Chapter A/N: This chapter is a little short, but sometimes it's just a natural stopping point. This chapter is mainly to show my interpretations of Katherine's character, and a touch of Tommy's.
This will probably be the last chapter for the next three weeks. Vacation time before school starts up again. I'll be taking my time to work on Chapter 5. Thanks for reading, and special thanks to everyone who left a review.
Chapter 4: The Soldier and the Geek.
Katherine really hadn't thought things through at all. She had succeeded in getting away from Tommy, but now she was outside on a winter night, without her coat or her keys. This really wasn't one of her better plans. A gust of winter wind blew past, forcing Katherine to hold the hem of her dress down, the chill of winter biting deep into the bone. Katherine shivered, wrapping her arms around herself to conserve her body heat. Katherine cast a longing look back at Blacker House, sniffling as she did. The plan had been to find Tommy to have a long, serious talk… Which would most likely end up with her ending the relationship. Tommy didn't deserve to wait that long. He deserved someone who could be closer to him.
Then Katherine could go spend a few days at Tanya's bawling and crying about why life was so unfair.
But Katherine had never counted on Tommy being so damn sexy. Katherine hadn't expected the sexual tension between them to just explode. God, the sex had been fantastic. As much as Katherine had loved Tommy at her back, spooning her body as he whispered a soft "I love you" in her ears, her conscience had been banging desperately against a cage that had been buried deep under her lust and her heart.
Katherine turned into a little alcove, where benches surrounded a fountain. The winds couldn't reach this secluded corner. Over the years, Katherine had spent many an afternoon here with Tommy. Tommy would often bring his books out here, and Katherine would be content leaning against him as he studied. Settling down on a bench, she huddled in upon herself, she missed Tommy. Katherine missed him so badly. She missed having dinner with him. She missed the walks in the park in Angel Grove, where they would look at scorch marks and remember the monsters they had destroyed together. She missed the walks and drives around the neighbourhood with him, remembering the number of close calls that they had. She missed making love to him, being able to hold his body within hers as they shared their burdens. She missed waking up beside him in the morning, watching the morning sun filter through the blinds and illuminating his peaceful, sleeping face.
The Earth revolved around the sun, the moon revolved around the earth, the tides rose and fell, and Katherine loved Tommy.
"You really should be careful after dark, Katherine." Katherine almost jumped when she heard Nicholas' disapproving voice, but relaxed. Katherine was no normal human, and she trusted in her instincts to tell her if something was wrong. Besides, even in this state, she was more than a match for any human. She ignored him, wanting to be left alone with her thoughts.
Katherine felt Nic's presence come up behind her, followed by a sudden weight upon her shoulders. The fabric inside was as soft as a blanket, causing Katherine to immediately nuzzle into the collar for warmth. She could feel Nic's hands settling the coat on her shoulder. Katherine reached to either shoulder, pulling it closed around her body
Katherine turned around, finally meeting Nicholas' eyes. His face was stoic and impassive, more focused on trying to make sure that the coat covered as much of her as possible. "It's Mandy's, she thought you might need it." Nicholas said, before Katherine could even open her mouth to ask.
"Thank her for me." Katherine pulled the coat tighter around her, grateful for the warmth.
"Thank her yourself later." Nicholas sat down on the bench beside her, silently staring at the fountain at the center of the courtyard. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a packet of tissues. Silently, he offered the packet to her.
Katherine took it silently, ripping the packet open and pulling out a piece to dab at the trail of tears along her cheeks. There was silence between them. Nicholas seemed to fixate on the fountain, the constant sound of splashing water punctuated by the occasional horn of a car in the distance. It… felt strange. Katherine wasn't uncomfortable with silence per se, but for the majority of her life, she had been surrounded by people who couldn't bear to stand around doing absolutely nothing. Not even quiet Adam could sit around doing absolutely nothing.
"Nicholas?" his only response was to turn his head, raising an eyebrow to her. "Why are you here?" Katherine immediately winced at how it sounded. "Sorry, that came out wrong… Just… I thought Tommy would have come after me."
Nicholas cocked his head, "Do you want him to come after you?"
Katherine paused, thinking for a moment. "Not really…"
Nicholas' head turned back towards the fountain. "That's what I thought."
"That doesn't really explain why you're here." Katherine pressed. She had just thought of it, but she could have easily morphed into her Ninjetti form, and then Streaked her way to Tanya's. It was delaying the inevitable of seeing Tommy again to get her purse and keys, but suddenly, even Tanya's didn't sound very appealing. Katherine… Katherine wanted to be alone with her thoughts. That wasn't to say she wanted Nicholas to leave, though. His presence was… oddly comforting. Tommy would have bugged her about what was wrong until she opened up. Tanya would have welcomed her back with open arms, but she would have demanded the story eventually.
Instead, she felt no expectation from the elder male. He seemed content to sit there, staring at the fountain while she organized her thoughts.
"Can I ask you something?" Katherine was genuinely curious as to why Nicholas would brave the cold out to find her. They were only really connected through a mutual friend, and honestly, Tommy and Nicholas being friends was an odd match. They hardly had any coinciding interests. It wasn't the same relationship that Tommy had with Billy, since they had been Rangers together. But beyond that… Besides, she wanted to distract herself from the current situation.
A slight twitch of his head was the only indication he gave that he heard her. Katherine took it as permission to continue, "I know you met Tommy at Rotation… But why are the two of you friends?" Katherine paused, "That came out wrong. I… I don't mean to say that…" she trailed off as Nicholas turned his head fully to face her.
Katherine met his gaze head on. Somehow… it was different, the lines around his eyes deeper, his gaze a tad… colder. There was no sign of the sarcasm or mischief in his eyes. In fact, there was nothing. All she could describe it was that it was… cold.
Katherine shivered, and not because of the weather, but she recognized what she saw there. She had a face like that. Tommy had a face like that. In fact, she was pretty sure that every Ranger had a face like that. It was rarely, if ever, seen, but Katherine knew that that had been the expression on her face when she single handedly gave Numbor a run for his money. Her attacks that day had been… reckless. It had been very different from how she usually fought, and it was only when her team had ran up to her did she remember that she was supposed to be feeling accomplished.
For the first time in three years, she recognized what she saw there. Katherine could see the haunted gaze of someone who had known battle. And she knew that that the same look was mirrored in her eyes. In that moment, Katherine understood Nicholas. He wasn't just quiet because he was a socially awkward geek. In Caltech, a geek among geeks was hardly anything unique. He was quiet because he had seen something that he would forever remember, something that would haunt his nightmares for years to come, and he was still working his way through it.
"Tommy hides it well, and so do you… But I wasn't that great at hiding it back then." Nicholas' eyes softened, a touch of nostalgia entering his voice. "I guess we became friends because we understood that part of our character."
Katherine blinked, lowering her eyes. She didn't feel like she had any right to ask, considering that she would probably never be able to reply him in kind, but she wanted to know. "What happened?"
"Would you tell me yours if I told you mine?" There was a tone of challenge in his voice. Yet, underneath that Katherine also detected uncertainty, a want to tell someone who could understand.
"It's not my secret to tell." Katherine had to be honest. It really wasn't. It was a secret that twelve of them kept. They had been Zordon's chosen. She couldn't betray that. "You should at least tell Mandy."
"You and I both know she won't understand." It was a valid point. As far as she knew, Mandy was the typical girl next door. She grew up with her parents, leading a normal life in which nothing really bad happened to her.
Katherine decided to take a stab in the dark, "Mandy doesn't need to understand to hold you when you wake up screaming."
Nicholas' head jerked as his eyes flashed with anger at the comment, he began to turn his body to face her before rational thought took over. The tension left his muscles as he closed his eyes and let out a breath. He opened them, meeting Katherine's eyes. This time, Katherine saw fear, and a sense of helplessness. "You know how I served in the Singapore Navy years ago?" Katherine nodded, not wanting to interrupt when it was obviously difficult for him to relive the memory.
"I served on a patrol vessel, running anti-piracy patrols along the Straits of Malacca. I was a gunnery sergeant, due for discharge in two months." Nicholas paused, "A distress call came in. Some pirates in a speedboat had boarded a container ship, and we were the closest military vessel. Our ship was sent to show our presence, pressure the pirates into at least halting their operations. We were to shadow the pirates until the edge of Singapore waters, while Command tried to coordinate with the Indonesians."
"The waiting is the hardest. High alert, watching for movement, keeping your head down, full battle order, rounds loaded and ready in the machine gun… It seemed to go well. Our presence forced some urgency into the pirates to leave the ship… Until they got the bright idea to shoot at us."
Katherine listened, already dreading the remainder of the story. If a story involving a military operation was the cause of that grim Look, there was no way this could end reasonably well.
"I stopped my men from returning fire. We were behind a sheet of solid metal that couldn't possibly buckle, especially since we were… about a mile away. Our mission was to shadow them. They might have taken hostages, I said. I radioed my Lieutenant. Told him that we were under fire, asking for a status update on the container's crew. I thought I was being smart." Nicholas snorted, mocking himself.
"One moment I was having a conversation with the LT. The next moment there was red on one side of my goggles and someone screaming. I didn't know what happened. In the inquiry later, some engineers theorized that the bullet somehow ricocheted behind our barrier… It doesn't matter now, I suppose." This pause was long as he bore holes into the fountain with his haunted gaze.
"Rick's arm, gone. Blood… So much blood. The white of bone." Nicholas visibly shivered, and it wasn't from the cold. Katherine's stomach tightened. She could only wonder what images were going through his head right now. Nicholas' words were also becoming more fragmented, his tenses getting confused, completely losing his formal accent the deeper he went into recollection. "Rick screaming. I shout for a medic, yell to my guys for dressing, manage to tie a tourniquet to slow bleeding… Yell at Sherm and Oliver to get him to downstairs to safety… I sight down the MG, yell into radio 'Kilo kill kilo kill'
Katherine took a sharp breath. The sound seemed to snap Nicholas out of his recollection. His eyes refocused themselves, and his speech returned to normal. This time, he continued with cold detachment.
"The pirates' boat was tiny, some kind of speedboat, holding seven people. We emptied the belt, reloaded and continued firing until we were out of ammo. We fired a thousand rounds each. More than half probably missed because we didn't have our spotters. Still… by the time we were done the boat was in pieces… Pirates were all dead."
"Rick lost his arm because of me. Should have given the command to fire as soon as we were fired upon. Would have been completely justified, in defending ourselves. I never expected them to fire. Seriously? A speedboat against a fully equipped military patrol vessel with an autocannon and surface-to-air missles." Nicholas snorted again, leaning back against the bench, running his hand through his hair. "Was almost court martialed for disobeying orders... insubordination…" He let out a weak grin at seeing the look of disbelief on Katherine's face. "The LT threatened to court martial me for disobeying orders to hold fire. I told him to fuck off since he seemed more concerned about his career than one of his men losing an arm. He tried to get me for insubordination, too, but the CO put a stop to that. All of us got early medical discharges."
Katherine shifted closer, putting an arm around his shoulder. She felt him tense as she laid her head against his shoulder. "Killed seven men that day. One of my men lost an arm. Visited Rick after, he was trying to be nice about it, joked about shooting first and asking questions later… Part of him blames me for it. Sometimes… I can still hear the screams, see the blood…"
"You don't talk about this often, do you?" Katherine asked, already knowing the answer.
"Went for the obligatory psychological review, they declared the whole section unfit for duty and gave us all early honourable discharges. Went for therapy once back home. Haven't been there since coming here to study." The tension left him, as if completing the story had lifted a weight off his shoulders.
"You should see a therapist. Or at least, talk it out with Mandy and Tommy. Mandy deserves to know, and Tommy… We know about the guilt." Images of a pale and shivering Kimberly in bed surfaced, Katherine determinedly shut those thoughts away. "Tommy and I both."
There was a bit more of a thoughtful look in Nicholas' eyes this time. "You're not telling me?"
Katherine shook her head. "Not my secret to tell."
Nicholas nodded. There was another long pause. "Earlier, you asked me why I chased after you in the cold." Katherine nodded, her cheek still pressed against his shoulder.
"You're my friend." Nicholas finally replied. He said it quietly and in such a matter-of-fact manner as one would say that the sky was blue. However, it was deeper than that. 'Friend' barely touched the surface. Katherine finally understood why Tommy and Nicholas got along so well. Tommy had figured Nicholas out long before she had, and had seen a soul that needed an understanding only a fellow warrior could provide. In return, Nicholas had helped him adjust to the academic rigor required of a top research university, which was a steep learning curve from high school.
Content with her conclusion, she remained silent. At this point, Katherine really wasn't thinking about anything at all. All she was doing was holding off the inevitable. Katherine stood, pulling away from the shorter male.
Katherine pulled him into a hug, she felt him tense in surprise, then relax as he returned the hug awkwardly. "Thank you, for being my friend." She whispered into his ear, placing a peck on his cheek before she pulled away. Katherine had wanted to have some quiet time to herself to think, but neither did she want to be truly alone. She appreciated that he hadn't judged her or jumped to conclusions, he was just there, waiting.
He snorted lightly, raising his eyebrow with a smirk on his face as he turned away, heading towards the exit.
To anyone other than a few people that could be counted with two hands, that snort and smirk would have been taken as mocking arrogance. But as Katherine fell into step beside her friend, she knew it was his way of saying, "You're my friend. I won't do anything less."
"By the way, where IS Tommy?" Katherine asked, the question suddenly popping into her mind. She was ready to see him, but she realized that she didn't have a clue as to where he was.
"In his room. Mandy's keeping him there."
"Wait what?" Katherine did a double take, "How did you get Tommy back up to his room to be patiently waiting for me?"
"Oh no, you misunderstand. He's hardly patient." The smirk that was crossing Nicholas' face could only be described as mischievous and he was losing his American accent. Both were not good signs.
"Nicholas… tell me what happened after I ran out." Katherine's eyes narrowed, enunciating every word.
"It took him about thirty seconds to recover and get out of his chair after you left. He opened the front door and apparently didn't see you. I think he was frantic." Nicholas turned to her as he slowed his steps, "You had us worried there, you know, leaving like that." A fresh pang of guilt hit Katherine, she had probably Streaked without meaning to, which was why she had been out of Tommy's field of view.
Nicholas' resumed his normal walking speed as he continued. "He walked back in with that focused look on his face. By that time Mandy and I were already waiting. He was ticking off fingers, and I heard him mutter 'Tanya's before he started running up the stairs. As if you could get to Tanya's," Nicholas rolled his eyes, scoffing as his accent changed to reflect his seriousness. "It's dark, and you didn't have your purse with you. You couldn't drive or call a cab." Katherine knew what Tommy had been thinking, though, and he had been accurate. Katherine could have easily used her Ninjetti Powers to Streak from rooftop to rooftop until she reached Tanya's apartment, where she could crash for the night. Not that Nicholas would have known that.
"So I told Mandy to keep him in his room. If I tried to stop him, Tommy wouldn't have had any qualms knocking me out to go after you. If it was Mandy in his way though, Tommy would be more limited in his options. It worked though. He's lying face flat on the floor with Mandy on his back."
"How did you ever manage to pull that off?" Katherine had an incredulous look on her face. How did the two of them floor Tommy? This was TOMMY, former leader of the Power Rangers for three years. He was arguably the best martial artist in the world. How the hell-
"Took a cheap shot. He bent over looking for his keys, I literally punted his ass and he fell over. Mandy sat on him. He can't dislodge her without hurting her, and angry as he is, he won't hurt her… and even if he does manage to move her…" Nicholas smirked, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a set of car keys. "Return these to him for me, will you? I'd be better off avoiding him for the next few days."
Katherine's mouth dropped wide open. "You…stole Tommy's keys, punted him in his ass, he fell over and Mandy sat on him." Katherine summarized, not quite believing the words that were coming out of her mouth. "I don't know whether to feel outraged on his behalf or to fall over laughing."
"Why does that surprise you? Weirder things have happened in the three years I've known Tommy. That week Mandy and I spent at Angel Grove last year? No offence, but your friends are… kinda crazy."
Katherine couldn't disagree. As a former resident of Angel Grove, 'weird' had a very different definition as compared to the rest of the world. As Rangers, it was worse, the 'weird' overflowed into their civilian lives. More than once, Katherine had lain in bed with her covers over her head, muttering "Fuck it all" as 'weird' blew over. Right after Kimberly had given her the Pink Crane powers, observant residents of Angel Grove had noticed that the Pink Ranger was suddenly much taller and had a very different accent. The ensuing manhunt had Billy and Tommy wincing and muttering something about a 'Rangers' Parade' that had occurred a previous year. That didn't last for long, thankfully, since they were turned into children, and the Alien Rangers from Aquitar took over their duties for awhile. By the time they had returned to normal, and gained the Zeo Powers, the manhunt had blown over…
'Thankfully, they were turned into children.' Katherine did a double take at the sentence that ran through her head. God, her life was weird.
"You're different from them, though."
Katherine raised her eyebrow in a question. "Well… Among… Rocky, Adam, Tanya, Tommy, Jason… and the kid? Justin?" at Katherine's nod, Nicholas continued, "Besides you, none of them can stay still. It's always… well, noisy… For me, it was a little overwhelming. Having Mandy around helped a lot."
The more Katherine thought about it, the more she realized how accurate Nicholas was. She had always been the quiet one. She liked meeting new people and interacting with them, but unlike the rest of the team, Katherine was perfectly fine with doing absolutely nothing. She was an introvert, but she channeled it differently from Nicholas. While he would lock himself away from people for a day or so just to read or play video games, Katherine danced.
When Katherine danced, there was nothing but the music and her. It wasn't done on purpose. Even on stage during her exhibition performance, in front of a hundred people, Katherine just danced. It was similar to the combat trance that she instinctively slipped into when fighting. She was aware of everything that was going on around her, the other Rangers, the number of foot soldiers around her, but they weren't really there. There was only Katherine, her body, and the deadly dance of destruction she brought to the foot soldiers around her. That was probably why her passion for ballet had never waned over the years.
"Yeah, they do take a bit of getting used to." Katherine smiled, but it disappeared from her face just ask quickly as they stepped up to the door of Blacker House. Nicholas stepped up, flashing his key card, opening the door to let them both in.
Earlier in the day when Katherine had walked in through the door, the House had fallen silent upon her entry. But this time, there was a brief moment of silence before the noise started up again. Judgmental gazes turned their eyes on her. Gossip and theories about 'Tommy's girlfriend' floated about the common room, assaulting her senses.
"Ignore them," Nicholas said loudly. Holding her arm by the bicep, Nicholas steered her up the stairway towards Tommy's room.
Their steps echoed along the stairway, each resounding tap on the concrete seemed to be a countdown to something ominous. As they entered the hallway, Katherine paused. She swallowed, turning to Nicholas. "Nic… I-"
Nicholas cut her off, turning away from her to look down the hallway. "Do whatever you need to do, Katherine. Whatever it is, I know you'll do what's best for the both of you."
"You'll… You and Mandy… You'll take care of him, won't you?" Katherine bit her lip. She knew the answer, but she had to ask.
Nicholas snorted, as he turned to meet her eyes, his eyebrows raised and his eyes challenging. Katherine's heart settled, that was all the answer she needed.
There was nothing left to be said between them. They walked down the remainder of the hallway in silence. They were just about to pass Nicholas' room when a sudden screech stopped them in their tracks.
"FUCK YOU TOMMY!" Mandy's voice screeched down the hallway.
"I warned you didn't I?" came Tommy's defensive reply.
"I didn't expect you to really FART IN MY FACE YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
"I've held it for the past fifteen minutes! I couldn't stand it anymore!"
"JESUS! What the fuck have you been eating?! It's DISGUSTING!"
"You know I haven't eaten anything since breakfast! GET OFF ME!"
"Not happening you ASSHOLE. You REALLY think I'm going to let you drive in this state? You'll get us KILLED!"
Katherine could only stare at Nicholas while he had a thoughtful look on his face. "Well… I've never farted in her face. That's got to be a first." Nicholas deadpanned in a whisper, looking mildly amused. "And that's a completely new level of weird for Tommy."
For a sane person, there are some situations in which there are no words to describe the feeling of incredulity and exasperation. Sometimes, the universe leaves you at a complete loss for words, and only actions can suffice in conveying one's emotions.
For Katherine, after the day she's had, this was one of those moments.
Katherine lifted her head to the sky, silently asking, "Oh dear God why me." before she brought her hand to her forehead.
Sometimes, nothing else could convey meaning better than a facepalm.
Nicholas broke into a grin at Katherine's facepalm, but it quickly faded. The atmosphere around the two changed, Katherine's eyes narrowed slightly in focus, her mouth set into a thin line. This was it. Katherine stepped into the open doorway, the light along the hallway at her back cast her shadow into the room. Tommy was lying face flat on the ground, supporting his face with his elbows. Mandy had grabbed his knees, holding his legs together, lying astride Tommy's body, her face still scrunched up at the fart that Tommy had ripped loose just moments earlier.
Tommy noticed the lack of light first, "Nic if that's you I'm going to KILL YOU!"
Mandy looked up, noticing Katherine, and had to visibly bite back a retort that was probably intended for Tommy. Mandy's eyes narrowed as she pouted angrily. "You OWE me."
Katherine stepped into the room, offering Mandy a hand up. "Thank you for taking care of him, Mandy." Mandy took it, her expression softening. Underneath Mandy, Tommy had visibly tensed at the sound of Katherine's voice. Katherine gently guided Mandy to Nicholas, who was leaning against the doorway. Katherine pulled off the borrowed coat, handing it to Mandy. "Would you two give us a moment? I think we have a lot to talk about."
Nicholas nodded once, turning his back. Mandy had just barely enough time to give the couple a look of sympathy before Katherine gently shut the door.
End Notes:
Revised as of 20th March 2015: Too many ideas floating around in my head causing inconsistencies in my End Notes and story. Chapter has been updated to reflect this.
I realized that I didn't mention this earlier if anyone's feeling confused. Singaporean citizens are conscripted into two years of service with their Armed Forces. Through talking with my friends, I've found out that the experience of serving has changed them more than they care to admit.
Piracy was especially terrible along the straits of Malacca and Singapore straits during the 90s, even now Australia has its own Navy on anti-piracy patrols under an Anti-Piracy task force.
All credit for the "Rangers' Parade" is to a fanfic titled "Of Love and Bunnies" by Crazygirl47. It's a must-read for any Power Rangers fan. It's not completed, which is a huge shame, but it's provided me with laughs since I first started reading it back in 2008. Check it out s/2213080/1/Of-Love-and-Bunnies
Funny thing that happened to me a couple of days ago. That farting thing? There was this really smelly old man who sat beside me in the cinema the other day when I was catching a movie with my best friend… And another middle-aged man who was just farting REALLY loudly non-stop throughout the whole movie… It completely ruined my mood. So in typical best friend fashion, my bro starts laughing silently at me as I'm facepalming, because nothing else short of exploding could possibly express my displeasure at that point. Therefore, I give you the Facepalm.
