Author's Note: Hey guys, I'm back after a long three weeks of waiting. As many of you already know, I'm in college and updating doesn't come as quickly as it does during the summer time. Thank you though to everyone who's been reviewing and following my story and a special thanks to everyone who's been waiting patiently for the next chapter. The previous one didn't end on a good note, so it's time for me to pick up where things left off. So, let's get on with the disclaimer.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers, any of the series, or any of its characters. Also, the plot of this story was inspired by the 2009-2010 storyline of Days of our Lives. As for all of the made up characters and the parts of the storyline a changed and made up, that can be credited to me.
"Yours, Mine, and Ours"
The room was silent, all except for the low humming of the ventilation system overhead. Heat was pouring into the white room, yet its warmth couldn't reach the woman who stood alone beside an emptied baby crib.
Kimberly stared down into the crib where Grace's body had been lying merely an hour ago. Her eyelids were heavy like weights were dangling at the ends. The tears she'd been shedding for hours had finally stopped coming.
When the door opened, Kimberly didn't move an inch as her eyes remained focused on the hospital crib.
"Kimberly?" a soft male voice called out to her. The brunette refused to look up at the owner of the voice, so the new male presence crossed the room and placed a hand on her shoulder. She instantly knew that Tommy was beside her.
"All of your friends are out in the waiting room." he spoke softly. "Would you like to see them?"
Kimberly managed to lift her head to stare at Tommy. He frowned as he took in her appearance. Her once vibrant brown hair seemed dull and worn out as it stuck out from a loosely-tied ponytail holder. Her eyes were no longer chocolate, but black, cold, and distant while bags clung tightly to the skin beneath them. Her skin was pale and she looked frail and weak.
"Kim, maybe you should sit down?" he suggested.
Kimberly just stared at him as he made the request. Realizing she wasn't going to respond, Tommy led her over to the empty rocking chair in the room and helped her sit down. Her eyes moved from Tommy and went back to the empty baby crib.
"Kimberly," Tommy tried again, "would you like to see anyone?"
Her body began to shake as a new set of tears began to form in her eyes. She nodded as she choked out Jason's name. Tommy nodded before going to retrieve her brother.
'Why is this happening to me?' Kimberly wondered. 'Grace…she was just a little baby. Why did she have to die? Why couldn't it have been me?'
When the door opened revealing Tommy and Jason, Kimberly burst into tears as she outstretched her arms towards the man she valued more than her own life. Jason rushed over to Kimberly and took her into his arms, pulling her close to him in a hug. Her cries echoed off the walls in the room as she buried her face in his chest.
Tommy stood in the doorway as he shed his own tears. He didn't know what else to do at that moment. The little infant that he'd been with for most of Kimberly's pregnancy and for the first couple months of her life was gone. He valued her as though she'd held his own DNA in her veins. How could she be taken away from them?
Jason pulled away from Kimberly to look her in her eyes as he blinked a few tears free. "Kimberly, I am so sorry." he said with such sincerity that it made her cry harder. "I loved Grace, you know that. I wish there was something I could say that will make you feel better, but I sincerely doubt there's anything I can. So…all I can say is that I'll be here for you no matter what. I'm going to help you through this and so will Tommy, Trini, Billy, and everyone else. You have no idea how many people cared about that child and even more people care about you. We're going to help you through this and that's a promise."
Kimberly sniffed a few times as she tried to wipe her face clean of any remaining tears.
"We…have to get a funeral together." she said in an audible whisper as she looked up at Tommy. He nodded understandingly.
"Of course Kimberly. I'll talk to Trini about it."
"Where is she?" she asked as she tried to look towards the doorway.
"She's…out in the waiting area with Billy…Jacob…Collin and Katherine."
Kimberly's eyes once again filled with water at the mentioning of her son, but she pushed him to the back of her mind as the last two people mentioned crossed her mind.
"What are Collin and Kat doing here?"
"I don't know why Katherine's here." Tommy said. "She was…in here earlier. She said she was saying a quick prayer for Grace. As for Collin, he's been here ever since I arrived and found you with him."
Kimberly bit her bottom lip as a heavy thought crossed her mind. "Can you…tell Collin to come here please?"
Tommy raised an eyebrow at her request, but he finally nodded and left to retrieve the man. They returned seconds later, worry on both their faces.
"Kimberly, I am terribly sorry." Collin said as he rushed into the room and over to her and Jason. Jason shot a glare at the man as he backed away from Kimberly to give him space to hug her. When he pulled away from her, Kimberly stared up at Tommy and Jason.
"I need to speak with Collin…alone please." she said as she stared at the two of them.
Both of the men stared back at her fearfully as one thought crossed their mind: she was going to tell Collin the truth.
"We'll be right outside." Tommy reassured her as he sent her a small smile. Kimberly nodded as she watched them go into the hall. When the door closed, she jumped a little at the realization that it was just her and Collin in the room.
"So," Collin spoke, getting her attention, "how are you…feeling right now?"
Kimberly sighed as she ran a hand through her hair, removing the ponytail holder. She then leaned back in the rocking chair to stare up at the ceiling.
"I don't know." she said in a raspy voice. "It's…really hard to process that…my little girl is gone."
Collin placed a hand on her knee as a tear rolled down her cheek.
"I wish this was a bad dream that I could just wake up from." she admitted. "I don't…want to accept the fact that she's gone."
He nodded understandingly as another thought crossed his mind. "I heard…that your boyfriend was really close to her too."
Kimberly smiled as she blinked a few more tears free. "Yeah…Tommy saw her as his own daughter. He…helped me so much during the witness protection program…and he and Grace were inseparable. They were…a real father-daughter team…and it was all…for nothing."
Kimberly growled her last sentence, making Collin's hand grasp her knee. "Don't say that." he said.
"She could've had such a different life." Kimberly said as she pushed herself out of the chair and onto her feet. "But I did what I had to do."
Collin watched intently as Kimberly began taking small steps around the room as she tugged at her free hair, tears pouring down her face.
"Everything that I did…" she muttered through her silent sobs. "Everything Tommy did…it was all for nothing!"
"What do you mean Kimberly? I'm afraid I don't understand."
Kimberly took several audible breaths as she tried to remain calm.
"Kimberly, the two of you did such a good thing. You took…this little girl who had no one in the world. She had nothing, and yet, you gave her everything. And if that little girl was only supposed to be on this earth for a short period of time…she couldn't have asked for a more loving mother, or a more loving family than the one you gave her."
Kimberly looked up at Collin. "Little Grace meant the world to me. She was so…sweet and special." Collin nodded his head in agreement.
"I…wish you could've known her…the way I did. The way that…Tommy did."
Collin smiled at her words. "I wish I could've gotten to know her better too. She was…Jacob's adopted sister, after all."
Kimberly stared at Collin as fear arose in her chest. "She was more than that." she spoke.
"I'm sorry Kim, I don't understand."
Kimberly nodded. "You're right, you don't understand. And it's all because I wouldn't tell you the truth."
Collin's eyes narrowed as the words passed through her lips. He remained silent for several seconds as he tried to comprehend what she was telling him.
"What truth?" he finally spoke.
Kimberly stared back at him as her lip began to quiver and tears began to flow like a never-ending stream down her cheeks.
"She…wasn't just my baby Collin." she said. "She was ours."
The room grew so silent that you could hear a pin drop as Collin and Kimberly stared at each other. Collin's mouth slowly began to open as the word "ours" replayed over and over again in his mind like a broken record.
"Kimberly…she couldn't be."
"Grace." Kimberly spoke, her heart wrenching in pain as she said the child's name. "Grace was our little girl."
"Now Kimberly, I understand that you're going through a lot of pain. This was a huge ordeal that you went through tonight and no one should have to go through what you went through. Kimberly…my daughter, Neveah, is out there in that waiting room with my wife sleeping peacefully in her arms."
"I'm not talking about Neveah." Kimberly snapped as she dropped her arms to her sides and clenched her hands into tight fists. "I'm talking about your other daughter. I'm talking about Grace."
Collin folded his arms across his chest, still not buying Kimberly's explanation. "You know, there comes a time where all of us fall under great distress Kimberly, and-"
"Why aren't you listening to me?" Kimberly shouted as she shook her fists in frustration.
"I am listening to you Kimberly. It's just that you're under a great amount of pressure right now and I don't blame you for being so confused. After all, you've just suffered a great loss. No one deserves to lose a child. I promise you, I'm hearing everything you're saying, but I feel that this great amount of grief you have is making you delusional."
"I'm not making this up Collin!"
"Kimberly, I'm only trying to help you. Why can't you understand-"
"Would you stop questioning my sanity and think about it for a second?" Kimberly snapped as she approached him and stared him in his face. Tears were still streaming down her face, but all fear and sadness had flown the coop. Kimberly was being bold now, which is something she should've been doing months ago. "Just listen to me and you'll know it's the truth."
Collin rubbed a hand over his face and took a nervous breath. He had a strong gut feeling that he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear. "Alright Kimberly." he sighed. "Please tell me, what make this little theory of yours true?"
"Do you know when Grace was born?" Kimberly questioned him.
Collin nodded. "January 28th, that was the same day Neveah was born. I think you mentioned it about a month ago."
Kimberly nodded at his answer. "That's right. Now, count back nine months genius. Who were you sleeping with at the time?"
Collin's eyes suddenly widened with horror as flashes from the summer of 1999 flashed through his mind. Back in the month of May and early on in June, he and Kimberly were still together. Even though he was secretly sleeping with Katherine at the time, he was still sleeping with Kimberly.
Suddenly, Collin choked and began shaking angrily as his eyes remained wide with horror.
"Y-you and I-I were s-s-sleeping together." he stammered as his shaking grew worse.
Kimberly walked over to Grace's empty crib and gripped tightly onto the railing. "Bingo." she said as she glared into the crib.
"S-she was my daughter?"
Kimberly looked at him through the corner of her eye and sighed. "Yes." she whispered.
"No…" Collin said. "That's…that's not true. You told me that you adopted her. She's adopted Kim…"
Kimberly turned her head to stare at him, a smile not bothering to form on her lips. She wasn't going to deny what she'd told him. "She wasn't adopted." she spoke.
"You…lied to me?" Collin said as his eyes began to burn and his throat grew hot.
Kimberly blinked a few tears free as she stared at him, suddenly feeling sorry for him. "I had to." she said.
"No…no, no, no…" he repeated as she shook his head, lips quivering as he waited for her to deny everything she'd just said. "You wouldn't do that to me. Tell me you didn't do that. You did not bring a child of mine into this world and not tell me Kimberly, please tell me you didn't."
"I can't tell you that Collin." she said as she closed her eyes, more tears working their way down her cheeks.
"Please Kimberly," Collin pleaded as tears streamed down his red face, "tell me this is a lie. This is just some insanely fabricated story. Please, please, please…my daughter is not dead! Tell me you didn't do this!"
"I had to." Kimberly said as she folded her arms across her chest and turned to face him as he slowly descended and sat in the rocking chair.
"Why did you lie to me about something so important?" he said as he blinked a few more tears free. "Why didn't you tell me the truth about Grace? My daughter."
"Because you're an Ignalis." Kimberly spat, the name rolling off her tongue like acid.
"So…you kept my daughter from me…because of my family's name?"
"That's just it Collin, it isn't just a name. You're family hurts people. They're greedy, evil mobsters that only care about themselves. I'm sorry Collin, I know that you're different from your father and your uncles and everyone else that's a part of that family, but you're all evil nonetheless. Jacob can't escape your family's clutches because he's been exposed to their ways for so long now. Heck, he's probably next in line to inherit the family business! When…I found out I was pregnant again…I vowed that I would never let another child befall the same fate."
Collin stared at Kimberly as she began to tug at her hair again. "You wanna know something else Collin?" she said. "Tommy and I learned something a few weeks ago about your loving father. Zeke, that evil, sadistic bastard that tried to kill me…he was working for your father."
Kimberly glared at Collin as she watched him process everything she'd just told him. She took a shaky breath as she recalled finding out the information. Adam had called her and explained to her that the mole in their department had been locked up for impersonating a police officer and feeding Zeke information about her whereabouts. Kimberly then asked for more background information on the guy and she learned that he worked for a guy named Augustus Reynolds, a name she was very familiar with. The guy was a frequent visitor to the Ignalis household and he was one of Mr. Ignalis's most well-respected employees. Kimberly was furious when she'd found out that Zeke was being ordered around by Mr. Ignalis and his pawns. That just added another tally mark to the reason why she couldn't let Grace be a part of their family.
"Your father is the cause of me going into witness protection." Kimberly snapped. "He's the reason that I was taken away from Jacob…my family and my friends! He was going to let Zeke come after me and strike me dead Collin! All of this happened…while I was pregnant with your child. So you wanna know why I didn't tell you? I think it should be pretty clear by now why I chose to keep Grace a secret. Why would I want her exposed to a family whose leader was trying to kill me and her? Then, I get back to Angel Grove and you were planning a wedding to Katherine, the woman who ruined our relationship in the first place while your father's still sneaking around causing harm to people? Oh yeah, let's not forget the other thing Adam told me. The mole in the police department may have worked for a guy that served your dad, but I was told that the mole was put in that department by you. So you're asking me why I didn't want Grace to be a part of your family?"
"You wait a minute…" Collin whispered in a dangerously low voice. "You wait a minute!"
Kimberly jumped in surprise as he shouted at her. He then raised a finger and pointed at her.
"You wait just a damn minute Kimberly. You had no right to deprive me of my child! Zeke going after you was his fault. Not mine!"
"You speak of the situation like you knew."
"I didn't know at the time!"
Kimberly's lips curled into a frown as Collin's face reddened even more with anger.
"Why didn't you tell me before all of the mess with Zeke happened huh? You had to have known you were pregnant before the whole witness protection thing started, so why didn't you tell me?"
Kimberly sighed. "I was going to tell you Collin." she admitted. "I wanted to."
"Why?" he shouted, his voice echoing off the walls. "Why, why, why! Why didn't you tell me back in June or May for that matter!"
"I came to tell you the day I came home to our apartment and found you and Katherine standing in the middle of my kitchen! That's when I found out she was pregnant too and-"
"No, no, no. Don't you dare turn this around on my wife! This is about you keeping my daughter from me."
"Katherine was dangling the fact that the two of you had slept together in front of my face like some kind of trophy and then the two of you were smiling and laughing like-"
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" he shouted. "This has nothing to do with Katherine! She didn't lie to me about the most important thing in my life! She has not betrayed me!"
"I was just explaining to you that she started my thinking about not telling you Collin."
"That is quite enough Kimberly." he said as he glared at her in disgust. "You have nothing left to explain to me. What you did…is sickening. You decided to play God with my daughter's life and mine."
"I'm sorry Collin." Kimberly said. "I really wanted to-"
"Oh, I don't wanna hear anymore of your nonsense! And I don't care if you're sorry now because you should be and you're going to be sorry for the rest of your miserable life."
"It doesn't matter now." Kimberly sighed as she leaned her back against the emptied crib.
Collin stared at her as he rose to his feet. "You were never going to tell me were you? If she was alive right now…you were never going to tell me. I'd still be in the dark."
Kimberly stared at the floor as she wrapped her arms around herself.
"Well she's dead! She's dead! And now…I'll never get the chance to know my own daughter, and it's your damn fault. And to think…I came in here to tell you how sorry I was for your loss!"
"I just wanted to be a good mother and protect Grace from evil…"
"You don't deserve to be a mother Kimberly. You deserve to rot in hell for what you did to me!"
Kimberly nodded her head slowly. "I know…" she whispered. "I know I do…"
"You can rot in hell Kimberly." Collin said as he crossed the room and stood in front of her. "You and that hot shot boyfriend of yours Tommy. He was in on this too wasn't he? Wasn't he!"
When Kimberly didn't answer, Collin smiled in disbelief before his face curled back into an evil glare. "Of course he was." he said. "That man…he had the balls to try and be a father to my daughter. The two of you were going to live together in that pretty townhouse of yours, raising my child while you laughed yourselves silly over your inhuman plan!"
"This wasn't about you Collin…it was about protecting Grace."
Collin's eyes moved to the baby crib where Grace's bunny blanket lay abandoned in a heap. He reached into the crib and pulled it out as he rubbed its fabric with the pads of his thumbs.
"I barely even knew her." he said sadly. "I only held her once…at my wedding reception. I didn't get to play with her or hold her when she was born…and now…I have to live the rest of my life with that."
Kimberly snatched the pink blanket from Collin and nuzzled her head against it as she inhaled Grace's scent.
"I will hate you forever for this." Collin said in a dangerously low voice. "I will hate you…for the rest of my life. I hope you'll keep on suffering up until the day you die."
Kimberly watched as Collin slowly made his exit from the room. As the door closed behind him, she leaned back against the crib and slid down to the floor. As thoughts of the previous events and her daughter filled her mind, Kimberly began crying once more as she stared up at the ceiling.
Why did she have to keep Grace from Collin? Why didn't she just tell him at the wedding like she'd originally planned? Was Grace's passing a punishment from God for doing what she'd done to Collin?
Morgue
"What's the child's name?" a nurse asked the man standing before her as she pulled records up on her computer screen.
"Grace Hart." Collin said, the name making his heart ache with sadness. The nurse nodded before walking over to a metal drawer. Collin followed behind her closely, his heart aching with each step. They stopped at the drawer in the wall before the nurse pulled it open slowly revealing a white sheet that had been placed over a tiny little body.
"You wanted to see her right?" the nurse asked sadly.
"Yes." he said, nodding his head. "She was my…daughter."
The woman nodded understandingly and watched as Collin took a deep breath. When she pulled the sheet back, he began shaking as he burst into tears and placed a hand against the pale cold cheek of his child. The nurse watched sadly as she backed away from Collin to give him his space. It was hard to watch the grieving father.
"Hello there Grace." Collin spoke through his tears. "I'm your father. You're real father. The man that should have been a part of your life but your selfish mother saw to it that that never happened. I am so sorry honey. I wish I could've gotten to know you better. I could've taken you to a dance recital, watched you play dress up…hold your hand on your wedding day. Well…we'll never get the chance to be acquainted now will we?"
Collin burst into tears as he placed his forehead to the tiny corpse. He remained like that for several minutes, crying beside the child he'd wished he'd gotten the chance to know.
Hospital Room
Tommy and Jason walked back into the hospital room with Billy, Trini, and Jacob right behind them. The two of them ran to the brunette who was still positioned on the floor crying her eyes out.
"What happened?" Jason demanded as Tommy wrapped her tight in his arms.
"I-I told Collin the truth." she stammered in between her sobs. "I told him that Grace was his daughter."
Everyone stared at the woman in shock at her confession.
"How'd he take it?" Trini asked as she watched Kimberly shaking in Tommy's arms.
"He was so angry," Kimberly said, "but that's to be expected. He said I was going to burn in hell for keeping Grace a secret from him. Lest we not forget, he said he'd hate me for the rest of his life. I don't blame him though. What kind of person am I?"
"Kimberly," Billy spoke as he crossed the room, Jacob being held in his arms. "You aren't a horrible person. We all understand why you chose to keep Grace a secret from him. We know that you only wanted what was best for that baby and that you didn't want her to fall victim to the same fate Jacob has."
Kimberly looked up at her son who was in Billy's arms staring at her confusedly. She whimpered as she held her arms out to hold him. Billy smiled sadly and placed the little boy in his mother's arms as she held him tight, her tears wetting his brown curls. Tommy wrapped his arms around the two of them protectively, never wanting any more harm to fall upon them.
"Collin's just going to have to hate us." Jason said. "I'll admit; it's unfortunate that he didn't get to know her…but this is kind of his fault in a way. His family is the cause of you making the decisions you did. Besides, he wasn't all that concerned for you while you were away being chased down by a murderer. He was too busy sleeping with Katherine. Now he wants to act like he would've cared if you told him?"
"You guys, that's enough." Tommy spoke. "Collin now knows the truth meaning everyone else is bound to find out sooner or later. That fact is over and done with. Right now, Kim's gonna need us to stay strong for her and help her get through this."
"Tommy…you don't have to be so strong and brave all the time." Trini said quietly. "It's okay for you to grieve too."
"You think I'm not grieving?" he asked in disbelief. "Trini, this hurts like hell. I mean…that little angel wasn't my daughter, but I loved her like she was and she loved me like I was her father. I was going to be there for her, helping her through life whether Kimberly decided to tell Collin the truth or not."
"I…was going to tell him on his wedding day." Kimberly recalled. "But…Katherine showed up and made me change my mind. I saw how happy he was with his little family and…I didn't want to ruin that for him. I guess I should've said something and maybe…just maybe…Grace would still be here."
"Kimberly, don't blame yourself for this." Billy spoke. "Don't spend your time worrying about what you should've done. Now's the time for you to focus on what you need to do."
"I…want to go home." Kimberly whispered. "I can't stand being here anymore. Grace's final moments…are all in this room."
"Not to make things any worse for you," Jason said, "but there are some moments of hers back at your place too."
Kimberly's eyes widened as she took a deep breath. Jason was absolutely right. No matter what, Grace's memory was going to follow her everywhere.
"Let's go home Tommy." she said as she rested her head on Jacob's.
Tommy nodded before kissing her forehead gently and helping her onto her feet. The six friends then left the hospital room and all the horrid memories of the night behind.
Author's Note: And so ends another chapter. Oh my God, Kimberly told Collin the truth about Grace! This chapter honestly makes me tear up because I actually feel bad for both Kimberly and Collin and all the pain the two of them experienced during the revealing of Grace's paternity. So, one half of the secret is out, but it isn't even true! Will Collin tell Katherine and make her question her decisions?
Well, let me know what you guys thought by reviewing or simply by following my story and wait patiently for the next update. Until next time guys!
