Disclaimer: Hear ye, hear ye, they, the power rangers that is, are not
mine.
Kat smiled nervously, avoiding Tommy's eyes. "Hey Kat." He said softly. Kat silent for a moment then looked up at him.
"Thank god you're okay!" she cried, with tears in her eyes, as she leaned over and hugged him. She lay her head on his chest and sighed in relief before sitting back to wipe the tears from her eyes.
"I assume that you had something to do with that." Tommy smiled. Kat smiled shyly, looking down.
"Sort of. The space rangers thought that I was the one who was supposed to go on the search for your stone.all I did was tell them about Kimberly." She said, fumbling with her hands.
"Kat," Tommy said, getting her to look up at him, "that saved my life." He stated, looking straight into her eyes. She blushed and held his gaze for a moment, before returning her eyes to her hands. "Now what is this quest?" Tommy sighed.
"It's pretty much exactly what Kim said.if you caught half of it." She smiled. "Like she said, we were in visual so we have it on the ship's file.and it does explain a lot, unfortunately."
"What, is it bad?" Tommy asked, getting slightly worried.
"Just.watch it. With her without her, it doesn't matter, but be there for her when it's over. Promise?" Kat sighed.
Tommy frowned curiously. "Of course." He agreed.
"Tommy," Andros said, approaching the table. "you'll have to stay in bed for at least the rest of today, and all of tonight if you want to be up anytime soon. Your injuries may be stabilized, but they still have to heal. Plus you'll have a nasty headache and severe dizziness if you try to get up before then."
"Most of us have chores around the ship, but I'm sure Kat and Kim will keep you company." Ashley smiled as she joined Andros. "Hey, where is Kim anyway?"
"I'll go find her." Zhane volunteered. "Besides, I have to get myself reacquainted with the ship." He grinned as he left.
"And we will finish our chores, and leave you guys to catch up." T.J. smiled. The rangers said their goodbyes and filed out of the infirmary. As the doors hissed closed, Kat turned back to Tommy and smiled. "So," he grinned, "tell me about London."
*** "Kim? You in there?" Zhane called, knocking on Kim's door.
"Yeah," he heard a shaky voice from within, "hang on a sec." The doors hissed open and he entered, surprised at how dark the room was. Kim emerged from the small bathroom in the corner of the room, trying to hide her tear- streaked face. But Zhane had lived in a dimly lit environment for months, and his eyes had easily readjusted to the darkness. He could see the injuries on her face that strategically placed make up had previously hidden. Zhane frowned.
"You wanna talk?" he asked softly. *Why did this happen to her?* he asked himself inwardly.
Kim nodded after a moment, avoiding Zhane's eyes as they moved to sit down. They sat on a small couch, and Zhane waited for Kim to begin at her own pace. "I don't really know you that well," she finally began, "But something tells me that I can trust you.About, I guess a month ago or so after I left Angelgrove, I met some people at the gymnastics compound. What I mean is, I began to make friends. I was so lonely when I first got there, I.the people were so cold, and competitive. Then, a group of people started being nice to me. Brad was one of them. He was really nice to me, saying that he knew how it felt to be lonely. I started doing more with the group, going to movies and stuff, then we started going out, just the two of us. I never thought anything of it, I knew I had Tommy.I always talked about him, and home.then, I found out that he liked me. A lot. I was flattered at first, but when he tried to make a move on me once he knew that I'd found out, I reminded him that I was with Tommy. He said that he could make me forget about Tommy. I got angry and told him that I was serious.I thought I could defend myself.I.that's when he hit me first.God, he was so strong. I tried to fight back because I was sure that I could take him, I mean I'd fought worse than him in my ranger days, but.I couldn't beat him. He got really mad when I tried to fight back and told me I was his now and to forget Angelgrove. I looked around for help, but he'd taken me to a secluded part of the park we went to.there was no one around.I was so scared, and I felt even more alone than I had before. He dragged me back to my room at the compound saying that if I even told anyone what he did, he'd make me soooo sorry for it.He meant it, and I knew it. He locked me in my room, and I stayed there crying until coach Schmidt came to see where I was. I panicked and made up some stupid story like the door was jammed or something. I told him I'd been pounding on it for hours before he came. It.it just got worse from there. Brad would beat me or hit me for stupid reasons. Once, he found a picture of me and my friends from Angelgrove.He knocked me down and kicked me a few times." Kim paused, as tears cut off her voice. She swallowed and smiled sadly. "Broke one of my ribs. I told the coach that I hurt myself cause I didn't warm up right. It healed pretty quick, I guess from the regenerative qualities from my ranger powers, and I went back to intense training. The, uh.the beatings went on too, and I wondered why no one had figured it out yet. I was so scared that he'd kill me if I tried to get away, that I let it go on, expecting someone to notice and be stronger than I was.and help me." she stopped there, the tears overtaking her voice.
"How did you cover the injuries?" Zhane asked, still curious as to how a little cover up could hide the bruises he saw on her face.
She laughed a little through her tears, and saw his nervous expression. "Don't worry. I'm not going to lash out at you in a fit of rage. I've had that done to me enough, that I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I'm a make-up expert. It comes with the whole ditz phase I went through in high school. Who knew that it would come in so handy." She frowned, playing nervously with her hands.
Zhane reached over, and covered her hands with his own to comfort her. "How did you get away?" he asked, hating to push her, but this would do her some good.
"That, was actually a stroke of luck." She sighed, looking up at him. "I was doing my homework in my room about a day or so after the latest beating.I heard footsteps outside my door, and then there was someone banging on it. It was Brad. Then, the next thing I knew, I was on the bridge of a wonderful starship." she smiled. "Once I realized where I was, I hid the 'afraid of the abusive boyfriend' look, and put on my 'where the hell am I' look before I turned around."
Zhane frowned and squeezed her hand. "Unfortunately, you're too good at that.But I'm curious. Why didn't you try to get away sooner, when it first started? Did he have you under watch or something?"
"No, nothing like that. He just.seemed to come by too often. Anytime I went to training, he'd be there to watch. He wasn't actually on the team you see; he was a friend of one of the guys on it. I just wonder if he knew what Brad was really like.Then when I'd go home, he'd follow me and want to 'talk.'" She shook her head.
"What will you do?" Zhane asked. Kim opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off by the door chime.
"Guys, are you in there?" Andros called.
"Yeah," Kim said, jumping up. "Please, I can't let anyone see me like this. I have to go and put on my make-up." She begged before she ran into the bathroom again and called, "come on in!" over her shoulder. Zhane nodded and rose from the couch to go to the door. He put the lights back up to normal and opened the door.
"Hey man, what can we do for ya?" he smiled.
"Did Kim get everything she needed?" Andros asked.
"When did she go on a supply run?" Zhane frowned. "She gave Ashley a list before she went on the quest, and we teleported it to her room." He replied. Just then Kim emerged from the bathroom, looking as good as new. She smiled at Andros as Zhane turned to her.
"Wow! You're fast!" he cried.
Kim looked at him with a 'SHUT-UP' expression, as he smiled. "Whatever that means." Andros said, choosing to ignore it, "Tommy wants to see you before he goes to sleep." He said to Kim.
"I'll be right there. Thanks." She sighed. Andros nodded and smiled at Zhane as he exited.
"See ya." He said on his way out. Zhane turned to Kim as the door closed behind him.
"What?" she frowned, moving to the mirror.
"Why didn't your make-up come of in the water? That just occurred to me." He asked.
Kim sighed. "I have heavy duty waterproof make-up. I'm careful, don't worry." Zhane frowned at that. She was too good at this. She walked past him and left the room, leaving him alone in her room.
Kat smiled nervously, avoiding Tommy's eyes. "Hey Kat." He said softly. Kat silent for a moment then looked up at him.
"Thank god you're okay!" she cried, with tears in her eyes, as she leaned over and hugged him. She lay her head on his chest and sighed in relief before sitting back to wipe the tears from her eyes.
"I assume that you had something to do with that." Tommy smiled. Kat smiled shyly, looking down.
"Sort of. The space rangers thought that I was the one who was supposed to go on the search for your stone.all I did was tell them about Kimberly." She said, fumbling with her hands.
"Kat," Tommy said, getting her to look up at him, "that saved my life." He stated, looking straight into her eyes. She blushed and held his gaze for a moment, before returning her eyes to her hands. "Now what is this quest?" Tommy sighed.
"It's pretty much exactly what Kim said.if you caught half of it." She smiled. "Like she said, we were in visual so we have it on the ship's file.and it does explain a lot, unfortunately."
"What, is it bad?" Tommy asked, getting slightly worried.
"Just.watch it. With her without her, it doesn't matter, but be there for her when it's over. Promise?" Kat sighed.
Tommy frowned curiously. "Of course." He agreed.
"Tommy," Andros said, approaching the table. "you'll have to stay in bed for at least the rest of today, and all of tonight if you want to be up anytime soon. Your injuries may be stabilized, but they still have to heal. Plus you'll have a nasty headache and severe dizziness if you try to get up before then."
"Most of us have chores around the ship, but I'm sure Kat and Kim will keep you company." Ashley smiled as she joined Andros. "Hey, where is Kim anyway?"
"I'll go find her." Zhane volunteered. "Besides, I have to get myself reacquainted with the ship." He grinned as he left.
"And we will finish our chores, and leave you guys to catch up." T.J. smiled. The rangers said their goodbyes and filed out of the infirmary. As the doors hissed closed, Kat turned back to Tommy and smiled. "So," he grinned, "tell me about London."
*** "Kim? You in there?" Zhane called, knocking on Kim's door.
"Yeah," he heard a shaky voice from within, "hang on a sec." The doors hissed open and he entered, surprised at how dark the room was. Kim emerged from the small bathroom in the corner of the room, trying to hide her tear- streaked face. But Zhane had lived in a dimly lit environment for months, and his eyes had easily readjusted to the darkness. He could see the injuries on her face that strategically placed make up had previously hidden. Zhane frowned.
"You wanna talk?" he asked softly. *Why did this happen to her?* he asked himself inwardly.
Kim nodded after a moment, avoiding Zhane's eyes as they moved to sit down. They sat on a small couch, and Zhane waited for Kim to begin at her own pace. "I don't really know you that well," she finally began, "But something tells me that I can trust you.About, I guess a month ago or so after I left Angelgrove, I met some people at the gymnastics compound. What I mean is, I began to make friends. I was so lonely when I first got there, I.the people were so cold, and competitive. Then, a group of people started being nice to me. Brad was one of them. He was really nice to me, saying that he knew how it felt to be lonely. I started doing more with the group, going to movies and stuff, then we started going out, just the two of us. I never thought anything of it, I knew I had Tommy.I always talked about him, and home.then, I found out that he liked me. A lot. I was flattered at first, but when he tried to make a move on me once he knew that I'd found out, I reminded him that I was with Tommy. He said that he could make me forget about Tommy. I got angry and told him that I was serious.I thought I could defend myself.I.that's when he hit me first.God, he was so strong. I tried to fight back because I was sure that I could take him, I mean I'd fought worse than him in my ranger days, but.I couldn't beat him. He got really mad when I tried to fight back and told me I was his now and to forget Angelgrove. I looked around for help, but he'd taken me to a secluded part of the park we went to.there was no one around.I was so scared, and I felt even more alone than I had before. He dragged me back to my room at the compound saying that if I even told anyone what he did, he'd make me soooo sorry for it.He meant it, and I knew it. He locked me in my room, and I stayed there crying until coach Schmidt came to see where I was. I panicked and made up some stupid story like the door was jammed or something. I told him I'd been pounding on it for hours before he came. It.it just got worse from there. Brad would beat me or hit me for stupid reasons. Once, he found a picture of me and my friends from Angelgrove.He knocked me down and kicked me a few times." Kim paused, as tears cut off her voice. She swallowed and smiled sadly. "Broke one of my ribs. I told the coach that I hurt myself cause I didn't warm up right. It healed pretty quick, I guess from the regenerative qualities from my ranger powers, and I went back to intense training. The, uh.the beatings went on too, and I wondered why no one had figured it out yet. I was so scared that he'd kill me if I tried to get away, that I let it go on, expecting someone to notice and be stronger than I was.and help me." she stopped there, the tears overtaking her voice.
"How did you cover the injuries?" Zhane asked, still curious as to how a little cover up could hide the bruises he saw on her face.
She laughed a little through her tears, and saw his nervous expression. "Don't worry. I'm not going to lash out at you in a fit of rage. I've had that done to me enough, that I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I'm a make-up expert. It comes with the whole ditz phase I went through in high school. Who knew that it would come in so handy." She frowned, playing nervously with her hands.
Zhane reached over, and covered her hands with his own to comfort her. "How did you get away?" he asked, hating to push her, but this would do her some good.
"That, was actually a stroke of luck." She sighed, looking up at him. "I was doing my homework in my room about a day or so after the latest beating.I heard footsteps outside my door, and then there was someone banging on it. It was Brad. Then, the next thing I knew, I was on the bridge of a wonderful starship." she smiled. "Once I realized where I was, I hid the 'afraid of the abusive boyfriend' look, and put on my 'where the hell am I' look before I turned around."
Zhane frowned and squeezed her hand. "Unfortunately, you're too good at that.But I'm curious. Why didn't you try to get away sooner, when it first started? Did he have you under watch or something?"
"No, nothing like that. He just.seemed to come by too often. Anytime I went to training, he'd be there to watch. He wasn't actually on the team you see; he was a friend of one of the guys on it. I just wonder if he knew what Brad was really like.Then when I'd go home, he'd follow me and want to 'talk.'" She shook her head.
"What will you do?" Zhane asked. Kim opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off by the door chime.
"Guys, are you in there?" Andros called.
"Yeah," Kim said, jumping up. "Please, I can't let anyone see me like this. I have to go and put on my make-up." She begged before she ran into the bathroom again and called, "come on in!" over her shoulder. Zhane nodded and rose from the couch to go to the door. He put the lights back up to normal and opened the door.
"Hey man, what can we do for ya?" he smiled.
"Did Kim get everything she needed?" Andros asked.
"When did she go on a supply run?" Zhane frowned. "She gave Ashley a list before she went on the quest, and we teleported it to her room." He replied. Just then Kim emerged from the bathroom, looking as good as new. She smiled at Andros as Zhane turned to her.
"Wow! You're fast!" he cried.
Kim looked at him with a 'SHUT-UP' expression, as he smiled. "Whatever that means." Andros said, choosing to ignore it, "Tommy wants to see you before he goes to sleep." He said to Kim.
"I'll be right there. Thanks." She sighed. Andros nodded and smiled at Zhane as he exited.
"See ya." He said on his way out. Zhane turned to Kim as the door closed behind him.
"What?" she frowned, moving to the mirror.
"Why didn't your make-up come of in the water? That just occurred to me." He asked.
Kim sighed. "I have heavy duty waterproof make-up. I'm careful, don't worry." Zhane frowned at that. She was too good at this. She walked past him and left the room, leaving him alone in her room.