a/n: Hello, everyone! Sorry about the break between. We had a benefit for our adoption and the turn out was great! I was exhausted but I'm glad that it's over with now. I will have a little bit more time on my hands now to write some more.
Here is our next chapter. Do you know how hard it is to write for Christmas time in August? Hahaha. Makes me want to put up my Christmas tree and listen to some music.
Thank you for the reviews! Please keep reading and keep reviewing. As always, if there are any questions, don't hesitate to ask either in a review or private message. Reviews are quicker but I will answer either way.
Also, I've gotten a couple requests from people about doing some fics based off their ideas. I love when this happens! I love when people trust me with their ideas and trust my ability. However, I've only seen the MMPR and Dino Thunder seasons and the current Beast Morpher seasons. If you want to have all the other seasons thrown in, I am not your girl lol. I don't want to just google and hope for the best. I don't want to ruin a good idea with my lack of knowledge of the series. But thank you for thinking off me and keep sending me ideas!
Enjoy! :)
December 20th, 2004
Olympic Valley, CA
After going back inside with Tommy, I saw that the party was still going in full swing. I did my best to keep up the happy and go lucky appearance but it grew more difficult the more I saw Kat trying to be touchy with Tommy. I felt like a part of him was trying to keep his distance by talking with other people or taking part in games but she stuck to him like glue. I watched as Marci spent her time between glaring at Kat and me. I didn't blame her for being upset with me. I knew it had been a mistake to let it slip to her. She was just a kid and she didn't need this looming over her, especially since Tommy was living with us. I had been weak in the moment, however, and it just came spewing out of me. I hated myself a tad bit more now but nothing that pushing it way down didn't cure for the time being. It was the one true talent I had, something passed down from the women in my family. My mother had been awesome at it as well, especially after my parents' divorce. It was a wonder she didn't snap from not talking about everything.
Somewhere around midnight, everyone started to break off to head to their rooms. Zack had offered to ride the couch to give Adam and Billy some privacy. Tommy insisted on him bunking in him and Kat's room, something I could tell Kat was not too appreciative of. He and Tommy carried the cot upstairs while Marci and I helped Trini start to pick up after the party. Marci was giving me the silent treatment, choosing to clean other parts of the living room than where I was. I gave her the space she needed, not wanting to push her right now. A moody teenager is the same as a ticking time bomb and there was no way I was going to apply pressure right now. There was no telling what she would say in an angry outburst and with the present company, I wanted to avoid that at all cost. I didn't think Marci would say something to anyone on purpose but I also hadn't planned on it. Look where we are now.
"Everything okay?" Trini asked, glancing over at Marci who was practically huffing around the dining room. I nodded.
"Yeah. She's just mad at me about something." I replied, stacking cups to scoop them up easier. "I think I am going to rock it at this whole mother-daughter thing." Trini smiled at me, taking the cups and putting them in the sink. She grabbed a wet rag, wiping down the counters in the kitchen.
"I think so too. Give her time. You know how we were as teenagers. She'll come around."
"Hopefully."
The clock read 2:33 am on the end table next to me as I laid in bed. Trini was sleeping peacefully behind me, her heavy breathing softly filling the silence. I didn't hear Jason though and I knew he hadn't come to the room. He had been out in the living room with Tommy and Zack when Trini and I had come in here, trying to deal with the drunk Rocky who had passed out in the middle of the living room floor. Aisha had left him there hours before that, not wanting to deal with it. Marci had went with her, not speaking a word to me as she headed to bed. I was hoping she would be speaking with me tomorrow before we headed home. It would be hard to explain to Tommy why she wasn't talking to me. I would need to talk to her again at some point. I thought we had been okay when we had parted but there was no way of predicting the mind of a hormonal teenager. I was now deeply regretting my slip up, a soft panic building as I pictured her telling Aisha or Trini or worse yet, Tommy. If Tommy found out from the teenager in our group that I was pregnant with his daughter, all hell would break loose. Marci and I would need to have another long talk again once we were home and Tommy was at least eight miles out of ear shot.
Sitting up, I quietly got up from the bed and crept out the door. Trini didn't make any movement as I closed it behind me. In the hallway, I heard silence. The only sound came from the wood stove that was running to keep the house warm. I walked out into the living room and saw that Rocky was no longer in the middle of the room. They must have gotten him to their bedroom. The living room was dark but I saw a light coming from the dining room. Walking around the corner, I saw that it was the wood stove. I also saw that someone was sitting at the dining room table in front of the fireplace.
"Can't sleep either?" Jason asked, looking up at me. I nodded. He was sitting in the last chair, a glass of something mixed with ice in his hand. He had unbuttoned his dress shirt and the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. The white of his undershirt seemed to glow in the pale light of the first place. The poor guy looked tired and his eyes seemed distant. He was probably annoyed by having to drag Rocky to bed. Jason was truly the leader of our group. Tommy might have taken over when he became the White Ranger but Jason was born to lead.
"Nope. I was wondering where you were." I replied. Walking over, I picked up his glass and sniffed. The smell of whiskey greeted my senses and I set it back down in front of him. I sat in the chair on the left hand corner of his. "Apparently, you're sitting in the dark, drinking whiskey."
"It's not dark." He replied, shooting me a cocky grin for a second before taking a sip of his drink. "Is Trini sleeping?"
"Yeah. She nodded off a while ago." I replied. "What about everyone else?"
"Tommy went to bed about an hour ago." He answered, standing up. He walked over to the fridge and poured me a glass of apple juice. He set it down on the table in front of me, refilling his glass with whiskey again before sitting back down.
"How many of those have you had?" I questioned, eying him. Jason wasn't a big drinker. Sure, he would have a beer or two at night when we would all get together but I had never really seen him drink straight liquor like this unless something was going on. "I wasn't asking about him." I said, shrugging my shoulders.
"Oh, you were. You just weren't doing it directly." He said. I sighed, leaning back in my chair. I knew there was no point in trying to lie to him. Jason was able to see through my bullshit. He always has, like an annoying older brother I never asked for.
"I was supposed to tell him how I felt tonight." I whispered. "I was going to look at him and tell him I still loved him. But then Katherine had to show up and I missed my chance."
"Why do you say that?" He asked.
"They kissed." I muttered.
"So? They kissed. They didn't get married. It's not too late. Trust me. I think Kat is starting to get on the dude's nerves." I shook my head.
"It doesn't matter anyway. I'm pretty much convinced that telling Tommy how I feel wouldn't make much difference. Even if he did feel the same way, I can't put him in the position to help me sort through my crap. I think it might be better to figure out myself before trying anything with Tommy again. If he wants to try to work things out with Katherine, I should respect that and let him do it." Jason signed, leaning forward in his chair and setting his arms on the table.
"Well, you're not the only one who had their night ruined." He said. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled something out and set it on the table. I saw that it was a ring box. He opened it, revealing a gold band with three diamonds on it. I gasped, covering my mouth.
"Oh, Jason! This is gorgeous." I picked up the box to get a better look at it. "Trini is going to love it. I am so happy for you!"
"Don't be." He said, taking it from me and closing it. "I was getting ready to propose to her in front of everyone when Adam jumped up and did his."
"Oh no. Did you know that he was planning on proposing?" I asked. Jason shook his head.
"No. I don't blame him and I'm not mad at him. I mean, I get it. The cabin. The snow. The view. The Christmas decorations. This is the perfect spot for a romantic proposal. That's why I had planned it. I guess I will just have to think of something else to do for it. But now I feel like it will seem like a copycat kinda thing since Adam and Billy are engaged now." He frowned, sipping his drink from the glass. Reaching over, I put a hand on his forearm.
"Trini isn't going to think like that and you know it! She is going to love any way you do it just as much she is going to love that ring. Why don't you take her for a walk tomorrow before we leave and do it? I think she would prefer it to be more private and intimate anyway. That's the kind of person she is."
"You think so?" He asked. I nodded.
"Totally."
"It just sucks, ya know? I know how much she wants to get married and the guys rib me about it all the time. So I spent weeks looking and picking out a ring. Then I had to decide when the perfect time to do it would be. And when I finally have everything picked out and planned, Trini gets robbed of it."
"Well, she can't get robbed of it if she doesn't know any better." I pointed out. "I will take this to my grave if you'd like. I'll pretend to be the most surprised person on the planet too."
"I've seen your acting skills. I think I will be fine." He said, grinning at me. I swatted him in the arm, sipping my apple juice.
"I blame Bulk for my performance during that play, thank you very much." I looked down at the ring again. "She's really going to love it, Jase. What made you decide?"
"Honestly? I guess you." He replied. I looked at him, confused.
"I don't think I would base any marriage decisions off of anything I might have said or done." He shook his head.
"A lot has happened this year. Even before you moved back. Between her jobs, us building the dojo, buying the house. Right before you told us you were going to be coming back here, Trini and I kinda felt more like roommates sharing a house than a couple. Most of the time, we would see each other in passing between work. She'd be sleeping when I got home at night and would be gone when I woke up. When she told me you would be coming back, I changed my schedule around so I could be around more in case you needed my help or someone at the house with you while you stayed with us. It gave me a chance to see more of her and get to know her again. Especially after the house was destroyed and we had to stay with Aisha and Knucklehead. It made me appreciate Trini and what we had together. And then you were attacked when Nick thought he was following Trini. I tried not to think about what would have happened if it had been Trini but I kept replying the 'what ifs' in my mind. So, I decided that maybe it was time to make it official and show her just how crazy I am about her."
"That is so sweet. I am glad that it took me almost dying for you to realize it." I said, smiling at him. He shrugged his shoulders.
"Hey. I didn't say it was perfect."
"Clearly. So, what now? Are you going to do it tomorrow or what?"
"I'm not sure. If I do it tomorrow, how am I going to keep everyone from being all in our business? We aren't exactly around the most subtle people. I don't want people to gawk at us as I'm trying to confess my undying love to her."
"For starters, I wouldn't try to wing your speech. Undying love? This isn't a rom com, Jason. And leave that other stuff to me. I'm sure I can find a way to distract everyone. Also, I'm pretty sure I have an idea of how to make this perfect."
"Yeah? How?" Behind us, we heard footsteps. Jason quickly scooped up the ring box and shoved it into his pocket. We both turned and looked as Kat came around the corner. She skidded to a stop, surprised to see us standing there. I was surprised to see that she was wearing one of the t-shirts Tommy had been able to save from the explosion and a pair of pink lace thong underwear. And that was it. It made a sickening feeling in my stomach, one that made the baby squirm. Where the hell did she think she was? Even if I wasn't pregnant, I would never walk around like that in someone else's house when there were other people there. Especially if it included my friends significant others. Aisha would gauge her eyes out if she had come out like this when Rocky was here. I knew what it meant though and I didn't want to admit it. The idea of her and Tommy having sex when I was just two rooms away made me want to throw up on the spot. I didn't even think of the possibility until I was looking at her in skivvies.
"Oh! I didn't know you guys were down here." She said. Her eyes went from Jason, to me, and then to my hand on Jason's arm. I instantly pulled it back though I wasn't sure why.
"We couldn't sleep." Jason said, feeling the tension in the room.
"It was quite the exciting and romantic night. I guess for some people, it can be too much." She said, raising an eyebrow at us. She walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. "Why are you guys just sitting in the dark?"
"It's not dark." I said, quoting Jason from earlier. He smiled over at me behind his glass as he drained it.
"It can't be very good for your eye sight." She said, grabbing a bottle of water. Closing the fridge, she walked back over to us. "Is Trini asleep?" She asked. I nodded.
"Yeah."
"She doesn't care that the two of you are just sitting out here in the dark like this?" She questioned, nodding her head towards us. "I mean, if it were me, I wouldn't be too happy."
"She isn't you." Jason said, rapping his fingers on the table. "Kim and I are just friends. Trini knows that. She's got nothing to worry about." Kat shrugged, sighing.
"Okay. I'll leave you two alone. I just needed a drink while Tommy and I were resting. This place is great. I'm glad I made it here." She smiled at us before heading back up the stairs. I glared after her, hearing the door of their room shut.
"I don't suppose they were just sleeping up there." I muttered, crossing my arms. Jason made a face, leaning back in his chair. He pushed himself up and walked over to the bar. Grabbing the whiskey, he poured himself another glass. He left the bottle on the table this time, sitting back down.
"Well, her attire doesn't exactly say that." He said. I groaned, burying my head into my arms on the table. "Hey. It'll be okay. I think she's just putting on a show. You know how she can be." He rubbed my back. I lifted my head up a bit so I could look at him.
"Yeah. I know how she can be and I know how Tommy is when it comes to her. It wouldn't be the first time he replaced me with her after I broke things off with him." I said. Jason gave me a confused look.
"What do you mean by that?" He asked. I shook my head, knowing that I was in a dangerous spot of repeating my mistake with Marci. And I knew for a fact that Jason would not be one to keep that a secret. As much as he was my friend, he was Tommy's best friend. If he knew I was keeping his child from him, he would tell Tommy in a heartbeat.
"It's nothing. Just me being jealous I suppose." I said, propping my chin on my hand. "What are the chances she could go missing in a skiing accident?"
"Pretty good if Rocky takes her." He replied. Smiling, I stood up and brought my empty glass into the kitchen. I set it by the sink and walked back out.
"You should head to bed soon. If you're going to pop the question tomorrow, you'll want to at least be a tiny bit sober and rested."
"You kidding? I wouldn't be able to sleep now if I wanted to. But I did think of something I can do. And I could really use your help. It's going to take some time for me to set it up but in the end, I think it will be the perfect way for me to propose to Trini."
"Sure. What is it?"
"Get some sleep. I'll let you know in the morning."
"Fine. Thanks for listening to me. I know you don't like getting involved but sometimes, it's nice to hear from someone who isn't just trying to make me feel better."
"Of course. And listen. Even if Tommy and Kat do get back together, she has nothing compared to you. We all know that Tommy would do anything he needed to make sure you have everything you need. Clearly, it's not the same with Katherine. I really think the ball is in your court for this. If you tell him how you feel, he might just tell her to get lost. Either way, you can't just let him go without knowing. It would be something the both of you would regret."
"Ah. Sports analogy. That's how I know I'm talking to you." I patted his shoulder and he stood up, giving me a hug.
"Anytime, slugger."
