Part 24

Kimberly's return to Angel Grove the following day was down played, a solemn event that included only the current Rangers and those ex-Rangers around. Jason's family was there, as were Tommy's parents. Her own Father had flown in to offer her his support now that she was going back to where she truly wanted to be. The reunion was bittersweet.

Almost every one of her friends had known her mother and while the Rangers knew the noble instances of her death, none of their families did. It was only Tommy's steadfast presence and the arm around her waist for support that helped her get through it without breaking down. If anyone thought it was odd that Tommy was the one person with whom she sought support, no one said anything and Kimberly was too grateful not to question it - nor the fact that his parent's didn't object to her extended stay as their houseguest.

Since she'd fallen asleep in his arms - and awoken in them too - she'd found it difficult to sleep without his presence and his parents were kind enough not to comment on the fact they were often found in the morning curled together on the living room couch. Kimberly, walking through a daze, found nothing unusual about the arrangement. Thought she did absently make note of the fact that they were always fully clothed and in plain view - and she was often wrapped in a separate blanket - when his parents found them.

It wasn't until Wednesday - after the call to the funeral home and from her mother's Lawyer - that Kimberly made her way to Jason's home. His parents welcomed her in like the daughter they'd always treated her to be, and Jason enveloped her in a tight hug. There were sniffles and the odd tear, as Kimberly brought herself to the point of her visit. Jason's family had been like her surrogate family. They'd known her own mother better than anyone else. They didn't refuse her, instead shared a humbled moment of silence as Kimberly requested that Jason's mother organize the reception and ceremony for her own mother's burial.

To Jason, she asked if he and his father would be casket bearers. Tommy, Billy, her father and her mother's fiancé would be asked to round out the crew. Jason promised to get in touch with Billy, and Kimberly had already obtained Tommy and her own father's acceptance to the task. Her mother's fiancé, Pierre, was flying out for the weekend when the funeral was to be held and he'd agreed to help in any way he could.

The Machine Empires was strangely silent in those days following the event, and it was only after Kimberly learned from the Rangers that they'd severely damaged both Gasket and Archerina before they'd made their getaway, that she understood why. The evil duo were likely licking their wounds and repairing each other. While not frail in the human sense, they weren't invincible. Kimberly expected the attacks to resume, soon - likely before her mother's funeral - but with Tommy's help she'd already recovered much of her confidence.

She hadn't found the courage to put her feet back on the practice mat or the balance beam yet, but she felt time would help. Once the funeral was over and the constant ache in her chest passed, she'd feel more like practicing once again.

The funeral, thankfully, went off in quiet dignity. It wasn't a large crowd - mostly Kimberly's friends and those few who still remained of her mother's in Angel Grove - but it was a solemn crowd. Jason's mother had put together a reception that was more of a wake, with people sharing the good memories of Kimberly's mother rather than the circumstances of her death. It was more than Kimberly'd hoped for and in those few hours with people who shared her pain, Kimberly felt her own easing. Her mother would have been proud of the way people hadn't dwelt on the bad.

After the funeral, it was because of Tommy's solicitous attentions that she found herself dealing with the issues that prevented her slumber rather than avoiding them. He provoked her. Pushed her. made her rage and cry and speak about the very things she had no desire to speak about. And, at the end of it all, she always felt better. Oh, she'd rail at him at the time, saying awful things about how he'd never cared for her to treat her so harshly, but none of it seemed to affect him.

Tommy took everything stoically, giving as good as he got within the bounds of what he felt she needed. He pushed her to get back into classes, going so far as to reenroll her himself, and not taken no for an answer. Kat, no free from the casts and bandages that had held her immobile and almost free of the flying restriction, took it upon herself to help Tommy. Jason and the other Rangers took their cues from Kat and Tommy, getting her back into the swing of things and helping remind her of what it was to live.

Kat, much to Kimberly's delight, had shyly confided that she and Jason were growing closer and asked Kimberly's opinion. Kimberly had flat out told her that she should go for it. Kat's response - that Kimberly should take her own advice - had puzzled her. At least until, one afternoon at Ernie's two weeks after the funeral, it became increasingly obvious what she meant...

"We should plan for Summer Vacation," Tanya told them, sipping one of Ernie's concoctions. "I mean, we aren't all staying in Angel Grove, right?

"We usually do," Jason corrected her. "Summer's a busy time for those pesky attacks."

"What do you think, Kim?"

Kimberly shrugged, glancing over at where the balance beam had been pushed against the wall as she considered her answer. "I think I've had enough of a Vacation from here for a while. It's nice to be back in Angel Grove."

Tommy slung his arm across the back of her chair, edging his closer as his fingers teased her shoulder. "I'm with Kim. It's nice to go on Vacation sometimes, but this is where we should be."

"You'realways with Kim," Rocky told him pointedly. "If you two were together any more, we'd have to bind you at the hip!"

Kimberly's gaze never left the balance beam. "Tommy's been helping me deal with the loss of my mom."

Katherine waved her hand in front of Kimberly's gaze, drawing her attention away from the corner. "We all have. And we understand that it's not easy, Kim, but you can't honestly expect Tommy to continue spending all of his time with you."

Kimberly blinked at the unexpected attack. "Why not?

Tanya snorted. "It's not like you're his girlfriend, Kim."

Feeling as if she'd been slapped, Kimberly straightened her spine. "I'm not forcing him to stay. Right?" She turned to face Tommy.

Tommy looked decidedly uncomfortable and shrugged. "I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be."

It was a weak response and they both knew it. Kimberly frowned, opening her mouth to speak when Tommy glanced nervously at the rest of the gang. Kimberly shut her mouth, knowing that he didn't want to discuss it in front of the others. She turned back to the rest of them as she pushed to her feet. "If you'll excuse us?"

No one objected, but Kimberly didn't miss the elbow Rocky threw Adam's way, nor the satisfied smile on Tanya's features. Katherine and Jason looked decidedly sympathetic. She ignored them all, turning to look at Tommy as she waited for him to get to his feet. He did and then followed her from the Juice bar and our into the surrounding park. They'd spent many hours in that park, become a couple and shared their first kiss there - it was a place of many happy memories. But the memories did little to soothe the uncertainty roiling through her gut.

Did Tommy really want to spend all this time with her?

They continued around the pathway for a ways before stopping on one of the little bridges, away from prying eyes. Kimberly looked out over the park, wondering exactly how she should broach the topic before she finally glanced at him. "Tommy?"

"Yeah?"

She searched his features for a moment before forging ahead. "Was Kat right?"

"About which part?"

"About you not wanting to spend all this time with me?"

He chuckled. "Hardly."

She relaxed at his quick assurance. "Then you really don't mind?"

"I figure you'll get sick of the way I'm always around and let me know when enough is too much."

"Hardly." She tossed his denial lightly back at him. "Is this the way of keeping your promise?"

"My promise has nothing to do with it, Kim. You're still the same talented and charming woman I knew before." He held up his hand to stop he protest. "I know we've both changed, but your innate goodness and spunk are still there."

"Spunk?" She grinned. It felt good to smile after the weeks shadowed with sorrow. "You sure know how to toss around the compliments."

He laughed, but it was a self-depreciating laugh. "I was never very good with them with it came to you."

"Oh, I don't know. I'm particularly partial to one of them."

He arched his eyebrows, leaning on the rail of the bridge. "Which one?"

"Beautiful." Her smile turned soft, almost wistful. "It's one of my favorite memories of being a Ranger."

"It's nothing but the truth. You are beautiful, Kimberly."

She blushed, suddenly feeling shy. "I wasn't fishing for compliments."

"You never do." His agreement was easy. "But you can't expect me to miss an opportunity like that!"

They shared a laugh, Kimberly looking away and back out over the lake and park again. They shared a companionable silence for a few minutes before Kimberly finally spoke again. "Do you ever regret spending so much time with me Tommy? I mean, I know you have other things you'd like to be doing."

"Like that?"

"Practice?" She shrugged, not daring to look at him. "You haven't sparred with Jason since I've been back."

"Un true. We were on the mat yesterday - while you and Tanya and Kat were discussing your next shopping trip."

Had that only been yesterday? It felt like years had passed. "What about your class work?"

"What about it?"

"Don't you have assignments you should be doing?"

"We've been doing our homework together, Kim." He sighed, exasperated. "If you don't want me around, just say so."

"It's not that."

"Then what is it?"

Kimberly sighed, her shoulders slumping. "It's what Tanya said. She's right - I'm not your girlfriend. But everyone is seeing it that way and treating it as if I am. I get an invite somewhere, you'd immediately included. People have noticed, Tommy."

"Does that bother you?"

She turned to face him squarely. "Does it bother you?"

"Not in the least," his eyes twinkled. "I kinda like it."

"Kinda?"

He cocked his head at her. "It's good to have you back Kim. This - you and me - feels right somehow. If it didn't you'd be clamoring to get away from me."

"Isn't that what I'm doing?"

"You haven't run screaming."

"I don't intend to."

"Why not?"

"Because I like where I am."

"And who you're with?"

Kimberly examined him carefully. Below the careful nonchalant façade, she caught a glimpse of the uncertainty he was trying to hide. It wasn't much - just a tightening of the shoulders and the whitening of his knuckles as he tried to keep from reaching for her - but it was where.

She nodded. "There's no one I'd rather be with."

"Me either." He exhaled, the tension easing somewhat in his posture. "Would you mind?"

"Mind what?"

"If we made the rumors reality once more."

She blinked, surprised. He'd sworn he wasn't going to make the first move and yet - here he was proposing that they try again. "Aren't you worried I'll hurt you again?"

He eased closer, searching her gaze. "Should I be, beautiful?"

Her heart skittered into an erratic heartbeat. "Never. Never again. I meant what I said, Tommy. I never wanted to hurt you."

"Then don't."

She searched his face, his posture, his eyes for any sign that he doubted her and found none. What she found was acceptance. She instigated the contact, stepping closer and using the tops of his shoes and the rail of the bridge for leverage, she threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his.

Warmth enveloped her first, the heat of his embrace and his lips permeating her through flesh and bone. It climbed through her system rapidly, stroking long-dormant fires of wants and desires into full bloom. She came alive in his arms, alive like she'd never been since he'd last kissed her. She'd never felt so exhilarated as she did, so vibrant - so capable - as she did when kissing him. It was everything that had been and a promise of what would be. It was a bond, an oath and a vow.

Tommy lifted his head first and it was the slightly flush on his cheeks and the heat shimmering in his gaze that caught and held hers as her eyes drifted open. He smiled that smile which always melted her heart, his lips twisting almost crookedly. "Can I take that as a yes?"

She nodded and let out a shriek of delight as he lifted her in the air and spun her around. It was so reminiscent of their first kiss, she almost felt like that carefree girl again. Almost. Until he placed her back on her feet and drew her into his arms for another soul-stirring kiss. A kiss that promised she would never be sorry and that he would never leave her.

It was a kiss that tasted like forever.