Tommy lay awake next to his wife- trying to process everything that they had learned in the last few hours. Kimberly was sleeping peacefully on his chest and he could feel the babies moving against his side. He wanted to run away from everything that he had found out, but he knew that that would not help the situation. He also didn't know if they could face it.
The hours passed and he jerked awake with every little sound. The Command Center had provided a bed room for the two of them and he watched the clock tick forward, waiting until it was an acceptable hour to go make himself a giant cup of coffee and start the day. He was thankful that Kimberly was resting, but between the pain in his back and his heightened senses- this was going to be a sleepless night.
"Have you slept at all?" Kimberly murmured as she woke up and noticed his eyes were wide open. "Tommy…"
"Just haven't been able to drift off," Tommy responded and he gently rubbed her side, hoping to coax her back to sleep. "You rest…I'll get us some breakfast started."
"Baby, your back…" Kim said as the scarlet streak stood out, even in the darkness. He looked back at the sheets and saw that his side was coated in blood. He glanced at her and saw that she had noticed as well.
"I'll find some gauze," Tommy whispered and he continued out of their room. He peaked over his shoulder and saw her stripping the bed. It hadn't even crossed his mind that he might still be oozing blood that bad. He had been focused on staying still enough that she could sleep peacefully.
"Dr. O?" Julia asked as he walked out into the kitchen area and started opening cabinets. He barely registered how quiet the room had gone as he continued his search. He heard Kimberly's footsteps and felt her hands settle on his back which involuntarily tensed under her hands.
"Tommy, you're scaring them," Kim whispered, gently, and he looked down at her for a moment in confusion. "It's a lot more blood than you thought. You need to sit."
He walked over to a chair and spun it around to sit down. He looked over and saw the trail of blood that marked his path from the bedroom to the kitchen. It did not really shock him and he could tell that Kimberly was not remotely concerned either. He could only guess that his color was good otherwise or that she had seen worse. Most likely, she had seen worse.
"How is he walking?" the blue clad ranger whispered as Kimberly shrugged. She started opening cabinets and finally pulled open a drawer that had gauze and compression bandages. "Mrs. Oliver…"
"He's been through worse. We both have," Kimberly stated and she turned her attention back to Tommy. She found a bottle of alcohol and looked back and forth between it and Tommy. She hated to put him in more pain, but there was really no choice about it. "I think we need to disinfect it again."
"Why am I still bleeding?" Tommy asked and she gingerly pulled at his t-shirt before pulling it off. She examined the stitches and found that they had disintegrated. She glanced over at the ranger that had helped her last night, the shock evident on her face. "Kim…"
"The stitches have disintegrated," Kim muttered and she then poured the alcohol down his back. His muscles tightened, but he did not make any noise. She knew how much it had to hurt and that he was hiding it from his rangers. She patted down his back and tried to keep her hands steady as she saw how much blood was not dried on and that he was still actively bleeding. "You're going to have to take the day off."
"Not going to happen," Tommy stated and Kimberly jabbed a finger in the wound and he jumped from the pain.
"Like hell. If stitches won't stay- we're going to have to put gauze on it and compression and just wait. That blade was laced with something or you aren't healing the way you normally would- probably a bit of both. You're going to rip it open just walking, much less doing karate. Go ahead and call out," Kim forced out and she watched him barely nod. It was not often that he would take off and she knew how much he must truly be hurting. He almost never told her about his pain, but she had learned to read him over the years and the incidents. "Can you see if there's…an industrial amount of Neosporin hidden in some junk drawer?"
The female rangers started dismantling the kitchen and the male rangers went to look in other areas of the Command Center. She realized that she needed to know who they were- because 'hey you' would only work for so long.
"This is a start," the pink clad ranger said as she pressed the tube into her hand.
"Thanks…and you are?" Kim asked and she saw the tentative smile from the ranger. "I feel like I'm going to be around all of you a bit more, I can't ignore what is here anymore."
"I'm Julia and she's Shelby," Julia provided as Kimberly barely nodded as she filled her palm with the balm and started applying it to Tommy's back. The cut had sliced through his falcon and crane tattoo and she found herself hoping that it would heal back nicely. It was one that he had gotten soon after they got married and probably one of her favorites. Then again, if she was honest, she loved all of his tattoos.
"Kim, you don't have to be around more," Tommy stated and she let out a laugh. "What?"
"You think I'm living upstairs until Roberto gets whatever fixed? There is a zero percent chance of that," Kim whispered next to his ear and she felt him laughing under her hands. "I may not love that this is part of our lives, but I'm not stupid."
"We found this- it's labeled Neosporin, but I've never seen it in a vat," the red clad ranger said as he and the black ranger struggled to carry it. She burst out laughing and Tommy's laughter soon joined hers.
"Oh, you're trying to butter me up, aren't you Command Center?" Kimberly said between giggles and the rangers looked over at her. Why was she talking to the Command Center like that? Like it could actually respond to her? "Sorry- we have a very odd relationship with the Command Center. What are your names?"
"Cameron, Patrick, Brandon," Julia said as she pointed and each of them raised a hand towards Kimberly. "Anything else we can do?"
"Breakfast, in case you want to avoid another low blood sugar episode," Tommy responded and she could not help but nod. She was still reeling from it this morning if she was honest with herself about it.
"It's not deep, but it's huge," Kim murmured in his ear and she closed her eyes. She squatted down to open the vat and was surprised by how much her belly obstructed her reach. It felt like the babies had grown exponentially overnight. "And squatting is not a great idea anymore."
"Get one of them to take care of it," Tommy muttered as he looked back at her and she shook her head. "Babe."
"I'm going to have to wrap you up in ace bandages and I know this has to hurt. You're not reacting to me messing with this, it's safest," Kim said as she started to slather the Neosporin on his back and quickly covered it with gauze. She surprised herself with how quickly she got it all covered and she then noticed the ace bandage was on the floor. "Crap."
"I got it," Brandon said as he scooped it up and she looked over at him. He looked so young. He looked so hopeful. He looked like every ranger she had ever known. "You need a hand?"
"Please. Tommy- stand on up…slowly," Kim directed and she was struck again by how much the being had meant to hurt him. She was thankful that the Command Center had pulled him out and was shocked that he had had enough time to teleport her. She mindlessly passed the ace bandage back and forth with Brandon as all of that sunk in.
"Thanks Bran," Tommy muttered as the teen nodded and he turned around to face her. He could tell that it was all sinking in and it was a bit more than she wanted to process. "I'm okay…everything is going to heal. We can fix everything that was broken."
"I know. They just…they came after you…how many times?" Kimberly forced out and he wrapped her up in his arms. He had not talked much about what the last twenty years had been like for him. He had known that it would be hard for her to take, but now she wanted to know. She deserved the truth, even if it wasn't pretty.
"I've lost count, this is pretty routine," Tommy stated and he hoped that she could take it. "Go get breakfast…I'll be in there in a few."
"Tommy…" Kim started as he pulled away and barely shook his head. He needed a few minutes to himself. He needed to process this for a bit on his own. In the past- he had been the only one affected by these beings. Now- he had people he cared about that he desperately needed to protect.
AN: If you or someone you know are struggling, call the Suicide and Crisis lifeline at 988 (for the U.S.). Please do not suffer in silence, reach out and get the help you need.