A/N: just in case I forgot, this will be a kim/tommy story. And while I do tolerate kat, be warned that this will have kat bashing in it, so kat fans, back away.

A/N: I don't hate her, I just don't like her with tommy. So therefore I will read kat-bashing stories just like I will read stories with her, as long a she's with anyone but tommy.

Conner looked up from the phone to Kim. She was dressed in a knee high pale pink halter dress, with matching two inch heels, and her white jacket. Her hair was done in curls and was up, with a few tendrils framing her face (think j.lo in maid in Manhattan; the scene when she went to the dinner with Chris (Ralph Fiennes) near the end of the movie)

At his confused look, she rolled her eyes and answered, "You know, that art show that mom and dad have tonight?"

Smacking his palm on his forehead, Conner answered, "Oh shit I forgot about that."

"You know you're starting to remind me of Tommy more and more."

"Tommy?"

"You know? My ex, James/Tommy there the same guy," she shook her head, "He was forgetful like you're coming to be."

Something about the name Tommy struck a cord in him, but before he could think about it further, Kim interrupted him, "So aren't you going to get ready? We leave in fifteen minutes."

Hearing the female voice on the other end, Kira felt a heart squeeze for a moment, "Conner?"

Turning back to the phone, Conner said, "Oh sorry Kira, I totally forgot I have to be somewhere."

Hearing the name, Kim perked up and turned to Conner with a smile, "So that's Kira, no wonder you didn't remember."

"Hey look can I call you later?" he asked hopefully.

"Sure Con, I'll talk to you later."

"Alright I'll see you."

"Bye."

Turning to face Kim, he saw the smirk on her face.

"Not one word Kim, I mean it."

"What? I wasn't going to say anything," she said while trying to hide the growing smile.

"No, but you have that look in your eyes," he said.

Adopting an innocent expression, she asked, "What look in my eyes?"

"Nothing, you know what, I'm just going to go get ready."

She laughed as left the room. The moment he left, her laughed fell to a soft smile. She thought about how much Conner liked the girl Kira, but didn't tell her anything. The way he talked about her reminded her of the way Rocky and Aiesha acted around each other. And she wondered if the girl loved Conner just as much as he did her. It also reminded her of Tommy. She was still in love with him after all these, especially after knowing what really happened between them. She still remembered the day when she found out exactly why everyone had stopped talking to her. It was just before that reds only mission that Jason had to go to.

Flashback

Kimberly A. Hart was back in Angel Grove for the summer after living in Paris since January. She hadn't seen or spoken to any of her old friends since murianthathis, but after the letters that she got, she wasn't sure if she wanted to see them again. I mean, they even blamed her for what happened with Tommy when she should be blaming them and him. As she was walking down the streets, she was too busy going through her bag to watch where she was going, and walked right into someone.

"Oh I'm so sorry, I wasn't really paying attention," Kim said with her head down.

"It's ok, it's my—Kimberly?" the person said.

Kim froze, wishing it was a dream, then slowly raised her head to look into the eyes of the person that she once called her best friend and sister.

Aiesha Campbell couldn't believe her eyes. Right in front of her was her best friend. No one had heard or seen from her in three years, not even Jason. When Aiesha had gotten letters from Kim she was hurt and angry, and she couldn't believe that the girl that was her sister in everything but blood could write such hurtful words. When she had called home for answer, she found out that Kim had broken up with Tommy by letter, and that the others had received letters as well, even Tanya. At the time something about Tanya getting letters had bothered her, but she couldn't figure it out, so like everyone else, she put Kim out of her mind, but never her heart. It wasn't until she had come back to the states in the fall of '99, when she ran into Trini, did she finally figure it out. Both girls were not willing to let their friendship with the former pink ranger go that easily, so they sat down and talked about it, and realized that they both got letters, and it wasn't until they started going over and comparing the letters did they make a surprising discovery. Aiesha's letters were sent to Angel Grove, around the same time that Aiesha was in Africa, and according to Trini, Kim had no idea that Aiesha was in Africa. Hearing that, Aiesha finally realized what had bugged her about Tanya getting letters as well; Kim had no idea who Tanya was, because she was never told that she and Tanya had made the switch in Africa. Going to the rest of their friends (minus Tommy) with what they found out, they came to the conclusion that perhaps there was more to the letters than they saw, but the only person to talk to them, couldn't be found. It was like Kimberly Hart had disappeared off the face of the earth. And now after three years of searching, it was by chance that she ran into her in Angel Grove of all places. Gathering her stuff, she stood up and tentatively took a step towards Kim.

"Oh my God Kim it's so good to see you."

Kim was a little surprised and skeptical to say the least. So she took a step back and answered coolly, "Really? Why is that?"

Aiesha was a little put off by the tone in Kim's voice but before she could say anything, Kim was already talking.

"Look, I don't want to sound too rude, but there's somewhere I've got to be." And with that, she turned and walked away.

To say 'Sha was dumbfounded was an understatement. She heard the cold tone of best friend, but she saw a flicker of hurt in her eyes, and she wondered at it. Kim was doing no better; now out of sight she could safely let the tears fall.

'I can't believe she has the heart to stand there and pretend to be nice to me after what happened. Doesn't she remember how she and the others hurt me with their letters? They were my best friends, my family, and they tossed me aside for breaking up with Tommy when he was the one that was cheating on me, and they all knew it. And no one bothered to say anything to me about it.'

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she continued to her destination. Aiesha finished up and hurried to the house to tell the others the news. They were shocked, and expressed their questions as to the hurt that Aiesha said she saw. Alas, it was Rocky that voiced the comment that got everyone thinking; "hey guys, I just thought of something."

"What's that Rocky?" Billy asked. (A/N. Billy's back from Aquitar, for good.)

"We all received letters from Kim right? Or so we think," he said, "And we all believe that there's something else going on."

"Yea" Adam said.

"Well what if the letters were fake and what if Kim got letters as well," he replied, "I mean, what else could explain the hurt that 'Sha saw."

"How do you mean Rocky," Jason asked.

"I think I understand what he's getting at," Trini said.

All eyes turned to Trini, waiting to hear what her take on it was.

"Guys we know that there's no way that Kim could've wrote the letters that 'Sha and T got, the timing was off, and besides she didn't know about Tanya. The letters, like Rocky said, weren't real, they couldn't be. And the only thing that I can think of that would explain the hurt that 'Sha saw was if--

"Whoever wrote the letters, wrote some to Kim as well," Jason finished.

"Exactly," Rocky said.

"You're forgetting one thing," Kat said.

They all turned towards her.

"We don't know if that is true because Kimberly won't talk to us. And she is the only that can explain everything. And besides who's to say that she wants to talk, I mean if the letters were fake like you guys suggest, then why didn't she try to find out the truth?"

"Why didn't you guys?" Zack asked. At his statement, everyone paused what they were doing, and thought about it. Seeing that he had their attention, Zack continued, "Why didn't any of us? We all know the person that she was, we should've known better, instead of taking the letters at face value, we should've tried harder to find out what was up, but we didn't; and besides, who's to say that she didn't. No one was talking to her at the time, and I know Kim, we all do, if something had happened, she would have tried to get in contact with someone; she probably would've teleported up here to find out the truth."

"Zordon wouldn't have allowed it, and besides wouldn't he have said something to us?" Kat asked.

"Not if Kimberly had requested of Zordon not to disclose any information on her arrival," Billy stated.

All eyes turned to Trini. "He said if Kim had asked Zordon not to tell us, then he wouldn't have."

"Why?" Tanya asked.

"Because out of all of us, Kim was the closest to Zordon," Aiesha said, "I remember that she would always be at the Command Center, sometimes before we got there."

"Right," Billy said, "Whenever I went to help with repairs, she would be in there talking to Zordon. I think Kim knows more about Zordon than the rest of us."

"When Zordon died we all felt it, but I think that because of our animal spirits, because we were ninjetti, the six of us felt it more than rest." Aiesha said.

"What are you getting at Sha?" Adam asked.

She turned to him, smiled and asked, "What spirit animal did you hear above the rest?"

At that the three guys opened their eyes wide and whispered simultaneously, "the crane."

"Exactly, at first I thought it was Kat 'because she had the powers last but then I remembered what Dulcea said about our animal spirits being another representation of ourselves. So there was no way it could've been Kat, because she was never the crane. I mean, sure she held the powers, but she couldn't fully access them—

"Because the crane wasn't her animal spirit," Rocky finished.

"And didn't you used to say that you had problems controlling the crane zord?" Aiesha asked Kat.

"Yea, I did. I never understood why I couldn't tap into all the powers of the crane," she said, "But now I know. It's because the crane was never mine."

"Uhuh, and besides that, Zordon always called Kimberly 'his young crane' and you guys have to admit, when he talked to her, especially when he called his young crane or his pink ranger, his tone was different, more fatherly."

"And Kim always thought of Zordon as her second father, more so than the rest of us, simply because of how her own father treated her as kid, and a teen," Jason said.

"To Zordon, it didn't matter who the pink ranger was after she left," Adam said.

"That's why she felt his death harder than the rest of us, they were close. And to him, she would always be his pink ranger," Kat replied with a hint of bitterness that no one picked up on unless you were focusing on her, which Trini happened to be doing.

"Exactly, so if Kim did come up here to find out what's wrong, maybe she saw how we were acting, and figured that the letters were true," Rocky said, "And left without talking to us, and probably told Zordon not to mention that she was here."

At that the conversation was dropped, Trini's attention however was still focusing on Kat. There was something in the Australian blonde's voice, which sounded a lot like bitterness and it came out when they were talking about Kim and Zordon; it was almost as if she was jealous. Pushing the thought out of her mind, she focused on finding her baby sister to get the answers they all so desperately needed. 'Where are you Kim and what's going on with you.'

Over the next few days they all tried to find Kim but to no avail. Jason and Rocky both got a call from Tommy saying that they might be needed for a reds only mission in a few days. Rocky had declined to go saying that he could stay just in case they found Kim. It wasn't until the day of the mission did they actually found her. But this time it was Adam that did it. He was walking through a store at Angel Grove mall, when he spotted a very familiar body a few feet away. Following his instincts, he walked up to her and called out a name in a soft, but firm voice, "Kimberly?"

For the second time Kim cursed her luck. She wondered how many more of them she was going to have to see before she left. As he looked into her eyes, Adam saw the hurt and wariness for a second before she blanked her expression. 'Could Rocky and Tri been right? Had Kim received letters as well?'

"Adam, hey what's up?"

'Well at least she's talking; I would've thought she would have run from the way 'Sha talked.' "Nothing much Kim, haven't seen you in awhile. 'Sha mentioned she saw you the other day. We all miss you Kim."

"Really?" she asked.

Adam didn't miss the brief flare of surprise and hope in her eyes, but he also didn't miss the bitter edge to her voice; so he suggested that they have lunch, and to his surprise, she accepted. They talked about everything in between the last time they saw each other up to now, and the lunch was actually less awkward than either imagined it would be. It wasn't until he suggested meeting everybody did it get a little intense. Kim protested immensely but gave in eventually. At the house the others were hanging out. Tommy had just left to get some last minute preparations done for the mission, and told the guys that he would talk to them later. They had silently agreed not to mention anything about Kim and the letters possibly having been faked, not wanting to get his hopes up in case they were wrong. Ten minutes after he left, Adam showed up with Kim. Everyone was shocked, and too stunned to move, except for Tri and Sha who immediately rushed their friend and hugged her. As Kim went around to each friend, Trini found herself watching Kat; again she couldn't help but feel that kat was hiding something, something big. As she looked around, she realized that she wasn't the only one that noticed the blonde's too cheerful yet guarded response to Kim. She raised an eyebrow in Aiesha's direction, and at the nod she got, she understood that they were thinking the same thing; 'what was Kat hiding.' As the morning progressed, Rocky's thoughts on the letters were correct. It turned out that Kim had in fact received letters from everyone. She explained the letters she got and how they called her everything from a slut to a bitch. She told them why she broke up with Tommy, and how she felt. Everyone was shocked at what happened. And now that they knew the truth, they were determined to get their friendship with the original pink ranger back. They spent the rest of the day talking, completely forgetting about everything, which is why Jason was late to the mission. After that the others left until it was only 'Sha and Tri. They had gotten the sense that they was more that Kim had wanted to say and they were determined to find out what it was. After she explained about coming home after sending the letter to Tommy, she told them how she came to the youth center and saw him with Kat, and she could've sworn that Kat looked at her and smiled. Silencing their words, she begged them to forget it, saying that she probably imagined the whole thing. Wanting to placate their friend, they silenced their thoughts over Kat's puzzling behavior, knowing that Kim wouldn't be able to handle knowing someone she trusted deliberately sabotaged her relationship with everybody, so they agreed to put it out of their minds. Over the next few years, they all stayed in touch, no one told Tommy anything because Kimberly had said that she wanted Tommy to focus on what he wanted out of life and his doctorate, without all the drama that she would most definitely bring to it. When she had worked up the courage to tell him, she found out he was a ranger again, and reasoned that fate was preventing her from telling him, and the excuse she gave them was saying that Zedd had used her against him, and she didn't want history to repeat itself. So they kept their mouths close. She had eventually told them both of them about being TCrane, and Jason and Zack found after they overheard Tri and 'Sha talking. After that she decided to tell them all about her singing career, which was great, because she and Tanya got to do a few duets together; and when she started designing in Giorgio Armani's company, the gang was also the first to know. However, after she started on her own, Aiesha and Trini were the only ones that she told about being Annabelle. She couldn't believe after all this time—

"Kim!!"

Kim was pulled out of the memory at the frantic yelling of Conner's voice. She looked up to see Conner already dressed. He was wearing black dressed slacks, with not too noticeable red stripes down the side, a white undershirt, red tie, and the jacket to the pants. (A/N kind of liked the outfit he wore to prom at the end of the season.)

"What?"

"I've been calling your name for the past five minutes."

She frowned, "You have? Well what time is—Oh shit! We're going to be late."

"You think?" he said while hurrying out the door.

Hiding the smile on her face, knowing she was wrong she turned to him as she started the car, "Why didn't you call me or something, anything to get me moving."

"What? I'd been calling you for ever, but you were like completely zoned out," he spluttered, "And how can you blame me?"

"Calm down Conner, I'm just messing with you," she laughed.

"You're the devil, you know that?"

"Yea, but you still love me," she laughed.

The drive was pretty quiet after, listening to the radio and offering up comments on the songs, and the takes on how they could've have done it. They arrived at the party on time, and helped out Kim's parents with anything that they needed help with. Afterwards, they made their way home, and settled for the nightly routine, which consisted of watching movies and eating popcorn, until they fell asleep.