I'm sure that if you had the chance to ask him, Tommy would have told you that there was only one time when he was absolutely sure of something; and that was when he gave up living, knowing that Kimberly waited for him on the other side.

When he first stepped off the path, through the mist, much less fearful than his female counter part had been, he took a breath of relief. He knew he'd arrived in heaven; not because he now appeared no older than seventeen, or because of the sheer beauty of the landscape but because of the figure standing directly in front of him, smiling, and wearing a short sundress that blew in the nearly non-existent wind.

He knew he should yell at her. He knew he should be angry with her for everything she'd done to him in the past; but all his anger had faded when he saw her smiling at him. Waiting for him. He didn't hesitate, but grabbed her immediately, his hands groping places he had never had the guts to touch when they really were teenagers. Neither cared. They were alone, and even if they weren't, they'd wasted too much time; now they had eternity.

"I missed you," he said between ravenous kisses. Kimberly only moaned in pleasure in response. The past ten years had been a lonely time, but heaven had just become more pleasurable.

The reunited couple spent hours lost in the throws of passion before either even thought to break apart. Kimberly finally pushed his now naked body off of her own, and lay panting, her skin glowing, and her breathing short and steady. Their clothing lay scattered over the perfectly manicured lawn.

"This must have been what Adam and Eve felt like," she giggled. Tommy gave a small bit of laughter in response before rolling back on top of her.

"I like our version better," he said, kissing her forehead and letting his kisses trail down her body.

"Stop," she panted. "I need a break," she laughed, once again pushing his muscular body off her own. "Besides, I need to show you something."

"You've shown me plenty already. You've shown me your kisses, your warmth, your passion, your breasts, oh and your…"

"Alright, already," she laughed. "I'm serious. You need to see this," she finally pulled herself to her feet and gathered her clothing. Pouting, Tommy followed suit.

Alone for a moment, he finally allowed himself to think. He wasn't just with Kimberly; he was dead, unable to ever leave and be with his friends again. The small piece of sadness that had been former in his heart suddenly got a whole lot larger as a lump formed in his throat.

"Tommy?"

"Kim… I'm dead," he told her, swirling around, pants on, shirt clutched in his hand, tears in his eyes.

"I know handsome," Kimberly answered solemnly, buttoning her dress.

"But I'm really dead. I left them Kim; and I yelled…" he started crying, remembering his last words to his friends.

"Shh… baby, its alright," Kimberly told him, wrapping her arms around him.

"No, its not. I – never – no warning," he managed to choke out. Kim kissed him lightly on the forehead.

"Its not all fun and game's here," she whispered, pulling him to his feet. "Come," she added, leading him to the lake.

"Our first kiss," Tommy mumbled, whipping his eyes on his arm. She nodded.

"It's a special place," she agreed, sitting down in a very worn patch of grass, and patting the seat beside her. Tommy sat down. "Who are you thinking about?" she asked him.

"Jason and Trini and…" he started.

She took his hand and plunged his hand into the water. Tommy looked at her, confused. She told him to look and he did as she commanded; she'd been there longer.

Tommy took a sharp breath when he looked into the water. Gone was the reflection of the young teenager with long hair seated by his teenager girlfriend. In its place was a dark living room, nearly silent save the occasional quiet hiccup that followed prolonged sobbing. Kimberly placed her hand on his shoulder for comfort and watched with him.

Jason paced back and forth in the room, Trini sat in the chair in the corner. "You should sit," she told him, her voice wavering as if she would cry again.

"I can't. This is my fault. If I hadn't pushed so hard," he responded, anger in his voice.

"Jason, it wasn't your fault. I wasn't anyones."

"Damn it, Trini! Why didn't he watch where he was going? He's always been more careful."

"I'm not sure, but I have an idea," his wife responded. Candace was curled up asleep in her mother's arms; she was the source of the hiccups. Jason looked at Trini. "He'd given up. He didn't have to be careful because he didn't have anything to be careful for."

"Kim?" Jason asked. Trini nodded. "I hoped he could move on; find peace, be here with us," he told her.

Tommy felt his heart break. He'd caused this discussion. "Jase, it's not your fault," he started, but Kim shook her head, pulling his arm from the water.

"He can't hear you," she told him. "He'll be able to feel your presence, though, the longer you stay here." She placed her own hand in and touched Jason's shoulder, trying to reassure him.

"But I heard you? Or I thought I did? At the wake, I felt the crane."

"Its takes the strongest emotion to reach across, and it has to be pure; it has to be pure love," she replied. "No sadness, no anger, no guilt."

"Could we?" he asked, searching her eyes for answers.

"Maybe one day," she spoke, kissing him lightly. "For now, there's someone else here who probably wants to see you," she told him, touching his wrist. Tommy looked down at the communicator materializing on his wrist.

"How?"

"Everything you've seen and you question that?" You may be my handsome, but you're hopeless," she laughed, kissing him again as they both teleported.

Over the course of the next few days, Tommy learned more about his new plain of existence than he wanted to. He also learned the boredom that came with it. There was always time to think, which in his case, wasn't a good thing. He missed his friends, his family. Yeah, he had Kim at his side, but other than her, he was alone.

Occasionally he'd leave her side to go off on his own and mourn his own loss. It was during the course of one of those times when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Instinct told him to attack first, ask questions later, and he immediately swung his body in a circle, his fist landing right in the stomach of his attacker who gasped and doubled over.

"Oh my god," he freaked out. "Kim, I'm so sorry."

Kimberly just stared at him, trying to catch her breath. She'd felt the air get pushed out of her lungs. She paused for a moment before standing up as if nothing had happened. Tommy stared at her, horrified and confused.

"No pain here," she told him. "You just surprised me."

Tommy's faced changed to anger. "No pain? What next? First I'm never tired, I'm never hungry. I feel nothing but a storm of psychotic emotions. That God damned lake shows me everything, but gives me nothing! Kim, how could you stand it? How could you just watch and deal with the agony of not being able to do anything," Tommy yelled, crying by the time he'd finished. Kimberly went to him and wrapped her arms around him gently. He pushed her away, angrily. He blamed her. He'd trusted her. She said everything would be ok, when it wasn't. Kim looked away, hurt, but respected his wishes.

"I learned to deal when I learned I could influence little things. I could make their lives better," she told him. "Like Aisha catching the bouquet at Trini and Jason's wedding."

"But you never made my life any better," Tommy threw at her.

"I tried! But you closed your heart to me. How do you think Stacey kept ending up in the same place as you? Coincidence?"

"That was you?" Tommy said, finally turning to look at her.

"Of course, it was. I never wanted you to be so alone. It broke my heart to watch you. I just wanted to see you smile again," she answered, coming closer to him.

"I smiled," he retorted.

"Not like you did on the porch. That smile is engraved in my heart, and I saw it again the day you died when you took my hand. I know now, only I could make you smile like that," she told him. "I'm sorry I caused you so much pain."

"Don't be," he told her. I wanted to die that day. Subconsciously. Jason and Trini were right. I wanted to be with you."

"You are now," she answered, touching his shoulder. He didn't pull away, but he turned his head. "Look at me?" He did.

"But is this real?" Is any of it?" he asked her.

"You tell me," she answered, kissing him lightly, then crying with him. "I miss them too, but just like you said: One day, we'll all be together again."

Over the years Tommy and Kim's relationship changed. They learned more about each other than they ever had before, and they became guardian angels for the rest of their family who remained alive. Tommy had even arranged so that when earth next needed a team of Power Rangers, his nieces and nephews would be there to take the power. And he and Kimberly gave their blessing, dipping their hands into the lake every so often to check up on things; even happily attending the teams final victory party when earth was again saved from Alien attack.

One day, about thirteen years after he'd come to join Kimberly, Tommy sat against a tree trunk tickling the back of her neck with a blade of grass while she napped. Her eyes snapped open when a light raindrop hit her hand.

"No! No! Not now," she cried sitting up.

"What is it?" he asked her.

"It's starting to rain!" He just looked at her as if she was nuts. "Tommy, has it ever rained in the thirteen years you've been here?"

"Um… no."

"It's only rained here one other time. The day you died," Kimberly told him.

"Which means, one of our friends is going to die?" Tommy finished, realization dawning on his face as he scrambled to his feet. They had to get to the lake. "Can we stop it?"

"No. We can't interfere. Just be there to ease the transition," Kimberly stated, falling to her knees at the lake's edge and plunging her hand in as the rain began to fall in sheets, soaking everything and the two of them. Tommy felt a tear drop as he knelt beside, cautiously placing his hand into the rippling lake.

"Mom! Josh won't quit bugging me," a young girl, about thirteen years old came into the kitchen of a small suburban home where a woman was busy making a school lunch. Her husband sat at the table by the window sipping a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper.

"Josh, quit annoying your sister," the woman called as a fairly medium skinned teenage boy came into the kitchen, his black curry hair falling into his deep brown eyes. He hopped onto a bar stool and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter. "And get a haircut," the woman pleaded with him. The seventeen year old, high school senior smiled back.

"But I like it this way," he argued.

"Listen to your mother. You look like a shaggy dog," the man at the table said.

"Yeah," the teenage girl through in, sticking her tongue out at her brother, who rolled his eyes in response.

"Lily, be nice or you'll be walking to school," her father warned her. She just nodded and began to tie her shoes.

"But really mom, Jess likes it this way," the older child argued back.

"Oh does she?" his mother laughed, seeing the blush on her son's face. "At least get it trimmed after school?"

"Alright mom," he promised, tossing the core of his apple in the trash can and kissing her cheek. "Bye mom; love you. Come on squirt, I'll give you a ride. Love ya, dad," he added with a wave. His parents responded and waved back.

"Coming," Lily called after her older brother as her mom handed her a the bagged lunch. "Bye mom, bye daddy; Love you both," she said giving each a kiss and dashing out the door where Josh was already starting his car. "Joshua! Get back here!"

"I swear, they're not mine," the man said shaking his head as his wife sat down beside him.

"I already told you about the mail man, Adam," she replied as usual, kissing his cheek. "I've got some errands to run after work today. Need anything?"

"Nope. I'm not needed at the fire house tonight, so I'll make dinner," he suggested. She nodded and grabbed her purse and car keys.

"Bye Adam, I love you," she said. It was custom in their home to say I love you every time someone left, but only the parents knew the reason why.

"Love you too," he replied.

"But I love you more," she laughed, going out the door.

"Tanya!" Adam called. She turned around to look at him. "I love you most. Have a good day." She smiled, blew him a kiss and left, leaving Adam to figure out what to make for dinner that night.

Tanya's day went quickly. Work at the recording studio was unusually light, and her boss let everyone go early. She had ran most of her errands by about one o'clock, and only had the bank left. She figured she make the stop at the bank, then surprise Lily and her best friend Tabby by picking them up from school instead of making them walk.

She pulled the car into the parking lot, singing along with the radio, and pulled the keys from the ignition. Double checking that she had everything, she walked into the bank and got in line behind a young mother and her four year old son.

"Lovely day, isn't it?" she asked, making casual small talk with the woman. The younger mother just smiled in response and held her son's hand tighter until she reached the teller. Tanya shook her head. Things were so much different in Angel Grove than when she was fighting monsters there. The woman finally reached the teller and began depositing sever checks – birthday money, she explained, into an account for the little boy who stood, clutching her leg, staring at Tanya. Tanya smiled and waved to him, causing the child to smile back and hide his face, playing shy.

Suddenly the bank doors burst open and a wild looking man entered. His eyes searched the bank until they fell on the young mother and her toddler son.

"Bitch! You think you can keep him from me? Well if I can't have him, nobody can," he shouted, and fired two shots from the gun he had concealed in his jacket. Long dormant reflexes and instincts caused Tanya to act faster than she thought, as she dived in front of the child and the security guards grabbed the shooter. One bullet hit the side of the counter and ricocheted off. The second pierced straight through Tanya's chest and she dropped to her knees, experiencing the worst pain of her life. Her eyes, full of tears, landed on the boy and his mother who were crying and screaming, respectively. As she slipped into unconsciousness amid the screams and wails filling the bank, one word slipped gently from her lips. "Adam."

"Tanya," a soft voice rang slowly in her ears and she struggled to open her eyes. "Tanya, it's time," the voice repeated as the black she saw slowly turned whit and a teenager became focused. At first she thought it was Joshua, but she noticed his long hair. He was crying, and holding his hand out to her, talking slowly.

"Am I dreaming?" she asked him.

"I'm afraid not; Take my hand; it'll be easier that way," he told her.

"Tommy, I'm scared. I can't leave Adam."

"You never will," Tommy assured her, as she took his hand and he guided her safely out of her body.

Adam's desk phone rang several times as he worked on a presentation due the next week. Frustrated, he picked up the phone.

"A and D publishing. This is Adam Park," he said into the speaker.

"Mr. Park; this is Dr. Crammer at Angel Grove Hospital," a man's voice spoke to him. Adam immediately felt panic rise up in him, the felt a warm presence calm him, as if a hand had been placed on his shoulder. Mentally, he thanked Kimberly for being there as he listened to the doctor, knowing the news wouldn't be good. "Mr. Park, your wife dove in front of a bullet today to save a little boy," the doctor continued as the first tear fell from Adam's eyes. "The bullet pierced her heart. She died in route to the hospital," the doctor said as calmly as possible, as he listened to Adam's sobs which filled the phone and the office. He felt Kim wrap her arms around him, and he shakenly mustered the strength to tell the doctor he'd be there as soon as he could. He wrote a quick note to his boss and ran out of the office to his car where he broke down sobbing against the vehicle. Twice he tried to get into the car and drive; and twice he failed. He finally gave up and dragged his cell phone out and dialed.

"DeSantos residence," a young, cheerful voice answered the phone.

"Allie, are your parents there?" Adam asked in the steadiest voice he could muster. He didn't want the kids to know.

"Sure, Uncle Adam. Hold on," she told him. In the background he could hear her calling for her mother. "Mom! Mom, uncle Adam's on the phone. He doesn't sound so good," the twenty year old told her mother.

"Adam?" Aisha's voice resonated in his ears.

"She's dead. Aisha, Tanya's dead. She was shot at a bank," Adam blurted out between sobs, unable to hold himself back.

"Oh god," Aisha managed to respond, her head spinning, trying to pull back tears. "You still at work?" Rocky had noticed her tears and had come to stand beside her, straining to hear Adam on the other end.

"I-I can't drive."

"Rocky's on his way," she told him, brushing away tears. Rocky was already pulling on his shoes as she spoke. "Hold on, Adam," she said as they hung up, her friend still sobbing on the other end. Rocky gave her a questioning look as he grabbed his car keys. "Tanya," she told him simply as her tears began to fall violently. Rocky's face paled as he dashed out the door.

Twenty minutes later, Rocky rode silently alongside his best friend who was no longer crying, but just staring straight ahead. When he'd reached the parking lot, he'd found Adam on the ground, leaning against his car, chucking bits of rock. He wanted to cry with him, but somehow, he knew Adam had moved passed that; at least for the moment. Instead, he'd just held the man that was like a brother to him tightly, sending a silent thank you to Kim for staying with him until Rocky'd gotten there. He felt her spirit swirl around him and then leave as Rocky ushered Adam into the car.

Now they'd stopped in front of the high school. Rocky waited in the car as Adam walked in and went to the office. A phone call was made up to Josh's class room while Adam paced back and forth.

"Dad?" the teen asked when he reached the office, in confusion. Adam turned to the boy and let his eyes lay on him before the tears started again. "No," Josh whispered, reading his father's silence. "No! No! No!" he screamed and started punching the wall. Adam grabbed his fist and pulled his son into a tight hug. Josh struggled for a bit longer against his father's chest before breaking down and sobbing.

"We have to go get Lily," Adam told him, "You're Uncle Rocky's outside." Josh just nodded and walked behind his father, head down, still crying. They'd get his car later.

"Hey," Rocky said, acknowledging his nephew and godson. The teen muttered a hey back, and climbed into the back seat as they drove to the middle school. This time all three of them went inside. The students had just been dismissed, but Lillian Park was directed to the office. She walked in, chatting happily with her friend Tabitha Fernandez, until her eyes fell on her father. She saw tears in his and confused, she searched the office. Her brother took one look at her and began crying as her uncle held him.

"Daddy? What's going on? Why are you and Josh crying? Why's uncle Rocky here?"

"Lily, baby. Lily, your mother –"

"Mom died today!" Josh yelled out loudly.

"Josh!" Adam hissed, as Lily stared mouth open in horror before she started to cry. Adam took her in his arms and held her close, feeling her body shake against his own. Tabby started to cry too, and Rocky pulled the other girl close to him and Josh.

Three days later, Josh and Lily sat beside their father in the front pew of the church as Aisha finished her speech for Tanya. Adan's mind kept jumping back to the hospital the day she'd died.

They'd dropped Tabby off at home, explaining what had happened to Kira. The younger woman had just hugged Adam tightly, then promised to let Trent and the other former Dino Thunder rangers know. She volunteered to watch Lily, but Adam explained that Aisha was waiting for her.

At Rocky and Aisha's, Adam carried his sleeping daughter into the house and laid her on Margaret's bed. His nieces and nephews each gave him a tear filled hug.

"I'm sure Uncle Tommy's watching over her," Allie told him getting a nod and a tiny smile from him. He too was sure of her words, but he didn't feel entirely happy about it.

Aisha just held her friend and cried. Adam felt a few more silent tears as he held her, and then he, Rocky, and Josh left for the hospital so Adam could identify his wife's body. Adam agreed to let his son come to the hospital, but he refused the teen access to the morgue. He wasn't going to see his mother like that. Rocky waited with Josh in silence until Adam came back, evidence of new tears on his face. He sat down on the bench beside Josh, leaning his head back and shutting his eyes.

"It's not fair," Josh said, hoarsely, "She was a Power Ranger; this shouldn't have happened."

"I know," Adam assured him. He felt the same way. He always did. Even when Kim and Tommy had died.

"But if she could go like that… what about Aunt Kat and Aunt Trini? What about all of you? What about Abby and Candace? And Alex and Brandon? What about Toby, Louis, Margaret, and Allie."

"Hush," Adam told the sobbing boy. "It's alright. No one's going anywhere."

"How could you all fight so hard, only to die like that? How come she had to go first?"

"She didn't," Rocky told him. "She's not alone. Your mother is with your Aunt Kimberly and Uncle Tommy."

"I know; but I don't remember them," angry with himself. Would he forget his mother as well?

"Your Aunt Kim died six years before you were born. And your Uncle Tommy passed when you were four," Adam told him.

"I still should remember," Josh argued. "Maybe none of you should have… are all of you going to die so young?"

Adam hadn't had an answer for him then, and he still didn't, even as Tanya's casket was lowered into her grave and he was left alone, standing in the rain, staring at the words inscribed on her tomb stone.

"She is our everlasting song," he mumbled to himself, letting a tear fall. "Is he right? Will we all die before we should?" he asked the three streaks of color in the corner of his eye: White flanked on either side by pink and yellow. "Because I don't think it's fair," he added as the yellow vanished and a slight pressure touched his shoulder and then his cheek. "Tanya," he said, then paused. He took a breath. "I love you most," he said, still standing and crying, as the rain increased. He stood for a while, unmoving, watching the white and pink in his vision and taking comfort in the weight on his shoulder. It would be a long time before he ever felt whole again.

Ok, hope you all enjoyed. Chapter 4 has been started, but is no where near ready to go up. Hopefully, time permitting it'll be up in about 2 weeks.