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Thunderstruck

Chapter 8: Aftermath

The portal closed behind the last person to step through and they all let out breaths of relief, as they stood huddled together in Rita's basement. Hugs were exchanged all around and kisses between couples. It was the first time Blake was seeing his brother and Tori together. He couldn't be angry…okay, he probably could have been. But he had moved on with someone else, though it wasn't really serious yet. Both he and Tori decided it was best long before either of them started dating anyone, as neither of them believed a long distance relationship was fair to either. And, he had to admit it made him happy to see both his brother and one time crush happy together, if she had to be with anyone other than him.

Hunter and Tori's lips parted and they blushed, as their friends gawked at them in surprise.

"Blake…" Hunter started. But the younger Bradley held up his hand.

"It's okay Hunter, you don't have to explain. I've moved on with someone else, so I knew eventually Tori would too," Blake stated.

"I'll admit, I'm a little surprised it's with you, bro, but at least I know she's with someone who's going to treat her right…someone I trust with my own life. You guys look good together," Blake said. Hunter and Tori hugged him from either side, while Dustin and Marah looked on. Shane and Skyla were absorbed by each other, still letting it sink in that they were actually together, while Cam's heart yearned for Leann, his girlfriend and daughter of Sensei Omino. But he knew he would see her very soon.

Goodbyes were quick for now at this point, as the rangers were all eager to return home. But after what they had been through together, it was clear that a celebration and ranger reunion, the first ever, was in order. For now though, they returned to pick up their daily lives with a renewed love for life and a promise to never take anything, including each other, for granted again.


"Mommy! Daddy!" two sweet little voices called, as the blonde haired little girls squirmed away from their grandfather and toddled to their approaching parents. Billy and Kat scooped them up and held them tightly, kissing their flaxen hair.

"My baby girls," Kat said, as she soaked up everything about them. Billy kissed her hair and then hugged his father.

"Is everything all right?" Alan Cranston asked, well aware of Billy's and the others' pasts as rangers.

"It is now, Dad, I'll tell you about it later," Billy promised. Alan looked pleased.

"So you'll be staying the night at least?" he asked. His son nodded.

"We'll take the "ranger express" back to Virginia in the morning," he said, as Katherine hugged her father-in-law.

"Well then, is anyone hungry?" Alan asked. Kat and Billy glanced at each other, suddenly realizing it had been a very long time since they last ate.

"Starving," they answered simultaneously. Alan chuckled.

"Well, we can't have that. I'll go fire up the grill," Alan said, as he went back inside the house that Billy had grown up in. Kat smiled at him, as Carly and Michaela clung to their parents and kissed him tenderly.

"Come on girls, let's go help grandpa in the kitchen," Kat called, as the little family went inside as well.


"Well, this is it, the Wind Ninja Academy. Dustin and Tori teach too, but choose to live off campus. I live in the staff dorms and Sensei's already given you a room too," Shane told Skyla. She nodded and kissed his cheek.

"I know all this is really new, but I'll be there every step of the way and so will my friends," Shane said, as he held her hands in his own. Skyla smiled.

"I'm sure I'll be fine, as long as I have you. I have a lot to learn about being human, I'm sure, but I think I'll manage," she mused. He smiled and kissed her gently.

"I…I still can't believe this is real," he said, choking back tears. She held his face in her hands.

"I know…I can't either. It's a new beginning for both of us," she whispered. He smiled and their lips met again.

"Hey dudes…we're grubbing. Are you coming?" Dustin called.

"Grubbing?" Skyla asked in confusion. Shane chuckled.

"It's slang for eating," Shane told her.

"Yeah, we're coming!" he called, as he spotted his friends. Dustin and Marah held hands, as did Leann and Cam. Hunter had his arm around Tori's waist, while Kapri and Blake remained the single ones of the group, though Blake was dating a girl outside their ranger circle.

"So pizza?" Hunter asked. Shane nodded.

"Sounds good, but none of that ham and pineapple crap you eat," Shane replied.

"Yeah, it's nasty," Blake chimed in. Hunter looked offended at his friend's comments.

"Fine," he huffed. Tori smirked.

"I'll share one with you," she promised and he smiled.

"You're the best," Hunter said, as they chuckled. Things would return to normal, well as normal as they could get in Blue Bay Harbor.

For Shane, he felt complete now with Skyla by his side. For Hunter, he felt much the same, as the void inside him that he was sure would never be filled was now so with Tori in his arms and his brother's blessing. For them, their story wasn't over. It was simply a new beginning to their lives and a new story that only time would tell.


Conner McKnight sighed, as his twin brother babbled on the other end of the phone. Being a student at the Academy, he had naturally heard the whispers of their sensei's and former rangers' little adventure. He was kind of surprised that such information wasn't kept from the students, but he figured with Marah and Kapri knowing about it, then keeping it a secret was moot.

"Eric…we're fine, seriously," Conner assured his twin.

"Bro, we heard the stories from Kapri. You guys, like almost died and stuff," Eric went on. Conner rolled his eyes and pulled the phone away from his ear for a second.

"Was I really that big of an airhead before our ranger days?" he asked his girlfriend. Kira smirked, as she sat on his couch in his apartment, strumming her guitar idly.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" she asked sarcastically. He smirked.

"Probably not," he replied, as he brought the phone back to his ear.

"Are you listening to me?" Eric asked.

"Not really dude, I don't need to hear all the gossip going on at the Academy. Tori and Hunter will tell me all the important stuff anyway," Conner replied, referring to their friends.

"That's just it bro, you gotta give me the goods! I mean my Sensei is back with this girl that no one's ever seen and they're like totally into each other. And if that wasn't weird enough, Tally's sensei is like all over the head sensei of the Thunder Academy," Eric pressed on.

"I'm not gossiping with you about my friends' love lives. Besides, ranger stuff isn't something that should be discussed over the phone. You know too much already," Conner replied.

"Fine, but next time I see you, we're going to talk," Eric replied. Conner groaned.

"Whatever dude…listen, I've got to go," Conner said.

"Kira must be there…am I right? Man, she is so hot…" Eric continued to ramble.

"Goodbye Eric," Conner said, as he hung up the phone and sat down beside his girlfriend, listening to the tune she was strumming.

"That's something new," he mentioned. She smiled. That was always one thing that surprised her about him. He always noticed and took interest in her music, something that a lot of guys would never do.

"It's amazing what kind of inspiration near death experiences can give you," she replied. He nodded.

"I know exactly what you mean," he stated, as he took her hand and looked her in the eyes.

"I know we haven't said it and I don't expect anything in return. I know we haven't been dating long and I'm probably risking screwing up what we have, but I can't help how I feel about you," Conner said. Kira squeezed his hand, urging him to continue.

"I love you Kira…I have for a while, but this whole mess made me realize just how much. You're the one…I know that in my heart," he confessed, bringing tears to her eyes. She set her guitar aside and turned to him.

"I love you too, Conner," she confessed in return. He gave her one of those smiles, the Conner grin, as she called them, and she felt her heart skip a beat.

"So…the Jock and the Rockstar, huh? Not your normal couple, I guess," he mused. She smirked and kissed him passionately, their feelings overflowing from their hearts and he pulled her into his lap. She straddled him and kissed him as deeply as ever.

"Normal is way overrated anyway," she mentioned, as she broke their kiss momentarily. He gazed at her, desire and love filling his chestnut orbs. Their lips met again and she combed her fingers through his chocolate hair, as his lips left hers and tackled her neck. The haze of pleasure consumed them, as they became lost in each other.


"Thanks for watching him on such short notice," Aisha said gratefully, as they stood on the porch belonging to the Skullovich's. If you had told Rocky back in High School that he would be a detective with Skull as his partner one day and that he would know about their pasts as rangers, he would have laughed hysterically.

"What are partner's for? I'm just glad you handled everything, if you know what I mean. Besides, Zeke and Spike love playing together," Skull replied. Rocky nodded.

"So…what exactly happened?" Skull asked.

"It's a long story, I'll tell you tomorrow. We'll need something to talk about since we have to sit on stakeout for who knows how long," Rocky replied, referring to the case Skull had informed him had dropped on them while he was gone. The former bully nodded in understanding. He loved his wife, a beautiful, sweet girl he had met while in the Academy, named Nina. But they had decided that it was better she didn't know about his friends' ranger pasts.

"Here he is," a brown haired, petite woman said, as she brought their son out. Zeke ran to his parents and Rocky scooped him up.

"There's my little man," he said, as he ruffled his son's hair and Aisha kissed his cheek. Zeke saw his Uncle Adam and Aunt Tanya approaching as well and Rocky let him down. The little boy ran to them and Adam scooped his nephew up, as the other couple waved to the Skullovich's.

"We should be going, I'll see you tomorrow Eugene," Rocky said, teasing his partner about his first name.

"Don't call me that Rocko," Skull teased back. He, Nina, and Spike watched the two couples and the little boy leave in a car.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving," Rocky said, as he drove.

"That's nothing new, but I think we're all hungry," Adam replied.

"Well, before we were so rudely interrupted, we planned on grilling so we can head to our house for dinner," Tanya mentioned.

"Sounds good to me," Aisha agreed.


After dinner with everyone, Tori and Hunter broke off to take a walk on the beach at sunset. Everything was so new between them, but such a near death experience had laid all their emotions bare and they had taken a very big step into a romantic relationship. Their feelings had been there for each other for well over a year and the abrupt surfacing was overwhelming, but in a good way.

"We've been here together dozens of times…but not like this. I feel like we wasted so much time," Tori mentioned. He squeezed her hand.

"Me too…but we don't have to waste anymore time," he said, as he turned to face her. She smiled and her heart skipped a beat, as he leaned down and kissed her tenderly.

"I guess I was afraid. When I fell for you…I was afraid that I'd wreck your relationship with Blake," she said. He gave her his lazy half smile that she loved.

"Yeah…Blake is pretty forgiving though. I'm always the one that broods and is last to come around. He's always the one that people make friends with. I'm usually just the older brother they have to put up with," he replied. It was an insecurity in him that she had seen over the years. He somehow didn't think he was worthy; of being a ranger, a friend, and apparently, of love. She wanted to change that and she reached up to brush a hand to his cheek.

"Just so you know, Shane and Dustin love you like a brother. Shane may technically be the leader, but you're the protector. You're always protecting us all and you step in seamlessly when he needs you to lead. But sometimes, you're too busy protecting us and Blake that you forget about yourself," she said, as she took his hands in her own.

"You're not a replacement for Blake. I once had feelings for Blake and I really liked him, but I never fell for him. I think we loved each other the way sixteen-year-olds love each other, but we didn't fall in love. He left to chase his dream and I stayed here and found mine," she said, looking up at him.

"Me?" he asked. She smiled.

"Yes you, thunder boy," she replied.

"I'm in love with you…like real love. The kind you find when you're not kids anymore, but even better, because I can feel it's that forever kind," she added, as they shared a smile.

"Me too," he confessed.

"Probably the ranger thing…I think it makes us feel things more deeply or maybe not take life for granted," he added.

"Close calls on the battlefield will do that," she said.

"Guess that means we should stop wasting time and make up for what we lost," he replied, as he squashed the daylight between them.

"I was thinking the same," she replied, as she slipped her arms around his neck and their lips met again in a passionate kiss.


The next day

Tommy was as nervous as he had ever been, as they waited for the doctor to come in. They had gone home the night before and had a good night's sleep, but now they wanted reassurance that the baby was okay after the fiasco they had been through. Even though Rita had healed all their wounds, he was still eager for the Doctor to examine Kim.

"Hello Kimberly, how are you feeling?" the doctor asked, as she entered with Kimberly chart.

"I'm fine, the car accident wasn't bad and as far as I know, I just have a few bruises," Kim replied. They had decided that fibbing about a car accident as a reason for an impromptu checkup would keep the doctor's suspicion down.

"Well, you're very lucky, because your tests show that you and the baby are absolutely fine," the doctor assured. Tommy and Kim let out a sigh of relief.

"However, I believe that we could do an ultrasound while you're here. It's still a little early, but we might get a decent look at the baby, if you're interested," the doctor stated. The couple nodded eagerly.

"We'd really like that," Tommy replied, as the doctor proceeded to spread a clear gel on Kimberly's slightly distended belly. The machine hummed to life and Tommy squinted trying to make sense of the blurry image on the screen. Once his eyes made out the head, he instantly saw everything. Very tiny features, tiny little fingers and toes, curled up in her womb.

"Kim…" he said in awe, nearly speechless.

"Our baby…" she replied, as tears came to her eyes.

"It's a little early to tell what the sex is yet, but that should change on your next ultrasound in three months," the doctor promised.

"I don't care if it's a boy or girl, because he or she is ours," Tommy whispered to her, as the doctor handed them pictures of the ultrasound and then left them alone to gaze at their tiny creation.

"I love you…" Kimberly whispered tearfully. He smiled down at her and stroked her hair.

"I love you too beautiful," he replied, as he kissed her lips tenderly.


Two days later…

Jason kissed her wife tenderly, as they prepared to part once again. It had only been two days since they had gotten back and already his team was being called in with a new case.

"Sorry our time off was cut short…again," he apologized. She smiled and kissed him again.

"We made good use of our time the last couple days, I think," she said playfully. He grinned wolfishly.

"Yes we did," he replied, as he kissed her again and they gazed at each other for a few tender moments.

"I know that I shouldn't need to tell you to be careful after what we went through a few days ago…but I will anyway. I can't lose you," she said. He smirked.

"You won't, I'll be fine and I'll call you when I can. Hopefully we can crack this one quickly," Jason replied.

"With you and Billy on it, I'm sure you will. I love you and I'll see you soon," she said. He kissed her quickly again, before getting out.

"Love you too," he replied, as she drove off. Jason started in the building and saw Billy jogging to catch up to him. He held the elevator and the genius slipped in with him.

"Running late?" Jason mused playfully.

"Yeah, you could say that," Billy replied, as he straightened his tie.

"You have lipstick on your lips," Jason mentioned. Billy smirked.

"So do you," he replied. They looked at each other and shared a stupid grin, as they went about wiping it off, before the elevator dinged and they walked off onto the floor where they would rejoin their other team and work to eliminate the prevalent human evil in their world.


The waves crashed on the beach, as dusk set in and he watched her let the tide bring her into shore, before picking up her board and walking onto the sand. He still couldn't believe it. He'd been in love with her for a while now, but never entertained that she might feel the same. It had taken a near death experience to get them to admit their feelings for each other and then made a promise not to waste anymore time once they had managed to escape with their lives.

"Hey…" she said, as she brought him out of his thoughts. He smiled.

"Hey," he replied.

"You were a million miles away," she mentioned. He shrugged.

"Just thinking about everything. It's kind of a miracle we got out of that alive," he said.

"I know…I really didn't think we were going to make it there for a minute," she replied, as the wind tousled their hair.

"Well…here's to not wasting anymore time," he said, as he kissed her passionately and her arms slid around his neck. She smiled once their lips parted and he pressed his forehead against hers.

"So…my place or yours?" she asked. He smiled.

"My apartment is…not the greatest," he replied.

"Yeah…and my parents are gone as usual, leaving me rattling around in a big beach house all by myself," she mentioned.

"I'll be glad to keep you company," he replied slyly.

"Good…because I'm done going home alone," she said, as they headed for her van with arms around each other.