Title: A Shocking Betrayal
Author: Mykkila09
Chapter: 4: Every Action has a Reaction and Every Reaction, A Consequence Part One
Setting: during ZEO; Jason is already back as the Gold Ranger and Tommy and Kat are a couple. King for a Day hasn't happened yet though.
Summary: Kim and Tommy broke up because of a letter she sent, but what really happened? Why did Kim send the letter? Was the letter that Tommy received the same one sent by Kim? What happens when they find out that someone else sent the letter and they find out just who that someone is and that person's reasoning. Will they be able to handle the betrayal? Relationships will be made and destroyed.
Chapter Word Count: 9,496
A/N: here is the new chapter…enjoy. Thanks to everyone for reading, reviewing and generally loving this story.
Disclaimer: Power Rangers and all its affiliates belong to Haim Saban. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended and no money is being made from this. This is a work of fiction.
"Speaking"
'Thinking'
Song/Flashback
O.P.D.: Saturday 24th March, '12.
Melissa looked around at everyone, taking in the disbelief on their faces. Her gaze moved back to her son's and she flinched at the heartbreak she could read clearly.
"Tommy," Melissa started and took a step towards him, but stopped when he stepped back.
"Just don't, ok? Don't," Tommy shook his head. He closed his eyes briefly and then looked at her. "Was it really you? Did you really write that letter?"
Melissa looked at her son, her tears spilling over onto her cheeks. She knew that she was on the verge of losing her son and possibly everything, but she knew that she had to tell them the truth. Not only did they deserve it, but there was nothing else she could do.
Taking a deep breath, she nodded. "Yes, I wrote the letters. The letter that you got and the one Kim got last month, I wrote the both of them."
"Why?" James looked at his wife in shock. "Mel, what did you do?"
"Tommy, you have to understand," Melissa said, "I love you and I just want what's best for you."
"You love me?" Tommy looked at her in disbelief. "How can you say that and do something like this? God mom, you put me through hell. You put Kim through hell! Is hurting me what's best for me? How is breaking my heart and destroying what happiness I have, best for me? I don't want excuses, I just want to know how and why."
"Back in April, I found a letter from Kim," Melissa explained, "it was on the floor and opened, like you had just started reading it but was interrupted."
Flashback
She sighed in relief as she opened the door. Today was a bit more hectic than usual and she was glad to be home.
"Tommy?" she called out to her son as she closed the door behind her. "Tommy? Are you home?" no answer. "Huh…I guess he's at the youth centre."
Throwing her keys on the side table, she started towards the kitchen, but stopped when she saw the paper on the floor. "What is this?"
Bending down, she picked it up and unfolded it. She saw Tommy's name and closed it quickly. "It's a letter from Kimberly, but what's it doing on the floor? Maybe Tommy dropped it."
Shaking her head at her son's antics, she made her way to the kitchen. Placing the letter on the table, she walked over to the fridge and pulled out enough things for to make a few sandwiches. As she made them, her gaze kept straying to the letter lying on the table. She felt an almost desperate sense of curiosity to read it.
"No," she shook her head, "I can't. It's Tommy's letter. I don't have any right to read it."
She finished making the sandwiches, grabbed a drink and left the kitchen, grabbing the letter on her way out. She headed straight to the living room and dropped the letter on the centre table while she sat on the couch. As she ate, her eyes stubbornly strayed to the letter. The urge to read it was strong and her curiosity was gnawing at her. She didn't know why, but she felt like she had to.
"What if there's something in that Tommy needs to know? I mean, he didn't get a chance to read it. It was on the floor like he was in a hurry and dropped it by accident," she tried to reason with herself. "If there is something in there that he really needs to know, then, I'm only helping by reading it."
With her resolve strengthened, she reached over and grabbed the letter. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and after reassuring herself again that she was doing the right thing, she opened it;
Dear Tommy,
Things are going really good here in Florida. I've met some interesting people. These girls are so focused and driven and the coach is intense. The training I've done in the last few months had definitely made me a better gymnast.
She couldn't help but to smile at that. From the moment she had seen her do gymnastics, she knew that Kimberly beyond exceptional at the sport. Still smiling, she read on.
How are you Handsome? I hope everything's ok. I miss you so much. The intense training isn't the only thing that has changed. Tommy, you know how much I love you; you are everything to me and I don't want to freak you out, but I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else but you. I want us to grow old together. I want to be Mrs. Kimberly Oliver when we're older and I want to be the mother to your kids, which brings me to the real reason I'm writing this letter.
At the last line, she couldn't help but to frown. A ball of dread started to build in the pit of her stomach and she was almost hesitant to read on further as on some level, she knew what Kimberly was about to say.
Oh God. I really don't know how to tell you this. I'm scared and a little freaked out, and I know you will be too, but I know that we can deal with together. Ok…here goes. Do you remember Christmas and how we spent it? We had decided then that the time was right for us and the few days we spent together were so perfect and amazing. I have never felt so loved as I did during those times. The way you held me, the way you touched me, I could feel every single love you had for me in those moments and I felt so precious and treasured.
"I can't believe they had sex!" she fumed, "after James and I talked to him about waiting, he goes and does this? What was he thinking?"
I knew that I would always remember our nights because they were everything I had hoped they would be and it was even better because it was with you. Memories weren't the only thing I got from that night. After I got back to Florida, I started feeling sick, but it disappeared after a few days and I had thought it was just a bug, so I pushed it out of mind. But then, a few weeks ago, I got sick again and it didn't go away after a few days, so I made an appointment with a doctor.
I got the results back and I almost fainted from the news. I know I'm probably scaring you right now, but I'm just trying to work up the courage to actually write the words. When I found out, it took week to accept it and to tell you, but I chickened out all the time. I'd pick up the phone to call you and then hang up before the call could even connect. I finally decided to write this letter because honestly, I found it easier. And right now, I'm still stalling.
Ok, enough hesitating, here it is. Tommy, when I got the results from my doctor, I found out that the reason I was/am so sick is because I'm pregnant.
"Oh my God!" one of her hands flew to her mouth as her eyes widened in shock. "No…I must've read wrong."
Yes, pregnant. Shocked me too when he told me, like I said, I almost fainted. I'm three months along, which means, I got pregnant around Christmas. Those nights we spent together resulted in a baby…our baby.
"This can't be happening! She's actually pregnant? Tommy's going to be a father?" she near shouted in the empty house. She couldn't believe what she was reading. There was a reason she had been apprehensive, but never did she expect it would be something like this.
Because I'm pregnant, my gymnastics career is over. I should be angry, but deep down, I'm not. My childhood dream was to know if I was good enough for the Pan Global and eventual the Olympics, and through Coach Schmidt, I was. And since I can't do gymnastics anymore, then there's no reason for me to stay here anymore. So, I'm coming home.
I love you so much Tiger, and I know that right now, you're probably scared and freaked and nervous, but I hope that a part of you is at least happy about this baby. I know that it's an early start on our future together, but I have faith in us. I know we can do this. I can't wait to come home and be with you.
Love you Always,
Your Beautiful
With shaky hands, she folded the letter and placed it back on the table.
"Kimberly's pregnant…Tommy's going to be a father," she said softly. "How could this happen? Why would they allow this to happen?"
She stood up and started pacing. "What the hell is he going to do now? He can't be a father! He's only seventeen! No…" she stopped pacing and her eyes fell on the letter. "Tommy can't know that Kimberly is pregnant with his baby. Her life might be over, but he can still have a chance." She picked up the letter and scanned it once more before folding it and putting it in her pocket.
Grabbing her bag, she took a pen from it and then searched until she found a notebook. When she had it, she sat down on the couch. After thinking for a few minutes, she got an idea and she started writing. When she was done, she looked down at the notebook, rereading the letter that was on there. Smiling in satisfaction, she tore out the paper and folded it.
"I'm sorry Tommy," she said as she stood up, "but this if for your own good."
End flashback
When she was done, everyone was staring at her in disgust and shock.
"Do you still have the letter or did you throw it away?" Tommy asked, his voice trembling slightly.
Melissa shook her head. "I didn't throw it away." She walked away from them and headed inside to where her bag was. Opening it, she pulled out a folded paper and walked back towards them, handing the letter to Tommy. "Here."
With shaking hands, Tommy took the letter and opened it, his eyes filling with more tears as he read the words. When he finished, his voice was shaky. He could tell how scared Kim had been, but also the faith and love she had in him and them. He could now understand why she had said what she did the night they first saw her and the pain she had been going through.
'No wonder she had felt so betrayed. She sent this letter and then she waited and waited and got no reply from me and the others weren't talking to her. Is it any wonder she felt abandoned? She thought because I didn't call her or talk to her, that I wanted nothing to do with her and the baby.'
At that thought, his brown eyes, filled with pain and betrayal, moved from the letter to look at his mother. "Why? Why would you read my letter and why would you keep it from me?"
The pain that was in his eyes echoed in his voice and it made Melissa flinch.
"I know that it was your letter," Melissa explained, "and that I had no right to read it, but I can't say I'm sorry I did." She took a step closer to her son. "Tommy, you have to understand. I do love you and I do love Kimberly, but when I read that she was pregnant, all I could think about was how your life was over. You're just seventeen and you're going to be a father. I didn't want you to have that kind of responsibility.
"Kimberly's life from this point on is basically over. Her future is set in stone, but yours isn't. I want you to live your life, to not miss out on anything, to enjoy the rest of your teen years and to do all of the things you should do. Like, go to college and get a job before you even think about settling down and have kids. You don't know what it's going to be like; you'll have to juggle not only school, but work and the baby as well as Kimberly. I just wanted to spare you that."
"Are you out of your mind?" Alicia snapped at Melissa. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Kimberly has been like her daughter ever since she was young and she was protective of her, especially after she had found out the girl was pregnant. Sure she was shocked, but she wouldn't condemn her for it and she hadn't planned on leaving her alone either. She knew how hard it was to have a baby, and for Kim, it would be a little more difficult as she was just seventeen and she was expecting not one, but two babies. No way though, would she allow anyone to hurt her.
"No," Melissa shook her head and her tear ran down her cheeks. "I was trying to protect my son. I want him to live a full life, not be tied down at such a young age."
"So Katherine was supposed to help him do that," Kim said, her heart breaking even more. To hear the woman she had seen as a second mother say the things she did, her reason for breaking her and Tommy's world apart, it had her reeling.
"What are you talking about?" Penelope looked from Melissa to Kim to her daughter and back.
Kim held out the letter she had gotten to Penelope, who took it and read it out loud.
When she was done, Penelope stared at Melissa in disgust. "You wrote this? What kind of a monster are you? You knew Kimberly was pregnant and you know how much she loves your son. How could you put her through this kind of pain? Do you know the emotional toll it could've taken on her and you tried to use my daughter to do your dirty work! HOW DARE YOU?"
Melissa and the others jumped at her shout and the woman looked away at her words.
"No," Tommy glared darkly at his mother. "You don't get to look away. You knew what you were doing then and you're going to listen to what has to be said. I trust you mom, and so did Kim, and to know you did this to us. And your excuse was that you didn't want me to ruin my life? You did that! You saw how I was when I got that letter from Kim and you just sat there and watch me break apart, knowing you were the one to put me through that! It wasn't your place to decide the rest of my life for me. God, what you did…it makes me so sick!"
"Tommy," Melissa eyes went wide at his words, "please-
"Please what?" Tommy cut her off. "I saw how Kim was after she got your letter. I have never seen her so beaten and you did that to her and all for what? You think I don't know it's going to be hard from now on? I know that it's going to be difficult going to school and raising the babies and getting jobs, but I don't care. I love Kim, and I love our babies because there ours. I don't care that we got started on our family now rather than later because it's my family…ours.
"All I ever wanted was Kimberly and to be with her. And you, you almost ruined that and then you have the heart to tell me it was because you wanted what was best for me. You told her that she was ruining my life. You told her I was with her not because I loved her but because I felt an obligation towards her and the baby. And if that wasn't bad enough, you made her feel like something was going between me and Kat and that I would be better off with her. HOW THE HELL COULD YOU DO THIS?" the last part was shouted and made everyone jump.
Tommy could feel the rage and hurt rushing through him, roaring to be released, but he controlled it. "You raised me to be the type of person that would never dodge his responsibilities and now, you're asking me to abandoned the most important responsibility ever; my pregnant girlfriend. How can you stand there saying you want me to have a full life, to enjoy what the world has to offer if you want me to give up the very person that makes my life worth living?"
There was silence at his words. Everyone present still couldn't grasp the knowledge that it was Melissa that was behind everything. They couldn't understand how a parent who claimed to love their child as much as she did could do such a thing.
For Alicia, Preston and Nathaniel, they knew of a person, two actually, but the difference between Ken Hart and Caroline Dumas, was that Melissa had shown just how much she loved her child and how much she liked Kimberly.
Melissa looked from her son to the others and finally her gaze rested on her husband. The look in his eyes, it was one she had never seen directed at her; it was a look of disbelief, anger, sadness and disgust and it left her reeling as fear slashed through her. "James."
James shook his head and stepped back from her. "Mel, I don't get it. You know everything that our son has been through from childhood; you know what it was like for him, you were there. You and I had to watch as our son turned to Martial Arts to cope and then, we moved here and he met Kimberly and the others and for the first time, he had true friends, people he could count on. For the first time, I saw a joy and a sense of calm settle over our son and I knew from the moment I met Kimberly, that she was the reason for it. She got him to open more, to be more confident in himself, she helped to remove a lot of the self-doubts that he had, she made him unbelievably happy and as a parent, that's all you can want for your child. So why, why in God's name would you want to destroy that? Why would you willingly put our son through so much pain?"
Melissa let out a sob and wrapped an arm around her waist. "I-
"You claim you didn't want him to be a father at seventeen," James cut her off, "news flash Melissa, getting Kimberly out of his life wouldn't mean anything because he would still have children out there, instead, if this horrible plan of yours had worked, if Kimberly had never returned to Angel Grove, then not only would Tommy still be a father, but he would've gone through life feeling empty and being completely unhappy without knowing the reason why. How can you look at yourself in the mirror knowing what you did?"
"I'm sorry," Melissa cried, "I thought I was doing what was best."
"Do you hate me that much?" Kim asked, tears making tracks down her cheek. One hand was held to her stomach while the other moved to wipe her tears, though it was no use as more just kept falling. "I love your son, so much so that I was willing to let him go, because I didn't want to ruin his life. I never asked to get pregnant, but I am. And as much as it scares me, and I am scared because I didn't have the best childhood nor the best parents and I'm worried I'll turn out just like them, I knew that I would be ok because I knew I would have Tommy by my side. Why couldn't you see how much we mean to each other?"
Everyone looked to Melissa for her answer.
"I don't hate you," Melissa shook her head furiously. "I never did."
Kim shook her own head as her tears fell even faster. "I find that so hard to believe from what you did."
"Kimberly," Melissa pleaded, needing her to understand.
"No," Kim took another step away and turned on her heel and headed inside. Not once did she ever believe that Melissa was responsible for the letters because she had seen firsthand how much she loved Tommy and she had thought that the woman had really cared about it; she certainly acted like she did. She had welcomed Kim with open arms and had been a source of comfort to her where her own mother had failed. Sure, she had Alicia and Jill Taylor and Soo Yung Kwan, but truthfully, she had felt a little weird staying at their place and being around them after Jason, Trini and Zack had left for the Peace Conference, despite the fact that she had known them for as long as she could remember.
And in that time, she had gotten close to Melissa. She had opened up to her about her childhood and everything she was feeling, especially about Tommy. The woman had listened to her and had offered much needed advice and had helped her come to terms with not having her mother present in her life. And to know now that she had turned against them, against her, and that she was responsible for breaking apart her and Tommy and almost destroying their lives, it sent shockwaves of pain throughout her. Suddenly, it was all too much; Melissa's betrayal, her emotions, everything crashed through her system and she could feel it begin to overwhelm her.
"Oh God," Kim whispered as she felt her breathing get out of control. She could feel the agony of the woman's betrayal radiating from her heart through her soul and envelope her entire being. Waves and waves of pain crashed into her as her heart rate increased and her breathing became even more laboured. She felt a throb in her stomach just seconds before she felt something wet run down her thighs.
Shaking, Kim glanced down and all other emotion evaporated as fear took control when she saw the blood. "No," she whimpered. "Please no…not my babies."
Another pain pushed through and she grabbed her stomach. Panting, she leaned back against the wall and turned her gaze to where the others were. She tried to yell, but the words came out on a whisper. "Tommy…help."
~…~
Back outside, the others had turned back to Melissa after watching Kim walk away.
"You are unbelievable," Maria spat, her dark eyes spitting fire. "Your own son you put through hell! And what is your excuse? Huh? For him to be free to have a life without obligations? ¿Qué tipo de motivo jodido es eso? Los dos aman y como dicen saber, no. Usted ha actuado como nada más que una puta egoísta!" (What kind of a messed up reason is that? Those two love each other and as much as you claim to know, you don't. You acted like nothing more than a selfish bitch!)
By the time she had finished, Maria had slipped into her native tongue and had unleashed a barrage of Spanish on Melissa.
As he stood there, a feeling of fear took over Tommy and immediately, he searched for his girlfriend. When his gaze landed on Kim, he saw the way she was hunched over and he could see a dark stain on Kim's legs. He took off in the house. As he got closer, he saw that the dark stain was actually blood.
"Kim," Tommy hurried to her side, his brown eyes taking in her trembling form.
"T-Tommy," Kim stuttered out, "s-s-some-t-t-thing's w-wrong." With that, her eyes rolled up in her head as her body slumped to the ground.
Horrified, Tommy quickly caught her. "Kimberly!" his panicked shout drew the others and they ignored Melissa and made their way into the house.
"Oh my God!" echoed from everyone when they saw the passed out Kimberly in Tommy's arms.
"Is that blood?" Kat asked, her voice terrified.
"Call 911!" Alicia yelled as she moved to Kim's other side. She gently tapped Kim's face. "Kimberly, sweetheart, can you hear me?" she got no answer and moved her hand from Kim's cheek to her neck, trying to find her pulse. "Her pulse is weak and it's moving too fast." She looked up at the others. "We need to get her to the hospital now."
"What about the ambulance?" Adam asked, his heart pounding in worry for his sister and her babies.
"We can't wait," Alicia said, "if we do, we could lose all three of them."
Those words filled Tommy with soul wrenching fear, but he pushed it deep down, bringing determination to the forefront. He straightened up and carefully lifted Kim into his arms, cradling her to his body.
"Let's go," Tommy said, his voice firm; the teens recognized it as his leader voice and unconsciously they straightened up.
Immediately everyone scattered as they all hurried out the house and to their vehicles. Alicia directed Tommy to her car, unlocking to allow Preston to help the two teens into the back seat as she got in the driver's side. Sure they were secured, she backed out the drive way and took off towards the hospital, the others following. Amazingly, they didn't get pulled over by cops.
Alicia drove up directly to the emergency doors, knowing that they would open when she got close. The doors opened and she drove through; the car was barely in park before Preston had opened it and Tommy was out with Kimberly in his arms.
"WE NEED SOME HELP OVER HERE!" Preston shouted.
Immediately, two nurses and a doctor headed towards them, the female nurse pushing a bed.
"What's going on?" the female doctor asked.
"Female, age 17," Preston said as Tommy laid Kim on the bed, "name's Kimberly Hart, she's around eight months pregnant. She collapsed just a while ago, pulse is weak and she's bleeding."
"You're going to be ok Kim," Tommy whispered as he grabbed one of Kim's hands. "All of you are going to be ok…you have to be. Just stay strong Beautiful and fight to protect our babies and to come back."
"We need to go now," the doctor told Tommy and they took off down the hallway. As they worked on Kim, she turned to the male nurse. "Page Dr. Christopher and tell her she's needed in OR room three."
"I'm sorry, but you'll have to stay here," the female nurse stopped Tommy from going through the double doors.
"Please," Tommy turned pain-filled teary eyes towards her, "please save them, please."
"We'll do everything we can to do that," the nurse nodded, her heart hurting for the young man in front of her, "I promise." With that, she turned and headed through the doors.
"Come on Tommy," Alicia guided the teen to one of the chairs and sat him down, sitting next to him. "Have faith in her Tommy. She's not going to give up without a fight."
"She's right son," Preston said as he sat down next to his wife.
Tommy bowed his head and when he spoke, his voice was soft and they almost had to strain to hear him. "I can't lose her…I can't."
"You won't honey," Alicia squeezed his hand, "Kimberly is a fighter. We know that."
'Dad!' echoed through the hallway and they looked up and saw the others rushing towards them.
"What's going on?" Jason asked as he stopped in front of them.
"They took her back about ten minutes ago," Preston answered, "so, we don't know anything yet."
"She's going to be fine," Rocky nodded as he dropped down into a chair, "they both are."
The others crowded around, the parents taking the chairs while the teens leaned against the wall or sat on the floor.
Tommy looked up and around at his family before his gaze settled on his mother. His brown eyes glowed with a fire and when he spoke, his voice was flat and emotionless, "If anything happens to Kim or our babies, I will never forgive you."
Melissa bit back a sob at his words and had to force herself her to stay in the room despite the fact that she knew that no one wanted her there.
Everyone was quiet, their thoughts and prayers with Kimberly and her children, hoping beyond hope that the girl that meant so much to them would make it through…all three of them. That hope plummeted when a call came over the speakers.
"Code blue OR room three…code blue OR room three!"
"Kimberly!" Tommy shot out his seat and headed to the double doors, going straight through them, ignoring the others behind him. He sprinted past the nurses and went directly to where Kim was. He saw the doctors and nurses surrounding her, but his attention was on the heart monitor…the one that was letting out one continuous beep.
"No," Tommy whispered before he burst into the room, startling the doctors.
"You can't be here!" one of the doctors said, but he ignored them and hurried to Kim's side, grabbing her hand in both of his.
"Come on Beautiful, don't do this to me," Tommy fell to his knees next to her. "You have to fight Kim. I need you…our babies need you…please…come back to me…don't leave me Kim…I love you so much…please…"
"Sir," a male nurse moved to Tommy.
"I'm not leaving her," Tommy growled, "so unless you want that hand broken, I suggest you do not touch me."
Everyone flinched at the dark tone and the nurse stepped away with wide eyes.
Tommy turned his eyes back to Kim; removing one of his hands, he brought it up to brush her hair away from her forehead. "I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere…it's ok…fight for me Beautiful, fight for me and our babies…fight to come back to us…"
The room was quiet for a few seconds and then, to the astonishment of the doctors, Kim's heart monitor stopped the continuous beep and started beeping slowly until it built.
"Heart rate's climbing," the female nurse said, "BP's stabilizing."
"That's it Beautiful," Tommy smiled, "come on."
The doctors and nurses could only watch in amazement as Kimberly stabilized before their eyes. Getting over her shock, Dr. Christopher stepped up to Tommy.
"This is against all protocol," she said, "but I think in this case, it's warranted. Your being here seems good for her, so instead of leaving, could you shift so that we can work on her?"
"Sure," Tommy nodded and moved to his feet, but not before pressing a kiss on Kim's forehead, "I'm right here Kim. I just have to step aside so they can work on you, but I'll still be in the room."
He then stepped away and allowed the doctors to work on her.
~…~
Outside the room, the others watched as everything with wide eyes; they saw Kim's heart monitor letting out that steady beep and Tommy fall to his knees next to her and then, they watched as the monitor started beeping, slowly but surely becoming stronger until they knew Kim had regained a strong heartbeat.
"She's back," Jason sagged in relief, as did the teens.
"I always knew those two were connected, but," Hugh shook his head and let out a shaky breath.
"I hope you're proud of yourself," James turned and glared at his wife, "because of your actions, we almost lost Kimberly and her babies."
Melissa let out another sob, and then she turned and fled the room, unable to handle the hostile stares directed at her.
Watching her go, James staggered over to the wall and fell back against it.
"Are you ok?" Juan asked, but even as he did, he already knew the answer.
"My daughter-in-law and my grandkids are fighting for their lives, my son is in a sea of confusion, hurt, and anger, and my wife is the one responsible for it all," James let out a hollow laugh, "I am far from ok."
"What are you going to do?" Alicia asked. She couldn't imagine what he was going through; knowing that your wife was responsible for almost destroying their son's life and putting said son's pregnant girlfriend in jeopardy…
"I have no idea," James shook his head, "I can't think of Melissa right now. Right now, Tommy and Kim and those babies need me. When everything is ok with them, then, I'll figure out where to go from there."
"I hope they're ok," Kat said softly as she leaned against her mother. She knew she was a teenager, almost an adult, but right now, not knowing what was going on with her friend, left her needing her mother's comfort.
"She will be," Rocky said, "all three of them, we just need to have faith."
No sooner has the words left his mouth did the door opened and one of the doctors walked out.
"Hello. My name is Dr. Christopher," the woman said.
"Is Kimberly ok?" Billy asked, cutting off the woman.
"I'll be honest," Dr. Christopher sighed, "She lost a good amount of blood, placing her and her babies in jeopardy and on top of that, her heart stopped. Thanks to that young man in there, we managed to get her back and get her stabilized. But that doesn't mean Kimberly is out of the woods just yet. The amount of blood loss is cause for concern and the fact that medically speaking, Kimberly was dead for at least five minutes."
Everyone gasped, their heart pounding at what they were being told. The fear was easy to read on the faces in front of her and Dr. Christopher hurried to give them the rest of the information.
"I know it sounds terrifying," she said, "but I don't think you'd appreciate it if I sugar-coated anything. Because of the stress that caused Kimberly to bleed and for her heart to stop, after we got her stabilized, we had to put her in a medically induced coma."
"She was that serious?" Penelope whispered.
"Yes," Dr. Christopher nodded, "if we hadn't, we would've lost all three of them. We had to, because, although Kimberly is just about her twenty-ninth week, we would rather the babies stay inside until at least her thirty-fourth week. And this way, they can. But for both mommy and babies to get well, whatever caused this in the first place cannot happen again. If Kimberly goes through something like this again, the stress will be too much on her already fragile body and will place her babies and herself at very serious risk."
"We understand," Preston said, "we've already dealt with the reason she had collapsed in the first place and we can guarantee it won't happen again."
"Good," Dr. Christopher nodded, "now, Kimberly is going to be admitted and after we get her cleaned up, she'll be moved to a room. I'll be back with the details of where she'll be staying for you."
"Thank you," James said for the group as a whole.
"You're welcome," Dr. Christopher smiled, "and if I were you, I wouldn't worry too much. I've been a doctor for over ten years and while I put my trust in facts and statistics, I have seen my fair share of miracles and what that young man did in there, it was nothing short of a miracle. With a support system like him, and from what I can gather, like you as well, Kimberly and her babies will pull through. Just have faith."
"We will," Nathaniel nodded.
Dr. Christopher smiled again and then she turned and headed back into the room.
"Thank God," Adam breathed out, "I don't know what I'd do if we had lost them."
"Same here," Rocky agreed softly, "but I'm happy we won't have to know that."
Echoes of agreement came from the others.
~…~
An hour later, Kimberly was moved to a private room, and the others were there waiting on Dr. Christopher.
"What do you think she has to tell us?" Maria asked as she sat on her husband's lap.
"Tommy," Jason turned to his best friend, "do you know?"
"No," Tommy shook his head, his eyes not leaving Kim's form, "she said that since you guys were here, she would tell us all together. I just hope it's not bad news."
"I wouldn't consider it bad news per se," Dr. Christopher came in the room in time to hear Tommy's words.
"So what's going on?" Alicia asked.
"Well," Dr. Christopher started, "you know Kimberly is in a medically induced coma. We're going to leave her that way, just to give her body the rest it really needs right now, and then, tomorrow, we'll pull her out of it. this is going to be done just as a precaution because making sure she stays stable and that her and her babies are ok is my top priority."
"And the babies?" Billy asked, "they are ok?"
"Their heartbeats are steady," Dr. Christopher smiled, "would you like to hear them?"
"Yes please," Jason nodded as he took a seat in the chair across from Tommy.
The doctor left the room and returned ten minutes later with a sonogram machine. She hooked it up and then she turned to Kim's bed. Removing the sheet just enough to give her access to Kim's belly, she rubbed the gel on it before she moved the handle over it.
"Ok," Dr. Christopher said, turning the machine so the room could see, "there…right there, you can see the outline of the babies."
"Oh my God," Kat whispered as she stared at the screen in amazement. "This is so—
"Beautiful," Tanya added.
"Breathtaking," Rocky breathed. His brows furrowed as his eyes caught something. "They look so close."
"That's because they're sharing the same womb," Adam chuckled even as his eyes stayed glued to the screen.
"Actually," Dr. Christopher grinned, "they're not just sharing the same womb." She outlined something on the screen, "They're in the same amniotic sac."
"What?" the teens, except Billy and Tommy, turned to look at her in confusion while the parents chuckled.
"It means they're truly identical," Dr. Christopher clarified.
"Wouldn't the fact that they're twins make them identical?" Rocky asked. "I mean, they'd look alike."
"No," Billy replied instead of the doctor, "just because twins look alike, doesn't mean they're identical. They could be fraternal. Twins are considered identical when they come from the same egg, and share the same amniotic sac."
Rocky cocked his head to the side, looking a little perplex. He opened his mouth to say something else, but before he could, two distinctive sounds filled the room. Wide eyed, he turned his gaze back to the monitor. "Is that—
"Yep," Dr. Christopher grinned, "that's the sound of the babies' heartbeats."
Tommy's eyes slipped closed as he listened to the proof that his kids were alright. 'Now all I need is for Kim to be ok. Come on Beautiful…we need you.'
~…~
By mid-afternoon the next day, Kim's doctor had brought her out of the coma and had assured the group that it would be an hour or so before she woke up. However, when night had fallen and Kim still hadn't awakened, the group and doctor were confused and worried.
"Why hasn't she woken up yet?" Tanya asked as she sat in a chair near the window. The rest of the teens—and their parents—were seated around the room, with Tommy and Jason sitting on either side of Kim's bed.
"I honestly don't know," Dr. Christopher said as she checked Kim's vitals, "she should've though."
"She's scared," Tommy said softly as he reached up a hand to brush it across Kim's forehead. "She's not ready to deal with what caused her to collapse in the first place."
Everyone looked at Tommy before exchanging looks between themselves.
Dr. Christopher looked from face to face before she turned to Tommy. "I know I didn't ask this yesterday, but I think it would help me understand things better to know just what exactly caused Kimberly to collapse."
Tommy didn't look like he was in a sharing mood, so Jason spoke up. "Tommy and Kim have been together since our freshman year. Kim got pregnant last Christmas, but she didn't find out until March. She wrote a letter telling Tommy, but Tommy never got that letter. Instead, he got a letter from Kim breaking up with him.
"It wasn't until a month ago though, when we saw Kim again, and we found out that Kim hadn't written the break-up letter. Instead, she had thought that Tommy had gotten the original letter and that he knew she was pregnant but didn't want anything to do with her or the baby.
"And then yesterday, we found out that Tommy's mom had found the letter that Kim had sent and had hidden it from him and had instead written the break-up letter that Tommy got and another letter that Kim had gotten a few weeks ago telling her to break-up with Tommy. The idea that someone she trusted, someone she loved and looked up to had hurt her like that, it shook Kim to her core."
Dr. Christopher stared at Jason in shock. She's heard a lot of things in her life, but never had she heard something like this; to think that a mother had done this to her son and his girlfriend. She turned to Tommy. "If your mother did this, then I'd advise you to keep your girlfriend away from her."
"I already plan to," Tommy answered, "I'm not letting something like this happen ever again."
"Then it makes sense what you said," the doctor continued, "I believe Kimberly won't wake up until she's ready."
"When will that be?" Adam asked.
"Unfortunately," the doctor sighed, "that is up to her."
Everyone exchanged looks and most of them didn't hold back their sighs. They were very worried about Kim, but they knew that like the doctor said, it was up to her, and she wouldn't wake up until she was ready.
~…~
Over the course of the next three days, things were pretty much the same on the Kim front; her, and the babies' as well, vitals remained strong and steady, but she had yet to wake up and it was really worrying the parents and the teens.
For the rangers, they were all feeling drained as it seemed as if the Machine Empire had realized how distracted they were, and had decided to take advantage of it. The attacks had been ruthless and the rangers had had to give it all they got and what made things a little more difficult was that they were down a ranger. With Kim in the hospital, Tommy had decided that he was not going to leave her side to fight. They had been shocked, but they had understood.
Unbeknownst to the others, Jason had contacted Trini and Aisha. He didn't want Tommy by himself too long as he knew he would drown himself in guilt and 'what ifs' and neither Kim nor he Tommy needed that.
Right now, it was mid-morning, and only the teens were at the hospital as their parents had things to do like work and errands. The others had just come from another battle and were tired and ached in every place imaginable.
"Hey man," Jason greeted as he opened the door to Kim's room and stepped aside, allowing the others to come in as well. "How is she?"
Tommy briefly looked up at them. "Same; her vitals get just a little stronger, but she still isn't waking up."
"She will," Kat said firmly as she took a seat near the window. "She has too much to live for."
Tommy smiled over at her; it was brief and not a full one, but it was a smile nonetheless, "I know that. I just want her to wake up. I know it has to be on her terms, but-
"You'd feel more comfortable if she woke up sooner rather than later," Rocky finished, and then he blew off, "I feel the same way."
Tommy shook his head and wondered just when Rocky had gotten so good at reading him. A knock at the door drew his attention, as well as the others, and they all looked up.
The door opened and Trini and Aisha walked in, shocking, Jason included.
"Trini, Aisha!" Adam stood up and headed to the two girls, pulling them into hugs. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Jason," Trini replied with a smile as she looked at the others. "He called us and told us what was going on."
All eyes turned to said guy.
"I knew they'd want to know," Jason said, "and I knew none of you were thinking clearly to call them. Hell, I only remembered 'cause of something my dad had said when we got home that night." He turned back to the two girls, "but what are you guys doing here though? I mean, I called you the night Kim ended up in the hospital and that was only four days ago. I wasn't expecting you guys until next week at the earliest."
"We got lucky," Aisha answered as she went over to Rocky to hug him. "After Jason called, I immediately went to look for flights and I found one for the day before yesterday. I was lucky because it was the only flight heading back to this part of the States for the next two weeks. It was an overnight flight and I met up with Trini yesterday at LAX and then we took a flight to the airport here."
"For me," Trini said as she walked over to Kim's bedside, Jason moving out of the way for her, "I actually wasn't going to get a flight out until Sunday, but I had told the airline to keep me on standby just in case any flights opened up earlier and it was just my luck that a few did. My flight was straight until we got to LAX and that's where 'Sha and I met up."
"I'm glad you guys are here," Tommy said softly as Aisha hugged him.
"So are we," Aisha smiled at him. "How are you holding up Flyboy?"
"Not good," Tommy admitted, "I need her to wake up."
"Understandable," Aisha nodded as she leaned against his back, wrapping her arms around his chest, her chin resting on his shoulder, "but she will. I know her, we both do, and she won't stay like this for long. You know our girl, she just needs time."
"'Sha's right," Trini said as she reached a hand across Kim to grab Tommy's. She smiled when Tommy looked up at her and then she turned her attention to her best friend and little sister. "Hey sis; I'm here. Jase called me and I couldn't stay away." She let out a chuckle, "why is it, it's always you that ends up here? I swear you take years from my life each time you do." She leaned down and kissed Kim's cheek, "I love you, and I'm waiting, with the others, for you to feel strong enough to come back to us." Straightening up, she turned her gaze to the two unfamiliar girls. "So, who are you?"
"Katherine Hillard," Kat spoke, "Kim chose me to be the pink ranger when she decided to leave for Florida."
"And I'm Tanya Sloan," Tanya smiled shyly at the Vietnamese girl looking at her, "Aisha chose me as her replacement during the ZEO quest."
"Nice to meet you girls," Trini smiled, "though the circumstances suck."
"Agreed," Kat nodded, feeling at ease with the former ranger.
The rest of the day, the rangers spent time in Kim's room, talking amongst each other, as well as they knew that their mentor was just as worried about Kimberly as they were. By mid-afternoon, the parents had joined them, surprised, and yet not, at seeing Trini and Aisha.
~…~
While the others were catching up with Trini and Aisha at the hospital, Melissa lied on her couch, her eyes on the picture she had in her hand; it was of her, Tommy and James. Her eyes traced her son's face and then her husband's. James had barely spoken two words to her since the night Kimberly went to the hospital, and Tommy, she hadn't seen her son since then as he had spent the nights at the hospital at Kim's side.
'This is all so messed up. This is not how I wanted things to turn out. I was just trying to protect him, why can't they understand that? He's my little boy, my son, my only child and when it's your child in question, you do everything you can to shield them, to protect them and that's all I was doing.'
Tears filled her eyes as she traced Tommy's face with her fingertip. 'But in doing what I did…I lost my son. And James, he can't even look at me. And the other parents, they want nothing to do with me. Especially Penelope; I have never seen her so angry…though she had every right to be.'
Closing her eyes, Melissa rolled onto her back, letting the picture rest covered down on her chest. 'Was I really and truly wrong in doing what I did? Why couldn't they understand that I was just doing what was right? How could I have stood by and let Tommy's life go to waste? He has so much potential. Every parent just wants what's best for their child, so I don't see why they should fault me for wanting the same thing. I was just trying to protect him.'
Letting out a sigh, she let her eyes slip close and her thoughts moved to Kim and her babies. 'I never wanted that to happen to her. Just because I didn't want Tommy to be a father yet, didn't mean I wanted Kimberly to end up in the hospital or to lose her babies. If she does…
"I lose Tommy," she continued out loud, "and more than likely James too."
BRRING! BRRING!
The telephone ringing startled her, causing the picture to slide off her chest. Getting up, she reached forward and grabbed it, smiling when she saw the caller ID; it was her older sister Marcia.
"Hey sis," Melissa smiled into the phone. "What's up?"
"Hey," Marcia replied with a grin, "I just wanted to see how my little sister was doing. I feel as if there's something going on with you right now, so I called."
"Big sister intuition, huh?" Melissa snorted; it never failed to amaze her how Marcia always knew when something was wrong with her.
"So something is going on," Marcia nodded, shifting on her seat to be more comfortable. "Alright, spill. What's happening over there? What's wrong?"
Melissa bit her lip as she contemplated telling her sister anything.
"Don't even think of saying there's nothing wrong or try to change the subject," Marcia warned, "I know you Mel. Tell me everything."
Melissa sighed and fell back onto the couch. "Ok. You know Tommy's girlfriend Kimberly, right? Well…" everything spilled out; from getting Kimberly's letter up to Kim ending up in the hospital. When she was done, there was silence on the other end. "Marci? Hello, you there?"
"Yeah I'm here," Marcia replied. She was trying to come to terms with everything her sister had just told her. It sounded like something out of a movie. She was unable to understand just what was going through her Melissa's mind.
"So?" Melissa said, "do you think I was wrong?"
"Are you kidding me?" Marcia pulled the phone away from her to look at it before putting it back. "Of course you were wrong! Melissa Claire Carey-Oliver, what the hell were you thinking? How could you do such a thing?"
"Marci," Melissa gasped out, unable to believe her sister was yelling at her.
"No!" Marcia cut her off, "listen to me and listen good. What you did, it was evil and deliberately cruel. I may not have met Kimberly personally, but I heard enough about her from you and James and Tommy to know just what kind of person she is. And you know what I got from that? I learned that she had a very bubbly personality, and that she was very compassionate and caring and was someone who wouldn't hesitate to put her friends above herself. I learned she was someone that would do anything for her loved ones and she was fiercely protective. But the most important thing I learned about her was how much she loved my nephew. She accepted Tommy as he was, faults and all, and she never once tried to change him unless you count making him a little more sociable a change. The girl is so good for him because I know just how much he loves her. All any parent want for their kids is for them to find someone to love them unconditionally, to always be there for them, to listen and talk to and treat them right and Tommy had that in spades with Kimberly, so why, why in God's world would you want to destroy that?"
"I thought I was doing the right thing," Melissa defended, "Tommy has enough responsibilities—
"What responsibilities?" Marcia snapped, "He's seventeen. The only responsibilities he had were finishing high school, go to college and get a job. Now, he has the biggest responsibility of all; being a father. It was something that would've happened sooner or later, it just happened sooner than anyone would've liked. Do you think Kimberly got up one morning and said, "Oh, I think I'll go and get pregnant today!" no, she didn't! She didn't ask to be pregnant, but she is and Tommy, he did the responsible thing and stood by her. He didn't run away; he didn't say, "Oh it's not my child and I'm not ready to be a father so you're on your own." He didn't say any of that! you should be proud of your son and of Kimberly because from what I understood, she was prepared to raise the baby, excuse me, babies, on her own and not only that, she was already preparing for it. But instead of doing the right thing, the responsible thing, you did the opposite; because of the choice you made, you placed Kimberly and her children's lives in danger and not only that, you're on the verge of losing not only your son, but your marriage as well."
"Marci," Melissa closed her eyes as her sister's words washed over her. It hurt to hear her say them, even though it was nothing different to what everyone else had already told her.
"Missy," Marcia sighed, "you're my little sister and I love you, I always will, but I never ever thought I'd ever say this about you, but, I am so ashamed and so disappointed in you right now."
Melissa let out a painful gasp. She was close to her forties, but despite that fact, she still sought her older sister's approval so hearing that she had disappointed Marcia and made her ashamed of her hurt beyond anything.
"What you did," Marcia paused, "never in my life did I ever thought you were so cruel. You messed up Missy, you messed up big time and you need to fix it, because if you don't, you will lose your family completely." With that, she hung up.
Melissa heard the click of the phone and then the dial tone and she slowly, and with shaky hands, moved the phone from her ear and replaced it in the cradle. A sob tore free from her throat and she raised her hand to cover her mouth. Tears ran down her cheeks as more sobs escaped her lips.
It hurt; hearing her sister's words, the actions of her husband and son, how the other parents had shun her…everything hurt, but she knew that it was all her fault. She had done this to herself and she was the only one to blame.
'Is it really that bad if Tommy's a father now? I love Kimberly, I know her and I know in my heart that she wasn't, and isn't, ruining Tommy's life. He loves her…so why did do that to them? How could I hurt my son and my family like that?' her gaze fell to the photo of her, Tommy and James again. 'Can I fix what I broke? Or is too late?'
A/N 4: and that's the chapter. As for Kim, I had to put her in danger; she had just found out really emotionally upsetting news and being almost eight months pregnant with twins, it made her more susceptible to something like what happened…if that makes sense? Also, all medical mumbo jumbo is just that…mumbo jumbo; it's all probably wrong, but it was twisted to fit the story. So…please review so that I can know what you thought.
Next Update: Saturday 7th April, '12.
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