Chapter Twenty-eight

Trust in Me

Their discussion of Billy had led them into a slightly depressing place, and they were quick to pull themselves out of it. None of them wanted to think about having to lie to their parents, and none of the older Rangers wanted to think about the problems Billy must be having as resident of another planet, especially when there wasn't much they could do. So they stopped talking and started chatting.

Kira, Zack, Kimberly and Jason got into a discussion on music, congregating around Jason's large stereo in the living room, Kira and Kimberly discussing the guitar (which Kimberly also played, just not with the fervor that Kira did) and Zack and Jason arguing over who was the coolest rap artist of all time. Meanwhile, Trini and Trent got into a discussion on art; Trini liked to paint a bit, and they started debating the finer points of certain art supplies, when Trini wasn't shouting out some battle cry or other at Ethan, whom she was currently challenging to one of the many games in the Mortal Kombat series, while Conner watched, checking out the cool fight moves and the female characters' skimpy outfits.

Tommy knew he should join into one of the two groups, but he wasn't in the mood to get slaughtered by Trini or Ethan at video games, he wasn't a very good artist and while he loved singing and music, he wasn't nearly as into rap and hip-hop as Jason and Zack and he knew nothing about musical notes and chords and so on like Kira and Kimberly. So he sat back on the couch and allowed himself to get lost in his thoughts.

He and Kimberly were doing fairly well. Today, for the first time, he'd been truly comfortable around her, or at least the closest he'd been to it all week. It was… a relief. Ever since that last time he'd seen her, just after she and Jason had been kidnapped, he'd tried so hard to avoid her, to avoid any thought of her. When Jason had asked him to be best man at the wedding, for example—the first time the two of them had to both be somewhere that they couldn't justify getting out of—Tommy had been terrified of running into her, and utterly relieved when she'd been trapped in France. All the measures they'd taken to skirt around it—Tommy staying in a hotel because he knew Kimberly would be dropping by to help Trini with wedding plans, Jason always meeting him somewhere other than Jason's house… and Tommy still wondered if Jason had been giving out dire warnings about mentioning Kimberly when Tommy had seen him whispering to Rocky, Adam and Zack just before the bachelor party. The worse part was he knew he shouldn't have been relieved when Kimberly wasn't there; he should have been as disappointed as everyone else. No one had even felt comfortable complaining about it in front of him, which led to Tommy walking up to chatting groups all during the reception only to have them stop talking the moment they saw him approaching.

The trouble was, he was oddly calm most of the time. He'd thought he'd have been panicky, or a lot more nervous. Or angry, demanding answers and screaming at her. But all they were doing was acting like they used to. They were all doing that. It was so easy, to just pretend it never happened, that Kimberly was just another friend, another Trini or Jason. He supposed that was all he'd ever been doing, really—pretending that Kimberly had never happened.

It hadn't always worked. He'd gotten better at it, but part of the reason his memory was so poor was that his mind kept thinking about a billion things at once. With all the work he'd been doing with Anton Mercer and Hayley, he'd spent the past several years thinking about his Ranger days more than he knew was healthy for him, and Kimberly was a large part of that.

Tommy had never mentioned much about Kimberly to his friends; he couldn't recall ever talking about it with anyone, not even Jason. After Kimberly had left Angel Grove, everyone had kept trying to come up with something to say, and that had made him clam up and get really good at changing the subject. The only person he'd confided in about it was Hayley, because she was safe; she didn't know Kimberly, didn't have any connection to her. Even then, he tried to limit his conversations about it; most of his thoughts on her had stayed in the deepest corner of his mind. The only time he'd really spent a good long time thinking about it was when he'd watched her gymnastics competitions on TV, always in private, usually glaring at any guys sitting relatively close to her.

They hadn't had much of a chance to really talk today, but they'd joked in the car, and he hadn't avoided looking at her at Billy's house, which he'd been in the habit of doing lately. He hadn't even really been embarrassed when Trent had asked how they'd all met, inadvertently bringing up a lot of memories of Tommy's relationship with Kimberly, and her teasing him about becoming the Green Ranger had actually made him smile, inducing a lot of fond memories of the team joking with each other. That bit about her purse, though… that was a step in the wrong direction. Although come to think of it, he was getting less and less sure of what the right direction actually was.

He wondered if the gang had somehow planned that. It seemed like something they would do. He was fairly certain they'd set him up to spar with Kimberly yesterday, and some of Jason's comments during their match had been suspicious. There were so many little moments that kept happening, making him pause and wonder, but they weren't big enough for him to actually accuse anyone of anything. Zack passing Kimberly Tommy's phone at the restaurant, Trini's chat with Hayley, Zack bringing up Kimberly their first night in the hotel, Kimberly going straight to Trini after that comment she'd made on the beach… they'd been talking about something right after that, Kimberly and Trini were arguing, and they wouldn't tell Tommy and Jason and Zack what they were…

Oh, god, Tommy realized with a thrill of horror. Kira had been in on that conversation. They'd all three been in on… whatever they'd been doing. Trini was bad enough, but he hated to think of her recruiting another Yellow. Yellows were the tricky ones. Pinks were the… well, the datable ones. The girly ones. Yellows were the scary, compassionate, sneaky ones. He'd known all along that if Trini was planning something, she'd have Billy and Zack and maybe Jason on her side; they were far too good at teamwork.

Tommy knew there was nothing he could do to keep his friends out of his hair. But he drew the line at letting Trini recruit the Dino Rangers. The look on Ethan's face when Billy had mentioned Kat… Kira staying with Kimberly and Trini… Ethan buddying up to Billy, Conner following Jason around… oh, god, was he insane? How had let this happen?

Tommy sighed. Much as he didn't want to get into any deep conversations with Trini, he had to tell her to back off. He couldn't have her working her magic—dark, evil magic—on him and Kimberly; it was too much of a risk that something would mess up. Tommy just wanted to enjoy this week, and then once he went back to Reefside and she went back to L.A. he'd take it from there. After last night's little moment of weirdness—which he was sure Trini was dying to dissect—he had to stop Trini in her tracks before she ran over his head.

"Hey, Jason? Mind if I raid your fridge?" Tommy asked, praying Jason wouldn't come with him.

"Sure. Just don't eat anything marked 'Not for Jason,'" Jason replied, scanning his lengthy CD collection.

Tommy got up and went into the kitchen. After giving himself a few moments to collect his thoughts and to alleviate suspicion, he took a deep breath and called, "Trini, can you help me find something?"

"I'm in the middle of the game!" Trini shouted back, intent on whipping Ethan's butt, which wasn't half as easy as she'd originally thought it would be. Trini was fanatical about her video games, however, mostly because it was a primarily "male" hobby and she loved destroying sexist notions in cocky guys at the arcade. Ethan, however, loved destroying everyone at the arcade and was proving to be quite the challenge. "Everything's labeled!"

"That doesn't help if I don't know where the thing with the label I want is," Tommy replied, watching her carefully from the kitchen doorway.

Trini sighed even as her character sent Ethan's crashing through the ceiling with an uppercut. "Jason, could you—?"

"He wants you," Jason responded, not looking up from the CDs.

Trini hit the pause button, frowning. Something about Jason's response told her this was more than an inability to find the potato chips. She absently passed the controller to Trent, who wasn't a huge video game lover but took it anyway; between having a rich father and working in a cyber café, he'd picked up a few tricks. Trini stalked into the kitchen without another word.

"What's up?" she asked, regarding Tommy with caution.

He leaned casually against the counter. "I can't find the—"

"Cut the crap," she interrupted bluntly.

"Good. I suck at subtleties." Tommy exhaled and ran his hand over his spiky hair. "I need you to stop, Trini."

"Stop what?"

"What happened to cutting the crap?"

"I'm not seeing any crap, Tommy. Stop what?"

"Stop trying to play matchmaker with me and Kim."

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are. I know you, Trini. You know how people tick. It's what you do. You've got a plan, and if you don't you'll make one up as you go along. You and Billy and Zack, and maybe Jason. And who knows what you're doing to my Dino Rangers. I'm not stupid, Trini. And I want you to cut it out. I'm not looking to get back with Kim, and you know it. We grew up. We got over each other."

"Oh, really? Then why do you have a giant box labeled 'Kim' in your basement and no giant box labeled 'Kat'?"

"That's not the issue," Tommy said sharply, frowning.

"Then what is?" Trini tilted her head to the side, looking up at him through narrowed eyes. She hadn't known he didn't have a Kat box, but she was glad to hear he didn't. "So, what? After this vacation, you're just not going to see her until the next Power Rangers Day?"

"I don't know, Trini. I haven't figured that out yet. We said we'd be friends, and we're trying, and right now that's enough."

"And six months from now?"

"Six months from now, I'll be pretending I'm a blissfully normal science teacher with my reading glasses and my lab coat and my house in the middle of nowhere. Might not even fix the lab, might just seal it off," Tommy snapped, fighting to keep his voice low and under control as the irritation bubbled up from deep inside him. "To be honest, I don't care what happens with Kim six months from now. I really don't want to think about it. I've been doing just fine without her and yeah, I miss her, but I don't need her, and I need you to understand that."

Trini shrugged. "No."

He stared at her. "No? No what?"

"No, I'm not going to understand that. I'm not going to accept that. I'm not going to leave you to your own devices, Tommy, because every time I do, something explodes. Often literally."

"Excuse me?" Tommy hissed, now bordering on enraged.

"This isn't about you, Tommy. I know you don't get that, but it's not just about you."

"Kim doesn't want to get back together with me. She wants to be friends."

"It's not just about her, either."

"Yeah? Then who's it about? Because the last time I checked, when Kim and I were dating it was just the two of us involved."

Trini snorted. "It's about us, nimrod."

"What?"

"Us!" Trini waved her hand vaguely at the rest of the house. "Me and Jason and Billy and Zack. And Rocky, and Adam, and Aisha, and Tanya, and Kat. Everyone who's been affected by your stupidity. Everyone who's still being affected."

Trini got right up in his face, which was currently a relatively dangerous move. "You know what? I'm through leaving things up to you two. I should have done this a long time ago, Tommy. I should have fixed this mess the moment it happened. But I didn't. So I'm gonna do it now. And I'm gonna succeed."

"Yeah, you and Billy and Zack are really going to force me to do something I don't want to do," Tommy snapped sarcastically, glaring not just daggers but rather large samurai swords at her.

"But you do want it, Tommy, and we all know it. I'm tired of playing games, Tommy boy, so this is gonna be my last when it comes to you. You're going down, not because you want to, not because she wants to, but because I want what's best for you."

"You don't get to choose what's best for me!"

"I do when you can't figure it out for yourself," Trini retorted. "You're my friend, whether you like it or not, and so help me I'm going to throw everything I've got at you until I've fixed your dumb ass. I love you too much to let you keep being a retard about Kim, and I love her too much to let her wander on through life without you. I'm not going to sit back and give you what you want, Tommy—I'm going to step up and give you what you deserve. What you both deserve. What we deserve."

"Don't mess with me, Trini," Tommy growled. "I'm not one of your little dolls you can toy with. Neither is Kim. What happens is up to me."

Trini smiled darkly at him, lifting both hands and patting his chest mock-consolingly. "That's right, Tommy. Keep telling yourself that."

Trini stepped away from him, pulling a Coke from the fridge. Tommy grabbed her arm tightly, angrily—an action reminding Trini strongly of Jason whenever Bulk had been bothering her. He glowered fiercely at her.

"Don't think you can play with me, Trini. I'll knock you right out if I have to."

Trini knew the phrase was metaphorical, but she felt the need for a show of strength. He was challenging her, and she wasn't backing down—or perhaps that was reversed. He was asking her not to make him step up.

Trini yanked her arm free in one good twist and faced him coldly. "You screwed up, Tommy. I'm not leaving your fate, and Kimberly's, in your hands again."

Tommy moved away from the counter, getting in her face this time, barely a millimeter separating them as they glared fiercely at each other. Trini was playing God with him, and they both knew it. And she wasn't going to stop unless someone made her.

"Ahem."

Neither Tommy nor Trini needed to look to know that Jason was in the doorway, or that he was alone. Only Jason would have announced himself as such—and only Jason would be standing there quietly. They both instinctively knew he had been watching a long time, but he hadn't commented on a thing, not on how close they were standing, how furious they both seemed, or what they were talking about. They also knew he wasn't going to.

Trini tossed him the Coke with a flick of her wrist; Tommy caught it without looking, seemingly unperturbed by the speed and abruptness with which she threw it. The two old friends continued to stare each other down blackly.

"May the best Ranger win," Tommy said slowly after a long, ugly silence. The air around them was practically crackling from the tension of challenge.

"I will," Trini said simply.

"Right. Billy and Zack are going to be a great help, I'm sure."

She smiled. "They're a hell of a lot more than you've got, Tommy. All you've got is you. And I've got weapons you can't even imagine."

With that, she turned and sauntered out of the room, not even sparing her husband a glance. Jason continued to lean against the doorway for a moment, his fist against his mouth and a serious, thoughtful expression on his face.

Neither spoke for a good long while.

At last, Jason took his hand down and looked solemnly at Tommy. "You know she's going to kick your ass, right?"

Tommy wasn't sure what to say to that, so he just leaned against the counter once more and said what he actually felt.

"One can hope, Jase. One can hope."

Trini frowned darkly as she flung herself into a chair, stealing the controller back from Trent without warning and proceeding to come back from almost zero health to wipe the floor with Ethan. He didn't get it. She knew Tommy wasn't exactly very bright, at least in matters of the heart, but she didn't think he could actually be stupid enough to never notice what he'd inadvertently done to the rest of them.

God, it had shaken them. The world's most permanent couple suddenly dust in the proverbial wind. Tommy and Kimberly, so nauseatingly in love. She had been so startled, hadn't even believed it when Kimberly had called to tell her. She'd had to drive for days to try to console both Tommy and Kimberly before it had really sunk in… and when it had, she'd immediately started planning.

Why she hadn't tried to patch things up between them now seemed beyond her. At the time, she'd wanted to give them space, figuring they'd work it out on their own, but they'd just continued to ignore their former relationship. Finally, at Trini's urging, Kimberly had planned to talk to Tommy upon returning to Angel Grove after the Pan Global Games. Get everything out in the open and just talk it through and work it out. Jason, Tommy and Billy had all failed to tell Trini that Tommy was with Kat by that point, probably because of Trini's continuing close ties with Kimberly—and it didn't help that Billy had been in the middle of his own mess, Jason was too close to both Tommy and Kimberly, and Tommy was awkward around her, not wanting to send her into her thought-provoking mode (he was trying to simply put his hands over his ears and yell "La, la, la!" about the whole thing). Plus Trini was busy at MIT. So Kimberly had wandered back to Angel Grove on vacation, fully intending to work things out… only to try to kill him thanks to Divatox's evil spell and then discover he was dating Kat.

Kimberly clammed up the moment she was rescued. Finding out about Kat had been bad enough. Kimberly had confided on many occasions that she was self-conscious about Kat—Kat was gorgeous, after all, and obviously liked Tommy. The separation from not only Tommy but her friends had got Kimberly thinking all sorts of crazy things, like that Tommy had told her to follow her dream because he didn't want Kimberly around any more. Trini had reassured her over and over—Tommy would never cheat on you, Kat doesn't seem the sort either, Tommy was just being supportive when he said you should move to Florida—but she wasn't too certain it was working. Then the letter…

She'd meant what she'd said about Tommy. This wasn't all about him, or Kimberly. It was about them all. The breakup had touched them all.

At times, Trini had blamed herself, despite the fact that she knew, logically, that she shouldn't. It wasn't easy to convince herself, however. After all, the group consisted of Jason, Trini, Billy, Kimberly, Zack and Tommy… and when Jason, Trini and Zack had left, the other three had fallen apart. Billy had gotten depressed and left the planet. Kimberly and Tommy didn't speak, didn't even talk about each other. Without the leader, the therapist and the joker, they were just the brains, the chick and the new guy. Trini had often wondered if she was at least partially at fault, if Kimberly and Tommy would still be together and if Billy would still be inventing in his garage if Trini hadn't left when she did, if they'd still be happy if she hadn't wandered off to Switzerland, depriving them of a friendly ear, a shoulder to cry on, a moral compass and someone to influence them when they got off track. She had never voiced these insecurities, however—mostly because she knew Jason, and maybe Zack as well, were feeling them too, and probably more so.

Over time, she'd noticed that the guys' outlook on certain things had been altered by Tommy and Kimberly, and not for the better. Jason had become horribly worried about his own chances in relationships, particularly since he and Trini were separated at the time (which had been Trini's idea, not his). Zack had become less obsessed with dating, and more determined to stay single. And Billy… well… When it came to girls, Jason was a bit dim, Zack was very dim, and Tommy was an idiot, but Billy was worst of all. Trini had never known what to do with him. Billy didn't think people would accept him in general, and despite the fact that several girls admitted crushing on him he never believed it. He just kept telling himself that no one would ever really like him, no matter what people said, often without even realizing he was doing it. Trini had tried, time and again—as had Kimberly—to get Billy to realize just how attractive he was and how desirable girls found his personality, but they'd repeatedly failed.

From what she'd understood, Billy had had feelings for Kat, and she'd ended up with Tommy, thoroughly upsetting him. It didn't help that he regretted his decision to give up his powers, and that he was devastated by the fact that he couldn't become the Gold Ranger. He'd graduated early, without warning, so he hadn't been prepared for college and hadn't wanted to leave the Rangers completely behind either. Then there was the fact that he was left with only Tommy in Angel Grove. Trini, Zack and Kimberly—his first real friends—were gone, and Jason was back only on a temporary basis. Kat had been a blow. But what had really shaken Billy was Kimberly's breakup with Tommy—if a guy like Tommy couldn't keep a good catch like Kimberly, what hope was there for the geek? Was it any surprise that he'd thrown everything in Angel Grove—indeed, on Earth—right out the window and started fresh on a whole new planet? Trini also had a horrible feeling that, while he did love Cestria, he was with her because he was comfortable with her, unwilling to leave the security she'd given him behind.

Zack, she had also worried about. Zack had taken it to heart as well, but he hadn't let it show, ignoring it as best he could and therefore driving the fears and uncertainties it caused deep down, where they became subconscious issues rather than faceable problems. Zack had started to shy away from serious dating at every turn. Before the breakup, Zack had been obsessed with finding a girl. After, Zack had simply wanted to keep his life as casual as possible. For a while, Trini had assumed it was just because Zack was getting old enough to realize that "dating" and "sex" weren't synonymous and was therefore going after the better of the more enjoyable of the two, but eventually she'd realized that his problems with Angela, his difficulty finding a girl at the Peace Conference (a place full of foreigners who came and went, wandering back to their hometowns thousands of miles away, making any sort of relationship difficult) while Jason and Trini were happy together, and his horror that Mr. and Mrs. Perfect had become exes had combined to make him fear getting hurt badly enough that he didn't want a relationship at all. He was still a bachelor, and probably would be for quite some time at this rate. Yet despite his constant field-playing, he wasn't meant for it. Zack was the sort of person who bonded with people for life, particularly in his friendships. He was never much for fair-weather friends, and Trini was quite certain that he wasn't too happy with dating around. It showed on his face every time he talked about failing to pick up a girl, or failing to keep one around. The fact that Zack was a player wouldn't have bothered Trini at all, if it weren't for the fact that she didn't think he wanted to be.

Then there was Jason. Tommy's best friend. Kimberly's big brother. Happy for them both. They'd both been doing so well—they were in love, Kimberly was following her dream, and Tommy was holding down the fort as leader of the Power Rangers. When Trini had suggested breaking up after the Peace Conference, Jason had been downright appalled at the thought. It had been Trini who'd insisted upon it, while Jason kept saying, "If Tommy and Kim can do it, we can do it, too." Trini had just smiled sadly, her conversations with Kimberly telling her how rocky the two were becoming, and replied that they weren't Tommy and Kimberly. Trini and Jason separating had made sense at the time—after all, she was planning to spend a good long time in Massachusetts, and Jason just wanted to get back to California and open a dojo. Jason had reluctantly agreed with her, only to become utterly terrified when Tommy and Kimberly had simply ended.

Trini let her fingers and eyes take over the video game, her mind slipping back to the day she'd come back to comfort Tommy…

Flashback

Trini was vaguely aware of voices, but she couldn't be bothered waking up fully to see what they meant.

"Isn't that… Trini?" said a woman who sounded suspiciously like Tommy's mother.

"Yep," said Tommy.

"Isn't she supposed to be in Massachusetts?"

"Yep."

"How'd she get here?" asked Tommy's father.

"Drove."

"From Massachusetts?"

"Yup. People do it all the time. Honest."

"…Is she going to be waking up any time soon? We might want to actually use the couch eventually…"

"I don't think she is, no. I get the feeling she hasn't slept in a few days."

"Well, maybe you should move her somewhere more comfortable, then."

"Where should I put her? My room?"

"No!"

"Then I guess she's staying here. Sorry about the couch."

"That's… all right… well, make sure she eats something when she wakes up."

"Will do, Mom."

Trini sank fully back into unconsciousness. When she woke up again, she was feeling much more rested—and staring up at Jason.

This was a sight she'd seen often; Jason and occasionally Zack had often crashed in her room at the conference, to the point that Trini had never kept a roommate longer than three months and twelve days, and Jason and Zack had always delighted in waking her up in the morning, usually in odd or loud ways. So she was used to seeing Jason above her first thing in the morning—so used to it that she completely forgot it was now several months after the conference.

"Hey," she said, leaning up to give him a quick kiss. She snuggled back deeper into the cushions… and then suddenly realized she now slept on the top bunk of a dorm bed in Massachusetts and Jason did not.

She sat up, gazing around with bleary eyes. "Where the hell am I?"

"Tommy's house," Jason said, throwing his arms around her. "God, I missed you."

"Same here." She sighed. "How'd I get to Tommy's house?" Trini asked, hugging him back warmly.

"We're not sure. Tommy just said you came out of nowhere. He seems awfully cheerful about it," Jason added, a tad suspiciously.

Trini shrugged. "Tommy needed a hug."

"A hug, eh?"

"Yes. I figured he'd be upset."

Jason pulled back, just enough to look her in the eye, not wanting to let go. Much as he hated to admit it, Trini had been one of the first things to pop into his head the moment Billy had called to tell him the news about Tommy and Kimberly. Not that Trini was ever far from his thoughts; their separation was bugging the crap out of him, and the last bit of hope he had for reconciliation was currently being crushed beneath the internal screaming voice that kept chanting "Oh my god they broke up I'm doomed." It was unbelievably good to hold her again.

"So you drove all the way here just to hug him? I'm jealous."

"Well, don't be. I think I took a nap somewhere during the hug, anyway," she joked. She tossed her head, her arms still around Jason's neck. "I probably look like hell."

"You never do."

"You're too kind."

"I mean it."

"Jason, I just drove over four thousand miles in less than a week. Closer to five thousand, considering I got lost a couple times. There's no way I don't look like hell."

"Sorry, but I'm sticking to my previous statement," Jason replied with a smile.

"You're so sweet." Trini sighed again and motioned for him to sit next to her. He put his arm around her and she leaned against him. "Where are the guys?"

"Tommy, Zack and Billy are out back. Told them I'd go get them when you woke up."

"Then why don't you?"

"Eh. It can wait."

"Mm." They lapsed into comfortable silence.

"Who told you?" Jason asked finally.

Trini didn't bother to ask what he meant. "Kim."

"Oh, yeah?" Jason said, his expression darkening.

"She called me a few days ago, sobbing hysterically."

Jason turned to look at her, shocked. "She was crying?"

"Profusely. I got her calmed down, though. I think she'll be okay."

Jason stared at her for a moment. "What all did she say?"

Trini shook her head. "Let's not talk about it. It's not our place."

Jason looked at her sharply. "You saw this coming, didn't you. You knew it was going to happen. That's why you wanted to break up with me."

"No, it isn't." Trini stared at him, as if completely unable to believe that he'd think that. "I wanted to break up because it was best for us. I'll be spending years in Massachusetts, and I can't afford to come back every spring break and Christmas and summer. That rental car is going to set me back enough as it is. California is way too far away, Jase—trust me, I just drove here and I want to pull a Thelma and Louise just thinking about the ride back. We just need a break. For crying out loud, Jason, we've both never actually dated anyone else. We've been practically living together for the past two years. We needed space, needed to branch out and see what life was like without each other. That's the only way we'll ever know if we really want our lives to be with each other. We're eighteen, Jason; we're too young to fall into a rut or settle down. When I'm out of school, and you've got your dojo on its feet, and we're both within driving distance, then things'll be different. Meanwhile, things need to be given a chance to change."

"I don't want them to change."

"Have you even been listening to me?" Trini demanded. Jason shrugged, sulking. "You don't know that until you've given things a chance to be different," Trini told him, a tad more gently. "I broke up with you because we needed to take a few steps back and see what the rest of the world has to offer us. We're not Tommy and Kim, Jase, and we never will be."

"So… what? Four years from now we'll just run back into each other's arms?" Jason demanded, almost angrily.

"I don't know, Jason. That's sort of the point." She bit her lip and looked away. "But I hope so."

Jason felt a strong sense of relief, to hear her say that. He smiled slightly and leaned his head back against the wall. She hadn't said that before, just "We'll see" and "I don't know" and "There's no point in guessing where we'll be in five years." However, the uplifting moment didn't last.

"But you did see this coming, didn't you."

"Well… not exactly, no. I saw that they were having problems. Weren't talking as much. Kimberly mentioned Kat quite a bit. Tommy kept trying to feel me out about the guys Kimberly talked about, as if trying to see if there was anything more to them than she'd said. They weren't staying in touch as much, Tommy was always fighting and Kimberly was always training… but the sad thing was, there wasn't an end in sight. Kimberly was going off to be a gymnast, and Tommy… well, he's going to stay a Ranger to the bitter end. What were they going to do? Kimberly traveling the world and training in Miami… did Tommy plan to follow her and just teleport back when something went wrong? Did Kimberly plan to marry him and pop back to California for three minutes at a time to see him? It didn't look good, I'll admit it. But they were doing surprisingly well, considering. I thought they had a good chance." She nestled a little closer to him. "Us… we were different. I knew I'd be back in California as quick as I could, and we kept in touch without trying to stay tied down to each other. I didn't want us to crack from the distance, Jason."

"Just because they did doesn't mean we would've."

"Jason… when people crack, it's much harder to glue them back together. It's better that things are taken apart intentionally—because it implies they can be restored, made whole again. Something that's been shattered and then glued back together is never the same as it was before it broke."

Jason thought about this for a moment. "Are you saying there's no hope for them?" he asked quietly.

"Of course there's hope. There's always hope. Hope doesn't go away until you give up on hope. And we don't give up around here, Jason. It's just not what we do."

"Got a plan yet?"

"Not yet. But I'm working on it."

Jason started to say something else, but just then two yells of "Trini!" sounded and the couch let out an ominous noise as Billy and Zack flung themselves at her.

Present Day

She was still working on it. She didn't have all the kinks worked out, she had to admit. But this Power Rangers Day thing had been a blessing, and the Dino Rangers' presence was an unbelievable bonus. She only hoped things went according to plan.

She only hoped Tommy realized that this was all in his best interests. She knew he was pissed. Tommy was a leader, and while he didn't mind stepping down to let someone else take over once in a while, he didn't like being usurped. This had been hard on them all, however, and now that she finally had the gang back together, Billy and Kimberly and Tommy all in the same place and talking and hanging out, she had to make her move. They were a team, and they'd lost a good chunk of that when Tommy and Kimberly had broken up. She didn't ever want to worry about the two of them coming over at the same time again. She didn't want to watch what she said around them.

Besides, it wasn't like they wouldn't make a good couple.