Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers.
Chapter 28 – Mari
As March began, Trent began to shrink back into himself. The other Rangers didn't think too much into it as he had always been somewhat secluded from the rest of them, however, even if that were true, they were not terribly happy about it. They liked the new Trent who laughed and joked with the rest of them. However, they realized that euphoria eventually wore off and they'd have to find a more permanent way of bringing it back. So caught up they were in their plans to cheer Trent up that they didn't notice that what was bothering him ran deeper then simply feeling slightly inadequate. The only two people who might take notice were Tommy and Kat and Trent was cautious to only spend the necessary training and battle time around them. He didn't want anyone to know about his father. At least not yet. He needed to think and come up with a solution. He knew that Dr. O was fully against killing and wouldn't even cause too much harm if he knew that his opponent was under a spell, but at the same time this was Mesogog, the head honcho who had the fire power to destroy Earth. If it came down to his father's life or the destruction of the billions of people on Earth Dr. O's opinion might change, and he didn't want to give him that opportunity. So it was with a heavy heart that Trent began looking into ways to reverse whatever hold Mesogog had on his father. He remembered back to his own time as the Evil White Ranger but couldn't didn't think that that would help much as his father didn't have a Dino Gem. A week later Trent still had come up with nothing and was beyond frustrated as he went around cleaning tables at Hayley's. She had sent him away from behind the counter when he had snapped at an impatient customer. So here he was, bussing tables and in a bad mood to boot.
"Hey Trent." A voice said behind him.
An all too cheery voice. He thought as he turned around to demand what they wanted. However, his demand died on his lips as he turned and saw Krista.
"Hey." He said stupidly.
"I'm staying with my aunt again this weekend and thought I'd stop by for one of your strawberry banana smoothies."
"Yeah, for sure I'll-" he stopped short seeing Hayley staring at him, an unpleasant look on her face. "I'll just got apologise to my boss and beg her to forgive me." He said. Krista looked at him questioningly. "I wasn't in a great mood this today and kind of snapped at a customer. She's not very please with me."
"Oh."
"Yea, I'll be right back." That said Trent turned and went over to the redhead. Krista looked on in amusement when he bowed his head in shame and clasped his hands in front of him, begging for forgiveness. Evidently it was given as Trent smiled when he lifted his head and went behind the counter to start on her smoothie. He returned a minute later and placed the drink on the table in front of her and sat down in an unoccupied chair.
"So has Reefside grown on you at all?" he asked.
"This place has, we don't have anything like this in San Francisco. It's too big a town to have a teen community hang out."
"The Cyberspace is great." He said. "It really became more then just an internet café this past year. We had different groups of kids from Reefside High start to hang out here and that opened the floodgates." Krista nodded in understanding.
"Well it has a really nice atmosphere. I'll definitely be coming here a lot once I live here."
"That'll make Hayley happy. She loves getting new regulars."
"She seems really nice, your boss."
"She is. She-" he paused and looked at something over her head. "She…um…knows everyone who comes in here. Knowing stuff is here business." He frowned and gave a little wave. Krista turned around, trying to see who he was waving to.
"But she never pries." He finished, his frown deepening.
"Am I keeping you from something?" she asked, a little testily.
"No!" he said, giving her his full attention. "At least I hope not. My friend Ethan just came and looking like the devil's chasing him." He motioned behind her and Krista turned, seeing a teenage boy heading their way. She relaxed a little that it wasn't another girl.
"Trent, Dr. O needs us." Ethan got out, while he was still two tables away. "Now." He said with emphasis. Trent nodded in understanding and stood up, looking to Krista apologetically.
"I'm sorry, I have to go."
"A doctor?" she asked.
"Uh yea, one of our teachers. He's a doctor of palaeontology and a few of his best students have been helping him with some research as our final project. He randomly calls us when he has a breakthrough." Trent said quickly, coming up with an excuse on the spot. "I'll be back and in the meantime if you need anything, Hayley will be more then happy to help you. Bye." He said, and ran off with Ethan hot on his heels. Krista frowned as she looked on after them. Something definitely wasn't right there.
"What's the emergency Dr. O?" asked Trent as he and Ethan rushed into the their teacher's house. Connor and Kira were standing in front of the secret staircase and shrugged their shoulders, indicated they had no idea what was going on. A moment late they heard pounding on the stairs and saw Dr. O come rushing down from upstairs, shoving stuff into a suitcase. "Is it a new monster? Elsa? Zeltrax? Mesogog himself?" he asked in a rush.
"No, it's worse, much worse." He said.
"What?" They all demanded.
"Kim's gone into labour early. Jason called and said that because she's only three weeks early the doctors are fairly confident the baby will be fine, but there might be some problems with Kim." He said all of this in once breath while never looking up from what he was shoving in his bag.
"What?" they all cried again, though this time more in worry then urgency.
"What problems?" asked Kira, her mind going back to when she was in the hospital and Kimberly giving her a transfusion. She dearly hoped it wasn't anything to do with that. Tommy, obviously sensing where his young charges mind was going stopped what he was doing for a moment and looked her in the eyes.
"This has nothing to do with blood. It's all to do with the slightly premature birth, the baby's placement in the womb and the baby's size compared to Kim's. Jason's a pretty big guy and Kim's this tiny little thing. She was huge at Christmas and was just entering her third trimester. The baby's obviously taking after Jase more then Kim and that doesn't bode well for a safe and easy delivery." Kira relaxed a little, but was still pretty tense.
"You'll call me if you need me." She said, not bothering to ask. "I know you can lose blood in childbirth if it does badly. Merrick could be God knows where and I can be in Angel Grove in a half hour if I take my Raptor Cycle." Tommy nodded and went back to packing, skirting around Kat when she appeared moments later. The four teens watched as their two teachers grabbed what they needed and made for the door. Tommy stopped before following Kat out of his house and into the car.
"We're going to Angel Grove. We'll be back for school on Monday. I know this is bad timing, but at least they haven't come up with another monster like Skortch. I have faith that you can handle anything that comes your way, but if you can't we have our communicators. Oh and lock the door when you leave. And you will be leaving. You are not to hang out in our house when Kat or I am not here. Use the cave entrance if you need the command centre." He looked each of them in the eye, daring them to defy him, then rushed out the door and into the waiting car, tearing out of the driveway, and speeding towards Angel Grove.
The ride was fast and tense. Neither Kat nor Tommy said much, and Kat didn't even bother to remind him of the speed limit. She was just as anxious as him to get to Kim and Jason and she knew that he wouldn't risk a ticket, as it would just slow them down.
"Man I miss my Falcon Zord." Tommy murmured as a car passed him then decided to go slow once back in the right lane.
"I could have been there by now."
"And how would that look?" asked Kat.
"I don't care how it would look." He growled.
"Sure you do. Because you know that it would bring unwanted attention onto not only you, but Jason and Kim and the new baby. While I believe that you could care less about yourself, you do care them." Tommy didn't bother to respond as he changed lanes and passed the slow car in front of him. There was less then two miles to their exit and Tommy was determined to each it in mere seconds. And sure enough ten seconds later they were pulling off the highway and racing towards to Angel Grove General hospital, albeit doing so a lot slower then Tommy would have liked. Finally they reached the their destination and Tommy pulled into the parking lot. They both jumped out of the car and dashed toward the entrance, pausing only long enough to lock the car and ensure the top was up so they stuff didn't get stolen. When they entered the lobby they didn't even have to go to the front desk, as it seemed that everyone was there waiting for them.
"How are they?" Tommy asked Billy, taking notice that Trini wasn't by his side.
"They're doing alright. Trini's in the room with them and they want you there too. We decided it would be an excellent idea to wait in lobby rather then the waiting room. There were many anxious fathers awaiting the birth of their children." He said and Tommy knew from Billy's toned down speech that while Kim and the baby might not be in immediate danger, there was definitely the possibility.
"Tommy, Kim wants both godparents there." Said Aisha. "You should head up. She's in room 312 in the maternity ward on the third floor. Turn right when you get out of the elevators and you can't miss it." Tommy nodded and shot Kat a quick look before taking off towards the elevators. It didn't take him long to find the maternity ward and even less time to find Kim's room. He hesitated outside the door, wondering what state he would find her in. A scream came from inside the room. He'd know that cry anywhere and it wasn't one he was used to ignoring. Following his instincts, Tommy hastily opened the door and found Kim sitting in the bed her face squeezed tightly in pain and Jason and Trini on either side of her, letting her break their hands. Tommy didn't know what to do so he remained standing there stupidly looking at his friends and wishing there was something he could do. It was barely a moment later that he got his wish.
"Tommy!" His head snapped up and he looked to Kim who had opened her eyes and was holding the hand that was previously in Trini's out. Tommy didn't hesitate in rushing over there and taking it. He didn't even regret it when he felt the bones in his hand contract under her grasp.
"I'm here, Kim. It's ok." He murmured reassuringly. She didn't say anything and continued to squeeze his hand for a few more moments. When the contraction ended, Kim relaxed aback against the pillow behind her head and released his hand. Tommy rubbed it gently trying to return feeling to it; across from him Jason did the same.
"How you doing, Kim?" he asked gently after she had caught her breath. She sent him a glare.
"How do you think I'm doing?" she snarled. "And it's all his fault!" she pointed to Jason who didn't seemed phased by her accusation, and instead ran a hand through her hair.
"I know, baby, I know."
"I want some ice." She pouted at him, her anger forgotten.
"Alright, I'll go get some." Jason assured her.
"Thanks." She said tiredly.
"Get some sleep, baby. You need your rest." Kim nodded but was already out for the count. Trini turned to Tommy and Jason.
"You two go and get her ice, I'll stay here in case she wakes up." Jason nodded and led Tommy from the room.
"How's she really doing?" Tommy asked the moment the door was closed.
"The doctors are hopeful. They say that there's virtually no danger to the baby. The risk to Kim is more but they're hopeful that they'll both be ok."
"What is the possibility of her needing blood?"
"Kira offered?" Tommy nodded.
"More like demanded, actually." He said as they reached the ice machine.
"I don't know. And we won't know until the actual birth. The doctors are keeping an eye on her in case it gets to the point that they have to do an emergency Caesarean section, but if it doesn't get to that point they want her to have as normal a birth as possible."
"Which means if she does need blood it'll be too late." Jason nodded, his jaw stiff.
"Have you called Dana?"
"She's on her way. Mariner Bay's a bit further then Reefside. And she doesn't drive like you."
"She's Lightspeed Rescue! She can drive however the hell she wants! That's one up side of having an open identity. When you speed everyone assumes your racing to save the world."
"But she's not."
"She's racing to save one of her own."
"But there's no certainty that she'll even be needed."
"How can you be so calm about this?" Tommy asked. "It's your wife and kid in there!"
"And that's exactly why I am calm. Running around like a headless chicken isn't going to help her. Kim needs me to be there for her. Whether it's letting her break my hand or fetching her ice, she needs me."
"But what if she dies Jase?"
"Don't say things like that!" Jason growled, his furious eyes turning on Tommy. "She'll be fine, and so will our baby." He sat down in a nearby chair and put his head in his hands. "Don't you think I'd be out there moving heaven and Earth if I knew it would help her? There are no guarantees, Tommy. If I do nothing she might live and if I do something she might die."
"There is one thing we can do." Said Tommy. Jason looked at him, a pleading look in his eyes. Tommy raised his communicator.
"Kira, do you read me?"
"I read you Dr. O. Is Ms. Hart ok? Does she need me?"
"She's doing ok so far. And we're not sure if she'll need blood yet, but we're not willing to take the chance. How's things in Reefside?"
"Quiet. Not a monster in sight. Should I come down?"
"No, I'll send someone to you. I don't want you to leave Reefside incase something happens. Head to the command centre and wait for them there."
"Will do Dr. O. Kira out." Tommy turned to Jason and saw his eyes were glassy with tears.
"Thank you."
"At least this way we'll have the blood if we need it. I'll send Billy. Hell know best how to take blood and how much we'll need."
"Tell him to take his Shark Cycle." Jason said, standing up, the cup of ice in his hand.
"Shark Cycle?" Tommy asked. Jason nodded.
"Didn't he tell you? Billy was able to restore our Dino Powers. Unfortunately not the Ninjetti though, meaning…"
"Meaning Kat can only access her Zeo Powers safely." Tommy said. "Alright I'll tell him. You get back to Kim." Tommy and Jason parted ways and Tommy headed back down to the lobby and over to his friends who all jumped at when they saw him.
"How is she?" asked Kat.
"She's alright for now. But Jason and I are worried that she'll lose too much blood during the birth. If that happens we need a Ranger donor."
"And the only two with Kim's blood type are Merrick and Kira." Said Tanya. Tommy nodded in agreement and turned to Billy.
"Billy we need you to go to Reefside and take some blood from Kira. She's waiting at my place."
"You think he'll make it in time?" asked Adam.
"Oh I think he'll be on his Shark Cycle." Said Tommy, dropping his voice so only his friends could hear him. Billy smiled a little.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I got Jason's back before he went to Reefside to help you guys out, but it was a one shot deal. It was a long road to get them back permanently."
"It's ok." Said Tommy. "I'm not worried about that. Just, please go get the blood for Kim." Billy nodded.
"I'll be back soon." He said and headed off towards the exit.
"What do we do in the meantime?" asked Zack, who had one arm around Angela. While Angela wasn't a Ranger, she was the closest friend any of them had in high school that wasn't. And now that Zack had let her in on the secret she had quickly become part of the family.
"There's not much we can do. But hey, Dana's on her way, she should be here soon. Keep a lookout for her." They nodded sat back down. Tommy gave Kat a quick kiss and headed back upstairs, arriving just in time to literally lend Kim a hand.
Billy's journey took a much shorter time then Tommy and Kat's. For one the Shark Cycle could reach speed much higher then Tommy's jeep. It also helped that everyone pulled to the side when they saw him coming, and any police he passed wouldn't dare stop a Power Ranger. Within record time he had reached the woods surrounding Tommy's house and was immensely glad that he lived in such a secluded area. No more stares at the Original Blue Ranger, a sight that hadn't been seen since 1996, and no one to follow him. Billy was riding through the woods, approaching what he believed to be the case entrance into Tommy underground lair, when he heard the sound of an approaching vehicle.
Or vehicles. He thought when he caught sight of the four brightly coloured cycles. They came upon him moments later and stopped just before him.
"Woah, another Ranger." Said Connor, Ethan rolled his eyes under his helmet.
"It's Mr. Cranston, Connor. Or is your hero worship of Mr. Scott so weak that you don't recognize he's wearing the same suit just in blue?"
"Oh." Said Connor. "I knew that."
"Sure you did." Kira ignored the two and turned her attention to Billy.
"Mr. Cranston there's a monster attacking on the boardwalk." She said and Billy cursed.
"This is unfortunate. However, the monster must be dealt with first. I shall accompany you and aid you in your endeavour. Perhaps with my aid this problem can be dealt with swiftly." Connor blinked a few times until Kira slapped him upside the head.
"Go!"
"Oh right." Connor started his Raptor Cycle again and led the way through the woods, Billy falling into place behind Trent. It did not take long to arrive and Billy's mind was racing seeing the T-Drones attacking civilians. It had been a long time since his last fight as a Ranger, but evidently it was like riding a bicycle. Plans, strategies, and escape routes were already forming in his head.
"I shall deal with the foot soldiers, and aid the civilians." He called, knowing that although he remembered how to fight, dealing with the main monster might not be such a good idea.
"Ethan you help him. Let's see how two blues work together. Trent, Kira and I will take big and ugly." Said Connor, taking point as leader.
"Right!" the others called, Billy noticed, without hesitation. He might be everything Tommy said; rash, bottomless pit, arrogant, vain, slacker with soccer and girls on the brain airhead, but when it came to Ranger business he was just like Tommy. A serious, calm strategist who put others before himself.
Well most of the time. Thought Billy who had heard to the Evil White Ranger incident from Jason. Moments later he as ripped from his musings by a Drone who decided on a pre-emptive attack.
They never learn. Billy kicked out with one foot and sent the Drone flying backwards. He stopped his Shark Cycle and leapt off, landing in a group a Drones, who wasted no time in attacking him. Though Billy didn't waste any time either. By the time Ethan joined him he had already dealt with ten Drones.
"Woah." Said Ethan. "That was awesome!"
"Thank you. Now, let us see what you can do, rookie." Billy was never one for terms such as that, that was more Jason's thing, but with all the feelings of being back in the suit, and realizing that his time as a Ranger had indeed been a long time ago, Billy was not entirely feeling like himself. If Ethan thought the previously soft-spoken Original Blue calling him rookie was weird he didn't show it. Instead he rose to the challenge and attacked the Drones with a vengeance, taking them down one by one.
"Not bad." Commented Billy before joining in, the two taking down the remaining Drones in record time. "Now that our initial task is accomplished, I say we join the others."
"Agreed." Said Ethan, and the two Blue Rangers ran over to join their comrades. It quickly became apparent that although they were not losing, neither were they winning. Billy watched as Kira got knocked backwards and landed a few feet away from him. He rushed over and helped her up, thankful that she didn't seem hurt, merely dazed from being thrown back so far. As he watched her regain her footing, Billy felt anger well up inside of him. This anger was not uncommon during his time as a Ranger when one of his friends was hurt, but now it came to the surface with ferocity. Not only were one of his best friends charges being hurt, but this monster was stopping him from gaining the blood necessary to help his best friend and sister.
"I'll take care of him." He snarled to Kira, holding her back. Kira looked to him taking in his tense stature, and didn't fight him. Billy ran towards the monster and kicked him away from Connor and Trent who were trying to double-team him.
"Power Lance!" he called and held his hands up, summoning his trusty old weapon. He charged at the monster and slashed at him time unyieldingly time and again. The other's gathered around and simply watched in awe as the usually well-mannered, non-confrontational man brought the monster to his knees.
"You're stopping me from helping someone very dear to me." He said as he approached for the final strike. "Do yourself a favour and do not reconfigure yourself into an oversized monster. You will not like the consequences." That said he brought his Power Lance up and slashed downwards, causing the monster to explode in a shower of sparks.
"That was awesome." Said Connor, as Billy walked back over to them. "I was about to go Triassic on him but you took him down all by yourself!"
"You would be surprised what us former Rangers are capable of when pushed too far. We had to be strong and grow up at an accelerated rate to protect the Earth. I am not saying that you haven't. You four have done an amazing job and have taking on more then you should at your young age. However, you have Tommy, and other Rangers to look to for guidance. We were first; we had to learn as we went and make it up when we needed to." He turned to Kira, not wanting to waste anymore time. "Now, we need to return to Tommy's. Then I need to take some blood and then I must return to Angel Grove in all haste. Kimberly is counting on it." The others nodded and followed them back to their cycles and back to Tommy's. Billy pulled into the cave behind Trent and de-morphed along with the others.
"Kira take a seat." He said as he reached into a compartment in the back of the cycle and pulled out a bag with needles, tubes and bags for the blood. He brought them over to Kira and sat before her. "This will not take long, and compared to the battle will not hurt one bit, I assure you."
"Don't worry, I can handle a needle." She said as Billy cleaned the area on the inside of her elbow and stuck the needle in, attaching the tube to it and watching as the red liquid flowed through it and into the bag.
"How's Ms. Hart doing, Mr. Cranston?" Kira asked once he removed his hands and waited for the bag to fill.
"Kimberly is doing as well as can be expected. We have been informed that the doctors are confident that both mother and child will make it. Though of course the danger is still present. And there is an even greater danger with Kimberly being a former Ranger. As you are well aware, our blood contains traces of The Power. Should Kimberly lose too much blood during the birth, a normal transfusion will not be acceptable."
"Which is both dangerous for Ms. Hart if mine or Merrick's blood is not easily accessible, and also risks the exposure of her Ranger status." Finished Kira. Billy nodded and stopped the blood flow to change over the bag.
"Two more should do it." He said. It didn't take long for those two bags to fill up and for Billy to pack them away. Billy pulled out his Morpher and turned to face the teens.
"Thank you for your help in this matter." He said to Kira.
"It's the least I could do." She said.
"And thanks for dealing with the monster." Said Trent. "I'm sure it'll be awhile before Mesogog sends another."
"Yea he'll be licking his wounds for a bit." Sniggered Connor. Billy nodded and turned to the Ethan.
"It was a pleasure fighting with a fellow blue. The best advice I can give you is that you are not weak simply because you are intelligent. Your teammates need you and look to you for guidance. It took me far too long to learn that lesson." Ethan nodded, a little surprised, but thankful all the same.
"Then I guess it's back to action." Said Billy, placing his hand behind his back. "It's Morphin Time! Triceratops!" seconds later the Blue Ranger stood in front of them and wasted no time in jumping on his Shark Cycle, saluting the young Rangers and tearing out of there. It was well past sunset by the time he hit the highway and thankfully the time it took him to get to Angel Grove was even shorter then before as there were fewer people on the road. Even a police car, who caught him speeding and gave chase, before they realized who he was, did not deter him from his final destination. He pulled into an alleyway by the hospital and de-morphed, taking the bag full of Kira's blood out of his cycle before sending it back to the hanger he had built in his basement, taking a leaf out of Tommy's book. When he jogged up to the hospital's main entrance he saw the Rescue Rover parked in two parking spaces off to the side and was immensely thankful that Dana had arrived. Only Rocky was waiting for him in the lobby when he finally made it inside.
"Where were you?" Rocky asked jumping up. "You've been gone for three hours! Kim's contractions are just over a minute apart now. Dana got here nearly two hours ago and is going spare debating if she should send Carter to find Merrick or if you're going to return anytime while the baby's still inside Kim!"
"My apologies. No sooner had I arrived in Reefside then I was greeted by the Dino Rangers rushing to a monster attack. Naturally I offered my assistance."
"These guys always have the worst timing." Commented Rocky as he led Billy to the elevators.
"Where have the rest of our friends gone?" asked Billy as they climbed into the elevator and Rocky hit the three then the close button not caring that the door closed on someone else.
"They're upstairs in the waiting room. With Kim so close we deemed it alright to invade. Then there's the fact that the only nervous father-to-be pacing is now Jason. All the others are now holding their kids."
"Why is Jason not in the room with Kimberly?"
"Dana kicked him out." He answered as they stepped out of the elevator and rushed to the maternity ward. "Once her contractions reached two minutes apart Dana didn't want to leave her and Jase was getting in the way."
"And Tommy and Trini?" Billy said as they rounded the corner.
"Well Kim wouldn't let go of their hands, so they couldn't really get in the way."
"I see." When they entered the maternity ward they were greeted by their friends who were all glad to finally see him. Jason ran up to him and grabbed the bag out of Billy's hands.
"Thank you! I'll get this to Dana, any excuse to see him." He muttered. "You can explain what took so long when this is over." That said he ran off in the direction of Kim's room. Chaos was the appropriate word to use to describe the sight that greeted Jason. Kim was sitting on the bed, crying in pain with Tommy and Trini on either side of her. There were nurses rushing around getting all sorts of medical equipment ready and Dana was in the centre of it giving orders. When Jason opened the door Dana turned around and glared at him.
"I thought I told you to stay out."
"Billy's back." Jason cried, holding up the bag, in explanation. Dana sighed in relief and grabbed the bag from him, placing it on the table next to the end of the bed.
"Jase!" cried Kim who had a moment of reprieve. Jason didn't hesitate in going over to her and taking her hand from Tommy.
"I'm here, Kim. You're doing great sweetheart." Dana took that moment to sit on a stool at the end of the bed and look beneath the sheet covering Kim.
"You're fully dilated Kim." She said. "The baby's in the correct position and I can't see any reason not to try for a natural birth. We're ready for an emergency Caesarean section if something goes wrong, but I think you'll be ok." Kim smiled tiredly.
"That's great"
"So on the next contraction I want you to push, ok?"
"30 seconds." Said the nurse. Dana snapped to Jason.
"If you're staying go get scrubbed up." Jason nodded and ran over to a nurse who held out scrubs for him, and was back beside Kim with ten seconds to spare.
"Kim I don't think I should be here for this." Said Tommy. "It's crowded in here, and-" he was cut off by a cry from Kim.
"Push Kimberly!" said Dana. After what seemed like hours to Jason, Tommy and Trini the contraction ended and Dana told her to relax.
"I really don't think I should be here." Reiterated Tommy.
"Little late for that, don't you think?" snarled Kim. "I never said you had to be here for the actual birth. I never even said Jason had to be here."
"Where else would I be?" asked Jason.
"Ok Kimberly, here comes another contraction." Kim cried out again and Tommy forgot that he really didn't want to see this, instead her opted for placing a hand on Kim's shoulder and copying Jason and Trini in reassuring her everything would be alright.
Outside the room there were numerous men wearing through the floor with their pacing. To an outsider it looked as if they were any other expectant fathers. To those within the Ranger circle it was the males worried over their tiny Pink friend and sister, just as they always had. The girls were sitting in chairs wringing their hands, along with Carter whom had accompanied Dana. Finally, nearly an hour after Billy had returned Rocky could stand the silence no more.
"How long does it take to have a baby?" he cried in frustration and dropped into a seat next to Aisha.
"It can take a long time, Rocky." She murmured.
"But Dana's in there and hasn't come back out. That must mean she's close!"
"Close doesn't mean she's had the baby."
"Arghhh!" Rocky dropped his head in to his hands. He wasn't the only one. The other Rangers were feeling the strain. It had been a long day and an even longer night. It was nearing one am, and Kim had been in labour for the past twelve hours. A few minutes past in which the former Rangers ceased there pacing, though it didn't last long. Thankfully, just as they took it up again, Tommy came out into the lobby, looking terrified and yet wearing a goofy smile. They all turned to him and waited with baited breath.
"It's a girl!" he said. His words opened the floodgates for cries of joy, hugs and tears from them all, though the guys would deny it and say it was due to sleep deprivation.
"How are they?" Aisha asked once the noise had calmed down.
"The baby's fine, Dana says that a couple of weeks premature isn't too bad, though they're going to keep her for at least one night for observation."
"And Kim?" asked Kat coming up and wrapping her arms around Tommy, who let his hand go to her waist.
"Kim's a little worse. No Caesarean section but there was blood and a bit of tearing, but Dana's hooked her up to an IV with Kira's blood and she expects her to be just fine with a bit of time." Everyone sighed in relief and smiles broke out on all their faces.
"Dude, you were in there when Kim actually gave birth?" asked Rocky. Tommy paled, the look of terror taking over.
"It was horrible. The screaming, the pushing, the breaking of the hand, the blood and other…stuff coming out of Kim that I don't even want to think about." He shuddered and the other guys shuddered with him. The girls looked to each other as if to say 'how are they going to react when us and their kids in there?' However they wisely said nothing, leaving that argument for another day.
"But you know that cliché, about it all being worth it when hold the kid for the first time? It's not even my kid and I can tell you it's completely true."
"You held her already?" asked Kat. Tommy nodded, his smile returning.
"Yea. When she let out her first cry Jason went into shock. The nurse had to bring over the scissors for him to cut the umbilical cord and nearly had to help him do it. He and Trini were still holding Kim's hands, I'd been told to sit behind and offer support so she didn't kill her back. Jason was going to but Kim wouldn't let go of his hand. Anyways once she cried I got out from behind Kim and got to pass her from the Dana to Kim." The girls 'awwwed', and the guys, who would normally have made fun of Tommy for his sentimentality, merely smiled.
"Can we go see them?" demanded Aisha.
"Yea, yea. They sent me out to get you."
"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Rocky, who shoved Tommy through the door and followed him down the hall. Carter, although grateful Kim and the baby were safe, opted to stay back and let the friends have time together. Instead her went off in search of Dana, who if he knew, and he did, he'd find her in the ER helping someone else in need. Down the hallway, Tommy gently opened the door to Kim's room and the sight that greeted them made even the guys 'awww.' Kim was sitting up in the bed, looking pale and tired, but the expression on her face showed her true feelings of absolute bliss. Trini was sitting at the end of the bed and Jason was standing beside Kim, one arm wrapped around her and the other supporting the bundle in Kim's arms. The three adults turned to face the newcomers and their smiles grew seeing all of their friends piling into the room.
"Hey." Whispered Jason, indicating to the closed eyes of his daughter. Everyone waved taking the hint and trying to be as quiet as possible. The girls all crowded around the bed taking in the newest member to their family. The guys stayed back a bit but their taller statures offered them a perfect view of the child wrapped in pink.
"She's perfect." Whispered Aisha, and Jason and Kim's smiles brightened.
"What's her name?" asked Kat.
"Marissa Eleanor Scott." Said Kim, looking down at her daughter. "Mari for short."
"It is a beautiful name. Is there any significance to it?" asked Billy. Jason and Kim shook their heads.
"No." said Jason. "We were going through the baby name book one day and I liked Marissa, Kim liked Eleanor. So, we decided to forgo naming her after anyone we knew."
"Well I guess that's a good thing." Said Adam.
"Yea, she'll have enough to live up to being the daughter of two Original Rangers." Imputed Rocky. Jason's head snapped up to look at his successor.
"Hey, my daughter will not have that kind of pressure placed on her!" he said forcefully, then turned and glared at Tommy.
"Nor will she become a Ranger herself." Tommy glared right back at his best friend.
"We've already agreed boys aren't getting within fifty feet of her, you think I'd let my goddaughter get within a hundred feet of a Morpher?" the two glared at each other for another moment before nodded and turning their attention back to the girl in question.
"How about letting her grow up and make her own choices?" asked Kim, her voice a little hoarse.
"Nah." All the guys said at once with no hesitation. Though they did regret voicing their opinion when the noise of five voices speaking at once was loud enough to wake up the object of their attention. Mari let out a loud cry and Kim bounced her gently, cooing softly at her daughter. When she didn't calm down at all she passed Mari over to her father who was not confined to the bed and it wasn't long before she was lulled back to sleep.
"I think we should go." Said Kat. "We won't be far, but now that she's here and you're both safe I think we could all do with a nap and a shower." The others nodded, although reluctantly as they didn't want to leave Mari. "We'll return first thing tomorrow morning." Kat promised and went over to Jason, bending down and placing a gently kiss on Mari's forehead. Everyone followed suit, before trudging out the door, Billy and Kat leading an exhausted Trini and Tommy. Kat and Tommy made it to the jeep before heading to Tommy's parents house by default. Tommy still had a key and they knew his parents would welcome the surprise come morning when they came upstairs for breakfast. They were halfway to Tommy's parents house before Kat broke the silence.
"So, was it really that horrible? The birth I mean?" she asked.
"Kat it was the worst thing ever. Mari's great, and what I said about holding her for the first time was true, but it's one thing to hear about childbirth in sex ed. back in high school, it's entirely different to see it first hand. I can't ever imagine you going through that."
"You can't?" she asked, a bit quieter. "So you don't ever want children?"
"I don't know Kat. I know I don't want to put you through that. And I've never really thought of kids before. What with being a Ranger they seemed like a non-issue fore me, the possibility of me dying was too great."
"But you don't want children." She said, turning to look out the window and up at the familiar house as they finally arrived and pulled into the driveway.
"I told you, I don't…" Tommy stopped short and slowly turned to face Kat, a look of completely and utter terror on his face, reminiscent of the one he wore coming out of the birthing room, though ten times worse.
"Kat…" he hesitated looking into her eyes. "Are you trying to tell me you're pregnant?"
A/N - Alright! The baby's here! About time, given how far along I said Kim was at the beginning of the story.
On That note I've re-read the entire story and changed a few things to keep with continuity, as I'm apparently very bad at that. There's no need to go back and re-read thinking I changed something you need to know, nothing major was changed, nothing that would effect a plot point, merely that I went back to the beginning and changed a sentence or two in the early chapters so they matched up to the later ones.
On another entirely different note, I've written the next 2 chapters of the story meaning they should be up within the week! Also we're getting so close to the end, only about 3-4 more chapters. I hope to have the story done by the end of summer or shortly thereafter.
Review please!
