Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers or anything related to the series. I do own the characters of Alex Myers and Jamie.
"Kim, how have you been feeling? You've been too quiet today," Alex said, as Kim continued to stare off into space. She did not know why she felt so horrible today, but it was much worse than it had been lately. She was more worried about the rangers than she had allowed herself to be in weeks. She just had this feeling about how things were going today and she hadn't even bothered to look at the news. In her gut, she knew that things had gone badly.
"Kim, phone call," Jamie said, as she held onto the phone, knowing that the person on the other end was clearly distressed, although he was trying to hide it. "I think it's Jason."
"Jason, what's going on?" Kim asked over the phone, as she had not heard from anyone in California since she had written Tommy that damn letter, not that she really blamed them. They had to be loyal to those that were still rangers, in order to keep the team alive and going.
"Kim, I don't know how to tell you this, but Tommy's been hurt," Jason said, as Kim sat in her living room of her suite and stared over at a picture of the two of them and then began crying.
She knew that he was dating Katherine now, so she didn't understand why Jason was calling her when she had alienated all of them from her life. The only reason he would be calling her was if something was horribly wrong and Tommy had asked him to do this. She was sure that he had been hurt a lot during the last few months, but they had not called her every time that something happened.
"Why are you calling me Jase? He has Kat now, she should be the one hearing this news, not me. You know that," Kim managed to choke out as the tears continued to flow without her caring that she was receiving some odd stares from her roommate and her boyfriend. They had never seen her burst into tears about bad news on the telephone and they could only imagine that it had to do with her family.
She didn't like admitting those words to anyone, that Tommy really was dating someone else, but she had no choice but to say them now. She couldn't deal with the reality of it, but she was going to have to do so in order to be able to move on with her life. She only hoped that she would be able to do that as she knew that there was only one person that she truly loved and she would never feel the same about anyone else.
"Kim, before he passed out, he asked me to call you. You're coming out here, get by yourself as quickly as you can," Jason said, as she hung up the phone and Kim headed towards her room, trying to wipe the tears away without calling anymore attention to herself. She knew better than to not do what Jason said or she would be teleported out in front of her friends and that would surely freak them out.
"Are you alright?" Jamie asked, as Kim shook her head yes, but continued onto her room, without stopping to answer anymore questions that might come her way. She did not have to time to do that and she might be able to deal with this later, but not now. She knew that she had to do what Jason said and deep down she wanted to do what he said.
"Kimberly," Alex said, as he followed her into her room.
He had no clue of the position that he was about to put himself in as he reached the door and twisted the doorknob. When he walked inside, Kim looked mortified to have him in the room, but as he stepped to give her a hug, he felt the oddest sensation and suddenly knew that whatever was wrong, was on a huge scale. It was much more than just a simple call from Angel Grove.
"Kim?" Rocky asked, as he saw her land in the command center with this look on her face that told him that she knew what was going on. He, however, could not help but wonder who the other man was that was standing in the Command Center, wondering what the hell he had gotten himself into by giving her a hug.
Alex quickly noticed a familiar face in Jason and saw that he was worried about Alex's reaction to this. Jason had expected for Kim to come alone, but that had obviously been changed, as they had landed while hugging each other. He had no clue how to tell Kim this sort of news and wondered if she was going to be able to take what was said. She had never liked hearing that Tommy was hurt.
She did not know exactly what was wrong, but she did know that Tommy was hurt and that was enough information for her. He, however, didn't know how to tell her that Katherine was with him right now, although they all knew that she was the only one that he wanted there right now. She was the only one that he had something to say to if this went wrong and it very well might this time. He had never been hurt this bad and they couldn't help but think about the possibility of losing him.
"Is he alright?" Kim asked, as Jason looked down at the floor and the other rangers watched as she stood there and looked at the floor, hoping it had answers, knowing that he was stalling for time. She knew him too well, but she was not going to press him as quickly as she would under normal conditions. She didn't want to hear what was wrong with him, she didn't know if she could take the silence much longer. "Jase, is he? Don't lie to me, damn it. Is he alright?"
"We…we…we don't know," Jason managed to finally say as Kim sobbed while Tanya watched with a bit of wonder present. She could tell that Kim still cared, even if it might not have appeared that way to Tommy.
Alex just stepped away and looked at the place and then at his girlfriend. He knew that there was only one person that could be hurt and he hated to know that he might have to fight the man to keep Kim. He could easily do that, but could he fight what her heart wanted? It was starting to become more clear to him that she was not just his and he didn't know what he had done to her when she had left Tommy. He was now getting the idea of what those first few weeks must have been like.
Tanya had never met Kim before, but she got the feeling that her breaking up with Tommy had been a huge mistake on her part, but who was the guy with her? She really did love him and she got the feeling that Kat was not going to be too happy when she saw her walk in, even though they had broken up a few days ago because Tommy just didn't feel strongly enough about her. It was bound to hurt Kat, knowing that she had come to be with him now, when Kat had been there over the last few months, but Tommy was the only one that they were trying to make happy. If he died tonight, at least he would be able to die happy and that was what he deserved.
"Can I see him?" Kim asked, as Jason and Rocky exchanged a look, knowing that Kat might go off on Kim for showing up, although they had merely done what he had asked them to do. They weren't going to disrespect his wishes when he was only asking for a favor, if he was to really die this time he at least deserved to get to see her one more time. "Jason… can I see him?"
"Kimberly, he's very sick. It might not be a good idea for him to see you. We don't want to shock him," Zordon said, as Kim looked up at him and then shook her head that that couldn't be so.
They would not have brought her out there if she was not supposed to see him. They wouldn't have brought her out here to stand in the middle of the damn Command Center crying like an idiot, as Alex watched on and saw the other part of her life that he would never understand. Tommy would not have asked for her to come if he didn't want to see her at all. She knew that much about the man, even if she didn't know much more about him anymore. She knew that he must be in serious trouble to ask for her and the least she could do is tell him that she was here, then she would leave him alone if that was what he wanted.
"Katherine's with him, isn't she?" Kim asked, as they were silent and she was becoming furious with all of them. "Isn't she!"
Jason quietly nodded his head yes, while Kim placed a hand over her eyes before shaking her head. It really did seem dumb to her to come out here, if Katherine was still his girlfriend.
She knew that she needed to go see him, just to let him know she was there, then she would leave Katherine to whatever she wanted to do with him. They were dating and if Tommy died, Kat deserved these moments with him. She had lost that right when she had broke his heart with her letter and she knew that she would find some comfort in Alex, although she was beginning to see herself that he could never fill Tommy's void. Damn, why had it taken this to make her understand it?
"Kim, don't…" Jason said, as Kim walked back towards the medical bay.
She knew where the place was from her experience of being in there, on various occasions, and she was sure they had not moved the place. She also knew that Billy would be in there and he would make sure that she could come in for a few seconds, even if Katherine did yell at her for coming between her and Tommy. If Tommy truly wanted to see her, there was no reason for her to not go in there, no matter what Zordon or anyone else said to her about the situation.
"It's Tommy, isn't it?" Alex asked, as they looked over at him.
He might not have known anything about where he was, but he could tell from Kim's reaction that it could only be one person. He knew that there were only a few people on this Earth that warranted that sort of reaction from Kim and Tommy was one of those people.
"Yeah, it's Tommy and we don't think he's going to make it," Jason said, as Alex shook his head and then looked around the room. He knew what was coming next, but he could only hope that Kim would not completely throw him to the wolves by leaving him alone with them the whole time.
"Well, I guess I better stay out here. He's not going to want to see me," Alex said, as Jason nodded his head in agreement. Tommy might not be feeling well, but Jason would bet all the money he had in the bank that Tommy would still try to jump him. "Um, is there really a chance that he'll die?"
"Yes," Jason whispered, as the word caught in his throat and Alex suddenly realized why it had been so hard for Kim to let go of Tommy.
They had lived and almost died together on the battlefield, for years probably. He had been the one to protect and she, in turn, did the same for him. Alex knew that Kim felt strongly about him, but he also knew, now that there was a good chance that he would never be able to have the full love from her that he wanted. He didn't want to walk away from this relationship, but he also knew that if Tommy died, Kim would never forgive herself for not being out there to protect him that day. She still loved him and he was going to have to let her go, for her good, not his own.
"She needs him, more than she needs me. I should have realized that from the beginning," Alex stated, as they all looked at him.
It was as if he had seen a whole new page of Kim's life open in front of him and the realization let him know what was necessary to be done. He would just have to wait until Kim came back out of the medical bay to let her know that it would be all right for her to go back to Tommy. She needed to go back to Tommy.
"Kimberly," Billy muttered, as he looked up when he saw the door swing open to the medical bay and the petite brunette stand in front of them as she saw Tommy for the first time in almost a year, with mascara running down her face.
This certainly was not how she had pictured seeing him, but she knew that it was going to be horrible when she was told that he wanted her to come. He wouldn't have done that if he was not worried that he wouldn't make it through this. He would have left her name out of it and they all hated to admit how true that was. He always seemed to turn to her when things went wrong and Kat had never been that person.
"No," Kim muttered as she saw that he had burns that covered part of his chest and his arms. She had no clue what type of monster he had been fighting to put him into this situation, but she knew that she couldn't stand seeing him like this. He had never been hurt this bad before. She should have been there to help him, to protect him the way that he had protected her in the past, but they had convinced her to go to that damn gymnastics academy and give up everything that she loved, but for what? "No!"
"Shh," Billy said, as he quickly walked over to Kim who had slumped up against the wall, trying to keep herself from sinking to the floor, as she felt that her knees were weak already. She wouldn't have Tommy to wake her up and she knew that she would need him to do that if she fainted from shock or any other source in the next few seconds. "He just got to sleep. Don't wake him up. He's going to need all the rest he can get."
"He's going to be alright, right? He's not going to…" Kim said, as she couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence without breaking down into uncontrollable sobs, which she was barely able to keep in check now.
She already was so close to doing that and she didn't want to have to deal with the guilt of making him wake up after he was finally comfortable. If she did that, she might as well go back outside and tell them to teleport her back to Florida; he did not need anymore pain to be caused by her. He had had enough come from her already.
"We don't know," Billy said, as Kat looked over at Kim and then looked down at Tommy with a small smile.
The last few weeks had taught Katherine one thing, no matter how much she wanted to fight it, Tommy was meant to be with Kimberly and no one else. This last battle had proved that to her, he didn't really want her at his side, he wanted the woman he fell in love with the moment that he first laid eyes on her. He didn't have anything that he needed to tell Kat if he didn't make it. He only had something that he needed to tell Kim. He didn't care if she didn't want to hear it, she had to in order for him to be able to get out of this alive or be at peace with himself if he died.
"You stay with him now, you were the one he wanted here, not me," Kat said, as she walked over to Kim and saw her look at her with the confusion in her eyes, not knowing why she was being nice to her when she was taking away her boyfriend.
"He's your boyfriend. I just wanted to come tell him that I was here. He needs to know that and then you can stay with him. Alex, accidentally, came and I have a lot to explain to him about what's going on here," Kim said, as none of them noticed Tommy open his eyes and he saw that she was there, although he could barely talk, he was going to try to, he had to try to talk to her.
He had to say something to her, as soon as he could, no matter how much it might strain him. She had to know everything that was on his mind, these last few months had almost killed him and now that he might die, she had to know everything no matter how hard it was going to be on him to say it. If she didn't love him, that was fine but he had to tell her that he was still in love with her, no matter how much it hurt if she didn't feel the same.
"Kim," Tommy whispered, hoarsely, as the three of them looked over to see that he had woken up and that he was looking at her, trying to get only her attention. Billy hated to see that he was not resting as he needed to but he felt Tommy needed to say this and he was not going to listen to what anyone said until then.
"Yes," Kim said, as she walked over to his bed and rested her hand on a piece of non-burned skin, knowing that she didn't want to cause him anymore pain than she had already managed while she had known him.
If he so much as flinched, she was going to let go of him, no matter how much she didn't want to do that. She hated to admit to herself that she felt so compelled to stay here and take care of him, when she had someone outside that was waiting for her to come to him.
"I need to tell you something," Tommy whispered, as Kim looked over at Billy wondering if she was going to be able to take this.
She did not want to hear a deathbed confession from Tommy or any type of deathbed talking from him; he just had to live through this problem. He had lived through so much before; this injury just couldn't be what killed him. He deserved to die of old age. He did not deserve to die from one of these damn monsters attacking him.
"Tommy, you can tell me later. You need to concentrate on getting well. Rest, it'll help you, I promise I'm not going anywhere," Kim said, as Tommy looked at her and then began to say what was on his mind.
He was not going to rest until she knew what he was thinking about. He knew how bad he was, even if they wouldn't say it to him, and he had to tell her, as he knew that making it through was not very likely right now. Billy had contacted Aquitar for some help, but even they were skeptical as to how he could be helped without injuring him further.
"I may not get well this time. Please listen to me, Kim," Tommy muttered, as he saw the look on her face which told him that she would faint soon if he didn't blurt out everything and shock her back into standing on her feet. He couldn't pick her up and he doubted that Billy would be able to wake her up. "I just wanted you to know that I forgive you and I love you, no matter what else happens here over the next few hours."
"I don't want to hear a deathbed confession from you, Tommy. You're going to survive this, I know that you are going to do that. Tommy, don't let go of hope," Kim said as he looked up at her and quietly gave her a hug, although it hurt him to do so. She needed to touch him as much as he needed to touch her and he could tell that very well. It had been far too long since he had last put his arms around her and the feeling of her back in them made him feel stronger. It made him want to survive. "You should rest."
"No, I don't need to do that," Tommy whispered as Kim held a hand over her face as some of his skin was now against her shirt, which made her worry that she had hurt him even more. She did not want to do that to him. "It didn't hurt Kim. Stay with me, I'll be fine with you here and I need someone to tell my parents what happened if I don't make it."
"Damn it, don't talk like that," Kim said as he smiled up at her and then looked to see if Billy and Katherine were still in the room and he was not surprised that both of them had decided to leave them alone. He knew that Billy had a thing for Katherine and he could only hope that the two of them would get along well. He was going to make things right, even if he was destined to leave this Earth in a matter of hours.
"Nice to get some emotion out of you," Tommy said as Kim looked at him and then sat down in a chair, knowing that she couldn't stand much longer without falling to the ground from all of the emotions that were flowing through her right now. "Hey, how is Florida and whatever his name?"
"Whatever his name, is in the Command Center right now and I think he might have added two and two together and gotten the idea of why letting go of you was hard, Tommy," Kim said as she began to cry and then looked back up at him. If he was going to confess, then she was going to begin her own confession. "Tommy, I was wrong and as soon as you get out of here, I promise I will make everything right by you."
"Kim, it's alright. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't feel as if I loved Kat, but there was something missing and I finally figured out what it was, although it makes no sense to me why it matters. It was the way that she looked at me. I know that it sounds stupid, but it was different from you, she couldn't make me look at her by staring at me. You have that capability," Tommy said as Kim sighed and then walked away from his bed before turning around to face him. If he was going to die, he at least deserved to know that she felt the same as he did about her.
"Funny that you mention that. Alex is the same way. Tommy, I really don't feel right being in here with you and him being out there. Can I bring him in? I know you don't want to meet him, but I want you to know why he isn't the one that I imagine spending the rest of my life with," Kim said, quietly as he looked at her and nodded his head that she could go get Alex. She felt it was important and she felt that Alex would somehow understand why she couldn't go through with their relationship once they got back to Florida, if she even went back. She didn't know if she had the strength to leave Tommy twice. "I'll be right back."
"I'll be waiting," Tommy said, as he felt a pang of jealousy as he watched Kim leave the room, but he knew she was coming back and he knew that she was his, just because of the last words she said to him. It was not much assurance, but it was more than what he needed right now to give him some hope.
"Is he doing okay?" Jason asked, worriedly, as Kim walked out from behind the steel doors and walked right over to Alex, who seemed surprised. He had expected to be left alone by her for the rest of the time he was here. He had already accepted his fate.
"Come with me," Kim said, grabbing him by the wrist and leaving the others completely speechless. Why had she come to get him?
"Kim, we need to talk," Alex said, as Kim stopped walking and looked at him with a little bit of curiosity in her eyes. She knew that he had probably picked up on the problems, but she doubted he was going to initiate their break up. It just wasn't the way that he was.
"Alex, we'll have plenty of time to talk later. I want you to meet Tommy," Kim said, as Alex completely stopped her from moving and held her in a tight hug.
"You love him, don't you?" Alex asked, as Kim tilted her head down and shook her head yes. It was all he needed to know, all the conformation that he needed, to go through with what he had just planned. "Then why don't I let the both of you be happy? We can still be friends and you know that you can trust me if anything happens."
"Don't do this to yourself," Kim said, as she continued to look down and then cried a little on his chest as he tried to soothe her as much as possible.
There was nothing he could do to make Tommy well and that was all that she wanted right now. She wanted him to be fine and he could tell she wished that she had been there today to look out for him, like she had in the past. The thing that had kept her away was gymnastics and he was sure that she would never come back to the gym, no matter what she said to anyone. She had made up her mind the moment she was brought here by them.
"I can't keep on doing this to you either. It's not fair to either one of us. Come on, he's waiting for you to get back in there," Alex said, as he coaxed Kim back towards the medical bay and as soon as he opened the door, he knew why she was worried. He had never seen someone look like that before and he knew that whatever had gotten a hold of Tommy had hurt him badly.
"Hey," Tommy said, as he looked at the two of them and noticed that Alex was hanging back. He seemed to be frightened about moving anymore remotely close to Tommy right now. Tommy couldn't help but be nice, he honestly didn't have the strength to do anything to anyone. "It's not exactly like I can jump you right now. I don't bite, too much."
"Should have known," Alex said, as he let Kim sit down in the chair that had been placed next to Tommy's bed and watched as she reached out and placed a hand on his upper arm, gently squeezing it as he looked over at her. "What happened?"
"I don't really remember, but it landed me here," Tommy said, as he watched Kim, who seemed torn between throwing herself on top of him for another hug and resting her head on Alex's shoulder for a good cry. "You know, I probably should let the two of you get back out there."
"It's just going to be me going. I think that it is better for the two of you to be alone," Alex said, as he gave Kim a squeeze on the shoulder and looked at her one last time. He knew he would see her again, maybe once or twice, but he knew that it would not be through the same rose-colored glasses. He now knew the truth about her and he couldn't say that he loved her any less for it, but he knew that she loved him so much more.
AN: That is the official end of the story, but be looking for a sequel to come out in the next week or so. I didn't want to shift the focus in one story, but I hope that you have liked this story and I hope you will read its sequel. Thanks so much to those that reviewed, it inspires me to keep writing! See you next time!