Part 7

The gym was mercifully silent when Kimberly was dropped there by Tommy moments later. She turned, intending to thank him, but he was already a streak of red, heading back to Angel Grove and their friends. She frowned. He didn't have to be rude about the whole thing. Well, maybe he did; it was likely just Tommy's way of letting her know he didn't want anything more to do with her at the moment. Not that he'd be able to escape her forever with the Zeo morpher firmly attached to her wrist.

She took a long look around the gym, seeing it with new eyes. Here was competition, sweat, blood, tears and pain. But there was no joy, not the kind of joy she'd experienced while in Angel Grove and not the kind of joy that had driven her to this point. Training was good, rewarding even, but it wasn't as fun as it used to be.

Oh, she enjoyed the thrill of mastering a new move, of learning to do something she feared - and conquering that fear - but it wasn't the same. Something was missing and after having been called to Angel Grove, she finally understood. Here, in Florida, she was cut off. Her support network of friends was back in California, on the other side of the continent, and they were a major part of her drive. They'd helped keep her positive, helped keep her focused and supported her in every way. Ups and downs, they were there to offer advice or hugs. She missed them. She missed practicing in Ernie's gym, missed watching Jason and Tommy spar on the mat nearby. She missed hanging out with them over Ernie's latest concoction and bemoaning the contents behind his back.

She missed her life and wanted it back.

Striding towards the beam where she'd left her bag, she took it all in with a longer, more penetrating look. Nothing changed. The shadows remained across the beams and bars. The tumbling mat remained marked, chalky prints from accidents lined the side. The mats, box horses and rings looked the same as always, but the familiar thrill was missing. In that moment she knew she was making the right decision. Tommy had been right to demand she return to Angel Grove after the Pan Globals. He'd been right, had likely been able to read her like he'd always been, and just known that enough was enough. The insight was sobering. If he could see that, what else could he see?

Shaking off the thought, she strode to where she'd left her bag and pulled it from beneath the bar. Her watch came out first and she checked the time. Ouch - eleven o'clock. If she was lucky, she'd get five hours of sleep tonight. She did a quick double check to see if there was anything she'd missed before heading for the door.

The night air was humid and warm, and sweat broke out all over instantly, causing her hair to cling to the back of her neck. Checking the area to ensure she was alone, Kimberly made sure the gym door was locked behind her, before striding with confident steps towards the corner of the block and the dorm. Her feet crunched on sticks and twigs that had been blown across the sidewalks by ever-present winds, but she kept her head up.

Half-way to the corner, she stopped, peering around into the darkness with narrowed eyes. A shiver snaked down her spine as her intuition kicked in. She was being followed. But who would follow her, and who would have known she was at the gym? The whisper of the breeze was her only answer. Turning slowly in a circle, balanced perfectly on the ball of her foot, Kimberly scanned the area around her. Beside her. Behind her.

Nothing.

"Okay, I know you're there and I'm not in the mood to play hide and seek tonight."

Still nothing.

But Kimberly was positive she was being followed. She didn't know how or why, but she could almost feel the eyes of her invisible stalker as they took her in from head to toe. She kept her spine straight, her head lifted - she would be no one's victim. Loosening the grip on her bag, she twirled gracefully, continuing her walk, but her head was cocked to the side, listening for any signs of her pursuer. She'd taken barely two steps when the whisper of cloth against cloth gave her warning.

Whirling and dropping her bag in the process, she ducked, lashing out with one leg - and stopped mid-extension.

"Are you regularly mugged on your way home or am I just lucky tonight?"

She straightened slowly, disbelieving her eyes as the pounding in her chest changed rhythms. "I thought you went back to Angel Grove."

Tommy shrugged self-consciously and she knew in that moment he didn't know any better than she did why he'd come back. "I had."

Kimberly scooped her bag into her arms, hugging it to her chest defensively. Her previous bravado had fled and she was left feeling vulnerable - Tommy had see a side of her she hadn't yet shown in Angel Grove. "So... what brings you back?"

He watched her carefully. "I didn't realize the time difference when I left - I thought maybe I should walk you home."

Her heart jumped into her throat, forestalling anything she might have said. Walk her home. It reminded her of the first time he'd walked her home - at great peril to himself - the day she'd broken her mirror. It had been a day to remember, starting out in the worst way possible only to end up captured by one of Rita's monsters. Of course, the Rangers hadn't stopped until she'd been freed, but Tommy had made a point of making her feel special. Just the memory of that day was enough to keep her mute; it was a special memory and one she couldn't stand to lose.

"Unless of course you'd rather not have my company."

Was he mental? "Never - but I live just over there."

Tommy followed where she was pointing, and then looked back towards the gym. There was maybe five hundred yards between them. "Wise of your coach to build his compound so close to the dorm."

"It keeps the boys away from the girls." Her grin was impish. "Coach frowns on any kind of distractions that take away from our focus."

"I take it he didn't approve of you writing me every week."

"That's an understatement." Kimberly turned and Tommy fell into step beside her. "It didn't stop me though."

"That's something, I guess."

Neither of them mentioned the letter that had put that particular practice to an abrupt end. As if, by unspoken agreement, they weren't going to fight.

The silence between them was strained, but far more comfortable than it had been before, and Kimberly couldn't bring herself to push for a reason why he come after her. Tommy knew she could take care of herself - he'd said it back at the command center – but he was here and that was all that mattered. That the silence was strained instead of the once comfortable one they shared fell squarely on her shoulders. That they weren't holding hands, or chatting, or making plans felt a little strange, but she was positive it was only on her end – she'd given up the right to those with her ill-fated letter.

Their walk ended abruptly as the dorm came into view and both stopped, as if by unspoken agreement; the well-lit compound left very little cover between their location and the main door. Kimberly had no fear of being attacked in this particular lot – there was no where for someone to hide and gain the element of surprise. Of course, the Machine Empire wouldn't need that once they learned of her involvement with the Rangers, but she was hoping to put that particular revelation off for as long as possible.

"Well, this is it. I'd ask you up, but coach frowns on visitors." Her smile was weak. Despite the words, she suspected Tommy would have turned her down anyway even if she'd been able to invite him in. He'd only appeared to ensure she arrived home safely. "I'll see you tomorrow Tommy, thanks for walking me home."

"Sure." He shifted uncomfortably, his gaze on the dorm where she'd spent most of the last year. "One of us will let you know when the meeting will be tomorrow. Is there a better time to pull you away than another?"

"Late night, like tonight. After nine they close the gym, but I'm usually there by myself for an hour or so before I head back."

"Same Kimberly."

"Yes and no." She looked away. "Goodnight, Tommy."

"Goodnight Kim. Don't forget about your communicator."

She whirled, intending to snap at him, but he was gone in that single blink of an eye. She stamped her foot, giving into the childish urge to vent her frustration. "Damn you, Tommy Oliver, I'm not the one with the memory problem!"

Her anger drained away almost in the same moment the words left her lips. Was that exactly true? She'd told Tommy she'd begun to doubt what they'd shared after being involved in their long distance relationship. Was it possible he interpreted it as her inability to remember what it was like when they were together - the comfortable friendship that had been the very foundation of their relationship? She frowned and moved towards the door of the dorm. It was possible.

Shaking off the thought, she unlocked the front door and entered, locking it behind her without thinking about the move. Keeping her steps quiet, she moved through the halls towards the room she'd been assigned. The coach was of the opinion that the girls needed their own space – hence the apartment-like dorm with public kitchen, living area and common area – but didn't believe in giving them too much space. It had meant cutting back on her wardrobe, her possessions and minimizing the knick knacks she loved so much. She'd had more room at Aisha's when her parents had moved away.

She unlocked the dorm room assigned to her and flipped on the light. A single lamp on her bed side table illuminated the plain room. White walls with very little decoration. A mirror and a framed picture of the original Power Rangers – Jason, Trini, Billy, Zack, Tommy and she – in street clothes flanked the door. She turned away from it as she closed the door behind her. Dropping her bag on the dresser, she collapsed on the single bed beside it and flopped backwards. The small, white teddy bear Tommy had given her when she'd been in the hospital sat in the corner of the bed where it met two walls. She reached up for it, pulling it close, and hugged it to her chest.

Tommy.

Seeing him had been harder than she'd expected. She'd known he would still be hurt, she just hadn't realized how badly. That they'd spoken at all, the yelling aside, was a minor miracle in her books. They'd both said a lot, and while she knew her revelations were something Tommy would have to think about, the same could be said for her. He'd told her things today she hadn't considered; things she hadn't known but should have. It changed her perspective on his reaction to her, on his hurt and why he hadn't written her back. It changed things fundamentally because she knew now she'd not only hurt his feelings but his pride and ego. She'd wounded him in ways she hadn't intended to, lost his trust, and didn't know where to begin setting it right.

She sighed, lifting the bear in her hands and staring at it. "Do you think we can ever be friends again?"

The bear was silent, staring back at her with glazed black eyes.

Kimberly smiled sadly, pushing herself back to a sitting position and settling the bear on her lap. She flipped him over onto his stomach and undid the clasp of the communicator that she'd locked around his neck like a choker. It came off easily, sliding into her hand. It felt cool to the touch and seemed to tingle, as if begging to be used. Flipping it over, she snapped it around her wrist with a peevish movement. "It would serve you right if I left it at home tomorrow, Tommy Oliver."

But she knew she wouldn't. She wasn't about to do anything that would get her in trouble with the other Rangers or give Tommy an excuse to think less of her than he already did. Which, admittedly didn't seem to be very much, but she couldn't risk it. She'd taken pride in the fact he was willing to see her return as the Pink Ranger, to trust her to fulfill her duties to them and the World. He'd defended her to Zordon, practically begged to allow her return because of her sense of duty. It was the one area he seemed to have any faith in her at all, and it was the one area she didn't dare chance his ire.

That wasn't to say she was going to play meekly along as a part of the team, lowest on the totem pole. No, she intended to do her job, participate to the fullest and be a part of every aspect of the Power Rangers as she had in the past. That was going to prove difficult in the coming weeks as the Pan Global competition approached and her practice routine was intensified, but she was going to make it work. Somehow she would have to. If she didn't the Pink Ranger would be retired, leaving the Rangers one short and less the fire power of the Pink Zeo Zord.

Her fingers shifted, moving from her communication to trace the morpher that had replaced the traditional morphers they'd used in time past and the hand movements of the Ninjetti and Ninja powers. She traced over them idly, feeling the subdued hum of the crystal even as the temptation to morph, to feel the power sing through her veins once more became strong. She resisted it as she had in high school along the others. The temptation to use ones powers, to feel them replenish your waning energies had always been present. The Zeo crystals were more powerful than any catalyst for morphing she'd ever felt, but Kimberly also knew that there was danger in those temptations. And she was resolved not to fall prey to them.

Her fingers moved back to the bear. She placed him back in his corner, relishing the feel of the communication once again resting comfortably on her wrist, before changing into her pajamas. She didn't do more than turn off the light before crawling into bed. The bear found its way into her arms, as he had every night since her departure from Angel Grove, and she cuddled him tightly. With a yawn, she kissed him goodnight and settled down to sleep.

"You never could keep a promise, Tommy Oliver; I'm surprised you've lasted as long as you have."

"Promise - I've never made you any kind of promise."

Kimberly stared at the flashing eyes before her, a sick, sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach; Tommy stood before her in his street cloths – jeans and a red t-shirt – but they were in the middle of the Machine Empire's arena once more. They'd been through this – what had happened to change it? "You made me promises, Tommy. You made me the most important promise of all – you swore you'd be there for me no matter what. That you'd stand by me - and you didn't. You're a liar and a coward and you let me go without a fight."

Tommy's face twisted with rage and sorrow. "You made me a promise too, Kimberly! You promised to be there for me. You promised and then you left me. You left me alone and adrift without a reason. You turned your back on our friendship and everything we shared without a second thought. Why should I honor any promise I made to you when you haven't shown me any kind of similar courtesy?"

"Because you're better than me, Tommy; you're better than this." She waved her hand around when the scene suddenly changed.

It shifted, moving from the jeering arena to the gymnasium of their high school. The lights were low, the music soft; the sparkle of the ball overhead reflecting the lights shining on it gave a shattered glass-like feel to the room. But the room was empty. The chair and tables were as she remembered them, the decorations not having changed, but there were no people. No Rangers, no Bulk and Skull; no teachers.

Not a single soul.

"This is all I have left, Kimberly."

She whirled to find Tommy dressed as he'd been that night in a white tuxedo jacket, looking as devastatingly handsome as ever – but also looking devastated. His eyes shone almost unnaturally, glistening with tears he couldn't shed and his face was tight belying the control he was keeping on his emotions. But the look of his - his posture - was everything she'd dreaded it would be. Defeated.

"Memories. Memories to taunt and torment me, memories of the good times we shared; ones that give no indication, not one that there was something wrong between us. No hints. No clues. Nothing. How does it feel to know you're the single regret I can't move past?"

"Are memories all we have, Tommy? Memories of what could have been?" His words cut deep and she lashed back without thinking. "Or is that all that you want because you like wallowing in your self-pity? Is that how you want to live your life? Wondering what might-have-been instead of trying for what you want? You're a Power Ranger, the leader of the team; you know what it means to reach for the impossible and achieve it. You know what it is to be more than you are now, to reach for the stars. You know this, you live it daily and you're trying to tell me you're going to let my actions dictate your future?"

"I'm also a man, Kim. A man who hasn't had the chance to heal, who idolized you for the woman you were, and one you don't seem to have any consideration for. Moving on isn't an option when the person who holds your heart tears it to shreds."

He vanished in that instance, leaving her once again alone...

"Tommy!"

Kimberly woke to a pounding on her door and the dream echoing in her head, the bear clutched tightly against her chest. She closed her eyes tightly, the raw sound of his voice echoing in her ears and drowning out the pounding on her door as she tried to center herself. Guilt gnawed at her gut, making her feel ill. She'd done this to him. She'd pushed him away and treated him like dirt. She'd turned him into the spiteful, un-trusting man he'd become. The blame lay squarely on her shoulders – a blame she was obligated to accept. Tommy wouldn't have become so jaded if she hadn't send that blasted letter.

"Kimberly? Are you still in there?"

Her eyes snapped open, flying to the clock. With a muttered curse, she threw back the covers and dived for her dresser. She was going to be late for practice!