A/N: I hope that everyone enjoys this chapter.
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Tommy heard a knock on the door while he was trying to grab a drink. Sighing he closed the fridge and went to find out who was here. Kim never knocked because she knew that he never locked the door. Opening it, he was a little shocked to see Trini on the other side.
"Your husband send you out here?" He asked opening the door before heading back to the kitchen. He wondered if Jason would call or stop by about telling Kim to compete.
"Why would Jason send me? You know him better than that and he would have come by himself." She said following him into the kitchen.
"Yeah that's true." Tommy muttered opening the fridge door again. "So why are you here? I mean not that I'm not happy to see you, it's just a little weird." He said pulling out the tea pitcher.
"Well Kimberly is begging me to find out if you are going to propose to her." She said as he paused in what he was doing. "Don't worry, I didn't tell her anything other than I would try to find out what your plans was." She said as he grabbed a glass.
"She is a mess sometimes." Tommy said smiling. "You want some?" He asked pointing to the pitcher.
"Uh no, because I know that you made it which means its sugar with a little bit of tea mixed in." She said as he nodded. "Anyway when are you going to ask her? She keeps hinting to me that I should take you ring shopping."
"I'll talk to Kim if it will help." He said putting the tea back up and walking over to her.
"No, that won't help. The only thing that will is actually asking her to marry you. Now when were you planning to ask her?" She asked.
"Well I wanted to give her time to focus on the girls and Worlds. She told me that one reason she really didn't want to get involve with me was because of the girls. When I asked her she will want to start planning the wedding and she can't do that if the girls need her to help them." He said sitting down next to her.
"I don't think that you give Kim enough credit." She said. "Besides she probably has the wedding all planned anyway." She stated with a laugh.
"I would image so since it is Kim we are talking about but back to your question. I will ask her soon." He said.
"You're not going to tell me are you?" She asked him.
Shaking his head no, he finished his tea. "Trini, if I tell you then you will want to tell Kim. I know that its killing you not to tell her that I have the ring." He said as she nodded. "I want it to be a total surprise when I ask her. All I ask is that you keep it a secret a little while longer." He said standing up and walking over to the sink.
"Fine but if she threatens to torture for the information then I will give it up." She commented as he laughed.
"Fine on threat of bodily harm you can tell Kim that I have a ring and will ask her soon to marry me." He replied as she laughed.
"Where is Kaylie?" Trini suddenly asked looking around.
"David and Kelly picked her up and took her out for making the team going to China." He explained as she nodded.
"Well I better get home, its my night to cook and I don't like to leave the bear too long or he gets angry." She said as he laughed.
Walking back over to her, he hugged her before she left. Jason had his hands full with that woman but Tommy couldn't find any fault with that. Kim would give him trouble too. Pulling the ring out of his pocket, he looked down at it. Kim would just have to wait. He had the perfect time if only she could be just a little more patient.
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"What did you find out?" Kim asked later that night. She had called Trini as soon as she had gotten out of the shower.
"Not much, you know Tommy doesn't share much." Trini said.
"Yeah I know it's just that I figured with being friends for years that he would open up more to everyone else." She said flopping down on her bed. Sometimes Tommy could be so tight-lipped that it made Kim's hair turn gray. "Did he give you any hints?" She asked trying to see if he let something slip.
"No only that you shouldn't send your best friend to question your boyfriend." Trini told her with a laugh.
Kim groaned and knew that Tommy would say something like that. He knew that she didn't have all the patience in the world. "Man, if I didn't love him, I would kill him." She muttered as Trini laughed even harder. "It's not that funny, Trini. You know I seemed to remember you pushing Jason to propose because he was dragging his feet." Kim stated over the phone.
"Yeah well Jason was dragging his feet since he had the ring for two years before I asked him. Really if he hadn't had left it in his gym bag, I wouldn't have found it." Trini replied with a huff.
"Well I will let you go so that you can spend time with your husband." She said as Trini said bye.
Kim hit end on the phone and smiled when she remembered the day Trini had found her engagement ring. Trini had wanted to run to Jason and tell him yes that instant but Kim convinced her to wait for him to ask her. Neither of them knew that Jason wouldn't ask for two years.
One day it had been too much for Trini so she marched in where he worked and asked him why he hadn't asked her to marry him. Jason had looked at her like she had grown two heads before asking why she thought he should marry her. The battle had raged then and she had finally came out and told him she knew about the ring.
Laughing he explained that he was saving up enough money so that they could get married. She claimed that he didn't have to do that only to love her. Smiling he picked her up and asked her then and there. She shouted yes and he walked her over to his bag and got the ring out. Kneeling in front of her, he asked her properly and slipped the ring on her finger. They were married a month later.
Kim remembered it like it was yesterday. Maybe she should bust in on Tommy at work and ask him to marry her. Standing up, she knew that nothing was going to get solved tonight and she really needed to get to bed. She had to start training in the morning.
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Walking into the gym the next morning, Tommy smiled. Kim was up on the beam. Kaylie stopped next to him and just stared. She remembered watching Kim in competition and remembered that this woman was the main reason that she wanted to be a gymnast.
"Go get ready." Tommy said as Kaylie nodded and made her way to the locker rooms. Looking back at Kim, he watched as she did a back flip. Her moves were very fluid and it looked like she had never retired. He walked over to the beam and just watched as she bended, flipped, and turned on the beam. Listening to the music, he knew that this wasn't the same music from her Gold Medal All-Around. It was slower and sedate.
Kim took a breath and dismounted from the beam. Raising her arms, she smiled to the invisible crowd. Needless to say she was a bit startled when she saw Tommy leaning against the beam.
"How long have you been here?" She asked grabbing a towel from one of the nearby chairs.
"Not long since I just saw the last of your beam work but I do know that that wasn't your old routine that you said you were doing." He stated as she nodded.
"No it's not but I wanted something slow to get started. Actually they sent me new music for floor and I will have to rework that." She said sitting down on the blue mat to stretch out. She didn't need to get sore from training again.
"What song did they send you?" He asked sitting down next to her.
"Well now that's a surprise but aren't you going to be late for work?" She asked looking at the clock on the wall in front of her.
"No, I took the day off to help you with your training." He said with a smile.
"Help me? What do you know about training me for gymnastics?" She asked.
"A lot apparently since I watched every competition, your pretty little butt was in." He said jokingly. "Anyway I know that you need to work back up to really training and that's where I come in." He said taking her hand in his.
"Really? I'm not sure if that's a good idea since you once called it sissy stuff." She said jumping up.
"It is sissy stuff." He muttered getting up and following her up to her office. "You know I had forgotten how beautiful you look in a pink leo." He said walking up behind her.
"Oh Tommy." She said spinning around and throwing her arms around his neck. "I have missed you calling me beautiful." She said before bringing his head down so that she could kiss him.
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"How odd is it to see Kim train for gymnastics?" Greg asked Kat that afternoon. The girls had all gone home except for Kaylie since Tommy was helping Kim out on the bars.
"Actually not that odd since I watched her in high school before she left. I think the odd part is seeing Tommy helping her out. I mean he is so manly and macho that him anywhere near gymnastics is weird." Kat said with a laugh.
Greg just shook his head. Sometimes Kat surprised him with her friendship with her ex-boyfriend but he didn't worry about her running back to him since she knew that Tommy was very much in love with Kim.
"Did he ever work with you on dancing?" He asked suddenly thinking that that was the reason that Kat had dated Tommy.
"Tommy help with dancing?" She asked looking at the man in question. "Uh no, I don't think that Tommy would have ever thought to help me with dancing." She said turning to face Greg. "The Tommy that you see now is because of Kim. He is different with her somehow. You don't have to ever worry about him." She said taking his hands in hers. "I finally see what everyone else saw back in high school with those two." She stated looking into his eyes.
"They were like this back in high school?" He asked not really believing her about the fact that Tommy and Kim had a mature relationship while they were still kids. It just didn't seem possible but looking at them now, he knew that they had something special.
"It's a long story but yes they were like this in high school." She said.
"I think I need to hear this story sometime soon." He said as she smiled.
She knew that if their relationship was going to go further then she would have to tell him about her past as a ranger. It was a scary thought but he did deserve to know if they continued to date.
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Tommy smiled as Kim flipped off the beam. She looked tired and worn out but she was getting back into top form. It was almost like she hadn't ever left. He didn't know how she did it but she seemed to transform before his eyes. Walking over to her, he grabbed a towel and handed it to her.
"Thanks, I think I'm done for the day." She said wiping her face. "I think a long soak is in order when I get home."
"You know that I have a tub at my house." He said with a smile.
Shaking her head, she just had to smile. "Yeah, but I have a Jacuzzi that has ten pulsating jets and is big enough for two." She replied as he laughed.
"You know the Kimberly I know wouldn't have said that." He said stepping closer to her.
"Yeah well the Tommy I knew wouldn't have started it. I remember that he was so shy that he almost couldn't ask me to the dance." She said stepping even closer. Tilting her head back, she looked into his deep brown eyes. She could always lose herself in them.
"I think I have moved past that." He said grabbing her head and kissing her soundly on the lips. Kim knew that he had moved past it that shy boy and she did sort of miss him but the man Tommy fired her blood. Pulling back, Kim had barely a moment before Tommy scooped her up into his arms.
"What are you doing?" She squealed as he adjusted her in his arms.
"Oh you said that you wanted a long soak and that's what you are getting." He said walking her through the doors and outside.
"No wait, I have to shut everything down and what about my car?" She asked.
"Don't worry Kat is still here and I can drive you into work in the morning." He said walking over to his Jeep.
"What about Kaylie?" She asked still trying to get him to see reason.
"David and Kelly wanted a night alone with her before they leave again. Now anymore questions before I take you home?" He asked looking down at her.
Shaking her head no, he smiled and opened the passenger door and placed her in the seat. Kissing her check, he shut the door and walked around the front to get in himself.
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"Remember to explode on that part." Kim said as Whitney nodded. She had been working on a new combination since before Spain but couldn't quite get the last part right. She wasn't getting the right amount of height that she really needed for the extra twist.
Kim watched Whitney perform the combination again but this time, she got the height she needed and it showed. The added twist made the move higher on the points scale and would look great during competition. It wouldn't be ready until Worlds but at least she was getting better with it.
"Phone call, Kim." Kat said walking over to her.
"Thanks." She said making her way up to her office.
"You know I wonder if Tommy is going to propose soon. She is getting out of hand with her hints." Karen said as Kat laughed.
"The hints are getting bad but I think he has a ring and is only waiting for the right moment." Kat commented.
"The right moment? I think the right moment was a while ago." She replied as Kat nodded.
"True, but Kim has asked Trini to find out if Tommy has a ring since she is the one that can find that stuff out." Kat stated.
"What did she find out?" Karen asked looking back at Whitney. She wanted to make sure that everything still looked good on her dismount.
"Well that's the thing, she claimed that Tommy told her to tell Kim not to send in the best friend to ask questions like that but I think she knows more. I mean its Trini." Kat said as Karen nodded. She knew the woman very well. "I think that Trini knows he has a ring and when he is going to propose or at least a time frame."
"I hope its soon or I think I may quit." Karen said before walking over to Whitney to help her a little more.
Kat just smiled because she knew that Karen would never quit the gym. She loved working with the girls and Kim way too much. Looking back at the office, she saw that Kim was still on the phone. It had to be someone from National Committee. They were getting ready for World trials that were approaching rapidly.
At least the girls would have a little rest between China and trials but not after. They would have to travel to Russia, Italy, and Australia before Worlds. The World Team had to be ready for an international competition before Worlds.
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Tommy shook his head over the text that Jason had just sent him. He wanted to tell everyone that he would propose to Kim when he was good and ready but that wouldn't stop the calls, texts, or emails that he was getting daily now.
It seemed that Karen and Greg were in on it now. They all needed to chill because he had a plan and no one would know because Kim had her ways of finding things out. She could wait a few more months at least because even Trini had waited two years for Jason to pop the question. Throwing his briefcase in the Jeep, he climbed in to make his way to the gym.
Passing Angel Grove High School, he had to smile. They had called and said that he could interview as soon as school was out. Miss Applebee was now the Principal and couldn't wait to see how he had changed or so she had said.
Everything was falling into place including David getting everything ready to buy the house. He had talked to Billy about the Command Center in the basement and Billy said that it wouldn't be a problem to move it to his house since he already had some stuff in his basement at the moment.
He couldn't wait until Worlds for one to see Kim compete again and two to actually see the surprise on her face when he got down on one knee.
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Okay so what did everyone think? Please let me know.
