Kimberly didn't know how long she had slept, but woke with a start. Horrified as she looked at the clock and the time, it was past ten in the morning and she wasn't up. Breakfast hadn't been made yet. She knew for sure that she was gonna get her ass kicked for this.

"Fuck," she uttered and sat up to fast. Her head spun and she had to catch herself before she fell right out of bed. As she looked around she realized that she wasn't at home and Derick wasn't in bed with her. The day before slowly came back to her. She was in Tommy's house; in Tommy's bed. She leaned back against the headboard and saw his shirt from yesterday on the bed next to her. She reached over but stopped herself. She was afraid. Afraid that if he came back up and something was out of place he would be mad. But this was Tommy. He promised he wouldn't hurt her.

"They all promise that at first," she told herself. Her eyes closed as fresh tears threatened, but no – she was wrong. Tommy couldn't hurt her like that. He just couldn't and deep down she knew that. She knew that he loved her. And she needed to feel safe. And with Tommy she was safe. So, without hesitating she reached over and picked up his freshly discarded shirt and brought it to her face. It was still warm. She buried her nose in it and inhaled. It smelled good. It smelled like Tommy. She let herself really smile for the first time in so long. It hurt her lips and it hurt her cheeks but in spite of that she couldn't stop smiling. She carefully swung her legs over the side of the bed and set a barefoot on the floor. She stood up and suddenly felt unstable and wet. Very wet. She looked down and saw her jeans from yesterday, Tommy's bed and the blanket she had been covered in….all blood stained. As if all at once, the world spun away.

"No," she whispered and everything went black.

Tommy stood at the kitchen counter with his steaming cup of coffee and smiled as he listened to the random chatter among his friends. It was almost ten thirty in the morning and he thought about going up to wake up Kimberly but he reconsidered thinking she would appreciate the late morning. He replayed the day before over in his head and smiled at the thought of having her in his arms all night. She had never seemed more fragile than she did when he first saw her yesterday but he couldn't help but think that she was so brave and so strong despite it all. Where she found the will to live was beyond him but he was grateful for it.

Tommy's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by what could only be described as a piece of furniture being slid across the floor and knocked over above his head. What followed was the sound of glass shattering. Tommy dropped his cup, spilling coffee all over the counter and took the stairs two at a time.

This is the moment no one expects. This is that moment when time seems to slow to a crawl. He couldn't seem to get up the stirs fast enough. He opened the door and watched her head turn toward him, her hand outstretched, and her eyes open but completely lost. Her eyes focused on him as her got to her and she smiled.

"KIM," he screamed, "Kim, what happened? Did you fall? What happened? Talk to me."

"I'm so glad," she whispered, her words shaking and her eyes struggling to stay open, "I'm so glad that I got to see you one more time."

"No," he said, "No, not the last time. This is not the last time. Do you hear me Kimberly?! This is not the last time."

"I'm so…"she stopped and sucked in air and whispered, "…sorry. I didn't….tell you….but you…should know…..that….I have loved…..you…..always."

"God, Kim, don't do this," he begged and turned toward the door, "SOMEBODY CALL 911!"

"Don't you dare leave me again," he said, pressing her hand to his face and pulling her into his lap, "Don't you leave me."

"I'm sorry," she breathed and he let out a loud sob as her hand fell from his face to the floor.

"Tommy," Billy said, "Tommy she's bleeding out. I think she's having a miscarriage."

"What," Tommy managed to mutter as Billy moved around to Kimberly's other side and checked her pulse.

"Her pulse is weak, but its still there," Billy said, "Try to wake her back up. Aisha, I need a pair of scissors and towels."

"I got it," Aisha said and disappeared. She returned a few minutes later and helped Billy cut Kimberly out of her jeans.

"Kim, come on," Tommy said, tapping her cheeks, "Come on Beautiful, open your eyes." Tears began to stream down Tommy's face but he continued to try to wake her up.

"The paramedics are here," Jason said, sticking his head in the door.

"Clear a path," a male voice boomed as the medics invaded the bedroom.

"What happened," the paramedic asked.

Tommy started to explain and Billy took over, using more medical terms than anybody could keep up with.

"Let's get her up and out," the medic ordered as they moved Kimberly onto a gurney and got an IV started. Tommy held onto her hand until they got to the stairs and had no choice to let go. Jason and Kat grabbed his shoulders on either side and steadied him as they watched the paramedics carry her out.

Tommy raced down the stairs and climbed in the back of the ambulance and took her hand again.

"I'm here, Kim," he whispered and kissed her hand, "I'm not going anywhere."

As the medics covered her mouth with an oxygen mask and made the call to the hospital letting them know that they were coming, Tommy watched the color drain from her face. She was still losing blood. His mind raced with the moments that he missed. The first time he saw her at that Martial Arts tournament, that day she introduced herself at her locker, the morning she came to school soaking wet because her umbrella broke, when she tripped over a rock walking home and he caught her, their first kiss in the park, their last kiss under the mistletoe…..

"Please God, don't let this be the end," he prayed.

"Sir," came the medic's voice, "Sir, you have to let go. We have to get her into the O.R." Tommy nodded and held onto her hand until he was out of the ambulance and followed them down to the doors that he wasn't allowed to enter. He let go of her hand and watched them run down the hall and disappear. He heard no sound. Just watched. There is no worse feeling than the feeling of impending loss. Tommy was numb. He stood and watched, even after they were out of site. He didn't feel his knees give out, he didn't feel them hit the floor, didn't feel the tears fall down his face. Everything seemed suspended. Time. Movement. Sound. Nothing made sense to him at that moment. Nothing mattered but her and her life. It was that tether of life that he seemed to cling to and he could feel it coming loose; felt it slipping out of his hands. No. This wasn't real. This was a horrible nightmare and he needed to wake up.

"Wake up, dammit," he screamed at himself. No change.

Kimberly opened her eyes. At first everything was to bright. It was a harsh brightness. Then all at once, the blinking circuits came into view and the computer screens and the tall tower that once housed her former guardian and teacher. She was in their old command center.

"Where am I," she asked, "How did I get here?"

"This is the place where time stands still," came a very familiar voice. Kimberly turned to see someone she knew all to well. Dressed in black spandex under yellow shorts, a black tank top under a yellow short sleeved zip-up jacket and her long black hair pulled over her right shoulder and held in place at the base of her head by a yellow scrunchie.

"Trini," Kimberly said, "But how?"

"You're dying, Kim," she said, "But it doesn't have to end this way. It shouldn't end this way. You can still fight."

"Trini, I'm so tired," she said, "I don't want to fight. I'm tired of fighting. I just want to sleep."

"You can't give up yet, Kim," Trini begged her, "This isn't the way your life is supposed to end. You have to live. You have to keep fighting. Please Kim."

"No, Trini. I'm at peace with this life. I got to see the ones I love one more time. I'm happy. I just want the pain to stop," Kimberly begged.

"It will, Kim. But you have to give them a chance to heal you," Trini replied taking her friend's hand, "I love you Kimberly, but I'm just not ready for a roommate yet. Its not your time. You need to go back." Trini gave her friend a kiss on the cheek and then pushed her away, into the brilliance of Zordon's light.

"We're losing her," the surgeon yelled, "Paddles!" A scrub nurse handed him the paddles and he rubbed them together.

"Charging," another scrub nurse said.

"CLEAR!" the surgeon called and pressed the paddles to Kimberly's chest, pressed the buttons and a jolt of electricity shot through her and her heart rate began to rise. The surgeon sighed in relief and handed the paddles back to the scrub nurse.

Tommy sat in the chairs along the wall next to Aisha who rubbed his shoulders. His closest friends stood or sat scattered along either side of the hallway, just waiting. It had seemed like forever, but finally the doors opened and Tommy shot to his feet.

"Are you the family of Kimberly Hart," the doctor asked.

"Yes," Tommy answered and walked to the doctor, "How is she? Is she going to be okay?"

"Well, she made it through surgery," the doctor said, "But we're not out of the woods yet. Unfortunately, she did suffer a massive miscarriage. She lost a lot of blood. There was some internal bleeding and she had some cracked ribs and some hairline fractures. As well as some older breaks and fractures that didn't look like they healed correctly. Nothing that we couldn't fix but still, there was some extensive damage. Can you explain that?"

"She came to my house for our friend's wedding yesterday," Tommy began, "Before that I hadn't seen her in years. She had spent a lot of time in an abusive relationship. From what she told me, there were some pretty unspeakable things done to her. None of us knew, except for Jason and Katherine who tried to help her. This guy though, he tracked her down and took her

back to Florida every time. He tracked her down at my house yesterday but I threatened to call the police for trespassing and he left, but I can't say whether or not he's left town. She's not safe until this guy is locked up."

"I see. Well, you're friend….she's in pretty bad shape, but I believe that she'll pull through," the doctor told him, "Do you think you could describe this to the police?"

"Yes," Tommy said, "But I'd like to see her."

"Of course," the doctor said, "Follow me."

Tommy stepped into the room where she was and stiffened. She had wires attached to her chest and her head. There was a breathing tube around her nose and a tube coming out of her mouth. She had an IV attached to the top of her hand and a blood bag attached at her arm. They had washed away the makeup and he could now see the extent of bruises down her arms and the bruises around her eyes and the one corner of her mouth. The cuts about her face. Thankfully she was covered by the hospital gown and blanket and he didn't have to endure seeing anything more. This was hard enough. He brought a chair up to her right side and took her hand. She hadn't woken yet. He couldn't find the right words so he just sat next to her and watched her sleep.

"How is she," came Tanya's voice from the doorway.

"Not good," Tommy answered but his eyes never left her face. He studied it; memorized it.

"Can I get you anything," she asked.

"No," he said, "Thank you."

"Okay, well I just wanted to let you know that we are gonna go down to the cafeteria for food. We aren't leaving here though. Not until she's better," Tanya told him.

"Thanks," he said and gave a small smile.

Tommy found himself nodding off and eventually fell asleep at her side. His head rested next to her now flat stomach and his hand never let go of hers. He woke when he felt a squeeze and his head immediately shot up. He watched and waited. One at a time, her eyes flutter and opened and found him.

"Hi," she managed, her voice raspy and small.

"Hi," he whispered and kissed her hand and then stood to kiss her forehead.

"You didn't leave," she rasped.

"I told you," he said, "I'm not ever letting you go again."

She gave him a smile and squeezed his hand before she let her eyes fall closed again.

"I'm so tired," she whispered as she drifted back to sleep.

"I know," he said and brushed her hair back because it made her feel safe when she slept. At least it used too. He kissed her forehead again and took his place by her side again, laid his head next to her and let his eyes droop closed as well.