DISCLAIMER: Please see previous chapters as nothing has changed.
WHAT'S MISSING
Billy continued to look at the data. He was almost certain Kimberly was being held in the moon palace but could not penetrate the shield. He was beginning to believe whomever had Kimberly had wanted Rocky found easily so Kimberly would be unprotected during the rescue mission.
He continued looking over his equipment and wondered what would happen if he went to the group and wasn't successful. He couldn't stand the thought of seeing Tommy's heart break in front of him and he knew he wouldn't be able to handle the anger.
Jason was angry. He didn't have a clue what had happened to Kimberly; who had taken her. He'd been removed from the investigation, but he knew the police department didn't think she'd been kidnapped. Anything else would have them revealing her identity as a former power ranger and that was something the friends knew they couldn't do. All Jason could do was hope Billy found something to lead them to Kim and the police believed she just went off by herself for a while to get away. That's what Tommy was trying to convince them of now, since the former rangers knew there was an evil energy involved.
The biggest worry on his mind was the whole Rita and Zedd daughter mess.
They all knew, thanks to the Time Force Rangers who visited them in the past, that Adam would destroy Thrax while helping Operation Overdrive. The Time Force team didn't reveal the what happened and when it would happen, just that Adam would play a major part in the demise of Thrax.
Jason had asked Andros if the Time Force team knew anything about the future meeting of Adam and Thrax. Jason was told that they knew of the daughter, but the identity was unknown to them. Jason wondered if that was the motivation behind Kimberly's kidnapping.
Jason went upstairs to find his wife sleeping peacefully in their bed, unaware of the turmoil going through Jason's head. He peeked into Chloe's room before crawling into bed with his wife, hoping this day would be a dream and Kimberly and Tommy would get to live happily ever after.
Meredith woke up and slipped downstairs. She needed to think about this whole situatioin. She was tired and emotionally drained from the last few days. Of course, she knew she couldn't relax until she was sure Kimberly was safe. She pulled out her cell phone and called downstairs to Eric.
"Meri, everything OK," Eric asked.
"Yeah, Rocky came home about 12 hours ago and he's been sleeping since he came home," Meredith said.
"That's great. Is he OK," Eric asked.
"Just exhausted. I'm sure he'll be starving when he wakes up," she said.
"Rocky and food. His feasts are lengendary, Meri. So what's up," he asked.
"I need to know if you can keep the dojo here under control for a bit longer. I don't want Rocky going back to work for about a week, so will you keep things under control. You've been doing great," Meredith said.
"Sure, what ever you need. Rocky's been giving me more responsibility with this location when he started opening those other schools, so I think I can handle it. Just let me know what you want me to do," he said.
"Thanks, Eric. You've been a great friend to me during all of this," Meredith said.
"Hey, rangers stick together. You guys gave me a place to live AND a job when I was lost when I wasn't a ranger any longer. I'll do anything I can to help you both, you know that, Meri," Eric said. And he meant it. Eric thought of the couple as siblings. He had a great relationship with both of them. He sparred with Rocky and helped with the dojo. He helped Meredith when she taught her self-defense classes. Meredith thought of Eric as her brother and treated him like she did Tommy.
Meredith put the cell on the counter and made her way up the stairs to her bedroom, eager to set eyes on her husband.
She entered the bedroom and was surprised to find he wasn't in their bed.
"Rocky," she called, heading into the bathroom. She heard the shower running. "Rocky, I'm back. Sorry I wasn't here when you woke up," she said, entering the bathroom. She approached the shower and was shocked to find her husband sitting on the floor of the shower, staring off into space.
Meredith crouched down next to him, ignoring the spray from the shower and the fact that it was getting colder by the minute.
"Honey, are you OK," she whispered.
Rocky stared at the wall and slowly turned his head to face her. He blinked several times as if to make sure she was really there.
"Babe," he whispered.
"I'm right here," she said.
Rocky reached out and grabbed onto her. Meredith sat on the floor next to her husband, holding him. "What's wrong," she asked. Pulling from her medical background, he was acting like a man suffering from PTSD.
Meredith held her husband until he realized she was there. "Meredith? What happened," he said, shaking from the cold water that was raining down on them. Meredith reached up and turned off the water. Rocky's tight grip on her had prevented her from doing it before now. She grabbed the towel off the door and wrapped it around him.
"You were somewhere else. Do you remember," she asked her husband, gently probing him for information.
"I was in the shower and the hardness and coldness of the floor and the walls reminded me of that castle dungeon. I remembered a voice that was right at the edge of my memory. I had heard it before, but not enough to know what I was hearing right away. For a bit I guess I was back there," he said. He got off the floor and helped his wife up. He grabbed his robe off the back of the bathroom door and exited the room. He sat on the edge of the bed, watching Meredith.
"I'm sorry I wasn't here when you got up. It's only natural that you'd feel a bit weird after your experience. I'm so sorry I wasn't here," she said. She shivered slightly, her clothes dripping on the plush bathroom rug.
"Oh, God, babe, you're freezing," Rocky said, jumping up off the bed and grabbing towels to help his wife.
He helped Meredith undress and helped her into her robe.
"Are you OK? Nothing happened with the baby, right," Rocky said, changing the focus off him.
"I'm just cold and scared. Rocky, I found you on the floor of the shower, staring off into space. Are you sure nothing happened to you in that dungeon other than not being able to lie down," she prodded.
"Positive. What I remember was just missing you like crazy and feeling like I was going to miss a lot and worrying about how you were going to feel. I was in pain, but it was emotional," he said.
"OK. Do you want to order out for dinner? I don't feel like cooking," she said, as she tied the belt around her waist.
"Fine, babe," Rocky said. He took some clothes out of his drawer and got Meredith's favorite fleece pants and t shirt out of her dresser.
Rocky laughed at the pants she wore. As a joke one year, Tommy had gotten Meredith purple ranger pajama pants. Meredith loved them and, considering she always bought gag gifts like that for her friends, it was appropriate. She also liked to wear two of Rocky's shirts that said 'The Red Ranger does it best' and 'My heart belongs to the Red Ranger.' Rocky always got a kick out of seeing her wearing those shirts because of how true they were and no one but their inner circle knew the truth.
Meredith smiled at his choices and changed her clothes. Before pulling the shirt over her head, Rocky laid a protective hand on her belly. He smiled up at his wife and said, "Our kid's in there. Isn't that awesome." Meredith smiled back at him and kissed him.
"Why don't you order the food. I need to make a phone call. I want to check on Tommy since Kimberly's missing," she said.
"What? What happened," Rocky asked, immediately concerned for both his brother-in-law and his 'little sister.'
"Order dinner and I'll tell you while we're waiting. I want to make sure everything is OK," she said. She followed Rocky out of the bathroom and down the stairs. She picked up her cell phone from the counter and went into the living room. Rocky picked up the kitchen phone and placed a call to their favorite Chinese place.
When Meredith was sure Rocky was occupied, she called Adam.
"Mer, anything on Kim," Tanya asked when she answered the phone.
"No. I was calling to speak to Adam about Rocky," she said.
"Sure. He's right here," Tanya said. Meredith heard the phone being given to Adam.
"What's up, Meri? Something wrong," he asked.
"I have a feeling Rocky's got some PTSD. I found him in the corner of the shower staring off in the space as he sat on the floor. It took him a few minutes to realize I was there and I got drenched myself because he grabbed on and wouldn't let go. Think you could make an excuse to hang out with him. See if you notice anything," she asked.
"Sure. I'll call him in a little while and see what I can set up," Adam said.
"Thanks. I'm going to call Tommy and see if anything has developed on the Kimberly front since we left," Meredith said ending the call and calling her brother.
"Meri, have you heard from Kim again," he asked without saying hello.
"No, I was calling to find out if anything new has developed," she said.
"Nothing. Billy's supposed to come by in the morning and let us know what he's found. In the meantime, I'm thinking of taking Siobhan to mom and dad's. If I have to go off and save Kimberly, I don't want to worry about Siobhan getting hurt," Tommy said.
"Sounds like a plan, but I don't think Kim's kidnapper is interested in hurting Siobhan. They had the perfect opportunity to do it, but they didn't. They took Kim and left the baby. Doesn't sound like they were concerned with her," Meredith said.
"That's a pleasant thought. Leaving a baby alone because you're consumed with something for the baby's mother. Thanks for that thought, Meri," Tommy said.
"Sorry. Let me know if you find out anything and I'll be over in the morning," she said.
"You should rest. After all, you're pregnant, too," Tommy reminded his sister.
"I know. I'm being careful, I just want to help you," she said.
"That's your problem. You have to fix everything, but I love you for that," he said.
"I like control. It's an OCD thing, remember," she said.
"I just feel so lost without her, Mer. I don't know what to do. I can imagine this is how you felt when Rocky was missing," Tommy said.
"I felt like I couldn't breathe. That every breath I managed to take forced me farther and farther away from him. I felt empty. Nothing had any substance. Love didn't exist for me anymore. When Rocky came home, I felt complete," she said.
"That's it. I don't know what to do," Tommy said, his voice breaking.
"You'll survive. We'll find Kim and you'll get married and I'll wear some stupid pink dress at the wedding," she said.
"You love pink," he said.
"On anyone but me," she said.
The siblings said good-bye. Meredith noticed Rocky standing in the archway between the kitchen and dining room.
"Everything OK with Tommy," he asked, walking toward her.
"For now. He knows she's still alive, but he feels lost without her. Kind of like me when you were gone," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck.
They shared a hug and Meredith closed her eyes. She sent a silent prayer to the heavens that they would find Kimberly and everything could go back to normal. Or at least, normal for them. She just hoped Rocky's incident was an isolated one because she didn't know if she could handle losing him a second time. The only difference was he'd be there in body, but not in mind.
Somewhere in the sky, Zordon looked down on his rangers and realized they were struggling. He thought of a way he could help them in his present form, but came up with nothing. He decided to do something that was sure to shock his fellow inter-dimensional beings. He was going to have to figure out how to get to Earth and once again guide his 'children.'
***Drama, drama. Don't you just love it? What's Karma going to throw at them next?***
