Jason went to get up but found out his hand was clasped by the boy in the bed.
"Tommy!" He gasped. Tommy began to open his eyes.
"I'll get the Doctor." Mrs. Scott said running off. Tommy began to struggle with the ventilator.
"Tommy calm down bro." Jason said. Tommy looked terrified.
"Just let it work for you."
As Jason sat with Tommy he found his mind tracing back to the days when he first moved to Angel Grove, the first time they met, the first time they morphed together, and the first time they went to the beach together. He grabbed Tommy hand,
"Remember those days T?" he said rubbing the back of Tommy's hand with his thumb.
"I'm here bro." Jason said.
"For three days and nights." He heard the voice of his mother say.
"I can't leave him not till he's awake." Jason said. Mrs. Scott could understand, she knew the bond her son and Tommy had, they were closer than brothers.
"Jason I understand, but you at least need to take a shower." She said lovingly
Jason laughed, and Mrs. Scott brought from behind her back a bag full of cloths and shampoo. Jason went to get up but found out his hand was clasped by the boy in the bed.
"Tommy!" He gasped. Tommy began to open his eyes.
"I'll get the Doctor." Mrs. Scott said running off. Tommy began to struggle with the ventilator.
"Tommy calm down bro." Jason said. Tommy looked terrified.
"Just let it work for you." Jason said stroking Tommy's hand.
Tommy eventually calmed down and the doctor came in.
"Well its about Time you woke up lazy bones." He said jokingly. Jason and Tommy smiled, Jason was glad to see him smile again even if it was from behind the ventilator. The doctor unhooked the straps and said
"On the count of three ready?"
Tommy nodded.
"One, Two Three." And with that he pulled the ventilator off.
Once it was removed Tommy coughed and gagged,
"Gives you one hell of a sore throat huh," the Doctor said.
Tommy nodded.
"I'll see if I can get you some water." The doctor said as he left.
Tommy looked over to Jason.
"Jace." He said quietly. Jason bent down so he could hear Tommy.
"Thanks" He continued.
"It was nothing T." He said. Tommy upon seeing the dream catcher motioned to it. Jason got up and handed it to him.
"Sam and David were here earlier and brought that for you." Jason explained Tommy's face lit up when he finally had the native decoration in his hand. Jason loved seeing him this way, it was the best he had looked in days. Both Jason and Tommy's good moods were not to last as soon Mr. and Mrs. Oliver came into the room.
"Tommy dear your awake!" She said. Then she noticed the dream catcher, and how interested Tommy was in it.
"Tommy aren't you going to even look at me?" she asked. Tommy turned his head toward her but it was only for a moment, then it was over to Jason. Tommy handed the dream catcher back to him and Jason hung it back up.
Suddenly Jason remembered something. He quickly dug around in his pockets for his phone and punched in some numbers. Mrs. Oliver had thrown him some inquisitive looks, but Jason had ignored her. Finally he heard the voice on the other line. "Hello, I'm looking for Sam and David Trueheart...This is Jason Scott...yah I'll hold..." Mrs. Oliver now glared at Jason, Jason knew she wasn't happy with him but he didn't care
'There family, and besides I told them I would call if anything changed' Jason thought to himself.
"Hello" Came the elder man's voice.
"Hey Sam its Jason." He said. " Jason I had a feeling you would call today." Sam said.
Jason laughed and figured that Sam having an intimate connection with the universe or something helped.
"Is something wrong?" Sam asked.
"No its Tommy." Jason said trying not to make the smile on his face audible.
"What's wrong?" Asked the man on the phone.
"He's awake." Jason said happily.
"That's wonderful to hear, David and I will be down as soon as we can."
Jason smiled and said. "Alright see you then." And hung up the phone. Tommy was looking at Jason confused, Jason explained.
"Tommy, you're going to have some guests soon." Tommy cocked his head,
"Who?" He asked softly.
"Sam and David are coming down from the Rez, just to see you." Jason finished as Tommy's face lit up.
"Of course," Jason said torrentially "I can always call them back and say youre not feeling up to it."
Tommy shook his head, as Jason laughed.
"Don't over exert yourself." Mrs. Oliver said, Tommy just shook his head and insisted that he was fine.
For Jason and Tommy David and Sam couldn't come fast enough. Finally they walked in.
"Morning little T." Said David.
"Nice to have you back Falcon." Sam said as they walked over to Tommy who was smiling from ear to ear.
Jason explained that it was only hours after he had woken so his throat was still sore from the ventilator. At some point in the explanation the Olivers had excused themselves.
'What's with those two?' Jason asked himself, 'You would think that because their son has just woken up they wouldn't leave his side, but I guess I don't really know the Olivers.' Jason thought.
He was taken out of his thoughts by something pulling on his shirt. He looked down at Tommy and asked if there was something wrong. Tommy motioned for him to come closer, Jason did and then Tommy asked
"Can...drink..." Jason reached over to the table next to him and poured out a small amount of water into one of the cups the Doc had left and handed it to Tommy.
"Tommy sure is lucky to have such a good friend looking over him." David said. Tommy nodded and Jason blushed. The four talked for what seemed like hours. David and Sam loved hearing about The peace conference and how Jason was adjusting.
"Jason?" Asked Sam "Has your animal presented its self to you anymore?" Jason shook his head
"Not lately" Jason replied. Tommy gave Jason a confused look as Sam explained. " Jason is endeavoring to discover his spiritual animal." Tommy looked over at Jason
"Really?" He asked excited
"Yeah." Jason said.
Tommy smiled, and David commented
"Jason really has taken it upon himself to learn a lot about our culture and our people." He said.
Tommy was grateful for Jason actually caring about him and his family, it was such a nice change, he grew up his whole life thinking that his heritage was something to be ashamed of but now that he had David , Sam and most importantly Jason, he knew that he would never again be ashamed of who he was. He felt himself starting to get tired, his eyelids growing heavy. Sam and David noticed this and said it was about time that they got going. Jason walked them to the door and once they were gone looked around the room. He noticed that his mother had left the bag of cloths and shampoo. With a quick check of the time he ran in and cleaned himself off. He was just sitting down in his chair again when his mother came back in .
"Well I see you took my little hint." She said pointing to the bag that Jason had emptied and refilled with his dirty cloths.
Jason smiled,
"Yah I did mom, and thanks." He said smiling.
"That's what we mothers do." Mrs. Scott said smiling. She did a few adjustments to Tommy's monitors and then sat next to her son.
"how is he?" She asked.
"He seemed to really enjoy having Sam and David here," Jason said,
"But one thing bothers me. He said casting his eyes down to the floor.
"What's that?" Asked his mother.
"The Olivers," Jason began.
"They act like they care when people are around, like Adam, Rocky and the rest of the world, but when were alone they sneak off and don't seem interested in their adopted son." he finished looking at Tommy.
"Jason some people are just idiots." His mother said.
"Why don't they care?" Jason asked rage building inside him.
"I don't know Jace, but what I do know is how you feel about him and that's more that his parents can, and that's what's important."
She said holding her son's hand. Jason thanked his mother and looked at Tommy. Mrs. Scott left to check on other patients, and Jason was left alone with Tommy.
'Even with the bruises and bandages you're still beautiful to me.' Jason was soon joined by Rocky and Adam.
"Hey Jason." Called Rocky.
Jason greeted the rangers warmly, his attention was on Adam for the most part. Adam was clearly still tore up about Tommy.
"Adam?" asked Jason. Adam turned to him. "Are you ok?" Jason asked the green ranger.
"It's just tough to see him laying there, and know it's all my fault." Adam said.
"Adam don't start blaming yourself again." Rocky said Adam looked at the floor and said
"If I hadn't froze, if I would have moved he wouldn't be in this position." Jason walked over to the other side of the bed where Adam was standing. He grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around so he was facing him.
"Adam, I'm not exactly sure what happened that day, but I do know that Tommy was just following his instincts and you know it, so stop beating yourself up over this, he's going to be fine and kicking bad guy but again soon." Jason said softly. Adam smiled and agreed.
They talked about King Mondo and the machine empire, getting the former leader up to speed. It was about five o'clock when they decided that they were going to get something to eat, while they were away Tommy woke up. He slowly looked around his room to find he was alone, then began to panic.
"Jason..." He called out weakly. He closed his eyes and tried to steady his hands.
'damn it Jace you said you wouldn't leave me.' he thought to himself.
Just then Jason and the others walked back in.
"Tommy!" Called Jason concerned.
"What's wrong." Asked Adam.
Jason bent down to Tommy's mouth to hear what he was saying.
"You...left.." Tommy said.
"Not for long, just to get something to eat.
"Hate Hospitals Jace" Tommy said quietly
"Why?" Asked Jason
"Not now." Tommy said. Silence fell on the room. Adam was the first to speak.
"Tommy, first of all, I have to tell you how happy and thoroughly relieved I am that you're okay. These last few days have been hellish for all of us especially Jason." He said looking at the former Red Ranger.
"But the guilt I have over the whole thing is tearing me up inside. The nightmares are getting to be too much." He said tears welling in his eyes. He reached up and took Tommy's hand in his own. "Tommy, I know you don't remember anything about the accident, but . . ." a tear began to trickle down his face. ". . . it's my fault that you're in here, that you got hurt to begin with. Can you ever forgive me?" Tommy looked at the Green Zeo ranger, and held his hand. " Adam...don't remember...accident...but wrong not your fault. Mondo's!" He said kindly holding his throat when he had finished.
"Water?" Asked Jason holding the cup again . Tommy nodded and took the cup.
"It's getting late we had better go." Said Rocky. He and Adam stood up and walked out Adam still feeling terrible. Jason stayed with Tommy for a few seconds to whisper something to him and then ran after Adam and Rocky.
"Hey Adam hold up." Jason called running after them. they were just leaving the hospital entrance. After he caught up he motioned for Adam and Rock to have a seat on the bench.
"What's Wrong Jason?" Asked Rocky
"Well If I'm going to help Tommy and Adam work through this I need to know what happened." Jason said looking at Adam who hadn't taken his eyes off the floor in front of him. "Adam I know this is still fresh and raw for you, but please." Jason said looking at Him.
"Tommy and I were going shopping in the ware house district, for the girls birthday, when suddenly alarms started going off, and the ground started shaking." Adam said "People were calm up till someone realized it was a monster sent down by Mondo, Tommy and I were looking for somewhere to morph, but we couldn't find anywhere. You know those old buildings Jace, they couldn't take the tremors, they began to crumble and crack. Tommy and I were helping people, when suddenly I heard Tommy yelled something. when I looked up I saw a chunk of the ceiling falling right towards me." Adam said as he wiped his eyes.
"I...I froze." He said as his voice cracking. "before I knew it I felt someone pushed me out of the way. I was just turning around and was just in time to see Tommy get covered in debris." Jason leant over and comforted his friend, who was openly sobbing at this point.
"Adam it's ok" He said. He's going to be fine" Rocky said soothing.
"I know guys but the nightmares are the worst part." Adam said after calming down a little.
"What nightmares?" Asked Jason.
" It's the same thing every night. I relive the accident, only this time Tommy doesn't live. And it's all my fault, Zordon kicks me off the ranger team, I'm disowned by all my friends. It's horrible." Adam says his head lowering to the ground once again.
"Adam nobody blames you for anything, Tommy was just acting on instinct, you know that." Jason said.
"And another thing," Rocky cut in "We would never disown you." He said smiling "Once a Ranger..." He started
"Always a ranger" Jason finished.
Adam smiled for the first time in what seemed like months, "Thanks guys." He said wiping the tears off his face.
After a few minutes of silence Jason stood and said "I had better get back to Tommy." he rose to leave, Rocky and Adam doing the same. As he turned to head back in to the hospital he heard Adam call out
"Take care of him wolf." Jason smiled, and went back into Tommy's Room.
He found his asleep and watching some nature documentary on wolves. 'That's weird, suddenly wolves are everywhere.' Jason thought and turned the volume up.
"Wolves are incredibly protective animals, they fight with enormous ferocity for the ones they love, yes wolves can be considered one of the most beautiful of all the animals on this earth. There are many different kinds of wolves on this planet"
Jason turned the Tv off. "I wish I knew what my animal is" he said softly looking over at the sleeping Tommy. He wanted more than anything to reach down and give him a kis but he knew that he wasn't ready for that shock just yet.
'What are you afraid of ?' he asked himself 'you already told him how you feel and before he could say anything you ran to Switzerland.' Jason's inner voice asked him.
"So what do you advise I do?" Jason asked
'Well I say once he wakes up there's a no holds bar between you and your feelings, whoever wins is what we do.' it said.
Jason raised an eyebrow. "You think that would work?" He asked.
'Well there's only one way to find out.' His voice said.
Jason passed out holding Tommy's hand and sleeping with his head next to his arm. The next day who should show up but Kimberly. She walked in and saw Tommy and Jason. She sighed
'This isn't going to be fun.' she thought as she walked over to Jason and lightly shook him.
"Wake up sleepy." She said softly Jason was too far in sleep mode to wake up, however Tommy woke up.
"Kim?" He asked sleepily.
" Hey Tommy." She said.
"What are you doing here?" Tommy asked.
"I came as soon as I could." She said.
"Why?" Tommy asked sadly.
Kim knew this was going to happen eventually she just hoped it was going to take a little longer.
"Because your my friend Tommy, I was worried about you." She said.
"I thought you found a new boyfriend in Florida?" Tommy asked.
"I did but that doesn't mean we can't be friends." Kim said.
Tommy looked down at Jason and smiled. 'You're not the only one who moved on Kim.' he thought. He wanted to tell Jason how he felt but he couldn't figure the right way to do it.
'Soon as Im out of here I'll do something, even if it's only a smoothie at Ernies, I will do something I swear.' He silently promised Jason.
"So Tommy," Kimberly said breaking Tommy out of thought.
"What happened?"
"I don't remember much just that Adam was in trouble and I had to do something." Tommy replied.
They sat in silence for a while nether knowing what to say. Tommy was upset that all of the forgotten feelings about Kim were coming back to light and Kimberly was upset at Tommy for bringing them up. Tommy just looked at Jason,
'He's so cute when he's sleeping.' He said to himself.
Kimberly just looked at the two boys and she began to formulate a concern. "Tommy," She asked. "How long has Jason been here?"
"From the day I was hurt." Tommy replied never taking his eyes off Jason.
"Is that what people told you?" Kim asked.
"No, I could feel him even though I was unconscious I knew Jason was near." He said smiling.
"How?" Kimberly asked confused.
"Sam says it has something to do with my Spirit Animal, It knows how close me and Jason are and it knew that me knowing him here would comfort me." Tommy said.
"Spirit Animal?" She asked
"It's a long story, one I don't really want to get into." He said "Bottom line is ill always know if Jason is nearby." He finished. "You said that it knew how close you and Jace are," The former Pink Ranger said.
"How close exactly?" she asked. Tommy could feel his breath leave him.
"Just best friends." He lied.
"Oh because I thought you like, liked him or something." Tommy was surprised,
"Kim, he's Just a friend." Tommy lied.
"OK good." She said sighing. They sat for a moment before Mrs. Scott came in.
"Oh hi Kim I didn't know you were in town." She said happily.
"Yah I got a short leave from my gymnastics and I figured I'd visit old angel grove." Kim said.
Mrs. Scott looked over at Tommy who hadn't taken his eyes off Jason since Kimberly walked in.
"Tommy I need to check something ok?" She said kindly
"Sure" He said.
"I had better get going. My parents are expecting me for lunch and I don't want to disappoint them." Kimberly said, then said her goodbyes.
Tommy looked over at Mrs. Scott and asked "What do you need to check?" Mrs. Scott smiled, and said
"Oh nothing Tommy, I just said that to make her leave." Tommy smiled and ran his free hand through Jason's hair.
"He cares for you very much, you know." Mrs. Scot said.
"I know and right now there is nothing in the world that could stop me from telling him how I feel." Tommy said.
Just as he finished Jason moved and opened his eyes.
"Morning lazy bones" Tommy said.
"Morning." Jason said sleeply.
"Jason sleeping in, This is breaking news to me." His Mother said jokingly.
Jason sat up and stretched.
"Well you boys don't need me hanging around like an old bat, Ill just be on my way." Mrs. Scott said standing.
When she was gone Tommy looked at Jason.
"We have something to talk about." He said.
Jason hearing the serious tone in his friend's voice, sat straight up.
"What's that?" He asked. Tommy took a big breath and started.
"You know that little conversation we had before you left for Switzerland?" He asked.
"Yah." Jason said, starting to get excited.
"Well..." Tommy began, but was cut off by The Olivers walking in.
"Tommy how are you doing today?" Mrs. Oliver asked.
"I'm fine mom." Tommy said with a groan.
"Well forgive me for caring." She said offended.
"No its not you I'm just sick of people worrying about me, and most of all I'm sick of this damn hospital." Tommy said.
Mrs. Oliver looked over at Jason and said
"Jason haven't you gone home at all?"
'Like you care' he thought.
"No not really, I mean my mom brings me cloths and I can take a shower right over there." He said motioning to the bathroom.
"Have THEY been down here anymore?" Mrs. Oliver asked obviously referring to Sam and David.
"No, but it is about the time they would come." Jason said.
"They only come once a week?" Mr. Oliver asked.
"Well that's all they can manage being an hour away." Tommy said.
Jason looked right at Tommy and said
"I'm sure if they could they would visit more."
"I know Jace it's just a shame that its only once a week." Tommy said.
Mr. and Mrs. Oliver looked at each other and Tommy and Jason did the same, neither party wanting to look at the other.
'I have to tell him, I don't want him running off too Switzerland again.' Tommy thought.
"Mom, Dad can you give me and Jason a sec, I need to ask him something private." Tommy asked
"Tommy I don't want to leave you." Mrs. Oliver said.
"Mom please?" Tommy asked practically begging.
Reluctantly She stood grabbed her husband and walked out the door.
"So what so super secret you need to ask your parents to leave for?" Jason asked playfully.
Tommy thought for a moment before he responded.
"Jace." He said thoughtfully "You remember that that thing I wanted to talk to you about before?"
Jason nodded thinking Tommy was going to push him away because of what he said. Tommy had an idea, he rubbed his throat and motioned for Jason to come closer, and when Jason did Tommy pulled him down into a kiss he had been waiting to give him for months.
Jason didn't pull away ,he loved every second of it. Once they came up for air Tommy asked
Tommy looked into Jason's eyes as the broke off. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." he said Jason smiled and said
"I have a pretty good idea." Tommy smiled,
"I'm sorry I ran away." he said.
Jason looked confused, "I thought I was the one who left the country?" he asked. Tommy chuckled
"I mean the night you confessed this to me. I ran out without even thinking about how it looked." he said looking into his lovers eyes.
"Tommy don't worry about it." Tommy smiled and gave Jason a small kiss on his hand.
"Thanks Jace" he said. Jason looked over to the door, and said
"We should probably let them back in."
Tommy moaned "Do we have to?" he asked childishly.
Jason laughed and wet to the door. He looked out into the empty hall looking in vain for the Olivers. Tommy looked over to Jason and asked
"Something wrong?" he asked.
Jason turned around with a look of confused anger, and said
"They're gone T"
Tommy lowered his head,
"Why don't they care Tommy?" Jason asked
"It goes along with something I can never tell you." Tommy said.
"Tommy we need to be open with each other, no secrets." Jason said
"I know Jace but I doubt that even you won't look at me ever again." Tommy said lowering his head.
"Thomas Trueheart I love you and nothing, you hear me nothing you did or ever will do can change that." Tommy looked into Jason's eyes once more.
Boy the longest chapter yet! Again keep those reviews coming! Trying to get the Christmas chapter uploaded as close to Christmas as I can...