Chapter 24
"Hayley, why did you call me here?" Kat asked her as she sat down next to her at the computer.
"Because of Kim." Hayley said as she turned from the computer to face Kat.
"Is that the only reason?" She asked her.
"No. I know that they are his friends but they want him with her. She broke his heart before. I am afraid that she will do it again." She answered honestly. She was worried about her best friend.
"It was a long time ago. They have both grown up." Kat pointed out.
"I know but he was so scarred by her." She whispered. They could hear the others talking but not what they were saying.
"I know. I was there when he got the letter. We should have made him talk to her all those years ago. I understand why she sent him that letter. We talked about it after we saved her from Maligore." Kat said.
"I am just not sure about her. I mean I know that she is a good person because she is a former ranger. I am just worried about Tommy falling for her." Haley said.
"Well I'm sorry, but Tommy has already fallen for her. He did that with his first look at her. I am told that it was the same for Kim. I guess love at first sight does exist. They have overcome so much that they really deserve this second chance." Kat said sadly.
"Why did you come if you were not going to interfere?" Hayley asked her.
"I thought that if there was no hope for them then I would try. I saw them together. They were the same when I first met them. The other reason is to be included in that group. I was a ranger but I never really became a part of their group." Kat said as she crossed her legs. She flicked back her blond hair from her face. She was trying to hold it together.
"Why were you never included? I mean you are a former ranger with them." Hayley said as she readjusted. The chairs just weren't comfortable. They heard a stampede of footsteps going out the door.
"I was never offered that hand. Kim is the one who does that. She did it with every one of them even the Dinos. I saw them in the group. The others looked to her because she is the heart of the team. I knew that when I became the Pink Ranger. I thought that I could do it and be in that group. It never happened. Tanya was included. When Adam purposed to her he took her to see Kim. She gave him her blessings. He knew that Tanya needed Kim's blessings to be in the tight circle of friends." Kat said.
"Wow. I didn't know that. I know that Tanya was a ranger before but Adam really took her to meet Kim?" Hayley asked.
"Yea, even though Kim had met her when we became Turbo Adam wanted Kim to meet her again so that they could talk." Kat said through her tears. She had not even realized that she had started crying. She was trying to hold it in but she failed.
"Oh, Kat. I am sorry. I shouldn't have called you to help Tommy get over Kim." Hayley said.
"No, its fine. I told you I want to be in that circle. I want to apart of this and I know that even though it hurts you Tommy and Kim do belong together. I want you to watch them together and you will see what I mean. They fit together so seamlessly. You cannot tell where one ends and the other begins." Kat said with a smile.
"I will pay attention. I know that Tommy wants her. I guess that I have to admit that I wanted to be in that group too. I hope that I could be. I want to be in it." Hayley admitted.
"I do have a question. Has Rocky ever pulled a prank on you?" Kat asked.
"Yes, in fact he has pulled two on me." Hayley said angrily.
"You are in then all you need is Kim's hand. You see if Rocky does that then everyone likes you. He gets there thoughts on pranks to pull on people. I am sure that he asked Tommy what to do and since Tommy let him do it then you are one of them." Kat said with a smile.
"What? Is that true? I wondered why Tommy never said anything to him. He just shrugged and walked away," Hayley said.
"Well now you know. It is Rocky's way of inviting you into the circle. The last obstacle is to have Kim's approval." Kat said sadly. She hoped that she would still have a chance of doing that.
"Well since I called you it might not happen now." Hayley said with a smile.
"Oh Kim can forgive a lot. She was the one to first forgive Tommy when they broke Rita's spell. She chose me to be the Pink Ranger after her after I broke Rita's spell. She has a big heart. I hope that she remembers that." Kat said as she looked towards the stairs.
They heard footsteps come back into the house. Hayley turned back to the computer to scan Reefside. She hoped that Mesogogg would take a day off but he probably wouldn't.
"How is it looking?' Kat asked her.
"Good for right now. It may not stay like that." Hayley explained.
"Kat, can I ask you a question?" Hayley asked.
"Yea, go ahead." Kat answered.
"How did you get over Tommy?" Hayley whispered. She did not want to chance anyone hearing them.
"I found someone else and before you ask I came here just for acceptance. I knew that if Tommy and Kim were in the same room then no one could come between them. It was always like that even when she was turned evil by Maligore. When they looked at each other no one else was in the room. He ripped his helmet off trying to reach her just like I did when he was brainwashed. I only did it because I loved him. He did the same for Kim. They always find a way back to each other." Kat said as she walked back upstairs to see what had happened leaving Hayley to her thoughts.
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"Kim, I brought your guitar. I put it in the room with your stuff." Jason said when he came back into the house.
The others had either taken off for food for the cookout or supplies and whoever was left were either decorating or talking. Everyone made Tommy, Kim, and Connor rest. Tommy went to his room to shower, while Connor was using the shower in Billy's room. Kim was on her way to her room when Jason stopped her.
"Thanks Jase. I am just going to take a shower then I might play some since I was told to rest." Kim said as she stepped into her room.
She saw streamers hanging from the ceiling. They were pink and white but on them were polka dots. Theses dots were the colors of the other rangers. She smiled when she spotted a Crane and Falcon on the dresser in the room. The Crane had a Pink Ninja suit on while the Falcon had on a White one. She knew that Trini was behind this.
Only her best friend would find a Crane and Falcon and put a ninja suit on them. She also saw her guitar on the bed and smiled. She had wrote some new songs that she wanted to play for everyone but knew that she probably wouldn't sing them. She had really only sung to them on two occasions and both were sad times.
The first was to Tommy when he had lost his Green Ranger powers for good and the second was her last time in Angel Grove. She was there for Christmas. She had helped the other rangers save Christmas then she sang in the Youth Center with Aisha. She grabbed her bag, dragged out some clean clothes, and headed into the bath. She was only going to take a quick shower.
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Tommy was just getting out of the shower when he heard the shower in the room next to his turn on. He smiled because he knew that Jason had put Kim's stuff in there. He walked out of his bath with a towel wrapped around his waist.
He stopped beside the door because Jason was sitting on his bed apparently waiting for him. He also noticed that he had pink and white streamers hanging from his ceiling. He saw that the streamers also had dots on them that were the other ranger colors. He saw a dragon, tiger, and a falcon on his dresser. He could believe that Trini had found all these stuff animals. He was not a stuffed animal person but he like these.
"I'm not telling anything Jase. Kim would kill me and besides you promised to stay out of it." Tommy reminded him. He went to his dresser to get some clean underwear and clothes.
"Man, just a little. You know she's my lil sis." Jason pleaded. He turned his back to Tommy while he put on his clothes. He had to smile at Tommy's wallpaper again then he thought of Tommy's new suit.
"I am not telling you anything." Tommy warned and was confused when Jason started laughing.
"I just remembered you had pink stripes around your ankles on your new suit. You couldn't actually be the Pink Ranger so you stole a little of her color." Jason said while he was still laughing. He knew that Tommy might hurt him but he couldn't help it.
"Yea, well you know how I am. Anyway Kim likes that I am wearing her color." Tommy said as he put his shirt on it. He was wearing a white shirt with black pants with a green and red stripe down the side. He turned at Jason's laugh.
"I'm so glad that you didn't get a new color. I'm not sure where you would wear it." Jason said as he got up and left the room.
Tommy just stared after him. He knew that his nickname was the 'rainbow ranger'. He couldn't help it the powers just kept choosing him. He heard Kim's shower shut off and he lay down onto of his comforter. He knew that she would probably lie down and take a nap since they had not slept in a while so needless to say he was shocked when he heard Kim playing her guitar.
He had missed her playing just like he missed watching her perform on the balance beam. He smiled when he heard the words to her song. She must have written it when she first became a ranger.
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Kim picked up her guitar and sat on the bed. She strummed a little then settled into a song. It was one that she wrote when she had first become a ranger.
There's a hero
If you look inside you heart
You don't have to be afraid
Of what you are
She felt that fear when she first morphed. She knew that Zordon had trusted her but she needed to find that within herself.She had had trials just like the other rangers.
Tommy was listening to the lyrics and felt the fear that Kim had once felt. He had felt like that too when he first joined the team.
And then a hero comes along
With the strength to carry on
Dreams are hard to follow
She knew that she had followed her dream but she almost didn't because of Kat and Rita. She was tired and worried about leaving everyone with Kat. She knew that the others should be able to help her be a better ranger.
She finished the song and wiped a tear away. She had added the last part about the dreams when she had to decide to go to Florida. She knew at the time that she was leaving her friends behind but she did not realized that she would feel so lonely in Florida.
She wrote several songs during her time in Florida and even more when she broke up with Tommy. She knew that at any crises in her life she picked up her guitar. It was her stress relief. She started playing again. It was a song that she wrote the day she left Angel Grove. Little did she know that not only was Tommy listening but so were the others.
They were standing outside her door. They all loved listening to Kim sing. The only ones not at her door were Hayley, Kat, Ethan, Trent, and Connor. Connor was sleeping on an air mattress in the living room while the others were downstairs working on the bikes or the computer. Kim's next song broke Trini's heart. She knew that Kim was still trying to work out everything from that time in her life.
Wake up to a sunny day
Not a cloud up in the sky
But then it starts to rain
My defenses hit the ground
And they shattered around
So open and exposed
But I found strength in the struggle
Face-to-face with my troubles
When you're broken
In a million little pieces
Tommy wondered when Kim had written this. It was like a knife in his heart. Her song was filled with regret at something that she had chosen. He just wanted to go in there and hug her. He wanted her to know that he was here for her.
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Trini noticed that she was not the only one wiping her eyes. Aisha, Tanya, Kira, and much to everyone's surprise Jason. He was probably the only one Kim had talk to during that time in her life. He knew that when she left Angel Grove she had broken down.
She had called him every day and had even told him that she wrote Tommy a 'Dear John' letter. He tried to talk her out of it but she wanted to let him go. She wanted him to be a better ranger and she thought that she was holding back.
Little did she know she was the reason that he was a great leader and a great ranger. She also didn't know that he had called Kat by her name several times in battle. He wanted her back to stand at his side once again. She was not the only one broken during that time. Tommy was too.
When you're broken
Kim stopped and took a deep breath. She knew that that time in her life was finally done. She had come full circle. She was back as a ranger and with Tommy. She had wanted to take it slow but she knew that with her and Tommy nothing was ever slow. She had fallen hard for him the first time she saw him.
Tommy was her dream guy and would always be. She smiled as she remembered the Original team. They were her very best friends. They had become close before they had become rangers. Zordon had chosen them for that closeness. She knew that that group of five had grown to include several others.
They were all rangers though they might not have been on the same team. She looked inside her guitar case and got out the picture that was lying in it. It was an old picture but it was her favorite. It was taken before Jason, Trini, and Zack left. They were all in their ranger suits minus their helmets. She was leaning into Tommy's shoulder as the others had gathered into the picture.
She smiled at how young they were and thought about all the rangers that had come after them. She had just realized that she was a part of a legacy. She loved being at the start of it all.
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Everyone walked away from Kim's door. They knew that she got her feels out in songs.
"Is Kim going to be alright?" Kira asked Trini when they got into the kitchen. Everyone had started getting things together for the party.
"Yea, she is fine. It is just when things get murky she sings it out. It is a stress relief for her." Trini explained as Aisha nodded her head. The girls were inside getting the stuff together while the boys were outside firing up the grill and talking. They knew that Kim was fine since she had her guitar and Tommy here.
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Tommy heard the last note from Kim and decided that he needed to see her. He got up, walked to open his door, and then walked down the hall to stop at Kim's door. He raised his hand to knock but the door opened. He smiled at her as she let him in.
"I knew that you would come." Kim said as she shut the door. She had realized that Tommy could probably hear her. She was okay with it since everyone else had stood at the door to listen. She knew that they had because they cared about her.
"Kim?" Tommy asked her as she came to stand in front of him. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. She was up on her tippy toes as she leaned forward.
"Tommy, I am ready for this step. I want to be with you and only you. I never want to leave you again." She said as she leaned in to kiss him. They shared a long kiss that really sealed their relationship again.
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"Here is the hamburger meat for the grill." Trini said as she came up behind her husband.
She knew that he would not let anyone else near the grill. He did not trust anyone else to keep Rocky from the grill. She noticed that the boys had set up a volleyball net. She hoped that the former rangers did not scare the Dinos with their competiveness. They were all bad losers. It could be because they were Power Rangers and defeat was not acceptable.
"Thanks, are you ready for the game later on? Rocky suggested girls versus boys." Jason said as he took the tray of meat from his wife. He opened the grill lid and starting putting on the meat. He heard the sizzle that he loved.
"Jase, I'm not sure that that is a wise idea. I mean the last time that it was girls versus guys we stomped ya'll in the ground." She said with a smile. She knew that she had just thrown down the gauntlet and true to fashion, her husband picked it up.
"Well that was the past. You are going down." He said to his wife's back.
She was on her way back in the house when she turned around and said...
"Bring it on, Rex!" She said as stepped in the kitchen. She smiled when she saw that Zack had set up her present in the corner of the living room.
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Okay well what did everyone think? Please let me know. The song pieces were Hero by Mariah Carey and Broken by Lindsey Haun. You can find the full songs online.