DISCLAIMER: I only own Tara. Those you recognize are not mine.

SUMMARY: Tara's in the hospital with pneumonia. How is Tommy coping with it?

Tommy walked into the emergency room to find his mother waiting. She silently took his hand and they walked over to sit down and wait for news.

As soon as they were seated, Tommy put his head in his free hand. His mother could only squeeze his hand as his shoulders started shaking. "Tommy, she's going to be okay."

"I'm just so scared, Mom. I don't want to lose her. I just wish I could be in there with her."

"She's going to be fine. After all, she has you and Jason and Kimberly not to mention your dad and I."

"Jason warned me that she gets pneumonia easily. I should have been paying closer attention."

"That will be enough of that, Thomas." The doctor walked up to them. "This isn't your fault. From what I can tell, she's been ignoring the signs for some time now. She does have pneumonia. She also has a concussion from the fall."

"Is she going to be okay?" Tommy's anxious eyes almost begged the man to say the words.

"She's still unconscious but yes. She'll be fine. We're moving her upstairs now. We've already started pumping antibiotics and mucus thinners into her system. If all goes well, and I don't expect anything different, in about 24 hours she should be ready to leave."

"Are you sure?" Tommy wanted to believe the doctor.

"She's going into room 335. I guess you want to go up there and check on her." Tommy gave the doctor a relieved smile and ran off to catch the first available elevator.

"Thank you, Andy. Tommy is so worried about her."

"It's good that he looks out for her. But I hope that it doesn't mean that he's ignoring his own health to take care of her."

"I don't think she'd let him do that."

"I notice that he put a very sharp ring on her finger. Any clue as to when the wedding will be?"

"We haven't discussed it yet but I have a feeling he'll want it to be as soon as possible. He's never been very patient."

"Too true, Marissa. I remember when he had that broken leg about three years ago. He wouldn't stay down long enough for it to heal properly." The doctor chuckled. Marissa chuckled for a moment.

"I guess I'll go up there and make sure that he lets her rest."

Marissa walked to the elevators.

Tommy was sitting beside Tara's bed, holding her hand. "I'm sorry I wasn't there when you woke up. I told Jason I'd take care of you and yet here you are in the hospital."

"Tommy, this isn't your fault. She knows the signs of pneumonia, especially if she's had it before. If she was ignoring it then you couldn't have done anything differently."

Turning to his mother, Tommy nodded. "I know, Mom but I can't seem to make myself believe that. I keep thinking that I should have pushed her to see a doctor weeks ago."

Marissa shook her head. "Tommy, you always blame yourself for things that aren't your fault. I wish that you could just let this go. You always used to blame yourself when Kim got hurt too. You could never seem to accept the fact that she knew the risks associated with being a Power Ranger. She knew that she could get hurt at any time. She never blamed you for not being there for her and I know that Tara doesn't now."

Tommy stared at his mother, wide-eyed. "You knew?"

"I've known for a long time. I'm a mother. We tend to be able to figure these things out. You were always running off and there were times when you were gone for hours when you were just supposed to be out running some small errand or other. And the fact that even when we knew you were supposed to be somewhere that the Rangers showed up, you weren't anywhere to be found. Add it up. It all pointed to the same thing. Of course there were a couple of times when you left your morpher in your pants pocket."

"I did?" He had the good grace to look sheepish as his mother smiled and nodded.

"That's my Tommy. Sometimes I used to swear that you'd forget your head if it wasn't attached. I love you but sometimes you were a bit trying." She wrapped her arms around him from behind and hugged him as only a mother could.

"You never let on. You knew for so long and yet you never said anything."

"Your dad never knew and he seemed to prefer it that way." Marissa stepped away from her son and sat down beside the door. "I just never told him that I knew that our son was helping to protect the city of Angel Grove."

They sat in silence for several hours until Shaun came in and took Marissa home to rest.

Tommy was asleep in the chair beside Tara's bed when Marissa came back the next morning.

Shaking her son's shoulder gently, she woke him up. "Tommy? Tommy wake up."

When he sat up, rubbing his neck, his mom asked him a question he hadn't thought about. "Did you ever call Jason and let him know that his sister was here?"

Jumping to his feet, Tommy just about fell over as he tried to get to his jacket and the cell phone he had in his pocket. "You go home and shower. I'll call Jason and Kimberly and let them know what happened."

"But, Mom, what if she wakes up while I'm gone?"

"I'll be right here. You go shower. I'll sit with her until you get back."

Tommy knew that it was useless to argue with his mother and so he went home, swearing that he'd be back as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Marissa picked up the phone and dialed Abigail's number.

"Hello, Abigail. This is Marissa Oliver."

"Tommy's mother, right?"

"Right. Could I speak with Jason or Kimberly for a moment? It's about Tara."

Abigail's voice turned cold. "What has she done now?"

"It's not anything she's done. She's not in any trouble. She's had an accident and is in the hospital."

"Oh. Just a minute."

"Mrs. Oliver?" Jason's voice sounded worried. That was a nice change.

"Yes, Jason. I wanted to let you know that Tara had an accident yesterday morning. She's in the hospital."

"Yesterday? Why didn't Tommy call me?"

"Jason, you and I both know how Tommy gets when he's worried about something. He was probably too busy blaming himself for not seeing the signs of pneumonia before it came to this."

"That would be Tommy. What room is she in? Kimberly and I will come up to see her."

"Room 335. I sent him home this morning to shower and get something to eat."

"He'll probably shower and grab something that he can either eat on the way there or when he gets back." Jason chuckled. He knew his friend too well.

"You're probably right." Marissa chuckled too. Tommy was just too predictable.

"We'll be there shortly." Jason hung up and Marissa set the phone back in the cradle.

She leaned over her future daughter-in-law and brushed the hair back from her face. "Your big brother is on his way. At least he's worried about you."