Kimberly

Eventually they let me go back home, but not before Zordon returned with Alpha and confirmed everything Billy had concluded about the Gold Powers. I hadn't been there together in the main chamber with the Rangers when Zordon returned with his grim news, and I suppose it wasn't appropriate for me to be involved in such matters anymore.

A rain of pebbles sounded against the glass of my closed window and I looked up and frowned. Making my way cautiously over, I opened it just as another shower came and one narrowly missed my left eye. I reeled back in shock. "JESUS Ch—"

"Kim! Hey!" A wide-eyed toothy grin flashed in the semi-darkness.

I squinted, then blinked. Then squinted and blinked. "Tommy?"

"Yeah, hey!" I watched as he turned his head to the left, then to the right, then looked up at me before turning one slow circle around. "Uh, so, how do I get in?"

"Um. You can try the front door?"

"No! No, I got this, I'm gonna climb up, you stay there you need to rest."

"Right. Oo-kay."

I heard lots of scuffling by the side of the house and I frowned, peering into the dark. Then came a slithering and sliding sound as he grappled with the water pipes and tried to find footholds that he didn't know where to find, followed by a series of loud grunts.

I stuck my head further out the window and called down to where I thought he might be. "You know, Tommy you can just use the front door like you've always—"

His head popped up like a whack-a-mole to the right of my elbow and I stifled a scream and the urge to whack it.

"No! I got it, see? Okay step aside so I can climb in."

I stepped aside so he could climb in.

He stepped in and dusted his hands on his pants. "Made it, phew. Wonder why I've never tried that before. Would be kinda romantic wouldn't it?" He raised an eyebrow and attempted to waggle it at me. "Kinda like what you said you always wanted about princes and princesses, right?"

Oh right. It seemed like a lifetime ago and I couldn't believe that I had ever thought that.

"Uh. Yeah..." I said instead, lifting a hand for some reason, then dropped it when I realized I had no action for it to complete. "So..."

"Yeah, uh," he said and turned his head slightly as his hand rose to scratch it. "So." He took a step towards me then changed his mind and looked around my room before he gestured awkwardly to the bed. "Uh, can I sit?"

I lifted my shoulders. "Sure."

He sat.

I looked at him expectantly.

He caught me looking. "So. How're you?" he asked.

"I'm okay." There was a pause as I cast around for something to say. "Um. How're you?"

"I'm good. Good."

"That's good."

"Yeah."

His knee started that habitual bouncing and his fingers started fidgeting with a rip in his jeans and I found myself staring at his shirt. It criss-crossed in columns and rows in varying shades of red and I decided on the spot that his shirt offended on some level.

I dragged my eyes back to his face and startled a little at the look in his eyes. "So... Why're you here?" I asked, to cover up my discomfort.

"Do I need a reason to be?" he countered.

I shrugged a little and folded my arms around my middle. "Um, I guess not."

I thought he was going to beat around the bush a little, but he surprised me by cutting right to the chase.

"What happened back there? At the holding bay?"

"You know what happened. It was a set-up, and Jason nearly got killed."

"You nearly got killed."

I blew out a breath. "You weren't there, Tommy."

"Which begs the question why you were."

I wasn't used to Tommy questioning me. So my answers when they came out were noticeably brisk. "If I wasn't he would've been dead."

"Jase is a ranger! You're not!" he exclaimed.

My mouth fell open and my eyes widened in disbelief and he noticed. He swallowed a few times and when he asked his next question he was considerably calmer. "Why are you even back in Angel Grove anyway?"

"Injury. Needed to recover," I answered him shortly.

A wounded expression crossed his face. "Were you going to tell me?" He looked at me, "That you were back?"

I looked at the floor. Shuffled my feet a little. Then decided to be honest. "No. And I'm not going to be here for long anyway. Just for a little while."

He glanced away from me, and fixed his gaze at the darkness outside the window. "How come you told Jason?" he asked me quietly.

I sighed and unfolded my arms. Crossing the space between us, I sat down next to him on the bed. "You know how it is with Jase and I," I said and rubbed my eyes tiredly with the pads of my fingers. "And besides... after the letter..." I trailed off with a shrug.

Tommy stiffened slightly at the reminder of our broken-up status, and out of habit, my finger started a twirl in a lock of my hair. My thoughts drifted to Jason. I haven't seen him since two days ago when he left me in the medical bay. It was Billy, and Katherine, actually, who saw me home earlier that evening. If I didn't know any better, I would say that he had been avoiding me.

"How's Jason?" I asked Tommy, my thoughts getting the better of me.

"Jase?"

"Yeah."

"He's okay. Uh, Billy and his gadgets took care of the arrow, and his powers and the morphing grid did the rest."

I nodded, remembering the fear at almost having lost him. "How're his powers holding up?"

"Uh, he seems to have gotten control of it again." He chuckled. "He's got the arrow up on display in his room at the dorms though. Right above the two katanas he's got crossed over his bed."

I shuddered slightly. I would have chosen never to see that arrow again. But Jason had always elected to take his fears head-on.

I startled out of my thoughts when Tommy's hand covered mine on the bed. "You know, Kim," he said with a small grin, "one of the things I love most about you is how much you care about your friends." His eyes bored into mine.

I tried to smile in return. "I love Jason," I told him quietly.

"Yeah," he nodded. "So do I," he said, then sighed. "You're a really good friend to him, Kim."

An ache opened up in my heart. "Yeah," I replied hollowly. "Good friend."

His hand tightened over mine, and he turned to face me. "Maybe... Maybe we could try that too?"

My brows raised in confusion. "Um, we are friends. Tommy."

"No." His fingers clenched and unclenched and his other hand went to fiddle with some hair behind his ear. "Not like you and Jase. Not that kind of friends." He looked at me in all seriousness. "You think maybe we could... start again?"

A frown made its way across my face, and I slid him a sidelong glance. "Start again?" I echoed.

He angled his body towards mine, and opened his mouth before his brows furrowed and he snapped it shut. He reached out and placed both hands on either side of my arms and shifted me until I was facing him. Our knees bumped and my frown deepened slightly.

His hands found mine on my lap and he folded them over both of mine.

"Kim," he began, "I've been thinking. About us... About us, a lot."

"Tommy..."

He shook his head violently, his hair rustling across his shoulders. "No. No wait, let me finish."

He took a deep breath and an earnestness played across his features, "It's because we weren't friends first. That's why it ended like it did, because we were not friends."

I pursed my lips. "We are friends, Tommy."

"No, you see," he said and moved closer, bringing both my hands towards his chest. My knees pressed uncomfortably against his. "I want us to start over, like-"

A quiet rustling sounded by the window and a lithe figure dropped lightly into my room.

His appearance took me by surprise, and I looked around Tommy to meet an equally surprised expression on his darkly handsome face.

There was a slight silence as the three of us stared at each other and then Jason broke it.

"Tommy, hey," he said, his eyes moving between Tommy and I. His gaze dropped to take in both my hands, that Tommy had placed over his heart, and both my knees between his.

His throat worked as he swallowed once, and a shuttered expression came over his face. "I'm sorry. Uh, I came to talk to Kim, but uh, I guess I could come back another time." He avoided my eyes.

"No, wait," I said, struggling to pull my hands back from Tommy's vice-like grip.

"Yeah, thanks man," said Tommy at the same time.

Jason nodded stiffly. "No problem." He ducked under the window pane, and before I could say anything else, exited as quietly as he came in.

I wrenched my hands free. "Jason!" I called out, rushing to the window to see him land on the ground and back away into the darkness. "Jase!"

He met my eyes and gave me a two-fingered wave, before he turned around the side of the house and disappeared.

"Dammit," I muttered, whirling around and making for my bedroom door. I had been waiting ages to see him again, and this was not the sort of meeting I was expecting.

I wrenched open the door, and Tommy's hand came to rest on it above my head as he pushed it back shut.

I looked up, my eyes twin daggers of frustration and annoyance.

"Where're you going? We haven't finished talking." He looked confused.

"Yes we have." I yanked at the door handle. It wouldn't budge. I glared expectantly at Tommy's hand.

He frowned.

I blew out a breath, and my left eye narrowed.

He withdrew his hand slowly, frown still firmly in place. "You're going after Jase?"

"Yeah, Tommy. I haven't seen him in two days, and I can't help it if all I can think about when I think about my best friend is him bleeding out all over the floor with a massive pole sticking out of his side."

"Arrow," he replied absently.

"Whatever."

He looked at me closely. "Okay. I guess, I understand."

"You do, huh."

He didn't reply.

I sighed. "Look, Tommy, I need to—"

"—Yeah, okay," he interrupted. "I'm sorry. I know that you guys are close. I just thought... Y'know.." he broke off and scratched his head. "Maybe later?"

"Yeah, okay later. We'll talk later."

He smiled, satisfied. "Okay."

I ushered him down the stairs and out the front door. I locked the door behind me and gave him a short wave, barely noticing that he had gotten himself a new car as I rounded the house and took off in the direction that Jason had left.