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"Not another earthquake," lamented Kim, as the car started to shake again.

"No, I think that was an aftershock." He stated looking around the car. This felt different than the first so he knew that it just had to be an aftershock.

They lapped into silence as the car shook for a few more minutes until everything was still once again.

"Are we safe in here? The car isn't going to go anywhere is it?" She asked as her voice broke. "The engineers plan for situations exactly like this when they design the brakes and safety systems for these things don't they?" She asked louder this time, her voice full of panic as she looked up at Tommy.

"We should be fine in here, as long as the initial quake didn't damage the elevator's internal mechanisms too badly." He guessed. "But I have a feeling that we would already know if it had." He remarked placing a hand on her small shoulder to reassure her. He was trying to soothe her fears, while not letting on that he was scared as well. In that moment he suddenly felt utterly powerless, and he hated it. When they were younger he always been able to save her no matter what the situation, but now he couldn't even help himself. All he could do was put up a brave front of reassurance for her, and pray to God that he was right and that the elevator holds out till they managed to get out of it.

"Good!" She said a little too excited. "I hope that is true. Cause no offence, but I so do not want this day to be my last one." She remarked with a small touch of humor. It was all she could manage at the time but he was at least happy that she was calming down.

"None taken, I completely agree with you." He responded whole heartedly. He did not want to die in an elevator. It seemed too tame after all that he had lived through especially with living through everything he had done as a Power Ranger. He had survived being thrown out of machines from heights that we greater than some of the tallest buildings in the world.

They both sat back down bracing for whatever would come next.

Once things settled down and they didn't experience anymore aftershocks, they seemed to drift off into their own projects with things that they had with them. Kimberly had been going thru her sheet music that was in her bag and trying to work on some of her new songs, while Tommy was going through the paperwork in his satchel trying to get something done. It was just stuff to keep their minds off of the fact that they were stuck in an elevator that could plunge them to their death. They both were working quietly when suddenly the silence of the car was broken by Kim's stomach rumbling loudly in the small space. Tommy knew that sound well because it rivaled Rocky's at times.

"Hungry?" He asked as he looked up from his papers at her, he was smirking a bit as he did so.

"Yeah, I was too nervous to eat this morning because I didn't know what to expect. So I kind of skipped breakfast this morning," She replied placing one hand across her stomach.

"Not the best decision in hindsight, now was it?" He asked her in a tone a little too smug for her liking. It was a tone that she knew well but they were not dating now so she didn't have to accept it.

"Well I did have the good sense to pack two meal replacement bars and pack of dried cranberries and a water bottle in my bag for later," she stated with smirk of her own. "I was going to share them with you, but if you're going to take that tone with me you can just eat your coffee cup if you get hungry." She quipped at him with just hint of the attitude of the girl he used to know. He wasn't sure why but it made him smile even more. This was the Kimberly that he remembered so well. The one that was so full of life that everyone wanted to be around her just to catch some of her rays.

"Kim, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it the way it sounded." He stated as she sighed.

"Fine, I'll share with you but no more smart remarks." She warned as he nodded. "So which do you want, the cranberries or the bars?" She asked pulling them both out of her huge bag.

"I think I'll go with the bar. I'm not sure the cranberries would go good with my coffee." He commented as she handed him one of the bars. "Thanks." He said taking the bar from her.

"No problem." She responded. "Do you think we should save them though?" She asked as her stomach rumbled again.

"Not sure if you can go without food any longer but I'm not that hungry yet so I'll save mine in case we have to split it later." He said pocketing the bar.

"Are you sure? I mean I can just eat some of it to ease the rumbling." She said as he shook his head no. "Okay but don't get mad at me later for eating now."

"I won't." He promised. "I'm just glad that you had something with you. I didn't relish dividing tic-tacs."

"You have tic-tacs? You're holding out on me." She protested with a smile.

"Yea, I'm holding out on you. Those are the key to my survival." He said with a smile of his own.

"If they're orange then you are holding out." She stated as he pulled them out of his pocket. "Oh you're so busted." She said as he shook his head.

"Don't worry, beautiful I'll share them with you." He said as she sighed. He paused when he saw her face. The name had just slipped out but he didn't regret it. She would always be his beautiful no matter how much time had passed.


They fell silent again as Kim finished her bar but she couldn't take the quiet so she decided to actually talk to him. It was better than the silence at this point.

"So tell me more about how the others are doing." She said causing him to look back at her. "I really only hear from Aisha and Jason." Kim mentioned.

"Well Billy is still living in Aquitar as far as I know. I don't get to talk to him too much because of the time difference between the planets." He stated as she nodded. "Tanya is on tour at the moment which is driving Adam crazy."

Kim smiled. "I can see how that would drive him crazy. Touring is hard and with how big Tanya is now, I bet he barely gets to talk to her." She remarked as he nodded.

"Katherine is still in London. Apparently she got the lead in some ballet but she is engaged now. I met the guy and he is perfect for her." He stated. "I mean if someone is perfect for another person." He commented.

"I'm sure that he is perfect for her." She mused. "What about Justin? I never get to hear from him." She asked.

"He's good, just graduated college with his Masters. Of course he really wants to be a ranger again. I think giving his powers up to stay here on Earth really bugs him." He stated.

"I know how he feels." Kim muttered. "It's not the easiest decision to turn over something that it a huge part of your life."

"Yea tell me about it." He remarked. "Anyway, you said that you talk to Jason and Aisha." He said as she nodded. "Have you seen your niece and nephew then?" He asked.

"Yea." She said smiling. "Jason and Trini's son is so much like Jason that I'm scared for Trini."

"Rocky and Aisha's daughter scares me." Tommy stated.

"Why? Anna is perfect." Kim said thinking about the little girl.

"Perfect? Are you sure that you're thinking of the right child. I mean she is too much like Rocky to be perfect." He said. "I just saw her yesterday and she was hungry the entire time I was there."

"Tommy, babies eat a lot. It's normal." Kim pointed out. "I think that she will become more like Aisha when she gets older."

"I hope you're right because if not then I fear that they will drive Aisha crazy." He said as she laughed.

"Aisha can handle Rocky so why not one more." She said leaning back against the wall of the elevator.

"I hope you're right because if not, we may need to bail her out of jail in the near future." He muttered as she laughed and closed her eyes.

Tommy leaned back as well and closed his eyes. Hopefully they would be getting out of here soon because the small space was getting to him.

After several minutes of quietness, Kimberly opened her eyes.

"Ugh! What time is it?" She asked as she tried to roll the stiffness out her neck and shoulders. She was so over this and ready to get out of here. Someone had to know that they were stuck in here by now.

"It's 2: 45." He answered as he checked his watch before lowering his arm.

Kim stopped rolling her neck and shoulders and just looked at him. Doing a quick count in her head she groaned. "Five hours already! I can't believe it!" She exclaimed.

"Me either." Tommy groaned. He didn't think that they had been in here that long but after she said it, it was all he could think about.

Suddenly feeling restless in the small space she stood up and started pacing. "Why hasn't anyone found us by now? Are they even looking?" She ranted to vent some of her frustrations.

"I'm sure that there is a lot of rubble in the area that they are digging through to even began in the buildings." He pointed out as she groaned again.

After tripping over his feet for the third time, she turned on him. Kicking his feet, she snapped. "Why can't you move your feet? Can't you see that I'm trying to pace here!" She yelled with her hands on her hips.

Tommy looked up at her and normally he would let a little thing like this slide, but with this forced captivity wearing on him as well he can't help but stand up and snap back at her. "What the hell am I supposed to do Kimberly? This space is small enough as it is, and you are trying to make it smaller!" He yelled. "You think you're the only one that is tense and restless in here?" He asked towering over her. "You're not! So if you're dead set on pacing then you're going to have to work around me, princess! Don't expect me to pick you up if you fall over either, that's not my job anymore." He snapped back at her answering her frustration with his own, as he sat back down.

Kim huffed in response before walking as far as she could from him, which isn't far, and sat down directly across from him. Glaring at him, she tried to wither him where he sat with her scorching stare. All he could do was groan and rub his face with his hand.

The small talk and catching up with each other had run dry over an hour ago. While they were talking they had seemed to settle back into a relaxed almost comfortable manor like they used to have. But that quickly evaporated when the easy topics to discuss had run out. Since then there has been this awkward silence in which both of them looked as if they were trying to work up the courage to talk about something deeper but each failed. So instead they had both been fidgeting and doing little things to drive each other slowly crazy, which would explain why they are starting to snap on each other now. What was worse was that to his great surprise and dismay, that under all the frustration from the current situation and the awkwardness from all unresolved issues between them, that same chemistry that pulled them together to start with was still there. If anything it seemed to be burning even stronger than before which given their present situation was not a good thing.

The silence seemed to stretch out to an almost deafening level in the tiny car. Till finally he decided to break it and ask the question that had been burning in the back of his mind since he heard her song.

"Kim?" He asked looking over at her.

"What?" She spat out in a still angry tone. He knew that she was still angry but hopefully she would calm down a little once he took her mind off of the fact that they were still in this elevator.

"What does the song mean? What is the inspiration behind it?" He asked in calm, neutral tone trying to show that he wasn't angry.

"I told you that already." She replied looking back at him. He could tell that she didn't like his question but he really wanted to know what it meant.

"No, you told me when you wrote it. You told me how you felt writing it but you didn't say why or what the meaning behind it was. That is what I want to know," He stated still in a calm tone. He could tell that she was finally calming down.

She sighed deeply. "Fine." She stated. "Honestly I don't really know what it means. It just poured out of me that day in the middle of just a really dark week. In the first few weeks after I wrote it, I just thought it was over the loss of my career." She explained pulling her knees up to her chest. He knew that that was a sign that she was uneasy. She had always done that when she was nervous and uneasy about a situation.

"Do you still have that feeling? The one the song is expressing?" He asked her leaning forward.

"Sometimes, but not as often as I used to though." She replied. "It's mostly at night when I'm home by myself." She answered truthfully. Sighing she made eye contact with him briefly, but then looked away from his gaze. It had been too intense for her to hold. It had been like he was trying to see into her soul which she knew that he could do no problem. Tommy had always been able to read her like a book.

"Do you still think it is over the loss of your career?" He asked still looking at her.

"I'm not sure." She muttered. "I mean now looking back it doesn't seem that big a loss. I would've had to step away in a few years anyway because I would have been competing against girls who were half my age. It is harder to deal with though because the choice was taken out of my hands." She said.

"I don't think it was about your career." He said suddenly which caused her to look at him.

"If it's not my career that is missing then why don't you enlighten me on what you think the answer is?" She responded in a tone that got rather snarky.

He shook his head in disbelief before replying, "Isn't it obvious?" He asked. "It's clearly about us! What we should have been." He fired at her. "I'm the missing piece! It's just as clearly stated in the words, and by the pain that I felt in your voice when you sang." He said.

She looked at him utterly shocked as if his words had been a verbal slap in the face. Then her eyes narrowed as her expression shifted into one of anger. A few moments later she exploded. "You've developed one hell of an ego since I last saw you. If you have the audacity to think for even one minute that I would write a song about you let alone that one, you have another thing coming!" She yelled. "Tell me, how do you and that ego fit in the same car? Or does it need to follow along behind in a taxi because it's so huge? I'm surprised there is enough room for me in here between you and that ego!" She shouted as his eyes flashed at her.

"My ego! Really, my ego is not the problem." He shouted back at her. "You're the one that wrote that song. Any fool can see that it's about us." He fired at her.


After an intense argument, they had reached a natural lull in the fighting. It was nowhere near over, just more like the end of round one. She reached into her bag and took out her water bottle taking a long gulp from it, before closing it back up and putting it a way. She sat down in her corner and stewed for the moment. Her temper was flaring and her heart was pounding. She felt her blood boiling and her mind was racing. She felt more alive in this moment then she had in over a year, and she hated the reason for it. After all this time he could still affect her this way, he could still make her feel like this. Suddenly in the midst of everything something a few of her gal pals once said to her popped into her head, and she burst out in a fit of giggles which of course threw him off.

"What the hell is some damn funny all of a sudden?" He barked his question at her in a very agitated tone as he ran his hand through his gelled hair.

This only made her laugh harder, which made him want to go over and shake her till she talked. He hated not knowing what was making her laugh. He held his ground though and what was left of his composure while waited for her answer.

As her giggles died down to the point where speech was possible she answered him. "Something both Trini and Aisha had commented to me over the years just popped into my head." She said wiping her eyes. "They both repeatedly wished they could just lock us in a room together till we worked out our issues. Well they finally got their wish!" She stated as her giggling starting up anew, and after a few minutes his laughter joined hers.

It was in that moment that the tension between them had been broken, if only for that moment. It was also in that brief moment that she saw the boy she knew not too long ago shining out thru his eyes, the boy that she had loved more than life itself. A warm feeling that she couldn't really explain spread through her heart and body and caused a smile to appear on her face.

As they both settled down from their laughing fit, he looked at her and smiled for a moment. Then his face grew somber as he started to speak. "What happened to us?" He asked slowly.

In just four seemingly harmless words she felt the tension between the return full-force. If she had not been sitting it would have bowled her over it hit her so hard with the pain that she felt in his voice.

"I guess what happens to most long distant relationships." She said heavily. "We were too far apart for too long at too young of an age. Our hearts just started seeking out closer comfort, as harsh as that might sound." She stated in a very neutral matter of fact tone, as if she had been commenting on the weather outside and not a more serious matter of their hearts.

He looked at her a moment before his expression grew hard before he spoke. "That's a load of crap and you know it!" He stated getting angry once again. "I was faithful to you every single day up until you broke my heart with that damn letter! You are the one that quit on us not me. I never quit on you, nor would I have ever." He fired at her as she sighed.

"I realize it was a rotten, cowardly thing to do to you but I saw it as the lesser of two evils. "She explained. "Hurt you a little to avoid hurting you a lot more later on," Kim fired back.

Tommy jumped back up as she did the same. "You could have not hurt me at all!" He yelled. "You didn't even answer my phone calls after that blasted letter." He stated.

"I couldn't." She stated on the verge of tears.

"I don't believe that, you were just scared. We could have talked about this and got everything out in the open but no you had to run away from me and your feelings." He shot at her.

Just then as they were inches from each other at the height of their very heated argument, the car began to shake again. Only this time much more violently then before because instead of an aftershock it was another earthquake hitting the city. Suddenly the car dropped a short distance before stopping. They were both knocked off their feet and to their butts. The free falling of the elevator caused a scream from Kimberly.

As they reached for each other and pulled close together in a tight embrace, Kim found her voice. "After everything we been through together and everything we faced, I never thought it would end this way, being crushed to death inside a free falling elevator." She cried looking into Tommy's soulful brown eyes.

"Neither did I." He said. "Where's the teleportation power when you really need it?" He asked.

In that moment the back-up lights in the car start to flicker wildly, creating a strobe effect which hurt both their eyes. The shaking caused the car to drop again for a slightly longer distance of a few floors at least. This time they both screamed and for a moment they both think this is it, but the car miraculously stops once again. They hit the floor of the car rather harshly, knocking the breath out of both of them even though they had been already on their butts. The back-up lights go out and stayed out leaving them submerged in total darkness. Thankfully the car was stopped even though it was dark.

In his arms Kim started to sob uncontrollably, as they are both left trembling. As the fear and adrenaline surged through both of them it overwhelmed their senses and emotions unlike ever before. The possibility of dying had never been this close to them before, at least not in this way, when they were both helpless to stop it. The one thing above everything in his mind was the need to try to comfort her. It was something that was always in his mind no matter what the situation was.

He finally realized that the car was stopped. "It's stopped; I think we are going to be ok now." He whispered into her ear as he rubbed her back in comfort.

"This is it isn't it? This is how its ends? Former superheroes crushed in falling elevator." Kim said through almost un-understandable through her sobs.

"NO, it's not!" He disagreed. "Everything will be ok, I promise we will live through this, nothing ends today." He told her in a much more determined confident tone then he actually felt. In truth he was as scared as she was but was not going to let on to it, or give in to it he was going to be strong for her. He had to be strong for her because it's what he always did around her. He also liked being strong because she leaned on him and he liked that.

Pulling back a little from her, he kissed her forehead once in reassurance. It wasn't enough though because he felt compelled to repeat his action. It was the third time that he leaned in to kiss her forehead that she had moved. Now it was she who was kissing him on the lips. It was a kiss so frantic, so desperate, so emotionally charged that it instantly ignited a wildfire with in them both. One that they are both all too soon completely engulfed by and lost to, as they start to comfort each other on a more basic and primal level.

Kim started pulling his shirt out of his dress slacks while he was working her shirt over her head. They both knew that this was wrong but neither was stopping it because they needed to feel alive in that moment. They could die at any moment so they were going to feel alive one last time with each other.

90 minutes later

The back-up lights suddenly flicker back on just as Kim was halfway through re-buttoning her blouse. Tommy was in the process of re-tying his tie, before grabbing his jacket of the floor of the car.

"The lights are back on that a good sign right?" Kim asked hesitantly looking over at him. A blush crept up her cheeks at the sight of his tie. It wasn't straight anymore after their little encounter.

"Um…Yeah I think so." He answers in the same uncertain tone looking back at her.

"You don't think that the cameras were on during that do you?" She asked remembering the fact that each elevator was equipped with cameras.

Tommy groaned because he had forgotten about the cameras. "I don't think so because the lights were out. I assume that they are tied to the same power supply." He replied as she nodded.

They were completely dumbfounded over what just happened even though they both wanted it. It so unexpected, of course, and it could just be chalked up to the fear and uncertainty of the moment, but it didn't change the fact that it still happened. They had just had sex in an elevator with each other.

Where this left them now, neither one had a clue as to even begin to try to figure that out. All they knew was that a complicated relationship just got even more complicated. It left them unsure of how to act or what to say to each other now. As they each finished getting re-dressed they slipped into the most awkward silence as they were each lost in their own thoughts of what just happened and what will happen now.

The one thing that they didn't think about was regret. After over ten years of waiting, neither one of them regretted what they had just done. They regretted the effect of sleeping together but not the act itself. They could never regret that because they still wanted to do it again which was crazy in itself.