Author's Note: As much fun as I am having with the fluffy scene between Jason and Kat, it's time to get this story back on track. We've got quite a few dark, suspenseful chapters coming up with just a bit of fluff thrown in. Oh and for those that don't remember, Anna is Tommy's live in girlfriend. She's a few years younger than everyone else. In this story the former rangers are all thirty-two to thirty-three, Anna is twenty-nine. Just thought I should say that since I realized I never did.

Shoutouts: brankel1- I'm glad that you liked the last chapter, I always find it sweet when everyone, but the couple realizes that they're in love. It's ironic and cute. Anyway, thanks for reviewing and sticking with my story. Hope you like the next chapter too.

Ghostwriter- I'm happy you loved the last chapter, hopefully as I get back into the darker side of this story you still like it. Enjoy the newest chapter!

Jeremy Shane- Thank you for sticking with this story, it really is very nice to know that there are people out there liking what I write and taking the time to let me know. Here's more for you. Enjoy!

Chapter 10

The next day the girls were decorating Kimberly and Zack's condo for the welcome home party, while the guys were outside using the new grill to make lunch. Tommy and Anna had managed to find substitutes and come over to welcome baby Kyle home.

"The yard looks amazing guys." Tommy commented as he sank onto a lawn chair.

"Thanks." Adam grinned.

"Anna sure looks great." Jason commented.

"Yeah, I'm so lucky she gave me another chance." Tommy nodded. "I've been doing some thinking and I'm going to go for it. I'm going to propose to Anna."

"That's great!" Adam exclaimed.

"I'm happy for you." Jason nodded.

"What made you finally decide that?" Billy asked with a smile.

"Kat." Tommy replied.

"How'd Kat help you decide to marry Anna?" Jason questioned as he sat up a little straighter in his chair.

"She called me on Tuesday..." Tommy shrugged.

"What did she call you about?" Jason cut in.

"I'm not going to tell you that." Tommy shook his head.

"Because it was about me." Jason raised an eyebrow. "She called you then showed up at my house. I had a suspicion it was something like that, although I thought it was Tanya she talked to."

"I didn't tell her to go running to you." Tommy shook his head. "She told me that she was going to think things over while you were gone, and then when I get here she's here too."

"So how did Kat help you decide?" Adam asked trying to get Tommy back on topic.

"I realized how closed off Kat has become and that I was starting to build up walls like that too. I was hesitating moving too far with Anna because I was afraid of getting hurt again. I wasn't sure if I wanted to try to start a family for fear that people would think I forgot about Charlie, but I realized finally that it's not forgetting Charlie to move on. It's not healthy, or a tribute to him, to stay locked into his memory, like Kat is. And well, it sounds really mean, but I don't want to end up like Kat."

"That does sound mean." Jason nodded but quickly continued seeing that Tommy was about to argue. "But I know what you mean. Kat is stuck in the past, haunted by the memory of a little boy that she never was. She's closed herself off to having any kind of relationship with anyone."

"You know Jason, that if you really want to be with Kat, you're going to have to work really hard to break down those walls that she built up around herself." Billy commented.

"I know." Jason sighed. "I'm trying to decide if it's worth it."

"Trust me Jase, once Kat let's you in it's worth everything and anything in the world." Tommy assured his friend.

"I know Kat's worth it, but she'll have to leave sometime to return to New York. What I'm trying to decide is if the pain of her leaving is worth it." Jason explained.

"Tough decision." Adam gave a low whistle.

"Sounds like Kat's already invaded your walls." Billy said.

"Of course she has, that's why he bought her jewelery already." Adam laughed.

"You bought Kat jewelery?" Tommy questioned.

"Just a necklace and matching earrings." Jason shrugged. "It's nothing too fancy but I was hoping she would wear it to the policeman's ball."

"Think she'll go with you?"

"Not sure, but I hope so." Jason nodded.

"Good luck man." Tommy gave Jason a half smile. "Just remember that Kat herself is worth any mountain you have to climb."

"But it hurts like hell when she leaves."

"I can't lie, it does." Tommy nodded.

"That's the part I'm afraid of." Jason sighed as he leaned back against the lawn chair. Who am I kidding? It's going to hurt like hell no matter what I do now. She's already too deep under my skin.

XXXXXXXXXX

"So what grade do you teach Anna?" Trini asked the lovely caramel haired woman standing next to her.

"Second." Anna beamed, her hazel eyes twinkling with pure delight. "I just adore children."

"You'd have to in order to actually enjoy your job." Aisha laughed.

"I can only hope that someday I can have a couple of my own."

"Have you talked to Tommy about that? After all you guys are living together, shouldn't you be discussing your future?" Trini raised a dark eyebrow at the shorter woman.

"No." Anna shook her head. "I'm letting Tommy set the pace this time. I scared him off before when I starting talking about having a family with him."

"That means you know about Charlie, don't you?" Kat asked from across the room where she was rearranging the presents for Kimberly and Kyle.

"Yes, Tommy told me about Charlie." Anna nodded sadly. "I'm very sorry, Katherine."

"Thank you, it was a long time ago though. You can call me Kat, by the way." Kat turned around to look at the younger woman. "If you wait for Tommy to bring up this serious of a conversation you're going to be waiting till the end of time. While Tommy is as big a sweetheart as they come, he's a bit... dense, for lack of a better word. He won't talk about something like this on his own, you have to bring it up to him."

"I just don't want to scare him off again. Everything is going so well this time around." Anna sighed.

"Tommy had you move in with him, that means that he is serious about you." Kat said as she moved across the room toward the other women. "If you don't talk to Tommy about what you want out of your relationship, there's a good chance you could get strung along for years until it's too late to move on with someone else."

"I know." Anna closed her eyes and tipped her head back. "I just don't know what to say and I'm scared of the possibility that he'll say he isn't ready. I love Tommy so much, I just can't stand the thought of loosing him."

"We understand that Anna, but Kat's right. If you don't talk to him, one day you'll wake up and realize that your life has passed you by and you're too old to start over." Trini laid a gentle hand on Anna's shoulder.

"Trust me Anna, I know Tommy better than anyone else." Kat said. "He will talk to you if you bring it up. Sure he might get mad at first, that's just Tommy, but he will listen to you. After a while he'll really start to think about what you said. And then, he'll come back to you and tell you the truth. Most likely Tommy is ready to move on. Moving you into his house is proof that he's on the right road and you're going with him down that path."

"You really think so?" Hope and joy filled Anna's hazel eyes.

"I'm sure." Kat smiled warmly at her.

"Thank you so much, Kat." Anna grinned back. "To be honest, I thought for sure that you were going to hate me."

"Because you're with Tommy?" Kat raised an eyebrow as Anna nodded. "Nonsense. Although I can understand why you would think that. But if we all went around hating the person our ex's moved on with, none of us would be friends anymore."

"What's that mean?" Anna asked.

"I, for example, am married to Adam. Adam and Tanya dated very seriously for quite a few years before they broke up. Tanya married Rocky, he's been Adam's best friend since grade school." Trini explained.

"I married Trini's ex, Billy." Aisha grinned. "She doesn't hate me... or at least she doesn't tell me she hates me."

"Of course I don't hate you." Trini laughed.

"You wouldn't tell me to my face if you did anyway." Aisha stuck her tongue out at her predecessor. Trini just rolled her eyes.

"Kimberly never hated me when I started dating Tommy." Kat added.

"You guys really do keep to yourselves." Anna laughed.

"I take it she knows." Aisha nudged Trini.

"About the rangers?" Anna grinned. "Tommy told me about all of you when I moved in."

"I was wondering about that." Kat nodded. "He was a little too open about using the 'R' word while on the phone with me the other day."

"That shows you how much he really trusts you." Trini. "He has to trust you wholeheartedly if he told you about all of us."

"I never thought of that." Anna paused. "I guess he really does then."

"Just another sign that he is ready to move on." Kat smiled.

"They're here!" Aisha exclaimed as she spotted Zack and Kimberly's car pull up in the driveway. She quickly ran out to the yard and gathered the guys into the livingroom near the doorway.

"Surprise!" they all shouted as Zack and Kimberly walked in with their new son.

"Oh my... Thank you so much guys." Kimberly cried as she looked around the room.

"We've already got lunch going." Adam said.

"That's great guys, thank you!" Zack beamed. "Tommy! Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

"We wanted to surprise you guys." Tommy beamed as she grabbed hold of Anna's hands. "This is Anna. Anna, this is Zack and Kimberly."

"Nice to meet you." Anna smiled at the couple. "Congratulations."

"Thank you." Kim's grin widened. "You sure are a pretty little thing."

"Thank you." Anna blushed.

"Kim, how can you call her 'little' when you're shorter than she is?" Zack quipped.

"You really are trying to push your luck aren't you Zack?"

"Okay, that's enough children." Tommy laughed. "Let's see the little guy."

"Sure!" Zack said excitedly. He proudly carried the carseat to the living and set it down on the sofa. He undid the straps and lifted the tiny infant into his arms. "Do you want to hold him Anna?"

"Of course!" Anna exclaimed as she rushed over to Zack. He carefully laid his son in her waiting arms. Jason elbowed Tommy in the ribs and gestured toward Anna.

"I know." Tommy nodded. "I'm going to talk to her."

The afternoon flew by as everyone fussed over Kyle and Kimberly. Zack had nearly jumped for joy when he saw the new grill the guys had got for him. He could finally throw his cheap, small grill away.

"I just love the new swingset, it's prefect." Kimberly grinned. "Thank you all so much."

"You're welcome short stuff." Jason replied with a grin.

"You're really going to start the name calling, meat head?" Kimberly crossed her arms over her chest.

"Meat head? What the..."

"Muscle man work better for you?" Kimberly grinned.

"That's just mean." Jason pretended to pout by crossing his arms and slouching into a ball on the couch and sticking out his bottom lip. Kat was laughing hysterically at how comical it was to see a big man like Jason, acting like a five year old.

She was still laughing when her phone starting ringing. "Hillard here." Kat answered trying to keep her voice calm, but failing miserably. Suddenly she stood from the couch all playfulness and good humor gone in an instant. "What?"

"What's going on?" Jason straightened his back, but Kat waved him off.

"Alright, I'm on the way. Call for a chopper... Process the scene... No, I want to be there to do that... Okay, see you soon Russ." Kat ended her phone call.

"What happened?" Tommy asked.

"I'm so sorry to run out like this." Kat sighed.

"What's going on?" Aisha repeated. Kat however, seemed to be a world of her own.

"Jason could you bring my suitcase back with you?... I've got meet the chopper, oh crap, I need to call a cab..."

"Katherine!" Jason said sternly. Kat finally paused in her ramblings and looked at him. "What's going on?"

Kat let out a heavy sigh. "There's another victim." Everyone in the room gasped and fell silent.

"Should I come with you?" Jason asked after a few moments.

"No, it'll be okay." Kat shook her head. "You've got your truck here, just stay and spend time with everyone. I'll give you a full report when you get back."

"Kat, I'm the lead investigator from PD, I should be there." Jason argued. "I'm coming back with you."

"Alright then." Kat nodded realizing that Jason wasn't going to back down. "What about your truck?"

"I can drive it back tomorrow." Adam suggested.

"Thanks Adam." Jason nodded. "Can you give us a lift to the airfield?"

"Sure."

"Thanks Adam."

"Don't thank me, you guys have an important job to do. It keeps all of us safe."

"Catch this guy." Kimberly said as she stood and gave both her friends a hug.

"I promise you, I'll take this guy down." Kat said, steely determination shinning her blue eyes. "No matter what, I'll get him."

XXXXXXXXXX

In just over an hour, Kat and Jason were standing at the crime scene. They had gathered up their belongings from the hotel, checked out and made arrangements for a cab to pick them up at the airfield in Angel Grove.

"What do we have this time Russ?" Kat asked as she and Jason approached the barricades. Her voice was full of authority as she took control of the scene.

"This is his youngest victim." Russ said sadly.

"Shit!" Kat hissed. "How old?"

"Sixteen, still in high school." Russ answered.

"Just a baby." Jason shook his head.

"We've processed everything except the body." Russ reported. "Victim is Kelly Moses, a junior at AGHS. Active in both cheerleading and track as well as an avid surfer. Her parents called her in missing last night, but because of the twenty-four hour hold on missing persons, she wasn't officially missing."

"Have I said how much I hate the stupid rule?" Kat groaned. She had said before that the twenty-four hour policy on mission persons needed to be revised. "Have we got any leads?"

"I've got one!" Tom cut in as the trio walked past him.

"What have you got Tom?" Jason asked.

"One of Kelly's friends told her parents that she saw Kelly talking to a guy yesterday afternoon outside the mall." Tom reported.

Kat's heart sped up, no one had ever seen the 'Angel Killer' with any of the victims. "Did she get a good look at him?"

"The only thing she really could tell us, was that he's got dark hair, almost black and that he's tall. I mean like really tall."

"How about skin color or facial features?" Jason asked hopefully.

"No, he was standing in between the open drivers side door and the vehicle body, she couldn't see anything except the top of his head, that's how she knows he was really tall. He was driving an SUV and stood taller than it... but she's pretty sure he's white, although we can't verify that."

"She's pretty sure?" Kat raised an eyebrow.

"She said it was the hair." Tom shrugged. "Said it was fine and smooth, most likely belonging to a white guy."

"How about the vehicle?" Russ asked.

"She gave us a good description of that, but sadly she didn't think too much of it, so she didn't get the plate. She's really kicking herself for that."

"She's given us more than anyone else ever has." Kat said. "Does she know about her friend?"

"No, not yet. I questioned her as if filing a missing persons report."

"Good work Tom, I want you to follow up on that vehicle. Take Rachel with you."

"Yes ma'am." Tom nodded and walked away to find Agent Dawson as Kat, Jason, and Russ continued onto the body. Kale and Dell were kneeling on the ground near the white sheet.

"We should warn you ma'am, that he's changed he's MO slightly." Dell warned as Kat squatted down on her haunches.

"How so?"

"You'll just have to see." Kale said a bit shakily. It had to be bad to affect a seasoned agent like Kale Rivers.

Kat drew back the sheet and meet the unseeing gaze of Kelly Moses. Her dark blue eyes were wide open, her golden blonde hair brushed back neatly, white daises haloed her head, and a single tiny red rose behind her ear. Everything seemed to be the same, until she actually began to study the body.

Kelly's slender pale neck had been sliced open, exposing red meaty flesh. Kat shuddered as she examined the slash. "Jesus, it's so deep. He nearly decapitated her."

"Rach says that changing his MO like this means that his killings are getting more personal. He's getting more dangerous." Dell explained.

"He slit her throat from the front." Kat said as if she didn't hear Dell, but he had worked with her long enough to know she didn't miss much.

"How do you know that?" Jason asked as he too studied the wound, even as he stomach churned. How could Kat remain so calm seeing this? He mused.

"The angle of the cut." Kat explained as she followed the cut with her finger, showing Jason what she saw. "He's left handed."

"So were looking for a left handed, dark haired man, presumably white, who drive an SUV." Jason mused aloud.

"Presumably white?" Dell raised an eyebrow.

"We'll explain later." Russ said. "What's the plan now boss lady?"

"Let the CSI's process the body. Jason and I will inform the family." Kat said as she stood, a heavy frown marring her lovely features. "Then gather the team, we're going to go over every statement from each and every case. We're going back to the beginning of this thing."