Author's note: I was originally going to have them meet at an Open House but then I stopped to think do schools even do that anymore? Then there was the idea of maybe having her bump into him at Haley's but since she was already a local wouldn't Haley have meet her and told Tommy about it. The third idea was to have them both siding a couple of bleachers away at one of Conner's soccer games and meeting when Conner won the game but that didn't feel right, just too many people.
Anywho still don't own anything even the iPad (which does make it a pain to get the files onto this sight but does give me the ease to type whenever I feel like writing.) I am typing this on. That belongs to my work.
Thanks again for continuing on to this chapter. I am planning on either eight or nine chapters long but that may change because I keep on altering the events in the story line.
I am not sure if I will have another chapter up this week or not since I do need to do some major cleaning (and cooking) for Thanksgiving since it is at my home not to mention evil, evil Black Friday shopping. Yes, I am one of those crazy people that start shopping at midnight and don't stop until late afternoon on Friday. But that is only due to the husband falling asleep. I would so be shopping until the the stores close on Friday if my bag holder wouldn't tire out.
I'm rambling now… Anywho for those who celebrate it Happy Thanksgiving; for those who don't Happy Thursday! Shutting up now.
Chapter Two: Meet the McKnights
'It can't be. But it is. After I start to finally accept that I will never find her she appears out of nowhere right in front of me. I know you want to Tommy but whatever you do don't hug her. She doesn't know who you are. So don't scare her off. Please for the love of everything good and pure don't scare her off.'
"Tommy Oliver." he numbly shook her hand feeling the same sparks he hadn't felt in such a long time.
Her hair was longer and slightly darker then he remembered. She was a tiny bit curvier then she was as a teenager. Not that he minded that at all. He would know her anywhere, his beautiful, his petite pink princess, Kimberly.
'But what was with the different name? She introduced herself as Kimberly McKnight what happened to Hart? Is she married?' He glanced at her left hand. 'No ring and no ring mark but that doesn't mean that she's not married. Tommy get ahold of yourself. You can look death in the eye and laugh a five foot two woman should not freak you out for heaven's sake.'
"Hey Dr. O you look like you just swallowed a dung beetle." Conner stated the obvious.
"Conner that's incredibly rude. Don't say things like that that." She whipped her head around to chastise her little brother. "You do look a little green about the gills Dr. Oliver come in and sit down for a bit. Conner, make yourself useful and grab your poor teacher a water. It's the least you could do for the man after he returned you bag." she chastised. "I apologize about him I would say that he was dropped on his head at birth but believe it or not his twin, Eric is more clueless then he is."
'Oh dear god there are two Conners. Wasn't one enough for this world?'
The look of absolute horror that crossed Tommy's face caused Kimberly to giggle as she told him that every time she tells someone about her brothers having a twin they always have the same look on their face. Like someone told had them that Christmas has been canceled forever. Tommy could not help but chuckle at this. Kim always did have a way to make him smile. As she led him to the living room to sit down he took this opportunity to check out some of the photos of all shapes and sizes littering the walls while savoring the feel of her tiny fingers grasping onto his much larger ones.
A quick smile ghosted his face when he glanced at a family portrait depicting a long haired teenage Kim, two child sized Conners which was still causing him to shudder at the mere idea of there being two of them, her mother, and what he had determined to be the step dad. 'She must have taken her step dad's name when her mother remarried.' He mused. 'So she isn't married.' His inner self did a little happy jig at that realization.
"So it's Conner, his twin, you and your parents that live here right?" he asked trying to get more information on Kim.
She replied that their dad was on one of the flights that hit the second tower and her mom remarried a French painter last year. The boys didn't want to move to France so she became their legal guardian and their mother signed over the family home. Eric the elder twin was currently up north in Blue Bay Harbor going to an academy specializing in Asian culture. She then went on to tell him that she was an exchange student at its sister school in Japan during her last year of high school. Tommy asked about if she liked Japan and she started to gush about the sites she saw and the people she met. Plus the fact that she wished that she would of been able to shop more but her dinky dorm room had next to closet space.
"So how do you like Reefside so far?" Kimberly decided to turn the conversation onto her brother's science teacher.
"It's nice place. It actually reminds me allot of where my parents live, Angel Grove."
"Get out of town! You're from Angel Grove? I used to live there before the twins were born. Talk about a small world. Wow." She rambled on "I was so sad when we moved but when mom married dad and dad's job transferred him here everything just worked out. I still wonder from time to time what ever happened to my class mates and friends. I remember how two boys in my second grade class, Farkus and Eugene i think their names were used to follow me and my best friend at the time Trini all over the playground. I think they had a crush on us. It was kinda creepy how they would just pop up wherever we were." she made a gagging noise.
"Oh yes, Bulk and Skull... they never did outgrow that stalker phase. At least i don't think they did. For a while they were even trying to uncover the identities of the power rangers but they were never able to figure it out. I bumped into them a couple of years ago Bulk owns a resort and Skull is a classical pianist of all things."
She laughed out loud. "You're kidding right?"
"I wish. Man, you should've seen Jason's face when I told him. It was priceless."
"Jason?" she cocked her head.
"Jason Scott, one of my closest friends." he clarified "We meet at a karate match when I first moved to Angel Grove. We tied for first place and after a ruff spot we had been best of friends ever since."
"Like I said before it's a small world. He and I were desk mates back in the third grade that is until we moved. I was constantly telling him he was weird because he had a first name for a last name. I remember him and my next door neighbor; I think his name was Jack or Zack anyways, they used to get in fights because whatever his name was used to take the red hard ball leaving Jason nothing but the wimpy colors as he put it. His obsession with red stuck with me I guess." She laughed. "Do you by any chance know Trini, ah her last name escapes me at the moment. I know it. It's on the tip of my tongue. It started with a Kaa sound, Kan, Qwa, Kwan! That was it Trini Kwan. Do you know What Trini is up to?"
The current black ranger's smile fell. He was hoping since she mentioned Trini's name the first time that she wouldn't bring her up again. Remorsefully he told her the news on how the original yellow ranger was driving home from the movies when she was side swiped by a teenager high on narcotics and her week long battle on life support. He didn't have the heart to tell Kimberly that in a different time line Trini and she were the closest of friends and that Trini's final words were about Kim.
Even though to her memory, she and Trini were only good friends for a short time. It still pained her to know that a friend no matter how brief that friendship was died years before their time senselessly. After taking some time to collect herself and to dry her eyes she asked about what she called her brainy blood-brother, Billy. Tommy replied to the best of his ability that Billy graduated high school early and now works with government on things he had no idea about. He also told her that no one has really spoken to Billy since he left due to secrecy on his job. He asked about the blood brother bit even though he already knew the story that shortly after the two former rangers started kindergarten Kim somehow got it into her head that if the two did a blood oath that she would somehow get some of Billy's smarts and he would get some of her athleticism. When Kimberly originally told him the story she full heartily believed that it worked. This Kim believed that it worked but had no way to prove it.
"Wow, you know I bet if my family had stayed in Angel Grove we probably would have known each other then." Kim trailed off as she looked into the dark pools of chocolate brown eyes of his. Not sure what she saw in them but it wasn't unwelcome either. "I uh I better go see what's taking Conner so long." she adverted her eyes and left her brother's teacher alone to his thoughts.
Tommy's ego puffed itself out a tiny bit knowing that he still had an effect on her savoring the light blush coating her cheeks But he was unsure on where to go from there. He could tell her the truth that once upon a time she used to dawn pink spandex to fight aliens bent on taking over the world oh and by the way we dated for three of those years. 'That would go over well. I'm pretty sure she would have me committed if I told her that or at the very least get him fired and want him to stay far far away from her and her family.' Or he could let her get to know him again and slowly let her discover their shared past. Option number two was looking like the one to go for and an idea was forming when he saw the two siblings returning from the kitchen.
"Look at the time; if I don't get my tail in gear dinner will be late. I'm sorry I got to leave the two of you but groceries don't buy themselves. It was a pleasure meeting you Dr. Oliver you are welcome to stay for dinner if not I hope we will bump into each other again." she grabbed her neglected purse off the coffee table and left.
"Dr. O not that I mind you talking to my sister and all but you were acting like you saw a ghost or something."
"Conner I know you guys watched my video diary, did you notice that someone looked familiar to you?" hoping that the red ranger would figure it out without him having to spell it out for him.
"Yeah you were in them."
'For the love of...' Tommy mentally slapped himself 'And Conner is supposed to be the smart twin.'
"Conner, did you notice that the first pink ranger looked familiar to you?'
Conner gave his mentor a confused look not really understanding what his teacher was getting at.
"Look Conner this is going to be a little hard for me to explain here without some key items to the story on hand. Just meet me before classes start tomorrow and I will explain everything to you. Okay?"
The red ranger vacantly nodded still not getting what his teacher was trying to get at.
"Oh and Conner I got one question all I need is a yes or no answer. Nothing else..." Tommy waited for the teen to agree and prepared for the future teasing he was about to get. "Is your sister currently seeing anybody?"
