Pulse
Chapter
8
A
Brief History of Time
September
3rd, 2007
Tommy
Oliver's House
Reefside,
California
It was a Friday, and Tommy couldn't have been more thankful. He had just completed the first week of a new school year and was glad to have a few days of peace and quiet.
Yes, Tommy Oliver had become a teacher. Or rather, a doctor. He was now lovingly referred to as Tommy Oliver, PhD. He laughed at the thought. If his friends could see him now, they'd never believe it.
Tommy parked his car as he pulled into his driveway and lowered his head. His friends, he reminded himself.
"More like friend," he said aloud. Since the funeral of the first yellow ranger, Tommy hadn't kept in touch with his old teammates, except for Jason.
He ran into Adam and Tanya a few years back, when he'd gone home to visit his parents in Angel Grove. Adam and Tanya were dating then, with talk about marriage sometime soon. He hasn't spoken to them since. If they had already gotten married, he certainly hadn't been invited. "Maybe they eloped," he told himself hopefully.
Aisha and Zack practically fell off the face of the Earth, presumably no longer living in Angel Grove, where he knew them to have rented an apartment with Kimberly.
And Kimberly. He hadn't spoken or seen her since Trini's funeral. He wondered how she was doing, how her daughter was, if she had gotten back together with Annie's father . . .
Tommy thought back to that night, wishing he had let Kimberly talk more. He ran his mouth off so capriciously, what with the emotional events surrounding their conversation, not to mention his anxiety about speaking to her again.
He shook his sentimental thoughts and unlocked the front door to his new home, in Reefside California. When Tommy had completed school, he initially had hoped for a job outside of California, but when the position opened up at Reefside High, he figured it was best to stay put. After all, his parents still lived in Angel Grove, which was close by, and Jason had moved his business from Los Angeles to Reefside as well, hoping to convince Tommy to teach some weekend Karate classes.
"Jason Lee Scott, you son of a bitch!" Tommy said to himself, looking around his living room. Jason had told Tommy to expect him sometime in the coming days, so Tommy left a key under the welcome mat. As Tommy stared in amazement at all the boxes and junk, piled high amidst his house, he silently cursed himself for agreeing to let Jason live with him.
As he cautiously made his way through the living room, Tommy spotted a small, opened planner resting atop one of the boxes. Tommy approached the book and noticed frenzied memos and scratches of writing on the exposed pages.
As he laughed to himself at his friend's apparently frantic schedule, he noticed a small note scribbled in today's entry.
3pm Annie
"Annie?" Tommy said to himself. He skimmed the remaining entries, hoping to find more information. Evidently, Jason was completing some sort of project, unrelated to his Martial Arts school. He had appointment times written down in various boxes, with words like "finalize" and "deliver". Tommy hadn't a clue what his best friend was up to, but resolved to ask him about it later.
He shut the planner and started to make his way up the stairs toward his bedroom when the phone rang. Tommy sighed and made his way back through the labyrinth of boxes to the most accessible phone, in the kitchen.
"Hello?" he answered. A soft gasp was heard, but no words. "Hello?" he asked again. Nothing. Click.
"Okay," Tommy snickered as he hung up the phone. He shook his head in amusement and headed back toward his bedroom.
September
4th, 2007
Tommy
Oliver's House
Reefside
California
4:30am
"Thank you so much, Jase," the young girl whispered as Jason led her to a small bedroom.
"We'll talk in the morning. You can sleep in here for now," Jason told the girl quietly. She nodded and carefully made her way into the room and set her sleeping bag on the floor as Jason shut the door behind him.
He sighed heavily before creeping back down the stairs and made his way to the living room couch.
10:30am
Tommy wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel as he climbed the jagged rock stairs up to his home. He had just finished his morning workout, and was ready to take a shower and finally spend some time with Jason. Tommy had noticed Jason's car outside when he began his jog around the property, but had failed to notice his best friend, still passed out on his couch.
As Tommy entered the side door, leading into the kitchen, he stopped by the sink and filled a cup with water. After chugging the contents, he set the cup back in the sink and padded into the living room. He gave a bemused laugh as he saw Jason's oversized body attempting to fit onto the tiny love seat.
"Good morning sunshine," Tommy said cheekily, flicking Jason's earlobe. The groggy former Ranger absently brushed the sensation away before blinking a few times and realizing the source. He gave Tommy a goofy half smile as he slowly sat up and stretched.
"What's up, bro?" Jason yawned. Tommy chuckled and patted Jason's shoulder. "Just about to take a shower. What time did you get in?" he asked, crossing toward the stairs.
"Early. Like, four this morning," Jason told him sleepily. Tommy nodded. "I moved most of your stuff into the downstairs bedroom. There's still a few boxes in the hallway," Tommy said, pointing toward the doorway.
Jason nodded and stood up. "Thanks, bro. Sorry I left all my shit lying around. I had to pick up . . . I had . . . something came up," Jason stammered. Tommy laughed, assuming his friend's incoherency was from just having woken up.
"Well, let me shower and then maybe we can grab some lunch. You can show me where your new office is?" Tommy offered, ascending the stairs as he spoke.
"Sounds like a plan. You got anything to drink?" Jason asked, making his way into the kitchen.
"Orange juice and beer in the fridge. Water from the sink," Tommy called out.
"Thanks!" Jason replied, pulling out the gallon of juice and searching the cabinets for a glass. Jason finished pouring the juice and set the jug on the table. As the rim of the glass touched his lips, screams were heard.
"HOLY SHIT!"
"OH MY GOD!"
"JASON!"
Jason's eyes widened in horror as his arm lunged forward, shooting the full glass out of his hand and onto the table, shattering into a million pieces. Drenched and sticky, Jason clumsily made his way from the kitchen and up the stairs, doing his best to avoid any shards of glass.
"Shit. Oh, boy. Here we go," he muttered to himself as he climbed the steps. As he approached the landing, he saw his young female companion's head, peeking out from behind the bedroom door. Tommy, on the other hand was standing in front of the bathroom, leaning face forward into the wall.
"Oh good, you've met," Jason said, laughing nervously. The young girl gave him a frightened look and opened the door slightly. Tommy remained in place as he attempted to center his breathing.
"Who is that?" he asked, motioning to the girl. Jason slowly approached the girl and pulled her from the doorway.
The young girl carefully walked behind Jason, clad in a pink nightgown and socks, gripping his hand for dear life as Jason led her closer to Tommy.
Jason cleared his throat and positioned the young girl beside him. "Tommy, you remember Annie. Annie Hart," he said quietly, awaiting his friend's response.
Tommy turned his head and stared at the pair. His eyes widened as he straightened himself up, moving away from the wall.
"Annie? As in, Kimberly's daughter?" he asked amazedly. Jason nodded. Annie gave Tommy a slight smile and bit her lip. Tommy shook his head in disbelief as he observed the young girl. "My god. You're all grown up," he told her, remembering the pudgy faced little girl he had met, six years ago.
The trio laughed awkwardly and exchanged humbled smiles as they remembered the occasion. Tommy's wistful exterior suddenly hardened as a thought struck him.
"Wait a minute. Why are you here?" he asked. Annie swallowed with difficulty, looking to Jason for help.
Jason looked from Annie to Tommy and lowered his head. "Tommy, there's something you should know," he started. Tommy narrowed his gaze at Jason, unsure if he wanted to hear his confession.
"Kimberly and Annie got into a fight," Jason continued, slowly lifting his head to face Tommy.
"So, you're just helping out?" Tommy asked, confused. Jason rubbed his chin in frustration. "Yes and no," he said.
"I told mom I wanted to live with my dad," Annie blurted out, receiving a sharp look from Jason, and a horrified one from Tommy.
Jason snapped his head back to Tommy, knowing his friend had just assumed the worst. "Tommy, I shouldn't be the one to tell you this," Jason began, holding his hands up in front of him.
Tommy shook his head. "I think I get it, Jase," he said, his heart tightening as he drew his own conclusions.
"No, Tommy, you don't. I know what you're thinking," Jason told him. Annie took a few steps back, watching nervously as the two men spoke.
"You slept with Kim, Jason. You're Annie's dad! I get it! This is a bit of a shock, not gonna lie . . . " Tommy snickered, although not angrily. Jason watched tensely as Tommy calmly stuffed his hands into his pant pockets and shrugged.
"Tommy, I know this is confusing," Jason started again, before Tommy interrupted him once more.
"Jason! It's in the past! What happened between you and Kim is not my business! I mean, I'm weirded out that you never said anything, and this is how I'm finding out . . . but you're my best friend, bro. It's done, ya know?" Tommy rationalized, offering a congenial hand to Jason.
Jason shook his head and glance over his shoulder. "Annie, go to your room," Jason told the girl. Annie gave him a hurt look and stomped her foot. "Why?" she whined.
"I want to speak to Tommy alone," he explained, his voice raising slightly. Tommy glanced between the pair.
"Listen to your dad, Annie. We've obviously got some catching up to do," Tommy reasoned with the girl.
"He's not my dad!" Annie snapped at Tommy, tears beginning to fill her eyes. Tommy shot Jason a confused look before looking back at Annie.
"Anneliese Hart, get in that room right now, or I swear to God, I will call your mom right now!" Jason barked at the girl.
"Jason, what's going on?" Tommy asked impatiently. Jason rubbed his temples, brimming with frustration.
"I want to be here when you tell him!" Annie shouted, pointing to Tommy. Tommy looked to his friend once more.
"Tell me what?" he asked.
"I shouldn't even be the one to tell him!" Jason yelled back.
"I deserve to be here!" Annie screamed.
"What the hell is going on? Tell me what?" Tommy joined the bickering pair. Annie zeroed in on Tommy and started crying.
"I hate my life," she mumbled through her sobs. Jason released a heavy sigh and approached the young girl, enveloping her in his arms.
Tommy scratched his head, bewildered. "What is going on?" he said to himself, watching Jason console the young girl.
Jason, still embracing Annie, looked up at his friend solemnly. "You're her dad, Tommy," Jason said.
AN: OH! I am evil! So Jason's just revealed the big secret, what happens now? How will Tommy react? Where's Kimberly in all of this? Find out next time! Please Read and Review!
