Thanks for reading! Everything in italics will be the memories, to be used in this chapter and the next two.
Here's the next chapter!
Tommy Oliver groaned at the sight of his daughter and her best friend nearly completely covered in paint. Syd held up her ceramic castle that was painted in almost every color Syd could get her hands on.
"Like it, Daddy?" she asked, grinning.
Tommy smiled. "I love it, sweetie." He looked over at Z's ceramic piggy bank and noticed how meticulous she was painting it. "Great job, Z. It looks really good."
"Thanks, Uncle Tommy!" she exclaimed.
He continued to watch them paint their pottery pieces as he pulled out his phone to call Kim. There was no answer, so Tommy just went back to the book he was reading while he waited for Syd and Z to finish up. He looked at the clock on his cell phone and warned the girls that they didn't have much time left.
"We still have to stop by home and pick up Saba for his appointment," Tommy said, pointedly.
"Aw!" Syd and Z said, simultaneously.
"Just finish up what you've started," he said, gently.
A few minutes later, Tommy helped Syd and Z put their pieces onto the counter so it would be fired later that day. He led them to the sink and cleaned off their faces, arms, hands and tried as much as he could to get the paint off of their clothes.
"I think it needs the wash, Daddy," Syd said, looking down at her pink dress stained with green and white paint.
Tommy sighed, giving up his pursuit of trying to clean his daughter's dress. "Okay," he said. He stood up and headed for the main counter to pay for the pieces.
"Next time, I'm doing a mermaid!" exclaimed Syd.
"I think I'm going to do a monkey," replied Z.
Syd laughed. "A monkey?" Z nodded.
"Come on girls," Tommy said. He took their hands and led them out of the pottery studio. He helped them into his Jeep and hopped in the driver's seat. Every so often, Tommy would look back and smile at the sight of Syd and Z playing with each other in the back.
He arrived home and instructed the girls to retrieve Saba and his leash. Tommy grabbed a blanket and took the leash from Syd, who was having trouble controlling the large dog. He led them out of the house and locked the door, yelling for the girls to go into the Jeep. They had started to play with a few flowers that they picked from the yard. He laid out a blanket in the trunk for Saba to lay on and moved Z's overnight bag to the front passenger's seat. Tommy then helped Syd and Z into the back seat and pulled out his phone to call his wife again. Again, there was no answer, so he just texted a quick message to Kim.
"Here we are," Tommy said, turning off the Jeep. "Come on, girls."
"Daddy, is the doggy doctor going to fix Saba?" asked Syd, smoothing out her pink dress. She slid her finger across the dried green paint.
"I hope so," he answered. Tommy put Saba's leash around his wrist and took Syd's and Z's hands.
"Me too," said Syd. She tried to maneuver around her dad to pet Saba. "I had a dream that Saba was talking."
Tommy smiled as Z giggled. "What was he saying?"
"I don't remember," she answered.
"Syd also said Saba was a sword!" added Z.
"And Saba was a tiger or something," said Syd.
"A talking tiger sword?" Tommy said, disbelievingly. He grinned. "You've got a big imagination, Sydie. I love it."
Syd smiled and laughed as she and Z looked around for seats in the vet's waiting room. They sat down with Saba at their feet and Tommy went to the front desk to check in. He sat next to Z and opened his book to read. Tommy looked at Syd and Z and listened to them. Syd and Z were playing Power Rangers again and Tommy was glad that they weren't jumping around and trying their "fighting" moves on the others waiting. He was tempted to laugh out loud when he heard Syd pull out her newest weapon-a talking tiger sword.
"Oliver?" came a voice. Tommy looked up and saw an African-American woman standing at the doorway to the examination rooms.
Tommy nodded. "Come on girls," he said, helping them stand and reaching down to grab Saba's leash.
About thirty minutes later, Tommy headed back toward his Jeep. He put Saba in the trunk and helped the girls into the back seat. He drove off, calling Kim again, but didn't receive an answer.
They arrived home and Syd and Z helped Tommy bring Saba back in to the house. Tommy pulled out the small piece of paper that held the prescription for Saba. He clapped a hand to his forehead, realizing that he had forgotten to pick it up when he was at the vet's office. He placed it on the front table and called the girls from Saba's side and told them to wash their hands first. Tommy led them back to the Jeep and were on their way to drop Z off. He parked in the parking lot of Z's father's floral shop and helped them out of his Jeep. They ran inside and Tommy grabbed Z's overnight bag and hoisted it on his shoulder. He followed the girls into the shop and looked around for Danny Delgado, Z's father.
"Hey Tommy!" he said, setting down a bouquet of red roses. "Thanks for letting Z stay over." He held out his hand to take Z's bag from Tommy.
"Oh, it was no problem at all. We always love it when Z comes over. Speaking of which, Syd's birthday is coming up and Kim and I wanted to invite Z to come with us to Orlando. We'll be celebrating Syd's birthday at Disney World."
Danny nodded. "I don't see why not. That sounds like a good idea." A bell rang as a customer came into the store. Danny waved at the customer, motioning that he'll be right with her. "Hang on a second, Tommy."
Tommy nodded. "Yeah, no problem." He looked around and watched the girls, playing in the store. Tommy heard his phone ring and fumbled around, looking through his pockets for it. He pulled it out and looked at it, recognizing the number.
"Hey baby," Tommy said, smiling into his phone.
"Hey!"
"Where have you been? You've been MIA all day."
"Yeah, it's been super busy."
"How'd Katherine do? Is Ashley there still?"
"No. I told her and everyone else to go home."
"Oh, aren't you a good boss," teased Tommy.
"I try." Kim laughed. "And I wanted to go home now."
"Oh good. Cuz I forgot to pick up Saba's prescription," Tommy said at his own expense.
Kim laughed. "At least you remembered to bring him to the vet. How are the girls?"
"They're good. It took a while to get the paint off of them. It's a good thing Danny doesn't mind a little dirt. So, how was Katherine?"
"Oh, she was great!" fawned Kim. "I mean, yeah, you know, the clothes and the taking pictures and all that stuff was good and all, but after we were done, she hung around for a bit and we got to talking. And Tommy, we just clicked! We have so much in common. She was a serious diver before she got into an accident, like me! And her husband used to teach martial arts-"
"Like me!" teased Tommy. He was glad that Kim and the new model became friends. Even though she didn't mention it, he knew that Kim was nervous about taking on a new model that would work so closely with her.
Kim rolled her eyes. "Whatever. But we should take them out or something."
Tommy laughed. "Glad you had a good day, so far."
"Oh yeah, it was good. Oh, but this weird thing happened today, too. Some random guy came in to my office, wanting to talk to me. I had Ashley make an appointment with him for tomorrow."
"What?' He just walked right into your office? Or was it the building?" Tommy's protective sense flew up. He felt himself tense up, even though he was nowhere near Kim.
"No, he just walked right into my office. Kat was standing in front of the mirror and Mack and I were talking about some of the designs. It was weird."
"And you agreed to meet him?" Tommy looked around in disbelief. He saw Syd and Z around the flower pots.
"Well...he doesn't really seem crazy, so I thought, yeah, might as well."
"Is Ashley going with you?"
"Mm, no. I didn't ask her, too. But I can if you want."
"I'd just feel more comfortable. I don't want you and some guy who just walked right into your office alone!"
"Oh, I'll be fine, Tommy. I could take care of myself."
"I know you can. I just...hate worrying about you." He sighed. "So you had a good day, right?"
"Yeah, it was great! Other than that little splash of craziness. But I can't wait to get home and see my favorite people, though."
"Are you on your way home now? We're still at Danny's."
"Okay. I'm on my way out. Where's Saba's prescription? I could stop by home and pick it up real quick."
"It's on the front table," Tommy said, hoping that's where he left it.
"Okay. On my way home now. So, how's Saba, anyway?"
"Oh, it's ZRD...I don't remember what it is, though. But it just meant that he's missing zinc in his body or something. It's nothing too serious. Apparently, it affects a lot of Siberian huskies."
"Oh, well that's good. At least it's not serious."
"Yeah. Hey Syd! Put that down!" Tommy nearly had a heart attack seeing Syd pick up an expensive-looking glass vase. He heard Kim laugh over the phone.
"I'll let you go. Give Syd a kiss for me. See you later, Handsome. I love you."
"Love you too, Beautiful. See you later."
"Catch ya on the flip side!"
Tommy laughed, hearing Kim's noted catch phrase from when they were in high school. He closed his phone and put it in his pocket. Syd saw that he wasn't busy and ran up to him, with Z running to her dad.
"Daddy, can I stay longer with Z? We haven't destroyed the monster, yet!"
Tommy laughed and gave her a kiss on the top of her head. "I just got off the phone with Mommy."
"Ooh, are we still going to buy something for her here?"
Tommy nodded. "Yeah, go ahead and pick something pretty out."
"Tommy, I just talked to Z," Danny said, after the customer he was helping started to walk around the store. "Since they haven't destroyed the monster yet, I'd be happy to bring Syd home after dinner or something."
"Sure, okay," answered Tommy. "That sounds good."
"Ooh, thank you Uncle Danny!" exclaimed Syd. She hugged Danny and turned to Z. "Let's find something for my mommy." The two of them walked around the store, picking out things that Kim would want.
"Thanks Danny," said Tommy.
"Oh, it's no problem at all," said Danny. He saw the customer trying to get his attention. "Oh, hang on a second." The bell rang again as another customer walked in. Danny waved to her as she walked in and Syd and Z nearly bowled her over. "Girls!" scolded Danny.
"Sorry," they said.
"Hey Daddy!" called Syd. Tommy turned his attention from lookng at the flowers and glanced at Syd. She pointed up at the lady who had just walked in. "Isn't she a teacher at your school?"
Tommy looked. "Yes, sweetie. Ms. Ortiz, how are you?" he asked, holding out his hand for her to shake it. "You remember my daughter, Syd. This is her best friend, Z, and Z's father, Danny. He owns this shop."
Ms. Ortiz smiled at all of them and shook Danny's hand. "Tommy, you could just call me Rose outside of school. I mean, we see each other all the time outside of school, since Mack works with Kim."
Tommy laughed. "Sorry Rose."
"Can I help you find anything?" asked Danny.
Rose nodded. She walked off with Danny around the shop while Tommy followed Syd and Z. "Mommy likes pink, just like me!" Syd said.
"What about those?" asked Z. She pointed to a bouquet of pink roses.
"Ooh, okay!" said Syd, trying to pick it up.
"I'll hold onto that," said Tommy, reaching over them and grabbing the flowers.
"And let's get two yellow roses, too," added Z. "That way she knows it's from me." She moved her hand to grab the roses, but Tommy slid his hand right before Z touched the thorn-filled stems. He picked it up and added it to the flowers that he held.
"Daddy, there aren't any green flowers from you, only plants," said Syd, looking around.
Tommy grabbed a group of white roses. "I'll get her these."
"Ooh, that's pretty, Uncle Tommy!" exclaimed Z. They followed him to the counter, where he laid it on the counter and waited for Danny to arrange it.
"Do you want to bring these home with you?" Danny asked as soon as he finished.
"No, can we bring it when you take me home, Uncle Danny?"
Tommy nodded. "Fine with me if it's cool with you, Dan."
Danny nodded. "Yeah, that's fine."
"Thanks for taking Syd for the rest of the day." Tommy pulled out his wallet and pulled out some cash.
"No problem and don't worry about it," said Danny, shaking his head and waving his hand.
Tommy nodded. "Nah, man, it's okay."
"No, it's on the house. I know Kim loves Z and Z loves Kim."
Tommy nodded. "Well, okay, then. Thanks!" He looked around for Syd and Z, who resumed their Power Rangers game. He headed for them and knelt down to face Z eye-to-eye. "Hey there, Yellow Ranger. Wanna give me a hug before I leave?"
Z looked at Tommy and grinned. "I guess we could take a break from puttes for you, Uncle Tommy!" She laughed. "Thanks for letting me stay over."
"Oh, it's no problem, sweetie. It's always fun having you over." He pulled out some cash and lowered his voice. "Give this to your dad after I leave, okay?" Z took the cash and carefully put it in the back pocket of her jeans. She nodded to Tommy before giving him a hug.
"Bye Daddy!" Syd said, wrapping her arms around Tommy's neck.
He stood, carrying her and circling Syd around. "Bye Lux. I'll see you later. I love you."
"I love you, too, Daddy."
Tommy put her down and kissed her. She and Z ran off, continuing their game. He looked around for Danny. He shook hands with him before nodding as he walked out of the shop. Tommy took the keys out of his pocket and drove home.
He called Kim again and didn't get an answer, so he texted her again. Tommy waited around, watching some TV for a bit. He continued to call and text Kim, since he hadn't heard from her in a long time and was starting to get worried. Tommy headed for the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water. He heard the door open and ran to the front hall.
Hello?" she called. "Tommy?"
Tommy ran to the front hall from the kitchen. "Kim? Oh, thank God! I was getting worried. Why weren't you picking up?" He took a few steps toward her. "Are you okay?" He stopped and looked over her. "You...I don't exactly know what it is...but you look different." He motioned his hands around her. "Almost like you 'feel' different. Are you all right?" He stared at Kim who was looking at him differently. "Are you okay?" he asked again. He put his hands on her shoulders and abruptly removed them, when he saw something strange flash in his mind. "Green ranger?" he thought. He had been sitting at a piece of exercise equipment and Kim had gone up to him telling him that she knew he was the green ranger. Tommy shook his head, thinking it was a strange dream.
"Did you see something?" Kim asked.
"What was that?" he said, looking confused, but intrigued.
"It's okay." Kim took a step closer to Tommy, who didn't move. She reached up and cupped his face in her hands as best she could, standing on the tips of her toes. Kim smiled into Tommy's eyes as a flood of memories rushed through his mind. He saw himself saving her from two "bullies," and walking her to class. He saw himself fighting as a green ranger and later on, Tommy had changed into the white ranger, fighting alongside her. He saw the two of them having fun in the park, getting interrupted by putties. He saw himself trying to find some way to comfort Kim after a high school float was destroyed by putties. He remembered helping her when she had fallen off the beam and trying to help her believe in herself again. In the last image, he saw himself as an old man, with white hair and wearing wire-rimmed glasses. He was leaning down and kissing the only love he had ever known, who had short dark hair that was lined with gray.
Tommy put his hands around Kim's and pulled them down gently. Kim looked up at Tommy, questioningly. He stared down at her with an intense look on his face.
"Tommy..." she said, breathlessly.
Before she could finish her sentence, Tommy picked her up and kissed her. He wrapped his arms around her and twirled her around before setting her down, not breaking the kiss. He caressed her back and looked at her lovingly and he tenderly stroked her face.
"I love you," he said. "Now, before, and forever."
Kim smiled at him. They were looking at each other for a long time, with love in their eyes. She gave him a long kiss, standing on her tip-toes and she leaned back.
"I love you, Handsome."
"Not as much as I love you, Beautiful."
He grinned at her, holding her tight. "I have to go."
Kim nodded. "I'll see you later. You won't forget, right?" she teased.
Tommy mockingly glared at her. "Of course I won't forget, Beautiful. I wouldn't miss this for the world." He gave her another kiss and took his keys from the front table that he had left it earlier. Kim smiled at him and waved as he drove away. Tommy grinned at her before waving back.
He drove, unsure of where he was headed, but knew exactly who he was looking for. He ended up at the local hispital and crookedly parked his car in the nearest space he could find. Tommy half-ran, half-walked into the lobby and saw Billy and Trini walking out. He gave them a tight embrace and assured them both that he would see them later.
"Six," Billy said, walking out with Trini. "Press six. He's not accepting it, right now, Tommy. Oh, and give these to Zack." He handed Tommy a bag of clothes.
Tommy nodded and walked as fast he could to the elevators. He impatiently waited for the people to get off the elevator and rushed onto the elevator, pressing the button that Billy told him to press a few minutes earlier.
He walked off the elevator and looked around. He saw two familiar faces coming out of a nearby room and the first man who walked out nearly knocked Tommy over. They brushed against each other and he didn't look back, he hurried away faster.
Tommy looked back at Jason, seeing the same image flash through his mind that he knew Jason also saw in their brief exchange. It was the very first time that the two of them had ever met, right after their first karate competition that ended in a draw. It was of Tommy and Jason greeting each other after their match.
"He doesn't want to accept it," Zack said, holding his hospital gown close. "Not from me," he added. "Maybe you'll have more luck?"
Tommy looked at Zack, half-surprised to see him. He held up the bag in his hand. "This is from Billy. He said you would need this."
Zack nodded after looking in the bag. He looked up and grinned. "Thanks, man!" He gestured down the hall, motioning for Tommy to follow him. "My room."
Tommy nodded. "What happened to you?"
Zack answered from the bathroom as he changed into the clothes Billy gave him. "I dislocated my knee and had surgery. Then I had brain surgery." He opened the door, adjusting his black shirt.
Tommy looked at him in surprise, again. "And now you're up and running around?"
Zack shrugged. "Gotta get ready for tonight somehow, right?" He laughed. "You gonna be okay here?"
"Yeah," answered Tommy. "I'll be fine here. You go. I'll see you later. Even if I have to drag Jason, kicking and screaming."
"Well, hopefully, it doesn't come down to that." He pulled up his pant leg and gingerly inspected where he had surgery. He carefully pulled back the bandages from his head. "See, all better," he said to Tommy. "I'll see you later."
Tommy nodded as Zack walked out of the room. He sat there for a bit, wondering exactly how Zack was gonna sneak out of the hospital, but didn't worry about it too much since he knew that they were all going to be together. He didn't move until the door opened and a young doctor, who had short, dark hair, walked in, looking for Zack.
She looked suspiciously at Tommy before heading back into the hall. Tommy saw her talking frantically to someone at the nurses's station and the two she was speaking to, turned and followed the young doctor to Zack's room.
Tommy looked at them for a bit. He recognized the other two now. The doctor that had walked in was Alyssa Enrile. She was a white ranger. And the other one was Eric Myers, the Quantum ranger that helped them out during the red ranger mission on the moon.
"What have you done with my patient?" asked Jason, with an accusatory tone in his voice.
"Nothing," said Tommy. He stood up to face the three of them. "I didn't do anything to Zack."
Jason looked at the other two doctors. He nodded for them to leave. "Enrile, go check on my other post-ops. Eric, I'll be okay."
"You sure? I could call security," said Eric. He narrowed his eyes at Tommy.
Jason nodded. "I'll be fine, Eric. Go ahead. I'll catch up later." Eric nodded, walking out and carefully closed the door.
"Jason..." started Tommy. "I don't know where to begin..."
"I remember you from earlier," replied Jason. "What was that? Why is it happening?"
Tommy didn't say anything. He put his hand on Jason's shoulder and a memory flashed through their minds.
Jason, dressed in all red, ran to Tommy's side. Tommy was lying on the ground, face-down. Jason had just broken the Sword of Darkness, thus releasing Tommy from Rita Repulsa's evil spell.
"Are you okay, Tommy?" Jason asked.
"What happened to me?" he asked, struggling to stand up.
"You're no longer under Rita's power," Jason answered, helping Tommy stand. "It'll be okay, man."
Tommy looked pained, slowly shaking his head. "What have I done?"
"What you did, you did under Rita's influence," reassured Jason. Tommy looked down sadly. "You own the power now. Fight by our side and we can defeat Rita."
"After everything that's happened?" asked Tommy, disbelievingly.
"Tommy, we need you," pleaded Jason. "It's where you belong." Tommy looked around and saw Billy and Kimberly nodding their heads in agreement. "Will you join us, Tommy? Jason stuck out his hand for Tommy to shake it.
Tommy smiled, taking Jason's hand.
Jason took a step back from Tommy, pushing aside Tommy's arm. He shook his head and stormed out of the room. Tommy sighed and sat down. He looked out at Jason, who was talking to Eric. Eric glared accusingly at Tommy and looked back. He walked into the room while Jason seemed to be standing around the nurses' station, looking into the room.
"What, did Jason send you in here, Eric?"
"What are you doing? Playing some sort of game? Is it funny to you all?"
Tommy shook his head. "Eric, that's not what we're doing." He looked around. "It's time. Time for me and everyone else with us." He put a hand on Eric's shoulder.
They had just landed on Earth, following the red ranger space mission. Tommy looked at each of the red rangers, including Eric, before speaking.
"Thank you rangers," he said. "You've done a great service to the entire universe."
"Don't mention it, Bro," Jason said, putting his fist in the center of their circle. The others followed suit and nodded at each other as they did so.
"I guess it's time to say goodbye," Tommy said. "May the Power protect you all." They all bumped fists before breaking. Tommy gave one last nod to the remaining group and turned around to leave.
Eric looked at Tommy in surprise. He grinned and nodded at Tommy and looked out the window at Jason. "I'll see if he'll come around, Tommy.". He clapped a hand to Tommy's shoulder, nodding to him and he looked out at Jason. "It was nice getting to know you," he said.
"Are you going to come?"
Eric shook his head. "Not my time." He walked out and Tommy watched him and Jason speak outside.
About ten-to-fifteen minutes later, Eric left the nurses' station and Jason looked at Tommy from the outside. Tommy walked out and approached Jason at the nurses' station. "I know you're confused and you probably have a lot of questions, but if you come with me, I promise everything will make sense."
Jason looked at Tommy for a long time. He put a hand on Tommy's shoulder and didn't say anything as another memory flashed through their minds. They were getting ready to leave for the moon mission. Tommy was heartbroken that his old friend didn't show up, but at the last minute the red rangers ran out to meet up with him.
"Okay," Jason said. "I'll come with you." He paused. "But, only because I have no idea what's going on and I think you're the only one who could help me.
Thanks for reading! Winding down, now. We've got one more ranger to go: original red - Jason's next.