Title: All That's Left

Authoress: SailorChibi

Rating: PG-13

Couple: Tommy/Kira

Disclaimer: Trust me; if I owned Power Rangers Dino Thunder, Tommy would have had his shirt off during the damn show. I also don't own the two songs.

Summary: Unless Tommy can get past his experiences with Kim, Kira is going to leave. It's time for the teacher to learn a lesson of his own - this time, on the importance of declaring your wants and needs.

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I'd give anything to give me to you.
Can you forget the world that you thought you knew?
If you want me,
Come and find me.
Nothing's stopping you, so please release me.

I'll believe
All your lies
Just pretend you love me.

Make believe,
Close your eyes,
I'll be anything for you.

Evanescence – Anything For You

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"Dear Miss Ford,

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate on your acceptance into a position at NRC Records. You are being offered a musical contract to produce and sing with our company, which will be explained to you more thoroughly once you have reached New York…"

Kira Anne Ford looked up from the letter she was holding and out the picture window that was so prominent in her family's home. Her expression was pensive, lacking even a hint of a smile, as she watched several neighborhood children playing Power Rangers in the street.

"... enclosed in this letter are your ticket, schedule and the name of the chauffer who will be picked you up at the airport. There you will be escorted to your hotel where you will have a chance to freshen up, followed by your arrival at NRC Records where you will receive your first taste at being a professional musician..."

The sun was beginning to go down, but that didn't deter the children from playing in the slightest. One sweet little girl, dressed in a bright yellow shirt and jeans as the yellow ranger, let out a false scream as the 'monster' attacked her. The boy playing the black ranger raced over to her and 'fought' the monster off, then returned the beaming smile from the girl with a proud look.

"... your accommodations will be paid for for the first week. Miss Ford, we very much look forward to seeing you and hope that you will have a smooth flight to New York..."

"Hey, miss rock star," Wesley Ford exclaimed as he struggled through the front door bearing several grocery bags. "Want to give me a hand?"

For several seconds, Kira didn't move from her position. Then, as her mother entered the house, she blinked as if coming out of a daze and crumpled the letter in her hand up into a ball that she then stuffed into her pocket.

"I'm going out for a bit," she said, striding past her parents without giving them so much as a glance.

"What? Hey – " Wesley started to call after her, but was stopped by a hand on his arm. Crystal gave her husband a knowing smile and shook her head lightly. She knew where her daughter was going, and she could only hope that the reaction would be one that was wanted.

Kira shuffled down the sidewalk, her eyes on her feet as she slowly made her way to her destination. She did not need to read the letter to know every single word that was printed on it. It, and all the other letters she had received from the company, had been memorized the day it arrived. But even when the letters hadn't even been opened, they had spelled trouble for her future.

Tommy wanted her to go to New York.

That simple fact made her feel deeply angry and pathetically sad at the same time. She and Tommy had been Power Rangers together, had fought strong against things that would have brought others to their knees. They had suffered through a lot both as Rangers and as themselves, dealing with not only the physical kind of evil that one could battle against but also the mental kind of evil that was much more difficult to combat. After all that they had gone through, he couldn't muster up the strength to tell her what he wanted?

It had made Kira want to shake him when he first told her to go, and it made her want to shake him now. To just hold onto him and jerk him back and forth until something came loose and some sense appeared in his mind, yes, she could do that very easily and without guilt.

She wanted him to be selfish. She craved a lack of selflessness the way a starving man craves food. She desired a better answer to the question 'what do you want?' than 'I want what you want'. Even if what they both wanted was, in essence, the exact same thing, she could not give it to him until he admitted it.

"What I can give you..." Kira muttered, pausing outside of his house to look at the familiar building. Her sight was blurred, and she realized with a start that she was actually crying. "Tommy, what do you want?"

That question had been asked so many times in the past month. She had begged him to tell her, begged him to admit that he wanted her to stay with him, but each time he looked past her to a different woman and resolutely told her to go. In fear of her shattering his already fragile, cracked heart, he had taken it upon himself to break it instead.

"One more chance..." she whispered. Her feet began to move once more, leading her up the paved driveway, along the gravel path, up onto the porch. She looked with blank eyes at the door that needed a new paint job. One more chance. He had already had so many. What would he do with this last one? Probably make an exact repeat of all those given to him before...

The house was cool inside, smelling of hamburgers and apple pie. A plate, fork, knife and glass in the sink told of a meal well enjoyed; the sound of the shower overhead informed her of the current whereabouts of the man she sought. Mechanically, she washed and dried the few dishes and put them away instead of bounding up the stairs to tease him shamelessly, as she might have a short time ago.

Her simple chore over, she wandered into the living room and seated herself on the couch. Picking up the remote, she flipped aimlessly through the channels, only to arrive back at the starting point and realize that she had no clue what was on. Disgusted, she tossed the remote down and folded her arms, gazing at the TV with distant eyes.

Footsteps on the stairs finally alerted her to his presence, and she glanced up as he strolled in. "Hey, Kira," Tommy greeted casually, smiling at her.

It was the smile that did her in, and to her horror, she felt tears pricking her eyes. Blinking rapidly, she offered him a smile of her own. He seemed to sense her tremulous emotions, but he said nothing. They both knew why she was upset: the truth stretched before them, a sea that neither could cross but which was rising quickly. She had a boat, but he did not want to join her on it, seemed prepared to drown in his lies.

"So, you're leaving tomorrow, huh," he said quietly, picking up a can of soda and pulling the tab. He seemed to want to have something to do with his hands.

She looked at him with an empty, anguished gaze, but said nothing. So much between them had already been said. Words seemed to go right over his head; he did not want to listen to what she had to say and so didn't. The spoken words floated between them, debris in the sea of truth that would make it that much harder to cross. She longed to throw him a life preserver, but would he take it?

"I bet you're excited," he offered, taking a long swig of the caffeinated drink. "New York, that's where a lot of the stars come from. You'll make it big, Kira, just wait and see – "

"What do you want, Tommy?" The words tumbled out of her throat, were formed by her lips and tongue before she reigned them in. She saw him flinch as if their sound had burned him, but couldn't find the strength to be concerned.

"I want you to be happy, of course," Tommy said, smiling brightly. One more crack in his heart. She lowered her head, unable to bear watching the memories flicker in and out of the eyes she loved so dearly. "That's why everyone thinks you should go."

It was easier to lie than to be truthful, and her body was heavy with this knowledge when she stood up. If he truly wanted her happiness, he would do as she had so often dreamt and ask her to remain by his side. Instead, he did as 'everyone' whispered that he should and sent her away. Everyone – what did they know about her hopes and dreams? This 'everyone', she would like to meet this person. He knew so much about her, and all of it so painfully wrong.

It was a short journey to the door, but it seemed to take a great deal longer than usual. Each step was weighted, took longer than the previous in hopes of gaining just a little more time, but all too soon she was standing at the door. Her cold fingers were wrapped around the warm knob, and she was going to leave him to die, to drown.

"Tommy," Kira said, and her voice was akin to a reverent song. "I am not Kim. I never have been, and I never will be. What was right for her is not right for me. I am not Kim, Tommy," she repeated, and glanced over her shoulder in a moment of weakness. He stood frozen, as if he could not believe what he was hearing. Perhaps he couldn't. It didn't matter now. "I would have stayed... if you had asked."

And she left. The weight seemed to melt away with each admission, until she moved away from the house with the speed of her pterodactyl. But she left her own dying heart behind with the man who was caught between the past and present, and moved into the future with a hollow mind and body.

She had spoken exactly forty-two words to him in a farewell speech that would have to last her the rest of her life. Not one of those words was good-bye.

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"Flight 902 for New York, now boarding. All passengers for flight 902 to New York, please proceed to the boarding platform. Repeat..."

"Have fun in New York, kiddo," Wesley said, slinging a rough arm over his daughter's shoulders. He brought them together in a rough semblance of a hug, planting a fatherly kiss on the silky, dark blonde hair as he did so. "Make sure to call us when you arrive, okay?"

"Okay," Kira said agreeably, not lifting her eyes from the airport entrance. In spite of the many mental, calm talks she had given herself, deep down she continued to hope that he would appear at the entrance. That she would see a flash of black and turn to find Tommy striding towards her, his chocolate brown eyes brimming with affection, that he would take her into his arms and profess... Profess what? All the things that she already knew and did not want to hear, most likely.

"Kira, darling," her mother murmured, lightly touching her shoulder. She waited patiently until the worn hazel eyes looked at her, then embraced her only child. Lightly stroking the soft hair, Crystal tried to pour all of her strength into the slender form she held. The following hours would decide her daughter's future, and Kira was already so tired from fighting.

Drawing away from her mother, Kira gave them both blank looks. She supposed that she should smile on such an occasion, but her mouth couldn't remember how to form the sentiment. Instead, she bestowed them both with a sort of twisted grimace and nod before she turned and entered the boarding room.

She allowed herself to be prodded through the metal detectors and out the exit towards the plane. Some remote part of her mind encouraged her to turn around and wave in case her parents were watching, but that would mean confirming that he had not come after her. She could leave without breaking down, but she could not bear knowing that for sure. So she did not turn, and so she did not see the distant figure dressed in black reaching for her, mouth moving with words that were never uttered, and so she boarded the plane without seeing.

"Here's your seat, ma'am," the stewardess chirped, guiding Kira to a seat in first class. "Do you want anything to drink?"

"No," came the short reply as Kira seated herself. She pointedly turned her head and stared out the window determinedly.

The stewardess merely shrugged and strolled away, thinking happily about her boyfriend and the vacation they were going to take together in Florida. Having been at this job for six years, she was well aware of the grouchy people one could meet. The best thing to do, in her opinion, would be to ignore the angry girl with the sad eyes and spend the flight dreaming about sunbathing on warm sands and surfing hunks.

Kira continued to gaze out the window as the plane slowly filled with people and a different stewardess made a speech about safety. Her hazel eyes sought out distractions, anything that would keep her from thinking. Eventually, however, the plane rose above the clouds, and the in-flight movie began.

It was a long comedy, one she normally would not have been the least bit interested in but which she suspected her friends might have enjoyed. Yet she watched it anyway, laughing when the other passengers did, and didn't have a clue what the plot had been about when the closing credits finally appeared two and a half hours later.

With nothing further to focus on, she shut her eyes and tried to sleep. Her body was tired and her mind worn out, but her spirit was too tormented for a peaceful sleep. She twitched and sighed often, awakening frequently, more fatigued than when she had first fallen asleep. When she did sleep, her dreams were plagued with a black, featureless figure surrounded by a pink shadow that she could not reach no matter how hard she tried. She was just considering throwing herself at it when her stomach suddenly shook hands with her throat and her eyes flashed open as the plane dropped again.

"Folks, as I said, there is absolutely no cause for panic," a calming male voice stated, "We'll be having a brief stop in Jackson, Missouri so that technicians can have a look at the plane. I repeat, there is no cause for panic."

The landing was rough but manageable, and Kira slouched off of the plane feeling as if she had been trapped on it for months. Her back throbbed from her uncomfortable sleeping position as she stretched and entered the terminal. It was relatively small, with only a Subway and a corner shop for interest.

She purchased a sub from the restaurant and ate it without really tasting it, then wandered into the shop. It only took a few minutes to investigate, and soon she found herself back in the airport with nothing to do. It was then that she noticed the set of payphones.

"I'm not going to call him," Kira said out loud, but somehow she found herself walking towards the phones. Without consent, her hands calmly picked up the receiver and dialed his number, then dropped the necessary money in. She pressed the phone to her ear and was startled to feel that it was shaking, then realized with a start that it was actually her hands that were trembling.

One ring.

"Please."

Two rings.

"Pick."

Three rings.

"Up."

Four rings.

"Tommy!"

The answering machine clicked on. A low moan echoed out of her chest as she slammed the phone down. The plastic part that the phone sat on cracked and she stared at it, horrified, as a security officer approached, having seen.

"Miss," he began, but he was cut off.

"I... I can pay for it," Kira gulped, blindly fumbling in her pocket for her wallet. She pulled it out and flipped through it. "Where is my credit card? Where is it? I'm sorry, sir, I can't find it..." Tears began to stream down her cheeks as she gave a choked sob. "But I'll pay for it, honest..."

The man gave her a sympathetic look. "Miss, don't worry about it. Why don't you go and have a seat while you wait for the plane to be fixed?"

"Okay," she whispered, stumbling in the direction that he pointed her towards. She slammed her shin into a chair arm as she moved past, but she was numb to the pain as she reached a chair that was beside the window, but away from the curious gazes of others. There, she sank down into the chair, buried her head in her hands, and wept for what she had lost, for what she had wanted, and for what she could never have.

"Attention passengers." The intercom crackled to life as her flood of tears finally began to slow. "Flight 955 for Angel Grove is now boarding. Flight 955 for Angel Grove, now boarding."

Limply turning her head, Kira looked at the plane that was a short distance away from her. People were beginning to line up in front of the staircase to get on. She stared at it. Angel Grove wasn't that far away from Reefside. If she got on the plane, she could be home in less than five hours. Home...

Uncertainty kept her glued to her seat. For so long, she had vowed that she would not give in. She had to know if Tommy wanted her, or if he just wanted someone – anyone – by his side. She had to know if he could be selfish enough to want her. When none of those things happened, she had tried to give him up forever.

But now... slowly, she rose to her feet without thinking. Her purse clattered to the ground, spreading its contents over the floor. Kira sighed and stooped with a wince, collecting the fallen items. Her fingers hesitated over the last one before picking it up. She examined it closely, tracing the worn grooves, the buttons, the yellow decoration.

Her communicator. They hadn't used them for ages after they had gotten used to not wearing them. She was quite sure that she was the only one who still bothered to carry hers around, yet she could never bring herself to just leave it behind. It represented strength, togetherness, power, friendship... courage.

She sucked in a breath, her grip tightening until her fingers began to ache. Then she resolutely sat down, her eyes hot with tears but firm, and watched in silence as the plane from Angel Groove finished loading and took off.

Power Rangers did not give up, and neither would Kira Ford.

Shortly after, her own plane was called to re-board. Obediently falling into line behind the other passengers, Kira surreptiously glanced around to make sure that no one was watching before she slipped her communicator onto her wrist. It felt good to have it there, as if she had never stopped wearing it. Just having it back where it belonged reminded her of past accomplishments, and gave her a much needed dose of strength. She could do this.

It took at least half an hour to actually get onto the plane, as it seemed as if every passenger needed personal reassurance from the captain that the plane was now perfectly fine. Kira was slightly nervous about getting on, but she was more anxious about what would happen in New York. She hoped that the chauffer picking her up wouldn't have left already, or she would in trouble.

This time the movie was a cheap horror flick followed by a sci-fi movie. She absorbed herself in them, enjoying the temporary thrills she got. Of course, the monster in the second movie was twenty times more pathetic than the weakest monster they had fought as Rangers, but it was nonetheless satisfying to see the hero win.

By the time the movies had concluded, they were circling the New York airport. Kira ran her fingers through her hair, half wishing that she had checked her appearance out at Jackson, then realizing that she didn't care. For all she had given up for this so-called opportunity, they could suffer through a case of airplane-hair.

She got off the plane holding her purse close, on the watch for anyone who got too close, and followed the stream of people over the to the luggage claim. She had only brought two suitcases with her, having been too dazed to really pack at the time. Her parents had promised to send her other things after.

Leaving the area with her cases, she began to search for the promised chauffer. After a long while with no luck, she had started to think that the chauffer really must have left without her when she caught sight of a man in a tuxedo bearing a sign with her name written on it.

Sighing with relief, Kira hoisted her suitcases and moved towards him. When a hand suddenly grabbed her arm, she yelped and reacted without thinking, swinging her heavy cases into whoever had a hold of her. A familiar voice cried out and she froze, her hands going numb. The cases thudded to the floor as Tommy grasped her shoulders, one hand holding onto his side.

"Kira," he said hoarsely, and attempted to smile. "You have really good aim."

"Tommy?" Kira asked, stunned. Her mind was malfunctioning, and she couldn't think. "Are you – what are you – I don't..."

"Shh," Tommy told her gently, laying a finger over her lips. "Kira, I was stupid. I let one bad past relationship get in the way of what we had, but I didn't even realize it until you left me for good. What you said to me last night really got through to me. I now see that what we have is different, unique, special. I'm sorry I couldn't see that before."

"... Have?" was the only thing she could say. "Have?"

"Yes, have. Kira, I want you to come back with me. Please. I'll do anything if you'll come. I want to be with you forever."

She looked up into his dark eyes, then backed away. She said nothing as she turned and began to walk towards the chauffer. When he didn't call out to her, her pace increased until she was standing in front of the man with the sign.

"Miss Ford, I presume?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"It's Mrs. Oliver, actually," she replied, and smiled. "Could you do me a favor and tell the people at NRC Record that I have to respectfully turn down their offer?"

"I can do that," the man said agreeably, tucking his sign under his arm. "Good day to you, Mrs. Oliver."

"Good day," she responded, turning on her heel. Tommy was still staring after her. As she began to walk back towards him, the expression on his face changed from hurt, to shock, to disbelief, and then to joy. At that, Kira broke into a run. She fled into his arms, wanting to forget the time where she had ever fled from them, and he spun them around laughing.

When you took away all the pain, happiness, anger and other sentiment from their relationship, all that was left was the love they felt for one another. And that was exactly the way that Kira Anne Oliver wanted it.

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And all I can taste is this moment,
And all I can breathe is your life.
Cause sooner or later it's over,
I just don't want to miss you tonight.

And I don't want the world to see me,
Cause I don't think that they'd understand.
When everything's made to be broken,
I just want you to know who I am...

Goo Goo Dolls – Iris

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Please leave a review to tell me what you thought of this one-shot. It's my first (and, I have to say, more than likely last) Power Rangers fic, so I really would like some feedback. Thanks!