Chapter 9: Date and Discussions

"We can do this!" Conner argued with Ethan and Kira behind him nodding. Two of their mentors stood in front of them looking doubtful while Hayley was to the side agreeing with the young former Rangers. Tommy shot her a look that she promptly ignored.

"Hayley, stop nodding," Tommy ordered. "You're just doing it so that you and Billy can have a nice dinner."

"And I think they can handle it," Hayley continued, continuing her usual tone when she disagreed with him. "You've had them do it before."

"No," Kim said backing up Tommy. "We've had them watch the base, which they insist they only have to look at the cameras if there is an emergency, and we've had them watch the children. We've never had them do both at once."

"Stop worrying, Kim. We can handle it," Conner insisted. "Look, there's three of us and two relatively well-behaved children who understand the importance of not breaking anything in the Lair."

"Probably better than Conner," Ethan offered and Conner nodded before vehemently shaking his head.

"Hey!" He exclaimed as his partners snickered. "United front, remember?"

"Right," Ethan said, trying to sober up a bit. It, tragically, wasn't working very well and Kira wasn't much better behind him. They both tried to stifle their giggles and managed to put on a slightly serious face. "We can handle this."

Both Kim and Tommy didn't look convinced at that and Conner sighed. "We're not going to break anything, we won't let the kids break anything, we'll keep an eye on both the computers and the kids, and it will be fine. Seriously, go."

"You need this," Kira added. "We've saved the world, we've helped teach new Rangers, we're surrogate siblings for a couple of six-year-olds. We can handle this too."

They glanced around at their students unconvinced at first, but after a moment nodded and sighed. "If you really think you can…" Tommy began and Kira cut him off.

"Relax, Doctor O, we know what we're doing. Just have a good night, okay?" She said and Conner nodded.

"And don't come down to the Lair when you get back. We're going to spend the night down there with the kids to make sure that you guys don't have to listen for the alarms. Come on, Kim. Come on, Doctor O. Let us do this," Conner pushed and the two finally sighed and nodded. The trio nearly cheered, but were held back when they realized that that might destroy their argument. They had already convinced Billy, though he had reservations about letting Neen anywhere near Conner after the past Christmas and the Cookie Incident. Still, the other two had managed to convince him that they were sane, even if their partner wasn't, and he'd agreed.

They'd had been trying to convince all three of their mentors that taking breaks were healthy with varying degrees of success. Hayley had been more than willing to, but getting Billy was another story and their other two mentors seemingly refused at every turn, worried at what would happen if they did. Conner gently pushed Kim toward the door while Kira and Ethan dragged their former science teacher. A push from behind told Tommy that Hayley was helping. Once at the stairs, Hayley completely took over and dragged the other two out there door, smiling at the kids. They grinned at that and the door shut behind their mentors, leaving them alone in the Lair.

Conner turned to the other two. "Alright. Sleeping bags?"

"Check!" Ethan called out.

"Candy?"

"Enough to make Billy kill us tomorrow," Kira sighed, but her smile ruined the effect.

"Chips?"

"As much as the candy," his girlfriend added.

"Movies?" He demanded.

"Got them. Okay for the kids and absolutely no fish in any of them," Ethan said. With Kira's help, the two boys had gone through the movies one by one to make sure that there were no fish nor any marine life death in them.

"Good. We're set," Conner said happily. He headed over to the monitors and turned them on, preparing for the boring part of watch as the door opened and two hyper children came running down the stairs, sleeping bag and other necessities in hand. The raptors glanced up before going back to what they were doing. Unless something happened, they were taking the opportunity to rest. Conner turned to the kids. "You two ready?"

They both nodded excitedly and the night began.

Tommy led Kim into the restaurant, both of them dressed for the occasion. Tommy had rented a white tuxedo in memory to his White Ranger days while Kim had a pink dress that fit her well. She smiled softly at him and he smiled back at her before they entered the room. The maitre de set them up at a table that had been reserved by one of the trio in preparation. When they'd found out, right before they headed out the door, they'd been impressed by the younger generation's knowledge of what they liked.

They headed toward the table and sat down, accepting water for the moment while they decided what they wanted. Tommy glanced over the menu, quickly deciding before turning to Kim. "Having trouble deciding, Beautiful?" He teased.

She gave him a mock glare as she looked it over. "I'm just trying to decide between two dishes," she answered. "I'm thinking about a Caesar Salad first and then some pasta."

"Sounds good to me," he answered, smiling. "So, white wine?"

"That would go best," she agreed, accepting his idea. They were both calm, feeling better than they had in ages. It had been awhile since they'd been able to get away. They gave their orders to the waiter when he returned and turned back to each other deciding to talk about other matters.

"So, when did you want to tell the others?" He asked and she smiled.

"That we finally set a date? Soon. I just want to enjoy the small time of quiet before everything goes nuts. At least we agreed to do two weddings instead of Jason's one," she said with a sigh. "You heard what Billy said."

Tommy nodded, making sure no one was nearby. Fortunately, they were away from most people which made talking about such sensitive subjects easier. "I don't see why we need delegates from that many planets anyway. I only really like Aquitar and possibly Edenoi."

"Just be glad that we have friends on some of those planets who can come so that we don't have to deal with stuffy ambassadors. Dex and Trey both agreed to come and both of their planets agreed that by their princes coming, no one else had to. And can you honestly name five other people that we know who have had princes come to their wedding?" Kim asked, trying to placate him. She had to admit that it wasn't easy when she didn't like the idea either. She did, however, like the idea of going to war worse which she knew her fiancé wasn't thinking about.

"I fought with Dex and Trey. It's hard to consider someone royalty when you've been out there in the field with them," he reminded her, not accepting her reasoning. "Their encouraging me not to doesn't help either. How is it that we only meet the rulers of these planets. Trey, Dex, you'd think that we'd be meeting a general of some sort, but it's usually a prince."

"The Aquitian Rangers," she reminded him. "They're not royalty. But, I know what you mean. I'd personally like to meet one of these people who was a woman instead. That would make my day."

"Delphine was a woman," he reminded her. "And she led."

"I know," Kim said with a slight sigh. "Well, maybe the next one will be a girl."

"What do you mean 'next one'?" Tommy demanded. "We have enough trouble. Stop asking for more. Speaking of the Aquitian Rangers, did they agree to come?"

Kim nodded and then laughed a bit. "But from what Delphine was saying, quite a few Aquitians wanted to come, dry world or not. Delphine had to explain that we probably wouldn't have enough room for a planet according to Billy. I think they're the race that we're allied with the most."

"Well, we're not exactly advanced compared to some of the others," Tommy told her as he mimicked a mocking voice. He looked a little disgusted at that and changed the subject slightly. "If it's alright with you, since he knows, do you think that David could come to both?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way. Besides, lots of people will be coming for both: Anton and Elsa, Hayley, all of the originals…" she started and sighed. "What about the kids?"

"It'll look weird if they don't come for ours when they came to Jason's since they knew Jason through me. Dante will be easy to get in, if he wants to come, just because he's Neen's friend. Let's have the new four come to the second one though," he said. "No sense in making things worse. We have excuses for everyone else so we don't have to go through that hell again."

Kim nodded, shuddering at thoughts of Trini's wedding. "Hopefully, things will be easier this time around," she said and paused. She looked a little uncomfortable, which Tommy immediately noticed. He reached across the table and took her hand.

"What's wrong, Kim?" He asked and she sighed.

"We're in a restaurant," she informed him and he looked confused.

"You're upset because we went out to dinner?" He asked and she closed her eyes as she shook her head.

"I just don't want you to break anything," she answered. He sighed and smiled at her.

"I promise, Beautiful, I won't," he assured her. She shrugged and reached into her purse, pulling out a box with a sheet of paper. She made sure that none of the waiters were around before she set them down in front of him. She opened the box and in it laid a beautiful piece for the top of any wedding cake. It had a dragon and a pterodactyl resting down on the bottom. On one side was a tiger on its back legs with its front legs upward together. On another, there was a firebird reaching toward the sky with its wings, only its tail touching the ground. They held up a disk. On it, there were two pedestals, one of the left and one of the right which contained a crane and a falcon watching the middle piece: the extreme likeness of Tommy and Kim. It was made from some sort of metal and was beautifully crafted. "You were worried I'd be angry over this? Who sent it?"

"That's why you might be angry," she answered, taking the gift and handing him the letter. As he opened it, it spoke instead of just allowing him to read it. It wasn't spoken loudly and as long as the waiters weren't near the table, it wouldn't be an issue with the other clientele talking.

Young Dragon, Graceful Pterodactyl:

We send you greetings and hope that you are well. We have heard that your marriage is to be getting underway shortly. While we are, understandably, not invited, we wished to give you a gift nonetheless.

We hope that your wedding will go well. Thomas Oliver, Kimberly Hart, good luck.

Lord Zedd and Lady Rita

Tommy glanced over at Kim who shrugged. He felt the anger rise a bit. "How did they know?"

"Our wedding seems to be pretty important on every other planet," she reminded him. "Save the universe a few times and they tend to appreciate it. Well, some do."

"Still, Rita and Zedd… It doesn't seem right," he grimaced and Kim gave him a stern look.

"Don't let Trini and Jason hear you say that," she scolded. "They'll give you a twenty minute lecture on how our former enemies saved your life."

Tommy winced at that. He knew she was right and, as much as he would have liked to think of the whole thing as a dream with Dream Rita and Dream Zedd, the fact that their bodies were humanish disproved that theory. "You're right."

"Besides, it's a beautiful gift. We have to use it on the second wedding cake," she told him. He nodded and took her hand, giving her a small smile.

"We will," he promised. No matter what, it was a beautiful piece. They continued their conversation on to other things, knowing their food would be there soon. They didn't want their waiter to hear what was going on. Therefore, it was a bit of a shock when their communicators went off. They both looked at each other in slight panic before Tommy quickly answered. "Guys?"

"You tell him," Ethan's voice came on, obviously having not heard Tommy's voice.

"Uh uh," Kira's voice came into hearing. "Conner's the leader. Conner, you do it."

"I don't want to!" The former red Ranger proclaimed. "I'm sick of giving bad news."

"I will do it," offered Neen and there was a general protest about not making the kids do it. As annoyed as they were, both mentors found a sort of irony that the younger immature Rangers weren't willing to let Neen while the eldest Rangers were.

"Fine. I've got it. Again. Look, Doctor O, Kim. We weren't spying or anything, but close to the restaurant there are a bunch of Tarantumen outside the restaurant. It didn't look like they were hurting anything, so we weren't sure if we should call in the Planetary Rangers since they're not good with stealth," Conner said, sounding uneasy. Though, to be fair, neither of his mentors were sure if they would have been comfortable interrupting Zordon if he'd been on a date. A second after that, they realized that they wouldn't have been comfortable with the idea of Zordon on a date in the first place. Tommy looked at Kim, who nodded.

"We've got it guys," Tommy assured them. "Just… keep an eye on things, okay? Can you tell exactly where they are?"

"No," Conner answered. "We just know they're close."

"Thanks, guys," Kim said honestly. "We'll take care of it."

"We're really sorry," Kira said and Tommy gave a half smile, even though she couldn't see it.

"We know," he told her. "Tommy out."

Kim looked at their dinner which the waiter was bringing over and back at Tommy. "I don't know about you, Tommy, but I don't want to ditch our dinner."

"We had enough of that back in Angel Grove," he agreed. "How about we take turns?"

She nodded in agreement at that. The two switch on and off, carefully examining various areas near the building, while only being gone for short periods of a time. Their dinner finally was concluded and they left after paying the bill. Without that stress on them, they could find what they were looking for, stop it or call in the Rangers, and head out for a more romantic desert. Considering how their night was going, they really wanted that last part so it wasn't a surprise when Tommy considered splitting up. Kim headed in one way while Tommy headed in the other.

Kim headed toward the left, keeping quiet so that she wouldn't be seen. By now, they'd all been told about the vibrations that spiders could sense and while walking definitely didn't help that, she was nearly certain that making even more noise wouldn't help. Still, after a few minutes, she was pretty sure that she wasn't making any progress and hoped that Tommy was having better luck especially since, though she hated to admit it, he could probably handle a group of Tarantumen better than her at the moment considering that he could make them lose one sense with the invisibility.

"Lost?" Kim whipped her head around and turned to see a man standing there. With all of the knowledge she had on aliens and monsters, it didn't take her long to decide that he was undoubtedly human. An annoying human from what she could tell with a supposedly charming smile. She recognized him from the restaurant and had the feeling that she wasn't going to like anything that came out of his mouth.

"Just looking around," she said, trying to move on but he wasn't that easy to get rid of.

"Would you like some help?" He asked and she shook her head.

"No thank you. My fiancé is helping already," she answered, hoping that would get him to back off.

"You mean the guy who kept ditching you?" He asked. "Doesn't seem like a great guy to me."

"Well, he doesn't have to. You're not the one dating him," Kim pointedly reminded him.

"Still, you could do so much better," the man offered and Kim rolled her eyes. She decided against answering, knowing that it would probably encourage him. "Like me."

Or it doesn't matter what I say. He's going to keep trying. It's probably a good thing Tommy isn't here. It's hard to have a wedding when the groom is in jail for assault. She turned to him, looking quite serious. "Look, I'm just not interested."

"Give me a chance," he continued. "What could it hurt?"

Kim nearly growled as she turned away, hearing him follow. She had the feeling that this was going to be a very long search and with the other yapping the whole way, the Tarantumen would know she was coming. She stopped, quickly, at that. They knew who she was and they weren't too big on ignoring civilians. There had been several murders that the newest Rangers hadn't been able to stop after all and Kim would have a hard time fighting off even one without having to worry about multiple ones and having to save the man behind her. She glanced back toward the restaurant, but she'd be giving up looking if she did so. Someone else could get hurt. If she continued on, both he and herself could get hurt. She was beginning to understand the term in between a rock and a hard place.

Unknowing about the plight of his fiancé, Tommy scoped his own side, looking around for the creatures. He'd turned his invisibility on at this point since it would mean that he wouldn't have to worry about being sighted. He couldn't do that with sound, but having a little cover was better than nothing. It was more than Kim had after all. He'd hated leaving her to look on her own, but he'd been getting slightly better as time went on. Besides, they were close enough that if she had trouble, he could be there fast enough. It wasn't like they were looking on opposite parts of town.

Jason had told him again and again that Kim didn't need to be looked after and that she'd done quite well before he became the white Ranger. Tommy had argued back that Jason wasn't much better, but the former Red had disagreed and pointed out that he had never slowed down Trini or Kim. He didn't blame Tommy, claiming that needing to save the day was part of his best friend's DNA, but he did remind him that he needed to back down a bit more. Jason joked that he could be overprotective of Kira instead, but Tommy shot that down with a mutter that her dating Conner had already put a stop to that. He knew the younger Red wouldn't do anything, well, other than be tactless, but Kira was used to that. Besides, it was never a good idea to try to protect a Yellow whether or not they were your surrogate daughter.

He shook his head and started to pay attention to the situation once more, listening for anything important. That was paid off when he heard the familiar scurrying and was relieved to find that he had come across them. Instead of charging in, like he wanted to, he took the time to watch and hone his observation skills. He had the feeling that when he told the others, there would be several jokes about him growing up and learning.

They were picking up small mounds of dirt and carrying it off. One by one they continued to do so in the dark, behind the restaurant where there were trees and dirt. They ignored the plants completely as they continued their task, merely wanting to get what they had apparently come for back to their mistress. Tommy didn't interrupt in case they decided to gather anything else. While he didn't like the idea of letting them get away with anything, he knew that sometimes observing was a better idea than stopping. Perhaps Hayley and Billy would know what they were up to and if Conner got the job…

He quickly put a stop to that thought, reminding himself that he didn't want the boy anywhere near that psychopath. Why they had thought that putting him anywhere near the same creature who had kidnapped him before was a good idea was beyond him. He hadn't fought against it, but that wouldn't stop him from hoping that the younger man would be rejected. Still, even he had to admit that it was a good idea and if he got it, it could be a lot of help for the team. He shoved all those thoughts away quickly after and continued to watch, not wanting to deal with that part of the future.

Kim was about ready to go to jail for committing assault herself, though she was somehow keeping herself in check. The man was simply not leaving her alone, no matter how many times she'd told him she wasn't interested. She couldn't keep going considering that would let on who she was, but she hated to quit because of one man too. She knew right there was safe since none of the creatures had shown up yet and the way the man was going on, one would have. Stupid rich boy. Oops, sorry Wes. She winced a bit at that before deciding the Red Time Force Ranger would probably agree with her. Hmm… I'll have to ask him how to get rid of these guys. If he flashes his wallet one more time…

"So, how about an after dinner drink…" he started, but was cut off by a different voice.

"Mom!" Both Kim and the other man whipped their head around to see Dante racing across to catch up with them. Kira was on his heels, pretending to be tired. At least, Kim hoped she was pretending since she knew how Neen and Dante could get. She was staring at them just about as much as the man was. "Mom, you said you'd be home by now."

Kira had to remind herself to keep a straight face as she stood before her mentor and this jerk that wasn't leaving her alone. Dante was doing a much better job at being the distressed child than she was at being the baby-sitter. "I'm sorry, Kim," she said. "But it was getting late and you left your cell-phone at home again."

"He won't leave her alone," Ethan had snapped, nearly breaking the table with his fist. Kira had the feeling that he'd toned it down a bit since the former Blue tended to use his own power when he got angry. She glanced over and saw that Conner didn't look much happier as he stared at the monitor. They'd promised themselves to only keep an eye on the mentor who left, but once they both had, they'd kept an eye on both. Therefore, they'd been watching the disgusting display for as long as Kim had been enduring it.

"Aunt Kimberly has Uncle Tommy," Neen said, looking more than a little confused. Dante wasn't.

"He doesn't care," Dante answered. "He just likes her 'cause she's pretty."

"How do you know?" Conner demanded, not liking the idea of young kid knowing something like that and Dante shrugged.

"My mommy goes through it," he answered. "She doesn't mind, though. And they go away when they see me."

"Why?" Neen asked and Dante shrugged. However, the other three grinned catching on to what had happened with Dante's mother's relationships.

"Dante, you're brilliant!" Conner exclaimed to both Neen and Dante's continued confusion. They had the feeling that they were going to stay that way for a lot of the night. What the were weren't expecting was what Conner said next. "Kira, you'll have to be the baby-sitter."

"Why me?" She demanded and Conner shrugged.

"Because it's typically a girl and we've got to make this jack… err… jerk believe it. He doesn't look like the kind of guy who's going to believe Ethan and I are baby-sitting. Dante, you're going to be Kim's kid, okay? Sorry Neen, but Dante has a better grasp of the language of six-year-olds. Ethan, Neen, and I will watch from here," Conner said, using his best leadership voice. Dante shrugged, but nodded. He didn't mind being involved. Kira sighed, but nodded as she wanted to help Kim in some way. She just really hoped this worked.

If Kim was confused as to what was going on, she didn't let on. Instead, she managed to pull an embarrassed look off perfectly as she wrapped an arm around Dante, kissing the top of his forehead before looking back at Kira. "I'm sorry, Kira," she said honestly, doing a much better job than Kira at acting if Kira was any judge. Still, Kira wasn't rolling around laughing like she was sure her teammates would have been doing.

"You have a kid?!" The man's eyes widened in disgust and he backed away as Kim shrugged. "Why didn't you say anything?!"

"It's really none of your business," Kim answered. She couldn't help herself as she continued. "Did you still want that date?"

He ran off before she could continue, fortunately heading back to the restaurant which meant that Kim didn't have to worry about him. She waited until he was out of earshot before she turned to Kira and Dante, giving them as much of a scolding look as she could. "Spying?" She asked and Kira looked a little uneasy about it as Kim spoke into her morpher as well. "Conner, Ethan, I know you two are watching too."

"Hey Kim," both boys said sheepishly, forgetting that Kim might not like that they were keeping an eye on her.

"We weren't spying!" Ethan said quickly.

"We were keeping an eye on you," Conner continued.

"We are watching Uncle Tommy as well in case the Tarantumen would attack. We could not inform you before, but he has found them," Neen finished. Kim noted that the only one that seemed calm was the young girl.

Kira looked just as sheepish as her teammates sounded. "We just saw what he was doing and…" She wasn't able to finish as Kim pulled Dante and her into a bear hug which effectively cut her off.

"Thank you," she answered. "I was about ready to deck him. And that goes for you three as well. I'm sure all of you had something to do with this idea."

"You're welcome," Dante answered happily and Kira took the boy's hand as Kim let them go.

"If you're okay now, I should get him home," Kira said and Kim nodded, smiling as the transporter took them away.

"When you and Doctor O are ready to finish your date, don't worry. We won't be watching any more," Ethan promised.

"Yeah. None of us want to be scarred for life anyway," Conner added. Kim, knowing they could see her, glared in his direction.

"Conner…" she began.

"Gotta go," the former red Ranger said quickly and hung up. Kim sighed and shook her head as she went looking for her missing boyfriend.

By the time everything with Kim had ended, Tommy was finishing up watching. The last of the Tarantumen were leaving and Tommy took a minute or two before letting down the invisibility and heading over to the dirt they'd been acquiring. He memorized where it was and promised himself that he would let Hayley and Billy know in the morning. He wasn't about to disturb both dates since both Hayley and Kim would murder him and not necessarily at the same time. He had no doubt in Hayley's abilities that she would find a way to bring him back and kill him a second time.

"Everything okay, Handsome?" He whipped his head around and nearly fell over in relief when he saw Kim smiling at him. He reached over and pulled her into a hug.

"They were just stealing dirt," he answered. "We can look into it tomorrow."

"Well, I'm glad your search went better," she told him and let him know about her own night, which caused his blood to boil right up to the part where he could just see the man getting out of there as quickly as possible.

"Those kids," Tommy said, shaking his head and Kim smiled.

"Hush," she teased. "We have the best kids in the world. Besides, it was a good plan."

"Better than letting the raptors loose on the guy," Tommy agreed. He had no doubt that the boys would have done it if the guy would have laid one hand on their female mentor unless they decided to handle the problem themselves. Conner especially was protective of the former pink Ranger, especially after nearly losing her the year before.

Kim laughed at the comment before putting on a pouting face. "Ice cream?" She asked and Tommy laughed.

"Of course," he assured her.

"Tommy? Let's tell everyone tomorrow," she said and at his confused look, she continued. "That we set a date. If Rita and Zedd already know we're having a wedding, we should tell our family when it is."

Tommy chuckled at that and nodded as he led the way to get them ice cream. He did glare upwards just in case the trio were still watching, but after that he let himself fall into the ease that he was with the woman he loved, on a wonderful date, and he was going to go get ice cream. Life was good.

Author's Note: I wanted a dating chapter to take away from the serious tone of the story. Especially since the next chapter is going to be a lot more serious and start the second part of the story. And yes, everything should ties itself back together by the end of it. Therefore, I created this chapter to be a sort of barrier. A hopefully good barrier between the first and second parts of the story. Besides, Tommy and Kim really needed a night out.

Thank you for all of the reviews! I appreciate all of them!