DISCLAIMER: Nope still not mine.

SUMMARY: Tommy's seeing what would have happened to the team if he hadn't been part of their lives. Can Dulcea convince him of his importance?

A/N: For those of you who have read "Nerves of Steel", I'd love it if you went to my profile and took my poll.

"Where are we now, Dulcea?" Tommy asked.

"This is the last battle that Kat, Rocky, Adam, and Tanya fought."

"Flamite." Tommy remembered that battle. That was when they had chosen Carlos, TJ, Ashley and Cassie to replace them.

He watched as Kat was thrown hard. As the crowd ran past her, several people stepped on her left ankle, crushing it. Rocky picked her up after the battle and transported her back to the Command Center. After passing on her powers to Cassie, Jason took her to the hospital.

"I'm so sorry, Miss Hillard. But dancing will not be a part of your future. Not even as a teacher." The doctor left Jason and Kat alone in the exam room while he went to prepare a cast for Kat's ankle.

"Kat will never dance? But she's a great dancer!"

"Not with a crushed ankle. The Powers help to ease the pain but she can't dance on it. She has a hard time even walking on it at times. Some things the Power can't fix."

"But what does that do to her life?"

"Just watch. See what happened because of the pain."

The scene changed. He watched Kat and Jason get married. But it wasn't a marriage of love. For Jason, it was guilt that drove him to marry Kat. Guilt that he hadn't protected her better when she was a Ranger.

For Kat, Jason was the second choice. She had wanted Billy. But with Billy dead, Jason was the only one she could have. But she always thought of him as a distant second to the man she had truly wanted.

Tommy watched as the two of them fought. The fights got worse and worse over the years. Until the day of their tenth wedding anniversary.

"You never loved me! It was always Billy!" Jason shouted at the blonde as she stood in the doorway to the kitchen.

"Well, don't worry! I know that the only reason you married me was because you felt sorry for me that my dream was taken away from me because of being a Ranger! I remember all the times you ran out on our dates to go to Kim's side! You always loved her more than you did me!"

"Kim's fragile. She needed protection. You on the other hand, have proven time and time again how strong you are! What should I have done? Ignore the fact that she was being beaten again and again?"

"Why didn't she just leave him if he was treating her so badly?" Kat yelled back.

"Because she thought you guys hated her. Her self-esteem hasn't been the greatest since her parents split up and when she left and got letters from just two people, it took a nosedive. She didn't realize what she was getting into until it was too late." Jason hung his head. "I couldn't protect her either. Just like I couldn't protect you. I couldn't save Trini and she died of a drug overdose just last year. Zack's gone because I asked him to take the Gold Powers and he went nuts."

"Jason, listen to yourself! This is the problem between us anymore! Your overloaded sense of guilt won't give you a moment's peace even though none of that was your fault! They made their own choices! I knew what the risks were when I became a Ranger! I knew that there was always that chance that I could get seriously hurt if not killed!"

"I was the leader! I should have protected you! I should have protected them!"

Tears flowed freely down Kat's face. "I can't live like this. I'm leaving. When you decide exactly what you are and are not responsible for, give me a call."

"Kat, don't! We can work this out."

"I'm going to Tanya's. You can call me there when you figure out what is the most important in your life. Your marriage or your guilt."

Kat walked out the door into the wind and rain. It was the first truly bad weather that they'd had in a long time. She climbed into her pink sports car and drove away.

As she drove, she swiped at the tears that were streaming from her eyes. "Damn him! I shouldn't have married him! I knew that this would happen."

Tommy watched as she sped down a winding road until the car lost traction on the slippery road and went off the side into a deep ditch flipping the vehicle.

Thankfully, someone had been driving along behind her and stopped to call the police. They were there in short order, talking to Kat and trying to keep her conscious until the ambulance got there. But she kept fading in and out.

"This is all his fault," she murmured during one of the times she was semi-conscious.

"Who's fault, ma'am?" the officer with her asked.

"My husband, Jason Scott. This whole thing is his fault." She lost consciousness again.

"Dulcea, how can she blame Jason for the crash?" Tommy couldn't believe that he'd heard such things come from Kat.

"She was hurt and simply lashing out at whoever was close. But her pain would not last much longer."

"What do you mean?"

"Watch."

Kat regained consciousness just one more time at the hospital where she once again voiced the thought that Jason was to blame for her accident. Before anyone could clarify what she meant, she lost consciousness again and died shortly thereafter.

Just moments after her death, Jason came running into the emergency room. "My wife, Katherine Scott, was brought in just a little while ago. She'd been in a car accident."

The nurse just hung her head. Thankfully, the doctor came out just about the time Jason asked his question again. "Where's my wife?"

"And you are, sir?" the doctor asked.

"Jason Scott. I just got word from the police that she had been brought here after a car accident."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Scott. We did everything we could. The damage was just too extensive. It was a miracle she even lived to arrive here. She died only a few minutes ago."

Jason was numb as the doctor led him back to see Kat one last time. When he was left with his wife's body, Jason fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face. Tommy heard his thoughts as clearly as if he'd voiced them aloud.

'Just one more person I couldn't save. I haven't been a very good friend. I was an awful leader. Look at what happened to everyone.'

"Dulcea, can you make it so he can hear me?"

The Master Warrior shook her head, her eyes sad. "I cannot, young Falcon. This is only an image of what would be if you had not been part of their lives. Can you now understand what you mean to those honored to call you friend?"

"I do, Dulcea. But what happened to Jason? Did he ever get over this?"

"I will show you this one last thing. But it is not something that you will ever forget."

She moved them through time once more, stopping at the day after Kat's funeral. Tommy saw his best friend kneeling at his wife's grave, crying again.

"Kat, I'm so sorry. So sorry that I couldn't be the man you needed. So sorry that I let my guilt ruin a good relationship. Everyone keeps telling me that this isn't my fault but it is and I know it. The police even think so. They came by asking me a lot of questions about our relationship and how things were between us. I broke down yesterday in front of Rocky and Adam. I think they even believe that this is all my fault. I had a good thing with you and ruined it."

Tommy watched as Jason took out a gun and double-checked that a round sat in the chamber before putting the barrel to his head and pulling the trigger.

"No!" Tommy cried, lunging toward his friend's lifeless body. Just then, Adam and Rocky showed up. Adam picked up the letter sitting on the marker for Kat's grave and opened it.

Adam, Rocky,

I know that you two will be the ones to find me. You're probably the only ones who give a shit if I'm alive or dead. Kat's death was my fault. I couldn't put aside my guilt over the things that had happened to my other friends long enough to see what an incredible woman I had right in front of me.

It's my fault that Zack is sitting in a mental institute. I'm the one that asked him to take on the Gold Powers.

It's my fault that Billy died. I could have encouraged him to go to Aquitar but I was selfish and wanted him here with us.

I'm to blame for Trini's overdose. I didn't see the signs and couldn't be there for her when she needed me.

Kim's coma is my fault too. I didn't do enough to convince her to leave that bastard she married.

Aisha's death seems to be the only thing I didn't cause. How could I when she was fulfilling a dream of hers? Of course she would have stayed in closer contact if it hadn't been for the fact of being captured by Divatox. Which I couldn't prevent.

I know that you told me that none of this was my fault. But that's just it. Everything that's happened to the original Rangers, and yes this includes the two of you, Aisha and Kat, is my fault because I was the leader and I should have been able to save all of you, even from yourselves.

Goodbye. Know that I'm where I belong; where I can't hurt anyone.

Jason Lee Scott

"He should have known that none of us believed that he was responsible for any of that stuff," Rocky whispered from where he sat on the ground next to Jason.

"I only hope that since peace eluded him here that he has found it wherever he is now." Adam's quiet voice echoed what Rocky was thinking.

Tommy turned to Dulcea, tears streaming down his face. "Take me back, Dulcea. I can't let this be. I understand now. I really do." He swiped at the tears on his cheeks. "I think I have a lot of work to do. I really need to talk to her don't I?"

"Your gentle Crane has been of low spirits since the letter made its appearance in your lives. She has missed soaring with her Falcon. She needs your help to make her life bearable again."

"I want Kim. I choose her. I chose her all those years ago and I can't stand to be without her anymore." The vehemence in his tone made the warrior smile.

"That is the Falcon I remember from Phaedos. The Falcon who would not stray from those who needed him."

Dulcea waved her hands and Tommy found himself back in his hospital room. He saw Kim sitting next to the bed crying.

"Tommy, please come back to me. I'm sorry I didn't tell you what had happened. I'm sorry that you had to find out through Jason and then only through eavesdropping. Please come back. I'll explain, I promise."

"How do I wake up?" he asked, his gaze not wavering from the woman he loved. "What do I say?"

"When I leave, you will wake up. What you say to her is not, however, something that I can tell you. That you must discover for yourself. But I can tell you that the road you have chosen is not going to be an easy one. The two of you have much to repair between you. But do not give up hope. You will succeed if you truly want to."

"I do. Kim needs me. And I need her."

"This is why the Spirit Animals chose the two of you the way they did. You two were destined."

"I need to wake up now, Dulcea. I hope you understand."

"Of course. Be gentle with the Crane. She is wounded and needs healing."

"I will always take care of her."

Dulcea faded away with a satisfied smile on her face. Tommy felt a sharp pull and closed his eyes.

When the pull stopped, Tommy opened his eyes to find himself laying flat on his back. He felt the sore muscles in his legs and back as well as the raging headache. He turned his head to see the caramel colored locks of his favorite gymnast. Her head was bowed and she hadn't seen him open his eyes.

He reached out and touched the top of her head with just his fingertips. She jerked her head up, tears glittering in her eyes and tear tracks evident on her cheeks.

"Tommy!" she breathed.