Disclaimer: I own none of this. This is just a story I wrote for the enjoyment of others who also love the Power Rangers series, and a good Tommy/ Kimberly fic.
Chapter Eleven: Time To Talk
Kim took a deep breath before pulling herself together. She'd had her moment, and now it was time to get to work. After giving Billy a reassuring smile she got to her feet, pulling him with her.
"What do we know about Mesagog?" Kim asked.
"He's a humanoid with dinosaur DNA. His main goal is to send the planet back to its prehistoric roots." Tommy explained briefly.
"That's new," said Kimberly, "He's also got mind control powers, so how do we beat him?"
"Unfortunately we haven't figured that out yet." Haley answered.
"Who are you?" Kim asked curiously.
"I'm Haley Ziktor, the Dino Thunder team's technical advisor." Haley introduced.
"Great! Pleased to meet you, I'm Kimberly Hart, original pink ranger." Kim said, shaking the red head's hand.
"Pleasure to meet you. How are you feeling?" Haley asked.
"I'm a little tired, but other than that I'm fine." Kim replied.
Her stomach suddenly grumbled loudly, and Kim grinned sheepishly. "Ok, so I'm starving too. Tommy, do you have anything to eat?"
"Rocky, would you mind ordering pizza for us? It's on me." Tommy chuckled.
"No problem." Rocky said happily. He was halfway up the stairs when Aisha said, "I'll go make sure he orders something we all like." When they were both gone Kim suggested, "What if I pretend that I'm still fully under his control? I can try to discover his weakness."
"Out of the question!" Billy exclaimed.
"It's a suicide mission. He'd kill you the second he found out." Tommy added.
"It was just a suggestion." Kim replied. She held her hands up in a gesture of peace, hoping to calm them down. It never occurred to her that they would be so against it.
"Kim, promise me that you won't do anything stupid." Tommy pleaded.
"Relax Tommy. I'm not going to do something that stupid." Kim assured gently.
"Please Kimberly, just promise me." Tommy said again.
"Ok, I promise. I'm sorry to make you worry. And I'm sorry that I ran away before. I was scared." Kim admitted.
"Kim, you never have to be scared of us." Tommy sighed.
"I know that now—Wait a minute! How long has it been since we left the other rangers behind? Shouldn't they have been back by now?" Kim asked concerned.
"Haley, can you bring them up on the monitor?" Tommy asked
"They're sending the last of the Tyrannodrones through an invisoportal now." Haley informed easily.
"You've got a good team Tommy." Kim complimented.
"Thank you, but I'm only teaching them what Zordon taught us." Tommy answered modestly.
"He'd be proud of you." Kat said.
"Yes he would." Kim agreed.
"Thank you. Why don't you guys head upstairs? Haley and I are going to wait for the kids to get back. We'll be up when we're done debriefing." Tommy urged.
"Wait! Tommy, may I speak to you and Kat for a moment please?" Kim asked quickly.
"Yes." Tommy answered.
"Sure." Kat added hesitantly.
They waited until all the rangers and Haley filed out before taking seats. Tommy seemed relieved while Kat was wringing her hands nervously. Obviously she was afraid of what Kim would say regarding the past.
"I just want to say that now that I've gotten everything off my chest, I'm not mad at either of you. Kat, I don't want you to feel uneasy around me. I don't blame you for what happened. I was the one who jumped to conclusions and ran away. If anyone is at fault it's me. I want to say that I'm sorry for any pain that I have caused you. I hope you can forgive me." Kim explained.
A look of pure relief washed over Kat's face at Kim's words.
"Oh Kimberly, I'm so sorry too. If I'd have known…"
Kim cut her off gently, "You couldn't have known. It wasn't your fault. You were just following your heart."
"Following my heart? That's not exactly true. Tommy was more of a crush than a true romance. He was the first person to acknowledge me in my new home, and I was quick to latch on." Kat explained.
"Oh come on. I saw you guys at the karate tournament after Muranthias. You two looked pretty cozy." Kim scoffed.
"Our relationship lasted until we gave up our powers." Tommy said.
"That sounds like more than a crush." Kim pointed out.
"Just because a relationship lasts for a couple years it doesn't mean it's perfect. We did everything a normal couple would do, go on dates, hold hands, kiss, etc." Kat added.
"So what's the catch?" Kim asked confused.
"When we first started dating it was exciting, but that quickly died out. Sometimes it was like we were going through the motions. We talked about it a few times, and chalked it up to the stress of being power rangers." Kat answered.
"And after you stopped being rangers?"
"Reality happened." Tommy said quietly.
`Kat smiled sadly then said, "We both realized that we'd been fooling ourselves. I'd been following a daydream, and Tommy had been on the rebound. We weren't in love." Kat finished.
Kim's eyes welled with tears, feeling pain and sympathy for both rangers. She flung her arms around Kat, giving her a big hug. Kat was stunned for a moment, but she quickly returned the gesture.
"Oh Kat, that must've been hard! I'm sorry you both suffered." Kim cried.
"It's all right Kimberly. We're still good friends." Kat reassured.
"What did you do after you left?" Kim demanded.
"I went to study at the Royal Ballet School in London. I loved ballet, and spent the next several years dancing professionally. When I went past my prime, I became a ballet teacher. I now teach ballet in Mariner Bay. We love the ocean." Kat explained happily.
"We?" Kim questioned.
"He didn't tell you? Of course he didn't. He would leave that honor to me. Jason and I are married. He runs his own dojo. We've been married for three years now." Kat replied giddily. Kim let out a screech of delight, and threw her arms around Kat once again.
"That's wonderful! I'm so happy for you both! How did it happen?" Kim demanded.
"That's a story for another time. I think I'm going to check up on the pizza situation." Kat said, giving Kim a friendly wink.
After giving Kim a friendly hug of her own, Kat headed for the stairs. She turned back to grin happily at Tommy and Kim before leaving them alone.
"Kat and Jason. Who would've thought?" Kim sighed dreamily.
"They worked well together when we were rangers, but I don't think anyone could've predicted them ending up together." Tommy said.
"I used to think we would always be together." Kim confessed suddenly. Why didn't she feel embarrassed about sharing that secret? Maybe it was because she'd confessed her secrets, relieving her of the fear.
"I did too." Tommy admitted. Kim looked at Tommy, her eyes wide with shock.
"Tommy, I sorry for all the pain I've caused you. I should've been brave enough to confront you about what I saw. It amazes me that you don't hate me." Kim apologized.
"I wanted to hate you." Tommy said suddenly. Kim fought back a wince at the comment. It was to be expected though after what she'd done.
"I wouldn't hold it against you." Kim said quietly.
"I tried several times. I even thought about your worst qualities, trying to convince myself that it was a good enough reason to hate you. I just couldn't." Tommy admitted.
"Why?" Kim asked.
"Because I still love you Kimberly." Tommy said seriously. Kim's heart skipped a beat upon hearing his words. He still loved her! The explosion of joy and love shook her to the core. For years she'd imagined this day, never believing it possible. Now here she was, standing before her beloved falcon once more. Without hesitation Kim said softly, "I love you too."