Rise of the Owl

Chapter 10: Family Reunion

In the City: After the Battle

Dom caught Fran before she hit the ground. Everyone gathered closer as he held his girlfriend; they were worried about. Dom understood there concerns; she had passed out after fighting in the battle, that's not why she fainted. Dom knew it wasn't exhaustion that caused Fran to pass-out; it was being introduced to Kimberly and Tommy that made her faint.

"Is she alright?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah, we just need to get back to the loft." Dom said. So to the loft they all went.

RJ's loft

When the rangers and ninjetti entered the loft, Carla and Roger were by the group's side in an instant. Dom carried Fran over to RJ's chair, gently placing her in it. Before anyone could say a word, Camille, Flit and Jarrod came up the stairs from the restaurant. They all looked tired and sore. It was actually funny to see; three kunfu warriors ready to collapse after running a pizza pallor for a few hours. They slumped down on the steps to the workout area of the loft.

"That was the most brutal experience ever." Camille groaned.

"Fighting Dai Shi was less exhausting." Jarrod agreed.

"And there were three of us to handle it!" Flit whined. "I don't know how Fran was able to do it all by herself."

The other two nodded; the three of them had a new found respect for Fran, now that they experienced a piece of what she did whenever the other rangers had to go off to battle. Casey was trying to hold back a snicker; three warriors, who had been through the most intensive training imaginable, were tired because of running the pizza pallor during one of the many rushes. That's when the three warriors looked up to see many faces looking at them amused. While looking at all of the different faces, the three zeroed in on the unconscious form of Fran. All three shot right up from their perch and hurried over to Fran.

"Not again!?" Flit exclaimed as he checked Fran for vitals and wounds.

"No." Dom said, taking deep breaths while clenching his fists. "She just fainted, Flit; you can stop examining her now."

"Was it the battle?" Flit asked.

"Later, Flit." Dom said with a tone that left no room for argument. Flit just nodded.

"How did she do?" Camille asked, looking at Fran worriedly.

"Amazing!" Casey exclaimed. "She didn't even morph, until the monster started to fire at us. She took down the Kairai in civilian form."

"She did that?" Jarrod asked, amazed.

Everyone who saw the battle nodded. The eyes of the three, who had not seen the battle, bulged big and wide. They looked at Fran as she began to stir; is there anything she can't do that would surprise them. Fran had many great talents, there was no denying that. Fran's eyes slowly opened; the first thing she saw was Dom's brilliant blue eyes.

"Hey, Rhino-boy." She said with a small smile on her face.

"Hey, to you too, sleepyhead." Dom replied with an answering smile.

Fran slowly sat up more, while rubbing her head. She was getting a headache from all of these fainting spells. If Fran wasn't a virgin, she would start thinking she was pregnant, but she knew better. She looked at Dom once more, and they gave each other a small soft kiss. When they pulled apart, Fran looked to the people around them. She saw that they were all in the loft, and that she was back in RJ's chair.

"Sorry about taking your chair again, boss man." Fran said, sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it, Fran. Just glad that you're alright." RJ said, caringly.

"Francis?" Carla asked. Everyone turned to her; Fran gave a nod, showing that Carla and Roger had her attention. "You were incredible out there. I'm so proud of you, sweetheart."

"You have really grown, Francis." Roger said, agreeing with his wife.

"Thank you, both." Fran simply said. She wasn't ready to forgive them yet.

"Carla? Roger?" Kimberly asked in shock. She hadn't seen them since she gave them her daughter to take care of.

Carla and Roger turned to Kimberly. Both of their eyes widened, from both shock and fear. The shock of seeing her again after all these years; the fear that she would take Francis from them. They had raised Francis as their own child; in their eyes Francis was their true daughter.

"Kimberly?" Carla questioned. "What are you doing here?"

"I got a call from an old friend, saying that I needed to come to Ocean Bluff. What are you two doing here?" Kim replied.

"We live in Ocean Bluff." Roger responded.

"Well, there seems to be an enormous conundrum here." Billy said, clearing his throat.

"Speak English, Billy; we don't have a universal Billy translator." Rocky said, sounding confused by Billy's words. Known the guy for years and he still couldn't understand half the words that he says.

"Billy means it's time for Kimberly to come clean and tell the truth." RJ responded. Fran gave RJ a small smile as thanks; she was glad that he was on her side.

"The truth about what?" Tommy asked.

"The Dear John letter she sent you when you were the red zeo ranger." Billy answered.

Everyone stared at Kimberly; she couldn't believe that everything was unraveling. She thought she would never have to tell Tommy about the baby, their baby, that she had. She hadn't seen baby girl since she said good-bye after Divatox kidnapped her and Jason. She looked at Tommy and she saw the hurt in his eyes; Jason told her how hurt Tommy had been, after receiving that letter. She didn't want to break his heart, but she had to do what she thought was best for the baby at the time; she also didn't want him to make a life-long commitment to her because she was pregnant with his child. He had important responsibilities back then, adding a baby to the equation would have just added complications to his already complicated life; at least that's what she had been telling herself for all these years.

"Kim, what is he talking about?" Tommy asked, fighting to keep his voice level.

"I lied to you Tommy. There was never another guy." Kim said, fighting the tears threatening to come out.

"Then why, Kim? Why did you write that letter?" Tommy said, his voice slightly more stern than he meant to have it.

"It's complicated." Kim said hesitantly, looking at the floor.

"Alright, there is a lot of explaining to do by many parties, so I suggest anyone who doesn't have a contribution to the conversation goes down stairs to the pizza pallor and have some pizza." Fran said being the voice of reason for the matter; she understood a need for privacy when she saw one.

Rocky and Adam were going to argue when Aisha started to herd them to the stairs, but Billy shook his head at them and went with them down stairs. The jungle fury team including Flit, Camille and Jarrod, followed them down. Soon all who were left were Carla, Roger, Kimberly, Tommy, Fran and Dom. Fran looked at Dom and motioned with her head for him to follow the others. Dom raised his brow, but Fran just smiled and kissed him gently. After they parted, Dom put his hand on her cheek softly; Fran put her hand over his and nodded. The two were having a quick silent conversation that ended with Dom giving a small nod and a kiss on Fran's forehead. He then proceeded to go down stairs with the others.

"Now, Kimberly, you have something to tell Tommy?" Fran asked. She put her sentence in question form, but she was really telling Kim she had to tell Tommy.

"There wasn't any guy, Tommy, but I did have a reason for sending the letter." Kim began. Fran gave Tommy a sign that told him to wait till she finished. "I was pregnant, Tommy; with your child." Kim paused looking at Tommy; he looked gob-smacked. "I wrote the letter to keep the baby safe. You were still a ranger, and I knew that if King Mondo found out that you had a child he would try to use that child against you. Sending you that letter insured that you wouldn't come looking for me demanding answers. I was trying to protect our daughter Tommy."

"The baby was a girl?" Tommy asked after a moment.

"Yes." Kim said, nodding. "She was beautiful, and she looked so much like you. I named her Francis; that way no one would question if she were yours. You would never allow your daughter to be named Francis." Kim said smiling slightly.

"True." Tommy said, nodding. "What do you three have to do with this?" He asked, looking at Carla, Roger and Fran.

"My husband and I are the ones who raised your daughter." Carla whispered.

"What?" Tommy questioned, turning to Kimberly.

"After Divatox kidnapped me and Jason, I had nightmares from being evil that short time. I was afraid what might happen to Francis if she stayed with me, so I gave her to Carla and Roger to raise, since they were with me through my whole pregnancy." Kim said. "Tommy when I found out I was pregnant, Roger and Carla were with me, they helped me get through it all; It only made sense that if I wanted to keep our daughter from the ranger world, then I had to give her to people I trusted with her well-being. I told them about me being a ranger, and you still being a ranger. I knew they would be able to care for her."

"I understand you were trying to protect our daughter, but why not just ask me to help you. I went through those nightmares before, Kim, remember; I was the first evil power ranger. I'm still living with the guilt of nearly destroying you and the others." Tommy said, trembling from aggravation

"I thought that the nightmares would be easier to handle if I took care of them myself." Kim solemnly said.

"I understand you doing what you believed was right, but if you knew the destiny that your child had, then you might have thought better of your actions." Fran said.

"What do you mean?" Kim demanded.

"Carla and Roger were visited by a projection of Dulcea, the night you were taken by Divatox. She told them of a prophecy that says that the child of the Falcon and the Crane would be the key to defeating a great evil." Fran said, before she could finish, she was interrupted.

"You two never told me about that." Kim said to the husband and wife.

"They didn't want to worry you. However, instead of putting Francis in martial arts classes or even gymnastics, they forced her to broaden her mind with books. And when she was attacked seven years ago they did nothing to comfort her, or bring her confidence back." Fran finished.

"You knew her destiny, but didn't prepare her for it?" Kim shouted. "I asked you to take of her, not make her so weak that she couldn't fulfill her destiny!"

"We did look after her!" Carla yelled "We were sending her to Harvard; she was going to be a lawyer, but she's as stubborn as her mother. She fought us about Harvard every chance she got; she kept going to a pizza restaurant every-day. After years of trying to keep her away from the ranger world, she found it on her own and jumped at the opportunity to stay be a part of it!"

"She was always a part of it, Carla!" Kim shouted. "She's the daughter of two original power rangers! She was going to be a ranger at some point in her life!"

"Enough!" Fran screamed. "All of you, except for Tommy, screwed up her life. At least now things can start to get reasonably better."

"She's right." Tommy agreed, nodding. "But how are you a part of all this?" Her asked Fran.

"Simple." Fran said, smiling. "My name is Francis, but I like to be called Fran more."

Both Tommy and Kimberly had their eyes bulging; they couldn't believe what they just heard. The jungle fury pink ranger was their daughter. Now that they think about it, she did look like the both of them. She had Tommy's chocolate brown eyes, and she had Kim's small frame and hair color. She looked at them with a look that they didn't recognize, but how could they when they didn't know her.

"You told them I see." Dom's voice came from behind Tommy and Kim.

"Ease-dropper." Fran playfully accused.

"I was curious." Dom defended, in a playful tone. "Plus, I wanted to be close by incase you needed me." He said lovingly.

"I'll always need you, Dom." Fran said as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Who are you, and why are you holding my daughter like that?" Kimberly demanded.

"I'm Dominic; I'm the jungle fury white ranger and Fran's boyfriend." Dom said evenly to Kim. He was mad at her for abandoning Fran, and leaving her with incompatant people to raise her.

Fran sensed Dom's agitation and kissed him softly; he calmed down immediately. Fran knew Dom so well, and he knew her just as well. Now they just had to get through the whole 'meet the parents' stage. Dom's parents died when he was at the academy, so Fran wouldn't get a chance to meet them; Dom was saddened by that fact, he knew his parents would have loved Fran. Tommy walked over to Dom and put his hand out.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Dominic." Tommy said as Dom took his hand in a hand shake. "I hope you'll take good care of my little girl."

"I will." Dom said, nodding. "But to be honest, I think Fran is the one who will be taking care of me. You wouldn't believe how organized I've become since meeting her. She even kept us on track when we went backpacking through Europe."

"I just stayed alert when necessary. You're the one who planned everything we did." Fran said, denying her abilities of organization.

"Whatever you say, Love." Dom said kissing her head.

"Glad to know that you have your mother's good taste in guys." Tommy said jokingly. The three of them laughed.

"We should head down stairs; a few of the guys were going to have an eating contest." Dom said once they had calmed down.

"Yeah we should; knowing Rocky he's probably three quarters way done with his portion of food by now." Tommy said.

The six of them then went to the stairs and headed down to the pizza pallor, preparing for the onslaught of questions that were bound to be fired at them.

888

Author's note: Ok, so only one chapter this update, but hey I did say no promises. Also the reason I went with three quarters way done was because I didn't want it to look like Rocky had lost his touch. And did no one notice that Fran pulled a Kimberly by fainting last chapter? Anyway, see you all next update!