Hurtlings and Healings
Last Chapter WOOHOO! Therefore, it has been amazing finally getting this story on paper…well sort of ;)
KIM TOMMY KIM TOMMY KIM TOMMY KIM TOMMY KIM TOMMY KIM TOMMY KIM TOMMY KIM TOMMY
Kim awoke the moment she hit the floor of her and Tommy's room in the command center. Before she had realized what had happened, while her scream was still echoing around her, Tommy was up and protecting her, while activating the alarms on the panel beside their bed. Wes, very upset at being woken up so suddenly, let out a yell as everything went crazy in the command center.
"What is going on?" Tommy asked as the room flooded with people and he saw that there was no immediate threat to Kim or Wes.
"I'm sorry" Kim managed to gasp, still caught up in her dream. "I was having a dream and it was so real and-"
Through a film of tears, Kim related the events of her dream to the team ending with when she fell out of the bed thinking it was off a cliff. Tommy just held her and tried to make the pain go away. He wished that he could protect her dreams as well as he could her person, but that was impossible. He just had to trust the shields that they wore as enough protection.
The days leading up to the trial were stressful to say the least, and Kim was extremely happy when John called her and said he had flown into town for the trial. She told Tommy that she was going to see him and left towards the airport. She had gotten Tommy to let her go by herself because he knew she needed some time alone with the friend who was there when her father arrived on the scene.
She was halfway there when her phone rang. Thinking it was John, she answered without looking at the caller ID.
"Hello" she answered.
"Listen carefully" her father answered. "I have your friend here, and if you are not at 223 Hancock Lane in twenty minutes, he will die slowly and by my hand. And no funny business, leave that necklace on the side of the highway and do not make any calls to that bastard you are whoring around with."
With that, Steve ended the phone call and Kim was left with the decision to help a friend or not. She quickly activated the panic button on her necklace before she threw it away on the side of the highway. As already set up, the radio in her car immediately called the command center, and more importantly Tommy.
"What's wrong Kim?" he asked. "Why did you toss your necklace and activate the panic?"
"He's got John," she said. "If I have any contact with you and he finds out then he will kill John. I don't have a choice, he was there for me when I needed him, and I can't abandon him now."
"I know," Tommy, said silently swearing under his breath. "Look in the glove compartment. Do you see the earrings and hairbow in there?"
"Yes" she answered.
"Put them on. They each have their own transmitter that will tell us your location. Hopefully his men won't notice those things as having transmitters, and even if they grab the earrings, then there is still the hair bow."
"Okay" Kim answered.
Meanwhile Tommy was pacing back and forth with a contented Wes.
"What if he gets her?" he asked Jason
"He won't" Rocky said as he walked in. "Even if for some reason he gets Kim again, we have the advantage of knowing where she is and what he wants. And don't forget that Jason's dad said that word on the street is that there will be a bust soon of his whole organization, so don't worry he is going down."
Rocky was still getting used to this uncertain side of his fearless leader, but realized that when things concerned Kim, Tommy was always at a disadvantage, especially since Wes was now his responsibility as well.
Tommy on the other hand, was just fretting about letting Kim go out to help John on her own. Sure, she had the transmitters, but a high-powered electronic jammer would block all but her Morphin energy, so they needed to be prepared. Laying Wes down in his crib, Tommy called the rest of the rangers to the main area of the command center.
"We need to work on our case for tomorrow. I know that we have released cover stories on what Kim was doing here and how we knew where she was when no one else did, but we need to make them flawless if we are going to convince a judge of them. We also have to think of time constraints. Jason's dad said he will try to get as much time as possible when the council meets, but the DSS lawyer and the guardian ad litem are on Steve's payroll. We also do not have confirmation on the judge, so remember he could be working with Steve as well. Let's go over everything. What do we have for evidence that we can use?"
Jason stepped forward and then the team painstakingly went through the photographs that were taken of Kim's various injuries and her health during that time. They also had blood tests and drug tests that proved that the drugs first entered her system when she was living with her father, and even had the day narrowed down to the final week when her father was poisoning her. They also went over how Tommy needed to say Kim got to his house when she was convulsing and decided that he was climbing up to her window to see how she was when he found her and carried her out of the house through the old servant's stairwell, and got her to Command rehabilitation center.
Tommy was distracted by this conversation for long, even though he was the one that started it. He made sure that everyone was occupied otherwise, and went over to Billy to see how Kim was doing.
Kim on the other hand was trying not to panic. She knew she would be in a world of pain as soon as her father saw her, no matter what the rangers thought they were going to do. She was also sure that she wouldn't survive this experience to get back to Tommy, but that she had to do this for John for every time he was there for her. With these thoughts in mind, just before she got to where she knew the signal jammers were probably located, she teleported a copy of her will, custody papers for Wes, and a letter for Tommy to the command center.
Tommy saw the flash of light in the command center and ran towards it. He slowed, a little confused at the jumble on the table, until he saw Wes' blanket and reality of what it meant sank in. Every ranger had a failsafe, and if they were killed, the teleporter would send their will and other important materials to the command center so that the rangers would know their fellow rangers fate as well as be able to handle the ranger business involved with death.
Kim had known what she was doing when she sent her belongings to the command center. It would be better for Tommy if, no matter what, she didn't make it back to ruin any more of his or his families' lives. She held back tears, and knew that no matter what, Wes would have his daddy, and with her out of the picture, Kat for a mother. That thought stung but Kim knew what she was doing when she left the command center. She knew that until the end of time she would be haunted and hunted by men who thought they owed Steve because he helped them get going. She couldn't live in a world like that and her elimination would make it easier for Wes to have a better life, for she made sure he was taken care of financially through her mother's inheritance, while still making sure it looked like Steve would get the money he wanted.
She was set to take this action, until Tommy teleported into the truck with her.
"What are you doing here?" she shrieked as she almost ran off the road.
"I needed to be sure." He answered, "And since you are alive and tried to make us think you are dead then I know what is going on. You are not going to sacrifice yourself for the rest of us. We are a team and you need to trust that we can help you."
"I know" Kim answered. "But I just didn't want you to worry about me, because it would be best for you and Wes if I wasn't around making problems."
"Kim I don't know what Steve said to mess with your mind, but having you around does not lead to us having problems. You are not a problem or burden to have around. In fact, you make life better because you are around."
After this statement, a distraught Kim had to pull over to the side of the road. After living with her father for such a long time, her self-confidence and sense of self-worth were shot. She had thought that life would be better for Tommy if she weren't around, but it was finally becoming clear that Tommy did want her around.
She threw herself into Tommy's arms and held on to him for dear life, while he did the same to her.
"You can't be here," she said. "He'll know, and then John will be hurt."
"It's alright," Tommy, answered. "I'm like a ghost as far as my signal is concerned. Billy's been working on this for the past week and a half so that we could make sure that it seemed like you were alone but you could take someone with you."
As Kim merged back onto the highway, she looked at her relationship with Tommy in a new light. He wasn't with her just because of Wes or because of duty, but because he loved her. For someone who should never have to doubt love, Kim realized that she truly was blessed and needed to make it through this so she could face her father in court. Her eighteenth birthday was only two weeks away, but if they weren't successful in court, she could say goodbye to her life as Kim Oliver as well as her life as a mother.
When they reached their destination, Tommy ducked into the floorboards while Kim left the truck. He then snuck around the back edge of the yard, his ranger and karate skills helping him to make very little sound. He noticed the three guards set to watch the yard, and made it his mission to disarm them without Steve knowing. Tommy snuck around behind the first guard, and quickly took care of him with a chokehold. After dragging the body back into the bushes, he headed off and took care of the other two guards. He then crept up towards the house, just as the gun went off.
Kim walked into the house calmly and let the guards strip her of her jewelry and purse, though they didn't take her hair bow. Only when she was sufficiently disarmed did Steve enter the room.
"So I see you have come to save John. One man is not enough for you anymore?"
Kim decided not to answer Steve's crass comment and stared him down instead. She hadn't been around him for a while and was feeling confident in her ability to handle him, so his backhand was unexpected and knocked her to the ground. John struggled to break the chains that were holding him to the chair he was sitting on. Kim struggled back to her feet and lunged towards Steve. She was halfway there when he pulled a gun and shot at her.
She felt the bullet rip through her shoulder, as Tommy came through the back door just after the gun went off. While Steve was still gloating about his attack, Tommy tackled him to the ground. As they grappled, they rolled towards the porch, and Tommy moved into open ground to fight.
Steve ran at Tommy, but Tommy used his momentum against him and flipped him over, but Steve recovered quickly. Tommy quickly determined that Steve would be using his brute strength to take him on, and it would be a difficult fight but he could use Steve's strength against him by using his own agility and ranger honed senses. Steve then conservatively punched and kicked at Tommy to test out his skill, and realized that he had underestimated Tommy's karate skills, but he was not worried. He had never worried about things connected with fighting because he'd never been up against a skilled fighter before. Tommy soon gained the advantage by presenting the smallest target possible and protecting his head. After years of fighting different monsters and putties, as well as competing in tournaments, his skills were honed enough to take care of Steve. It also didn't hurt that he had a lot of anger and rage pent up against Steve. He made sure that Steve was knocked out cold after his roundhouse kick, and ran back into the house.
In the meanwhile, Kim had pulled herself up with her left arm, and half crawled and walked to where John was. She was still working at loosening the ropes that held him to the chair when Tommy came back in. They had just gotten the ropes off John and were headed towards the door when an engine roared and they ran outside just in time to see Steve driving away in a green jeep that had been hidden for the purpose of a getaway car.
In order to make sure there was an incident report, Kim called the police and let them take her to the hospital to get patched up. Thankfully, the bullet had passed straight through, but after losing so much blood, it would be a while before she would be able to start physical therapy on her shoulder.
Two days later, the case finally came up for trial. Jason's dad and Steve's lawyer had gone in with the other lawyers to discuss the docket for the day in family court. Ralph, Jason's dad, came back with the news.
"Well we got one of the judges on his payroll, but we should be able to show our case. The FBI is ready to move in on him and his administration, but we have to be patient."
When summoned, Tommy, Kim and the rangers followed Ralph, Steve, and his lawyer into the courtroom. It was a closed courtroom, which of course worked better for Steve. The first order of business was taking care of Kim's so called accomplices. The rangers stood there, along with John and received sentences of 30 hours of community service for aiding and abetting. After this decision, there was a recess of an hour, during which Steve was called into the judges chambers.
"What the h-- was that?" he bellowed when he was ensconced in the room with the judge. "I thought you were going to get rid of them for a while so I could take care of her"
"Everyone is getting suspicious" Judge Collins answered, "so I had to let them off with just community service. It will keep them somewhat occupied and I can make it at facilities that Kim isn't allowed into so that will help."
"See that you do or you may be experiencing your last days" Steve threatened as he left the judge's chambers.
After lunch, the case between Kim and her father finally began. Ralph's opening statements were aimed at pointing out the reasons Kim shouldn't be with her father, and the length of time she stayed with her father, trying to follow the rules and finish out her 'sentence'. She would be eighteen in two weeks, and should have been able to see her child, and, as Ralph told the court, there were many mothers who were younger than her who the system didn't care about, yet they were pursuing a case against this young woman who was a bright gymnast before her pregnancy.
Pete, who sat in the audience watched with relief as the lawyer for Kimberly laid out an opening argument that pointed at mistrial already on the other side. His FBI team was ready to move in on Steve, but they needed the girl's evidence to be heard and seen first before they would have the case and personnel list necessary to take Steve's empire down. Little did he know, but his links with the mob had already been cut and the perpetrators in jail or in witness protection.
Kim was on pins and needles for the entire trial. She was stressed and irritated that she couldn't see Wes a lot so that no one realized that he wasn't with her grandparents but with Alpha where he could be constantly protected. By the third day, when she was finally called to the stand, Kim was strung tighter than a tightrope. She was calm and answered all of Ralph's questions fine because they had been rehearsed and she thought she was ready for her father's lawyer, but she was wrong.
"Miss Hart," he began, "is it true that the only reason your father pursued custody of you because of your promiscuity and eventual pregnancy?"
"No," she answered. "He wanted custody so he could access my mother's inheritance that has been left for my use"
"I understand," he said, "But didn't you work as a dancer in a very promiscuous place in order to earn money"
Kim blushed at that, and wondered how he knew. She had been dancing at a club, but it was on the dance floor and not in a strip club, which is what she told the court grimly, but it was clear that she was losing her composure.
Tommy watched as Steve's lawyer verbally attacked Kim's character with anything she did that could be construed as such. He felt Kim's blow up before it happened and used their link to calm her.
"He's just messing with you," he said.
"But none of its true" Kim argued.
"The only way to let what he said become truth is by getting upset about it. Just be calm and ask him how you are supposed to answer rhetorical questions and look to the judge to see if he will ask him to rephrase, and if not they at least haven't gotten you upset on the stand."
Tommy watched as Kim visibly calmed, and even smiled at Steve's lawyer, which flustered the man. When her testimony was done, Kim had done wonders to influence the jury about her innocence in the matter. Then, when Ralph produced the pictures of Kim's many bruised body parts, and then of her when she had been at the command center from the poisoning. Seeing that the jury was going against him, the judge started to get worried and have them declared incompetent. The only problem was that if he ran out of substitute jury members, then the case would be a mistrial and that Kimberly chit would get off anyways.
After the third day of deliberation, the Jury had been officially bought off, though they were told to hold off on their decision for one more day just to be sure. Tommy and the others thought their case was strong enough that there shouldn't have been any thinking or deliberating. The jury was getting ready to hand the verdict off when the room filled with FBI agents in bulletproof vests. When he saw them, Steve lunged for Kim, grabbed her weak shoulder, and drug her after him. Seeing red, Tommy went after them as the judge opened fire on the agents. At this point, the FBI agents subdued the judge and the rest of Steve's allies, and chased after Tommy, not realizing that he was following Steve to get Kimberly.
Kim had a vague feeling of unease before the doors burst open and Steve drug her through a tunnel.
"Kim" she heard in her mind
"Tommy," she said. "Steve has me in this tunnel like place and he's dragging me towards a sewer or something"
"I know beautiful," Tommy said. "I'm behind you a bit but I'm on my --ugh"
"What happened" Kim cried out.
"Nothing" Tommy answered. "Just a graze from our friends the FBI agents. I'm coming for you beautiful, I promise."
Kim tried to reach Tommy after that statement, but she couldn't read him through their link anymore, which meant he was injured, or— she didn't let herself think that thought. She turned at the sound of feet running down the tunnel towards them. Steve whirled around to shoot, but was shot when he tried to raise his weapon. He dropped Kim and ran on, only to be caught by agents coming from the other direction.
Kim didn't wait to see what happened. She headed towards the courtroom, breaking free of the agents who tried to stop her. She made it around to where she felt Tommy was, when she heard the agents talking about him. They were poking at his body when she came around the corner.
"Stop that," Kim cried. "He was coming after me, you idiots," she screamed.
Not caring who was there, she raised her communicator to her mouth and called for Jason and Rocky. They were there in an instant, having burst through any necessary FBI agents to get there. Jason quickly helped Rocky pick Tommy up and lead him towards the exit, while the FBI detained Kim.
"Miss Hart," The burly man said, "If you will come with us we need to speak with you"
"Absolutely not" she answered. "You just injured and maybe killed my fiancé and you think that I'm going to calmly talk to you. I—"
"Miss Hart," An agent said as he approached. "I'm sorry for that, we had no clue who was working with Mr. Steve and who wasn't. My name is Richard Feely and I'm the Agent in charge, and I need to talk to you, and while we are talking I will make personally sure that nothing happens to Mr."
"Oliver" Kim broke in. "And no I will not talk to any of you at least not now and maybe never."
With that, Kim left to go and find Tommy. She knew that Jason and Rocky would try to find a way to take him to the command center, but the broken link is what scared her the most. She teleported to the command center and ran to his bedside. He was lying there so still that she thought he was dead, and she looked over to make sure his heart was still beating, at which point she noticed Billy in the corner. She threw herself at Billy who just held her sobbing form.
"Is he going to be alright?" She asked.
"He is going to be fine," Billy said. "He just lost some blood and it seems someone knocked him out and that is why he is so still."
This cemented Kim's resolve that she wouldn't deal with the FBI, and Agent Feely found that he couldn't even find Kim because of the protection of her friends. Tommy woke up on the second day, but he was upset at himself for causing her to worry so much. He knew that the bullet wound had hurt his concentration, but didn't like that he was so out of it that he took a gun to the head.
"Kim," he cajoled, "you need to talk to that FBI agent. From what he has said, there is no way for them to keep Steve and build a case without your testimony. I know your mad for me, but don't let it eat you up inside. Just use that leverage to get free of the system and marry me, my love"
Kim gasped at the proposal. They had talked about marriage for Wes, but this was a proposal for her.
"Yes!" she said. "I love you Handsome."
"I love you too Beautiful" he answered.
As soon as Tommy could come with her, Kim made an appointment with Agent Feely and agreed to give them all of what they had evidence wise, as well as access to the house that, as it was found out, was put in Kim's name by her mother, to look for any more evidence. Kim and Tommy planned to get married in two months, which wasn't a real shock to the other rangers, but there was a lot to do to get ready for the wedding. Meantime, Wes was growing and had started babbling. Kim was working on decorating the chapel when Jason came in smiling and said she had a visitor.
Kim started crying when she saw her bedraggled mom in the corridor of the church.
"I heard what happened." She cried. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here sooner, but your father made sure that I only got notification of what was going on last week. I've been trying to get in touch with you or find you for months, since you disappeared from Florida."
Kim and her mom just held each other, until Tommy came out to see what the problem was, and noticed them. Kim's mom hugged Tommy and welcomed him into the family.
"Mom" Kim said, "I hope you don't mind, but Jason is going to walk me down the aisle"
Her mom had no problem with her daughter's best friend walking her down the aisle and told Kimberly so.
The day dawned beautiful and sunny. The wedding was to be inside and Kim was rushing around finishing the last second details. Her dress was at the church, her bridesmaids had to get ready, and then there was hair and makeup. Aisha and Kat (who had a change of heart after seeing some of the photos of Kimberly) were Kim's bridesmaids and Jason would be standing in as best man after walking Kim down the aisle along with Rock the other groomsman.
Wes was going to be the ring bearer, while Aisha's little sister was the flower girl. Kim's dress was white and had two layers of tulle on the bottom. The top was princess cut with a medium train and had light pink beading throughout. Appropriately, the wedding colors were Pink and white, with some green, paying homage to their times as Power Rangers. As Jason walked her up the aisle, Kim just looked at Tommy and knew that this was it for her.
EPILOGUE
Kim waddled around to where Tommy was laying on the bed and cuddled as close as her extended belly would allow.
"Hey beautiful" he said. "How do you feel?"
"Fat" she answered. "And my back is hurting me."
Tommy was about to convince her that he didn't think her fat in the least, when she let out a squeal and he noticed the sheets get damp.
"Was that your water?" he asked.
"I think so," she answered.
Tommy quickly called Jason to come get three year old Wes and take care of him while he took Kim to the hospital to have their second child, which was supposed to be a girl.
Four hours later, Tommy was holding fraternal twins in his arms and looking at Kim with love.
"You are so beautiful." He said. "I'm so glad that you love me"
"I love you too handsome," she answered, thanking her lucky stars that she was here and married to him.
OF COURSE, THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER!
O, Gracious me this has been so much fun to write. Thanks for all of the reviews and I am starting another story here soon so look for it!
Thanks and review if you would like to!
