DISCLAIMER: Please read previous chapters. I own Meredith.

COMING HOME?

The next few months flew by for Tommy, but crept by slowly for his loved ones back in California.

He'd received several letters from his sister. Mostly detailing what she and Rocky had done with the rest of the group, but Tommy also detected a bit of sadness in her letters. Sadness that wasn't just from him being away, but the fact that all their close friends had children. Adam and Tanya had Jasmine and were discussing adding a second to their family. Jason and Katherine had married shortly after Chloe was born and Kimberly and he had Siobhan.
Tommy knew Meredith and Rocky wanted children, but why they didn't have them wasn't something Tommy wanted to get discuss with either his sister or brother-in-law.
Tommy was getting excited. He'd just finished a crucial stage in his research and Anton had told him he would be able to spend three weeks back in California, just in time for Siobhan's first birthday. He couldn't wait. He hadn't told anyone about the length of the leave because he wanted to spend as much time with his daughter and Kimberly as possible.
Despite the distance, Kimberly had told Tommy that she wanted to be with him. She wanted them to get married when he returned from the island.
A month into his job, Kimberly had moved into his house and sold her home that was closer to town. Despite the isolation of Tommy's house, Kim said she felt safer because no one knew she was staying there.
She admitted to Tommy in an email that she'd gotten three threatening notes that had she had given to Jason who'd given them to Billy for analysis. Billy didn't know who they were from, but did detect a slight amount of evil energy around them.
Jason and Rocky had promised they'd keep a closer eye on Kim and Siobhan. Tommy would feel better when he returned to California and could watch them himself, but his two best friends were doing a good job for him.
Tommy glanced over the final preparations for his trip home. He picked up the satellite phone and called his sister. He knew it would be late there, but he knew she wanted to hear from him.
"Hello," Rocky said.
"Hey, bro. Sorry to call so late," Tommy said.
"No problem. Meri's actually working the on-call shift tonight, so she's at the hospital. I can't sleep that well when she's not here. I'm just working on some plans for a new apartment building. How's life in the lab," Rocky said.
Tommy chuckled. "Well, the exciting stuff has ended for a while and I'm getting some time off. I'll be back in time for Siobhan's first birthday. I just wanted to know if Meri would be able to pick me up on the eighth. My flight gets in around 11 that night. Kind of late, I know, but I'd hate for Kim to drag Siobhan out that late or to have her get someone to watch her. Thought I could crash at your place for a few hours and then head over to the house," Tommy said.
"Well, I'll put it on the calendar. If Meri is working or on-call, I'll be able to get you," Rocky said.
"Thanks man. So how are things," Tommy asked.
"Still nothing on Kim's stalker. She's changed her cell phone and all her mail goes to a PO Box now. We've gotten several more letters that Billy has to analyze. Jason and I are clueless about who would do this to Kim. Andros doesn't have a clue. He even asked the Time Force guys if they knew anything, but they don't have any information. Well, none that they can give us anyway. We're grasping at straws trying to figure things out," Rocky said.
"How's everything else," he asked, not wanting to talk about the threat because then he didn't like his attitude after hearing about it. He told himself he'd be able to deal with it when he got home.
"Nothing much. Meri's busy with work. Jason got his new job," Rocky said.
"Physical Therapy wasn't working for him," Tommy asked, shocked that he didn't know his best friend had changed careers.
"He's been taking criminal justice classes for a while. He wasn't liking the fact that he saw people after something happened to them. He wanted to see if he could prevent things, so he started back to school. He's been hired with the sheriff's office and is working on becoming a detective. He seems to really like it, but Kat's scared to death," Rocky said.

"I'm sure. Well, I'll see you on the eighth. I'll send Meri an email so you have the specifics just in case it's you and not her. Tell her I said hello," Tommy said before ending the call.
He went back to finishing his work so he could get home to his love and daughter.

"I can't believe I'm going to have to give those parents that devastating news about their child. Imagine a broken femur in a freak accident that leads you to discover cancer. Sometimes, I think I'm going to hate this job," Meredith told her fellow resident physician. She picked up the chart and went into the room that housed the thirteen-year-old boy and his anxious family.
After delivering the news, she went into the doctor's lounge to have herself a good cry and a cup of horrible coffee. She was pouring herself a mix of the toxic brew when Adam walked into the lounge.
"I'm going to stop you before you kill yourself with that stuff. Let's go to coffee kiosk. My treat," he said, taking his friend's arm.
"Don't you have patient's to see," Meredith asked while following him out the door.
"Nothing pressing. Besides, even residents get a break every now and then," he said, giving her a smile.
The two friends walked out of the hospital to the coffee kiosk on the corner. It was really just a small shop were you zipped in and got coffee and zipped out with your order. They prided themselves on fast service and the physician's at the hospital loved the place.
"One mocha espresso and one caramel latte," Adam said, placing the money on the counter. He was quickly given the two steaming drinks and handed Meredith hers before they walked back to the hospital.
"How did you know what I wanted today," she asked.
"I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but I knew you were upset. You usually get that when you're upset," he said.
"I don't know how Tanya will take that," she said, smiling and taking a drink.
"She's glad you're looking out for me," he said, holding the door open for her.
"I had to tell a family that their child's femur fracture was a blessing because the type of cancer he had was detected before it could do serious damage. Now the only question they face besides chemo versus radiation is do they amputate or not," she said, taking a drink.
"Wow. That's heavy stuff. When are you off duty," he asked.
"Four hours. Then I have the next 72 off and I'm not leaving the apartment," she said, smiling.
"Rocky won't know what hit him," Adam said, laughing.
Meredith turned ten shades of red. She shook her head at her friend when her phone went off. She read the text message. "Guy fell off a roof and has an open tibial fracture. It's on me. Thanks for the coffee. You and Tanya have to bring Jasmine and come over for dinner next week," she said, heading to the door.
"I'll give you a call," he said, as his phone went off also. He glanced at the reading.
"Well, I'm off to the ER as well. Someone thinks they have a patient having a heart attack. I'll walk with you," he said and the two headed off toward the ER to see their respective patients.

Kimberly was busy getting the final preparations in place for Siobhan's first birthday. She knew Tommy was trying to get home for the party, but she was also planning for him to not be there, just in case something happened. She couldn't wait until this job was over and they were back together.
The phone rang.
"Hello," she said.
"Kimberly, it's Jane Oliver. What can I bring to Siobhan's party? I hate that you're doing everything on your own," she said.
"Mama Oliver, it's fine. I love doing whatever I can for Siobhan. I have the cake ordered and I decided to have someone cater it with sandwiches and salads. That way I don't have to spend any time in the kitchen. That's one skill I have yet to master," Kimberly said, laughing.
"Well, dear, if you think of anything let me know. I'll do anything for my granddaughter," Jane said.
"Thanks. Have you heard from Tommy? He called the other morning, but I was at work and missed it. Did he happen to call you and mention if he was coming home," she asked.
"I haven't talked to Tommy in two weeks. He doesn't usually call, he sends emails. He might have talked to Meredith. She's been on nights this week, so I haven't talked to her," Tommy's mom said.
"I'll call Meri. I'll let you know if I think of anything," Kim said.
She thanked Tommy's mom and hung up the phone.
She went out of the kitchen and headed upstairs. She was seriously thinking of redecorating Tommy's house, especially if she and Siobhan were going to call this place home. Most of her furniture was in storage because Tommy already had furniture.
As she entered the bedroom, she seriously decided that she had to redo the bedroom. The bedroom was lacking an actual headboard for the bed and the dressers didn't match. 'Yeah, definitely gotta update this boy's style,' she thought to herself as she got into bed.

Meredith signed out her patients to the next set of residents coming on call and was relieved to head out to her car at the end of the shift. It had been a seriously long night and she was so glad that the shift was finished.
She unlocked her car door and got inside. She was heading for home when her phone rang.
"Hey, Kim," she said.
"Meri, have you heard when Tommy's coming home," Kim asked.
"I didn't get a date from him. He's supposed to email me, but I haven't gotten it from him," Meredith said.
"Will you let me know if you hear from him? I'd like to make sure that I'm able to get him from the airport and that he's going to be here for Siobhan's birthday," Kim asked.
"Yeah, no problem," Meredith said.
She pulled in front of her building and walked up the steps. She entered the apartment to find her husband standing in the kitchen with a cup of coffee. She dropped her stuff on the bench by the door and kissed her hubby.
"You got a minute or do you need to sleep" Rocky asked.
"What's up," she asked.
"Tommy's coming home on the eighth. We're supposed to pick him up. He wants to be home for Siobhan's birthday. He's emailing you the information," Rocky said.
"That's great. Kim was just asking me if I'd heard from him. He must be busy," she said.
"Well, get some sleep. I'm going to run these plans to the office and then come back and work on the books for the dojo. We'll go to lunch when you wake up," he said.
"Sounds good. Love you," she said, kissing him and heading upstairs to crash.

Something didn't feel right. The whole island felt weird.
Tommy looked around the lab, hoping it would calm his nerves. It didn't work.
The uneasy feeling he was having had served him well as a ranger, but he hadn't felt it in his adult life. He'd almost ignored the feeling, but he couldn't let it go.
Deciding it was the fact that the island was nearly deserted, Tommy picked up his briefcase that held his important notes and such. He started heading out the door when he thought he heard something. 'Everyone left this morning for their mini-vacation,' he thought to himself. He was leaving in the morning, deciding to take an extra day at the island so he could finish the paperwork he would have when he returned. Finishing it now gave him a few extra days in California. He was taking all the time he could.
He locked the door to the lab when, again, he felt uneasy.
Shaking the feeling off, he walked down the quiet and darkened corridor. He had entered his apartment and glanced out the window when he thought he saw movement.
Glancing out the window, he decided his exhaustion was catching up to him and he was hallucinating.
He started to change his clothes, but something stopped him. Just then he saw what looked like a Tyrannodrone go past his window.
'That's impossible. I destroyed the ones I created,' he thought to himself.
Suddenly, one crashed through his bedroom window. Tommy leapt to the side, grabbed his briefcase off his desk and darted out the door. He threw open his front door and rushed out onto the island.
He ran toward the boat launch, thinking he'd head to the mainland.
The island shook. Having lived in California for a good many years, Tommy knew the island was having an earthquake.
He turned toward the beach, but saw a Tyrannodrone blocking his path. HE headed back into the woods.
He looked around his surroundings, trying to come up with a plan. The island producing small tremors at his feet, lending urgency to the plan.
He turned around and bumped right into a pair of Tyrannodrone.
He fought them off and took off running. He had no destination in mind, except getting away from the Tyrannodrone and getting off the island.
He fought a dozen Tyrannodrone before ending up at a cliff on the shaking island. The tremors were constant now.
Suddenly, Tommy saw fire lighting up the twilit sky. The cascading explosions were coming toward him. He looked around, but saw no way to get away.
Just as the island started sinking, Tommy leapt off the cliff. He gave no thought to what would happen when he hit the water, but he had to take the chance. He prepared himself for the brutal beating he'd take when he hit the water.
He wasn't prepared for the temperature of the water as he fell into it. He slipped under the inky black water as the island slipped beneath the waves, it's fires quashed by the water flooding the surface.
Tommy continued to sink lower and lower, making no effort to fight to the surface.

Back in California, Meredith was sleeping in the bed she shared with Rocky. He'd gone upstairs to change clothes. He quietly entered the bedroom and noticed Meredith was fighting the sheets in the form of a dream. Just then, Meredith sat straight up in the bed and screamed, "TOMMY!" Rocky rushed to his wife only to be met with her anguished and tear stained face.

At that same moment, Kimberly was having severe chest pain. The pain was so intense, she bent over in her kitchen and placed herself on the floor. Then a sudden emptiness that compounded the ache. "Tommy," she whispered before she started crying.
***Insert ominous music here. Well, what's going to happen? Have to wait for the next chapter. I know, you hate me right now.*** -mereditholiver