Live Like You Were Dying
Title: Live Like You Were Dying
Author: kazeko
Show: Power Rangers
Rating: PG 13
Chapters: ?
Series: no, also no relation to "Children of the Gods"
Multipart: yes
Time: About a year after Power Rangers in Space, changing the Power Rangers timeline after that
Couple(s): Tommy/Kimberly, Jason/Kat, Tanya/Adam
Disclaimer: Saban and Disney own Power Rangers and they don't deserve it if they won't release MMPR on DVD!
Disclaimer 2: I own everything else, including characters, other planets, and the plot.
AN: Thanks for all of my reviewers! We have made it into the second part of the story, and I promise that there will be some fun and less tragic chapters in this part. Enjoy, and Jason's line about the Juice Bar is from the PRWF episode "Forever Red" and I about died laughing when he said it, so I included it here. Enjoy!
Chapter 14: Pink Silk and Silver Roses
"Hey, lover. Why are you here?"
Baliree rolled her eyes as she pulled Alina to her feet. "You know why I'm here, Alina. How is our princess?"
Alina shook her head as she sensed her lover try to access her thoughts. "No peeking, Bali. I told you that there are some things that I cannot show you. Something very strange happened here in the past week, and if I let you see, I might change the future."
Bali nodded and leaned over to kiss Alina's cheek. "Very well. Just take me to her and we'll see what we can do about procuring a princess."
Kimberly leaned into Tommy's gentle embraced as they danced across the floor to the gentle strains of a slow song. Tanya and Adam had joined them while Jason and Kat were sitting at the counter talking over a pair of Ernie's famous smoothies. The owner of the Youth Center had jumped at the chance to throw a party when he learned of Kimberly and Tommy's engagement, whipping a respectable gala together in less than forty-eight hours. All of the pair's old friends and most of Angel Grove had turned out for the event, most of Tommy's Native American family also attending. David and Sam were quietly conversing in one corner with Trini and Zack while Rocky was desperately trying to get Aisha to dance with him. She kept shaking her head, but a small smile played across the corner of her lips. She would agree eventually.
"Tommy?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you think we can change that future? I don't . . . I don't want to die like that."
Tommy stopped moving and turned Kimberly's face up toward him. "Don't think like that, Beautiful," he whispered. "Let's go sit down for a second, okay?" Kimberly nodded and followed him off the dance floor, letting him pull her into his lap. He smiled as he ran his fingers over the silky material of her pale rose dress, tracing the silvery flower patterns on the skirt. "I see that our visitors had an impact on you."
"I think the pale rose and silver go together. I think I threw away most of my pink clothes when I sent you the letter, so this is the first real pink dress I've worn since you last saw me." Her brown eyes sparkled as the light shone from the diamonds on her ring as she ran her hands over her dress. "How long did it take you to pay for this?"
"A while. I wasn't sure when I'd have the money, so I borrowed from my parents and spent a long time paying them back. I finished after I won some money racing."
She looked up sharply. "So you were still paying for it after I sent you the letter? Why didn't you take it back?"
Tommy smiled and took her small hand in his. "Because that letter showed me that I had let a new Pink Ranger take your place."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that you gave Kat your Power Coin and your place on the team but I didn't give her your place in my heart. For the longest time, when she was in danger, my first thought was 'protect Kimberly' and for a long time I saw the Pink Ranger as you. But then, not long before the letter, I saw Kat in danger in one of our battles, and I never thought about you. I didn't even realize it until later. When I got your letter, I turned to her because I couldn't deal with the thought that maybe I had been unfaithful by letting Kat become the Pink Ranger, letting her become you. So I kept the ring to make me feel guilty because I knew that I had done something to chase you away. When the three Mages came, I realized that I had a second chance and I didn't want to mess up again."
"You didn't," Kimberly whispered, tears in her eyes. "Is that why . . . Jase said that you dated Kat for a while. Is that why?"
"Yeah. And it doesn't even make that much sense since she's not that much like you except for the Pink Ranger stuff, but I think part of me wanted to see why I let her take your place. Eventually I realized that she hadn't taken your place in my heart, just on the team. That's about when we broke it off. I hope she's happy with Jason." He ran his fingers through Kimberly's hair, smiling as she gave a half-purr. "What else?"
"Do you know why my future self died? Do you know what killed her?"
"Yes, we all do, but I think it would be better if you did not." He put his finger over her lips to still her protests. "Let me finish, Kimberly. If you knew exactly what was going to happen, you would spend the rest of your life avoiding that event, and that's no way to live. You can't live like you're dying for the next six or so decades. I promise that I will do everything in my power to protect you, since I know a little more about what happened than the others do, but even I don't know everything. I won't keep you from living."
"What if everything happens the same way?"
"It can't. I know for a fact that the Mage Tommy didn't propose to Kimberly before they left Earth because he didn't see her again until they got to Shamirin Prime. You and I have skipped that phase. Cheer up, okay? This party is for us." Kimberly smiled as Tommy kissed her and pulled the petite brunette back to her feet. "Let's go back to that dance, okay?"
Kimberly let Tommy lead her back onto the floor, never noticing the two women silent in the shadows. Baliree glanced at Alina. "Are you sure she's the same woman? The one I researched was suffering a bought of depression."
"Some things have happened over the last few days that have changed all of that. You'll see when you speak to her."
Tommy smiled as he passed the tray of snacks around, refilling Kimberly's drink as he joined her on the couch. "What about when Zedd turned us into children and Bulk and Skull saved us by stealing that photograph?"
Kimberly smiled as she rested her head on Tommy's shoulder, smoothing her skirt out as she placed her drink on the low table beside the couch. "My favorite memories are when you were the White Ranger and would come to our rescue."
Jason snorted. "Yeah, whatever!" He turned to Kat and the other later Rangers, pointing at Tommy and Kimberly. "I was the one doing all the work while he was in the Juice Bar kissin' up on Kimberly!"
"Hey!" Tommy bounced a crumpled paper cup off his friend's head as Kimberly burst out laughing and caught her fianc's arm.
"That's enough, boys," she purred, watching as Kat refrained Jason from retaliating. The other Rangers clammed up as the brunette looked around, making sure no one else had any smart comments. She kissed Tommy's cheek as she captured both of his hands in hers. "Though you have to admit, Tommy; that was pretty funny."
"Oh, really?" Tommy spun Kimberly around in his arms and leaned closer until their noses were almost touching. "You think that was funny?" She squeaked, startled, as Tommy's lips captured hers, eliciting cries of 'get a room!' and a flurry of well-aimed projectile cups that Tommy deftly deflected, protecting his Pink Princess.
Kimberly smiled as Tommy pulled back and brushed the cups away, gathering them and dumping them in the nearest trashcan. "Oh, it's getting really late." Kimberly glanced at her watch, catching sight of her ring and smiling as she stared at it. Jason groaned as he pulled Kat to her feet and walked her out the door, heading for Tanya's apartment down the hall. Tommy had been able to borrow Adam's apartment while he moved in above the dojo and Zack had accepted Rocky and Jason's offer of the other couch in the former Red Rangers' apartment. Everyone knew why Tommy wanted his own place, though no one was rude enough to say it. Kimberly smiled sleepily as the other four women Rangers left, promising that she'd follow in just a bit. Tanya rolled her eyes and closed the door, leaving Tommy and Kimberly alone.
"Happy that you came back, Beautiful?"
"Yeah," Kimberly whispered, stretching. "That was quite the party, though."
"Hey, I have a surprise for you." Tommy reached out and pulled the petite woman to her feet, leading her into the bedroom. Turning on the light, he rummaged through the drawers until he found a small box wrapped in a very familiar shirt. Grinning, he held the items out to the former Pink Ranger.
"Tommy," she whispered, pulling the green checked flannel shirt off the box and hugging it close. "I forgot . . . I forgot you and all of our times together, but I kept this shirt . . . I wonder why I chose this one."
"Because when I was the Green Ranger I needed you and when I was the White Ranger I would have given the world for you," Tommy whispered, having already determined the answer. "You wanted to be reminded of those good times and not the loneliness that followed."
Kimberly sat on the bed and dropped the shirt in her lap, opening the small box. "My medals," she whispered. "Were they really worth it, Tommy? Were they really worth losing you?"
"You never lost me, Beautiful, but we lost sight of each other for a while. We're back now, and I am very proud of you for winning those medals. They were your dream."
"No, they weren't. Not really. My real dream was a life with you, a family of our own, and I don't know why I let this come between us."
Tommy joined Kimberly on the bed, reaching over and moving the medals aside, pulling out a picture of them from their first dance, followed by dozens more from the silly to the serious, some with the group and some of them alone, even a few of the Power Rangers from newspapers and magazines. "You didn't, really. If you had let me go, if you really moved on, you wouldn't still have all of these pictures. And they're pretty good ones, too." He handed her the communicator she had left on the bedside table, letting her place it back in the small box. She smiled as she pulled out the last item, the stuffed bear he gave her when she was in the hospital after her fall from the balance beam just before leaving for Florida.
"I love this bear," she whispered. "I can't believe how fast you came to make sure I was okay. If it hadn't been for your love and encouragement, I never would have gone back out there and gone off to Florida."
"I like this bear, too," Tommy grinned. "It was the only time I told you that you couldn't go into battle and you listened to me."
"Oh, you!"
"Sometimes I wonder why Zordon made me the leader," Tommy continued, smiling as Kimberly shook her head. "He could have just picked you and cut out the middle man."
"Tommy! What a horrid thing to say! Though a little sweet, depending on how you look at it. I didn't tell you what to do."
"Out loud," Tommy added. "But I certainly wouldn't have made any decision without your approval. Rocky told me once that the difference between me leading as the White Ranger and as the Red Ranger was that I had more freedom and no one to look after." He pulled Kimberly into his arms, catching her tiny fists. "But I like my Green Ranger days the best. That was when I needed you and you were always there. It was nice not having to be the strong one around you. You never judged me or tried to change me; you let me live and grow as I wanted."
"I liked you just the way you were." Kimberly leaned her head against Tommy's chest, placing the box and shirt back on the table, holding the tiny bear. "When did you guys get this anyway?"
"We saw it when we were chasing you down, but Kat, Aisha, and I went back for your stuff using our teleporters a day or so ago. They have some of your clothes in Tanya's apartment now so you can stop wearing Aisha's and Trini's. You don't fit in their clothes very well at all, and yellow is not your color."
Kimberly rolled her eyes. "Oh, just say it; I look horrid in yellow, Tommy. It makes me look positively sick. I can't thank you enough for giving me the money to buy this dress. I couldn't have worn one of Aisha's to the party. I already thanked Kat for helping me pick it out. Trini, Tanya, and Aisha have no taste when it comes to pink clothes."
"Hey, I wanted you to look good if you were going to dance with me." Kimberly poked him weakly, too tired even to glare at that comment, and Tommy sighed. "You look so beautiful in that. It was a good choice. Remind me to thank Kat later."
"I will," Kimberly yawned, curling deeper into Tommy's arms. "I'm so tired," she purred. "I missed you, Tommy."
"I'll never go away again, Beautiful." He sensed the instant Kimberly fell asleep, his body so in tune with hers that he never had to look to know that the pink-clad woman was sound asleep. Smiling, he gently laid her down in the bed, deftly removing her dress and digging out one of his shirts, slipping it over her head as he removed her slip and bra. His white shirt was like a nightgown on her, and he covered her with the blanket and the green checked flannel shirt, leaning over and kissing her forehead before hanging up her dress where she could find it. Touching the tiny white bear, Tommy retreated to the door and pulled it closed. "Good night, Beautiful," he whispered.
"They won't do anything until they're married, though. She probably just fell asleep."
Aisha grinned as she finished putting Kimberly's very pink wardrobe away. "Trini, did she have this much pink before becoming the Pink Ranger?"
"Oh, yeah. Billy used to joke that Zordon chose our Ranger colors based on what we were wearing the day he pulled us into the Command Center that first time. She's always looked good in pink. What did you think of that dress, Tanya?"
"You guys did such a great job! It looked just perfect. And Tommy really paid for the dress, shoes, and that necklace?"
"Yeah, he did. The dress was not cheap, but he told us not to spare any expense to make her beautiful." Kat smiled at the joy on Tommy's face when he saw Kimberly walk into the Juice Bar, knowing at that moment that searching and combing through the stores in the mall had been worth it to find that perfect dress. "I think he was happier when he saw that dress than even Kimberly was."
"What do you think she'll wear for her wedding?"
"I don't know, Tanya, but she had better let us help design it." They all sobered at Kat's words, wondering if they would be able to attend Kimberly and Tommy's wedding. Trini snorted and shook her head.
"Why are we sitting here feeling sorry for ourselves? If we want to be there for our friends, we will find away. If the Peace Conference, Pan-Globals, Zordon's death, and six years of fighting evil like Rita and Lord Zedd couldn't separate us, Kimberly being chosen as the princess for an alien civilization won't do it."
"What can we do?"
"We'll think of something, Kat."
TBC