For Kimberly Hart the last few weeks since she had returned to Angel Grove High had been less than ideal. The once popular cheerleader had recently found herself becoming more of a social pariah than she ever imagined she could be. The dirty looks she received walking down the hall, or the harsh whispers spoken behind people's hands were things that she wasn't used to, and she didn't know how to deal with.
At the Mother of Hope Academy in Florida where the young woman had been attending school for the last year everyone had been welcoming and supportive. But then, every student there had been a teen mother herself. There was no judging or cruel assumption made. Those students had been there to support each other as they knew what one another was going through. At Angel Grove it was different.
At the small school in the upper middle class area of the city certainly was not common for a student to fall pregnant. Those that did, were often transferred out in order to keep her condition from starting a trend. And the new mother almost never returned to school after the birth. In the eyes of her peers and the faculty alike Kimerbly, the former class president was setting a poor example for her classmates. And the fact that she didn't seem to be the slightest bit ashamed only infuriated everyone more.
Those who weren't looking down at her for what they perceived as a slip of morality, were annoyed by Kim for another reason… They were the people that feared that the return of the pretty brunette would cause chaos in the relationship of the school's starting quarterback and his leggy blonde girlfriend. Having already been voted Angel Grove's 'Most likely to stay together' in that year's yearbook, Tommy and Katherine were incredibly popular together. They were the couple that the rest of the student body wished they could be. And to them, having Tommy's ex back in the picture was a threat, causing the rest of the school to rally around the White and Pink Ranger.
The fact was however that Kimberly had more important things to worry about than whether or not her classmates respected her. Whether they thought she was loose or a homewrecker, might have made school uncomfortable for her but as a young mother, the former ranger didn't have the luxury of worrying about hallway reputations. The giggly girl that had lived on gossip and shopping was gone now. She had a daughter to raise and an education to get, and no time for drama.
Luckily no matter how many people at school had turned their back on her, Kim still had some of the best friends a girl could ask for. Billy, Aisha, Adam and Rocky were doing everything they could to show her support and love. Helping to adjust to being back, and making sure she didn't forget that was awesome. Bulk and Skull (with his never ceasing crush on her) were sticking by her also, acting as the girl's personal bodyguards to protect her from hallway gossip. And she had to admit she was thankful for all six of her friends.
Despite the difficulty she was integrating back in Angel Grove society noone seemed to be giving a hard time to Tommy. It was almost as though they had forgotten that getting pregnant was a two person job. And Kimberly certainly hadn't conceived Bianca Jade on her own. The stigma of having a child out of wedlock though only seemed to follow the mother. The father remained his ever popular and well respected self.
Not that Kim could hold a grudge against her ex. He certainly wasn't doing anything to distance himself from his daughter or her mother. In fact he had been nothing but supportive and stepped right into the role of raising his little girl. He'd even convinced his parents to allow his former flame to move into their home, so he could be with Bianca as much as possible. Just as she'd known he would, Tommy Oliver, ever loyal and kind, showered the baby with love and showed her mother great respect.
That afternoon after school let out, Kimberly had found herself at the Juice Bar, looking for the pick me up of one of Ernie's smoothies and a place to do a bit of studying away from the prying eyes of her classmates at the school library. She was seated at one of her favorite tables, her chemistry notes open in front of her and BJ fast asleep in her carrier. For a few minutes things in her life were simple, she was just another hanging out at Ernie's going over her homework and relaxing after class.
The Youth Center had always been like a second home to Kimberly growing up. It was here where she'd spent her free time practicing gymnastics and hanging out with her friends. In fact the original team had all been gathered there the day Alpha and Zordon had tapped to be Power Rangers, teleporting them straight from the gym to the Command Center for the first time. It was also here that she'd first laid eyes on Tommy Oliver.
There was a martial arts tournament that day, Jason was scheduled to compete in. And the Rangers were by his side offering words of encouragement as friends do. They knew their leader was the best in karate in Angel Grove. Jason would win easily, his competitor didn't stand a chance. At least that's what they thought until they spotted the other boy warming up before their match.
When Kim's dark eyes had fallen on the other young man that was busily working on his own moves in preparation…She was gone. He was gorgeous, even Trini agreed about that. Muscular, lean and tall, with cheekbones that could cut glass. Shaggy brown hair held back from his dreamy dark eyes with a green sweatband across his forehead.
She could have watched him all day. His kicks and spins were mesmerizing, he moved like water flowing over rocks. Graceful but powerful. Perfect. Kimberly Hart fell in love for the first time that day, even if she hadn't yet realized it.
Four years later nothing had changed in that area.
The table the young mother had chosen when she entered the Juice Bar that afternoon looked over the entire workout area below. And while she had gone to the Youth Center with the best of intentions of looking over her Science notes, Kimberly was studying anything but. Her eyes continued to drift on their own accord, to an attractive teen, dressed in loose fitting white workout pants and his long brown hair secured in a ponytail.
Tommy's movements were still hypnotic to her. Kimberly knew every inch of her former flame's body from memory, every twitch of his limbs or flex of his muscles burned into her brain. He caught her attention without effort, a pleasant distraction from the long forgotten Chemistry notebook that sat discarded on the table. His languid motions, nature at its most beautiful. She knew she was only hurting herself by watching with intensity, but she couldn't look away.
"When are you going to tell him," A familiar voice asked, followed by the sound of chair legs being scraped across the floor, as Aisha sat down next to her friend. Startling Kimberly from her trance and forcing the shorter girl to jump.
Pulling her eyes away from Tommy, Kim looked over at her yellow clad pal, giggling slightly at her own embarrassing reaction. Just a year before she was a superhero, fearless and brave. Now she was frightened by someone talking next to her. Her nerves were really fried these days.
Quirking a brow as Aisha, the retired Ranger asked, "Tell who, what," For a moment Kimberly was completely confused, feeling as though she'd come into a conversation in the middle of it, even though it was she, her friend was speaking too.
Tipping her head to the side, the Yellow Ranger gave the other girl a pointed look. Her expression clearly reading 'You have to be kidding me' She didn't believe that Kim was that clueless, thinking that maybe she was just playing stupid to avoid an uncomfortable topic, "Tommy, that you're still in love with him,"
"Oh that's easy, three days after never," Kim answered swiftly with a wave of her hand, as though she were brushing the idea away as if it were a piece of lint on her shirt. Then picking up her cup took a long sip from her drinking, using the gesture as a way of delaying any more questions.
Aisha wasn't so easily detoured however, querying, "Why not,"
"He has a girlfriend remember. One you're friends with, by the way. Besides, things are complicated enough with us living together…" Kim let out a deep breath that sounded more like a sigh, knowing that was going to open up to the floor for more questions.
And just as she expected the next words out of her companion's mouth there, "How are things going at the Olivers',"
Frowning slightly, the past Pink Ranger closed her Chemistry notebook and then leaned back in chair. There was no use even pretending she was going to get any studying in now. One minute she had been sitting in her seat, staring wistfully at the father of her child, daydreaming happily. And now it was clear that Aisha was determined to get information out of her and have a serious conversation.
"As good as can be expected I guess," Responded the tiny teen, pressing her lips into a thin line. It wasn't as though it was necessarily a bad situation. Noone was being outright mean to her or Bianca. But living with her ex and his family was a bit uncomfortable. In the old days, when she had been dating their son, Mr. and Mrs. Oliver had been kind and loving, especially when her own parents were so far away. Where once the Olivers had welcomed Kimberly into their home with open arms and affection, now they seemed to wish she were simply not there. Acting as though she were a piece of furniture that they had purchased on a whim and really had no place where it fit. "Mr. Oliver at first insisted that Tommy marry me, when I said that wasn't what I wanted, he dropped it, now he sort of just ignores me. Mrs. Oliver is torn between wanting to strangle me to ruining her son's life and the joy of being a grandmother,"
Nodding as she listened as her friend explained her living situation, it all made sense to Aisha. If they had at least known in advance of Kimberly's pregnancy Tommy's family would have had some time to get use to the idea. They could have made arrangements and gotten all of the possible difficultness out before Bianca Jade was even born. But with Kim having kept it a secret for more than a year everything was a total surprise and now everyone was running after the eight ball to catch up, "How are things with Tommy,"
For the first time in their game of twenty questions Kim could finally smile. Tommy… He was amazing, "Well you know Tommy," the graceful gymnast grinned, "He thinks he can do anything and everything. Somehow he's balancing school, karate, football and being a Ranger, and still is making time for BJ. He's such a great daddy, feedings, changing diapers, even bedtime stories… He even put a baby monitor in my room so he can hear when she gets up at night. I haven't told him I unplugged it. He needs his sleep. Of course he doesn't have as much time for Kat as he use to. I don't think she's too happy about that. You know he even said something about getting a job, so he can help pay for things and I won't have to keep dipping into my trust fund…"
Looking back down into the gym, Kimberly once again spotted her ex-boyfriend working on his martial arts. Now trying to cool down, the White Ranger was going through a kata, to practice his forms. While a few feet away, a little boy that Kim guessed couldn't have been a day over seven, was trying to copy the teens movements, and getting increasingly frustrated with himself as he continued to trip over his own feet and fall.
Without even being asked, the handsome hero approached the boy with a smile. Kneeling down to the child's level, he began speaking to him. Even though she couldn't hear what they were saying Kimberly would have bet her life that Tommy was kindly encouraging the child and offering him pointers and tutoring. A fact that was confirmed when the teenager stood back up and stepped to the side of the mat, allowing the child to try the routine again. This time, nailing it and being rewarded with a high five from Tommy.
Forgetting that she had been trying to watch covertly, Kim began clapping from her seat by the juice bar. The little blushing feverishly when he realized he was receiving attention from the pretty older girl. His sensei, offering a wave of acknowledgement to the girl, flashing her one his gorgeous smiles and a wink. In that moment she knew, she would never get over Tommy Oliver.