A/N: This takes place about three years later.

A/N: Tommy and Kim talk about the infamous letter.

Chapter Two- The Talk

June 1997
Youth Center- Main Room
Angel Grove, CA

"Dear Tommy,

Everything is going great here in Florida. Coach Schmitt has me ready as I'll ever be for the competition. Tommy, this is the hardest letter I've ever had to write. You've always been my best friend, and in some ways you're like a brother. But something has happened here that I can't explain. It's both been wonderful and painful at the same time.

Tommy, I've met someone else.

Tommy, you know I would never do anything to hurt you. But I feel like I found the person I belong with. He's wonderful, kind, and caring. You'd really like him. Everything would be perfect if it weren't for hurting you. But I have to follow my heart. I will always care about you, Tommy.

Please forgive me,

Kimberly"

Tommy had read the letter for the hundredth time since he's received it. By now, he probably memorized it.

What was he thinking? Of course he memorized the damn thing; he could say it in his sleep verbatim.

In some ways, he believed he had gotten over her. And in some ways, he was willing to forgive her for how she callously broke up with him via letter. That all changed when he saw her aboard that ship.

When he saw her, held captive by Divatox and her cronies, all the old feelings he had for her rushed back. He was devastated to see her, probably in some dark lair, hidden, smelling musty stuff, and she must've been scared out of her mind with no power suit to protect her. At that moment, he wanted to kill anyone that laid just a finger on her. He was that furious.

However, while she was evil, she clearly had some pent up anger. He knew she was strong, but the way she attacked and power kicked Kat, and then the way she came at Tommy, he knew that wasn't because she was under a spell. There had to be more behind her outburst, and he was determined to find out.

It was the celebration party for the karate tournament Tommy, Adam, and Jason won. Everyone was at the Youth Center. Jason, Zack, Trini, Kimberly, Billy, and Aisha all stopped by for the festivities. Aisha introduced Jason, Trini, and Kim to newcomers: Tanya and Justin. All old and new Power Rangers came together and spoke of what they were currently doing and what was to come next.

"Graduation is not too far from now. During the summer I plan to keep up with my physical therapy, and hopefully I'll be 100%. I still plan on becoming a sensei in the future," Rocky spoke, and he went back to eating his food. "Not to mention," he swallowed, "I'll have my nurse with me."

Jason laughed. "Let's just hope she isn't too disgusted with your eating habits," he commented at the piles of food Rocky had in front of him.

The rest of the group laughed at his comment.

"Oh, I don't think she'll mind," Aisha said, and she gave Rocky a quick kiss on the lips. "I'm pretty much used to it."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute... you two," Tanya was seemingly surprised by the revelation.

Aisha incredulously looked at her friends. "Oh, come on, you guys can't be that surprised," and when she saw they were, she explained how their friendship became more. "After I went to Africa, Rocky sent me letters asking how I was doing. Though, he could've just teleported."

The listeners shook their head.

"You know Zordon would've never allowed that," Zack mentioned, and he continued to listen to the story.

Aisha playfully rolled her eyes. "Well, duh, I was just joking, but we continued writing, and well, we realized there was more to us than being friends," she summed it up.

"But, how did you know to come," Kat literally had a blonde moment. "Oh, right, Rocky could've called or something."

"Yes, Rocky did call, and he was the one that paid for my plane ticket," the former Yellow Ranger said.

"Now, I have to say wait a minute, the same guy who asks us to foot his bill for a smoothie, sent you money for a plane ticket," Adam couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Or asked me to pay for his pizza. I'm 13, I can't even get a job," Justin shook his head.

"Hey guys, I'm right here you know," Rocky motioned to himself. "I've been saving money, and I really did want her to come back, so I paid for her plane ticket. She really means a lot to me, and I wanted her to be here. I know she's going to do a great job helping me," he finished, and he placed his hand on Aisha's knee.

Trini delightfully smiled. "Aw, that is the cutest story I've ever heard. Someone should be paying attention," she hinted for her friends, but really she hinted to one in particular. The former Yellow wondered if he would get it.

Jason felt the heat under his collar, and when everyone was speculating Trini had been talking about Billy he began to get angry.

"It's not me, " Billy admitted, and the rest of the group was stumped. His eyes went to Jason.

"Tri, next time, I promise to buy your plane ticket," the former Red and Gold Ranger vowed, and she happily nodded. He saw everyone was looking at him, with disbelieving looks, and he admitted the truth. "Trini is my girlfriend and has been for the past three months."

"About time you admitted the truth," Kim smiled from her spot, and she was genuinely happy for all of her friends. She enjoyed hearing about what everyone was planning to do after graduation. Aisha was here to stay with Rocky, Kat would continue ballet in England, Tanya would teach singing, Adam was set to teach kids karate, Zack became a choreographer, Justin was set to enter his senior year of high school after the summer, Billy would eventually be back on Earth, Jason was to attend the community college, Trini had a few months left in Switzerland, and Tommy. She noticed his burly, yet gentle eyes were on her. They hadn't left her, since they arrived at the Youth Center.

"So, Kim, what do you plan on doing," Tanya asked. Though, she didn't know Kimberly personally, she held some dislike. The letter was heartless, and to see Tommy the way he was, she wouldn't wish that on her worst enemy. Obviously, as Kat's best friend ,she knew where her loyalty was. Despite her dislike, she still wanted to learn more and believe that Kim wasn't a heartless wench.

The former Pink Ranger stared right back at Tommy. She felt the anger, and she knew eventually there would be a time she had to explain what exactly led up to the letter. As much as she wanted to run, duck, hide, maybe even catch the next plane back to Paris, she really had to explain herself to him. She owed him that much.

"Oh, um, I'm going to spend the summer with my mom and step-dad, and then I'll be back in Angel Grove, for good," the young woman replied.

"Wow, that's great. I'll be back in town when you are, Kim," Trini excitedly said.

Justin looked at his watch. It was beginning to get late, and he did have a curfew. "Uh, Adam, could you take me home," he questioned.

"Yeah, that's no problem. I do have an early class in the morning. I should get going also," the Green Ranger said. "Tanya, Rocky, Aisha, do you guys need a ride as well?" The three nodded, and they all went to say bye to their friends.

"I'll catch you guys later. I have a date with Angela," Zack slyly smiled, and he exited the Youth Center.

"And I must go as well," Billy bid adieu, but not before giving his closest friends a hug goodbye. "You would think I would get tired between traveling from here and Aquitar," he figured, but nonetheless, he smiled and left to go.

"Jase, ready to head back to the hotel," Trini wondered, and he nodded with joy. She faced Kim. "Talk to him," she wisely advised. As her best friend, she knew everything about Kim, well, almost everything. She believed the letter was wrong, she really hoped that her best friend would explain why she did what she did. Trini wished to know what was the motive behind the letter, but she never wanted to pressure Kim about it. She believed that Kim was regretful about the letter though.

"Wait, Kim, you aren't coming with us," Jason wondered, and he looked between Tommy, Kat, and Kim. He surely didn't want to be in the middle of that, and he knew Kim and Tommy needed to talk privately. He walked up to Kim. "If you need us, you know how to reach either Trini or me. Okay?"

"Yes, I know," the former Pink gave each of her dearest friends a hug.

With Tommy, Kat, and Kim left in the Youth Center, the three of them awkwardly stood there. Tommy, out of the three, felt the most awkward. His ex girlfriend was staring at him, and so was his current girlfriend. He didn't want to exactly tell his girlfriend to leave, so he could talk to Kim, but he knew it would surely come down to that. Kim didn't want to tell Kat to leave either because she didn't want anyone to think she was jealous of their relationship or something along those lines.

Kat decided to break the ice, and she wanted to be the bigger person. She turned to Tommy, and she gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. "Call me tomorrow," she told Tommy, and he nodded. "Bye, Kim, it was nice seeing you again."

"Good night Kat," Kim said, and she faced Tommy head on. Though, she was a little scared of this talk, she knew Ernie's Youth Center wouldn't be the right place. "Where should we..."

"We can go to my place," he interjected with no hesitation. "My parents are out of town, so we have the house to ourselves." He watched the apprehension on Kim's face, and he knew that wasn't the right thing to say. "It's just that, if we go to the park now, it's kind of late, and we can go to your hotel room, but that wouldn't look right to wandering eyes..."

"I don't know if your house looks great to wandering eyes either," Kim admitted. Tommy's neighbors were the nosiest people she had ever encountered. She sighed.

"We really need to talk about this though."

Kim bit her lip. "Your house it is then."

The two quickly left after that.

Xxxxx

20 Minutes Later
Tommy's House
Angel Grove, CA

Kim walked around Tommy's living room. She admired all of the pictures his mom had taken of them and proudly posted along the walls. She smiled at all the memories. They were really great memories. There were pictures from Tommy's first karate tournament in Angel Grove, the gang's participation in the production of 'Repunzal', the going away party of Jason, Trini, and Zack, photos from before they went on the plane to Australia, and a picture of her and Tommy at the Youth Center Christmas Party.

That picture stood out to her the most. She remembered she had to somewhat beg Coach Schmidt to let her take some time off from training, so she could go. Although reluctant, he made her promise him that she would train, train, and train, while out in Angel Grove. She squealed in delight and accepted the compromise. Once she got in Angel Grove, she ran directly into Tommy's arms, and she didn't want to let go. She missed him that much.

She missed him now, even more.

And then she went back to training, and she became an emotional wreck, which led to the letter. A slight tear slid down her eye. She penned the letter to be hurtful; she wanted to make sure Tommy never came after her. She had to make sure their relationship ended, and she could finally move on from what they did—together.

"Here you go," Tommy returned from the kitchen and handed Kim a cup of water. They went to sit on the couch. There was silence, and then he broke it. "Do you know what you plan on doing when you get back?"

"Not too sure at this point; I just know I want to be home," Kim replied, and she looked at him. "Are you going to continue racing?"

"And being a Power Ranger, of course," he bent over and winked at her a little bit. They ended up laughing, and then he became serious. "How have you really been?"

"Are you talking about since that day, or the withdrawals, or the letter, or what just happened not too long ago with being dropped in that pit thingy," she hoped for him to clarify.

They really did have a lot to talk about, but he wanted the most important to come out first. "That day," he clarified, and he looked at Kim with a sorrowful expression. "I haven't stopped thinking about him."

"Neither have I," Kim sadly admitted. "He's what, about three right now?"

"Going to turn three in four months, five days, three hours and 17 seconds, oh, 16 seconds," he counted down.

"I'm surprised. You never did seem to remember your notebook or when we had a date, but you remember his birthday."

"He's my son, how could I forget him," Tommy questioned her.

"He's my son too," Kim reminded him, and she began to wipe the tears that were already descending on his face. "Tommy, tell me we did the right thing. Tell me we did the right thing," she demanded.

Tommy was conflicted. Now that he knew he was adopted, he would hate for his son to miss out on his origins as well. After taking some time to think, he wondered what his son looked like.

And then his mind drifted back to that time, and he knew why he chose to give his son up for adoption. Now, he wasn't so sure if that was the right choice. Part of him was selfish, and he admitted if Kim and him decided to keep their son, then maybe, just maybe, they would've stayed together and that hurtful letter would've never been written. However, the flip side was their son would be the target of mass kidnappings. He could barely handle Kim being snatched, so how would he handle his own flesh and blood being taken—he wouldn't handle it and he'd be even more irate than usual.

"Kim, we really did the right thing," he confessed. He placed a comforting hand on her knee, and she rested her head on his shoulder. "Zordon assured us our son would be in the right hands, and we knew with us as Power Rangers, and us having extra curricular activities, and with us being young, being parents was not an option. You know that and I know that."

"But would you have given up all of that to raise him," Kim seriously queried. "Would you have given up the karate, the racing, graduating high school and being a Power Ranger, knowing you could raise your child—our child?"

"Karate and racing, that's a no brainer, but being Power Ranger, we were chosen as protectors of the Earth for a reason, and I accepted my position," he responded, and he kept rubbing circles on her back.

"And if you weren't a Power Ranger," she inquired about, since that seemed to be the only thing that held him back from being a parent.

"Honestly, Kim," he used his index finger under her chin and lifted her head up. He wanted her to make eye contact with him. "I don't believe I would've met you then."

Shocked by his revelation, she shamefully looked away. She quickly buried her head into her hands. Then, she her head crushed in between her legs. She screamed at the top of her lungs. His muscular arms wrapped around her body, and she violently thrashed around. She hoped, wished, he would let go, but he wouldn't. She knew that. The world could've crumbled beneath her, but that still wouldn't have stopped her from letting this frustration out. She hadn't spoke of her feelings about giving up their son to anyone, not her parents, her best friends, and especially to Tommy. And she screamed and screamed until she didn't have the energy to continue on.

Once she stopped, she bawled her eyes out.

"Shh, shh, Kim, it's okay, it's okay," he understood the magnitude of her outburst.

When the two found out Kim was pregnant, the two of them made a pact. They would never speak to anyone about this. Not to their family, friends, doctors—no one. They opened up to their Guidance and Alpha 5 because they had the means to help keep this hidden. And that's what Zordon and Alpha did. They assisted them every step of the way in keeping this secret between them. Kim didn't want to arise any suspicion, and as her fatherly figures, the magical beings found ways to shield and protect her.

They created a band to conceal the ever growing baby bump. Her power suit was specially coated with material from Zordon's home. Alpha 5 was her appointed OB-GYN, and when it came to her increased eating habits, she would eat privately in the power chamber. After each battle, she was inspected to make sure there was no harm to the fetus.

And when they found the sex of the baby was a boy, Tommy was elated. He proudly shouted at the top of his lungs. He couldn't believe he was having a baby boy, but the joy was short lived. They had to make a decision. Either they raise the child, while being in high school and saving the world from evil, or they place the child for adoption. After agonizing over the pros and cons, they decided their unborn child would be best sent to live with a loving family.

Zordon agreed it was best, and he began the search. When he informed Tommy and Kim that he found suitable parents, they were both happy and sad. They knew this was best for their child, but this was their child. They weren't sure if they could let go.

A month after Zordon had found the parents, Kim's contractions started. Just because she wasn't showing visibly, that didn't mean what a pregnancy entailed hadn't or wasn't occurring within her body. The contractions were very strong, and she almost passed out, but she was able to touch her communicator and arrived in the Command Center. Tommy was teleported after that. He immediately rushed to her side. Alpha 5 helped to give birth.

And that's when he entered the world. A very healthy, 7 lbs 6 oz, 20 in. long baby boy was born. Kim and Tommy cried with joy. As the father, Tommy had the honor of cutting the umbilical cord. He wasn't sure if this was father's instincts, or some magic was tossed in, but he began to clean his son himself. He carefully bathed him, and then he swaddled him, and he brought their son to Kim. She was still crying; she was so happy he was healthy. And she held her son for the first time. Tommy kissed her forehead and said his devotion to her, and she reciprocated.

Alpha 5 began Kim's healing process, but he wasn't able to finish. Kim asked for some alone time with her newborn son. Tommy and Alpha 5 exited on her behalf.

That was a bittersweet moment.

"Tommy, I'm sorry about the letter," Kim sincerely apologized after her blowup. She continued speaking into his chest. "You have to know, there's no one else. I had to do something that would cause you to just stop talking to me."

"What, Kim, why," he gently questioned, and he became slightly confused.

"Back in Florida, I had a meltdown," she admitted, and she drank some water to soothe her burning throat. "The decision, the memories, the sadness, the anger, the happiness, it just came at me like a two ton truck. I didn't want to train, I didn't want to eat, and I became severely depressed."

"Why didn't you tell me, or call or something..."

"I wanted to, trust me I did, but we made a promise to not bring him up, and we were doing such a great job of putting up this facade, and, and...

"So, the letter was what exactly," he wanted answers.

She heavily exhaled a breath. "The letter was to make me forget about what we did. I needed to do something so drastic that would make me forget that we made a child out of love, and we decided to do what we thought was best. I wanted to get rid of all of the reminders of him somehow, and I thought giving you up was the best place to start, since you are the father," she honestly responded.

Tommy got off the couch. He began tersely pacing the floors. Now, he was beginning to feel the weight and aggravation of their decision. There was no other guy, he repeated and repeated to himself. Yes, he was angry with her lie, but he wasn't surprised. She really hadn't coped with their action. He turned to her calmly. "We did the right thing," he stated once more firmly. "You may not think we did, but we did."

The Crane Ninjetti felt some relief. Tommy wasn't as angry as he should've been. She was thankful for that. "Have you asked Zordon about him," Kim questioned.

"No," he admitted with some disgrace. "We never did say whether or not this was going to be an open or closed adoption," and then he thought about him finding out he was adopted. "Kim, I never told you, but last year, after we broke up, I found out I was adopted."

"What," Kim gasped at his admission. "Wait, what, how, when?"

"Maybe a day or two after I got your letters. I kept having these dreams about a hawk, and finally I just had to do something for myself. I went on a personal quest, and that's when it happened. I met my brother, David," he answered. He explained more to Kim about David, his mother and father, and him talking to his adoptive parents about why they kept this a secret. "Everything happens for a reason, and I believe I was sent away, so that I could become a Power Ranger. You really think Rita would've scoped me out on a reservation?"

"Pshh, she probably would've tried. We've had plenty of fights on sand or in a desert," Kim mildly quipped to loosen up the tension in the room. "Does anyone else know about this?"

"For the most part, I haven't told Trini, Zack, or Aisha, you know it's hard when they aren't the same country."

"Right," and Kim became a little bit more relaxed about the situation. "I have faith in who Zordon chose as his parents. And now knowing that you were adopted, and seeing how you turned out, minus your time as the evil Green Ranger, I'm guessing he's in great hands. So, do you forgive me for the letter?"

Tommy heartily smiled at her. He nodded. He pulled Kim in for a hug, and he held her for some time. When he finally let go, he pulled back a tendril of hair that was covering her face. He looked deep into her topaz colored eyes. They were just like how he remembered but with some sorrow mixed in. He was sure that sorrow would dissipate after she healed more from her decision. That didn't stop her from looking beautiful though. He bent down, and she kissed her cheek.

Kim froze at his soft kiss on her cheek. When he departed, she looked up at his chocolate brown eyes. She loved this man so much. They had been through quite of bit together. She never forgot the way he would make her feel in person, from afar, or in the bedroom. But she had to realize, they weren't lovers anymore. He was with Kat, and she had given him up. In no way, would she be a homewrecker.

"Kim, I should take you to your hotel," he got her attention.

"Okay, Tommy," she agreed, though she wished they could talk some more. She grabbed her purse and went to his front door. She patiently waited for him. "Tommy."

"Yes, Kim."

"Thank you for talking to me. I really appreciate it," she expressed her gratitude.

"Anytime, beautiful," he winked at her again, and he walked her to his truck, and he drove her back to the hotel room.