AN: Sorry for the hiatus- a break up and then getting a puppy kind of took precedent.

Chapter Twenty Two

"You can't be serious," Kimberly muttered as she walked out in to the bedroom and saw the breakfast spread Tommy had managed to make. Apparently he had taken it seriously when she said that she was tired of the same food over and over.

"We haven't had time to just be us since…well…the night that happened," Tommy stated as she laughed as he motioned towards her ever expanding belly. She knew that her co-workers would be shocked when she came back pregnant and dating someone they had never heard of. On the other hand, she also knew that it would catapult the ratings and her management would not dig too far in to the background of what really happened. "We should take a day."

"Thank you," Kim whispered as she exchanged her towel for a buttery soft robe before making her way over to sit next to him. A part of her wondered just what the Command Center had helped him with, but she didn't really want to ask about that. It was not more oatmeal and fruit and for that she was grateful. "When will we go?"

"Day after tomorrow. I've had a few things delivered to my house that should help us take this blade with us and I'll also need to get some clothes from there," Tommy provided and she barely nodded. She was going to see his home. She was going to see the place that he was giving up to be with her. She hadn't factored that in to any of her calculus when it came to making their decision. "Hey- I'm okay with letting it all go. All of it. I stand a chance at not being pulled back in to the ranger world if I don't have access to any of the ranger things."

"I'd like for it to be more than a chance…but I understand that it's not really in your control," Kim whispered as she fed him a piece of toast and he gently nipped at her fingers. "I just never thought I'd see anything of the life that you've built here."

"It can be a quick trip for me, if you don't want to see it," Tommy stated and she shook her head. She wanted to see it. She needed to see it now. She quietly ate breakfast and felt Tommy glancing at her. She was not used to being silent, but she was not sure what to say right now. She was only sure that she needed him in her life and that she desperately needed his comfort.

She felt his hand reach up and brush her cheek; only then realizing she had started crying. She had carried a lot over the last several months. She still had more to carry over the coming months for the two of them. And while she had been overwhelmed by it some, she could feel herself mourning the life that she had imagined. She had Tommy, but she also had the most powerful Power Ranger to have ever lived as her partner. She knew what that could mean for them.

"What are you thinking?" Tommy whispered and she was surprised when he pulled her in closer to him and cocooned her in his embrace. She felt the calm rush over her as his presence was amplified.

"It's a lot, Tommy. All of this is a lot. I came out here to stay alive and now I'm pregnant, we're an 'us' again, and you're gearing up to take out Billy's brother. I haven't been able to process a lot of it and…" Kim trailed off and she sank in to him. Her cheek pressed against his chest and she heard the steadiness of his heartbeat. She recognized that he was talking to her, but all she could focus on was his touch. She was too overwhelmed to focus on anything else.

"…this day is what you need it to be," Tommy said and she closed her eyes. He was letting her decide what she needed. She knew that he needed things too with what was about to happen, but he seemed to recognize that she could not give any more right now. She was on the precipice of a breakdown and he was hoping to derail it. "Hey, look at me."

She lifted her head from his chest and was met with a sincere gaze. She felt as he moved his hands to caress where their baby was growing, but he kept his eyes locked with hers. She leaned forward and kissed him, hoping that he would understand what she needed from him. She laced her fingers through his hair and pulled him as close to her as she could. If she could disappear in to him, she would right now. She crawled in to his lap and wrapped her legs around him. He stood the two of them up and walked them towards the bed. To her surprised, he sat them down on the bed and then leaned back. She followed him back and he gently broke the kiss. She could tell he needed to say something and she couldn't understand why.

"This is what you need right now, okay?" Tommy asked and she barely nodded. She racked her brain as she realized the level of freedom she had with him, as she realized the level of trust that he had given her with his heart. The thought ground her to a halt.

"You trust me again," Kim whispered and he barely nodded. She sat up and stared at the headboard as she felt that realization rip through her. "You trust me."

"Yeah, I do," Tommy stated and he gently brushed a piece of hair away from her face. She felt the tears start and he quickly sat up and pulled her to him. "Shhh…it's okay. I forgave you ages ago."

"I can't believe that you trust me again," Kim blubbered as the tears had turned in to sobs. She could not understand why she was crying this hard over something that had been obvious from the moment they agreed to try to talk to the Command Center. "Why am I crying?"

"Hormones," Tommy supplied and she cried even harder. She felt a bit of panic rise in him, but she also felt him holding her steady and rocking her to gently soothe her. "Do you need me to go for a bit?"

She frantically shook her head no and heard his chuckle as she nestled in close to him again. She did not want to leave his arms. She knew that when today was over that they would be in the home stretch. And that home stretch just might get him killed. She had gotten him through the coma, but she could do nothing to guarantee that he would live.

"What do you need?" Tommy asked as the tears kept coming and she finally met his gaze. His concern was genuine, it always had been.

"You," Kim whispered and she watched the confusion take over his features.

"You have me, however you want me," Tommy replied and he dipped his head to give her a gentle kiss. "And it doesn't have to be sex- we can just lay here all day if you want."

She could feel the sincerity behind those words and quietly wiped her eyes as the tears came to an end. She slowly stood from his lap and took a step back to look at him. He was still fully clothed, but the heat that it built in her knowing that she was back in his trusted inner circle had ignited a bit of a frenzy in her body. He started to stand and she gently pushed him back on the bed. Confusion played on his features again, but quickly vanished as she slowly stripped in front of him. She enjoyed watching him force himself to stay still and on the bed. She knew just how much he wanted to touch, to hold, to caress. She stepped forward and guided his hand to her, sinking two of his fingers inside as she began undressing him.

She felt him find a rhythm that matched her methodical movements. She managed to get his pants off with little effort and hungrily reached down to stroke him. The groan that broke free let her know just how much he needed her touch as well. She normally took her time and let him play more, but she needed more. She needed him right now. Not bothering to completely rid him of his clothes- she pushed his boxers down just enough to be able to ride him. With both hands free- he quickly rid himself of his shirt and ground his hips against hers, nearly sending her over the edge.

"Easy, I don't want to just yet," Kim whispered and Tommy barely nodded. She felt the warmth of his body and welcomed it against the cold of the room. She then eased back ever so slightly and moaned at the friction it created. This. Him. He had always been just like this for her. No one else had ever been close. She marveled as he continued their slow pace and her head fell back, exposing more of her neck to him. He didn't waste time giving other parts of her body attention and she soon felt her orgasm bearing down on her. "Stop."

He froze and she gently stood up and rolled over on to her back. She then did her best to drag him on top of her and he quickly obliged. She dangled her legs off the edge of the bed and he stood to give himself the best leverage that he could. She was partially surprised that he remembered how much she loved this position, but she soon lost herself to the feel of him, of them, of the life that they could have. Her voice was ripped from her as her orgasm took over her and she felt him soon follow her. She then felt him leaning over her to give her a quick kiss before he laid down at her side and pulled a blanket over the two of them.

"Thank you," Kim forced out and he chuckled, his voice feeling excessively close to her ear. Everything was heightened. It had been a long time since she had felt this way. It was a place that only he could put her in.

"I was only doing what you asked," Tommy whispered as she felt herself slipping off to sleep the last conscious thought being how good it felt to be back here with him.