Second Chances

Kim fell completely in love with the very first spot the real estate agent showed to her and Tommy. It had been a dance studio up until a few months before, and therefore most of what the gymnastics center would need was already there: a barre for stretching exercises, cushioned mats in case of a fall, a few balance beams. And there would be enough room for a wall of lockers, a juice bar (which Hayley had a few ideas for) and a room for martial arts students. Kim was sold the moment she saw it.

"This is it, Tommy," Kimberly declared. "This is the place I want for the gymnastics center. I don't want to see anything else," she added to the real estate agent. Kim looked around, explaining her vision to Tommy as she went. He watched her in awe, admiring her passion. He couldn't help but think back to the days when they had been teenagers, back when they were still that fairy tale couple, when Kim had practiced day and night, ultimately leading her to Florida and away form him.

"Go for your dreams, Kim," he encouraged, just like when they'd been teenagers and rangers on the original team. "I know you'll be able to pull it off."

Kim turned away from him, her tawny gaze on the blue mat. "I just wish Jason could be here to see this, Tommy. I've talked about doing this for years, but then Macy came along, and then Nate…and now that I'm actually in the process of buying a place for it…I want my Jason, Tommy," she finished in a whisper.

Tommy wasn't quite sure of what to do. He looked around and saw that the real estate agent had left, leaving him alone with Kim. "Kim," he murmured softly. He pulled her into his arms. "I know Kim, I know. I miss him too."

She wasn't crying but she looked like she wanted to. "I don't even really have time to miss him. I've been so busy with my kids and helping Hayley at the café and unpacking what we kept from the old house…by the time I'm ready to go to bed I don't even think about him. I just fall asleep." Tommy felt her tremble slightly.

He had known all of that already. He watched her as she multitasked constantly, doing the best she could with all of the things she did in a day. But Kim was tough, she was a fighter. He'd known the stress was getting to her, but he hadn't thought is was this bad. "It's going to be all right, Kim," Tommy told her, but he wasn't completely convinced.

--

Conner strode off of the soccer field, wiping his face with a red towel. He'd just finished another round of pre-season conditioning, and he was completely exhausted. But the practice was intense, and he felt great. Best of all, when he was wiped out from training, he thought about Kira less often.

And these days Kira was hard to escape. She was everywhere: on the radio and on TV, doing interview segments and all the other things associated with rising stars.

And he had to be out of his mind as it was. Letting Kira Ford go, when she so obviously loved him and wanted him? He should have been checked for mental instability for throwing a romantic relationship with a girl like Kira away.

But he was trying to do the right thing for her, letting her go. Kira was beautiful, talented and smart as hell. She deserved the best, and despite what she protested yo him, he couldn't give that to her and they both knew i. She'd get over him eventually and find another man to love.

Conner always drove in the car without the radio turned on now. He wanted to make things work with Kira, but that nagging logical voice in his head kept telling him to do otherwise. He thought that if he heard even strain of Kira's voice from over the radio waves that he'd simply get himself onto the next flight to New York, no questions asked. So he drove in silence, trying to focus on the upcoming school year and the soccer season.

Once at home, he did a favor for his mother and checked the mailbox. The postman had already made his rounds, and there was a neat tidy little stack of envelops and catalogues. To his surprise, there was a letter for him, from Kira no less. Conner sighed softly and went back inside. He dumped the mail for his parents on the kitchen table and proceeded to stomp up the stairs to his red bedroom. He flopped onto his bed.

Conner ripped the envelope, careful not to rip the papers inside. His mouth fell open in disbelief once he'd seen the contents of the envelope. It was a check for five thousand dollars, made out in his name. A tiny scrap of paper had also been enclosed.

Conner,

Yes, that check is for real, so you can close your mouth now. It's to help you fund that soccer program you've been dreaming about. Go for it, I know you can. And don't do anything stupid like send it back. I want you to have it. All us 'celebrities' have charity causes. This is mine. I'll see you in a few weeks.

Love,

Kira

Conner stared at the piece of paper in his hands. Five thousand dollars. Good Lord. The former red ranger scrubbed a hand through his shaggy brown locks and then rolled over onto his back, staring at the ceiling. He took the red cell phone from his pocket and dialed Kira's number.

"I see you're talking to me now," Kira said as a way of greeting. "Check you mail lately?"

"Kira, you're beyond cool. Thank you so much. I really don't know what to say."

'You could say that you love me,' thought Kira. "Oh Conner, you don't have to say anything. I knew you needed it for those underprivileged kids. It's not a problem. I'm happy to do it. Really I am."

Conner managed a smile in spite of himself. "I appreciate this more than you'll ever know. Be safe, Kira. There's a lot of whackos in New York. I'll see you in a few weeks, like the letter said. And Kira…" he fought to ignore the little nagging voice, but what it told him was true.

'You can't give it to her,' murmured the voice.

"Yeah, Con?" came Kira's melodious voice.

"I loved your CD," he said, and he hung up.

--

Kim was very pleased with the selection she'd made for her gymnastics center. She'd decided on Reefside Youth Center as its name in honor of the one in Angel Grove where she'd spent countless hours as she'd grown up. And seeing as how it had only closed a few months ago, all the tests reported the studio was up to date and she could get moving.

Hayley had offered to come up with a special line of protein shakes and smoothies, and Kim welcomed the idea. The redheaded genius got right to work for her friend and came up with quite a few delicious recipes.

Tommy offered to supply some martial arts equipment, as well as a set of weights. "I can even do a few classes, if you want me to. I don't mind helping out, Kim." And Kimberly accepted her friend's generous proposal, telling him once more that he did too much for her.

She had a few sets of rings installed, as well as vaulting horses. And then one afternoon, she and Tommy and Hayley applied a fresh coat of pale yellow paint to the main room and red to the martial arts room. It went without saying what these colors symbolized: the two people who Kim had loved the most in the world, both dead at tragically young ages.

All in all, the Reefside Youth Center came together quite easily, something Tommy was quite pleased to see. Kim had enough on her plate without a disastrous pre-opening experience.

He came home one way to find Kim in tears. "Kim?" he asked softly as he came into the room. "What's wrong, and why is Nate still sitting in his high chair all alone?"

"Oh Tommy." Kim wailed, taking her hands away from her face and throwing herself into his arms. "Tommy, Nate said his first word. I was just giving him some lunch and he was babbling in baby talk, and then he said daddy and it made me miss Jason even more…" Kimberly's voice trailed off and she let herself sob into his chest.

"I see," Tommy said slowly, rubbing slow circles on her back in hopes that it would calm her a little bit. "I'm so sorry, Kim."

Kim took a deep breath and pulled away from him. She went back into the kitchen where her son still sat, his brown eyes tired. Kim hummed a tune to him and she strode down the hallway to the guestroom Nate and Macy shared and put him into his crib. "Mommy's sorry, baby," she whispered to him. "Sleep tight."

She stayed with him until his eyes closed, still humming the song. Kim nestled her son's teddy bear in close to him, planted a peck on the top of his head and went out again, finding Tommy waiting for her in the hall.

"Kim," he said slowly. "What did you and Jason fight about that night when he got into that accident?"

Kimberly Scott's pretty face darkened. "Oh, that,,," she looked away from him. :I don't want to talk about that yet, Tommy. It was kind of stupid. He completely overreacted and went to cool off."

"Overreacted about what? Maybe it wasn't an overreaction. Maybe it was justified."

She shook her head, her chestnut brown hair swinging about her face. "It wasn't. Trust me Tommy."

Tommy thought for a moment. "If it's so unimportant then why don't you tell me? Kim, Jason was the best friend I ever had and I think if anyone deserves to know what happened the night that he died, it should be me."

Kim crossed the hall to her bedroom and kneeled beside the bed. She pulled out the huge box filled with photo albums. "We fought about this, Tommy," Kim said, and she thrust a dark green leather bound scrapbook into his arms. "These are all of the pictures I have of you and me from when we were teenagers. I was looking at them and wondering why I never threw them out, and Jason thought that I was still in love with you."

"Are you?"

Tommy asked this so softly that she barely heard him. He couldn't believe it of himself that he'd asked, but maybe he needed to know if some small part of his pink ranger still wanted him.

"That's not fair Tommy."

He didn't acknowledge this statement. "Are you?" repeated the original green ranger.

"Tommy, you were my first everything. And that meant part of me will always care about you and love you. And you've been so wonderful these past few weeks that I think I'm falling for you all over again. But I also fell in love with Jason, and I married him. And I'm not over him yet, and I won't be for a long time. So please don't ask me to do anything I'm not ready for."

--

Kira got onto the plane. She was going home, and she was determined to fix everything. It simply wasn't worth finally having everything she'd ever dreamed of if she didn't have Conner in her life.

She was playing at the opening of Kim's gymnastics center. She had written a new song, dedicated to the whole mess with Conner, and she planned on closing with it and seeing what happened from there.

Things were going to change. Kira could feel it.