Heheheh.... do you have any idea how much study I am forgoing to write this?
This is more enjoyable than designing my own 'educational philosophy' though, so if I fail I'll blame Power Rangers, and everyone who reviewed. You have been warned :)
Later, Tommy would be surprised at the speed with which he flew across the park, and the intensity of his feelings as he tried in vain to reach Kimberly before the two police officers did.
His former flame raised her dark head to look forlornly at the two officers as they exited their vehicle and cautiously approached her.
As he raced closer, Tommy had the odd sensation that something wasn't quite right. The policemen were walking slowly, their empty hands spread out in front of them, palms up. Their guns were holstered securely at their sides.
Kim's hacking cough echoed across the oval and Tommy found within him a final burst of speed, bounding across the park and coming to an abrupt halt between the officers and the girl who sounded as if she was dying. One of the police officers drew his gun and leveled it at Tommy. "Step away," he ordered in a deep voice.
He heard Kim gasp as he took a firm stance with his feet spread wide apart. Tommy steadied his breathing, the sprint hadn't slowed him down and he was ready to fight if necessary. "No," he proclaimed. "She's not going with you; it wasn't her fault."
"Tommy, you can't," Kim cried. She rose from the bench and Tommy threw an arm out roughly to stop her as she flew to his side.
The second policeman had an odd smile on his chubby face, and he placed a fat hand on the barrel of his partner's gun, redirecting the weapon to the ground.
"Tommy," Kim whimpered, trying futilely to sidestep him. "I'm not worth it."
Tommy reached back and wrapped one large hand gently but tightly around her thin wrist and she yelped in pain; he looked at her in surprise but drew his hand away. He couldn't have hurt her; he had barely been touching her, but… his hand found hers and he used it to steer her behind him.
The second policeman seized the opportunity, stepping forward. "Look man, you have the wrong idea. We're not here to take Mrs. O'Reilly into custody."
As one, the pair turned to look at the officers in surprise.
"Not my name," Kim muttered, looking down. Somehow, Tommy felt like it was an incorrect response; he didn't resist as she stepped away from him again, but kept his hand wrapped around hers.
Tommy's mouth had fallen open in surprise and he snapped it shut. "You don't want Kimberly?"
Out of instinct, he used her hand to shift her yet again behind the dubious safety of his body. Kim didn't fight him, but did pull her hand away, clutching her chest as she erupted into another bout of coughing. It occurred to Tommy that the cold air was making her worse.
The gun-happy policemen rolled his eyes when Tommy moved to shield her and reluctantly holstered his gun. "We're just helping out," he clarified. "The hospital requested help with the search. They're worried about you. But why they would be worried when you have such a strapping young man keeping you safe, I don't know," he added, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
The second officer hit his partner in the head. Turning back to the pair, he smiled apologetically. "Please get in, we'll drive you back."
It didn't seem right… something was missing.
What aren't they telling me?
Tommy moved uneasily as Kim peeked out around him. "You had her face plastered all over the news and now you've what? Just... changed your mind?" he demanded.
The policeman frowned but addressed his answer to Kimberly. "New evidence was brought to our attention. The doctor insisted we wait until you were better to speak to you." He frowned slightly at Kim's face as she peered at him from behind Tommy. "Didn't you notice you were no longer under guard?"
Kimberly blinked.
"Do you really think you would have escaped so easily if we were watching you?"
"I wasn't escaping," Kim insisted, her voice hoarse after coughing. "I was going back."
The second policemen opened the door of their vehicle. "Good, we'll take you there."
Tommy felt, rather than heard, Kim's sharp intake of breath. He shook his head and pointed to the parking lot, not far from where they stood. "If you really aren't arresting her, then you can't be opposed to my driving her back." He squared his shoulders, "You can follow, if you think it's necessary."
The policemen shook his head incredulously but closed the door. "Have it your way," he shrugged indifferently and walked around to the driver's seat.
His partner frowned and pursed his lips, but reluctantly returned to the van.
Tommy turned to Kim, and ducked his slightly. "Come on," he murmured, reaching for her.
She shook him off. "You don't need to do this," she insisted, flinching away when he stepped closer.
Tommy exhaled, frustrated, "Would you rather go with them?"
She shook her head – her eyes were windows into her panicked state – and it hurt Tommy to see her so worried about a short car trip with him.
You were happy to get into the car when it was just some guy picking you up off the side of the road in the middle of the night.
Tommy placed his hands on her shoulders and steadied her. "You can go with them, or me. But you do need to choose."
She glowered at him from under her eyelashes, but didn't answer.
She really doesn't want to be near me.
Tommy attempted to push aside the pain her reactions caused him but couldn't fight the sigh that escaped his lips involuntarily. "It's okay," he told her, "I'll call Jason and-"
"No, don't!" Kimberly interrupted him, lifting her face and grabbing hold of his arm. "Please... I'll go with you, and you can just drop me off at the hospital. I don't want to be any trouble." She even managed a small, self-mocking smile.
She still thinks they'll hate her, that I hate her.
One part of Tommy wanted to argue with her, but he was too worried about the effects of her being out in the cold to delay her return to hospital, even to correct her. He raised his hands in defeat and stepped back, "To the car."
They walked in silence, some distance apart. Kim hesitated at the car, but when the police van pulled up behind them she scooted in quickly, crossing her arms over her chest and closing her eyes. Tommy noted her reluctance and sighed. He sighed too much.
So she prefers me to two police officers… barely. Great.
He climbed into the car and stole a glance at Kim as he started the car, she had lain laid her head back and Tommy noted with some relief that her body had begun to relax. He realised how tiring her 'outing' must have been for her; she was still weak.
He drove slowly, keeping his mind fixed firmly on making the trip as smooth as possible for his charge. It also helped keep his mind away from the letter, and the decision he had to make.
He knew when Kimberly had fallen asleep; her breathing slowed and deepened and her arms relaxed from where she had had them bound tightly across her chest. He pulled up out the front of the hospital and gently unfastened her seat belt. With a tenderness he had forgotten he possessed, he took her slight frame in his strong arms and carried her into the hospital cradled against his chest. Tommy decided he didn't like holding her this close; her skeletal frame caused her bones to jut out into his flesh in ways that felt unnatural and he could feel the rattle of congestion in her chest.
The policemen accompanied him into the hospital; they told him they would stay until their shift finished and that in light of what had transpired, they insisted on speaking to her as soon as she awoke. Tommy reluctantly left Kim with the doctor and nursing staff, who clucked and fussed over her, but assured him that she was just sleeping. They would not allow him to stay with her and firmly ushered him out into the night.
Tommy's thoughts drifted as he drove back to Aisha's house. There was too much in that cursed letter to deal with all at once, so he resolved to think through just the first part.
Kim had been unhappy in Florida.
She had tried to spare his feelings and pretend everything was fine.
Was that his fault, on some level? He tried to remember Kim telling him about her friends there, or if he ever asked her about it. Mostly their correspondence had revolved around her gymnastics performances and how much they missed each other.
Would things have been different if he had noticed she was unhappy?
He couldn't even think about what had happened to her that night; he refused to accept that she was to blame. The idea of anyone condemning Kimberly's behaviour summoned a fury in him which he could not easily quench; he gripped the steering wheel to steady his shaking hands.
By the time he reached the house, his rage had simmered into deep sorrow. He sighed as he came to a stop and killed the engine; he leaned forward and rested his weary head on the wheel.
A loud blaring noise interrupted his thoughts and he realised belated his head was leaning on the horn. Tommy fleetingly hoped he hadn't woken the entire street up… had he always been so clumsy? The street stayed dark and quiet, and Tommy took this mean he had not disturbed anyone's sleep. He quickly exited the car before he could do something else wrong, and approached the house.
Before he could knock on the door, it opened and Aisha, wrapped in a canary yellow dressing gown, greeted him warmly. She led him to the kitchen table and draped a blanket around his broad shoulders. "I saved you some pizza," she said brightly, taking a plate from fridge and moving it into the microwave. "You look frozen through; can I get you some hot cocoa?"
Tommy realised that it must be very late. Aisha looked expectantly at him, and he became aware that he had not yet answered her. "You didn't stay awake for me, did you?" he asked, suddenly worried.
Aisha smiled at him, her dark eyes pensive, "No. I haven't been sleeping very well. You didn't answer my question."
Tommy looked at her, trying to remember what he had been asked.
Aisha smiled openly at him. "I forget how your deficient your memory can be," she joked softly. "Hot cocoa it is."
Tommy watched her move about the kitchen. "This must be hard on you... Losing your parents and now Kim turning up like this," he murmured.
The yellow-clad girl placed his pizza in front of him and then brought two steaming cups of cocoa to the table. Aisha neatly lifted herself onto the table and looked down at him thoughtfully, taking a mug in her hands and blowing gently across the surface to cool it down.
"I don't really know what to think," she answered finally. "But I know that I am glad that Kimberly is here. I left a message about the funeral with that man… her husband," she spat the word out like a bad taste, "but she never called back. He told me that she didn't want to talk to any of us but that he would pass the message on. I was... sort of over my disappointment in her abandonment of me, of us. I was resigned to the fact she wouldn't directly take my calls. But Tommy, when she didn't turn up at the funeral..."
Occasionally he told me Jason, or Aisha had tried to call... To tell me news, when you got married and stuff. Then one day, a few weeks ago, he told me Aisha's parents had died.
Tommy frowned and took a bite of his pizza. "I think her husband lied to her, told her we had called and spoken to him when we hadn't… and made up stories about us. She seems to think I'm married."
Tommy told her between mouthfuls about the letter, or at least that part of it. Kat had already filled them in on what Kimberly had confessed to her. He was surprised the second pink ranger would betray her predecessor's trust so easily.
Kat surprised him a lot lately.
"How would he know so much about us to make that believable?" Aisha asked skeptically.
Tommy finished his cocoa and gave her a sad smile. "I think she used to talk about us a lot. All he had to do was pay attention; Kim always wore her heart on her sleeve." Tommy considered the situation. "If she didn't answer the phone, or wasn't allowed to, he could easily use his knowledge and tell her anything that would keep her there," he reasoned.
"Like we were all living happy, successful lives without her and didn't mind just passing on the odd tidbit of news through her other half, who we never met?" her tone was mildly petulant.
Tommy closed his eyes; he was going to have to remember he wasn't the only one suffering through this. "Aisha..."
She relaxed and smiled at him, "I'm sorry, Tommy." She looked at him critically. "If you want to be there for Kim in the morning you'll need some rest."
Tommy looked at her sharply. "Why would I be seeing Kim tomorrow?"
The dark girl smiled knowingly. "You don't have another option," she told him cryptically. She slipped off the table and pointed to the lounge room. "Go. Think about it, make your decision and get some sleep," she ordered.
Tommy couldn't help but smile; she was truly unstoppable. "What about you?" he questioned as he allowed himself to be herded to the sofa.
The smile on her face froze. "I might stay up for a while yet," she admitted.
Unstoppable, but not invulnerable.
"Good night," she murmured, closing the door behind her.
In another life, Tommy would have known better what to say… he used to be a leader. But he had been shattered when Kimberly had broken up with him. The nature of her letter threw him off; he couldn't even bring himself to call her... write to her. She had written that she thought of him as a brother. Maybe in hindsight he should have known something was up; their love had not been a familial love. Certainly they had shared the tenderness of true friendship, but he could never have thought of his petite love as a sister.
Katherine had been supportive; he wondered if she had known all along that Tommy was still in love with Kimberly. She hadn't even been angry when he finally realised he couldn't love her and had ended their relationship before she went to Europe.
The loss of his powers had hit him hard, too. The sudden absence of both Katherine and the pressure of saving the universe left him with too much time to think, too much time to remember. He would meet girls, but nothing lasted. One part of him knew he wasn't really trying, and that if he wanted to make a relationship succeed it would require a certain level of commitment. But eventually he resigned himself to the fact that what he had experienced with Kimberly was too powerful. It had consumed him; she had ruined him for anyone else.
And there it was. Tommy would never get over Kimberly; she was too deeply ingrained into his consciousness.
That gem of knowledge left him with two choices: continue on as he was, miserable and alone; or re-enter her life – whether she wanted him or not – and… see what happened. Because Kat was right. Even if Kimberly didn't want him, it was obvious she needed him. More importantly, he needed her.
And Aisha was right. There was no other option; there was only one choice he could make.
The emotions that had been ignited in him when he had read her letter, which had driven him to fly across the park to her aid, to stand between her and two armed policemen proved that the idea of losing her again was unbearable. The need to protect her had given him a strength he had not felt in years… it made him powerful again, even if it was only for a few minutes. And it was why he was still in Angel Grove, unable to return to his hollow but comfortable life.
The future was uncertain, but his path was clear.
"Why are you still here?" Kat had asked him.
The answer was obvious.
Tommy Oliver needed Kimberly Hart.
CF – was never planning on sending Kim to jail, hope this is a relief ^^ Thank you for your review, sounds like I hit my target with you, Kim's frame of mind and justification are very important to me and this story so I'm very grateful for your comments
Nepht/Grumpy Reviewer - :D I promise her hand will be explained in the next chapter, thank you as always for your thoughtful critique, should I feel bad I sent you on a crazy hunt for your account?
Ghostwriter, Sabina, JessAngelus, RFK, AndyG, General, Rowena-Lily – thank you so much for your reviews I'm very lucky to have so many people who take the time to review my humble little story :P