Recap:

"Let me get this straight, you sent Kim a letter telling her to set up a school in Reefside and signed it with Alex's name…" Connor summed up.

"You what?!"

Chapter 8: One more time II

"Um..Jason.." Kira began after a few moments of shocked silence. "I can explain."

"Then explain." Jason crossed his arms over his chest and looked over at her.

"Well..um..yeah…you know.." Kira started slowly, not quite sure how to explain.

"What Kira means to say," Connor put in. "Is that we sent a letter to Kim so we could…er…meet another ranger."

"Sure you did." Jason smirked, brow arching. "Guess you forgot that Tommy and I used to be rangers and we're perfectly open to answering any and all questions."

Kelly sighed. "Ok," She confessed, knowing that Jason wouldn't buy any of their lies (seeing as none of them seemed to be good liars). "We're trying to get Dr. O and Kim back together."

Jason laughed. "Obviously. And why didn't any of you tell me? I'd like to play match-maker as well." He said pouting slightly in a playful way, looking very much like his daughter – though he was serious in wanting to know why they hadn't come to him.

The pink ranger shrugged slightly and thought. "I guess we figured you wouldn't want to..Hayley didn't want to help us.."

"Can you tell us more about them?" Connor asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Who?" Jason blinked and looked around at them, seeming honestly confused. The current rangers exchanged a glance. For a lawyer he sure was clueless.

"The two people we've been talking about." Kira said, trying to hold back her laughs.

"Oh! Kim and Tommy." He laughed and took a seat. "What do you want to know he asked?"

"Oh everything." Kelly said, leaning back and gently resting her head against Trent's knees. "How it all began is probably the best place to begin though." She added with a smile.

Jason grinned and nodded. "Well, once upon a time…" He laughed and ducked the pillow Ethan threw. "Alright alright. It all began when Tommy moved to Angel Grove. He and I had this karate match and that's how we all first met him. According to Trini, Kim's exact words as she saw him were 'He's cute'."

"So it was love at first sight then?" Ethan questioned.

The story-teller nodded. "It was, it only gets better too. The next day at school Bulk and Skull – these two bullies at the school..they were pretty lame for bullies actually." He laughed. "They always did the funniest things…Anyway, they started messing around with her and Tommy came to her rescue. So she invited him to join us at Ernie's…which was our version of your Hayley's. He didn't show up though, because he was too busy becoming evil."

"What?!" Was Connor's surprised reaction.

Jason frowned. "You guys did know that he was evil, right?" He asked slowly.

Kira smirked slightly. "Forgive his stupidity and go on."

Jason smiled and nodded. "When he became evil Kim tired her hardest to make him good. Eventually we saved him from being the evil green ranger and they danced around with each other, like a few other people I know." He added, chuckling as he looked around at the slightly blushing group. "They finally became a couple and they were the perfect couple…But Kim was offered the chance to go to the Pan Global Gymnastic Games and she took it, giving her powers to Kat.."

"Is that why they broke up?" Trent asked curiously.

Jason shook his head, a hint of sadness in his eyes. "See Kim got to Florida and found herself alone. She met another gymnast, named Bryan, who started flirting with her. She gave in. She wrote a break-up letter to Tommy saying how she loved him as a brother and still wanted them to be friends. Still, they never did become friends. A little bit after she sent the letter she and Bryan broke up..But by that time Kat and Tommy had just started going out."

"Ouch.." Connor whispered. "That's gotta hurt."

"Oh it did." Jason nodded and sighed. "Things were quiet for a while until Kim and I were kidnapped. Tommy and the other rangers, back then Kat, Adam, Justin and Tanya, came to save us. From what I heard from my wife Tommy's face just fell when he saw Kim…It was a bit of a role reversal on their part – because, you see, she and I had become evil and Kim had a strong wanting to destroy the new pink ranger. Kat would've died if Tommy hadn't used his love to break the spell and then Kim helped to save Kat…Soon after that Tommy and Kat broke up – no one knows why exactly, though we all guess it had to do with Kim…As for Kim and Tommy they never saw each other again except for Trini's funeral – the only problem is that they both still love each other and are too stupid to do anything about it."

"How do you know all this?" Ethan asked once Jason had finished.

"How don't I know?" The former red laughed. "Tommy is my best friend and I knew Kimberly since I was five. They won't admit it, but I know that they still have feelings for each other." He said quietly, speaking from the heart. He averted his eyes to the floor in a moment of quiet reflection before looking over to the new pink ranger. "So, what did you do?"

"I sent her a letter that had a lot to do with the fact that the Power Rangers are in Reefside…From what Hayley and Tommy say Kim was the heart of the team. She knew how to help people when they were hurting…I hoped that the letter would catch her attention and bring her to Reefside." Kelly explained.

Jason laughed again, talking about the power rangers was a sure way to get anyone's attention. "It will, don't worry – but what's this about Alex?"

"Well.." She continued, hugging a knee to her chest. "You had to be under fifteen to submit the form for the school."

He nodded. "Alright, now how do we explain this to him?"

"We don't know.."

Tommy leaned back against the head board of his bed. He flipped absent-mindedly through one of his many photo albums, pausing on a picture of his last Christmas with Kim. It was after she had already left and gone to Florida, yet come back for Christmas to make sure everything was alright. The day held many lasts for them both, a last kiss, a last hug, a last glance and a last 'I love you.' That day had brought him so much happiness, yet at the same time so much pain.

He traced his finger over the picture slowly. It was a picture of their last kiss, beneath the mistle toe – slyly taken by Billy. It was his favorite picture and his most hated. It reminded him very much of the ending of the Spider-Man movie. Kim was his gift and Kim was his curse.

Why does life torture me so? Is it amusing to always see me in such pain? It's only because of Life that I'm close to him, but at the same time we're so far away. All I want is for him to hold me close to him…I know that it may sound a bit girly, but hey even a punk singer can be girly at times…I love him…I love him more than he'll ever know…It's so crazy, how we pick our complete opposite to fall in love with. He's the king of the jocks, the future prom king and who am I? I'm the social outcast that nobody gives about..

"Kira?" A gentle voice broke through my thoughts. It was him, the one I loved. "Can I talk to you?" He asked.

Of coarse, I thought. I didn't care what we talked about, just being with him was wonderful. "Sure, Con, what can I help you with?"

"I wanted to give you this…" He handed me a small black box.

I took it and raised a brow as I looked at him, wondering what it was and if this was simply a prank and hidden inside was his gym socks or something. Never the less I opened it, gasping as I saw the gold bracelet. "Oh Connor…I…I don't know what to say.."

He sighed. "I'm sorry…I knew you'd hate it…"

"No! No!" I laughed at how wrong he was. "It's perfect.." I whispered.

"Turn it around.." He sounded nervous, which made me eager to see what was on the other side.

I turned it over slowly and carefully read the small inscription. 'To Kira, the best friend a guy could have.' Friend. There it was again. That horrible, evil, vile, heart-breaking word. Still it was better than nothing. In fact it was perfect, for she'd rather be his 'best friend' than a nobody in his eyes. "Connor, I love you." I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him gently, only moments later realizing what I had said and being in too much of a shock to let him go or try and laugh it off.

"I love you too, sweetie. Thank you for being such a great friend…" He told me gently.

I thought he was just being nice, I thought he was just playing it off. I never even imagined that he could be telling me the truth.

Being alone sucks,does God just hate me or did I do something to him? What did I do to deserve all this pain? Kira's with Connor, Trent's with Kelly and who do I have…I have no one…I sighed, I have to go and check on Robert, the assistant manager at the café. This is crap – why do I have to go in and do this? Oh that's right, cause she bribed me by saying that if I did then the rangers would never have to pay here again…So where's Robert? I looked around curiously, not seeing anyone but a lone girl sitting at one of the computers. I looked her over slowly, finding her familiar, and walked over for a closer look. She's playing Tony Hawk.. I smiled. Talk about my kind of girl…who is she on Ethan, be a man!

"Excuse me."

At the sound of his voice the girl turned around and I was shocked to find Cassidy. "Can I help you?" She asked.

"Uh.." I blinked my shock away. "Tony Hawk, huh? I never figured that you'd be a video game kind of girl."

She shrugged. "A girl's gotta play – plus Ethan, it's not like I like all video games, just this one."

"Guess you're right…" I glanced around. "Where's Devon?" He was almost always with her, it was odd to see her alone. I guessed that was why I didn't recognize her at first.

"In New York – with his family." She answered simply.

"And your family?" I questioned.

"Gone on business to some random place." She answered. Something flicked in her eyes, though I couldn't tell what it was, it was gone too quickly.

"You're alone for Christmas?" At least I wasn't alone, I had the other rangers to be with me. Cassidy had no one.

She blushed at my comment. "Yeah, guess so.."

I decided to change the topic. "Can I hang and play with you?"

"Sure, I guess I wouldn't mind a little competition." She smiled ever so slightly as I pulled up a chair.

"Ready to get your butt kicked, Cass?"

"Only by you." She winked teasingly and her smile grew before we both turned and began to play.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, honey?" Jason walked over, lifting his daughter and then taking her vacated seat, placing her gently down in his lap.

'When is Mommy coming back?" She asked quietly, her bright little eyes shining with hope.

Jason couldn't look away from her, even though he wanted to. She looked so much like her mother –her hair, her smile, her eyes and the way he could always tell what she was feeling through her eyes. "I don't know.." He whispered, unable to tell her the truth, unable to tell her that her mother was never coming back.

"Can Naley be my new mom?" She questioned, playing absent-mindedly with a button on his shirt, yet her eyes were locked on his.

"Hayley, sweetie." He had a gift of patience with his daughter, perhaps not with himself or others – though with his daughter he was always kind and was always loving.

"Naley." She repeated. She was trying, that was obvious, she just wasn't old enough to say it properly just yet.

Her father smiled and shook his head, giving up. "I don't know.." He answered once more. "Only time will tell…don't tell her about this though ok?"

"Ok!" She saluted him happily, earning a deep laugh.

"Go play, sweetie." He grinned happily as she slipped from his lap and headed off, waving her little hand at him before disappearing from the room, leaving Jason alone with his thoughts.

"So.." I began quietly. "Do you want your present?" I asked, fidgeting slightly. I liked her about ten times more than I ever liked Kira. She's my angel, my pink angel, and making her happy meant the world to me.

She smiled, eyes sparkling playfully. "What do you think?"

I smirked. "I think that since you won't answer my question, I won't give you your present."

She laughed. "Come on, just stop and give it to me."

"What if I don't want to?" I teased, loving to see her smile.

"I might have to kill you." She answered, smile growing as their teasing continued.

"I don't think you can." I told her matter of factly.

"And why not?" She placed her hands on her hips, a brow raised as she looked over at me.

"You like me too much to kill me." I told her, earning a smile, though no reply. We simply stared at each other for a while before she spoke again.

"So are you gonna give it to me or not?" She questioned.

I laughed. "A kiss first."

She rolled her eyes playfully before leaning in and giving me a small peck on the cheek.

I paused. "I didn't think you would do that.." I told her honestly.

"Well I did." She smiled. "I want my present now." She added, reaching out to run her fingers through my dark hair, gentle affection shining through her eyes, as well as a bit of satisfaction – at knowing that she had surprised me.

I stared into her eyes a moment more before nodding, feeling my nervousness rising once again. "I got you two things.." I handed her a folder with a small yellow rose taped to it.

Kelly smiled slightly, running her fingers over the soft petals before opening the folder. Inside was a drawing of her, sitting on a swing, her eyes on the sky – a supergirl costume covering her body. "Sorry..I can only draw super heroes…" I explained.

She smiled. "Oh Trent, I love it..this has to be the best present that I've gotten..thank you.." She whispered honestly.

I felt a slight blush rising up. "Close your eyes, I want to give you the other one."

Kelly smirked, eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Alright." She slowly closed her eyes, slyly opening one and peaking around.

"Close them." I laughed, her laughter soon joining mine as I tickled her side gently.

"Ok! Ok, Trent!" I stopped tickling, leaving us both breathless yet smiling for a moment before her eyes closed.

A light blush came to her cheeks as my warm hand brushed against her neck. "Open." I whispered into her ear, hoping she liked the gift.

Kelly's eyes opened and she gazed around, her eyes landing on the silver locket around her neck. She gasped softly and smiled, eyes glowing with happiness.

"Open it." I told her gently. She did so, her smile growing as she saw the picture of all six of the rangers.

"Oh Trent you're the best!" She moved closer, wrapping her arms around him tightly, her head resting on his shoulder.

"So I take it you like them?" I asked with a laugh, placing my hands on her waist.

"I love them…" She whispered, mentally adding 'And I love you too, Trent..'

Hayley glanced around the cyber-café, in search of Ethan. Ethan had promised that he could call her when he arrived there – yet never did. She had gotten worried after a while and was now in search of him. He wasn't that hard to find, she found him easily enough, in the corner playing video games with Cassidy. I'll kill him…She thought before shouting over. "Hey! Ethan!"

Ethan turned around and mentally groaned – he had just remembered about the call. "I'm so sorry, Hayley…I was just kind of busy, I forgot."

"Busy? Huh?" She glanced to Cassidy with a raised brow, smirking as both blushed.

"I'm really sorry, Hayley.." Ethan continued.

"Don't be." Hayley smiled. "Forget it."

Ethan smiled now. "Thanks, Hayley…"

"One more thing though.." She began to walk towards the door.

"And what's that?" Ethan questioned when she didn't continue.

Her smirk widened. "Look up." She said, before disappearing to the back of the store.

The two blushed deeply as they they looked up to find mistletoe.

Ethan coughed. "So..um..do you want to..er…follow tradition? I mean it is traditon, but then again rules are meant to be broken…Then again if you're really into tradition and you want to…I mean…well..Shouldn't we? Should we? I-"

Cassidy stood up. "Ethan?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up and kiss me." With that they both leaned in and what started as a small kiss soon turned into a full force snogging session. That is until the need for air was too great and they broke apart.

"Wow.." Ethan whispered, smiling slightly over at her.

Cassidy smiled. "So, you gonna ask me out, or was that a reasonless make-out?"

"Well.." Ethan began. "What're you doing next Saturday?"

"If I'm lucky, I'll be with you."

"Looks like it's your lucky day.."

Kimberley sighed, walking into her small house. She slipped off her jacket and hung it up, before heading into her bedroom – letters in hand. They mostly said the same thing, so she was having a difficult time finding that 'special one'. It didn't help that she was in a bad mood and she was hoping that her mood wouldn't cause her to overlook the right one.

It wasn't as though her mood could be helped, though. After all it was Christmas and no one liked to be alone for Christmas. Dating had been so much easier as a ranger. She laughed. Of coarse it had been easier – she had Tommy. He had been her one true love and she still beat herself up about letting him slip away. He was her 'what if'guy, because the what ifs were endless.

Another sigh escaped her lips. She lifted the letters, hoping that they'd take her mind off of Tommy. She opened one after another after another – they were all of the same old borning nonsense. "Just one more.." She said quietly, knowing that it was late and that she was tired.

Alex Roberts

Reefside, CA

Dear Ms. Hart,

Reefside is an extraordinary town with many extraordinary people. Yet it's also far from what you'd consider to be a 'normal town'. You see, lately we've been plagued with monster attacks! If it weren't for the Power Rangers I probably would've even be able to send you this letter. They're great and they protect us all - but we still have the fear of another attack. I think your school would be perfect there, because it would be a safe place for us kids to go to get our minds off of the monster attacks. Thank you for your time, I hope to see you in Reefside.

Love,

Alex

"Ding ding ding…we have a winner.." Kim whispered, placing the letter carefully on her bedside table. She lifted her phone and dialed the number of her personal assistant. "Hi Susie..I need you to book a flight to California for me, as well as a hotel reservation…Reefside…Thanks, bye Susie…"

As she hung up her mind drifted back to Tommy. She smiled, finding it ironic that in her attempt to get her mind off of him – she had only found more fuel for the fire…

AN: Ok, Candy fans don't kill me yet; you may find a little surprise coming up. Before you say anything, I did put Ethan and Cassidy together in one chapter, while everyone else had been flirting around since chapter one. It's just that both of them don't seem like the type to beat around the bush. I hoped you like the chapter and now you can review and tell me what you think.

BN: Um…speechless…lol..YAY KIM!