that he would break her heart.

Kimberly noticed that the stream of people exiting the tunnel was starting to slow. A few of them cast curious glances her way, probably wondering why she was waiting there. Thankfully, nobody asked her what the problem was. She was glad for that small mercy. Imagine trying to explain that the reason you didn't want to leave the limbo between immigration and the airplane was because you were afraid of the man that you'd fallen in love with.

She giggled at that thought and almost instantly felt better. Trying to imagine Adam as anything but kind and generous was a trial in futility. She recalled Rocky once saying, before she and Adam had been together, that "When he dies, he's going to run for Jesus!"

Although it was meant as a joke most of the rangers seated around the table had agreed, including her. Adam had only turned a deep shade of crimson and, knowing this, they'd kept it up all through the evening referring to him as only "Future JC."

She giggled again and began to make her way towards immigration. The memories of the past washing away any nerves and fears that she'd had.

Suddenly, she couldn't wait.

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Adam Park was a wreck.

And his best friend Rocky DeSantos wasn't making him feel much better.

"All I'm saying is…what if she's put on, like…I don't know…200 pounds. Would you still love her?" the former red ranger asked while leaning on the steel bar that ringed the arrival gate.

A rather heavyset woman shot him a disgusted look that Rocky either didn't see it, or chose to ignore. "I'm not answering that," Adam said, his eyes still glued to the gate and his teeth still clenched, "Now will you shut up?"

"Ha!" Rocky spat standing upright, "Good luck with that, many have tried."

"Why are you here again?"

Rocky gave him a sideways look, "You know why."

"Well then I obviously forgot, so tell me again," despite his apparent annoyance Adam was secretly thankful for the red rangers company, if anything Rocky was a welcome distraction. Had he come here alone he probably would've arrived six hours early and swiftly proceeded to drive himself insane with worry about how Kimberly was going to react when she saw him.

"I don't wanna be home when the Misses gets back," Adam smiled, he knew for a fact that Trini hated Rocky referring to her that way.

"And why's that?"

"I might have had a small accident this morning," Rocky muttered evasively, "It's nothing too major."

Adam was suddenly interested, "Really? You didn't tell me you did something wrong."

Rocky paused, "I didn't?"

"No, you didn't" Adam smiled, "You said, "Trini's pissed off with me" You never said she was going to be. She's gonna be pissed right?"

Rocky raised his eyebrows and exhaled loudly, "Oh yeah."

"So what did you do?"

There was silence, Adam let it hang there knowing that this was what Rocky did. He liked to feel like he kept people in suspense when he was telling a story by building up the tension, and to be fair for most people he did. But Adam and Aisha knew him well enough for it not to bother them so much."

After twenty seconds Rocky finally spoke, albeit slowly, "I…may have…ripped the shower nozzle out of the wall this morning," he ended the sentence quickly.

Adam just stared at him, "But you turned the water off afterwards right?"

Rocky gave him a blank look.

Adam burst into laughter. The heavyset woman huffed loudly and moved further away from the two, muttering something under her breath. This time though, it was Adam who didn't notice. "I panicked okay," Rocky said defensively, "As soon as it happened I just ran, all the way to your place. That reminds me, you need to give me a new key to your apartment. I may have lost my old one."

"Did you pick my lock again?"

Rocky held up his hands, "Hey relax, don't get mad, once the Misses gets a hold of me I'm as good dead anyway," he said and hung his head dejectedly.

Adam smiled and shook his head, "I still don't understand how you managed to rip the shower out. What were you doing? Hanging from the thing?"

Rocky stared ahead, a confused expression plastered all over his face, "Not even I know, I mean the thing wasn't even loose, I just wanted to redirect the spray and the next thing you know I'm being blasted into the back panel with the damn thing in my hand. It was really weird." He suddenly turned to Adam and grinned, "I am so dead aren't I?"

Adam grinned back, "Yep, pretty much."

Rocky shrugged and turned back to facing the gate, "Thought so."

Smiling Adam leaned back on the metal bar and turned his attention to a part of the airport he'd ignored up until now, which of course was the rest of it. He suddenly felt a lot better about his and Kimberly's relationship, the uncomfortable ness he had felt when first arriving had receded into no more than a faint doubt.

Hell, if Trini could forgive Rocky, which, probably after about six days of beatings, she would, then he had absolutely nothing to worry about. He didn't even know why he'd been worried in the first place. He and Kimberly spoke on the phone and via email quite often and they'd both assured each other that the way that they had felt when Kimberly had left six months ago had not changed. For him this was definitely true, and he was relatively sure that it was the same for Kimberly. It was possible that she had been lying over the phone because she wanted to tell him that her feelings had changed in person. But he doubted it.

Closing his eyes he took a deep breath. For the first time since he arrived he was feeling excited, the butterflies in his stomach had all but gone and he couldn't seem to be able to wipe the stupid smirk that had materialized on his face off.

He felt Rocky give him a small nudge and whisper, "Hey Romeo."

That was literally a second before a soft, teasing voice said, "Ahem?"

Adam froze. The butterflies were back.

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When Kimberly was passing through the arrivals gate she'd immediately spotted Rocky. She couldn't miss him really. Wearing old, tattered jeans and a paint splattered t-shirt, his hair was sticking up at every conceivable angle and he'd looked like he'd just fallen out of bed.

To put it simply, he looked like a tramp.

Beside him, facing the opposite direction was Adam. Her heart jumped into her throat as soon as she saw him, or at least saw the back of his head. A smile appeared on her face and she started to make her way towards them, dragging the small, electric pink suitcase behind her. The butterflies reappeared in her stomach, only this time there was no wrenching pain or worry. This time they were good butterflies. The kind she'd felt just before her and Adam had shared their first kiss.

Turning his head in the direction of the gate Rocky spotted her and proceeded to open his mouth to say or, rather, shout something. She quickly made a shushing sound with her one free hand. At first he just stared at her puzzled, his mouth still hanging open, but then with a smile he closed it and proceeded to give Kimberly what was probably the most over exaggerated wink in the history of mankind. She rolled her eyes but, at the same time, felt the smile on her face grow even wider, until it had turned into a full toothed grin.

Adam was still facing away from her by the time she reached the barrier that they were standing behind. Her ears picked up a muttered, "Hey Romeo," from Rocky before she opened her own mouth. "Ahem?" she said and watched his entire body stiffen. She was reminded of her father telling her once that if you shined a light into wild rabbits eyes while walking through a field it would freeze from a mixture of shock and terror. She hoped that it didn't have the same meaning with men.

Adam whirled round an instant later, the look on his face making her heart melt. He looked so cute and bewildered, as if the thought of her sneaking up on him was almost impossible to comprehend. His eyes met hers and on doing so he smiled shyly and glanced away. A, "H…Hi," was all he could seem to muster.

At that moment Kimberly was both relieved and overwhelmed. Things hadn't changed a bit, neither her feelings for him nor his feelings for her, that much was obvious. And although all she wanted to do was throw her arms around him, she wasn't about to let him get off that easily.

"H…Hi," she mimicked playfully, "That's all I get," she released the handle of her suitcase before setting both hands firmly on her hips and a scowl on her face, "No, how are you? It's great to see you?"

Adam looked stricken, "No, I didn't mean…" he blurted out before catching the playful smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. He chuckled and, embarrassed, rubbed the back of his neck, "It's great to see you."

Kimberly nodded approvingly, "Damn right it is."

He cocked an eyebrow, "When do you leave again?"

She swatted him on the chest, "Funny aren't you?" she teased.

"Hilarious," he countered.

They fell into silence, and for a few moments, neither were really sure how many, they embraced each other over the barrier.

"I missed you," Kimberly whispered into his ear gently, holding him even tighter.

At that moment Adam couldn't possibly imagine the scene being anymore perfect than it already was.

"Well…she didn't get fat anyway," Rocky said, smacking Adam on the back in congratulations.

Okay, maybe it could've been a little more perfect.

To Be Continued

Okay, from writing this chapter I realized three things about myself.

I suck at introspective writing and…

I really enjoy writing Rocky, probably more than any other character, which is weird since Adam was always my favourite ranger

I have absolutely no idea how long it takes to fly from Florida to California (sorry)

Anyways, whether you like or dislike the story please review (constructive criticism only please) and if you continue on you'll hear more from me soon.

Regards

Boulder

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