Disclaimer: It's Saban's sandbox, I just play here because it's fun. The title comes from the song "Dizzy" by the Goo Goo Dolls. If you've never listened to it, you should, because it's awesome.

This story takes place after my story Here With Me. While you could read this story by itself, for the background on Aimee Oliver and how she got to where she is, check out that story before reading this one.

Reviews and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated, and even encouraged!

Dizzy Part Two

2006 by Amie Martin

-

-- Billy --

My hands were shaking as I ended the communication with the Space Rangers. Aimee-Jean Oliver was certainly the last person I expected to see, especially in the company of Power Rangers.

And she looked ready to jump through the computer screen and strangle me.

I couldn't blame her – Aimee and I hadn't parted on the greatest of terms, and I left for Aquitar shortly thereafter. In retrospect, our entire relationship had been a mistake, and I never got a chance to apologize for it. I never heard what she had been told when I left, but chances were she knew the truth by now. In order for her to be there, on that ship, she had to be a Ranger.

I didn't know which thought worried me more – reckless Aimee as a Ranger, or the angry Aimee waiting for me to land.

A loud beeping noise came from off to my right, and I took a quick look to double-check the coordinates the Rangers had sent. As I began to go through the motions of landing the ship, my mind drifted, recalling memories I thought I'd long put behind me.

Aimee and I had started innocently enough, all those years ago…

-- Flashback --

"Tommy, man, are you sure you're all right?" I frowned, watching as Tommy launched another assault on an unsuspecting punching bag. He'd been distant and depressed for almost two weeks now, sine the day Kimberly sent him The Letter. I thought hanging out at the Youth Center would help cheer him up, but so far, nothing had changed. "You've been hitting the same bag for an hour now."

Sweat dripped into Tommy's eyes, sticking stray pieces of hair to his face. "Why wouldn't I be all right?" he said, not looking over at me.

I held the punching bag still, forcing Tommy to stop. "Because I know you, and I know what Kim meant to you."

"And you're a really bad liar."

Looking over my shoulder, I noticed a young woman standing behind us, with dark hair down to her waist and the same facial features as Tommy. She had a backpack slung over her shoulder and an iced coffee in her other hand. "Did you forget something?" she asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Awww, man." Tommy rested his head against the punching bag. "AJ, I'm sorry, I totally forgot I was supposed to go get you," he said. "I've just been so out of it lately…"

It clicked in my mind who she was – Aimee, Tommy's younger sister. She hung around us occasionally, and I'd met her a few times in the years I'd been friends with Tommy. Ever since Jason, Trini, and Zack left for the Peace Conference, however, I'd hardly seen her.

"So I've heard." Aimee walked over to us and left her coffee on a nearby table. Reaching up, she brushed Tommy's hair out of his face, tucking the loose strands behind his ears. "My poor Thomas John," she murmured. "Whatever are we going to do with you?"

Tommy smiled; it was still sad, but it was the closest expression to happiness I'd seen from him in a long while. "I see you already got your coffee."

"I talked Noah into stopping on the way over here. I'm supposed to meet up with him for rehearsal after we get out of dinner." She shrugged. "You can have some if you'd like."

"Gross. You know I don't drink that stuff." Tommy grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Give me a few minutes to clean up and we'll head out, okay?"

"Sure." Aimee sat down at the table and crossed her legs. "I'm sure Bill here can keep me entertained while you're gone."

In spite of myself, I blushed a little; I was rather surprised Aimee remembered my name. "I'll keep an eye on her," I said, shuffling my feet.

Shaking his head, Tommy chuckled and headed towards the locker room. "Good luck with that," he said, waving as he disappeared from sight.

A few seconds passed before I realized Aimee was staring at me. "Well?" she asked. "I don't know what Tom might have told you, but I don't bite."

I sat down next to her. "Sorry. Just… wasn't sure what to say."

"It's all right." Aimee gestured towards the locker room. "How long has he been like this?"

"A couple of weeks. Ever since Kim broke up with him."

"The gymnastics chick?" When I nodded, Aimee continued, "Tom told me about that, but he didn't want to talk much about it at the time."

"He still doesn't want to talk about it."

She sipped at her coffee. "It's the way he deals with things. Pretends everything's all right and hopes it'll all go away eventually." Aimee looked over at me. "What happened, anyway?"

"That's probably something Tommy should tell you." I was sure Tommy trusted his sister, but if he wasn't ready to tell her, I thought I should abide by his wishes.

"He will, eventually." Aimee's voice grew serious. "By that point, he'll break down, and everything he's holding in will just pour out of him. I want to know what to expect when that happens."

I sighed. The details were between him and Kim, so maybe Tommy wouldn't mind if I told Aimee the general facts. "Kim sent him a letter," I said, my voice falling quiet as if Tommy might hear me. "It said she'd met someone else and she was sorry for hurting him."

For a few seconds, Aimee just stared at me. "So you're telling me this bitch cheated on him," she said slowly, "but didn't have the balls to even call him to break it off?"

"Kim's not like that. She and Tommy were together for years – I know it hurt her to do this."

She snorted. "Uh-huh. Tell that to my brother, who's destroying himself over some girl who doesn't deserve him."

"We've tried to cheer him up, but nothing's working." I shook my head. "He won't tell us he's hurt by it, but we all know it's true."

Aimee stared at the locker room door. "You've got to distract him. Give him something that keeps him from thinking about her."

"Do you think getting out of Angel Grove might help?" I wasn't a relationship expert – far from it – but as Rangers, none of my friends took a vacation in ages. "I know of a good ski resort, all of us could go."

"It could work." Aimee finished what was left of her coffee. "Maybe Noah and I could think of something to do when you got back. A hiking trip, maybe."

"Who's Noah?" It was the second time I'd heard her mention the name.

"My dance partner. We've been part of the same dance troupe for ages." She dropped her empty cup in a nearby trash can. "He's a pretty cool kid to hang around with, too."

I shifted in my seat. "Oh. For a minute there, I thought he might be your boyfriend."

Giggling, Aimee put her hands up in protest. "Me and Noah? No way." She looked over at me, raising an eyebrow. "What about you? Any girlfriends lately?"

"N-No." I coughed, trying to hide my sudden nervousness. "No girlfriends."

"Oh." She flashed a smile. "It's a pity, you're really quite cute."

I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks, and I looked away to see Tommy coming out of the locker room, duffel bag slung over his shoulder. For once in his life, the boy had good timing. Aimee was laughing as Tommy made his way over to us, and he looked genuinely amused. Meanwhile, a part of me wanted to hide from embarrassment.

"I thought I told you to play nice with my friends," Tommy said, shaking his head.

"I was playing nice!" Aimee stuck out her lower lip, pouting. "Maybe a little too nice. Isn't that right, Bill?"

Nodding, I brought one hand to my face, trying to cover up the shock. I wasn't used to taking compliments, at least, not outside schoolwork and technology. It was then that I realized Aimee had nicknamed me – not once did she call me Billy, it was always Bill.

Tommy patted me on the back as if to comfort me. "Sorry about that, man. I won't leave you two alone again – she can be a lot to handle."

"Hey!" Aimee started to protest.

"Oh, it was no trouble," I found myself saying. "She's got some interesting things to say."

She was beaming from ear to ear as she stood up, grabbing her backpack. "See! I told you your friends would like me." Leaving over the table, she plucked a napkin out of its container.

"Here," she said, taking the pen out of my shirt pocket and scribbling a number on the napkin. "That's my cell phone. You should call me sometime."

"She got that last week." Tommy shrugged. "I think she's given the number to everyone she's met."

"Have not!"

"That's not what Mom told me."

"Well… I only give it to people I like." Aimee linked her arm through Tommy's. "Anyways, didn't you promise to take me to dinner? I kind of told Noah I'd meet up with him around 7 for rehearsal."

He nodded. "Yeah, we should get going." Tommy caught my eye. "Billy, I'll see you later. Call me if you need me, okay?" There was an undercurrent in his voice, and I knew what he meant – to contact him if King Mondo decided to attack.

"Of course – have fun." I smiled a little. "Aimee, good to see you again."

As the two of them left the Youth Center, I stared down at the napkin Aimee left at the table. There was no way I had just gotten a girl's phone number, and especially not the number of my good friend's little sister. Maybe Tommy was right, and she gave it out to everyone. But then again, I could have sworn Aimee turned around and winked at me as they walked out.

Either way, one phone call to a friend never hurt anyone.

-- End Flashback --

The ship landed with a loud clanking sound, and I winced as my hands slid from the controls. It sounded like the landing gear had been damaged during the skirmish, and I added it to the mental checklist of repairs.

Outside the large window, I could see the landing bay door open and a woman with dark hair and faded green cargo pants walk in. I grimaced, looking away from her. I should have known Aimee wouldn't run from a confrontation like this.

Knowing her, she'd probably been waiting for it.

I stood up and stretched. We'd waited too long to have this conversation, and if I remembered correctly, once Aimee took her emotions out on something, she'd calm down and I might be able to handle her. Sighing, I opened the ship's exit hatch.

Aimee was there when the hatch opened, and unfortunately, so was her fist. I took one step before she hit me, sending me tumbling into the side of the doorway.

"You're an asshole, do you know that?" She stood over me, almost shaking. I'd overheard Tommy and Jason talk about Aimee's temper while we were dating, but I'd hoped never to experience it firsthand. "You break up with me with some lame-ass explanation, and then you just take off? And I thought you were supposed to be the smart one."

Wiping a bit of blood from my split lip, I got to my feet. "AJ, let me explain--"

"I said don't call me that!" She grabbed my sweater, the same faded black one I brought with me when I first left Earth, and slammed me against the ship. "That's Tommy and Jase's nickname for me and I'll be damned if I let someone like you use it!"

"Aimee, calm down." I pried her hands from my shirt and held her away from me. "I didn't come here for you – I had no idea you were here."

"Of course you had no idea – no one's heard from you in ages." She let go and stalked away from me, pacing in circles. "Did you have fun on Aquitar, Bill? You know, that place where you felt like people finally understand you?"

She knew more than I thought she did. "Tommy told you everything, I see."

"Tommy?" Aimee laughed, low and cynical. Only then I noticed how much older she looked, how bitter she'd become. "Tommy's still oblivious, wherever the hell he is."

I blinked. "You don't know where your brother is?"

"Haven't seen him in three years. Been looking for him for about that long."

"Then who told you about…" Confused, I shook my head. "You're a Ranger, aren't you?" I took in the color of her cargos and the basic white of her tank top. "A Green Ranger."

Hesitation filled her green eyes, and I could tell I'd surprised her. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, and it didn't look like she'd take a swing at me again. "For someone so smart, you can't articulate yourself worth crap," she said. "You need an Oliver to run the Dragonzord. Tommy's MIA and I'm his replacement until he shows up."

"The Dragonzord powers are dead."

"Consider them called back into action." Aimee sent me a glare cold enough to cause an ice storm in Circle 9 of Dante's inferno. "You still didn't answer my question. Why are you here?"

"I told you, my ship was attacked." I kept an eye on Aimee as I started a slow circle around the ship, mentally assessing the damage. Fortunately, none of the scorch marks on the hull seemed to be more than superficial damage. "I'm staying with the Rangers long enough to complete repairs."

Aimee began to walk with me, careful to keep a few feet between us. "That wasn't my question. Where are you headed?"

I stopped, running my fingers along one nasty scratch. "I was homesick," I said. "I liked being on Aquitar, but I thought it was time to come home."

"And you didn't think you'd run into me?"

Wincing, I shook my head. "Not right away, no."

She cursed under her breath. "Douchebag."

After that, Aimee was quiet for a few minutes, waiting until I finished my slow perimeter. I needed to rebuild the transmitter and the communications array and check the wiring for the landing gear, so repairs could take as long as two days, depending on what parts I needed.

Finally, I turned to look at her. Aimee was still glaring daggers at me, but she wasn't trying to kill me, always a good sign. "So… how have you been?" I asked, running my fingers over my hair. I was still getting used to the longer length of it. "How's your mom?"

Her eyes darkened, pain creeping into them. "She died," she said. "Right after Tommy disappeared."

"I'm sorry." I knew how close Aimee had been to her mom. "What happened?"

"Brain hemorrhage." She stared at the wall past my shoulder. "Something just went off in her brain. They told me that even if I'd been there when it happened, there was nothing they could have done for her."

"I was really little when my mom died, but I still remember what it was like," I said quietly. "If you want to talk--"

"Shut up, Bill. I don't want anything from you."

Something started to play, a faint rock song I didn't recognize. Cursing, Aimee dug through the pockets of her pants and pulled out her cell phone. "What is it?" she snapped as she answered the call.

Aimee's cell phone… the device that started this whole mess between us. I took a seat on the landing ramp while I listened to her end of the conversation.

"Oh, it's you." Aimee's face relaxed, shoulders slumping a little. "Sorry, today's just not been my day… Crap, that's right, I forgot that was this afternoon. I know, like brother, like sister… I can be down in a few minutes." She looked over at me and frowned. "Actually, I've got company here, you'll probably want to see him… No, it's not Tom, I wish it was… Okay. See you in a bit."

Snapping the cell phone shut, she stuffed it back in her pocket and walked over to me. "If you've got anything you need to bring with you, now's the time to get it," Aimee said. "We're going out."

I stood up. "Where are we going?"

"You asked how I knew about you and Aquitar and the Power Rangers." There was a mischievous glint in her eyes, and my stomach turned. This wasn't going to end well.

"We're going to see Jason."

-

Author's Notes: For the record, I like Kim, and Tommy/Kim is one of my favorite pairings. However, I don't see Aimee as a character liking Kim. She tore out Tommy's heart, and even though Aimee is the younger of the two, she feels just as responsible for him as he feels about her. It makes sense for her to be angry – and stay angry – over The Letter.


I hope I've managed to establish how a relationship between Billy and Aimee might work out, and more will be revealed in flashbacks as this story continues. Let me know how successful I've been; I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas.