Loop and Spiral

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Power Rangers.

:: Thanks for the reviews, guys ;) I have a 4 day off so I can finish this one. Comparing to the previous chapters, this one is longer. Hope you like it. Special thanks for G, Mili, Angie and Mali for the extra supports! Thanks to you guys I have got the courage back to continue this fic :)

:: Not for Kat fans.. don't like, don't read. Thank you.

Chapter four: Boiling Point

Kim opened the front door and walked inside to find Katherine lounging in the living room. Her successor was watching a Prison Break rerun with a basket of fresh, just-came-out-of-the oven popcorn neatly placed on her lap. They might have had some disagreement, but Kim had to say that Wentworth Miller was a hottie. So what if he's gay? It didn't change the fact that he was still blazingly sexy. Maybe one of these days she would ask Tommy to shave the rest of his hair. He had surrendered his long hair trademark, it wouldn't kill him to go extreme for once and please her by turning hairless.

Stifling a giggle at the new imaginary image of her boyfriend, Kim closed the door behind her and made her presence known. "Hey, Kim. I didn't expect you to come home this early. Did something happen?"

"Nothing happened," Kim answered while taking off her coat and sitting at the arm of the couch. The sight of a shirtless Michael Scofield contented her for a while. Tommy had several tattoos marking his body but she would seriously kill him if he dared enough to do his entire body. His memory might not be the best, but he wasn't that forgetful that he had to actually make a blue print of the map from high school to this house on his body. "I just wanted to go home early and see how Tommy was doing. I thought he might want some company,"

"Did you forget that I didn't have class today?" Kat asked with a good natured grin and Kim felt her stomach doing some back flips. Of course she remembered. Wasn't that the whole point of her deciding to take a day off? "There's a show about China ancient civilization on TV this afternoon, so I thought it could keep Tommy busy,"

"You're so thoughtful," Kim replied, biting her tongue to prevent her from saying anything else that she would regret later. Kat was being a good friend… her intention was good… stop torturing yourself and stop judging your friend. Yes, she's your friend, remember? "Anyway, I'm going to see Tommy now,"

"Sure," Once Kat's gaze was reverted back to the television, Kim got up, picked up her coat and bag and made her way to the guest room. Since Tommy was in no condition to walk up the stairs, they had moved temporarily to the second guest room downstairs.

Tommy and her room was located at the end of the corridor at the second floor. It was pretty big with an inside bedroom and a walk-in closet for both of them. They had had an argument before; Kim wanted them to get beautiful floral printed wallpaper she'd seen at the mall but Tommy thought it was too girlish and somewhat juvenile. In the end, they had finally agreed to paint the wall with warm beige color.

Living with Tommy hadn't been easy at the first time. They loved each other dearly but sometimes it was difficult not to think about devouring each other--literally. They hadn't talked about getting married though Jason had dropped a trace of hints then and there every time they talked. That was a total nonsense. Before they stepped into that next phrase of their relationship, they had to make living together 24/7 work. Now they had been living under the same roof for a whole three years and it still felt like a very good dream that she had never been fully awaken from.

Getting married… before she started stressing out about that, she'd better start worrying about what would become of her relationship with Tommy if her suspicion turned out to be correct. Oh God, please don't.

She turned the doorknob and pushed it open, making no noise as not to wake Tommy. His sleeps had been restless for the last couple of days because of his fever so it actually thrilled her when she saw him sleeping peacefully, her pillow neatly tucked under his chin.

After putting her stuff on the dresser, Kim kicked off her shoes and slowly and carefully crawled over the bed. She settled next to Tommy and propped her head on one hand. Her other hand grazed his forehead lightly to check his temperature and a relieved smile grew when she realized the fever had gone.

She took a few minutes to stare at his sleeping face and it was all she could do not to launch forward and rain his face with kisses. She was 28 years old but some parts of the seventeen year old Kim were still inside her somewhere. She had never been able to stay still whenever Tommy was around when they were kids and that, sadly, hadn't changed.

Feeling slightly defeated, Kim leaned over and pressed her lips against his stubbly cheek. Quiet for a few seconds before a soft sigh escaped his lips and those long eyelashes started to flutter open.

"I didn't mean to wake you," She said regretfully and moved her hand to smooth down the wrinkles on his UCLA t-shirt.

"It's okay. All I did all day was lay still on the bed," Tommy said grouchily and pushed himself up. Kim immediately helped him and he fell back to the mountain of pillows near the headboard. He was startled when Kim put her head on his shoulder. Not by her action, but her being there at all. "Hold on… what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I asked Jules to take care of the studio today," Kim explained, looking up to see his face when she felt his eyes fall upon her. "It's no big deal. The girls have nailed their routine. They would be fine without me for a day," She had dropped by to the gym earlier this morning to make sure everything's alright. Now that she was home, she would assure that Tommy would be properly taken care of. "I'll make lunch today, how does that sound?" At Tommy's imploring gaze, she quickly added, "I know that I'm not the best chef in the world, but I guess I still can cook something without poisoning anyone,"

She had caused some incidents, but nothing major or life threatening. She had taken a cooking class for about three months and there're some old recipes her grandmother had inherited. "I'll make pasta," She insisted, realizing that was the only thing she had mastered.

"Of course, Beautiful," Tommy complied, cupped her cheek in his hand and leaned down for a welcome-home kiss. He had never meant to tease Kim about her lack of cooking ability, but sometimes it was just too much fun not to. After a minute, he pulled back from her. "But I'm fine, really, you don't have to baby-sit me,"

"I know that," Kim said and after chewing her lips and looking into Tommy's dark brown eyes, she blurted out, "I love you," She was searching for something in his eyes, but had to be relieved a bit when the only thing she found in his eyes was surprise at her sudden announcement.

"I love you too," He returned softly, not asking anything, and kissed her forehead.

Kim smiled and hugged him closer as if she was afraid she was going to lose him. She buried her face into his chest and for a while everything was alright with the world when they had their arms wrapped around each other.

"Great, now I feel like getting out of this bed," Tommy said, slowly extricating himself from her embrace. He sat up and reached for his crutches. "The only thing I saw all day is the wall in front of the bed, closet, and the pond,"

"The pond?" She asked, confused. He was probably referring to the small pond near their backyard. It was a quiet, nice place that reminded her so much of their old pond back in Angel Grove. Tommy usually took her there for a picnic when he's feeling romantic.

"We went there this morning after breakfast. Kat and I," He answered, grunting when he slowly got up. "I was bored out of my mind and I offered to show her around,"

Kim remained still and speechless. She composed herself and after a while, the only thing she could come up with was, "Oh,"

"And before you begin your lecture about my condition," Tommy turned to her and flashed her the trademark lop-sided grin. "I've felt much better. I guess I just needed some fresh air,"

He had definitely mistaken her crestfallen expression. Kim opened her mouth, wanting to say something about everything. Communication was one of many important aspects that built a healthy relationship, she knew that, but how could she tell him that she was suspecting him having something with Kat behind her back? That was like telling him that she didn't trust him. "No, I mean, your leg is broken and with the fever…,"

"I wasn't alone and the fever's gone," Tommy assured her. "Now I think I remember Kat saying something about ancient civilization program in Nat Geo,"

Why couldn't she just say it?

--

"Was there really something going on or you're just seeing what you thought was there?" Trini had asked her.

Kim stopped cutting the garlic and put the knife down. Katherine had offered to help, but she didn't think it would be a great idea to be in the same room with her; not before her emotion cooled down a bit. Therefore Kat had joined Tommy to watch that show they had been waiting for.

"Yeah, but I thought that was before the 16th century?" Kat asked Tommy when the show showed some antique china vases made out of ivories and Kim sighed as Tommy said something in reply. It wasn't long before the two doctors were deeply involved in a conversation about the Qing Dynasty and Emperor Chienlong's marvelous collection. Somehow Kim felt out of placed.

She was checking the chicken in the oven when Kat's Australian accent asked, "What do you think, Kim? Is that right?"

"What is right?" Kim questioned back, not turning her head. It's almost half and hour and Kim knew that Tommy loved it medium-done.

"I just told her that I would love to have many kids," Tommy volunteered to answer and his statement made Kim straighten her back and turned to face the duo in the living room. "But of course, I remember that you said you didn't want to have more than two,"

Kim flinched inwardly. Where the hell that's coming from? She remembered their conversation once upon a time about having a family together, but really, why did he suddenly bring that up now? What's the connection between some old, ancient vases and children?

"I always wanted a big family," Kat chimed in before Kim could find her voice. "I guess I'm just used to have many brothers and sisters around me. Our house in Australia is pretty huge and everybody will come every two months or so. Barbequing and having fun,"

Of course she just had to say that, Kim thought bitterly.

She took a deep breath and tried to kick the thought away. Being pissed and holding a sharp object in her hand were not a good mix. Fortunately, she was saved from having to answer another round of questions when the commercials ended and the show resumed.

Instead of thinking about Tommy and Kat, she tried to busy herself with the task in hands. 3 tablespoon butter and olive oil… 2 tablespoon lemon juice… 3 gloves chopped garlic… salt and pepper… Kim wiped her hands on the apron and walked to the overhead cabinet. "Tommy, do you know where the salt is?"

"It's in the first drawer," Kat filled in, turning her head. "I moved the sugar, salt and pepper there so Tommy would get a better reach. Oh, and I checked the fridge and saw that you're in a definite shortage of milk, so I got two bottles this morning,"

"And Kat bought Lucky Charms," Tommy added with a grin and Kim wanted to die. She knew she was forgetting something! He had been nagging her about buying his favorite cereal but she… forgot.

"Oh alright, thanks, Kat," Kim said, hoping the bitterness didn't show. Seriously, it was like reenacting You, Me, and Dupree all over again. But instead, she was playing as Matt Dillon's character, Katherine was not a poet and Tommy was a girl in this version.

Kim decided to join Tommy and Kat while waiting for the chicken. She sat next to Tommy and much to her delight; he pulled her into his side. They were still talking about the China's greatest collection and God helped her, she was trying to follow but it was difficult. Now she regretted that she didn't pay much attention to Professor Kelly's history class.

"He collected antiques, mostly ceramics," Tommy said, recalling a show he watched a few years ago. "I heard there were many Chinese arts collection in London? The Percival David Foundation?"

"That's true. That place is meant to promote and study about Chinese cultures, arts… There're collections from the 10th century to the 18th. Just like the white and blue vases from the Yuan Dynasty,"

Kim wanted to cut in and make a cool comment, but her mind went blank. The only thing she could remember was when David Copperfield walked through the Great Wall back in the 80s and the singapore noodles she had last night, and it wasn't even from China.

Kim glanced at her watch and got up from her perch against Tommy's side, inviting him to look at her questioningly. "The chicken should be ready by now," She announced self-consciously.

"Do you need a hand, Kim?" Kat asked, ready to push herself up.

"No," Kim answered rather too quickly that she would've liked. "I mean, just stay here and enjoy your discussion,"

"It's great to have you here," Tommy suddenly said, beaming at his former girlfriend. "This kind of things doesn't pique Kim's interest that much so I'm glad to have someone to talk to about this,"

Kim's hand itched from wanting to smack him upside the head, but she held her ground. "Yeah, I don't understand this stuff so I guess it's a good thing that you're here so he could share his interest with you," And this better be the only thing he shared! Kim added in the privacy of her mind. "Now will you please excuse me,"

She was back to the kitchen and after ten minutes, brought the steaming chicken garlic to the table which had been arranged by Katherine earlier. "Guys, dinner's ready," She walked up to Tommy but she wasn't fast enough; Kat had stepped into his side and held his arm, supporting his body.

She was a friend… she was just being nice… Kim repeated the mantra over and over again. She wouldn't feel like this if that was Aisha helping Tommy, watching some shows on TV, or even moving the stuff around the house. But Tommy and Aisha had never romantically involved. Tommy and Kat had had a long history together and had faced some tough times when she was busy chasing her dreams in Florida.

Repressing a depressed sigh, Kim pulled a chair for Tommy and took a seat next to him. They made small talks during the meal and suddenly Kat coughed, surprising her and she nearly choked on her drink. "Kat, are you alright?" She asked, wiping her mouth and put down the napkin on her lap.

"Here, wash it down," Tommy took Kat's glass and put it closer to her.

"I'm fine," Kat nodded between coughs, trying to maintain her breath. "I don't know what happened,"

Kim watched in worry as Kat didn't stop coughing. Her face was red and Kim could feel her own throat hurt just by watching Katherine. Then she felt a light squeeze in her right hand and she turned to see Tommy watching her seriously. "What?"

"You didn't by any chance put any parsley in the chicken, right?"

Kim's face changed a shade of pink. She did put some parsley since she wanted some garnish… "Is Kat-,"

"She's allergic to it, yeah," Tommy confirmed and took his crutches. "Do you bring your medicine, Kat?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," Kim sincerely apologized to Kat who tried to muster a small smile in return. She was still coughing to say anything. Now Kim felt really bad. But she honestly didn't know about Kat's allergy!

Kat took a sip of her water and stood up, making a quick leave to her room to retrieve her medicine. Kim watched Tommy struggling to follow her and Kim just froze there. She buried her face into her hands. Could this day get any worse that it already had?

"You should be more careful next time, Kim," Tommy remarked as Kat walked back to the dining room with a small white bottle. He patted Kat's shoulder and handed her a glass of water. "I know that you didn't know, but-,"

"Yes, I didn't know about that and I said I was sorry, alright," Kim couldn't help much longer. Tommy sounded like she did that on purpose and she hated it. Her outburst shut Tommy up and for a while the only thing heard were Kat's coughing and the sound from the television that Tommy had left on. She didn't mean to raise her voice but she just snapped.

"Kim…,"

Kim felt tears—angry tears, start to fill her eyes and blur her vision and she wouldn't allow Tommy or Kat to see that. Without saying anything, Kim turned around and dashed to the front door. She had just slammed the door behind her when Tommy opened it somewhat roughly, stunning Kim that he could move that fast even with his leg's condition. Guess he still had the speed and swiftness from his ranger days. "Where are you going?" He caught her arm and nearly tumbled down when she fought back. "I know that you didn't mean to do that, Kim. You're overreacting,"

"Am I?" Kim snapped and found herself couldn't stop. "I've been putting up with all of this and I can't take it anymore,"

"Take what?"

Rolling her eyes, Kim threw her head back in desperation. Tommy was as blind as many guys were and she wanted to punch him good for asking that question. "Just go back to Kat. She needs you," Kim concluded in two simple sentences. And good for Tommy, those were enough to open his eyes.

"Is that what this is all about?" Tommy asked. "Kat?" Kim didn't need to answer, the expression on her face told everything. He shook his head and grasped her shoulder tight with one hand. "But, I thought you liked her. She's your friend,"

"Yes, and she's your ex-girlfriend!" Kim retorted back, not caring anymore if the blonde inside her house could hear their quarrel. "She's been all over you and you didn't even notice that," She continued in a near whisper.

"I don't understand," Tommy started. "You perfectly know that we're just friends. I love you. Kat knows that and you should be the first person who knows that,"

"Alright, so it's my fault. I don't want to doubt your feelings, Tommy. And I don't. It's just… so difficult to see you and her interacting like-,"

"Like good friends should?" Tommy completed the sentence.

"Like I wasn't there," Kim nearly yelled, her jaw tightened. It's a good thing that they didn't have neighbors nearby or they would call the cops for disturbing the night.

"What do you mean by that?" He demanded, getting his patience draining fast. "You're the one who invited her to stay here at the first place and now you're suddenly accusing me with this non-sense? Your jealousy is totally out of place,"

"Don't raise your voice in front of me," Kim warned.

"Just because you're acting childish right now,"

Kim sighed hard. What did she expect? For Tommy to drop to his knees, cry and beg her not to go? Kicking Kat out of the house, perhaps? She'd always known that Tommy was not that type of person.

He had strong, steely, determination and he surely wouldn't let this go before everything was settled. Kim wiggled out of his grasp and stepped back, creating some distance. "I…. I have to go,"

"We're not done yet,"

She kept walking to her car. Pulling her key from her jeans, she forced herself to ignore Tommy. Perhaps by leaving like this she was only clenching his remark that she was being childish, but before they talked she had to calm down her temper or she would end up making things worse than now.

"Kimberly!"

She needed to go see Trini.

--

"Tommy, you're okay?" Kat's voice brought him back from his reverie and his head lifted up to see the tall blonde standing in the doorway, a worried expression marred her lovely feature. He bowed his head after emptying yet another bottle of beer. It's a good thing that he still had some ammo in the house. It had been a while since the last time he consumed this much amount of alcohol; he usually had to stay sober since he had class in the morning, and he could feel the liquor start to do some effects on him.

How on earth could Kim be thinking like that? Judging from the situation, he knew that it didn't happen overnight. She had been keeping those thoughts with her for a while until they couldn't be contained anymore tonight. "I'm fine," He answered curtly. Kat wasn't coughing anymore though her voice was still a bit croaky.

Tommy smiled bitterly. They had been so happy when they were teenagers. Even when Kim decided to leave the team and go to Florida, he had thought that distance wouldn't have mattered to them. Then she sent him the letter. She cheated on him. Tommy cringed at the sound of it.

Then Kim waltzed back into his life. After so long, it was not easy to open up his heart again. There was this little anxiety in the corner of his heart that's afraid of a second heart-break. He wouldn't be able to accept that once again. It took some time, but he had finally able to forgive Kim and give them another try. Now he loved her more than ever but she out of the blue thought he was cheating on her? She doubted him.

"How about Kim?" She asked carefully and sat down next to him. She tried to take the beer from his hand, but he wouldn't allow that.

"I'm plenty sure she's alright," Tommy took a swig of his drink, his head swaying to one side before landing firmly at the back of the sofa. "Probably with Trini now,"

"I'm sorry,"

Tommy opened his eyes briefly to acknowledge the second pink ranger and felt a strange wave of déjà vu. Like that time when Kat found Kim in the Youth Center. "It's not your fault. Kim and I need to talk, but it's not your fault," He hiccupped once and licked his lips, feeling the liquor burning his throat and giving him a sensation that he needed tonight.

"Alright, that's enough," Kat snatched the bottle from his hand and set it down on the table, producing a loud noise when she's doing so. Then she grabbed his crutches in one hand while the other pulled him off the couch. "You'd better take some rest. You can talk to her tomorrow,"

"Why she can't just… understand?" Tommy asked, more to himself than to Katherine.

--

"You've got to be kidding me," Trini said in a hushed tone; not because she didn't want anyone to hear them since they were truly alone in her house, but because Kim's story had left her flabbergasted. "And you just left him like that?"

"What was I supposed to do?" Kim replied, her lips painting into a pout. She had driven to Trini's house like a mad-man and was very pleased to see her home and not somewhere else. The beautiful Vietnamese was in the middle finishing her left-over Chinese when Kim banged at the door like there's fire. "I just couldn't hold it much longer. Everything had bottled up and now I exploded, as simple as that. This whole staying at home thing was such a bad idea,"

"Um, Kim, I want to ask you something but you have to promise you won't kill me," Trini spoke in a softer tone. "Alright, just to make sure we'd better put this aside…," She said half-jokingly and took the fork from the table and put it in the sink. When she faced her friend again, Kim was still waiting for her to ask whatever she wanted to know. "You know that I'm not taking anybody's side. You, Tommy and even Kat, you're all my friends. You're my best friend, but what if Tommy was making a point there?"

"Excuse me?" Kim's eyebrow rose as she genuinely didn't understand.

"Just like what you've said to me, you wouldn't be acting like this if Kat was not… Katherine. Maybe the past has gotten the better of you?"

Kim wiped her face with her hands. Trini was right and there's no point in denying it. But it was really difficult, watching Tommy and Kat interacting like a newlywed. He didn't need her to be there, Kat was ready to help him. Kat had never made a direct move, but she dropped many little tidbits everywhere that Kim felt her patience was being tested, big time. "Maybe, I don't know… He was so mad at me. Shouldn't I be the one who has the right to be angry? I expect him to feel a bit guilty, but he was just so furious,"

"Well, his girlfriend just accused him having an affair behind her back… I think he has all the right in the world to get a little angry," Trini emphasized at the word little, shooting Kim an I'm-sorry smile. "He's probably thinking that you didn't trust him enough to have an idea like that,"

Trini was right, straight to the point, and the remark hit Kim on the head like a ton of bricks. "Oh God…,"

"My best advice is that you should go back, talk with Tommy and tell him everything," Trini smirked upon seeing Kim's kicked puppy expression. "Yes, everything. That way you two can work out on this together, look for some solutions… But that is after you promised me you wouldn't blow up again and bat him with your heels,"

Kim managed a grin, but she felt like she was flinching and not smiling. "Alright… do you have another slice of that cheese cake? I think the sugar in my blood has reduced significantly,"

"Sure,"

--

It was a quiet balmy night and the wind sent chills down her spine. The moon was full above her head and if only everything had been different, it could have been a romantic setting for a picnic under the moonlight. Kim walked up to the front door. She didn't know what she would say to Tommy, or to Kat. She supposed she should apologize to her, but could she do it?

Taking a moment to peek inside, Kim found the living room empty. The television was on but no one was in sight. Crossing her fingers, she opened the door and walked in. Following her instinct, she went to the guest room to talk with Tommy first.

The blood seemed to stop flowing inside her body when she saw Kat was leaning over Tommy, her long, curly blonde hair obscured Tommy's face from view. On the other side, Tommy was laying on his bed, his arms on each side like an eagle.

She had seen enough. Before Kat noticing she was there, Kim walked through the hallway and to her car. Despite of her wanting to stay quiet, she just couldn't. She didn't want to cry either, but it seemed like the gate had been opened and tears were now streaking down her face in full force. Kim drove away and wondered if Trini would kindly lend her the extra room.

:: Thank you for reading! Dun dun dun... the tension's building even higher now. Please review, no flame though. See you in the next chapter!

- Yuuri ;)