Disclaimer: Saban owns Power Rangers and the characters within, not I.
Kimberly Hart pulled the gear shift on her car into park and reached up to shut off the ignition. She leaned forward and placed her arms on the steering wheel to get a better view out of the windshield. She sat unmoving for several moments staring at the rock formation in front of her. She smiled sadly as she traced the outline of it and matched it with her memory.
Kim reached down to retrieve her phone, ignoring the blinking indicating she had missed calls and messages. She sighed heavily and opened the door to her car. She stepped out into the warm desert air and it took her breath for a moment. It had been too long. She stuffed her phone into her pocket and shut the door. After tying her hair up in a loose ponytail she began to make her way towards the rocks in front of her.
Kim stopped at the bottom and glanced up. It would not be an easy climb. In the past, she hardly had ever had to make the climb but from the times she had, she knew it was not easy. She looked for the best place to tackle it and began to make her journey walking up the steep incline.
Kim stopped halfway up to glance behind her thinking she had heard another engine. She furrowed her brow when she didn't see anything. She couldn't imagine who would have been out here or even why anyone would be this far out. She turned back to the task at hand to finish the climb.
Finally, the hill was cresting and with a few more steps Kim had made it to the top. She stopped to catch her breath. A simple reminder she wasn't as young as the last time she made the climb. Kim took in a deep breath before looking around at the area. To most it was just a big clearing on the top of a rocky hill, to her it was more than that.
Kim walked closer to the middle of the opening on the hill and closed her eyes as many memories began to flood her mind. She smiled absentmindedly before opening her eyes. It was then she could clearly envision everything as it had looked all of those years ago. She scanned the ground for any sign, anything other than rock or sand. She took a few steps and stopped.
Kim knelt down and ran her hand across the sand. She couldn't believe it. It was a piece of what appeared to be a control panel. She pulled it loose from the sand and smacked it a couple of times to clear it off. The markings on it meant little to her. She never did learn how to operate any of it. Billy, however, would be able to tell her exactly what it was for.
Kim found herself wanting to clutch the dirty panel to her but resisted. Instead, she placed it back on the ground and began to look around for any more evidence of her past. She frowned as nothing else seemed to be coming into view. She wasn't surprised but was certainly disappointed. She continued walking along with her eyes on the ground in front of her feet. She was so focused she didn't hear the steps approaching from behind.
"Are you lost?" a voice from behind Kim prompted her to stop in her tracks. She was overcome with many emotions after the initial shock wore off. The voice. She recognized it. She should. No one else had ever sounded like him. Kim turned to confirm with her eyes what her ears were picking up on.
"Jason..." was all that Kim could work up in response as her eyes settled on someone she had not seen in far too long.
"Kim..." Jason was now lost for what to say as the realization hit him.
"What... how... why?" Kim could not formulate a proper sentence.
"Um..." Jason began to respond but was suddenly not sure which to answer first. There was silence between them instead. "It's been ten years."
"No..." Kim responded. She did the math in her head quickly though and determined that it was true.
"Next month... ten years," Jason stated.
"Gosh..." Kim reacted.
"What are you doing up here?" Jason questioned.
"I... um..." Kim had forgotten why she had come momentarily. "I just wanted to get away."
"And you came here?" Jason inquired. He took a few steps closer and knelt down to look at the control panel that Kim had unearthed. Kim couldn't take her eyes off of him. She had never been hit with so many emotions and she wasn't sure which was going to win. A part of her wanted to run to him and hug him. Another part of her just wanted to run.
"I... um... found that," Kim said as she stepped a couple of steps closer to him.
"Wow..." Jason remarked as he looked at it. Kim saw him smile and she found that it made her want to do the same.
"I couldn't believe it... I didn't really expect there to be anything left," Kim stated. Jason's eyes went from the panel back up to Kim and he stood up. Subconsciously Kim had moved to stand just a few feet from him now. She hadn't noticed until he looked at her. She felt heart skip a beat and she searched his eyes to see if she could still read him.
"This is... this is probably the only thing left... that's not completely buried," Jason responded, holding eye contact with her. Kim's eyes moved down to his arms as he folded them in front of his chest.
"Why are you here?" Kim turned the tables.
"I come up here... often," Jason confessed. Kim wasn't expecting to hear that.
"Why?" Kim asked. She watched as Jason's eyes moved to look around the area.
"I don't know..." Jason began. "I just do."
"You miss him..." Kim speculated. This garnered Jason's eyes back to her. He didn't need to answer. She knew. She knew because she felt it too.
"It's been a long time," Jason replied. He walked past Kim and surveyed the area. Kim turned to look at him from behind. She lowered her head as she searched for her next words.
"Jason," Kim found herself voicing his name once more, but she had nothing to follow it with.
"I wondered if I'd see you again," Jason stated with his back still to Kim. She wished he would turn so she could see his face again.
"I..." Kim hesitated. "I didn't know if I'd ever come back here."
"But you did," Jason responded. He turned to face her.
"I did," Kim agreed with a nod. She felt a vibration in the pocket of her jeans and she was reminded once more what had brought her here. She reached down into her pocket to pull her phone out to see he was calling again. She pressed decline and shoved the phone back into her pocket.
"Surprised you get reception out here," Jason commented as he watched her.
"Well... I kind of wish I didn't," Kim replied. Her eyes moved up to find Jason looking at her. She wanted to smile. She didn't know if she should though. Not after being gone so long. Not after the way she had left things. The way she had left him.
"You still living in L.A.?" Jason asked.
"Mmhmm," Kim responded with a nod. "What about you?"
"Here," Jason replied. "Angel Grove."
"How long have you been back here?" Kim inquired.
"A few years now," Jason answered. He took a few steps over to a nearby rock wall and ran his hand along it. "Just... always felt like home."
"I can see that," Kim responded. She remembered how she felt driving through the city to get back up here. She found herself wanting to stop several times at the many landmarks from her youth. She watched as Jason turned back to her. From all the years she had known him she could tell he was holding back and wanted to say something. "What is it?"
"I don't know..." Jason began. He shrugged his shoulders. Kim watched his movements and mannerisms as they matched her memories perfectly.
"It's okay... we can talk," Kim assured him, taking a couple steps closer to him.
"Why?" Jason asked simply. Kim stopped.
"Why what?" Kim asked in return.
"I know why you left... I know why things ended..." Jason began, he paused. "I just don't know why you just disappeared."
"It was easier," Kim replied honestly. "After we ended things... I just... I never really knew what to say..."
"We could have..." Jason paused, unsure of his words. "We could have still been friends."
"Could we?" Kim asked. She had told herself that over the years but never had been able to make herself believe it.
"We were before," Jason stated.
"That was before," Kim countered. Jason nodded and Kim could tell he was not sure of his argument. Memories of their breakup began to fill her mind. "I hated myself."
"Why?" Jason asked. She saw him instinctively take a few steps towards her.
"That I came between you two," Kim clarified.
"You didn't" Jason protested.
"Jason..." Kim responded. "I was there... after he found out, things with you guys were never the same."
"That wasn't your fault," Jason said.
"It was," Kim responded.
"No... no one was to blame there," Jason stated. He stuffed his hands into his jean pockets and sighed. His gaze went out across the desert. "We fell in love Kim... we couldn't help that."
Something about his words hit Kim hard. She took in his appearance and found herself fighting feeling she had thought were long gone. He was right. They had fallen in love. He had come to visit her in Florida. He was there for her when she competed and eventually moved in with her. It had all started innocent enough but it didn't stay that way.
"Maybe we should have fought it... maybe I should have left before anything happened but..." Jason paused. He turned to look at Kim. "I didn't want to... I didn't think about how he would feel."
"I know..." Kim responded. "We had both moved on."
"Yeah... I know..." Jason said. "Still..."
"Do you talk to him now?" Kim inquired. To her surprise, Jason nodded.
"Oddly enough... yeah... he and I are best friends again," Jason answered. "It took some time, but he got over it and things just went back to the way they were."
"That's good," Kim replied with a small smile. She was sincerely relieved to know Jason and Tommy were best friends again. Things seemed a lot more right in the world knowing that. Suddenly though she felt sad though as she realized how out of touch she was with both of them.
"He'd probably like to see you again," Jason stated. Kim nodded. "Kat too."
"They are married?" Kim asked.
"Yeah... happily..." Jason responded.
"Are you... I mean did you ever..." Kim wanted to ask but hesitated not sure if she wanted the answer.
"I'm not married," Jason answered. "You?"
"Not married..." Kim replied. As if on cue she felt a vibration in her pocket once more.
"Not going to answer it?" Jason asked upon hearing the vibration.
"It's..." Kim hesitated. She looked at Jason. Suddenly she just wanted to open up to him. Something about him was so disarming. It was this warmth and inviting quality that had forged a strong friendship between them. It was also these same qualities that had caused the friendship to become more during those months in Florida.
"It's none of my business," Jason said as he walked over to look out over the desert surrounding them.
"Jason," Kim said as she walked to close the distance between them. He turned to her and this was the closest they had been. "Can I talk to you?"
"I think that's what you've been doing," Jason said with a small smile. Kim returned the smile.
"I mean... honestly..." Kim began. "The person calling is my boyfriend... well he was."
"Okay..." Jason responded with a nod. Kim studied him for signs if she should continue or not. He didn't seem distressed and she decided to go for it.
"He is my ex as of last week," Kim continued. "He... um..."
"He cheated," Jason finished for her. Kim had been looking at the ground summoning the courage to talk candidly with him again. His words prompted her to make eye contact with him.
"How..." Kim began.
"I just... assumed," Jason replied. "The way you were hesitating."
"Yeah..." Kim said. "He cheated... he... she was a co-worker and yeah... and now he keeps blowing my phone up wanting to apologize and talk and blah blah."
"Screw him," Jason said. Kim furrowed her brow at him. "I mean... cheating... that's no good."
"It isn't," Kim agreed. "And yeah... hence why I'm not answering."
"Good for you," Jason said. "Was it serious?"
"Pretty serious," Kim answered.
"Even worse," Jason stated.
"I know..." Kim said with a shrug. "So yeah... I just wanted to get away..."
"I understand," Jason reacted with a sympathetic nod.
"Listen to me... I shouldn't dump all of this on you," Kim said.
"No... it's fine," Jason responded with a dismissive hand gesture.
"I'm sorry, Jase," Kim stated. She wanted to cry but she wasn't sure why. Whether it was the breakup or just being here with Jason, after so long.
"It's okay," Jason replied. "I mean... it's in the past now."
"I know... but I'm sorry we drifted apart the way we did," Kim said.
"Well..." Jason began. "Truthfully... it would have been hard to be friends again... I wanted it, trust me I did, and I would have tried... but after..."
He didn't finish the sentence but he didn't need to for Kim to understand. She remembered all too well the way she felt about him. There had been a few relationships since Jason, but none had left the lasting impression on her the way he did. She loved him. She knew that. He was her first love. Real love.
"That summer... that started it," Kim began. Her words caught in her throat when he turned to her. She could only smile as she regained her composure. "I fell so hard for you."
"Yeah... the feeling was mutual," Jason replied with a smile. Kim had missed his smile. She was cursing herself for being away from it for so long. After that summer they spent the next several months together in Florida. Their relationship was mostly a private thing that they shared just between themselves. It wasn't until they had returned home for the holidays that things had soured and all the drama began.
"I..." Kim shook her head.
"What?" Jason asked.
"Stupid," was the only word Kim could think of. She could tell from the look of confusion on Jason's face that he needed more. "The way everything went down."
"Oh," Jason responded with a nod.
"Our timing..." Kim began.
"It sucked," Jason finished for her. Both of them laughed together for the first time in years and Kim felt a warmth come over her.
"It totally did," Kim agreed. "You just had to come to Florida and make me fall for you."
"I did... that was my evil plan," Jason played along.
"Oh I know... you should be ashamed," Kim teased.
"I'm not... not a bit," Jason replied. There was a moment of silence between them. Something was bubbling up inside of Kim and she had to ask.
"Can I...?" Kim began. She opened her arms to finish her thought worldlessly. Jason nodded and soon they were entangled in a tight embrace. Kim would be happy to stay in his arms the rest of the night if it were up to her. It had been too long. No one gave hugs to match his. The way he squeezed her indicated he was just as happy to be holding her as well.
"Kim..." Jason whispered. Kim moved her head back to look at him. "It's good to see you again..."
"Same," Kim responded. She knew she'd kiss him if she didn't entangle herself. She wasn't sure that would be the best thing to do. She broke the hug and they stepped back a couple of steps and turned to look out over the horizon to see the sun starting to set.
"We should probably get out of here before nightfall," Jason said. Kim nodded in agreement. Jason turned to look behind them and walked over to pick up the piece of the control panel. He then made his way back over to her. Kim started to approach the hill the way she came up but was stopped when she felt Jason take her by the hand.
"What?" Kim asked, turning around.
"You are going down that way?" Jason asked.
"Yeah..." Kim replied.
"Follow me," Jason said as he gestured behind them. Kim nodded and then followed him as he led them to the other side of a rock formation. Kim shook her head laughed when she saw the small incline and much less treacherous path in front of her down the side of the hill.
"Wish I'd have known about this before," Kim said as they started to descend.
"Yeah... it beats climbing that side," Jason responded as the two moved in step together down the side of the hill.
"It was even simpler when we could teleport here," Kim remarked. She turned to see the fond smile appear on Jason's face.
"It was," Jason agreed. "I miss that."
"Me too..." Kim replied as the two reached the bottom of the hill. She turned to Jason. "What about morphing?"
"What about it?" Jason asked.
"Do you miss it?" Kim clarified.
"Of course," Jason responded. "You don't?"
"I do," Kim agreed. Jason pointed behind her. Kim turned and saw what he was pointing at.
"You remember?" Jason inquired. Kim studied the rock formation and then turned back to Jason.
"You never forget your first time..." Kim responded with a smile.
"We had no idea what we were doing, but we were getting our butts handed to us by those putties," Jason reminisced.
"Yep... so we morphed," Kim said.
"We did," Jason agreed.
"We saved the day," Kim stated.
"We had no idea... it was only the beginning," Jason responded, he turned to look at Kim. "I wouldn't trade it for anything."
"Me either," Kim agreed and the two began walking again. Kim looked ahead to see a Jeep parked next to her car.
"I assume that's yours?" Kim asked with a point to the vehicle.
"Yep," Jason replied. "That's me."
"The Jeep love is strong in you," Kim commented with a grin.
"Guilty," Jason responded. "I can't quit them."
"Loyal," Kim commented and the two stopped and there was a silence between them.
They both spoke the other's name at the same time.
"You first," Jason said with a smile.
"No... you," Kim insisted returning his smile.
"I was just going to ask if you are driving back to L.A. tonight?" Jason asked.
"I... hadn't thought about it," Kim replied. Jason nodded. "I don't have much I'm anxious to get back to."
"I get it," Jason said as he placed the control panel in the back of his Jeep and turned to Kim. "I'm gonna take that to Billy... he'll love it."
"How is he?" Kim asked.
"He's great," Jason replied.
"We text, but I haven't seen him in awhile," Kim said.
"Maybe you should stick around for awhile," Jason suggested as he made his way over to the front of his Jeep.
"Maybe I should," Kim agreed. She studied Jason for a moment before continuing. "You... um..."
"What?" Jason asked when she hadn't finished her thought after several seconds.
"Do you think we could..." Kim began. "Could talk some more?"
"Sure," Jason responded with a smile. Kim was relieved to hear him say it. She felt like goodbye was coming and didn't want that. Not yet. Jason leaned up against the front of the Jeep and crossed his arms. "What's on your mind?"
"A million things," Kim said as she fell into a spot next to him and mimicked his posture.
"I can imagine... being back here," Jason responded.
"Yeah... so many memories," Kim said.
"Good ones," Jason added.
"Mostly," Kim agreed.
"Nowhere is perfect," Jason suggested.
"No... but home is about as good as it gets," Kim replied.
"Yeah... I can't argue with that," Jason stated. Kim turned to him. She felt it again. The reason they couldn't be friends. The reason she had to leave and stay away. She was falling.
"I missed you," Kim said. Her words got his attention. He smiled.
"I missed you too, Kim," Jason responded. She felt across the bumper of the Jeep until she found his hand. She hesitated. He didn't. He took her hand in his and it was perfect. The feeling she felt right now she wanted to bottle up and keep it forever.
"Jason, I don't," Kim was trying to put into words what she felt but wasn't sure how.
"I'm sorry if I..." Jason let go of her hand.
"No..." Kim responded moving to stand in front of him. At that moment she was transported back to the summer of '97. Before everything went bad. When she fell in love with her best friend and it was perfect.
"Kim..." Jason started to speak but stopped when Kim moved in to kiss him. She hadn't been this nervous in years. She was afraid he would stop her. He did not.
"Jason," Kim's voice was barely above a whisper as they pulled apart. She lost her voice completely when his hand brushed her cheek. She opened her eyes and got lost in his. "I'm not sure this is the best idea..."
"Let's not overthink it," Jason replied. Kim nodded and fell back into her spot next to him. Her hand found his again.
"Hypothetically speaking though... if I did move back to Angel Grove..." Kim began. She turned to look at Jason. His smile spoke for him. He turned to her.
"I'd like that," Jason said. They fell into a comfortable silence as the first stars began to appear in the sky. "I know some other people who'd like to see you... the night is young."
"Sounds good to me," Kim replied. She felt a weight lift off her shoulders. Her week had been the worst. Her life was turned upside down. She was lost. She needed to get away. She wasn't sure what she'd find back in Angel Grove. She'd found home.