a/n: Disclaimer: I do not own anything. So. I'm sorry for the delay. I was on the interstate earlier this month and a tire blew. Then I had a breakdown about my epilepsy. Vacation sucked. Lost my wallet in another state, and then the car broke down on the way back and I had to wait 7 hours in the blistering GA heat for my parents to come get my boyfriend and I. Had the car in the shop the next day and it's been 2 weeks and it still isn't fixed. HOW LONG CAN IT TAKE TO JUST PUT A NEW ENGINE IN IT!? And then school shat on me with projects and homework and reading. Oh, and this past Friday, my neighbor/friend/confidante decided to blow a hole in her head.

Oh, and my birthday was on the 18th. Not particularly a good one either. Or a good week. Or month.

Thank you to all those who have reviewed/favorited/followed, etc… it's greatly appreciated. I love the feedback, so keep it coming! And thank you for those who pointed out something that I didn't even realize I had put in the story. Ha. Big chapter, here. If I haven't responded to a review, I'll get to it as soon as I can. Promise. Also, THANKS TO MY WONDERFUL BETA, THEWRITINGTHERAPIST

Music inspiration: This time it's really more for me to actually write since I really wasn't in the mood to…
Jessie J/Ariana/Nicki – Bang Bang (omg it's so catchy!)
Jessie J –Thunder
Nicki Minaj – Anaconda (I just…I can't get enough.)
Lindsay Stirling – Master Of Tides.

Tommy put down his green pen and sagged against his desk; he was finally done grading backed-up research papers and beyond tired. Between his usual afternoon routine with Kira, making a final that met the Board of Educations requirement but also wouldn't kill his students, and also prepping for prom on Friday, he really didn't have much time to himself to actually sleep. He was just lucky Mesogog hadn't decided to show up yet.

His stomach growled.

Begrudgingly, he got up and headed toward his lab where he kept his secret stash of goodies. He deserved some. He entered the code, but tripped on the first step.

"Damn it. I need sleep." Placing his right hand on the wall, he guided his way to a hidden mini-fridge and frowned.

"Looking for these?" He twirled around and faced a devious looking Hayley, who was tossing the chocolate bar he was looking for in her hands. His eyes narrowed.

"May I have that, please?" He took a step foreword and she took a step back. His teeth clenched.

"This? This yummy looking Hershey's bar?" She placed her fingers on the edge and started slowly opening it. She peered over her eyelashes at her colleague.

"Hayley." He warned.

"Tommy." She ripped a slice down.

"May I please have it?"

"It depends." Another rip.

"On what?" He watched her rip open his chocolate bar.

"Tell me what's been going on with you."

He looked up. "What?"

"You know what I mean. Every time I see you at the Cybercafé you look so worn out and it just gets worse when we're down here working on finding more Dino Eggs or trying to find out what Mesogog's up to. Several of your students have come to me in the café saying that you look tired, including all the Rangers. And honestly, I'm glad they said something to me. Now, tell me what's going on in that mind of yours." She handed him the candy and watched as he ate it and relaxed his shoulders before answering her.

"It's not a lot, really. Er, not as bad as it seems, I promise." He gave her a cheeky grin. This is how it should be. Hayley's my own age. I should be flirting with her, dating her. Tommy slyly looked Hayley over and mentally assessed any reaction. When there was no reaction, not even the slightest stammer in his heart, he knew it wouldn't ever work out with his friend. Of course, he already knew that, but he needed a reminder.

And with this reminder came the full on acknowledgement that his heart was only stammering for Kira. And that's really putting things into perspective.

"Don't be coy with me! I'm here as your friend to help you, so let me help you. Or next time I'll eat the damn chocolate." Cue the sharp look that made his stomach sink. I wonder if she knows about Kira? He bit the inside of his cheek. I wonder what she would think…

"Persistent, aren't you?" She crossed her arms and settled into a nearby chair.

"It's how I graduated from MIT and got me here. Go on, get to it." He sat down in his desk chair, unbuttoned the top two buttons, and undid his tie. Sighed.

"I haven't been sleeping as well lately. I've got last minute research papers to grade and apparently I'm on the prom committee…" Hayley stifled a laugh. "Hey, do you want me to talk or not?"

"I'm sorry, go on." She grinned.

"Anyways. Principal Randall personally voted me for the position. I also have finals to prepare, and then graduation. Oh, and Mesogog and his minions. So, I've just got a load on my shoulders." He peered at Hayley for a reaction.

"Bullshit."

His eyes flew open. "I-I'm sorry?!"

"Bullshit."

Oh look, his mouth could stammer now, too.

"I don't…what?"

"I. Don't. Believe. You." She crossed her legs.

"W-why?"

"You had much more to do in college, including field research, trips, and the volunteer hours you had to do to even become a teacher, and you handled it swiftly. In fact, you handled college almost better than I did. Then again, I did go on to go to MIT. So this should be nothing to you. What's really going on?"

He looked at her, almost looking right past her. Silent. Not moving. She's right, ya know?

He couldn't tell her, though. Could he? She'd disapprove, call the cops, get him fired, something! Though he didn't lie to her, he didn't tell her the whole truth, and she saw through that. Hayley was always like that – able to see through the bullshit. She tells you how it is. Upfront. Truthful. Caring. Maybe…I could try…?

"Well? Remember, I'm here as a friend."

He hung his head. "I can't tell you."

She raised an eyebrow. "Did something happen with Mesogog or Trent? What about the others? Is everyone alright?"

"No, it has nothing to do with Mesogog or the others. Everyone is fine. I just…can't tell you." He ran a hand through his thick hair.

It was silent for a moment before Hayley spoke again. "Does this have anything to do with Kira coming by after school for extra training lessons?"

His head sprang up.

"Bingo." She stood up and headed towards his house entrance to leave. "Tommy, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Just know that I am a friend you can talk to. I won't judge."

She got about half-way before a soft "wait" made her pause. She turned, smiled, and gladly sat right back down. "I'm here."

His nodded his head, which was still hanging low. He tapped his left foot before getting up and striding towards the hidden fridge. He took out two whiskey glasses and the said whiskey to pour into them. He poured enough to fill each glass up.

He handed one to Hayley, whose eyes widened, and started nursing the other one. "You're going to need it. Then again, you're you, so you might not."

"Um, thanks." He popped his shoes off. "So, where do you want to start?" She slowly took a sip and winced at the aftertaste.

"The beginning." He finished the glass. Hayley made a mental note to keep check on how much he drank.

"Right. The beginning. How much has she told you?" He swirled his glass.

"She just said that she asked you for training lessons and that you agreed. She mentioned that y'all couldn't really do anything to strenuous because she damaged her back after the last fight with Mesogog. I think she was asking Connor or Ethan if they would be interested in extra lessons."

"She came to me asking for extra lessons. We decided on meeting here after school. We start with stretches, and then a jog, then we would go onto the actual training."

"Would?"

"Like you said, she really did damage her back. On our first jog, I tripped and fell on her. As I got up, I noticed a bruise on her back. I inquired about it and she said didn't know she had one. When we got back home, she checked her back and it was horrible. She asked if she could just show me instead, I said yes, and he back looked like someone had planted a tree inside her back. The bruise was branched from the bottom of her spine to almost the base of her neck." His sentences were very short, simple, and to the point.

"And then?"

He took not-quite-a-sip of his whiskey. "I gave her some of my Castor Oil to put on it, but she came back out and asked me to put it on for her because she couldn't reach. So I did."

This time Hayley took a sip.

"It just kind of gradually grew from there. We actually made that jog into a race and she won. The circumstances for her winning were that I get to tell her more about my past life as a Ranger. My circumstances for her training were that we just exercise until her back healed. As the days wore on, I just sort of…continued to help her put the stuff on her back."

He finished off his glass. "Our hands lingered longer than they should have. Longer eye contact. I've been holding her in my lap when we talk about my past. And…"

"And?"

He poured another glass. "I've tried to stop it. Really, I have. Like earlier, I was trying to find you attractive and I just couldn't, no offense." She scoffed. He nursed the drink once more before making up his mind and admitting it aloud to Hayley. "I've come to really love Kira. And not just as a friend. That's as far as it goes." Tipping back his glass, he squeezed his eyes shut and prepared himself for the onslaught that Hayley could bring.

There was nothing.

He peeked an eye open and saw her emptying her glass. He grinned. She made a disgusting face and set her glass down on the table.

"So you honestly tried not to start anything?"

"Yes."

"And you honestly love Kira? Like, you wanna marry her and roll around in the sheets for days on end and then have babies?"

"Yes." His answer was immediate.

"Fuck. And how far have you've gone, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Holding her in my lap. Nothing else." It was like talking to a lawyer that didn't give you time to breathe.

"And where do you think Kira is with all this?"

Now he took his time. "I haven't talked to Kira about it yet, and I won't do anything else until she graduates. However, she has yet to make any objections when I've held her or anything else. So we are both aware of what's going on, we're just waiting for the right time to talk about it."

"And the right time is after she graduates?"

"Yes."

"Well geeze. No wonder you haven't been able to sleep. You could be fired for this Tommy!" He winced.

"I know. But I could also get fired for all the Power Rangers stuff as well, including having anyone of them at my house. It's a risk I take all the time. It's a risk I'm more than willing to take."

"Well, I won't tell anyone. But I advise you to be careful."

"I'm aware of that."

"I trust you Tommy, don't make me regret that. Wait. I have no problem with you wanting to be with someone you love."

"Thank you, Hayley." He smiled.

"You're welcome. But if I were you, I'd hold off on any PDA for at least a year after she graduated. Ya know, so the school staff can forget about their students again."

"Kira already has plans for after graduation."

"Good."

"Yeahp."

"So…another drink?"

This is going rather well.

"Definitely."

The next day was a Thursday. Just like any other day, Kira met Tommy at his Jeep. He gave her a flirtatious wink and a smile before they hopped in. Halfway to his house he turned down the radio and spoke up.

"Thank you for mentioning the lessons to Hayley."

Kira rested her left arm on the armrest and moved the hair flying in her face out of the way. She gave him her best pearly white smile. "You're welcome. You looked haggard. I can't have a tired teacher teaching me how to fight." She grinned.

Dr. O gave her a mock expression of hurt. "Me? Haggard? Never!"

As they laughed, Dr. O slyly slipped his hand into Kira's. As he entangled their fingers, she gave him another one of those pearly smiles that he loved and she winked.

Yeah, she definitely knows what's going on.