*************************************************************
It had been three weeks since the aborted meeting with Billy and Jason. Kimberly had yet to get any real information out of her friends about what Adam had meant when he told her they wanted to get Billy out of the way in case fists started flying between Jase and Tommy. She'd even tried calling the former Blue Ranger, but according Jase, he was either, out with the baby or asleep. She was really starting to worry. Finally, she took her chances and mentioned it to Tom.
She knew that Tom and Jase had come a long way toward mending their fences, but things were still a little raw between them, especially where the former Blue Ranger was concerned, so she was careful in how she phrased her question, "Have you seen Jase lately," she asked that evening over dinner.
Tommy looked up at her, and she saw a hint of a smile in them, "Yeah, we had lunch today."
"How're he, Bill, and the baby doing?" Kimberly asked carefully.
"Jase is okay, and the baby's fine. He didn't mention Bill," Tom told her neutrally. She got the feeling there was more to what he wasn't saying than to what he told her.
They sat for long minutes in an almost stony silence until Tom put his fork down, looked at her and said, "Look Kim, Bill's not a sore subject. If you want to ask about him, do it. I'm not some ogre who's going to bite your head off."
Kim smiled, "I know. I just don't want to cause you any more hurt than you're already feeling," she said almost defensively.
Tom smiled at her, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you," he said. "I've just got a lot on my mind, that's all."
"Well, you should be," she told him. "I'm really rather put out with you over what happened at Trini's and Zack's." Reaching out she touched his hand, "And I'm put out with Jase and Bill for dropping it on us like that." She leaned back, "So get over it buster, I'm put out with all of you and I'm going to stay that way until I don't feel fat, and hot, and miserable." She picked up her own fork, "And until I get to see Billy and the baby."
"I asked them down this weekend," Tom said quietly. Looking up he continued, "I hope you don't mind."
Kimberly felt like a weight had been lifted off her, "Of course I don't mind. Why would I mind?"
Tommy teased her, "Because you're feeling fat, which you're not, hot, which you probably are, and ugly, which you are definitely not."
"I can deal with it, Tommy," Kimberly told him. "For them I'll deal with it."
Tommy smiled and said, "Good."
After another long silence Kimberly ventured, "Tommy?"
"Yes?" he answered absently.
"When you saw Bill last, did he seem okay to you?" Kim asked neutrally.
To her surprise, she could see something in his eyes akin to worry in Tom's eyes. "To be honest I don't remember. I made such an ass out of myself, I don't really remember taking a close look at him. I know that I meant to. I wanted to see if he was fully recovered from his accident, but then they dropped that little bombshell of theirs and all reason and common sense went flying out the window."
"I'm glad to hear that you're willing to admit when you're wrong." Kimberly told him. Smiling she continued, "Anyway, what did Jason say? Are you two finally making up?"
Tom smiled, "I'd like to say that he's happy, but I don't think he is." Kim started to interrupt but he held up a hand to stop her so she held her peace, "I don't think it has anything to do with his relationship with Bill, if that's what you're about to jump me for. I think he has a lot of things on his mind, and he's not himself. He won't tell me what it is though."
"Any idea what it might be?" Kim asked. She hated the idea of Jason worrying himself sick.
"I don't know. It's almost as if he hasn't gotten over his dad dying," Tommy said. "Which of course is understandable, I don't think I would be over that if something happened to my dad." Kim knew that was a hard admission for Tommy. He'd come to the Olivers as troubled foster child at thirteen, and they adopted him at fifteen. He had once told her that it was a two years after that before he could bring himself to call them mom and dad. Something in him finally clicked and he knew that he finally had a family. Since then, his family had been extremely important to him.
Carefully she ventured, "You don't think Billy's sick do you?" she asked trying to sound neutral.
Tom shook his head, "I don't know. I don't think so. Surely, Jason would have said something if he was. Why do you ask?"
"Because that day at Zack and Trini's, Adam told me that they wanted to get the baby and Bill out of the house in case you and Jason started swinging at each other. When I asked why Bill, Adam suddenly changed the subject." Kimberly told him. "I got the distinct feeling they weren't telling me everything."
"You're imagining things," Tom told her, but Kim noticed that he didn't sound too convinced himself.
*****************************************************
Kimberly had spent the last couple of days in a frenzy of excitement. She'd cleaned her house from top to bottom waiting for the big day to come. On Saturday, while Tommy was at the track taking care of some last minute details so he could have the rest of day off, she realized that she was almost as excited about seeing Jason and his family as she was about her own baby being due in a week. After taking care of the last minute details around the house, Kim lay on the sofa and propped her feet up to take a short nap.
BOOM! Kim suddenly felt herself falling, as the room shook around her. Hitting the floor hard, what ever it was struck again. BOOM! The whole house shook, as plaster fell from the ceiling in huge chunks and the large grandfather clock in the corner tipped over. BOOM! The lights went out, and the house was plunged into the gray twilight of the late afternoon shade. BOOM! The floor rocked under her, as she made her way toward the doorframe. A huge shadow passed over the house, and the darkness intensified.
Bracing herself against the side of the frame Kim felt a sudden pain in her lower abdomen as her legs and feet were suddenly soaked. Looking down in horror, she realized her water had broken. Reaching for the phone, she was hit with another spasm of pain and fell forward. Twisting to avoid falling on her stomach her head suddenly lit up in an explosion of pain and stars. Then came the blackness.
****************************************************************
Across town Tom Oliver heard an explosion. Looking to the East, he saw a giant two headed lizard-like monster battling one of the Power Ranger's new megazords. For just a brief moment he felt a pang of jealousy and wished that it was him up there fighting whatever the latest menace to Angel Grove and the Earth was.
"Tom," Davy, his pit chief said next to him, "I don't want to alarm you, but isn't that in the general direction of your house?"
"Kimberly!" Tommy suddenly realized the man was right and raced toward his car. With no other thought in his mind than Kim in danger, he turned the Cimarron toward the highway. Ignoring the traffic as best he could, he gunned the engine onto the highway, only to find it blocked. Before he could turn the car around, he found himself blocked on all sides by other vehicles attempting to head in the same direction. Whatever the menace was, it was literally shaking the city apart. In frustration, he pulled the car off the side of the road and abandoned it to head out on foot toward home- toward his wife and unborn child.
*****************************************************************
Kim awoke in pain. There was a pillow under her head, and she could feel someone adjusting her legs. Weakly pushing their hands away from her body, she fought to maintain some kind of dignity.
"If you resist, you'll only make it more difficult for you and the baby, Kimmie," a familiar voice said. As her vision came into focus, the ground shook again with another boom and she saw a familiar blond head look up to the falling plaster at the ceiling.
"Billy?" she gasped as another contraction hit. Something was wrong, she felt like her body was pushing against something that wasn't ready to give. The pain was excruciating.
He smiled at her and nodded, "The baby needs to be turned," he told her. "I think the term is breach."
She gritted her teeth and pushed at the floor, trying to control the wave of pain that hit her. "Where's Jason?" she asked as the darkness took her again.
"Kimberly, wake up," Billy was gently slapping her. "You can't do this unconscious. I don't think I can help you if you are." Billy told her.
"Billy, what's going on?"
"I'm not sure. I think it's a monster attack. The new Rangers are fighting it," Billy seemed pale, like he was sick.
"Billy, are you all right?" she asked as she felt a sharp pain in her lower body.
Billy didn't answer as, as he concentrated on what he was doing. Some part of Kimberly noted that she could feel his hand inside her body, adjusting something. Finally, he looked up and said, "When I tell you to, I need you to push."
Kim felt a wave of pain building. At its peak, Billy said, "Push, Kimmie, push." When it was over, again she felt his hands adjust something.
The process repeated itself over and again, each time Billy encouraging and comforting her. Finally, with a single huge push she felt a tearing and then relief. Seconds later, she heard a healthy set of lungs screaming for attention. Long seconds passed before Billy gently laid her baby on her chest. Looking down into the no-so-clean face of her newborn son- why did she expect him to be fresh and sanitized, being born was messy business- she smiled at how beautiful he was. Billy, meanwhile tended to the umbilical cord, and the afterbirth.
When all was finished, the former Blue Ranger, in his most meticulous manner, helped her onto the sofa, and gently covered her and the child with a blanket. Looking down, he smiled worriedly and said, "The phones are still out, but I'll stay until Tom gets here."
"Billy," Kim took his pale hand in hers, "Thank you."
He smiled, squeezed her hand gently, and sat on the floor next to her, before he finally said, "That's what friendship is about Kim, assisting each other when necessary, and supplying moral support at other times. You or Tommy would reciprocate were our situations reversed." He gently brushed her hair from her eyes, and said, "Now rest, you've expended a great deal of energy and should sleep, I'll watch over you."
Kimberly felt herself, slowly drift off to sleep, holding her son, and feeling secure that at least one of her old friends had been there for her when she was so desperately in need of them.
Someone gently shook her awake. Opening her eyes, she saw Adam, Kat, and Tommy standing over her, looking worried. "Billy?" she asked trying to sit up.
Her husband exchanged worried glances with their friends. "Kim," Adam knelt next to her, checking on the baby who was beginning to squirm in her arms, "are you okay?" He was looking around for something, or someone. "Was there someone here who helped you?"
Kimberly nodded, "Billy was. Where did he go?"
Adam gave Tom a strange look. Her husband joined the former Black Ranger on the floor. There was a hardness in his voice, like he was fighting something when he said, "Kim, it couldn't have been Bill."
Kim had had enough of Tom's attitude about Billy. The man had just delivered his son for God's sake! She turned on him, fire in her eyes and steel in her voice, "I don't give a damn what you think about Billy and Jason, Tom! They're my friends, and you owe Billy big time! He was here to deliver the baby when nobody else was, so get you panties out of a wad. Find him, swallow some of that pig-headed pride of yours and thank him."
Adam gently pushed her back onto the sofa, and took the baby from her. His voice was soft, and she could see a deep gentleness in his eyes, "Kim, it couldn't have been Billy. He died this morning at eight twenty-three."
*****************************************************************
EPILOGUE
"Wildlife biologists are still at a loss to explain the sudden increase in the wolf population around Angel Gro.," Tommy turned off the radio as he pulled into the parking lot of the city park. He couldn't help but wonder at how many afternoons he and the rest of the Rangers had spent laughing and playing in this same park during high school. Now they'd all grown up, and one had gone on.
Getting out, he quietly walked along the lane next to the lake where he and Kimberly had spent so much time in the early days of their relationship. Finally, he found the trail that lead past one of the fields to the picnic table where they all would gather. He saw a lone figure sitting at the table looking out over the fields. Without saying a word, he slipped up and sat on the table next to him.
For long moments they sat there, neither saying a word. Finally, Jase turned to him, tears in his eyes. Not a word was said. He simply held his best friend, his Bro, and let him cry until he was spent.
It had been three weeks since the aborted meeting with Billy and Jason. Kimberly had yet to get any real information out of her friends about what Adam had meant when he told her they wanted to get Billy out of the way in case fists started flying between Jase and Tommy. She'd even tried calling the former Blue Ranger, but according Jase, he was either, out with the baby or asleep. She was really starting to worry. Finally, she took her chances and mentioned it to Tom.
She knew that Tom and Jase had come a long way toward mending their fences, but things were still a little raw between them, especially where the former Blue Ranger was concerned, so she was careful in how she phrased her question, "Have you seen Jase lately," she asked that evening over dinner.
Tommy looked up at her, and she saw a hint of a smile in them, "Yeah, we had lunch today."
"How're he, Bill, and the baby doing?" Kimberly asked carefully.
"Jase is okay, and the baby's fine. He didn't mention Bill," Tom told her neutrally. She got the feeling there was more to what he wasn't saying than to what he told her.
They sat for long minutes in an almost stony silence until Tom put his fork down, looked at her and said, "Look Kim, Bill's not a sore subject. If you want to ask about him, do it. I'm not some ogre who's going to bite your head off."
Kim smiled, "I know. I just don't want to cause you any more hurt than you're already feeling," she said almost defensively.
Tom smiled at her, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you," he said. "I've just got a lot on my mind, that's all."
"Well, you should be," she told him. "I'm really rather put out with you over what happened at Trini's and Zack's." Reaching out she touched his hand, "And I'm put out with Jase and Bill for dropping it on us like that." She leaned back, "So get over it buster, I'm put out with all of you and I'm going to stay that way until I don't feel fat, and hot, and miserable." She picked up her own fork, "And until I get to see Billy and the baby."
"I asked them down this weekend," Tom said quietly. Looking up he continued, "I hope you don't mind."
Kimberly felt like a weight had been lifted off her, "Of course I don't mind. Why would I mind?"
Tommy teased her, "Because you're feeling fat, which you're not, hot, which you probably are, and ugly, which you are definitely not."
"I can deal with it, Tommy," Kimberly told him. "For them I'll deal with it."
Tommy smiled and said, "Good."
After another long silence Kimberly ventured, "Tommy?"
"Yes?" he answered absently.
"When you saw Bill last, did he seem okay to you?" Kim asked neutrally.
To her surprise, she could see something in his eyes akin to worry in Tom's eyes. "To be honest I don't remember. I made such an ass out of myself, I don't really remember taking a close look at him. I know that I meant to. I wanted to see if he was fully recovered from his accident, but then they dropped that little bombshell of theirs and all reason and common sense went flying out the window."
"I'm glad to hear that you're willing to admit when you're wrong." Kimberly told him. Smiling she continued, "Anyway, what did Jason say? Are you two finally making up?"
Tom smiled, "I'd like to say that he's happy, but I don't think he is." Kim started to interrupt but he held up a hand to stop her so she held her peace, "I don't think it has anything to do with his relationship with Bill, if that's what you're about to jump me for. I think he has a lot of things on his mind, and he's not himself. He won't tell me what it is though."
"Any idea what it might be?" Kim asked. She hated the idea of Jason worrying himself sick.
"I don't know. It's almost as if he hasn't gotten over his dad dying," Tommy said. "Which of course is understandable, I don't think I would be over that if something happened to my dad." Kim knew that was a hard admission for Tommy. He'd come to the Olivers as troubled foster child at thirteen, and they adopted him at fifteen. He had once told her that it was a two years after that before he could bring himself to call them mom and dad. Something in him finally clicked and he knew that he finally had a family. Since then, his family had been extremely important to him.
Carefully she ventured, "You don't think Billy's sick do you?" she asked trying to sound neutral.
Tom shook his head, "I don't know. I don't think so. Surely, Jason would have said something if he was. Why do you ask?"
"Because that day at Zack and Trini's, Adam told me that they wanted to get the baby and Bill out of the house in case you and Jason started swinging at each other. When I asked why Bill, Adam suddenly changed the subject." Kimberly told him. "I got the distinct feeling they weren't telling me everything."
"You're imagining things," Tom told her, but Kim noticed that he didn't sound too convinced himself.
*****************************************************
Kimberly had spent the last couple of days in a frenzy of excitement. She'd cleaned her house from top to bottom waiting for the big day to come. On Saturday, while Tommy was at the track taking care of some last minute details so he could have the rest of day off, she realized that she was almost as excited about seeing Jason and his family as she was about her own baby being due in a week. After taking care of the last minute details around the house, Kim lay on the sofa and propped her feet up to take a short nap.
BOOM! Kim suddenly felt herself falling, as the room shook around her. Hitting the floor hard, what ever it was struck again. BOOM! The whole house shook, as plaster fell from the ceiling in huge chunks and the large grandfather clock in the corner tipped over. BOOM! The lights went out, and the house was plunged into the gray twilight of the late afternoon shade. BOOM! The floor rocked under her, as she made her way toward the doorframe. A huge shadow passed over the house, and the darkness intensified.
Bracing herself against the side of the frame Kim felt a sudden pain in her lower abdomen as her legs and feet were suddenly soaked. Looking down in horror, she realized her water had broken. Reaching for the phone, she was hit with another spasm of pain and fell forward. Twisting to avoid falling on her stomach her head suddenly lit up in an explosion of pain and stars. Then came the blackness.
****************************************************************
Across town Tom Oliver heard an explosion. Looking to the East, he saw a giant two headed lizard-like monster battling one of the Power Ranger's new megazords. For just a brief moment he felt a pang of jealousy and wished that it was him up there fighting whatever the latest menace to Angel Grove and the Earth was.
"Tom," Davy, his pit chief said next to him, "I don't want to alarm you, but isn't that in the general direction of your house?"
"Kimberly!" Tommy suddenly realized the man was right and raced toward his car. With no other thought in his mind than Kim in danger, he turned the Cimarron toward the highway. Ignoring the traffic as best he could, he gunned the engine onto the highway, only to find it blocked. Before he could turn the car around, he found himself blocked on all sides by other vehicles attempting to head in the same direction. Whatever the menace was, it was literally shaking the city apart. In frustration, he pulled the car off the side of the road and abandoned it to head out on foot toward home- toward his wife and unborn child.
*****************************************************************
Kim awoke in pain. There was a pillow under her head, and she could feel someone adjusting her legs. Weakly pushing their hands away from her body, she fought to maintain some kind of dignity.
"If you resist, you'll only make it more difficult for you and the baby, Kimmie," a familiar voice said. As her vision came into focus, the ground shook again with another boom and she saw a familiar blond head look up to the falling plaster at the ceiling.
"Billy?" she gasped as another contraction hit. Something was wrong, she felt like her body was pushing against something that wasn't ready to give. The pain was excruciating.
He smiled at her and nodded, "The baby needs to be turned," he told her. "I think the term is breach."
She gritted her teeth and pushed at the floor, trying to control the wave of pain that hit her. "Where's Jason?" she asked as the darkness took her again.
"Kimberly, wake up," Billy was gently slapping her. "You can't do this unconscious. I don't think I can help you if you are." Billy told her.
"Billy, what's going on?"
"I'm not sure. I think it's a monster attack. The new Rangers are fighting it," Billy seemed pale, like he was sick.
"Billy, are you all right?" she asked as she felt a sharp pain in her lower body.
Billy didn't answer as, as he concentrated on what he was doing. Some part of Kimberly noted that she could feel his hand inside her body, adjusting something. Finally, he looked up and said, "When I tell you to, I need you to push."
Kim felt a wave of pain building. At its peak, Billy said, "Push, Kimmie, push." When it was over, again she felt his hands adjust something.
The process repeated itself over and again, each time Billy encouraging and comforting her. Finally, with a single huge push she felt a tearing and then relief. Seconds later, she heard a healthy set of lungs screaming for attention. Long seconds passed before Billy gently laid her baby on her chest. Looking down into the no-so-clean face of her newborn son- why did she expect him to be fresh and sanitized, being born was messy business- she smiled at how beautiful he was. Billy, meanwhile tended to the umbilical cord, and the afterbirth.
When all was finished, the former Blue Ranger, in his most meticulous manner, helped her onto the sofa, and gently covered her and the child with a blanket. Looking down, he smiled worriedly and said, "The phones are still out, but I'll stay until Tom gets here."
"Billy," Kim took his pale hand in hers, "Thank you."
He smiled, squeezed her hand gently, and sat on the floor next to her, before he finally said, "That's what friendship is about Kim, assisting each other when necessary, and supplying moral support at other times. You or Tommy would reciprocate were our situations reversed." He gently brushed her hair from her eyes, and said, "Now rest, you've expended a great deal of energy and should sleep, I'll watch over you."
Kimberly felt herself, slowly drift off to sleep, holding her son, and feeling secure that at least one of her old friends had been there for her when she was so desperately in need of them.
Someone gently shook her awake. Opening her eyes, she saw Adam, Kat, and Tommy standing over her, looking worried. "Billy?" she asked trying to sit up.
Her husband exchanged worried glances with their friends. "Kim," Adam knelt next to her, checking on the baby who was beginning to squirm in her arms, "are you okay?" He was looking around for something, or someone. "Was there someone here who helped you?"
Kimberly nodded, "Billy was. Where did he go?"
Adam gave Tom a strange look. Her husband joined the former Black Ranger on the floor. There was a hardness in his voice, like he was fighting something when he said, "Kim, it couldn't have been Bill."
Kim had had enough of Tom's attitude about Billy. The man had just delivered his son for God's sake! She turned on him, fire in her eyes and steel in her voice, "I don't give a damn what you think about Billy and Jason, Tom! They're my friends, and you owe Billy big time! He was here to deliver the baby when nobody else was, so get you panties out of a wad. Find him, swallow some of that pig-headed pride of yours and thank him."
Adam gently pushed her back onto the sofa, and took the baby from her. His voice was soft, and she could see a deep gentleness in his eyes, "Kim, it couldn't have been Billy. He died this morning at eight twenty-three."
*****************************************************************
EPILOGUE
"Wildlife biologists are still at a loss to explain the sudden increase in the wolf population around Angel Gro.," Tommy turned off the radio as he pulled into the parking lot of the city park. He couldn't help but wonder at how many afternoons he and the rest of the Rangers had spent laughing and playing in this same park during high school. Now they'd all grown up, and one had gone on.
Getting out, he quietly walked along the lane next to the lake where he and Kimberly had spent so much time in the early days of their relationship. Finally, he found the trail that lead past one of the fields to the picnic table where they all would gather. He saw a lone figure sitting at the table looking out over the fields. Without saying a word, he slipped up and sat on the table next to him.
For long moments they sat there, neither saying a word. Finally, Jase turned to him, tears in his eyes. Not a word was said. He simply held his best friend, his Bro, and let him cry until he was spent.