Chapter 21: Kimberly's Greatest Fear

Kimberly was sitting at Ninja Ops with Kylie in her lap. Ever since the murder attempt, Kimberly's kept Kylie close to her. The only time she would let Kylie out of her sight would be at school. However, since it was summer now, there was no way Kimberly was letting Kylie out of her sight.

Later that morning, Sensei came over to Kimberly. Kimberly was watching Kylie playing with some of the toys she brought with her. "Kimberly," Sensei called. Kimberly looked up.

"Yes, Sensei," she answered.

"I see you haven't taken your eyes off of Kylie since you came here," he commented.

"What can I say, Sensei? Someone came into my house and tried to kill my daughter. What am I supposed to do?"

"I understand. For I am also a parent."

Kimberly nodded. "I mean, she's my baby, yes I love Hunter, Blake, and Hannah more than anything, but Kylie's mine by blood and by love. Just the thought of someone taking her away from me scares me. I don't want to lose her," she explained.

"You will not lose her," Sensei assured her.

"How do you know that? How do you know that at any given moment my baby will be taken from me when I leave Ninja Ops?"

"That's every parent's fear, Kimberly. Every parent fears of losing their child."

Kimberly bit her lip and tears pressed against her eyes. "It scares me, Sensei. It scares me so badly," she confessed. Sensei patted Kimberly's hand.

"Every parent feels what you are feeling. For I fear that I may lose my son, my only child," he told her.

Kimberly let out a heavy sigh. "When I look at her, I think back to when she was first born. How tiny, beautiful, and perfect she was when I first saw her. When I first held her in my arms I knew that I had a responsibility of raising her and giving her the greatest life a child could ever ask for," she explained. Tears started to fall. "And now…now that murder attempt was placed on her life, I have never felt so scared in my entire life," she added. Sensei looked over at the young girl who was still playing aimlessly, just enjoying herself.

"Kylie is a wonderful child, one I have ever seen, besides Cam," he commented.

Kimberly took a deep breath. "Sensei, after Miko's death and you knew you had to raise Cam on your own. Was it hard for you to raise someone that looks just like the person you had lost?" She asked. Sensei nodded his head.

"It was difficult, but I knew that my son would be just as great as Miko was," he replied.

Kimberly nodded. "Also, I knew it was my duty as a father to raise him. Just like how you know it is your duty as a mother to raise Kylie," he added.

"Yeah," she answered.

She leaned forward and stared at Kylie. "I told Kylie that she would see her father one day, but I don't know if I can keep that promise to her," she confessed.

"Why do you say that?" He asked.

"Because…I don't know where he is and he won't answer any of my letters. The last time I saw him was a year ago during a mission with all the Red Rangers. That last meeting didn't end so great."

Sensei stared at Kimberly. "I don't know where he is. How can my daughter meet someone that seemed to have fell off the planet?" She asked.

"That is a question that I cannot answer," he replied.

Sensei saw the star birthmark on Kylie's shoulder. "That is an interesting birthmark that your daughter has on her shoulder," he commented. Kimberly bit her lip again when she remembered how Kylie got that mark.

(Flashback)

"It's a girl, Kimberly," Billy announced. He cut the cord, wrapped the baby up in the pink and white blank, and placed her onto Kimberly's chest. Tears welled up in Kimberly's eyes as she looked at her daughter.

"Oh, my gosh, look at you sweetie," she whispered.

The infant had stopped wailing once she entered Kimberly's arms. "She's so beautiful," she whispered.

"Congratulations, Kimberly," everyone announced.

Something then happened, a sound came from Kimberly's mouth they all missed. Kimberly was laughing. It was like music to their ears. She then looked at Zordon. "Zordon, you're a grandpa," she announced. Zordon chuckled as he looked at the infant in her arms.

"What is the child's name?" Zordon asked.

Kimberly looked at her daughter. "Kylie, Kylie Teresa Hart," she replied.

"And introducing Miss Kylie Teresa Hart," Rocky announced.

Jason whacked Rocky upside the head. Everyone laughed and then Zordon started to speak. "Kylie Teresa Hart, I give you a gift. The Power of the Crane and the Falcon resides in you. You hold the power inside of you, child," he spoke. A white and pink light came from his energy tube and it turned into a single rose colored sparkle. It landed on the infant's arm and it turned into a star birthmark.

(End Flashback)

"Yeah…an interesting birthmark," she agreed quietly. Kimberly smiled at her daughter.

"And it had to be very difficult for you, to being only seventeen when she was born," Sensei commented.

Kimberly sat back in her chair. "Yeah…it was quite difficult. No money, no food, and a run down home," she answered. She then felt the tears start to fall again. "I was so close twice to put her up for adoption," she confessed sadly.

"How were you able to turn your life around?" He asked.

Kimberly smiled at that memory. "Well, it had to be about a few months after Kylie was born. I had moved to Mariner Bay to try to start over. No one would hire me because I didn't have a high school diploma. I was in the park with Kylie when a man came up to me. He started asking me questions all kinds of questions. That man is now my father, Captain William Mitchell. He was secretly interviewing me for a job on his Aqua-Base. I got housing and everything. I was able to give Kylie the life she deserved," she explained. Sensei smiled as he looked over at the young girl.

"You won't lose your daughter, Kimberly, I'm sure of it," he assured her.

Kimberly let out a sigh and she looked at Kylie. "I hope not, Sensei. She keeps me together," she answered.