Later that evening found Tommy at the local grocery store. He entered the small establishment, shoving his car keys in his pocket.
"Good evening, Dr. Oliver." Came the voice of one of his students, Lilly. She was also the daughter of the owner of the store. She was standing behind the cash register and had just finished ringing up a customer. She handed the elderly woman her bags and smiled at her. "Thank you ma'am, come again." She said. The woman smiled and made her way to the door. Tommy opened the door for her. She smiled at Tommy.
"Thank you, young man." She said.
"You're welcome." He said, returning the smile. The woman left. Tommy saw the store wasn't as full as it usually was. "Quiet night, huh?" He asked Lilly.
"Uh huh, my favorite kind." She said with a smirk. Tommy laughed as he grabbed a basket. He went off and began shopping for some items. At another part of the store, near the cereal section, were Kimberly and Trini. They had just come to Reefside earlier that afternoon and were currently staying in Dana and Carter's guesthouse. Kimberly didn't want to impose and said she could stay in a hotel, but Dana would have none of it.
"OK, sweetie, pick out your cereal." Kimberly said to her daughter. Trini's favorite cereal changed all the time and Kimberly found it easier to just let Trini pick it out herself instead of guessing and have Trini pout and say it wasn't what she wanted.
"Okay, mommy." The little girl said. She skipped over to the side and grabbed a box of Cookie Crisps. Kimberly sighed and shook her head with a smile. That cereal was packed with sugar and other not so healthy things, but Trini was just seven years old, what else could be expected? Trini skipped over and placed the box in the basket that Kimberly was holding along with the eggs, bread and peanut butter that they had picked up before. Kimberly turned and gabbed a box of Special K for herself. At that same moment, unbeknownst to her, a certain ex-boyfriend of hers had just entered the aisle from the opposite end. "Mommy, can we have macaroni for dinner?" Trini asked.
"I guess so." Kimberly replied. "We need to go get the box for it." Tommy froze when he heard that voice. It was the voice that haunted his dreams and fantasies. But it couldn't be…Kimberly was in Florida, wasn't she? He turned to look just as Kimberly and Trini were walking towards him. Kimberly gasped and froze in her place when she saw him. "T-T-Tommy?" She squeaked out. Tommy had to blink a few times to make sure he was seeing things correctly.
"Kim?" He asked. Trini looked from her mother to Tommy. She squinted when she looked at Tommy. She gasped and jumped up and down with glee when she recognized him.
"Mommy, it's the man from the picture." She said, feeling proud of herself. Mommy? Tommy thought to himself. Kimberly blinked and quickly turned to her, trying to quiet her down. Well, the cat's out of the bag now. Kimberly thought. Trini walked up to him. Tommy looked at her. She wiggled her finger at him, telling him to get closer. Tommy kneeled down before her. She leaned in close and put her hand on the side of her mouth, as if she was telling a secret. "You had longer hair in the picture." She said. Tommy couldn't help smile at how cute she was.
"Oh." Tommy said. Kimberly took a deep breath. She walked over to them. Tommy looked up and got back up. Kimberly put a hand on Trini's shoulder.
"Sweetie, why don't you go get some milk and I'll be there in a second, ok?" Kimberly asked. Trini smiled and nodded.
"Okay." She said as she went off to the refrigerated section. Tommy watched her leave. He looked at Kimberly.
"Hey." He said. Kimberly gave a nervous smile.
"Hey." She replied. Tommy reached back and scratched the back of his neck. Kimberly's knees almost buckled. She remembered how he'd do that whenever he got flustered back in high school. Well, it's nice to see that we're both a little nervous. She thought.
"Uh, how have you been?" He asked as he walked to where Trini was with Kimberly.
"Good." She said. "You?"
"Same." He said. "So, you have a daughter.." He began.
"Yeah." Kimberly said. Tommy looked at her, as if to want to ask about her. "Her name's Trini. She's seven years old. Actually, her name is Katrina, but she likes to go by Trini after, as she says, her favorite auntie." Kimberly smiled, and then frowned. "And, I guess, after what happened to the actual Trini, calling her that made it seem like a part of her was with me." Tommy nodded.
"Yeah. I had wanted to go to the funeral…But-"
"You had to present your thesis." Kimberly said. "Zack told me. And we all saw all the flowers you sent to the Kwans and for the funeral."
"I just felt like a total shit not going." Tommy admitted. Kimberly nudged his shoulder. Tommy looked over and realized that Trini wasn't too far from them. "Oh..I mean, I felt awful." He amended. Kimberly smiled.
"We all understood. I mean, you weren't the only one who couldn't make it. Billy couldn't either."
"Yeah, but Billy's on another planet." Tommy pointed out.
"True." Kimberly said.
"So, how long have you been in Reefside?" Tommy finally asked.
"A few hours." Kimberly said. "I was transferred to Reefside General."
"You're a doctor?" Tommy asked.
"OB/GYN." Kimberly clarified.
"Oh." Tommy said. Trini walked over and placed the milk in Kimberly's basket.
"Can I go get the macaroni?" She asked.
"Sure." Kimberly said. Trini went off to get it.
"So, where are you staying?" Tommy asked.
"With a friend of mine from Med school. I think you know her, or at least her husband."
"I do?" Tommy asked.
"Uh huh, Carter Grayson ring any bells?" She asked. Tommy looked at her, remembering the name of the Red Lightspeed Ranger. "Dana, his wife, told me about the whole red ranger pow-wow." Kimberly added, careful to lower her voice at the ranger part.
"Oh, wow, small world." Tommy chuckled. Trini returned, placing the box of Kraft's Macaroni and Cheese. Kimberly smiled.
"Honey, can you go get some butter?" Kimberly asked. Trini nodded and went off again. "So, I heard through the grapevine, A.K.A. Zack, that you're a high school teacher." Kimberly said. "Got to say, a little bit unexpected."
"As unexpected as a former Pan Global gymnast being a doctor, wouldn't you say?" Tommy replied with a smirk. Kimberly laughed.
"Touché." She said. Trini returned with some butter. Tommy grabbed a carton of milk and a carton of orange juice and placed them both in his own basket. "Well, it was nice seeing you." Kimberly said.
"Well, I'm done with my shopping too, so I guess I'll walk to the front with you two." Tommy said. Kimberly smiled. The three of them walked over to the register. Lilly smiled at them and rang up the two adults' purchases. After Tommy and Kimberly paid for their products, Kimberly gave Trini the lighter of the two bags they had and took her hand as they walked out of the store.
"So, I guess I'll be seeing you around." He said. They reached Kim's car and Kimberly placed the two bags in the trunk. Trini got into the backseat of the car. Kimberly looked at Tommy.
"Looks like it." She said.
"Maybe we can go out for coffee some time. You know, two old friends reminiscing and such." Tommy suggested. "That is, if it's all right with your husband." He added. Kimberly pursed her lips.
"I don't think that would be a problem." Kimberly said. "Seeing as I'm not married." Kimberly almost laughed at the embarrassed look Tommy dawned.
"Oh." He said. "Boyfriend?" He asked. Kimberly shook her head. "Oh." He said again. "Uh, so, I guess I'll call you sometime." He said.
"Yeah." Kimberly said. "Oh." She said, remembering something. She got her wallet out of her pocket and pulled out a business card, handing it to him. Tommy looked at it.
KIMBERLY ANN HART
GYNECOLOGIST/OBSTETRISION
Below her name and title was a phone number. "Wait." She said. "That's got my old number." She took the card and pulled a pen from her pocket. She scribbled out the number and wrote a new one down and handed it back to Tommy. Tommy smiled.
"Great." He said, placing the card in his pocket. "I'll call you." He said.
"Okay." Kimberly said. "Well, I've got to go." She said. She got her car keys and opened her door. Tommy smiled and waved at her as she got in and started the car. He waved at Trini and as the car left the parking lot. Tommy then stood there for a while, going over what had just happened.
---
Eric sighed as he finished unpacking his old/new room. He pulled out of his bag a picture of himself, Tally and Kyle a few days before they joined the Ninja Academy. He softly ran his hand over the glass of the frame and felt his heart ache with missing them. He sighed and placed the picture on his nightstand and sat down on his bed. He heard someone knock on his door.
"Yeah?" He asked. The door opened to reveal Conner.
"Hey, can I uh, come in?" He asked. Eric nodded. Conner walked in.
"What's up?" Eric asked.
"Listen, I know that you talked to Kira and if it wasn't for you she would've gone home and not talk to me for god knows how long, and I, uh, just, uh, wanted to uh, say-"
"Are you this fast to get to the point with everyone?" Eric teased. Conner sighed.
"I just wanted to say thanks." Conner finally said. Eric smiled.
"Don't mention it. I mean, we're brother's right?" He said. Conner looked down.
"Yeah. I guess I haven't been acting very brotherly." Conner admitted.
"Well, I wasn't going to say anything." Eric muttered.
"I'm sorry." Conner said. "For treating you like crap, for hitting you, and well, everything." Eric nodded.
"I guess I can't really blame you." Eric sighed. "I mean, after me leaving you and mom with dad and everything." Conner went and sat beside his brother. "So, what do we do now?" Eric asked.
"I say the past is in the past, and we start over. That is, if you forgive me for being a royal dick today." Conner said. Eric laughed and punched Conner's shoulder playfully.
"No problem, your majesty." He said. Conner laughed.
"So, Kira's downstairs and we're going to go meet Naomi and Ethan at Cyberspace, you want to come?" Conner asked.
"Well, mom wants me to finish unpacking by tonight." Eric said.
"We'll only be gone for a few hours, and when we get back, I'll help you with the rest." Conner offered. Eric smiled, feeling the old brotherly bond they had when they were younger.
"All right." Eric agreed. The two brothers got up and left the room. Conner put an arm around Eric and they went to meet Kira in the living room. Mrs. McKnight watched her two sons and Kira leave the house together from the kitchen. She smiled, happy that Conner and Eric were getting along. She frowned slightly, wondering if Conner would still be happy if he found out Eric's secret.
---
Kira, Conner and Eric walked into Cyberspace.
"Hey guys, over here." Naomi called them over, waving to them from the table she and Ethan were at. Ethan turned around to see them walking over, he was slightly surprised to see Eric and Conner so chummy.
"Hey." Kira said as the three of them sat down.
"So, Kira, how does it feel to be un-expelled?" Ethan asked with a smile. Kira grinned.
"Great. And I owe it all to my dear friend, Naomi." She said, looking at Naomi. Naomi smiled.
"Aw, shucks, you're going to make me blush." She said. The others all laughed. Trent came over, carrying the drinks Naomi and Ethan had ordered for themselves and Kira and Conner. Ethan knew Conner and Kira were coming so he had ordered for them as well. Trent placed Ethan, Naomi and Kira's drinks down and then looked at Conner and Eric.
"Oh great, as if one Conner wasn't enough of a pain." Trent said meanly. Conner tightened his jaw, ready to lash back out at him, but decided against it. He put on a forced smile and looked at Trent.
"Trent, this is my twin brother, Eric." Conner said.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Trent said. He went to set Conner's drink down, but then "accidentally" made it spill on his lap instead. Conner slid back in his chair and jumped up with a surprised yell. "Oh, man, I'm sorry." Trent said, of course not meaning it. Conner glared at him.
"Yeah, sure." Conner said, trying to hold in his anger. He grabbed some napkins and began dapping at the wet spot on his pants. Trent merely shrugged and walked away.
"Well, that guy is a ray of sunshine." Eric remarked sarcastically.
"Isn't he?" Conner said back to his brother in the same tone. He sighed and sat back down. Haley saw the whole thing go down and walked over.
"Hey, Conner, sorry about that, Trent's been a little-" She said.
"No problem." Conner said. "Oh, Haley this is Eric." He said. Haley smiled at Eric and stuck out her hand. Eric shook her hand.
"Nice to meet you, Eric." She said. She looked at Conner. "How about I bring you another drink, on the house?" She asked. Conner smiled.
"Thanks." He said. Haley returned the smile and then turned to Eric.
"And what can I get for you?" She asked.
"Uh, I don't know. What do you have?" He asked. Kira laughed softly.
"What doesn't she have is a better question." She said.
"Oh….Do you have banana smoothies?" He asked. Haley smiled.
"One cherry coke and one banana smoothie coming up." She said as she walked away. Eric smiled.
"She's nice." He said to the others.
"Yeah, she knows how to make people feel really welcomed. The first time I came here she made the best mint chocolate chip smoothie I've ever had and said it was on the house as sort of a welcome to Reefside special." Naomi smiled.
"Wow." Eric said. The five teenagers began aimlessly chit chatting for a few minutes when Haley came back with two drinks.
"One cherry coke," she said, placing the drink in front of Conner. "And one 'Welcome to Reefside' banana smoothie special." She said, placing the drink in front of Eric. "If you guys need anything else, let me know." She said as she walked away. Naomi smirked and looked at Eric.
"Told ya." She said. Eric gave a full-out smile. Ethan watched Eric carefully, remembering what Conner had said earlier about Eric thinking Naomi was a "hottie". Should he be worried about Naomi thinking the same thing about Eric?
"Oh, hey, I totally forgot to tell you guys," Naomi said to Kira and Conner, tearing Ethan away from her thoughts. "I had a bit of a late night rendezvous the other night." Naomi said with a smile. Ethan almost gulped. If she told them about the other night, he surely was going to have hell to pay for taking the raptor cycle out without permission.
"Really?" Kira asked, intrigued. "With whom?" Conner nodded, interested to know who was she talking about, but also worried about Ethan and his affections towards Naomi that might not be reciprocated. He took a sip of his soda.
"The blue ranger." Naomi beamed. Conner's eyes widened and he coughed, choking on his soda. Kira's eyes grew wide as well and she slid a glance at Ethan, who seemed to be very interested in the wood grain of the table.
"Blue ranger?" Eric asked. "You mean, you guys have power rangers here too? Wow. We had them back in Blue Bay Harbor."
"Wait, are you sure it was the blue ranger?" Conner asked, coughing a bit as his soda went down the right way.
"Well, he was wearing the blue suit, riding the blue ranger's vehicle, and sounded like him, so yeah, I'm pretty sure." Naomi said.
"Were you in some sort of trouble?" Kira asked. Naomi shook her head.
"No, he left a note in my locker saying he wanted to see me, so we met up." Kira and Conner both looked at Ethan, who still kept his head down. "Oh, gosh, I can't believe I forgot, he left this outside my window a couple of nights before that." She added, pulling out the necklace from under her shirt. Now Conner knew this was genuine, seeing as he had been with Ethan when he bought that necklace. Ethan had said he was going to give it to Naomi when he finally got the nerves to ask her out. Apparently, the blue ranger got the nerves before Ethan did.
"So, you've got yourself a superhero lover, huh?" Eric asked, wiggling his eyebrows. Naomi laughed.
"I wouldn't say that." She said. "I mean, we did go to the beach and it was pretty romantic."
"Well, are you going to meet him again?" Eric asked.
"I don't think she will, I mean, it sounds like just a one time thing." Kira said. "Don't you think so, Ethan?" She asked. Ethan brought his head up.
"Uh..Who knows?" Ethan said nervously. "I mean, this guy sounds pretty uh, into her, so, it could uh, go either way."
"Perhaps, but don't you think the blue ranger should worry about more important issues, like the protection of the world?" Conner asked.
"Wow, you guys really know how to make a girl feel special." Naomi said. Kira blinked and looked at Naomi.
"Oh, no, we're not saying that you're not important, it's just that Rangers have mega important jobs, and they shouldn't be distracted."
"Distracted?" Naomi asked. Ethan clenched his fist.
"Don't you think it's possible that the blue ranger could have a girlfriend and save the world at the same time?" He asked. "I mean, I've heard some rumors that the red and yellow rangers have a thing, but they seem to be able to get the job done nonetheless." He added, casting looks at Conner and Kira as he said so.
"So, Naomi is the blue ranger's girlfriend." Eric said.
"I'm not." Naomi said. "We just…hung out." Before anyone could say anything else, Cassidy and Devin barged into the group.
"Hey, Naomi, we couldn't help overhearing," Cassidy began.
"You mean eavesdropping?" Kira muttered. Cassidy ignored her.
"And we heard that you're a power ranger's girlfriend. Mind if we get an interview?"
"I….I'm not his girlfriend." Naomi said, feeling a little overwhelmed by Cassidy's insistence. "I have to get home." Naomi said, getting up.
"I'll walk you." Ethan said. He began to get up but was pulled down by Conner.
"Uh, Ethan, remember we have to talk about that project." Conner said.
"What project?" Ethan asked.
"That extra credit for Dr. O." Conner said through clenched teeth. Ethan gulped.
"I'll walk her home." Eric volunteered, seeing that if left alone, Cassidy would probably chase Naomi down the street.
"Thanks." Naomi said. The two of them walked out with Cassidy and Devin on their heels. Ethan looked at Kira and Conner.
"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" He asked.
"Is duh a suitable answer?" Kira asked.