Misery Loves Company

by A Warrior's Prophet

Two former rangers are currently miserable in their lives. For Adam, love has betrayed him. In Tommy's case, physical pain has become a constant companion. Can they help each other overcome their misery? AU, Slash

3. Breaking Ground

Misery Loves Company

By

A Warrior's Prophet

Disclaimers: See Chapter 1.

Author's Notes: Just a friendly warning: This story will contain the death of a canon character—not saying who or when though.

Chapter 3—Breaking Ground

Kyle slowly made his way the remaining half-mile to Tommy Oliver's house. It wasn't the first time that he'd been to 1992 Valencia Road, but it was the first time when the good doctor was least expecting him. Truthfully, if he did everything right, Tommy wouldn't even know that he was there.

Reaching the porch, he avoided the steps knowing that they both creaked. Instead, the side of the porch became his entryway as he crept carefully to the front door. After setting down the grocery bag and small fan, he removed a lock picking set and had the door open in less than a minute.

He listened at the bottom of the stairs leading to the second floor, needing to ensure that neither occupant of the house was awake. Once that had been verified, he crept to the kitchen and went to work.

Forty-five minutes later, Kyle unplugged the small fan that had made the trip with him and looked at his handiwork. Two trays sat on the counter and each one held a decent portion of scrambled eggs with diced ham, onion and green peppers. A sprinkle of cheese topped them and was accompanied by a side of bacon. Three pancakes sat on a smaller plate, the butter melting slightly down the sides. A small glass of orange juice sat in the corner of each tray and the carafe filled with hot coffee sat between both of them. Two small boats held different fruit compotes to top the buttermilk pancakes. One was strawberry, thinned slightly with some orange juice. The other was peach, sweetened slightly with a hint of caramel syrup. A small jug of warmed maple syrup sat slightly apart and completed the small bounty. A simple printed note was propped against the carafe that read "Good Morning. Please Enjoy."

Kyle sighed as he finished packing up. Everything was cleaned and put back, now all he had to do was make his getaway. He had even grabbed part of the research papers from the stack on Tommy's desk. If his appointment hadn't run over, he would have picked them up yesterday.

While he walked to the door, he realized that an apology would have worked just as well, however, that wasn't really his style. After he'd gotten home the night before, Kyle had realized that some of the stuff he had said to Dr. Oliver might not have been appropriate in front of his friend. While what had been said just reiterated the relationship he had with the older man, some of the words could have been taken the wrong way.

Deciding that it would be better to have Adam wake his mentor up in a nicer way that what Kyle had originally planned, he headed to the guest room. Quietly opening the door, he peeked inside and is surprised to find the bed empty. A sudden thought crosses his mind and he wonders if his former teacher 'got some' last night. Grinning, he went to the room at the end of the hall and carefully opened the door. His hand went up to cover his mouth to suppress the laugh that wanted out.

He decided this was too good of an opportunity to pass up and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. Kyle quickly snapped a picture of the two men, Dr. O with his arm thrown across Adam's waist and Adam's head resting on his mentor's chest, their legs intertwined in sleep. He watched them for several minutes, noting how natural they looked together. Moving further into the room, he got closer so that he could get some better shots.

Adam started to wake slowly. He felt like he was being watched, but the slow heartbeat beneath his ear combined with the delicious warmth that was coming from his friend was threatening to lull him back into the depths of sleep.

Kyle noticed that Adam seemed to be waking up and decided to just knock on the front door like he originally planned. Leaving the room, he had the door almost shut when he suddenly sneezed. The sound echoed slightly and he groaned before making his way down the stairs. He barely paused to grab his bag before flinging the door open.

The sudden sound drove Adam from sleep, but it was the pounding of feet on the stairs that had him moving. Hitting the bottom, he barely registered the food spread out on the counter before going for the door, which was wide open. He could see a figure running and set off in pursuit.

When he grabbed the intruder by the shoulder as he caught up to him, he growled, "Hey! What the hell do you think you're doin'?!" and he forcefully turned him around. He realizes that it was Kyle and the first thing that ran through his mind was what Tommy had told him about the kid's health problems. He immediately let go. "Oh damn Kyle...I didn't realize it was you. You okay? Why were you running from the house?"

Kyle blushed hard. "Besides not wanting to get caught?"

"But...why run?"

"Cause the idea was to surprise you guys with breakfast to make up for what I said yesterday."

The word 'breakfast' swam around in Adam's mind looking for something to connect with. It finally rested on the picture in his mind of the spread he briefly saw before running out the front door. "You did all that? To make up for what?"

"Yeah, I did." He blushed again, then sighed, absently running a hand over the spot where Adam grabbed him. "I was a bit out of line yesterday at the mall. While it might be how I act around Tom-- uh, Dr. O at times, I shouldn't have done it in front of one of his friends."

Adam looked a bit surprised. "Oh...well...it wasn't that bad. We pick at him like that all the time."

"Maybe, but I've got six friends, Adam, and I don't want to alienate any of them by doing something I shouldn't." He looked back towards the house. "Should probably go in and wake him up. If he doesn't get moving soon, it'll take him longer."

"I don't know about that, but he'll be upset if he misses all that food!"

"Yeah well, remember I deal with him most mornings at school." He paused for a moment, then met Adam's eyes. "And you can't tell him that you caught me. He'll figure it out, trust me." He knew that he shouldn't have taken the papers yet, but there was no way that Tommy would let him after they talked. "I've gotta get going."

"Okay, I won't tell on you. But Kyle, don't startle me like that, okay? I might have hurt you and I'd feel really bad if I did that." He paused as another thought occurred to him. "And I know you haven't met Jase yet, but you really shouldn't surprise him, okay? Just for your own well-being."

"I'll try to keep that in mind." He let his gaze flick over Adam's body, noticing the taut muscles under the t-shirt that did nothing to really cover the older man. He grinned. "Nice boxers. Gotta tell ya, they wrap the package nicely."

Adam blushed crimson. "Tom told me you were always like that--guess I know now."

"And knowing is half the battle." He couldn't help the line from the original G.I. Joe cartoon and chuckled softly before growing serious again. "Yeah well, it's the truth. Now, if I could find someone that looked half as good as you, with the same sweet smile, it might just let me die happy." He winked at the other man. "I really have to go, but try to get Tommy to take you hiking. Trent says there's a beautiful waterfall a bit from here."

The older man was left almost speechless. "Ummm...okay," was about all he could manage.

Kyle laughed softly, then put a hand on Adam's shoulder. "One of two things is gonna happen. You'll get used to me, like Tommy has or you'll end up wanting to kill me every time I'm around." The alarm on his watch went off. "Enjoy breakfast." He winked at the other man again and broke into a jog, heading for his car. He'd already eaten, but he had meds to take before he could come back for part two of his plan.

Adam stood there for a moment and then thought he should probably get back in the house and get dressed. Besides, all that food was getting cold and he still had to wake up 'sleeping beauty'.

Going back into the house, Adam went into the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee. He took a drink and shook his head. 'Kid makes a decent cup of java.' He went upstairs and stood in the door for a moment, watching the man sleeping in the bed. He really hated to wake him, but they both needed to eat and it'd be a shame to let all that food go to waste. When he went over to the bed, he set his cup down and reached a hand out, gently shaking Tommy's shoulder. "Hey man, time to get up."

Tom groaned a little, but all that moved was his head. "Mmmm...what?" he said in a quiet, sleepy voice.

"Time to get up, bro." He shook him a bit harder.

"Awww...come on...five more minutes," he moaned and rolled over the other way, nearly pulling a pillow over his head.

Adam sighed, then pulled the covers off of Tommy. "Get up man." He picked up the cup and waved it close to his friend's head. "Wake up or I'm gonna drink all the coffee."

The delicious aroma of the stuff made it from Tom's nose to his brain in record time. "Mmmm...that smells good." Finally, the big brown eyes opened and he looked up at his friend. "There is some left, right?"

"Maybe, but you're gonna have to get up and come downstairs to find out."

Tommy stretched out to his full length on the bed and yawned. Adam caught himself looking up and down the man's form as he held onto his coffee cup. "Well?" he asked.

"I'm gettin' up, I'm gettin' up...Mom..." Tommy said sarcastically and sat up slowly. "Give me that," he said with a sly grin and reached out, taking Adam's cup out of his hand.

"Hey, that was mine and I've already drank out of it." He mock-glared at him. "Fine, but if you don't hurry up then breakfast is going to get cold. And it'd be a shame to let this spread go to waste."

Tommy turned his gaze up at his friend. "You're not poison, are ya? Thought not..." he said as he continued to drink Adam's coffee. "Spread?" he asked as that part of his friend's comment finally hit home. "Have you been busy this morning?"

"Me? No, I'm lucky if I can keep a Pop-Tart from burning at times. We had a ..." He paused for a moment to figure out how to phrase it so that he could keep his promise to Kyle. "...a mysterious benefactor. Now come on."

Giving a quizzical look, he allowed himself to be pulled up out of the bed and hurried toward the stairs. "Okay, I'm goin'...don't push," he chuckled as he descended the steps and went into the kitchen. "Wow...you weren't kiddin'...and you didn't do this?"

"Nope, like I said, it was a mysterious benefactor, but they did say that you'd know who it was once you thought about it."

"Hmmm...who do I know that can get into my house unannounced and who can also cook?" He started ticking off suspects. "Hayley...Kira...Kyle? I don't know...let me get some coffee in me and maybe I can think." He went over and refilled the stolen cup and also poured another one for Adam. "Here ya go...I owe you this," he grinned and handed over the steaming coffee.

Adam took it from him and took a long drink. "You know, this isn't just a simple blend." He picked up a tray, then debated over which of the two fruit toppings he wanted before settling on the peaches. Taking a bite he sighed. "Damn, that's good."

Tommy picked up the remaining tray and sat down at the table. "Good huh? I'm still not sure who our 'mysterious benefactor' is, but I'm sure I'll figure it out." Digging in, he had to agree with Adam. "This is good! Now who could have..." he trailed off as he went back to eating.

Adam chuckled softly as he dug in. The eggs with the combo of peppers, onions, and ham topped with cheese were great. The bacon was crispy, but not burned and the pancakes were awesome. He was mostly done when he looked over at Tommy, who looked thoughtful. Chuckling softly, he grinned. "Still trying to figure out who might have done this? I mean, you've got it narrowed down to three at least."

"Yeah, I know...I'll get there...just give me a few minutes." Tommy stood and starting clearing the table, Adam jumping up immediately to help. Once the dishes were in the sink, they both refilled their cups and wandered into the living room. As Tom was headed toward the front door to retrieve the morning paper, he spared a glance into his study and saw that the light was on for some unexplained reason. Reaching around to flip off the light switch, he shrugged and went about his business. "Whatever."

After getting the paper from the front porch though, he stopped midway into the living room and then turned back and looked into the study--particularly in the direction of his desk.

"What?" Adam asked when he noticed Tommy acting strangely.

"Gotta check something..." he said and went into the other room and flipped the light back on. "Kyle!!" he growled loudly enough for Adam to hear.

Adam raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'Kyle'? Think he's the one that made breakfast?"

Tommy reappeared in the doorway with an aggravated look on his face. "It had to have been...he also took half of the research papers that were on my desk!" he said in a stern tone. This was not good.

For a moment, Adam was confused until it clicked that Tommy had told him the day before that he rationed out the work to the kid, especially after a doctor's visit. "Is this because he hasn't told you what the doctor said yet?"

"Yep. The little shit's hiding something from me, I just know it. But how dare he take it upon himself to do that. I've gotta talk to that boy!"

"Look T., I know you two have an agreement about this kind of stuff, but maybe you should calm down a bit. You two seem to have a good thing going and I'd hate to see either one of you do something to wreck it."

"I'm not gonna wreck anything, I'm just not happy with him right now. I only try to keep him from doing too much because I worry about him. He doesn't know when to quit once he starts on something." Tommy continued to pace back and forth across the living room.

"Why don't we go workout for a bit? Get rid of some of the calories from that breakfast and then you can call him."

Tommy thought for a minute. "I guess so. I didn't mean to go off like that, but the little twerp just won't do what I tell him sometimes and it pisses me off." He stopped for a minute. "You wanna work out with the weight machines, spar, what?"

Adam raised an eyebrow. "Pot? Kettle." He shrugs. "We sparred yesterday and I have no desire to add another bruise to my thigh, so let's go for the weight machines. Then maybe we can get out of the house for a bit and go on a hike or something. Heard there was a waterfall around here."

"Waterfall? Yeah, there is. You wanna go up there?"

"Sure why not?"

"Well...okay. By the way, pot...kettle?" He gave Adam a confused look.

"Isn't you saying that Kyle doesn't do what you tell him kinda like you not always doing what you should?" He held up his hands. "I know that you can make your own decisions T., but that kind of makes what you said like the pot calling the kettle black."

"Ah, I see." Pausing for a moment, he finally said, "Adam, we went through this yesterday. I really do try to do what the doc tells me--regardless of what Hayley says. So, you ready to go work out?"

"All right, I believe you." He looked down at his boxers, then back at Tommy. "Let me get some clothes on, then yeah, we can workout. Kinda ran after our benefactor."

"You ran after Kyle? Why?"

Adam blushed. "He sorta surprised me. Heard someone on the stairs and went to check it out. They ran out of the house and I followed. That's when I found out who it was, but he made me promise not to tell you."

"You didn't hurt him, did you?"

"Not that I know of. I did grab him by the shoulder and spin him around, but he didn't cry out or anything. He rubbed his shoulder a bit later, but I'm not sure if it was from me grabbing him or something else."

"I guess he'll be okay. Anyway, let's go workout. Ready to get embarrassed?" he said with a wink and started upstairs to get changed.

"Oh please, let's not start that again. Besides, I think I'm all smacked out." He starts up behind Tommy, then grins and smacks the man on the ass. "Nope, had one left."

Tommy jumped slightly, a little surprised at having his backside assaulted like that. He turned with a wicked grin on his face. "Hey...at least buy me a drink first!"

Adam cocked an eyebrow. "Thought I did that last night."

"So you did. Well, what you like in return? You've already touched my ass and slept in my bed...what's next?" he grinned.

Adam blushed. "Why don't we just get changed so we can start lifting weights? After all, you've still got a waterfall to show me then we have to decide what to do about dinner."

'Backing off now, huh? Damn, he's shy,' Tommy thought. He grinned and chuckled a bit to put his friend at ease. "Sorry...been around Kyle too much lately, I guess. Let's change and get to it."

"Yeah, I can see how hanging around him might rub off on you." He rolled his eyes. "Meet you downstairs in a few minutes."

Walking into the bedroom he was using, Adam got dressed then took a moment to sit down. 'Can't believe I was flirting with him like that.' He sighed. 'Might be interested, but I'm not ready yet. Trying something now wouldn't be fair to T.' Taking a deep breath, he got up and went downstairs to wait.

The workout went well, but they didn't wear themselves out too much--they still had a hike to get to. Once out in the backyard, the good doctor had pretty much put the thing with Kyle out of his mind. Walking along through the woods, they started talking about old times again. "Remember the camping trips we used to take back in high school? I haven't been camping in forever."

Adam adjusted the backpack containing lunch and water a bit, then snorted. "I haven't either. Just means I haven't gotten to see you flame a marshmallow and try to put it out by waving it around then flinging it onto Rocky's lap."

Tommy laughed. "Yeah, I never was much good with a marshmallow! Hey, since we're all back on this coast again, why don't we plan a weekend camping trip? That'd be a blast!"

Adam raised an eyebrow at him. "How about a BBQ instead? Not so sure that we could convince everyone to go camping anymore. Some of us have gotten used to running water and flushing toilets," he grinned. "Could have the BBQ up here since you have the yard for it."

"Good idea--we'll do that! When we get back to the house, we'll look at the calendar and start planning something."

"Sounds like a good idea. So, you still keep up with all the ranger teams?" A sudden thought hit him. "Hey, your TA doesn't know about that, does he?"

"Umm yeah, I try to keep tabs on everybody, but the sheer numbers and distance are making it difficult. They're getting pretty spread out, ya know. As for Kyle...I don't know, actually. He's given me some idea that he knows something, but...I don't know."

"And that's not really something that you can just come out and ask someone if they know about. Could definitely make for some interesting conversations in the future."

"No doubt." They walked along a little further, crossing a small stream. "The waterfall's just over there a bit further," Tommy directed. "I'm getting hungry again, you?"

"Actually yeah, guess the workout and the walk is helping with my appetite." He chuckled softly. "Just means we're really going to have to think about dinner."

"Oh, I've got some stuff at the house or we could always go out to get something. I'm feeling better today anyway. Thanks for the massages that you've been giving me--they've really helped."

"Well, I'm glad that I could help. Hate seeing my friends in pain and if the massages help, I'll give you as many as you want."

"I'd love to take you up on that...too bad you live an hour and a half away. But now that you're back in Angel Grove, we can definitely get together more often. Besides, I need to come down and see your school."

"Yeah you do. Maybe come down and scare some of the ones that might be trouble later on once they think they actually know something." He stopped as the waterfall came into view. "Did you buy this place knowing this was here?"

"No, actually. I sorta discovered it while I was out hiking one day." He paused. "You want me to come scare some of your students?"

He chuckled softly. "Figure if you and Jason spar a bit, they'll realize that they need to take what they're doing seriously. In a few months, they'll join my advanced class and I want to know that they're not going to abuse what I teach them."

Tommy gave him a sly grin. "Okay, that sounds like fun. I haven't beat Jase down in a while...he's due."

Adam rolled his eyes as he took a seat in a spot near the waterfall and opened the backpack. As he started pulling the sandwiches and stuff out, he couldn't help but notice the difference between how Tommy was moving today in comparison to yesterday. 'Wonder if yesterday was just a bad day or if the differences are really that big--he seems to be fine now.'

Once they had eaten their lunch, hung out by the waterfall for a while and hiked a little further into the woods, they decided it was time to start back. Tommy thought that maybe he could get Adam to open up to him a little more now. "So, you never did tell me what all you did in Boston while you lived there. How'd you like it out there?"

Adam snorted. "About as much as I liked wondering when Rita, Zedd, or Mondo was going to attack next." He sighed. "Before we got married, Brooke asked me what I wanted to do for a living once I finished school. Told her I wanted to open a dojo of my own. She said that she wanted to go back to Boston, to be closer to her parents. Since mine were back in Korea visiting for a few years, I figured what the hell. Started kinda goin' downhill from there."

"Sorry to hear that. I know that you really wanted to run your own school--you'd been talking about that for years. You weren't able to do that out there?"

"No, after meeting her parents, I kind of got the impression that they really didn't like me. The thought of me running something as low-class as a dojo and supporting their daughter with it..." He looked over at Tommy. "You know me T., I like to be able to do things for myself. Brooke pretty much had everything handed to her. Once we moved to Boston, I learned that they had found us a place to live and Mr. McKinnon had a job lined up for me in his company. Pretty much told me that I was going to be starting on that next Monday. So for the past few years, I was in an office five days a week, wearing a suit and tie. I hated it."

The former ranger commander wrinkled his nose. "That's awful. I mean, I wear dress shirts and ties every day at school, but I chose that. I knew that was coming when I decided to become a teacher. Why did you let them push you around like that?"

"Because it made Brooke happy. Before we left Sacramento, I could tell that she wasn't happy. She started talking about going home after graduation and stuff. For a while, I thought she might not even go through with the wedding. So, because I wanted the person that, at the time, I thought I wanted to spend the rest of my life with happy, we moved. Then she told me how happy it would make her to have me work with her father." He sighed. "So I did. I mean, the money was good. That's why I was able to save up the money that I did, but I started dreading to go to work."

Tom looked down as he walked. He could tell that his old friend was upset by the subject matter. Adam had always been one to think of someone else before himself. The more he thought, the madder it made Tommy that Brooke could have cheated on and hurt him.

All at once, he stopped and took his friend by the shoulders. "Bro, I just want you to know something. You're way too good of a person to have been treated that way. You've always been a good friend to everyone and it really pisses me off that that little bitch and her family did that to you. Things are gonna get better from here on out--I just know it. You're running your own school like you always wanted and you're back with your friends. Hang in there, okay?"

Adam blushed slightly and nodded his head, then put a hand on T's shoulder. "Thanks Tommy." He was happy to let the subject matter drop. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, he looked around, then frowned. "Umm, T. Are you sure we're in the right yard?"

Tommy looked around briefly. "Yeah doofus--mine is the only 'yard' out here. Why?"

"Because unless you wishing that 'your yard would just kind of die so you didn't have to get out there and cut it' came true, something's going on."

______________________

Kira had been easy to convince about helping out with the plans for a teacher's appreciation dinner for Dr. O. Trent had taken a little more convincing, but in the end he had agreed to help as well. Kyle had called them once he was sure that Tommy and his guest weren't coming back for a while. Then, he had made his way inside like he had that morning and went to work.

By the time Kira and Trent had arrived, dessert had already been made and was in the refrigerator to set. Nodding at the pair, he grinned. "Okay, so I'll handle the food. Pantry and cupboards have already been restocked as well as the liquor cabinet."

"The food I understand, but are you sure the alcohol was such a good idea?" Kira asked, setting down the cleaning supplies they'd brought.

"He would buy it anyway. Besides, I just dumped all the half bottles and left the new ones." Personally, he didn't drink, but was fine with people that did. As long as they didn't try to hit on him while drunk, then there would be problems.

Trent nodded. "So what do you need us to do?"

"Figure the guest room and Dr. O's room could use new sheets, the living room at least needs to be dusted as well as vacuumed and the yard could do with a bit of mowing."

"I'll help Kira with getting the sheets into the wash, then do the yard if you two will handle the stuff in here." Trent was more than happy to get out of the rest of the housework even if it meant mowing the lawn.

Kyle nodded. "That works. Dinner is a crock pot meal except for the salad, bread, and dessert. The dessert is already in the fridge and I should have the rest of the ingredients ready to go by the time you two get done. Then I'll help Kira finish up."

"Sounds like a plan, so let's get moving." With Kira's final words, the threesome set to work.

Turning back to the cutting board, Kyle finished chopping the carrots, onion and celery into pieces. The green beans had already been cleaned and snapped after he bought them. Some of them had been canned, but a few of them were fresh ones he was using for this dinner. The red potatoes were quartered and added to the pot along with the chicken stock.

He grinned. Sometimes it did pay to be pampered a bit by some of the older women teachers at the school. The canning of fresh fruits and vegetables was done for him by Mrs. Williams while Ms. Jenkins, a very motherly African-American woman from the South that had declared him too skinny, kept him supplied with various soups, stocks, and stews. Kyle never used them all and instead of having them go to waste, he'd brought a few over to use.

A little salt, thyme and basil were added to the pot before he added the chicken breasts and set it to high. He would turn the temperature down in a bit, but he wanted to make sure it would be done for Tommy and Adam when they got back. The salad only took him a few minutes to do and by that time, the lawn mower was running in the front yard. After washing his hands, Kyle went to help Kira with the rest of the stuff.

Three hours later, the beds had been re-made with fresh sheets, the living room vacuumed and dusted while both yards had been mowed. Trent had even raked the cuttings into piles as mulch around the trees. Kira had picked a vase of wildflowers to help brighten up the dining area a bit before helping him clean up the kitchen.

Sighing, Kyle looked at the other two. "Thanks again for helping out with this."

Trent shrugged. "It's for a good cause. Besides, Dr. O has enough on his plate. Worrying about small stuff like yard work is the last thing he needs."

"Trent's right and even though we don't see him almost everyday like you do, this is a way we can keep in touch, show him that someone out there still cares about him."

Kyle nodded. "Yeah, think he only got a couple of cards Friday for the school's Teacher Appreciation Day, but I had to leave before the end of his second class."

She laid a hand on his arm. "Tests? You're okay, right?"

"I'm fine. My counts are still a bit low, but they're finally starting to rise a bit." He kissed her forehead. "Stop worrying about me."

Softly, she hit him in the chest, causing Trent to laugh. "Kyle, come on man. You know that's the wrong thing to say to her."

"Yeah, forgot she tends to get violent." He winked at her, then grinned. "Go on and get out of here. All I've got to do is put the Post-Its in place."

Trent nodded. "We'll see you around." A grin split his face. "If you're still around after Dr. O figures out who did this."

Kira rolled her eyes. "Dr. O won't hurt Kyle. That'll leave him with way too much work to do with finals."

"Enough you two, get going before I change my mind." Kyle watched them go, then took a seat and started making little notes with instructions on them for dinner.

When he finished, Kyle walked into the kitchen and started hanging them up. The Post-It he put on the refrigerator door read: "Within this box lies your just 'desserts'. Enjoy responsibly." A last check of the White Chocolate Berry Trifle showed that it was setting up fine. Nodding, he went over to the counter and hung the next one above the cabinet below which sat the crock pot.

Shaking his head, he made sure it would stay in place before turning the device to low and re-reading the message: "Sunday Chicken Dinner rests under my lid. Enjoy the 'sinful' repast." The salad bowl resting in a small tub of ice got one stuck to the rim that read: "Read these 'leaves' before you feast from the crock."

An arrow pointed from the crock pot to a bucket where a bottle of Pinot Grigio was being chilled. Two wine glasses and the corkscrew laid nearby with a note that said: "Pop my top first... Then savor me slowly." Beside it was a decanter of Tawny Port to go with the trifle and it's Post-It read: "Savor me with dessert... I'll make the indulgence better." The grin that split his face as he hung the last one on the coffee pot would have warned anyone away. Laughing softly, he couldn't help but smile at the message: "I'm filled, primed and ready...Turn me on to make me drip."

That last one would get him busted, but to make sure some of the blame was spread around, he put the card Kira and Trent had signed on the counter. The comments he'd made and then hung up were more than enough to cement his part in all this.

With a last look around, he left the house, locking the door behind him before getting into his car and heading home.

_____________________

Again, Tommy looked around carefully. His was the only yard in the vicinity, but it didn't look the same as it had when he and Adam had left the house earlier. The grass had been cut and even raked. All those annoying little tree branches that loved to fall all over the place had been picked up. The backyard looked...great. "What the...who did..." He stopped trying to talk and just shot his friend a very confused look.

Adam shook his head. "Don't look at me, I was with you." He started for the house. "Wonder what else they did?" As soon as he slid the door open, the smell of something cooking hit him. "Damn, that smells really good."

"Yeah, it does. Somebody's been in my house...again," Tommy said, looking around at all the preparations that had been made...and all the sticky notes that had been left. Getting to the one on the coffee maker, Tom couldn't help but break out into a wide grin. "Kyle...again."

Adam had read a few of them and walked over to stand beside his friend. "What does it say?"

"Classic Kyle. It says, 'I'm filled, primed and ready.... Turn me on to make me drip.' That boy is definitely not right in the head."

Laughing softly, Adam sighed. "I think that boy might be a few bricks short of a truckload." He looked in the fridge. "Gotta admit though, he's got some mad cooking skills." Pulling the trifle out, he showed it to Tommy. "I mean, how many women do you know that could pull something like this off?" He put it back in the fridge and looked at his friend, then grinned. "He'll make someone a good wife someday."

Tom laughed out loud along with Adam at that one. "No kiddin'. He's awfully handy to have around sometimes--you just gotta learn to put up with his smart ass and sometimes off-color comments. So...you ready to eat?"

"Why don't we take a shower first? Not sure about you, but I know that I probably stink a bit. And I'd rather eat after I was clean." He pulled his sweaty shirt away from his chest.

Sniffing the air a little, Tommy said, "All I can smell is this food, but if you wanna, we can. Uh..separately, of course," he added as an afterthought.

Adam nodded. "I'll take one down here if you want to use the one upstairs. That way we can get them out of the way and settle down to dinner sooner."

"Sounds good. Meet you back down here in 20 minutes?"

"Works for me. See you in a few." He went up to bedroom he was using and paused, then walked over to the bed. 'Okay, so I wasn't imagining things. The sheets are different. Huh. He was a busy little bee.' Chuckling softly, Adam collected his stuff and a change of clothes, then went downstairs. A quick shower made him feel a lot better and more prepared to eat dinner. Stepping out of the bathroom, he spotted Tom in the kitchen. "So, um, find anything different in your bedroom?"

"Yeah...yours too? Surely he didn't do all this by himself. He had to have had help--we weren't gone that long."

"Think he could have recruited Hayley to help? Or maybe Kira and Trent? I mean, if he keeps in touch with them, that is." He was quiet for a moment. "Any special day or reason he might do something like this?"

"Yeah, he talks to Kira and Trent--as much as they're all over here...even if they didn't keep in touch, they couldn't help but run into each other. As for why...I don't--" he trailed off as he picked up a plate and an envelope fell over onto the counter. "What's this?" he said with a grin. Opening it, the smile grew. "How sweet," he said in a low voice.

"What's it say?" Adam asked, moving over closer to his friend.

"It says, 'Just because we're not your students anymore doesn't mean that we think of you any less. You'll always be our favorite teacher! Happy Teacher Appreciation Day! Love Kira and Trent.'"

Adam gave him a soft smile. "You must mean a lot to them in order for them to help out with something like this." He took the plate from Tommy and started filling it, using a small bowl for the salad. "So if he can cook like this, why the hell is that boy still so skinny?"

"Well, from what I know, it has to do with his anemia--his meds don't help." He stopped for a moment. "And of course, the fact that he does too much and doesn't eat right doesn't help at all."

Adam nodded. "He's really in trouble with you for what he did today." He raised an eyebrow at him. "So when did the little smart ass grow on you so much Tommy?" Grinning, he walked over to the chilled wine bottle and uncorked it.

Returning the smile, Tom went behind Adam putting food on the plate he had picked up. "Honestly, I'm not sure. I really felt bad for him during his senior year. He's a good kid and he went through a lot being so sick, in the hospital, missing school, etc. And then when he showed up in August announcing that he was my new TA, well...there's just something about the kid. He can be annoying as hell and somewhat embarrassing, but he grows on ya, ya know?"

"Yeah, I know. He told me this morning that he'd either grow on me like he has you or I'd end up wanting to kill him every time he's around." He filled glasses for both of them, taking them to the table along with the rest of the bottle, then returned for his plate and salad before taking a seat at the table.

They both enjoyed the dinner very much, right down to the dessert. Once they had eaten their fill and relaxed for a little while, Tommy suddenly had a great idea. "Hey, why don't we go for a nice soak in the hot tub? We can take our wine with us."

Adam nodded. "Sounds like an idea." They had finished the wine with dinner and moved to the port with the dessert. The kid had been right about how it helped accent the trifle. "Didn't know you had a hot tub, so I didn't bring any trunks with me."

"Oh that's okay--I never wear any anyway. Out here where I live, there's nobody to see me. How 'bout it?"

Adam blushed. "Um, how about boxers?" Mentioning boxers, he flushed deeper as he remembered what Kyle had told him that morning about his 'package'. "It's just been a while, you know?"

Tommy chuckled a bit at his friend's shyness. "Okay, okay...boxers it is. Ready to go? We can strip down in the living room and grab a couple of towels on the way out the back door."

"Yeah, might as well." He walked into the living room with his friend and undressed down to his boxers, laying his pants and shirt over the arm of the couch. When he turned back to ask his friend something, he could only stare. Tommy was only clad in a pair of white athletic boxers that clung to the skin and left very little to the imagination. Every curve of his friend's toned backside was outlined and Adam found himself barely suppressing a groan as he felt himself starting to react to the sight. He started for the kitchen. "If you grab the towels, I'll grab our glasses and the decanter." He didn't even wait for Tom's reply before starting to move, not wanting to get caught by his friend.

None the wiser, Tommy collected the towels from the downstairs bathroom and headed out to the back deck. Adam was already in the water up to his chest. The two wine glasses sat on the ledge. "Well, that was fast. Anxious to get in that hot water, huh?"

"Yeah, the more I thought about it the better it was sounding." He dipped under for a moment to wet his head and came back up. 'And so you couldn't see what you were doing to me.' He sighed. "If I had known you had this, I would have suggested we come out here last night."

"You're welcome to come up and use it anytime you want. I'm in it at least three nights a week. It's a godsend when my back is really acting up."

"Like I said, if I had known you had it, last night it would have helped loosen you up a bit better than just a massage alone." He took a drink from his glass, then shook his head. "This is really pretty good." 'And you're not too shabby yourself.' He could just make out the white shorts below the water and it didn't escape his attention at how well the color offset the shade of Tommy's skin.

"Yeah, it is. Not my usual choice of wine, but it's nice for a change." He paused for a moment in thought. "You know what? You've rubbed my back twice now. How 'bout letting me return the favor? Besides, I feel kinda bad for putting that big bruise on your thigh."

"I'm the one that suggested we spar." He was quiet for a moment, then nodded. "You know you don't have to do that, but if you really want to, I'll take you up on the offer." He looked over at Tommy. "Where do you want me?"

His friend threw an unmistakeably naughty grin at him. "Hmmmm...where do I want you?" Tom said in a low, husky voice. "I guess anywhere where I have good enough access. Any ideas?"

Adam groaned, then swallowed hard. "Tommy, please."

"You don't have to beg--I'm offering my services..." he said in response, baiting his friend and enjoying every minute of it.

Adam met Tommy's eyes. There were so many things that he could say and he did remember when they used to do this kind of stuff a lot, but it had been a long time, at least for him. Taking another drink, he stood up and walked across the hot tub to where Tommy was sitting before turning his back to his friend. "So where did you need me in order for you to work your magic?"

Reaching up and placing a hand on Adam's waist, Tom felt his friend's body tense up just a bit. "Easy there. Why don't you sit right here beside me?" he said, guiding him over to the seat and keeping him turned with his back facing him. "I can get to you just fine from here." With that, Tommy began rubbing Adam's shoulders and working his way down.

He decided to chill a bit on the leading comments, sensing that it was putting Adam on edge.

Adam held himself stiff for several minutes, then slowly allowed himself to relax and enjoy what Tommy was doing. He let his head fall forward a bit and sighed. His muscles might not have been causing him pain like his friend's had, but they had been tight for a while. 'Probably since I found out that bitch was cheating on me.' He sighed softly and pushed those thoughts aside. "Thanks Tommy." And he knew that his friend would understand that he wasn't just talking about the massage.

"You're welcome," Tommy said softly next to Adam's ear--a little too close for comfort. "Why don't we go ahead and go upstairs. That way I can give you a proper massage and maybe you can return the favor?"

Adam gasped softly. He hadn't realized that Tommy was so close and shivered slightly. He knew that Tommy wouldn't do anything, especially without his permission. The large hands had relaxed him in the warm water and he could only imagine what they would be able to do when he was stretched out. Deep down, he could admit that he might want more, but he was far from ready for it. Still, he nodded his head. "Sounds like a good idea."

"Good then, let's get out." Tommy picked up his glass and drained it. Rising up out of the water, he climbed out of the hot tub and walked over to the lounge chair where he'd dropped the towels. Turning back to Adam, he waited until the man had climbed out and then tossed him the other towel. The look on Adam's face had him looking down to make sure he still had his boxers on.

Adam knew that he was staring, but it was as if the man in front of him had enchanted him, making him unable to move. The white shorts, now soaked thru, were practically translucent. Tommy's skin was easily visible beneath the fabric and Adam was able to view his friend with little effort. Biting his lower lip, his eyes darted upward slightly, only to be enthralled once again by a bead of water that fell from the wet chest, trailing its way over well-toned pecs, over a dusky nipple to the center of his chest. At the top of Tommy's six-pack, the droplet slowly made its way over to one side and slid past his navel only to come to a rest in that thatch of dark curls that signaled the start of Tommy's happy trail. Adam knew that he was probably growing hard where he stood, but at the moment, he could do nothing as his eyes drifted up and down the chiseled body that stood before him even as the tip of his tongue darted out between now slightly parted lips to ease their dryness.

Tom knew that nearly every inch of his body was being inspected and it didn't make him uncomfortable exactly...it was just odd that it was Adam that was doing the inspecting. He smiled at his friend and turned around to pick up the wine decanter from the table. "Let's go upstairs, okay?" he said once again in the same low, sultry voice.

The voice finally broke Adam out of his reverie. He dried off, wrapped the towel around his waist and picked up his glass, then looked at Tommy. "Lead the way."

At the top of the stairs, Tom stopped and said, "Go grab your dry clothes, I'll take your wine glass in here with me." He took the glass from Adam and went into his own bedroom while the former black ranger moved to the guest room to get dressed. When he met him back in the master bedroom, Tommy had poured more wine into both glasses and changed into some dry underwear. "Lay down and I'll finish what I started."

Adam nodded as he went over to the bed. He sat down, but reached out and took a drink of wine before setting the glass down on the nightstand once again. Then, he stretched out in the middle of the bed on his stomach, pillowing his head on his arms so that he was facing Tommy. "I really do appreciate this, man."

"Oh, you're welcome. Besides, I owe you, remember?" Tom said, also taking a long drink from his glass and placing it on the table. Positioning himself beside his friend, he said, "Okay now, don't expect me to be as good at this as you are."

Adam sighed. "You weren't doing bad earlier. Besides, I trust you."

'That makes one of us,' Tommy thought. He had really enjoyed rubbing Adam's body in the hot tub and he was beginning to have thoughts that he figured he maybe shouldn't be having. At least not yet. "That's good to hear--I trust you too," he finally said.

"Tommy, you've had my back too many times to count in fights against creatures and things that were sent after us. If I don't trust you by now, then there is something seriously wrong with me. Besides, you're not the one that broke my trust. Brooke did that." He closed his eyes. 'And my heart along with it.' He shifted a bit closer to Tommy so the man didn't have to stretch as far. "If you do something that hurts or feels uncomfortable, I'll tell you."

"Alright, well...I'll start on these tense shoulders of yours. You really need to relax more, bro." He paused. "I know, I know...physician, heal thyself," he chuckled.

Adam grinned. "Wasn't going to say anything." He sighed as Tommy went to work. "Just been hard to really relax the last few months."

The former ranger commander nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. But like I told you, things are gonna get better for you now, just wait and see." His hands began to move lower over the smooth skin, feeling the toned muscle underneath. As he went below Adam's shoulder blades, he suddenly noticed a bruise developing on the right side of his friend's ribcage. He leaned closer to inspect it. "Did I do that or did it happen in class?" he asked, rubbing his large, warm hand all along his friend's side.

He winced slightly when Tommy's hand ran over it. "Probably you if it's only coming up now. Don't worry about it, T. Like I said, the sparring was my idea and I can take my licks. Just didn't know about that one." Adam sighed softly and felt most of muscles starting to loosen under those big hands. 'God he knows how to use those hands of his and he's not timid with his touch either.'

"Awww man, I'm sorry Froggy. That's two bruises I've put on you and you've only been here a couple of days." He wondered to himself if there were any more that he hadn't discovered yet. Adam was beginning to relax more, though. "Am I doing alright? Too hard?"

"I'm sure I put a few on you back in high school, so don't worry about it." He grinned again. "Oh, it's not any harder than I can handle. As for how you're doing--just fine, man, just fine."

Tommy matched his grin. "It's good to know that you can take it," he said, knowing that that comment could be taken a couple of different ways and not caring. "Want me to get some oil? I have some in the bathroom cabinet..."

Adam thought about it for a moment. It would probably help and it definitely couldn't hurt. Plus, if it was already in the room, he could use it as well when he returned the favor for Tom. "Yeah, but only as long as you don't mind getting up."

"No, I don't mind. Be right back," Tommy said as he walked toward the bathroom. Once in there, he had to search a bit to find it. "Now where did I put that massage oil after last time?" He hadn't seen it in almost a month. Locating it at last, he went back in to work on Adam, but he he paused at the door of his bedroom, looking at the sight of his friend stretched out on his bed. 'That's a nice sight,' he thought.

While Tommy was gone, Adam had shifted a bit on the bed. His boxers had bunched up a little on him and he pulled them down a bit to straighten them out, then left them lying a little lower on his hips before settling back down on the bed. He looked over towards the door when he felt a pair of eyes on him and grinned at Tommy. "Was starting to think you got lost in your own house."

"Sorry. Took me a minute to find it. I've really gotta organize that bathroom a little better." Re-seating himself next to his bro, he opened the bottle and poured a good amount on his hands, rubbing them together to warm it. He placed his hands on Adam's lower back and began to rub upwards, enjoying the feeling of his skin sliding across the leanly muscled back. The sounds coming from the other man encouraged him--maybe he was doing something right.

"Damn T, thought you said you weren't that good at this?" He groaned softly as his friend got a particularly sore area to loosen up and relax. "Always wondered if you were any good with your hands. Guess now I know."

Tom cocked an eyebrow. "Did you now?" He couldn't help but chuckle. "Well here's an open invitation to come up and use my hot tub and get a massage any time you want or need one, okay? No reservations required."

"Be careful. Any free weekends I get, you might find me on your doorstep." He sighed. "Probably wouldn't be able to get back again though until sometime next month. We've got some belt testing coming up and a tournament with a cross town school. Never realized how much work it took to have a successful dojo. Now I can understand why there were times that we'd come into class and find our Master Sensei beating the snot out of a punching bag or target dummy."

The former white ranger laughed out loud at that. "Yeah, I remember wondering about that. I just thought we'd pissed him off!" he said grinning. "But ya know, I never realized how much it takes to teach a class--all the research, the prep work, the freakin' paperwork, which I hate by the way, and everything else. You never appreciate stuff until you have to do it all yourself." He paused and poured more oil onto his hands, lavishing it on his friend's lower back. "Want me to do your legs too?"

"Yeah, but at least you've got an assistant right now to help you with some of that stuff. I mean, even though he wasn't supposed to this time, Kyle's taking stuff home to help you out so you've got a little more free time on your hands." He thought about the offer for a moment. "Just be careful of my right thigh. That bruise on it is pretty big."

Tommy blushed. "Sorry about that--I really didn't mean to connect quite that hard. I'll be careful." Again, pouring more oil, he slowly worked it into the skin on first one thigh and then the other. There were some knots here and there, but he soon took care of that. "Wanna turn over and let me do the front?"

"You trying to put me to sleep? Thought you wanted me to return the favor?" Nonetheless, Adam rolled onto his back, then repositioned himself on the bed. "Relax about the bruises, bro. It's part and parcel of the job."

"Alright." He decided to ask Adam about one of his own favorite subjects--tattoos. "So you said that you're probably gonna get more ink, right?"

"Yep," the former black ranger answered without having to think about it.

"What are you thinking about getting?"

Adam sighed, flinching a little as Tommy hit another sore spot that he hadn't realized was there. "Not sure. Think that's why I still haven't gotten anything else. I don't want to be one of those people that just get a tat to have it, you know? Want it to mean something because it'll be there until I'm gone."

Tommy nodded. "Understand that. Well, there's lots of things you could get...a frog, for instance," he said with a grin.

"Uh huh. I don't think a frog on a lily pad would do it." Adam rolled his eyes at the man.

"Sorry bro, couldn't resist," he laughed. "Actually though, I've seen some really cool frog tats in my artist's book. They're sorta like tree frogs with the long fingers and red eyes and they have cool, full-color designs on their backs. You should check it out." He stopped and thought. "Ya know, this area right here would be a good place for something representing our stint as Ninjetti," he added, locking eyes with Adam and rubbing a big circle on his friend's upper left thigh. He watched his friend's reaction carefully. 'Should I be doing this?' he wondered. 'He's probably not ready.'

Adam shivered slightly and bit on his lower lip to keep a full blown moan from slipping out. Tommy's touch was light, but it sent ripples through his body that a person would have to be blind not to notice. He forced himself to take a deep breath before replying. "Really... really think so? Like the tree frog you were talking about or something else?" 'Is he really flirting with me or am I imagining things?'

Tilting his head, Tommy replied, "Oh, I don't know. The next time you come up, we'll go over and talk to Robby, my artist, and see if he has any ideas." His hand moved upward and came to rest on A's left pec. "This would be a good place too," he added in a low, quiet voice. He could feel Adam's body tense slightly.

Adam's skin felt like it was on fire from the path that Tommy had laid down with his hand. It would be so easy to just let go and say the hell with it... to just enjoy the night with his friend and let the mutual pleasures flow... but he wasn't ready. If they did this now, tonight, when he was still hurting over Brooke, how would he feel about it in the morning? Adam could easily fall for Tommy, but he knew that now was not the time. Besides, he wasn't entirely sure he was reading his friend right. 'Could he really be interested in me? Don't want to assume too much—that would be embarrassing.'

He touched Tommy's hand that was still resting on his pec. "Tommy, I--" He stopped, groaning softly. 'If I turn him down now, will this be my only chance? Will he think I'm not interested at all?' He groaned again, his fingers gently moving back and forth over his friend's hand.

The former White Ranger could tell that his good friend was getting a bit uncomfortable. The last thing he wanted to do was confuse him or cause him more stress. 'Besides, am I really interested in anything with him? I mean, he's really attractive and all, but...maybe it's just memories of college fantasies...either that or I've just been without for too long.'

With his free hand, he patted the fingers that were stroking his skin and smiled warmly. "Ready to return the favor? My back could use a good going over." He hoped that giving him something else to think about would keep him from getting uptight. 'Had he gone too far with Adam? Had he pushed the envelope?' He really hoped that his flirting didn't push the man away.

Adam sighed in relief internally. 'Maybe there's still a chance... just not today. If I'm even right about this.' He rolled his eyes. "I see how it is. Get me all relaxed and sleepy, then demand I work." Sitting up, he raised an eyebrow. "You didn't use all the oil did you?"

He smiled and handed him the oil. "No, it's not empty. And, uh, you don't seem too sleepy." He winked at Adam and then stretched out on the bed in the place where the other man had been laying.

Adam snorted. "Five more minutes and I would have been out for the count." He took the oil, then stood up and realized that there was no way he'd be able to reach all of Tommy's back from the side. "Tom, I'm gonna have to straddle your thighs man. Otherwise, it's not going to work."

Tommy didn't bother to look up. "And?...Why would that bother me?"

"Just telling you, bro. Wouldn't want you to try and get comfortable or anything and accidentally dump me while I'm trying to get settled." He climbed onto the bed and straddled the man's thighs, then poured some oil into his hands and warmed it a bit before leaning forward and putting his hands on Tommy's back. Starting low and working his way up, he applied a light coating of the oil before putting more in his hands. After it was warmed, he started work on the man's shoulders. "You're not as tight as you have been."

Tommy groaned with pleasure almost immediately. "Maybe not, but that sure does feel good. I could get used to this." He tried his best not to think about the thighs that were squeezing his own...it wasn't working. 'It's okay to fantasize...it has been a while, ya know,' he told himself.

Adam found a knot up towards the top of his friend's shoulders and slid up a bit, sitting almost on his buttocks to reach the area better. At the moment, he wasn't thinking about where he was, only trying to help the other man relax. "Let me know if it gets to be too much for you. And you know, anytime I'm around, I'm more than willing to help you out."

He giggled a bit. "Thanks man, I appreciate that." He laughed again.

"And just what's so funny?" Adam had to ask.

"Nothing...I just need to behave myself."

Adam cocked an eyebrow. 'Wonder if he's still ticklish?' He moved his fingers down to Tommy's sides and started tickling. "I'll give you something to laugh at mister."

"Ah! Hey! No fair!" Tom yelled and burst out into fits of laughter. "Get off my ass!"

He wasn't letting up and because of where he was positioned, Tommy couldn't really reach him. "Payback's a bitch, Froggy! Just remember that!" He was still laughing and trying to figure out how to get free. He finally decided to just dump the other man off into the floor if that's what it took. Lifting his hips just a bit, he suddenly flipped over, thinking that Adam would get thrown off of him--no such luck. The former black ranger must have seen it coming, because he lifted himself up just enough to avoid being flipped. The end result--Adam found himself in the mount position over a breathless Tommy.

Adam found his eyes drawn once again to Tommy's body as he leaned over the other man. He bit his lower lip to keep from leaning in and licking the dusky nipple that was just begging for attention. Slowly, his eyes traveled up to meet his friend's and found the chocolate eyes darker than normal. Groaning softly, his head dropped to Tom's chest, inadvertently brushing against the ranger commander's groin when the move caused him to shift position a bit. It would be impossible to ignore the hardened shaft he brushed and that had sent blood rushing to his own member.

Tommy gazed at the man who was straddling him and let out a quiet moan. Their playing around had caused an unexpected reaction in his anatomy, but it was too late now. He was sure that his friend was aware of it. 'If I thought he was ready, I'd give him some more encouragement, but...he's not and I know it. I can't do that.' He raised his arms in a gesture of surrender. "I give, I give...no more tickling." Tom paused. "Hand me my glass--I need a drink."

Adam sighed as he sat up before handing the legendary ranger his glass. He winced and moved his right leg. "All the muscle you have and you can't put any padding on your knees?" He raised an eyebrow at Tommy before reaching over for his own glass.

"Are you saying I have knobby knees? And don't tell me I just bruised you again."

"Not knobby, just a little bony." He took a drink. "And no, you didn't. I smacked my already-bruised thigh on your bony kneecap when you tried to dump me on the floor. Gotta admit, I was expecting it." He set the glass back down and grinned at his friend. "Just a lot sooner. Your thinking must be starting to slow down a bit there, T."

He sighed. "Yeah, I guess so. My reflexes are slowing down--I started noticing that after I got hurt. But...we are getting older, ya know. It was bound to happen sooner or later. I guess with me, it just got accelerated." He sighed and drained his glass before setting it on the nightstand.

Adam put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I promise you, there was nothing slow going on with your kicks yesterday." He drained his glass and nodded at him. "Lay back down on your stomach and I'll finish massaging your back."

"Thanks...I appreciate that." Giving his friend a half grin, he turned back over and tried to get comfortable. "I don't know if it's the wine or all that dinner, but I'm really getting sleepy. How 'bout you?"

"Getting there, but I think I can finish this before I fall into a totally boneless heap." He went back to work on Tom's shoulders, then moved down his back. "So um, think that recipe is really complicated? Not for the dessert thing, but that chicken was pretty good."

"I don't know. I can ask 'Mr. Betty Crocker' for ya if you want. Maybe he can teach me how to cook some of this stuff and I'll make something good for us the next time you come up. You said it'd be probably a month before you could get back up here, right? That should give me enough time to get some recipes out of him."

Adam chuckled softly. "Well, guess it's better 'Mr. Betty Crocker' than 'Swiss Miss' or 'Chef Boyardee'. Yeah, I'd like that. Stuff like that though, nothing fancy or I'll probably end up burning my apartment down."

"No problem." He stopped and yawned. After a couple of minutes of silence, he added, "Hey bro, why don't you stay in here again tonight? It was nice to have someone with me last night--I'd almost forgotten what that was like."

Adam was quiet for a few moments, then he finished Tommy's back and got up. Without saying anything, he went over to the door and made sure it was locked. He didn't want to wake up again feeling like he was being watched. Gently, he put a hand on the other man's shoulder. "Gotta scoot over, one side or the other."

A wide smile broke out across Tommy's face. "Okay," was all he said as he slid over to make room for his friend. As Adam crawled into the big bed, Tommy started thinking about how glad he was that they had reconnected over this weekend. "I'm so glad you got to come over for a couple of days. It's been a lot of fun."

"Thanks for inviting me." He grinned. "It's definitely been interesting. And here I thought once we got out of the ranger business our lives would get boring." He chuckled softly, thinking about Kyle's teasing of Tommy at the mall. "Somehow, I think you've still got some excitement in your days." He stretched out beside the other man. "I'm glad I came up here as well." He looked over at T. "And I'm really looking forward to the chance to come back."

"Excitement? Being a high school science teacher? I don't know if I'd call it 'excitement'." He laughed. "But I'm looking forward to you coming back too. It's good to have you around again, man." He yawned again.

"Okay, interesting then." Adam yawned as well, closing his eyes. "Good to be around, bro. It's good to be around." He started drifting off and mumbled sleepily, unaware he was speaking aloud, albeit softly. "It's good to feel needed... wanted.... hell, maybe even loved."

Tommy heard him perfectly well, but had no idea what to say to that. He slid over a little closer and draped his arm over the smaller man's waist. "You're all those things, bro. Every one of them."

Adam sighed softly and slid closer to Tommy, resting his head on the other man's shoulder. 'Needed to hear that.' He slid an arm over his friend's side and let himself fall off the edge into the depths of sleep.

_____________________

Adam frowned as he woke slowly. A glance to the side showed that it was still dark outside. The soft groan sounded again and he turned to the man that slept beside him. The look on Tommy's faced showed that the man was in pain. Now that Adam was awake, it was obvious that Tom was trying to get comfortable. He put a hand on Tommy's shoulder. "T, wake up, bro."

"Mmmm...wha--" he mumbled as he slowly became aware of someone touching him. He shifted in the bed and felt a pain shoot down his leg. He groaned. "Ah...damn."

"Easy, watch your eyes man, I'm going to turn on the lamp." Adam sat up and turned on the lamp on the nightstand, then looked over at his friend. There was a light sheen of sweat that was visible on the man and it worried him. "What's hurting you Tommy?"

"My back...and my right leg. The pain is shooting down my leg," he said in a low voice while grimacing. "It's a sharp pain."

"Tell me what you usually take when it gets like this and I'll go get it for you."

"One of my pain killers and a muscle relaxer. Get the Vicodin and the Soma," he instructed his friend. He put his arm across his eyes and tried to breathe deep. Another moan escaped.

Adam nodded. "All right. I'll be right back." He went to the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet. Looking the bottles over, he pulled down the Soma, Vicodin and grabbed the Naproxen as well. Pulling out the prescribed doses of each, he made a quick trip downstairs and grabbed a Gatorade out of the fridge. It was better than straight water with the drinking they had done. Adding a pack of crackers as well, he went back up the stairs. Going back into the master bedroom, he took a seat on the side of the bed. "Okay, I got you the ones you asked for, but I added a Naproxen as well. It'll help with the inflammation that's probably going on."

Tommy moved his arm up just a bit and looked at his friend. "Thanks," he said as he forced himself into a sitting position, his back against the headboard. Holding out his hand, he took the pills from him and tossed them back into his mouth. After swallowing them down with some of the sports drink, he tried to stretch a little to ease the tight muscles. "Sorry I woke you up, bro."

"Don't worry about it." He opened the pack of crackers and held them out to him. "Eat a few of them. You need it with the Vicodin. While you do that, I'm going to grab something from my bag that might help." Going to the guest room, he looked into his bag until he found the muscle rub. It was a formula a friend of Jason's had come up with and was all natural. It came in handy at the dojo, especially when they were setting things up. A quick stop in the linen closet had him finding a heating pad and towel, then he started back to the room.

"What's all that?" he asked when he noticed Adam walking back in with his hands full.

Adam grinned. "The towel is to wrap the heating pad in so it doesn't burn your back." He set those items aside and held up the jar. "This is a present I got from Jason the first weekend we started putting mats down at the dojo. Apparently a friend of his is allergic to some of the muscle rubs out there and decided to make his own. This is the result. All natural, smells good and works a lot better than some of the others that I've used. So, feel up to me trying to work on your back a bit?"

"Ummm....I think so. Not sure I can lay on my stomach, though. Might have to start out on my side," he said, stretching his legs a little. The sharp little pains kept shooting down his leg, causing him to shift from one position to another.

"Won't be the first time I've started with you on your side, Tommy. Just lay how its most comfortable for you and I'll work with it. As things ease up and the meds start kicking in, you should be able to lay on your stomach and I can finish up. Think you can sleep on your stomach when I get done?"

"I don't know. I don't usually sleep that way because I always wake up stiff all over. But with the muscle relaxer, maybe it won't happen tonight." With that, he turned sideways and slid down until his head was back on the pillow. His legs stayed drawn up; he couldn't relax them enough to straighten them out.

"Reason I ask is because I was going to put the heating pad on your lower back when I got done. Then when you first wake up in the morning, I'll massage it again to help it loosen up before you start moving around." He opened the jar and removed a bit of the rub, holding it in his hand until it had warmed a bit before he applied to his friend's back. "Let me know if it's too much for you." He started working the muscles loose once again.

As Adam worked, he began thinking about what all they had done earlier, trying to see if any of their actions might have led to Tommy being in pain now. That was when he recalled something that happened right before he drifted off to sleep. His friend had said that 'He was all those things'. Had he said that stuff about it feeling good to be wanted, needed and possibly loved aloud? 'I could have sworn I was just thinking that, but if I was, then how did he answer me?' Unknowingly, as his thoughts drifted to those final moments before sleep claimed him, the intensity with which he was massaging the other man had increased.

Tommy tried his best to relax and let Adam work his magic, but the pain was getting worse instead of better. He groaned again. "Take it easy, okay? It's getting worse." He knew that if he got uptight and upset over it, the pain would just increase. Trying to slow his breathing and calm his mind, the former White Ranger called upon his training to center himself.

"Sorry man. Let me change positions for a bit, work on your shoulders first." He stopped working on Tommy's lower back and grabbed some more of the rub, then moved up to his shoulders. "In.. out.. You know how to do this Tom. Relax." He lowered his voice so his friend would have to concentrate on it to hear him. "Picture walking in the surf... sun's overhead, but it's not too hot, just nice and warm... the water lapping at your feet cools the sand enough to make walking barefoot comfortable... the waves, breaking on the shore have an almost melodic quality to them."

The former ranger commander laid there with his eyes closed, picturing the scene. It was their favorite place at the Angel Grove beach--the place where they had all their picnics and volleyball games. As he concentrated further, he could feel the gentle breeze coming off the water, blowing through his hair. He took a deep breath, imagining the smell of the surf. It was working...well, something was. Maybe it was the visualization or maybe the drugs, but he could feel himself starting to loosen up.

"That's it. Let yourself drift, bro." Adam grabbed a bit more of the rub and started moving lower, using longer, gentler strokes to tease the muscles into relaxing instead of forcing them to.

Tommy moaned again, but this time it was more out of relief than pain. He rolled onto his stomach and laid his head on his arms, trying to let go of as much tension as he could.

Adam sighed in relief. Knowing that Tommy was starting to relax did a bit to ease his worry. 'Definitely got to talk to Jase about this shit. Then I'll kick his ass.' He started using a firmer touch, working deeper into the muscle. "Go to sleep if you want, Tom. When I'm done, I'll turn the heating pad on low and put it on your back, but please, wake me before you start moving around in the morning. Promise?"

"I promise," he replied sleepily, the meds kicking in full force by now. In no time at all, he was asleep again. This time, a little more comfortably.

Adam grinned when he heard his friend's breathing even out and deepen. He worked a few more minutes, then plugged the heating pad in, turned it on low, wrapped it in the towel and laid it over the small of Tom's back before pulling the blankets up over it. A trip to the bathroom to wash his hands and take care of business later, he crawled back into bed beside his friend. Turning off the light, he laid there for several minutes wondering if it was like this a lot for his friend. Sighing softly, he forced himself to close his eyes and drifted off to sleep again a few minutes later.

Several hours later, much later than was normal for the good doctor, Tommy awoke and started to turn over when he felt the heating pad on his back. "Oh yeah...I promised to wake up Adam before I moved around too much." Turning in the opposite direction, he looked over to see his good friend curled up on the bed, hugging a pillow. He hated to wake him, but he had given his word. "Adam...Adam...wake up, bro," Tommy said while gently shaking his friend.

Adam's hand snaked out, latching onto the hand that was shaking him. He almost pulled it until he remembered where he was and who it was that, more than likely, was shaking him. Turning his head, he looked at Tommy, then sighed softly. "Sorry about that."

Tom chuckled. "It's okay--I completely understand. At least you didn't throw an elbow at me like Jase sometimes does," he laughed. "Umm...you wanted me to wake you before I got up."

Adam snorted. "Rocky tries to hug you. Although, sometimes I think he does it just to be annoying." He sat up a bit. "How does your back feel? If it's stiff, I can work on it a bit before you start moving around, try to head it off at the pass."

"Actually, it feels pretty good. Let me try to get up and see how it is then. That's usually when I know if it's gonna be a bad day or not."

"Alright." He got up and went over to the other side of the bed and removed the heating pad, then unplugged it. "Need any help?"

"Don't think so," Tommy said as he pushed himself up to a sitting position and then tried to stand. After an initial wobble or two, he straightened up just fine and seemed pretty steady on his feet.

"Feeling okay?" He watched the former white ranger closely, looking for signs of pain or muscles tightening up.

"Ummm...yeah, pretty good," Tom said after taking stock rather quickly. "Not sure what caused that little flare-up last night, but it was nice to have you here to help." He smiled at his obviously worried friend. "It's okay Adam, these things happen. I can handle it. Now, let's get some breakfast."

Adam sighed, but nodded. "All right. I'll meet you downstairs. Need to take care of business first."

Tommy smiled. "Okay, you want eggs and bacon or oatmeal?"

"After yesterday? Please. Eggs and bacon."

"Okay, I'll go get it started." He started out the door. "Right after I beat you to the bathroom," he grinned and started moving quickly in that direction.

Adam rolled his eyes. "That's cool. I'll just use the one downstairs." He went down the stairs, chuckling softly at his friend's antics. Starting a pot of coffee first, he finally headed to the bathroom.

After washing up and getting into the kitchen, Tom pulled out the necessary stuff for making breakfast. Adam came in shortly afterward and helped to set the table. "Hope I wasn't too much trouble last night. I didn't mean to wake you up," Tommy said.

"It wasn't any trouble, bro. I would have felt a lot worse if I had learned you were hurting, but not known about it."

"Still...I'm glad you were here. Usually I just have to take something and wait. Sometimes I get back to sleep and sometimes I don't."

"Have you tried taking half a muscle relaxer and a Naproxen before you go to bed each night? Even if you don't you need it."

Tommy turned to Adam. "Ya know, my doctor has suggested that a couple of times, but I really don't want to get dependent on medicine. You know me."

"Yeah, but think about it Tom. You didn't need it before you went to sleep last night, but about three hours later not only did you need that, but you needed a painkiller as well and you took a whole muscle relaxer. Maybe the key is to prevent it from happening at all. If the half-dose of the muscle relaxer plus the anti-inflammatory is enough to do that and help you sleep, isn't it worth it?"

Sighing heavily because he knew Adam was right and because he knew that his condition had deteriorated to the point of needing to do something like that, he looked into his friend's eyes. "You're right, I need to do more to keep things from getting bad instead of just trying to combat it when it does," he said in a low, defeated-sounding voice.

"Tommy, it's not a sign of weakness. Do you think it's weak of Kyle that he has to take meds daily like he does?"

"No, I suppose not. He's just a victim of circumstances."

"Exactly. The circumstances might be different, but it's for the same reason. He's trying to keep himself healthy. You'd be doing the same thing. By taking those meds, you'd be allowing yourself the sleep you need. More sleep means you're better rested. If you're sleeping and resting better, your muscles can relax more. Maybe that'll help ease up on the spasms."

"When did you get so smart?" Tommy asked with a small grin as he sat a steaming cup of coffee down in front of his friend. "I expect this stuff from Jase, but from Frog boy...not so much."

He blushed a bit and shrugged. "My mom's taught me a lot besides massage techniques." Adam took a drink of the hot brew. "I have got to take some of that back with me." He looked at him again. "And I took a few human anatomy courses and some kinesiology classes at school. Business courses were okay, but they left me bored at times. Needed something to keep me focused."

"You'd make a good therapist. Maybe you should look into joining your mom's business. I could use a free massage every once in a while--too bad you don't live closer," Tommy stated. He was quiet for a moment. "How long can you stay today?"

"I've thought about it, but it'd be something that I added on to the school. The reason I took the kinesiology classes was because it helps me teach katas more effectively if I can understand why some people are having trouble with certain movements." He took another drink. "Should probably get on the road by noon. Lets me get some stuff done before I have to open for the evening classes."

"Hey, I have an idea. Once your business gets established, you could open a school up here and maybe I could help out some--time and physical condition permitting, of course. Like I told you, we need a good school up here." He turned and brought a plate of food to his friend and then grabbed his and sat down at the table. "I'm not looking forward to this afternoon--gonna have to have a serious talk with Mr. Kyle."

"I've actually been thinking about that, but I'd want to be up here the first few months at least to make sure things were running properly. That means I need a good staff in Angel Grove. Right now, I've got Rocky and Jason that I can really rely on, but I'd definitely let you help out where you could." He ate quietly for a few minutes. "You know he was just trying to help, T."

The science teacher sighed and played with his food a bit. "I know...but he's trying to do too much. Now I find out that he's also working at Hayley's place? I appreciate his help, don't get me wrong, but he and I had a deal and he's not keeping up his end of the bargain." He took a few more bites of his breakfast. "I won't have him endangering his health--not over trying to help me out."

"Just try to keep that temper of yours in check a bit, Tommy. Kid acts all tough and brave, but I think he's hiding a lot behind the attitude and comments."

A quirky grin suddenly appeared on Tom's face. "The crazy boy's growin' on ya, isn't he?" He laughed and took a long drink of coffee. "I'll be good, I promise. I know his type--bark's much worse than his bite. But if he gives me too much of that attitude, I'm gonna adjust it for him."

Adam finished eating and took a drink of his coffee. "Don't know what it is about that kid, but yeah, he's growing on me. I just don't think he's going to give you a lot of attitude. When I caught him yesterday morning, he seemed to know that he was in trouble for something with you. I'm guessing him taking those papers was it."

"I don't know about that--kid's got attitude to spare. I'll try to go easy on him, though. So, whatcha wanna do until you have to leave?"

Adam snorted. "I'd say surprise me, but that gives you way too much leeway. How about nothing too physical? I've got two classes tonight and I'm going to need my energy."

"Honestly, I need to conserve my energy too. Why don't we just hang out here and watch a movie or some TV until you have to go? And maybe I can drill you a little more about the mission with Hartford's rangers," he replied with a mischievous grin.

"Hartford? He was all right. Kind of weird that someone was in charge of the rangers that had never been one, but just hanging here sounds good. So, TV or a movie?"

"Doesn't matter--whichever you want," Tommy said as they walked back into the living room after pouring themselves more 'Kyle Surprise'.

A couple of hours and a lot of laughing and talking later, Adam was taking his things out to his truck. "You didn't forget anything, did you?" Tom asked, standing by the door.

Adam put his bag on the seat, raising an eyebrow at the package he found there. "No, didn't forget anything." He held the bag of coffee up. "Gained something though."

"Yep. Your very own supply of 'Kyle Surprise'. I gotta get them to change that name. I'll bring you some more when I come down to see your school. Stuff's kind of addictive."

"Kind of? That's like saying chocolate is 'kind of' good." He tossed the bag back on his seat and shut the door, then walked over to his friend. "I'm glad I came up this weekend."

Tommy looked down into the warm, slightly slanted eyes of his old friend. "I am too. I hadn't realized how much I missed you until now." He smiled warmly. "Remember, any time you wanna hang out or go for a soak in the hot tub..."

Adam chuckled softly. "I'll remember that." He closed the distance between the two of them and hugged his friend. "Promise me you'll take care of yourself?"

Putting his arms around Adam's shoulders and drawing him in closer, Tommy just stood there for a moment. "Yeah, I promise...if you'll promise me the same thing."

"I promise." He sighed softly. "Remember you're coming down to see the school soon."

"I remember. I can't wait to see it. Been a while since I've been down there anyway." Tom couldn't help but notice that this hug was distinctly different from the reluctant one he'd received from Adam on Friday evening.

Adam patted his back. "Don't make it too long. I'm sure the others would be glad to see you as well. Just bring plenty of coffee with you."

He chuckled. "Okay, I'll bring the beans." His tone changed a bit after that, though. "Adam, if you want or need to talk...about anything...you know where I am, right?" he said in a low, serious voice, still embracing his friend.

Swallowing hard, Adam nodded. "I know." He sighed. "Hell, T, I've told you more about what went on with Brooke and I this weekend than I have Rocky. Trust me, I know where you are. Long as you realize that the same is true for you. If you need to talk, or even just want some company for the weekend, call me."

"I'll do that. It does get lonely out here sometimes." Tommy thought that maybe this long embrace was a sign. He took it as encouraging and decided to test the waters a bit. Slowly and gently, he touched his moistened lips to Adam's cheek and then pressed his cheek against his friend's. "Have a safe trip home."

"Thanks. I'll call you when I get in." He squeezed Tom a bit after the kiss, then stepped back. "Talk to you later." Reluctantly, he let go of his friend and got in his truck. With a last grin, he started it up and backed out of the drive.

Tommy went up on the porch and watched his friend leave, giving him one last wave as he pulled away. Sighing, he turned and went into the house, beginning to mentally prepare himself for his meeting with Kyle.

Adam sighed as he started the drive back to Angel Grove. The weekend had given him a lot to think about and the drive back gave him too much time to do just that.

Back inside the house, Tommy checked the time and went to get dressed. He was meeting Kyle at Hayley's in less than an hour and he had to figure out how to approach this. 'He did put a lot of work into that breakfast and dinner that he cooked for me and Adam...and I know he's just trying to help, but I can't let him get away with pulling a stunt like that. And why do I have the feeling that he's avoiding telling me what his doctor had to say?'

Kyle finished filling the sales bags with the blend he made for Hayley and then stacked them in a couple of boxes. He was always surprised at how few bags were left at the end of the week. They had regular customers that bought the stuff. The holidays had been brutal with demands for it as gifts. Taking a seat, he grabbed the juice he'd brought back with him and took a long drink. 'Wonder how bad Dr. O's gonna rip my ass?'

On the way to the Cyberspace, Tommy had time to think about other things. 'I hope I didn't go too far by kissing Adam. He didn't seem freaked out...and I kinda got the idea that he might be interested...he was certainly giving me some looks...I don't know.' Trying again to focus on the issue at hand, he tried to remember his promise to Adam--to not lose his temper and chew the kid's face off. 'Kyle, Kyle, Kyle...what am I gonna do with you?'

Getting back up, Kyle took the pre-filled filters he'd made out to the front and put them in the stack for Hayley to use. When he was done he looked at the redhead. "Bags are made and in the boxes. Filters are made up for the rest of today and tomorrow for you. Anything else?"

"Aren't you meeting Tommy here in a little while?" Hayley asked.

He looked at his watch. "Yeah, in a few minutes actually, but if you need me to do something until he gets here, that's fine."

She gave him a knowing smile. "No, I think you need to sit down and get yourself together before he gets here. If he finds you working your butt off, it's just gonna make it worse, you know that." She reached over and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry too much, okay? He's just concerned about you."

"Yeah, easy for you to say. You're not the one that snuck half the research papers out of his house yesterday and started working on them last night." He was quiet for a moment. "I'm going to the bathroom real quick. Think I can con you into one of your chocolate shakes with a scoop of that protein powder?"

"He's not gonna like that, Kyle. But yeah, I'll make you a shake. If he comes in while you're in the bathroom, I'll try to gauge what kind of mood he's in and give you the heads up."

"I know he's not, but I figured I'd get done what I could before he benches me for the next couple of weeks." He threw his apron behind the counter. "Thanks Hayley." He went to the bathroom to clean up a little before Dr. O got there.

Tommy pulled up and parked outside the cafe, taking a deep breath in order to center himself. 'Okay, try to take it easy on the boy. Don't cause a scene.' He pulled himself from his jeep with only a little trouble and went inside to find his wayward assistant.

Kyle came out of the bathroom and sighed. All he wanted to do was go home and sleep, but he still had another dose of the stuff Chris had given him to take, which meant he had to be sitting down for 3 hours afterwards. He rolled his head a few times, trying to get his neck to loosen up as he walked back into the main area. He knew he looked like crap at the moment, but there was nothing he could really do about it.

As soon as Tom spotted Kyle, all resolve went out the window. He could tell by the way the kid walked that he was worn down--he didn't have to see his face. After crossing over to him, a look at the boy's face confirmed the teacher's suspicions. "Kyle," Tommy said in his strong, teacher voice. "We need to talk." He purposely gave him a bit of a glare.

He sighed, then nodded. "Um, can we go to the back? Would like to sit down for this." He started for the back, taking the shake from Hayley as he passed. "Thanks Hayley."

Hayley touched Tom on the shoulder as he walked by. She tilted her head and gave him one of those 'Come on now, chill out' looks. Tommy wasn't having any of it. He turned away from her without saying anything and continued into the back behind Kyle. Once they found a place to talk, Tommy stood and just looked at the kid for a minute. "Ya know, you really are the limit sometimes."

Kyle took a seat and looked at his mentor. "I was just trying to help. Figured if I could get the bibliography, format and some of the grammar stuff done, it'd be less you had to do later."

"And you know, I appreciate it, I really do. Never think that I'm not appreciative, but Kyle...look at you. You're trying to do too much. You can't keep this up. Now...tell me what the doctor said." He trained his large brown eyes on the boy and held him in his gaze.

Kyle groaned. This was the part that he'd been dreading since Friday. Chris hadn't liked the blood work he'd done the previous week, in an appointment that Dr. O hadn't known about. "Friday's appointment wasn't the only one that I've had this month. I had one the week before that as well. Chris didn't like the way my counts looked and I went in Friday for him to get a sample of my bone marrow. He also gave me four doses of a different protein builder."

Tommy stood there with his arms folded across his chest, nodding. "Go on."

Kyle took a long drink of the shake before speaking again. "I have to take the last one today. Means I can't lay down or get up and move around for 3 hours. That's why I told you we had to meet around one or after five." He dropped his head, unable to continue meeting his mentor's eyes. "I've also lost about five pounds. Means he's restricting my working out until I re-gain them and is going to be checking my food logs to make sure I'm getting the 2000 calories a day I'm supposed to be."

"And I'm assuming he told you to make sure you get enough rest and not to overdo it, right?" Tom was still not softening his tone. He knew the kid had been keeping something from him and now he knew what.

"Yeah, he doesn't know that I've been helping out here at Hayley's." He frowned a bit and looked back up at the older man. "Well, he didn't until Friday. He wants me to cut back to just helping you again."

"And helping me does not include taking papers to grade out of my study without asking me first, does it? And as much as Adam and I truly enjoyed the breakfast and the dinner, you shouldn't have gone to so much trouble." Thinking about the nice surprises that his assistant had arranged for him and his friend made the former ranger relax a little more.

Kyle blushed a bit. "The breakfast was because I wanted to apologize for the mall Saturday. Shouldn't have said that stuff in front of your friend considering I don't really know him. Figured I might have embarrassed you."

Tommy shook his head, remembering the exchange they had had at the men's store. "Well...maybe just a little, but he could tell you stuff that'd be much worse!" He smiled a little for the first time since he'd come in the building. Somehow, thinking about Adam had soothed his bad mood a little.

"Yeah, he kinda hinted at that when he caught me leaving the house." He absently rubbed his shoulder. There were a few small bruises there, but nothing major. "Still, I felt bad about it. As for the rest of the stuff, Trent did the yard. He kinda glared at me when I offered to help."

"Glad to know that Trent's looking out for you, even if you're not." Tommy had noticed Kyle rubbing his shoulder and also remembered Adam saying that he didn't think he'd hurt him but he wasn't entirely sure. "Kyle, did Adam hurt your shoulder when he grabbed you? Tell me the truth."

"I was already sore from Friday's workout and then Chris took the sample from my sternum. All he did was bruise it, but if I brushed too hard against something right now that might do it, too."

His mentor considered this for a minute. "Well okay, but let me give you a piece of advice. Don't startle or surprise my friends, okay? They're all highly trained in various martial arts and they might inadvertently lash out or hurt you. Just not a good idea--especially with Jase."

He blushed harder. "Adam kind of told me the same thing." He rolled his neck again, then rubbed his eyes. "So, um, how long are you going to keep me from doing anything extra?"

"I think that you should take it easy until your doctor is satisfied--like after you regain the weight and stop looking like death warmed over. At least a couple of weeks."

His head snapped up. "Two weeks? Oh, come on. I'll go stir crazy with Chris not letting me workout, Hayley's not letting me back in here except on Sunday to make coffee and nothing else to do for you."

"Good. You can use the extra time to make sure you're eating enough and getting at least eight hours of sleep a night. You've gotta take better care of yourself, man. You can't keep running yourself ragged."

Kyle snorted. "Do you know how hard it is for me to eat like I'm supposed to? People hear 2000 calories and they think that's nothing, but I have certain stuff that I have to eat." He got up and started pacing around, his arms crossed over his chest, hugging himself. "When I was working out, I'd grab something before I left the house and then eat something again at school, but it's hard. I have to eat almost every three hours."

Tommy made some quick calculations in his head. "Tell you what, since you'll be with me at school for several hours a day, I can help you stick to your schedule. You just have to promise me that you'll eat breakfast before school and dinner after. And no working out until Chris says so, okay?"

Kyle sighed and sat back down. He took another long drink of the shake, thinking about what Dr. O had said. 'Well, he didn't make me promise about not working out, just eating. If I get too bored, a little swim wouldn't hurt.' Setting the shake back down, he nodded. "All right. Guess I don't really have much choice, do I?"

"No, ya don't," Tom smiled. "And Kyle, please don't take this the wrong way, but...well...I know that healthy food, protein supplements, and all those meds have to be expensive. Would you let me help you out? Just between friends, huh?"

Kyle blushed and dropped his head a bit. The money had been getting tight recently. The scholarship covered all of his books, fees and tuition. As for the house, it was paid for and his mother's insurance money took care of most of the bills each month, but with all the hours required by the school, he wasn't able to take a second job like he had when he was just going to class. The money he'd saved up was running low and until he turned 21, he wouldn't get any money from the trust his mother had left him. That was still a few months away. He swallowed hard. "How... how did you know?"

The good doctor walked over and put a strong arm around his shoulders. "Kyle, I know you think I'm old, but I remember quite clearly what it was like to be a broke college student. And being that I have to keep to a healthy diet and buy supplements and medicines just like you do, I know how much all that can cost. Do you have all the medicines that you're supposed to be taking?"

"Chris gives me samples when I'm short on cash or the insurance won't cover one. I have to find a new iron supplement though. The one I've been taking is upsetting my stomach." He was quiet for a moment. "There's one that Chris can't get anymore samples for and I've got about a week left. The only problem is that for a month's worth it's almost $300."

"I'll make a deal with you--I'll help you get at least a month's worth, and I'll talk to Jase and see if he has any connections that can help out. Now, what about food? You been to the grocery store recently?" He paused and then added. "To get stuff that you're actually supposed to be eating, that is."

"Not this week. Having to do this med has kinda thrown me off track. Leaves me tired a bit more than usual. Today's the last dose though."

"Do you have time to go with me now? I have to go anyway, so we may as well do it together. That way, I can make sure you're getting what you're supposed to have."

Kyle looked at his watch. He had a half hour window with the medicine. Figuring out the latest he could take it, he looked up at Tommy and nodded. "Yeah, I've got about forty-five minutes before I have to take it. Then I get to sit up for three hours."

"Fine, that's plenty of time. Let's go." He started toward the door that led back out into the cafe, motioning for his assistant to follow him.

Kyle got up and followed him, grabbing his shake as he left. "What am I going to do about my truck?"

"I'll bring you back here to get it after we get the groceries. There's a good market not far from here."

"All right." He got into the jeep with his mentor and buckled his seat belt. "Why are you doing all of this for me?"

Turning in his seat, Tommy gave Kyle a quizzical look and a chuckle. "I would think that would be obvious by now. You're my friend and you need a little help right now. I'm able to help you out, so that's what I'm doing."

Kyle frowned at him. "But I thought you were mad at me for what I did with the papers? I broke our agreement. I thought you were going to rip me a new one and you're helping me instead."

Tom sighed. "Look, I'm still not happy with you for snatching those papers out of my house and it bothers me that you've been keeping things from me that concern your health, but...the best way I know of to fix those things is to keep a closer eye on you and make sure that you're doing what your doctor told you. Now, if I catch you not eating or not taking your medicine or working out before Chris says it's okay, then I'll be mad."

He nodded. "All right. So, I guess now would be a good time to tell you that I have another appointment with him tomorrow after school?"

"What's this one for?"

"It's just a follow up. He's going to re-draw my blood and then again in two weeks. Make sure this works." He let his head fall back against the headrest.

His mentor looked over at him and shook his head slightly. 'Poor kid's been through way too much in his young life. I wish there was something more the doctors could do.' "Well, that shouldn't be too bad. Why don't you come over for dinner after you get done with Chris?"

"Honestly? It'll depend on how tired I am. I was up until about eleven last night working on the papers. Then showed up at Hayley's around nine this morning. Didn't workout or anything today, but I feel like I did. Part of the reason I don't sit still a lot lately is because I'd probably fall asleep if I did."

"Alright well, we'll talk about it again tomorrow at school. Right now, let's get in here and get some groceries," he said as he parked his jeep.

But just as they were about to get out, his cell phone rang. "Adam? You home already?" He checked his watch. "Yeah, I guess so. I've been talking to Kyle and lost track of time--No, I didn't lose my temper. How was the drive?--Good.--I will, I promise. I'm just about to go into the market now.--Yeah, call me tomorrow.--Alright, bye." He hung up with a warm smile on his face. "Sorry. I asked Adam to call me when he got home."

"That's okay. I'm glad to hear that he made it back okay." He got out, taking the empty shake cup and throwing it away. "So I'm supposed to be eating a lot of high iron foods and proteins. At school, I mainly eat sandwiches for lunch. Dinner, most of the time, is either another sandwich or can of soup unless I actually have the stuff to make something--or someone's brought me over something."

"You're gonna have to do better than that for dinner. Let's see if we can't figure something out." As they headed into the store, Tommy could feel Kyle watching him. "What?"

Kyle shook his head. "You know, I thought only girls and women got that look from phone calls." He walked over and grabbed a cart.

The older man felt a blush starting. "What look? What do you mean?"

"Oh come on, Dr. O. You can't tell me that you've never noticed how some women get this look on their face when someone they like but they haven't told calls them."

"He's my friend, Kyle. I've known him forever, it seems. I think you're reading too much into things." 'Did I really look like that?'

Kyle raised an eyebrow at him, then pulled his phone out. He thumbed through it for a second, then turned it to show Tommy. "That looks like something more than a friend to me. It looks like something special."

Tommy took the phone from him and looked at the picture for a second. Then his eyes opened wide and he turned his gaze on his protege. "Oh my god...Kyle!" he said while his face was steadily turning red.

"How do you think I got caught yesterday morning? I was looking for Adam to wake him up so he could wake you up." He shrugged and nodded towards the phone. "Only, I found you like that and couldn't help taking the picture. You look good together... comfortable with each other. If he's interested, I'd say go for it. I was leaving to go down and ring the doorbell when I sneezed. Guess it woke Adam. That's when I took off."

Because they had gotten into that position after falling asleep and Adam had gotten up before him, Tommy hadn't really realized that the two of them had been curled up together like that. And it would have to be Kyle that saw it. How could he downplay this? "We were just sleeping, Kyle, that's all. Anyway, my love life or lack thereof is none of your business, boy. Let's get the groceries, alright?" he said with a guilty smile and turned back to the cart.

Kyle put his phone up and took up step with him. "You know, if he wasn't comfortable around you or somewhat interested, just sleeping or not, he would have been on the other side of the bed." He held up his hands. "Just saying..."

Tommy just shook his head and kept walking.