"Hey Thomas, what's with the SOS?" Theo said as he walked into his old office and sat down across from him. He had an auxiliary office in the Academy now, but Thomas had been the primary mentor since he was 30. It was still weird to go into this office and see Thomas here though. He thought of all of the years that Thomas had sprinted around this office as a kid and how he was still a child to him in so many ways.
"Thanks for coming, Dad," Thomas said as he let out a long sigh. Robert then walked into his office and sat down in the other chair. "Uncle Robert."
"I haven't seen you look like this in years," Robert said as Thomas motioned for the door to close and Tommy swung it closed as the older rangers turned around and stared at him. They then looked at the woman standing next to him and they both froze. "Kimberly."
"They're here to help keep JJ safe. I told both of you about my last business trip where I went to a world similar to ours…" Thomas trailed off as Theo gave him an incredulous stare. "I obviously left out a few details."
"Yeah, like the fact that you ran into…" Theo whispered as he continued to stare at them. He had been there when she died. He had seen Thomas fall apart when he lost her. He could understand Thomas keeping this to himself, but he didn't know how he had done it. He didn't know how he had even come back to this world when Kimberly was alive in any universe where he could interact with her. "What's coming after JJ?"
"Kiros," Tommy supplied as Theo and Robert both groaned. They had just barely kept Thomas alive the last time Kiros had come after a member of his family. While Mitchell had given the orders to keep Thomas alive if Kiros ever came into the picture, they had not known about that order until long after his removal. It was one of the things that they most regretted when it came to their time as mentors. Thomas had barely kept it together after losing her and they weren't sure he could go through it again. "I'm here to help- I'm Tommy Oliver."
"You could have also said you had met Tommy Oliver when we mentioned him to you," Robert said as Thomas let out a sigh. They were right, he had just so hoped that Kimberly had been wrong about him ever seeing Tommy again. "Shit- how long do we have?"
"I don't know. I've been having dreams for the better part of a year that someone is helping Kiros get to JJ and he's getting closer. Close enough that we were pulled to this universe," Kim said as Theo let out a ragged breath and put his head in his hands. He had always had suspicions that someone had helped Kiros- he had just never been able to figure out who. "You're not surprised."
"None of us are. Do you think Mitchell knows?" Thomas asked as Robert and Theo exchanged a glance. They had interrogated him thoroughly after Kimberly's death and if he had known anything about who had helped Kiros- he had not been willing to give that information up. "So yes."
"We could never get clearance for enhanced interrogation techniques. If it's the same person- Thomas they'd have to be at least your age, if not older," Theo said as Thomas nodded his head that he had come to that conclusion as well. "We have files on who we suspected might be involved, but you're not going to like the list."
"I'm assuming my siblings are at the top of the list," Thomas said as Robert and Theo nodded. They had always found it suspicious how the events had unfolded, but had not been able to get enough proof to bring in a Guardian to investigate it. Even with their lack of evidence, Atlantis had done a look and had not found any evidence that a Trueheart was involved. "There's no way any of them aside from Brittany are going to talk to me, especially after I threatened to kill him today."
"Thomas," Theo groaned as he just shook his head. His siblings were all over the map with how much they trusted Mitchell and Sally- from Brittany who did not trust them at all to David who trusted them completely. "We'll try to see if the rest of them are willing to talk to us, but I don't know how much luck we'll have."
"How are you still alive?" Robert asked as Theo smacked him on the back of the head and he turned around to glare at him. "What? Aren't you curious?"
"Yeah, but not enough to ask a pregnant woman how she's still alive. Good grief. Are you trying to stress her out even more?" Theo ranted as Kimberly and Tommy both started laughing at the two of them and Thomas smiled at his uncles. "What?"
"He told us a bit about both of you before you got here. We had a bit of an over under on how long it would be before one of you Gibbs' slapped the other," Tommy explained as Theo gave Thomas a mock glare and he shrugged. There was no reason to hide family dynamics from them now, they were here to help. The more that they understood about the dynamics, the better chance they would have to see something everyone else had missed. "Do you care if we step out?"
"Go on, thanks for helping deliver the message," Thomas said as Tommy and Kimberly quietly exited his office and he let his facade fall. He put his head in his hands and let the tears come. Since the day JJ had shown his prophet powers, he had been terrified that something like this might happen. Now he had to trust two people that he barely knew to save the last piece of Kimberly that he had. "Dad, I can't lose him."
"I know," Theo whispered as he walked over and pulled Thomas into his arms and he sobbed against him. He didn't know how he had held it together this long, but somehow he had. He had held it together until he got to his dad. "We're going to do everything we can to make sure you don't have to go through that."
"I shouldn't have thrown out my maternity clothes," Katy said as she ignored the Power Rangers that were following them. She had convinced Tommy and Thomas that the two of them could go down to the mall by themselves. Realistically, she knew that they needed to game plan without Kimberly there. They could both think clearer without her nearby and they needed to have a clear mind on this. She knew that her husband could not lose another version of his soulmate and survive it. "I know you haven't met our other boys yet, but Devin is only 5. We…we wanted one more, but…let's just say I only threw out the clothes about two months ago. You're tiny though."
"Yeah, well I feel huge right now. Honestly- I'm just glad that I can get clothes and that I'm not being locked away for my own protection. I'm pretty sure that Tommy would not have had to do much to convince Thomas that that was the way to go." Kim held up a dress for a moment before she shook her head. She needed to be more practical than that, but it was so warm here that she found herself staring at the dress rack longingly. They were the only things that might even be remotely comfortable.
"Hey- get what you want. You don't want to be uncomfortable in your last trimester and it's just starting to heat up for the summer." Katy grabbed a few dresses and placed them in Kim's arms. Kim gave her a smile and then started shopping more freely. They didn't know how long they were going to be here, but their best guess was at least a month, maybe a bit more.
"Thanks, Kat. Sorry- Katy," Kim corrected as Katy felt the discomfort from her. Was there some sort of issue between them in Kim's world?
"Did we not get along in your world?" Katy asked as Kim grimaced and picked out a few more items before she started towards the dressing room. How did she explain this to Katy? Did she even try to explain this to Katy?
"Yes. No. It's complicated." Kim rubbed her face before she disappeared into the dressing room- which was really just a fancy hole in the wall with a thick curtain. She let out a sigh before she continued. "When I lost my prophet abilities, Billy implanted a need for me to leave. To get away from Angel Grove so that the prophecy I had seen could come true, so that I had a chance to survive and could be there for Tommy when he needed me. He took away my powers because he knew how much I would fight it and he also knew that fighting it would mean that every Power Ranger in our world would die. There would be no one to help Tommy. I broke up with him a few months after I moved to Miami and…"
"But you're married now." Kimberly walked out of the dressing room and stood in front of the mirror. She let out a sigh and shook her head. She loved having Tommy's babies, but she hated when she got to this point. She just wanted to feel pretty and that felt impossible right now. Her ankles were swollen, her face had lost part of its angularity, her back ached with each move she made and she no longer recognized herself.
"Katy, in my world- he never got over me. And he hurt Katherine…frankly he hurt everyone that he dated because of it. I always kept my distance because I knew the damage I caused to her. To be here, to see you and Tommy so happy…I'm really glad he moved on in this world." Kim stepped out in another outfit and groaned. She should just grab a handful of t-shirts, several pairs of maternity shorts and call it a day.
"He lets you call him Tommy?" Katy asked as Kim glanced back over her shoulder and saw the pain on her face. Wasn't that what she called him too?
"I mostly call him Thomas to keep them straight, but yeah, I've called him Tommy a time or two on accident. He didn't seem to care. Why?" Kim asked as she walked over to Katy and she let out a shaky breath. She had never been able to call Thomas, Tommy. When they were first dating, she tried it once and he had quickly corrected her. It wasn't in a mean way, but it was in a way that let her know that that nickname was off limits. Over the years she had found out that Kimberly had been the only person that had ever called him Tommy. To find out that that was true with Kimberly from another world hurt and she didn't know why. "Katy…"
"He never got over you here either. He just had to move on- he had JJ and he was determined to give him the best life possible." Katy hastily wiped her eyes and was surprised when Kim wrapped her in a hug and she let the tears come. Thomas loved her, but it wasn't the same as what she could see would have been between Thomas and Kimberly. You didn't get over a soulmate, even if you tried really hard. "Please. Please don't tell him."
"Oh Katy. I…" Kim tried to find the words but what did you say in this situation? She knew Thomas well enough to know if what she was saying this, it was likely true. He held his cards close to the chest, but Katy would know him best. "Would it be easier for us to stay with some of the others?"
"You're safest with us and I don't think…I know he can't lose any version of you again." Katy pulled back and an understanding passed between them. She dug in her purse for some kleenex and quickly blew her nose. She did not let this feeling bubble up inside of her often or it would tear her marriage apart, but seeing the woman in front of her that her husband still loved broke her. "None of this is your fault and he does love me. It's just different. I never understood how different until I saw your Thomas…Tommy with you. Sorry. We're here to get you clothes. Is there anything you like?"
"I'm so pregnant that nothing…I don't feel pretty right now. And everything just looks horrible," Kim admitted as Katy now gave her a comforting hug and she tried to pull it together. "Oh gosh- we're both a mess."
"Yeah, well- it was bound to happen. What size are you? Let me go pick some other things. Let's get you at least one thing that you're really happy with," Katy bargained and Kim nodded.
"Small, maybe medium. Baby boy is starting to sit lower and lower so bigger pants might be good," Kim said as she rubbed her belly and Katy nodded before she disappeared. She went back into the dressing room and sat down as she tried to process everything that Katy had told her. She noticed the ranger that was hanging around and she locked eyes with him. He looked away for a moment before he looked back. "It's not your job to tell Thomas any of what was said. It's up to her if she wants him to know. Understand?"
"Yeah." The ranger said as Katy walked back and Kim smiled at the choices she had made. Katherine had always been thoughtful and she was glad that that was the same in both worlds.
"Babe?" Tommy whispered as he walked up behind her and she glanced over her shoulder. He could tell she was exhausted and he hoped she was holding up well. He needed her to hold up well. "How are you?"
"I miss Kira and Jay," Kim muttered as she wiped her eyes and found herself enveloped by Tommy's warmth. She didn't know what it was, but he gave the best hugs when she felt down. "And I just…I don't know how to handle the fact that you're going to put yourself in danger to kill Kiros when I can't really help you. You'll never let me go out this pregnant. I just want to go home."
"Me too." Tommy pulled her in closer and took in a calming breath. He felt her mimic him and he hoped that he could calm her. His biggest concern was her going into labor early. It was basically expected with the twins, but he knew how much she wanted a normal birth this time. He didn't think that would be possible in another universe, but he wanted to salvage as much of that hope for her. "What can I do?"
"That you aren't already doing?" Kim asked as she gave him a look and he nodded. "Tommy- you're doing so much already…things that I would have never thought to even ask. You're not going to get Kiros to attack sooner so that we can get home. So just…just stay here tonight."
"I'll let Thomas know I need to cancel sparring," Tommy said as she looked up at him and shook her head. "Hey, no…you want me here. I'm staying here."
Tears streamed down her cheeks and he scooped her up and headed for the bedroom. They both were exhausted, but it was getting to her more than him. He had spent a good deal of time at the Academy, working with the various mentors and giving them all the information that he could about Kiros.
"You're…you're sparring with yourself?" Jason asked as Thomas nodded as he walked past him into the most heavily protected combat room at the Academy. This was where they brought new rangers to test their powers. Today, it was going to be where he blew off some steam with his doppelganger. "That's taking it a bit far- even for you."
"You want to spar too?" Tommy asked as he walked in, in some borrowed sparring gear and smiled at Jason. He had missed sparring with his friends and this was an odd opportunity to be able to do just that. He hadn't told Kimberly that that was what he was going to do today after her breakdown yesterday. He knew that this was not necessarily smart, but it was needed for both him and Thomas.
"Absolutely not. My wife will kick my ass if I come home battered and bruised before family portraits next week," Jason joked as Tommy studied him. He hadn't seen Trini or Emily, so who had Jason married in this world? "You met her already- Britt. I broke the bro-code and started dating his sister a few years into my first ranger stint. Best thing I ever did."
"That...that was not what I was expecting," Tommy muttered and Thomas nodded as he picked up a staff and then tossed Tommy one as well. "Your favorite?"
"No, just the next weapon in my rotation. If you have one you want to use…" Thomas trailed off as a few more rangers from his generation filed in. "Jase."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Jason said as he gave the both of them a smile and then walked over to the observation area. They studied who was there and Tommy just shook his head. They all had come for a show and they were definitely going to get that.
AN: The story is going to split for the next few chapters. A chapter from each location will be posted each week. If you want to read what is going on, on Earth in order you can read Chapters 11, 13, 15, 18, 20, 22, and 24 once they are completed. If you want to read the Kimberly and Tommy chapters together- they will be chapters 12, 14, 16, 17, 19, 21, 23, and 25, 26. Chapter 27 will then bring it all back together.