"You okay?" Kim asked as she stood on Tommy's doorstep and took him in. They had talked about this conversation for the better part of a week and she could see how tired he was, how much he just wanted this to be over. He had picked various shades of gray and black, which felt extremely appropriate for this conversation, but she wished that his world wasn't so dark right now. She wished she could see some light with him again. The pain of potentially losing this friendship was weighing heavy on him and it was obvious to her in just one glance. "Handsome…"
"I'm not," Tommy whispered as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her inside. He needed a few minutes with her, he needed a few minutes to make sure she was with him on this. They'd agreed to meet Hayley for lunch today and Conner was watching Ollie for a few hours. While he wasn't their top choice, Ollie had been thrilled to hang out with him for part of the afternoon and they figured he would behave better for him. "I need to know you'll back me on this."
"Yeah- this is whatever you need," Kim said as she pulled back to get a better look at his face. He was in so much pain and she knew that he had weighed out a lot of things on how he wanted to handle this. She still didn't know what he was going to do, but she could not imagine him making a choice that she would disagree with.
"I'm done with her, Kim. She nearly got you killed- twice and the only reason the first time wasn't as serious was because I was able to morph and…" Tommy trailed off as she followed him into the living room and they both sank down onto the couch. He held her tightly and tried to find the words to describe what he was really feeling as none of this felt easy to him anymore. His friendship with Hayley had always been easy, but that had changed. "Unless she can well and truly let this go…I can't risk you or Ollie or…"
"And how are you going to judge that? If she says she will let it go," Kim said and he just shrugged, he had no idea how he would do that. He could tell that she was not pushing for him to keep Hayley out of his life, but she also wanted to know what he was thinking. She wanted to be able to be the support system that he needed right now.
"I don't know. It would be time and seeing how she dealt with other situations and I don't…I can't put her in the position to hurt you again," Tommy whispered and she nodded as she shifted her arms around him and he curled into her. He appreciated the comfort he felt in her arms and the softness of her body. It was a difference that he knew was partially thanks to their child, but he hadn't felt it as obviously as he did right now. He understood now what his friends had described as they became dad's and their wives bodies changed. It was like they were made to hold people better than they had been before.
"We've got a little while before we have to go. You just want to stay like this?" Kim asked and Tommy nodded as they both got more comfortable and he settled into her arms again. He closed his eyes as he focused on the woman in his arms and felt the relaxation hit him. He didn't want to do this, but he had to keep them safe. If his choices were their safety or Hayley's friendship, Hayley's friendship was always going to lose.
"Hi," Hayley muttered as she sat down across from Kimberly and Tommy. Kim greeted her with a forced smile, but all Tommy could give her was a cold glare. Tommy was still pissed and she didn't fully understand why. She had just been trying to protect him from what Kimberly had done to him in the past, she ws sure to repeat that in the future. "Tommy, I…"
"Oh, good you're here. Hayley, what would you like?" Cassidy said as Hayley fumbled with the menu and finally told Cassidy something that she immediately forgot. She was barely holding on and it hurt to see that Tommy looked okay. If she was honest with herself, Tommy looked the most at peace that she had ever seen him be. Why did this woman bring him peace?
"Tommy, I…" Hayley started again as she gulped and tried to force the tears back. Maybe she could muster some sort of sympathy from him that would allow her to continue on her way, to continue with her plan. She felt someone slide in next to her and looked over to see Kimberly sitting there. She hated her, but she realized that Kim was offering her a lifeline that Tommy couldn't offer her right now. Tommy was furious, that was what she could just barely place in his gaze. Tommy was done with this friendship because she had put the person he cared about most in danger- twice. "I didn't know what would happen."
"But you're more than smart enough to know that it was highly probable, Hayley. You're the one who helped me with probability and statistics back at MIT and you knew the likelihood that this would get her hurt. I was collateral damage. I was the one that you never wanted to get hurt," Tommy ground out as he glared at her. Hayley glanced over at Kim and saw that she only had eyes for how Tommy was doing with this. Even if she had moved to comfort her, she was here for Tommy.
"We're going to try to not ask you to help us anymore…I understand how it's too much to see us…" Kim trailed off as Hayley stared at her. She understood? From what she had seen, Tommy had never come close to caring for anyone else the way that he cared for Kimberly. "It was too much for me to see him with Katherine. I've been there."
"I never meant for either of you to get hurt," Hayley whispered as Kim nodded and Hayley dared a glance over at Tommy. She couldn't read him, she couldn't read if he was buying her act. He was completely blocking her out. "Tommy…"
"I am here because she thought this was a good idea and I want to make sure she makes it home safe. I'm not in the mood to try to understand why you did any of this. You knew better, you knew exactly what was at stake and you did it anyways," Tommy stated as Cassidy placed their food on the table and Kimberly moved back to Tommy's side. Hayley stared at the table, Tommy was right- she knew exactly what she was doing. She just didn't see it ending this way, she was so sure he would choose her.
How had she blown up this friendship so thoroughly in such a short time? Tommy had always been a steady constant in her life since she met him, she was just going to have to figure out how to remove her competition without inciting Tommy's ire. She'd put her effort into that instead of all of the work she'd been doing with the rangers.
AN: is having some major issues with various chapters not appearing, random white pages, and reviews being sketchy. If you're trying to go back and get chapters- feel free to reach out and I'll see what I can do to get them up, but there is a good chance it is out of my hands. I'm going to keep publishing here (for now), but if you're interested in a more stable experience- you can find this story on AO3 as well.