A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I know it's not much but it's a start, right? Enjoy!
His head ached and his mind was restless. Struggling to keep a lid on his emotions, he fled to his only reliable safe haven: the race track. Everything in his life was being snatched from him. First his girlfriend, then his being a ranger, and now all hope for any romance at all. Kat called for a break in their relationship weeks ago and he was all for it. He had felt they had rushed into their relationship a little too fast anyway. And then Kim came back…
His eyes narrowed in concentration as he tried to will the topic from his mind. Driving at one-hundred and fifty miles per and thinking back on his ex didn't constitute for safe driving methods. Yet to no avail he failed. He wondered how TJ was holding up, whether he was handling the leadership of his team well, whether he enjoyed having that outlet that he himself no longer had. He missed it. He craved and needed it. Where were putties, tengas, or cogs when he needed them?
Tanya's wrong. Kim wouldn't just change. That guy is behind it. Kim was a ranger. She could kick the shit out of him if she wanted. Is her boyfriend- No, they weren't dating when she was taken. Is he somehow more dangerous than they think he is? Why would she- Tommy, stop making excuses for her! She doesn't love you anymore, get over it! …But, I just can't sit here and let her go, knowing that we may still have a chance. I can't just sit here knowing she's out there with some nut job. I said I'd always be there for her, so why the hell am I still in Angel Grove waiting?
He finished his lap and brought the car to a halt in the docking station. Unbuckling his seatbelt and removing his helmet he caught a glimpse of Katherine coming down from the bleachers.
She walked over to where he stood somewhat shyly and he could only guess as to what she wanted. "Hey, how're you doing?"
He nodded his head slightly, not sure if he wanted to talk to her or not. "I'm good… at least right now I am. How about you?"
"I'm okay… just a little scared, that's all." She stood with the morning breeze fresh from the ocean, blowing her bleached looking hair everywhere.
Silence began to linger before he willed himself to speak. "I'm going to go look for her."
Kat wasn't no less shocked than she had been before when she found out about his going to Dimitra. "Tommy, don't do this. Kim's parents and the F.B.I. are doing the best they can to find her. Without powers, without any indication as to where she might've gone, how are you going to find her? Tommy it's like finding a needle in a haystack."
"But you know the needle's there, right? That means she can be found," he said low as he brushed past her. He didn't mean to act so coldly toward her. In fact he knew her reasoning was right but his heart refused to give into defeat.
"Dimitra said she'd be found when she wanted to. Tommy, Kim has changed. She's not the same person we knew."
"That's a lie!" He roared before calming down. He looked into her eyes and struggled to send his feelings and knowledge of Kim to her. Even though he knew he couldn't or that she would never understand, he tried. "That's a lie. Katherine, I can't explain the way I feel to you. I know I should be the one to agree with you and Tanya on this but I can't. I still love her."
She saw his sympathetic gaze and she hated it. She loved him and it really was a blow to her heart but she knew it was coming. She knew he couldn't simply step into another relationship and forget his girlfriend of two years. They had built too much together for her to make him forget. If anything, she helped him to remember. She selfishly tried to take his mind off of Kim so he could move on and of hope of that person being her. Yet the one reason it was so easy for him to grow accustomed to her was because of the borrowed morpher and suit that belonged to Kim. She closed her eyes and tried to fight back the tears she knew were coming despite her deep preparation for it.
You're not mine. I wish you were, but you aren't. You're passionate and she helped you become that… I'm not going to be scared anymore. She needs you more than I do. You know her more than I do. I'm not going to keep you here, Tommy. I won't be that villain.
"I know." She sighed, bringing her hand up to wipe away the fresh tears. "I know. I think I've known it all along and it was naïve for me to think we could actually be a couple because she was out of the picture." She finally raised her eyes to look at him. "You can do whatever you want, Tommy. I'm not going to stop you." She laughed softly while her tears continued to roll. "I hope you're right about her. You're a good person. You deserve to be happy, Tom, and I hope you'll be again."
He gave her a small smile. "Thank you. That means a lot, coming from you." He walked away, leaving her there.
"It's going to be okay, Katherine. It'll be okay…" She silently broke into tears. She knew she was going to miss him. She already missed him. She had just thrown away any chance of them ever becoming a serious couple down the drain. "Yeah, I'm going to be alright." Save her, Tommy. Find her before it's too late.
Trini Kwan stood outside the Scott residence breathing in and out to calm her nerves. She was so ready to kick Jason Lee Scott's ass. "No, Trini. Violence is not the answer. Think of Kim. Think of Kim and how much she needs for you two to cooperate to help find her. Of course, no. Jason had to be a dumbass and exclude you from everything. So you'll be lucky if you know anything about the case at all." She sighed. "Breathe, Trini, breathe." She raised her hand and pounded her fist into the door. "Screw this. I'm kicking his ass."
The door was quickly opened to Russell Scott. "Whoa! Whoa! Trini, are you okay?"
Jason nearly chocked on his milk.
His mother smiled. "That's what you get for drinking out the milk carton."
He gave a horrified smile. "Uh, mom I think I'll step out. I guess all that bad karma does catch up." He turned to head out of the room, only before being face to face with Trini.
"I can't believe you! How could you not tell me what you knew! I had to find out everything from Tommy!"
"Hey, Trini," he said meekly.
"Oh don't 'hey, Trini' me. You'll be lucky if I don't kick your ass right now!"
"I think I should leave," Evie said hushedly to her son before sneaking out.
Trini was pissed. Her smooth raven hair wasn't even placed in it's ponytail correctly. That's how he knew there was no not facing the inevitable.
"My best friend, who is practically my sister is kidnapped, and I'm the last person to fins out! Yeah, I call that staying in the loop! What type of shit is that, Jason! We've known each other since before grade school and you can't even pick up the damn phone and call me! …I thought I knew you better than that," she finished calmly. "What the hell is your fucking problem!" She pushed him roughly, prepared to do worse if he didn't respond, "Well?"
He swallowed down hard. "Trini, I'm sorry."
"Yeah, I bet."
"It's just… What was I supposed to say? I wasn't even sure if any of it was all true. And with us being so weird right now, I didn't think it would be appropriate for me to call and risk being wrong."
She continued to glare at him. "Yeah, so what you did was supposed to be considerate towards me. -Some sort of twisted sense of sentiment for a good friend. Jason, that's bullshit. Just admit it you were scared."
He looked at her confusedly. "Excuse me?"
"You've been acting like a baby, trying to ignore my phone calls and failing to call me back. It was Kim, before she up and disappeared who had to tell me. If you like me so what! The least I expected you to do was to not keep me filled in on Kim's disappearance with any drama whatsoever, but I guess I was wrong. You weren't the man I thought you were. I thought you were better than that. I thought you could at least put your emotions aside and do all you could to help Kim get found."
"And I was-"
"No you didn't, because if you were you would have called me yourself instead of relying on Tommy. You and I were some of the last people to see and talk to her. If you would have pulled yourself together, maybe this Ronnie guy wouldn't have gotten so far with her… But, I'm not going to blame you Jason because it's not your fault Kimberly is gone. I'm just disappointed that you didn't call me."
He nodded. This was one of those rare moments he ever sat the sidelines and wasn't fully involved in a conversation. "Could I say that I thought it would have been impersonal for you to get a message through to you from me from that Ricky guy?"
She punched him in the arm. "I can't believe you. And his name isn't Ricky, it's Richie. It's not that hard to pick up a phone. You should have sucked it up and took it like a man."
He smiled, a faint blush showing. "You must think I'm a complete wuss."
She appeared to be thinking before she hit him in his gut. He groaned. "No, just soft in the middle. Now, come on. Fill me in on what Tommy forgot."
He laughed through his pain, holding his stomach. Wow, she hits like a dude.
