DISCLAIMER: Nope still not mine. Disney and Saban own them. I'm just playing with them for a little while.

SUMMARY: Tara and Tommy are asleep in Jason and Kim's living room. Tommy saved her from getting hit by a truck. But is he telling the truth about why he was limping?

A/N: I hope that everyone is enjoying the current chapters of these stories. I want to dedicate this chapter to Chylea who tends to figure out what I'm doing before I get it written. Fair warning, my friend, my mind can be a scary place to be at times.

Kim had told Tara all about Tommy's 'white knight complex' and how he always felt that he had to protect the women in his life. Kim's mouth dropped when Tara revealed her secret.

"I know that the three of you were Power Rangers." She giggled when Kim just looked at her in shock. Then, she settled in to tell the story of how she found out.

FLASHBACK

Tara had snuck out of the house and made her way to the Youth Center just in time to see the six teens teleport out. She recognized the colors and the streaks of light that had accompanied so many newscasts about the Rangers. "Oh my God! Jason's a Ranger!" she whispered.

She heard someone coming and ducked back out of the Youth Center before she was caught.

That night, Tara waited for Jason to come in to tell her goodnight before she sprung her surprise. "How long have you been the Red Ranger?"

Jason didn't know what to say. How had she found out? "What do you mean?"

"I went to the Youth Center today. Just as I was coming in, I saw you, Billy, Zack, Tommy, Kim and Trini disappear in the streaks of light that are associated with the Rangers. How long have you been one?"

Jason hung his head. "Since the start. I've been the Red Ranger for almost a year now."

"Does anyone outside the group know besides me?"

"No one and, sissy, you can't tell anyone. Promise me."

"Jason, who am I going to tell? Everyone around here that knows me knows that I don't talk in public and I have no friends here except Kimberly. Mom and Dad would never believe that you're a Power Ranger anyways."

"Good thing too. You knowing is bad enough. Having Mom and Dad constantly worried about me would drive me insane."

He ruffled her hair as she lay in her bed. "Just be careful, Jase. You're my only true connection to the outside world. Don't leave me."

"I'll always be here for you, sissy. Now go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

Just months later, Jason was gone. He went to Switzerland so Tara didn't bother coming home as often and she got the feeling that her parents really didn't mind that she wasn't coming home.

FLASHBACK ENDS

"It really felt like Mom and Dad were actually kind of glad that I wasn't home as often. And it was nice to have Jason so close while I was in school. I remember one day that Jason came to visit just before he left the conference. Half of the older girls were amazed that this great-looking guy was there just to see me. He wouldn't even talk to them." Tara hung her head. "Of course, that just gave them more reasons to tease me. They saw the hero worship in my eyes whenever I looked at Jason and they tore me apart because of it. If they had only known why he was my hero…"

"What did they do to you, Tara?"

"Nothing serious. It was just teasing and I've been teased all my life."

"Don't give me that. I can tell by looking at your face that it was worse than 'just teasing'. Tell me what happened." Neither of the girls saw the flash of headlights in the window or heard the car doors as Jason and Tommy arrived back at the house. The two men stood at the window and listened. Jason had always been curious why his sister had never talked about her last year of school.

Tara looked up at Kim. "It was my senior year. I was leaving in just days to start college. There was always a formal dance for the seniors at the end of the year."

"Like a prom?"

"Yeah. Just like. Well, I wasn't planning on going and thankfully didn't have a date. All of a sudden, out of the blue, the cutest guy in my class asked me if I wanted to go with him. I didn't know what else to do so I said yes."

"He stood you up didn't he?"

"Oh no. He showed up right on schedule and walked me to the dance from the dorm room. At the dance, though, that's when everything went wrong. He had only asked me to the dance because his girlfriend had asked someone else and he was trying to make her jealous. As if I didn't have enough problems with the girls hating me." Tara felt the tears well up in her eyes. She hated that. She thought she had gotten over this a long time ago.

"Tara, honey." Kim wanted to spare Tara from the heartache she could see growing in the young woman's eyes. Outside, Jason and Tommy both wanted to throttle the man who had put Tara through so much.

"Let me finish. He left me there when she apologized for not going with him. I was left all alone at the dance and I could hear some of the other students laughing at me while others felt sorry for me. When one of the teachers came up to me and asked me if I was alright, I ran. I ran out into the night and as far from the school as I could get. The next morning a policeman found me standing on a cliff overlooking the sea. He was so kind. He took me back to the school where I had to deal with the other girls making fun of me. T-they asked me if I was t-t-that desperate that I h-h-h-had to go with someone else's boyfriend." The young woman stopped for a moment to regain her composure. "Thankfully I left for college just two days later. I locked myself in my room for those two days and wouldn't talk to anyone. Several times, I picked up the phone to call Jase but decided not to. He was all the way back in Angel Grove and couldn't help me. I didn't have your number or I'd have called you. You were always nice to me. I missed you while I was at school."

"How could I not be? I always stuck up for people who had a hard time. You know about what happened in Florida?" Tara nodded.

"Jase told me when I came for that visit about a year after you arrived. He told me that your ankle wouldn't stand up to anymore gymnastics and you had gone through a bad spot after the accident."

Kim stood up and walked away from her friend, glad for the change of topic. "Funny, huh? Everything I've been through and it's a damn accident while rock climbing that sidelines me." She shook her head. "I still can't believe how much my life has changed since then."

"How long have you and Jason been together now?"

"Tara, that's not fair. You know that Jase and I are just friends. We're sharing a house in order to split the bills. We each have our own rooms and everything."

"You two should be together. I've seen the looks you give each other when you think no one else is looking."

"Tara, Jason doesn't think of me like that. He still sees me as a little sister."

Jason whispered to Tommy, "I haven't thought of her like that in years. I wish she could see that I do love her."

"Maybe you should just tell her, bro." Tommy smiled at his friend. "Can we go in yet? I really want to get off this ankle." The doctor had wrapped the ankle, telling them that it wasn't broken, just seriously sprained and that Tommy should stay off it as much as possible. They had swung by his place to pick up some clothes so that he could stay where Jason and Kim could keep an eye on him and keep him off his ankle.

Jason nodded and fumbled with the door a little to announce to the girls that they were back. When they walked in, Tara met Tommy's eyes.

"Are you okay, Tommy?" Kim asked.

"Just a serious sprain, according to the doctor. Jason insisted that I stay here for a few nights so you guys can keep an eye on me." Tommy smiled at Tara, hoping to see some of the fear in her eyes fade. "I'll be at school tomorrow."

"I guess I need to get home and get some sleep. After all, I have to be up in –" She looked up at the clock and groaned. "Two hours. Maybe I'll just go home and have a couple of pots of coffee."

"I guess I'll see you there then, Tara?" Tommy was really hoping that she wasn't planning on giving up on the job too soon.

"I'll be there. Of course, now that I know my big brother is the football coach, I can hold my own against the players." She smiled at Jason and kissed him on the cheek after giving Kim a hug. She stopped in front of Tommy. "Take it easy, Tommy." She kissed his cheek and left the house.