Chapter 16: The Heartbreaking News

Kimberly sighed as she walked into Rescue Ops. "Mom, are you okay?" Hunter asked. Kimberly turned and looked at her son.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she replied.

Kimberly sat down with a sigh and placed her hand against her forehead. Captain Mitchell walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Kim," he murmured. She looked up at Captain Mitchell.

"Hi, dad," she greeted.

"Is everything okay?" He asked.

She was about to deny it when she saw the look on his face. "Dad, I miss him. I miss Tommy so much that it hurts," she confessed. Kimberly bit her lip as she said her words. "I have to go back," she informed.

"Go back? Go back where?" Dana asked.

She stood up. "I have to go back to Angel Grove," she replied. Captain Mitchell and Dana looked at each other before looking at Kimberly.

"Kimberly, after what happened at the auditorium you told us you never wanted to back to Angel Grove," Dana reminded.

"I know what I said, but Tommy deserves to know that he's a father," she insisted.

They sighed and knew that they couldn't get Kimberly to change her mind. "I won't take Kylie with me. Just incase things don't go well," she informed. They nodded and Kimberly went to her room.

Hunter and Blake came in and saw their mom packing. "Mom, what are you doing?" Blake asked. She looked up from her duffel and looked at her boys.

"Hunter, Blake, I need you to watch Kylie and Hannah," she informed.

"Sure, but where are you going?" Blake asked.

"I'm going to Angel Grove," she replied.

Hunter lowered his head and closed his eyes while Blake let out a heavy sigh. "What?" She asked.

"Mom, what if he isn't there?" Hunter asked.

She bit her lip as she thought of that possibility many times as she was packing. "That's the chance I have to take. There's also the chance that Tommy wouldn't want Kylie. The chance that he wouldn't want to talk to me again. Each one I would understand why," she replied. She grabbed her duffel and placed her hands on her sons' shoulders. "Please, just take care of your sisters," she insisted. They nodded and she kissed their cheeks before leaving.

She got her stuff in the car and she kissed Kylie and Hannah before leaving.

When Kimberly arrived at Angel Grove, her heart was pounding hard against her chest. "Please be here," she whispered. She arrived where the Youth Center used to be and got out of the car.

Once she entered the place now called "The Surf Spot" she saw a familiar face. "KIM!" Andros called. He got out of his chair and hurried over to her. Kimberly shrieked with laughter as Andros hugged her tight. She pulled back and smiled at him.

"How are you?" She asked.

"I'm doing great and you are too since the last time I saw you," he replied.

She rubbed the back of her neck with a laugh. "Yeah, I am doing so much better," she replied.

"What are you doing now?" He asked.

Kimberly led him over to a table to sit down and they started talking. "I'm now doing more Ranger business," she whispered.

"Really? For which team?" He asked.

"Lightspeed Rescue," she replied.

"Wow! I've been watching there fights on television, they're a great team."

"They are. Well, what about you?"

Just then a girl came up behind Andros and placed her hands on his shoulders.

She had shoulder-length brown hair, brown eyes, she was wearing white tie-up shoes, a knee-length blue jean skirt, a yellow blouse, a necklace hung around her neck, and she had a white headband in her hair.

Andros smiled at the girl and gave her a kiss before looking back at Kimberly. "Kim, this is my wife, Ashley," he informed. Kimberly then saw the gold rings on their hands. "Ashley, this is my good friend, Kimberly," he added.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Andros told us about the original Pink Ranger hiding in our Power Chamber," Ashley commented.

Kimberly laughed slightly. "Yeah, I have my reasons why I was down there," she commented.

"Hey guys," a voice greeted.

Kimberly looked up to see a group of their friends come in.

There was an African-American with no hair, brown eyes, he was wearing sneakers, blue jeans, and a blue t-shirt.

There was a girl with very long black hair, brown eyes, she was wearing sneakers, blue-jean shorts, a pink tank-top, a diamond ring on her left hand, her hair was pulled back in a braid, and she had her sunglasses sitting on the top of her head.

There was another boy with black hair cropped short, brown eyes, he was wearing sneakers, blue jeans, and a black tank-top.

Another guy with platinum blonde hair, brown eyes, he was wearing black shoes, blue jeans, a white tank-top, and a white over shirt.

Another girl with shoulder-length blond hair, brown eyes, she was wearing white tie-up shoes, a purple skirt, a purple blouse, and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

"Kim, these are our friends. Guys, this is Kimberly Hart," Andros informed. The guy in blue shook her hand.

"I'm TJ," he informed.

The girl in pink grinned as she waved at Kimberly. "Hey, I'm Cassie," she greeted. Kimberly nodded and looked towards the boy in black.

"Carlos," he told her.

"I'm Zhane," the boy in white informed.
"And I'm Karone," the girl in purple put in.

Andros smiled as the girl in purple stood beside him. Then he looked at Kimberly. "What brings you to Angel Grove?" He finally asked. Kimberly fidgeted with her hands a bit before answering. However, Zhane answered for her.

"She's looking for someone named Tommy," he replied.

Karone whacked Zhane upside the head. "Ow! What?" He asked. Karone rolled her eyes before looking at Kimberly.

"I am looking for Tommy," she confessed.

"Tommy? Do you mean Tommy Oliver?" TJ asked.

Kimberly jumped up. "You mean, you know him?" She asked.

"Sure I do, he chose me to be his successor," TJ replied.

"We all know Tommy," Cassie answered.

"Then he's still here?" She asked.

The Rangers exchanged looks before answering. "No, we can't say he is," TJ replied. Her heart snapped at his words.

"He left to continue racing after he gave up being a Ranger," Ashley added.

Kimberly sat down feeling her heart being ripped from her chest. Andros reached across the table and held her hand. Kimberly could feel his sympathy and let out a shaky sigh. "This is about Kylie, isn't it?" He asked. Kimberly nodded and then she stood up.

"I guess I made this trip for nothing," she sighed.

She walked out and went towards her car. Ashley sent her husband after Kimberly.

Kimberly was halfway towards her car when Andros stopped her. "Let me go, Andros, I knew coming back here was a mistake," she told him. Andros hated seeing her in pain, but the hard part was for them to tell her that Tommy wasn't there anymore. "The hard part is that he believes everything in that stupid letter," she babbled. Andros sighed as he pulled Kimberly into a hug.

"This isn't fair, she's in this predicament because of a stupid lie," he pondered.

"You're welcome to stay as long as you like," Ashley told her.

Kimberly pulled back and wiped her tears away. "No, that's okay. I have to get back to my kids," she replied. She started towards her car again before looking back at TJ and Cassie. "By the way, congratulations," she added. Cassie and TJ looked at her confused.

"I have the gift of empathy, I can feel the love connection between you two," she informed.

She smiled at them before getting in her car and drove back to Mariner Bay. Ashley walked over and placed a hand on Andros's shoulder.

"What now, Andros?" She asked.

Andros sighed as he placed a hand over hers. "We protect her from Tommy," he replied. TJ stepped forward confused. "She was here to tell him that the letter was a lie. She came here to tell him that he was a father. The last time she saw Tommy, he was believing every word in a letter that Kimberly supposedly wrote. However, she never wrote the letter. Someone did though. We have to protect her from Tommy because twice he's hurt her. I refuse to have her hurt again," Andros explained. Cassie sighed sadly and TJ wrapped his arm around his fiancé's shoulders.

Kimberly returned to Mariner Bay and the Rangers knew better than to bother her when she came back all upset. She went into her quarters and she locked herself in there for two days.

Author's Note: I wrote this during my vacation. So, I won't be able to update for awhile yet. BTW even though it's late, Happy Thanksgiving everybody.