I finished chapter 12 tonight, so that means everyone gets chapter 10. Yay for you all! I had to finish this this weekend cause I'm not here next weekend. I hope everyone enjoys too. Contest posted at the end of the chapter, so make sure you all participate in that!

Chapter 10 Saying Goodbyes

Jason strapped Nathan into his car seat before turning back to Kimberly. "Don't worry, Kim. He'll be fine with us. You won't need to worry about a thing. It's all taken care of."

Trini shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Famous last words," she muttered, causing Kimberly to giggle.

Jason looked at both women with mock hurt. "Thanks for trusting me."

"Jason, we were kidding!" replied Trini.

Jason smiled. "As I was saying, Nathan will enjoy his stay at the lovely Scott residence."

"Don't go overboard, dear," warned Trini.

Kimberly loaded the rest of her bags into her car. "It's just Jason's way of saying he's gonna enjoy being a pretend daddy."

Jason didn't respond to Kimberly's remark, but she knew he enjoyed watching Nathan. He acted like a child again every time she had Nathan with her. He simply enjoyed being able to love another child and spoil him like nothing else mattered. She wished that Andrew had been that way with Nathan, but he never had been.

Flashback

An infant's cries echoed throughout the Tyree home. It was late afternoon, and he was just waking from a long afternoon nap, hungry for a bottle and in great need of a diaper change. The comfort level was unnerving.

"Andy, could you take care of Nathan? He probably needs a diaper change and his bottle. I've got one in the fridge ready to go. You'll just have to heat it up," called Kimberly. She was busy preparing dinner for her little family.

"Honey, I'm a little busy right now. These papers won't grade themselves you know."

"You've not seen your son all day, Andrew. Go spend some time with him."

"He's the same as every other day. And you know how much I hate changing diapers," he grumbled.

"I deal with his messes most of the day. It's the least you could do to help me out."

Kimberly didn't get quite the reaction she expected. She cringed as she heard a fist slam onto a table and then a door slamming. Why Andrew acted like this with their son, she couldn't understand. He had been excited when Nathan had been born, always there with Nathan at the hospital. However, once Nathan had come home, Andrew had changed. No longer did he dote on Nathan and the help Kimberly received gradually trickled down to very little. Suddenly, it seemed as though Andrew's work had become more important than his family. She sighed, and walked upstairs to Nathan's room.

Slamming sounds came from Nathan's room, similar to the ones that she'd heard previously, but certainly softer. As she peeked inside, she noticed how angry Andrew was. He slammed each baby product on the table and Kimberly was certain that the words he was mumbling to himself weren't very pleasant for the baby's ears. "Andrew!" Kimberly spat in shock.

"What!" yelled her husband, growling as he turned to her.

"What is your problem? I ask you to do a simple task for me and you can't even do it without complaining! You're worse than a rebellious teenager!"

"Well I was quite busy when you decided to interrupt me! This could have easily been handled by you, but you had to disturb me instead!"

"He's your son too, Andrew! You're supposed to be a father to him, but you can barely do that!" yelled Kimberly. She felt herself getting upset, choking up, but she wouldn't let the tears fall just yet.

"I am trying to support this family! I am trying to earn a decent paycheck to give Nathan a good college education someday!" No longer was Andrew tending to Nathan. He had turned all of his focus toward Kimberly.

"Nathan needs a college education someday, but right now he needs his father's love too. You need to understand that! And you complain when he prefers to be held by me rather than you. It's because of times like these where you refuse to do anything with him!"

Nathan's wail interrupted the quarrel between the two. The tone and volume of the voices had upset him. He needed a comforting source. Kimberly quickly made her way to his changing table and grabbed her son. That's all it seemed like anymore. With Andrew being stubborn as a mule about helping, he really seemed like only hers. The only thing he really contributed was the paycheck, and to him that was all he needed to do. It frustrated Kimberly to no end and seemed to be the biggest argument every week.

As she cradled Nathan in her arms, she looked over at Andrew sternly. "We'll continue this later this evening after Nathan is in bed and won't be around to hear our talking."

Andrew nodded before curtly turning and returning to his work, slamming the door shut so hard that the vibrations were felt throughout the house. Kimberly walked with Nathan over to the rocking chair in the corner of the room and sat down. Only then did she let the tears fall.

She cried silently, wishing that things hadn't changed so much. Andrew had changed. She knew it was hard on him as a teacher with his rowdy class, but he could never leave the problems of the classroom at the front door. A cloud would loom over him all evening as he steamed at one student had done, or how badly a lesson had gone. Every time Kimberly brought up the subject, he would simply avoid the conversation, quickly changing topic. He never wanted to admit to anything.

Then there were the very rare times when father and son would be seen together. Kimberly remembered a few weeks ago how Andrew had lay on the floor with Nathan the entire morning until his nap. The laughter heard was too good to be true. Eventually Kimberly had given up on trying to place any blame on him; it did no good. She knew that this tension with the baby was tearing her family apart. It was upsetting and unnerving.

Kimberly glanced down at Nathan, who had begun squirming in her arms and whimpering. "It shouldn't have to be this way, Bubby. Daddy and mommy are having problems and they deal with you. I'm sorry you have to hear our mean words." She hugged him closer to her as she rose to head downstairs and fix his bottle.

End Flashback

Jason loaded the rest of Nathan's bags into his vehicle. "Are you sure this is everything, Kim?" he asked sarcastically.

"Just because I like shopping a little every now and then for Nathan doesn't mean anything."

"I wasn't referring to the shopping. I was referring to everything you've packed here for the weekend. Do you really think he'll need all of this?"

"Well there's a bag of his favorite toys, his overnight gear, extra bottles and plenty of food, clothing, diapers, and his stroller, just in case. It's all that's required of caring for a baby for a long period of time."

"See what you'll have to look forward to?" joked Trini.

"I think I can handle it after saving the world."

Trini raised an eyebrow. "Someone's cocky."

"You know I'm only kidding!" replied Jason.

Kimberly smiled as the couple fought. How nice it would be to have someone like that in her life. Someone to love and care for. Someone who would love Nathan like his own and not consider him to be a burden. Jason and Trini had been married longer than she and Andrew had, yet they were still as happy as the day they were married. Granted, the two didn't have a child yet, but she still had a feeling they'd be just as happy. "Well, I guess I'd better be heading out. I'm to be meeting the girls in the morning before our first meet. I'm to be picking Becky up in half an hour."

"I thought she wasn't going to the meet because of class work?" questioned Trini.

"The deadline on her big project was delayed until later in the week so she was able to go. I'm glad because I'm going to need some help getting the girls ready."

Jason pulled Kimberly into a hug. "Well good luck at the meet. I know your team will do great. You've been training them hard for this moment."

"Thanks, Jason," she replied as she hugged him back.

Trini was the next to hug her. "Take care of yourself. Make sure you call us tomorrow with updates after the first meet."

"I don't think I have a choice. I think I'd want to hear about Nathan too," laughed Kimberly.

The three of them turned when they saw a car pull into the driveway, a black Jeep to be exact. Out stepped Tommy, still dressed in a suit and tie. "Tommy?" asked Kimberly in surprise. "How'd you know where I lived?" She didn't recall telling him her address and she didn't think that Jason or Trini had told him either.

"Let's just say a certain friend of mine told me when I was helping him move an old college friend's stuff into this place," replied Tommy with a smile.

"Huh?" asked Kimberly, confused.

Jason spoke up to give her an explanation. "Back when Trini and I first surprised you by moving all of your stuff in, I enlisted Tommy's help so I had a partner to help me with all of the heavy stuff. I didn't want to tell him it was you and have him refuse, so I told him I was helping an old college friend move in. I knew Tommy would never question any further."

"While it was cruel, he was right about my questioning him. I had no reason to," added Tommy.

Kimberly had picked up on the "refuse" part, but didn't let it show. So Trini and Jason must have been trying to protect her and Tommy from each other. Why, she didn't know. Neither of them were emotional teenagers anymore, and it really hadn't helped anyway. Her friends should have known that they couldn't keep Tommy from seeing her at some point. It was just too inevitable.

She and Tommy could be friends and were starting to become friends again. It was nice seeing him again after all of these years. Just because the way she had began the breakup was cruel, doesn't mean that she still had to be that way. Back then, she'd thought she was in love with Andrew. Every time she called Tommy, he was out, either with friends or with Kat. Deep in her heart she knew what she was going to do wasn't right, but she listened to the logic of her brain instead. She had penned the letter a few days later after carefully thinking what to write.

Flashback

It was late evening, and Kimberly was tired. The day's workout had been rough and she was beyond tired. However, she couldn't go to bed just yet. There was something important she had to do before she lost her nerve. She pulled a piece of paper from her desk and grabbed a pen from the container on her desk. She took a deep breath and began to write the letter whose words had been in her mind for the past day.

Fifteen minutes later, the deed was done and Kimberly sighed. Here it was, this envelope that she held in her hands, the letter that would change everything. She'd thought it over and had talked to Andrew about it. She had to free Tommy. She couldn't keep going behind his back. He was always out with Katherine. She would give him up so that Katherine would have a chance with him. She deserved someone nicer, and Tommy did too. She hated having to break his heart like this, but she couldn't call him. She was too scared.

Everything would be all right in the end… things would be terrible now, for both her and Tommy, but they'd make it through. Tommy would have his good friends to cheer him up. Rangers stuck together no matter what and now was one of those times when they'd have Tommy's back. She really hoped Katherine would be of some help to him. Katherine was always willing to lend a sympathetic ear to a friend in need.

Who am I kidding? Thought Kimberly bitterly. Tommy will be so heart broken… we were just getting really serious.. no Kim, you can't think about that. You have your life going in a different direction from his. He's a Ranger and you're in training for the Pan Globals and then the Olympics. You'll never be able to be there for him like he needs and deserves. That privilege is no longer my own. Andrew is the one who's there for me now and I can be there for him to as he deserves.

Kimberly crawled into bed with a tear-stained face that evening. No matter what mantra she told herself, nothing would cheer her up. She only hoped that as time passed, broken hearts would heal. Time mends all hurt... at least, that's what she told herself.

End Flashback

Kimberly leaned over to give Nathan a few last kisses. "Have fun, Nathan. I know you'll be well taken care of." She kissed his forehead one last time and gave him one final hug. "Mommy loves you."

Jason and Trini said their last few goodbyes and soon Kimberly found herself on the road to pick up Becky. For some reason, she felt sad, as this was the first time she'd left Nathan for an extended weekend.. the mother in her wanted to turn around right there and go back to him, but the gymnastic coach in her wouldn't let her. Kimberly put on some music to calm her nerves.

A young couple marries, already fighting
Along comes baby makin' them three
Trouble's all he hears from the time he's in didies
Baby don't know just what to believe

Angry words and spiteful actions
Baby's gonna cut his teeth on these
If that's gonna be the main attraction
What will the baby be, what will baby be

The words hit closer to home than she could have fought. It was true though. Fighting was over stupid things, but when Nathan came along, those "stupid" things became blown out of proportion. Every night, a different object or event turned into a fight. Kimberly couldn't count how many times she'd gone to bed upset and cried herself softly to sleep. How different things had become from the time she first started dating Andrew.

Baby needs love and needs direction
Baby's first school is the family
For they are only a reflection
Of the things they see, what will baby be

What will baby be after baby is grown
What will baby do if baby don't know what's right or wrong
Got to show them love, got to teach them truth
'Cause what baby is when baby grows up
Well, that depends entirely on me and you
Depends entirely on me and you

Kimberly was thankful that her own life had taken a different turn than the one mentioned in the song. Granted, the man in the song was never killed, or the family's house burned down later on. Kimberly thanked God over and over that she and Nathan had taken a different path now, one that would lead them to a better piece of luck. Friends and family were close by, and Nathan had positive examples in his life to mimic. Jason and Trini were the closest next family he had right now and Kimberly couldn't have asked for better friends. They were always there for her son and herself.

Smiling, Kimberly changed the radio station. She didn't need to hear the rest of the song. It didn't need to be told to her. She knew that she had made Nathan's life better for him. He would have a better childhood, one full of fond memories, or so Kimberly hoped. Luck was blowing on the wind, and Kimberly hoped she'd lost that unlucky clover that had been plaguing her the past few years.

Okay this time the contest has nothing to do with the song, like I usually do. And this one will have a prize with it, once I find exactly what I want to hand out. So here's the contest: Nathan is going costume shopping with Trini and Jason next chapter. What costume will he finally end up with? You take a guess!