His daughter… He didn't have a daughter. Did he? Not as far as he was aware of. He hadn't even seen Kimberly in over a year. And he hadn't communicated with her at all; she had broken up with him months ago after basically admitting she'd been cheating on him in Florida. It didn't make sense. None of it did.

Pressing his soulful eyes closed tightly, Tommy let out a slow breath, trying to center himself, "Am I really awake, or is this some dream Zedd put in my head while I'm under his sleep spell," The young man asked, rationalizing in his mind that a magic induced delusion made much more sense than the idea that his ex-girl had given birth to his child and kept her hidden for nearly a year.

Making her way up the stairs to where her boyfriend was seated, Katherine pursed her lips. As much as she would have liked all of this to be a figment of Tommy's unconscious imagination, it was very real. Kim had come back and dropped a bomb and now she would be there to deal with the fallout. Kneeling at the side of the bed, the tall blonde brought her hands up to lightly cup the boy's face, "It is very real, Tommy," She told him in a firm but soft manner, "You're awake and this is happening."

When Tommy's eyes opened for a second time his dark hazel orbs were met with his girlfriend's silvery blue ones, anchoring him to reality and cementing the truth in his mind. His ex had returned to Angel Grove to save him and had brought their daughter with her. His daughter. He was a father…

Kimberly was still seated next to him on the bed, holding the small, chubby cheeked little girl on her lap. Her knee jiggling as she bounded the baby up and down on her lap, trying to keep her amused. The young mother's face was grave. Her forehead wrinkled with concern. She already knew what question was about to escape her former flame's lips before he asked, the problem was she wasn't sure how she would answer.

"Kim… Why didn't you tell me," The White Ranger questioned as he gazed over at the infant, sitting comfortably in her mother's arms. Seeing for the first time his own eyes reflected back on him from his only child's face. Bianca had a pale, creamy complexion and an adorable button nose just like her mom, but her eyes… She had her father's eyes.

There was a small throat clearing from down below and everyone turned their attention in the direction of the noise. Billy was standing in the center of the Command Center, looking up at the scene taking place on the platform, "Perhaps we should give Tommy and Kimberly some time alone to discuss things…" He suggested, already sensing the tension that had started to build. It was obvious that Kim and Tommy were going to have a lot to talk about, and the Blue Ranger felt like it wasn't the place for the rest of the team to be there, listening in to such a private conversation. It had been hard enough for Kim to tell the tale to just him and Aisha, certainly having the rest of the Rangers as well as Alpha and Zordon listening in would only make things worse for the teen mom.

Billy's sentiment was backed by that of their mentor when Zordon himself spoke, "Affirmative Billy, Kimberly and Tommy will need some time alone. Alpha, place yourself in sleep mode, but before that send me into suspended animation. The Rangers can reactivate us when they are ready,"

No one questioned their ancient general when he supported the idea of offering their two friends privacy. Combined with the fact that the teens had gotten hardly any rest in the past few days, between organizing the kids movie night days before, then fighting Zedd's monster and lastly trying to figure out how to wake their leader. The team could really use a good recharge and some time to relax. In fact the only person who seemed unhappy with the idea of leaving the White Ranger and his past partner alone, was his current companion.

"Come on Kat," Called Rocky, tipping his head to the side, in a manner to hurry her along. The second in command was concerned that if they left the both Pink Rangers alone in the room with the boy they'd both dated there was a great potential for drama. Especially if there was noone there to force them back into their own separate corners of the ring.

When it became obvious that the sassy Aussie had no intention of leaving her boyfriend's side, Kimberly offered a weak smile to her friends, "It's alright Rocky, she's Tommy's girlfriend, she should be here, in case he needs her," Though the graceful gymnast was trying to be gracious she really would have preferred to have this discussion without Katherine breathing down her neck. However the other girl's paramour had just awoken from a nearly deadly spell after days in a deep sleep. Kim couldn't blame her for not wanting to leave his side. If the roles were reversed she wouldn't let anyone chase her away either.

Something flicked in Kat's crystalline eyes in that instant. An emotion she hadn't expected to ever feel for her predecessor playing across her face… Appreciation… Gratitude… Was she actually grateful to this girl that had been impregnated by her now boyfriend, kept it a secret and ran away only to come back and admit the truth when it would be the most devastating to Katherine's relationship with the child's father?

In fact she was. Not because of the truths that were revealed when Kimberly came back. But for why she did. The other girl had returned to Angel Grove, risked the life she had built in Florida by exposing her secrets and done it all for Tommy. If it wasn't for Kim and her daughter, Kat may never have gotten her boyfriend back. So for that, she was thankful to the petite brunette.

Minutes later the rest of the Rangers had teleported back to their individual homes, and Alpha 5 and Zordon had shut down allowing the trio the opportunity to speak without anyone listening. The only problem was, no one knew where to start. It wasn't exactly an easy subject to broch especially for a handful of teenagers. They had found a comfortable balance between them and speaking would tip the scales into awkwardness.

Scooting to the end of the bed and trying to take up as little room as possible, Kim made an effort to make space for Katherine, who in turn took up a spot near her boyfriend. The tall blonde placed her hand on Tommy's arm and squeezed it gently, to show him she was there to support him if he needed it. But the young man was too caught up staring at this daughter to recognize the touch. And it was Tommy himself that finally broke the silence.

"She has my eyes," He remarked, watching as the small child squirmed and wiggled in her mother's embrace, "Your nose, but definitely my eyes," The words left the teen's lips in a soft tone that was a combination of both sad and wistful. He had always known he wanted to be a father one day, but he certainly hadn't expected the time would come so soon. And now that he had, the handsome hero wasn't entirely sure how he felt about it.

Kimberly could only nod and offer her own sad smile at the statement, "I know," She replied, dropping her gaze to the floor for a moment. She knew she could never express to her ex how difficult it had been at times to look their baby in the face and see those eyes staring back at her. Eyes so similar to those she could have spent forever gazing into. Eyes that reminded her of her lost love, "She's just as stubborn as you too," The girl noted as Bianca reached up to pull on the necklace her mother was wearing for the fourth time, once again having her little hands swatted away.

Tommy laughed out right at the comment about his stubbornness, "Oh, I'm stubborn," He asked, quirking a brow in a teasingly accusatory gesture. In the years that he had known Kimberly both as his friend and his romantic partner he had gotten acquainted with all of her traits and characteristics. And while many of them were wonderful, he also knew her to be just as stubborn, if not more so than he was.

She was the one that had moved away from everything she knew to follow her gymnastic dreams. Then when that fell through she took to raising their child alone, on the opposite side of the country. So stubbornly determined to keep the baby's existence a secret she was willing to never see her old friends again. In fact if it wasn't for her willingness to help him in his hour of need she would still be hiding his daughter from him with dogged determination.

"Okay… maybe she gets that from the both of us," The original Pink Ranger admitted, gently unwrapping BJ's teeny fingers from around her pendant once more.

The infant pulled an angry face as she curled her little hands into fists and shook them in frustration, giving herself the appearance of a tiny, angry Rita, "Et et eh eeeeeeeh," The tot made her objections known in a vocal, angry, baby voice.

Lifting Bianca up, Kimberly spun the little girl around so she was facing over her mother's shoulder, "Shhhh," She soothed the baby in her best calming mama's tone, patting the pink clad child on her diapered bum.

Tommy watched as his first love, mothered his first child, wide eyed and in awe of the way it seemed so natural to Kim. She had been there with their little girl from the moment she was born. Bonded with her and knew every trick to make Bianca, calm or happy. How to deal with her when she was fussy, sick or sad. Kimberly was clearly a great mother; he only wished he'd been given the opportunity to be a good father.

"You know I would have been there to help, if you had given me the chance," The boy noted, anxiously running his hand through his thick, brown hair. His dark hazel eyes looked tired as he spoke. As if he had aged years in just the last few days. Stress was heavy on the young man's shoulders. More now than ever.

Nodding slowly, Kimberly frowned for a moment, then forced herself to smile up at her ex. She had never doubted for a minute that if Tommy had known about her pregnancy he would have been by her side the entire time. And that knowledge was what kept her from telling him for over a year, "I know you would have, Tommy. You're so loyal and protective… But you have responsibilities here. School, martial arts, friends and being a Ranger… I wasn't going to let you give all that up because of a mistake we made as kids,"

"Don't you think that should have been my decision," The White Ranger asked, looking pointedly at the girl.

Instantly Kim was shaking her head, "No, I don't. Tommy, you are a Power Ranger, you are the leader. The team needs you, Zordon and Alpha need you and the world needs you. You and I can't afford to be selfish. The literal world is at stake,"

Though Kat didn't expect to agree with much of what Kimberly was going to say during this discussion she was surprised to see they definitely felt the same way on one thing. Tommy was needed in Angel Grove and if his ex had taken him away just so she didn't have to raise their illegitimate child alone, would have been incredibly selfish on her part, "She's right Tommy, we need you here. I need you here," Katherine affirmed, rubbing her boyfriend's forearm affectionately.

Watching the gesture made Kim suddenly nauseous, quickly forcing her to avert her eyes. She didn't have the right to be jealous. This had all been her own choice. She left him, she broke up with him and she had wanted him to find a love that made him happy. That didn't however mean she had to be happy about it. Katherine had taken everything from her in the time that they had known one another. Her powers, she friends, her boyfriend, her place in the world. And Kimberly didn't think she'd ever get over that.

"Is your new boyfriend at least good to her? Does he take care of you guys," Tommy wasn't exactly certain why he had asked that question then. Kim's alleged unfaithfulness still left a bitter taste in his mouth even after all that time. The last thing he wanted to think about was some guy who had stolen his girl, now being a father to his daughter. A daughter he had only been aware of for a few brief hours, yet already he found himself connected to.

Kimberly had known that question, or one like it was bound to come up eventually in their conversation. She had dreaded that possibility of answering since Bianca's birth, should her father ever learn of her existence. In more than a year of dreading it though, she had never prepared herself an answer for it. And now, when so many truths were already on the table, only honesty seemed to be the obvious choice, "There is no new boyfriend, Tommy. I never cheated on you and I never hooked up with anyone in Florida,"

Scowling slightly the boy looked confused, "Your letter said you were in love with someone else, that you were following your heart and were with who you belonged with…"

Offering an apologetic smile to her former flame, Kimberly gently turned their daughter back around so she was facing her father, "I did find the person I needed to be with and who I loved more than anything," The young woman explained, clapping Bianca's tiny hands together and making the infant giggle, "The parts about it being a guy… or that I thought of you as my brother… I embellished,"

"You lied,"

"Okay, yes. I lied. I figured if you thought I had an affair and left you for another guy, you would forget about me. And I'd be able to raise Bianca without ever having to worry about you finding out about her. Until now, I was right. Admit it, you never would have tried to make contact with me if it were up to you. The only reason I am even here is because you were under a spell and couldn't make the choice,"

As much as he wanted to argue the point, the White Ranger knew he couldn't. He had been devastated after their break up. And for a long time he'd held a great deal of animosity toward the graceful girl across from him. He never would have wanted to turn to her for help if it could be avoided. In his mind Kimberly Hart was someone he couldn't trust and when your job is to protect the world from evil aliens and their monsters you certainly can't rely on people you can't trust. It was odd now to think about… All the time he had spent being angry with her for cheating on him had been a lie. But now that he knew the truth he wondered if it might not have been better to never have this revelation. Now instead of dealing with the hurt of being cheated on, instead he was learning that his own flesh and blood had been hidden from him.

"You're right," He admitted, swallowing back the sour taste of betrayal on his tongue, "I wouldn't have tried to find you if it were up to me. You'd be the last person I would've called on for help,"

Though she had known they were coming, the sharp words had hit Kim in a way she hadn't anticipated. She had thought she was prepared for them. Thought her wall was strong enough. But when her first love spoke with such bitter pointedness, the one time heroine felt herself flinch as if she'd been struck. Feeling the sting of tears building behind her eyes all she could do was to try to blink them away feverishly. She couldn't cry in front of them. Not Kat and Tommy. They were the last two people on Earth she ever wanted to see her in a state of weakness.

"I deserve that," She whispered, dropping her tone to try to hide the wavering of emotion that built up inside of her. The pressure in her eyes grew stronger as a lump formed in the back of throat.

To anyone else it would've seemed that Kimberly was doing a great job at controlling herself and hiding her feelings. But Tommy wasn't just anyone. He was someone that knew her inside and out, in the most intimate ways. He knew her better than any other person on the planet. He knew her tricks and how she always tried to appear strong and steady even when she was hurt, scared or sad. As she blinked repeatedly trying to stem her tears he noticed the drop that had escaped, only to be caught by her long dark lashes. When she spoke, he recognized the pained way her voice shook.

He knew he had gotten to her. Gotten deep under skin, and borrowed into a place she was trying to guard against. He'd hurt her. Maybe worse than she'd ever hurt him. He should have been pleased. He should have felt vindicated. Instead all he felt was guilty.

Here she was. This beautiful, kind girl that had suffered through pregnancy and raising a child all on her own, for him. A girl that had given up her dream of being a competitive gymnast to be a mother to his daughter. She had stayed away from her friends, family and home to protect her secret. A secret she invented solely to give him the chance to be happy and live his dreams. She had given up so much, been through so much and rather than being understanding, he was mad at her. In that moment Tommy Oliver didn't feel like a hero, he felt like an ass.

Getting to her feet, Kimberly swallowed hard, drawing in a deep rattling breath, trying to calm herself before she spoke again, "I think it's time for me to wake Alpha, so he can send us home," She declared, no longer feeling welcome, in a place that had once been like a second home to her. The light that she had found in Tommy's eyes when he'd awoken and seen her gone now and with it the last vestige of hope she had clung to all those many months since they'd last been together.

Carefully she made her way down from the platform into the main area of the Command Center where Alpha 5 stood in the corner waiting to be reactivated. The small robot had been her friend for years. It was he that had teleported her into the Command Center for the first and he would send her home for the very last time too. It was poetic in a sense.

As Tommy watched his ex-girlfriend walk away, clinging to their child, he felt a lurching in his heart, an ache in his chest that he hadn't anticipated. For three years he had loved this girl. For months he'd missed her when she'd gone away to Schmidt's training facility. For weeks he'd mourned their break up. Could he now just let her walk back out of his life again? And to take his daughter with her to boot?

"You can't leave Kim," The words had left his lips before he even realized he was saying them. But they didn't come out like a demand, but rather as a plead. He wasn't telling her to stay, he was just about begging. Swiftly he was down the stairs and reaching for his co-parent's elbows, holding them gingerly as she cradled their daughter, "Don't go. Not yet,"

If she had just turned away in that instant. If she hadn't looked up into those gorgeous hazel eyes, or studied that handsome face for all its beautiful sincerity, everything would have been fine. But she didn't, instead she allowed those deep hazel pools to swallow her up as they had so many times in the past. Drowning in their death as they devoured her soul. The strong objection she could manage was a soft utterance of his name, "Tommy…"

"Please. Kimberly, just let me hold her once. Just let me hold my daughter one time, please."

She couldn't say no. How could she? How could anyone? She had kept him from his child for her entire life. What kind of monster would she be to deny this one request of a father to hold his baby. So Kim did what she had to. She exhaled slowly and handed Bianca into her dad's arms for the first time.

"Come here, pretty girl," Tommy spoke quietly as he took the tiny girl into his grasp, nuzzling the top of her head with his nose as he dropped a kiss there, "Hi there, it's nice to officially meet you Miss Bianca, I'm your Dad," And as Tommy held that living, breathing, piece of himself in his arms, he, Kimberly and Kat all knew their lives would never been the same.

*Possible sequel to follow*