Author's Note: Rewritten. Some things remain, while others fell away, new ones washing ashore, and the story evolves. It also expands (from 4,600 words to 8,400). Also I suggest rereading the first chapter because it was also rewritten.

Still much love to MegaSilver for helping me with the initial writing of this chapter and helping me to piece the story together early on.

~Delysia

This chapter is a Very Strong Teen rating. You have been warned.


Chapter Two: There and Back

Kimberly was part way through a song when she first felt his eyes on her. The same warm tingle running up her spine that had always alerted her to his presence but it had taken her a moment for her to be able to hunt him out. On first sweeping glance, she hadn't recognized him- the hair, the clothes. It was proof that they had all grown up when she wasn't looking. She still struggled to wrap her mind around the fact that they were all adults now. The kids she knew in high school had real jobs, kids of their own. They were married, divorced and she was still just Kimberly, still searching for something, anything that would hold her attention and not let her go.

She acknowledged Tommy with the tilt of her head which he returned with a salute of his beer, settling into watch her at a back corner table. His gaze was so open and intense that she fought to keep the waiver in her gut from crawling into her voice.

"Can you help me remember how to smile? Make it somehow all seem worthwhile?"

She focused on the song and eventually recovered her composure, falling into the melody, her face aglow with pleasure as she sang. Her voice coming out clear and strong as if she were singing for a stadium and not a small bar that was barely half full on a Tuesday night.

She didn't mind the small crowd, the cramped stage, the cover songs- none of it. It was all just a new adventure and she relished the challenge. She missed the excitement, the battle, whenever life became too easy, which was probably why it went so pear shaped in Atlanta. It was all a little too perfect and yet so wrong. She was beginning to think that the only contentment she could have was in the chase.

When the set was done, she thanked the small crowd, set down her guitar, and hopped off the edge of the stage. There was a flutter in her stomach as she approached Tommy, a wave of nervous energy, a sweet pain of anxious anticipation that had sorely been missing from her life as of late. She had forgotten what it all felt like- to actually be excited, and scared and nauseous in the best way.

"Hi," Kimberly offered with a smile as he stood to meet her. "Glad you were able to make it." She quickly hugged him, her one arm coming up to wrap around on his broad shoulders as he put one hand on her back and pulled her into his side. It was a brief, friendly gesture but Kim couldn't resist closing her eyes for a split second, inhaling deep and breathing him in.

"You were awesome," he commented, pulling out a chair and gesturing for her to sit. Kim had to grin at the action. Denise Oliver had raised her son right.

"I was a little off key in that last song," Kimberly admitted. It was a new habit she was trying to work on, part of her therapy now in a way, to acknowledge that she wasn't perfect. Part of her recovery from too much time spent in the glaringly harsh light of the public spotlight, a reminder that she wasn't without flaws, didn't need to be, she was enough as is- though the last part always felt like a lie.

"No." His gaze was painfully direct, Kim couldn't help but feel somewhat stripped bare beneath his stare. "Not flat at all. Kim…" he paused, searching for words, or maybe aware that he was saying too much- Kim couldn't tell. All she could feel was the thud in her chest and the rush of blood to her ears, as she waited impatiently. "Yes?"

He leaned back then, reclining ever so slightly in his seat. "Nothing. I just forgot how good you were, that's all."

Kimberly beamed under his praise, basking in the warmth of his words. "Well I'm just glad you were able to make it. I thought you would be here earlier. I was getting worried about you."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you."

"Let me guess? You were super busy at your dino thing and forgot? I'm right, aren't I?"

"Like I would ever forget you."

"Smooth," she offered with a single quirked eyebrow and a smirk. Apparently gone was the shy, nervous boy she had known years ago. Now there was a confident air about him, not only in his words but in the way he unabashedly watched her from his seat. Clearly at some point, he had discovered how sinfully handsome he really was. Pity too, there had been something endlessly adorable in the way he had never seem to know how desirable he was.

Well, he might be Cassanova now (she mentally fought to block out the image of him with any other woman besides her), but she had three years of anecdotal evidence that he had started out as anything but. She leaned into the table as she spoke, telling him how it must have been some other guy she dated in high school, obviously it couldn't have been him who even forgot her birthday one year.

The subtle rise of color on his cheeks was her reward before she found him also leaning forward, causing her ears to flame with a rush of blood at being so close. "Well," Tommy offered, "having not seen you for a decade moved you up the memory priority list."

"Glad to know I finally made the cut."

"Kim…"

There was something serious in his tone that she fought to ignore. "I can't believe it has really been that long."

"Yeah. Hard to believe right?"

A decade between the people they had been, a lifetime of missed stories, miles of growing, and yet- she couldn't describe it, that pull, that draw, that something that existed between them. By all accounts it should have been dead and buried, eroded long ago by time and tempered by adulthood. Yet it lived on, evident in every glance.

But she couldn't explain that. So she simply breathed a 'yes' and tried not to think too hard on words like fate and meant to be. She, more than most, knew what an empty promise those words could be. Forcing herself away from that vein of thinking, she offered a small teasing smile. "Well it's good to see you have fixed that punctuality issue."

"What can I say? Old habits die hard. I'm working on it."

"And judging by the fact that you were only almost an hour late, making great strides obviously."

"It's not like that," he insisted and Kim could feel the sobering turn in the conversation, his eyes serious and honest. She held her breath as he continued; bracing herself for whatever it was that had him looking at her like that. "Honestly? I wasn't sure if I should come or not," Tommy admitted.

Kim bristled at his words. The harsh honesty made her blink twice as she willed herself not to overreact to the sharp stab of pain in her chest; the one that made it hurt to exhale. "Well, I guess then I should be happy you bothered to grace me with your presence at all."

"Kimberly…"

"No," she held up a hand, halting his words. "It's- it's fine. Really, Tommy. I hope you at least enjoyed the show." There was a tingle in the tip of her nose and the slightest quiver in her chin that she fought to ignore, brushing past him before she made an even bigger fool of herself. She felt so fucking stupid.

Didn't know what she had been expecting, seeing him again after so long. It wasn't really a date, Kim knew that, but she still hadn't been able to quell those butterflies of anticipation that fluttered in her stomach whenever she thought about seeing him again.

And Tommy?

Couldn't even decide if she was worthy of his time.

It stung. God helped her, it did. It wounded her barely recovering pride and brought up that voice in her head, the one that had become so needlessly cruel. She should have guessed as much and deserved worse, the voice sang into her ear. And Kim couldn't find it in her heart to blame him, or any of them really. But it still made something inside her hurt, she never did deal well with rejection.

She made it three, four, five steps before she could register the pull at her wrist and could process the repeated call of her name. "Kim! Just stop, ok?"

She did but refused to look at him, instead focusing her gaze on where his hand was wrapped around her wrist. Familiar shaped digits that she had once held in her own a lifetime ago. That seemed so far away. Had he loved her then? She wasn't sure. "What?" It came out as a bark, her shaking off his grip.

"Can we just talk?"

Kimberly finally met his stare, shoulder slumped, defeated and begging him to just let her go and lick her wounds in private. "Tommy, it's fine. Just leave it."

None of it was fine but she wasn't about to hash it all out with him, not when the result was the same. She wasn't worth the fight back then and was barely worth seeing now- that much was crystal clear. As to what she had hoped or thought tonight would have been- it didn't matter now.

"It was good to see you again," Kimberly continued, careful to keep her voice pleasant, if detached. "It was nice of you to come out here to see me perform. I hope you have a good conference and a safe trip home."

"Hey, come on. Don't be like that. At least let me finish," he pleaded, not letting her move past him.

There was a tap on Tommy's shoulder, Kim inwardly cringing as Marcus appeared. She didn't want this- didn't want the scene, didn't need the rescue. After all, it was her own doing. She had set this all in motion years ago.

"Hey," the six foot five inch tall, string bean of a drummer interrupted. "Let the lady pass."

"It's fine, Marcus," Kim offered through clenched teeth.

"Wasn't looking that way from where I was."

Tommy held up but hands in a motion of surrender. "Look man, I'm sorry. We were just talking and things got carried away."

"Well, I don't like when things get 'carried away' around K," the grey-eyed drummer stated, clearly unimpressed with the exchange he had just witnessed.

Kim stood rooted to her spot wishing somehow the floor would melt and swallow her up. How come there was never a time-travel wormhole when you needed it? "It's okay," she insisted quietly.

"Not okay," Marcus corrected with a firm voice and point of his finger.

"Like I said, I'm really sorry. Meant no harm, honest. Won't happen again," Tommy promised.

"Who is this idiot?" Marcus questioned Kim.

Then there were two sets of eyes on her as she fought for a way to explain the man across from her, who had once been her world. "Marcus, this is Tommy Oliver- actually Dr. Oliver. We- we went to high school together."

She caught the flash of hurt in Tommy's brown eyes. It wasn't a lie; he was someone she had known back in the days of doodling on notebooks and passing notes. She couldn't claim they were old friends- hadn't really ever perfected that whole friends only thing even back then, and as for what he had meant to her, well it was best if she didn't think too hard on it.

"Call me Tommy."

"Dr. Tommy," Marcus named him, raising a single bushy black eyebrow in Kimberly's direction. "Do I need to have him tossed out?"

Kim swallowed a smile at the thought of Marcus attempting to forcibly remove anyone. For his part, Tommy didn't seem too flustered by Marcus' direct threat, which she appreciated. He had obviously grown calmer in the years they were apart, aided by confidence, and yet still keeping with those manners that had made him one of the most sought after boys at Angel Grove High. "No. It's fine, just a misunderstanding- really," Kim insisted, placating her favorite drummer with a smile and a hand on his folded arms.

"You sure? I don't mind. I still have a lot of pent up aggression over the American Idol elimination last week."

"I'm sure."

Kim could tell Marcus was still hesitant to leave her and she couldn't fault him. He had a front row seat to when her world crashed and burned years ago, and it was only now with his help and Kyle's that she was slowly coming back into herself. He placed each of his oversized hands on her shoulders. "You good?" She nodded. "You need anything? Water, right?"

He knew her so well, not even waiting for an affirmation before calling out to a nearby waitress for a bottle of water for Kim. She was always so thirsty, as if nothing could quench her. And while she knew he didn't approve, it calmed the rolling of her stomach and made her feel whole and full. Once a bottle was in her hand, Marcus departed, but not without one last glaring look of warning at Tommy.

"Sorry about him," Kim apologized once they were alone.

"No it's- what was it you kept saying? 'Fine'?"

"Shut up."

"That's not nice. After all I was just threatened with bodily harm by your…" There was a pause before he finished lamely, "friend. I don't know about you but I am feeling violated."

"Yeah, right. Marcus is a threat? He isn't exactly body builder material. I'm scarier than Marcus."

"Not arguing against that. You're terrifying."

"Oh I'm sure you are just quaking over there."

"Why don't you come over here and check?"

"Yeah. I think not."

"Wow. Not much of a fighter anymore, are you?"

He was teasing but the words seemed to sluice over her like ice water. Well if she wasn't anymore, who could blame her? She had fought enough, more than enough. And she was tired. War wounded and exhausted from struggles that never ceased. When did it all become too much? She wasn't sure. She could remember several ill fated trips post rangerhood where she had proven she could more than stand on her own in a battle but who she was now was so removed from that girl that it seemed like another life completely. "Some things just aren't worth fighting about."

"Does that mean you will at least hear me out now? We can stay here and if you don't like what I have to say you can always call back your bodyguard."

"Yes, let's do that because tonight hasn't been sufficiently awkward. Sure, I want to sit and talk about how you don't want to be here while Marcus and the entire band are watching every move I make. Sounds exactly like how I want to spend my night." She moved past him, making her way to the side of the small stage, popping open the latch on her guitar case. "No, thank you."

"Okay," he followed after her, turning to see the other four members of the band had gathered at the bar. Marcus and a stocky fellow with two full sleeves of ink running up his arms were watching Kim carefully. "So the extra eyes are a bit intimidating but since when do you back down from a challenge?"

"Since now," Kimberly responded, placing the guitar in the case and latching it close. She had more than met her make-a-fool-of-herself quota for one evening. "Tommy," she turned to him, guitar case in hand. "I really do hope you have a good conference and a safe trip home."

She resisted the urge to hug him goodbye, to share one last embrace and inhale that scent that had always been uniquely Tommy. She wanted to but she didn't, she was nursing her wounded pride and her all ready shattered sense of self. New York, with Kyle and Marcus, was supposed to be the cure for the latter but it was clearly not working out the way Kim had planned and she found herself instead slightly heartsick and her mind working into an old, familiar rut as she made her way to the exit.

280, 160, 220, 70, 45.

God, she was going to miss him. And Kim hadn't missed him in years. Had somehow managed to place Tommy in a box after the mess with Muranthias, ascribed him to another life like bikes with streamers, chalk- drawn hopscotch courses, and happy endings. All things that were good but gone, grown past and now all out of her grasp. And then, there he was, not in a box but flesh and blood, grown up and so close she could touch him.

She swallowed that thought down.

280, 160, 220, 70, 45, 95, 110. 980.

Kim felt her anxiety start to fall away, focusing on that number to calm that uneasy roll of her stomach that happened whenever she wasn't sure that they would add up right. One day, one day she was not going to have to think about it all the time, Kim silently promised herself. One day, it wouldn't be like this- she wouldn't be like this. 980, that wasn't bad. Well, yes it was, but it helped her manage that feeling that she was spiraling, falling with no one to catch her. It grounded her, gave her purpose and control. As she walked away, each step reverberating, Kim tried to remind herself that she was fine, 980 and she was fine, and lie or not- she found it comforting.

"I wasn't sure if I should come because it's you."

The words rushed from behind her and she turned to face the man that still had an undeniable pull on her heart. "What do you mean 'it's me'? Am I really that awful? Because last time I checked I wasn't Zedd-level repugnant yet."

"No," he seemed flustered as he closed the space between them, his face agitated and animated. "Not that at all. It's just… It's just- it's you. I wasn't planning any of this. I was just supposed to go to the conference, give my lecture, and fly home. I wasn't planning on running into you."

"Well, sorry to ruin your plans."

"Seriously, do you ever just shut up? I have been trying to tell you that I wasn't sure if I wanted to come tonight because it's you and you are amazing! And I wasn't sure if I was ready to have you back in my life but I came because I knew I would be an idiot if I let this chance go by."

Kimberly didn't know what she had been expecting but it hadn't been that, nor had she been anticipating the truly stupid grin that broke across her face as his words settled slowly, taking a moment to really seep in. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and ducked her head, not trusting herself to speak.

"Dammit, Kim, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled like that. Can we just start over?" Tommy asked in earnest. "Because this is the worst beginning to any date I have ever had."

"Date?"

"No. I mean yes. Maybe?" He ran a hand through his shortened locks, sighing, looking ready to find a nice wall to bang his head into. "I used to be better at this. I swear."

Somewhere she had picked up the thread, a needle on a record in need of dusting but she still remembered the song. She knew how to play even if she was rusty. "You weren't really all that great at it back then either."

"Well, there is another high school memory down the drain. So I wasn't suave back then?"

"Nah, but you were cute so it didn't matter."

Tommy took another step closer, swallowing up the space until there was less than a foot between them. "Am I still cute?"

Armed with permission, Kim let her eyes roam over his body. Was he cute? No. He was walking sex. She tried to mentally compare the boy he had been to the man he was now but her mind clouded over. He looked so good, with a whisper of stubble and that short, short hair that was all about texture and touching. Long locks be damned, she wanted to stroke this instead.

Shit. Her mental droolfest must have lasted a beat too long because he was watching her; head tilted and clearly amused by her hungry stare. So she fell back into her old tricks, grease makeup and pancake; locked down vulnerability behind a quick witted snark and a smirk, forcing the wrinkle of her nose and a painted on frown. "I kinda miss your hair."

His reply was a sighing eye roll, a good natured refrain. "How did I just know you were going to say that?"

"Well, I do. The hair was long and sexy."

"Sexy, huh?"

"Down, boy. It's gone now."

"You just miss braiding it."

"Oh! I forgot about that! I did enjoy that. It was like having a life sized Barbie and you never fidgeted like Trini."

"Barbie? Really, Kim? Alright, I think this hair conversation is officially over. That's all I need, for your band of bodyguards to hear I was some substitute Barbie doll for you."

A wicked grin crossed her face. "Who needs to talk about it when I have Polaroids?"

His eyes narrowed. "You promised to destroy those."

"I lied." She loved the expression of shock that crossed Tommy's face and found herself wondering if he still assumed she was that angel he thought she was in high school- probably not. For his sake, she hoped not. For her sake too. No way to live up to that girl- she would know, she had spent the last few years trying to.. "Come to think of it, I think Marcus would really appreciate them and I never did get around to showing Rocky. I should scan them in; maybe email them to a few friends..."

"You are evil."

"I like to think of it more as immorally inclined."

"So can we get out of here? Maybe grab a bite to eat and you can shelve my public humiliation for another day?"

"I don't know… I am telling you people would really love those pictures. Remember I ran out of hair ties and had to use my butterfly clips?"

"Kim…"

"Fine, food first, public humiliation later. I just have to see if Marcus will look after my baby." Kim relished the look of pure panic in Tommy's eyes. "My guitar," she clarified.


They sat with menus open between them and Kim found it hard to concentrate. Her mind ticked off numbers while her knee bounced a little, nervously nauseous. Mexican was clearly not the wisest idea but the location, only three doors from the club, made it the obvious choice.

"Can we get a pitcher of margaritas?" Kim looked up with a start as Tommy ordered. She hadn't even noticed the waitress approaching.

"Water." Then the waitress was gone, giving them more time to peruse the menu.

"You still like margaritas, right?" And she wondered how he would even know that. The last time they had been together they had both been far too young and far too innocent. "Rocky might have mentioned the time at the beach." She could see the grin he was trying to suppress.

Skinny dipping one time (thanks in no small part to the generous amount of margaritas she had been drinking and a game of truth or dare) and of course Rocky has to make it into the 'Great Adventure of Hide and Seek with Kim's clothes'. And, if that wasn't enough, he then had to recount it to every single person who had not been present to watch the particular piece of embarrassment. She could still hear the howls of Jason's laughter wafting from the beach and that satisfying thunk that had been Rocky's head hitting the ground when she finally got a hold of him.

"That boy has to have a death wish." Kim glowered making a making a mental note to maim Rocky the next time she saw him and swearing that he would be getting an earful tonight. Time difference be damned. "He is trying to get me to kill him. I swear he is."

"Oh come on. It's his one 'humiliate Kim' story. He has to tell it to even out all the praise he spouts about you since you gave him the start up money for his dojo."

"Yeah, well… He deserved it. All I had to do for it was stand in front of a few cameras and endorse a few products. Plus Mighty Ape Academy has proved to be a good investment. It is keeping me in Ramen noodles at least."

Tommy's reply was cut short by the waitress reappearing, setting down their drinks and the requisite chips and salsa before grabbing their orders.

"So anyway are you going to have one?" Tommy asked, gesturing to the pitcher of margaritas. "It's a lot for just me."

She knew she shouldn't. No good could come from drinking with a man that looked as sinfully handsome as Tommy.

"I didn't mean anything by ordering them. I just thought you would like them," Tommy offered as Kim eyed the green frozen cocktail. "Scouts honor."

"You were never a scout."

"Honorary scout," he argued. "You trust me, right?"

Kim ducked her head for a moment, her fingers moving a strand of hair behind her ear. She suddenly felt very hot. "Alright, I guess one won't kill me."

They spent over two hours talking; the conversation seemed to flow easier after her second margarita. Her speech slowed and she relaxed into the booth, her hands still a little over animated in a way she got whenever she was genuinely excited. They covered most of the past rangers, who they had heard from last and what everyone was up to. Tommy confessed his surprised that she had taken Rocky's side during the divorce, admitting that he had pegged her to be firmly on Team Aisha. Kim just shook her head, saying she didn't agree with Aisha's reasons for the divorce and leaving it at that. Tommy teased her about the endorsements that seemed everywhere for a year and she mentioned the money had been good and she had had a lot of fun spending it, with only a hint of regret that it was mostly a thing of the past.

He told her about how he fell in love with learning after spending a year only going to university to appease his parents and she quietly told him how truly impressed she was with him. She asked after his parents and briefly brought up the letter, saying that the reason she sent it to the Juice Bar instead of his house was because she didn't want his mom to hate her. It was admittedly stupid and it was as close to an apology as Tommy allowed her to make.

Eventually they had switched to swapping adventure tales. At Tommy's first disbelieving raise of his eyebrow, Kim had set him straight. "What? You think you are the only one that has seen any action in the past ten years? Some of us do it without the fancy suits." And that had been that. He had told her about his latest team, recalling some of his battles and admitting how he felt just a little out of place fighting alongside a bunch of teenagers. Finally confessing how much he missed them now that they were done with school and away from Reefside.

And while Kim didn't have any official tales from the Morphin Grid, she didn't lack for her own misadventures because life could never see fit to let her have a nice, normal existence for any length of time. "Did Zack or Jase ever tell you about my twenty-fourth birthday? It ended up with me being left to die in a pit."

"A pit?"

"Long story but I will give you the highlights- Belize, a hurt kid, an ancient alien worshiping cult, and, of course, me in a pit because that seems to be a running theme in my life."

"An alien worship cult?" Tommy chortled.

"Shh. Let me finish. So neither of those knuckleheads can figure out where I've disappeared to and Zack decides I've run off with some local guy who is going to marry me for a green-card."

"Excuse me? Marry what guy?"

"The hot bartender at the resort but that's not the important part. The important part is that it took them almost two days to find me, and that was only because Trini set them straight. I mean hello? Chances are that if I disappear that I am trapped somewhere- a bottle, the Wild West, storybook, pit. I never get the 'run off with the cute bartender' luck. They should have known that by then."

Tommy laughed, splitting the last remaining remnants of their second pitcher of margaritas into both of their glasses. "Well at least Trini has some sense. How is she doing? I've been meaning to drive up and visit her. Did Jason ever make it up there?"

"No idea," Kim tartly replied.

"Oh come on. How is she doing really?"

"I wouldn't know."

"You two are best friends," Tommy insisted. "You must know."

"No, I don't know and no, we are not best friends anymore." She could see the questions forming in Tommy's eyes but she couldn't answer them, wouldn't answer them. The wreckage from that fallout was still smoking even years later. Those harsh words falling from Trini's lips forever burned into her heart. "I really, really don't want to talk about Trini. Okay?"

"Yeah. That's okay."

Of course, Tommy would be a gentleman and not press her for answers. Taking a deep breath she steered the conversation back to the course they were on. "Anyway, I have been meaning to ask because I already chewed out Jase and he blamed it all on you- the moon mission?"

"What about it?"

"Only red rangers? Really? What? Afraid us girls might show you up?"

"We thought about inviting you girls but didn't want to waste time rescuing you." He couldn't contain the chuckle that rose up from her indignant expression.

"Weren't they worried you might go evil again? How many times has it been now?"

"Like you can talk."

"That was once!" she protested. "And only for like five minutes."

"You nearly killed Kat."

Kimberly let out a small huff, plopping herself backward in her seat, sulking down in the booth. "Turn-a bout's fair play. I mean seriously! No one ever mentions how she tried to kill me before."

"That wasn't her fault. She was under Rita's spell."

"Hello?" Kim gestured to herself. "Lowered into a volcanic pit of evil as a sacrifice?"

Truth be told, her and Kat were fine- friends even. Not exactly the type to have weekly Friday phone calls, but they kept in touch and had even visited a few times when their paths crossed. Kim didn't have anything against the girl, except that she had legs like an Amazon and towered over Kim but that was a daily occurrence in Kim's world, but hearing Tommy mention her made her inner cavewoman come out. And while Kim knew she was the one that ended things, it still rankled how happy Tommy had seemed with her replacement.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought her up."

"No it's fine, Tommy. The whole thing with Kat just tends to push some old buttons." Kim sighed, "I just have never been good at sharing."

"I never could stomach the thought of you with some other guy," he admitted.

A single breath lodged in her chest, how could she not be moved by him? Dark, soulful eyes and that intensely honest gaze- it was happening again. And it couldn't be happening again. She was on a strict, self-appointed exile from all things romantic. One too many failed relationships, and not just normal failed but 'burnt to the ground and then earth salted' way only Kimberly could, had her swearing off the opposite sex until she could get her head on straight and she did not need her heart getting in the way of that. Of course, that was all easier said than done when he was looking at her like that.

It was then that the waitress reappeared, asking them if they needed anything else as they were closing soon. Kim apologized, reaching for her phone to check the time, finding it just shy of midnight.

"I guess a movie is out of the question," Kim sighed after a quick battle over the check which Tommy won.

"We could still go if you want to. I'm not really tired at all."

"Me neither," she smiled, heading for the door. Tommy's hand snaked out in front to open it for her, his hand grazing against her own as she tried to downplay the sparks she felt, electricity humming off his skin. "Well maybe instead of a movie we could go somewhere and hang."

"Yeah, that would be good."

They stood on the sidewalk, awkwardly determining where to go. Tommy putting forth the idea of coffee but the last thing either of them needed was a caffeine buzz to go with their second wind. Kim offered her place before reneging, "No, we can't. Kyle has a client coming early for a private training session. She will kill me if I wake her."

"Well, we could go to my room. Just to watch a movie or something," Tommy quickly tacked on.

"No dinosaur movies."

"You really think I'm married to my job, don't you?"

"Or martial arts movies," Kim eyed him.

"What's wrong with martial arts movies? You used to love them."

"No," she corrected, speaking without thinking. "I loved you so I put up with your horrible taste in movies."

"Says the girl who watched Titanic a thousand times."

"Titanic is a classic!"

"Yes, and you and Aisha watched it purely for it cinematic value. Nothing to do with Leonardo DiCaprio."

"What can I say? The man is fine. And if I remember right you teared up at the end first time you saw it."

"First time you made me sit through it," Tommy amended, starting down the sidewalk. "And no, I didn't."

"I'm not the one with the faulty memory, remember? And I'm pretty sure you are going the wrong way. If you are staying on West 71st, we need to go this way." She took his large hand in her own and tugged him in the correct direction. He didn't pull away; his hand was so warm, so strong. After two blocks and with the alcohol dimming her inhibations, her fingers linked through his and it felt like home.

Afterwards, when they had descended into rhythm of traded barbs and easy conversation, they walked around the corner and down eighteen blocks to his hotel. It was certainly not down market but nothing special. Tommy seemed to like it, and Kim thought it was nice, how he seemed contended with life. She was never sated, it all worked for the moment and then it wasn't enough. She just couldn't seem to recapture the girl she had been.

The room he got was just that, a room. Nothing extra, she supposed, or superfluous. After a cursory glance around in which no details stuck in her mind, she turned to him. "Before you get any idea about where tonight is going, let me make one thing clear," she paused, Tommy tensing at her words, "I get total veto power on the movie selection."

"That's your big rule for tonight?" There was amusement in his voice.

"Do we need any others?"

Probably but he never answered her.


'Relationships that start under intense circumstances, they never last.'

Tommy grabbed the remote and flicked off the TV with a sigh. She felt him shift and then there was soft light she could sense under her closed eyelids. She wasn't asleep, just in that place before wakefulness, when sound and light were muffled but present and her body was relaxed and languid.

She had her head on a pillow by his leg, her body curled towards the TV in front of them, her hair splashed over his knee as he sat propped up, his legs straight and his body resting against the headboard. She wondered how they had ended up so close. They had started the movie out by awkwardly selecting seats, till finally Kim grabbed the left front corner of the bed, lying on her stomach, and giving Tommy as much space as she could muster, maintaining a 'just friends' air.

They had fallen back into old habits, teasing, making random comments about the movie and who was the worst actor in the bunch. And when Kim had insisted that Tommy was a ringer for Kenau, they shared a five minute battle that left Tommy pillowless.

It was right after the bus exploded that Kim had felt her eyelids growing heavy and heard his voice in her ear, "Don't fall asleep."

"I'm not," she protested. She wasn't going to be that girl; she never let her guard down that far. Yet it had taken less than ten minutes for her eyes to close and her body to sag, her ears still catching phrases but mostly oblivious.

"Come on, Sleeping Beauty, time to wake up."

"Mmm," Kim murmured contentedly as her eyelids fluttered open and she looked up at his face, so different, yet the same. She finally let it sink in how much she had missed him and it caused something deep to ache.

"Hey you," he whispered.

"Hey," she answered back, her voice still low with sleep.

"Come on," he gestured with a nodded tilt of his head. "Let's get you home."

Kim sat up, arching her back and stretching. "What time is it?"

"Clearly too late for someone," Tommy replied with a soft smile as he stood and reached out a hand to her.

She took his outstretched hand, pulling herself to her feet. "I wasn't really asleep."

"Yeah, yeah," Tommy shook his head. "Then that wasn't you I heard snoring."

"I do not snore!"

"If you say so."

"So did they live happily ever after?"

"Something along those lines."

"Or until the sequel?" Kim smirked.

"Or until the sequel," Tommy conceded as he rummaged through his suitcase before finding a thin jacket, slipping it on and moving to hunt down his shoes.

"Hey, where are you going?" Kim asked, putting back on her strappy sandals.

"I'm walking you home."

Kim resisted the urge to roll her eyes, sometimes the manners went too far. "No, you're not. It's like 26 blocks and then you would have to walk back. Plus it is late and you have your conference in the morning. I'm fine."

"I'm not letting you walk around New York at 3am by yourself." He crossed his arms in defiance.

"Hate to break it to you but I work last call at least twice a week," she corrected him. She didn't need caring for, that was the whole point of New York, of leaving Atlanta. That she was finally going to take some control of her own life, and with very little in way of a safety net- her friendship with Trini long since finished and Jason really gone for good this time. "I can take care of myself."

He must have read something in the set line of her shoulders because he didn't immediately rush in for the rescue, instead plying her with logic. "I know you can but you're tired."

"I'm not that tired."

"You couldn't even stay awake for the end of the movie."

Kim sighed; he had her there. She had just felt so relaxed, so comfortable with him. For the first time in a long time, she felt silent, at peace. But now standing in his room she realized that coming had been a mistake- not for her but for him. She had a nasty habit of leaving destruction in her wake. "It's late and you have to be up in less than five hours for your dino thing. I'm so sorry. I should thought about the time when I practically invited myself over. I don't always think before acting." Tommy caught her eye. "Not that you needed to be told that."

"Kimberly..." Tommy hesitated. It wasn't about his conference- he knew that.

"Please, just get some sleep. I'll… I'll text you when I get to Kyle's, okay?" And there it was, that sense of spiraling that came with second guessing herself. What was she doing here? And with him and with him looking like that? Remove the temptation was the only course of action, distance, space, and a cold shower.

"Just let me take you home," Tommy pleaded, coming up behind her.

She turned with a start, nearly colliding into him, her breath lodged in her throat for a moment before she spoke, her tone low. "But it's late."

"If you are that worried about it then just stay," he offered. "I'll take the floor. You can have the bed."

"No, I'm not kicking you out of your bed," she shook her head, chewing on her bottom lip, protesting against the kindness and compromise he was extending.

"Okay then let me walk you home," Tommy insisted, and his step forward seemed to swallow all the air in the room, making her slightly dizzy and hot. He filled her vision and in that moment something shifted, the world tilted beneath them, jarring them with the actuality of finally being alone for the first time in too long and all that wanting that never came to fruition. He was watching her, his dark eyes scanning her in a glance that missed nothing. She couldn't help the fingers of a blush that crawled up her neck and ears, flaming them pink in the soft light.

"Hey," she offered with a lazy smile, drinking him in in equal measure.

"Hey," he echoed back. He leaned forward, and Kim noticed how his eyes darkened as he approached her. His hand came up, caressing a piece of her silky smooth hair between his fingers, the back of his knuckles dragging softly against her cheek as his hand moved down its length.

She did not do this as a rule. She was no longer the innocent she had been back when her life revolved around monsters and holding hands with her boyfriend, but she wasn't promiscuous either. She did not follow the third date rule, it was more like the tenth, and she wasn't sure if this counted as a second date or maybe the thousandth. Maybe it was meant to happen eventually, because there they were, a thousand miles from what had once been home, a decade from the people they had been, and he still managed to give her butterflies.

"Tommy." It was a plea, barely above a whisper as he took another step forward, making her space his own.

Then he was pulling her to him, lips crashing against each other before sliding back into a habit that was akin to breathing, something needed. Both of his hands were in her hair just a bit too desperate, mess of chocolate and caramel strands in his palms as if she might vanish, and hers roamed all over, still restless and unsure how long this could go for. And then she remembered - as long as she wanted- and softened.

He tasted of tequila and spice, and something so old she'd forgotten it.

They relaxed into the kisses, setting her simmering until the itch changed into a yearning to touch all of his skin, and all over and now. It was only once he'd broken the clinch that she realized he'd had the same thought, his shirt gone and then shoes so he was standing there in months-worn jeans and nothing more.

He was tan now, too, like a Californian boy should be. No tan lines either so she knew his vanity had him sunbathing. It made her want to giggle. Not laugh, not snicker, but giggle. She went with it.

"What's so funny?"

"This." But she didn't give him time to think on her reply, rising on the tips of toes to lash the pulse point on his neck with tongue until she was rewarded with a soft moan of appreciation.

Her shirt went next, just over her head and tossed carelessly in the corner. Once she was in the mode she didn't even bother to stop, stripping off jeans and heels and all her underwear until there was nothing to keep her from him.

He watched her rather than helped which was unexpected.

"You're so thin."

It wasn't quite an accusation but there was a hint of something disappointed and confused in his eyes that she shied away from. She was better, so much better and yet it was still there. She was supposed to be happy now - successful career, well traveled, great life - and healthy. This was another reminder that she hadn't changed too much either.

As she thought it, it seemed like as insult and so she said, "You too."

He hesitated for a split second, concern over his lack of understanding flickering on his face before she pressed herself against him, skin on delicious skin that kept the rest of the world at bay. War waged, dueling tongues battled for dominance until he nudged her back towards the bed and she laid, skinny and sharp, boldly before him.

He hovered above her. "You sure?" There was a tremble in his voice as he spoke low in her ear as if he would break if she left.

"No." Conviction wasn't part of her world.

"Do you want to stop?" There was the Tommy she had known, the perpetual gentleman, no pressure- ever.

Did she want to stop? Always. She was sick of it, all of it, the roaming, the searching, and coming so close and yet it was never just enough. She was never enough. She just wanted to stop, stop running and just be at rest. She felt still with Tommy. Maybe that was enough, maybe it was everything.

"I want to be with you." It wasn't a lie and was as close to the truth as she could allow before consequences and reality would collapse in on her.

"Okay." She could hear the uncertainty in his voice. "No regrets, right? I don't want you to hate me in the morning."

His need for reassurance was unexpectedly endearing. She felt her heart lurch. "Only if you persist in staying over there with your clothes on."

With a laugh, he decided to be sexy. Put on a prowl and crawled over her, rough denim against tender parts.

"I'm immune to that," she lied.

"Really? This too?"

Oh, fuck no. Because that was him, rocking against her with hands all over and teeth and tongue waging battle against the column of her throat. He was doing that on purpose, sucking and bruising and being able to mark her with no one to immediately question it.

Her threshold for play was much lower than his and had decreased with the alcohol. She couldn't give herself time to think, if she did it would all fall apart.

She pushed, pushed, pushed, and tugged at his mouth, his chin, the scythe of his cheekbone with her teeth until at last he was inside her. It was intensely satisfying, immediately, in a way she could have never imagined.

Her sweat-slick chest rose against his, hoarse cries in her throat that escaped as needy gasps. Strong palms glided over her outer thighs, guiding her legs up and around his back, deeper than she thought was possible. She locked her ankles there, to keep him in.

It caused him to slow, to focus on her lips then eyes. "You good?"

"Yes." Couldn't explain it beyond that though, couldn't reassure him in that way he needed. She captured his mouth instead, tried to urge him on when she was so close already, was as soon as he began touching her.

There was an expansion of time, infinite moments squeezed into this one. She had no idea what it meant that they were together again, and couldn't attempt to even answer those questions which had started arriving quickly, like trains shunted into a holding station.

Oh, what it meant to her that it was him, and he was here, now. It was too much.

She cradled him afterwards, savoring the indolent feeling of his heavy body on hers, the impression of warmth that was left there. There was no hurry to move, to shake themselves out of the evening's comfort. Her hands palmed his shoulder blades with enough force to discourage movement and his forehead fit against her neck under the angle of her jawbone, as if it were made to. Didn't want to indulge thoughts like that but her self-discipline which normally banished them was as pliant as the rest of her. She loved the hot sultry breaths on her skin that he made as he came down, loved the velvet scrape of his hair against her chin.

When he eventually moved it was just a slide to the right, rolling her onto her side so he could curl around behind, one of her legs escaping out of the not-soft-enough sheets but resting atop his with the covers in-between.

It was a while before he spoke again, and it implored her to open her eyes and drop her shoulder down to see him. He looked as if he'd been watching her for a while, his voice reverent and caramel-low.

"You are so beautiful like that."

"What? Just been fucked and sleepy?"

"No. Well, yes. But…quiet. You look…quiet."

She was; just never expected to find it with him was all.

To Be Continued...

Next Chapter- Jason finally makes an appearance.