A/N: And here are the last two chapters!
Tommy
The bright white faded, and I felt solid ground form under my feet. I saw that we were now standing on the sandy beach where I had met with Rita. The sun was beginning to rise on the horizon over the water, bright ray of orange and pinks casting over everything the light touched. The heels of my boots sunk into the soggy sand as I turned to look at Kimberly. The golden rays hit her face, causing her to look like a siren. Her hair was moving in the breeze, a slight expression of worry on her face a she glanced over at the water. Taking a deep breath, she turned her eyes towards me.
"That was something." I said, a lack of better words to say coming to me. What the hell was that supposed to mean? It was a wonder I was able to be with this woman in the first place. Or any woman for that fact. I was such a fucking idiot sometimes.
"Sure was. I suppose I should check back with Andrea and Coach Schmidt. I'm sure everyone is worried about me." She replied, clasping her hands in front of her. I nodded.
"They are. Especially Andrea." She looked at me, confused.
"You met her?" She asked. Nodding, I rubbed the back of my head. There was still so much she didn't know about what happened after she came up missing. We haven't spoken much since our return from the moon. Sure, there had been mall comments between us, mostly nice to my surprise, but not much that I would call a conversation. No. That has yet to happen. But as I gazed down at her, I knew it needed to happen. I needed to be honest with her, once and for all.
"Yeah. Jason and I came down here right after you were reported missing. It's a long story, really. But, I think we should talk about some stuff first."
"Oh." She said simply, casting her eyes down toward our feet. "About what?"
"Kim, I-." I was interrupted by the flash of a red light appearing next to me.
"You son of a bitch!" A voice raged and the next thing I knew, I felt a force hit me square in the jaw. I stumbled backwards, my hand flying to the area where whatever it was made contact with my face. There were more flashes of lights as noticed as I steadied myself. I tasted blood in my mouth as I swore. Looking back towards where I had been standing, I saw Wes standing there. He was visibly seething almost, anger apparent on his face. TJ and Gia were behind him, both of them not looking to enthused either. Behind them, I saw the rest of our rag tag group coming down the beach, running from the parking lot.
"It's good to see you too." I muttered, spitting out blood onto the sand.
"Are you out of your fucking mind?" Gia asked, stepping in front of Wes and pointing a finger at me. "You ran off without any word and pretty much handed not only yourself but the most powerful weapon on Earth to one of the most powerful enemies the Rangers have ever faced! You could have been placed under a spell or killed! The master morpher could have been compromised! Do you even think, Tommy? Ever?" She ranted, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Good to see you're in good hands." Kim said, smirking at me as Gia gave me a lashing. Gia turned on her heel, not noticing Kimberly until now. Jason and the rest of the team finally managed to make it to our smaller group, all of them out of breath.
"Kimberly!" Trini called out, rushing towards her friend. Kimberly looked at her confused as Trini engulfed her in a hug. Aisha joined, wrapping her arms around the both of them.
"What are you all doing here in Florida?" She asked as she was released by the girls but then engulfed by Zach. Jason followed, squeezing her tighter than anyone.
"You're joking, right? Why else would we be here? You were kidnapped!" Jason said, giving her a look like he couldn't believe her. "Did you think we would just let this asshole have all the fun?" He pointed a thumb at me, shooting me a wink. "Good thing you stuck by the plan, by the way."
"Eh." I replied, shrugging my shoulders. "I had my own plan. Which worked, by the way." I pointed out.
"By sheer luck, I'm assuming." Wes replied, his anger seeming to subside slightly. "That was incredibly irresponsible, Tommy. You are extremely lucky something didn't occur to put you or the morpher at risk."
"I know. I know. I'm sorry. But everything worked out alright. We were able to send Rita back to her correct time frame. Everything is back to normal in every year, like it should be." I said. Reaching behind me, I pulled the master morpher from my belt line and held it out to Wes. "Here. You should get this back before Andros and the rest of the council knows it's gone missing." Wes took it, glancing at it in the palm of his hand.
"We will. I'm sorry for my reaction. I am very grateful to see that you were able to save your friend." Wes smiled at me, turning towards Kimberly. "I am happy to see your safe return, Kimberly. Thank you for your service on the Ranger team." A slight blush crossed her cheeks as Kim tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Oh. Thank you. Thank you everyone who came all this way just to try to save little ol' me. I'm sure there's more important things you all could be doing right now. I really do appreciate it." She said, smiling at the group.
"More important? One of our own was in trouble. There's nothing more important than that." Rocky said, shaking his head. TJ nodded in agreeance, putting his hand on Kim's shoulder.
"When one of the greatest rangers comes up missing, you do your best to get to the bottom of it." Kim smiled brightly at him for this, letting out a chuckle of embarrassment. "But Tommy is right. We need to be getting that thing back before Andros has all our asses in a vice." TJ held out his hand to me and I took it, shaking it.
"Thank you. Thank you to all of you. I know going against Andros and the council isn't easy." I said, glancing at Gia and Wes. "I owe you all."
"You sure do." Gia said, giving me a smirk and a small wink. Wes held out his hand and I released TJ's, taking his.
"Take care of yourself, Tommy. We will call before our next council meeting. Try to behave yourself, will you?" He asked, a rare smiling crossing his face. I returned it, wincing at the cut on my lip. "Sorry about the punch."
"Sure, you are." I replied. He let out a loud chuckle, releasing my hand. He placed the morpher in the back they had brought it in before tucking it into the inside pocket of his jacket. The three waved at all of us again before teleporting in a burst of red, yellow and blue light. We watched as they disappeared, leaving all of us standing on the beach. The sun was fully risen now, warmth filling the beach. Well, as much as it could in December.
"We should get you home." Jason said, turning to Kim. She nodded.
"Yes! I need to let everyone know I'm alright."
"And you have to get ready to go." He said. She looked at him, confused.
"You are still coming to our house for Christmas. I don't care if Lord Zedd comes down here and tries to chop your head off right in front of me. You're coming back with Trini and I tonight." He gave her a serious look, his arms crossed over his chest.
"But, Jase-."
"Don't even fight it." Trini muttered. "He's as stubborn as can be." Kim sighed, nodding.
"Fine. I think I could use a vacation anyway."
After leaving the beach, Aisha, Rocky and Trini brought Kimberly back to the dorms with Jason, Zach and I went back to the hotel to grab my gear. I was a bit annoyed that we had been interrupted on the beach and she was now off with the other half of our group. I wanted to talk to Kimberly before everything became too crazy. Thank you, Wes. We loaded up the computer, connecting with Billy one last time to let him know what had happened on the moon. He promised to be reachable once we all returned to California, apologizing for not being able to come for the holiday. Zach gathered all the luggage from Aisha and Rocky's room while Jason packed all of our stuff. Our rental car was pretty much packed to the brim by the time the others returned. It was just Aisha and Rocky who came back, them explaining that Trini was helping Kim explain what happened to Schmidt and the police. We had all agreed on the story of her being taken by some crazy guy who just let her go on the highway somewhere. Billy even managed to fake some security footage to back it up. They were going to meet us at the airport, taking any chance of me speaking to Kim before taking off away.
"Stop moping." Jason said as I tossed my suitcase into the truck. It was the last thing to go and it barely fit. As I slammed the trunk shut, I raised an eyebrow at him.
"I'm not." I replied.
"Right. Sure, you aren't." He said, shrugging. "You'll get plenty of time to spend with her at our place."
"Yeah. Okay. With all eighty of us there." I muttered. Jason scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"It'll work out. Relax." Sighing, I glanced over at him.
"Listen, I have to tell you something. I feel shitty about it, but I hope you'll understand why I didn't." Jason tucked his hands in his jean pockets, leaning against the car.
"Alright. What's up?"
"Kat didn't leave me just because I wasn't attentive." I said. "Well…I mean it as one of the big causes but not the biggest. Kim and I sort of hid an affair for a while." His eyes widened in shock.
"What's 'awhile'?" He questioned. "A year?"
"More like ten." I responded. He let out a low whistle. "It's not something I'm proud of, believe me. But it happened. We hid it from everyone because it was just easier that way. But about eight years ago, she wanted me to leave Kat. I freaked out and told her no. Kim broke things off with me. I don't know why I did it. I didn't want to be with Kat. I guess I was just scared of changing things. I finally had her back in my life and I didn't want to change things."
"Probably should have thought of that before cheating on your wife for so long." He said, scratching his forehead. "I get it though. Kim's the one you want to be with. You're just too thick headed to see that until it was too late. When she gets back here, just pull her aside and talk to her. Would make Christmas a whole lot less awkward for the rest of us."
"Thanks." I replied. "You won't tell anyone, right?"
"Are you kidding me? If Kat hasn't, then I won't. She does know, right?" I nodded.
"Yeah. She was in denial for a bit I guess but she knew. That's why she asked for a divorce. She was pretty good about the whole thing. I was surprised. Though, she did take me to the cleaners. I'll be paying alimony until she's set up at her new place and she'll get a part of my pension when I retire. The joys of dumb decisions."
"You live and learn." Jason pushed off the vehicle and started towards the hotel room again. "Just don't fuck up this time. Or else we'll need to go back in time and save your ass from yourself next time."
Talking to Kimberly didn't happen when she got back from her apartment. She showed up just as we were getting ready to head to the airport. Because of the rush to get seat back to Angel Grove, we were all being split between three flights. Aisha, Rocky and Trini would be on one flight, Jason and Zach one the next and then Kim and me on the last. Finally, I saw a window of opportunity. We would have the entire time together on the plane to talk. It wasn't the most ideal place to confess your love to someone, but it was my only option.
At the airport, we split up into our groups and bid farewell. Aisha, Rocky and Trini had a layover in Kansas City and Jason and Zach had one in Denver. Our plane wasn't making any stops, the condition of my frequent flier miles. From all of my trips to see Kimberly over our time together, I had accumulated a good number of them. Though they usually expire, the airline was able to provide me two tickets at a fairly reduced price, especially being so close to the holidays. We would beat everyone back to California where I was hoping to squeeze in a trip to my house to make sure it was still standing and where I could use every drop of hot water. My body was sore from fighting, something I noticed happened a lot faster now that I was older. It made me feel like such an old man, but I was realistic in the expectations of my abilities. 40-year-old men don't move as fast as teenagers. They also ache easier and bruise with less effort. It was something I would live from. It was the very least of my worries at this point.
Kim and I walked silently towards our gate after checking our luggage. Hers ended up being too large as a carryon and mine was a pound over the weight limit. The woman at the door took our tickets and information before letting us board the flight. We were twelve rows from the door and the flight was jammed packed with people. To my dismay, I heard the chatter of little kids but saw there were on the other side of the cabin as us. Their mother was also equipped with several iPad, giving me hope they would be preoccupied the entire flight. Kim slid into her seat next to the window. I took the middle seat and the third seat was taken by a younger guy who didn't even acknowledge Kim or I as he sat down. He instantly absorbed himself into his headphones and The Office on the laptop he set up on the tray in front of him.
"Charming." I muttered, glancing at him. She smirked at me, shaking her head as she turned her focus out the window. Below, we could make out the movement of workers on the tarmac as they loaded luggage and fuel into the airplane. It was growing dark outside, the tips of their glowing batons shining brighter the darker it got.
"We could have just teleported to California." She sighed, leaning her chin into the palm of her right hand as she rested her elbow on the arm rest. "Could have saved us all this trouble."
"That's true but I don't think Zordon from any time frame would think that using teleporting to avoid the airport is a smart use of that power." I replied.
"I suppose you're right." Above our heads, there was a slight ding and the fasten seatbelt light flashed on. We both clipped ours on, securing the trays on the back of the seats in front of us as well.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to take off. Please listen to the following safety rules and instructions." A flight attendant said into the microphone. My mind wandered as she spoke, telling us the same speech everyone who has ever rode in an airplane knew. Out of the corner of my eye, I looked at Kim. She was gazing out the window and the smell of vanilla shampoo gently washed over me. She was everything I was missing in my life. I was more scared of telling her about my feelings than I was of facing Rita or any kind of ugly monster. How could that be? She was only five feet tall. How did she make me want to cower in fear?
The flight attendant finished up her memorized lines and soon, we were rolling down the runway. The plane pulled up and we were airborne. Everyone started to settle into the cabin when the light turned off for the seatbelts. Sweat formed in the palms of my hands as I realized my window was now here. I had five hours to open up to Kim. It was no or never.
"Oh no!" Kim gasped, covering her mouth. She practically made me jump at her outburst. I leaned forward, looking at her.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"I don't have any presents for anyone! I was planning on going shopping beforehand, but I never got the chance." A look of worry crossed her face and she bit her lip.
"It'll be fine, Kim. You have plenty of time still. They do have malls in California. You of all people should know this."
"I know but still, I feel horrible."
"Well, you were kinda held up. I'm sure no one will hold it against you. I mean, you could get some stuff at the airport." She scrunched her nose in protest.
"That's tacky! That would only work for Jason and Rocky." Sighing, she leaned her head back against her seat. "Looks like Aisha, Trini and I will have to go shopping when we get back. They should have some awesome deals going on right now."
"It's like I brought the teenage version of you back with me." I said, smirking at her. She shot me a glare.
"Well, I wouldn't have minded the teenage version of you. He was much nicer." Crossing her arms over her chest, she shifted in her seat, so she wasn't looking at me. Smooth move, Oliver.
"Kim, I didn't mean anything by that." I said in a soft tone. "I'm sorry."
"I know. I'm just cranky I guess. I don't really feel like talking right now, Tommy." She said, not even glancing at me.
"Oh. Ok." I turned my attention to my hands that I wanted to strangle myself with. My ability to put my own foot in my mouth was unbelievable at times. Closing my eyes, I rested my head back on the seat and mentally thought about different ways to jump out of this plane. My self-hate disappeared though as I felt Kimberly move next to me. Opening my eyes, I saw that she had drifted asleep and her head was rested on my shoulder. Maybe this wasn't going to be as bad as I thought.