Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers, or the settings where they have taken place. They are owned by Saban. I don't wish to get sued.
Authors Note: Here is the next chapter of a story that I have neglected unfortunately. It will not be neglected any more! Please R&R! I'm hoping for 100 or more!
About four days before Thanksgiving, Kimberly flew to France to be with her mother and stepfather. She was looking forward to having a nice dinner, even though it wouldn't be the same as back home with all her cousins and family around. Katherine calls her as she steps off the plane in Paris.
"Hello?" Kimberly says when she hears the ringing of her cell.
"Hey Kimberly."
"Hey Kat! What's up?"
"Not much here, how about there?"
"Not much, I just got of the plane. What are you doing for thanksgiving?"
"I guess just staying here. I have a recital coming up in three months, so I am not going to go home. I need to practice."
"You can't be alone on a holiday."
Kat laughs, "It's not even my holiday. I adopted it when I moved to the States."
Kim smiles, "You're right, but still."
"I'm use to it Kimberly. I'm not even sure if I can get home for Christmas or not, and I don't think I can get to the Trials."
"Don't worry about it Kat. I know how hard it is to get home from England, well, not from England, but from France."
"I know, but I wish I could get there for ya."
"Just cheer for me at your dormitory."
"You bet." She smiles.
"I miss ya Kat."
"I miss you too. How's everyone back home?"
"They're fine."
"Good. Tell them all I said hi, and the offer still stands for the girls coming up for a week of shopping."
"We'll definitely be taking you up on that, but maybe after the holiday ok?'
"You bet."
"Alright, well, I have to get going. I need to grab my luggage and head off to find my mother. I'll see you soon ok?"
"Yeah. See ya soon." Kat says as the girls hang up.
Kim feels bad that Katherine is alone, and wants to do something about it. She doesn't know what, but something.
"Hi Kimberly!" She hears as she turns to the voice.
"Hi mom." She smiles, hugging her.
"It is so good to see you!"
"You too. I've missed you."
"I've missed you too Honey. Come on, let's get home."
"Ok." She smiles.
"You ready for the Trials?"
"Yeah, I think so. I mean, I need more work, and I'm heading right to Atlanta after New Years, plus I'm working on my routines my entire stay in Angel Grove, but I think I'll make it."
"I'm sure you will. You've come so far, and I think you'll make it to the Olympics." She smiles.
"Thanks mom, but you are a bit bias." She smiles.
"I'm allowed to be."
"I feel confident too, but I am really gonna have to wait and see."
"Just have fun, like I have always told you, since you were six and just starting gymnastics."
"I plan on it." She smiles, "Hey mom?"
"Hmm?"
"I was wondering. Do we have enough food for one more person at dinner on Thursday?"
"Who were you thinking of?"
"Katherine. I figured I'd fly out, surprise her, grab her and bring her back for a few days. She seems kind of homesick."
"That sounds fine." Caroline smiles.
"Good."
"I figured I'd pick her up on Tuesday. That's when her school closes. I just don't want her to be alone, especially when I'm only like 400 miles or so away."
"I don't blame you. That's fine honey."
"Ok cool." She smiles.
"What's Tommy doing for Thanksgiving?"
"He's heading to San Diego with family."
"It's a shame he couldn't come here."
"Yeah, I know." She sighs.
"OH, let me see your ring honey. I forgot all about it." Kim holds out her left hand to show her, "I love it! It's gorgeous."
"Yeah, I like it too." Kim smiles.
"Have you set a date?"
"Oh god mom, no." She laughs, "I am not planning on getting married until after college. It's just a long engagement."
"I always knew if you stayed with him you'd be engaged early." She says.
"Oh is that so?"
"Yeah." She smiles at her daughter. They pull to the Dumas estate and head in, "Go ahead and throw your stuff in your room."
"Ok." Kim says, smiling.
"Hello Kimberly." Peter calls to her.
"Hi Peter." She smiles, passing him on the stairs. She goes into her room and sets everything down. She unpacks a bit and heads back downstairs to hear her stepfather and mother talking in French. The only word she got out was Kimberly and Katherine.
"Um, yeah." Kim says, "I heard my name and Katherine's."
"I'm just telling Peter about Thanksgiving."
"Can you stick to conversation in English while I'm here? Please?" Kim practically begs.
"I'll try and remember that." Caroline smiles at her daughter.
"Thank you."
"So, your friend will be joining us?"
"Mmm, yeah." Kim says, smiling, "If that's ok. I am flying out to see if she can come, and then I'm kidnapping her."
"That is perfectly fine." Peter smiles at her.
"Awesome." She says, hearing her cell phone ring, "Excuse me." She says, running to her bag to grab it. She looks at the number and smiles, "Hey Tommy, what are you still doing up?"
"Talking to you." He smiles, looking at the clock.
"You should be sleeping at 3:00 in the morning."
"I would if someone would have called me earlier instead of talking to Kat."
"I'm sorry. She called me on the way out and…"
"Hey, I'm kidding." He says, laughing, "I'm really not that tired anyway."
"Ok, good."
"Was your flight good?"
"Very, well it was long, but it was fine. I'm gonna go pick Kat up on Tuesday and force her to spend Thanksgiving with me."
"It isn't even her holiday."
"That's what she said, but I insist. She doesn't know I'm doing it, so don't tell her."
"Kidnapping?"
"Yeah."
"I won't say a word."
"I miss you." She sighs.
"I miss you too Kim." He says.
"I know you have to be tired, so I'll let you go ok?"
"You don't have…"
"Tommy. Go to sleep." She laughs, "Give me a call when you and I are both awake."
He laughs, "Alright. Tell Kat I said hello."
"I will. I love you."
"I love you too beautiful. Talk to you soon."
"Bye."
"Bye." He says, and they hang up.
Tuesday comes and Kimberly is back on the plane, on her way to pick Katherine up. It was a short flight, only an hour and a half. She lands and hails a cab and is over at Kat's dorm within twenty minutes. She pays the cab driver with the money her mother gave her and heads inside. She walks up the three flights to room 345 and knocks on the door.
A girl with brown hair and green eyes answers, "May I help you?" She asks. She was American, probably from New York, Kim thinks.
"Yes, I'm looking for Katherine."
"She should be back soon. She's at the studio right now practicing."
"Do you know when she'll be back?"
"Thirty minutes." The girl says, looking at the stranger at her door, "Do I know you?"
"Um, no, I don't think so.'
"I swear I've seen a picture of you before."
"Probably, I'm Kimberly. Kat's one of my best friends."
"You're the gymnast?"
"Yeah." Kimberly smiles.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Cheyenne."
"So is Kat in class, because I though…"
"No, she's just working on her dance a bit. I can take you, or I can tell you how to get there."
"Um, sure, either one would be fine." Kim says.
"I better show you. If Madame is there, she may be annoyed that someone is seeing her precious dancers before paying for the show."
"Thanks a lot Cheyenne."
"No problem. So, what are you doing in our neck of the woods?"
"I'm actually in Paris, visiting my mother and stepfather. I figured I'd come up and surprise and hijack Kat from here for Thanksgiving."
"Well that's nice of you, I'm sure Katherine will be thrilled." Cheyenne smiles.
"I hope so."
"All I hear about is you guys From California." Cheyenne says as they walk to the practice hall, "I feel like I know you all already."
"Yeah, I get that a lot." She smiles. "So is Kat happy?"
Cheyenne smiles, "Its odd hearing you call her Kat."
"Why?"
"I don't know, we all usually call her Katherine. I guess because that's what our professors call her. She's happy. I mean, we all go through our spurts of homesickness, but it's easy having two people from the states living together, because we get through it."
"Yeah, I guess that would help."
They walk into the Practice Hall and through the doors. There are floor length mirrors set up. Kat was talking to her teacher before she began her piece again.
"I have never actually seen her dance." Kim says to the girl.
"Really! She's amazing."
"Yeah, so I heard." Kim smiles.
"Here, let me go get Katherine."
"No, I can wait…"
"She's done." She says, watching the final passage, "You want it to be a surprise, wait in the entrance. You'll surprise her out there." Kim nods and heads out as she walks up to the stage, "Hello Madame."
"Hello Cheyenne, what brings you here? I didn't think you were practicing until tomorrow."
"I'm not. I came here to get Katherine actually. Someone is here to see her."
"To see me?" Kat asks.
"Yes. Are you finished?"
"Yes." She smiles, grabbing her bag.
"Good work today Katherine, I'll see you girls next week. Have a happy holiday."
"Thank you Madame, you too." She smiles, slightly as they head off the stage and towards the exit, "So, who's here?"
"You'll see." She smiles.
"Oh come on Chey."
"You'll see Kat." She smiles.
"Ok." She laughs, heading out the doors.
"Hi Kat! You have exactly two hours to get packed and come with me for a few days to Paris." Kimberly says, as her friend comes through the door with a shocked expression as she sees her best friend standing in the hallway.
"Kimberly!" She says, smiling, as the two girls hug, "What are you doing here!"
"I was in the neighborhood…"
"You are in France."
"Hey, it's closer than me being in Florida."
"True." She smiles, "It is so good to see you."
"You too Katherine, but now, you are coming home with me to France, because I am not having you all alone on Thanksgiving. I don't care if it is your holiday or not."
"Kim… I don't want to impose."
"I won't take no for an answer Kat. My mother and stepfather know you are coming and already have a room for you to stay in. You just need to bring your bags a cell phone and yourself to the airport with me and get on the plane. I need someone to go sightseeing with anyway." She smiles.
"Alright." She smiles, "Let's go."
The three girls head back up to the dorm and Katherine starts packing for a few days. She would be staying until Friday. Kimberly would be flying back Friday also.
"OH!" Kat says suddenly, "Let me see your ring!" Kim laughs, holding out her hand. "That's really pretty. I haven't seen it, but Aisha told me all about it."
"I like it." Kim says smiling.
"Are you engaged?" Cheyenne asks.
"Yeah." Kim smiles.
"Congratulations."
"Thank you."
"So have you been dating your boyfriend long?"
"Yeah." Kim says, "Since we were in tenth grade."
"Wow, not much for looking around."
Kat smiles, "They were meant for each other."
Kimberly smiles at her friend, "Thanks Kat. Now, get your ass moving."
"I'm ready when you are."
"Do you have your cell phone, because Jason will most likely be calling you."
"Yes I have it mother. Chey, I'll see you soon ok?"
"See you Friday. Have fun Kat."
"Thanks." She smiles.
"That was only an hour, now we'll be waiting at the airport for a while."
"No we won't. It's difficult to get a cab sometimes. Come on." Kat smiles.
They finally hail a cab after about ten minutes and head to the airport gabbing the entire time.
"What's the flight? Two hours?"
"Yeah, it seems like this entire week I am on the plane all the time, I mean I came up yesterday for a 6 hr flight, and I'm going home on a six hour flight."
"It could be worse, it could be all the way to Angel Grove."
"True." Kim smiles.
The girls head to Paris for a few days. They get into the airport and Kim picks up the car she borrowed and left there for this occasion. Once the girls get to Kim's parent's house, they walk right in, "We're home!" Kimberly calls.
"Hi girls." Caroline says, smiling, "It's good to see you Katherine." She says, giving the girls a hug.
"You too. You have a lovely home." She smiles.
"Thank you dear. How was your flight?"
"Great mom."
"Good. Go ahead up and get settled in, and make yourself at home." She smiles at Katherine.
"Thanks a lot."
"Not a problem honey."
"Come on Kat, I'll show you where you can throw your bag down." Kim smiles, as they head up the stairs to the spare bedroom next to Kimberly's. "The bathroom is connected with our rooms."
"I love this house… it's massive." Kat says.
"Yeah, it takes some getting use too, but it works. It's fun to come visit, but I get really annoyed at everyone speaking French around me."
Kat laughs, and throws her bag down on the floor next to the bed. "I'm really glad to see you. It's nice to see a familiar face."
"Yeah, I hear that. It's a good thing that you live so close." Kim grins.
"Close!"
"Yeah, well a two hour plane ride isn't really far, you know?"
"Yeah, I hear you."
"Do you want anything to eat?"
"No, thank you, I'm fine for now." She smiles, hearing her cell ring.
"Jason?"
Kat smiles and nods, "Hey."
"I hear you are in France."
"How did you hear?"
"Tommy."
"Tommy told you!"
"Yeah."
"At least he didn't tell you." Kim says, smiling, walking through the bathroom, to her room to let them talk in peace. She sits down and works on some homework that was due when she gets back. She was frustrated with the calculus homework and decides to give Billy a call about it while Kat was talking to Jason. She scrolls through her phone and finds his number and dials. After the familiar hello she continues to speak, "Hey Billy."
"Kimberly, it is great to hear from you, how are you?"
"Good, how are you?"
"Great. What's going on?"
"Not much." She smiles, "What about you?"
"Nothing. I saw Trini this past week. She is doing well. She misses you."
"I miss her too. I'll have to give her a call one of these days."
"You really should." He says, smiling.
After they talk for a bit she says, "I have a homework question for you."
Billy chuckles, "We're in college and you still ask for my assistance on your homework."
Kim laughs, "Yeah, well, it's calculus. You know how great I am in math."
"You're fine… but what's the question?"
"Ok…" She says, and begins to explain the one problem to him. He thinks about it for a few seconds and gives her the reasoning and explanation for how to do the problem, "That's it?"
"That's the simplistic way of calculating such a lengthy problem, yes."
"You are a lifesaver Billy!"
"Any time Kimberly." He says, smiling. "Will you be home for Christmas?"
"Yes, but not for too long. I have to head right back to Georgia after New Years to practice for the Trials. Will you be coming?"
"I wouldn't miss it." He says, "Trini and I will be driving down for it. We'll be out East by the time they arrive."
"GREAT! Kat isn't sure if she can come, but I told her not to worry about it. I mean, it's in the middle of a semester for her…"
"Yes, I know. How is she? Jason tells me she is there for the holiday?"
"She's good. She's on the phone with him right now."
"Tell her I said hello."
"I will Billy. Well, I better get going. Thanks for your help. I owe ya one."
"Any time Kim. It was a pleasure talking to you. Have a good Thanksgiving."
"You too Billy, bye."
"Bye."
She hangs up her cell phone and finishes up the rest of the calculus problems using Billy's examples. She smiles and closes her book, listening to Kat talk to Jason. She wishes she could call Tommy, but she knows that he is teaching a Karate class. He still does that at the Youth Center during breaks and when he is home for the weekend. She sighs, and opens her teaching gymnastics book. She reads through almost the entire chapter before Kat comes into her room and sits on her bed.
"Homework?" She asks.
"More like review." Kim says smiling, "It's for my class called Teaching Gymnastics 1. It is mostly practice for me."
"I would say so." Kat says, laughing, "An easy A."
"Defiantly." Kim smiles closing the book, "Well, it's now 9:00. What do you way we go out on the town? I know a great café that we could grab something to drink… if you'd like."
"Sure, that sounds great." Kat smiles. She has never been to Paris and wants to make the best of it.
"Ok, let's get ready and head out." She smiles. Kim looks through her clothes she brought and pulls on a turquoise sweater and a pair of black pants with her black boots. Kat pulls on a pink sweater with jeans and her brown boots and they head downstairs.
"Mom!"
"Yes?"
"We're heading out. I need some of the French money, I love so much. Can you give us some?"
"How much do you girls need?"
Kim thinks, "Probably about forty dollars, so what ever that equals out too."
"Ok, here you girls go. Where are you heading?"
"To the café by the tower."
"Have fun." Caroline says, "Do you need a ride?"
"No, we'll walk." Kim says. It was only about a ten minute walk down a well lit area, so Kim wasn't too worried.
"Be careful."
"We will, thanks mom." Kim smiles as she pulls on her leather jacket, hat and gloves, Katherine doing the same.
"Yes, thanks Mrs. Dumas."
"No problem girls. Enjoy your night."
"We will." Kat smiles, as the two walk out of the Dumas Estate. "Gosh, it's getting cold."
"Yeah." Kim says, zipping up her jacket. "It's not a far walk, ten minutes tops. You'll be able to see the Eiffel Tower too. It's all lit up at night and gorgeous."
"I can't wait." Kat says, smiling. "We may have to go shopping tomorrow."
"Oh girl, you read my mind. Thankfully, I have plastic for my trips out here." Kim giggles, "I would never bring a ton of money here, because I'd spend it all."
"Right, so you just put it on the card and forget about it for a month."
"Exactly." Kim says, laughing.
"That sounds practical enough." Kat says, nudging her friend.
"Oh come on, you know you aren't paying in cash tomorrow while shopping."
"Yeah, you're probably right." She smiles.
"Of course I am." She laughs. The girls head into the shop and order a cup of coffee.
They sit and talk, looking out at the Tower. There were a few American people in the area, but not many. Kimberly knows the French normally don't take too kindly to Americans, but she has picked up enough French to get her by during ordering a meal.
The girls walk around the city for a little while before heading back around 12:30. They walk into the house laughing and head upstairs. "Movie, or bed?"
"Um, let's do a movie. I'm not too tired yet."
"Me neither. I just have to tell my mom that we're in."
"Ok."
"Pick what ever. I have a handful of DVD's in my room."
"Right." She smiles.
Kim walks into her mothers master bedroom and says, "We're back."
"You guys were out a bit late don't you think?"
"It's only 12:30ish. It's not late."
"It is when you don't know the area very well."
"Mom…" Kim says, shaking her head. "Good night."
"Night." She smiles, as her daughter leaves her side."
Kim heads back in her room and the two of them watch TV, and then head to bed.
Friday came, and Kimberly and Katherine head to the airport. Kim's mom drops them off. They were more upset about having to leave each other than having to head back to classes and colleges.
"Ok, are you girls good to get to the gate?"
"We're fine mom." Kim says, kissing her.
"Thanks for everything Mrs. Dumas."
"Any time honey. You girls fly safe, and let me know when you are home."
"Yeah, Kat, just leave a message on my phone. I'll get it sometime during the long flight." She sighs.
"I will."
"Ok, mom, I'll call you when I land. I love you."
"I love you too honey. I'll see you soon ok?"
"Ok." Kim smiles, hugging her one last time. "Ready Kat?"
"Yeah." Kat smiles.
"Bye Girls."
"Bye." They say with a final wave. The girls head through customs and to their gates. They have an hour to kill before Kim's flight and an hour and a half before Kats, so they hang in Kimberly's loading area. Kat's was only a few gates away from hers.
"Well…" Kim says, as she hears her flight loading, "That's me."
"Yeah. Listen, thanks for coming to see me, I really miss you."
"I miss you too Kat, we all do. We'll probably see you Christmas right?"
"Possibly, but doubtful, unfortunately. I think I'll be either here or in Australia."
"Ok, well, let us know and we'll mail your Pollyanna to you, and vice versa."
"You don't have to include me this…"
"The hell we don't. Anyway, I'll see you soon regardless. We'll plan a trip to England soon."
"Ok." She says, hugging her friend, "Say hi to everyone for me."
"Will do. Bye Katherine."
"Bye Kimberly." She smiles.
Kim loads the plane, waves to Kat one final time before descending down the tunnel to find her seat. Kat heads over to her area and awaits her plane. Two hours later she was home and leaves a message on Kim's cell. Kim, of course was still in the air, and would be for another four or five hours.
The next few weeks were extremely busy for Kimberly. She was getting extremely frustrated with the gym and with her classes. She was stressing out over the trials that were coming up in less than a month, and because of that she spend most of her days in the gym practicing. She would go to class, do her work, and then be at the gym till almost midnight, every day. She put her personal life on hold and it was annoying her boyfriend a lot. He was in his dorm and figured Kim would be back to her room by now, he speed dials number two and frowns when he immediately hears "Hi, it's Kimberly! I can't get to my phone right now, probably because I'm at class or at the complex, but I'll get back to you as soon as I get a second to breath!"
He waits for the beep, "Kimberly, it's Tommy again. This is like the fifth message in two days I have left you, and your phone has been off. Call me ok? I miss you. Love you, bye." He hangs up and throws his phone against the bed, groaning. "It's midnight there, why the hell isn't she answering?" He grabs his phone again and calls their dorm room.
After it rang for about five times the answering machine came on, "Hi, this is Renee and Kimberly. We aren't in our room right now, so try our cells if you need us, otherwise leave a message and we'll get back to you later!"
"Hey girls it's Tommy, Kim I tried your cell so I figured I'd leave a message here. Give me a call ok? Love you, bye. By Renee too." Once again he hags up the phone and chucks it against the pillows.
He goes over to his computer and sees Kimberly's screen name with her away message up. IT reads, "Only five more weeks till Trials, so where am I? At the complex of course. Leave me a message, and I'll get back to you later. Love you Tommy! Love Kimberly." He groans at that too.
"Tommy, let's go bro." Rocky says, opening the door, "Dinner."
"Alright, I'm coming." He says, standing up, grabbing his phone, "I don't know why the hell I am bringing this…"
"She still hasn't called you?"
"No." He frowns, "I don't know what is taking her so long to get back to me. It's been three days. And when she did get back to me three days ago it was a three minute phone conversation."
"Tommy," Jason says, coming up behind him, "She's trying to get all her work done and she is training for trials. That's a big deal for her right now."
"You don't think I know this! I'm not asking for an hour long conversation just, "Hi Tommy, I'm fine, Everything's going great, just busy, I'll talk to you soon. BUT NO. She can't even give me THAT. I can't believe her!"
Aisha walks behind them and whispers to Rocky, "Kim hasn't called?"
"No." He says.
"Tommy, she hasn't called me either." Aisha says, trying to make her friend feel better.
"I don't wanna talk about it anymore." He says.
"Whoa, someone's in a bad move." Drew says, punching Tommy in the arm lightly.
"Knock it off Drew." He mumbles.
"Wrong side of the bed today Tom?"
"Drop it."
"You'll see her in a couple week's Tommy." Adam says.
"I should be talking to her every week."
"She needs to get her shit together." Rocky says. "This isn't just any competition."
"I KNOW ROCKY!" He shouts at him.
"Hey, don't get all bitchy with me Tom." Rocky says, holding his hands up, "I'm just telling you the truth. She's busy. She has finals coming up and a major competition that is going to mean the world to her. Even when she is home, she'll be practicing."
"I know." He says, shaking his head.
"Just give her a bit of space Tommy. She'll come around." Aisha says, smiling. "Trini came down to surprise her and she barely had a second to talk to her. She was upset, and Kim felt absolutely awful, but they spent what time she had with her and that was it. It's just gymnastics. She needs to get through this and then she'll be back to normal. The Olympics are in two years, and everything will be back to normal."
"Let's just go eat." He says, as they head into the dining hall.
Kimberly and Renee get back to their dorm room, absolutely exhausted. "Tommy called." Renee says, listening to their voice mails.
"Thanks." She says, looking at her watch. "He called my cell too. Ugh, I wish I wasn't so busy… it seems that he always calls when I don't have time to talk or I'm not around."
"Such is the life of a gymnast." Renee smiles.
"I guess I'll call him and see if he's around." She sighs, almost too tired to respond to his message.
Speed dial two was his number and she presses it. After six rings his voice mail comes up, "This is Tommy, you know what to do."
At the beep Kimberly starts to talk, "Hey Tommy, it's me. I just got your messages, and I am sorry for not getting back to you sooner. Seems we are always playing phone tag. Anyway, I miss you. I'm going to bed now, but I'll leave my phone on. Call me if you wanna talk. I love you. Bye."
"That was so heartfelt Kim." Renee snickers, turning off her desk lamp.
"Give me a break, I'm exhausted." She sighs, "Good night."
"Night." Renee says, as the room goes dark.
"Dammit!" Tommy says, looking at his missed call, "I don't believe this. The one time I don't bring my phone with me to the gym, she calls."
"Call her back." Jason says.
It was 11:00 in Angel Grove, "I shouldn't. She's probably sleeping…"
"You two haven't talked in a while, you may as well try." He replies as he heads out the door to grab a shower.
"Yeah." He says, speed dialing her number, letting out a breath he was not obvious of holding when he hears someone on the other end.
"Hello?" Kimberly says, exhausted. Her voice screamed that she had been sleeping for quite some time.
"Hey beautiful."
"Hey Tommy." She says, trying to wake herself up enough to talk to him.
"Did I wake you?"
"Yeah. I'm normally sleeping at 2:00 in the morning." She jokes.
"I shouldn't have called you this late…"
"No, no, Tommy, I wanted to talk to you." She says, yawning. "Everything good out there?"
"Yeah. What about you?"
"School is going great and gymnastics has taken over my life." She laughs, "I can't wait till Trials are over. The Olympics are gonna be tough, but I'll survive. I think that I'm working harder now than ever."
"You're good at that." He smiles, "God, I miss you."
"I miss you too Tommy." She says, yawning again.
"Listen, go back to sleep ok?"
"But…"
"We'll talk soon ok? I can hear how tired you are."
"I'm sorry Tommy… that I can't call as often as I want. I love you."
"I love you too. Good night beautiful."
"Night Handsome. Tell everyone I said hello."
"I will." And with a final I love you, they hang up.
Kimberly puts her cell back on the desk and immediately falls back asleep.
Two weeks go by before Kimberly and Tommy talk again. It was one week before she comes home for the holiday. They keep missing one another, and Tommy is furious. Kimberly has been too busy to be mad, but it was wearing on her again too. Every single time they called they would be talking to their answering machine. Finally, Tommy left her a message in pure anger. "You know Kimberly, I'm getting pretty pissed off not hearing from you in two weeks. Your phone is never on, or when it is YOU DON"T ANSWER. Then, on top of this, you haven't even left me a message in about three days, nor called me. This is fucking ridicules Kimberly. All I want to do is talk to my Fiancé, just once, even if it was for a few minutes, but NO! You know what, whatever, I'm not calling you back. You call me if you have time for me ok? Bye." And with that he hangs up, without even an 'I Love You'.
"She doesn't keep her phone on, I'm not keeping mine on." He says to himself, turning the phone off.
Kimberly turns on her cell phone and sees one unanswered message. She hopes it's Tommy. She was going to try and get a hold of him again, but it was becoming difficult. She puts her password in and listens to the phone message. "WHAT!" She says aloud getting Cooper's attention.
"What's up squirt?"
"OOOOOHHHHH that boy!" She says, listening to the message again.
"Tommy?"
"Yes, Tommy. He calls me and leaves me a very awful message and expects me to call him back!"
"What did he say?"
"Well, it's been two weeks since we've had a phone conversation. I mean, we've left each other voice mail, and instant messages, but this is getting ridiculous."
"What did he say?"
"It's fucking ridiculous, I haven't even left a message in three days, he's not calling back, and if I have time I'm to call him. That's basically it."
"Kim… it's frustrating."
"YOU'RE ON HIS SIDE!"
"Come on, my girlfriend gets the same way." He says sighing.
"YEAH, but I never get him when I'm home either, and I'm not leaving him a voice mail." She says, dialing his number, "HIS PHONES OFF!" She shouts, before leaving him a rather lengthy message, "I don't know what the hells gotten into you Tommy, but this isn't ALL my fault! When ever I call you, you aren't around, and vice versa. Do you want me to quit gymnastics? Come home so you can keep tabs on me? What do you want me to do! You tell me to call you and then turn your phone off, well that's just bullshit. How about you call me when you get some sense in that thick skull ok? I'll IM you later." And with that she hangs up. "I gotta go talk to an ass Cooper, I'll see you later."
"Bye Kim." He says smiling.
She sits down at her computer and types to his screen name.
"Yo Tommy?" John says, when an instant message pops up during the time they were working on a project.
"Yeah?"
"You got an IM."
"From who John?"
"PinkCrane1."
"Well, what's it say?" He says, shaking his head.
"Um, it says, 'What the hell was that all about? You call me, yell at me, and then turn your phone off? That's really nice Thomas.' Ouch, Thomas… never heard you called that before."
"Just tell her that you aren't me. I'm not in the mood to deal with her anger right now."
"Who is it?"
"My fiancé." He groans.
"She sounds pretty pissed off."
"I'll talk to her later, just not right now."
"Alright…"He says, typing quickly to her, "How's this, it's not Tommy, its John, we are working on a project right now, he'll IM you when we are done?"
"Fine." He growls.
John hits enter and a few minutes later another message is sent, 'You tell Tommy don't worry about it because I'm tired tonight and going to bed. He can call me when he has time. I won't turn my phone off.'
"Ouch…" Tommy says, sighing, "Let's get this done."
"Where did she come up with pink crane?"
"It's a long story." He says. "Let's get to work."
"So you can call her?"
"No. I'm not calling her tonight. She has to get up early tomorrow."
"For what?"
"Gymnastics practice. She's training for the trials in January. I'm sure I told you that."
"Not that I recall, but let's get back to paleontology ok?"
"Sounds good." Tommy smiles.
Kimberly walks to the bathroom mumbling to herself, "What's going on Kim?" Renee asks.
"My stupid fiancé. He has the nerve to call me and yell at me for not calling him enough, then when I do call him after he yelled at me, his phone is off. So, I IM'd him and he was too busy to talk to me. I don't believe him."
Renee laughs, "You two get mad at each other every couple of months."
"He just doesn't understand how tough it is for me too, not being able to talk to him. I'll be home in a matter of a week, and I probably won't even talk to him before hand."
"Relax, I'm sure you will." Renee laughs.
"Ugh, I'm too tired to deal with him tonight."
"SO don't. We have a hell of a practice tomorrow. We're coming down to the final stop."
"Yeah we are. Alright, I'm going back and going to sleep."
"Me too."
Kimberly checks her computer and sees a flashing message from 1WhiteFalcon1. "Shit." She curses, clicking on the message, 'I know you are probably sleeping, but I wanna talk to you. Call me tomorrow, I don't care what time it is, even if it is at 2:30 in the morning here. Night Beautiful.' Damn him!"
"What's wrong?"
"I still want to be mad at him. Why did he have to call me 'Beautiful'?"
"He loves you."
"Good night."
"Night."
Kimberly was right, it wasn't until she got home when her and Tommy finally connected. She was exhausted. She had to take the latest flight from Miami because of gymnastics.
When she got to Angel Grove, it was 12:00 in the morning there, but 3:00 in the morning where she was. Tommy picked her up like he promised. She would be going back to his house for the night.
"Hey." He says as she comes over to him.
"Hey." She smiles, as he pulls her into a hug and kisses the top of her head.
"How are you?"
"Considering I've been up for almost 24 hours straight, pretty good." She sighs, "How are you?"
"Good, now that you're home for a little while. Come on, let's go get your bags." He replies as they head over to baggage claim.
"I'm sorry." She says, "I tried to call you… but, every time I did, we missed each other."
"Me too. I know how important these trials are to you. I could have been more understanding, but, you're home now, and we'll spend a few weeks together until you get to go to Georgia."
Kim smiles, "Yeah. There." She points to her luggage, and Tommy grabs it off the carousel. "Thanks."
"No problem. Come on, let's head home."
"Ok." She yawns. They get into his jeep and Kimberly does everything she can to will herself not to fall asleep in the car. If she did, she probably wouldn't wake up. They get to the Oliver household and head in.
"Everyone sleeping?"
"Yeah, probably." Tommy says as he locks the door behind them.
"I think I'm going right to bed." Kimberly says, yawning.
"So I figured." He smiles.
"Sorry…"
"I'm kidding. It's 3:30 where you are." He smiles, "I'd be tired too."
"You could come in and lay with me for a while."
"And get the wrath of mom again if I fall asleep with you? No thanks." He laughs, dropping her suitcases in the spare bedroom.
"Alright, well, I'll see you tomorrow ok?"
"Yeah."
"Wake me up if I am not up when you are."
" I will." He says, kissing her, "Night."
"Night." She says, as she walks into her room and closes the door. She quickly brushes her teeth and changes, before sleeping.
Around 3:30, she wakes up with a jolt. She looks at her watch which says 6:30, "You have got to be kidding me." She sighs. She didn't change her watch to California time yet. Her body was still set on East coast time, which she was not happy about. After about 45 minutes of tossing and turning she gets up and quietly heads down to Tommy's room. She pushes open the door and leaves it open half way, crawling into bed with him. The TV was on so he hasn't been sleeping for too long, considering the movie he was watching was still playing, and the sleep timer hadn't gone off yet. She lays her head against his chest and he wakes up, "What time is it?"
"4:00." She says.
"What the hell are you doing awake at 4:00?"
"It's 7:00 in Florida." She sighs. "I've been up since around 3:30."
"And you are wide awake? After getting only three hours of sleep?"
"Not quite. I'm just use to being up at this time."
He wraps his arms around her and kisses the top of her head, "Do you wanna stay here for a bit?"
"Yeah." She says, smiling. "I really just wanna go back to sleep."
"So go back to sleep."
"I hope I can."
He smiles, rubbing her back in circles, but says nothing. Sometime within the next hour they are both sleeping again.
Around 10:00 the next morning, Mrs. Oliver was downstairs, "Jim. Go see if the kids are up yet." She says.
"If they were up, they'd be down here." He replies.
"I didn't even hear them come in last night."
"It was probably close to one before they did."
"Go check anyway." She says, as her husband reluctantly heads upstairs.
He checks in the guest bedroom and sees it's empty with a bed that had obviously been used, so he heads over to his son's room and looks into the room finding the pair comfortably sleeping on the bed. He laughs and pulls the door closed heading back downstairs. "They are still asleep."
"In separate rooms, I would assume."
"They are in Tommy's, BUT Kimberly's bed was slept in for at least a while." He says, watching his wife's expression turn to annoyance, "Hey, they are engaged, and do you honestly think that they would do anything with us right down the hall, and Morgan next to them?"
"I don't care, they know the rules." She frowns.
"It's not a big deal Jan. You need to trust them, and I really don't think they meant for it to happen."
"Humph." She says.
"They still have their clothes on."
"JAMES!" Jan says, blushing red. "I don't believe you."
He laughs at his wife's expression as Morgan comes into the living room.
"Are they up yet?" She asks, anxious to see her soon to be sister-in-law.
"Not yet, and don't you go waking them." Jan says.
"I wasn't planning on it mom." Morgan says, annoyed that her mother would even think she would do that. She turns and heads upstairs to watch some TV until they wake up.
At 10:30, the sun pours through Tommy's window, hitting the sleeping pair in the face. Kimberly stirs and opens her eyes. It takes her a second to realize where she is. She smiles when she sees Tommy next to her. She kisses him and he opens his eyes, "Good morning."
"Morning." She smiles, "You are so dead if your mom looked in here."
"Hey, you are a bad influence on me. I've never had girls sleeping in my bed before you."
"What am I thinking?" She giggles, "I should be smart like the others and leave your ass."
He smiles, holding her left hand up to her, "You said yes."
She laughs as she gets out of bed, "I'm gonna go grab a shower."
"Ok." He says, sitting up.
She walks out of his bedroom and sees Morgan, "Morning Morgan."
"Hi Kim!" She says, hugging her. "I've missed you!"
"I've missed you too." She laughs.
"Will you come watch my dance practice today?"
"What time is it at?"
"1:30."
"I don't see why not. I don't' have anywhere to be until 3:00." She smiles, "I need to get a shower quick though. I'll talk to you in a few minutes."
"Ok!" She says, running into her brothers room, "Guess what?"
"What?" He says, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes."
"Kimberly's coming to my dance practice."
"We are!" He says.
"Well, YOU don't have to go but she is."
He groans, "Wonderful. We do have to meet up with our friends at…"
"3:00. You are going." She says in a matter of fact way.
"Fine." He says, "Get out."
"I'm going Mr. Grumpy pants."
As soon as Kimberly gets out of the shower Tommy goes in. She gets dressed and the two head down to the living room where his parent's are sitting.
"Good morning." Jan says, getting up to hug Kimberly and Tommy.
"Morning." Kim and Tommy reply.
"It's about time you two get up." Jim says, looking at the clock, "It's almost 11:30."
"Hey, we've been up." Tommy says in playful defense.
"Sure." Jim says, smiling at his son.
"How's your training going Kimberly?"
"Very well Mrs. Oliver. I mean, it consists of long hours, and then I have school on top of it, but I am really enjoying myself."
"Nervous about January?"
"I'm trying not to be." She smiles, "I know I'm ready, I just have to show it."
"I'm sure you'll do wonderful. How was France?"
"Great." She smiles, "I grabbed Kat from England and forced her to come down with me for Thanksgiving."
"That was nice of you." She smiles.
"It was good to see her."
"Is she coming home for the holidays?"
"I don't know… do you?"
"Jason told me that she was going to Australia, so I doubt she'll be home." Tommy explains.
"She told me when we were in France she wasn't sure what she would be doing." She smiles, "Anyway, we better get a move on, because WE are going to watch your sister's practice."
Tommy groans, "Fine. MORGAN! ARE YOU READY!" He calls up the stairs.
"ALMOST!" Was her reply.
"I don't know how you talk me into these things."
"You don't have to go. I'll just take your jeep and go with her."
"No, I'll go."
"Good." She smiles, looking up at him.
"Ok, let's go." Morgan smiles.
"See you kids later." Mr. Oliver calls.
Christmas quickly passed, as did New Years. Kim spent the majority of her time hanging out with her friends and practicing. She went to the gym every day for a few hours to practice her routines. Everyone came to watch her and keep her company. They were thrilled to see how much she has improved over the past few weeks. Most of her friends thought she couldn't get any better. Kimberly would be heading back to the East Coast on January second. They all drop her off at the airport and say their goodbyes.
"We'll see you at the Trials Kim." Rocky smiles, hugging his best friend.
"You bet you will." She grins.
"We'll be down on the 9th." Adam replies.
"Call me when you guys get there. I mean, I don't know if I'll be able to talk to you all too often during the next couple of days, so…"
"We understand." Tommy smiles.
"Good luck if we don't talk to you before." Trini smiles.
"The girl doesn't need luck." Aisha says, "She's got it all locked up."
"Don't jinx me." Kim says, smiling. "See you all in Georgia."
They hug and kiss her before she gets on the plane. She flies directly to Atlanta and was greeted by her teammates.
"Bout time you showed up!" Shawn shouts at the girl clad in pink as she comes off the plane.
"Hey, I had a 6 hour flight, don't give me that." She smiles.
"How was your holiday squirt?"
"Fine thanks, how about yours?"
"Great." They all say.
"Where are we heading."
"To the complex to meet up with Coach Schmidt. He's been here for two days."
"Cool. We practicing tonight?"
"Our routines, once through perfectly, then we are done for the night. He'll tell us when we are practicing through the week." Renee smiles.
"Awesome." Kim says, "Let's go."
They grab all of their bags and head out the door into the warm Atlanta air. It is 7:00 by the time they get into the complex where they would be competing for a spot on Team USA.
"Wonderful! You are all hear." The Coach's thick accent flows through the arena. "We have the gym for two hours. Let's get stretched and to work."
"You got it!" Lindsey smiles as they head into the locker rooms to change. "God this is so exciting!"
"I know, can you believe we are actually standing just a mere 8 days from the Trials?" Kim smiles.
"Yeah, it's scary." Renee laughs. They pull their hair back and head out to the floor. "Coach, where do you want us?"
"Kimberly, you are on the bars, Lindsey the vault, and Renee the beam. Shawn, you are on the bars and Cooper the vault. We have just enough time to run through each routine." He says, looking to the four assistant coaches he brought with him, Danielle, Monica, Samantha, Paul, and Steve. Jill was there too, checking on the health of the gymnasts while they practiced.
"Where do you want us to go Gunthar?" Paul asks.
"Paul you stick with Cooper, Monica with Lindsey, Steve with Shawn, Danielle with Renee, and Samantha with Kimberly. I'll be milling around giving pointers. You five are my eyes. If you see ANYTHING wrong with the routines, they are to stop and fix them. I don't care what it is, even if it is as small as toes not pointed or as big as falling off. Let's go." He claps, as he walks over to Kim first. He watches her routine and stops her after her dismount, "Your legs came apart twice. Did you feel it?"
"Yes." She says.
"Again." He replies, watching her, spotting her when he needs to on difficult releases, "EXCELLENT! That's a world class gymnast's performance! Outstanding Kimberly. Now, again. Remember, tight legs, pointed toes and legs together."
"You got it Coach." She says, as she sprays water on her hands before chalking them up. She tightens her bar gloves and mounts on the springboard.
Two days later, they were finished practicing around 5:00. They all head back to the hotel. Shawn suddenly stops and pulls the girls ahead of the boys back.
"What?" Kim says.
"Look at that." He says pointing to the wide mirror in the hallway.
"Look at what?" Renee says.
"The mirror. Look at the mirror, what do you see?"
"I see us." Lindsey says.
"You know what I see?"
"What?" Cooper asks.
He puts his arms around the girls in front of him, "I see, Renee, Kimberly, Lindsey, Cooper and Shawn, the new Team USA Gymnasts."
"That's right." Cooper smiles, "We are gonna win. We are gonna dominate. And in two years when the Olympics occur, we are gonna win that too!"
"Three spots on each team. We got five of them locked away." Renee smiles.
"That's right." Kim and Lindsey smile.
"Come on, let's go get some dinner." Kim says, "I'm actually starving."
"So you'll be getting the large salad tonight!" Cooper says, getting punched in the chest by her. He laughs, "Is that a no?"
"Shut up." She giggles.
January 9 was their final day of practice. Kimberly was having a rough time on the bars. She fell off twice, fell on her butt after she dismounted once, and took a major step. She was close to tears as she over rotated on her dismount, "DAMMIT!"
"Kimberly." Samantha says, "Relax. You are trying too hard."
"I need to get away from bars for now. I'll do it at the end of practice." She says, looking over to her coach, "COACH SCHMIDT?"
"Yes?"
"Can I move on to the vault please!"
"Fine, but you ARE going back onto the bars as your last rotation."
"I promise I will." She sighs. Her vault, beam, and floor were perfect, but her bars were still shaky, until the last time she does the routine.
"That's more like it Kimberly. You need to do it again, just like you did. Don't think about the motions, just do them."
Kim nods at her coach, mounting, completing another flawless routine. She smiles, "That's more like it!" She says.
"Alright, everyone over here!" Coach calls to the gymnasts as they run over to the Coach, "Tomorrow is a big day. There are three places on each team. I have all the faith in the world that you five will be getting a place on the team. Do your best, don't worry, and have fun. You all know your routines. You are by far the finest gymnasts I have ever coached. I have not had US Olympians on my team in about six years, and even then it was one. It will be an honor to watch you and coach you as Olympians. I want all of you to get a good night sleep tonight, and we'll see you here at 10:00 tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow Coach." Renee says, as they change and go back to their hotel.
"So who's coming for you Renee?" Shawn asks.
"My brother, sister, boyfriend, and a couple friends from school and home, what about you guys?"
"Same, but replace girlfriend with boyfriend." Cooper smiles. "Is Tara coming Shawn?"
"Yeah, she'll be here."
"What about you Lindsey?"
"Family and friends." She smiles.
"How about you Kimberly?"
"Tommy, Rocky, Adam, Jason, Zack, Billy, Aisha, Trini, friends from school, and my father and his wife."
"Awesome!" Cooper says.
"Kat's not coming?" Lindsey asks.
"I'm not too sure. She's in England, so I'm really not holding my breath. It's ok though, she'll cheer me on in England." Kim smiles.
"And watch you win… watch all of us win." Cooper smiles.
"That's right!" Shawn grins.
The girls and guys retired to their rooms at 11:00 and went right to sleep. They were exhausted. Kim was a little bummed because she hasn't heard from Tommy all day, and she knows that everyone would be there by now. She pushes that out of her mind telling herself she'll see him tomorrow.
At the Atlanta Hilton Hotel, the Angel Grove gang was sitting in their rooms, anxiously awaiting the trials tomorrow.
"You gonna call Kimberly?" Jason asks his best friend.
"Not tonight. If I do, she'd want to stay up with all of us, and she really doesn't need to see us before the trials."
"I think she'll be pissed that you didn't even call her and say you got down." Rocky smiles.
"Well, tomorrow she'll be so anxious she won't even realize we're here." Tommy laughs.
"Yes she will." Jason smiles.
The next morning the gymnasts are up and eating a light breakfast at 8:00. Then it's over to the complex with their uniforms in tact. The girls head into the locker room and see 12 more girls in the locker room. There were fifteen girls competing in the morning and in the evening 12 guys. The guys are seated behind the girls in the stands. Kimberly, Renee, and Lindsey all wear the same uniform in different colors. Kimberly's was pink and white, Renee's was blue and white, and Lindsey's was purple and white. The top of each uniform in a diagonal to the middle of the chest was white while the other color cascaded down the rest of the outfit.
"Renee, I need my hair braided TIGHT." Kim says, "To the point where it's ripping my hair out."
"You got it. You need to do mine though."
"Sure. Linds, do you need your hair braided?"
"Yeah." She says, sitting in front of Kimberly.
The locker room was full of chatter, the girls smile at one another, but don't say much. There was discussion from the other girls about the three competing when they were in Pan Globals, most winning a medal. The girls do a once over in the mirrors and Kimberly looks over her shoulder, "Good luck girls." She says, smiling, hearing a couple 'You girls too' back from the girls.
Out in the stands, everyone takes their seats. They were thrilled. Tommy sees a couple of friends sitting a few rows behind them and he smiles, "Hey." He calls as they smile back at him.
"Hey Tommy." Kelsey says, coming down. She stops when she sees Rocky, Adam and Aisha, "Oh my gosh. How are you three!" She asks, hugging them.
"Girl, you look awesome." Aisha grins ear to ear. "It is so good to see you!"
"I haven't seen you guys in ages! Rocky, Adam, you got taller." She laughs, hugging them.
"Yeah that tends to happen in High School." Rocky smiles, "You look good."
"So do you." She smiles, calling up to her friends, "Guys come on down closer. That's Melanie, David, Kayla, Tracy, and Derek. Guys, these are Rocky, Adam, Aisha, Tommy, and I don't know the rest of you." She says.
Tommy smiles, "That's Billy, Trini, Zack, and Jason."
"I didn't miss the introductions did I?" An accented voice calls as they turn quickly.
"Katherine!" Aisha smiles, as Jason does everything to get to her except run over to her.
He kisses her, "What are you doing here!"
"I was able to take a slight holiday from school and head home for a bit." She smiles, "I couldn't miss my friend's trials."
"Dude, don't hog her!" Rocky says, hugging the Aussie. "It's great to have you back."
"I've missed you too Rocky. I've missed everyone." She smiles, hugging the rest of the former rangers. "Have you seen Kim! Is she nervous!"
"No, we haven't seen her." Tommy sighs.
"Well, I'm nervous enough for all of us, so she doesn't have to be." Trini smiles.
"There she is!" Aisha says, practically jumping out of her seat. "when does this start!"
"Noon." Tommy says, looking at his watch it was 11:00. He catches her surveying the stands and finally makes eye contact with the group. She smiles and waves.
"Make it happen Kimberly!" Rocky smiles.
She says something to the coach and he nods. She heads over to the bars and works on a few passages. They all take turns on the apparatuses until 11:40, when they are all back at their seats.
"Alright girls, now, this is it. You have all practiced so hard. It is your turn now, your time. There are three of you and three spots open. Just do your best, have fun, and relax. I have all the faith in the world for you. Now, go out there and show them what you've got! The order is Bars, Vault, Floor, and finally Beam for us. All eyes are on you three. You three were our Pan Global girls, and they are watching for you."
Kimberly smiles, she loves being last, "Let's do it girls." She smiles.
"That's right, three spots, three of us." Renee says.
"We got it locked away." Lindsey grins.
"Kimberly's up!" Aisha says, pointing to the bars.
"Next up on bars, Kimberly Hart." The announcer says.
"Shit, the bars." Jason sighs.
"Nawh bro, you gotta see her on them. She's pretty good at them now." Tommy replies as he watches his fiancée chalk her hands and address the judges. They all watch her eye up the bar and go for it.
"Oh come on Kim…." Aisha says, watching her friend.
"She can do it." Rocky says.
They watch her as she easily swings from top to bottom bar. Every move calculated to the point, then she starts for her dismount. The entire group holds their breath as she dismounts with a double flip with a twist and sticks it.
"YES!" They all shout as they jump up.
"ALL RIGHT KIM! THAT'S THE WAY BABE!" Rocky shouts.
She was obviously pleased as she runs over to her coach and hugs him and her teammates.
"Now for Kimberly Harts Score… 9.78."
She smiles and pulls on her warm-up outfit.
"Not bad!" Kat smiles.
"NOT BAD! That's awesome!" Rocky says, "Puts her in first place."
"She's going to the Olympics." Tommy smiles.
"That's right she's going. I mean, she's done her hardest event, the rest is cake." Trini smiles.
"Vault is tough on her sometimes." Adam points out.
"She'll do it. Shh, Rene's up." Tommy says, watching the roommate.
"Renee Weaver, gets a score of 9.70"
"So we have, 9.78, 9.70 and 9.65… not bad for the first rotation." Jason says.
"Since when do you know so much about gymnastics?" Kat asks, poking him in the sides.
"Are you kidding me! I've been going to these things since 6th grade. I know about gymnastics." He grins.
"ok, Kimberly, Vault is next." Coach says, smiling, "Stay tight, count, and don't rush. Hit the spring board hard and point your toes. The same goes for you three."
"Right Coach." Kimberly says, as she chalks her hands. She looks up in the stands and sees her friends smiling down at her. She looks at them, smiles and gets a nod from Tommy.
"Next up, Kimberly Hart on Vault."
Kimberly looks at the vault, "Focus." She tells herself, "Don't rush. Keep your goal in mind. Now, address the judges." She smiles at them and with a quick pose, heads over, her head held high as she eyes up the vault, "Ten steps, then begin the handspring. I got this. I'm fine." She stats running down the runway, counting her steps before going into her vault, and landing with a slight hop, throwing her arms up in success. She addresses the judges again and quickly heads back to her team to await the scores.
"Kimberly Hart's score is 9.71"
She looks at her score totals and sees she needs a 9.4 to obtain first place again. She could do it, especially with her beam and floor routine still up.
The music she chose was very upbeat and fast moving. It was very high in degree of difficulty, but Kimberly does it with ease. She doesn't fumble at all when she was on the floor, even with her friends cheering wildly for her and she finishes with a score of 9.89.
"Girls, we are one beam routine away from going to the OLYMPICS! We can do this!" Renee says excitedly. "We can win! Come on, three places, three of us. It is meant for us to all be on that team together. Keep your heads in the game!"
"that's right! We can do this." Lindsey smiles.
"It isn't over till it's over. Keep your eye on the ball." Kim smiles. "Renee, you're up. Do it!"
Kimberly watches her two teammates get a score of 9.8 and 9.7. Now it was up to her. She knows this routine. She was sure that she could win. She mounts the beam and flawlessly completes her routine. She watches the judges talk back and forth about the routine and in the end, she gets a perfect score. 10.0 "OH MY GOD!" She squeals, hugging her teammates and coach. The await their final totals. They were close. Kimberly didn't know what she would do if she got on the team and the others didn't, or if two did and one didn't. It was hard enough with Pan Globals when Lindsey didn't win a medal. Finally the scores came up.
"The three who will be going to the Olympics are Kimberly Hart, Renee Weaver, and Lindsey King." The announcer says as their scores come up onto the big screen.
"OH MY GOD!" The three of them say, and hug each other.
"WOO HOO!" Rocky shouts down to them, "Way Ta Go Girls!"
"You Three Are Awesome!" Aisha calls, as they practically hang over the bars.
Kimberly smiles as they all flood the arena hugging her, "that's my girl!" Tommy smiles, kissing her.
"This is unbelievable! OH MY GOSH! KAT!" She says, realizing her friend was there, hugging her. "What are you doing here!"
"I wouldn't have missed it for the world Kimberly. Congratulations." She smiles.
"I am very proud of you three girls." Cooper says.
"Now it's your turn." Kimberly smiles at the two. "We can't do this without you."
"Hey, if you can do it, we can." Shawn smiles. "Congratulations girls."
"Well done girls, I am so proud of you." The coach smiles.
"We couldn't have done it without you Coach." Kimberly smiles, as he hugs the girls.
"Gentlemen, you have three hours till you start off. I want you back here in two hours, dressed and out."
"You got it coach, and then tonight, we are celebrating." Cooper smiles.
The girls stayed with their friends while the guys compete. Kimberly sits next to Tommy, with some part of her body touching his. She misses being with him so much. He wraps his arm around her shoulder and kisses her cheek. She smiles up at him, "I knew you could do it."
"I'm so excited." She says.
"You've worked hard, you've earned it." He says.
"Don't forget us little people Kim." Zack laughs.
"Who are you again!"
"Smart ass." Zack laughs.
"This is unbelievable. The three of us are going to the Olympics!"
"You bet we are Kim." Lindsey says, "Taking those Olympics by storm!"
"That's right." Renee says, grinning.
They cheer on the boys and they do fantastic. The coach was extremely happy with his group. He never expected all of them to make it, but they did. Finally, the scores came up for the guys and the announcer comes on, "Going to the Olympics are Cooper Shield, James Cook, and Shawn Willis."
"WOO HOO!" The girls squeal, running down to their teammates, hugging them.
"WE'RE GOING TO THE OLYMPICS!" The five smile.
The pictures were taken and then they all went out to dinner. They were on cloud nine.
That night, Kimberly stayed with the guys and crashed in bed with Tommy. She was too excited to sleep on her own, but with him, sleep just came naturally. She was nervous about how the training would affect her school and her relationships with friends, but she pushed that out of her mind for now, "I'm going to the Olympics!" She says to herself, smiling, closing her eyes and falling asleep.
For the next two years she'd be eating drinking and sleeping gymnastics, and that was fine with her, but school and her friends still would be a priority. They didn't have to leave Miami unless it was touring with the team. The gymnasts could not wait to meet and hang out with the gymnasts. They were keeping Coach Schmidt as their coach and he would work with them and go with them all the way to the Olympics.
Kim said, "He started our career, he may as well stick with us."
Renee replied, "You're stuck with us Coach, no matter how much you don't want us."
"I'd be honored to follow you all the way to the Olympics." Schmidt smiles.
It was going to be a long, but exciting ride, and they could not wait to start their new chapter in their gymnastics life.
TBC...
I hope you all enjoyed it! Please read and Review… they have really been great and I appreciate them greatly! I'm hoping to get 100 reviews this time!
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LUNA