Disclaimer : I don't own any of it other than plot and story, the rest belongs to someone else…

A/N : This may be a tearjerker or it may not, I'm not certain which way this chapter will go. It'll start out from Trini's POV, but only for shortly then switch to Tommy's then Kim's…but not strictly in that order it maybe subject to change as everything is…anyhow, read and enjoy and as always REVIEW!!

A/N : Oh and before I start the story I have got to thank everyone who has reviewed. It means a lot to me and all the kind comments are greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

THE POWER RANGERS IN :

THE HARDEST THING I EVER DID

Chapter 7

I looked first at Kim then over at Tommy, I so badly wanted to kick him in his ass at the moment but thought better of it…I really didn't want to upset Kim anymore than she already was. She was on the verge of tears yet again and Tommy wasn't helping any, in fact he was making things worse.

I pushed myself up from the bed and started walking toward him, with every intention of kicking him out of the room, "Tommy, right now really isn't the time." I said gently as I laid a hand on his arm. He looked down at me, his dark eyes boring into my soul and I felt shivers run up and down my spine. I quickly turned my eyes away from him, unable to look into the depths of his eyes any longer. He had changed so much.

"Why don't you go down and help Jason prepare for tonight? I'm sure he could use some help setting things up." I looked toward the door, hoping he would take the hint and leave. He didn't, instead he moved further into the room. His eyes were once more riveted to Kim, like he couldn't stop staring at her.

She too was staring at him, her eyes large and watery but she wouldn't look away. I could see pain etched deeply into each of their expressive eyes, Tommy's was hidden in sorrow and Kim's was riddled with guilt. They need to talk to each other but now is not the time, I really don't think Kim is up for this. I really don't think Tommy is either. They have so much to talk out right now…

"Trini," I heard Kim say at the exact same time that Tommy said my name. "I'd like to talk to Tommy by myself if you don't mind. Could you leave us alone?" At the exact same moment she was saying that Tommy was pretty much saying the same thing, "Trini, I really need to talk to Kim alone, do you think you could go down and help Jase instead."

My mouth fell open, but neither one of them would've seen for they still hadn't taken their eyes from one another. Kim's eyes were large and luminous, the tears weren't shining in their depths any longer. She held a bated breath as she stared straight into Tommy's dark depths, but his eyes never moved from hers either. I could almost see a smile play at the edges of his mouth, it was there but he refused to show it.

"Kim?" I asked hesitantly, she couldn't honestly want me to leave, could she?

She finally broke her gaze free from Tommy's and looked at me. The guilt was still evident in her eyes, but so was something else: Hope. "I'll be fine," she said quietly. I hoped she wasn't setting herself up for a long fall. I didn't want to see her hurt, I didn't want to see Tommy hurt either, they both had been through way too much and they deserved some sort of happiness. Even if it wasn't with each other.

I looked over at Tommy, our eyes met and he smiled weakly. With that I turned from the room and left them alone in there together. Mere moments later I heard the door shut behind me, I almost turned around but caught myself and continued on my way downstairs. I found Jason sitting at the kitchen table a stack of playing cards spread out across the table in front of him. I sat down at the table across from him and watched as he played a game of solitaire that he was loosing at.

Tommy's POV:

I was so glad when Trini finally left, I left out a breath I hadn't even realized I'd been holding. I looked down at Kim and she offered me a weak smile. I knew things were going to be rough but I needed some answers and she was the only one who could give them to me. I walked to the door and closed it behind Trini then turned to face Kim, her eyes were still locked on me, not even wavering.

"We need to talk Kim," I said, her eyes finally left mine for the first time. I could almost see her blush just before she lowered her face to look down at the sheets on the bed.

"I know," she said quietly, so quietly I had to lean closer to the bed and her. Her hair created a curtain around her face so I couldn't see what her expression was, but I could imagine what it was.

"Why did you do it?" I asked, getting right to the point. I wasn't going to pussyfoot around the subject, I needed answers and I was damn well determined I would get them before either one of us left this room.

She looked up at me briefly then looked away. She looked like a scared rabbit, cornered by a large predator. "I explained it all in the letter," she said in a mere whisper. "I found someone else Tommy. I fell in love with someone else, can't we please leave it at that?"

"What was his name?" I asked.

She looked up at me, a look of pure confusion crossing her beautiful face. "What?"

"His name, what was it?" I repeated.

She paled considerably. "I-I don't really understand wh-what this has to-" I cut her off in mid-sentence.

"What was his name Kimberly?" I sat down on the bed next to her, not very close but close enough that she scooted back up against the headboard.

"I don't recall," she finally answered but she refused to look me in the face. I knew instantly that she was lying.

"You don't recall?" I asked, my voice rising in anger. "You dumped me with a heartless letter for some guy and you can't even remember what his name is?" I wanted to shout at her but I attempted to keep my emotions under some sort of control. "What did he look like?"

She paled even more if that was at all possible. "Why do you want to know all of this stuff?" she answered my question with a question of her own.

"I just want an idea of what this guy looked like. I want to understand what drew you to him and away from me. I need to know if it was something I did or if you actually just fell out of love with me." She huddled up at the head of the bed, her knees tucked up under her chin, her arms wrapped around her legs. She looked like she'd fall apart at any second and I felt compassion for her but I needed to understand what had actually went wrong with our relationship. I just found it so hard to swallow that she had met some other guy. It was a lie and both of us knew that too.

"I don't know Tommy, I don't remember…" she trailed off and looked at me, the tears welling up in her eyes.

I refused to be moved, I had to hold my ground or I'd never get the answers I sought. "You left me for some guy that you can't even remember now?" I said, the utter amazement dripping from my voice. "All that we went through and you leave me for some guy you can't even remember now? Do you know how that makes me feel Kim?" She looked away from me, a single tear escaping from her eye and rolling down her cheek. I wanted so badly to wipe it away, but I needed to get my answers first.

"I'm sorry Tommy," she breathed. "I never meant to hurt you."

"Didn't you think that sending that letter would hurt me? Didn't that ever cross your mind?" I asked, I moved up closer to her on the bed and put my hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look up at me. Her eyes met mine and I tried to hide the gasp I let out as I saw the raw emotions playing across her face. The hurt, the pain and guilt intermixed with the sorrow and grief and above all else I could see the love shining in the depths of her eyes.

"I wasn't thinking when I wrote it to you. I'm sorry Tommy," she said ever so quietly.

"What was his name?" I tried again, surely she had to remember something about him, even though we both knew that he was a lie.

She sighed and looked away, refusing to meet my eyes. I tipped her chin up so I could look down into the depths of her soft brown eyes. "There wasn't anyone was there?" I asked. She didn't answer, but she really didn't need to, I could see the answer there in her eyes. I swore softly underneath my breath. "Why did you do it Kim? Why did you break my heart that way? What was going on to make you do that to me, to us?"

"I didn't want you worrying about me Tommy. We were so far apart, and anything could've happened…I didn't want you worrying about me…I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if something had happened to you because of me…" she was still hiding something, but it was a start. At least she was talking now.

"That wasn't just your decision to make Kim. It should have been both of ours to make. I should have had a say in it too. You had no right to make it for me!" Her eyes widened in surprise then she lowered them, unable to meet my gaze any longer. "We could've worked things out somehow, you should've given it a chance or at least have talked to me about it." I sighed and scooted up further on the bed to sit next to her. "Damn it Kim, it almost killed me when I got that blasted letter…nothing could've been worse. I was a total wreck, I was prepared to leave the Rangers then, I couldn't imagine a life without you…but I've been living one for the past, what? Eight or ten years now?" she still refused to look at me.

"Damn it Kim, look at me!" She briefly looked up at me than turned her eyes back down to the bed sheets. "Damn it!" I sighed in frustration. "You meant the world to me and it nearly killed me when you sent that letter…what in the hell were you thinking?"

I felt her flinch. "I don't remember what I was thinking!" she exclaimed. "I don't remember much about that time!" She buried her face in her knees and started to cry, I could hear the sobs and see her shoulders shaking with the force of them. "It's all a blur to me, mixed together…I don't know what was going on then."

"Damn it Kim, I don't care what you did then or what may have happened but quit lying to me!" I shouted. She looked fearfully up at me.

"I'm not lying," she said quietly. "I don't remember what was going on then, I don't remember much of anything."

"Just like you conveniently don't remember the guy? The guy who happens to be a lie…" I looked at her, she was still looking up at me. "Exactly how much did you lie to me about? I've figured out the other guy was a lie…what else have you lied about Kim?"

"Tommy please…." the tears started to spill down over her cheeks and she didn't try to stop them or even wipe them away. "I can't talk about it Tommy. Please don't ask me anything further."

Just when I think I'm going to get somewhere with her she closes me out again. "You can't hide the truth forever Kim."

"I don't intend to Tommy, I'm just not prepared to talk about it, not yet."

"What?! What aren't you prepared to talk about?" I cried in exasperation. "Kim, you can tell me anything, you should know that by now."

"Not this Tommy, at least not yet." She replied quietly.

"Why?!" I nearly shouted, I was starting to loose my cool.

"Cause I'm not ready to talk about it, we all have our secrets and you have to let me have mine. This is it for now and you're going to have to respect that…" she trailed off.

"There won't ever be anything between us again you know…" I asked and looked away from her. "As long as you have this secret and can't trust me with it there will never be anything between us again. If we can't trust each other…" I trailed off as I heard her gasp.

I looked at her and simply asked her, "Tell me Kim, do you still love me?"

Kim's POV:

How could he ask me that? Surely he already knows the answer to that question. Why is he putting me through this? "Tommy, can't we have this discussion some other time?" I pleaded, hoping I could postpone this until I felt more comfortable discussing everything that was on my mind.

"We're having it right now, what's wrong with getting everything out on the table now?" He countered. "Do you still love me or not? It's a simple yes or no question."

I turned the tables on him, "Fine, do you still love me?" I asked, figuring he'd have as much trouble answering that question as I was having.

"Yes I do," he answered simply and it caught me off guard. "But I don't trust you, you broke my heart once and I don't trust you not to do it again."

My breath caught in my throat, "Tommy, I'd never hurt you!" I exclaimed.

He laughed right in my face then, "Pardon me if I don't believe you Kim but you did it once. Or was that just an accident? Didn't you intend to send that letter?"

"You don't understand what was going on then!" I exclaimed.

"Then why don't you fill me in and tell me what was going on? Explain to me what could make you break up with me that way. I'd really like to hear that explanation." He got up off of the bed and walked over toward the window and looked out at the scenery beyond.

"I can't," I said in a small whisper.

He whirled around and glared at me, "You can't?" he hollered. "You can't or you won't? Don't my feelings matter at all to you?"

"They matter more than you'll ever know," I said quietly.

"Excuse me if I don't believe that!" he exclaimed.

"You don't know what I was going through then-"

"Because you won't tell me!"

"I can't!" I cried.

"You won't!" he said and turned back toward the window. "I thought maybe we could talk and attempt to work things out…try to be friends if nothing else. Apparently even that won't work." I hadn't heard him right, had I?

"What are you saying Tommy?" I asked and held my breath fearing he was going to say the one thing I was dreading.

"I don't think we can even be friends Kim. You can't trust me enough to tell me what was going on your in life then, how are you going to trust me now? How can I trust you?" He turned around to face me and I could almost make out tears flowing down his face, or the shadow of previous ones. "It was nice to see you Kim, but I don't think friendship will really work out for us either…after all, we never really were friends." he smiled sadly then walked over toward the door and opened it and walked out of the room.

I silently reached for the door then dropped my hand back down beside my body and felt exhaustion overwhelm my entire body. I walked out of his life once then broke his heart, it was only fitting for him to walk out of my life and break my heart too. It always comes back around and usually tenfold…I got exactly what I deserved, if only he could understand why I had done what I had done…

I felt the tears course down my cheeks at the same time I heard a motor start up outside. I heard him tear out of the driveway, the tires squealing on the dry pavement onto the main road. Be careful Tommy, I thought as I cried myself back to sleep.

I'm so good at screwing up my life…if only I had told him the truth. If only I could remember the truth…if only I could recall what had happened. Maybe I should call Renee or Kristin…maybe they can help me sort through the few more pieces that have popped back into place…

*Surfacing Memory/Dream*

Victoria screamed, the car begun to spin out of control, then just as it had started it was done and I heard the load crunch again and the car suddenly stopped. A gasoline smell drifted through the car and bits of broken glass were embedded in my forearms and my face, I could feel then just below my skin's surface. Another load smash, something cracked and I felt excruciating pain in my back and my head…then complete oblivion.

'Lay back Miss,' someone's voice drifted toward me. 'Who, where are you?' I tried to sit up but felt their hands placed on my shoulders. I felt weightless, like I was floating. 'What's going on? Where am I?'

'She's coming too,' someone said from my right.

'Get her to the ambulance. We're trying to get the other one out of the car…I think we're going to have a DOA, notify the hospital and contact the coroner…' the voice trailed off as I was carried away from its source.

'DOA? Who are they talking about? Where's Victoria? Why can't I see you? Where are you? What in the hell was going on here…what had happened…Oh god where is Tommy? Where am I? I'm not in Angel Grove any more, am I?' Peaceful oblivion again and I was swallowed up by the blackness once more.

'She's coming too again.' I opened my eyes, just barely and noticed these people in white coats looking down at me…'Hi,' one of them said and smiled a fake smile down at me. 'Do you know what your name is?' he asked and jotted something down in a notebook as I answered his question. 'Do you know what day it is today?' I answered that one too, he frowned down at me and jotted something else down in his book, I heard him mumble something about being six months off…whatever that meant.

'Do you know where you are?' now that was a stupid question.

'Do you recall how you got here?' Not at all…then the panic set in.

'Do you recall the accident?' There was an accident?

"Do you remember if anyone was in the car with you?' What accident?

"Do you remember what hit you?' What accident, there was an accident? I was in it?

The panic set in and didn't leave…never left.

*End Memory/Dream*

I woke up in a cold sweat…I remembered it all now. The whole thing, the accident, and Victoria's death…the hospital stay, the coma and writing the letter and all the reasoning behind it. It seemed so stupid to think about it now, but there was strange logic to it in a way…

I looked to the nightstand next to the bed and picked up the phone, surely Trini and Jase wouldn't mind if I made one call…even if it was a long distance one. I'd pay them for it later. The first number I called I got no answer, the second number someone picked up on the second ring. "Hello?" they said.

I hesitated only a fraction of a second. "Kristin?" I asked quietly.

Well, do you all like so far….still want to read after this last chapter? I know I was just a little brutal with them but it's not as bad as I was figuring it would get…and I just figured I'd have him walk out and leave before anymore was said that couldn't be taken back. Anyways, it can only get better from here on in…don't believe that. I still have some things planned for later…a few surprises for Kim and Tommy. Well, hope you've enjoyed this latest chapter and as always R&R PLEASE!! Thanks.