A/N: Hey everyone! Here's another chapter. I hope this one does a better job of showing some reasons why Tommy is doing what Tommy does. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!

Please remember to R&R!

Tommy – The Past

Taking a deep breath, a ran a hand through my hair. It was so much shorter now. I wondered if she would like it this way. I kinda hated it but I had no choice in the matter. It was a smart move, no serious scientist had long hair. Even though it had been well over eight months, I kept waking up and getting shocked when I look in the bathroom mirror. It's something I guess I'll get over it, but it still made me feel weird. I smoothed down the front, the gel holding it into place. Around me, people chatted about things in different languages I had no hope of trying to understand. Every now and then, I thought I heard something in English, but it was only a snip here and there. It had been like this since I landed in Athens this morning. Thankfully, the cab driver that had given me a ride here had spoken English pretty well and was able to provide me directions for when he let me out of the car. It was the only way I had managed to find myself here in the athletic center of the 2004 Olympic games.

I was standing in the middle of what I assumed was a recreational room. People were sitting in groups on dark green lounge furniture, multicolored carpet running from wall to wall. There were televisions lined up on the walls, various events that had already occurred or were currently going on playing on the screens. Some people were watching them closely while others played board games on the small tables. I could smell food coming from the back part of the building, telling me there had to be a kitchen or cafeteria here somewhere. Everyone in the room was wearing some kind of article of clothing with their country's name on it. I searched for a flash of the good ol' red, white and blue but came up empty. Had I come to the wrong building?

Sighing, I leaned against the wall near the front door. Maybe it had been a mistake to come here. I had used up all of my vacation time and all of my secret savings almost just for the plane ticket. Kim had provided me with the ticket to get into the event as well as the VIP pass. I still wasn't sure if Katherine had bought the story of me going to Europe for some kind of conference. I don't think I would have bought it, but she agreed, telling me she was looking for a reason to head back to Australia for a few days. She was pretty excited about it before we separated at the airport.

This was not how I pictured my life going. I'm not really sure what that was, really. I guess it would depend on what time you asked me. If you had asked me when I was sixteen, then I was living half the life I always imagined. I was the teacher I had always wanted to be, I was here at the Olympics seeing Kimberly compete for her chance at gold, and we were about to spend every moment we could together for the next two weeks. What more could I ask for? But, if you had asked me the same question at 19, my answer would have been completely different. I would have said being a teacher but married to Katherine, maybe starting a family. Well, I guess that was half right too.

A pang of guilt filled my chest as I thought about my actions of the last few years. I never could have even slightly thought of myself being able to do this to someone. Cheating on Kat in the beginning made me want to vomit. I had betrayed the trust of someone who had done nothing but believe in me since day one. After Kim and I had slept together, I knew I needed to break things off and never let it happen again. I couldn't bring myself to do it though. Kim was back in my life, in a way I had dreamt about since the last time I had seen her. I had known full well what going to see her in Florida would bring, causing me to not fight the feelings I have for her. Now, six years later, we were still clinging to an affair we've been hiding from everyone.

Lying to Kat was one thing but our friends was another. I knew Kim hated it. I could tell from the look on her face whenever there was an event that we were attending, and all our friends were there. We had to keep our contact discreet, doing our best to not let others know what was really going on between us. Once, Jason came close to discovering our dirty little secret. Katherine was away at school and Kim had flown back to California to surprise me for my birthday a week early. We were in the middle of 'catching up' when Jason came strolling in my house. Kim had to hide in the closet for almost an hour until I managed to get rid of him. That was when we agreed to stay at a hotel during our times together. It made it easier to hide and easier to forget the real lives we were hiding from. I felt awful for lying but being with Kim anyway I could be meant more to me than that.

When it comes to my actions, I know I'm a horrible person. Only horrible people cheat on the people they vow to spend their lives with. I agreed to marry Kat, her being six weeks pregnant with my child. Her parents had been very strict on the idea of her having children before being married. We were only twenty, both of us in school and fresh off the rangers. My uncle had promised me a job racing, but things went south for his racing company shortly after that. Her parents were supporting us, something that made me feel about two inches tall. The only good thing I had going in my life was the little vacations I had with Kimberly. We had gone on two at this point, spending the weekend together in Orlando and once in San Diego. When Kat told me she was pregnant, I didn't know how to react. Our sex life had always been sparse. We weren't the most active, her preferring to keep our relationship simpler until we were ready for marriage. Apparently, one of our few times had been just enough to conceive a baby. Katherine also wasn't sure how to react; we were young, broke, and unable to support ourselves with her parents helping. That's when she told me we would need to get married or else her parents would not approve of her pregnancy.

It's not that I didn't want to marry Kat. Any guy would love to. She's pretty, kind, and has a good head on her shoulders. And carrying my child. But, my mind was 3,000 miles away on the southeast coast, gliding over a balance beam. I knew I had to tell Kimberly that whatever was going on between us had to be over. It hurt like a motherfucker to think like that, but I didn't have any other option. I could be married, having a baby and building a life when I was giving my heart to someone else. But when I went to see Kim, I couldn't bring myself to tell her I didn't want to keep seeing her. Because I didn't. So, I told her about the wedding but left the information about a baby to myself. Kim came to our wedding, spending the night before it with me. (Clearly, we can tell I am not a good person in the slightest here.) She sat in the third row on my side and clapped as Kat and I said our vows. And surprisingly, she still wanted to meet up as usual.

A month after our wedding, Katherine confessed to me she had been wrong about the pregnancy. She stated she had taken a test at home and it had been positive. She hadn't bother to go to the doctor, something she had lied to me about, to have it confirmed. She only went to see an OBGYN after her school told her she would be unable to dance with them unless she could provide proof it was safe for the fetus. I was pissed. I had married someone I wasn't sure I was in love with because she had lied to me. Granted, she didn't lie to me on purpose. I know she really thought she was pregnant, and I should have had her go to the doctors to get more tests done. But, I was now married to someone while I was still sneaking off to see my ex-girlfriend every couple of months. The person I would rather be with but couldn't bring myself to admit to. Kim hasn't admitted to me that she would like to get back together. Part of me believes she likes the distraction our times together brings. I know I do. It makes me feel young again, pretending that time hasn't changed anything between us. Almost like that stupid letter never happened. It was something I dreamed would come true.

"Tommy!" Kimberly's chipper voice called from across the room. Looking up from my thoughts, I saw the petite brunette running towards me, a red, white and blue wind breaker on her torso. I took three long strides towards her, letting her jump into my arms in a tight hug. I squeezed her into my, loving the smell of vanilla that wafted from her as normal. Pulling slightly away, she smiled down at me. "Hi, handsome. Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"

"I could say the same thing to you." I kissed her on the lips, letting all of the emotions from the last few weeks soak into it. This. This was everything I wanted but couldn't let myself have because of a stupid promise I made based on a lie. I set her on the floor, releasing her against my wishes.

"I just got done with my practice. I have a couple hours before I have to head to my qualifiers. Do you want me to show you to you around?"

"Actually, I was hoping we could talk in private first. Would that be okay?" I asked. She nodded, looking around. She pointed at a door on the right side of the room.

"We can go over there. It's one of the smaller dining rooms but it should be empty right now." Taking my hand, she led me towards the beige wooden door. It opened with a push, allowing us to enter. It swung shut behind me and I found that we were standing in a smaller room, the walls covered in colorful wallpaper. The floor was covered I the same carpet as the main room, a long table running the length of it. Chairs with red fabric seats were pushed into it. Kim locked the door before turning to look at me. "I don't think I will ever get used to the hair."

"Yeah?" I smirked, running my hand over it. "I miss it too. But, I guess I'm lucky considering. If I still had it back on the island, I'm sure it would have gone up in flames from the explosion."

"Speaking of that, how are you doing since then? I know you don't like to talk about it and your friend Anton, but I know it can't be easy giving up something you dreamed of." Frowning, I leaned against the table.

"Well, it seems I've found something else to fill my time." She looked at me, confused. "Do you remember the dino gems I told you about?"

"Yeah. Weren't they the whole reason why you were on the island anyway?" I nodded.

"Something like that. I still think they were the only reason I made it out of there alive. I've been trying to find them, searching all over the half of the country for them. I was able to pinpoint just where they were. That's why we moved to Reefside. My study showed they were there somewhere and that I just needed to find them."

"Well? Did you?"

"You could say that." I let out a sigh. "Three of my students did. And something happened when they did."

"Oh, I don't like the sound of that." Kim muttered, sitting on the table next to me.

"The gems gave them powers. Sort of like the Power Coins for us. I hadn't been expecting that. I knew they were powerful somehow, but I never would have guessed like that. It was a good thing too. There seems to be this evil thing attacking Reefside all the time now. Mesagog. You thought Zedd was ugly? You should meet this asshole. But I had to work with Billy to have the kids be able to use the power to fight him. He helped me make them some armor and some assault vehicles to help them when they do."

"Tommy, are you trying to tell me you made yourself some Power Rangers?" She asked, leaning forward to look up at me.

"When you put it that way, it's not as cool sounding." I replied, smirking. She laughed, shaking her head.

"That's amazing. I can't believe you were able to do that! Those kids are lucky you were the one following the stones. You are the best man for the job. I'm sure Zordon would agree that you should be the one leading them." I felt my cheeks flush as she spoke.

"Thanks. They are great kids. There's three of them. Kira, she's the yellow one. God, she reminds me of you so much. Spunky, a singer, and doesn't let the boys get away with anything. Then there's Connor. He's the red ranger. He's not the brightest but he's a good leader. The blue ranger is Ethan and he could be Billy's apprentice. The two start talking and I feel like I need a dictionary to understand them." She smiled at me as I spoke.

"They sound great." She said. "It sounds like you really like being a part of their team. Even if it's just as a mentor." Frowning, I looked down at my feet again. "What's wrong, Tommy?" This was the part I was dreading. I had to tell her the truth. I knew Kat wasn't too keen on the idea, but I couldn't help but fear that Kim would feel the same way.

"I'm not just a mentor." I said softly. Reaching over, I pulled my sleeve up. It revealed my silver wristlet, the black dino gem incased in the middle of it. Her eyes gazed down to look at it for a moment before looking up at me again.

"You're a ranger again?" I nodded, waiting for the lecture I had gotten from Kat to begin again. "That's great, Tommy." Kim said, throwing me. I raised my eyebrows, gaping at her. "What? You've always loved being a ranger! It's something that's a part of you, more than anyone I've ever met. I think Reefside is lucky to have you protecting them. I think Angel Grove would agree with me as well."

"You're not mad?" I asked.

"Mad?" She questioned, shaking her head. "Why would I be mad? Hell, if you find a pink gem, let me know! I would love to jump back in the saddle."

"Kat was furious with me." I muttered before I could stop myself. I don't like to talk about Kat in front of Kim. I know it makes her upset and I didn't blame her. I would be upset as well.

"I'm sure she's just worried. I am too but I know there's no stopping the great Tommy Oliver when he sets his mind on something. You're one of the greatest rangers of all time, Tommy. That's something to be proud of. I'm so proud of you."

"Really?" I whispered. She smiled, nodding.

"Yes. I've always been proud of you. You're a great man. I'm lucky to have you in my life." Reaching up, I put my finger under her chin and tilted her face towards mine. Leaning in, I pressed my lips against hers lightly.

"No. I'm the lucky one."