The return trip to the Stronghold was uneventful; their arrival went more or less unremarked. While Tommy and the others were making the supply run to Stone Canyon, the Elders had organized the next patrol dispatch. Fully half of the Stronghold's residents, including Trini, were out on rounds when they returned. Nearly everyone that remained, with the exception of Billy, were young recruits or the Rangers charged with teaching them.
In the days after their return, Kimberly quietly dispersed the gifts she had purchased and life in the 'Hold slowly went back to its usual quiet tedium.
As empty as it now was, the 'Hold seemed haunted and ominously silent. The others seemed to take it in stride, but Tommy found himself frequently looking over his shoulder for ghosts or monsters.
Kimberly found this all very amusing when Tommy finally admitted how he was feeling one day over tea. The empty dining hall loomed around them like some kind of enormous, echoing cavern. The effect was unnerving.
"Don't worry," she assured him, resting a hand lightly over his arm and leaning close. He had to struggle to keep up with what she was saying; the warmth of her fingers against his arm was just about all he could focus on. "They'll be back before you know it, and then you'll miss the quiet."
It was good to hear her laugh again, after her gloomy attitude in Stone Canyon. Even if it was at his expense. "I hope you're right," he told her.
She grinned. "I always am."
Not for the first time since their return, he realized she was completely distracting him. He couldn't help it. Despite his best intentions and the instincts that screamed that this was an utterly terrible idea, he was hopelessly drawn to her. If not for the sure knowledge that a relationship between them would mean the end of both their careers as Rangers, he would have been all too happy to given in to her obvious interest.
It seemed that no matter how badly things had ended between them, he would always have a soft spot for Kimberly Hart. And, one day, he had a feeling that was going to get him in trouble.
Thankfully, that day would not be today. She had been finding every possible excuse to spend time alone with him lately, but today she was scheduled to drill the young would-be Rangers in marksmanship, which meant her afternoon and evening would be otherwise occupied.
Tommy remained in the dining hall by himself for a while after Kimberly departed, missing the warmth of her presence but enjoying the solitude and the time it afforded him to think. He'd been doing an awful job of finding a way home. Maybe his conflicted feelings about Kimberly were a sign that he needed to work on that. It was getting to be too easy to imagine starting over here, as if his life in the real world had never existed. And that was a dangerous thought – not just for him, but for the friends he had left behind.
His head still ached horribly if he thought too much about his former life. He remembered in bits and flashes most of the time, except for his friends… and the Power Rangers.
It couldn't be coincidence that they were even "Rangers" here, despite how different this world was from the one he had grown up in. And it was hard to believe he had run into all his old friends here merely by chance, but that thought sent pain throbbing through his skull.
Realizing this line of thinking would get him nowhere again, and once again hoping he had not abandoned his friends back home to mortal danger, he left the dining hall behind. He had no destination in mind, but eventually found himself standing outside the entrance to the central control room.
Billy was on duty there, monitoring the radios and other equipment that kept the 'Hold in contact with the Rangers out on patrol. He was in the middle of taking a report from a Ranger that sounded like Rocky when Tommy slipped in. Billy gave a slight wave, indicating he could stay, and wrapped up the report.
The room, cramped with desks and bulky electronic equipment and filled to the brim with paper, fell silent as Billy wrote up the report. Tommy felt vaguely out of place here, as if he might move and accidentally break something vital. Billy, however, seemed unconcerned, even though he would be the one responsible for fixing anything that Tommy managed to break.
"So," Billy said at last, without looking up from his report, "what brings you to my little corner of the 'Hold?"
Tommy shrugged, not sure what he could say.
Billy looked up, then chuckled. "Not even a little bit curious?" he asked. Something in his tone reminded Tommy painfully of the geeky boy who had been bullied so often at home. Somehow he had assumed it wouldn't be so bad for Billy here, where he was so obviously needed. Now he wondered if he should have made more of an effort to spend time with Billy, instead of letting him work alone all day. And, as it turned out all too often, long into the night.
"More like…" Tommy gave a self-deprecating chuckle, "It's more like this is the last part of the 'Hold I haven't explored."
"Ah." Billy didn't sound impressed.
Tommy winced. It hadn't been his best line of reasoning ever, but he hadn't thought it was that bad. "It's not because of you," he said quietly.
Billy stiffened visibly before hurriedly turning to flip through some paperwork that lay piled haphazardly on the desk behind him. Elsewhere in the room, a radio crackled with static.
"I get in enough trouble with the Elders," Tommy went on. "I figured if I broke something in here, they'd kick me out."
The tension went out of Billy at that; it took Tommy a moment to figure out he was shaking because he was laughing so hard. "You're not wrong," Billy admitted, turning back to face Tommy. "They don't like you at all."
"And you?"
Billy shrugged, but there was a hint of a smile on his face. "If I thought you were going to break anything important, you wouldn't be in here right now." He leaned back against the desk, sobering. "Are you going to tell me why you're really here?"
The abrupt change in tone left Tommy reeling. "I don't have an ulterior motive, if that's what you're afraid of," he said softly. "I meant it: this is pretty much the only part of the 'Hold I haven't checked out yet. The Elders are part of the reason. The other part is that what you do here is so important. What you do here keeps the Rangers safe out there. And I didn't want to get in the way of that." He frowned. "What's that look for? You know something I don't?"
Billy hopped up to sit on the desk, rather than just leaning against it. "Would you believe me if I told you Kimberly said the same thing the first time she mustered up the courage to sneak in here?" he asked.
"Great minds think alike?"
"You might want to be careful of that," Billy told him.
Not for the first time in his life, Tommy wished that Billy were even just a little less cryptic. "You're gonna have to spell that out for me," he prompted.
"If you don't want to get kicked out of here, you might want to reconsider thinking too much like Kimberly."
Tommy tried not to wince too noticeably. "It's that obvious, huh?"
Billy didn't answer that question. Instead, he said, "From what I've seen, you're exactly what we need right now, Tommy. Don't blow it."
"I don't plan to," Tommy murmured, but he couldn't help wondering what Kimberly's plans might be. Deciding it would be safer to change the subject, he observed, "You know an awful lot about what goes on around here for a guy who spends all his time in this room."
That earned him what looked like it might almost be a smile. It seemed he might actually be making progress, painfully slow though it might be. "Didn't you know?" Billy asked, straight-faced. "It's my job to know everything."