Disclaimer: Saban owns Power Rangers and the characters within, not I.

Jason Scott shut the door to his apartment behind him. Letting it slam a little harder than he intended. He let out a loud sigh and the flipped his keys over on the counter to his left. He took a few purposeful steps past the living room and kitchen and into the hallway on the backside of them. He stopped as a wave of pain crashed over his midsection.

Jason quickly peeled off his red t-shirt and discarded it on a table at the hallway entrance. He took a few more steps to his left and reached into a room and flipped a light on before fully stepping inside. His hands instinctively found the sink in front of him and he slumped his body forward, supporting his weight fully on the sink.

Jason stared at the drain of the sink for several moments, both as a tool to collect his thoughts but also out of dread at looking up into the mirror above him. Slowly he brought his gaze up and found he barely recognized the face looking back at him. It was as if a stranger had invaded his own home and was there taunting him from the reflection on the other side. Jason resisted the urge to slam his hand down on the sink in front of him, not wanting to shatter it.

"Ouch.." Jason audibly voiced as his eyes lowered to his multicolored sternum and abdomen. Dark blues, reds, and purples ran across nearly the entirety of what skin Jason could see in the mirror. He ran a hand tentatively down his chest and muffled curses under his breath as he came across the most tender spots. He stopped at the waistline of his jeans and then reached up to run some water from the sink. After a couple of seconds, he leaned forward and splashed it on his face.

Jason heard the front door knob turn and the door slowly release and push open. Jason reached over and flicked the light off to the bathroom and stepped out into the hallway. He focused his eyes as the sun backlit the front door from his spot down the darkened hallway. He caught a glimpse of her face and moved to retrieve the t-shirt on the table in front of him.

"Don't... let me see." Kimberly's voice came closer to him as she made her way towards the hall. Jason lowered his hands and waited for her to flip the light on. Immediately her eyes were roaming all over his bare midsection. After she had seen it she raised her gaze to meet his.

"Don't worry.." Jason began.

"I've never seen it this bad.." Kim responded, reaching a hand tentatively out to touch his stomach. She slowly recoiled it before it could graze the skin.

"We are all beat up," He countered as his eyes watched the movement of her hand.

"He targets you," She stated.

"Yeah," He agreed as they both took a step closer to each other.

"You take hits you don't have to," She continued.

"No," He replied. Immediately her face hardened and she prepared a counter-argument. He put his hands up in surrender. "Maybe sometimes."

"You don't need to do that," She stated.

"If Tommi were still here..." He began.

"She isn't... and that's not your fault," Kim quickly responded.

"I could have saved her powers," He said.

"And Trini would have been dead," She countered. He sighed and slumped his shoulders. After a moment she reached down and took him by the hand. He raised his eyes to meet hers. "Come on."

She led them back into the bathroom he had just exited from and flipped the light on. She opened the medicine cabinet and scanned it's contents, her hand with a firm grip still on his. After locating what she was looking for she broke her grip to reach up and unscrew the cap of the jar in her hand. She nodded towards the edge of the bathtub.

"Sit," She said as she ran a hand through the cream inside the jar. She glanced up to see him following her suggestion.

"You don't have to... it'll heal eventually," He protested.

"Not fast enough... not like it used to," She countered.

"His magic... it's more powerful... and he never stops," He stated. She nodded and then gestured for him to raise his arms. She then reached down and smeared some of the cream across his chest. He recoiled.

"I'm sorry... I'll be gentler," She apologized. He shook his head.

"It's just cold," He countered with his first grin of the evening. She couldn't help but reciprocate with one of her own before she began to work her hands in circles to rub the cream in. She dipped her hand back inside for more and then this time applied it much lower, attempted to soothe a particularly rough patch just beneath his belly button. He jumped once more as the more sensitive skin was reached. She stifled an audible laugh and glanced up to see him watching her intently.

"Cold?" She asked.

"Yup," He answered with a certain sparkle in his eye and sheepish grin she had grown terribly fond of over the last few years. She resisted the urge to kiss him and instead glanced down at her work once more satisfied that she had gotten most of the medicine rubbed in as good as she could. She straightened up and walked over to the sink to wash her hands.

"I'll smell like this stuff the rest of the night now," She stated as she vigorously scrubbed her hands.

"I could have done it..." He replied.

"You wouldn't have," She countered. She glanced over to see him shrug in agreement and stand up. Satisfied with the cleanliness of her hands she reached over to shut the faucet and off and then dry her hands on a towel. She felt him standing close to her now and turned to him. She took in his face, scanning it. She reached up and gently ran a hand through his beard. "You look tired."

"I need to shave," He responded as she glanced over in the mirror to see what several days of neglecting his face had accomplished.

"Right now?" She asked.

"Sure," He answered as he reached over and retrieved his razor from the sink top. He wetted it as she moved to his other side to allow him room. She watched as he applied some shaving lather on his face, turning to her when he had a face full of it applied. He winked at her, and she smiled and rolled her eyes. She was mesmerized as he went about taking gently strides across his face with the razor.

"You're kind of hot you know," She commented right as he was focusing intently on a spot on above his lip. He stopped long enough to grin before he continued the task at hand without a verbal response. She continued watching him until he finally reached for a towel to dry his face with. After a few pats, he turned to her.

"Better?" He asked. She shrugged. "Still hot?"

"Yes," She answered. He grinned, satisfied.

"Hungry?" He asked with a gesture towards the hallway.

"I need a shower first," She replied as she gestured behind her.

"Okay," He replied. She reached down and lifted her shirt over her head. He took in the bare skin around her bra and his eyes fell on some bruises of her own. He reached over to retrieve the bottle of cream she had used earlier.

"I would just shower it off," She stated, knowing he was offering to return her gesture.

"Sure?" He asked.

"Uh-huh," She answered. They locked eyes. He smiled. She smiled.

"I'm gonna go find food," He said as he backed towards the doorway.

"Okay," She responded as she slid her pants off. He exited and she turned to the shower to turn it on and get the water just right. After it reached the right temperature she felt his presence in the room once more and straightened up to lean back into him. She let herself be taken into his arms and smiled as her head found the crook in his neck and his lips found her temple. Their hands found their way to be intertwined once more. She felt his finger tracing the ring on hers.

"I love you," His words were soft but impactful. She closed her eyes.

"I love you too," She replied.