Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers or any of the weapons associated with the Power Rangers, so if you recognize it, it is not mine. I do own the characters, Ally Jameson, Fanny Abbott, Richard Myles, Dennis Alderway, Amanda Williams, Charlie Hughes, Ashley Meggs, Amy Tillery, Meagan Sipper-Stone and Todd Billingsway as well as any other characters from "Saving the World, Again" that may be brought into this story.
XRachX: Thank you and I'm glad that you really have enjoyed it, so far, but I know that this chapter has taken awhile to get out, as I have been a little bit busy, but I hope that you like it anyway.
Emma Lahana: Thank you and I may take you up on that someday down the road.
danhyde girl: Sometimes the chapters have to be on the mushy side, just to get the point across, but I'm glad that you like it and thanks for the review!
Hamsher52: I know that you're not the only one who feels that way, but it'll be a little while before anything happens to him.
Now, on with the Story!
A Busy Saturday in ReefsideThe next morning Kim woke up dazed and confused as to how she had gotten up the stairs and into bed last night. She could not remember leaving the couch the night before or even changing clothes, for that matter. Actually, to be quite honest, she couldn't remember anything from the night before, as she stared at the ceiling, wondering what had happened to make her forget all of it. She rolled over to see that Tommy's side of the bed was empty and assumed that he had let her sleep in, although one look at the clock told her otherwise. It was barely six o'clock on a Saturday and she knew Tommy was not up this early on a weekend, not unless he had just woken up that early and she highly doubted that. She was lucky to even get him out of bed by 7:30 most mornings, as to try to get them both to school on time and he barely made it on those days. She tried going back to sleep, but soon gave up on this pursuit and headed downstairs to try to find some comfort or at least a person that she could snuggle with for a little while.
Upon entering the living room, she noticed Tommy was asleep on the couch, half-empty beer bottle still in hand, tilting towards the carpeted area of the floor. He must have carried her upstairs and then came back down to think about some things that had happened this week; not that she blamed him at all. This last week had been rough on the both of them and it could get worse if they weren't careful. Richard was a man that was determined to cause trouble between the two of them and would if they allowed him to. She planned on letting him sleep some more, while she wandered down into the command center, to see if anything happened overnight, but he seemed to sense her presence and awoke any ways.
"Mornin' beautiful," Tommy said, groggily, as he woke up and saw her standing in the living room, looking down at him forwhat come have been only a few seconds. She was much more of a morning person than he would ever be and he was very lucky she was there. Otherwise, he wouldn't have made it to school some mornings this year. He could tell that she had not made a trip to the restroom this morning as she still had bed head, but none of that mattered to him. He was just happy that she seemed to have gotten a good night's sleep the night before, which alleviated him from feeling guilty about not sleeping in the same bed with her last night. If she had, had any nightmares and he had not been up there, then he would have felt just horrible right now.
"Good morning," Kim said, sitting down on the couch and giving him a kiss on the cheek while gingerly taking the bottle out of Tommy's hands and placing it on the coffee table. He didn't look to have a hangover, thank goodness, but she wanted to make sure that he didn't have the excuse to drink this early, just because it was there.
"You ready for your day?" Tommy asked, having expected Kim to be much more perky about finally going to find a wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses for their wedding. She had been putting it off until Trini had a weekend to help her and now that it was finally here, she seemed to not be excited at all and he knew Richard could not take the excitement out of shopping for Kim, no one could do that.
"What's going on today?" Kim asked, looking over at Tommy as he stared at her in shock and disbelief. She had never forgotten a shopping day before today; maybe Richard got to her more than he thought he had. He continued to stare at her at a loss for words and it finally got to the point that she became truly concerned about his odd actions. "Tommy, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Tommy said, as Kim leaned on his chest and he automatically put his arms around her. She couldn't help but look up at him, confused, when he said that he was all right. He was acting very odd, to be all right, if you asked her and she did know him fairly well, even with spending a few years apart. "You really have forgotten, haven't you?"
"Forgotten what, Tommy?" Kim asked, as her own confusion only increased at his statement of inquiry. What was supposed to go on today, that she had forgotten, that would shock him this much?
"That you are going wedding dress shopping today," Tommy said slowly, as Kim's eyes widened at how she had forgotten all of it, overnight. She had forgotten that Trini and Jason were upstairs, still asleep in the guest bedroom and that Trini and she were planning to find bridesmaid dresses' and her own dress later on during the morning. She must have been much more out of it than she realized, until now. Maybe she did need to go back to sleep, just to clear her head of whatever was keeping it from thinking clearly.
"Oh man, you're really rubbing off on me," Kim said, with a smile and a play slap to Tommy's face. Tommy then reached his other arm over, acting as if he was going to hug her carefully, but decided to mercilessly tickle her stomach instead. "Tommy! Stop! This is no fair!"
"It's plenty fair," Tommy said, pulling her pack down onto the couch when she tried to escape from his grasp and make a run for the stairs. So what if they woke Jason and Trini up, at least they would know that the two of them were still alive, after all of the crap that went on last night, namely Richard showing up on their front door step.
"How is it fair?" Kim said, struggling beneath him to remove his hands from her sides and cease his tickling, but she could only manage to keep them away for a few seconds at a time, before he would start tickling her again. How was she going to get out of this? "You're bigger than I am, Tommy."
"You always figured out a way to get out of it when we were back in high school, Kim," Tommy said, with a sly grin as he continued to tickle her sides. She then seemed to have a light bulb click on in her head, as she reached up to pull Tommy into a kiss, maybe that would stop the tickling from his end, and it did.
"Get a room," Jason said, walking into the living room and throwing a pillow at the pair on the couch, which successfully landed on Tommy's head. Trini had decided to take a shower before she headed downstairs, but he wanted to see what all of the commotion was that had awakened them from their peaceful slumber. Tommy's guest room, did not have a crappy mattress like their own, which meant they were going to have to buy a couple of new mattresses before they came to visit them again, but then again, Tommy and Kim probably wouldn't even notice.
"Sorry, Jase, do you want some breakfast?" Kim asked, as Tommy rolled off her and she stood to head to the kitchen, as both of their blushes were starting to recede.
"Thanks, but no, Tommy and I will get something on the way to the dojo this morning. I hear that you have a class in about an hour," Jason said, as Tommy's eyes widened and he bolted from his position on the couch, heading straight towards the stairs. He did not know how he could have forgotten that he had a class to teach at eight o'clock today. His advanced students had been working hard and he thought that they might want to go up against someone other than him, so that was where Jason came in. Maybe he would get some of them to work harder, as a few had been slacking a lot lately. "I still don't know how he remembers to put on his underwear some days, with the memory that he has."
"That is where I come in," Kim said, as she headed up stairs, to make sure Tommy had a pair of clean karate pants to change into after he took a shower. He was bound to be running late already, by his reaction, and she was fairly sure that he would forget something, if it wasn't all laid out for him and he did not seem to be in the mood to take that today.
Within the next hour, the Hart/Oliver residence was cleared of its occupants. The ladies heading to several of the bridal boutiques in town and the men going to the dojo, for a three hour class, which was much longer than any class they had had in a long time, as Tommy knew this would be the only oppurtunity this class got to spar against anyone besides Rocky or himself. They had agreed to meet up for lunch and from there go to get some other things that they would need for their wedding, namely their rings, which had still not been purchased.
Finding the Dress"Trini, I have no idea what I want to buy for myself or even you," Kim said, as they climbed in her car and headed towards the shopping district of Reefside. She had, had very little time to think about her dress lately and she was hoping that she could find one today, although she doubted it in some ways. She had an idea of what she wanted her bridesmaids to wear, but she didn't know what she wanted herself to wear, which was not good. She wanted to shock Tommy, but she did not know how she was going to do that, as he had gotten more used to seeing her in one of his, various, signature colors.
"Kim, that's not like you. You haven't thought about it any?" Trini asked, pulling her hair into a long ponytail and looking over at her best friend. She was shocked that Kim would not have any idea what she wanted, everyone had thought she had this planned since she first met Tommy, all of those years ago, but Trini was the only one who knew about the continued concerns on her end. If something were to happen, while Tommy was helping the rangers, before the wedding, she would never forgive herself for not being out there with him in that particular situation. Trini had doubted that Tommy would ever go back into action, full time, unless they all did, to do away with Mesogogg and that would be a long way down the road or so she hoped, but their conversation last night changed her mind. Tommy was willing to go back into action, to protect Kim, at whatever price he had to pay, although Trini was sure she did not even want to hear about that option at the moment. All she wanted to think was that Tommy would stay put, in the command center, although they knew that was very unlikely, by what he had been doing already.
"It's not that I haven't thought about it Trini, it's that every time I have, I think of something different that I want for myself. I just want Tommy to like me in the dress; I don't care if the rest of the world hates it that's all that matters to me," Kim said, as Trini caught a hint of sadness in her voice. Although she had no clue why Kim would be sad about any of this, as she was finally getting to marry Tommy, the man that she had been in love with since the day that she met him at the Juice Bar. Unless something was going on with her family and there was always a chance of that, which was very sad.
"Your parents going to be able to make it?" Trini asked, as Kim inhaled a shaky breath at the mention of her parents. Her mom, had already sent her the travel plans she was making, which would have her arriving in Reefside a week before the wedding to help them with some of the last minute plans, but her father, well he was another story in itself.
"My mom, will, she's going to come in a week before the wedding, but Dad hasn't gotten in touch with me yet, although Kenny has. He said if Dad doesn't show that day, then he'll walk me down the aisle," Kim said, taking one hand off the wheel and taking a swallow of water from the bottle she had brought with her. She knew this subject was bound to come up with Trini, but she had hoped that it would not have been on this particular visit to Reefside. She had already had enough stressful things happen this week and this was just reminding her of one more problem that was going on in her life.
"Kim, I'm sure he'll make it to the wedding. He always liked Tommy, when you were in high school, and he knows that he makes you happy. That's what is important," Trini said, as Kim could only give her a sad smile. She hadn't talked to Tommy about it and probably wouldn't, unless her father didn't show at all. He already had so much on his mind, with having to deal with the new rangers, school, the dojo, and now Richard. She didn't want to burden him with one more thing to worry about. Although, she had the sneaking suspicion that he had overheard the conversation she had, had with her brother a few weeks ago, and was already preparing himself for the potential upset that could befall them.
"That was before all of this happened and now, I have no clue what he thinks of Tommy or me, for that matter. When we went to defeat Nicarni-Aso, I missed a dinner he had invited me to with his job, I had thought I would be able to make it. I called him when we got back and tried to explain, but he said he understood and I left it at that, but I don't know what I'll do if he doesn't show up," Kim said, pulling her black Honda Accord into a vacant parking spot. It was going to be a long day of shopping if they didn't choose the right stores and she knew that. "Let's shop for all of you first, then we can look for me."
"Oh no, Mrs. Oliver. I can choose some bridesmaid things, if you'll give me the criteria for it. You are the one that they need to be looking at, not us, so let's start with you first," Trini said, as Kim gave her a smile and a quick hug before they entered David's Bridal. It was nice to have her best friend there for her, when she needed her the most.
"Thanks, Trini. I was thinking about a dark green for all of you. I know that it would mean a lot to Tommy if we tried to bring in our colors," Kim said, as Trini looked at her in shock. She had fully expected to be put in some shade of pink and was willing to do that for Kim, but Kim had something else in mind, something no one would expect, not even the fellow rangers.
"Kim, does Tommy know about any of this?" Trini asked, apprehensive to what her friend was planning for the wedding. If Tommy knew what was going on, it would all be fine, but if he didn't, things would not be likely to go well.
"Yeah, he does, although he doesn't understand why I want to use most of his colors, not my own color. I want him to be as happy as I am and this will make him happy," Kim said, as Trini nodded her head and followed behind Kim as she looked at the dresses. Several had caught her eye already, but she was a little bit hesitant to pick up any, as she was not in the mood to try on many dresses today. After awhile she had picked up five dresses, each with its own special qualities, but which one would knock Tommy's socks off? She could only hope that it would be one in her pile or she would have to go out and select some more dresses.
"I found some to try on too, you don't mind, do you?" Trini asked, holding up a few bridesmaid gowns and two piece sets, as they were trying to fit a multitude of body types. Kim would ultimately choose the dress as it looked on her, but Trini hoped that she would take into consideration all of the others and deep down, she knew that she would.
"No, I don't Trini. That would actually help a lot," Kim said, as she went to slip into the first dress in her small pile. If she did not find her dress in this pile, then she would have to look some more, although they were planning to meet Tommy and Jason for a late lunch and they were going to have to get a move on if they were going to do that.
"Kim, we have a problem," Trini said, stepping out in a dark green dress, that managed to hit her mid calf, which she knew Kim did not want. It looked long enough on the rack, but obviously, it was not long enough for her.
"Trini, maybe you need to get out of the petite section," Kim said, walking out in a halter dress, with a long train, which she knew she would be lucky to not trip over on the way down the aisle. Her clumsiness was known, amongst their friends and she did not want to have any extra excuses on that day. She was going to be nervous enough as is, and the last thing she needed to worry about was tripping over her own two feet while walking down the aisle. That would just make for some beautiful wedding pictures.
"And maybe you need to go back into the petite section, Kim, that dress swallows you whole," Trini said, as the fabric puddled at Kim's feet. There had been times when she wished that she was Kim's height, but now was not one of those times.
"I know, but maybe the next one will be better," Kim said, going back into her dressing room and unzipping the dress. She looked at the next one on the hanger and sighed, it was by no means her favorite, but maybe it would look all right on her. They spent the next hour trying on various dresses and had managed to find the bridesmaid dresses before noon, but they were still looking for hers then. She hated to call the guys and tell them that they would be late, but she got the feeling that there class had run a little over, as neither Tommy nor Jason answered their cell phones.
"Kim, what's taking so long?" Trini asked, as Kim had taken ten minutes to change from her last dress into this one. She could only hope that Kim had not had an emotional breakdown from all of the stress and the lack of finding a dress she really liked.
"Nothing, do you like it?" Kim asked, walking out in yet another wedding dress. Trini could only stare, as her friend walked over to look in the full-length mirror. Tommy was going to love that dress, she had no doubt about that one, now if only she could make sure that she bought it.
"You have to get that one," Trini said, as Kim smiled and spun around happily. It had taken them a lot longer than she had hoped, but they had managed to find a dress that met Kim's standards. They had decided on a dark green spaghetti strapped dresses for the bridesmaids and her dress just seemed to make the fairytale come true.
Karate Class"Hey everybody," Tommy said, as Jason and he walked into the dojo, carrying bags of extra clothes with them. Jason had only been inside the place a handful of times and he still could not believe how nice of a place it was. There were days when he wished that he had opened his own dojo in Angel Grove, but other things had caught his eye, namely helping kids with sports' injuries. He had, had enough of his own to know what a pain it was to go through it, with no rehab available at school and now he was Angel Grove High School's athletic trainer, as well as the middle schools, when they needed him. He could have never taught the way that Tommy did, but he still liked his, somewhat, limited involvement with the kids and every once in a while, Ernie called him up to do an exposition, so it wasn't that bad. If he had, had to leave his karate lifestyle in the past, completely, he wouldn't have been happy, but that was what his friends were for.
"Who's the new guy, Dr. O?" Conner asked, his curiosity peaked as the man looked vaguely familiar, although he could not place exactly where he had saw him from before. As he knew that he should know who he was, just by Tommy's facial expression that occured when he asked the question. He had missed a class earlier this week and he knew he needed the extra practice, even if he wasn't with people of his own ability level. He was more than willing to admit that they would probably whoop his ass, as Tommy had a few times already, but Tommy had insisted they make three classes a week, no exceptions. He was beginning to be glad that he did, as they had made enough progress to where Tommy didn't necessarily have to be in the battle, which was good, considering the amount of time they had been at it.
"This is Jason Scott, everyone. He's an old friend of mine and he's here to help some of you, refocus on this class. I think some of you have gotten too used to me and my teaching style, so maybe he will help you," Tommy said, as Jason nodded a hello to the class and saw shock showing up in one boy's eyes. This was the first red ranger that he was looking at and he could not believe that he was lucky enough to meet him, but he could not go haywire with everyone else around. They just thought it was one of Tommy's friends, nothing more, nothing less.
"Ashley," Tommy said, calling her over to where Jason and he stood, at the edge of one mat after they had finished sparring with each other. She needed a confidence boost, after the past two, rocky, weeks and Jason would help give her that, while he gave Charlie the workout of his life. "Will you work out with Jason today, so I can give Charlie some pointers?"
"Dr. Oliver, I have something to tell you," Ashley said, looking up at her teacher, with some apprehension in her eyes. She just hoped that it wasn't too late for them to agree to be the co-ed team, although she didn't know about anyone else that he had offered it to, as she was sure that news would have spread around their class like wild fire.
"You're not quitting on me, are you?" Tommy asked, as Charlie walked up behind her and placed a hand on his shoulder. Well, at least Charlie wasn't mad at her, which was a good sign and that was almost a sure-fire way of knowing that she was not quitting the program, thank goodness.
"No, we are going to take up the co-ed team position, if it's still open," Charlie said, as Tommy smiled and shook his head in disbelief.
"So the two of you are dating now?" Tommy asked, as Ashley blushed and gave him a sheepish grin. Several of the other members of their class were watching, hoping that the two of them had finally realized what they should have been doing for a long time.
"You have to excuse him," Jason said, looking over at Tommy, as the girl stepped away from Tommy and back into the boy's open arms. Well, maybe he was right, but why did he choose to ask her about it now?
"We're used to it by now," Charlie said, with a grin and gave Ashley a gentle shove towards Jason. She looked back at Charlie, a little bit worried about having to go up against Jason, as she knew nothing about him. If he was anything like Tommy, then she would be icing down some bruises later on that afternoon and she didn't particularly want to go through that today.
"I'm not that bad," Jason said, with a smile, as he sensed the girl's nervousness at having to go up against a complete and total stranger. He was going to test her, but he did not want to overwhelm her, yet. If she was anywhere close to being his equal, then he would lay it on her, but he was going to start out easy, just to be on the safe side. "Is it because I'm one of Tommy's friends?"
"Yeah, he's kinda rough on us," Ashley said, as Jason laughed at her gentle description of Tommy's teaching style and karate in general. He could only imagine what he did to his advanced students and they would not appreciate it until they were long gone from here, possibly working in dojo's like this one.
"Don't hold anything back. I've been around him long enough to know most of his shortcomings," Jason said, as he took his position across from her on the mat. 'Let's see what Tommy has been teaching these kids.'
"Tommy, you sure she's gonna be alright with him?" Charlie said, watching as Ashley took a tentative stance on the mats, in front of the much stronger looking Jason Scott. He would have rather went up against Jason first and then let her go up against him later. That way they would know if he were anywhere near as bad as Tommy, which was what they all suspected after seeing the two of them go at it.
"Charlie, don't worry about her, Jason is not as aggressive as I am, by any means," Tommy said, as Ashley landed a kick square in Jason's chest and watched him flinch, out of partial shock at what had happened. Jason then stole a glance over at Tommy and Charlie, which assured him that this girl could take the worst that he had to dish out to her. Well, maybe he should treat her like Trini, which was something he was scared to do. She was only a kid and he didn't want to add any more pressure to her, as he already felt that she had a great deal of pressure on her shoulders. "Come on, you're working with me today."
"I'm what?" Charlie asked, as Tommy stood across from him on the mat. He looked like he had some things on his mind and Charlie wasn't sure if he was ready for this today. There were some days when it was a close draw between the two of them, but today, he got the feeling that he was going to be no match for Tommy and whatever was going on in his mind.
"You're going against me, you alright with that?" Tommy asked, as Charlie nodded his head and they soon went to work against each other. After about an hour, neither had given in to each other ploys and some of the others had stopped to watch them spar, except for Jason and Ashley. Who were busily working on trying to get each other to breakdown, but that had not happen yet either.
"No fair," Ashley said, as Jason tripped her up, over her own two feet no less, as he had made a swift approach for a roundhouse kick. She caught herself before her face crashed into the mat, but she had managed to jar one of her elbows, as she had not expected the fall. She rolled over to look up at Jason and just shake her head, sure he wasn't as bad as Tommy, that's a laugh.
"Let me help you up," Jason said, offering a hand to help Ashley up off the mats. As she extended her arm, she watched Tommy and Charlie spar, but something else caught her attention. Charlie had stopped concentrating on what he was doing when she had fallen and Tommy took advantage of that by kicking him in the side. Charlie then snapped back to reality as the pain traveled through him. If he were going to make it out of this meet with any more bruises, he had to concentrate on Tommy's actions and nothing else. "Ouch."
"Yeah," Ashley said, standing up and watching Charlie shake off the blow before turning his attention back to Tommy. Ashley looked fine, so he knew that Jason wasn't taking it too hard on her or so he desperately hoped. "He'll be alright, nothing a little ice won't cure."
"You sound like Kim," Jason said, as he remembered sometimes that Tommy and he had exchanged blows like that. She had always been the one there with an ice pack and Band-Aids, if they needed them and he could remember days when he wished that she would have been there to offer those, but she wasn't. She was truly scared to be at something that Tommy might even happen to accidentally show up at, not that any of these kids knew that one from looking at the two of them, but those that did were happy that it had all been resolved. "Come on, I think you've done enough for today. Why don't we go make sure that Tommy doesn't kill your boyfriend?"
"Ow," Charlie mumbled as he hit the mat, face first. Tommy hadn't been joking when he said he was going to work them hard, but this was a little bit ridiculous, as he had gone up against no one except him all day. There had to be some rulebook, somewhere that said that this was illegal, but until he found that rulebook, he was just going to have to deal with it and he knew that.
"Take it easy, man," Jason said, as the boy sat up and gave him a grateful smile, as he noticed it had pulled Tommy out of his full concentration he had, had while sparring against him. He looked to have been through a lot against Tommy today, but after looking at the girl, he seemed to calm down some. He wondered how many times he had looked at Trini the same way and Tommy or one of the others noticed it, while he tried to desperately keep it a secret. He later found out that it was well known among the rangers, but they didn't say anything, because he didn't say anything to them. They respected what he didn't want told, although they did not agree with his reasoning behind it in the least.
"Oops," Tommy said, reaching down to help Charlie up off the floor. The rest of the class had stopped working and were now waiting for Tommy to dismiss them, as it was his normal custom to let them out when he got tired on Saturday's. "Sorry, Charlie."
"It's alright, Tommy," Charlie said, as Kim and Trini entered the dojo, trying to be as discreet as possible, as if that was ever possible. A few of the guys let out some low whistles when they saw them, Conner included, which caused Tommy to turn and face the door. Good grief, if it wasn't teenage girls having a crush on him. Then the teenage boys were undressing Kim with their eyes, couldn't they just grow up.
"Guys, your teachers are over there," Kim said with a smile as she pointed towards where Jason and Tommy stood. Tommy placed a hand over his mouth to try to hide a smile that was forming on his lips, while Jason tilted his head back and laughed, at the looks on the boys' faces. She still had not changed, even with Richard being back in town.
"Class dismissed," Tommy said, hopping off of the mats and walking over to Kim. Trini had headed towards Jason the second he had started to talk. She looked happy, so he could only hope that she had found a dress today. "So, did you find a dress?"
"Yeah, but you're going to have to wait to see it," Kim said, with a grin, as he gave her a sweaty hug. At least that much was done, but they had to go get their rings later on this afternoon. The only thing was that they had to get some food first, no matter what Kim said, he was starving.
"I don't get a sneak preview?" Tommy asked, as she smiled up at him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before pushing him towards the locker room and a change of clothes. No matter how much he wanted to just go to eat in the clothes he was wearing, he knew that most other people would not be as receptive to how he looked or smelled after sparring for almost three hours with Charlie and Jason, although he had sparred with Jason at the beginning, to loosen himself up.
"No, now go change," Kim said, as Trini walked back over to where they stood. The students were beginning to exit the building, but Conner had hung back, as he seemed to want to meet Jason, knowing exactly who he was. She spotted the boy looking at Jason and trying to figure out how to start the conversation that he wanted to have, but needing a lot of help in starting it without it coming out the wrong way. "Conner, he's only human."
"You're Conner?" Jason asked, looking over at the boy who had responded to Kim's words, with an open mind. He didn't seem like the type of ranger he would have picked, but there was a fire inside of him that he could see, just by taking one look in the boy's eyes and that was more important than the outward appearance, of any ranger, look at Billy for instance, although he had changed over the years.
"Yeah, I know that is a surprise," Conner said, offering a hand for Jason to shake and he was soon pulled into a hug by the old, veteran, ranger. "But I hope I can do half the job that you did."
"I didn't do anything that the rest of us wouldn't have done," Jason said, as Kim and Trini smiled at Jason's modesty about his abilities. He had done a lot more for them, than anyone would ever know, except the other rangers. There were some things that they just couldn't share with people outside of their world, but one-day that would all change or so they hoped. That would be the day, when they could finally hang up their hats and say that the Earth would never be in danger again. Then they would be allowed to tell all the people that were important to them about what they had been, for all of those years.
"It's nice to meet you, but I have to get going. Kira is playing at Hayley's in a little while and I think she would kill me if I missed it," Conner said, as he turned to exit the building.
"Same here, have fun," Jason said, as he watched Conner leave the building and Tommy came out of the locker room, ready to finish out their day, which would hopefully not have any unexpected surprises for them. "That's your red?"
"Yeah, he's still a little bit insecure, but he'll find his place," Tommy said, as the former red ranger shook his head at how much he would give to be sixteen again and living his life as a ranger, without another thing to worry about, except the other rangers getting hurt. Oh, that was the life.
"We all had those times, Tommy, even the best of us," Kim said thinking back to a time when Tommy had doubted his place on their team. The only reassurance that he had gotten was that Rita had chosen him because he could rival the rangers with the skills that he held, within himself. It was tough on all of them, but the times that they had shared were what they remembered, more than the problems they had experienced along the way. Although they could all think of some problems that were definitely more predominant than others.
"Yeah," Trini agreed as they headed out of the dojo and started walking towards their cars. "Where to next?"
"Lunch," Tommy said, as his stomach growled loud enough that it caught Kim's attention and he gave her a sheepish smile. He had managed to grab some Hardee's on his way to the dojo, but it was now wearing off. He knew that he should have eaten a heavier breakfast, but he had been running late this morning, as usual. "Then we can go to Mrs. Sipper's. She's bound to have something in there that the two of us will like."
"Where do you want to eat?" Jason asked, as he was the least picky eater out of the bunch. They could choose wherever they wanted, as long as he could sit down and eat, in peace and quiet.
"I don't care, just no health food," Tommy said, looking sharply at Trini and Kim. The two of them were always trying to keep themselves in shape, not that it was a bad thing, but he couldn't stand to go somewhere and eat rabbit food today.
"So you want meat today, Tommy?" Kim asked with a smile, as she thought of a place that Tommy was sure to like. There was a little hole in the wall restaurant, close to Sipper's Jewelry, which specialized in things that were definitely not healthy for you. Ally had been missing home cooking one-day, when she discovered the place and had dragged Kim along after teaching their advanced class. She had to admit that she had not tasted food like that since she left Florida and was glad that there was a place like this, for occasions when she needed some food that reminded her of the good times she had, had in Florida. "I know a little place, but you have to follow me."
"Alright," Tommy said, as Jason and he hopped into his jeep. He knew that he could trust her to find a place that would curb the carving he was having, without making it as obvious as he would have. "What do you think they found?"
"You know that no one is supposed to know what the bride is going to look like, especially the groom," Jason said, very pointedly, as he shook his head at Tommy's curiosity. Tommy had told him about the colors that Kim had chosen, which shocked him a bit, but there was no use in asking Kim why, it would only confuse him more. "Now, the only thing I am worried about is what the bridesmaid's are wearing. Why did Kim pick those colors?"
"That's a long story, Jase, but I'll try to condense it for you. First, she wanted it to go with the season, so she looked at dark colors, which automatically threw pink out. Secondly, she wanted it to do with our ranger colors, somehow. She knows how much being a ranger means to me, but I also know how much it means to her too. So the reception will be decorated more for her than me, we agreed on that much," Tommy said, thinking back to the tiny struggle they had, had over decorations, but in the end he had stopped it and let her do what she wanted. If she was happy, then they could get married in a shack in the middle of nowhere, without any guests and he would be fine with it.
"So, green, white, red, and pink?" Jason asked, skeptically looking at Tommy. Kim had pulled off some wild things before, but this was something he had to see to believe it. "How is she going to pull that one off?"
"Jason, I don't ask. If I did I probably wouldn't be able to see the answer that she would give me," Tommy said, as Kim could surely describe it to him in great detail, but he would need a drawing to be able to understand all of it. He was not going to ask her to draw it for him, as that would take too much of her time and patience to complete.
"It's one of those things?" Jason asked with a smile. All of the guys were going to get fitted for their tuxedos in Angel Grove on Tuesday, as that was where they were planning to hold the wedding. It was inconvenient for most of their wedding party to come to Reefside and besides, Angel Grove was where everything started for them and it was nice to be able to go back to it, sometimes.
"Jason, when you and Trini get married, come back and tell me if it is one of those things," Tommy said, looking at Jason, with a grin on his face. He had the feeling that Jason was going to pop the question sometime in the near future, if only he could get up the courage and with any luck, it would not take another heavy battle and a worst fear from hell to get him to do it this time. If it did take that, then they might be waiting another ten years before Jason finally felt enough pressure to ask her.
"How did you know I was thinking about that?" Jason asked, as Tommy could only shrug his shoulders. Most of the rangers had developed a sixth sense around each other and were able to feel out the others emotions without saying a word. Jason and Tommy, however, seemed to be able to know what the other was thinking much more often than they wanted to admit and sometimes that was not a good thing.
"Just a guess, Jason," Tommy said, as he let his mind wander to the plans he had made for their honeymoon. This was the one thing he had made sure would be a surprise for Kim and she had let him do that, thank goodness. If she hadn't, he would have fought with her until he got his way on this one, but she didn't resist when he told her he would like to plan the honeymoon. It was just one less thing she would have to worry about.
"Now what do you have up your sleeve?" Jason asked, as Tommy was smirking at what he was thinking about.
"Just thinking about what I have planned for the honeymoon," Tommy said, as Kim's car pulled into a tiny parking lot. "She's going to be surprised."
"How surprised?" Jason asked, knowing some of Kim's tendencies when she was shocked.
"She shouldn't faint, Jason," Tommy said, as he got out of his jeep and headed towards the entrance of the small restaurant. He could not see a name anywhere, but was sure that would not matter once he got inside. He just wanted something to eat. "Hey, don't mention anything to her, I want it to be a complete surprise."
"I'm sure it will be," Jason said, as the girls' filed in, in front of them and seated themselves in the back room.
"Hey, Dr. Oliver," Cassidy said, as she brought out the menus and passed them to the occupants of the table. Tommy did everything he could do to try to not physically cringe at the sight of her, so he somehow drew in a deep breath and smiled at the girl. Jason and Trini tried not to laugh at Tommy's reaction, but Kim just gave his hand a squeeze, which caused him to look over at her. They all knew who this girl was and could only hope that she had become less of a problem, as she had gotten older, although from Tommy's reaction, she seemed to be the same as she was a couple of years before. "What can I get you to drink?"
"Two waters," Tommy said, knowing that Kim would drink that, no matter how long of a day it had been for her and that she didn't really want to speak to the girl, as she seemed to be pouring on the charm, for some reason.
"Sweet tea," Jason said, as Trini looked at him, as if he might have lost his mind. She had never drunk the beverage before, but from what she had heard, she was going to stick to water.
"And for you miss?" Cassidy asked, as Trini had gotten lost in her small daydream.
"Water," Trini said, as Jason settled an arm around her shoulder and felt her rest her head on his shoulder.
"What do you suggest?" Tommy asked, as he looked at the menu and saw that only a few things looked familiar to him, while Jason and Kim seemed to know what most of it was.
"The steak sounds good," Jason said, as he looked at the menu. If Tommy was going for something that would fill him, a good dose of what seemed to be Southern cooking, would do that for him. He had only had a few meals like this before, when he went down to Miami to visit Kim while she was still training, and he would be happy to have another one now. Especially knowing the amount of stress that they had all been under lately, this was definitely a welcome meal for them, although Tommy did not know what anything was.
"That's on here?" Tommy said, looking at the menu and seeing Kim cover her mouth to keep from openly laughing at him. He had not seemed to see the heading 'steaks' and Kim went to fish in her purse for Tommy's extra pair of glasses, as he had left his other pair at home this morning, in his rush to get to the dojo on time.
"Here," Kim said, handing him the small pair of glasses, as he could only mock glare at her. He had to admit that his eyesight was not what it used to be, but having her pull out his extra pair of glasses for him, didn't help his self image any. "Can you see it now?"
"Yes, ma'am. I sure can," Tommy said, as he picked out what he wanted and watched Cassidy head back towards their table, with drinks in tow.
"Now, can I take your order?" Cassidy asked, after she set down the last drink. She looked at Tommy first and he took that as her cue that he should begin.
"I'll take the rib-eye, medium well, with a baked potato and green salad with ranch," Tommy said, and then handed the menu to Cassidy.
"And for you, Mrs. Oliver?" Cassidy said, as Kim looked up at the girl and shook her head. Oh well, she might as well get used to being called Mrs. Oliver, although it was a little bit early for that one.
"I'd like the grilled chicken salad with ranch," Kim said and then Trini and Jason ordered their meals. Trini got the same thing that Kim did and Jason, the same as Tommy. It was just weird how it worked out that way too many times.
"So, we know that the wedding is on the fifteenth, but where are you going on your honeymoon?" Trini asked, as she had been trying to pry it out of Kim all morning, but she said that it was a surprise.
"That's a surprise," Tommy said, as Trini looked back and forth between Tommy and Kim, "for her more than me. It's my little gift to all of this."
"Oh, I didn't know that," Trini said, as Tommy gave her a warm smile and then their food came. Once the food had been placed on the table, their conversations stopped. Tommy and Jason were starved from the class this morning and Kim and Trini knew better than to try to disturb their eating lunch, as it would not be pretty if they did. They soon wrapped up there and headed to the jewelry store.
Sipper's Jewelry Store"Hello, Mr. Oliver. It's been awhile since you've been in here," Mrs. Sipper said, as Tommy walked into her store, with his fiancé and some friends in tow this time. The last time he had come in alone and she just thanked God that she had not run him away with her awkward reaction to him wanting to buy an engagement ring, for the sweetheart that he had decided on. Yeah, there were some unhappy teenagers, but most of them got over it, once they met her or at least Tanya had. Meagan happily bounced on a stool behind the counter, wanting to go talk to her teacher, but became shyer as she saw the other people with her. "What can I help you with?"
"Those wedding rings we talked about," Tommy said with a smile, as Trini separated from them and went to look at the rings that were displayed around the store. Why couldn't Jason buy her one of these? She was happy with him, but she did not think that they had the time to waste that the others did. They had been dating for two years and she could tell he had been thinking about marriage, but he had not brought it up to her and she just wished that he would go ahead and get the ball rolling. As she could only hope that it would not take another earth shattering event to get him to realize it this time.
"Hey, Meagan, you having a good weekend?" Kim asked, as the little girl chewed on her fingernails, but nodded her head yes towards her teacher. She looked shyly over at the man standing next to her, as the other one had retreated away. He was not the mean man that had bothered her teacher earlier that week and she was glad about that one. "I bet you're wondering who he is, aren't you?"
"Yeah," Meagan said, as Mrs. Sipper pulled out a few wedding rings, but held them off to the side as she watched her niece converse with Kim.
"He's Mr. Oliver, we're going to get married in a few months. That why we came into your aunt's store," Kim said, as the little girl stared up at Tommy, who was giving her a friendly smile.
"You teach at the dojo, too, don't you?" Meagan asked, as she could vaguely remember him being there during some of her karate lessons.
"Yeah, Rocky and me," Tommy said, as Mrs. Sipper decided to cut in on the conversation as it could last for hours, if Meagan ever got started.
"Meagan, sweetie, let me put these right here and if you want to talk to them some more you can in just a little bit," Mrs. Sipper said, as the little girl moved out of the way and walked over to some of the other cases.
"She's a sweetheart," Kim said, as the little girl went into the back room.
"Yeah, she's a lot like her mother," Mrs. Sipper said, as she tried to push the sad memories from her mind and focused on showing them the rings that she thought they would like the best.
"What are you looking at?" Jason asked, walking up and placing both of his arms around Trini and placing his chin on top of her head. He really didn't want to look at wedding rings with Kim and Tommy. He was sure that the two of them could handle that one on their own and maybe he could get an idea of what Trini would want as an engagement ring, when he finally went and bought one.
"Just some rings, Jason," Trini said and Jason sensed the melancholy mood she was in. He knew that she wanted them to get married soon, but he wasn't going to keep her waiting much longer, if he could help it.
"Are there any here that you like?" Jason asked, as Trini looked up at him questioningly. Well, if he were going to ask, then she would tell him.
"Yeah, that one," Trini said, pointing to a simple, pale yellow diamond, that was mounted on a golden band. He had to admit it was a nice ring and if he was definitely going to keep something like that in mind when he went ring shopping.
"That's a nice one," Mrs. Sipper said, walking over to them, as she had finished helping Kim and Tommy select their rings. They had picked simple, white gold bands. The edges of the rings had a slightly beveled edge, which complimented Kim's engagement ring. From what she had gathered, that was one of the last things they had left to buy and she was more than happy to help them with it. Meagan loved her teacher and she was glad that her niece was finally getting some of the energy that she had before the crash back, which made Kim feel good when she told her about it. "But I take it you're just looking today. Right, Mr. Scott?"
"Yeah, that's it for today," Jason said, as the woman gave him a knowing smile. Tommy must have told her about his plans and he didn't blame him since he was in a jewelry store. Jason was going to need all the help he could get and they all knew that.
"Feel free to come back any time you want," Mrs. Sipper said, as they headed towards the door. The bunch looked to be heading back home, to try to have a relaxing evening, which was something Tommy and Kim seemed to need, after another week from hell.
AN: Thanks for reading and I know that this has been a rather long chapter, but it needed to be put in here. I hope that I didn't bore you with all of this and feel free to review! Until next chapter, I hope you enjoyed!