Always a Ranger - Part 27
News at Eleven
By Jeannine Trevizo
Tommy turned
off the TV after seeing Cassidy’s broadcast. It wasn’t bad, considering
everything.
Catching the
news was actually part of his habit; maybe he could call it a ritual… The team
would fight with Mesogog’s goons and then beat the monster. They’d all then
come back to the basement command center and debriefing, and then he’d send
them home afterwards. Then he’d climb the stairs and watch some TV, eat some
dinner and call Kim.
It wasn’t a
bad way to spend a day by his standards.
Without a
second thought, he got up and headed to the kitchen. Prying the stubborn
refrigerator door open, he pulled out a container of refrigerated leftovers and
heated them up. Eating was mechanical, he didn’t even sit down as he leaned
against the counter and stuck the fork into the microwave container, into his
mouth and back again. In truth, his attention to meals alone had never been
high on his priority list, and it had been that way for probably the last seven
years. It was only when Kim was there that he actually cared. It was lucky for
him that her being there everyday was going to happen soon. Then he might
actually eat decent meals.
Tossing the
empty container in the sink for a light wash before making its way to the
dishwasher, he headed back to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of the latest
six-pack of MGD he’d bought. Usually it was a way to unwind from a long day.
Instead, today he put it back and pulled out a pitcher of iced tea, and then
went hunting for a clean glass.
Iced tea in
hand, he headed back out to the living room, picking up the phone on his way.
The number was indelibly etched into his memory now, which made it just like
every other thing about Kimberly… a part of him.
It took a few
seconds for him to dial the number, but when it started to ring, he settled on
the couch and stuck his feet up on the coffee table, taking a sip of the tea.
“Hello?” said
Kim from her end of the line and the country.
“Hey Kim,” he
said, setting the glass down on the table before him.
“Tommy, hey!
How are you? How’s the team?”
“Good.
Missing you, but that’s not news, is it?”
Kim smiled on
her end of the line, settling on her own couch as she let herself enjoy their
regular phone call and get their fix of one another before she could be there
in person.
“Nope.
Especially when I’m feeling the same way.”
Tommy smiled
and reached for the tea glass. He took a swallow and continued the
conversation. Kim always seemed to leave him parched…
“So the
team’s okay. They’re still getting used to having Trent with them, and Conner
with his Triassic powers. Although Hayley did figure out a way to keep Kira and
Ethan morphed when they share power with Conner to give him the Triassic
power.”
“You know,
it’s never easy dealing with new powers, is it? I mean, how many did we go
through before I left for Florida… three maybe? And each time it was all about
adjusting to them.”
“It could
have been worse. Ethan and Kira could have lost their powers for good when
Conner got the shield,” Tommy remarked coolly, remembering his own losses.
“Not only
would you not let that happen, but I don’t think Conner would leave his team
mates out in the cold like that,” Kim quickly mentioned, knowing that Tommy
would never put someone through what he’d been through himself.
“True…
Conner, Ethan and Kira are really tight. Just like the original team was before
I joined.”
“And you know
you ended up blending with us in a matter of weeks Tommy. Don’t be
melodramatic. And Trent will get comfortable with the team too. He was on the
other side for a lot longer than you were,” she reminded him, “but you’ve said
they’re making progress already.”
“Yeah, though
Trent still hasn’t been too open with me, Kira or the others. Its funny, he
seems like there’s something still holding him back. I don’t know…” he said,
letting his unformed thoughts trail off.
“He’ll come
around in his own time. But how are you doing… really? Any nightmares?”
He had to
stop and think about what she was asking. Ever since Zeltrax, he’d been
wrestling with his subconscious, and his sleeping patterns had been blown to smithereens.
He was glad school wasn’t in session, or he’d be sleepwalking at six a.m. to
get to class.
“Nothing that
you here and sleeping with me won’t sure,” he fired off nonchalantly.
“Please, you
can’t fool me. I told you that it wasn’t your fault. You have to believe that
and let it go.”
“I just
wonder if there was something else I could have done…”
Kim sighed on
her end and wished she was there. This was just the kind of behavior she was
expecting from him. The Oliver guilt complex was her biggest enemy in keeping
Tommy focused. But it was part of what made him a good leader and a kind man…
things that made him the man she loved.
“Maybe, maybe
not. But you did what you did, and now it’s time to move on. How about you tell
me about your recent battle? I know there had to be one… you have this habit of
calling me afterwards.”
“How did
you…”
“It’s me
Tommy. I know you.”
He smiled,
realizing again just how true that was.
“I know you
do Beautiful. Anyway, Kira helped Cassidy, the journalism girl from the high
school get a job at the TV station as a reporter.”
“How did that
happen? I got the impression from Kira, Conner and Ethan that Cassidy was a
stuck up bitch?”
“I have no
idea. All I know is that Ethan and Kira have been being nice to her recently.
Maybe they finally took pity on her and thought they’d try being nice.”
“Being nice
to Bulk and Skull only ended up causing us more headaches in the long run,” Kim
mused, remembering the pair of troublemakers that had caused her more than a
few embarrassments in high school in their hunt for the power rangers.
“Bulk and
Skull were their own problem. Cassidy seems… misguided. And the ego the girl
has needs a reality check,” he joked.
“So, what’s
she doing at the station?”
“They gave
her a reporting assignment: a petting zoo opening…” he started, and Kim
laughed.
“Oh boy, from
what I’ve heard from the kids, her having to walk though animals and their crap
was probably on the top of her list.”
“Well, she
ended up getting an exclusive…”
Kim fell
silent, and her heart pounded in her chest. She couldn’t have gotten the
ranger’s identities, or Tommy wouldn’t be so relaxed.
“What was
it?”
“She caught
some battle footage of the team taking on the Jupitor monster at the station.
It was pretty well shot, and the station was pretty happy with it. They aired
it and she got some face time, introducing the footage. She actually did pretty
well.”
“Wow…
Cassidy’s a reporter now, and it sounds like she’s pretty famous with an
exclusive like that. You guys just seem to have more fun that we ever did. I
mean, starlets, pop stars, news personalities… what’s next, Nobel scientists?”
Kim asked humorously.
“Unless Billy
or Hayley win it within the next few months, no, I doubt that. But I still
would rather the simple bad guys like King Mondo or Rita from the old days.”
“Speaking of
the old days, I got an e-mail from Adam. He says that he’s really glad he took
that job in San Francisco, even if Rocky and Tanya were sad to see him go. I
guess that the studio’s bookings have increased by ten percent since he got
there.”
“I got an
e-mail about that from him too… wonder why he e-mailed us separately,” Tommy
mused, then remembered Adam’s post-script about whether or not he’d made any
decisions about his and Kim’s future.
“Who knows.
Maybe he forgot to copy you along with everyone else.”
“Probably.
Any news from Zack?”
“He decided
to stay put in Vegas. Said the money was too good there, and that the RENT gig
was too short a run. Besides, he’s talking like he might be able to get a small
business loan soon to open up his studio.”
“Wow. Between
him and Aisha with the clinic, we have some impressive friends.”
“Oh yeah,
says the man with the PhD,” complained Kim with a laugh.
“I got really
lucky. If Hayley hadn’t been there to keep me on track…” began Tommy, before he
trailed off, wondering how that sounded to Kim.
Tommy knew
that he had never spoken to Kim about his friendship with Hayley. Sure, he’d
said that she was instrumental in creating the dino technology, but the issue
was the past, not the present. He wouldn’t be surprised at all if Kim thought
he and Hayley had… but they hadn’t. Still, from the reports from the team about
Kim and Hayley’s first meeting while he’d been encased in that amber prison,
there was some intense conflict between the two.
And his
reminding Kim of his friendship with Hayley probably didn’t help matters much.
“Kim?”
“It is good
that she was there,” Kim said finally, understanding her love’s concern. “And I
don’t begrudge her the time she spent with you when I wasn’t around. She’d your
friend. I’m not threatened. Or at least not anymore since I heard about her and
Billy.”
“Which I
understand is going to heat up again once Billy gets another chance to take
some time off from his duties on Aquitar and come to visit. Supposedly he’s
going to get a hotel, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Hayley offers up her spare
bedroom,” Tommy suggested.
“Just like
you’d offer me your spare bedroom, I assume?”
“I don’t have
one.”
“Sure you do…
I saw it,” Kim argued.
“NO, I mean
for you, there is NO spare room. The only place you’re sleeping is in our
bed.”
On her end,
Kim couldn’t help but smile and shake her head. Since she and Tommy had put
their relationship back on track after so long, he’d become as possessive and
jealous as he ever had been, if not worse.
Not that she
really was complaining.
“I guess that
means when we get into a fight, you’ll be sleeping on the couch,” she laughed,
imaging years of her and Tommy together… and the realities of a relationship.
“No way. No
only do I not fit on the couch, my mother taught me never to go to sleep
angry,” he stated seriously.
“Oh boy, I
see lots of long nights in our future.”
“I don’t plan
on us fighting very often Kim, but I have to say that I like the sound of that…
our future.”
“Me too.”
“Just about
three weeks or so now,” Tommy reminded her.
“I know. I
have to start making plans about the apartment.”
“You’re still
shipping your things out here, right?”
“It seems the
best idea,” Kim admitted. “I have to find a shipping company though. I asked
around and have a few recommendations.”
The sound of
a familiar chime from his wrist interrupted him before he could say anything
else.
“Kim…” he
started with a sigh.
“I know, duty
calls. I understand. I love you and I’ll talk to you soon.”
“I love you
too.”
With that,
Tommy hung up, dropping the phone on the couch as he headed downstairs to see
what the situation was, his mind trying to focus on Mesogog and bad guys rather
than the woman who was his life.
-End-
To be
continued…
A/N2: sorry
it’s short. But I promise future installments will make up for it.
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