Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers.

Chapter 28 – Physical Maturity

Kira woke up one bright August morning about a week after her fifteenth birthday feeling odd, but not necessarily in a bad way. She could not put her finger on it, but something was different. Shaking her head, Kira got out of bed and prepared for the day. Heading downstairs, she kissed her dad and brother good morning and smiled at her mother as she grabbed a bowl of cereal.

"Someone's in a good mood today." Said Kim.

"Not any more then usual." She answered with a shrug.

"You going out with Connor again?" Tommy grumbled. With Kira's parents in the know about their changing feelings towards each other, courtesy of their Animal Spirits having turned them into animals a few months ago, there was no need to hide those changing feelings and the fact that the two were starting to actually date, not just spend time together. They had, however, and would always, keep any and all physical aspects to themselves, such as the kiss, and the fact that Kira would go into heat instead of getting a menstrual cycle; though she expected to have to explain that one when her mother eventually decided she as old enough for it to be weird that she hadn't gotten her period yet. Of course, while Kira and Connor didn't have to hide their dating from her parents, they had to hide everything from everyone else, for Kira was still three years away from turning eighteen, and with Connor being twenty-two a relationship between them was entirely illegal. That realization had come to Connor shortly after Dai Shi had been defeated and the two had actually considered going on a date. They'd been so concerned with the moral right and wrong and their feelings on the subject that they'd forgotten the legality of it, which had resulted in Connor having a panic attack. Ever since they bonded he'd been concerned about their relationship being construed as pedophilia, both to him and her family, as well as legally, and now by having kissed her, more then once, and taken things out of the realm of a platonic relationship, it looked like he was right. Kira reminded him of the definition of a pedophile and that under eighteen or not she was not a child and although things were not entirely platonic anymore they weren't sexual either, but that fact had only a minimal calming effect on him. He'd relaxed some as time wore on, and Kira yelled at him that her numerical age shouldn't matter at this point, but it was certainly still a concern of his

With a pointed nod to her father, Kira finished her breakfast and installed her four-year-old brother in front of the TV before heading out to meet Connor at the park. That is where that weird feeling she'd had returned. She waited for Connor under a tree and smiled in spite of feeling a bit on edge as he approached. That smile died on her lips when he stopped in his tacks, his body stiff.

"Connor, what is it?" she asked, concerned. Next thing she knew she was spun around, her back hitting the tree as Connor pinned her body between his.

"Connor…?" Kira gasped, looking around, thankful that they were behind a crop of trees and no one was around.

"You smell so good." He murmured, pressing his nose into her hair and inhaling.

"Um…thanks…" She responded uncertainly. Connor was not content to simply stand there breathing in her scent, he wanted to touch her, so he did. His hands roamed down her sides, over her breasts, finally coming to rest on her butt, pulling her to him.

"Connor!" she cried, trying to push him away, only to be pulled closer. "Connor, stop!"

"Don't tell me to stop." He growled. "You're mine." Kira was about to protest again when he crashed his lips down on hers. Initially Kira had no idea what was going on or where this was coming from, but then she remembered her talk with Lily a few months ago; or rather Lily's talk to her as she'd been a cheetah at the time. She realized suddenly that this must be it, she must have reached her physical maturity and Simba was urging Connor to complete their bond. Kira was about to push Connor away so they could talk for a moment when she felt the familiar pull of teleportation. They landed in Connor's apartment, which he had finally saved enough money to rent back in July, and Kira yanked herself away from him.

"Connor, I know what's going on, but let's talk about this!" She cried, but he just began stalking towards her. She backed away from him but soon found herself pinned between him and the wall. Fear welled up inside her when he never answered; instead his hands continued what they had started at the park. Kira wasn't afraid of the act itself, she wasn't afraid to give herself to Connor, but this was not the Connor she knew; this was an empty shell of her mate that had a mindset for only one thing. That fact, the fact that she couldn't see her Connor in any part of this empty man is what had her scared, and though Nala was in agreement with Simba that Kira and Connor could not deny the bonding when it was time, she was still inherently tied to Kira and fed off her fear, coming forward on instinct to help her partner. With her Animal Spirit at the forefront, Kira was very much like a cornered animal, and cornered animals fight back. She tried darting past him using her Cheetah speed, but was blocked when he used his Dino Gem's speed. She shoved at him, but he shoved back, knocking her backwards. She hit his small kitchen table and quickly found herself turned around and bent forwards over the table.

"Connor, please…" she begged as she felt him tear at her pants, using his strength to rip her jeans away. She knew what he was going to do and she couldn't truly believe it, especially as she'd had no intention of fighting the bond, but merely wanted to take things a bit slower, and for Connor to once again fill the emptiness she saw in his eyes. Tears streamed down her face when she heard the clink of his belt as his jeans joined hers on the floor. It was pain like she'd never felt before, and she screamed her throat raw, but none of it reached Connor. Once finished, he dropped down onto Kira, clearly spent and unable to hold himself up any longer. He laid there, atop a trembling Kira, for a few moments before seemingly coming back to himself. His eyes widened when he became aware of the small body beneath him. He shot backwards, wrenching himself out of her, tripping over his pants, which were still around his ankles. He fell on his ass and stared in horror as his mate, the woman who meant everything to him, slid to the floor and curled into a ball, sobs wracking through her body because of what he had done to her.

"Oh God." He muttered, unaware his former teacher had said those same two words when he found himself in the similar position nearly sixteen years ago. After a few moments where Kira's sobs and his racing heart were the only audible sounds, Connor stood, pulled his pants up and cautiously approached her.

"Kira…" he murmured, reaching out to her. She gave a strangled cry and scurried away from him. He let his hand fall and dropped to his knees before her. "Kira, I…I don't know what…why…" he heaved a big sigh. "I'm so-"

"Don't say the word sorry." She growled, anger flashing in her eyes. He nodded and hung his head, but snapped it back up when he noticed the blood dripping onto the floor from between her legs.

"You're bleeding." He gasped, his eyes going wide. Kira merely stared at him, her eyes never leaving his form, weary of his next move. He stood up slowly and went into the bathroom, re-emerging with a warm, damp cloth. He cautiously approached her again, noting the fear in her eyes.

"I just want to wipe the blood away." He said. Kira was about to tell him where he could shove the cloth he held, but the look that had replaced the emptiness in his eyes stopped her. It was a look of utter pain and regret. Her mother had described the look Tommy had given her after he'd raped her, though Kim had omitted the rape part and merely said "after he was no longer evil", and seeing the look in Connor's eyes, Kira had no doubt it was the same. The brief thought that Tommy had been evil when he raped Kim and Connor had not passed through her mind before her attention was turned back to the man before her who had taken her silence as permission to come closer. Kira let him, but continued to eye him suspiciously. When he reached out and touched her knees, trying to pull them apart, she jerked back, her breathing becoming rapid.

"It's ok." He murmured, holding his hands up in surrender. "It's ok, I just want to see how badly you're hurt. I'm not going to hurt you anymore, promise." She glared at him but he didn't let up. He reached for her again, this time holding fast when she tried to pull away. "I know my promises mean nothing to you now, but I have to see the damage I've done." His voice broke over the last few words as he got her legs apart and actually saw what he had done. A tear escaped the corner of his eye and his jaw set in anger directed solely at himself. He gently wiped the blood and semen away, happy at least to see that the bleeding had stopped. When he finished, he threw the cloth in the direction of the bathroom, not caring where it landed, and standing he lifted Kira into his arms and carried her across his one room apartment to his bed and gently laid her down. He then went over to his dresser and got out an old sweater, bringing it back to her and helping her out of her torn shirt and bra, and into his oversized sweater. However, when he got a glimpse of her small, but firm, breasts, he felt a rush of desire course through him. Connor jumped away from Kira, unable to believe he could want her again after what had just happened and the state she was still in. Kira eyed him wearily, taking in his tense form that very quickly began to tremble.

"Connor, what's wrong?" she whispered. He didn't answer her, choosing instead to focus on his inner battle.

"Connor…?" she tried again. His eyes snapped to hers and she could see that they no longer looked human, though this time weren't empty either.

"Simba…?" she tried, wondering now if the Lion was in control. He slowly stalked towards her in response, letting out a low growl. There was no doubt that Simba was in control of Connor. Wanting answers, and knowing Nala would be better suited to getting them, Kira allowed the Cheetah to come to the forefront and confront her mate.

"You are scaring my human." Nala snarled inside Kira's head, her words coming out in growls.

"She belongs to my human, just as you belong to me. She should know better then to try and stop us when she is in heat." Came the Lion's reply.

"She wasn't going to stop you!" Nala snarled again, now fully on Kira's side. "She was going to give herself willingly to you-"

"Then why did she stop me?"

"She didn't! She merely wanting to take things slower and have it be Connor with whom she shared this, not that puppet you made him into. But you wouldn't even listen! You just took what you wanted without even a thought to her! Take a look at her Simba! She is terrified! You nearly broke her! Her one sexual experience was nothing but pain, nothing more then rape! We may be creatures who mate solely for procreation but humans

are not! After what you forced Connor to do, how could you expect Kira, or me for that matter, to give ourselves willingly to you?!"

"Then what do you suggest? I will not be denied! Our bond will not be denied!"

"Let Connor forward. Let him show her it can be pleasurable. Let him regain some of her trust!"

The growling stopped for a bit, which allowed both humans to grasp what their Animal Spirits were saying. Connor had not been in control of himself. It had been Simba who was controlling Connor's body when he raped her. And that only happened because he thought Kira was rejecting him, and as Lily had explained, true mates were not to be denied, the same thing had happened to Lily when she'd tried to deny Jarrod. That fact, coupled with the look in Connor's eyes afterwards, and the strong feelings of guilt and remorse she was feeling through their bond, had Kira's heart swelling with relief, her fear of Connor leaving her. Connor's eyes, Simba's eyes, bore into her as she felt that. Although the Animal Spirits were in control, they could still feel their humans. Nala breathed a sigh of relief feeling Kira's understanding of the situation. Glad that her human was smart and rational, Nala allowed the human to once more take control.

"We'll talk about you jumping to conclusions later." She said. "Especially after the last time that you did nearly cost me my life. But for now, please….do what Nala suggested. Let Connor through; let him take control. I won't deny you, I won't fight you. Just let Connor be in control, let him show me it doesn't have to hurt, let him make love to me." Simba stared at her for a few moments, and Kira could tell he was fighting Connor, still not truly believing that Kira wouldn't deny him. However, eventually Connor won out and Simba went back inside.

"Are you sure about this? We don't have to-" he was cut off as a growl emitted from within him, his eyes flashing; Simba was clearly issuing a warning. Kira gave him a soft smile and grabbed his hand.

"I think we do have to. Simba's obviously not thinking clearly and only giving in enough to allow you to be in control while this happens, but it's gotta happen." Connor nodded and lowered himself gently onto the bed, coming to kneel in front of her.

"I'll make it as good as I can." He promised. Kira nodded hesitantly. Her trust in Connor may have returned, but she was still nervous about what was going to happen. He lowered his head and captured her lips in a gentle kiss. The kiss quickly grew into something less gentle and Connor took that as a sign to continue.

"It'll still hurt." He said. "After…after last time…it will hurt, no matter how prepared you are. All I can promise is that it will hurt less." Again she nodded and he lowered himself to her. After, when his breathing had returned to normal, Connor propped himself up and looked into his mate's eyes, happy to see that, while it had not been pleasurable, she was not in more pain. Seeing she was alright, Connor rolled to the side, pulling her into his arms and telling her to rest before he himself fell into a sated sleep.

-C/K-

Kira was woken twice more before nightfall as Connor's need for her once again grew. There was still residue pain from the first time, but as promised, Simba let Connor stay in control so long as they didn't deny him, and Connor always ensured she felt pleasure. They ordered pizza for dinner before coming together once more and falling back to sleep. However, when Kira was awoken this time it was not by a lust filled Connor, but by a frantic knocking on the door.

"Connor, Connor, it's Kimberly, please open the door."

"Well, this can't be good." Muttered Kira as she reached for Connor's sweater, which she had not put back on after the second time he woke her. As she pulled the sweater over her head, Connor grabbed his jeans and pulled them on before shoving a t-shirt over his head and going to the door.

"Mrs. O, hi." He said, trying to limit her view of his apartment.

"Connor, Kira's missing. Have you seen her since your date?" she rushed out.

"Oh…uh…well I…" Kim's eyes narrowed at his response, or rather lack thereof and she tried to see past Connor.

"Mrs. O, I don't think-" whatever he thought was out cut off as she pushed passed him into the apartment. She stopped a few feet inside the door as she caught sight of her daughter in Connor's bed, clearly not wearing her own clothes.

"Hey mom…" She said. Her mother stared at her for a few moments and Kira tried, unsuccessfully, to gauge her reaction.

"Ok…" She said finally, trying to decide how best to deal with this but was interrupted by the arrival of her husband.

"Kim, I couldn't find-found her." He said, coming to a halt beside Kim after he pushed passed Connor, who still held the door open. Connor quickly closed the door, anticipating the noise level to grow exponentially. He walked over and sat beside Kira. While he'd let her parents have their say, maybe even yell a bit, he would not let them upset Kira, not today.

"What the hell is this?" Tommy demanded, Connor growled a warning, already not liking where this was headed. Kim laid a calming hand on her husband's shoulder, noting Connor's defensive stance. A few tense moments passed in which both Kim and Kira tried to calm their mates down. When they mostly succeeded, Kira spoke to her parents.

"I'm sure you can figure out what happened here."

"I think we've got a pretty good idea." Seethed Tommy, wanting nothing more then to beat the crap out of Connor if only Kim didn't have such a tight hold on him. Apparently Connor had a similar thought as he jumped out of his seat, his Animal Spirit reacting to this other male's hostile aggressiveness towards his mate. This fact that this male was her father didn't even register.

"Don't you dare accuse my mate of anything." He growled at the older man. Tommy was about to reply but his daughter cut him off.

"Ok, that's enough!" She reached up and pulled Connor back onto the bed. She allowed Connor to pull her into his lap, conscious that she wore only his sweater but not really caring.

"Yes, Connor and I had sex." Tommy tensed at the word but she ignored him. "But we didn't really have much of a choice. You were there when Lily talked to us. Unless you forgot, then you'll know when I reached physical maturity the bond would push us to complete it."

"Physical maturity…you're fifteen!" Tommy grounded out.

"Yes but wasn't that the same age mom was?"

"That was different." He insisted. "I didn't give her a choice. I was evil."

"You know it's funny how adults always say 'it's different.' Yes, you were evil and he wasn't, but in both cases you weren't in control of yourselves."

"So what happens now?" Kim asked after a moment. Tommy looked like he wanted to tell them exactly what was going to happen now, but Kim shot him a look and he held hi tongue.

"I don't think our Spirits are going to let us be apart for the foreseeable future." Again Tommy opened his mouth to protest and again Kim stopped him, making a split second executive decision for both of them.

"Ok. We'll leave you alone. Just be careful." Kim's eyes widened when she said that. "Have you been careful?" she asked. Kira looked confused so she continued. "Birth control. Have you been using birth control?" Now Kira's eyes widened, but Kim's cleared as she thought through what she'd said. "Never mind."

"Oh God. Connor, what if I'm pregnant?" Kira asked, not having heard her mother's last comment and turning to face her mate. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, holding her close.

"We'll get through it. It's ok, if it happens it happens. We'll be ok." He murmured into her hair as she clung to him, the fear of becoming a mother right now, on top of everything else was apparent.

"But Kira you can't be pregnant. You haven't started menstruating yet." Said Kim, though she didn't like her daughter's reaction to her words. "What haven't you told us?" She then demanded. Kira ducked her head but sighed in resignation, knowing she would have had to eventually tell her mother anyways, and subsequently her father would have known, but she was kind of hoping not to have this talk with him physically present.

"After you left that day, Lily had more to tell me. When you access your Animal Spirit on a deeper level, they change your biology a bit, to have traits of themselves in it. One trait for cheetahs, and I'm assuming some other animals as well, is that they don't menstruate, but go into heat. Cheetahs go into heat several times a year, but because I'm still human, I only get half of those traits. I won't get my period, I'll go into heat, but the human part is that it'll happen every month."

"And that means what exactly?"

"It means that even though I don't have periods I can still get pregnant."

"And…?"

"You really don't need to know the 'and.' " Kira muttered and so Kim and Tommy were left to draw their own conclusions.

"We'll go get you something. The morning after pill." Kim said finally. She pulled Tommy to the door, which was a difficult task given he was still shooting daggers at Connor, and they left the young couple alone. Connor managed to keep Simba at bay until Kim and Tommy returned and Kira swallowed the pill. Before they left again, Kim slipped him a box of condoms. Both parents knew there would be more sex involved before their daughter came home, but Kim thought it best not to announce it to Tommy.

-C/K-

Kira and Connor stayed sequestered in his apartment for nearly a week. Most of that time was spent in each other's arms in one capacity or another. Connor's need for her did not abate at all. The urge came upon him suddenly and after he ripped three of his shirts off her she gave up and stayed naked, wrapping the blanket around her when she wanted to cover up. When they had a moment to breathe, Connor spent it yelling at Simba. He could not believe that after everything that had happened the first time the Lion had jumped to conclusions that he would do so again. A simple yes or no question could have saved Kira a lot of pain, and Connor a lot of guilt and there was a chance Connor would never forgive Simba this time. At the very least, he hadn't spoken a word to the Lion since, and worst of all, neither had Nala, for she was of a similar mind as Connor. In the end, Simba had begged for forgiveness and had tentatively gotten it, but only because Kira was in a forgiving mood; a mood neither Connor nor Nala could understand.

However, for all her crazed forgiveness, the damage had been done and by the end of the week she was sore, really sore. Her young and, until a few days ago, untried body was not meant to be used as it was. By the end of it all, she could not walk without severe pain and Connor made her stay in bed for another day before he even considered letting her go home. When she finally did, her parents were so relieved to see her that neither of them made any sort of comment. A couple of days later, Kira became sick. She confided to her mom, glad that although still awkward they had the kind of relationship where she could confide to her mother, that she was still sore, but also that her nether regions burned.

"I'm calling Dana." Kim said, reaching for the phone. Kira sighed but didn't argue. Dana was the one all Rangers turned to with Ranger related medical problems. In this case, it wasn't specifically Ranger related, but going to a walk in clinic, the Olivers did not have a family doctor, and explaining why her vagina was in the shape it was in without explaining why or not having the clinic cry rape was going to be next to impossible. Barely fifteen minutes later, Dana arrived, courtesy of Aero Rescue III. Tommy was kicked out of Kira's room and sent to pace in the living room with Connor, who had shown up when he felt through the bond that his mate was sick, this being the first time he'd been allowed in the house since Kira came home; Tommy making it clear that if he laid eyes on his former student anytime in the near future he was liable to kill him.

"How the hell did this happen?!" Dana demanded after running her scanner over Kira and taking a look at her.

"That bad, huh?" Kira sighed.

"Yes that bad. Now what happened?!"

"I went into heat. I'm apparently physically mature now and our Animal Spirits threw us together – literally."

"Wait…you and Connor?" She asked, the implications sinking in. "I should have realized it would have been him immediately, but he's twenty-two! This is illegal!"

"We know." Kira muttered. "But that's really the first thing that comes to your mind?"

"I'm Lightspeed Rescue. We may deal with supernatural monsters, but we also deal with human criminals and human law, so yes, it came to my mind."

"Yeah, well, we didn't really have a choice. So if you charge him with statutory rape, you'll have to charge our Animal Spirits, cause it may have been his body but he wasn't in control of it. You may be Lightspeed Rescue, and they may be used to weird things when it comes to you, but I dare you to explain that one to a court of law." Dana's lips thinned and she sighed but grudgingly admitted that Kira was right. She'd never be able to explain that even if she wanted to, which she didn't when it came down to it. Illegal or not, this was as far from normal circumstances as you could get.

"Ok, forget the legalities, and continue."

"For the better part of a week-"

"A week?!" Dana interrupted after half a sentence. Kira nodded. "About how many times a day?"

"I don't know…eight or nine on average? The first two days was more, but it calmed down a bit."

"Holy shit…" Dana muttered. "So yeah, it's bad. No one's body is meant to go through that much sex, let alone someone who was a virgin?" Kira nodded and Dana sighed. "There's extensive tearing to the vaginal walls. Or there was. It looks to be healed over but it's healed over badly. Unfortunately, there are downsides to our accelerated healing. There was moderate internal bleeding, on top of what I'm sure was quite a bit of external bleeding caused by the tears, which then became infected and then your accelerated healing healed over the infection, trapping it in your body, which is why you're sick."

"So what do we do?" asked Kim.

"I'm going to prescribe some antibiotics as well as a strong muscle relaxant." Kira nodded, already having expected that. "I also want you to rest. Like really rest, not a Ranger's definition of rest. You are to stay in bed for three days, more if you're still in pain. And no sex! Especially not as much as you've been having."

"I don't know if that last one will work."

"Kira!" Kim scolded.

"I'm serious. We didn't exactly plan on having sex in the first place, let alone for a week straight. We didn't have a choice, our Animal Spirits forced us together and I know we'll be force together again." Dana and Kim were silent for a minute, neither liking that bit of info.

"Well, we'll have to monitor you then." Dana said. "I want you to call me if/when it happens again." Kira nodded in agreement; apparently there wasn't any privacy to be had, but she supposed she should be used to it by now, there was rarely privacy in the Ranger world, but Kira never thought her sex life would be on display as it was.

"Just one more thing before you go." Kira said. "Can you run a pregnancy test?" Dana froze for a moment before she pulled her scanner back out. Kira loved Lightspeed. No blood work or peeing on a stick or in a cup, just a quick body scan.

"You didn't use protection?" she asked, as she ran the scanner over Kira's abdomen.

"Not the first few times. Again, it wasn't exactly planned." Dana cursed Connor for being the only twenty-two year old guy in the country that didn't have condoms in his apartment, as she pulled the scanner back and waited for the results. Kira held her breath, not sure what to feel or how she'd feel if she was pregnant. Thankfully, she didn't have to find out.

"You're not pregnant." Dana said, and Kira released the breath she'd been holding.

"Oh thank God!" Could be heard clearly from downstairs and both Kim and Kira wondered if it was Tommy or Connor who had said it. Whoever had, both Kim and Kira were glad that it had interrupted the overprotective dad 'talk' Tommy had been having with Connor, which was basically Connor sitting silently while Tommy ranted and raved at him, threatening him to within an inch of his life. They both knew that ultimately Tommy's threats where hollow, no matter how much he wished they weren't sometimes, but it made Tommy feel better to threaten his daughter's boyfriend, even if the intimidation part was by no means there; though Tommy knew that if he ever truly wanted to intimidate Connor all he'd have to do would be to get Kim to glare at him. As much as it annoyed him to admit, everyone was much more scared of Kim then Tommy.

"I'm also going to prescribe some birth control. I want you to start that one right away. Well start all of them right away, but unlike the antibiotics and muscle relaxant, which should start working within twelve hours, birth control takes up to a month. And use condoms too!" Kira blushed but nodded.

"I'll have the scripts filled and get Joel or Ryan to bring them to you." Dana said as she allowed Kim to walk her out. The door had barely closed behind them before it was opened again and Connor came in.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" he murmured as he pulled her to him.

"It's ok, I'm ok." She assured him. He didn't believe her, but said nothing, choosing instead to just hold her.

-C/K-

Things calmed down after that. The antibiotics worked and within two weeks Kira was back to her usual self. The next month Kira went into heat again, though this time was a lot more sedated. Connor did feel the need to claim her fairly frequently, but not to the same degree or with the same vigour. As it was now September, this posed a problem with school and Connor's training, and so after one of their classes they taught at Pai Zhuq weekly, they sought out Jarrod and Lily.

"It's all the time." Kira told her fellow Cheetah, the two boys having their own discussion somewhere nearby but not directly next to them giving them some semblance of privacy. "It was horrible the first time…and not just because it was eight or nine times a day for a week." Kira buried her face in her hands, still unable to believe that that had actually happened. "This can't be what it's like for animals. I don't care what species you are; no one can have this much sex."

"You're right." Lily agreed. "And it will calm down. A lot." She assured the younger woman. "It's just that right now the completion of your bond is very new. Just like when you first bonded, it has to settle. But it will."

"When?"

"It's different for every pair of mates." Lily said with a shrug. "For me and Jarrod it was around the five month mark."

"But because Connor and I are those of the prophecy it could take a lot longer." Kira groaned. Lily and Jarrod, and Camille, had been informed of the prophecy not long after Dai Shi had been defeated.

"Or it could be less time. You'll just have to wait and see."

"I hate waiting."

"I know." Lily laughed. "The point though, is that once the bond settles again, the urge won't come upon you guys so often, or so suddenly. You'll even be able to hold off if it's really not a good time. After our bond settled Jarrod and I rarely needed to have sex more then once a day while I was in heat. Want on the other hand, is a different matter entirely." She shot Kira a wink who couldn't help but laugh. Kira and Connor left the Academy feeling slightly better that this intensity wouldn't last for forever, and that the interruption this caused to their daily lives would, hopefully, only happen two or three more times. As such, neither of them were more thankful that when Kira's fourth heat cycle took place, they discovered the Lily had been right and their bond had settled earlier rather then later. This whole situation took a lot of getting used to for everyone, though especially Tommy and Kimberly who hated the whole thing. They tried to think of the fact that other parents were in a similar spot as they were, the part where their teenage children were having sex bit, not being bonded, or Power Rangers or anything else, but those parents didn't know it, for their children went to great lengths to hide their activities, whereas Kira couldn't hide it when she left the house for a week. Their only consolation was when that fourth month hit Kira could hide it from them and sneak around like other teenagers, allowing them the illusion of normalcy. That illusion is what allowed Kim and Tommy to start to get over it, that and for the awkwardness to begin to recede, making way for them to concentrate fully on the task at hand when an old enemy reappeared.

A/N - Simba really has problems with jumping to conclusions...don't hate me for it. This is basically the 'big' chapter regarding the completion of their bond and the end of the transition from being a platonic to romantic couple. And this really is the end regarding that transition and my focus on it, there's no more chapters or big scenes dedicated to it, more just tiny bits here and there, and only if called for.

Next chapter we do have the return of an old enemy, and a bit of a time jump (sort of), but you'll have to wait and see who! ;)

Review please!