Apologies again for the wait. I seem to be saying that a lot recently but I promise not to give up on this story so please don't give up on me! I will finish this story, I promise.

Warnings: Language.

Falcon Dreams

Chapter 11

Reality

"Kat, what the hell just happened?" Adam Park valued the simplistic things in life. He liked that summer was hot and winter was cold. He liked that the sun rose in the east and set in the west. He liked his coffee black and his beer cold. Adam Park liked simple, and the situation he had accidentally stumbled into looked anything but that,

Katherine looked flabbergasted. A deer caught in headlights, Embarrassed and frustrated tears gathered in her eyes as she struggled to come up with the words to explain. Adam waited, a thousand questions raced through his mind.

"Adam, that wasn't what it looked like." It was a feeble attempt, Kat knew but that was the best she could come up with. There was no other way to say it without it turning on her. She just hoped she didn't look as guilty to Adam as she felt at that moment.

"It looked like you were talking to Kimberly's mom." Adam crossed his arms over his chest, his tone confused but his body language defensive. Surely he hadn't just heard what he through he heard? He knew he had to give Kat the benefit of the doubt, he owed her that because he was her friend…. But hadn't she tried to hurt Kimberly before?

No. That was different. Katherine was different.

His friend, Kat wasn't like that.

"And it sounded like you two we're old time friends?" He continued.

"Adam-" Katherine tried but her own voice betrayed her and Adam rightfully assumed the worst.

"What deal?" Adam snapped, heat rising to his face. After a lifetime of knowing someone… Adam Park liked simple and this situation was looking more complicated by the second. "What deal, Kat?"

"I can't… I don't know where to even begin."

She wouldn't hurt Tommy. She loved him. There is no way Kat could be involved in this… Right?

"How about from the beginning."

And if she was…

"You wouldn't believe me if I tried…"

"Kat." Adam warned.

"A few years ago, Carol approached me after school." Katherine sighed. "She told me that Kimberly wouldn't be coming back to Angel Grove."

"You knew about the accident?" Adam asked horrified.

"No!" Kat shouted desperately feeling herself digging a bigger hole for herself than she already had done. "No, I'm just as surprised as everyone."

"So why would Carol feel the need to tell you that then Katherine?" Adam didn't mean for his words to sound as venomous as they did, but Kimberly and Tommy were his friends. His best friends and he had cared for them longer than he had cared for Kat. "What deal?" He tried again.

"Carol told me because she knew how I felt about Tommy." Kats lip quivered with emotion. How was she going to get herself out of this mess? Even if Adam miraculously believed her, she would eventually have to tell Tommy now that Carol was back in town. Carol would ensure that Katherine kept her end of the deal or she would ruin the life that she had built for herself and the life she had built with Tommy. "She said she would make sure that Kimberly wouldn't return to Angel Grove."

"And in return?" Adam's heart felt heavy for Kimberly, the original pink ranger. How clouded her life must be, how distant she must feel from almost everything… He couldn't even begin to imagine.

"In return, I had to make sure that Tommy wouldn't go looking for her." Katherine's words came out so ashamed and so quiet that Adam wasn't sure she had said anything at all.

I had to make sure that Tommy wouldn't go looking for her.

I had to…

Tommy…

Her…

"Adam?" Katherine tried reaching out for him, but Adam recoiled in what she could only describe as pure disappointment. "Please say something…"

Kat watched as Adam battled with himself, he opened his mouth to talk a few times and closed it just as quickly. He couldn't find the words and even if he could, he was certain that Kat would not want to hear them.

Adam took out his cell and dialled the familiar number. He watched as fear gathered in the blonde beauty's eyes in front of him.

"Rocky, its Adam." Adams voice simple, and monotone. "Get everyone together tonight, we need to talk." Katherine shook her head, silently begging him not to say anything, not to tell everyone her secret.

This could ruin everything.

"You have until tonight to tell Tommy the truth and if you can't then I will." Adam told Katherine as he slipped his phone back into his pocket. It was a matter of a fact, set in stone. Katherine would tell Tommy, he would make sure of it. Adam Park liked simple and this was the simplest solution. Katherine would tell Tommy the truth and everything else would eventually have to fall into place.

"Adam it's not that simple, we're getting married." Kat pleaded. How had everything gone from so perfect to such a perfect mess.

"And now Kimberly is home." Adam snapped. "She may not remember, Kat but we all do."

If Katherine really had anything to do with Kimberly leaving Ange Grove…

Tommy would never forgive her.

The Cafe was cute, rustic and warm. The smell of freshly ground coffee and frothy milk floated through the air with subtle hints of vanilla and cinnamon. The atmosphere was calm and friendly, but the tension between the two young adults sat at a small table by the window was anything but.

Kimberly smiled at the waitress who placed the Vanilla Latte and black coffee gently onto the table. The young girl smiled at Tommy and greeted him with some enthusiasm and Kimberly tried to hide her adoration when she called him Dr. Oliver. They spoke briefly about some science assignment and Kimberly noted how great Tommy was with the girl.

He'd make a great father.

Kimberly shook away the thought before the girl wished them a good day and left to serve the next customer.

"You're a teacher?" Kimberly asked, a smile played on her lips. Tommy nodded simply in return and sipped his hot coffee. "Tommy?" Kimberly tried again after a few minutes of silence and Vanilla Latte. "Are you okay?"

Tommy dragged his firm hands through his hair and let out a frustrated sigh. A few weeks ago his life had been set. A great teaching job at the local high school, a great fiancee and a great future to look forward to but now, everything that seemed important before like getting married, didn't seem too important anymore.

"You didn't write this letter." It was more of a statement than fact, like Tommy Oliver was trying to convince himself after almost a decade of believing that the petite brunette had broken his heart and now here she was sat in front of him telling him that it wasn't true.

"No, I didn't."

"If you didn't write it, then why does it say that it's from you?" Tommy asked and flinched slightly as his words sounded more like an accusation rather than a question. "And why do I have it in the first place." He tried again, softer and more sincere.

"I can hazard a guess but I'm not sure I even want to believe that alternative." Kimberly raised her eyebrows at him. She didn't owe him anything, hell she didn't even have to explain herself but she wanted to. She knew nothing about this stranger and yet she knew everything at the same time.

Birds danced around the sky and Kimberly noted a shadow of something play on Tommy Olivers features. A flash of falcon blinded her vision before the smell of vanilla latte brought her back to reality.

She cleared her throat and Tommy's brown eyes found hers again.

"Look, I know people say 'I know how you feel' when really it's all bull, but I really do know how you feel." Kimberly shrugged. "Being lied to sucks."

Tommy shook his head in disbelief, a mixture of helplessness and rage flickered across his face.

"Who wrote this?" Tommy snapped, slamming the letter so hard onto the table, Kimberly Ann Hart jumped in response. Tommy reached out his hand instantly to calm her, his rage replaced with regret and unsaid apologies. "I need you to tell me." He whispered and Kimberly's heart almost broke for him.

"I would say that I don't want to make assumptions…" Kimberly began. "But judging by the handwriting and by the continuous spout of lies that come out of her mouth, my best and only guess would be my mother."

"Carol." Tommy scoffed. He should have known. "That doesn't make sense, why would she send me this letter if you couldn't remember me anyway?" Kimberly watched as Tommy dragged his firm hands through his hair again. Calluses dotted around his palms and Kimberly fought the want to trace them with her own fingertips. She wondered for a second why a teacher like Dr. Oliver had hard working, strong hands like these… She wondered for a second what it would be like to hold his in her own, to feel that safety… To feel the purest of love they must have felt when they were seventeen.

But only for a second.

Tommy let out a small cough, bringing Kimberly back from whatever thought she had lost herself in. He offered her a smile but she frowned in return.

What the hell kind of thoughts were those? You barely know this man… And yet the calluses on his hands seemed so familiar.

"I can't answer that for you, I'm sorry." Kimberly shook her head. "You know as much as I do, unfortunately. Carol thinks that she's helping but in reality, she tends to make it a lot worse." Kimberly reached for the worn piece of paper just as Tommy did and their fingers brushed together like paint on an empty canvas. The two young adults froze, their gazes locked and their hearts racing.

"This complicates things." Tommy half whispered allowing his touch to linger a second longer than it should have. "I mean, do you remember anything? Your friends? Your school?" He suggested trying to inspire some kind of memory in the beautiful woman in front of him. "Anything at all?"

"No." Kimberly shook her head and instantly regretted her bluntness. "Please don't look at me like that… I'm not sure what you want to hear, Tommy." She didn't know why she felt emotional but she felt something she hadn't before. It was foreign and familiar all at the same time.

Like a daydream she couldn't quite remember.

"My life is filled with a million what-ifs… What if I never had my accident?" She asked, throwing her hands out helplessly. "What if I never found my way back to Angel Grove? What if this letter was never sent to you?" Kimberly's voice was quiet, her gaze dropped to the neatly written letter that lay between the two of them.

"Aren't you curious?" Tommy's restless legs shook underneath the table and he too had to fight the emotion that seemed to be bubbling in his throat. "To know all the what-could-have-beens?"

"Sometimes, but this is all I've ever known." Kimberly whispered.

"Kimberly-" Tommy tried reaching out for her hand. In a moment of weakness and curiosity, she allowed him to take her petite and slender fingers in his own. Tommy almost lost himself as the instant familiarity warmed his whole being. He felt goosebumps creep up his spine and when Kimberly didn't recoil, he knew she must have felt something too…

"I can't hold on to or live through all the what-ifs because I wouldn't be living at all." She told him simply. His grip on her hand felt like life or death, and although she couldn't deny the absolute attraction, her grip felt unfaithful. Wasn't she designing his brides wedding dress?

But didn't he love her first?

"This is reality, this is who we are now." Kimberly finished pulling her hand away from his gently and instantly missing his warmth and security.

"This is who we are now." Tommy mirrored. "The opposite to what we would have been."

"Tommy-"

"Kimberly, I loved you." Tommy exclaimed causing Kimberly to jump again. Heat rose to her cheeks as she peered around the cafe to ensure no one else was listening. The last thing she needed was to be involved in a scandal with the boy she loved once. Anxiety rippled through her nerves and the walls suddenly seemed to be closing in on her.

One, two, three, four five.

"I thought that you had left me for someone else. You broke my heart. I'm with the woman I'm with now because of that moment." Tommy told her picking up the letter and placing it in front of her, the words I've met someone jumped from the page and shot like bullets through her protective barrier, shattering it into a million tiny pieces.

How had this gotten so heavy?

Because he loved you.

Why had she let her guard down?

Because you loved him.

"I fell in love with Kat because my heart was aching from losing you." Tommy finished reaching for Kimberly's hand again but she snatched it away from his grasp.

"You can't say this-"

"And now you're sat in front of me more beautiful than I can ever remember and you're telling me that it was all a lie." Kimberly tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but the helpless tears in Tommy Oliver's eyes were making things harder and harder. "Tell me how I'm supposed to feel about that."

The two young adults were silent for a moment, both regaining their composure, both calming their racing hearts.

"You love Katherine." Kimberly said after a while. A small, sad but genuine smile graced her lips. "I can see it, I can feel that you love her." She told Tommy and his eyes dropped to the half empty cup.

Katherine.

His fiancee.

"What we had was beautiful, I'm sure." Kimberly's voice wobbled. "But sometimes loves aren't always made to last forever."

"And sometimes they are." Tommy replied before he had even processed what Kimberly had said in the first place. "I do love Kat." Tommy told Kimberly, and he did. Of course he did. "But I fell in love with Kat because I thought that you fell in love with someone else." He offered. "What am I supposed to do about that?"

"You're a stranger to me." Kimberly's response was blunt and as soon as the words left her mouth she regretted them.

Tommy frowned, there was no escaping the hurt and disappointed look in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, that sounded a lot harsher than I meant it to." Kimberly tried, reaching out for him again only for Tommy to recoil from her touch just as she did before. "All I mean is, you have all these memories about me and that's great, I'd love to hear them… But you are to me, essentially a total stranger."

"Right."

"I didn't mean to upset you." Kimberly apologised.

Fuck. She had messed up.

"Forget it." Tommy retorted, drinking down the remains of his coffee in one bitter mouthful. Kimberly watched him as he looked everywhere but her direction.

She had hurt him. Unintentionally yes, but the defeated slump in his shoulders broke her heart a little.

A shrill tone filled the dead silence around them and as Tommy pulled his cell from his pocket, he flipped it so Kimberly could see the caller ID 'Kat' written across the screen.

"There chimes reality." Tommy scoffed and Kimberly felt something drop to the floor. She wasn't sure if it was her stomach or her heart, either way she had preferred it when they were holding hands rather than fighting.

"Hey. Yeah I'm just grabbing a coffee. Are you okay?" Tommy stood from the table he shared with his first love and gathered his things. His voice was as emotionless as his demeanour. "I'll come home now… Yeah, you too." Tommy flipped his cell shut and picked up the worn letter from the table.

"Tommy…" Kimberly tried as he walked away from her without a second glance. It was only as crystal like tears gathered on her dark lashes and the table beneath her became blurred that a single piece of paper fluttered into her vision.

"You know for the record, you and I will never be strangers." Tommy's voice had lost it's anger and something else had replaced it.

Truthfulness.

"We were real." Tommy wiped away a stray tear that had found it's way down Kimberly cheek. She gazed up at him with her innocent eyes and leant into his touch. "And if you don't believe me, why don't you ask that falcon of yours?" Tommy suggested quietly. "Or maybe if you see a white tiger… Goodbye Kimberly."

Kimberly couldn't tell you if Tommy Oliver had lingered there for a moment, or how long she had been sitting there before his words had finally sunken in.

How did he know about her white tiger?

Night had fallen on Angel Grove and something in the air had shifted. Four friends had gathered in the same bar they had been in just a few months ago processing the idea that their friend had returned to them and now, here they were again.

Tommy and Katherine walked into the bar hand in hand, and Adam watched the pair carefully. Katherine smiled and waved excitedly and Tommy had managed to smile at them too, clapping Rocky on his back in a friendly greeting.

Adams brow furrowed and his friends gazes flitted between the couple and him.

Hadn't Adam warned them to brace themselves? Hadn't he told them to keep an open mind?

Hadn't he told Katherine to come clean before he told them all the truth?

After the casual hellos and the how have you beens, Katherine Hillard cleared her throat. She took Tommy's hand in her own and Tommy gave her a promising squeeze before she smiled at her friends. Adam nodded to her and she nodded in return.

This was it, Tommy finally knew the truth.

"I have something to tell you all…" Kat began."I'm pregnant!"

Plot twist!

Absolutely loved writing the cafe moment between Tommy and Kim.

What are your thoughts for this chapter?

I'm thinking its about time big-brother Rocky looked after his little-sister Kimberly again.

Thank you for reading and being so patient.

Abs. x