"Why are you nervous?" Shelby asked as she sat on Julia's bed and watched the pink ranger rifling through her closet. She had picked out and subsequently discarded at least ten outfits. At this rate, she was going to go on this date naked, which might be fine by Axel come to think of it. "You know you're supposed to end up with him."

"Yeah and that is a lot of pressure. What if he turns into someone else again? What if the Command Center got it wrong? What if we really hurt each other?" Julia spouted off and the Command Center blew an angry cold wind through the room.

"I think you may have offended the Command Center," Shelby said with a smile as Julia let out a groan. Great, now she had a sentient building mad at her. That was the last thing that she needed today. "You don't have to get married tomorrow. Actually I don't even know if you have to get married and I don't think Axel is putting any pressure on that- he just wants time with you when you're not in ranger mode."

"He only knows me in ranger mode. I met him at the dojo…in the advanced class…it's not exactly something I would have ever done before being a ranger…" Julia trailed off as she held up another outfit and Shelby nodded before Julia pulled it on. She examined herself in the mirror and let out a groan before discarding it too. "I'm not even sure I know who I am anymore. Everything has changed in the last year."

"Yeah, that happens- it took me awhile to find who I was after I became a ranger," Kim said as she stood in the doorway and they both looked over at her. "I got an SOS from Tommy about clothes. Do you know where you're going?"

"He said something about central park…but didn't give many more details," Julia muttered as Kim nodded and settled down opposite of Shelby. "I don't like anything that I have."

"Been there. What size are you?" Kim asked as Julia stared at her. She could not believe that the woman in front of her had ever not had something to wear. "Humor me."

"4 or 6," Julia said as Kim looked up at the ceiling and then nodded. "What?"

"C'mon- let's go raid my closet," Kim said as the girls stared at her. What could she possibly have that would be appropriate for a first date? "I fluctuate between a 2 and a 6, especially post babies. And as much as you may think that I only wear leggings or suits- there's a whole part of my wardrobe that used to get a lot more wear. Someone might as well enjoy it."

"Seriously?" Julia asked and Kim nodded before Julia tackled her with a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"Don't thank me yet- you may hate all my clothes too," Kim said as the girls ran off ahead of her and Kim trailed behind them. She paused in the main bay as Tommy gave her a questioning look and she walked over to him. "You were right- thanks for calling me."

"This is clearly in your lane," Tommy said as she reached up to give him a lingering kiss and he gave her a confused smile. "What was that for?"

"You're doing a great job looking out for them and it gives me a peek of what you'll do as our kids get older," Kim said as he still was not sure why that got him an unexpected kiss. "Just go with it- it's incredibly attractive."

"I'll take your word for it," Tommy said as she turned to jog off and he glanced around the Command Center. "You can come out."

"Sorry, Dr. O…I was just…it didn't seem right to intrude," Patrick said as Tommy nodded and the boy paused in front of him. "How do the two of you do it?"

"I have no idea," Tommy said as Patrick gave him a harsh look and he met his gaze levelly. "No, really. It just works. Everyone else felt like work, it's never felt like work with her."

Axel waited at the corner of 5th Ave and Central Park North, he had come straight from class, but he knew that Julia was coming from the Command Center. She had texted him to let him know she was running a little late and he had felt the nerves bubble up. They had agreed to go out before all of the things had happened with Kiros and he had stood her up. He really hoped that she was not going to return the gesture.

"Hey you!" Julia called as he turned around and he paused for a moment as he looked her up and down. He had basically only ever seen her in her ranger gear or running between college classes, he wasn't prepared for the sundress and sweater. He had always thought she was beautiful, but this was a side of her he didn't know existed. "Ummm…you okay?"

"Yeah, you look amazing," Axel whispered as she gave him a radiant smile and he couldn't help the smile that spread on his face as well. He felt her relief that he had actually showed up and he didn't miss the worried glances he still caught. "You ever been to the carousel?"

"No- I've seen it…I just never…that's where we're going?" Julia asked as Axel nodded. He reached over and grabbed her hand before they started into the Central Park crowd. This was one of the first truly nice days of the year and more people were out than normal. "Thanks for waiting."

"What's ten more minutes after the last couple months?" Axel said, good-naturedly, and Julia cringed. "Jules- it's okay. I get it. I'm just glad you're here."

"How were classes?" Julia asked, falling into one of the few questions she knew was safe. As much as he trusted Axel, her dating habits had been engrained by several abusive boyfriends.

"Good- I didn't know you cared about Prokaryotic Cell Structure and Function though," Axel said as Julia cringed and then looked away from him. "I appreciate you asking, but I don't need you to care about what I'm majoring in."

"But you won't get mad if I ask you about school," Julia stated and Axel fell silent for a moment. Julia felt the panic set in and she tried to push it back. He was going to change, she just knew it and she could not survive that again.

"I wouldn't get mad with just about anything that you asked me. I mean- we don't know that much about each other- the only way we're going to learn is asking," Axel said and Julia gave a small nod. He pulled her to a stop and she turned into his chest. "Is that what he did?"

"It's part of what he did. There's a lot that…it's not really first date material," Julia whispered as Axel pulled her into a hug and she tensed but then relaxed into him. She felt like he was going to leave it alone, for now, and she was very grateful for that. She didn't want to breakdown on their first date.

"Chocolate or vanilla?" Axel asked as he pulled back and looked down at her. She stared up at him in awe and he shook his head. He could tell that she couldn't believe that he wasn't going to press it and was just going to another thing. "Cake, Jules. Cake."

"Chocolate. Unless it is a vanilla cake with strawberries and cream- then that wins," Julia replied as he pulled her along and she let out a sigh. Maybe she would be able to relax with him sometime, but it was good to know that he wasn't pushing for sometime to be today. "Beer or wine?"

"Neither really, but I normally reach for wine if I want a drink," Axel said as the carousel house came into view and he nudged her toward it. "Native New Yorker or…"

"Kind of? We moved here from Baltimore when I was 10. I went to the University of Iowa for my freshman year and transferred back here that summer," Julia said as Axel just nodded. He could listen to her talk about anything and he felt like he would never get bored of it. He wanted to know it all and he hoped she'd give him the chance to learn it. "My parents weren't too happy about that."

"Are they good with what you're doing now?" Axel asked and Julia looked away from him. "Touchy subject?"

"They moved to France last year- Dad's job had an opportunity for it. They call every once in awhile, but…" Julia shrugged as they walked into the carousel house and she stopped. She hadn't imagined something this quaint was hidden in Central Park and she had lived nearby most of her life. "Thanks Axe."

"For what?" Axel asked as they were settled in one of the sleds and she curled into his side. "Jules?"

"For giving me a normal first date- even with all the not normal we've had," Julia said as she looked up at him and he pulled her in a bit closer and gave her a quick forehead kiss. "You can really kiss me if you want."

"I know, but I don't want you to just let me in as a defense mechanism…so for now- it's up to you where and when and how far we go," Axel said as she stared at him and he gently closed her mouth. "He was a dick and I'm not. And I'm willing to take time to prove that to you."

AN: I'd love to know what you think of this story and/or world that Kim and Tommy are now in. Open to concrit as well as normal reviews.