Disclaimer: Power Rangers don't belong to me.
Author's Notes: First, off I would like to clarify that I am neither a Tommy/Kim or Tommy/Kat supporter. Having said that, I'll say that this fic deals mostly with the reunion of Tommy and Kimberly.
By: Jade Daniels
"And do you, Kimberly Hart, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, until death do you part?" The priest's voice was quiet, but he could be heard even at the back of the silent church.
The beautiful bride looked up at her fiancé, and with eyes shining bright, she nodded and said, "I do."
"Then I now pronounce you husband and wife." With those words, a loud cheer sounded throughout the church as Kimberly and her new husband kissed. They broke apart as their lengthy kiss brought in many hoots, whistles and more cheers. Finally, the newly married couple began their walk back down the aisle.
As Kimberly walked side by side with her husband, she looked up at him and smiled. She couldn't believe that this day had finally come. Sometimes she had believed that it would never happen. Her relationships in the past had hardly given her reason to believe that she could ever have a lasting relationship. Yet now, she had committed herself to this man forever and she knew that she would be able to keep that commitment.
Finally, the couple entered the limousine that had been parked outside of the church with the crowd still cheering from behind them. With another laugh and a wave, Kimberly closed the door and slid in beside her husband, laying her head on his shoulder. He smiled and dropped a kiss upon her head, wrapping an arm gently around her shoulders. He gave the signal to the limousine driver and the long white car began to speed away from the church.
"I love you," he said softly, dropping another kiss on Kimberly's head.
She smiled. "I love you too."
He must have noticed that her voice was a trifle absent. "What are you thinking about?" he asked.
Kimberly laughed lightly. "Just stuff. You now, just how it was that we finally got to this point. I mean there were times I never would have imagined that this would ever happen."
He nodded. "I can understand that. But we are together now. It was meant to be."
"Yeah," she replied, her voice low as her mind began to drift back to the first time she had heard those words. Back then, she had never thought that those words would be repeated at a time like this.
"Will you go out with me?" Tommy Oliver looked at her, earnest interest in his eyes.
She stared at him with surprise. Kimberly Hart never thought she would be in this situation again. It was something that had certainly never crossed her mind when she had broken off their relationship in the first place. She had believed it to be a part of her past, something that was over and done with. Yet, as she processed what the man in the seat across from her had just asked, Kimberly knew that things were not really as over as she had thought. And, a part of her couldn't help but be a bit delighted in that knowledge.
But, she couldn't just go out with him, at least, not until she found out what was going on. "Um, I thought you were happy with..." she started to say, only to be interrupted by the shaking of his head.
"We broke things off just before she went to England," he told her quietly. "That was almost a year ago. I've been told that she's going out with a dancer from the company that she joined."
That was unexpected news. Although her latest letters and emails with Katherine hadn't really touched much on relationships, she would have thought that the Australian girl would have told her that she and Tommy had broken up. But then, would she have done the same for another ex-girlfriend of Tommy's? Besides, it hadn't really been any of Kimberly's business if Kat told her. After all, she doubted that Kat expected her to rush into Tommy's arms just because he was suddenly free.
Tommy continued to quietly reminisce. "After Kat and I broke up, well, I continued with racing as you know. Dated around a bit, but I couldn't find someone that I really wanted to be with. At first, I thought it was because I was comparing them all to Kat, but then I realized what I was really doing."
Tommy looked up at her. Those beautiful eyes stared into hers. "I was comparing them to you beautiful."
Kimberly felt her face heat at his use of his nickname for her. It was strange how he still managed to make her heart flutter. Sometimes she wondered what she had been thinking of when she had sent him that 'Dear Tommy' letter. Why had she ruined one of the best things that had ever happened to her? At the time, she had thought she had wanted to be free, burning all ties to Angel Grove. Florida had been a heady experience for her, one that she had enjoyed thoroughly. Certainly her time with Andre had been enjoyable. But that had ended as quickly as it had started; a fiery passion that had burned out all too quickly, leaving her scarred heart behind.
"Kimberly?" Tommy's voice shook her out of her thoughts.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, still feeling a little confused. Did she want to date Tommy again? Could they build their relationship again?
She would be lying if she said that she had never considered getting back with Tommy. But when she had returned to Angel Grove, she had found him happily, or so she had thought, involved with Katherine Hilliard, her successor and friend. Kimberly knew her heart had broken a little when she had seen the two of them together. Kat was her friend and Kim certainly hadn't wanted to become 'the other woman' and in the end, had left Angel Grove, hoping to continue her gymnastics career and maybe find a new love back in Florida.
And that was where Tommy had found her. With his current race being held in Miami, he had looked her up and had asked her out to dinner. Since they were old friends, she hadn't given a second thought to the two of them going out. All through dinner, the conversation had been light, full of catching up and 'do you remember when...'s. There had been one or two moments when she had caught him looking at her with a certain light in his eyes, but she honestly had never imagined that he would ask her for an actual date!
"Is this something you've been thinking a lot about?" she asked, her voice trembling a little. She was nervous, that much was certain. It reminded her of when he had first asked her out.
"No, not exactly," he responded, resting his head on his hands. "But just tonight, seeing you again.... It made me realize just how much I've missed you. And with those other women, I told you that now I know why I could never be with any of them. I want to be with you. Can't you feel it? This was what was meant to be."
Kimberly could feel something, but whether or not it was telling her that this was meant to be, she didn't know. She shook her head, wanting to give voice to the reason why she wasn't as happy about this as he seemed to be. "But I hurt you the first time! How can you be so willing to want to be with me again?" There, she had said it.
There was sadness in his eyes. That much was evident. Even after this long, she was still able to read him well. Shouldn't that tell her something? Were they truly meant to be? "I won't lie and say that what you did didn't hurt me Kim," he said. "But haven't we both moved on from that? I know I have. We are different people now. Maybe we needed that break up so that we could come back together, stronger than ever before." He reached out for her hand, encompassing it in his own. "All I'm asking for is for one date beautiful. We had a lot of fun tonight. Who's to say that we can't have a repeat performance?"
She looked down at their joined hands. "Tommy...."
"Please, just one date," he said, his voice quiet. "If we really can't work, then I won't ask again."
He was breaking down all of her barriers. She looked up at him and nodded. "All right, one date."
He grinned brightly. "I promise, you won't regret it."
As she looked up at the handsome man walking beside her, Kimberly had to admit that Tommy had been true to his word. He had picked her up at six-thirty at her apartment and had proceeded to take her on one of the best dates she had had in a long while. They had gone to a restaurant with great Indian cuisine. That had been followed by a trip to a small desert parlour where she had been served a delicious chocolate cheesecake. After that, they had decided on a walk along the coast of one of Miami's many beaches.
"So, did you like it?" he asked, after a long silence had settled between them.
She took his hand into hers and looked up into his questioning face. "I loved it. It really was a wonderful date Tommy." She leaned her head against his arm. "Thank you."
"You're welcome beautiful," he whispered, kissing the top of her head.
She shivered slightly at his touch. She had to admit to herself that she had missed this, being with him. If their date was an indication of how well they fit together, maybe she and Tommy really were meant to be together. But even as Kimberly thought about that, she realized that there was something standing in their way. It was something that had stood in the way of their previous relationship and threatened to keep them apart now: his racing career.
"Tommy?" she said softly.
"Hmm, yeah?" he asked.
"I know that you want us to be together again," she said, "But what about your racing? I mean, you aren't going to be in Miami all the time." She frowned as she thought of her own situation. "Neither will I. I mean, I'll be having meets all over the country."
"We can work around that," he replied, his voice full of assurance. "I can be here. My uncle's racing team actually has a base here in Miami, along with the one in Angel Grove. I asked him if I could be placed here instead and he said that after this season, it would be okay."
"Really?" she looked up at him, surprise written on her face. But she quickly looked back down. "I wish I could do the same."
He lifted her face with a gentle finger. "Kimberly, we will make it through, no matter what happens. You have your duties and I have mine. That's to be expected. I'm not going to ask you to give up something you love and I know that you wouldn't ask that of me. Like I said, we'll work around whatever comes our way. You and I are meant to be."
Meant to be. How often had Tommy said that these past couple of days? Even she was starting to believe it. She brushed her lips lightly across his. "You're right, maybe this was meant to be."
It was three months later and Tommy Oliver was still on cloud nine. It seemed as if everything was going right for him lately. He was rising in the ranks of more and more big races and felt that his time was coming for a win. As he entered his newly rented apartment, his nose was greeted to a pleasant smell coming from the kitchen. He smiled at the reminder of the other reason why he was so happy lately.
He found that reason standing by the stove, looking very cute in a pair of tight jeans, a pink tank top and an apron to cover it all. With a wide grin, he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her petite frame and dropping a kiss at the junction of her neck and shoulder. "Hey beautiful," he murmured into her ear. "What's cooking?"
She chuckled as she leaned back against him while continuing to stir the red-coloured sauce that was in the pan. "Just pasta. It was something quick and easy. How was your day?"
"Good," he replied, nuzzling her hair. "Better now that you're here. How about you?"
"Ditto," she said. "How about you grab the plates and we can eat?"
Not really wanting to leave her side, Tommy nonetheless did as she asked and grabbed a pair of plates, forks and cups from various cupboards and drawers, setting them in place at the small table in the small eating nook just off of the kitchen. "So when did you get here?"
"About an hour ago," she replied, as she brought a large bowl of rotini covered in tomato sauce to the table. This was accompanied by another bowl of salad. "I saw you weren't here so I thought I'd surprise you with some dinner."
"Thanks," he said as he poured milk into their two glasses. The things that Kimberly Hart did amazed him at times. Yet, he knew that he shouldn't have been surprised by her thoughtfulness. It was just one of the many things that he loved abpout her.
"Did you check your mail yet?" Kim asked as she began to help herself to a serving of the pasta.
He shook his head. He had ignored the small pile of letters on the table by the door when he had come in. "No, not yet. Why?"
She swallowed the pasta she had been chewing. "You and I both got something today. It's a wedding invitation." She paused for a moment before continuing. "From Kat. She's getting married in a few months in London."
"Oh," was all that Tommy could say before he shovelled some food into his mouth. At that moment, he couldn't have told anyone what it tasted like. Kimberly's news had greatly surprised him.
"From what Kat's told me about him, he's a really nice guy," continued Kim, now that the announcement was over. "He's that dancer you told me about a while ago." Her voice was quiet. "She's really happy with him. Are you happy for her?"
Was he? Tommy didn't know. Yet, shouldn't he be? Kat was still one of his dearest friends, even if they weren't in a romantic relationship anymore. He knew that he still wasn't in love with her. Besides that, he now had Kim. They were happy together. So what in the world was wrong with him? Why couldn't he be happy that Kat was getting married?
"Tommy?" Kimberly's voice was worried. "You haven't answered my question."
At first, Tommy didn't know what to say. He couldn't tell her that he was happy with Kat's upcoming marriage. But as he continued to chew it through his mind, he began to realize, at least in part, why he was feeling this way. Knowing that he was about to say was entirely the wrong answer, he said, "I don't know Kim. I don't know if I'm happy for Kat."
Something seemed to dim in Kimberly's eyes. "Um, okay." She picked at her dinner. "Okay."
"Please don't misunderstand me Kim," pleaded Tommy, laying a hand on her arm. "I only meant that I don't know yet if I'm happy for her. It's not that I don't want her to get married to someone else, it's just that, well, I'll always feel protective of Kat. Even before she and I started dating, I wanted to protect her. I just want to make sure that the guy she's marrying that is the one for her."
It wasn't the whole answer and they both knew it. "Oh," she replied, still not looking at him.
"You do believe me, don't you Kim?" he asked.
"I don't know what to think right now," she said. "I've trusted you with my life, and I trust you with my heart." She paused for a moment, and then finally looked up at him. "I know you care about Kat. I know you want the best for her. I do too. But the fact of the matter is that she is your ex-girlfriend. You not being happy about her engagement is not something I want to hear!"
"You're right," Tommy admitted, now feeling even more foolish that he had said what he said in the first place. "It was stupid of me to say it that way. I didn't mean it like that. Please believe me."
"I do," she responded quietly. "I do. Please, let's just finish dinner and then I'm going to go home."
Things were very quiet for the rest of that night.
"Kim!" Kimberly found herself enveloped in a tight hug with Katherine. The blonde Australian had invited her into the dressing room for some last minute girl-talk before the actual ceremony. Of course, much of it had been done at the stagette party that had been held a few nights earlier, but Kimberly had been unable to attend, having arrived with Tommy only the day before.
"Hi Kat!" Kim exclaimed, overjoyed to see her friend. She stood back so that she could get a better look at Katherine. "Oh my gosh, you look gorgeous!" The blushing bride looked absolutely radiant, dressed in her lacy strapless wedding gown. Her golden hair had been done up with tiny white crystals and flowers. The only jewellery that Kat wore was a pair of white crystal earrings, along with the significant ring on her left hand.
Katherine blushed and giggled as she sat down in the chair by the vanity. "Thanks! I'm so excited! This is so amazing.... I just can't believe that this is happening." She looked at Kimberly with brilliant blue eyes. "I'm so happy that you could make it! When you told me that your flight was delayed, I got so worried."
"Well don't worry now, I'm here," replied Kim, taking her own seat. "Do you really think that I'd miss a special day like this? I promised myself that I would never miss any of my friends' weddings."
"I just can't believe that I'm the first out of all of us," Kat shook her head. "I don't know. I always thought that Jason and Trini maybe would be the first, or Adam and Tanya. Not me." She paused for a moment. "Sometimes it seems so unreal! But then, I think of Keith and then everything just falls into place."
Kimberly chuckled, looking fondly at her friend. "I know you two are going to be so happy together. I mean, from what you've told me, Keith is a great guy."
She knew that Tommy thought so too, having finally met Katherine's fiancé. Keith Wiltshire was a nice looking young man with light brown hair and green eyes, who was a year younger than Kat. He had the long, lean build of a dancer and moved with a dancer's grace. Despite his age, he had been a part of the ballet company for almost two years before Kat had joined. Through Kat's letters, Kim had learned that Keith was a confident, outgoing young man who had asked Kat out on a date the week after she had joined the company. The wounds from her breakup with Tommy had still been fresh, so she had initially declined. But Keith had been persistent, and after a few months, Kat had finally agreed.
The bride nodded. "I'm so lucky to have him. I think you're right; we are going to be happy together." She tilted her head, her face becoming suddenly serious. "Just like I know that you and Tommy will be happy together too."
"Thanks Kat," whispered Kim, as she stood up to give her friend a hug. "That means so much, coming from you."
As Kat released her, she said, "I'll admit, I was shocked when I first heard that you two were back together." She grinned. "But obviously it's been good between you two. I guess you guys were meant to be."
There were those words again. "Yeah," nodded Kim. "I guess so."
Katherine frowned at Kimberly's uncertain words. "You guess so? Are you okay Kim? Is everything between you and Tommy alright?"
Wishing that she hadn't said anything, Kim waved off Kat's concern. "Kat, don't worry about it, okay? This is your day. You should be concentrating on you and that guy who's waiting for you at the altar. Listen, I'm going to take my seat now. I'll see you at the reception." With a quick kiss to Kat's cheek and another hug, Kimberly left the dressing room.
Contrary to what she had told Kat, Kimberly went outside of the church instead. There were still some stragglers out on the stairs: smokers and those who couldn't stand the stuffiness inside the building. Kimberly ignored all of them, making her way to an isolated spot beside the fence that ran along the church property. It was here that she could think quietly about her reactions to Katherine's words.
It certainly wasn't the greatest time for Kimberly to be questioning her relationship to Tommy, not on the day that one of her best friends was getting married. But it seemed as if these questions were popping up lately at the most inopportune times. Although why was she questioning herself, Kimberly had no idea. She and Tommy were happy. They had a good relationship. Although they had arguments, like any other couple, they hadn't had any major problems lately. So what was wrong with her?
"I love Tommy," she whispered quietly to herself. "I know I do." But she had loved him then too, when she had sent that dreadful letter, and that had ended up a horrible mistake.
Kimberly thought about her own parents. They had been in love and had stayed married for many years before their divorce. They must have once thought that they were meant to be together. There had been so many questions going through her mind when her parents had separated. So why had they ended up apart? What had changed between them? Now she had to ask herself, could the same thing happen for her and Tommy? It had already happened once, would it happen again?
She knew that she and Tommy were good together. That had been true back when they were teenagers and it was just as true now. They really loved each other. But, was it possible that they would end up the same way her parents did? Yet, Tommy had told her that together, the two of them could survive anything. He had told her that they were meant to be. Kat had said the same thing.
Maybe they were right.
Finally, she decided that her worries would have to be put on hold as she saw the last few stragglers file into the church. She too made her way inside, finding her seat beside Tommy. He gave her a questioning look, obviously wondering why she had been gone for so long. But she just smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek. Telling him what she had been thinking about would only worry him and that was the last thing she wanted to do.
Music thrummed through the air as the opening chords of 'Here Comes The Bride' were played. The people stood, all waiting for Katherine's appearance. They did have to wait long, for within moments, the lovely bride began to make her way down the aisle, with both of her parents walking beside her. Katherine had decided on no bridesmaids, as most of her friends were scattered all over the globe and wouldn't be able to make to London in time for any fittings or the rehearsals.
As Kimberly watched the ceremony, she knew that Katherine would be a very happy woman. Just looking at the groom's face convinced her of that. Keith looked at Katherine like one would gaze upon a goddess, with utter and complete devotion. If that was any sign of how their future would be, Kimberly knew that Keith and Katherine's future was a very good one. It was a future that Kimberly wanted for herself. As she looked at Tommy, she hoped that it would be with him. After all, wasn't that what was meant to be?.
This wasn't right. That much was clear as Tommy stared into Kimberly's cold eyes. How could he get through to her that this wasn't as big a deal as she was making it out to be? "Kimberly, this isn't what you think!"
"No?" she demanded, her eyes narrowing. "I can't believe that you would say that! It's going to be our one year anniversary and you're going off on some race!"
"Some race?" sputtered Tommy, thrusting his hands into the air. How had this argument started in the first place? How had it degraded into this? "This is the biggest race of my career! Can't you understand that? We can celebrate our anniversary the day after, when I come back."
She shook her head. "And what makes you so sure that I'll be here when you get back?"
"What, you got another one of your stupid little gymnastics thing to do?" he sneered, unable to keep a lid on his temper. The argument had already gone too far.
"Well, at least I win my 'stupid little gymnastics thing'," she pointed out, her voice heavy with sarcasm. "You still haven't won a single one of your races! All that experience as a Turbo Power Ranger and you still can't beat regular human racers!"
"Say it a little louder Kimberly," responded Tommy, gesturing towards the window, "I don't think they heard you back in Angel Grove!" He paced angrily across the room of his apartment. Kimberly had come by earlier for a visit. Things had been proceeding along nicely when the subject of their anniversary had come up. Unfortunately, that had been the nasty turning point. "I have worked damned hard for this! This is my one chance to actually get somewhere!"
"Right." This time it was her turn to sneer. "Just like all those other 'big races'. Yeah, those really paid off big! Sometimes I think you love racing more than you love me!"
"At least it's something I can understand!" he shouted back at her. "At least it's willing to respond to me! At least I get something out of it!"
Kimberly's face went white, then flushed red. "Fine," she said, her voice deadly calm. "Fine. Goodbye Tommy. Maybe you'll get more out of racing with me gone."
It was the end. That much she was certain of as Kimberly walked out of Tommy's apartment. She couldn't believe that he would put his racing in front of her! It wasn't like she had ever done that to him. It was their one-year anniversary, and all he could think about was racing cars! Just what kind of insensitive boyfriend would do that? It certainly made it obvious that Tommy loved racing more than he loved her.
Not really caring where she was going, Kimberly soon found herself walking along the coastline of a very familiar beach. It was the same beach where she and Tommy had finished their second 'first' date. She shook her head, wondering why she had ended up back here. Maybe she had wanted the reminder of a happier time? She had been unfortunately doing that a lot lately. Too many arguments had been springing up between them. Tears sprung to her eyes, spilling over and slipping down her cheeks.
"Kimberly! Kimberly!" She turned around to find Tommy running down the beach towards her. "Kimberly!" he cried, as he came up to her. She quickly found herself in his tight embrace. "Beautiful, don't ever do that to me again," he whispered, still hugging her close.
"I didn't go far Tommy," she protested, trying to keep her voice even. Why had he chased her all the way over here?
"I know..." he replied, "But I didn't want us to end an argument that way, not without resolving the issues first."
Kimberly sighed. She should have known that he wouldn't let her run away again. But she had something to say too. She pushed herself away from him. "Tommy, I know we have to talk. But this is something that we've gone over way too much already. You're going to your race tomorrow and I can't do anything to stop that." She held up her hand, stopping his protests. "But this isn't the first time we've had a disagreement like this and you know it. We've done it far too much lately. And... I'm not happy with it."
"Every couple goes through their ups and downs Kim," Tommy replied, looking hurt and confused. "I mean, nobody is going to have everything absolutely perfect all the time."
"I know, and that's not what I'm looking for," she said, "But no good working couple argues as much as we have."
"Please Kim, you've got to give us one more chance!" Tommy said, his eyes pleading. "I've told you before, this was meant to be."
"Is it?" she asked, pulling herself away from those eyes. "Is it really Tommy?"
"Are you willing to take a chance and find out?" he asked. One more chance. Was that all it would really take? Was she willing to risk it?
"Okay," she whispered, a ghost of a smile forming on her lips. "One more chance."
Time passed, and soon many more months, then years, slipped by. Katherine Hilliard's marriage to Keith Wiltshire was only the first for the group of people once known as the Might Morphin' Power Rangers. Next came the predicted wedding of Jason Scott and Trini Kwan. After that, the nuptials of Zachary Taylor and Melissa Fontaine were celebrated. The wedding of Adam Park and Tanya Sloane soon followed. Of course, there were many more after that.
And five years after Tommy Oliver and Kimberly Hart decided to renew their relationship, there was yet another wedding.
Tommy held his wife close to him as he watched the newly married couple of Kimberly Hart and Andrew Hampton exit the church. "I love weddings, don't you?" he said to her, running a hand down the ebony skin of her arm.
She chuckled, obviously recalling their hassled wedding of almost a year ago. "At least we didn't have to plan this one. Once is enough." She looked up at him. "You're happy for Kim, right? No overprotective feelings or anything?"
He shook his head, recalling wryly that one conversation he had with Kim all those years ago. "No hon, nothing like that. Hey, remember that I introduced them to each other. Andrew is a great guy and I know Kim will be happy with him. That's what was meant to be."
He laughed to himself as he spoke those words. Those were the same words he had used to describe himself and Kimberly almost five years ago. At the time, he had believed them to be true. And, in for a time, he supposed they really had been. For almost a year, he and Kimberly had been a happy couple, and had been very much in love. What had happened to break that down, he couldn't say. All he knew was that almost a year and half had passed when things had really started to fall apart. All those stupid little arguments that had led to bigger shouting matches had finally taken their toll. Eventually, they had both realized that neither of them was happy in the relationship anymore and had been able to part as friends.
It was a few months later that he would meet the woman who would eventually become his wife. Wanda Alderton was a racecar engineer, always designing newer and faster vehicles for racing companies. It was through Tommy's uncle that they had met. They found that they had much in common and got along very well together. Their relationship had been a breeze, compared the melodrama that his and Kimberly's relationship could be at times. He and Wanda worked very well together, both on and off the racetrack.
As Tommy walked hand-in-hand with his wife out through the church doors, he could only think of one thing:
This was what was meant to be.