"He's out," Kim said as she walked into the living room. Most of the other rangers had left, but she had found out that Tommy was there to help for the entire weekend and was also staying with Jason and Trini. If Tommy hadn't threatened to kill Jason already, she would have. What was he thinking putting them in a house together for an entire weekend? "Want to go out to the deck?"
"That's probably a good idea, just in case he wakes up, I don't know if you're ready for him to hear this yet," Tommy said as he stood up and handed her a glass of wine. The both of them had been sipping on it since they had gotten back from the dojo. They both soundly felt like it was needed with the situation that they found themselves in. They each settled in a chair and Tommy angled his a bit better to see her face. She may not want to see his reaction, but he desperately needed to be able to see what her face was saying too. "So he's mine."
"Yeah," Kim whispered as she took a gulp of the wine and stared up at the sky. Tommy didn't sound angry, it was more disappointed than anything else. This was almost worse than him being angry with her- she deserved his anger after all these years of keeping this secret. "From Christmas- the last time I came home…well before Divatox."
"We had sex that time too, so it was a toss up," Tommy muttered as she glanced over at him. She saw the far off look in his eyes and she knew that he was remembering a bit of what they had done on both occasions. That was not where she thought he would go mentally. How was he not losing it? "I'm not cool with this, but I'm not mad either. Why did you never tell me? Even with us being broken up…"
"I planned to tell you before Divatox happened and then you saved us and we got back and well…" Kim trailed off as he watched her. Her cheeks flamed for a moment and then she let out a sigh. "I broke you and Kat up. Adam told me you lasted about three weeks after I left and I just…"
"I broke me and Kat up, the cheating was the last straw for her. I don't blame her on that one- it wasn't my more honorable moment. She never knew it was you, but she suspected it. Everyone suspected it," Tommy muttered as he took a gulp of his wine and then looked over at her. So much about her had changed, but so much about her was exactly the same. He had kept himself from really looking at her until now and every fiber of his being was still as wildly attracted to her as he had always been. "But you didn't answer my question."
"I saw that you were going to always be a ranger and I didn't know then if you would let…if you could get away…if you could really be the dad he needs. So I decided not to tell you then and I guess…I just hoped…this would never happen," Kim admitted and he let out a groan. He didn't want to hear that his ranger life had kept her away for their son's sake, but he understood it. His ranger life did cause problems- all the time. "I know that wasn't my brightest idea, but it got easier to keep it up than to tell you over the years."
"Easier for who? Kim, he's smart. He's going to put it together, I'm surprised he hasn't already," Tommy said as she just nodded. Now that the two of them had met, there was no way to keep the secret from her son. He knew his dad was in California and Jason had let it slip a few years back that he was good friends with him. Ollie would put this together. "And I want to be part of his life."
"I knew you would and I don't know how we should do that. I don't know…we're still living in Miami," Kim said as Tommy let out a long sigh, but nodded. He had known that that was the case, but he didn't know what to do with that knowledge now. He didn't have a chance to really think about it as he was teleported and he heard Kim's gasp of shock before seeing a streak of pink appear next to him.
"What the hell Hayley," Tommy said as he landed in the Command Center and Kim landed next to him. He looked over to see the realization register on her face as she lost grip on her glass of wine. The glass shattered, but both of them ignored it. She had every right to be completely astonished by what had just happened. "Why'd you bring her here?"
"Because they found a new dino gem and I brought the person best suited for it in at the same time I brought you in," Hayley explained as Tommy let that sink in and then turned to see that Kimberly was shaking her head as she started backing away from him. "Oh great, another one that doesn't want powers."
"Kim…I can explain," Tommy said as he grabbed both of her arms and she just shook her head before turning around and sprinting down the cave. He gave her a bit of a head start and then held his hand back for Hayley to pass him the gem. "I'll talk with her and see if she'll take it."
"Who was that?" Conner asked as Tommy jogged off behind her. Hayley let out a sigh as she looked between all of them. She was fairly sure of who that was, but she didn't get why she was here. "Hayley."
"Kimberly Hart. This may be a long night," Hayley said as she walked over to get a broom and dustpan. She had never thought she would meet the woman that had ruined Tommy when it came to dating and she had certainly never thought it would be like this.
"No," Kim stated as she backed away from the glowing gem and Tommy. "How the hell are you still in? Why didn't you start with that?"
"I was going to get to it. I thought it was a bit more importnat that we covered the stuff about Ollie first. These powers have chosen you, but I can get them to rescan. We both know that it still may come back to you," Tommy said as she just shook her head. She glanced down at his wrists and saw the telltale communicator. How had she not noticed this before? "Kim…I need an answer."
"I don't have one. I'm out. I have a life in Miami and if I take that gem- then I have to…" Kim trailed off as Tommy settled against the opposite wall and she felt the fight go out of her. He didn't like that it had chosen her anymore than she did, but it was obvious that he was not going to push her too hard to take it. The bigger thing that she saw was the pain on his face. The pain that she was not even willing to consider moving here to give him a chance to really get to be a dad. "Tommy- it's not like that."
"Then what is it like, Kimberly?" Tommy asked as he dropped the gem and pushed off the wall towards her, backing her up against the far wall. He heard her breath hitch as their bodies touched and he braced himself against the wall. He completely underestimated how being this close to her would affect him after all this time. He had only done this to try to get her to actually talk to him, but he knew exactly where this would go if neither of them moved away. "This was a bad idea."
"Probably," Kim said as she reached up and cupped his face. He looked down at her and realized she was no longer trying to hide her desire. Why was it always like this with the two of them? Why did it only take the smallest amount of contact for them to end up here? "But I think we'd both be lying if we said we hadn't dreamed about being like this again."
"Fu…." Tommy's communicator beeped and he grabbed it as she moved her hands down his body. "What is it?"
"Is she in or out? The kids went in and they need back up," Hayley said as he took a step away from Kim and grabbed the gem. He held it out towards her and she then took it in her hands. He watched as the gem bonded with her, pink lines of power graphing over her body and he grabbed her hand as he knew how painful this could be. She let out a scream and then slumped against him for a moment before straightening up. "Tommy!"
"She's in," Tommy whispered against his communicator as she locked eyes with him and he felt his worry triple. He had hoped she would say no, but something had happened in the last few moments that shifted what she thought was best and he couldn't track what that was.
"Dr. O- where have you been hiding her? She's awesome," Conner said as Kim and Tommy took off their helmets and quickly exchanged a look. "What?"
"It's been a long night, Conner and we need to get back to Angel Grove. I'll explain on Monday," Tommy said as the other rangers looked at the both of them and Hayley pressed the sequence to teleport them out. She did not want to keep them here and she also didn't want to really talk with Kimberly either.
"She's his ex-girlfriend, Conner. Last I heard she was also living in Miami- so I have no idea how this is going to work," Hayley said as the rangers stared at her, but she soundly ignored them. It was more than what she should have said, but she couldn't stop herself in time. One look at Tommy let her know that he would take Kimberly back eventually and that pissed her off.