Chapter 1

'WELCOME ANGEL GROVE ALUMNI!' the marquis sign flashed as Kimberly Hart, age 28, pulled into the resort in her rental car. The resort, Resort Galactic, was hosting a fundraising weekend for Angel Grove High School so the school could raise money for the many extra-curricular activities they had. The school blocked of a huge set of rooms and offered pre-planned events throughout the long, four-day weekend, including a cocktail hour that evening, volleyball tournaments, a karaoke night, and a discussion of how their money was going to support the school. There were also unscheduled activities, such as swimming in the indoor or outdoor pools, a spa, and tubing or kayaking down the river behind the resort. Kimberly had booked a room with Aisha and Rocky, Adam, Jason, and Zach had also all gotten rooms. Tommy – err, Dr. Oliver these days – was too busy with the latest batch of Rangers to come; Trini was in Vietnam visiting family and Billy was still on a faraway planet. Pulling her suitcase out of the trunk of her car, she entered the air-conditioned main building to check in and start her weekend.

"Girl," Aisha stated, fixing her hair in the mirror. "I am so excited for this cocktail hour! It's going to be like a mini reunion!"

Kimberly nodded as she dug through her outfits, "Me too. I wonder who is coming; outside of our group, I mean."

"Katherine is in Australia; she's visiting her family," Aisha mentioned. Kimberly did her best to keep her face neutral. Though she was totally stoked to pass the Pink Ranger powers to the blonde Australian, she did feel a small pang of residual jealousy at the relationship that developed between her and Tommy. They had been dating for such a long time; Kim – on the other hand – was very single. She reminded herself that she was the one to break up with Tommy in a 'Dear John' letter and she could never blame him for moving on.

Deciding to change the subject, Kimberly pulled out the two cocktail dresses she brought, "I can't decide which one to wear." The first dress was something like she would've worn in high school, a soft pink lace sheath dress with a conservative V-neck neckline that ended around her knees. The second dress was a black bodycon dress with a more daring neckline with a hem that ended about halfway down her thighs.

Aisha raised her eyebrows as she looked over both dresses. "Girl, if you don't wear that black dress, I might just steal it from you."

Kim wrinkled her nose, "You sure?"

"Absolutely!" Aisha nodded. "In fact, you may find that dress disappeared after this weekend."

Rolling her eyes, Kim put the pink dress away and started to change, "Jase and Zach should be here soon. Are Rocky and Adam meeting us here?"

Aisha shook her head, "No, Rocky's plane was delayed. Adam texted me that they'll meet us at the cocktail party."

About fifteen minutes later, there was a sharp knock on their door. Kim opened it and immediately squealed with delight. Standing in the doorway were two of her oldest friends: Zach and Jason. Zach was looking slick in a black and white palm print shirt, black jeans, and black shoes. Jason chose to go for a more traditional look with a deep green button up, black slacks, and black shoes.

"Woah, Kim!" Jason was clearly taken aback by his friend's daring look. She rolled her eyes as she greeted him with a hug. It couldn't be that scandalous.

"Damn, girl! If that dress gets any shorter, you're gonna catch a cold!" Zach teased.

Kim playfully glared at her friend, "Zachary!"

"You know I'm just messing with ya!" He grinned as he wrapped her in a big hug.

Kim turned as Aisha stepped out, wearing her own bodycon dress in a soft pink color with a low square neckline. "Guys, you remember Aisha, right? She transferred after you left for Switzerland."

"Absolutely," Jason smiled, making Aisha flush and Kim and Zach exchange looks.

"Should we get going?" Zach asked, looking between the trio.

Kim linked arms with Aisha, "Let's go!"

Kim was having a blast sipping white wine and chatting with her friends. Rocky and Adam had arrived about a half hour after the event started. Rocky was catching them up on the latest happenings with the newest group of Rangers when Kim noticed a taller man with his back to them, waiting for a drink at the bar. He wore a killer pair of fitted black jeans, a black leather bomber style jacket, and black boots. There was something strangely familiar about the guy, Kim thought. She refocused her attention back to the conversation at hand.

"Tommy texted me yesterday and said he's flying out to Australia to spend time with Katherine and her family," Adam stated. "But he wanted to let everyone know that he misses us and wishes he and Kat could be here."

"Let him know that we wish they could be here, too" Kim replied with a polite smile. "Has anyone heard from Billy lately?"

It seems that no one heard from the original Blue Ranger since he left Planet Earth. Kim felt a pang of sadness at the thought as she finished her wine. He was one of her closest friends since kindergarten and he left without saying goodbye to her.

"Trini is having a great time in Vietnam seeing her extended family," Zach mentioned. "I told her to send us all postcards since they have to stay there for about a month."

Adam nodded in understanding, "Yeah, travel to Asia takes so long that it isn't worth it to take a short trip. Adjusting to the time difference can be really hard."

As the conversation lulled for a moment, Kim glanced at the man standing at the bar. He had turned to the side and she immediately recognized his profile.
"Skull?" She blurted out, making the rest of her friends turn to look.

Lowball glass of a dark liquid on the rocks in hand, Skull turned to face his former classmates, his dark eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Oh, hey Kimberly," he nodded with a smile. His light blue eyes went from face to face. "Aisha, Jason, Zack, Adam, Rocky; how is everyone?" They all shifted to allow him room to join in.

Jason nodded in acknowledgement, "We're all doing well. Where's Bulk?"

"Bulkie had a wedding at his hotel this weekend, so he couldn't make it. He really wanted to though," he replied before taking a sip.

"Are you still working at the Angel Grove PD?" Aisha asked.

Skull shook his head and gave her a half smile, "Nah, I decided being a cop wasn't for me. Sgt. Stone told me I had a knack for writing when I was doing my detective training. That surprised the heck outta me; but after Paris, I took some classes at the community college. I transferred to the local University of California campus and got a BA in writing. I've been doing articles on the rock music scene since!"

To say that any of them were shocked would've been an understatement. Skull was never one for writing papers, much less school.

"That's great!" Aisha replied, her tone bright and cheery. He nodded as he took one last sip of his drink.

Jason clapped him on the shoulder, "Why don't you hang out with us this weekend? It'll be like a mini class of 1996 reunion."

"Ya sure?" He glanced around.

Kimberly smiled, "Of course! We were all friends by the end, right?" In response, he smiled at her in a sort of a bashful way. Rocky, taking a sip of beer, subtly raised his eyebrows at Adam, who did his best to hide his smirk.

Zach turned to Skull, "Have you gotten to see any good bands?"

"Yeah, actually," he replied. "There is this real interesting heavy rock band; the lead is this woman – her name is Maria Brink." He paused, reflecting on the recent concert he attended in LA. "The band is 'In This Moment' but they definitely aren't everyone's cup of tea," he laughed.

"Yeah?" Rocky asked, "Why's that?"

"Her vocals are different," he replied. "It's a mixture of screaming and actually singing. Her stage presence is amazing. She has this innate ability to command the stage. It's seriously impressive for a newcomer."

Kim chucked, "Definitely not my type of music."

"Have you covered any bands that we might recognize?" Adam asked, motioning to the rest of his friends.

Skull scrunched his face in thought before replying, "I just saw Yellowcard perform. They put on a great live show." There was a pause in conversation as the head bartender was announcing last call for the event. Kim glanced around the group. "Anyone need anything? I'm going to get another drink."

Aisha and Jason were making eyes at each other, oblivious to the rest of the group; the others shook their heads.

"I do," Skull piped up.

"What can I get ya?" she asked, reaching for his glass.

He gave her playful look as he pulled the glass out of reach, "I dunno if you're going to get it right; why don't I come over with you?"

She rolled her eyes in response and walked with him to the bar. A bartender came over to the pair, "What can I get you folks?"

"I'll have a Sauvignon Blanc, please," Kim answered. The bartender nodded and turned her attention to Skull. "I'll have Jack and Coke, please." The bartender nodded and went to get their drinks.

Kim playfully nudged him with her shoulder, "Yeah, that was such a hard drink to get right."

"Maybe I just wanted to keep you company," he teased with a wink. Kim could feel herself flush slightly. Maybe I should go easy on the wine, she thought, hoping he didn't notice. If he did, Skull didn't say anything. Slipping the bartender a generous tip, he walked her back to the group.

"What are the plans for tomorrow?" Aisha asked.

Jason pulled a schedule out of his back pocket. "It's mostly free time tomorrow morning and afternoon for water activities. There's a sit-down dinner and then a silent auction fundraiser."

"I'm, like, really excited for the tubing, guys," Kim stated. She took a big sip of wine before continuing, "I bought a brand-new bathing suit for the occasion."

Jason nudged her with his shoulder, "Kimmy, knowing you, you bought a whole new wardrobe for this weekend." She playfully rolled her eyes in response as the group shared a laugh. The overhead lights flicked back to their brightest setting, indicating that the event was over.

Zach looked around, "Should we all meet at the beach after breakfast? Say, about 10:30? We can get packed lunches to take down the river."

"Sounds like a plan," Rocky replied. "Skull, you are coming with us tomorrow?"

Kim finished her glass as she waited for his answer. Skull nodded, "Yeah, sounds like fun."

Adam finished his beer and stretched, "I gotta hit the sack. Traveling today got me beat." Rocky nodded in agreement and the group said their goodnights. The four Ranger boys all left the room after depositing their glasses on the bar, leaving Aisha, Kim, and Skull alone.

"You're gonna do karaoke, right?" Aisha asked. "I think it's the day after tomorrow." Kim felt herself flush again as her two friends – was it weird to call Skull a friend after all these years? – looked at her.

"I dunno," she shrugged. "I haven't really sung since high school."

Aisha begged, "Please? It'll be fun!" Turning to the man that she knew had a crush on her best friend since well before they met, she said, "Right, Skull?"

A crooked smile pulled at the corner of his mouth, "I think Aisha is right, Kim."

She rolled her eyes in mock annoyance, "I'll think about it. Come on, we should go to our hotel room. It is getting a little late and I'm sure the staff would like to go home."
"Lemme take your glass, I'm dropping mine off at the bar anyway," he said, his long fingers brushed against hers as he reached for the stem. She glanced up at him, noticing his light blue eyes lingering on her face for a moment or two longer than expected.

"Thank you, Skull," Aisha broke the moment as she linked her arm with the Pink Ranger's. They said their goodnights and the girls made their way back to the hotel room.

Kim was laying in her bed, thumbing through a gymnastics trade magazine as Aisha went through her nightly hair routine, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Ya know," the Yellow Ranger broke the silence. "I think Skull still has a bit of a crush on you."

Refusing to look up, Kim snorted, "As if. I'm sure he moved on from me a long time ago."

Aisha rolled her eyes. "I don't think so. And," she paused, squinting slightly to study Kim's face, "are you blushing?"

"No!" Kimberly replied almost too quickly. "Wine can make me a little flushed is all."

"Uh huh" was the only reply that Aisha gave as she wrapped her hair in a silk scarf. The Pink Ranger huffed, "I am not blushing. Besides, you were making eyes at Jason!"

Aisha wrinkled her nose playfully, "I was. I can't help it! He's hot! Don't you think so?"

Kim tried her hardest to not laugh over the thought of Jason being attractive; they were friends for so long that he was family in every sense, except genetically. But she wasn't going to stand in the way of Aisha if she wanted to pursue him romantically.

"Tell ya what," Kim said as Aisha climbed under her covers. "I will try to get the scoop on Jason tomorrow during tubing for ya." Aisha flicked off the lights, immersing the room in darkness.

"And I will not stand in the way if you figure out you do have a thing for Skull," she teased in return. "I will admit, he does look good now that he's grown up. And his butt in those jeans tonight? Whew!" Out of nowhere, a pillow flew and smacked her in the face, causing both women to burst into giggles.