Chapter 4: Chance Encounter

When Tommy got to the bottom of the stairs, the sight before him made him laugh to himself. The Rangers were scattered around the command center, each in their own little world. Conner was practicing bouncing a soccer ball from knee to knee; Kira sat in a corner, lightly strumming her guitar and singing to herself; Ethan had his laptop out, gaming away; and Trent sat at the command console with a sketch pad, designing his latest comic book hero.

They were all from different worlds. Before they became Power Rangers, they barely even knew each other's names. The only two with anything in common were Kira and Trent, both being the artsy types. In a way, they sort of reminded Tommy of Billy and Trini from the original team. They shared a special bond, understanding each other instinctively, and if Tommy wasn't mistaken, there was a fair amount of attraction there, too.

Well, the sooner he got started, the sooner he could set them loose to enjoy their weekend. He loudly cleared his throat. They immediately looked up from their activities.

"Guys? OK, listen up. Seeing how it's Friday, and that you all would like to have lives, I thought we'd just go over some hand-to-hand combat techniques this afternoon. That seems to be where the team as a whole takes the worst beating. It's easy to fire a weapon from a distance, but when you get up close, it's important to be able to defend yourself. Your suits might be able to deflect energy blasts, but they don't offer any protection against broken bones. These Tyrannodrones are getting stronger and bolder, and now we also have the Triptoids to deal with, too."

This was Tommy's special area of expertise. He had been studying martial arts since the age of four, and now, as a sixth degree black belt, he was lethal on the battlefield.

"Alright! Dr. O, can I practice on Conner?" Ethan asked.

It took about 3 seconds for the Blue Ranger to feel a soccer ball bounce off his skull. The others laughed as Ethan rubbed his head, even Tommy and Haley. It was obvious that the only thing seriously hurt was his pride.

"No. I'm not going to have you attacking each other just yet. Someone's bound to get hurt. Unmorphed, you don't have the stronger defensive instincts afforded you by being tapped into the morphing grid. You're going to practice on me. I know how to safely deflect an attack without injuring my opponent. I won't counter-attack just yet. Once you have the techniques down, then you'll practice together. Ok, let's get started."

With that, Tommy took the group, minus Haley, through a series of stretches and warm-up exercises, then he taught them a couple of basic katas, utilizing several different combinations of blocks, strikes, and kicks. Eventually, they moved on to more complicated moves, each Ranger taking turns practicing with Dr. Oliver.

An hour later, the kids were slumped in a heap on the mats Tommy had spread on the command center floor, exhausted. Haley sat near the back of the room, welding torch in hand, making adjustments to the Raptor cycles. Tommy had made his way to the weight machines in the corner. In no way was that enough of a workout for him, so he proceeded to do several sets of lifts, working each individual muscle group.

Conner had gone upstairs to retrieve some water for the gang while the group took a moment to recover from their training session. Tommy grabbed a towel to dry the sweat from his face and took a bottle from his student, nodding his thanks. Haley had finished her work on the bikes, and was sitting up at the console with Trent. Suddenly, Tommy looked up as if startled.

"Haley, what time is it?" He asked excitedly.

"About 5:15, why?"

Shit!

"I had something I had to do this afternoon. I almost forgot…gotta go, guys, enjoy your weekend. Maybe I'll see ya at the cafe…" Tommy said rapidly as he threw down the towel and ran up the stairs. A few seconds later, his Jeep could be heard screeching out of the gravel driveway and down Valencia Road.

Haley couldn't resist the chuckle that escaped her throat. Tommy was notoriously forgetful. She was forever teasing him about it in graduate school, which he claimed had been the story of his life since high school.

"What's up with him?" asked Ethan.

"Yeah, he sure ran out of here in a hurry. Do you know what he's gotta do, Haley?" Kira questioned.

"Maybe he does have a hot date," Trent joked.

"Stop! Ewww! No! Just don't even joke about that, it's gross!" As usual, Conner was the first to comment

"What's gross?" the White Ranger didn't know what he said wrong.

"Dr. O having a date, that's what's gross. He's a teacher. Teachers don't date. That's like thinking of your parents having sex. It's disgusting."

"Dr. O dating isn't quite the same as parents having sex, Conner. Now, Dr. O having sex, that's pretty gross, but just dating, well…that's not as gross," Trent countered.

"You guys are such morons," Kira started. "Why's it so hard to believe that a young, good-looking guy like Dr. Oliver would have a date? I mean, come on, when you're his age, you'll still like girls if you're not married. Maybe he's looking for a wife." Boys were so dumb sometimes.

Conner couldn't let that go. "He's not young! Wait a minute…you think Dr. O's hot, Kira? Get out, you're making me sick here."

"All the girls at school think he's hot, for a teacher, I mean. Besides, he was a man before he was a teacher. I think you guys are just jealous that he has a date tonight and you don't."

Up until now, Haley simply observed this exchange between the teens with amusement, but what the Yellow Ranger said caught her attention. She figured she'd better speak up before this conversation got any further out of hand.

"Wait a minute! Guys!" Haley had to almost yell to be heard above the friendly argument that had erupted amongst the team. They all turned to stare at her. "What just happened here? I don't know what Tommy had to do today, but I highly doubt it was a date. Besides, he's had girlfriends…and don't call him old, thank you very much. I'm older!"

"Girlfriends?" That caught Ethan's attention, who up until now had pretty much kept his mouth shut. As resident nerd, the topic of girls was not his area of expertise. His last, not to mention only, date had been a disaster. "Come on, Haley. Don't hold out on us here."

"No, no, no…NO way! Forget it!"

"Awwww, Haley. Come onnn! Pleeeesssee?" All three kids pleaded in unison.

"We won't tell him what you said, we promise." Conner could whine better than a toddler.

"If you want information, you're going to ask him yourselves, but don't expect him to answer you, though. Tommy's intensely private about things like that. He embarrasses very easily."

And that was the truth. Haley could just imagine Tommy's reaction if the kids suddenly started asking him about his past romantic relationships. He'd probably turn fifty shades of red. She knew how shy he was where women were concerned, and she had too much respect for him to divulge the details of his personal life.

Of course, it bothered Haley more than she cared to admit to think about Tommy with another woman. She knew she had no reason to be jealous, especially of just the simple thought of it, but she couldn't help herself. As long as he wasn't seeing anyone, it left the possibility open for her to have him. The problem was, the Rangers' little discussion reminded her that he could be swept up by some other woman at any time. If she was going to make her move, maybe she ought to do it soon, before it was too late. Her mother always said there was no time like the present, and come to think of it, Haley didn't have any other plans this weekend.

Her mind made up, she dismissed the teens to go enjoy their Friday night. She knew she would see them sometime this weekend at the cybercafé. For now, she had plans to make for the seduction of one Tommy Oliver.

Kimberly Hart left Reefside Memorial Hospital feeling pretty good about herself. She had just aced an interview with the manager of the laboratory. They had a position open for a supervisor in their blood bank, and Kim was thrilled when they called her in Florida about the job. She flew in just a few hours ago, and would be staying until Tuesday morning. The Medical Director of the lab would like to meet with her as well, but he wasn't available until Monday afternoon. Until then, she had the whole weekend to spend in Reefside. The only problem was that she didn't really have anything to do.

Well, there's always shopping…she thought with a smile.

Kim still didn't know how she ended up in the field of Clinical Laboratory Science. She had always loved biology in high school, but she never expected to make a career out of it. Now that she was doing it though, she found it fascinating. Every sample received in the lab was a mystery waiting to be solved, and when it was, the patient was that much closer to getting better. After all, a doctor can't treat a patient until he knows what's wrong. That's where the lab comes in.

In the past few years, she found herself specializing in the section of the lab that matches and prepares blood for transfusion. It was an exciting area because each unit of blood released could make the difference between life or death. On the flip side, one mistake, and a patient could receive a unit of the wrong blood type and be dead in a matter of just a few hours. Highly trained Blood Bank technologists were worth their weight in gold, and there were hundreds of openings in hospitals across the country for someone with experience.

Kim had been working in the lab at a large academic medical center in central Florida for the last 7 years, but she just wasn't happy there anymore. She was tired of the East coast. As a native California girl, she missed the mild climate and eccentric people of her home state. In truth, her distaste for the southeast part of the country probably had more to do with some of the experiences she had there. Her life blew up in Florida, and although that was almost ten years ago, it still left her with a bad taste in her mouth.

Though she was weary of the sunshine state, it wasn't until recently that Kim seriously considered moving home. It takes an incredible amount of emotional energy to make a change, even if it means remaining discontented with the familiar. Why right now felt like the right time to act, she didn't know, but if she has learned anything else by being on her own, it was to trust her instincts.

It was also her instincts that led her to Reefside. When she began scanning the internet and various professional publications for available jobs, she had no idea where she wanted to go. Although she was born and raised in Angel Grove, she didn't have any desire to settle there again. There were a lot of memories there. Maybe they weren't bad memories, but they were reminders of a previously happy life, and she hasn't been truly happy since, but right now she didn't want to think about that.

Whether it was their eye-catching ad, or their inviting description of life in Reefside, she didn't know, but something about it made her immediately send Reefside Memorial her resume. Walking through the busy streets of downtown, Kimberly marveled at how great she felt, better than she has in a long, long, time. This was a beautiful city, large enough to have lots of opportunity, yet with a friendly small-town atmosphere. The hospital had a state-of-the-art laboratory, and the other technologists greeted her with warm enthusiasm. She could tell that they were as impressed with her as she was with them.

This place just felt right. It felt like home.

For now, though, Kim wanted to get back to her hotel and change out of this suit. She was staying at the Marriott about two blocks away from the hospital. To save money, she opted not to rent a car since the lady in the Human Resources department told her that everything she would need was within walking distance.

It was just after 5:00 on this beautiful Friday afternoon. On the cab ride from the airport, Kim thought she saw a big shopping center about a half a mile up the main road, and she couldn't think of a better way to spend her evening. She's been a self-proclaimed shop-a-holic since junior high. Some things never change.

Stopping back at her room, Kimberly slipped her petite 5'2" frame out of her interview clothes and into comfortable jeans, sandals, and a sleeveless black top. Checking herself in the bathroom mirror, she reached up and pulled the combs from her just-below shoulder-length hair, shaking down the conservative up-do she wore to the interview. This past year, she decided to have her hair highlighted in warm, red tones. Her naturally caramel colored locks always had an auburn tint to them, especially in the sun, so this looked very becoming. After a quick freshening of her makeup, she grabbed her purse and headed out the door.

Stopping at the front desk, Kim asked the clerk for directions to the one thing she needed before her excursion could begin: an ATM. She usually used her credit cards or her checkcard to make purchases, but she figured she'd better have some cash for food or cab fare, just in case she bought too much to carry comfortably. The lady said there was a bank with a teller machine about a block up the street. One last glance at the clock in the lobby told her it was almost 5:45, leaving her just over three hours to shop before the stores close…plenty of time to do significant damage to the Visa.

All the way into town, Tommy mentally berated himself for forgetting that he needed to go to the bank this afternoon. He was refinancing his house, and he had to sign the papers in front of a notary public. Since it was Friday, they were open until 6:00, but he wasn't sure if the woman he was supposed to see was going to be there that long.

Using all of the driving skills gained during his early college years spent racing on his uncle's stock car team, the handsome science teacher made it to the bank in record time. He quickly turned the corner onto the main street, hoping to be fortunate enough to find a parking space on the street.

Yes! Just in front of the entrance to Reefside Federal Savings, a man was getting ready to pull out of his spot. Tommy pulled up near the rear of the Ford Explorer, and maneuvered the Jeep right in as soon as it was gone. A quick time check told him it was 5:35. He kept his fingers crossed that he could get this done today. Reaching into the backseat, he grabbed his briefcase with his copies of the mortgage agreement and his glasses, then ran into the bank.

Tommy Oliver emerged from the bank just before six feeling pretty lucky. Not only did he get a great parking space, but the notary lady was still there. Even better, the final credit check qualified him for an interest rate almost a half of a point lower than originally quoted.

Just before getting back into the Jeep, the thought occurred to him that it was payday. He usually never forgot that, but maybe today he was subconsciously suppressing everything to do with work because of Principal Randall. Well, since he was here, he figured he ought to withdraw some money for the weekend.

Making his way back onto the sidewalk, he spotted an auburn-haired woman standing in line at the ATM. He could only see her from behind at this point, but something about her was so familiar. Tommy got in line. There were two people between him and the woman, so although his curiosity was killing him, he decided to just be patient until she was done and he could see her face.

Five minutes later, the mystery lady was done with her turn at the cash machine. Taking a couple steps to the side of the line, the red-head spent a couple seconds filing her receipt and tucking her wallet back into her purse. By now, Tommy could almost see her in profile, except that her long hair was partially obscuring her face. Still, Tommy saw enough to have developed a suddenly rapid heartbeat. It couldn't be…

His mind was reeling. What would Kimberly Hart be doing in Reefside? No, that wasn't her. Kim's hair wasn't that color, but she was built like that…

Then, of course, the woman looked up, ready to make her way down the street, and Tommy wouldn't have been more stunned if Mesogog dropped from the sky wearing a hoop skirt, signing show tunes, and playing the ukulele. Ok…need to find voice…

"Kimberly?"

Author's note: Muchos apologies for the astronomical length of this chapter. There was a lot to accomplich, and I promised you fine readers that Kimberly would appear this chapter. We're in the thick of it now...stay tuned. Reviews are appreciated!