What Was Lost: The Return Home

by superdory57

When life happens people change and time can pull apart even the closest friends. That doesn't stop the rangers from coming together when the world needs them. Will the original rangers be able to come together to save each other from themselves? Will the rest of the rangers be able to keep them safe from a threat unknown? And what does Jason's wife have to do with it?

4. Chapter 4 Weekend Adventures

Saturday March 31st, 2018

Reefside, CA

"No…Don't touch him, he's not…leave him alone!"

Tommy shot upright with a jerk as his eyes flew open, taking in a few gasping breaths as he leaned forward for a moment. He looked around the dark room as the pounding of his heart started to slow down. Kat was still sound asleep next to him in bed. His nightmare hadn't woken her up. Tommy sighed and looked over at the alarm clock next to his bed.

"3a," he muttered. "Great…Guess I may as well get up…"

Shifting carefully, Tommy pushed back the blanket and swung his legs around to get up. That was when he realized JJ was curled up with a blanket and pillow on the floor by the bed. Tommy sighed again.

"I must have been tired," he said quietly to himself. "I didn't even hear him come in tonight."

Shaking his head, Tommy stood and carefully moved around JJ to try and keep from waking him. Since he was up—and didn't think there was any chance of falling asleep again—Tommy figured he may as well get in an early run. Moving as quietly as he could, Tommy changed in the dark. Once he was ready to go, he headed downstairs.

As he headed down the hall to get his shoes, Tommy heard someone talking in the kitchen. He stopped, frowning. Changing directions, he went to investigate. In the kitchen, Jake was sitting at the table in front of his laptop. Tommy watched in surprise for a moment—Jake wasn't speaking English. Glancing up, Jake saw Tommy standing in the doorway and nodded. Turning back, he spoke to the people on the computer for a few more moments and then ended the call, taking off his headset.

When the call was over, Tommy grinned and spoke quickly. Jake stared at him in surprise now.

"You speak Mandarin?" he asked.

Tommy laughed and shook his head.

"No," he said. "I only know a couple of phrases I picked up while traveling."

"Ah, I understand," Jake chuckled.

"Sorry for interrupting," Tommy said. "I was up and heard you talking so I came to investigate."

Jake shook his head.

"It's fine," he said. "We were pretty much done anyways. Just working out a few details of a new project. I took over the kitchen because I figured I'd be the only one awake for a while yet—and then I didn't have to wake up Kim."

Tommy shrugged.

"Sometimes being awake isn't a choice," he said.

"Well, you can always give me a hand going through these files," Jake said with a grin. "They might put you back to sleep."

Tommy snorted.

"Business is not my forte," he said. "I'm more of an investor than a decision maker."

Jake frowned.

"You own two businesses that I know of—both very successful," he pointed out. "So how can you say you aren't good at business?"

"Well, the dojo doesn't require a lot," Tommy said. "And if I need advice I generally partner with Adam."

"And the resort?" Jake asked.

"That's why I have a manager," Tommy shrugged. "He runs the business end of things. Essentially, I own two thirds of the resort and the other third is split between my uncle and my manager. He makes most of the business decisions on his own. I do have a couple of specific requirements he has to keep in mind, but they are part of what has made the resort so successful so that isn't a problem."

"I guess that makes sense," Jake mused. "Especially since you live here."

Tommy nodded.

"Anyways," Tommy said. "I'm gonna go for a run."

"You run?" Jake asked.

"Yes. I have a trail through the woods around my property," Tommy said.

He paused, looking at Jake.

"You're welcome to join me if you'd like," he offered.

"I'd love to," Jake grinned.

Tommy blinked in surprise. He hadn't actually been expecting a yes.

"Really?" he said.

Jake nodded as he packed up his computer.

"I love running," he said. "It's really one of the only ways I can exercise consistently with all the traveling I do. It would be a lot harder to take weights or try and find a decent gym everywhere."

"That's understandable," Tommy said.

"I'll be right back down," Jake said, picking up his things and hurrying out of the room.

When he came back down a few minutes later, dressed for a run, Tommy had gotten his shoes on and was stretching while he waited. Jake joined him.

"It's a long trail," Tommy said as he waited for Jake to finish stretching. "But it's well marked. So, if you need to turn back just say something so I know where you went. Just make sure you don't leave the marked trail."

Jake frowned.

"I don't think that will be a problem," he said.

"No offense intended," Tommy said quickly. "Most people just don't want to run the whole thing. Even Adam and Rocky usually turn back partway. Conner is generally the only one who runs the entire trail with me."

Jake shrugged.

"I'll be fine," he said. "Though if you really want someone to run with you, you could just get a dog."

Tommy snorted.

"That would not be a good idea," he said. "There are too many—creatures—in these woods. Though it would probably make JJ happy. You ready to go?"

Jake nodded.

"Yep, let's go," he said.

Kat looked up as Tanya and Adam walked into the kitchen. She was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee. JJ was also up, leaning on the table with his head in his arms and staring in the direction of the stove.

"Coffee?" Tanya mumbled as she stopped to look at Kat.

"On the counter," Kat smiled. "I made enough for everyone."

Tanya nodded, stifling a yawn as she turned and nearly ran into Adam next to her. He just chuckled and caught her before leading her over to the coffee. Kat had already gotten mugs out for the group. By the time Tanya and Adam had joined her at the table, Aisha and Rocky had come downstairs.

"That was the best night sleep I've had in ages," Aisha sighed contentedly.

Rocky agreed, grabbing coffee for both of them as Aisha sat down next to Tanya—who was mostly just staring at her coffee.

"So, what's for breakfast?" Rocky asked as he handed Aisha her coffee. "I can help cook for everyone."

Kat shook her head.

"We don't usually eat breakfast until Tommy gets back from his morning run," she said. "But I appreciate the offer. If you need something now you can help yourself to some fruit."

Rocky nodded, sitting down in the chair next to JJ. He was still staring in the direction of the stove.

"You awake, kid?" he asked, watching him in amusement.

"Mmmhmm…" JJ mumbled, not looking up.

Rocky shook his head in response, taking a drink of his coffee.

"Good morning, everyone," Kim yawned as she wandered in. "I have a question."

She paused just inside the doorway, a small planner open in her hands.

"What is it?" Aisha asked.

"Today is Saturday, right?"

There was a chorus of yeses around the room. Kim frowned at her planner.

"What's going on?" Kat asked, seeing the look on Kim's face.

"Jake wasn't in our room when I woke up," Kim explained. "And his meeting should have been over hours ago. He didn't have another one this morning, I've checked."

Closing her planner, she joined them at the table. Kat stood up to get a cup of coffee for her since Kim hadn't noticed it.

"Was he in the bathroom?" Adam asked. "Maybe he was taking a shower."

"There wasn't anyone in there when I came down," Kim said. "Oh, thank you, Kat."

Kim fell silent for a moment after she took the cup from Kat, enjoying the coffee. Kat sat back down.

"Alright, kid, what's going on?" Rocky asked, still watching JJ. "You haven't broken your stare in like ten minutes."

"I'm willing dad to make pancakes for breakfast," JJ said, still keeping his eyes on the stove.

"Why don't you just ask him when he gets back?" Rocky snorted.

"Nah, this will work," JJ said. "It always does."

Kat just shook her head and turned back to Kim.

"Are you sure he didn't have a meeting?" she asked. "Tommy may have let him use his office."

Kim shook her head.

"I don't have one written down and his computer bag was in our room," she said. "I'm sure he's fine. He probably went for a run. He doesn't usually get to run outside of the city. I'm a little put out that he didn't wake me up to go with him, though. I would have loved to run through the woods."

At the mention of running through the woods, Kat froze. The other four adults also exchanged concerned looks. They knew what lived in the forest behind the house. They also knew Kim had no idea, let alone Jake.

"I'll be right back," Kat said, standing again. "I just want to check—"

The sound of the back door opening caught all of their attention. A moment later both Tommy and Jake walked into the kitchen. Kat sighed in relief, moving to meet Tommy.

"I'm guessing Jake was with you?" she asked as Tommy leaned down to give her a kiss.

"He was," Tommy confirmed. "And I'm impressed."

Kat smiled as Tommy walked away. He paused at the fridge to grab his protein shake and then over to the cupboards where he started pulling some things out. Jake went for the coffee.

"Impressed?" Rocky repeated, looking at Jake as he joined them at the table. "Impressed by what?"

Jake shrugged, sitting down next to Kim.

"No idea," he answered.

"He made the entire run with me," Tommy explained, setting down a bowl and walking over to the table. "Not necessarily right next to me the whole way, but he stayed in sight."

Rocky and Adam looked at Jake in surprise.

"Seriously?" Rocky said.

"Nice job, Jake," Adam nodded. "Tommy's runs can be a little insane."

Tommy shot a good-natured scowl at his friends. Stopping next to JJ, Tommy ruffled his hair and then turned his head away from the stove.

"I'm making pancakes," he said drily. "Calm down."

JJ grinned up at him.

"Thanks, dad!"

Tommy shook his head and went back to the stove to get to work on breakfast. Rocky blinked at JJ.

"You're good, kid," he said.

JJ smirked, watching Tommy as he started making pancake mix. Rocky studied him for a moment and then turned to look at Aisha. She was chatting with Kim and Tanya. He stared at her for a moment until she finally noticed.

"What are you doing?" she sighed.

"Willing you to go see if there is orange juice in the fridge so I don't have to get up," Rocky said sheepishly.

Aisha rolled her eyes.

"Not going to work," she said. "But while you're checking, could you get me a glass of milk?"

Rocky sighed.

"Guess it was too much to hope that would work," he grumbled as he stood up.

"You just didn't do it right," JJ snickered.

Rocky shot him a look as he pulled orange juice and milk out of the fridge before grabbing some glasses. JJ just grinned and turned to look at the bottle in Rocky's hand. Kat caught him looking.

"JJ, did you want some orange juice, too?" she asked.

"Yes, please."

"Rocky, could you pour him a glass while you have it out?" Kat asked him.

"You've got to teach me how to do that, kid," Rocky said as he complied with Kat's request.

"Nope," JJ grinned.

"And why not?" Rocky asked as he set a glass in front of JJ.

"Because with great power comes great responsibility," JJ snickered.

Tommy, getting ready to cook the pancakes by the stove, rolled his eyes.

"Who wants blueberries?" he asked. "And do we want bacon or sausage?"

New York City, NY

Jason muttered to himself as he looked between his list and the computer screen. Setting down his pen, he rubbed his forehead.

"It's going to be tight this week," he sighed to himself. "But at least if we keep watching our spending for the next month, we'll have enough for moving expenses."

As he was double-checking his list to make sure all essentials were covered, Christine walked into the room.

"Oh, perfect," she said. "Here's my list for the week. I need everything on it."

Jason took the list and glanced over it. He sighed.

"I'll see what I can do," he said. "But we aren't going to have a lot of extra money this week. The budget is pretty tight."

Christine raised an eyebrow, her hands on her hips.

"Excuse me?" she said.

"I'm sorry," Jason said. "It's just with saving up for moving expenses—"

"So, I have to starve because you decided to move us across the country?" Christine interrupted. "Without asking how I felt, I'd like to remind you."

"You aren't going to starve," Jason said quickly. "I'm getting food you like. It's just—do you really need all of this extra stuff?"

He glanced down at the list.

"Champagne, supplies for a cheese board?"

Christine scowled, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, I do," she said. "I'm having some friends over later this week. Unless I'm not allowed to say goodbye anymore."

"I didn't—"

"Or are they supposed to provide the food?" she continued, ignoring Jason's stammered protests. "Are we hosting potlucks now like we're poor?"

"No, Christine," Jason sighed. "It's not that. Of course, you are allowed to spend time with your friends before we move. But do you need to do all of that this week? We will have over a month before the move."

Christine rolled her eyes.

"Of course, I have to," she said. "Our apartment isn't big enough for me to have all of my friends over at once. So, this week a few of them are coming over and the next week I think I'm going out with a few different friends."

She paused, crossing her arms.

"Unless you are going to change your mind and just sell the house in California?" she asked expectantly.

Jason sighed.

"Christine, we've gone through this," he said. "I'm going to sell it. But it needs some repairs and updates first or we aren't going to get a good price for it. Once it sells, we can move back here. I promise."

Christine scowled.

"It's just for a while," Jason tried to reassure her. "Think about it. Won't it be nice to live somewhere for a while without worrying about rent or a mortgage? We can save some extra money before we come back to New York—and maybe get a better apartment, too. Or even maybe a house just outside the city."

"Whatever," Christine muttered. "I guess we'll just do whatever you want. What I want clearly doesn't matter."

Jason groaned, rubbing a hand over his face.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I don't want to drag you away from here… but we can't afford it anymore. Any money you got from your parents when they passed is gone and I'm not making enough to keep paying for the apartment unless we make a lot of changes in our spending habits. I already need to get Marc new shoes—"

"We just got him new shoes," Christine scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Why could he possibly need new ones already?"

"That was the end of last summer…" Jason said, shaking his head. "He's fourteen and hit another growth spurt. He needs shoes and will probably need new clothes before summer, too."

"Well, why don't you just give him some of your stuff then?"

Jason frowned.

"That's not going to work," he said, shaking his head.

"Well, he can just wait until after we move then," Christine said adamantly. "I need the stuff on my list and it's not like his shoes have holes or anything. He'll be fine."

Jason hesitated then sighed.

"Alright," he conceded. "I'll try and make it work."

"Fine," Christine said. "Now don't forget my stuff."

Spinning, Christine flounced out of the room. Jason sighed again and turned to his computer and list, adding Christine's to it.

"Guess I can give up coffee for the month," he muttered. "And walking to work won't kill me."

Reefside, CA

"It has been forever since I've been to a store without at least one child—or Rocky," Aisha sighed happily.

The four women had arrived at the mall a short time before. Now that they were parked, they were inside and ready to enjoy themselves.

"I understand the feeling—at least when it comes to the kids," Tanya laughed. "Adam isn't usually a problem."

"And JJ is old enough to be an entirely different kind of distraction in the store," Kat sighed. "Anyways. Where do we want to start?"

They started walking through the mall, looking around at the stores and laughing.

"Oh! I need to pop in here real quick," Aisha said, pausing in front of a children's clothing store. "I need to grab a few things."

They all stopped just outside the store.

"I do have my list, too," Kat said. "I can probably get a few things for JJ here."

"And my girls are constantly growing out of things," Tanya sighed.

Kim frowned, looking around at her friends.

"Wait just one minute," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "We are supposed to be having a fun morning shopping and catching up. You should be shopping for yourselves, not just your families."

The other three sighed.

"We know," Kat said. "But at the same time, it would be nice to take advantage of getting our lists done without kids hanging off us."

Kim grumbled to herself.

"Relax, Kim," Aisha said. "How about a compromise?"

"What?" Kim asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Give the three of us an hour to grab everything on our need to buy lists," Aisha said. "Then we will spend the rest of the morning ignoring responsibility and just enjoying ourselves. Ok?"

Kim sighed.

"Fine," she said. "But as soon as you all finish your lists, we are looking at nothing but candles and lotions and other things for just us."

The other three women laughed.

"Alright, then let's get moving," Tanya said. "Because the faster we finish the faster we can just have fun."

Kat, Tanya, and Aisha quickly took off after checking their lists.

"Wait!" Kim exclaimed as they left her standing in front of the store. "What about—alright… fine…"

Grumbling, Kim took off after Aisha.

"How's it going over here?" Rocky asked, walking up and leaning on the treadmill. "Haven't you run enough for one day yet?"

Jake laughed, reaching up to turn off the machine.

"Running isn't that bad," he said, stepping off as it slowed and grabbing a water bottle. "I find it relaxing."

Taking a drink, he glanced in the direction Rocky had come from. Adam was still with Tommy, finishing up the last of the belt tests.

"Whatever you say," Rocky scoffed, shaking his head.

"Those kids are impressive," Jake said. "I could probably hire some of them as bodyguards."

"Nah," Rocky said, shaking his head. "Minors are such a pain to hire for security work."

"That's fair," Jake chuckled.

"But you are right, Tommy's kids are pretty good. They work hard."

Jake nodded.

"So, are they done?" he asked, watching the last of the kids take off across the room with a grin.

"Yep," Rocky confirmed.

"So, then what's next?"

Adam and Tommy were heading in their direction now.

"Well, now we all get a chance to do our own workouts," Rocky said. "I know Tommy wants to do one. Though you could probably call it good for the day."

Jake snorted as the other two men walked up still talking.

"I'm definitely impressed by how well they are doing," Adam was saying.

"Thanks," Tommy said. "They've been working really hard for this. That's why I wasn't going to miss this morning."

Adam nodded in understanding.

"Anyways," Tommy said. "I'm going to—"

"Let's spar," Rocky interrupted with a grin.

Tommy looked at Rocky in surprise. As did Adam and Jake.

"What?" Rocky said. "We hardly ever get to fight together anymore. I work with Adam all the time, but not you."

Tommy hesitated, not answering immediately.

"Rocky, I don't—"

"Come on, man," Rocky said. "It'll be fun."

"Fine," Tommy sighed.

Without another word, Tommy turned and walked away. Rocky followed. Adam sighed and glanced over at Jake.

"I have a feeling this is going to go badly…" he said, shaking his head. "I'm going to go keep an eye on them."

Jake nodded. Adam jogged out onto the mat after the other two men. Staying where he was to stretch out, Jake just stared in surprise as they started sparring with each other. It had been one thing watching the kids go through their testing. This match between Tommy and Rocky was something he hadn't really been expecting.

Rocky hit the mat in moments, grunting as he did. Tommy stopped, waiting for Rocky to get back to his feet. Once he was back up, they went again with the same result.

"Well, I'm glad I'm over here, then," Jake muttered. "I'd be dead."

He watched as the fight continued on for a while. Finally, Rocky stayed down, groaning.

"I surrender," he muttered. "Adam, come get me."

Adam just rolled his eyes. Tommy watched with his arms crossed.

"Get up, Rocky," Adam sighed.

"Nope, he might hit me again," Rocky complained. "Save me."

Adam snorted, still not moving to help Rocky. But Tommy spun, stalking away. Rocky and Adam watched him go with a little surprise.

"Well, that didn't work," Rocky said, sitting up. "I was just trying to get him to relax… usually he'd at least laugh at me."

Adam sighed, still looking in the direction Tommy had gone.

"I don't think anything is as usual right now," he sighed. "Come on."

He held out a hand and helped Rocky to his feet.

"He really could break me in half, couldn't he?" Jake asked as the other two walked over to him.

"Tommy?" Adam said. "I mean, technically…"

"Yes," Rocky grumbled, stretching and rubbing a few sore spots. "Not that he actually would."

"Anyways," Adam said. "I'm sure he'll be back out soon. So, let's finish up our own workouts before it's time to meet the girls at the café."

"Here we are," Kat said, parking. "I don't see Tommy's truck, so they guys are probably still at the dojo. I'm sure they'll be here soon."

The four women climbed out of the car, leaving their purchases inside. Kat led the way inside the café.

"This place is so cute!" Kim exclaimed as they walked in. "I can see why all the kids want to hang out here."

She looked around curiously as Kat led the way to an empty table. There were teenagers everywhere. From the volume and laughter in the café, it was clear they were all having fun. Some were sitting at tables talking, eating, or working on schoolwork. Others were using computers or just talking with other students. There were a couple of adults scattered through the room, too.

"It's definitely busy after school and on the weekends," Kat said as they sat down.

Kim was still looking around.

"So, do we go up to the counter and order or…" she asked, looking at Kat.

"We can," she said. "But I was going to wait for the guys to get here, first. And Hayley usually makes rounds anyways. She'll stop by at some point."

The women had only been there for a few minutes when the guys walked in. JJ bounced inside first, running straight over to the counter without even pausing to say hi to Kat. Tommy glanced in their direction and pointed them out to the rest of the guys, but he headed over to the other side of the room. There was a couch with a long table in front of it, some chairs scattered around the area as well. It was surprisingly empty of kids.

Sitting down, Tommy set his backpack down and started pulling books and papers out of it, spreading them out on the table in front of him. Adam, Rocky, and Jake walked over to join the women at their table.

"So, I take it the workouts this morning didn't go as planned?" Kat sighed, watching Tommy pulling things out.

Adam and Rocky exchanged looks and then shook their heads.

"Not exactly," Adam sighed.

"What happened?" Tanya asked.

"I was trying to get him to relax and pushed the wrong buttons…" Rocky admitted. "Something that normally would have been fine but, given the circumstances…"

He shrugged. Kat just sighed again, still watching Tommy. Kim saw Hayley come out of the kitchen and raised her hand to wave her down, but Hayley was already heading toward them with a couple of glasses in her hands.

"Hey everyone," she smiled. "Here, Kat. I figured tea today. I'll be back in a moment to take orders. Are you all eating lunch here, too? I guessed you might, so I made sure to keep a table open."

"Yes, thanks, Hayley," Kat said, taking the cup.

"Perfect. I'll be right back."

Spinning, Hayley headed straight over to where Tommy was sitting.

"Keep that scowl on your face and no one is going to come over here," she smirked as she set a glass of water down in front of him. "Though I guess you'd get plenty of your own work done at that point."

Tommy looked up to glare at her.

"I'm just saying," she said with a shrug. "Your usual for lunch?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Tommy said shortly.

Hayley rolled her eyes and walked away back to the table where the others were sitting.

"Alright," she said, stopping and looking around the group. "Water for Adam and Rocky since you were at the dojo this morning. I'll grab tea for Tanya and Aisha as well."

They all nodded and then Hayley turned to look at Kim and Jake.

"Now, let's see," she said with a smile. "A latte for Kim and an iced coffee for Jake."

They both stared at her in surprise.

"Wait—what?" Kim exclaimed.

"Is that not what you want to drink?" Hayley asked with a smirk.

"Is she wrong?" Rocky asked with a grin, looking between Hayley and Jake and Kim.

"Well, no…" Jake said, sounding very confused. "She's right."

"Dang it," Rocky grumbled.

Kat and Hayley both rolled their eyes.

"Anything particular for lunch?" Hayley asked.

"I'm sure you already have something planned," Kat said. "I'm sure it will be great as usual."

"Be out soon," Hayley said. "JJ!"

She spun, heading toward the counter and the kitchen. JJ, sitting at the counter talking to some students, spun when Hayley called.

"Come help me get food and drinks together," she said.

He eyed her suspiciously.

"Am I getting paid?" he asked.

"Well, I'm not partial to slave labor," Hayley said drily, walking behind the counter.

"Yes!" JJ exclaimed, jumping out of his seat to follow her.

Over by the couch, Tommy had finished pulling stuff out of his bag and was now just sitting with his tablet in his lap and texting on one of his phones. That seemed to signal something to the students and one of them went bolting over with a book and notebook clutched tightly in their hands.

"Dr. O!" he wailed, practically throwing himself on the couch next to Tommy.

Rocky, knowing how bad a mood Tommy was currently in, started to stand. Kat caught his arm and shook her head. He slowly sat back down. Tommy just waited patiently as the high schooler continued.

"I don't understand this," he cried. "I'm going to fail. I'll fail and then I won't get into college and I'll be stuck here forever. I'll have to work at the café for the rest of my life…"

Hayley, walking past with a couple of drinks, chuckled.

"I'd be happy to have you," she said.

The student dropped his head to the table and groaned. Tommy rolled his eyes.

"Are you done being dramatic now?" he asked drily.

"Maybe," he mumbled into the table.

"Then what do you actually need help with?" Tommy asked.

"Genes. I don't understand genes."

As Tommy leaned forward to help, more students crowded forward. Soon the couch and table were surrounded. The kids filled the couch and the chairs. A few even sat on the floor around the low table. Tommy worked with them all patiently, keeping the tablet balanced on his lap. He picked it up occasionally to look at something in between questions or type on it.

"Here's lunch," Hayley said, stopping by the table where the group was sitting. "And some drink refills along with a pitcher of water and some extra glasses."

She was holding a tray of food and drinks in one hand and the pitcher of water in the other. JJ was following, carrying a second tray with the rest of the food. Hayley set down the pitcher and the tray and started passing food out.

"Let me know if you need anything," she said with a smile, taking the last plate and heading toward Tommy.

JJ took off with the empty trays toward the kitchen. Hayley set the other plate down in front of Tommy and he nodded in thanks, continuing to talk with one of the students next to him. At the table, the group dug into their lunch.

"This is great," Kim said. "Did you place an order ahead of time? Because you just told Hayley whatever she had was fine earlier."

Kat shook her head.

"I don't usually order here," she said. "Hayley just brings out food."

"Really?" Kim said in surprise. "But how does she know what we would like?"

Kat shrugged as Hayley walked by toward the kitchen again.

"I figured you would enjoy it," Hayley answered with a grin, enjoying the look on Kim's face.

"How does she keep doing that?" Jake asked as Hayley walked away.

Kat, Rocky, Aisha, Tanya, and Adam all shook their heads.

"It's one of her many talents," Kat said. "I stopped asking how she always knows things ages ago. I'm pretty sure Tommy knows, but I've never cared enough to ask. Hayley is Hayley and that's enough for me."

"But I need to know!" Rocky exclaimed in frustration. "How does Hayley always know everything?"

Aisha rolled her eyes.

"He's been trying to figure out Hayley's methods for years," she said. "But she won't tell him anything."

"No one will!" Rocky muttered. "And I know that Tommy knows—he just won't give me an actual answer. He just changes the subject or ignores the question."

He continued to grumble to himself as he went back to his lunch. The others all snickered at Rocky's irritation. Back over on the couch, Tommy leaned back with the tablet as the students fell silent for a few minutes as they worked. Thinking his attention was elsewhere, one of the students reached out to steal a piece of food from Tommy's plate. But Tommy tapped the back of his hand with the tablet, making him jump and retreat.

"Go order your own food," he said, going back to work on the tablet.

"But Hayley will make me pay…" he whined. "And you have a real job. You're a teacher. I just get an allowance."

Tommy rolled his eyes.

"Oh, yes," he said. "Because teachers are one of the highest paid jobs in the country."

"There was a lot of sarcasm in that statement…" the student retorted.

"Yes, there was," Tommy said. "Now, are you going to tell me why you've been sulking since you got here?"

He glanced up at the student in question as he spoke, looking at him expectantly. He looked back at Tommy in surprise.

"Well?"

"I got a rejection letter," he muttered after a moment. "And it was my third pick school!"

Tommy sighed, locking the tablet for a moment as he turned his full attention to them.

"And how many places did you apply to?" he asked.

"Like ten."

"And how many responses have you gotten?"

"Four…"

"And?"

"Ok, only one rejected me so far," he continued. "But the other three are toward the bottom of my list and I really don't want to go there because the programs I want are so much better at the other schools and—"

"Breathe," Tommy interrupted. "You've got plenty of time for answers. And if you don't get into the one you want, focus on general courses and then apply again next year. You can always transfer credits."

He nodded hesitantly.

"Dr. O!" one of the others exclaimed, pulling his attention back. "Can you explain this question?"

Turning, he nodded to talk through the question with her.

"I'm so glad you're back, Dr. O," one of the students sighed a few minutes later. "That week of you being gone was hard."

"It couldn't have been that bad," Tommy said. "Dr. Mercer was filling in, wasn't he? And he would have had access to my lesson plans."

"Well, yeah. But he teaches differently. His words are all complicated and smart—not like you."

"Is that so?" Tommy said, raising an eyebrow.

The student quickly backpedaled, realizing what she had said.

"I did not mean it like that, Dr. O," she exclaimed. "It's just that you know how to speak stupid. Wait! I mean—you—it's just that—I'm sorry…"

"Relax," Tommy chuckled. "I know what you meant."

"I just can't keep everything straight and I need to pass this class to graduate," she grumbled.

"This is an assignment, not a test," Tommy pointed out. "And there is still two weeks until you test on this material."

"Two weeks!" she exclaimed. "But that's not that far away… and then finals! Wait—is this going to be on the finals?"

"Probably," Tommy answered.

She groaned in response, face planting on her book on the table. Several other students followed suit.

"Breathe," Tommy said, shaking his head. "There is going to be plenty of review time. So just relax."

"But I can't!"

"Alright," Tommy said calmly. "Then I'm going to call Hayley over and she is going to presume you need to be shocked out of your panic attack with a glass of ice water."

"I'm relaxing!" she exclaimed, quickly sitting up and grabbing a pencil.

Homework continued as Tommy went back to working on the tablet in between questions and bites of food. At the table, the rest of the group continued chatting as they ate their lunches and glancing over to watch Tommy with the students every so often. Hayley stopped by the couch not long after Tommy finished eating. But instead of taking his empty plate, she snatched the tablet out of his hands.

"Hayley!" he exclaimed. "I was in the middle of that."

The students snickered as he glared at her, used to the two of them arguing.

"Yes, but there's been some updates," she said, her fingers flying across the screen. "Here."

She handed it back to him with a smirk on his face. Tommy scowled but took it. Scrolling through the document, he looked up in surprise.

"That cut it nearly in half," he said.

"Exactly," she said smugly, taking his plate.

"It's still not happening," he muttered. "They've got to be crazy if they think anyone was going to approve this proposal."

Hayley just laughed and walked away, glancing over her shoulder as the door opened. Seeing who had come in, she kept moving around the room grabbing some empty dishes to take to the kitchen. The newcomer walked straight over to Tommy on the couch. Stopping at the table, he dropped a folder in front of Tommy, who looked up from the tablet in surprise. The students still working around him barely glanced up, recognizing the man who had joined them.

"Oh, hey, Anton," Tommy said. "What are you doing here?"

"Dropping off those files I talked to you about," Anton answered. "I can't stay to go through them, so call if you want to talk about any of it."

Tommy nodded, locking the tablet and setting it down in favor of grabbing the folder. Hayley breezed by with her stack of empty plates.

"I've got your food ready in the back, Anton," she said. "Be right out with it."

"Thank you, Hayley," he said before turning back to Tommy. "Did you leave Kat and JJ at home?"

Tommy shook his head.

"JJ is running around somewhere," he said. "And Kat's sitting with our surprise weekend guests."

Anton glanced around and saw Kat sitting at the table with the others. They had all seen him and Jake was looking at him in surprise. Anton was just as surprised to see him. He headed in their direction and Jake stood to meet him.

"I didn't expect to see you in here," Jake said after they exchanged greetings.

"And I didn't expect to see you on my side of the country," Anton retorted. "You don't get this far west very often. What are you doing out here?"

Jake sputtered a little at the retort, but Anton just chuckled.

"And you are generally far more eloquent than that," he said with a grin.

Jake shook his head.

"Just a little surprised," he said. "I'm here with my wife visiting some of her friends."

Kim, hearing Jake mention her, stood to join them.

"This is my wife, Kimberly," he said in introduction. "Kim, this is Anton Mercer."

"It's nice to finally meet you," she said brightly. "Jake has mentioned you a few times."

Anton nodded absently, returning her greeting as he looked between her and the others still sitting at the table. Rocky grinned at Anton and nodded to the silent question he was asking.

"Ah, so you're actually married to that Kimberly," Anton said slowly. "Well, that changes things."

Jake and Kim both frowned.

"What are you talking about?" Jake asked. "That shouldn't change anything."

Anton smiled, shaking his head.

"It actually changes quite a few things," he said.

"I'm sorry?" Kim said, clearly offended by the statement.

"It isn't meant as an insult," Anton quickly said, glancing at his watch. "But unfortunately, while I would love to stay and talk about it, I do actually have to get going. I'm sure I will see you again soon, though, and perhaps we can talk more then."

He glanced over at Kat.

"As I'm assuming from the confusion he's not read in yet?" he asked.

Kat shook her head in response, which just confused Jake and Kim. Hayley walked up with a to-go bag as Anton was talking. Taking the bag, Anton said goodbye again and hurried out of the café without an explanation.

Sitting back down, Kim looked at Kat.

"What was that about?" she asked. "Read in?"

Kat shook her head.

"It's not about you, I promise," she said.

"Really?" Kim retorted. "That's not what it sounded like."

Kat sighed.

"I will try and explain later," she promised. "But this is not the place for that kind of conversation…"

Across the room, the high schoolers had taken notice of Jake and Kim when they stood to talk to Anton. They hadn't noticed them with the group before.

"Who are they?" one of them whispered to his friends.

"I don't know. But Dr. Mercer clearly knows at least the guy. And he's wearing rich people pants."

Jake, hearing the comment, frowned as he looked down at the pants he was wearing.

"I thought these were casual," he said, looking at Kim.

She just snickered.

"They're fine, honey," she said.

The students were still talking.

"Just because he's friends with Dr. Mercer doesn't mean he's rich," one of them pointed out.

"We still haven't determined if they are friends or if they just know each other."

"So, there's still probably a good chance he's rich."

Tommy, sitting with the group, shook his head as he listened.

"But we can't prove it," she argued. "Again, you can be friends or know someone rich and not be rich. Look at Dr. O. They're friends and he was just complaining about his teaching salary."

Tommy snorted as Hayley walked up, stopping with her hands on her hips.

"What about me?" she asked. "I'm friends with Anton, too. Where are you going to put me?"

The students jumped, looking at her in surprise for a moment.

"Hayley, we don't spend enough here for you to be rich," one of them said. "Most of the people who come here are broke high school students."

Hayley shook her head as she turned and walked away, muttering to herself.

"Yes, because all of this stuff just magically appears," she huffed. "If I was relying on this as income, I don't know that it would still be open."

A little while later, Kat stood and stretched. They'd been at the café for a couple of hours. Most of the students with homework were either done or working silently around Tommy now. Walking over, Kat caught Tommy's attention. He looked at the time and nodded.

"Alright, guys," he said, tucking his tablet back in his backpack. "That's it for today."

They started grumbling as he packed up his books and notes. Kat went to collect JJ and the rest of the group headed toward the door.

"I'll see you all in class on Monday," he said as he finished up and started to turn to join the group now waiting at the door.

"Wait—what?" one of the students exclaimed. "What about tomorrow?"

Tommy paused, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not going to be here tomorrow," he said. "I have some surprise guests this weekend that I'm going to be spending time with—but I had already promised to be here today, and I wasn't backing out of that."

"But—but I didn't bring my work today!" he wailed. "Because I thought you'd be here tomorrow, too."

Tommy sighed as the other students shook their heads.

"I told you to bring it," one of the others said, elbowing his friend. "But no, you want to procrastinate. Guess you're working on it by yourself."

They groaned.

"But it's so much easier with Dr. O's help," he grumbled. "He goes through everything with the group and makes answers easy to figure out."

Tommy shook his head.

"Sounds like I'm making it too easy," he said. "Maybe I'll have to cut back a little on the homework help."

There was an immediate—and very loud—round of protests from the students. Tommy just laughed.

"If you can't figure something out, I'll be in my classroom Monday morning," he said. "No promises on being there early, but I'll do what I can to help before classes start."

Saying goodbye, he headed out the door after Kat and the rest of their friends.

Back at the Oliver house a little while later, everyone headed straight inside.

"Why don't we go out back?" Kat suggested. "It's nice day out and we can sit or maybe pull out some yard games."

The rest of the group agreed with the plan. Dropping purses and keys on the table in the hallway, they started to head out to the backyard. Tommy didn't immediately follow, his backpack still slung over his shoulder.

"Tommy?" Kat said, looking at him.

"I'm going to go work on some reports in my office for a while," Tommy said. "I didn't get as much done as I would have liked to at the café."

Kat raised an eyebrow.

"I swear I won't be in there all afternoon," Tommy promised. "But I have to get something done today."

"I thought you didn't have much to do with the actual running of the resort," Jake said.

"That doesn't mean I never have things to do," Tommy answered vaguely. "And I'm already a week behind. I'll come out in an hour or two."

Kat sighed but didn't argue. Giving her a quick kiss, Tommy headed down the hall to his office.

"Couldn't he just wait til we leave tomorrow?" Kim asked, frowning, as they all started toward the backyard again.

"Just let it go, Kim," Rocky said, shaking his head. "If we let him work for a while uninterrupted, he'll come back out for the rest of the evening."

"We did kind of ambush him this weekend," Adam pointed out.

Kim grumbled in response.

Outside, the adults got comfortable. Kat, Tanya, Adam, and Jake grabbed chairs. Kim snagged the lounge chair and sprawled out on it. Aisha and Rocky got comfortable on a blanket Kat pulled out of a storage chest on the back porch. JJ, who had run outside ahead of them, was kicking a soccer ball around.

"I still can't believe you all have kids," Kim said a little while later, shaking her head. "It still feels like high school was just yesterday."

"Sometimes it does," Kat agreed, smiling as she watched JJ.

Jake and Adam had both joined him a little while before, kicking the soccer ball around with the ten-year-old.

"And JJ is already 10," Kim continued, looking over at Kat.

"I know…" Kat sighed. "I can't believe it some days. But he'll be turning 11 in a couple of months."

"Well, it's not like you and Tommy wasted any time once you got married," Aisha snorted.

"Aisha!" Kat exclaimed, her face turning red.

"What?" Aisha retorted. "You can't really argue with me. You were at my wedding. Then, barely two months later, we get the news that you two got married. Next thing we know you're pregnant. It all happened very quickly."

Kim and Tanya both snickered and Rocky smirked at the look on Kat's face as she grumbled.

"And then JJ surprised all of us by showing up early," Aisha added.

Kim looked over at her in surprise and then back to Kat.

"JJ was a preemie?" she asked.

Aisha, Tanya, and Rocky all started to nod, but Kat shook her head.

"No," she answered, freezing when all four of her friends looked at her in surprise.

"Wait—what?" Aisha frowned. "What do you mean he wasn't a preemie? You and Tommy got married in December. I thought his due date was sometime in September, but he was born in June."

Kat stumbled over a muttered defense and then sighed.

"Ok, so, he wasn't early…" she admitted. "You all just assumed he was, and Tommy and I just didn't correct you."

The four of them were staring at her now. Rocky, who had been lying down on the blanket, was sitting up.

"Kat!" Aisha exclaimed. "You were pregnant before you and Tommy got married?"

Her loud exclamation of Kat's name caught the attention of Jake, Adam, and JJ, who all stopped playing with the soccer ball and walked closer to hear what was going on.

"No, we were married first," Kat said firmly.

Aisha raised an eyebrow.

"Girl, that math does not add up," she said. "What aren't you telling us?"

"I'd like to know that, too," Tanya said, leaning forward in her chair.

Kat shifted uncomfortably.

"It's nothing," she said, looking at her watch. "We should really start working on dinner plans. How about—"

"Was JJ an accident?" Rocky asked, grinning at her.

He hadn't seen JJ, Adam, and Jake coming up behind him. JJ froze, looking between Rocky and his mother. But Kat was already shaking her head.

"Absolutely not," she said firmly, looking at JJ. "A surprise? Yes. Not an accident. We absolutely wanted him, even if we didn't expect to get pregnant quite that quickly."

She kept her eyes on her son as she spoke, and he nodded slowly after a minute. Kat held a hand out to him and he walked over to stand next to her. Adam was looking at Kat thoughtfully as he thought through the math.

"Wait a minute, Kat," he said slowly. "Nine months before JJ's birthday is in October."

"That's when our anniversary is," Rocky commented.

He paused, frowning as he slowly caught on to what Adam was saying.

"Yep," Adam said. "Almost exactly."

"Especially if he wasn't early like we all thought," Tanya added.

"You and Tommy hooked up at our wedding!" Rocky exclaimed, turning to JJ. "Cause you're turning eleven, right, kid?"

JJ nodded with a frown as Aisha sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Mom, what are they talking about?" JJ asked, looking at Kat.

"It's nothing, honey," she said. "It's fine. They're just being nosy."

"But they said I was an accident," he said quietly.

"You were not," Kat assured him. "I promise."

"I'm gonna go see dad," JJ said slowly, starting to edge toward the house.

Kat caught his hand.

"No, don't interrupt him," she said. "Let him get his work done so he can spend the evening with us."

JJ grumbled in protest but dropped into the chair next to Kat that Jake had vacated earlier. Looking back at her friends, Kat realized they were all still watching her expectantly. Clearly, they were waiting for an explanation.

"Alright," Kat sighed, conceding. "Kim, I blame you. It's been almost eleven years, and no one has questioned anything. Happy with their assumptions. You show back up and now they question everything…"

Kim looked at her sheepishly. Kat didn't say anything else for a moment, trying to decide how to start.

"So, as most of you know," she finally began. "After high school Tommy and I continued to date for a while, but both eventually agreed the long distance wasn't working. We broke up. We went a couple of months without contact but then started talking to each other again. And we continued to talk even though we hadn't seen each other in person for years. The only contact we had was via phone or the occasional video chat on the computer. The first time we saw each other in person again was at Aisha and Rocky's wedding."

"I'm not sure I follow how that led to the kid," Rocky interrupted when Kat paused.

Aisha smacked him on the arm.

"Let her talk," she said, turning back to Kat. "More details, girl. Explain."

Kat shot Aisha an amused look before continuing.

"We spent most of the night together at the reception," she said. "And toward the end of the night we slipped out to take a walk on the nearby beach and have some time to talk alone. Well, we both realized—and admitted—that we didn't want to go our separate ways again. You all know how rough Tommy's first year in Reefside was—"

Rocky, Aisha, Tanya, and Adam all nodded. Kim and Jake just looked confused. JJ was still listening quietly.

"I wanted to be there if something happened again," Kat said. "We wanted to be together. So, Tommy proposed right there on the beach…and I said yes."

The other three women exchanged excited looks. None of them, including Aisha and Tanya, had ever actually heard how Tommy proposed.

"So, then you were engaged when you got pregnant?" Tanya asked.

JJ grimaced, quickly jumping out of his chair.

"I don't want to know!" he exclaimed, darting back over to his soccer ball.

Kat chuckled and shook her head as she looked back at her friends.

"No, we were married," she said. "We umm… well, we eloped. The next day—since it was already kind of late… we just never told any of you where we were going because we didn't want either of you to feel like we stole your day. We just didn't want to wait any longer. Honestly, I wouldn't have told you now if I thought I could get away with it."

Aisha was shaking her head.

"Kat, it's fine," she said. "It's absolutely fine. I wish you had told me. Rocky and I didn't leave for our honeymoon right away—we would have come with you! And now we can celebrate our anniversaries together."

Kat smiled gratefully, glad that Aisha wasn't mad.

"I'm just glad that there is at least something the rest of you didn't know, either," Kim said. "A secret that wasn't just kept from me."

"Leave it alone, Kim," Rocky said, frowning. "No one is keeping secrets from you for fun."

"I know," she sighed. "I just feel like I've been left out of a lot… and I know it's mostly because I've been so distant. It's still not a fun feeling."

The other adults nodded sympathetically but didn't offer up anything in explanation. Kat glanced at her watch.

"Ok, seriously," she said. "Dinner. I don't really want to drag everyone out again. So, what do we want to eat?"

"What's good around here?" Kim asked. "That delivers or offers pick up?"

"With this many people?" Kat said. "Ordering pizza is probably our best bet. It would be easiest. Or I can just cook something. I made sure to get plenty of groceries yesterday."

Kim immediately shook her head.

"Nope, our treat," she said. "Since Tommy stole the bill last night. I'll order pizza for everyone."

Kat shook her head but didn't protest. They started making a list of what everyone would eat and deciding how many pizzas to order.

"I should probably go ask Tommy if he even wants pizza," Kat said after a few minutes. "We had it earlier this week, so I don't think he's going to want to eat it again so soon."

Kim frowned.

"It's just pizza," she said.

"I know," Kat said. "But he likes to plan for it. The place we usually order from has other options though so—"

"I'll go ask him then," Kim interrupted, standing up. "Be right back!"

She took off into the house before Kat could stop her. Heading to Tommy's office, she opened the door and walked in without knocking. Tommy was sitting at his desk, leaning back in his chair as he scrolled through something on the tablet. When the door opened, his eyes immediately shot up to see who was coming in.

"What kind of pizza?" Kim asked, walking up to his desk as she glanced around curiously.

Tommy frowned.

"I don't have any pizza here…" he said slowly.

"No, we're ordering," Kim said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh," he said, his eyes going back to the tablet. "I'm good."

Kim eyed the tablet in his hands.

"I swear, you're more attached to that thing than Jake is to his work computer," she said, reaching to snatch it from him.

Tommy immediately shifted it out of reach, locking the screen.

"Don't," he said firmly. "Now what did you need?"

"We're ordering dinner," Kim sighed. "What kind of pizza do you want?"

"I don't," Tommy said, shaking his head. "I already had pizza this week. Don't need the empty calories."

"Are you on some kind of diet or something?" Kim asked. "Because that seems a little silly."

"Yes, Kim, I am," he said. "I don't keep my body in shape by just going to the gym. Proper nutrition is important. So, no pizza."

She rolled her eyes but grinned to show she was teasing.

"You still need to eat dinner," she pointed out.

"I am aware," he said drily. "I'm assuming Kat is having you order from the usual place. Just tell her to order me the wrap I like. With chicken. I've got some stuff in the fridge to eat with it. I'll be done in here by the time they get here."

Kim nodded and turned to leave. As she headed toward the door, a picture on one of the bookshelves caught her eye and she stopped to pick it up. Getting a closer look, she froze.

"Tommy—what is this?" she asked flatly.

Tommy, who had gone back to work on the tablet, looked up at Kim's question. He didn't answer at first, confused, then he realized what she was holding. Setting the tablet down and locking it, he walked around his desk to take the picture back.

The picture Kim was holding was of Tommy and Anton. They were standing in front of a prototype they had been working on—and Tommy knew exactly where Kim's mind had gone and why she was now glaring at him. The prototype was for a Zord type machine. And that was very recognizable in the picture for anyone who had worked closely with a Zord.

"What is this?" Kim repeated when Tommy held out his hand for the photo.

"Kim, it's nothing important," Tommy said.

"Nothing important?" she snapped. "It looks like a power ranger thing to me—am I wrong?"

"Not exactly," Tommy muttered, snagging the picture from her hands. "But it's—"

"Tommy!" she exclaimed. "That was you with Anton Mercer. Does he know?"

Tommy hesitated as he set the photo face down on his desk.

"He does, doesn't he?" Kim snapped angrily. "He knew me. At the café. He recognized me—and not because I'm married to Jake."

"Kim, it's not what you—"

The door opened and Tommy stopped when Jake poked his head in.

"Are you ready to place the ord—" Jake started to ask.

Seeing the look on Kim's face as she glared at Tommy, Jake stopped.

"I'm interrupting something," he said slowly. "I'll just—"

"It's fine," Tommy said quickly. "I was just—"

"I want an explanation," Kim demanded. "Now."

"And I would love to explain everything," Tommy sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Then why don't you just tell me?"

"I can't," he groaned. "It's not that simple. There's more going on than you realize."

"More what?" Kim snapped. "Why don't you just speak freely? I understand the need for secrecy, but there's no reason you can't talk to me about this—of all people. You know I'd understand."

"Yes, you would," Tommy sighed. "And you I can tell, but…"

He hesitated, looking at Jake still standing in the doorway. Understanding crossed Jake's face and he started to step backward out of the office.

"I'll just let everyone know we aren't ready to order yet," he said, trying to retreat.

Kim spun and caught his hand, pulling him forward again.

"No," she said. "Jake is my husband. He doesn't have to leave. You can talk in front of him."

Tommy grimaced.

"No, Kim, I can't…" he said quietly. "I told you—it's not that simple anymore. There's a lot you don't know. It's not just about us now."

"Clearly," Kim snarled. "Since I'm not allowed to know anything. But just to make things clear… I kept the rest a secret—unlike you."

Spinning, she stormed out of the office and slammed the door behind her. Jake stayed where he was for a moment.

"Well, that was awkward and I have bad timing," he muttered. "Tommy?"

"Yeah?" Tommy sighed, leaning against his desk.

"If it makes it easier on you," Jake said slowly. "I could just not know anything. Frankly, I don't understand pretty much anything anyways. I just know weird things happen sometimes around Kim."

Tommy smiled faintly.

"Honestly, for the time being it would be great if you just didn't know," he admitted. "Though I don't think that's going to help me with Kim."

Jake shook his head. The door opened again and Rocky came in.

"So, who made Kim—" he started to ask.

"I know nothing!" Jake exclaimed, walking out past Rocky.

Rocky watched him go in surprise before turning to Tommy, letting the door swing shut again.

"Ok," he said slowly. "So, who is Kim mad at? And why?"

"Me…" Tommy answered, moving back around to his chair.

"Not exactly what I was expecting to hear," Rocky admitted. "You two never fought in high school. You were too sweet and lovey dovey for that."

Tommy rolled his eyes as he picked up his phone to answer a text message.

"Thanks," he said shortly.

"Hey, I didn't say it was a bad thing," Rocky grinned. "Just a little unbalanced. You and Kat are a lot better together than you and Kim ever were."

Tommy sighed. For a few moments neither man spoke.

"Kim wants to know everything," Tommy finally said. "But I can't tell her anything with Jake around—and she just made it pretty obvious she wants him involved. But I can't tell Jake about anyone until it gets approved. And she's guessed that Anton knows so she's mad because I won't tell her and Jake."

Rocky winced.

"No wonder she stormed out of here," he muttered. "Guess you'll have to bring it up at the next meeting."

"In October?" Tommy said, raising an eyebrow. "Rocky, that's six months away."

Rocky shrugged.

"So? She's a big girl. She can wait."

"Fine, then you go tell her that," Tommy said, leaning back in his chair and looking at Rocky expectantly. "Go on."

Rocky immediately started shaking his head.

"Nope," he said. "I don't have a death wish. Call an early meeting? I mean, it wouldn't hurt to cover in person the Draven situation and the new missing ranger protocols you mentioned a couple of days ago."

Tommy nodded, rubbing the back of his head.

"I think I'm going to have to," he muttered. "I'll call Carter and see what we can do."

Rocky nodded.

"I'll go stall dinner," he said. "And try to keep Kim away from you while you're on the phone."

"Thanks, Rocky," Tommy said.

When Rocky left, Tommy didn't immediately pick up the phone. He checked the calendar on his tablet first, looking at the calendar to see what was coming up since most of the reds put anything major in there in case of emergencies. As he picked up the phone to finally call, though, the door burst open again and JJ raced in and slid to a stop in front of his desk.

"Dad!" he exclaimed loudly.

"What?" Tommy sighed, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice.

JJ looked at him a little sheepishly.

"Did I interrupt?" he asked quietly. "Are you mad?"

"Not mad," Tommy sighed. "Especially not at you. Just a little stressed. What did you need, kiddo?"

"I fell down outside and got a grass stain on my shirt," JJ said, talking quickly. "So, mom told me to go change so she could take care of it before the stain set and when I was changing I found a book that isn't mine. It's Mason's. He left it when he was over a couple of days ago and I didn't know and apparently he didn't know cause he hasn't asked and I need to take it back to him cause he needs it for school and—"

Tommy put a hand up to stop him.

"Did you call him to tell him?" he asked.

JJ shook his head.

"No one calls anybody anymore dad," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Then what did you actually need?" Tommy asked patiently.

"I want to take Mason his book."

Tommy shook his head.

"How about you text him first?" he suggested. "See if he actually needs it this weekend or not. If he does, we'll take it later tonight or tomorrow. Ok?"

JJ nodded, digging in his pocket for his phone.

Out in the front hall, Kim and Jake were talking quietly when the front door opened. Jake had been trying to calm her down after the blowup with Tommy. Both of them looked up in surprise since—to their knowledge—everyone was out back. A young man in a blue t-shirt strode right in, shutting the door behind him and hurrying down the hallway without pausing. He didn't acknowledge them as he stared at his phone, muttering to himself. Kim and Jake were both too surprised by his sudden appearance to even try and stop him as he headed straight for Tommy's office.

Tommy and JJ were less surprised when he walked in.

"What are you doing here, Ethan?" Tommy asked.

"Forgot my notes earlier," he answered, looking up from his phone as he walked right up to Tommy's desk. "I set the folder down in here and then never picked it back up. Ah!"

He snatched a folder off the desk in triumph.

"Wait, Ethan," Tommy said quickly, reaching out to snag the folder. "That one is mine from Anton."

Ethan frowned, glancing inside.

"Oh, you're right," he said, handing it back. "Then where is mine?"

Both Tommy and Ethan shifted a few things around to locate the missing folder.

"Why don't you just print a new copy?" JJ asked, watching them search through Tommy's desk for the right folder.

"Because I don't have a digital copy," Ethan sighed.

"Are you serious?" JJ exclaimed.

"It's a super-secret project, kid," Ethan explained. "And the best way to keep information safe is still to not put it on a computer. At least not until you are almost done. However, lesson learned—always have at least two copies. Which I'm going to make as soon as I get home."

Ethan paused, frowning as he glanced through yet another folder.

"Actually, I need more ink, first," he muttered to himself. "And probably a printer that actually makes copies instead of just printing. This no digital copies thing is hard. Maybe I'll just upgrade my security again."

"Here, Ethan," Tommy said, holding out a folder. "This is definitely not mine."

"Thanks, Dr. O!" Ethan grinned, taking the offered folder. "I'm out of here. I'm supposed to be at Hayley's right now—she has a printer with a copier, right?"

"Probably," Tommy said, shaking his head as Ethan headed for the door.

Ethan took off down the hall toward the front door, still muttering about finding a printer and making copies. Kim and Jake stared at him as he brushed past them with an absent wave. JJ followed him out of the office, stopping when he saw Jake and Kim staring in confusion.

"JJ, where is your dad?" Kim asked slowly, looking between him and the door.

"Still in his office," JJ answered. "Why?"

"Because someone just walked in there and came out with something," Jake said.

"Oh, that was Ethan," JJ said.

"What did he take?" Kim asked, frowning.

JJ shrugged.

"No clue," he said. "Some kind of top-secret project he's working on apparently. That's why it's on paper instead of his computer."

"Umm… ok?" Kim said slowly. "Is this normal?"

JJ shrugged again.

"He's one of dad's weird friends," he said. "So, sure? I don't really know. Dad says I'll understand when I'm an adult. Since you're adults, you must understand weird friends—right?"

Without waiting for a response, JJ flipped into a handstand and walked out of the room on his hands. Jake and Kim watched him go before looking at each other again.

"Do we have weird friends?" Kim asked.

"Well, I mean," Jake said slowly, considering the question. "I don't know that I'd call them that to their face. But maybe?"

"Oh! Wait," Kim grinned. "You have that one kid—Conner McKnight."

Jake scowled.

"He is not my friend," he said shortly. "He's just obnoxious."

Kim rolled her eyes. Footsteps drew their attention again.

"Who's obnoxious?" Tommy asked, walking up to them.

"Some kid I know," Jake grumbled. "He won't leave me alone and I don't know why. I think he's made it his goal in life to annoy me as much as possible."

Tommy chuckled as Kim shook her head.

"You give him just as hard a time whenever you have the opportunity," Kim retorted.

"I have a few of those myself," Tommy admitted.

Pausing, he looked at Kim hesitantly.

"Kim, I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I know this sounds stupid and seems like it's not a good reason—but the situation really is complicated. I promise—as soon as I can I will tell you everything you want to know."

Kim scowled.

"Tommy, I have a right to know what's going on," she snapped.

He held up his hands, trying to keep from starting another argument.

"Yes, you do," he said. "But there are others involved now that you don't know about—and they have a right to their privacy. You can understand that, right? I just need some time to talk to the rest of the people involved."

Kim hesitated and Jake reached out to squeeze her hand.

"Yes, I do," she sighed. "But you had better hurry. I'm getting tired of being left out of things and feeling like I'm missing part of the conversation."

Tommy's phone went off and Kim took the opportunity to escape. Grabbing Jake's hand, she dragged him back outside where everyone else was waiting. Tommy followed them, answering the text message as he walked.

"What took so long?" Kat asked as they came outside. "Kim, you've been gone for almost half an hour. I even sent JJ to look and he got back out here first."

Tommy shook his head as he stopped next to her and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"I'll explain later," he said quietly.

Kat didn't press the issue.

"What did you want to eat?" she asked, changing the subject.

"A wrap is fine," he said.

Kat frowned.

"Are you ok?" she asked softly, turning to face Tommy.

"I'm fine," he answered quickly.

Kat raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not sure I believe that," she said. "But I'll leave it for now so I can order dinner."

Tommy nodded. As Kat took out her phone, Tommy walked away toward the woods. He paused to say something to JJ in the yard, ruffling his hair before disappearing out into the trees. Adam, Rocky, Aisha, and Tanya didn't seem to notice, and Kat just continued placing the order. Kim was distracted by what Kat was doing, but Jake watched Tommy disappear into the forest with a frown.

"Perfect, thank you," Kat said, finishing up on the phone. "We'll pay—"

Kim cleared her throat, catching Kat's attention and pointing at herself.

"We have cash," Kim said.

Kat shook her head but didn't argue.

"We'll pay on delivery," Kat said. "Thank you!"

Hanging up, she and Kim rejoined the rest of the adults.

"Kat?" Jake said.

"Yes?"

"Tommy just disappeared into the woods by himself," he said. "Should we be concerned?"

Kat shook her head, though she did glance toward the trees.

"He's just going for a quick walk," she said. "He'll be back by the time the pizza gets here."

"Are you sure?" Jake asked. "I don't mean to be nosy, but he seemed awfully stressed last night and today. And now he's just disappeared into the woods."

Kat smiled and shook her head again.

"I appreciate the concern, but he'll be fine," she assured Jake.

"Where is he even going?" Kim asked curiously.

"There's nothing out there," Jake added. "I ran the path with him and it's just trees everywhere."

Kim frowned.

"Does Tommy have a secret stash of swords or weapons out there to practice with?" Kim asked. "That would keep them away from JJ."

Rocky, taking a drink from a water bottle, choked and started coughing. Adam pounded him on the back.

"Define weapons," Rocky managed to choke out a moment later, still coughing.

Kat rolled her eyes as Kim and Jake exchanged confused looks.

"No, Kim," Kat said. "All of that stuff is here at the house under lock and key. Though JJ is old enough to know better than to touch."

"Then what did Rocky—you know, what? Never mind," Jake said, shaking his head. "You're all a little crazy, I think. Hey, Kim, we do have weird friends. See?"

Rocky just smirked and Adam smacked him on the shoulder.

About forty-five minutes later they all heard a car pull in at the front of the house. Kim immediately jumped up and grabbed Jake, towing him inside and toward the front door. Everyone else stood and followed a little more slowly. She opened the door as Jake pulled his wallet out of his pocket.

"Hi—" Kim started to say and then she froze. "Tommy? What are you doing?"

To Kim's surprise, Tommy was standing on the front porch holding several boxes of pizza. The delivery driver was already climbing back into their car. Tommy turned to look at Kim.

"Getting the food?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "I was coming back from—my walk—when I heard the car pull up, so I came to meet them."

"But you left in the other direction," Kim pointed out. "And we haven't paid, Tommy."

"Oh, it's fine," he said, shaking his head. "I just signed to have them put it on my account there."

"What?" Kim frowned. "But it was our turn to buy dinner."

"Sorry," Tommy said with a shrug. "I missed that part."

Kim huffed and Tommy sighed.

"Kim, just because you can pay doesn't mean you have to," Tommy said. "You're worth way more than being able to buy us things—you can just be here to enjoy our company."

"Well, yes," Kim sputtered, a little surprised by Tommy's comment. "But I want to treat you. Because you're my friends."

Tommy shook his head and Jake grinned.

"Actually, honey," he said, putting an arm around her. "This is kind of fun. People don't usually treat us to things like this unless they are showing off."

Kim gave Jake a look and then turned back to Tommy, putting a hand on her hip.

"I'm going to pay you back for this," she said adamantly. "One way or another."

Tommy sighed.

"Whatever you say, Kim," he said. "Can we go inside and eat now? Before your pizza gets cold?"

She rolled her eyes but turned to head back inside. As she opened the door, JJ came bouncing down the hall to meet them. The other five adults were trailing behind him.

"Pizza!" JJ exclaimed.

Grabbing one of the boxes from his father, JJ turned and raced back toward the backyard where they were planning to eat outside on the deck.

"Wait a minute, kid!" Rocky exclaimed as JJ darted past. "You have to share that. You don't get a whole box to yourself."

He quickly followed JJ while everyone else waited for Tommy, Jake, and Kim to join them.

"The kid is ten," Jake chuckled as they all headed toward the backyard. "What is Rocky concerned about?"

"Exactly," Tommy countered. "He's ten. Rocky isn't wrong to be concerned."

There was laughter as they all hurried to eat.

New York City, NY

"Marc! Come eat dinner!" Jason called down the hallway.

He grabbed plates out while he waited. It was just going to be him and Marc for dinner. Christine had left to eat dinner with friends, and he had no idea where Will was. Marc wandered in a couple minutes later and came straight to the stove to see what they were having.

"What is it?" he asked, frowning as he picked up a plate.

"Chicken and rice," Jason answered, scooping some and putting it on Marc's plate. "With some veggies to go with it."

"Uh huh…" Marc said slowly, taking a bite of the chicken Jason had given him. "You're certainly no five-star chef…"

Jason sighed.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "But I couldn't afford much this week."

Marc shrugged.

"It's fine," he said. "But you do realize spices are a thing, right? That's where flavor comes from."

Jason shook his head.

"Hear, take some vegetables, too," he said, trying to scoop some onto Marc's plate.

Marc took a step back and shook his head.

"No thanks," he said. "They're brown."

"I got a little distracted," Jason muttered sheepishly. "I was cleaning up while they were cooking and lost track of time. They aren't actually burnt, though."

"I'll still pass," Marc said, shaking his head again and back away. "Thanks for dinner!"

Taking the plate of chicken and rice, Marc turned and bolted out of the room. Jason just sighed and let him go, getting his own plate of food together.

"Maybe I'll ask mom for some cooking lessons or ideas when we get to California," he muttered to himself as he sat down at the table. "Something to get Marc to actually eat vegetables."

Sunday April 1st, 2018

Reefside, CA

Tommy jerked awake, sitting upright as he looked quickly around the dark room. He took a few shaky breaths, rubbing a hand over his face as he tried to clear the fog from his thoughts. He knew he'd been dreaming about something, but it was fuzzy. Tommy frowned in the dark as a thought occurred to him.

"I never called Carter," he mumbled to himself.

Throwing off the blanket, Tommy fumbled for his phone in the dark. He didn't want to wake Kat up. Climbing carefully out of bed, he sighed when he caught sight of JJ curled up in the sleeping bag again. Shaking his head, Tommy stumbled out of the room, still half asleep. As he made his way downstairs, he hit the speed dial for Carter. The lightspeed ranger answered almost immediately.

"Tommy? What's going on?"

"Hey, Carter. Sorry to bother you," Tommy said, stifling a yawn as he began to pace up and down the hallway. "I need to call a meeting as soon as possible. Some of my team is asking for answers—well, one is but one of the others might not be far behind. And it's complicated because her husband knows… well, not exactly. I don't think he knows anything beyond her role, but we still need to deal with it sooner rather than later and waiting til the next meeting in almost six months isn't going to be ideal."

He paused, yawning.

"Tommy, are you alright?" Carter asked, taking the moment to interrupt.

"I'm fine," Tommy said. "A little tired, but it's not a big deal."

"Well, considering it's just after 2a, I really wouldn't expect you to be wide awake," Carter said, stifling his own yawn.

Tommy paused in the hall as he registered what Carter had just said.

"Wait, what?" he said.

He started patting his pockets with his free hand.

"Where's my phone?" he muttered quietly.

"Tommy, you're using it," Carter said slowly, someone else talking in the background. "Dana wants to know where you are."

"In my house," Tommy said. "I'm sorry…"

"It's fine," Carter assured him. "Do we need to call Kat?"

"No, don't wake her up," Tommy answered sharply. "She's asleep."

"You sound like you need to sleep, too," Dana said.

Carter had apparently put him on speaker phone.

"I was—sort of," Tommy sighed, pacing again. "I'll got back to bed in a few minutes. And I really am sorry for waking you both up. But we do need to set up a meeting. I'll call back—"

"Don't worry about it," Carter interrupted. "I'll get it set up. Is a couple of weeks soon enough?"

"That'll work," Tommy agreed as his pacing led him into the living room.

"Great. I'll message you details later," Carter said.

"So go back to bed and sleep," Dana added.

"I will," Tommy promised. "Sorry again for waking you both up."

Hanging up, Tommy dropped into his recliner with another yawn.

"Well, that was stupid," he muttered to himself as he looked at the time on his phone.

Leaning back, Tommy considered going for a run as he closed his eyes for a moment. He was still there when Adam and Tanya came downstairs hours later, sound asleep in his chair. On their way to the kitchen, they were talking quietly. Adam, seeing Tommy asleep in the chair, stopped Tanya and put a finger to his lips to tell her to be quiet, pointing at Tommy. She nodded and smiled, amused to find him in the chair but glad to see him sleeping.

"It's still only just after 7a," Adam said quietly as they turned toward the kitchen again. "Let's let him sleep a little longer."

Tanya nodded in agreement. A loud cry from upstairs, however, interrupted their plan to let Tommy sleep longer. JJ had heard the couple in the hallway and woke up, only to see Tommy's half of the bed empty and his glasses, wallet, and keys still sitting on the bedside table. Seeing that, and the running shoes still sitting by the closet door, instantly sent JJ into a panic.

"Dad!" he cried loudly. "Dad!"

Downstairs, Tommy woke immediately when JJ started shouting, bolting upright in his chair and quickly getting to his feet. JJ came racing down the stairs looking for Tommy. He froze at the bottom of the stairs when he saw Tommy standing in the living room.

"I'm right here, kiddo," Tommy said reassuringly. "I'm sorry for scaring you."

JJ launched himself toward Tommy who caught him in a hug.

"You were gone," JJ mumbled into Tommy's shirt as he clung to him tightly. "I woke up and you weren't there but all your stuff was there and you never just leave your stuff and I thought…"

JJ trailed off, taking a few shaky breaths as Tommy just hugged him tightly. Adam and Tanya watched quietly for a moment before turning back to go to the kitchen. Kat was hurrying down the stairs in a bathrobe.

"Let's start breakfast," Tanya suggested as she and Adam left the Olivers alone. "And coffee. We should make coffee."

Adam chuckled in agreement.

Later that morning, after everyone was up and had eaten breakfast, Tanya caught JJ's attention when he was coming back downstairs from getting dressed.

"JJ, why don't we go for a walk?" she suggested with a smile.

He hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

"Go get your shoes on, then," she said.

"Not through the woods, Tanya," Tommy said, giving her a meaningful look.

He was just coming down the stairs with Rocky and Adam behind him.

"Don't worry, dad," JJ said, coming back with his shoes in hand. "We'll just follow the road. That way we'll be safe from the so-called monsters in the woods."

"That's not a joke, kid," Rocky said, shaking his head as they stopped at the bottom of the stairs.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," JJ said, rolling his eyes.

With shoes on, JJ headed toward the door and Tanya followed. When they were gone, the three men headed for Tommy's office.

"I'm glad he still listens to me even if he doesn't believe me," Tommy sighed as he sat in his chair.

"No kidding," Adam said, shaking his head. "The raptors are not something you just want him stumbling upon."

Tommy shook his head as Adam and Rocky sat down.

"How long do those things live, anyways?" Rocky asked.

"No idea," Tommy shrugged. "They're the first of their kind. Eventually I'm going to have to move them, though. He's not going to stay out of the woods forever. And I'm not sure I want to try and explain them."

"Does Anton have property you could keep them on?" Adam suggested.

"He's not home enough," he said. "Someone has to feed them. And it would be just as suspicious if Kat or I had to go over there every few days. I'm probably going to have to take them to the base…"

"I'm sure Carter would love that suggestion," Rocky snorted. "How would you even get them there?"

Tommy shook his head.

"I don't even want to think about that until I have to," he muttered.

"So, who feeds them when you and Kat aren't home?" Rocky asked curiously.

"I make arrangements," Tommy answered. "One of the kids if they are home. Sometimes Hayley or Billy. Anton if I'm desperate. But they really don't like him."

Adam and Rocky nodded. Then Rocky frowned.

"Wait—who fed them while we were all gone?" he asked.

Tommy paused.

"I actually have no idea," he answered after a moment, pulling out his phone. "But someone had to have fed them since they didn't break out in search of food. I'll ask Hayley if she knows."

He sent a text message.

Who took care of the raptors while everything was happening? You didn't have a lot of options.

There was a brief pause and then an answer, which Tommy read out loud for Rocky and Adam's benefit.

Kira. She came back to Reefside when we couldn't get ahold of Trent. I had her slip in from the back of the property and avoid the house. She left them like a week's worth of food. Two days or so after you were taken.

I didn't tell Carter because I didn't want to stress him out more. Or Billy. I should probably tell Billy I did that. He won't care now.

"There's your answer," Tommy said.

"You really need less dangerous pets," Rocky said, shaking his head. "Then you wouldn't have to worry about them breaking out and eating someone."

"They are not my pets," Tommy snorted. "They only tolerate me."

"You created them," Adam pointed out.

"And it was the kids they bonded with," Tommy countered. "I feed them. Once in a while they'll headbutt me and then we're good. That's it."

"I don't think that's the right word to describe the effects of a headbutt from one of those things," Rocky scoffed.

Tommy shrugged.

"So, what did you want to talk about," Adam asked.

"Carter sent me a message a little while ago," he said. "We're going to try and have a meeting in two weeks on the fourteenth. It works for him so we are starting to check with everyone to make sure it will work for the majority."

Adam immediately nodded while Rocky pulled out his phone to check his work schedule.

"I'm working," Rocky sighed. "And after the last couple of weeks I don't think I should ask for someone to cover me. But I know what you're meeting about so I can just text you my answer."

"That is not how it works and you know it," Tommy said drily.

"Fine, I'll just give my vote to Adam," Rocky retorted. "I think he can handle it."

There was a knock on the door and Kat poked her head inside.

"Hey," she said. "I hope I'm not interrupting, but Aisha and I thought we could all play a game while Tanya is out with JJ. Everyone is going to be leaving after lunch, so…"

She trailed off, looking at them expectantly.

"We're coming," Tommy said, standing.

Kat beamed at him and disappeared back out the door as Adam and Rocky followed Tommy's example.

"So, you'll take my vote?" Rocky asked, looking at Adam as they headed to the door.

"Of course," Adam grinned. "I'll vote to officially change your color to dark pink."

"Wait—what?" Rocky exclaimed, stopping. "You can't do that. That's not even an issue they're going to be discussing."

"Just text Carter and ask him to put it on the list," Tommy grinned behind them.

"Adam, no!" Rocky protested.

But Adam was pulling out his phone as he headed out into the hallway. Tommy and Rocky followed, the latter fumbling to get his own phone out. But Rocky didn't bother texting. He went straight to calling.

"Whatever Adam just texted you ignore it!" Rocky exclaimed the moment Carter answered. "But—Fine! Then we need an orange and Adam is volunteering!"

They walked into the kitchen to find Jake staring at them after Rocky's outburst. Aisha and Kat, sitting at the table, just ignored them. Kim hadn't come downstairs yet.

"Whoops, I've gotta go," Rocky said quickly, hanging up on Carter. "Hey, Jake."

"Umm… There are oranges on the counter over there," Jake said slowly.

"Not that kind of orange," Adam snickered, smirking at Rocky. "But thanks. What are we playing?"

After lunch, the visitors all got ready to head back to Angel Grove. Once the car was loaded with the luggage, they all gathered on the porch to say goodbye. JJ had disappeared up to his room after lunch.

"Make sure you call next time you're going to be in Angel Grove, Kim," Kat said as the two women hugged goodbye. "You can stay at the resort this time instead of a motel."

"I will," Kim promised.

She turned to Tommy.

"And you'll call me as soon as possible, right?" she asked expectantly.

"You have my word," Tommy promised. "I just have to work out a few things and then we'll set up a time to talk. I just need some time. A couple of weeks at most."

Kim sighed but gave him a hug.

"I really can't stay mad at you," she admitted. "I told you this a long time ago, but I do still think of you like a brother. And I'm sorry I've gone so long without being in touch. I'm going to be better."

Tommy smiled as he hugged her back. Rocky gently elbowed Kat.

"Shouldn't you be jealous?" he asked with a grin.

Kat scoffed.

"If I thought I had a reason to be worried about Kim I would have taken her out years ago," Kat retorted.

Then she dropped her voice, leaning closer to Rocky so Jake wouldn't hear her.

"Remember, Rocky," she said with a grin. "Tommy wasn't the only one who was evil. And I acted of my own free will."

Rocky froze at the look on her face.

"And that's our cue to leave," Aisha said, overhearing the conversation. "Thanks for having us."

"Good," Rocky muttered, following Aisha and the others to the car as he continued to glance back at Kat. "Cause I think I'm afraid to stay longer now."

Kat just laughed and waved as they climbed into the car and pulled out of the driveway.