Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers. I do own the characters Nicarni-Aso, Zefoid, the asoriods, the amephors, Mrs. Alison Sipper, Tanya Sipper, Principal Randy Strigner, Ms. Fanny Abbott, Ally Jameson, Richard Myles, and the planets Asoriotan and Nonatasion. I also own the armor flexor, invisashield, and any other weapons that you have never heard used on the Power Ranger series.
jedi4jesus19: Okay, I'll get it out soon and I'm glad you enjoyed it!
hhsmajorettearg: Thanks for the review!
XRachX: I'm glad you liked the proposal and nothing will happen with the stalker in this story, although he will play a key role in the next one.
Daniaryezel: Okay, I just need to let you know that, no matter what this story will end in two chapters, but the next story will have the wedding and such, I promise. It only made sense for Trini to be a nervous wreck, I mean we all have things that make us like that, although it is very out of character for Trini. The stalker will make an appearance in the next story and play a major role, but give it a few chapters before it will be obvious that he is there. Thanks for the review!
amy: Maybe he will find out, maybe he won't. You'll just have to read to find out.
Ghostwriter: Don't worry, there will be a sequel. Thanks for the review!
Slshadowfox: I'll be honest, I never did either until I knew what I would do with most of the others. It just kinda clicked when I wrote the beach chapter and it stayed that way, as you can see.
Now, on with the Story!
Katherine's POVOur trip back to Tommy's house was uneventful. For once in our lives, we didn't have some monster show up and ruin our plans, even though I am not the one to thank for that problem being vanished, if only momentarily. I have my friends, who quit their jobs, to thank for that one.
Kim and Tommy look so happy, I will never be able to figure out why all of those years ago Kim decided to break it off with Tommy, it makes no sense, even to me and I dated him. No matter how much I did liked Tommy, he was never going to feel the same for me, but he took her advice and tried to move on with his life. I guess that we didn't help any, but we were all so busy with the Machine Empire that I know Tommy didn't have time to write or call, which isn't an excuse, but some things did get pushed to the side and that, unfortunately, was one of them. We have all done some bad things in our lifetime, I'm just glad the two of them got the chance to repair what should have never been broken.
"I have got to get in some comfortable clothes," Kim said, kicking off her shoes and starting to head towards the stairs and the bedroom that she had been living in over the last few weeks. She may have liked shopping, but even she could only stay in dress clothing for so long and she had reached her limit. She also had the feeling that several of the guys were ready to strip down and pull on a pair of jeans, as they looked very tense in their suits.
"I need to replace an old picture," Tommy said, grabbing Kim's wrist and pointing to a picture of the second ranger team from about six years ago. The six of them had been having a picnic in the park, which had been shattered about five minutes later, but no one could have told that from looking at the picture. They all seemed to be happy teenagers, with nothing more to worry about than the science exam they had to take on Friday. If only people really knew the truth about them. Then they would understand why when they were happy, they were joyous. Their life had not been an easy one, but it had been a fulfilling one.
"What about the originals? We don't get a picture on the wall?" Jason asked with a grin, and then he noticed Hayley and Ally were staring at him. While the others seemed mildly amused about what he had said, although he couldn't figure out why, yet.
"Nice going Jason," Billy said, as Kim slapped him in the back of the head, with the flat side of her heels. Then it dawned on him, they didn't know that they were the Power Rangers, and the first ones at that. Boy had he screwed up this time. No one was supposed to know who they were and now they had some explaining to do.
"Originals for what?" Ally asked, as Hayley looked at each of them and tried to fit their body types, in certain spandex suits. Hayley couldn't believe that she hadn't seen it before, but now that she was looking for it, each of them fit into at least one color or in Tommy's case, more than one.
"Do it now," Hayley said, figuring out that they must have been on a mission earlier that summer, which explained part of the reason Tommy had gone to Angel Grove, without so much as a good-bye. Billy simply nodded his head. He didn't have a response for that one, no one had ever ordered them to morph before and Hayley did not seem as if she was going to back down, not any time soon anyway.
Ally stood there in shock, wondering what it was that Hayley had ordered them to do. Tommy said something and these oval shaped objects appeared in their hands, then each of them said a color and they disappeared until the last color was muttered. Then, these nine people stood in front of them, but Ally couldn't tell who they were, but she was pretty sure that they weren't her friends. However, when took off their helmets and revealed themselves to the three women, they turned out to be the people she had been at the ball with only minutes earlier. Kat and Hayley looked fairly calm about all of it, but Ally looked close to fainting. What were they? No. They couldn't be, but it looked like they were.
"You have some explaining to do, mister," Ally said, pushing her index finger in the middle of the green ranger's chest. Rocky could only shrug as Ally's face broke into a broad grin, she'd interrogate him later, right now she was too confused to ask any questions and too scared to hear the answers. She didn't want to know what they had been through and she wasn't sure she was ready to handle the responsibility that came along with knowing all of this.
"He's not the only one. They all have some explaining to do," Hayley said, eyeing Tommy. She wasn't going to let him get away with lying to her when he first came back, although this was one hell of a reason to lie. "Working in Angel Grove all summer, now were you?"
"So I wasn't in Angel Grove all summer," Tommy said, putting his arm around the pink ranger and it seemed to hit Hayley as to how they got back together, only Ally beat her to questioning them.
"This is what got the two of you back together?" Ally asked, as Tommy and Kim both nodded, shy grins on their faces, as they tried not to blush. These were the only people that could have done what they did and neither of them try to kill them. They respected the other rangers' wishes too much to do that and the fact that they still loved each other did help some too, although it was hard to admit that to their friends, at first.
"More like we forced them to talk to each other," Jason said as Tommy remembered that he owed Jason a thank you getting them to do all of this. So, what if it was over a month late? At least he remembered, which was something with Tommy.
"Thanks for making us," Tommy said, as Ally and Hayley still looked very confused. How could all of their friends really be The Power Rangers? It was more than obvious that they had to be the first rangers, but why are they back in uniform again? It didn't make any sense, not unless they had to go destroy some evil that would have been able to easily take over the Earth.
"Why were you brought back?" Hayley asked, as they all exchanged a glance. They weren't too sure if Hayley and Ally were ready to hear about the mission they had just been on. They knew that they didn't even like thinking about it, much less trying to explain it to someone else. "I thought you would have retired by now."
"We were retired, but then Nicarni-Aso came out of the woodwork and we were brought back into power," Adam said, as Kat looked shocked, for the first time this evening. Zordon had told her about this evil and was surprised that they had been able to take care of it so easily. He had made it seem like they were in for a long hard road, maybe they had gone through that, but you couldn't tell by looking at them, not even when they first got back from all of it.
"Are they still at large?" Hayley asked, concerned for their well being. She had heard about all of the things they had been through, via the news media. If it was as bad as before, she knew that they had been through hell earlier that summer and it partially explained the pained look Tommy had given her when she had hugged him the first day he got back. The bruises may not have been visable, but the pain was still there for them.
"No they're gone," Tommy said, as he shifted his gaze toward Kim. "Thanks to her."
"You…you…that's how?" Ally asked, as the others looked at her in shock, except Rocky, who was watching Tommy's reaction. What had Kim done that they didn't know about?
Tommy had the suspicion that whatever Rocky had been talking to Adam about earlier that evening was the same thing Ally was talking about now. He looked over at Rocky and that was all the conformation that he needed, now if he could just get Kim to tell him about it.
"Yeah, it wasn't just Tommy's martial arts," Kim said, trying to avoid eye contact with Tommy, but she could still feel his gaze begging her to look at him. She knew that if she did, he would see straight into what the problem was and she didn't want to go there, not now, after such a great night with him. "I was the first pink ranger, Kat was the one that replaced me when I came to train for the Pan Globals."
"You left this for gymnastics?" Ally asked, as all Kim could do was sadly shake her head yes. She had always wondered what would have happened if they hadn't convinced her to leave and she had stayed where she rightfully belonged, maybe things wouldn't have gone so wrong, for all of them. "Are you crazy?"
"Well, I guess you could say that," Kim said, with a sad smile, as she saw Rocky shaking his head at her. Kim knew that he was going to say something about the attack, but she hoped it wouldn't be while she was in the room with Tommy, as he was likely to demand an answer, in front of everyone. "Ally, don't say anymore, please."
"I won't," Ally said, as the other rangers watched Kim wipe her eyes before turning back to them. What was she hiding from them? None of them knew, but they all knew that they were going to get to the bottom of this, no matter what it took.
"What happened?" Tommy asked, as some of the other rangers went around the house closing curtains and locking doors. It seemed that they were going to be in uniform for quite awhile and they didn't want to risk someone driving up and seeing them this way. It also might be the only chance they had ever had to take a picture without their helmets on and they wanted to make sure they didn't miss this oppurtunity.
"Nothing, Tommy," Kim said, looking up at him and knowing he did not believe one word that had come out of her mouth. She would explain it later, if he asked her about it. She just didn't want to talk to him about it now. "I just want to be happy, tonight."
"He needs to know, Kim," Rocky said, as Kim shook her head no. She couldn't help but see the hurt in Tommy's eyes, but she couldn't bring herself to tell him about it right now. It would all be too much for her and for him.
"I'll tell you later," Kim said, as Tommy simply nodded his head yes. Jason could tell that whatever it was, was shaking Kim up a good bit and that she didn't want to have to worry Tommy with it tonight, although he was likely to ask her about it as soon as they were able to get by themselves. "It's too depressing."
"Alright," Tommy said, as he walked over and picked up his digital camera.
"So, we're going to get pictures with the helmets off?" Kat asked, as Tommy nodded his head yes.
"Tommy, you're sure about that?" Jason asked, as they all seemed to like the idea, but it could be risky, in some ways.
"Why not? We can put them in some hidden places. I'll keep mine in the basement," Tommy said, as they all stepped in to take the picture, standing as close to their old places as they could. This was a team in itself, so they all seemed to agree that they didn't want to break down into teams, not for this one at least.
"Nice," Hayley said, as Ally snapped the picture. "Now get back into your regular clothes, so we can get some pictures to replace those."
"Power down," Tommy said and the others soon followed his lead, which returned them to their ball attire.
"Originals first?" Jason asked, as they nodded and left the first five rangers standing with Jason in the middle, Kim and Billy on one side, and Trini and Zack on the other. "Tommy, you don't want in this one?"
"The first five should go now and I'll get in the next one," Tommy said as they smiled for the camera and took the picture.
"Tommy, come on," Kim said and they adjusted themselves to the formation they had taken when Tommy had become the leader of the rangers.
"Why do you stand like that?" Ally asked, as they laughed at her question. Rocky, Aisha, and Adam were now standing where Jason, Trini, and Zack had been standing for the last picture.
"This is how we stood when we teleported to places or morphed. It just kinda sticks after all of those years," Kim said, before Ally took the final picture of the night.
"I can't believe that I have known you all of these years and never figured it out," Hayley said, looking at Tommy. She was fairly certain he was either a ranger when she had first met him or had recently retired from the line of duty, but that was something she only knew after she had been able to figure it out. "And you, well I didn't think it was possible, although I should have known it."
"Hayley, our own parents don't know who we are and what we have done, only the two of you do," Billy said, as they took this small bit of information in. No one had been told before, no one else knew, now they understood why they had all reacted so harshly to Jason's slip up, if they couldn't be trusted to keep it a secret, it could put the whole team's lives in jeopardy.
"So we're sworn to secrecy?" Ally asked, as Rocky shook his head yes. They all knew that they had put the two of them in more danger by letting them in on their secret, but the truth had to come out, if Hayley and Ally were going to ever trust them again.
"Can we go change?" Kim asked, and headed for the stairs before she gave them a chance to answer. She started unzipping the dress on her way up the stairs, while the other girls followed her lead.
"I guess so, but we would enjoy the show," Rocky said, with a mischievous grin on his face. Kim turned around to face him, which shocked him at first, but then she stuck her tongue out at him and that made them all sigh with relief.
"What, you thought that you would be that lucky?" Tommy asked, as Kim glanced down at the both of them, as she had reached the balcony.
"Neither of you will be that lucky if you keep this up," Kim said, as Tommy started heading towards the stairs. The guys could tell he was going to play with Kim's head for a little while, but Kim was worried that he might take the playing a little too far, even for Tommy.
"We'll see about that," Tommy said, as he began running up the stairs, dodging around the other girls.
"Tommy," Kim gasped, in shock and then turned to run into the closest room, which happened to be Tommy's bedroom. It was then that she realized that her clothes were not with her, but two rooms down the hall, which left her stranded in her dress. "Shit."
"What are you going to do?" Trini asked, stopping Tommy for a few seconds, in an attempt to let Kim get into a room, even if it wasn't her own.
"Don't worry, she'll be fine," Tommy said with a smile, before continuing up the stairs. He looked down the hall and saw that his bedroom door was closed. He knew it hadn't been that morning, so he cautiously opened the door, just in time to see the bathroom door slam shut. "Kim?"
"Tommy, I gotta change," Kim said pushing herself against the bathroom door. She had somehow managed to grab a pair of Tommy's boxers and an old undershirt, before diving into the bathroom.
"I know," Tommy said, leaning against the door, but decided he wouldn't push his luck tonight. She'd already agreed to marry him and barging in on her might push her over the edge. Plus, he was still hoping he could get her to tell him what Rocky and Ally had been talking about downstairs.
"Why'd you do that?" Kim asked, walking out of the bathroom, in his oversized clothes. She was really going to have to start stowing an extra pair of pajamas in his room for occasions like this, because the second she stepped outside that door, the ridiculing would begin.
"To get you alone," Tommy said, as she shook her head at his craziness. There were much simpler ways to do that, but he obviously didn't think of any of those.
"You could have asked," Kim said, giving him a hug and a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Our friends would have let you."
"No they wouldn't and I believe that you have something to tell me," Tommy said, looking down into her eyes. He could tell that he had won the battle, the only thing he had to do was sit, and listen to what she had to say.
"Well, alright," Kim said, sitting down on his bed and clutching a piece of the bed spread in her hand. She really didn't want to talk about it, but he did have the right to know everything. "Tommy you have to promise me something, though."
"What's that?" Tommy asked, pulling his tie loose and going to find some pajama bottoms.
"That you won't go kill this person," Kim said, as she felt him turn his eyes to her. All he could wonder was what could she possibly have to tell him that was going to make him that mad about something? Whatever it was, he knew that he couldn't make that promise and keep it, if he knew who the person was and possibly even if he didn't know him.
"I won't make that promise, Kim," Tommy said, walking into the bathroom, so he could change in some privacy and so he could try to clear his mind. "I know that I am not going to like whatever you have to say and there is no guarantee I could keep it."
"Okay, Tommy," Kim said, biting her lower lip and letting out a ragged breath. She really didn't want to have to tell him, but she didn't have much of a choice now. Tommy deserved to know what had happened to her, even if it would rip him up inside and bring her to tears.
"So what is all of this about?" Tommy asked, sitting down on the bed and giving Kim his full attention. She seemed really nervous and he could only imagine the worst coming out of her mouth. The sad thing was what he was thinking was not far from the truth.
"Well, there was this guy who kinda stalked me for a little while," Kim stated and looked up to make sure Tommy was hearing what she was saying. His face tensed as it sunk in, but he nodded his head and gave her a reassuring smile, although she could tell he was just barely able to keep himself from demanding that she tell him who it was.
"Is that all he did, Kim?" Tommy asked, not wanting to particularly go into great detail about all of this. He wanted to know, but the details were not as important as her just telling him.
"No, he attacked Ally and me one day, Tommy," Kim said, as Tommy felt his heart being ripped out, before rage soon filled the empty space. Who did this man think he was laying one hand on his Beautiful? He had no right to stalk her and he was glad that the man was probably over three thousand miles away or he would have killed him right away, as soon as he could have found him.
"What did he do?" Tommy asked, through gritted teeth. Kim knew that he was trying his best to keep his cool, but that his temper was getting the best of him, as it always did when it came to her.
"He attacked me from behind and threw me down to the ground. Tommy, I was so scared that he was going to kill me. He tried to pull off my shorts, but that just pushed me over the edge. I threw him off of me and used ever skill that you had ever taught me, then I ran," Kim said, choking out the words as her body began to shake with the reality of everything. She knew that she had left out him trying to unclothe her to Rocky, but the only one that needed to know that was Tommy and he was also the only one she trusted to tell that to.
"God no," Tommy said, pulling her into a crushing hug, as he joined her, with tears of his own. He could feel the sobs shaking her body and he could also tell that he was going to be listening to a lot more things like this, even if he didn't want to. If he had known, that going to Florida would have done all of this to the two of them, he would have never told her to follow her dream. He would have been selfish and asked her to stay there with him, like his heart had screamed for him to do, but hindsight is twenty-twenty and foresight, is at best a blind guess. "Did it stop after that?"
All Kim could do was listen to Tommy's question. What was she supposed to say to him? She knew that it hadn't stopped for her, but she didn't want to upset him anymore than she already had. Could she risk telling him that Richard had continued to stalk her and on two other occasions, tried to do the same thing? It took her a few minutes to collect her thoughts into a plausible sentence, but once she did, she pulled away from Tommy, not wanting to see the hurt that was going to come through his eyes when she told him everything else.
"Kim, did it stop?" Tommy asked, letting go of her and using his palm to wipe his eyes. He knew the answer from how long it was taking her to say something, but he had to hear it from her.
"No, Tommy, it didn't," Kim said, looking down at the bedspread and tracing the pattern with her finger. Tommy moved his hand over and slowly placed it on top of hers.
"Did he ever…" Tommy asked, not feeling brave enough to finish the rest of the sentence. He prayed to God that this man had not done that to her, but if he had, he was going to pay the consequences.
"No, Tommy, he didn't, because he was put in jail for raping someone else first," Kim said and gave him a weak smile. She didn't want to tell Tommy that he had gotten out on probation a little over a year ago and that she had seen him once or twice. There was no use in worrying him about it, she knew that he couldn't have followed her to Angel Grove, mainly because she had flown on an airplane that only held six passengers.
"Come here," Tommy said, pulling her into his lap and rocking back and forth. He searched his mind for a few seconds before he started talking, wanting to make sure that he didn't say anything that would make the subject even more uncomfortable. "Oh, Kim. I wish that you would have told me this, before you sent that damn letter. I would have come out there and brought you back, no matter what you wanted to do. You should have never had to go through that and I hope that the son of a bitch gets what he deserves."
"Tommy, this is exactly why I didn't tell you, because I knew that you would have gotten so mad that you would do something drastic," Kim said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"I don't think that would have been drastic. You going to train for the Pan Globals is what tore us apart," Tommy said, with a sigh and just looked up at her. He knew that he would never be able to forget all of the years he had wondered why he didn't go after her, but to have her back there, with him now was better than any of the dreams he had about it.
"And being Power Rangers brought us back together," Kim said, before getting up and walking to one side of the bed. She then crawled under the covers and curled up to go to sleep, not caring that it wasn't her room. Tommy watched her for a few moments, trying to decide if he wanted to join her or go back downstairs and talk to the guys. It didn't take him long to hop into bed and pull Kim close to him before he too, fell asleep.
AN: That is all for this chapter and there is only one more left. Please review and I promise that I'll have the chapter out within a week. Thanks for reading and I hope that you have enjoyed it.