Back in Time
Chapter 23
Tommy stood in shock for a moment, before snapping out of it and realising what was going on. "Kim. You're here?"
"Of course I am. We promised we would." She replied with a smile before looking at Kira with a slight glare. "Although did it really have to hurt so much?"
"Yeah, sorry about that. I didn't realise that it would be painful." Kira replied, but Tommy noticed the slight tightness in her voice and the slight narrowing of her eyes.
"Kim, why did you come here? I have a class to teach in 5 minutes." Tommy asked. Jason had told him that Kim was going to try to get him back, but he hadn't found a way to warn Kira without upsetting or angering her, and so he wanted Kim to leave quickly before Kira got pissed off.
"I thought I'd surprise you." She said with a smile before frowning slightly. "I think we need to talk about a few things."
"Not now." He said, moving to his desk and getting his papers for the lesson together. "Jason and the others are checked into the hotel in town, why don't you go get checked in and meet up with them." Kim frowned and looked upset, but he knew not to fall for her tricks.
"I guess I can do that." She muttered.
"Well, I'll show you out on my way to English." Kira said, turning to look at Tommy. "See you later Dr O."
"See you later." He responded, not looking up until he heard the door close and the two female's footsteps get further away. He dropped into his chair and sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. He knew that Kim was going to be in Reefside today, but he didn't realise that she would come to the school while he was working. He was just very thankful that it was only Kira in the room and not the class that he was about to have.
He got through the rest of the day with trepidation and anxiety. He knew that once he left he would have to deal with Kim and he wasn't sure he wanted that. He did want them to be able to be friends, but he didn't know if they would be able to be friends if she still had ideas of them getting back together. By the time the final bell of the day rang, Tommy was more anxious that he had been in a while, and although he would never admit it to anyone, he was praying that Mesagog would send a monster down to put off the inevitable.
"Hey, you ready to go?" Tommy looked up and saw Kira stood in the doorway. "You alright there Brachio?"
"Do we have to go?" He grumbled, making her laugh as she walked over to his desk.
"She's not going to go away." She said. "The sooner you deal with it, the sooner it's over with."
"Aren't I supposed to be the teacher?" He muttered as he grabbed his bag, making her laugh as they walked out towards the Jeep. They drove to the house in relative silence, until they pulled in front of the house and saw Jason's car already there. "Looks like the party's started." He said with a laugh.
"Come on then. Conner's right behind us and you know there'll be no food left if he gets there first." Kira laughed as she climbed out of the car. Her point was emphasised by Conner's car emerging from the wooded road and stopping in front of the house. They walked into the house and Tommy smiled slightly at the sight of most of the original ranger team sat in the back garden, talking and laughing as Jason manned the BBQ. They walked outside and Tommy frowned at the look that Kim gave him, quickly glancing at Kira to make sure she hadn't seen it.
"Hey, Rainbow Ranger's home!" Zach cheered, making them all laugh.
"Why did you have to give me that nickname?" Tommy grumbled as he sat down and took the beer that Jason handed him.
"Because it's accurate." Jason laughed. "I mean, how many colours have you had now?"
"I think it's the teams that amazes me." Kim said with a smile. "I mean there was green ranger and white on ours, then there was ninjetti, Zeo, Turbo and now this team."
"You must have the most colourful wardrobe out of all of the rangers." Trini commented.
"Yeah, alright. Laugh it up." He said with a smirk. "Now is the food ready or not?"
"Food?" Conner asked, his head popping round the door frame.
"Conner, you know the rules." Kira said, walking out into the garden with a glass of Pepsi in her hand. "You eat last."
"But how is that fair?" The red ranger whined.
"Because then everyone else gets to eat." Trent added as he and Ethan joined everyone outside.
The rangers all sat around and enjoyed their food, sharing stories about their time as Rangers.
"So you were stuck in morph for how long?" Jason asked, looking at Tommy in shock.
"About a week." Tommy replied, shaking his head at the memory.
"And before that he was stuck as a fossil." Conner said with a laugh.
"And afterwards he was invisible." Kira added.
"And then he was in a coma." Ethan laughed before noticing the look on Trent's face. "Come on dude, it wasn't your fault. Mesagog messed with your gem."
"You did all of that to him?" Kim asked in shock.
"Well, technically all I did was put him in the ember and turn him into a fossil." Trent said with a sheepish look. "The rest they did when trying to fix him."
"And that's when Conner got banned from having a football in the lab." Kira laughed.
"I thought that was when he broke the computer when Dr O had been kidnapped by Mesagog?" Ethan said.
"No, he got banned after the computer incident. Hayley started popping them after the fossil." Tommy added. The original rangers watched them in shock.
"Ok, let me get this straight, you were evil." Trini said, pointing to Trent who nodded. "And turned him into a fossil, which caused you guys to get him stuck in morph, turned him invisible and put him in a coma."
"Technically he put himself in a coma." Conner chirped.
"Yeah, this year has been great." Tommy replied sarcastically.
"Oh you poor thing. You've been through so much." Kim said in a soft voice, putting her hand on Tommy's bicep and stoked it. Tommy looked slightly scared and glanced over to see Kira's look of shock at Kim's actions.
"Oh, it wasn't as bad as it sounds." He said, trying to subtly move his arm away from her reach. Before anyone could say anything else, Tommy's communicator went off, making him sigh in relief. "Lab, now." They all hurried inside and down to the lab, no one noticing Kim looking around in wonder as Tommy sat in front of the computer, the teens standing around him and the other adults not far behind them.
"Is that Elsa?" Ethan asked, looking at the camera footage that Tommy pulled onto the screen.
"Yep. Looks like she's got a load of Tyrannodrones with her as well." Tommy said, trying to keep the smile off of his face.
"Wait, you have 2 generals?" Jason asked in shock.
"3 if you count my clone." Trent said, making them look shocked again.
"Clone?" They all asked in shock.
"Well what are we waiting for?" Conner asked. They all moved into the centre of the lab before Tommy turned to look at the former rangers.
"This might take a while. You guys may as well head back to the hotel." He said.
"We'll wait around for a while." Jason said.
"Yeah, and besides, the hotel is full so I was hoping I could stay here with you." Kim said with a flirtatious smile. Kira's eyes widened before she glared at Kim, her anger evident on her face. Everyone else in the room just looked shocked as Tommy looked at her with wide eyes. Conner took a moment to look around before deciding enough was enough.
"Dr O, we've got to go." He said, making Tommy snap out of his shock and clear his throat.
"Um, yeah. We'll talk about this later." He said, before moving into formation with his team.
"Ready?" Conner asked, raising his wrist to his chest.
"Ready." They replied, copying his movements.
"Dino Thunder! Power up! Ha!" "White Thunder, Dino Power!" They called before morphing into their suits. They jumped on their Raptor Cycles and Dino ATVs and sped out of the lab, using the exit that lead to the woods, leaving the others behind watching in awe.
"Man, I wish we had toys like that back in the day." Zach said as he sat on the sofa in the room.
"Yeah, they're awesome." Jason agreed. Trini looked at Kim with her arms crossed and eyebrow raised, causing the former pink Ranger to wince slightly.
"What?" Kim asked, looking put out.
"You know what. For starters, the hotel is not full. And don't you think just inviting yourself to stay here is a bit rude?" She said, making Kim roll her eyes.
"I told you guys that I'm here to get him back. How can I do that if I don't get any alone time with him?" She asked, sitting on one of the steps.
"You're not exactly going to be alone here." Jason said, making Kim frown.
"Of course we are. It's his house." She said, making Trini almost smirk.
"That Kira lives in." Trini said, making Kim almost glare. "She's been living here since they went to the past. We don't know why, but they all seem to get really uneasy when it's brought up, so it can't be good."
"Damn, that's going to slow things down." Kim muttered, making Jason frown.
"Kim, maybe you should give it a rest." He said, making the pink clad woman glare at him. "This is supposed to be about us fixing our friendship and catching up, not trying to see if you can still have a relationship with him. And if I were you, I'd be trying to make up for what you did, instead of trying to jump back in."
"What do you mean? What did I do?" She asked, looking at them in confusion.
"Billy told us about the letter you sent." Trini said, making Kim's eyes widen in shock. "Why send a 'dear John' letter to the youth centre of all places?"
"I don't know." She replied. "I know sending a letter was cowardly, but I couldn't do it over the phone!"
"But why send it to the youth centre?" Zach asked. "Ernie told me that everyone heard. He must have been humiliated."
"If I sent it to his house then his Mum would have read it. And what do you mean everyone heard?" She asked.
"He was doing a set with the weights, and got Adam to read it out to him." Jason said. "Everyone heard. I don't know if he's going to want to be in a relationship with you again after that." Kim looked down at her hands, and although Jason felt slightly guilty for making her feel bad, he knew that Tommy wouldn't get back together with her, especially not while he was with Kira.
On the other side of town, the rangers were in the middle of a battle with a horde of Tyrannodrones and Elsa. Conner and Trent were currently fighting Elsa, Ethan was not far away fighting a group of drones with Kira and Tommy fighting side by side. Kira kicked a drone in the chest, sending it flying into another, and she quickly turned and punched another. Tommy took a moment to look at her and noticed how she was fighting.
"You alright Kira?" He asked, throwing a drone over his shoulder.
"Fine." She snapped through gritted teeth.
"You're angry." He commented, spinning and using his Brachio staff to perform a wind strike and throw all of the Tyrannodrones away from them, giving them a moment to talk. "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong? She broke up with you in a letter! She said she found someone else! And now, 10 years later, she comes back and basically invites herself to jump into your bed!" Kira snapped, punching the Tryannodrone that tried to sneak up to her from the side without looking. "Who the hell does she think she is?"
"Kira, I know Kim was out of line, and trust me, I've noticed how she is acting and I don't like it any more then you do. But I need you to try and calm down. And I know that you hate me for saying it, but if you're not careful, people are going to find out about us." He said, trying very hard not to put his arms around her. He looked around and noticed that all of the Tyrannodrones had vanished and Ethan was now helping Conner and Trent with Elsa. "We'll talk about this later. Right now, we've got a job to do."
They joined the three boys by the black-clad woman, who quickly realised she was outnumbered.
"This isn't over Rangers." She hissed before an invisaportal opened up above her and she jumped in.
"Let's get back." Conner said, looking at Tommy, who was sure the red ranger had a smirk under his helmet. "Dr O has someone to talk to."
"Can it Conner." Tommy snapped as he walked over to where the vehicles were. "Now hurry up. The quicker this is over the quicker I can get a drink."
They got back to the lab and parked up the vehicles before heading up the stairs to see Kim sat on the sofa. Kira ground her teeth before heading into the kitchen.
"You guys should get going before your parents start wondering where you are." Tommy said to the three teens in the room. They nodded and said their goodbyes before leaving. Tommy sighed before heading into the living room where Kim was.
"Hey, how was it?" She asked.
"Could have been worse." He replied, sitting in the chair furthest away from her. "Kim, what are you doing?"
"What do you mean?" She asked, trying to look innocent.
"Is the hotel full?" He asked, making her frown and look away. "You're flirting, and you're trying to trick me into letting you stay here. Why?"
"I want us to get back together." She said, looking up at him.
"Why? You broke up with me years ago. In a bloody letter sent to the youth centre! You said you found someone else." He said, unaware of Kira listening to their conversation.
"I lied. I was trying to focus on my career, and you were so busy with being a ranger. We both needed to focus on our own responsibilities and not be distracted by trying to stay in contact with someone miles and miles away." She said.
"So you thought you'd lie to me and tell me that you found someone else in a letter that Adam read out to me in front of everyone in the youth centre?" She winced at his words but that didn't stop him. "Do you have any idea how much that hurt? How embarrassing that was? And now I find out that you lied to me? Why couldn't you tell me the truth?" He asked, standing up and pacing the room.
"I don't know." She replied. "I was stupid. I didn't know you were going to get Adam to read the letter out, and I knew if I did it over the phone I would chicken out." She stood up and put her hand on his arm, making him look at her. "Can we get past this?"
"If you're asking me to be in a relationship with you again, the answer is no." He said, making Kira sigh with relief on the other side of the wall. "You hurt me Kim, and I can't trust you after that. I moved on, and you need to as well." She nodded and lowered her head, making him sigh. "But I do want us to be friends. We've been through a lot together and we were teammates."
"I'd like that." She replied. Kira walked back into the kitchen, no longer worried about what was going to happen in the room. "So, I hear Kira lives here now. How'd that happen?" She asked as they walked out of the room.
"That's not for me to say." He replied as they walked into the kitchen and saw Kira sitting at the table. "Hey, you alright?"
"Yeah." She replied with a small smile. "I think I'm gonna head to bed. See you tomorrow." She said before leaving the room. Tommy frowned for a moment as he watched her go.
"I guess I should call a cab to the hotel then." Kim said with a slight laugh.
"It's late. I've got a pull out sofa in my office. You can sleep there for the night." He said, making her smile. They quickly got the bed ready and Tommy went upstairs, checking that Kim had stayed in the room before gently knocking on the door to the spare room Kira was in. Kira opened the door and let him in with a small smile. "Hey, you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm good." She replied, sitting on the bed. He sat next to her and pulled her into his arms, resting his head on top of hers. "I heard you talking to her."
"Kira, I am not going to get back together with her. You're the only person I want to be with." He said, kissing her head.
"Tommy, what's going to happen tomorrow?" She whispered, making him sigh and tighten his arms slightly.
"I don't know. But we'll face it together. I won't let him hurt you, I promise." He whispered. They sat silently for a while in their embrace before Kira pulled away and gave him a small smile.
"Is Kim staying here tonight?" She asked.
"Yeah. She's on the pull out in my office." He replied.
"In that case, I'd better sleep in here tonight. Just in case she comes wondering in the middle of the night." She said with a small smile. As much as Tommy wanted her to sleep with him, he knew that if Kim found out about them, there'd be trouble. He gave her a kiss goodnight and made his way to his own bed.
The house was silent as the occupants fell asleep. Around 2am, Tommy was soundly asleep until a piercing noise caused him to jump, falling to the floor with a bang. After a moment's confusion, the noise sounded again, causing him to duck his head and clamp his hands over his ears. As soon as the sound vanished, he raised his head and looked up in shock, having heard the noise enough times to know what it was.
"Kira." He gasped, jumping up and sprinting down the hall to her room. He opened the door and saw her tangled in her sheets, her arms and legs moving frantically on the bed. Tommy had to duck again as she screamed in her sleep, causing her Ptera scream to be unleashed for the third time. He looked up as he heard a loud smashing sound and saw the windows in the room had all shattered. Tommy moved to the bed, shaking her shoulders. "Kira, wake up." He called to her, causing her to startle and try to squirm out of his reach. "Kira, it's me. Calm down, it's me." He said, causing her to look at him in her panicked state.
"Tommy." She whispered, her head whipping from side to side as she scanned the room.
"It's me. It's just me." He whispered. She looked at him and dove into him, burying her face in his chest as she began to sob. Tommy wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair, whispering to her that she was safe. He turned his head at a rustling sound and saw Kim stood in the doorway in shock, looking at the broken glass on the floor, the empty window frames and the sobbing girl in Tommy's arms. Tommy raised his finger to his lips, indicating for Kim to be quiet so Kira didn't get scared again. "What's wrong Kira? What happened?"
"My dad." She cried, making Tommy's eyes widen slightly. "He was here, he was angry! I couldn't get away! I couldn't get away!" Tommy glanced at Kim and saw her covering her mouth in shock as she heard Kira's revelation.
"It was a nightmare. He's not here. You're safe. I've got you." He whispered, stroking her hair as he felt her calm down. He looked around the room and tried to hide his worry. He didn't know what was going to happen when Kira's father came home and found her not there, but for now Kira needed him, and he had to try and help her in any way that he could.