Author's Note: I started watching Dinothunder with my six year old, and this popped in my head. In some ways, it's another letter story. I love the subject, and refuse to believe Tommy and Kat are canon. So I guess I'm relegated to populating the interwebs with more Tommy/Kim fan fics.

Author's Note 2: This takes place during and after "Fighting Spirit"

It Was Always You

The slow rise and fall of his chest had become like clockwork. She had seen him sleep before, but Hayley Ziktor knew that what she saw now was nothing like what she had seen in college. Gone were the days where Tommy Oliver was passed out on her couch from pulling all-nighters. Now, he was in a coma, where doctors were trying to help him fight for his life.

She had seen and heard of his days as a superhero, though most of it from Billy as he worked from a far to help her engineer the Dinothunder powers. The distance between planets didn't stop Billy from raving about Tommy's stellar leadership, as well as his fighting prowess, and his fierce loyalty to his teammates and to the uniform worn known to all as the power rangers.

But now she saw the toll that being a hero took. Encased in amber. Trapped in his suit. Turned invisible. And now? Comatose.

She had seen Tommy in bad situations. But never where he was so helpless.

Before she had gotten to the hospital, she sent out a mass e-mail to the rangers guild, a mass listing of every known ranger who had previously served. She assumed that, if Tommy didn't make it, it would at least be helpful for those who knew him to have a heads up. She knew a couple of the old gang would probably give her a call, like Jason, Rocky, or Adam. He had kept in decent contact with the three of them, at least from her perspective. Though for her, part of that reasoning was due to the fact that she had gotten to spend time with them over the years. Aside from those three, Tommy never really talked about anyone else too extensively.

"Well... besides Kimberly," she thought to herself. She gave herself a mental shake, realizing she was preparing for the worst. She was a pessimist by nature, but she didn't want to start planning a funeral too early. She knew that if anyone would pull through this, Tommy would. She had said it herself, he was the best ranger there ever was. And every ranger she knew voiced similar approval.

She sat in the fairly uncomfortable seat in the little nook of his room, her back facing the doorway out towards the hall. She rested her eyes, though sleep alluded her. The constant, faint beeping of machines designed to keep her friend alive, the muted chatter from doctors and nurses that paced throughout the halls, and the racing thoughts in her mind, all kept her from plunging herself into the deep rest she so desperately needed.

"Maybe if I could fall asleep, I could wake up and this would just prove to be a nightmare," she thought once more. She knew that her hope was little more than a pipe dream. But she hoped it anyway. Maybe, just maybe, he would wake up after she went to sleep.

Sleep continued to allude her, and after 45 minutes, she stirred to see a news report on the television: Power Rangers defeated in battle. News report next.

"If things weren't bad enough," she muttered to herself. "You better get up soon, Tom. Those kids need you out there with them."

"He's one of them, isn't he?" A voice asked behind her. Hayley startled, and jumped to her feet to find a very familiar petite brunette standing before her. She wore a pale pink sundress, her hair was down, and her face had been tear-stained.

"One of whom," Hayley replied, trying to remain coy. "Are you a friend of Dr. Oliver's?" She asked, still a bit rattled.

"Doctor?" The brunette gasped, but then collected herself. "I... I don't know what he thinks of me to be honest. I just know that I got an e-mail that he was in a coma."

"You're in the rangers guild?" Hayley asked, and the woman in front of her nodded to confirm. Hayley realized quickly after that the woman in front of her was not just any other ranger. "You're Kimberly Hart, aren't you?" Once more, she nodded. Of all the former rangers, she never expected the former pink ranger to be someone to stop by, mostly due to the fact that, from what Tommy had communicated, their relationship was very much over. No contact for over seven years, not since their run-in with Divatox on Muiranthias.

"Thank you for sending that e-mail," Kim interrupted her thoughts. "That was you, right?"

"Hayley Ziktor," she replied, extending her hand, which Kim received. "And yes, he is one of them. The black ranger. And their mentor."

"How did he... well, end up here?"

"Long story," Hayley replied. "He was imprisoned by an evil ranger, and that started a whole slew of events that landed him in this coma." The reality of an evil ranger shook Kimberly.

"May I?" Kimberly asked, implying that she wanted to go over by his bed.

"Of course," Hayley replied. Kim walked over and stood over her ex-boyfriend, her eyes slowly wandering from his face down his body. A tear came to her eye, and slipped down her face.

"I never thought I would see him like this," Kim whispered. "Even when he lost his powers, we always had this confidence that he would get back up. He was a fighter."

"He still is, Kimberly," Hayley reminded her. The pair stood by in silence for a moment, when one of the nurses came in.

"Hi dears," the older woman greeted. "I need to take some vitals and administer some fluids..."

"Great, we'll get out of your way then," Hayley mentioned, and then motioned to Kimberly to step out of the room. They made their way into the hallway, and then Hayley turned back to her new companion. "Why don't we get out, get some fresh air." Kim nodded, and they left the building and made their way to the smooth path that resided outside of Reefside Memorial. The pair walked in silence for a few moments, until Kim awkwardly broke the silence.

"So, how long have you guys been dating?" She asked. The question shocked the young red-head.

"Dating? Me and Tommy?" Kim nodded, which prompted a not so muted chuckle. "There are many things that Tommy is to me, but boyfriend will never be one of them."

"Oh," Kim whispered. "Then..."

"We met in college," Hayley interrupted. "Intro to computer science, I was his T.A. He needed a lot of help, and he knew it. We spent a lot of time in the lab, and we became fast friends. Around the same time, our significant others broke up with us, so that friendship deepened very quickly."

"Oh..." Kim replied silently. Hayley picked up on the brunette's reticence, and continued.

"It wasn't you, Kim," she added. Kim gazed at her, the expression on her face indicating she didn't understand. "After you broke up with Tommy, he started dating Katherine."

"I figured," Kim replied wistfully.

"Well, it didn't last," Hayley replied. "Though, I think Tommy was more broken up over the fact that he was dumped again, rather than the fact that he was dumped by Kat. Me on the other hand, well, let's just say, Ronnie has almost made me swear off men altogether." As they continued to slowly stroll around the park, Hayley wondered if it was okay for her to share so much with her new companion. Kim didn't seem disturbed by it, so she continued. "I found out about Tommy's association with our favorite superheroes a couple years later. I found his plans for starting the Ranger Guild, and he realized he could trust me with a lot of the technical development that he couldn't handle.

"So... you're the Billy of the group," Kim added.

"Ah, yes, Billy," Hayley smiled. "He helped me remotely from Aquitar, mostly to get used to adapting the morphers to the morphing grid." The admission made Kim smile faintly.

"Of course he did," she sighed. "Somehow, Tommy and Billy continue to have the fingerprints all over the rangers." While Hayley wondered if she was being self-deprecating, the slight smile that crept over Kimberly's face indicated otherwise. It was the only semblance of joy she had seen in the petite brunette since meeting her.

Suddenly, Hayley stopped walking, and Kim stopped with her. "Don't take this the wrong way, because I'm glad you're here," Hayley started. "But why did you come? I was under the impression that after your letter to Tommy, you hadn't spoken since." Kim didn't really know how to respond.

"I guess..." she started, but her voice trailed off. Another tear formed in her eye, but she tried to force it back. It finally streaked down her face, and her lips quivered. "I don't really know why, other than when I got your e-mail, I just felt compelled to come. I was a couple towns over getting ready for a work conference, so I knew the trip wouldn't be too long. And, you know, I... I never stopped caring for Tommy..." Her voice trailed off again, her voice weakening as she was overcome with emotion. Hayley helped her new friend over towards a bench, and she placed her hand on her back as she began to sob.

After a few moments passed, Kimberly started to regain some semblance of composure. Hayley's hand hadn't left her back, as she sought to comfort her.

"Thanks," Kim whispered, to which Hayley merely nodded. "I think the hardest thing about all of this is the confusion I feel."

"What do you mean?" Hayley asked.

"Well, you said it yourself," she started. "You didn't expect me here. I hadn't thought about Tommy for a long time. Now, all of a sudden he's landed in the hospital, and not only do I start thinking about him, I start wondering what I've done with my life. Did I make the right decisions? Should I have gone to Florida, left the rangers..."

"Sent a letter to the youth-center to break up with your first boyfriend?" Hayley finished her thought, to which Kimberly nodded. "You can't go back and re-think all your past decisions, you'll drive yourself crazy if you do that."

"But that's all I can think about right now," Kim sighed.

"Look, this might be a weird question, but why do you think you're facing these regrets eight years after they happened?" Kim shrugged at her question, and then hid her head in shame.

"Tommy's told you everything, hasn't he?"

"He's told me enough," Hayley replied. "I know it was hard for him. You were his first love." Her words pierced through Kimberly's soul like a sharp, double-edged sword. It was bad enough that she felt all of these feelings of regret, confusion, and now she felt even guiltier. "Sorry," Hayley tried to comfort. "That wasn't meant to hurt you. I... even in the midst of tragedy I have a tendency to be pretty direct."

"No, it's okay," she sniffled. "I... part of the reason I sent that letter was because I was too afraid to see the damage it was going to do to him," she realized. "I don't think I realized it then. And then when I saw him with Kat a year later..." Her voice trailed off. Hayley wanted to ask more questions, but she realized that Kim was deep in thought. "When I broke up with Tommy, I was so sure that it was the right thing to do. I met someone, I fell for him, had the same giddy schoolgirl feelings I had when I first met Tommy... and rather than face my fears, and face Tommy, I chose the easy way out."

"Who was he?" Hayley asked. "The guy in the letter?"

"Oh, Jim? He was another gymnast in the games. We didn't last more than a month. I realized pretty quickly that we didn't click." She stopped for a moment, and then realized something else. "This whole time I've let fear dictate whether I should contact Tommy and the rest of the gang."

"So why come now?" Hayley asked gently.

"Because sometimes, suffering forces you out of your comfort zone," Kim finally understood herself. "There were a lot of things I ignored so that I could stay away. A lot of fears I gave into. A lot of pain I ran away from. But the reality that Tommy's in that hospital bed lying in a coma... that's something I can't ignore. I can't run away from the reality that this might be the last time I ever see him. And I can't run away from the reality that I never had the guts to face him, to look him they eye, and tell him what I wrote in that letter." Another tear began to form. "And I can't run away from the reality that if I did try to say it to his face, I wouldn't have gone through with it." The admission startled Hayley.

"You mean..."

"I would've quit the pan-globals in a heartbeat to go back to the rangers. To be back with him. But I didn't want people to see me as a quitter. I had worked too hard to get to where I was. But I couldn't keep hanging on to my life in Angel Grove if I wanted to advance my life in Florida. At least, that's what I thought. It was too painful for me. Jim was great, and it was time to move on. So I did."

"So you didn't just come because of regret?" Hayley asked.

"No... I came because I still love him." The admission actually brought a smile to her face, though a faint one. While the situation was sobering, she finally was able to make sense of the emotions that raged within her. "Sounds pretty stupid and desperate, huh? Coming to see your ex-boyfriend when he's in a coma?"

"No, I think it makes sense," Hayley comforted her. "You said it yourself, sometimes suffering brings clarity." They sat silently for a few more moments before talking a bit more, now talking with a bit more levity. Hayley shared how she helped Tommy develop the ranger powers, along with some of their adventures in grad school. While Hayley never would have expected it, they became fast friends.

After a while, they made their way back up to Tommy's room and sat with him as he remained comatose. Hours went by, and Kim realized that she should probably head back to her hotel. Hayley offered to put her up for the night, but she declined, knowing that tomorrow she had to be back for the start of their business conference. However, before she left, she knelt down by Tommy's bedside.

"Tommy, I'm sorry it took this for me to come and see you," Kim started. "I want you to know that I'm praying for you, and I'm fighting with you. Come back to us." She stopped for a moment, looked at Hayley, and then looked back at Tommy's expressionless face. "I love you." She started to stand, but brushed her lips on his forehead slowly, giving him a small kiss. She gave Hayley a hug, and then her cell number. "If he wakes up, could you call me?" Hayley nodded, and then Kim left. What neither of them noticed was that Tommy began to move.

Not more than 15 minutes later, Tommy spoke. "Hayley?"

"Tommy!" Hayley shouted excitedly, relief washing over her. "You're awake, are you..."

"I'm okay, I think," he replied. "I had the oddest experience."

"Besides being in a coma?" Hayley joked.

"Well, I think the coma had something to do with it," he smirked. "I had to fight against all of my old ranger forms to wake up and reclaim my dino gem. But when I got to the green ranger, I failed. He readied a killing blow, but I was rescued."

"Let me guess, you were rescued by a very familiar ally," Hayley smiled faintly. "Was it the pink ranger?"

"Yeah, but how..."

"She was here. She came when I sent out the communication to the rangers guild about your coma."

"Somehow, I dreamt that she rescued me," Tommy shared.

"Maybe it wasn't a dream," Hayley replied. Before they could talk more, Tommy noticed on their TV screen that the terrorsaurus was destroying Reefside, with no dinothunder rangers to be found.

"Where are the rangers? Why aren't they stopping him?"

"He stole their powers," Hayley replied. "Looks like they need the great Tommy Oliver to save the day."

After the nurses made their rounds, Tommy morphed and left to rescue the city, and his students from the monster. In the meantime, Hayley remained at the hospital, hoping that Tommy would get back in time to not arouse any suspicion. She tried to call Kimberly to let her know the good news, but her calls kept going to voicemail.

Tommy returned just in time, and the dinothunder rangers all swung by to officially welcome him back to the land of the living. He was a sight for sore eyes, especially since they hadn't actually seen him in person for weeks. After a few more hours in the hospital (his doctor wanted to run a few more tests before they discharged him), he was cleared to leave. While the rangers celebrated behind him, he walked ahead with Hayley, clearly distracted.

"What you thinking about?" Hayley asked with a knowing grin. Tommy tried to shrug it off, but Hayley pressed. "A certain pink ranger?" Tommy shot her a look, more to keep his students from asking questions than anything else. After he looked back to make sure the other rangers didn't hear her, he turned back to her.

"Did she say where she was going to be?" Tommy asked, a bit sheepish in his tone.

"All she said was that she was in a business meeting for the week a couple of towns over," Hayley replied.

"I bet it's being hosted over in Monterey," Tommy thought out loud. "That's the biggest conference center near here." He turned towards his students. "Could one of you give Hayley a ride?"

"Sure, Dr. O, but..." before Conner could finish, Hayley handed him the keys to his jeep, which she drove over after he was taken to the hospital. He quickly rushed to his jeep and sped off, leaving the rest of them to wonder what had gotten into their professor.

"What was that all about?" Kira asked.

"He's heading to Monterey," Hayley smiled.

"What's in Monterey?" Ethan asked.

"The first Pink Ranger."

*Monterey Conference Center*

It was getting late in the afternoon, and Kimberly was itching to get out of her last few meetings. Gymcorp was a good company to work for, especially since it had to deal with equipment she was very familiar with as a former gymnast. But strategic meetings for how to sell different equipment was not her favorite topic.

She made her way to the lobby for their coffee break, she had about ten minutes before she had to get back. She mostly paced around, hoping to calm herself down so that she could focus for the rest of the day. However, when she looked over at the front desk, she forgot all about her next meeting. Much to her surprise, she saw the man that just a day before had been lying motionless in a hospital bed.

Tommy looked around and saw her. She was more beautiful than he remembered, dressed in a purple button-down shirt and black-skirt. Her caramel-colored hair was just as it was the last time he saw her, and her eyes, her smile... the whole of her made his heart skip.

"Kimberly," he whispered. They stood there gawking at one another for a moment, much like when they were teenagers. Finally he shook off his trance and walked up to her. She couldn't contain herself, and enveloped him in a crushing embrace.

"I'm so glad you're ok," she whispered. Her heart fluttered as he returned her embrace.

"I'm ok because of you," he replied, as they broke apart.

"What do you mean?" Kim asked, confused by what he meant. Before she could say anything else, one of her department heads came out.

"Kim, we're going to get started here in a minute."

"Steve, is it possible for me to step out?" Kim asked. "An old friend just got out of the hospital..."

"Say no more," Steve replied. "We'll take the notes for you."

"Thanks!" Her boss left to go back into the meeting, leaving the pair to chat.

"Are you sure you want to miss the meeting? I can wait."

"It's more than okay," Kim replied, with a slight smile. "Yesterday I saw you in a coma, now you're here." She paused for a moment, and then remembered what Tommy had said before. "What did you mean before, that it was because of me?"

"When I was in my coma, I had this really odd dream," Tommy started to explain. "I was fighting for my life, against my former ranger forms. Once I defeated them, they gave me my black dino gem, which in turn allowed me to return to consciousness."

"Whoa, that sounds intense," Kim replied.

"It was. And I almost lost, until an old friend rescued me from the green ranger."

"What do you mean?" Kim asked.

"As the green ranger went to sink the Dragon Dagger into my chest, the pink ranger showed up and blocked his killing strike with her bow. After she knocked him back, she said to me that she was praying for me." Tommy then began to choke up a little, remembering back to his trial. "That she was fighting with me... and that she loved me."

"That's what I..." Kim began to stammer. "I said that to you right before I left to come back here."

"You saved my life last night," Tommy replied. "And you gave me a reason to keep fighting."

"You would have found a way," Kim shrugged it off. "You always do."

"The reason I always do is because I've always had someone to cheer me on, and help me get through it. And most often, that person is you. It was always you." The words made Kimberly smile, and the feel of Tommy's touch as he placed his hand on her arm made her feel like she was dancing on cloud nine. "Thanks for coming in my hour of need."

"I'm sorry I haven't been with you for so long," she confessed. "Tommy, there's a lot we need to talk about. There's so much I need to tell you."

"Like what?"

"I'm sorry I never talked to you face to face. That my break up with you was through a letter. There was so much I didn't want to give up... so much pain I wanted to avoid. I didn't want to have to face the consequences of causing you pain, and I didn't want to have to deal with making the choice of leaving the pan-globals to be with you."

"I don't understand," Tommy tried to interject, but Kimberly continued.

"I broke up with you ultimately because I didn't want to feel the pain of giving something up. I knew if I sat down with you to tell you I wanted to break up with you, I would have never gone through with it. I would have left gymnastics if it meant I could have stayed with you. But instead, I wrote that stupid letter, and the rest is history."

"But our story doesn't have to end with that letter," he replied, giving her arm a squeeze.

"Could you really give me another chance after breaking your heart?"

"Well, you did save my life," he chided her, to which she gave him a small smack on his arm. "Look... I don't know what to think of all this. This is the first time I've been a normal human for weeks, I haven't stepped foot in my classroom in I don't know how long, and that's all in addition to having been in a coma. So, while I'm sure there are some crazy emotions that I'll need to deal with, why don't we start with dinner tonight. Besides... I owe you that. You saved my life."

"I would like that," she replied sheepishly. She began to gnaw on her bottom lip, and Tommy inwardly swooned remembering her do that so often when they first dated.

"Good," Tommy replied. "How about you head back into your meeting, and I'll wait here, and then we can grab something from the local seafood place. There you can tell me how much you still love me." He winked at her, to which she blushed.

"Sounds like a plan," Kim replied. "She turned to go back, but Tommy held her arm and kept her from leaving for a moment.

"Kim... just to keep your mind at ease... I've never stopped caring." He gave her a peck on the cheek, and she lit up like fireworks on the 4th of July. She blushed, and then turned to go to her meeting, almost skipping down the hall.

Tommy pulled his phone and punched in the speed dial. "Hey Hayley, I'm probably not going to be around until late tonight, so unless if there's an emergency, tell the team that they probably can't count on me."

"Oh?" Hayley replied on the other end. "And what is the famed Tommy Oliver doing, missing his post?"

"I have a date," Tommy replied. Hayley knew just from the sound of his voice how joyful he was.

"I'm happy for you, my friend," Hayley replied. "I'll let them know."

"Thanks," he replied. "Just do me a favor. Don't tell them why I'm not there. Especially not Conner."

"Just because you have a date doesn't mean I can't have fun too." At that moment the phone clicked, and Tommy looked up, slightly chuckling at his friend's sense of humor

"She wouldn't actually..." he started to say aloud, when he started to feel his phone buzz. He flipped it back open to find numerous text messages from the other rangers, including one from Conner, all asking about the girl he was taking out. "I'm so going to get you back for this, Hayley."

The End.

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- Googz333