PART FIVE

Angel Grove was now quiet. All of the crowds who had been partying late had dissipated at least an hour ago. It was strange after the loud celebrations to hear complete silence, but it was also soothing to the ears. After all the excitement, it was calm and relaxing.

The moon was full and it lit up every nook and cranny of the large city. But, it was all the light that Kimberly and Tommy needed as they said their good-byes.

They hugged each other tightly as Kimberly left Tommy at the lobby of his hotel. Neither wanted to let the other go as the time ticked way passed midnight.

"Do you really have to go back tomorrow?" She asked as she rested her head upon his shoulder.

He wrapped one hand around her waist as the other reached up to gently caress her hair. "Yes, unfortunately," he answered.

She hugged him tighter, not wanting to let him get away, this time. "Couldn't you just stay one more day?"

He shook his head as he finally pulled away from her. He felt that if he had held on any longer, he wouldn't have been able to control himself and would probably have taken her up on the offer. "I wish I could, but no. I have a lot to do before class on Monday."

She nodded as she reached up and twisted a tendril of hair between her fingers. "I understand." She was calm as she spoke, but her tranquility quickly faded. "No, I don't! This isn't fair! Just when things start to go right, everything gets screwed up!" Her eyes quickly filled with tears, but she didn't let one fall.

Tommy embraced her once again and smoother her hair away from her face. "Aw, Beautiful, please don't cry. I know this is hard for us, but we can do this… I'm not going to give up on us, this time. We can make it work."

"How can you be so sure? How do you know that a long-distance relationship will work this time?"

"Honestly?" he asked. "I don't. But, Reefside isn't as far as Florida. I just don't want to lose you this time." He placed a gentle kiss upon her forehead and stared into her eyes. "I love you."

She gave a smirk as she heard him say those words. "I love you too, but…" she trailed off as she was interrupted.

He shook his head as he placed a finger upon her lips. "No buts, Kim; none at all. We can make this work… Trust me." He then leaned down and gently placed his lips upon hers. A spark jolted through them both, but neither pulled away. They had both missed the feeling of when their lips collided. It was a wonderful feeling when they were teenagers, but now that they were older and more experienced, it was a great feeling. Very few first loves were ever reunited to fall in love once again, but they weren't exactly a normal couple.

When they finally broke for air, neither said a word. They only kissed once more, before Kimberly left him standing at the front doors.

Tommy smiled as he watched her retreat from his view. But, even when she was gone, he continued to smile. Never had he expected this. Even his dreams of Kimberly never left him feeling this exhilarated.

His true love had finally come back to him.

Today had been a great day.

Tommy sat at one of the consoles in his newly-built underground lair. There wasn't much use for the lab, now that Mesogog was defeated, and the Rangers had lost their powers, but the laboratory still came in handy. He kept everything up and running just in case of Reefside became in danger again.

But, everything was quiet, which he enjoyed. He was allowed to have a normal, quiet life again. The thing though, was that he enjoyed the adventure, the drama, and the mystery. He wasn't good when it came to normal. Heck, he had even become a racecar driver when he was younger just so his life would seem more dangerous after he graduated from high school and lost is Red Ranger powers.

So, maybe, now it was time to get his life back on track. He had a wonderful teaching job and he had a wonderful girl in his life once again. Everything was turning out the way he wanted to… finally.

He took off his reading glasses and rubbed his eyes as he let out a laugh. He hadn't stopped thinking about Kimberly since he got back to Reefside. But, most importantly, he was thinking about what she had said.

He was beginning to wonder if she was right. What if this didn't work out?

He shook his head to push the thoughts out of his mind. No. He wouldn't think thoughts like that. He wouldn't let his past be what kept him from having a great relationship. He just wouldn't.

He was surprised when he heard his doorbell wing. He typed something on the console he was sitting at and the screen showed his front door. But, whoever was at the door, they had been able to dodge the camera and stay out of view.

He cursed under his breath and headed up the stairs. He glanced at the clock that was sitting on top of his fireplace mantle. It was ten o'clock; it was much too late for visitors, so who would be visiting him this late at night? He let a heavy sigh escape his lips, and then opened the door.

His eyes went wide at the sight of the tiny figure of a woman standing before him. He was speechless as he looked at her; he certainly wasn't expecting to see her tonight.

"Hey, Handsome," she said softly as she innocently looked into his eyes. Still no words came to him. "Can I come in?" Her hands rested in the pockets of her jeans as she twisted back and froth before him as she waited for an answer.

He nodded as he moved aside to let her in and finally found his voice. "What are you doing here?"

She glanced down at the floor for only a second before she looked back up at him. Her eyes were sad and they were a bit red and puffy around the edges. Tommy couldn't help but think she had been crying again.

Kimberly looked deep into his eyes before she began to shake her head. "Oh, Tommy, I can't do this!" He furrowed his brow in confusion. "We've tried this once before and we both know how that turned out."

He couldn't help but feel hurt at her words. "So, what are you saying exactly?" Only a few days they had been apart and now she was here, talking nonsense. She had sounded perfectly fine on the phone last night, so what brought this on?

"I know you said that Reefside isn't as far as Florida and I agree, but I don't want to be in a relationship with a guy whom I can't see everyday."

A lump filled Tommy's throat and he was finding it very hard to swallow, but he continued to listen. "Kim…" he began, but she cut him off.

"Let me finish, please." She paused to make sure he wouldn't interrupt her again. "Tommy, I love you and I want to be with you. But, this distance thing doesn't work for us. You may think it will work this time, but the same petty arguments and accusations will emerge."

Tommy couldn't help but feel very confused at her speech. She either wanted to be with him or she didn't; he just wasn't getting a clear answer.

Kimberly continued though. She had to finish so she could get everything off her chest. "I know that there will never be another guy for me. You and I are good together; anyone could see that." She paused as a small sob escaped her lips and a tear trickled down her cheeks. "I don't know how I could have been so blind, but I won't let that happen again. I want to be with you… everyday… for the rest of my life." More tears streamed as she looked into his eyes.

He let out a small laugh as he gently wiped her tears away. "Please, don't cry." He placed a gentle kiss upon her forehead. "I know how you feel." He pulled away from her and walked over to a desk in the corner and pulled something from it. "I was going to save this for a while, but I can't do it when I see you in tears at my doorstep." He held it out for her to take, which she did in surprise.

She held a small, square box in her palm, now. Her hands were trembling as she carefully opened the box. More tears dripped down her face at the sight of the contents. "Oh, Tommy!" It was all she could say through the tears.

"I found it on a dig a few years back. It reminded me of you, so I recently got it cleaned up and set. Only God knows why I kept it for so long." He watched as she pulled a ring from the box. It was a platinum band set with a fairly large pink diamond.

"Maybe you thought there was still hope for us," she smiled.

He smiled too as he took the ring back from her. "I don't know what I though, but I am glad that I kept it." He stared down at the beautiful stone for only a moment before he looked back up at the girl of his dreams.

"Yeah? And why is that?"

He held her close to him as he looked deep into her eyes. "Because, now I know that I actually can give it to you some day." He saw the light in her eyes brighten slightly as he said those words to her. He held it only a few inches away from her hand. She was about to reach for it before he pulled it back to him and took a seat on the couch. "But, I suppose that today wouldn't be a good idea."

She looked offended as she stood above him; she rested her hands upon her hips as she glared down at him, but her eyes quickly softened as she took a seat next to him and rested her head upon his shoulder. "Well, what makes you say that?" She had asked the question innocently, but he looked at her as if she had gone crazy.

"What are you saying? Are you saying you'd want to marry me?" His eyebrows were raised as he looked at her. He found this conversation very intriguing. He had thought they would at least continue to get reacquainted with one another, even though that wasn't what he wanted.

She took her head from his shoulder and looked into his eyes. Her shoulders gave a small shrug. "I don't know what I'm saying, really. All I know is that you are mine and no one else's. You aren't anyone else's, are you?"

He chuckled as he shook his head. "No, I'm not." He placed a gentle kiss on the tip of her nose. But, the thought of marriage continued to spin through his head. The thought of waking up beside her every morning for the rest of their lives was very tempting. The thing was whether or not she would accept. He had been having a war going through his head as he fought with himself about if he should ask her or not. What if she said no? What if she said yes? Those two questions kept racing through his mind, along with a few others. But, there was no question about his feelings. He loved this woman and would do anything to keep her in his life forever. "So?" he asked.

She furrowed her brown in confusion as she looked at him. "What?"

"Would you?" He held the ring up to her eye level. She watched it sparkle as he twisted it through his fingers.

"Would I what? Marry you?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

She couldn't help but laugh at him. This was just so ridiculous. How could he ask her such a thing? "Are you serious?" she asked. "Tommy, we've only just gotten back together. Marriage wasn't exactly something that's been on my mind. Plus, what about our jobs? I love mine and I know that you love yours; especially because of what great students you told me you had. I don't want to just pick up and leave what I have made."

He frowned. "Oh." He took the ring out of her view as he felt saddened by this. He was stupid to ask her in the first place. He knew she wouldn't accept; although, there was that tiny bit of hope in the back of his mind. But, what she had said was true. They had their separate lives; maybe this wasn't going to work out the way he wanted.

"But," she continued, "I've been thinking over the past few days and I can't image being without you. I love you."

He gave a look of surprise. "Is that a yes?" he asked.

She smiled wide as she placed a light kiss on his lips. "Yes, it is." She was amazed at the transformation his face made. His eyes were now alight with new confidence and joy; some of the things she could have sworn he had been missing for a while.

They connected in a passionate kiss, after which he slipped the ring on her finger. They continued to sit on the couch, in each others' arms as everything came together. They still had a few things to sort out, though. What would they do? Would he move back to Angel Grove? Would she move to Reefside?

"What are we going to do?" he asked as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her even closer.

She wriggled out of his grasp and stood up before him with a guilty look on her face. "Actually, I have a slight confession to make." He looked at her in confusion. "Since we've gotten back together, I've actually been looking for jobs in Reefside… and I've found a great one at the city paper as an investigative reporter."

He didn't even seem to be fazed by this information. All he could do was smile. "Is there any other information you haven't told me?" he chuckled. "Are you looking for houses as well?" He meant it as a joke, but she seemed to take it seriously until she slapped him lightly on the arm.

"Very funny," she glared at him.

All he could do was continue to laugh as he pulled her back down to the couch and connected his lips with hers once more.

It was the perfect moment for the two of them. They were now together after so many years and neither wanted to see their relationship fall apart once again. But, they both had the feeling that it would last this time. Maybe it was the distance that made their fondness grow or maybe it was the fact that they were more mature, now.

Whatever it was, it didn't matter. All that mattered was now; this moment; this day. All that mattered was that they both got the end that they deserved; the perfect end.

Yes, sadly, this is the end. It took me a while to get the ending just right, because there was so much that I had already said, but I think it came together nicely.

I want to thank all of you who read and loved this; it was just something I'd thought I'd do, since they've been showing the old show on ABC family and I've caught myself watching it.

Thanks again.

Wolflver