a/n: Y'all, I was gonna wait but I'm an impatient person. So here's the next chapter. There's a gift exchange. Try not to think about the fact half of them are unemployed with the dojo blowing up as you read. I got a little over zealous with the gifts.
I also got a great question the other day. Where was Zack during the dojo explosion? Well, he wasn't there. No because he had something to do with it. It's because I forgot all about him until the chapter after that haha. There's so many of them that sometimes, I completely forget about one of them. It's usually Zack because he's not part of a pair I suppose. So, for the sake of the story, he was late getting changed after the play and got there as soon as he could. He's not the hired hit man for Nick as suggested.
Love the questions! Feel free to ask if you have any.
Remember to R&R!
December 19th, 2004
Olympic Valley, CA
Shortly around 3pm, the sound of truck tires came up the driveway following the buzzer. Aisha and I were in the living room, setting up the presents under the tree that we had brought. Trini and Kat were in the kitchen, getting food ready for the party. Trini and Aisha had thought it best that Katherine and I were too work separate for the time being. Kat had no clue as to why and it was better to leave her clueless than to fill her in. I could hear laughter outside and boots stomping up the stairs before the door opened. Marci and Rocky came in first, both of their faces beat red on their cheeks and noses. Marci smiled at me as she ripped her hat off her head and unzipped her coat.
"How was it?" I asked, smiling at her. I knew she was about to be extremely irritated so I figured it would be best to distract her for the moment.
"It was amazing! I never knew that skiing could be so much fun. I can't wait to go again. Tommy said he would even teach me how to snowboard!" She said, her voice full of excitement. Behind her, Jason, Billy, and Adam came in the door. They piled their skis in the corner of the room, making sure they were there neatly and wouldn't fall over. I glanced out the window, seeing Tommy stand in the driveway. He was staring at Kat's jeep and for a moment, I would have given anything to hear his thoughts.
"That's good." I said, watching Tommy turn and head into the house slowly. He closed the door behind him as Trini and Kat emerged from the kitchen. Marci and Tommy saw Katherine at the same time. I reached over and grabbed Marci's arm before she could say anything I would regret. Tommy unzipped his coat as Kat walked over to him.
"Katherine." He said, forcing a smile. "What are you doing here?" She stood on her tippy toes, giving him a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek.
"I thought it would be a nice surprise! I've been trying to call you to let you know I was coming. Kim said you were having reception issues though. Are you surprised?" She asked, looking at him hopefully.
"You could say that." He said, pulling his coat out. I watched as Jason shot Trini a confused look and she just shook her head slightly.
"Alright, guys. Now that Katherine is here, we will need to come up with some new sleeping arrangements." Trini said.
"Why? There's a free couch." Marci said, yanking her gloves off. Kat laughed.
"Tommy and I can't both sleep on the couch." She replied.
"That was the point." Marci muttered under her breath. Thankfully, I had been the only one who had heard it.
"We can give up our room so that Kim and Marci can have it." Billy offered. I shook my head.
"No. You guys don't need to do that. Marci and I can ride the couch." I said.
"You're not sleeping on a couch." Tommy said, shaking his head. "I can sleep on the couch and Kat can have my cot."
"But Tommy," Kat said, looping her arms around his. "I came all this way so we could spend time together." She said in a lower tone that everyone still heard as clear as fucking day.
"Okay. Okay." Jason said, holding his hands up. "This is what we will do. Zack will stay in with Adam and Billy. Marci will bunk with Rocky and Aisha. Kim can bunk in our room with us. Tommy and Katherine can have the loft upstairs."
"We don't have to go through all that trouble." Tommy said.
"Dude, it's fine. It's only for one night. I think we can all manage." Jason replied, looking aggravated. Kat looked pleased though, smiling up at Tommy who looked like he wanted to chew his arm off to escape.
The girls continued to get the house ready while the guys moved the bunks around to accommodate the new changes. Jason put a cot in him and Tinin's room, saying he would sleep in it so I could share the bed with Trini. I tried to fight it but he turned me right down and said that it was fine. They put the other cot in with Rocky and Aisha for Marci who was handling Kat being here as well as I figured she would. Between snarky comments that seemed to go right over Kat's head, she would do evil little things. I finally had to tell her to stop when I caught her trying to trip Kat with a string of lights when Kat wasn't looking. I admired her loyalty to the cause but not if it was going to land her an assault charge before the age of 18.
The Christmas tree was starting to look extremely full underneath. There were presents of all different shapes and sizes under there. We had made it a rule that each person or couple would use a different color of wrapping paper to make it easier to tell a part. I was assigned gold, my presents towards the middle of the tree since they had been put there before everyone else's. There were green, red, blue, silver, and purple. Kat had also stuck some under there, all of them in gift bags rather than wrapped. I noticed there weren't enough of them for everyone to get one. I was guessing that there wasn't going to be one for me and that was just fine. I also wondered if anyone had bought her something.
Around 6pm, the house was smelling fantastic. Trini had cooked a full turkey dinner for everyone and it was sitting on the table. Outside, the sun had gone down and it had started to snow. The house was lit up with warm colors and light, making it feel like a picture on the front of a Christmas card. We all changed, wanting to look nice for dinner. I picked a red sweater dress and some black stockings. Marci had gone with an emerald green dress that made the colors in her hair pop. Trini had changed into a red dress with a white cardigan, something I felt she did in honor of Jason's color. He matched her with a red shirt and black slacks. Aisha's pregnant belly looked amazing in her dress, a dark blue sweater dress with black stockings. Rocky wore a blue shirt to match her, something I knew she had made him do. Adam and Billy were both sporting dress shirts with blazers. Adam had a black dress shirt on with a black blazer. Billy went with a blue dress shirt and a light grey blazer. They both looked adorable and it made we smile to watch the two of them flirt back and forth while we waited for Tommy and Katherine to come down. Zack had worn black as well but with grey slacks. It was the nicest I had ever seen most of these guys. I felt like we were waiting for our turn in Vogue rather than just a friendly Christmas party.
Tommy and Katherine came downstairs shortly after that. He was buttoning up a dark green dress shirt over his black slacks while she talked his ear off. She wore a pink dress that was short and made her long legs seem like they ran for miles. I looked down at my pregnant belly and wondered why I had stopped rocking the pink after all those years. I had donned the mantle of the Pink Ranger longer than Kat had. Why did she still get to wear it every day like it was the only color choice out there for her?
We sat down for dinner, everyone sitting in their seat that Trini had marked with little name tags she had worked on all week. I had noticed she had changed the order of the seating than it had originally been before. Jason was at the head of the table, Trini on his left. I was to his right, Marci on my other side. Zack was across from Marci, Katherine next to him. Tommy was across from Kat, sitting in between Marci and Rocky. Aisha sat next to Rocky with Billy and Adam sitting across from her and Rocky. With an odd number of people, this left the other end of the table open with an empty chair.
Small talk was shared as we ate, everyone mostly talking about their day skiing. Rocky told a story about how he had narrowly missed hitting a tree when he was trying to beat Tommy down to the bottom. Marci added that Rocky had no hope of winning and that he had almost clobbered a little kid on an innertube in his attempt to win. It was a funny story that they told, making me feel like I had been there with them. I just wished that I didn't have this nagging feeling each time I saw Kat give Tommy little glances or attempt to hold his hand across the table. Luckily, they had a giant ass dead bird between them to prevent that from happening. I was also glad that I couldn't see Tommy's face. I could see Kat from my seat but Marci was blocking my view of Tommy. It was easier that way.
I noticed during dinner that Jason was quieter than usual. He would talk when spoken too but he didn't add much to the conversation unless he had to. I also noticed he looked a bit pale and sweaty. When I asked him if he was alright, he said he was and went about his business. I was starting to get nervous though when he excused himself towards the end of dinner. He disappeared into their room for a couple minutes before coming back out. By then, we were cleaning up the table and putting out the snacks Trini had also made for us to enjoy throughout the night. Rocky took it upon himself to take on the role of bartender. He mixed up a batch of alcoholic eggnog and gave those who could drink a glass. I spotted Marci trying to con her way into a glass but one glare from me stopped Rocky in his tracks.
"Should we do presents?" Trini asked, looking around at everyone.
"Hell yeah!" Zack said, rubbing his hands together. There was a collective laugh around the room as we headed into the living room. Jason started a fire in the fireplace and Trini put on some soft Christmas music in the background. I sat next to Marci and Billy on the couch, Aisha sitting next to Marci. Trini knelt on the floor in front of the tree while Zack, Rocky, and Katherine sat on the other couch. Jason paced behind the couch we were on and Adam leaned on the arm next to Billy. Tommy lingered awkwardly between the two couches, unsure of where he should go.
"Okay. I'm going to hand out gifts until everyone has one then we can open them. Kat, I'll apologize now and say that I don't believe there's going to be anything under here for you." Trini said, giving Kat a sympathetic smile.
"It's alright. Just being here with you guys is enough of a gift for me." Kat replied, smiling over at Tommy. Next to me, Marci made a noise as if she were going to hurl. I elbowed her in the ribs and she winced.
"Ow! What was that for?" She whispered.
"You know that it was for. Shh." I shot back. Trini reached under and pulled out some presents. As she read the names, she passed them out to the recipient. I noticed that one of mine went out, heading to Zack. Trini handed me a present wrapped in blue. I looked up, seeing Aisha smiling over at me.
"That's from us." She said, taking a present from Trini. Once everyone was holding a gift, we started to tear into them. My gift for Zack was a t-shirt for his favorite band back in high school. I had found it at the thrift store one afternoon and I knew he would just love it. His face lit up as he unfolded it, holding it open.
"This is awesome! Thanks, Kim." He said, smiling at me.
"I knew you'd love it." I replied, ripping the paper on mine. Inside, I saw a bath set designed for pregnant women. I glanced over at Aisha.
"Trust me. I live by that thing right now. The bath beads help with all the pressure you're gonna start feeling in your back. It's a miracle in a tiny box." She said.
"Thank you! I love it." I replied. Next to me, Marci had opened up a new sketch pad and some pencils from Adam and Billy. Billy had opened a book with a very long title on the cover. Someone had gone with my approach for his birthday it had seemed. I spotted Trini holding new oven mitts and towels from Marci and Jason was holding up a DVD collection of some kung fu movies from Tommy. In Tommy's hands, I recognized a framed picture of Bruce Lee, much like the one he had had at the dojo. He smiled over at Jason who grinned at him.
"You know how long it took to find another one?" He asked, tossing the wrapping paper from his present into a garbage bag Trini had asked him to grab. "Ebay was a miracle worker."
"Thanks, man." Tommy said.
I hadn't had a chance to see what Rocky, Aisha and Adam had opened. They had put their presents aside as Trini handed out the next round. We went around like this for about half an hour. I enjoyed seeing everyone open the presents I had gotten them. For Adam and Billy, I had gotten them matching coffee mugs with their names on them and Adam's favorite coffee. Aisha had gotten a bamboo comb set I had found at the mall while Rocky opened up a beer making kit. Jason seemed to have liked the new kickboxing gloves I had picked for him as well.
As Trini moved to open up her present from me, I paused to watch. She set the heavy box down on the floor in front of her and ripped the paper off. I had taped the box shut to make it easier to wrap. She pulled the tape off and opened the lid. She let out a gasp as she clutched a hand to her mouth. She looked up at me, surprised.
"How did you find new ones? Jason and I have been searching everywhere. They stopped making them like twenty years ago." She asked. I shook my head.
"I didn't." I replied. "They are your grandmothers."
"How?" She whispered, tears filling her eyes. "They were ruined."
"Tommy and Marci helped me clean them up. I couldn't let you not have them after everything you've done for me this year." I replied. She slid the box aside and crawled over to me on her knees. She wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug and I felt the little sob she let out as she squeezed. I hugged her back.
"Thank you." She whispered. "I love you."
"I love you too." I whispered back.
I ended up having a good haul of my own. Trini and Jason had bought me a decorative frame that could hold up to thirty pictures from my living room. Zack gave me a CD collection of hits when we were younger and Adam and Billy bought me a soft pink cashmere sweater. Marci was the one who had made out like a bandit however. She secured a new MP3 player, a digital camera, a bunch of art supplies and a gift certificate to the beauty store she gets her hair dye and makeup from. I knew that one was from Aisha. She had told me about it ahead of time. Marci was already breaking out the digital camera from the box as we collected all of the discarded wrapping paper around the room.
I stood up, walking around the couch to grab some that had fallen behind. As I bent to pick up a piece, Tommy went quicker and scooped it up. He pushed it into the bag and took the bag from me. "Hey. How'd you do?" He asked.
"Not bad. You?" I replied. He shrugged.
"I'll be able to decorate my new dojo at least." He answered. I smiled, nodding. "Are you doing okay?"
"Yeah. Actually, Tommy, could we talk later? There's something I wanted to talk to you about."
"Sure." He said, nodding. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah! I just gotta tell you something, that's all. No big deal."
"Okay." Tommy headed back towards the couch Kat was on, picking up the paper there. She yanked on his arm, making him sit on the arm of the couch next to her. I rolled my eyes before walking over and sitting in my seat again.
"I think it's time for a toast!" Rocky announced, standing up. He walked into the kitchen area and grabbed a tray of cups. Zack walked over to help him, carrying some of them. They handed out the glasses and Rocky poured sparkling juice into each one. I noticed Marci looked bummed that it was just juice. It could read it all over her face as he poured the non-alcoholic bubbly into her cup. Once everyone's glasses were full, Rocky set the bottle down and stood in front of us all.
"Here we go." Billy said under his breath to me. I grinned, nodding.
"I just wanted to start off by thanking Trini for letting us be here in her parents beautiful cabin. It's not often we get to spend time like this together without having to worry about work or other things coming between us. I think it's a great thing we are all back together and have this group. In a few short weeks, Aisha and I won't be able to get out as much as we were and we're both thankful to have this time with you all. You guys are the best and I'm glad to have you in our lives." He said.
"He's drunk." Aisha said, shaking her head.
"Only slightly." Rocky said, sipping his juice. Adam stood up, clapping Rocky on the shoulder.
"Thanks, Rocky. How about I try to wrap things up for you?" He said, firmly pushing Rocky so he sat on the couch. "What I think our friend here was trying to say is that life is too short and full of those things that worry us to not be able to enjoy it with those you love. We're blessed enough to have this group of friends in this room tonight to spend our lives with and I don't think I could think of another person I would trust with my life as much as you all. I will admit there was a time that Billy and I didn't think it would be wise to tell you all about our relationship. Now I can see that it was just another one of those times where we wasted life. Life is all about taking chances and risks. We all know more than most people what it takes to stand up for what's right and take those chances. Being here with all of you now, I can see that special forces did the right thing by bringing us all together." Adam walked over and grabbed Billy's hand, pulling him to his feet. They stood in front of the Christmas tree, Billy looking at Adam while he talked. His drink was still in his hand, waiting for the actual toasting part.
"Were you all a part of a cult or something?" Marci whispered in my ear.
"Shh." I replied, motioning her to be quiet.
"In life, it's important to love others and to respect nothing in return. Again, something we are all too familiar with. From the moment Billy and I realized we had feelings for another, it's been nothing but one hell of an adventure. There were times we were unsure of how to progress or if we even should. I'm so glad we did though and I am so glad that all of you know about us now. We are very fortunate to have you in our lives. This trip means the world to me because there's no other place or no other people I would rather have here for this special moment." Adam set his drink down and reached into his pocket. He bent down on one knee and turned to face a very shocked Billy. There was collective gasp around the room. I could see a silver band in the box and Marci pulled her new camera out, taking pictures. "William David Cranston, will you marry me?"
"Yes!" Billy said, nodding. Adam smiled, standing. Billy set his drink down on the table as Adam kissed him. Marci continued to take pictures as I felt happy tears slip down my face. Adam pulled away and pulled the ring from the box, putting it on Billy's finger. I saw Billy wipe a tear away as the two hugged.
"Aww! You guys! This is fantastic!" Aisha said, standing up. When Adam and Billy let go, she hugged the both of them. "We will have to plan a wedding now!"
"I guess we will." Billy said, grinning from ear to ear. I stood up, walking over and hugging him.
"Congrats." I said, smiling up at him. "I'm so happy for you."
"Thank you." He replied. I turned to Ada, swatting him on the arm.
"A surprise proposal and you don't even tell me about it?" I asked. He shrugged.
"I wasn't sure when it was going to happen but this just seemed to fit." He said.
"Well, congratulations. I love the both of you and you two deserve this." I hugged them both around the neck tightly. I pulled away, moving to the side so that Trini could hug them. As I stepped around her and the coffee table, I looked up. When I did, I saw that Tommy and Kat were standing in the dining room. Her arms were around his neck, his at her waist.
And they were kissing.
