By Didi
Disclaimers: Characters are owned not be writer of this particular fan fiction. Please do not sue me for I'm definitely not making any money off of this story and is for amusement only.
Warning: Rated R for violence and strong language.
Note: This is my sequel to "What Lurks Beneath," where we learn much about the lives of our former Power Rangers as they rush to save the world from a creature out of their past. Set eight months later, we face a new terror, of man-made this time. The title should give it away some.
Age check: Billy, Tommy, Jason- 28. Adam, Rocky, Trini, Zack-27. Aisha, Katherine, Tonya, Kimberly-26. Justin – 20.
Author's Note: This is my way of distracting myself when schoolwork becomes too much of a pain after a while. The universe created here is not the same of the one in Saban so anything you think is strange just blame it on my imagination. It would also help for you to read "What Lurks Beneath" where I first created this universe. Sometimes I forget and add things from there, so it makes more since when you have the context from the other story to go on. J
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Chapter Twelve – The Delivery
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December 2, 2002 – 9:33 p.m. PST
The Nemesis
Off the shores Catalina Island, Pacific Ocean
Tommy and Adam made their way slowly down the step of the cabin.
"Come in, gentlemen." Esera Trodue looked very much relaxed in his seat as he continued to stare at the screen in front of him. "Make yourselves at home."
"Esera Trodue, on behalf of the United States government, I hereby place you under arrest." Adam said calmly as he eyed the man cautiously.
"Now, my dear sir. I'm almost sure that you and I both know that it isn't going to happen." Trodue watched the explosion yet again. "Would you really think I would be sitting passively here if I were going to allow you to take me into some hole in the wall?"
"I don't care what you're doing, we're taking you in." Tommy said calmly with his gun still trained on the man. "Even as we speak now, the boat is being turned around and the FBI are closing in."
"Tommy," Adam said quietly from the side.
Turning to look at his friend, Tommy saw that Adam had a tall glass with the bottom covered with strange muddy green glen like substance. "What is that?"
"It's hemlock." Adam replied looking at the madman in front of them.
"Yes, hemlock." Trodue said turning toward them with his eyes all bright and red. "The poison of choice when it comes to great ones. Socrates died of hemlock you know."
"Why?" Adam asked all of a sudden. "Why did you do this?"
"Why does anyone do what they do?" Trodue coughed. A trickle of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth. "And so it begins, the end. It is terrible thing to have to bury one's own child." He seemed almost philosophical now. "Do either one of you have children?"
Tommy blinked. "I'm going to."
Something clicked in the man's mind. "Ah, I see."
"You're sick, you know that?" Tommy said with disgust. "You know that pain of losing child and you would inflict that kind of anguish on me and every other man that has a wife and child at your mercy. You're sick son of a bitch."
Trodue smiled. "Yes, I know." Then the light was gone from his eyes.
"TOMMY!" Justin called out from above as Adam and Tommy just stood there looking at the dead body of the man that has caused them so much pain and agony.
"What?"
"Helicopter coming for you. Kimberly's in labor."
"WHAT?!?!?"
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December 2, 2002 – 9:42 p.m. PST
Yosemite National Park – Cabin
Yosemite, California
"Pant it out, Kim." Jason said calmingly.
There was only himself, Kimberly, Billy, and Aisha left in the cabin. The others had left with the transport, taking the women down to the nearest hospital available to them. Kimberly's contractions were about two and half minute apart now. This kid was in a hurry to see the world.
Kimberly moaned as the pain subsided for now. "I can't do this."
"Come on, Kim. You know you can. Tommy is on his way. We've got a helicopter in route to pick him up and drop him as close to this place as we possibly can. You just have to hang in there." Billy explained. He was secretly worried about this. Jason had long since been divulged of his gear to get comfortable. It would appear that their former leader was getting ready to deliver this baby by himself.
"Billy? You there?" Rocky's voice came through the radio slightly broken.
"Hold on." Billy got up and walked outside. "Go ahead."
"Jason there?"
"No, he's helping with the delivery. The screaming from Kim was making a feedback on his transceiver, so he had to take it off." Billy explained. "What's up?"
"Listen, if Jason's busy you can't let him know."
"What is it?"
"Trini's been shot. It's bad."
"How bad?" Billy glanced to the cabin at Jason's back. This was not good news.
"We won't know until she comes back from surgery." Rocky sounded worried.
"Damn it!"
"Yeah, I know."
"This is not exactly the best news we've had all day." Billy sighed. "How are the others?"
"Kat is fine. There were six kids delivered in the barn but they're all doing good. The mothers on the other hand seem to all contracted colds. Must be the breezy barn. Tanya took one in the leg but she's going to make a full recovery. I'm completely untouched."
"Good. Listen, I'll send Jason down as soon as I can. Keep in touch."
"Will do."
Billy shook his head and sighed before heading back in.
"What happened?"
"Uhu….Tommy's on his way." Billy lied thanking the heavens that Jason couldn't see his expression. Unfortunately, Aisha certainly can. She gave him a look that asked what was up. He merely shook his head and motioned toward Jason. Aisha picked it up all too quickly.
"Ahhh…." Kimberly clinched the blanket until her knuckles turned white.
"Breath, Kim. You're got to take deep breaths." Jason coached.
"What the hell do you think I'm doing!" Kimberly snapped as the pain subsided. "Sorry."
Jason laughed and checked her dilation again. "It's okay, Kim. You're allowed to scream, shout, snap and other verbal things when you're in pain. We all understand that." She was moving along this labor faster than he would have expected. "It helps to talk, take your mind away for a bit."
"What do you people talk about when they feel like there's a bomb ready to off in their stomach?" Kimberly asked as se wiped her brows again.
"Well, the lady of the train rattled off in Romanian most of the time so I didn't understand a word she said. But I have a feeling she was cursing her husband and running through a list of possible names. She must have had a hundred of them."
"Name!" Aisha said excitedly. "Have you and Tommy picked out any names yet?"
Kimberly took deep cleansing breaths as Jason suggested and thought for a moment. "Well, we agreed on David for a boy but disagreed in girl names."
"What were the choices?" Billy asked more than willing to keep the conversation going.
"Well, I wanted Juliana for a girl but Tommy wanted Caitlin." Kimberly wrinkled her nose. "Caitlin, yuck. What a name!"
"I don't know," Billy commented as he took a position at the door. "I think it's pretty."
"Yuck!" Aisha said with a face. "Caitlin sounds like one of those fussy princesses."
"And Juliana doesn't?" Jason asked with a laugh.
"No kid of mine is going to be named…" Kimberly's face suddenly contorted in pain.
"Keep breaths, Kim. Deep breaths." Jason coached silently hoping that his best friend gets here before this child is born.
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December 2, 2002 – 9:55 p.m. PST
The Nemesis
Off the shores Catalina Island, Pacific Ocean
"WE'RE LOWERING THE HARNESS NOW! JUST LOOP IT AROUND AND HOLD ON!" the man from the helicopter shouted down the instruction as the three former rangers stood on the deck waiting impatiently.
"Tommy, don't worry. The others are with her." Adam said reassuringly.
"Yeah," Justin added with a nod. "We'll take the boat back and meet up with you at the hospital."
Tommy nodded but said nothing. He was much too nervous to say anything coherent. Everything else was blocked out by one thought, his child was coming NOW! The timing was all wrong. He wanted to be in the hospital, holding Kimberly's hand as she curses him, helping her through her breathing, and being the first to see his kid. Now….. everything was all wrong!
Turning about, the former white ranger looked at Adam with concern eyes as something else in an earlier transmission finally penetrated his slightly fogged mind. "Did someone say something about Trini?"
Adam looked started. There was been a report but he had thought Tommy was too preoccupied to have heard anything of that conversation with Rocky. "She's been shot. It looked real bad."
"Jesus!" Tommy shook his head as Justin grabbed the harness. "Doesn't Jason know about it yet?"
"Not yet. He's been too busy taking care of Kimberly." Adam made a sympathetic face and frowned slightly as the helicopter's propellers sent up sprays of waters. "Billy didn't want to distract him with the news. They won't know anything until after the surgery."
Looping the harness under his arms, Tommy gave the rope attached a good tug while Justin shouted for them to lift. "Keep me informed and get to the hospital when you can. I'll tell Jason when I get to the cabin."
Adam nodded as Tommy's feet lifted from the deck of the ship. Justin stood by his side as they watched their friend disappear into the black navy helicopter and rush off to see his wife.
"Well kid," Adam said with an around the youngest power ranger in history. "Looks like we're on our own."
"How's your shoulder?"
"Stopped bleeding. The coast guards did a great job." Adam said with a grin. "I still need to get it looked at when we hit land though." He sighed a looked around. "So, should we go?"
Justin grinned and looked at the controls as well as the twenty odd ships around them that had been sent in as back up in cause something was to go wrong. "Hey, can I drive?"
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December 2, 2002 – 10:11 p.m. PST
Yosemite National Park – Cabin
Yosemite, California
Kimberly's scream was accompanied by Aisha's as the former pink ranger squeezed all the blood out of her friend's hand that she had generously offered for comfort.
"Geeze Kim!" Aisha said when the pain subsided and Kimberly let go. "What are you trying to do to me?" She shook her hand to get the circulation going again.
The panting woman didn't reply as she tried to see through a veil of sweat. "What is happening?"
"You're less than a minute apart." Jason said calmly as he watched the woman's eyes go wide with fear. "You're dilating nicely so don't worry. Everything is going just swimmingly."
"I want Tommy." Kimberly whimpered. "I want him here with me."
Aisha sighed and generously offered her bruised hand again. It can only be bruise once, after that, it's all the same color. "You can hold my hand until your husband gets here."
"I DON'T WANT TO HOLD HIS HAND. I WANT TO KILL HIM FOR DOING THIS TO ME!!!" Kimberly screamed as the pain came again. Her stomach contracted painfully causing ripples on the once smooth muscles stretched across her stomach.
Billy grinned in reaction. "So I'm guessing this is going to be an only child."
Kimberly glared at Billy as the pain receded slowly. "If he touches me again, I'm going to chop off his…"
"Hey now," Jason said with a devious grin. "You don't mean that."
"He's not the one in having the baby!" Kimberly cried out as the pain started again.
Jason frowned as Kimberly screamed with agony. Something wasn't quite right. The baby should be crowning right about now. The contractions looks to be less then forty-five seconds apart. The baby was obviously coming no matter what, yet…. Perhaps he is underestimating the time. Maybe he should give it a little more time….
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December 2, 2002 – 10:26 p.m. PST
Yosemite National Park – c. Two Thousand Feet
Yosemite, California
"How close can you get me?" Tommy shouted over the sound of the propellers.
The navy seal captain flying the tomcat helicopter turned from his instruments for a moment to look at the rather anxious father-to-be. "I can land you at a small visitor's lodge that's around five thousand feet at the South entrance. They have someone waiting for you there for take you up the mountain that that point.
"Will you wait?"
"Can't," the captain shouted back. "The tomcat can't carry medical…"
"No!" Tommy shouted again. "I've got a friend there. His fiancée led the mission down in Monterey. He doesn't know that she's been shot. He needs to get to the hospital fast!"
"Oh, is it Jason Scott?"
"Yeah, how did you know?"
"I have orders to pick him up and take him down. Pentagon sent it!"
"Good!"
"Ten minutes, Mr. Oliver."
"Thanks!"
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December 2, 2002 – 10:33 p.m. PST
Monterey Memorial Hospital – Room 243
Monterey, California
"Rocky, please stop pacing. You're making me nervous." Tanya said as she rubbed her arms together.
"I'm sorry." He glanced over at the girl who sat here looking all too pale with stark white bandages around her leg once again. "This is beginning to be a habit. Same leg as last time?"
"Yeah!" Tanya said with a great deal of resignation. "Hey, what's one more scar right?"
"You all right?" Rocky asked sitting down at the foot of her bed.
"Better." She said. "Thanks to Trini and you. I owe you both my life."
"Don't bother with it." Rocky said with a wave of his hand. He looked over at the open door. The nurses had instruction to come get them should there be any word. "You would have done the same."
Tanya said nothing but smiled in return. "She's going to make it. Trini is one hell of a strong woman."
"Yeah," Rocky sighed. "Besides, I don't think Jason would allow her to die on him."
Tanya laughed, it was a relief to be able to. "Yeah, I think so too."
"Mr. Desantos? Ms. Sloan?" The man with the white doctor's coat stood at the door way.
"Yes?" Rocky got up from his seat. "Is there news, doctor?"
The man sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, there's news."
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December 2, 2002 – 10:49 p.m. PST
Yosemite National Park – Cabin
Yosemite, California
"AHHH…………." Kimberly's face was cover with sweat as she clinched the blankets around her in agony. "Make it stop, make it stop!"
Jason frowned with serious concern now. Her contractions were right on top of each other now. Yet the baby was not crowning. He saw no head to help him decide what was going to happen next. But maybe… "Kimberly, I need you to push on the next contraction."
"We're not waiting for Tommy?" Billy asked with grave concern.
"Look at her!" Jason said with worried eyes. "She can't keep this up forever."
Billy nodded and held the lanterns he found closer so Jason can see. "Then you better do it now."
Aisha braced Kimberly with her arms and wiped the poor woman's brows with concern. "You can do it, girl. You can do it."
"Come on, Kim." Jason said after taking a deep breath. "Push with all you got!"
"Ahhh….." Kimberly bear down and pushed.
Twenty minutes later, Jason knew what the problem was. "Kimberly stop!"
"I CAN'T!" Kimberly said as she felt the urge to push again. "I want to push."
"Kimberly, it's not working." Jason said in his usual calm voice. "Listen to me, you have to stop pushing. The baby is turned all wrong. You'll tear yourself apart if you continue to push."
Kimberly was crying now both in fear and in pain. She didn't know what to do anymore. She could feel her strength abandoning her as the night dragged on. She couldn't this up much longer.
"Jason," Billy's eyes were big and scared behind his glasses. Computers were so nice an simple. They didn't have this kind of complications. "Jason, what do we do?"
"The only thing to do." Jason said with sober face look that scared Aisha.
"You can't cut her open!" She was scared too. From her position, she knew that Kimberly wasn't going to be able to do this much longer. Yet if they don't get the baby out, Kimberly could die. They both could. "JASON!"
"I'm not going to cut her open." Jason picked up a big bottle of water they had prepared for the wash. "Billy, pour that over my hand. I need to wash them clean."
Billy didn't question it. It was moments like this when he was really glad that he wasn't in charge.
As Jason scrubbed his hands clean, he looked up suddenly. "Have you heard anything for the other team?"
"What do you mean?" Billy said not meeting the man's eyes.
"Trini? Is everything all right with her team?" Jason asked trying to catch the man's eyes to read the truth. Billy and Adam were both notoriously bad liars and they're eyes gave them away all too easily. "Billy, did the other team check in?"
"Yeah, they checked in." Billy said turning his bad. He didn't want to answer Jason, didn't want to lie.
"Billy, what aren't you telling…" Kimberly's scream saved Billy from having to answer Jason's all too direct question as the former team leader turn back to is patient.
"Kimberly, listen to me." Jason said keeping his voice soothing and even. "You don't push until I tell you to, do you understand?"
"Yes," she panted out. Her eyes were so full of pain. "Please, help me."
"I'm going to." Jason said quietly. "You trust me?"
"You know that I trust you with Tommy's life." Kimberly whispered, too tired to say anything more.
Jason nodded, understanding the significance of that. "Then you need to listen to me and do what I say, okay."
Kimberly nodded weakly.
Taking a deep breath, Jason reached into Kimberly feeling his way around. The first tiny foot landed against his two first fingers easily and he set about to find the other foot. He needed to get both feet out first, so as not to hurt the baby as it makes its way out. The problem right now was that the baby was stuck and until there is a guiding force for it, it's going to stay that way.
Thank goodness the child was cooperative and Jason didn't have to search long to find the other tiny foot just to the right of the opening. Taking both feet gently, he guided them through the uterus opening and tugged just enough to get the baby in the right position.
"Okay, Kim." Jason said with a smile on his face. "You need push for me now."
Kimberly didn't hesitate for second and bore down hard. Had Jason not been ready, the kid would have landed on its feet.
"Wahhh……." The cry was like roar in the night accompanied by the slamming of the cabin door as it was shoved open so violently that it bounced against the wall.
Jason turned around with the newborn still in his hands to look at the newcomer. "Oh yeah, show up when all the work has been done why don't you?"
Tommy stared in wonder at the tiny infant that fitted perfectly into two of Jason's hand. "I…. I….."
"It's a boy." Jason said with a smile as he wrapped the baby up and handed the squirming infant into his father's hands. "You've got a son, bro."
"Let me see!" Kimberly demanded from her position still prone on the floor. "Oh my god." She looked at the delicate little hand and feet. "He's perfect." That little nose and bawling mouth. "Oh thank you Jason. You saved him."
Jason grinned. "The least I can do for my godchild right?"
Tommy looked up suddenly, startling his wife and child. "Jason, there's an agent outside waiting to take you down to the helicopter."
"Helicopter?" Jason asked with a wrinkle in his brows. "Why would I need a helicopter?"
Billy placed a hand on Jason's shoulder and turned his old friend around slowly to look into his eyes. "Jason, I haven't been honest with you. I didn't want you distracted."
Jason saw it then, the concern, and the fear. "What is it?"
"Trini was shot. It looks real bad. Rocky said that they wouldn't know anything until she came out of surgery. They…."
Jason didn't stick around to hear the rest. All he knew was that Trini was in the hospital. She was hurt. She needed him and he wasn't there. He needed to get to her before it was….. he needed to get to her now.
