Chapter 21: Inspection

Kimberly was a wreck, trying to get everything ready for the inspection. Even though she lived on the Aqua-Base with her friends and children, she had to prove to the inspector that this place was a great place for them to live with and that she was a great parent.

As she got everything ready, the inspector came.

He had black hair cropped short, thin-rimmed glasses, he wore a business suit, and in his hand was a clipboard.

"Miss Hart, I presume?" He asked. Kimberly stood up with a smile.

"Yes, I'm Miss Hart," she answered.

"I'm Mr. Henderson, I hear you're making a fine living here with your children?" He asked.

"Yes."

"What in fact do you do, Miss Hart?"

"I...uh...I work in the lab and in the commanding part of the base."

Just then the door opened and Hunter, Blake, and Hannah came in. "Ah! Our three favorite children," he commented. Hannah stood beside her brother and Hunter wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders. "Tell me kids, how has school been going for you?" He asked.

"It's great," Blake replied.

Hunter and Hannah nodded and Mr. Henderson looked at the quarters they live in. "This place isn't very big to give a family of four," he commented.

"Well, uh, we have to try and fit everyone on here," Kimberly assured him.

"We manage though," Hunter put in.

Mr. Henderson wrote down everything and started walking around. Hunter then walked over to his mother. "Mom, what's he doing here?" He asked.

"I'll explain later," she replied.

She then followed Mr. Henderson around the base. He seemed to be a little disappointed in the living quarters. He was impressed by the children's interest in school and how much they were attached to Kimberly. "Mr. Henderson, sir, may I ask why you were sent here?" She asked.

"Somebody called us and complained about your ways of parenting," he replied.

Kimberly felt as if someone took a knife and just jabbed her in the heart with it. "I'm here to keep track of all your doings throughout the day. To see if that call was correct or incorrect," he explained. Kimberly bit her lip and then the alarms went off. Hunter, Blake, and Hannah ran to Rescue Ops and she followed them.

"What's going on, dad?" Kimberly asked. She pulled on her headphones.

"There's an asteroid heading towards earth," Captain Mitchell replied.

Kylie came running up the stairs with her teddy bear in her arms. Kimberly picked her daughter up and looked at the Rangers. "Okay, you guys, you know what to do," she informed. They nodded and got ready to morph into their Ranger forms. Mr. Henderson was in disbelief seeing this.

"LIGHTSPEED RESCUE!" The Rangers shouted.

The Rangers morphed and got ready to go into their new Megazord. Kimberly quickly grabbed Hunter's arm. "Don't, Hunter," she insisted. Carter looked up at Kimberly and her children.

"I'll be okay, guys," he assured them.

At the same time, Joel was assuring his friend, Simon, that he was going to be okay and that he should keep an eye on Ms. Fairweather. Kimberly bit her lip before starting to say something. "I'll help you guys every step of the way," she informed.

"Right, Kim," Dana answered.

Mr. Henderson wrote down everything. However, Blake could see that he didn't have a happy look on his face. Hunter saw it too and let out a heavy sigh. There was no way he was going to be taken away from his mother, his brother, or his sisters.

Kimberly went to the computers. "Rangers, we have to get the detonators into the asteroid itself," she informed.

"Right," Carter answered.

Mr. Henderson watched as Kimberly did her job. Hunter placed his hand on his mom's shoulder. "Come on, mom," he murmured. Kimberly nodded and started working rapidly to get the Rangers all the help they could get.

"Your Megazord is at full power, Carter," she informed.

"Thanks, Kim."

Kimberly placed her hands on Hunter and Blake's shoulders. Kimberly bit her lip as she feared that the Rangers didn't make it. "Captain Mitchell, we're out," Carter informed. The whole room cheered. Kimberly laughed as she hugged her kids tight. Mr. Henderson wrote down what he saw with a small smile.

Later that day, Kimberly was checking on Kylie when she saw Hunter and Blake still awake reading. "Boys," she cautioned.

"Sorry, mom," they apologized.

They put their books away and the lights went out. Kimberly tucked Hannah in and then she left.

Mr. Henderson was finishing his report and Kimberly was nervous as ever. "Well, Mr. Henderson?" She asked.

"At first I wasn't impressed by your work or where you were living. However, now was able to see that the Power Rangers need you. And you're living here to protect your children from any kind of danger. You have passed the inspection, Miss Hart," he informed.

"So, I can keep my children?" She asked.

"Yes, Miss Hart, you can keep your children."

Kimberly let out a sigh of relief and looked over to see Joel sitting there. She stood up and walked over to him. "Hey, Joel," she greeted.

"Hi, Kim," Joel greeted.

"What's up?" She asked.

She sat next to him to see that he was a little upset. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing, Ms. F just turned down another date offer," he replied.

Kimberly sighed with a smile. "Joel, you know that her work means a lot to Angel right now right?" she asked. Joel nodded. "She'll tell you yes when the time comes," she assured him. Joel then looked at her.

"You set Carter and Dana up," he reminded.

"Yeah, I did set Carter and Dana up. That was because they were too nervous to ask each other out," Kimberly assured him.

Joel sighed and Kimberly placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Joel," she assured him. Kimberly then left the Green Ranger alone and then she saw that Carter, Dana, and Captain Mitchell were waiting for the verdict on the inspection. "I get to keep my kids," she announced. She laughed as all three of them hugged her tight. They knew that Hunter, Blake, Kylie, and Hannah meant everything to Kimberly. They knew that if she failed the inspection of keeping the three older children that she would lose Kylie too.

Kimberly walked into her quarters to see all four children asleep. She stood between the boys' beds. She pulled the blankets up closer to them and kissed the sides of their heads. She looked over at Hannah to see the blankets almost off her completely. She covered her up and kissed the side of her head. When she looked at Kylie, she felt her heart skip a beat. Her baby girl, the only memory she had left of Tommy was fast asleep with her teddy bear in her arms. Kimberly kneeled down beside Kylie's bed and stroked her cheek. "I'm here, baby, mommy's not going to let you go," she whispered. She kissed her cheek before getting up and leaving the room.