AN: I do not own NASCAR, any of the NASCAR drivers past or present, and the Power Rangers. I make no money off of this story or any of the other stories I have written.
Tommy had had a stream of doctors and various other medical personnel coming in and out of his room since he arrived. Obviously they were concerned about the fact that he could not feel some of his extremities, but they were mostly chalking that up to the type of injury it was. The paralysis seemed to be temporary, as there were no other signs otherwise, but it still was not looking good to him. Even if it was temporary, he was out of the season and he hadn't even made the first race.
"Daddy!" Patrick yelled as Kim stood in the open door frame in shock, barely able to keep herself upright. It was obvious to her what the problem was and it scared her. He had begged her to just tell him what she wanted and she had told him to chase his dream, just like he had told her the same thing. Chasing their dreams had gotten the both of them into the hospital, but for very different reasons.
"Hey buddy," Tommy said, hoarsely, as he turned his head to look over at them. "Kim, it's not as bad as it looks."
"I…I…" Kim stuttered as she struggled to get a grasp on the situation at hand as she lowered Patrick to the floor, knowing that she could not hold him any longer. The boy ran for Tommy's bed and Tommy reached over and grabbed his hand.
"Are you Kimberly Hart?" a man with mirrored sunglasses asked as he walked up behind her and she nodded her head yes. "He took a pretty wild ride out there today."
"Mr. Earnhardt? What are you doing here?" Kim asked as she finally recognized the man.
"Well, we all saw the crash and after I qualified they said he was still here, I thought I might as well come out," Dale said as Kim barely nodded and Patrick clung tightly to Tommy's hand.
"Patrick, Mr. Earnhardt isn't going to hurt you," Kim whispered as she crouched down next to the boy and he clung to her. "Sorry, he doesn't deal well with new people."
"It's fine," Dale said as Kim straightened and she ran her fingers through her hair.
"Can someone tell me what's going on?" Kim asked as Tommy looked up at her and reached over for her hand. "You're in a neck brace, how can this not be so bad?"
"It's a preventative measure," Tommy said as Kim stared at him and clutched to the bedside rail. "Kimberly, don't faint on me, please. I can't really move to catch you."
"What do you mean?" Kim asked as Dale walked over and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"They had to haul him out of the car, he couldn't walk," Dale said, quietly, as Kim placed Patrick down roughly on Tommy's bed and Dale wrapped an arm around her to keep her from fainting. "She do this a lot?"
"Every once in awhile," Tommy said as he grasped Patrick in place. "Give her a minute and she'll come back to her senses."
"I did not think this would be part of the bargain," Dale said as Tommy smiled. "Do they think that it's going to be permanent?"
"No, the main injury is to my back and they are fairly sure that I'll regain my mobility. It's tingling right now," Tommy said as Kim's eyes fluttered open. "Hey sweetheart."
"Tommy…I'm so sorry that I…" Kim stuttered as he smiled over at her and grasped her hand.
"I'll let the two of you talk," Dale said as Kim barely nodded. "You let me know what you're going to do, all right?"
"I will Mr. Earnhardt, thank you," Tommy said as the man walked from the room and Tommy looked back at Kim. "Kimberly, I'm yours, you are the woman I love, the one person that I can't imagine living without."
"Tommy, I don't want you to…" Kim trailed off as he sat up and pulled her into a kiss. He might not have much use of his legs at the moment, but his arms were still as strong as ever.
"I am not giving up anything that I will regret Kimberly. Do you want to know what I thought about right before I passed out?" Tommy asked as she looked down at him and Patrick slowly moved between the two of them. "I thought about the fact that I'd never see you again and that I hadn't been able to prove to you just how much I truly care about you. I love you and only you."
"Tommy, there is so much that you would have to take on if you…" Kim trailed off as she looked between Patrick and Tommy. "It wouldn't be right to ask you deal with all of this."
"Well, I'm telling you that I don't care if you ask or not, I'm going to be here for the both of you, no matter what," Tommy said as the little boy crawled over his stomach and settled against him.
"How can you just give all of this up? Tommy, it's your dream, I can't just sit here and let you give that up for me," Kim said as Tommy let out a sigh and then looked over at her.
"You think that this is what I really want? Kim, I started racing to forget you, to forget the woman that I loved and what she had done to me. Being a ranger had done a good job, but once I was no longer a ranger, I needed something else, racing was what it was. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't like racing, but I don't love it, I don't live, eat, and breathe it. I know that what I am saying doesn't make sense, but with each step that I rose in the racing circuit, I thought I was putting more of your memory behind me. It turns out that racing led me right back to you. Even if I walk again, I'm not going back out there. This was my warning from God, that it was time to get everything straight with you and do what I have to, to make you understand it," Tommy said as Kim stared at him in shock. She had not expected that kind of speech from him, especially now, but he seemed sincere. Actually, deep down, she knew he was sincere, but she didn't want to think about what that meant at the moment.
"You're sure? You know that it's not going to be an easy road Tommy," Kim said as he nodded his head yes and then nodded down to the boy that had fallen asleep against his chest.
"Nothing has ever been easy with us Kimberly, why would this be any different?" Tommy asked with a smile as she sat down in the chair next to the bed and took his hand in hers. The man in black smiled from the door as he silently walked away, knowing that the boy with potential was not coming back to the race, but was moving on to something much more important.
