The sight that greeted Naomi, Ethan and Tommy stunned them beyond belief. There was Kira, lying beside Conner, who, judging by his actions was wide awake, with his bed tilted upright. The two were in the middle of a make out session. Ethan and Tommy looked like they were about to murder Kira for not telling them Conner was awake over the phone, making them worry. Naomi saw this and decided she should step in. She cleared her throat; the two didn't seem to hear her. She cleared her throat again, a little louder, still nothing. Naomi rolled her eyes and stuck her thumb and index finger between her lips and let out a shrill whistle, causing everyone, even the otherwise occupied couple, to look up. Kira blushed a little, embarrassed by the fact that they were caught. Conner chuckled, still holding onto her waist. The other three walked into the room.
"So, explain to us why it is you couldn't tell us over the phone that Conner was awake." Tommy said.
"Yeah, man, you had us totally worried." Ethan said.
"Sorry, I guess I was just so happy and everything that I just didn't mention it…" Kira said, feeling bad. She got up and slid off the bed. Tommy went up to Conner first and put a hand on his shoulder. He smiled.
"It's great to see that you're okay, Conner." Tommy said. Conner returned the smile.
"Thanks, Dr. O." Conner said. Tommy stepped aside as Ethan came over. The two teenage guys clasped hands and Ethan leaned in as they embraced each other in a manly hug. He stepped back. Everyone looked at Naomi, who was just standing there. One second later, she ran over to Conner's side and grabbed him into a huge hug.
"I'm so glad you're okay!" She said. Conner, surprised by her actions, slowly returned the hug.
"Uh, thanks, Naomi." He said. He looked at the others who unanimously gave him a look that said 'we'll explain later.' After a while, Naomi released him and stood by Ethan.
"Did you call Mrs. McKnight?" Ethan asked Kira.
"No, I did." Conner said. "They should be here any minute. You should've heard my mom yelling for joy when she heard my voice." Conner said with a smile.
"Well, I'm going to go tell Kimberly the good news." Tommy said, leaving the room. Naomi and Ethan sat on some chairs beside Conner.
"So, I'm guessing I missed a lot these last couple of days, huh?" Conner asked.
"No, not really, unless you consider finding out Trent's the one who messed up your car…" Kira began.
"And also finding out Trent's the white ranger…" Naomi continued.
"And him kidnapping Naomi.." Ethan said.
"So he could get Ethan to exchange the gems for me.." Naomi said.
"Forcing Naomi and me to crash on Dr. O's pull out couch…"
"And running into him earlier today where he gave me a nice set of bruised ribs." Naomi said. Conner's eyes had widened at the very beginning and stayed wide, whereas Kira, who didn't know about the kidnapping and everything else, got wide when that was brought up.
"Trent kidnapped you?" Kira asked Naomi, shocked.
"Trent messed up my car?" Conner asked. Everyone looked at him. "What? Don't look at me like that, of course I'm worried about Naomi too, I just……He's the one who caused the accident?" Naomi waved a dismissive hand to say that she didn't take offense.
"Anyway, it wasn't necessarily a kidnapping…." Naomi said. Ethan rolled his eyes.
"He just knocked you out, took you to some abandoned warehouse and tied you up. Oh sure, that's not kidnapping. Let's not even talk about what happened later."
"You're right, let's not." Naomi said.
"What happened?" Kira asked. Naomi sighed.
"When Ethan and Dr. Oliver came to rescue me, Trent…sort of had a knife to my throat and he dangled me off a roof." Naomi said. Conner and Kira stared at her. "What? I mean, hey, look, I'm right here, obviously I came out of the situation fine." She said. "Anyway, I'm sure you guys have more pressing matters to discuss." Naomi said. "Such as you're, uh, extracurricular activities." She said. Before anyone could say anything, Mrs. McKnight burst through the room.
"Oh, sweetie!" She exclaimed, running to Conner's side and pulling him into a hug. Ethan and Naomi pushed their chairs back to give her some room. Kyle and Eric came into the room behind her. Eric smiled and gave out a sigh of relief at the sight of Conner. Kyle smiled and put an arm around Eric's shoulders. After Mrs. McKnight practically smothered her son in kisses, she stepped back. Eric came over and the two brothers hugged. Kyle stood by, smiling at Eric. After Eric and Conner stopped hugging, Eric went and brought Kyle over to Conner.
"Conner, this is Kyle, Kyle, this is my brother, Conner." Eric said. Conner looked at Kyle. The two shook hands.
"So, you're the one who's swept my brother off his feet, huh?" Conner asked. Ethan looked at Naomi and leaned over.
"Wait……..Eric's gay?" He whispered. Naomi stifled a laugh.
"Duh, I knew that the day we met him." She said. Ethan looked at her.
"You're observant." He said. Naomi gave a wicked smile.
"Mmhmm, about a lot of things." She said, giving him a quick look over to make her point clear. Ethan couldn't help grin like an idiot. Conner and Kyle continued talking.
"So, as Eric's brother, I must inform you that if you break his heart, I will be forced to break your neck." Conner said. Everyone smiled. Tommy came back to the room and told the others he was going to head back home with Kimberly before leaving again. For the following hour, everyone chit chatted, with Mrs. McKnight and Kira taking turns gushing over Conner. They'd constantly ask if he was comfortable, offered to fluff his pillows or get him something cool to drink. Conner smiled and decided that no matter what he did, the two most important women in his life weren't going to let up, so he just let them fret over him. Ethan and Naomi left after a while, getting into Kimberly's car and driving to Tommy's house. Ethan felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his chest. Conner was awake. He was all right. And he and Naomi had shared their first….And second, and well, technically third kiss. At the thought of that, he couldn't help casting a glace towards Naomi, who was looking out her window. Ethan turned back to the road ahead of them and continued driving.
-
Meanwhile, Kimberly and Tommy were in bed. They weren't sure what time Ethan and Naomi would be back, but Ethan had a key. Tommy had pulled the bed out of the couch and he and Kimberly and left night clothes for the teens to use, just in case they were asleep when the kids finally did come home. Tommy was sitting up correcting some tests while Kimberly was also sitting up, doing a crossword puzzle. Kimberly set down her puzzle and looked at Tommy. She smiled and leaned over, wrapping her arms around his waist. Tommy acknowledged her presence with a smile but kept working. Kimberly frowned. She kissed up and down his neck, trying to get a reaction out of him, which didn't seem to be happening.
"Kim," Tommy said. "I've really got to get these tests corrected." Kimberly gave a dismissive 'mmhmm' as she continued kissing his neck. Tommy groaned. He set his papers on his nightstand and grabbed Kimberly around her waist and pulled her onto his lap, getting a small squeal of surprise and laughter from her. She now lay in his cross-legged lap looking up at him as he looked down at her. Kimberly reached up and stroked his face gently, looking at him seriously.
"You're amazing, you know that?" She said softly. Tommy smiled and pulled her up. He kissed her softly. Kimberly nestled her head in the crook of his neck as they leaned back in the bed, laying out and holding each other. "Thanks, for, you know, not freaking out after what happened at the ice cream parlor." She said. Tommy looked at her.
"Why would I have freaked?" He asked. Kimberly shrugged.
"Having their girlfriend's daughter call them daddy might make a lot of guys freak." She said. Tommy placed his index finer under her chin and gently raised her face up so she was looking at him.
"Hey," he said. "I'm not a lot of guys." Kimberly smiled.
"I know." She said.
"I'll admit, it kind of surprised me, but not because I got scared…I guess I just didn't think it had gotten to a point where I had started doing the dad-like qualities. I mean, did she ever call Jason daddy?" Tommy asked. Kimberly thought about it and shook her head.
"No, never." Kimberly said.
"And he was in her life from when she was born to age five, right?"
"Yeah. I mean, she'd hug him and everything and the two of them acted as if they could've been father and daughter, but she always called him Uncle Jason." Kimberly looked at Tommy. "Can I tell you a secret?" She asked. Tommy nodded. "She did say she wished you were her father." Kimberly admitted. Tommy looked at her.
"When?"
"When I took her to see Jason. She was sitting on my lap and asked if you were her new daddy. She said that you and I kiss like Dana and Carter do and, I quote 'he's gonna be a daddy' so she thought that you were going to be hers." Kimberly looked at Tommy, searching his face for any sign of anxiety, but there was none.
"Ah, so that's the difference between me and Jase." Tommy said, smiling softly.
"Well, there is the fact that you spoil her more then Jason ever did." Kimberly added. Tommy stared at her.
"Who me?" Tommy asked. Kimberly slid out of his embrace and sat up.
"Who's the one who caved and let her have the huge sundae tonight?" Kimberly asked with a smirk. "Jason never did that. I mean, he bought her presents, took her to the park and everything, but he always stepped back and do the parenting."
"….I'm sorry." Tommy said. "I'll butt out, I just-" Kimberly shook her head.
"I don't want you to." She said. She sighed. "Aside from having Jason, Zack and Trini…You know, the actual Trini….Help out, I took care of her on my own, and now having you falling into the dad role……I don't know, it's nice. I like it. And I know Trini likes it." Tommy took in her words.
"Well, what if I didn't just fall into the dad 'role'?" He asked. Kimberly looked at him.
"What do you mean?" Kimberly asked. Tommy sat up and placed his hands on her shoulders.
"What if we got married?" He asked. Kimberly's eyes got huge and her jaw went slack as it hung slightly.
"M…Married?" She stammered. Tommy nodded.
"Yeah." He said, smiling. Kimberly stammered and sputtered as she tried to comprehend what he was saying. She got up from the bed. Tommy looked at her.
"Wh-Why would you say that?" She asked as she began to pace a bit.
"What do you mean? Why wouldn't I say that?" Tommy asked. Kimberly looked at him.
"We can't get married." She said. Tommy stared at her, puzzled.
"What? Why not?" He asked. This wasn't going how he had hoped, and he was getting a little agitated by Kimberly's anxiety.
"Tommy, we've only been together for a little while."
"What the hell are you talking about? What do you call what we were back in-"
"That was different." Kimberly said, cutting him off. "We were different. I mean, we were apart for so long, and I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic that we found our way back to each other and are reconnecting, but it's too soon."
"Well, I don't agree." Tommy stated. He got up and stood in front of her. "I love you, I've always have. Even when you wrote me that note and broke my heart I still loved you and dreamed about having a life, a future with you." Kimberly narrowed her eyes.
"Right and I'm sure you said that to Kat when you guys got together after we broke up." She said. Tommy was shocked she'd throw that in his face.
"For your information, no, I didn't, because I never felt that way, and frankly I don't think she felt that way either." He said. Kimberly scoffed.
"Oh please, I'm sure Miss Kitty-Kat was beyond happy to see I was out of the picture."
"Oh my god, what is this? You're going to blame me and Kat for getting together? Guess what, you're the one who broke up with me. Kat stepped in and tried to comfort me when I missed you and felt so depressed that I could barely stand to go on another day."
"So now it's my fault? Newsflash, I was pregnant, scared and alone!"
"And whose fault is that? You're the one who slept with some guy you barely knew, you're the one who decided to cut yourself off from everyone who cared about you, you're the one who thought I'd actually be that much of a scumbag to not be there for you when you needed me." Tears began to find their way to Kimberly's eyes.
"Well I didn't know how you'd react. I mean, I screwed up. Your perfect little former pink ranger had a lapse in judgment and cheated on you, and then got pregnant from that lapse of judgment. I mean, I thought if I tried to call you and tell you what happened I'd just get yelled at and hung up on."
"I never thought you were just my perfect pink ranger. I loved you, everything about you, flaws, lapse in judgment and everything."
"Oh, how romantic." Kimberly muttered sarcastically. Tommy rolled his eyes.
"You know what, screw this. Forget I mentioned anything about getting married." He said through clench teeth. He went over and picked up the jeans he had been wearing earlier and pulled them over his boxers. He then grabbed one of his t-shirts that were lying around and pulled that on.
"Where are you going?" Kimberly asked.
"Out." Was his only answer as he stalked out of the room. Kimberly went after him. She was just at the last few steps on the stairs when Tommy nearly ripped the door off its hinges while opening it. He was ready to storm out, but saw a little obstacle: The two teens kissing right in front of his door. Ethan and Naomi broke apart quickly and looked at him.
"Uh, hey, Dr. O, what's up-" Ethan began, blushing at being caught.
"Get inside." Tommy said. Ethan was shocked; he'd never seen his teacher/mentor/fellow ranger this upset before.
"Yes sir." He and Naomi quickly scurried past him. Tommy then left the house, slamming the door behind him.
"I didn't think he'd be that pissed at us." Naomi muttered, thinking he was upset because she and Ethan had been kissing. Kimberly was standing on the stairs and staring at the front door. She gave a sob as she slowly sank down to a sitting position on the steps, burying her face in her hands. Ethan and Naomi went to her side.
"What's wrong?" Ethan asked. They heard the door of the other bedroom open and close as Trini slowly shuffled out of the room, tiredly rubbing her eyes. She saw her mother sitting on the stairs and went over to her.
"Mommy?" She asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Why are you crying?"
"Trini, go back to bed." Kimberly said softly through her tears. Trini didn't obey. She hugged her instead. Kimberly pulled her arms away. "Go back to bed, now!" She yelled. Trini stared at her. She jumped up and ran to her room, crying. Naomi looked at Ethan. She got up and went after Trini. Kimberly only cried harder, seeing that she just made her daughter cry. Ethan sighed and sat beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders and letting her just cry. Naomi was with Trini who was crying in her bed. Naomi sat beside her and gently rubbed her back.
"I'm sure your mommy didn't mean to yell at you." Naomi said softly. "She was just upset, its okay, its okay." After about a half an hour, the small girl's sobs subsided and she just lay there, occasionally wiping the few tears that were still falling off of her cheeks. By that time, Kimberly had calmed down a little and went to Trini's room. Naomi looked up at her.
"Naomi, can you, uh, give us a minute?" She asked. Naomi nodded softly. She looked back at Trini and gave her a small smile.
"Hey, you going to be okay?" She asked in a friendly voice. Trini gave her a weak smile and sat up. Naomi rubbed her back a little bit before getting up. She looked at Kimberly and gave her an acknowledging nod as she headed to the door. Naomi left. Kimberly sighed and looked at Trini. "Hey." She said her voice becoming soft, gentle.
"Hey." Trini said her voice still a little hoarse from crying.
"Can I sit down?" She asked. Trini nodded and scooted to one side of the bed to make room for her mother. Kimberly went and sat beside her on the bed.
"Am I in trouble?" Trini asked. "For calling Tommy daddy?" Kimberly stared at her. Trini thought Kimberly was mad at her because of that? Kimberly sighed and took her daughter in her arms. Trini rested her head against Kimberly's chest.
"Of course not, honey." She said, softly stroking her hair. "You're not in trouble. I didn't mean to yell at you. I was just…Upset."
"Mommy?"
"Yes?"
"What's a 'lapse in judgment'?" She asked. Kimberly looked down at her. She sighed. Apparently Trini had heard her and Tommy, or at least parts of it.
"It……It's a mistake." She answered honestly.
"Oh." Trini responded. "Am I a lapse in judgment? Is that what you meant when you said that to Tommy?" Kimberly pulled back from the hug, making Trini look at her.
"No, sweetie. You weren't the lapse in judgment." Kimberly sighed. "What I meant was….Ok, well; do you remember what I would tell you about Tommy whenever you asked about it from the pictures?" She asked. Trini nodded.
"You said you loved him a lot."
"That's right. Well, the lapse in judgment that I made was well, making a baby, you, with someone else instead of Tommy."
"My daddy?" Trini asked. Kimberly sighed. She didn't like the idea of Trini calling that man 'daddy'. Anton was no father. Biologically, yes, but in every other way, no.
"Yes." Kimberly said. "But he's not your daddy. He never came to see you and-"
"So, my daddy didn't want me?" Trini asked. Kimberly took a deep breath.
"Your daddy's a very mean man." Kimberly said. Trini looked down.
"Do you think I'm a mistake?" She asked. Kimberly pulled her daughter close again.
"No. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me." She whispered against Trini's hair as she planted a kiss on the top of her head. "And don't you ever forget that." Trini wrapped her arms around Kimberly's mid-section.
"I love you, mommy." Trini said.
"I love you too, baby." Kimberly said. They sat there for a while before Trini fell back to sleep. Kimberly slowly eased her back into bed and covered her up with the blankets. She kissed Trini's forehead.
"Sweet dreams, baby." She said softly before shutting off the lights and leaving the room, shutting the door behind her. She came out and saw Naomi and Ethan sitting at the stairs. They looked up at her. "Trini went back to sleep." She informed them.
"What happened, I mean, why was Dr. O so upset?" Ethan asked.
"We just had a disagreement." Kimberly said, simply leaving it at that. "I'm going to go to bed." She said before going back to Tommy's room. Ethan and Naomi watched her. Ethan waited a few seconds after she shut the door of the room before grabbing Naomi's hand and pulling her down the stairs.
"Whoa, Ethan, what are you doing?" Naomi asked. Ethan brought her to the couch/bed and sat down, making Naomi to do the same.
"Continuing what we started outside." He whispered. Naomi did her best to hide her smile. Ethan took the initiative and leaned in, placing one hand against her jaw and the other on her waist. Naomi threw her head back and bit her lip to hold back a moan when Ethan placed his lips on her pulse point. He gently sucked and nibbled on the tender flesh. He continued this for what felt to Naomi a sweet eternity, but was most likely 15-20 minutes. He then brought his lips up to hers where Naomi, reeling from his ministrations on her neck, kissed him hungrily. She felt the need to be closer to him so, without breaking contact with his lips, she moved so that instead of sitting next to him on the bed, she was now straddling his lap, facing him. She put her arms around his neck and he held her hips. The two unleashed the need and passion they had kept at bay for each other, kissing feverishly. This went on for a while as the two teens became lost in the taste of one another. But, as far gone as they were, they still heard the distant sound of someone turning a key in a door…..Which only meant one thing………Their teacher had return. Naomi and Ethan quickly broke apart, but in their haste to break apart so as not to be caught, Naomi ended up falling backwards onto the floor. Ethan didn't have time to help her up before the front door opened. Tommy walked in and glanced at the sight before him. Ethan, sitting on the edge of the bed and Naomi on her back on the floor with her knees up and propped up on her elbows. He gave them a look.
"Uh, hey, Dr. Oliver….We were just.." Naomi tried to explain. Tommy shook his head.
"I don't want to know." He said. He looked up to the stairs and sighed. He went and slowly walked up the stairs. Naomi and Ethan waited until he was all the way up before speaking.
"We…Uh…Should probably….Get ready for bed.." Naomi suggested, kind of shocked by how intense that kiss had been. She thought their second kiss was extreme, but this one was just…..Passion and hunger were in it and it frightened her a bit. Ethan did feel the same. He felt as if he wanted to just take her then and there, but he knew he wasn't ready for something like that and even if he was, the living room of his teacher's house wasn't exactly the most appropriate of places.
"Yeah, you're right." Ethan said. "You can go get changed first." He offered. Naomi smiled. She slowly climbed to her feet and grabbed the folded up cotton pants and short sleeve shirt that were sitting on the bed. She gave Ethan a quick peck on the lips before heading up to the bathroom.
-
Tommy sighed and walked into his room. He found Kimberly sitting up in bed with her knees pulled up to her chest. She had had her head resting on her knees but lifted her head up as soon as she heard him come in. Her face was tearstained and her eyes were puffy indicating that she most likely had been crying for most of the time he had been gone. Tommy took a deep breath and walked over to his nightstand.
"I'm going to finish up my work in the study." He mumbled. He took the test sheets he was supposed to be grading. Kimberly simply stared at him. Tommy went to the door.
"Wait." Kimberly finally said. Tommy stopped but kept facing the door. "I.." She tried to speak, but found it hard to utter a single word through the lump in her throat. She swallowed hard and tried again. "I'm sorry." She said. Tommy stayed in his position. He heard the sound of Kimberly slowly sliding off the bed and heard her approaching footsteps. "I'm sorry I said those things……I'm sorry I yelled at you…….." She got closer to him and Tommy felt her rest her forehead against his shoulder blade. "I'm so sorry." She whispered, her voice sounding as if she had starting crying all over again. Tommy sighed and put his arm back, placing his hand on the small of her back. Kimberly sighed and buried her face in his back.
"I'm sorry too." He whispered back to her.
"I love you, with everything that's inside me. I just…….When you said we should get married, I got frightened." Tommy slowly took his hand off her back and turned around so he was facing her.
"Why?" He asked. Kimberly wiped at her cheeks.
"So many reasons to begin to count." Kimberly muttered. "I mean, pick one. There's the fact that the father of my child most likely tried to kill Jason just because he was my friend, imagine what he would try to do to you if you were my husband? Then there's the fact that aside from friends, it's just been Trini and me for seven years. We're a family…..And I just don't want to get distracted from her by getting married. Then there's-"
"Kim." Tommy said, cutting her off. "I told you the night you told me about Anton that I wouldn't let him hurt you or Trini ever, even if he tried to hurt you by hurting me. I won't let it happen. And as far as the family goes, I would never dream of distracting you. When I suggested we get married it meant I wanted to start a family with you and Trini. I know it was sudden and everything but don't think this was just some rash spur of the moment thing, I meant it when I said we should get married." He gently cupped her face. "I love you and I can't imagine a future without you. And in these past weeks that I've known Trini, I haven't been able to help feeling like I wanted to be a father to her. I don't care if she's not mine biologically, I love her as if she was my own daughter and I love you." Kimberly closed her eyes and placed a hand on one of his. More tears fell from her eyes. Kimberly took in a shuddering breath and slowly let it out.
"Yes." She whispered. Tommy looked at her.
"What?" He asked. She opened her eyes and stared deeply into his as she gave him a soft smile.
"Yes, I will marry you." She said. Tommy felt his heart leap with joy. He gave out a soft laugh with Kimberly following suit.
"You want to marry me." He stated, letting the concept float through his head which was still swimming from her acceptance.
"Yes, I want to marry you." Kimberly said her voice a little louder. She gave a soft yet joyous laugh. Tommy wanted to yell to the high heavens with joy, but he knew that most likely Trini was asleep and he didn't want to wake her, so instead he bent down and scooped her up in his arms bridal style. Kimberly giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Might as well get some practice, huh?" He said with a smile. Kimberly giggled again. Tommy rushed to the bed and gently tossed her onto it before getting in bed himself. The two got together and kissed. Kimberly lay back in bed with Tommy on top of her. Their hands were touching and groping each other in every place imaginable.
"Wait, wait." Kimberly said as she pulled back from him. Tommy looked at her. "I just have one question." She said.
"What?" Tommy asked. Kimberly gave him a wicked grin.
"Is this make-up sex or 'woohoo we just got engaged' sex?" She asked. Tommy laughed.
"Maybe a little bit of both." He said. He quickly got out of bed and shut off the lights and ran back to Kimberly's awaiting arms and the two soon were completely naked.
-
AN: Hey guys, well, Teal and I wanted to make the 30th chapter be the last chapter, but as we kept writing, the last chapter kept getting longer and longer. It reached over thirty pages without being close to the end, so I decided to break up the chapters, so as not to overload you guys with a huge ass chapter. LOL. OK, the next part of the chapter should be up soon.