Departure
Just as they had come together under a banner of love and companionship, they too left each other in unity and in hope. Tommy and Kimberly joined the departing groups at the Youth Center where the cars were all lined up outside, a testament to the miles that would separate them.
"I can't thank you enough for making it out here to celebrate with us," Kim told Tori as she headed for her blue van.
Tori nodded, smiling. "I wouldn't have missed it. I can't wait to do this again." She opened her arms and Kim stepped into her hug. The sunny color of Tori's shirt reflected perfectly her glowing happiness.
Blake came up beside them, showing off his chocolate ice cream cone. "You about ready?" he asked Tori.
She nodded. "Promise to keep in touch?"
Kimberly promised to call later and watched them climb into the van. Blake shouted a last congratulation her way. Hunter, Shane, Dustin, Cam, and Kelly came over and each said goodbye as they walked outside and entered the vehicle. They drove off to the sound of Coldplay's Viva la Vida over Tori's radio.
"I think we're next," Conner told Kim quietly, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Take care of Tommy, I know he's a handful." He clapped Tommy on the back and smiled. It felt different to be standing there next to his teacher and his friend, both of them married and moving on with their lives in all new directions. Neither of them could go back to the time when they'd been hanging out at school or trying out new things in Tommy's lab.
Kim laughed heartily. "You're telling me." She knew exactly what Conner meant. From the moment she'd met him Tommy had been nothing short of a disaster waiting to happen from his tardiness to his incessant need to impress people. But his heart was all that mattered to her.
Krista gave Kim a hug and headed off with Conner toward his red sports car. "Wow, that has to be the biggest wedding I've ever attended. Did you see that guy eat two whole pies by himself?" she said quietly.
Ethan followed, saying a quick goodbye to everyone on his way out. "Stay out of trouble!" he shouted to Tommy lastly, "The wizard of Blizzard is watching you!"
Kira and Trent waited a moment to say goodbye as Conner started the car.
"Don't forget to come visit," Kira told Tommy as he leaned down to give her a hug. "It's been quiet without you."
"We'll be down, don't worry." He stood up and shook Trent's hand. "It was great having you both here." He gave Trent a tiny box wrapped in gold foil.
Trent smiled. "Thanks."
"You'll know when to use it," Tommy told him with a wry grin.
"Bye guys!" Kira shouted from the car as they rolled away toward the stop light at the corner. She looked back, stifling a feeling of loneliness as her friends disappeared from view. She turned to Trent who grabbed her hand comfortingly. She knew that he would keep her from feeling down for long.
"We should probably be heading back as well," Carter said as he met Tommy along the sidewalk. "I have to work tomorrow and I know Dana has an appointment that she can't miss."
"Not to mention that Ryan and I have starving critters at home," Kelsey said sarcastically. "They can only take so much of Mrs. Dockman." She brushed out her long brown curls and hugged Kim and Tommy both. "You know those single women who reach their seventies and become very cat-orientated, well she's the epitome."
Kim burst into laughter. "Well, by all means."
"I think someone's tired," Tommy noted as Joel and Angela Fairweather walked up with Ainslee sleeping against Joel's shoulder. Tommy brushed the toddler's nose with his finger. Ainslee batted it away bashfully.
"Thanks for inviting us," Joel told them both. "It was great to see everyone again."
"You're always welcome to come up," Tommy told them all.
"Maybe we'll take you up on that sometime," Chad remarked, his arm wrapped around Marina's waist. "They do have lots of attractive water areas around Angel Grove."
One by one they all hopped into Carter's Jeep and they left Angel Grove.
"Room for one more goodbye?" Cole asked.
Kim frowned. "If I have to." She welcomed his hug. "Take care of yourself."
"Maybe we'll come up again soon," Alyssa told them. "I could use another getaway from Turtle Cove before I get too busy with class."
Max nodded enthusiastically. Danny made sure that Kendall agreed before he chimed in.
"I've got to get back to Cheyenne Mountain, but I'll make sure to stop in if I'm here anytime soon," Taylor added. "It's been really great to see everyone together."
Merrick kissed Kim on the cheek. "Good luck, and keep safe," he told her, leaning into her ear to whisper something that no one else would hear. He backed away, still watching her with appraising eyes. His gaze traveled to her hand, which was instinctively moving downward toward her stomach.
Alyssa grabbed his hand and led him toward the vehicle, knowing that he must be feeling the familiar pang of heartache at Shayla's absence. It was times like this that hit him hardest.
Taylor caught Eric for a moment. "I'll see you tonight." He nodded and then she climbed into the black Suburban.
Mack Hartford headed over to the sidewalk with Rose next. "I think we'll head off as well."
Ronny gave Kim a box of chocolates she'd just purchased at the confectionery down the street. "One last gift for the bride."
Kim thanked her graciously and walked down with them as they loaded the Cadillac Escalade and Mack got behind the wheel.
Will and Dax showed up with the last of their suitcases.
"We're glad to have seen the way Earth people perform ceremonies of marriage," Ty told Tommy. "Things are much different on Mercuria."
Vella nodded in agreement. "Maybe we can teach them a few things."
"Don't teach them the bad stuff!!" Kim shouted as they drove away, waving through the tinted windows.
"What bad stuff?" Tommy asked her.
"The freaky tradition stuff, you know, like rice throwing and awful music."
He chuckled. "Yeah, I see what you mean."
"If I ever get married, and I mean the world has got to be upside down and backwards for that to happen give my current relationship status, I want a ceremony just like that. That was awesome. I commend you." Wes came down the stairs with a handful of boxes. "I don't think anyone could have done it better."
"Thanks for the help, Wes. I really appreciate what you did for us."
"Oh, the money? No problem. Please don't think anything of it."
"Are you sure we can't do something to pay you back?"
"No. I have the money to spend. I chose to spend it on you. End of story." Wes threw the boxes in the back of his Lexus hybrid.
Tommy nodded hesitantly. "I still wish I could give you something in return." He hated knowing that Wes had spent money on his own wedding. It made him feel cheap.
"Relax, okay. I didn't mean it to hurt your ego."
Tommy crossed his arms. "Right."
"What is it?" Kimberly asked, walking to Wes's car with a few more boxes.
"Nothing," Tommy promised her.
"I hope you all had a great time!" Kim shouted as others slipped into the seats next to Wes.
"It was wonderful," Lucas told her. "I really had a great time."
"Have a safe trip," Tommy told them as Katie, Jen, and Trip joined the rest of the group.
"It was nice to be headed out here for something good this time," Katie commented as Wes rolled the car into drive.
"Do I dare say that it's a little empty?" Kat asked, heaving a last box of candles onto the shelf in the pantry.
Billy nodded from his seat by the window. He was furiously typing up a lecture outline for his beginning Physics class that afternoon. Trini and Richard had already returned home. It was just a few scattered tables of people still talking. Jason and Emily had caught Leo and Kendrix outside and the guys were sharing stories.
Bridge was chatting with Sydney, who was speaking vehemently about shopping before they headed back.
Sky was keeping a cool expression as Jack took Z to the corner and told her about Ally. He didn't know how she would react to the news, let alone find out that she was the second to know. Sky figured there might be some backlash. The second Elizabeth started raking Jack over the coals, Sky wasn't surprised. He sat in the back room with the door open just enough to see her close to tears.
There wasn't anything he could do to stop her from being upset with Jack. He knew she had every right to be furious. They had been best friends for years, and then Ally had ripped them apart.
"You guys think we should be heading out?" Sky called to end the moment and spare the rest of the rangers their problems.
Syd nodded from near the juice bar. "I think we can do that."
"Are you sure they're ready?" Bridge commented, noticing Z's tears and Jack's apparent guilt.
"Yeah, they'll be all right."
"Care to elaborate?"
"Ally's pregnant. She's due in a couple months."
Syd raised her eyebrows. "You've got to be kidding!"
"Afraid not. He told me yesterday."
Bridge looked over at Z. "Ouch."
Sky nodded. He stood up, grabbed his book bag and headed out into the main room. "Come on, let's go."
Jack wheeled around and followed, catching Z in the small of her back and pushing her along in an arm hug. "I'm sorry, Z."
She turned to look at him full on. "I want to be happy for you. I am happy for you. I just expected a little more from a friend."
"That went well," Adam sighed from behind the counter. "We only managed to have one person leave in tears. That has to be a record."
Tanya punched his arm. "Don't be like that."
Aisha nodded. "I feel sorry for her."
"Feel sorry about what?" Zhane asked, coming inside from delivering the last of the tablecloths to the recycling bin.
"Z was upset about something Jack said. Sky hushed it up real fast," Tanya said matter-of-factly.
"Gossip corner?" Karone asked, pushing herself into the self-forming circle.
"Jack said something that upset Elizabeth," Adam told her. "She just left in tears."
Karone crinkled her face. "Is anyone going to ask what's wrong?"
"I think we'd best keep our noses out of it," Rocky added, looking up from his smoothie. "It looked like something complicated."
"Since when has that stopped us?" Karone asked, scowling at Rocky. "I'm the ex-princess of Evil, that's complicated, maybe we'd best leave it be."
"That's not what I meant, Karone," Rocky promised. "I think it's relationship stuff. We shouldn't get involved."
"Rocky's right," Aisha finalized. "If it's personal stuff, we don't need to go snooping around."
Sky turned up again with a heated expression. "She'll be fine," he told them, reaching for his keys. "Jack, on the other hand, is in for the deep long haul."
"Can I ask?" Karone started, Zhane put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.
"I appreciate that you care, but I think it's best we deal with this in our own ways first. I'll make sure you guys are filled in as soon as I find it pertinent to our working relationship. As a friend, I want to tell you, but I think that Jack needs to figure some things out first." Sky brushed Karone's hand with his reassuringly and headed out into the morning.
Leo headed inside with Jason. Emily and Kendrix stayed outside for a moment before following them.
"I think we should probably be going as well," Leo told everyone who was clustered in the center of the room.
Damon picked up his bags from the corner of the room. Kai joined him in gathering everything together. He stopped at the bar and poured himself a seltzer for the road.
"Take care, Kai," Kat told him, from her seat in front of the divider.
"It was great seeing all of you again. Wish you the best of luck with David."
"He's a great guy, I'm sure I'll be fine."
"I'm sure this whole thing was pretty weird for you," Kai said as he put away the sparkling water.
"Weird, yeah, but I feel great about it." She blushed slightly. "I don't have anything to regret."
Kai nodded. "Sure, well, like I said, great to see you."
Kat nodded. "Go save to world, Kai."
He smiled over his shoulder, "Always have!"
Andros waved the keys to the car. "We'll see you all soon," he promised.
Ashley smiled over at Cassie. "Keep me posted on the job front."
Cassie nodded. "I think I'm going to enjoy working there."
Carlos shrugged. "If it doesn't work out I could use a new partner on the squad."
"I don't think so, Carlos," Cassie replied. "I'd rather not work for the police."
"Fine, be that way," he joked.
TJ and Justin laughed. "It's not that Cassie couldn't do it, it's just that she doesn't want to make you look bad."
"Ouch," Ashley remarked, making her way through the open door of the car.
"Well, I guess that about does it." Jason flopped down on the sofa and flipped off the music playing over the stereo system.
"That was an exhausting two days."
"It was a great two days."
The comments didn't come from anyone in particular. They all just sat there, eating the leftover food until the time arose when they too all departed for home.