November 8th, 2004

Angel Grove, CA

Tommy had to stay in the hospital for about four days. He had a sour attitude when both Jason and Adam were released after only one day. His injuries were worse than the doctor had thought at first. He needed to have skin graphs as well as a couple blood transfusions due to some poisioning from the smoke. After a few days of breathing treatments and some oxygen therapy, his levels were doing better. I stayed with him in the hospital the entire length of his stay. He told me that I didn't have to and that I would be more comfortable at home. I didn't want to leave though. I had Rosey take over my role as the producer of the play for the rest of the days the production ran. It sold out every single night and we were getting rave reviews from all over time. I was proud of my team even though I wasn't there to see it in person. I couldn't wait to start our next show, RENT.

When Adam was released, him and Billy came over to see Tommy and me before they left. Tommy asked them a million questions about what happened that night and if they had seen anything out of the ordinary besides a building exploding. They told him that they had seen someone run off but they weren't sure where they had come from and if they had been in the building. I knew they felt bad they couldn't tell him anymore but they hadn't been as close as we had been. Tommy hadn't seen or heard anything from upstairs either though he felt like he might have smelt gas in his apartment. He wasn't sure and he didn't know if that had been the smell. When they left, he laid there quietly for a while, a frown on his face.

The police had also come to the hospital to talk to Tommy. They interviewed him and me, asking what we had seen. I told them about the person I had seen and Tommy explained to them about what he had been doing upstairs. He said he had gotten up the stairs, came in and out of his bedroom, and was heading for the door again when all hell broke loose. He could vaguely remember the loud noise and then the heat of the fire before he passed out. He had no memory of getting rescued and couldn't recall anything from the moment on. They wrote everything down we told them but couldn't offer anything back in return as answers. The most they could tell Tommy was that it looked like an accidental gas leak and that they would need to check into it further. Until then, he was told to stay away from the property until it could be officially cleared by the fire department. This left Tommy upset but he didn't say anything about it to me. I could tell he was though, just by the look on his face. I didn't say anything though, not wanting to embarrass him or call him out.

The day before his release, Marci went home and set up the guest bedroom with Aisha for me. The spare twin bed was set up in here and Aisha had Rocky set up a small dresser for Tommy to use. He also brought some clothes for Tommy to borrow until he could get some new ones. He would need to start from scratch, not having anything. Even the clothes he had worn into the ER had been cut off of him. Trini and Jason bought him some toiletries as well as socks and underwear from the store, bringing them over to my house while they were getting his room together. I even asked Marci to go grocery shopping for some of Tommy's favorite foods. I wanted him to feel as comfortable and as at home as possible. I was certain they would ensure that would happen. I felt terrible each time I looked at him and hoped that he would hear something soon.

Jason and Trini had driven Tommy's truck over the day before. He was lucky enough that the parking spot had been far enough away that it wasn't caught in the explosion. The passenger side window had been shattered out but Jason had cleaned up all the glass though and Billy had put some plexiglass in until Tommy could get it fixed. It was just another thing that made Tommy upset but he was learning to hide it well. That was until the doctor told him he wouldn't be able to drive himself back to my house after getting discharged. Tommy refused at first, saying he was fine to drive. The doctor fought back and said he would keep Tommy in longer if he planned on driving himself. There was a bit of a heated back and forth for a moment before he agreed to let me drive his truck. I wasn't to thrilled about driving his truck seeing as I hadn't driven much expect for Trini's car since I moved to California. But he said he trusted me and just wanted to get the hell out of there sooner rather than later.

Tommy made a male orderly carry down his stuff for me inside of letting me do it when the doctor gave the okay. The younger guy was nice enough to take it right to the truck and helped me with the tailgate. He headed back inside to grab Tommy for me while I pulled the truck around. It was bigger than I expected so I nervously drove as slow as possible out of the parking spot. I started to warm up to the idea by the time I pulled up in the circle. Tommy and the nurse came out of the front, Tommy in a wheelchair. I climbed out, walking over to his side of the truck as he stood up from the chair.

"Take care, okay?" The nurse said, folding up the wheelchair.

"Thanks." Tommy said gruffly before climbing into the truck. I gave the nurse a smile and a wave before walking over to the driver side again. Climbing in, I shut the door and put my seatbelt on.

"Did you want to stop for something to eat before heading to my place?" I asked, looking over at him. He shook his head.

"Can we head over to the dojo? I want to see it."

"Tommy, I don't think that's a good idea. The police said to stay away until it's cleared by the fire department."

"I know. We don't have to get out. I just need to see it with my own eyes." I stared at him hard for a second before nodding. I pulled the truck away from the curb and headed out of the parking lot. Once we were on the highway, I took the exit that led towards the middle of town.

"Jason and Rocky contacted the insurance company and gave them my information so they can reach it. The claims adjuster said it would only be a couple of days before they would be able to get out here and assess the damage. I don't think it'll be too long before you get some of the money."

"I hope so." He said. "I don't want to be a burden to you. You have a nursery to build and you can do it with a hobo living in it."

"For one, you're not a hobo. And the nursery can wait. I'm not due until May and she'll be in my room with me for the first six months regardless. The room is yours for as long as you need it, Tommy. I mean it. I just hope you don't mind having to share a bathroom with Marci. You'll have get used to her hair dying schedule pretty quickly." He grinned, letting out a little laugh.

"There's a schedule? How does she even have hair left on her head?" He asked. I shook my head, shrugging my shoulders.

"I have no clue. It's been every color of the rainbow I'm certain. I keep telling her she should do something like cosmetology or make up because she's a pro at it. But what do I know? I'm just the person she ran across the country to."

I pulled off the main drag and headed up the street towards where the dojo is. Well, it was. I slowed down as we approached, still unsure if this was the right thing to do. Tommy leaned forward to look out the windshield since it was hard to see through the plexiglass. I came to a stop in front of the giant pile of rubble that had been the dojo. Charred bricks, lumber, and other building materials laid here. There was still a heavy smell of smoke in the air and caution tape surrounded the area. The only thing left standing was the doorway that led up to his apartment. It was black now though and the glass was gone from the window. It looked like a scene from a war movie after a bomb had decimated the local village. The explosion had wiped the dojo right off the map, taking all of Tommy's aspirations and hope with it.

"Well, that's a bunch to the dick." He said, leaning back in his seat. "Part of me thought it wasn't as bad as you guys were telling me. Clearly, you were trying to make me feel better about it."

"I'm so sorry, Tommy. I know it's not much for me to say but I wish I could do more." I said softly. He gave me a small smile, nodding.

"I know. I don't think there is anything else that could be said. Hopefully, we can find some of my things once the fire department lets us in and I can use it to rebuild. And hey, now I can design the building the way I want it to look."

"You sure can! It's your property. You can do whatever you want to it. The sky's the limit." He sighed, looking at the mountain of debris again.

"I may need that pep talk a few more times before this is all over."

"You can count on me. I've heard my fair share of them since returning. I can always refurbish them to fit any way you need me to." I smiled at him, liking that a bit of the old Tommy was starting to shine through. I was getting nervous that he would be depressed without any kind of relief for him. But I could see now that there was still hope inside of him.

"You know, when I bought this building, the first thing I did was take pictures of it. I took pictures of pretty much every inch of the place. Mostly for insurance reasons but more so I could plan out what I wanted to do on the inside. I would line them all up on my kitchen counter and just stare at them, coming up with this vision of what I wanted. It took six months for me to build that all and come up with what I had in mind. And it was literally destroyed in a matter of minutes." He shook his head. "I know that the police said it was more than likely an accident but I don't believe that. More than one person witnessed someone near the dojo. Someone did this on purpose, Kim. Someone tried to kill me and I think they might have been trying to kill you as well."

"Tommy, I know you think it's Nick. It can't be though. He's a sleazy ball drug addict, sure. But he doesn't have the connections to have someone blow up a building. He's not even that smart."

"Can you just promise me to be careful? I can't be with you all the time and there's no telling what might happen if you put your guard down."

"Tommy-." He interrupted me.

"Kim, I'm not kidding. Please just promise me."

"I promise." I whispered.

Tommy and I headed back to my house. We didn't say much on the drive there and I was relieved to see that my driveway was empty when we pulled up. Though I appreciated the help everyone had given, I had suggested that Tommy needed the space for the first day to settle in before everyone surrounded him. I parked in the driveway and got out, heading around the back of the truck. Tommy met me there and grabbed his bag. I tried to take it from him but he was too quick for me. I led him up the porch steps and inside where I found Marci laying on the living room floor with his math book sprawled out in front of her.

"Hey! I was wondering when you guys would be getting here." She said, grabbing her things off the floor before standing up. She gave Tommy a quick and gentle hug. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay. How's school going?"

"My math class is probably more painful then anything you just went through." She replied, setting her books down on the coffee table. "I'm so glad you're staying here with us. Now we can have a tie breaker when we can't decide what to watch on TV or to have for dinner."

"He's here all the time anyway, Marci." I said, smiling at her. "I don't think this will be much different."

"Sure it will be! We're like a sitcom now. You've got the ex's living together, ones pregnant with her druggie husband and the other just survived a near death experience. Meanwhile, there's a quirky and adorable teen girl living with them because it's a step above being a homeless teenager."

"Your humor is inspiring." I said flatly, shooting her a glare.

"I think I'm gonna go finish my homework in the kitchen." She gave me a wink before disappearing up the hall. Shaking my head, I turned to Tommy.

"It's not too late to stay somewhere else."

"My pickings are slim since Jason and Trini still aren't back at home yet. It's pretty crowded at Rocky and Aisha's. I think I'll take my chances with the moody teenager."

"The good thing is you'll have your own room at least. Come on." I headed up the stairs, him behind me. "I asked the guys to get you some things until we can get you some new clothes. I can't guarantee what they got but hopefully, it will work."

"I'm sure it's fine." He said. We walked up the stairs and over to the guest room door. Marci had painted a sign that read WELCOME TO THE FAMILY which she taped to it. Rolling my eyes, I opened the door and saw that there was a dresser in the corner of the room now. There was a black basket on top of it filled to the brim with toiletries like toothpaste, a tooth brush, shaving materials, and shower gel. There were also a small stack of books and magazines next to it, all titles that he enjoyed reading. Tommy walked over and looked down at the dresser as he set his bag on the bed. The bed was dressed in a dark green comforter and pillow set. It clashed with the blue of the room horribly. "I bet all the money in my wallet that everything in that dresser is either a shade of green or white."

"That's too high of a gamble for me." I replied. He pulled open the top drawer and I saw socks and underwear along with undershirts. The next drawer had shirts and what appeared to me shorts. They were of course all green and white. The bottom drawer had some blue jeans and other slacks.

"Helpful but predictable." He said, smiling at me over his shoulder.

"They always will be. Marci cleaned out a drawer for you in the bathroom to keep your things. If you need anything, just let me know. I don't really need to show you around since you know where everything is."

"Look if I ever get to be too much or if you just need your space, make sure you let me know. I could always bunk with Billy and Adam for a few days or weeks."

"If I'm not sick of you yet, I don't think we have anything to worry about yet." I replied. "I'll let you get settled in while I make some dinner. See you in a bit." I left the room, shutting the door behind me as I did. I headed downstairs and walked into the kitchen where Marci was pouring herself over a magazine she had open on top of her math book. "You could at least pretend to be doing your homework."

"Why bother? It makes both of us look dumb. How's he doing up there?" She asked, pointed towards the ceiling while I pulled a pound of chicken from the fridge. I set it on the counter before grabbing a frying pan from the cupboard. I set it on the burner and poured olive oil in the bottom of the pan before turning the stove on.

"Fine. He's unpacking the stuff from the hospital now. He'll probably rest for a bit before dinner so try to be quiet, okay?" She nodded.

"I will. So, how long will he be staying in the guest room?" She asked.

"As long as he needs to." I replied, dumping the meat into the sizzling pan.

"Right. How long before he just moves into your room though?" I nearly dropped the spatula I held in my hand at her comment. I spun to look at her.

"Marci! It's not like that and you know it." She grinned and I felt my face turn red.

"Sure it's not. Your face totally reads as platonic." She closed her math book with the magazine inside of it. "I think you still like him."

"I think you should do your homework." I replied, turning back to the chicken. I stirred it with the spatula, browning each side evenly.

"What's the big deal? If you like him and he obviously likes you, why not just be together? It's not rocket science."

"Tommy doesn't like me that way. We're just friends. And besides, my life is a bit complicated for any of that nonsense. We're better off friends. It's something I'll explain to you when you're older."

"Right." She said, huffing and rolling her eyes.

"And no more comments like that while he's here, okay? Things between Tommy and I haven't always been this good and I want them to stay this way. So please just try to keep your little witty remarks in your head until he's at least out of earshot. Then you can let them flow."

"Fine but I can't be held responsible for any damages caused by my head exploding." Marci said, standing up. "You guys are so complicated."

"You have no idea."