A Morphin Legacy

Chapter 3

Missing Pink

…..

Dr. Thomas James Oliver, doctor of Paleontology, longest serving Power Ranger, holder of the most Ranger colors, creator and mentor of the Dino Thunder Rangers. Master of regret.

Tommy had accomplished a lot in his life. More than most. But there were some days, like today, when the giant hole in his life was too much to ignore. Mesogog was defeated, the Dino Gems were destroyed, the kids were graduating, and Anton Mercer had just asked the same question that had been haunting him for the past few days.

"What's next for you?"

Tommy honestly didn't know. Oh, he gave him an answer. Stick around and teach. But what else? He knew his life was missing something and after being back in uniform it had become painfully clear to Tommy exactly what that something was. What he was missing while he was in Black, was the same thing he had been missing while he was in Red.

Every time he morphed and went to battle with the team, he was missing Pink. Truth be told, he'd been relieved there hadn't been a Pink Dino Gem. There was only one person he could ever see using it and anyone else would have just been a painful distraction.

Kimberly…

He hadn't seen her since Trini's funeral 2 years ago. There was so much he wanted to say to her that day but hadn't had the chance. She'd been so busy with Jase and Brennan, and he hadn't been able to stay long after the funeral. He had to be on the first flight out the next day for his internship with Anton Mercer.

But god he missed her.

He'd picked up the phone to call her 100 times over the last few months, but never went through with it. So many nights he lay awake, torturing himself with pointless 'what ifs'. What if she never went to Florida? What if he went after her when he got that heartbreaking letter? What if he hadn't been dating Kat when she came back to Angel Grove with Jason? What if, what if, what if…

It was 8 years ago, but he still hadn't been able to let go. Tommy had given up on dating years ago, opting to focus on his work instead. It was better that way. His relationship with Katherine had been a disaster from the start. He hadn't gotten over Kimberly in the slightest when he asked her out. But it was what she wanted and what the rest of their friends thought was best for him. He needed to move on. But it hadn't been fair to Kat. The Pink Zeo Ranger was constantly, albeit unintentionally, compared to Kimberly and always found lacking. After they graduated and Kat got into a dance academy in London, they went their separate ways. Though their parting hadn't been on the best terms. Kat was hurt and bitter that Tommy was so accepting of their break up, and lashed out at him, accusing him of still being in love with Kimberly. A fact that he hadn't denied. There was no point. She was right.

He'd had a couple of relationships since then but neither had lasted very long or been very serious. He was still very much in love with Kimberly Ann Hart, and he probably always would be.

So now the question was, what was he going to do about it?

….

"See you tomorrow Julia." Kim said with a wave as she walked out of the gym. She hopped in her BMW Z3 and drove the 10 minutes to her apartment in downtown San Diego. Kim's apartment was a spacious, modern, tastefully decorated unit on the 11th floor in a great part of the city.

At 25 years old, Kimberly Ann Hart was proud of her life. After her surgery, she'd made a quick recovery and went on to compete in the Pan Global games, earning a silver medal on Floor and gold on Beam, before she went on to complete in the Olympics helping Team USA earn a team silver medal, and won gold on Beam as well as All Around. After that, she was determined to make something of herself outside of gymnastics and went to the University of Miami and graduated top of her class with a degree in business.

After her godson Brennan was born, Kim decided to move back to California and took a job at a gymnastics school in San Diego as a coach. Her personal life wasn't too bad either. For the past year she'd been seeing Graham Miller, a good looking, charismatic Army Sargent. He was sweet, with beautiful icy blue eyes and treated her well.

Kim had a lot going for her. But reminding herself of all her accomplishments did little to banish the empty feeling inside that had been a constant for the past 8 years. No matter how hard she worked, how hard she pushed herself, with gymnastics, with school, with work, nothing ever filled the void.

Kim shook her head to dispel her melancholy thoughts and tossed her purse on the couch. She walked into her kitchen to grab a bottle of water when her cell rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey Angel. How was your day?"

"Hi Graham. It was good. The girls are really making progress."

"That's good to hear. You're not tired are you?"

Kim raised an eyebrow. "Not very. Why?"

"Well I wanted to take you out tonight. I managed to snag reservations for that Italian place on 5th you've been dying to try. How's 7?"

Kim smiled wistfully. So much for curling up on the couch and having a pity party. "That's sounds great. I'll meet you there."

"Great. See you soon. I love you."

"You too."

…..

"Wow that place was amazing. Definitely worth the hype." Kim commented after they left the restaurant. It was a warm night and she and Graham decided to take a walk along the pier not far from the restaurant. The strings of lights reflected off the water and bathed them in a warm glow.

"I'm glad you liked it." He gave her hand an affectionate squeeze. The walked in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Graham stopped, rubbing the short hair on the back of his head, a sure sign he was nervous. "Kim… there's something I wanted to talk to you about."

Kim looked at him expectantly.

"Kim… I love you. So much. I've never met anyone like you. I honestly can't image my life without you. And I don't want to try."

Kim's eyes widened. "Graham…" Please don't do what I think you're going to do…

Graham cupped her cheek, placing a soft kiss on her lips. He pulled away, reaching into his pocket.

Kim took a step back. "Graham, don't." She whispered.

Heedless to Kim's warning, he pulled a black box from his pocket and got down on one knee. He opened the box to reveal a gorgeous diamond solitaire set in a beautiful gold band.

"Kimberly Hart, will you make me the happiest man on Earth and be my wife?"

Kim squeezed her eyes shut, swallowing thickly. The last thing she wanted was to hurt him but…

"I can't."

Graham gaped at her for a moment, still on one knee, frozen in shock. He shook his head to clear it and stood. "Kim…"

"I'm so sorry Graham, but I can't marry you. I'm just not ready for that."

"Kimberly, I'm not saying we have to get married today. We can wait a while, if that's what you need."

She shook her head sadly. "No."

"I-I don't understand. We're happy together, we love each other-"

"Sometimes that's not enough."

"Why can't it be enough? I don't understand you Kimberly. We've been together for over a year, and it's like every time I try to take the next step, you push me away. I thought maybe you just needed proof that I was all in. Well here it is! I'm all in! I'm committed to you, Kimberly. I'm not going anywhere. But I need to know that you're all in too."

Kimberly looked away, unable to meet Graham's pain filled eyes. She didn't love him the way he loved her. If she was honest, she didn't love him at all. She liked him, she liked him a lot but that was no basis for a marriage. He deserved better. It was time to set him free.

"I'm sorry Graham. You and I just want very different things. I have no interest in marrying anyone. Not now… maybe not ever. You deserve to be with someone who can love you the way you love them." She reached out and touched his cheek gently and placed a kiss on the corner of his mouth. "I hope you find her."

With that, Kim turned and walked away, never looking back. She walked back to her car and drove home. She walked in to her quiet apartment, showered and got ready for bed. Never once did she shed a tear. This wasn't heartbreak for Kimberly. This was just another day. She'd felt true heartbreak years ago. Nothing that has happened since that fateful day has even come close to the pain she'd felt then, the pain she still felt deep down in her soul. Nothing could ever compare to losing Tommy Oliver.

…

"Hello?"

"Hey Jase."

"Tommy! Hey bro, how you been?"

"Good, good. How about you? How's my godson?"

"Getting into shit. I swear man, this kid's got his mom's intelligence for sure. He's already trying to take stuff apart. Bren's a handful."

Tommy chuckled. "Sounds about right."

"To what do I owe this honor? You're not calling me out of the blue for no reason." Jason said with a smirk.

"I've just… had a lot on my mind lately. Being back in uniform and all… I guess it got me thinking about the past."

Jason saw where this was going but he'd play along. "Anything in particular?"

Tommy ran a hand through his spiky hair. "Have you heard from Kim lately?" He asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

Jason laughed. "Took you long enough to pull your head out of your ass, bro."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're as stubborn as she is. Just call her, man. The male population of San Diego will thank you for it. Trust me."

Tommy frowned in confusion. "I don't understand."

"I got a call from her not too long ago. Apparently, the guy she was seeing decided to pop the question."

Tommy felt his blood run cold. "Oh… um… well…"

"Dude, breathe. The poor guy is probably going to need therapy. Kim said no. She doesn't date much, but when she does, she never gets too close to anyone. Sounds like someone else I know."

Tommy released the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Kim wasn't getting married. But she could have easily said yes, then where would that leave him?

Jason sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Look bro, you need to talk to Kim. Or who knows what could happen. You'd think you two would have learned from me and Trini… Imagine if I'd have waited as long as you have to tell her how I felt. I would have missed my chance. I wouldn't have gotten to marry her, I wouldn't have my son, I wouldn't have the years of happy memories with her. Tomorrow isn't promised to any of us. Stop wasting time that you'll never get back."

…..

"Hey Kim, it's Tommy. Um… it's been a while. Listen, I'm gonna be in San Diego for a conference on Saturday and I was uh, I was wondering if maybe you'd like to grab dinner or something and catch up. Give me a call back and let me know. Bye Kim."

Kim stared at her phone in shock as the voicemail ended. Tommy wanted to see her? She hadn't seen her ex-boyfriend since Trini's funeral. Did she want to see him? Dumb question. Of course she wanted to see him. But should she? Even after all these years her decision to let him go still hurt. She loved him, she always would, and she'd questioned her decision to break up with him thousands of times over the years. Tommy Oliver would always hold a piece of her heart, but what could she possibly offer him? The circumstances were never going to change. She'd never be able to give him the family he deserved.

But maybe… maybe they could at least be friends. That was probably all he wanted anyway. For all she knew, he could be in a relationship.

Kim nodded to herself, her decision made, and she pressed the button to return the call.

"Hi, you've reached the voicemail of Thomas Oliver. Leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

Kim rolled her eyes at the professional sounding outgoing message, a small smile playing on her lips. "Hi Tommy, it's Kim. I uh, I got your message. I guess we're playing phone tag. Saturday sounds good. It'll be really nice to see you. Just let me know where and when. Bye."

Kim ended the call and took a deep breath. 4 days. She'd be seeing Tommy in 4 days. Was she doing the right thing? Could she really be friends with the love of her life without getting her heart ripped out?

She was about find out.

…..

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I know we got off to a pretty angsty start, but it'll get fluffier. I promise. Up next, Tommy finds out the truth about Kimberly (which is NOT fluffy). Stay tuned.