The day of the service arrived, and everyone in Tommy's house slowly got ready for the occasion. Tori, Dustin and Shane had been dressed for a while, and continued to prepare the lunch. Tommy stood in his bedroom, getting into his best black suit.
"Dammit!" He yelled, after trying, and failing for the 15th time to fasten his tie. "I never was any good at this stuff." He began rummaging through his extensive collection of clip-ons, finding nothing suitable. "Why could I not buy ONE plain black clip-on?"
"You're hopeless." He heard Kira announce from the door. Turning to look at her, he found it hard to catch his breath. He had never seen her dressed so formally. She stood in a short, though not inappropriately so, dress that complimented her amazing body perfectly. Her long, wavy blonde hair shone in the sunlight as she stood there. A pair of classic black Italian high heels boosted her tiny height a significant proportion, and accentuated those amazing legs of hers.
"Kira." Tommy replied, trying hard to speak. "You look…"
"Mom and dad always insisted I have at least one formal outfit." She answered. "Would you like a hand?"
"Never could figure these things out." Tommy replied, handing her his black tie, and bending down. Kira threw the tie over his head.
"I used to do this for my dad all the time." She giggled, recalling her childhood. "I must have been about fourteen before my mom let me in on the fact he could do it himself."
"But he still let you do it." Tommy answered.
"Mom told me he always loved it when I tied his ties for him." She continued, throwing the ends around with practiced ease. "He used to make it part of his morning ritual. That way, he'd see me before he went to work."
Tommy continued to find it hard to look at Kira ever since the dreams started. The two had begun talking again, but it still felt strained. He didn't feel right about feeling this way.
"Thank you." Tommy replied as Kira finished with his tie. "Two degrees and a job teaching science to high school kids, but I never figured out a half-Windsor."
"Well, you look fine now." Kira chimed in, looking at him. She still found herself unable to look him in the eye since the night she began having the dreams. She had, since that day insisted on sleeping in her own bed. Tommy seemed to welcome the idea, though she prayed that Tommy just thought she had gotten over the flashbacks and could be trusted in the guest room without blowing out the windows again. "The others will have finished with lunch by now."
Tommy noticed the zip on the back of her dress unfastened down to the small of her back.
"Let me get that for you." He said, moving towards her. She turned towards him.
"It's ok. Tori can get it." She snapped back, giving Tommy a little half smile.
"It's the least I can do." He responded, gesturing to his tie. Kira turned round, and held her hair round clear of the zip. She prayed Tommy didn't notice the grimace of awkwardness on her face as she felt his touch.
Tommy regretted at once his decision to offer to help Kira with her dress. He knew she'd see straight through the awkward fake-casual look on his face if she wasn't facing away from him. Pulling up the zip, he tried his hardest to keep his mind away from the thoughts of those dreams he'd been having since she had come back into his life. "All done." He said, coughing slightly.
"Thanks Tommy." She replied, turning to face him. "For everything I mean. I couldn't have done it without you."
Tommy's mind immediately pounced on this. 'See.' He thought to himself. 'She's just going through a rough time. It wouldn't be fair to do this.' "Like I said Kira." He said, hugging her warmly. "I'll always be there for you."
'See.' She thought to herself, as she enjoyed the warmth of his hug. 'He's just being a friend. Don't let the fact you've been crushing on him since high school fool you.'
The small party arrived at the park a little after 12, approaching the quickly increasing throng of people gathering around the flower patch Kira had chosen as the place she would scatter the ashes. The other Rangers quickly found approached and greeted her with an avalanche of sympathetic hugs.
Within moments, the minister approached Kira. The young, African-American man was dressed relatively casually for the proceeding, wearing only black leather shoes, pressed black trousers and a short-sleeved black shirt. Only the collar betrayed his position as minister and separated him from the rest of the assembled mourners.
"I've kept the proceedings short and informal as you requested Ms Ford." He began, removing his sunglasses.
"Kira." She corrected him.
"Of course, Kira." He acknowledged the correction. "So there's just one short psalm, then I'll ask if anyone wants to say a few words. After that, we'll proceed to scatter the ashes, before moving on to the wake."
"Thank you." Kira responded. "My parents would have liked things kept informal."
"I just wish I'd had a chance to meet them." The minister replied, before calling the service to order.
The wake took on a surprisingly light-hearted atmosphere. After Kira had finished singing her parent's favourite song, the mood shifted as friends and co-workers exchanged stories of the Fords. Hayley meanwhile was putting her plan into action.
"You're sure?" Ronny asked, not entirely convinced. "I mean, it is, like, a funeral and all."
"I'm telling you, the way they've been acting, something must have happened between them." Hayley re-assured her accomplices. "Besides, it's not like it'll exactly be a new concept to them."
"Well, I know Kira had a heavy crush on him in High School." Tori chipped in. "But I thought that would've passed by now."
"Kids." Hayley groaned. "I can't explain too much without breaking confidences, but I can tell you that to Kira it was more than a crush." Tori and Ronny looked at each other and shrugged. "And I can tell you that Tommy did have feelings for her that were a little more than platonic."
At this both girls' jaws almost hit the floor. "But he's Old!" Tori responded in disbelief.
"Hey, less of the old." Hayley snapped back. "We went to college together, he's only 28."
"So why did they never do anything about this before?" Ronny asked.
"Kira never made a move on Tommy because she thought he'd always see her as a kid." Hayley sighed. "She may have that 'I don't care what anyone thinks' attitude going on, but she is one of the most insecure people I've ever met. And Tommy." Hayley swept her hair back as she explained. "Is so goddam noble he'll NEVER put his own feelings first. He waited until she wasn't his student, but when he heard she was moving to New York, he refused to do anything and stand in her way."
"So Kira left thinking she never had a shot." Ronny began.
"And Tommy let her go never knowing how she felt." Tori completed the mental picture.
"And I think it's a safe bet they've both been kicking themselves ever since." Hayley finished. "But I think something's happened since Kira came back that's re-opened some old wounds."
"So what do we do about it?" Tori asked, quickly coming round to Hayley's way of thinking.
"I've known Tommy the longest, so it's probably best I deal with him." Hayley replied, the plan quickly forming in her mind. "You two try to get Kira alone and try to make her spill."
"Agreed!" The two accomplices chorused together with a grin.
As the three made their way back out to the party, Hayley beckoned Tommy over to the counter.
"Chianti?" She asked.
"Love one." Tommy replied.
"Well, there's a few too many under-agers here." She stated. "Come through to the back room."
Kira noticed Tommy follow Hayley behind the counter to the back room just as Ronny and Tori each grabbed an arm, lifting her bodily off the ground.
"Come on outside." Tori snapped with a huge grin on her face.
"What for?" Kira asked, thourghly bemused.
"Girl talk." Ronny answered back, leaving the interpretation open.
Dropping Kira in a seated position on a grassy verge outside, Ronny began with her usual brand of subtlety.
"What's with you and Dr O?" She immediately piped up.
"Sledgehammer…walnut." Tori responded, rolling her eyes.
Kira just stared at them dumbfounded. "What are you talking about?"
"You two have been weird around each other since before we arrived." Ronny cast out, again failing to grasp any form of subtlety.
"Yeah." Tori agreed. I mean, you hardly said a word to each other last night in the café, or all day in the house."
"So?" Kira responded.
"You've been living together for over a week now." Tori shot in. "You'd think a few barriers in the conversation would have been broken."
"Especially when you've seen each other naked." Ronny added.
"Pardon?" Neither Tori nor Kira could believe what Ronny had just said.
"What?" She replied with a shrug. "I lived in the same house as the other Overdrive Rangers. Sometimes people forget to close doors."
Tori just shook her head in disbelief. "Anyway, point is we know that something's going on." Kira tried in vain to hide her blushes as they continued their relentless grilling.
"So come on. Tell us." Ronny demanded.
"So what do you want to talk about Hayley?" Tommy asked as they arrived in the back room.
"No idea what you mean." Hayley shrugged, pouring a glass of chianti and handing it to Tommy.
"I know how territorial you are Hayley." Tommy replied, sipping his glass. "You never invite ANYONE into your office unless you want to talk about something."
"Fine." Hayley stated, taking a sip of wine herself. "I want to know what happened between you and Kira.
Tommy looked away, his cheeks flashing as he tried to stammer out a response.
"Too late to be convincing now." She replied mischievously. "Well, spill it Tommy."