Disclaimer: I do not own the power rangers or any of the weapons and/or original characters from that series. This is the third story in the "Saving the World, Again" series, so any characters from those stories that are mine, might be brought in. I do own the character Ally Jameson as I know she will appear in this story a good bit and I just wanted to let you know that she is my character from the beginning. I also own the characters of Janice Mitchell, Principal McEntire, Mallory Wiggins, David Jackson, Mrs. Thornsby, and Alabaster.
Now, on with the Story!
Life
The weeks passed peacefully, as the rangers' waited, ready to battle any monster that appeared, but none did for once in their lives. It seemed that it was almost too good to be true, but every time that their spine tingled, it was not from an evildoer. It was much more likely to be from a friend that was sneaking up behind them and that was a true relief for them.
Their lives truly seemed too not be the same as they were a mere three months before and it now seemed as if it was time to release themselves from their duty. Graduation had already come and gone for some of the rangers and that meant they were moving on with their lives and finding a new path that went away from being rangers. It was time, all of them agreed, to give up their powers, willingly and hope that they withdrawal would not be as painful as it had been before, although that was only a hope.
"Tommy," Kim said, as she walked into the dojo, carrying Angie in her car seat.
This weekend was a big one, for all of them. Angie was going to go stay with the Oliver's and they were giving away their powers, at least that was what they were calling it. It just seemed as if it was time to move on and they were fairly certain that they would not have to worry about any other creature showing up, not at least for a long time.
By that time, they might have found someone to do a sufficient job replacing them, all of them. The teenagers wanted to get out just as bad and they did not blame them. They had seen one of the worst ranger battles in history and no one really wanted to come back to work after seeing something like that. They had their one and only chance now and they were going to take it, under the pretense that they might have to come back. It seemed crazy, but they knew that if no one else was willing to save the Earth, then it was their job. It was a responsibility that no ranger took lightly.
"Hey," Tommy said, excusing himself from his class for a few seconds. He knew that he needed to talk to her and his mind was racing in a way that it had not done in months. His body's timing was wonderful and horrible, but he was going to try to be good for a few more minutes, at the absolute least. He knew that he would be able to control himself that long and he definitely did not want his students to start asking questions that they had asked after they got married. That was a type of embarrassment he couldn't stand. "I thought you would be headed towards Angel Grove already."
"Change of plans. Your dad called and he said he'd meet me here. They wanted to talk to you for a little while before they go. Just to check up on some things," Kim said, as Angie reached up towards Tommy, but she was still buckled into her car seat and could not get to him. That made her let out a small cry, as she was not happy at being pinned in and not able to get to her daddy. It always bothered her to not be able to get out and to one of them. They had both debated whether or not she was going to stay that way as she got older, but only time would tell how that would work out. "Daddy's got to work, Angie."
"You're one to talk," Tommy said, as he reached down to tickle her and then stood up to look at Kim, trying to block out his thoughts. He was way too emotional today and he knew that he had not been this way in months. He just hoped that she would not pick up on it, for a little while. "Hey, you want to go out somewhere tonight? We don't have anything to worry about until tomorrow."
"We'll talk about it once you are done with class," Kim said with a smile, as he knew that meant yes, but he also knew that he had to finish teaching his class. If he didn't do that, he would never get a chance to be alone with her. "Go."
"I see that you are still able to get to him," Rocky muttered as he walked up next to Kim and she reached over to give him a hug, as Angie let out another cry and Kim then squatted down to removed her from her car seat. She did not want her to be hysterical when the Oliver's showed up to pick her up. That was certainly not the impression that she wanted to leave them with. They had told them if it got to be too much they would watch after her for awhile and if she was particularly fussy, then they might think that they had not kept their word to them about the situation. "How have you been?"
"Good, just too busy. I'm sorry I haven't made it in more. Ally has to be swamped with all of those girls," Kim said, as Angie began making bubbles with her mouth and Kim couldn't help but laugh, even if it was trickling down on her shirt.
"It's alright, you have someone that is a little bit more important," Rocky said, as he tickled Angie and she squirmed in Kim's arms. He looked around to make sure that no one was listening and then bent closer to Kim. He really had been wondering about some things and he decided now was as good of a time as any to ask. "Hey, you back to normal, since that coin went crazy?"
"Yeah, it was just so weird Rocky. It is as if I know that I will always be protected, even if things don't go well and what Zordon said to us there does help, a little bit. It makes sense, but it does make you wonder what he was talking about," Kim said as Tommy walked off the mats and back over to her. She had showed up when he had only had five minutes left with his class and he didn't think they would mind getting off early. He had managed to work their asses off today and he knew that they deserved a little bit of rest. They just didn't know how lucky they had been, as he had been planning to make them stay late, but Kim made him do odd things.
He was not planning on them having a lesson tomorrow, but because they seemed so intent to have one, he was going to try. He knew that it was not really wise to do so, but Kim had a gymnastics lesson as well and that would leave the both of them in the same boat. He just wondered how Ashley and Charlie were going to take it. They were not as good at making up excuses about why they were particularly weak, but Tommy would try to protect them while they were in the dojo. They would just have to let him do that, as they were extremely stubborn sometimes.
"Do you mind if I shower off before we go?" Tommy asked, as he knew that he didn't exactly smell great because of his karate clothes and the fact that he had taught four classes today.
"No, but your parents should be here soon. So, will you please hurry? I don't want them to come all this way and not get to talk to their son," Kim said, as Angie reached for Tommy and he took her out of Kim's arms, even if it was only going to be for a few seconds.
"Hey, I'm going to miss you," Tommy whispered in Angie's ear as he inhaled her baby smell and then passed her back over to Kim and made a quick exit. He had to hurry or he would miss his parents and he didn't want them to be mad at him if he made them wait. They were not very patient, knowing how the traffic had probably been, and he had to rely on them a lot right now. They might be keeping Angie for a couple of days, until they were close to normal. "Don't let them leave without me saying good-bye."
"Okay," Kim said, as Ashley walked over to her and smiled. "Hey, you doing alright?"
"Yeah, I'm just a little bit worried," Ashley said, as she had heard about what it was like to have powers taken away and it scared her.
She did not want to go through the living hell of losing her powers. She had heard the horror stories from Kira and Conner, as they watched Kim and Tommy have theirs taken away, once before. She just didn't know if she could take it. She did not think that she was as strong as they were.
"I promise that it'll be alright. We'll be there and we'll help each other through it," Kim said, as Angie grabbed Kim's hair and pulled on it with all her might, which didn't surprise her. It was now one of Angie's favorite things to do to her and it continued to pain her to no end. She had not thought that pulling on someone's hair would hurt so badly, but it certainly did. "Angie! Come on, let go of my hair."
"Strong, isn't she?" Tommy asked, as he walked up behind her and she nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of his voice in her ear. He couldn't help but laugh, while Kim tried to glare at him, but she couldn't turn around to face him properly, as Angie had a tight grip on her hair and it did not seem as if she was going to let go of her hair any time soon. "I'll get her hands out."
"Thank you," Kim said, as she placed a hand in her hair, seeing how much Angie had loosened from her scalp.
"Uh-uh, no more pulling Mommy's hair out," Tommy said, taking Angie out of Kim's arms as he saw his parents enter the dojo. They seemed to be in a good mood and he could only hope that was a good sign for them. "She does enough of that on her own."
"Hey," Kim said, ignoring Tommy's comment, as Martha gave her a hug and she looked over to see that Angie had grabbed Tommy's hair and he was trying to pull away from her, without hurting her. She couldn't wrap her hands around his hair, but she was still sure that it hurt, to some degree. "Angie, you have to stop."
"She will. It just takes them some time to grow out of it," Martha said, as she could remember Tommy pulling on her hair when he was the same age. It seemed that that trait ran in the family, although she did not feel like mentioning that to Tommy at the moment. He probably would not take to that idea very well. "We better get on the road. We'll bring her back Sunday night and don't worry; we'll call if things get out of hand. The two of you need to be careful and call us if you need more time. You both need to be on your feet after this happens before we bring her back, understand?"
"Alright, Mom. If we need you to keep her longer we'll call," Tommy said giving Angie a hug and then passing her to Kim, so that she could give her a hug. They watched the three of them walk out of the dojo and then Kim turned around to look at Tommy. They both were happy to have this time alone, even if it did mean that Angie was spending the weekend with her grandparents. "We get to be alone."
"Get a room," Rocky said, as Tommy gave Kim a kiss and then she buried her face in his chest and he smiled down at her, although he knew that she was a little bit embarrassed. It was just wonderful for the two of them to be alone, for the first weekend in a long time. Rocky could just deal with a tiny bit of PDA for all he cared.
"Take out?" Tommy asked, as he picked Kim up and she couldn't help but laugh at him, while Rocky muttered that he would close up. Tommy didn't seem to be leaving him much of an option about that and he knew it was just best to say what he'd do. That way Tommy wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night and run to the dojo to make sure it was locked up. "Come on, it's been a long time, sweetie."
"Tommy!" Kim yelled in surprise as she looked into his eyes and she could clearly see that he only had one thing on his mind right now. "Tommy, can you wait until after we get something to eat? I promise I'll make it worth your wait."
"I don't know if I have that much patience," Tommy said, very quietly, as he sat her down on the hood of her car and looked down at her. He didn't know why today had been the day that he felt like this, as there were other times when it would have been more convenient, but he couldn't help it.
"Please, I didn't eat lunch today," Kim said, as he placed both of his arms around her shoulders and placed his forehead even with hers. He knew that he was going to have to agree to that one. He never liked when she didn't eat a meal, as it had led to some odd experiences in the past and he was going to have to concede to her request.
"Alright," Tommy, begrudgingly, said, as she looked into his eyes and silently thanked him. "Where do you want to go?"
"Anywhere," Kim said, as she stood up to get in her car, but he had her trapped against it. "Tommy, what else do you want?"
"Let's ride together," Tommy said simply, as he took a step back and realized that she had been standing on his feet. "Sorry about that."
"You know that you are acting crazy, don't you?" Kim asked, as she climbed into his jeep and looked over at him. She had seen him act like this before, but it was usually only when they had been separated from each other for a long time. They had been around each other all week and she didn't understand why he was being like this tonight.
"I'm sorry, I just…" Tommy said, looking at the steering wheel as he was at a loss for words. He couldn't really describe what he felt and he didn't want to make a complete fool out of himself trying to do so.
"Hey, it's alright. Just drive us to whatever restaurant you want to go to. I just need something to eat," Kim said, placing her hand on his knee and then gently squeezing it before she placed her arm back on the console.
"Don't make this any harder," Tommy said, as Kim smiled and she knew that she was getting to him, on some level.
"What did I do?" Kim asked, innocently, as Tommy put every bit of his will power into watching the road and navigating them to a buffet restaurant, just outside of town. He stayed quiet on the rest of their trip to the restaurant and even through most of their supper, trying to restrain himself, in some way. "Why so quiet?"
"Kim, I'm trying to be good," Tommy said, as she smiled at him and then asked for the check without another word between the two of them. He had been forced to be patient for far too long and he was nearly at his breaking point and she understood that she did not need to push him any further. "Thank you."
"I know when you are getting to your breaking point, Tommy," Kim said with a smile as he quickly paid the tab and stood up to leave the restaurant. She enjoyed watching him walk away with a sense of urgency, but he would never admit that he felt this way to anyone but her. They thought he walked like that all the time, but she could tell when he truly felt something was urgent.
"Come on," Tommy said, as he held out his hand to her and she took it without much hesitation. "Thank you so much. You have no clue what it means to me."
"I think that I could figure it out, Tommy," Kim said, as he looked at her and then started up his jeep. "Now, lets see. Jason and Trini will probably arrive the earliest tomorrow, after Billy and Hayley of course, so I guess that we should be ready by about six o'clock."
"Kim, I don't care," Tommy said, as she looked at him and he thought that he might want to take his statement back, but he knew that he couldn't do that right now. It was already too late.
"Just drive home, Tommy," Kim said with a smile and she noticed that he seemed press the accelerator to the floor even more than he had been a few seconds before. When they arrived at home, Tommy tried to calm himself down for a few seconds, but he knew that it was almost useless right now. His mind was miles away from his body and it was starting to take over everything.
"I love you," Tommy said, as he gave her a kiss, right after locking the front door. Kim happily accepted this gesture and grabbed for the fabric of his shirt, knowing where this would all lead them. She had been just as deprived as him lately and right now she felt as if they would get their wish without being disturbed by a thing in the world.
Then the telephone began to ring, as they headed up the stairs. Tommy tried to ignore it and actually succeeded at doing so until Kim pulled away from him and tried to make her way to the phone. He was refusing to let go of her. Why did she have to answer the phone?
"Kim, ignore it," Tommy pleaded as she looked at him and then pulled his hands off of her with a firm gentleness. She knew that it could be no one on the other end of the phone, but she wanted to make sure that it was not the Oliver's. She didn't want them to be picturing something horrible happening to them.
"Hello," Kim said, answering the telephone as normally as possible, but she could hear the person on the other end giggle. She was going to kill whomever it was, as she knew it was not Mr. or Mrs. Oliver.
"Is Dr. Oliver there?" a voice asked, as Kim stared down at the phone and then passed it to Tommy, who had no clue who it could possibly be that was calling him. He had made it perfectly clear to most people that knew him that he did not want anyone to call him tonight, obviously someone had not listened.
"Hello," Tommy said in an aggravated tone and he then heard a giggle and hung up the phone, stupid students.
AN: I wanted to give you a little taste of Tommy and Kim's life on a semi-normal day after their ranger work was over. I know it is a short chapter, but I hoped you enjoyed it.