Vacation- Chapter 12
June 4th, 2006
By: RockNRide
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Rating: PG
Epilogue
Kimberly walked through the doors of the gym and headed straight to the locker room. One quick glance towards the office showed that Coach Schmitz was back and currently seated at his desk. She should stop in and say hello and ask about his trip but she just wasn't in the mood. At the moment she felt emotionally and physically exhausted. Kim always thought of herself as strong and independent but now she felt such a loss. The fact that Tommy's absence could hit her so hard was a bit unsettling. You never fully realize how much a person means to you until they're gone.
Kim sighed; mad at herself for feeling such self pity. But she squared her shoulders and took a deep breath when she pushed the locker-room door open and moved past the rows of lockers to her own locker which was on the back wall. Kim sat on the bench and pulled her sweatshirt off over her head and stuffed it in her bag. She wiggled out of her jeans and adjusted the pink leotard she had been wearing beneath her clothes. After she had folded her clothes and stuffed them back in her bag she managed to squeeze the bag into her locker. The locker door closed with a loud clang when he hit it with her hip.
"Kim, you in here?" a voice asked from the front of the room. Kim hadn't even heard the door open.
"Holly?" Kim asked the voice. She grabbed her water bottle and made her way to the front of the room. When she rounded a corner she saw Holly sitting in front of her locker, wrapping a bandage around her left ankle.
Kim sat on the bench next to her with a smile. "How's it going?"
"Great. You?" Holly asked.
Kim paused for a second pondering her answer before she replied with a simple, "Pretty good." Holly was a friend but Kim still didn't know the girl well enough to spill the details about her broken heart. Well, maybe not broke… more like aching. Yeah, aching sounded better. "What'd you do to your ankle?"
Holly sat back once she was done securing the bandage. She wiggled her toes and moved her foot around to check the flexibility. She then gave a dismissive wave of her hand before responding with, "Nothing really. Just a bit sore. I think I landed wrong coming off the beam yesterday." Holly turned to face Kim with a sly smile. "But enough about me, I want to know about that hot guy we saw you with. Everyone has been talking about you."
Kim laughed and rolled her eyes dramatically. "Who's "everybody"?"
"Well, just a few of the other girls. Was he that boyfriend from California you told me about?"
Kim couldn't help but smile. "Yup. That was my Tommy. He was here for a visit. I would have introduced you but I haven't seen you all week."
Holly stood, closing her locker and she and Kim walked out into the large gym. "I saw you two leaving a few days ago but by the time I got out of the locker room, you were gone."
"Yeah, I was in and out pretty fast this week." She glanced up at the taller girl at her side and raised a brow. "You think coach will notice?"
Holly shook her head. "The way you have been training lately? Yeah right." She gave Kim a playful nudge with her elbow as they both took a seat with the other gymnasts who were waiting for the meeting to start. "You're like the golden child. I don't think you have anything to worry about."
Kim just blushed with the complement and was saved from having to respond when their Coach walked from his office and greeted his students with a warm smile.
Back in Angel Grove...
Almost as soon as Tommy had gotten home his communicator had beeped and he had been asked to teleport to the command center. Zedd was at it again with another almost comical monster that the rangers had been able to bring down in short order. There wasn't much to the fight, a few tenguas, a taunting monster, and then a bigger taunting monster which was no match for their zords. Still, Tommy had liked the action. The one thing that he didn't like was seeing the pink ranger in battle next to him. Not that it had anything to do with Katharine, Tommy felt they were becoming good friends and she was certainly an asset to the team, but just seeing the pink ranger there and knowing it wasn't Kim was disconcerting.
Tommy was temped to stay and speak with Zordon after the rangers teleported home after regrouping at the command center but then he decided against it. Like he had told Kim, he didn't want Zordon to think he was abandoning his fellow rangers by trying to skip out again after he had only been home for four hours. He decided to have a talk with his leader later this week and hoped to be able to visit Kim this weekend.
Florida...
The meeting ended up being pretty much what Kim had expected. Coach had checked up on everyone and made sure his gymnasts hadn't slacked off with him not there to put them through their paces. Then Coach Schmitz had given a few new details on the Pan Global Games which were now only a few months away. After a two hour practice that had followed the meeting Kim was gathering up her gym bag when Holly rounded the corner and plopped down on the bench in front of Kim's locker.
"Wanna go out tonight?" She asked.
Kim laughed and took a seat next to the blonde. "Out? That practice wore me out…"
Holly was quick to interrupt the former pink ranger with, "Aww, c'mon! We haven't hung out in awhile and some of the girls are going to a beach party at Matt's." Matt was another gymnast and Holly's latest crush. Kim was sure the fact that Matt lived in an extravagant beach house only added to his appeal.
Kim nibbled on her bottom lip while she thought it over but finally shook her head with a grin at Holly's 'puppy dog eyes'. "Fine, I'll go. What time are we meeting there?"
"I'll pick you up." Holly offered.
Kim ginned. "Even better."
Kim got the details and headed home to get ready before she met up with a few of her new friends down at the beach. Once Kim was home and in the shower she got to thinking that it was a good idea she was heading out. This being the first night in a whole week she would be spending without Tommy, she knew that she would have moped around all evening if she had stayed home alone.
After her shower Kim stepped out of the tub and wrapped a towel around herself. When she glanced up into the mirror she gasped, not sure to whether she should laugh or be freaked out. There in the steamed up mirror the words love you could be read. Kim quickly opened the door and trotted through every room of her apartment searching for him. Once she reached the living room, and saw the front door was still locked, her smile faded just a bit. Kim grabbed the phone off the wall while she moved back into her bedroom.
Tommy picked up on the second ring.
"That was both incredibly sweet and freaky at the same time." Kim said as soon as she heard his "Hello" on the other end.
Tommy was silent for a moment then chuckled. "You're talking about your mirror, right?"
Kim smiled and nodded even though he couldn't see it. "Yeah, when did you do that?"
"This morning. I was going to wipe it off but I didn't think you'd see it."
"It showed up when the mirror got steamy again. Why were you gonna wipe it off?" Kim asked.
She heard Tommy laugh again. "Um…it's kind of cheesy?"
"It is not! It was a wonderful surprise."
"Well….good. You said it was freaky, did you think someone was in your apartment?" Tommy asked.
"A few horror movie scenes ran through my head but once I read it, I knew it was from you." There was a sad ting to her voice when she added, "For a second, I thought you were here."
"Wish I was." Tommy replied.
Kim was debating on whether or not to ask him about Zordon but he seemed to read her thoughts and said, "I haven't talked to Zordon yet but you know I'm planning on it."
They proceeded to talk about their day, even though they had spent the majority of it together, until Tommy had to head to dinner and Kim to meet up with Holly.
Once off the phone, Kim was dressed and putting finishing touches on her hair and light makeup when she heard Holly knock on the front door. Kim took a deep breath and grabbed her purse, determined to have a good time.
It had been almost a week since Tommy had returned to Angel Grove and it had been a stressful day that Kim was glad to see come to an end. Practice had been grueling and her shoulder was all but screaming at her from having come in contact with the mat too many times. She was wondering where she had placed her bubble bath liquid when she slid her key into the lock and pushed the door to her apartment open with a sigh. The sound of the TV, which she was sure she had turned off before she had left, made her peer around the door cautiously. She dropped her bag in the doorway and stopped in her tracks. Her eyes then went wide with a quick intake of breath when Tommy looked over his shoulder from his spot on the couch. He had his feet casually propped up on the coffee table in front of him looking like he owned the place. Her aching muscles were quickly forgotten.
"Hard day, honey?" Tommy asked with a cheeky grin. He quickly got to his feet when she started towards him with a squeal. He was able to brace himself and open his arms a fraction of a second before she leaped into his embrace. Her legs circled his waist and his arms held her tightly against him. Kim kissed him fiercely, him returning her kisses with equal passion. After a few moments the kisses softened and the need to devour each other began to subside.
Kim pulled back and took a deep breath before smiling wide. "So you talked to Zordon?"
Tommy nodded and let Kim slide down off him but he made sure he kept his arms around her when her feet hit the ground. "Yup. It seemed like he didn't think it was a big deal. When we were in Orlando, I was quick to teleport home when he needed me so I think he knows that I'm not trying to desert the team or anything." Kim couldn't stop smiling, Tommy either for that matter. "As long as I can drop anything here and head back when needed, he seems ok with it. So, it looks like we can spend most weekends together."
Kim reached up and hugged Tommy tightly. The knowledge that they were no longer going to be separated by almost three thousand miles made her tingle all over.
"Remind me to thank him later." Kim said and dragged Tommy down foranother kiss. It would be one of many they would share that night.
The End.
Well, that's it folks! Thank you so much to everyone who has given me the confidence to continue and finish this story by leaving all the wonderful reviews. PR fic readers are the BEST.
