Chapter Four

Tommy waited in the visitor's area of the airport terminal for the girl his uncle had volunteered to stay at his house. He just wished he'd been able to talk him out of it, but it was just no use. Now, there was a New York reporter coming to his house; the command center of the Power Rangers. This wasn't going to be pretty.

He let out a long sigh as they announced that the plane had landed and the passengers were about to get off. He stood up and got into a line where other friends/family members were waiting, dreading the woman that he was going to meet.

As he saw the doors open and the passengers begin to pour out, he realized that he didn't even know what this girl was supposed to look like. In fact, he didn't even know her name. This was just great. For all he knew, he could either pick up the wrong girl or pick up his worst nightmare. That was all he needed.

He looked at each of the female passengers, trying to guess which one would be her, but it was no use. "This is hopeless!" He said, letting out an exasperated sigh and turned to leave the line. He turned back around when he heard his name being spoken.

"Tommy?" A female voice asked. "Tommy Oliver?"

He looked up to see a familiar woman's face and his eyes went wide. "Mel?" He asked.

She nodded as she walked over to him and hugged him. "I can't believe you're here… Why are you here?" She asked, lightly touching his short hair, impressed that he finally cut it.

"Oh, I'm waiting for someone who works with my uncle. She's supposed to stay with me for a couple of weeks. What about you? What brought you back to California?"

"Work. I'm doing an article on Reefisde." She explained.

"Reefside?" He asked. "Wait. Are you the writer from the New York Times?"

She nodded. "Yeah, how did you know?"

He smiled slightly. "Meet your new roommate." He held out his hand for her to shake.

She just nodded slowly as she took it. "You? I'm going to be staying with you?"

He nodded. "Yeah. He didn't tell you who I was, either?" She shook her head. "That's what I though… Well, Come on, let's get your bags. I'll give you a ride."

"Well, actually, I'm supposed to pick up a rental too. It's already paid for and you know, there's nothing better than a free car."

He nodded. "Okay. I guess I'll lead the way, then."

She smiled slightly at him. "Tommy?" She asked.

"Yeah?"

"It's really good to see you."

"You too." He said, slinging an arm round her shoulder. "Come on. We've got some catching up to do."

"Okay."

"So, where's Dr. O. been all morning?" Conner asked, sipping a smoothie while sitting at Hayley's with Ethan and Kira. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and their teacher was nowhere to be seen.

"He had to go to the airport to pick up someone that works with his uncle." Hayley said.

"Why?" Kira asked.

"I think they're staying with him for a couple of weeks. I dunno. He didn't get too much into detail." She handed out a strawberry and banana smoothie as she spoke.

"Is that safe, that person staying at his house?" Ethan asked.

Hayley shrugged as she dished out a few more smoothies. "Apparently, he didn't have much of a choice."

"Well, let's just hope that nothing happens while this guy's staying here." Conner said.

"Yeah, right. We'll be lucky if nothing happens today." Kira spoke up.

Melissa entered the quaint little house. She was surprised at how well it was kept; especially for a bachelor. "This is nice." She told him when he entered the front door. "Cleaning lady?" She asked, jokingly.

"Thanks… no. It's just me." He said, carrying one of her bags into the guest room as he showed her where it was.

"You must have a lot of time on your hands, then."

He laughed slightly. "Not really." He set down her bags on the bed. "Uh, I guess you're going to want to get some sleep. I'll try to be quiet." He began to leave the room.

"Actually, I slept on the plane… how about a tour of Reefside?" She asked, smiling.

"Are you sure?" She nodded. "Okay."

"Great."