Author's notes: Thanks to all who have reviewed so far. Glad you like it. This really IS a TK...next chapter starts the good stuff. Thank you for your patience during mynecessary exposition.It's going to be an epic!...Gina
Chapter 3: Secret Admirer
1992 Valencia Drive finally came into sight, which was a good thing, since by now Tommy was in a very melancholy mood. Spending the last thirty minutes reliving all of his past romantic failures was not exactly how he had planned to spend this beautiful Friday afternoon. At this point, he figured he'd better snap out of it, since the team would be there soon, and he'd hate to unintentionally take anything out on them.
Letting himself into the house, he mechanically put himself through his getting-home routine: check the snail mail, the e-mail, and the voice mail, change out of the teacher get-up of shirt, tie, chinos, and loafers, then grab a quick snack. Before he knew it, he heard the familiar sound of teenagers on the front porch. He opened the door before they had a chance to knock.
"Come on in guys and head downstairs. I'll be down when the others get here." Tommy told them.
"Sure thing, Dr. O." Ethan, the Blue Ranger answered.
As usual, the first two kids to arrive had been Ethan and Trent, the White Ranger. They usually came together, since Ethan didn't have a car and he and Trent lived close.
Ethan was the "brain" of the team. He was a self-described computer geek who liked nothing better than to spend the day online gaming or surfing the web. Like most nerdy kids, he was somewhat socially immature, but very easygoing, and he seemed to have found a real niche with his fellow Rangers.
As time has gone on, Tommy has even noticed some of their traits rubbing off on each other. As a result, Ethan has become more athletic, like Conner, and more stylish, like Kira. Conner seems to use a little more intellect, like Ethan, and is more considerate of others, like Kira. She, in turn, appears, like Conner, more socially gregarious, and like Ethan, more humorous.
The real loner of the group was Trent. Of all the Rangers, he is the one who reminded Tommy most of himself. The resemblances were uncanny. Both were adopted, although Trent was orphaned only a few years ago, but Tommy was just a baby. Trent is also quiet and shy like Tommy was as a teen, but like Tommy did, he, too, came out of his shell since being embraced by the security of the team. The biggest similarity, though, was the fact they both began their Ranger careers against their will as evil Rangers. History was repeating itself.
The fact that Trent was adopted by Anton Mercer was of no small concern to Tommy, however. Anton was thought dead when the island exploded. His sudden appearance in Reefside seemed almost eerie, especially since it happened at about the same time that the monster attacks began, necessitating the formation of a new team of Power Rangers. These days, Anton just didn't seem like the Anton who had been Tommy's mentor in graduate school. This new Anton was cold and removed, almost mechanical. Something about the whole thing set off alarms in Tommy's psyche, so having Mercer's son on the team made him anxious, but he was careful not to let Trent know this because so far, the kid has never given him cause to doubt his loyalty to the team.
Only another five minutes or so went by before the Red and Yellow Rangers arrived. As usual, Conner couldn't help himself from making some sort of wise crack.
"Hey, Dr. O, glad to see you're still in one piece. I guess Randall wasn't after your butt after all. We thought you were dead."
His comment momentarily reminded Tommy of Randall's come-on that morning. For once, Conner was right; she was after his butt, in the biblical sense, too, although he had no intention of sharing that little piece of information with the Rangers. Thank God for Kira, who, rolling her eyes at Conner's inane repartee, pushed him along downstairs, giving Tommy an understanding smile on her way. Tommy returned the smile, grateful for her sensitivity.
The last, but certainly not least, member of the team to arrive was Tommy's friend Haley. They met in graduate school when both were working in the campus labs late one night. While Haley was a Computer Science and Engineering major rather than paleontology, they still hit it off over a cup of coffee in the student lounge. From then on, she became one of Tommy's best friends. When he needed a place to stay after his breakup with Elizabeth, she gladly let him crash on her couch for a couple of weeks.
It was during this time that she confronted him with her own suspicions about what his extra-curricular activities were. Having a genius IQ combined with a surprising amount of common sense for one so smart helped her put two and two together. She knew, after he returned from the island, that he was in possession of three crystals of extraordinary power, and that he was looking for a way to channel it. After asking a few odd questions one day about how she would design a system for tracking energy signatures or if it was theoretically possible to build a device that could use that energy to tap into something called a morphing grid, she told him she wanted in on whatever he was up to. Tommy decided to trust her. She was a good friend, and he needed her expertise if her were to safely pull off the creation of the Dino Morphers.
Tommy came clean that night about his history as a Power Ranger, the research he and Mercer were doing on the merging of dinosaur DNA with technology, the discovery of the Dino Gems, and what happened on the island. It was then that she realized why Elizabeth thought he was cheating. The weight of all that knowledge on his shoulders was bound to make him behave suspiciously. She was happy to use her talents to help bear some of the burden.
Of course, Haley would by lying to herself if she denied that she was hoping their partnership would eventually develop some fringe benefits. The truth was inescapable. She was hopelessly in love with Tommy Oliver, and of course, he had no idea.
The more time she spent working in the labs with him, the more she found herself falling for him. He was not only outrageously good-looking, but he was kind, generous, funny, and, despite everything that he has seen and done, he still retained a boyish sense of innocence. The fact that he trusted her with his secret meant that he respected her. Her intelligence didn't threaten his ego and he was very evolved compared to most men she knew.
Haley never dared to hope that Tommy would ever return her love. He has not once given her any indication that he felt anything for her besides friendship. It may be a deep friendship, but that's all. She didn't think he was shallow, but Elizabeth was so beautiful. Haley had also seen pictures of his other girlfriends, Katherine and Kimberly. They were also stunning. If those were the kind of women he was attracted to, she couldn't possibly measure up. Her looks and figure were only average, at best, no matter how intellectually gifted she might be.
She had been there for him when his relationship with Elizabeth ended three years ago. He was fuming with anger when he showed up at her door at 5 in the morning. As the day went on, his anger had turned on himself for not having been a better judge of character. Eventually, his anger dissolved into profound sadness, and he all but cried on her shoulder over the loss. Tommy shared with her the histories of his other relationships, as well. Haley just couldn't believe that these women would take a guy like Tommy Oliver for granted. They obviously didn't appreciate what a fine catch he was. In fact, she had even considered apprehending Elizabeth, suddenly feeling fiercely protective of him.
She promised herself that if he could ever love her, she would never break his heart. By now, the love she felt for him was so strong that she sometimes thought her heart would burst. Their friendship meant the world to her, and she didn't want to do anything to jeopardize it, but she also didn't get where she was in life by not taking risks. It was time he knew how she felt. She has given him ample time to get over that bitch, and he hasn't dated anyone since. There would never be a better time. Soon, Haley was going to put it all on the line and she would know once and for all if her dream would come true.
"Hi, Tommy. Sorry I'm late. I bought a bunch of new laptops for the café. They were supposed to be delivered by 2:00, but naturally, they didn't get there until almost three." Haley apologized. "Tomorrow night, Ethan is going to help me install them into the network. Maybe now there won't be any more waiting lists to use the computers."
She was the owner of Haley's Cyberspace, a coffee house/smoothie bar with computers. Kids could do homework, play video games, chat on-line, or just chill with friends. Haley found that she preferred being her own boss to feeling exploited by high-tech corporations who just wanted her ideas. Recently, business has been booming. For a while, the place had a reputation as a geek hangout, but having kids like Conner McKnight and Kira Ford spending time there has done wonders to attract different types of crowds. Kira's band even played there regularly.
"That's OK, Haley. We haven't started yet. I don't have anything really formal planned for today anyway. The kids are downstairs, why don't you go on down. I'll be right there."
As she disappeared down the hidden stairway leading to the basement command center, Tommy debated telling her about Ms. Randall's pass at him that morning. Eventually, he decided not to mention it to anyone. Maybe then he, himself, could forget that it ever happened. Taking a deep breath to dispel any residual bad mood, he followed her down the steps.