Power Rangers 1. Chapter 1

_"Good-bye," Tommy __said as he slowly released Kimberly and he watched her walk up the ramp towards the plane. He had known this day was coming ever since the coach appeared looking at her, wanting for her to come join him in Miami. _

_What could he do? How could he tell her that he wanted to her to stay? Would she even love him if he said he wanted her to stay? No, she wouldn't accept that from him, not after everything that she had given him. That was why he was standing here, watching her leave on a plane knowing that in__ his heart he didn't mean__ the words he had said in the Command Center, but he couldn't be selfish. He couldn't ask anything else of __her,__ he had asked so much__ of her already_

_"Bye, I love you," Kim said as she turned around for a moment and then walked away without looking back as the tears streamed down her face, she barely heard Tommy's 'I love you, too' as she tried to concentrate on not wiping her eyes because she knew Tommy would know then that she was regretting this, that she didn't want to leave him, but she couldn't disappoint him, not after everything he had done for her. _

That was two years ago when Kimberly walked out of Tommy's life. We all stood there and watched, hoping, praying that Tommy and Kimberly would be able to survive it. At first the two of them were fine, they kept in contact, they loved each other, called each other, then one day, everything changed. What was that? None of us are really sure, except the two of them and you'll be hard pressed to be able to get that sort of information out of either of them. However, Kim is coming back to Angel Grove and hopefully they'll at least talk. If not, we may wind up doing something quite drastic.

"Tommy!" Kat yelled as she ran up to him and he gave her a hug as he gave her a questioning look. He did not see anything running after her, so he really could not make sense as to why she was yelling his name.

"Kat…" Tommy trailed off as she just shook her head and he squeezed her again.

"Jason just called, he's at the airport," Kat said as Tommy's shocked expression let her know that she was right to assume that Jason hadn't told Tommy about this visit either. It seemed that he wanted to keep all of them in the dark about the fact that he was coming back to Angel Grove, for whatever reason. "He didn't tell you he was coming?"

"No, I wonder why," Tommy said simply as he slipped his arm around Kat and they walked towards the exit.

"I could think of a couple of reasons Tommy," Kat said as he gave her a rather stern gaze. The reasons that he was thinking of did not exactly make him jump for joy. "I'm just being honest, I'm not trying to upset you."

"Does he need someone to pick him up?" Tommy asked as Kat looked up at him. Now she had to break the second part of it, Jason was not alone and she knew it would not take Tommy too long to figure out who was probably with him, considering the warning that she had already given him.

"They need someone to pick them up, if you don't mind," Kat said as Tommy looked at her and just shook his head.

"Kim's come back to Angel Grove?" Tommy asked as Kat shrugged her shoulders, Jason hadn't exactly said it, but he had done everything to make her think that she was the other person with him. She knew that Jason had been in Miami for the last few months, helping Kim out with something and now just seemed to be the time that they came home. "Here, go pick them up."

"Tommy, you might as well face her now, instead of sending the woman that she thinks is your girlfriend to handle her," Kat said, pointedly, as Tommy looked over at her, knowing that she was right and hating it. He did not want to face her after everything that had happened over the last year. "And you were the one to break up with her, but she's taken the fall for it with all of our friends. It's about time you apologize for the hell you've put her through."

"Kat…" Tommy began as Kat held up her hand and he went silent.

"You were her everything Tommy, you were the reason that she was able to get on that plane and go to Miami and do everything that she did. She deserves to know the truth, she deserves to know that you realized that you screwed up and you want to make things right. There is going to be a day when you regret not telling her that and I don't want that to happen to you," Kat said as Tommy just looked at her. He couldn't believe that she was calling him out on all of that. "And it'll be kinda hard to hide from her that Jason and I are together. You might as well talk to her about it first."

"Kat, I can't see her right now, I'm not ready," Tommy said as she just shook her head and forced the keys into his hand.

"Jason wants you to come and I think that you should. You caused this, you need to fix it before one of you dies," Kat said as Tommy gave her a concerned look. He didn't think that anything was so serious right now. There was always a chance that something could happen to him any day, but he had the distinct feeling that that was not what Kat was talking about right now.

"Do you know something that I don't?" Tommy asked as Kat sadly nodded her head yes and Tommy just stared at her. "What's going on?"

"You have to see for yourself, Tommy. It's not my responsibility to tell," Kat said as she stepped away from him and turned to walk back inside of the Juice Bar as he stood there in shock.

Had something happened to Kimberly? It certainly wouldn't be the first time that something had happened and he didn't know about it, especially after his punctuation of an end to their relationship. He had regretted the letter that he sent to her since the day that he placed it in the mail, but the retaliation from Kimberly was worse than anything else that he had ever imagined. She had never been the type to be malicious, but neither had he until that fateful day.

"What have I gotten myself into?" Tommy asked as he let out a sigh and he turned towards his jeep and looked at it, wondering if he should really do this.

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"I thought you said someone would be here waiting for us," Kim said, weakly, as she sat down and Jason gave her a concerned glance. She had called him a few months ago, needing someone who would listen when no one else would. Most of her friends had just taken Tommy's side in the break up and that was all that she knew for sure, but now she needed to come back. She didn't know if she would be able to live with herself if she didn't see them again.

"I called Kat and told her to send someone, but she might have had some trouble convincing him that it's the right thing to do," Jason said as he sat down next to her on the bench and felt her shiver against him. She was freezing and although she was wearing the warmest clothes that she owned, it was not helping her any.

"He doesn't even know, Jason," Kim said as he saw the tears fall down her cheeks and he reached over and wiped them away. "I don't want him to see me like this."

"But you came here so that you could see him, the doctors here will take care of your body, but you need to let him take care of your spirit," Jason said as Kim just shook her head.

"He doesn't want me anymore. He made that perfectly clear to me in his letter," Kim said as Jason looked up and saw Tommy walking towards them, his hair pulled back into a ponytail.

"You'll be all right," Jason said as he stood and gave Tommy a hug as he walked up towards them. He recognized Jason, but he didn't recognize the woman in the bandana. "How you doing, Tommy?"

"Pretty good, the monsters have been good today," Tommy said as he took a step back and Jason saw him looking over his shoulder with a questioning look on his face. He had been preparing himself to face Kimberly, but it looked like Jason had brought someone that none of them knew.

"I've never known you to be shy," Jason said as Kim hung her head and Tommy for the first time could see the side of her face and realized who she was.

"Hey Tommy," Kim said as she looked up at him and saw the shock in his eyes. She was surprised that Jason had not told him anything, but she had made him promise and he had been good to his word.

Three months after the Pan Globals, as Kimberly trained for the Olympics she found herself becoming increasingly tired. She had thought that it was just the extra stress, but after several weeks it did not go away and she when into the doctor. That was when she found out that she had Leukemia. The doctors had told her that they caught it fairly early, but she still had been undergoing treatment for the past several months and she just knew that she needed to come home. Whether or not she had Tommy or any of the others with her, this was her home and this was where she needed to be.

"Hey," Tommy said, shell shocked as he reached for her, but she took a step away and stood looking at her hands. "I guess I deserve that."

"Don't…don't feel sorry for me," Kim muttered as Tommy squeezed his eyes shut as Jason looked between the two of them. They were refusing to look at each other, but only if they had, they would have seen that the pain was mutual, not just one sided.

"So, where am I taking you?" Tommy managed after a few moments to calm himself down. He would cry when he got home to his mother, he couldn't cry in front of her, not if she was so determined that he just stay away from her.

"You are taking her home and then I'm going to come to the Youth Center," Jason said as Tommy nodded as he smiled and then picked up Kim's bags and she gave him a thankful, though weak, smile.

"So when did you find out?" Tommy asked, quietly, as he looked down at her and she looked away from him.

"About six months ago," Kim said as he tried to hide the hurt in his facial expression, but didn't quite manage it. "I just couldn't tell you."

"But…no matter what I did…how could you think?" Tommy asked in a jumble as she just grabbed Jason's arm and Tommy realized how much the flight alone must have taken out of her and seeing him was not doing her any good. "I'll talk to you about it tomorrow…you need rest."

"Thanks," Kim muttered as Jason climbed into the back seat of the jeep and Kim gave him an odd look as she pulled herself up into the front seat and sunk into it as Tommy passed her bags back to Jason.

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"How could you not tell me?" Tommy asked after they had dropped Kim off at Jason's parents and Jason was now sitting next to him. He didn't know what emotions were running through him, but he definitely felt some of it more than he should.

"I was not breaking a promise to her Tommy. She's had enough on her the last six months without worrying about whether or not you knew about it. And what would you have done? Come down there and sit at her bedside as she cried as she lost her hair, take her back because she's sick? She doesn't want your pity, she just wants to see you again in case things don't turn out well," Jason said as Tommy leaned his head back against the head rest and then covered his eyes. "We need to get going."

"I can't drive right now," Tommy said as Jason gave him a sympathetic look as Tommy just crawled into the back seat and curled up as he felt like he was going to throw up.

"Do you want me to just take you home?" Jason asked as Tommy barely nodded and he gave him a sympathetic look before backing out of his driveway. He had to admit that his own reaction to this had been absolutely horrible, but this was still when Kimberly was having a hard time dealing with the reality. Now she just didn't want anyone's pity, she just wanted to be with the people that she cared about, even if they didn't care anymore. "When are you going to tell her that you screwed up Tommy?"

"Do you think that she would believe me now? She doesn't even want me to touch her anymore. I don't think that it will matter that I screwed up, she'll just think that I feel sorry for her," Tommy said as Jason nodded his head that that was indeed a problem.

"Well, if you care, you'll try," Jason said, as Tommy just looked at Jason. He, personally, was going to let Tommy just think about that on the rest of their ride to his home. Jason knew just how much Kimberly needed Tommy back in her life, but they both were going to have to do some soul searching before they would be able to accept the other again. The pain of their breakup had been far too much on the two of them.


	2. Chapter 2

"Tommy, you look horrible," David said as his brother walked in and Tommy sprinted for the bathroom as soon as he was inside, leaving the door wide open. "Did something happen that I should know about?"

"He'll tell you when he's ready," Jason said, standing in the door as David looked over at him. He had not expected for Jason, of all people, to walk in after Tommy. He still thought that he was on the opposite side of the world. "I didn't know that you were here."

"I just came up for the weekend," David said as Jason let out a sigh. "What's going on here?"

"He's going to need all of you this weekend. He just saw Kim," Jason said as David's face twisted into one of someone who was in a great deal of pain. He knew exactly what was going on with the two of them and that the two of them were not exactly the best of friends right now. "Yeah…that's probably why he is studying the porcelain god so much right now."

"How is she doing?" David asked as Jason just shook his head.

"She has leukemia," Jason said as David dropped the glass of water that he was holding and Charlotte came running into the room, wondering what was going on. She had heard the door open, but other than that everyone had been fairly quiet, which was not anything like Tommy.

"Why didn't she…what the hell is going on here?" David asked as Jason just shook his head. He was not going to be the one to break it to Mrs. Oliver. Tommy was going to have to be the one to tell her what had happened to Kimberly.

"You are going to have to talk to him," Jason said as he nodded towards Mrs. Oliver and then left without another word.

"What happened?" Charlotte asked as Tommy walked out of the bathroom wiping his mouth as he managed to stumble over to the couch and collapse. He was surprised that he had been able to hold himself together this long. He had honestly thought that he was going to have to get Jason to pull off on the side of the road and let him throw up. He had never felt like this before, he had never known what it was like to feel someone's pain and to know that there was so much that could have been done to prevent it. "Tommy, what's wrong?"

"She…she's sick," Tommy barely muttered as Charlotte sat down next to Tommy and she placed her arm around him. He was not making much sense to her right now, but she hoped that he would, eventually. "Mom…I should have never…I messed up this time."

"Messed up?" Charlotte asked as David had walked into the kitchen to search for something that Tommy could drink. "Tommy, you're not making a lot of sense. What happened?"

"Kim has leukemia, Mom," Tommy managed to say as he felt his stomach contract again and he ran for the bathroom again as Charlotte looked back at David who was standing in the doorway with a glass of sprite.

"Tommy," Charlotte said as she walked into the bathroom and he sat back from the toilet and rested his head against the wall.

"Mom, I've missed her so much for the past two years and now I get to see her again and she's…Mom, I've never seen her like this before…I just…I just wish that I could go back in time and take away everything that I have done…I wish she'd let me be there for her," Tommy said as the tears streamed down his face and Charlotte wrapped her arms around him as he sobbed.

"Tommy, you decided to break up with her," Charlotte said, gently, as he pushed her away and threw up again.

"I know…and I made a mistake…" Tommy said leaning back again. "She won't even let me touch her mom."

"Do you know why she came back?" Charlotte asked as Tommy nodded his head yes and looked over at his mother miserably.

"She came back for me," Tommy said as Charlotte looked over at him, slightly confused. If she had come back for Tommy, why wouldn't she even touch him? "She just can't bring herself to trust me…Mom I would do anything to get that back…to get her back."

"Then the only thing that I can tell you is that you be there for her Tommy, when she cries, when she laughs, when she is throwing up over a toilet because the chemo has gotten to her. You be there for her," Charlotte said as Tommy just covered his face with his hands as the silent sobs wracked his body and his mother gently rubbed his shoulders, trying to get it to stop.

"How can I be there when she doesn't even want me?" Tommy asked looking over at Charlotte as she just smoothed his hair back and he was shaking against her. She had only seen him like this once before in his life and it had been in the weeks following Kim's departure to Florida. She had never thought that he was over Kimberly, but she also didn't think that he was still this desperately in love with her.

"If she came here for you, she'll open up, but it is going to be baby steps. You have to just take that and hope that that leads you back into her heart," Charlotte said as Tommy just rested his head on her shoulder and she allowed him to cry out all of the pain that he was feeling.

"Charlie! Tommy! I'm home!" Daren yelled as he walked in the front door and looked around for the two of them.

"They're in the bathroom," David said as Daren looked over at him. He couldn't remember the last time that the two of them had been in the bathroom together when Tommy was not feeling well. He had grown out of having help at about the age of twelve. "Tommy's had a rough day today."

"A rough day? So which one of his friends is hurt?" Daren asked as David just shook his head.

"It's Kimberly…she's been diagnosed with leukemia," David said as Daren dropped the bags that he had in his hands and David gave him a weak smile. They all seemed to be having the same reaction to the news. "I think that Tommy is trying to get that reaction out of his system."

"When did this happen? Did she just call?" Daren asked as he reached for the phone to call Kimberly's parents and give his condolences.

"No, she just showed up and…I don't really know what else is going on…" David said as he hung up the phone and sat down at the dinner table. It was no wonder that there was not a thing on the table. Charlotte had been consoling Tommy for the decision that he had made almost a year ago, which they knew had brought him only misery from that day forth.

"Come on, we'll make supper, I don't think that Charlie is going to be up to it tonight," Daren said as Charlie walked into the room and took the pan away from Daren. She did not want to risk him burning down the house while he tried to cook supper for all of them. "How is he?"

"He has finally quit throwing up, but he's gone to his room. I'm not too hopeful that he'll eat anything tonight," Charlotte said as Daren looked over at her with a sad gaze. "We are going to have to convince him that she actually came here to have him close by."

"Well is she?" Daren asked as Charlotte nodded her head yes. "Hold on…then why is he having such a rough time with this…"

"She has leukemia. She has lost all of her hair, Daren," Charlotte said as Darren stood there in shock. He didn't think that she had gone through a round of chemo already, but obviously he had been mistaken. "Do you know how bad he feels about this right now? He regrets not being there for her and he wants to make up on it, but he doesn't know if she'll let him."

"Um…I think I need a beer," Daren said as Charlotte nodded that she felt exactly the same.

"He's the one that actually needs that," David said as Charlotte let out a sigh. She would be more than willing, if she hadn't all but forbidden Tommy from even going anywhere near the beer a few years ago. "Tommy is tough, he'll probably be back on his feet with some sort of plan on how to help her out tomorrow."

_The Next Day_

"Tommy, come on!" Charlotte yelled as she beat on his door and he just rolled over and stared at the ceiling. He had laid there all last night, listening to the songs that reminded him of her and trying to drown his sorrows in the cup of beer his father had placed in his room at about midnight. He knew that it was not much help, but it at least showed that he understood what he was going through. "I don't know what to do. I don't believe that he is going to come out."

"Can I try?" Kim asked as she walked up to the Oliver's and they looked back at her in shock. They hadn't known that she had come with Jason here. "You've been in here for awhile, maybe he'll listen to me."

"Where'd you come from?" Charlotte asked as Kim smiled at her and she pointed towards the door.

"Jason has been standing in here for awhile and I'm kinda tired of waiting in the car," Kim said as Charlotte nodded as Kim knocked on the door. "Tommy…"

"Nice try guys," Tommy muttered from the other side of the door as Kim just shook her head and then placed her head against the door.

"Tommy…it really is me…open up," Kim said, softly, as she heard the bed creak and the door then opened, but only enough for his eye to peak out and see her and then thrust the door back closed as she jumped away. "Tommy!"

"No, you don't want me to be around," Tommy said as she pressed her forehead to the door and let out a strangled sob as the others took a step away. Whatever was going on here was something that the two of them needed to discuss.

"Just let me in," Kim whispered as she silently sunk to the floor in front of his door and Jason gave her a concerned glance. He didn't know how much stress she could take, but he was sure that she did not need this added to her plate. "Tommy, please…"

"Tommy…" Jason said as his voice seemed to cut through Tommy's cluttered mind and he opened the door again and Kim's body slipped from the door to his legs as she had started to fall forward before he moved to catch her. "Just talk."

"Not here," Tommy muttered, as he had more than enough memories of Kimberly in this house and he did not want to add any more painful memories. "How about I meet you in the park in an hour?"

"Okay," Jason said as Tommy squatted down in front of Kim and she looked up at him.

"Promise me, Tommy," Kim said as her eyes pleaded with him and he nodded as he reached out and cupped her face and felt her relax, but only for a moment and not nearly long enough for anyone else to see it. "Thank you."

"Is it all right if I bring some of the others?" Tommy asked her as she nodded and he could not stop himself as he gave her a hug and whispered in her ear, "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to do that," Kim said as he gave her a sad smile and then pulled her up to where she was standing.

"Yes, I do," Tommy said as she pulled away from him and turned to leave as Jason looked between the two of them.

"The sooner, the better," Jason said as Tommy gave him a confused look. "She's a lot worse than you know…but I think she wants to tell you that on her own."

"Excuse me," Tommy said as he pushed past Jason to the bathroom and threw up again as Charlotte cringed, while Kim looked towards the bathroom and then back at Charlotte.

"Is he sick?" Kim asked as Charlotte shook her head no.

"It's not anything that will hurt you," Daren said as Kim smiled at him and he gave her a bear hug. "My son is no good without you."

"He's going to be without me…" Kim muttered as tears leaked out of her eyes and Daren gave her a confused look. "…I…I want to tell him first."

"Tell him what?" Charlotte asked as Kim looked over at her and gave her a sad smile. "No…you couldn't have just come back here to…to…"

"I did…" Kim whispered as she barely held in the sobs. "I don't want him…I'll tell him…"

"Is there any hope?" Daren whispered to the teen he was holding in his arms.

"A little…but I need them back before I can try…I can't go through it all alone…" Kim whispered as he closed his eyes and tried to absorb it all as she slowly pulled away. "I'm sorry…"

"You don't have anything to be sorry for," Charlotte said as Tommy walked out of the bathroom and then headed towards his room, knowing that she was still there. "Try not to be too hard on him."

"I wish he would have done the same for me," Kim said as she turned towards the door and Charlotte just watched her go as she looked over at her husband. How were they going to get Tommy through this? They knew that he had been through a lot in the past few months, but what was to come seemed like it was going to be something that he couldn't take, even if they were able to prepare him.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey guys," Tommy said as he walked up to his group of friends that were gathered at the edge of the park. He had told them to meet him there, as they all knew that Kimberly was back, but none of them knew that she was sick. Jason had kept it a secret because it was not his secret to tell and he was secretly glad that he had not known about it, because all it would have done was eat at him even more.

"Hey, are you ready to face her?" Tanya asked as Tommy just shook his head towards them. They didn't know the half of the story and the fact was, he was going to have to confess to a lot of things now, because she did not deserve what had happened to her.

"The question is if you are ready…you don't really know what's going on," Tommy said as Kat gave him a concerned look as she saw him swallow and knew that he was trying to hold down vomit. She knew what was happening with Kim and although she hadn't told the others, she could guarantee that none of them were ready for what was ahead.

"We know that she broke up with you and now she just shows back up…and expects you to just drop everything," Rocky said as Tommy started leading them towards the section of the park that he had agreed to meet them in.

"Actually that's not even right, I just let you think that she broke up with me," Tommy said as they stopped dead in their tracks and looked at him. They hoped that he had some sort of explanation for what he was saying, because they had spent a lot of time just blowing off steam and ignoring Kimberly, when maybe that was not even called for. "I broke up with her…the letter that she sent was just her response."

"Response?" Rocky managed to mumble as they looked over at him and Kat just smiled. She knew that it was taking a lot for Tommy to admit that to all of them after everything that they had said and done for him. The fact was, they had just made it easier on him with their desire to not see her anymore either and although they said some horrible things about her, he had let them and finally the guilt was too much. "What is going on?"

"It's just time that you know the truth…I don't think that you should be holding anything against her now," Tommy said as Kat looked at him and just shook her head. She had felt that something was going on that they needed to know about, right now.

"Don't tell me that Kimberly…what's wrong with her Tommy?" Kat asked as Tommy just shook his head and continued walking towards Kim and Jason, who were sitting at a picnic table. "Tommy what has happened?"

"It is her business to tell, not mine," Tommy said as Kat managed to get in front of him and he just shook his head. "Kat, I really can't tell you and neither can Jason, but it's for different reasons. If I tell you, I'll throw up and Jason promised he wouldn't."

"Hey guys," Kim said as they walked up to the table and she looked up at them and they all had to take a step away, mainly because of the fact that they had not expected any of this. This was not the Kimberly that they had known or been told about and that scared them. They had never thought that they would see her like this. She had always been strong and right now, she didn't seem like she could even walk for a prolonged period of time. "I see that Tommy didn't tell you."

"I couldn't," Tommy muttered as he took a sip on the sprite that David had made him grab on the way out, as he felt like something was coming up again.

"Well, I'm not much better," Kim said as they looked at her, wondering how she could say that. "I was diagnosed with leukemia about nine months ago and the first round of chemo hasn't done much good."

"What?" Kat asked as Tommy had just sunk down on the bench and tried to recompose himself, but he was not doing a very good job of it, as he hid his face from all of them. Most of them had bought into the fact that he had gotten over her, but now they could see the extent to which they were wrong about that.

"I'm a little bit confused," Rocky said as he sat down next to Kim and she looked over at him.

"I've been told that I need a bone marrow transplant and my brother is a match, but I have to get some better before they'll even consider it," Kim said as Tommy looked up at her. "If my numbers haven't improved in the next two months…"

"What will happen?" Tanya asked as Tommy stole a glance at Kimberly and then stood up and ran away from the group as Jason looked down at Kim who nodded for him to go after Tommy.

"Tommy, come on…" Jason said as he caught up with him and noticed the green shade to his skin as he reached the trash can and threw up.

"Don't tell me that she came back here to die…" Tommy said as he looked over at Jason and saw the sympathy in his eyes as he barely nodded his head yes. "Jason, I can't…I can't do this."

"She's not asking you to Tommy. She's hoping that everything will work in the next couple of months and that she'll be able to have the transplant, but if things keep going the way that they are…" Jason said as Tommy just covered his eyes and Jason could see the sobs that he was fighting to keep in. He knew that his friend was still desperately in love, but he was struggling to hide his true feelings from her. He felt that that was the best thing that he could do. "Do you want me to send the others away?"

"I can't tell you to do that," Tommy said as he leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes. "She needs them, probably more than she needs me."

"That's where you are wrong. If she had the energy, she would have come after you. It wouldn't have been me that had to do it," Jason said as Tommy sunk down to the ground and covered his face. "Tommy, you need to walk back over there and sit down and listen. Trust me, I think that the others are going to let you have some time with her. They can tell, just as well as I can, what she still means to you."

"For Kim," Tommy whispered as he pushed himself to his feet and walked back over to them.

"You okay?" Adam asked as Tommy sat back down next to him and nodded, as Kim gave him a once over, knowing that he was lying to all of them.

"No more lies to me, Tommy," Kim said as he looked down at the ground and she then gave Rocky a gentle shove so that he would get out of her way.

"I'll never be all right knowing…" Tommy tapered off as she looked down at him and he allowed himself to risk looking in her eyes.

"And I'll never be all right second guessing everything that you say, Tommy," Kim said as she felt the others look away and some of them even moved away, as Jason motioned for everyone to follow him. He knew that the time had come for the two of them to face each other.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Tommy asked as he gently pulled her down into his lap and he watched her relax against him.

"What good would it have done? I came out here because…I needed to come out here…I needed to be around the people that I care about, even if they don't care about me," Kim whispered as he reached up and she gently pulled away from him. His touch, although comforting, hurt her more than anything, because she knew that he was just doing this to be the nice guy that he was. "Tommy, I'm more sick than you know…"

"No, I know…I know you too well Kimberly…" Tommy said as she looked up at him and he gave her a very weak smile. "I know why you came back…you…you came back to die."

"Please, don't tell the others," Kim whispered as the tears fell and he pulled her in tight, as she could not resist him.

"I won't…but please…is there any hope?" Tommy whispered as she placed her head on his shoulder and barely nodded her head yes.

"If I can get a bone marrow transplant, there is, but it doesn't look good right now," Kim said as he closed his eyes and clung to her tightly.

"What will you have to do to get there?" Tommy asked as she looked at him.

"Another intense round of chemo is my only hope," Kim said as Tommy held her tight and she shook against him. She wanted to break down, but she was not sure that she would be able to do that with him.

"I'll be there," Tommy said as she looked up at him and just smiled as she gave him a tight hug.

"Thank you," Kimberly whispered as she clung to him tightly and he just allowed her to cry herself out on his shoulder and in the next few minutes, he realized that she had fallen asleep against him and he looked back over at the others.

"Guys, you can come back. She's asleep," Tommy said as they walked over to him and saw the stress that had settled on him, but they also saw that he was not nearly as sickly as he had been earlier.

"Are you going to have to talk with Zordon?" Tanya asked as Tommy nodded his head yes and looked at them.

"I'm not going to be able to be the leader of the rangers anymore," Tommy said as he cradled her against his body and the others nodded. They had known that was going to happen ever since she had come here and they heard the one thing that would possibly save her, they knew that he would want to stay with her. All of them knew the extent of what Tommy felt he had done, he knew that he needed to be with her, even if everything else failed. "I have to make up for what I have done."

"It's not really making up for it," Kat said as Tommy nodded.

"Well…while she's still here I want to let her know how much I care," Tommy said as Kat placed her hand on his shoulder. "Can I take her home?"

"She actually has an appointment with the doctor in about an hour," Jason said as Tommy shifted himself to where he could pick her up.

"Give me the directions and I'll take her," Tommy said as Jason smiled as he passed Tommy a map. "How'd you know?"

"I know you Tommy…it was only a matter of time," Jason said as he nodded and looked around at the others.

"Can you take my morpher?" Tommy asked as Jason quietly nodded and took it from him as Kim started to stir in his arms and he gently rocked her back to sleep. "Just tell Zordon what is going on and you know where to find me if you need me."

"That's it?" Tanya asked, slightly surprised.

"Zordon already knew that this might happen," Jason said as they nodded while Tommy walked off towards his car. "I talked to him before we got here about Kim's situation and we came to the agreement that Tommy would want to do this as soon as he figured out exactly how severe everything was."

"So it is worse than what she told us?" Adam asked as Jason nodded his head yes.

"She has to undergo the most intense round of chemo that they have available and then if that works, they will remove her own bone marrow and give her an infusion of her brother's, however, after that she will be in a quarantine room while her immune system picks back up and even then it's going to be a hard road," Jason said as Kat looked down at the ground and he saw the tears rolling from her eyes. "It is going to be a rough time."

"Is Tommy going to be able to take it?" Rocky asked as Jason shook his head no.

"But he is going to be there for her. He knows that he screwed up and it might be too late, but he is going to try to make up for everything that he has done and since he might not have a lot time, it's going to be hell for him," Jason said as the others nodded. They could certainly see how Tommy was going to do this, but they also knew that this was going to be rough for all of them. Tommy's days were going to go up and down with Kimberly's days and they knew that she was definitely going to have more bad days than good days, but he couldn't sit back and watch. He knew that he had done far too much of that in the past.


	4. Chapter 4

"Wake up, honey," Tommy whispered as he walked over to the passenger's side and she looked up at him with a sleepy smile. "We're at the doctor's."

"You brought me?" Kim asked as Tommy nodded his head yes as she scooted out of the jeep and hesitantly reached for his hand. "Thank you."

"I meant it when I said I would be here for you," Tommy said as her grip on him tightened as she walked inside and they headed towards the Cancer Center.

"My brother is coming tomorrow," Kim said as she was desperate to not talk about what was going on here. She didn't want to talk about the doctor right now and she hoped that he would understand it.

"That's good, how long has it been since you've seen him?" Tommy asked as she gave him a grateful smile.

"It's been a couple of months. He hasn't been able to come to Miami that much and I know that this is not exactly a lot of fun for him to come and see me for, but it's the best that he can do," Kim said as they stepped onto an elevator with a few other people.

"Mama, why does she look so funny?" a young boy questioned as the mother looked at him in mortified shock as she gave Kim an apologetic glance as Kim tried to give her a reassuring smile, but she barely managed a half smile.

"That's rude, Michael," the mother said squatting down as Kim turned around to face Tommy, who just placed one hand on the back of her head and the other arm he just wrapped around her in a tight hold, as he squeezed his eyes shut.

"It's okay," Tommy whispered as he held her tightly, but gently.

"I'm so sorry that he said that to your wife," the mother said as Tommy began to correct her, but let it go and merely nodded his head.

"Mama…why?" Michael prodded as the mother gave him a stern look.

"Tell the lady that you're sorry," the mother instructed as Tommy prompted Kim to look up from his chest and look over at the little boy.

"I'm sorry," Michael whispered as Kim gave him a smile, but Tommy felt her still shaking in his arms.

"Thank you," Kim whispered back before burying her face in Tommy's chest and he just carefully shifted her in his arms to where she was no longer supporting her own weight and he allowed her to just rest against him.

"I'm so sorry," the mother said again as they got off the elevator and Kim just looked up at him.

"Don't worry, he's too young to understand," Tommy whispered as the other people in the elevator looked at them and he glared at them so that they looked away.

"It just hurts," Kim sobbed as she clung to him and he struggled not to breakdown as well.

"Here's our floor," Tommy whispered as he just picked her up and placed her feet on top of his and walked off, so that she did not have to adjust herself any.

"I'm so sorry, Tommy, you shouldn't have to deal with all of this. Just call Jason and tell him to come down here," Kim said as she stepped away from him and he looked down into her eyes. "Please, you don't want me, you just feel sorry for me…you are just here because you feel bad…"

"Kimberly, please, look at me," Tommy pleaded with her as she hesitantly looked up into his eyes, afraid of what she might see there. "I messed up when I let you go…I'll never be able to take back what I did to you, but please let me be here…I need you."

"Tommy…I don't want to hurt you…you know I probably won't…" Kim trailed off as he gathered her into a strong hug and let out a sob.

"Don't say it," Tommy whispered as she looked up at him. "Please, Beautiful, let me."

"You…you just called me…" Kim trailed off as he bit his bottom lip and gave her the best smile he could muster. He knew that she would catch that, no matter what happened she would always be his Beautiful.

"I meant it when I said I wanted to be here for you," Tommy said as Kim's eyes watered and she tried to not cry. "You still are beautiful, nothing that has happened to you will ever change that in my eyes."

"But…" Kim began as she ran her hand over her bandana and looked up at him.

"Hair will grow back…I can't get you back if you are gone… I'll never forgive myself if I'm not here for you now," Tommy said as he gave her a kiss on the forehead and then let go of her. "You better go check in."

"You're right," Kim said as she walked over to the sign in window and he went and sat down in one of the waiting room chairs. He took in a view of the room and he couldn't help but feel the pain that everyone was in that was in this room and he could barely take it in. He had always pictured Kimberly as a strong woman, but right now he knew that she was very weak. He knew that there was a long road ahead of them if she was going to get better, but he couldn't really face the other option right now. He couldn't face the fact that she might die, he didn't know what he would do without her if he lost her now.

"Hello!" a little girl said as she bounded up to Tommy and he smiled at her as he looked around for the girl's parents. "Why are you so sad?"

"A friend of mine is sick," Tommy said as she gave him a sad look and then crawled up into the seat next to him.

"What's wrong with your friend?" the little girl asked as Kim noticed the little girl sitting next to Tommy and decided to keep her distance for the moment. She always loved watching Tommy interact with kids, she knew that he was going to make a wonderful father one day. Except she doubted that she was going to ever get the chance to hae children with him, her life just didn't seem like it was going to last that long.

"She's really sick, but hopefully the doctors will be able to help her," Tommy said as she nodded as Kim continued to watch them.

"My name's Krista, what's yours?" Krista said with a smile as Tommy smiled back at her and just shook his head.

"My name is Tommy," Tommy said, simply, as Krista looked around the room.

"Who is your friend?" Krista asked as Tommy looked up to see that Kim was watching him and he merely nodded towards her as Krista followed his gaze and smiled. "My sister has it too."

"That's why you're here?" Tommy asked as Krista nodded.

"They need my help," Krista said with a smile, as Tommy knew that the little girl didn't know the full extent of what was going to happen to her. "Mommy!"

"Bundle of energy," Kim whispered as she sat down next to Tommy and he placed his arm around her. "I don't know if this is going to do me any good."

"Don't think like that," Tommy whispered as he pulled her in and rested his head on top of hers. "You're going to be fine."

"Just hold me Tommy," Kim whispered as he looked down at her, in surprise and she pleaded with him with her eyes. "I just want to feel safe again…I'm sorry…I didn't mean to do that…I didn't want to make you feel like this."

"How many times do I need to tell you that I messed up? How many times will I have to say sorry?" Tommy asked as she looked up at him and he just rocked her back and forth. "I messed up Kimberly, please just let me be here…let me help you feel safe."

"You've got way too much to do, Tommy…you don't have to be here," Kim whispered as she rested against him and closed her eyes.

"Kimberly Hart," Mandy called as she looked around and Kim straightened up and then headed towards the nurse as Tommy questioned her with his eyes whether or not he should come and she barely nodded. "Well, according to your chart, you need to begin a new treatment within the next week or so. Dr. Mendez will be with you soon, so change into this and then he should be in."

"What's this like?" Tommy asked as Kim began pulling off her clothes and then put on the hospital gown.

"He's going to do blood work, see if he thinks I'm strong enough to actually go ahead with the treatment and then schedule the rounds of chemo that I can take," Kim said as he nodded and then sat down in the chair in the far corner of the room. He was starting to feel nauseous again and he was sure that that was because of the fact that he was now seeing everything in person. "You don't have to stay back here if you don't want…"

"Do you want me to go?" Tommy asked as Kim looked over at him and shook her head no and he gave her a weak smile. "Then I'm going to stay."

"Hello, Ms. Hart," Dr. Mendez said as Kim gave him a small smile and Tommy eyed him warily. "I see that you are a candidate for a bone marrow transplant, but you have not been able to achieve the numbers that are needed."

"Yes," Kim whispered as Dr. Mendez looked over at her.

"How long has it been since your last treatment?" Dr. Mendez asked as he sat down at the side of her bed and she gave him a confused look.

"A month," Kim said as Dr. Mendez nodded his head.

"Well, I'm not going to waste any of your time today trying to do a couple of tests to find out if things have gotten better. I am going to take blood for blood work, but I want you to come back in next Tuesday for all the results, as well as a possible round of chemo. If everything is where it needs to be I'll start you up right then. Hopefully we'll be able to get you that transplant within the next month or so," Dr. Mendez said as Kim gave him a startled look. This was not like any other appointment that she had had over the last several months.

"Just blood?" Kim asked as Dr. Mendez nodded his head.

"The tests that I need to do for you will not be in until next Monday and I do not want to try to expedite those tests and get any incorrect information. Now, if you have any other questions, I am more than willing to answer them, but it seems that you have already been through this process once and know the drill," Dr. Mendez said as Kim sadly nodded. "You don't seem so good."

"I'll be fine," Tommy said as Dr. Mendez gave him an understanding smile.

"Mandy will be in to take the blood and then I'll come back and do a quick once over to see if there is anything else that has gotten worse and then I'll let you go. I know that you need some rest after your flight out here," Dr. Mendez said as Kim gave him a grateful look and he then left the room.

"Tommy…" Kimberly trailed off as he stood up and walked over to her. "I…"

"It's fine," Tommy said as she wrapped her arms around him and just rested her body against him. She had been able to be strong in Florida, but when they told her that the chemo hadn't worked; that her only hope was a bone marrow transplant, she knew that she had to come back here. She knew that she did not want to die and not have spent time with the people that she cared about.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I need to get some blood from Ms. Hart," Mandy said as Kimberly unwrapped one arm from Tommy and held it out for her to take the blood from as she still buried her face in his chest. She hated them taking blood and she just hoped that he would hold her and not even question why she needed it. "Too many needles lately?"

"Yes," Kim whispered as Mandy nodded her head as she watched the teenage boy gently rub her back and couldn't help but give him a questioning glance. She had rarely seen any teenage boy come in with their girlfriend, actually they usually left their girlfriend, but he seemed to be different. She just couldn't quite tell what it was with the two of them.

"Well, I'll try not to make this so bad," Mandy said as she stuck her in the arm and Kim let out a tiny groan, but nothing more. Tommy just looked over at Mandy who gave him a sweet smile. "You are going to have to come out while Dr. Mendez comes in to see her."

"You can go on," Kim said as she reluctantly let go of him and he walked out with Mandy.

"I've never seen someone like you before," Mandy said as Tommy looked down at her. He was not exactly sure how to react to what she was saying, considering where it might go from there. "Most guys leave their girlfriends when they start going through something like this. I'm glad to see that you have stuck around."

"I…" Tommy began as Mandy just shook her head.

"I know it's hard, but she appreciates that you are here, even if she is afraid to show it," Mandy said as Dr. Mendez passed them and headed into Kimberly's room. "It should only take him a few minutes and then she'll be able to go home."

"Thank you," Tommy said as he stood, facing the door, hoping that everything was fine and that Dr. Mendez would not be too hard on her, considering the fact that she had been through even more hell over the last couple of days that he did not know about.


	5. Chapter 5

The next few weeks passed in a rather uneventful fashion. Kimberly began her next treatment of chemo without a hitch and the rangers went on without Tommy as their leader, although that was shakier than anything else that they were dealing with. They all knew that Tommy was still a huge target in Mondo's mind. Tommy would never quit being a ranger as far as he was concerned and although he knew that Tommy was no longer the red ranger, he honestly doubted that he would stay away. No one saw what was coming the day that the Machine Empire decided to invoke some revenge upon the rangers.

"Hey," Jason said as he sat down next to Kimberly on her bed and she leaned over against him. Yesterday had been a chemo day and today she was feeling all of the effects of it, but it seemed to be more than usual. The treatments had been taking more out of her lately, but today had definitely been the worst in a very long time. "How you feeling?"

"Not so hot," Kim murmured as Jason carefully felt her forehead and could feel the slight fever coming on. He knew that she would be lucky if she was not standing over the toilet in a few minutes, hurling, but he hoped for her sake that she would be able to rest today. He could tell that she desperately needed rest at the moment. "Is Tommy coming by this afternoon?"

"I'm sure that he will, he probably wouldn't go to school if the rest of us didn't insist on it," Jason said as Kim barely nodded as she shivered against him and he pulled the covers up over her and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Get some sleep, Kim…I'm sure you'll be waking up to someone that you want to see a lot more in a little while."

"Thank you, Jase," Kim said as she nodded off and he just made sure that her covers were snuggly around her before leaving for school.

-----------

"Have you seen Tommy?" Katherine asked as Jason walked up to her in school and he shook his head no.

"Why? I thought that he was coming to school today," Jason said as Katherine looked away from him and he gave her a curious look. "What do you know that I don't?"

"I don't know anything Jason, I just have this feeling that things are not quite what they seem. Every time that Tommy has ever come over to be with Kim, he gets there before you even leave the house. If not, he is here when you arrive at school, but right now he's at neither place," Kat said as Adam walked up and just shook his head.

"Kat, you know that Tommy probably just slept through his alarm this morning. I don't think that he's been sleeping good lately," Adam said as Jason's communicator let out a distinct beep and he looked down at it, before sighing and heading for the first empty classroom that he could find, with Adam and Kat right on his heels.

"Go ahead," Jason said as the other two crowded around, waiting for the response.

"Jason, Tommy has been captured by Mondo and his cohorts," Zordon said as Jason dropped his book bag from his loose grasp and looked around at the other two. "Tanya and Rocky are already here, we need you to come, immediately."

"Teleport us, we're fine," Kat said as Jason barely nodded as he picked up his book bag and they disappeared in streaks of light.

"That can't be it," Jason said as he looked up at Zordon and he merely shook his head no. "What else is wrong?"

"Behold the viewing globe," Zordon said as Jason turned around and looked at the image on the screen and took in a sharp breath. He had seen that look in Tommy's eyes before and it had never meant good tidings for them.

"He's evil," Jason said as Zordon nodded his head as Jason threw the first thing that came within his grasp into the nearest wall. This was not something that the needed to be dealing with right now, considering everything else that Tommy had going on his in life. "You know that we can't ask her to help us."

"I'm not asking that of her, Jason, but I do think that she deserves to know what is going on with Tommy so that she can try to find some strength to help us, if it comes to that," Zordon said as Jason just shook his head and looked away. He could not even believe that Zordon was suggesting this, Tommy would never forgive himself if he did something to her while he was evil, especially now. "I do not like this anymore than you, but you know he might not come back for anyone else."

"I don't know if I can be the one to go tell her," Jason said as Zordon nodded and then looked over at Kat who acknowledged that she would go and take care of it all.

"Now, I need to send one of you in there," Zordon said as Jason gave him a thorough look. "I would prefer not to send you Jason, you may be more necessary here."

"But I am the only person besides Kimberly that he might even come back for," Jason said as Zordon nodded and sent Jason away as Alpha looked around at the others, who were very worried about what was going on here. It was definitely something that they had only imagined happening as Mondo's last resort.

------------

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Kat asked as she sat down on the edge of Kim's bed and was greeted with a moan as she rolled over to face the voice. "I'm sorry to wake you up…"

"You're not Tommy," Kim said with a half smile as Kat's expression turned worried and Kim straightened up. She had seen that look before and she knew that it never meant good things. "What's wrong? What did I say?"

"I'm sorry, but I have some bad news for you, sweetie," Kat said as Kim began shaking her head as the tears fell. She knew what Kat was going to tell her and she did not want to hear it. She did not want to hear that Tommy had been taken away from her. "He's been…"

"No…don't tell me that," Kim said as she pushed Kat away and she let out a sob as Kat gave her a sympathetic look. "He can't…why would that happen?"

"He is Kimberly and Jason is going to try to pull him back, but…" Kat trailed off as Kim looked away from her and just shook her head. She knew good and well that Jason was not going to be able to pull Tommy back if Kat was standing here in front of her.

"I don't think that I have that sort of pull anymore, Kat. He may be helping me right now, but that's only out of the kindness of his heart, not because he cares about me," Kim said as Kat just shook her head. If Kimberly only knew what Tommy felt, she would not be saying that right now, she would be saying that she was willing to go in there and help them.

"Kim he still loves you, even if he hasn't told you that. You have to believe me now, he never loved me, he never cared for anyone the way that he cares for you. Don't let his strong façade fool you, he still cares," Kat said as Kim leaned back against her pillows and closed her eyes.

"If you need me, I'm here," Kim whispered as Kat nodded and then reached over to give her a hug. "Keep me updated."

"I will," Kat said as she stood and looked at Kimberly as she fought the silent sobs that were racking her body. "We should know pretty soon if Jason will be able to reach him."

"I know," Kim said as Kat teleported away and she just let the tears stream down her face. She knew that today was going to be a very long day and she was not sure if she could take it.

-------------

"Tommy, you have to listen to me," Jason pleaded as he stood in front of him in the red ranger uniform and he reached out and grabbed his shoulders to try to convey the message.

"You stole my powers, you stole who I was," Tommy sneered as he threw Jason to the side and looked down at him. "You are the best that Zordon can send to face me?"

"I'm your friend Tommy, you have to believe me," Jason said as he was tossed yet again and he knew that he was not going to be able to buy the rangers a lot of time. He had made it clear to Zordon that Kim was only to be a last resort, but it seemed that she was going to have to come.

"Still knows how to fight, doesn't he?" Tanya remarked as she helped Jason up and he just shook his head.

"He's not going to come back for us," Jason said as Tommy sent Kat flying and Adam and Rocky tried to distract him, but they were not able to much more than irritate him.

"How long do you think we have before we have to get Kim?" Kat muttered as Jason pulled her up and he just shook his head. He knew that the answer was much sooner than she would be ready, but there was nothing that they could do about that.

"I'm going to try to hold him off, but I don't think any of us will…" Jason trailed off as Tommy started towards him again and he attempted to hold him off, but was slung to the ground with a solid punch which caused Jason to have to reorient himself.

"You really don't know what you are up against," Tommy said as Jason struggled to his feet as a ray of white shined in the arena and they all looked at it, momentarily stopping the fighting. "Another ranger?"

"Not another ranger Tommy," Kim said as she stood in front of him and he looked at her with great disdain. "Do what you want to me, I know I deserve it."

"Deserve it? You deserve to be destroyed?" Tommy asked as Kim nodded her head yes and he swung at her, but Jason caught his arm before it could connect with Kimberly.

"You have to let him, Jase," Kim whispered in his ear as Jason shook his head like she was crazy. He knew Tommy's strength and he found it hard to believe that Kimberly would forget it this soon. "He won't hurt me nearly as bad as the rest of you."

"But…" Jason began as Kim stepped in front of Tommy again and she looked up at him.

"Do what you want Tommy," Kim said, calmly as she tried to relax her body as she saw the punch coming towards her head and was then flung to the ground. That, however, seemed to snap Tommy out of the spell that he was under.

"What have I done?" Tommy muttered as he looked over and saw Jason squatting down and as he scanned around to see which ranger he had hurt, he felt his heart sink. All of the rangers were fine and the only other person that they would call in would be Kimberly, but why had she come? Why had she even risked it? "No…"

"Tommy…there is someone you care about more than anyone else in the world," Mondo said as the former red ranger looked up at him and Rocky and Adam restrained him from attacking.

"Get her out of here, Tommy," Rocky muttered dragging him over to Kimberly, as he squatted down beside her and they tried to teleport the two of them out, but they were trapped.

"I'll stay with her, go take care of the monsters," Tommy said as he scooped Kimberly up and went to the most secluded corner that he could find and tried to wake her up, although he could see the clear bruise forming on one of her cheeks from where he had hit her. "I'm so sorry…"

"You didn't think that you would get away this easy, did you?" Mondo asked as he landed next to the two of them and Tommy was forced to lay Kimberly on the ground behind him and face the being.

"You are going to pay for everything that you have done," Tommy threatened as he saw the shield that had been keeping them in deteriorate and he felt himself being teleported away.

"You okay?" Tanya asked walking up to Tommy's side as he reached down and gently cupped Kim's cheek as the tears flowed freely.

"No, she's given up so much for me and this is how I pay her back," Tommy said as Tanya gave him a hug and a sob broke loose that he had been struggling to keep in.

"Everything will be fine Tommy, we'll have her back on her feet in a couple of hours," Tanya whispered as the other rangers watched the two of them as Billy stepped over and began checking Kim's vitals. He knew that her immune system was not up to this sort of thing, but he could only hope that she would be able to somehow hold up to the strain.

"You pack one hell of a punch," Jason said as Tommy turned back to him and Jason put his arm around him. "Kim knew that you would come out of it if you hurt her, although I don't know how she convinced the two of them to let her do that."

"She insisted that she could bring Tommy back, I did not think that this was the way that she would go about bringing you back, I am truly sorry," Zordon said as Tommy nodded up at him as he slowly released Tanya and walked over to the gurney that they had placed Kimberly on.

"How much damage did I do?" Tommy whispered as Billy looked over at him and just shook his head. He did not want to upset Tommy anymore than he was already.

"I'm not sure yet, I'll know more once she wakes up. Right now it just looks like a hell of a punch," Billy said as Tommy covered his face and sat down in the chair that they had placed next to the gurney. "I'm not going to be able to help her too much, but from the scans I have done there is no internal bleeding, so she should just wake up in a little while, with a hell of a headache."

"Can I just…" Tommy trailed off, asking permission to take Kim away from them, where he could just watch after her.

"Go ahead," Billy said as Tommy stood and scooped her up and she naturally curled against him. As everyone else watched him, he let out a long sigh and then headed towards the back chamber of the Command Center.

"You think that is smart?" Rocky asked as Billy just shook his head. "Then why did you let him?"

"What other choice do I have Rocky? He needs to be with her away from all of us, there is a lot of stuff that he has to straighten out right now," Billy said as Jason nodded his head in agreement, as much as he wanted to keep Kim up there with them, he knew that Tommy desperately needed time with her.

"And if she didn't get all the evil out of him?" Rocky asked as looked up at Zordon, hoping that he would be able to answer that question.

"If Tommy was evil he would feel no remorse for what he has done, you do not remember him when he was evil before, but he felt nothing for that until he came back to himself and when that happened the repercussions were worse than him actually being evil. Guilt will kill you," Zordon said as Rocky nodded and Jason let out a sigh. They all knew about the guilt that Tommy forever lived with and this was just going to be one more thing to add to his list of things that he wished he could go back and change if he had a second chance at life.

---------------

"I'm so sorry, Beautiful," Tommy whispered as he placed her down on the couch and then went to grab a blanket to drape over her. "You've been too good to me and you still don't know that I love you, I never stopped. I shouldn't have broken your heart like that, you are the one person that I…I got scared Kim. I got scared that I would lose you to someone else and before that could happen, I broke your heart. I love you and I just wish that you were awake so that I could tell you."


	6. Chapter 6

Tommy sat at her side for more hours than he could count, waiting for Kimberly to wake up. Billy had come in a couple of times, to make sure that they were not missing anything, but she still was solidly passed out. He could not believe that he was sitting here, staring at her lifeless form again and thinking about what he could have done differently.

Sadly, he knew that there was nothing that he could do to change what he had done. He had been influenced by evil and they knew just how far they could make him go, they had just never expected Kim. They had known that Tommy would not break out of it for any of the rangers, but they had never known about Kimberly. They never knew the pull that she had on him and when he hurt her, it broke all their hard work to make him evil. He came back to being himself and felt utterly sick knowing what he had done to her. She was already sick and now he had done this to her and he didn't know how she would recover. He was a fighter and was trained not to hold back and now that he had done that to her, he was not sure how to even react.

"Tommy, your mom called looking for you at my place, so you might want to be heading home," Jason said as Tommy just shook his head. He absolutely refused to leave her after what he had done. He wanted to be here when she woke up, even if the others didn't think that was the right thing to do. He needed to do that for his own sanity, so that he could say that she was going to be just fine. "It's not going to help any to just sit here."

"I did this to her…I can't leave until I know that she is all right," Tommy said as Kim let out a groan and they both looked down at her, hoping that she would finally wake up, but not doing much more. They both knew that she could moan and groan for hours before she would finally wake up.

"I know, but I don't think that you can risk any exposure, even if you are no longer a ranger. We don't need for you to be connected to us if we can help it," Jason said as Tommy just shook his head that he was not going to leave her, no matter what happened and who threatened to ground him for life, he was not leaving her now. Not when she needed him so much and he finally realized it.

"Let my mother find out, I don't care at this point, Jason. She's the one person that I am more than willing to die for, I would take her place today and go through all of this for her, but I can't so I'm not going to leave her…no matter what might happen to me," Tommy said as Kim let out a groan and shook her head as her eyes barely blinked open.

"What happened?" Kim whispered with a raspy voice as Tommy reached for her hand and she turned towards him. "I'm glad to see that you're back with us."

"I knocked you out," Tommy muttered as Kim pulled on his hand and sat up as he pulled her into a hug.

"I knew that you would," Kim said as he looked at her, in total shock that she had gone in there knowing exactly what would happen. "You were only going to come back for me and it was only if you hurt me, Tommy. I knew what I had to do to get you back."

"But you're already…" Tommy trailed off as she looked up at him and he took a peek down at her as she just shook her head up at him.

"You mean a lot to these rangers, you can't be taken away from them. They need you, even if you are no longer a ranger," Kim said as Tommy peaked at her and he leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Jase…can you give us…"

"Yeah," Jason said as he turned and walked away from the two of them.

"Tommy, do you want to know the reason that I really came to help you?" Kim asked as he looked down at her and barely nodded his head yes. He had been sure that there was something more behind it than her just volunteering. "It was something that Kat said. She came to tell me that they had captured you and I told her that I didn't think I had any pull on you anymore. Do you know what she told me then?"

"I can guess," Tommy said as Kim just shook her head.

"Why don't you try?" Kim suggested as he looked at her, she was not going to make this easy on him. She was going to make him admit just how much he had screwed up.

"She said that I would come back for you, because I had never loved anyone else but you," Tommy said as Kim barely nodded.

"Is that the truth, Tommy?" Kim asked as she gave him a semi-hopeful look. She was not sure that she wanted to know what he felt, but there was nothing that she could do about it. She had always hoped that he had not felt the way that he said he felt, but she couldn't help but think that he had meant every word in the letter that he wrote her.

"It's what I've been trying to tell you since you came back, but you just thought that I felt sorry for you," Tommy said as Kim gripped onto him even tighter and he just settled her body into his. He had missed being able to hold her like this and he knew that he was lucky that he was able to do this again. "Kimberly, please let me…"

"Tommy…" Kim trailed off as he kissed her cheek and she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "I still love you…"

"So do I," Tommy whispered as she pulled him in and he gently cradled her in his arms.

"Please, promise me that you will not leave me again," Kim said as he nodded and she reached up and gave him a kiss. "Thank you Tommy, thank you so much…"

"I'd gladly trade spots with you Beautiful, I hate seeing you like this," Tommy whispered as he rested his forehead against hers. "Do you want me to take you home?"

"With you," Kim said looking up into his eyes and he nodded and carefully picked her up and walked out to the back bay of the Command Center.

"You're awake!" Kat shrieked as she ran towards the two of them and gave Kim a hug as Tommy smiled over at her. "I'm so sorry that you had to come out there, it should have never come down to you."

"We all knew that it would," Kim muttered as Zordon looked down at her and she smiled up at him. "Hey Zordon…how have you been?"

"I have seen better times, Kimberly," Zordon said as Kim smiled up at him.

"I'm sure that it's not that bad Zordon," Kim said with a weak smile as Zordon just shook his head. He could not believe that she was still able to have such a good outlook on life.

"Can you teleport us to Jason's?" Tommy asked Alpha as he nodded his head and they felt the familiar sensation wash over them.

* * *

"Kimberly! Tommy!" Charlotte yelled as Tommy gave Kim a confused look. Alpha had never messed up his teleportations before, so it made no sense that he would now.

"I told you that they aren't here Charlotte," Marie said, calmly, as Charlotte paced around the living room.

"Then where are they if they aren't here or at my house?" Charlotte asked as Tommy looked towards the window and motioned to follow him outside. He already had a good story that his mom should fall for.

"Juice Bar?" Kim whispered to him as he nodded his head and reached over for her hand.

"Tommy, where have you been?" Marie asked as she opened the door and Kim and Tommy looked over at her.

"We've been at the Juice Bar," Tommy said as Marie gave Kim a thorough looking over before pulling her away from Tommy.

"Kimberly, you should not be taxing yourself like this. The doctor said for you to take it easy and you have done anything but that since you got here," Marie said as Kim looked over at Tommy, hoping for some help, but knowing that he would not be able to do much.

"I came back here to be able to die, not to get better, so I am going to spend all the time that I want with them because I don't know how much time I will have left," Kim said as Marie looked at her in shock. She knew that Jason had definitely skirted around some issues with her, but she had never imagined that it was all because Kim had not come back here to get better, but to enjoy her last days. "I know this might not work, so I want to have a chance with those that I care about."

"Kimberly, you can't just give up," Marie said as she just shook her head.

"I haven't given up, but I know that things may not be good for me," Kim said, calmly, as Tommy watched her carefully and realized that she was just putting up this strong front for everyone else, so that they would be able to take it better, but he knew that he would not be able to take it. He knew that if he lost her that he would just be a shell of his former self. The exact same thing had happened to him when he had written her that damned letter and he didn't know if he could survive it again.

"Was Jason at the Juice Bar?" Marie asked as Tommy shook his head no.

"There was not battle in town today, so he might have just decided to get some fresh air," Charlotte said as Tommy nodded in agreement as Kim looked over at him and saw that he had caught on to her scheme and that he was not going to let it go without talking to her about it. It was the very least that he could do to help her. She needed someone that she could cry to and not worry about upsetting them anymore than they already were.

"Come to think of it, those battles have not been nearly as bad lately," Marie commented as Kim shook her head as she smiled, if they only knew what had happened today, they would not be saying that.

"Maybe Mondo is finally learning not to mess with the rangers," Tommy said as the mothers just smiled and Tommy took that as his cue that it was safe for him to leave and take Kim with him and he quickly did so.

"Do you think that they'll ever tell us the truth?" Charlotte asked as soon as Tommy was out of ear shot and Marie just shook her head no. She was sure that if Jason was going to tell them that he was a ranger, he would have done it by now.

"I think that we're supposed to be kept out of all of it, although I certainly think that it would just be better for them to just tell us the truth," Marie said as she walked into the kitchen to make supper. "I guess that Tommy will be staying the night."

"By the looks of things, I'd say yes," Charlotte said as Marie smiled.

"They are good kids, I just wish that this was not happening to them," Marie said as Charlotte sadly nodded. She knew that Tommy had to have encountered the fact that Kim just came back here to let go, but it had to be hard to hear that from her. She had been trying to prepare him, but she couldn't, there was no way to prepare him to let go, when all he wanted to do was hold on tight and never let go of her. She just hoped that he would be able to do that. She didn't know if he could take losing her again.


	7. Chapter 7

"I've missed this," Kim whispered as she crawled into her bed and Tommy laid down next to her and she wrapped her arms around him and settled down on his chest.

"So have I," Tommy said as he looked down at her and saw exactly how tired she was. He didn't know how she had gotten through this day, but she had somehow managed it and he was forever grateful to her. "Sleep, sweetie, you need it."

"I'll be all right Tommy," Kim said as he just shook his head. He knew that she desperately needed rest that she had not been able to get because she was bringing him back to the good side.

"I want you to have a chance to get better, so please, rest while you can," Tommy said as she gave him a kiss on the cheek and then settled back on his chest and closed her eyes and she fell asleep in a few moments, exhausted from the day that she had been forced to deal with. "Beautiful…what am I going to do without you? What am I going to do if I lose you?"

"Tommy," Charlie whispered as she walked in the room and Tommy shushed her quickly. She did not need to wake Kim up or he would kill her. "I'm going home, get Jason to bring you if you decide to come home tonight."

"I'm staying," Tommy whispered back as she nodded. She had expected him to say as much, but she had wanted to give him the opportunity to lie if he felt that he needed to do that.

"Sleep, she's going to be fine, Tommy," Charlie said as Tommy smiled and she turned to leave.

"Tommy, you alone?" Jason muttered from the bathroom as Tommy looked at the door in confusion. He hadn't heard them teleport in, but that honestly didn't surprise him anymore. His concentration was rarely on whether or not an odd being was teleporting into his room, that was why they had caught him off guard this morning. He had thought that they would leave him alone, but he was wrong.

"Just me and Kim," Tommy said as the rangers fell out of the room and he smiled over at them.

"How are you?" Jason asked as Tommy wrapped Kim up tighter and Kat sat down on the other side of her.

"You did a good job," Kat whispered as she looked at the side of Kim's face.

"I don't know why she'd let me do that. She knew that I would…" Tommy trailed off as he stroked back her hair and she turned into him even more.

"She'd rather it be her than the rest of us. She knew that you'd come back for her when no one else could reach you. You have always come back for her Tommy," Tanya said as Tommy just stared down at Kimberly before looking away.

"She's given up too much for me. I don't deserve this after everything that I've done," Tommy muttered as Kim pushed him away and then rolled over him and ran for the bathroom.

"I was going to warn you about that," Jason said as Tommy stood to follow her and the rangers settled down.

"She's taking it rough this time, isn't she?" Kat asked as Jason nodded his head yes.

"I don't know how she made it through the day, she looked like she was going to take the anti-nausea medicine and pass out for the day when I left her this morning. She just didn't seem to have anything left in her," Jason said as they heard Kim throw up and Jason walked out of the room to get the medicine for her.

"I don't know if…" Billy trailed off as they looked over at him. They knew that he had to know more about her disease than he was letting on, ever since he had gotten the results from the scans he had seemed that way. He had seemed to know something that was eating him alive and now he was letting them know the truth. "My scans revealed things that scare me. She's worse off than any of us know."

"Except Tommy," Marie said as she said as she walked in and they looked over at her. "I think that she needs some time alone, guys."

"But we came…" Adam began as Tommy walked out and looked around in surprise.

"Go hang out in the living room," Marie said as Tommy walked over to her and took the medicine from her. "Tommy, you should…"

"I'm staying with her, don't tell me to go," Tommy said as Marie watched him and she gave him a hug. "I have to do this."

"You know that she loves you for all of this," Marie said as Tommy barely smiled as he turned to walk back into the bathroom.

"It's too bad it took all of this for me to realize that I need her," Tommy said closing the door and Marie stood there for a moment, contemplating what he had just said to her.

"Oh…" Kim moaned as she settled herself against the wall opposite of the toilet.

"How are you feeling?" Tommy asked sitting down next to her and she shook her head and he offered her the glass of sprite.

"Thanks, but…" Kim began as he held up the medicine and she just looked from it to him. "How did you…"

"Jason's mom brought it; she thought you might need it," Tommy said as Kim just shook her head. "When are you going back to the doctor?"

"Tomorrow," Kim whispered as he pressed the pill into her hand and she looked up at him in confusion. He had never been one to suggest taking medicine at a time like this, but it was obvious that that was now the only way to do this sort of thing. If she did not take the medicine, she would have absolutely no strength if she just left things this way.

"Take it, Kim, you are going to need all of your strength for tomorrow," Tommy whispered as she barely nodded as she popped the pill into her mouth and then took a gulp of sprite. "Adda girl, it's going to be okay, Beautiful."

"When are you going home?" Kim asked as she settled against him and closed her eyes to try to fight the round of nausea that was taking over her body.

"I'm going to stay tonight and we'll just go from there," Tommy said, simply, as he kissed her forehead. "Rest Kim, I've got you now."

"I never thought that you'd say that again…" Kim said as her last words turned into a yawn and he smiled as she snuggled against him and her eyelids drooped closed.

* * *

"How are you?" Jason asked as they looked at him.

"You know how we are Jason, don't even ask," Kat said as Jason sat down next to her. He could see the stress that was being pressed on each ranger and he knew that they were having just as hard a time dealing with this as Tommy was. "I don't like knowing that Kim is dying and there is nothing we can do about it."

"You have to let Tommy do what he can to help her. He seems to be the only one able to reach her. He's the only one that she even wants close to her," Jason said as Marie walked in and sat down on Jason's other side.

"They're not taking it well," Marie said as Jason looked over at her and saw the new worry in his mother's eyes.

"She told you, didn't she?" Jason asked as Marie nodded her head yes and he put his arms around her. "She needed to do that, Mom. If she didn't she was going to burst."

"You knew? Tommy knew?" Marie almost yelled as Jason nodded his head. "How could you?"

"How could I not? She trusts me and considering what Tommy has done that's a miracle. I knew that she had to do this on her own time, Mom. It was absolutely none of my business to tell," Jason said as Marie shook her head. She had not though that it would come down to this.

"Jason…I need…to cook…" Marie managed as she stood up and walked to the kitchen.

"Tommy, can't be…" Rocky trailed off as Tommy walked out and sat down next to Jason.

"How is she?" Jason asked as Tommy shook his head.

"I got her to take the medicine and she's passed out. I don't know how the doctor is going to be able to do that tomorrow, she seems too weak," Tommy said as they all nodded and he just covered his face.

"Tommy, she's going to be fine," Kat whispered as he shook his head no and they saw his back begin to shake. "Don't…she needs you."

"And I need her more…" Tommy sobbed as Jason looked down at him and saw the fear in his eyes. Tommy had known since the beginning that the outlook for Kim was not very good, but it had truly settled in since she had admitted the truth to Mrs. Scott. He had never heard her give up on herself like she now had. "I can't…I can't lose her…not again."

"Have you talked to her about this?" Kat asked as Tommy shook his head in denial. He knew that Kim did not need any more on her right now. "She needs to know how much you care because most of her hope is gone. She needs something to live for."

"And I don't need to put that on her, it's too much to have to deal with right now," Tommy said as Kim stumbled into the living room and walked over and sat down in Tommy's lap, before she quickly went back to sleep.

"This should prove it to you that you need to tell her," Kat said as Tommy quietly smiled down and then wrapped his arms around her.

"Telling her won't do me any good," Tommy said as they watched his disposition change and he began rocking Kim gently.

"And waiting until she's gone will make it worse," Kat said as Tommy looked over at her and then looked down at Kim. "Tommy it killed you to break up with her, it's going to kill you if you never let her know. We want you to be able to come back to us when all of this is over."

"Tommy…" Kim whispered as Kat saw Tommy glare at her before he looked down at Kim.

"Sleep, it's fine, don't let us keep you awake," Tommy muttered as she just shook her head that she was not able to. "What's wrong?"

"You're speaking in my ear," Kim murmured as she buried her face against the crook of his neck and he had to fight the way that his body was betraying him.

"You want to go back to bed?" Tommy asked as Kim shook her head no.

"I need you," Kim said, simply, as she dozed back off as he looked down at her.

"Tell her," Kat whispered as Tommy just shook his head and Kim actually looked up at him.

"Tell me what?" Kim murmured as Tommy pressed her head back against his neck and gently coaxed her back to sleep.

"Tommy, you have to…" Tanya said as Tommy looked over at her. They all knew that he needed to tell her and now they could badger him about it and he would not talk back. He didn't want to wake her up again.

"Just listen to me," Kat begged as Tommy barely nodded. "She needs you, she says that she does. Why won't you talk to her? She wants to be able to trust you, but you have to jump out there first."

"It's so much pain to go through," Tommy whispered as Marie walked back in and saw the look in Tommy's eyes.

"Tommy, you don't want her dying words to be that she loves you and for her to never hear how you feel," Marie said as Tommy looked down at the girl in his arms and continued to rub her back. "Let her know Tommy, before it is too late."


	8. Chapter 8

"Tommy?" Kim asked as she rolled over in her bed and she felt around for the warmth that had been there all night but was suddenly gone. "Tommy…"

"Hey," Tommy whispered as he sat down on the edge of the bed and she looked up at him. "I'm taking you today, you want anything to eat?"

"Only crackers, maybe some sprite," Kim said as she sat up and stretched out and she felt Tommy wrap his arms around her. "I can hold myself up, Tommy."

"I know, I just wanted to hold you," Tommy whispered as he gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Kim, can I take you out tonight?"

"I'll be exhausted Tommy and it's a school night, they'll expect you at school tomorrow," Kim said as she looked over at him and saw how desperate he was for this. She didn't know why he would need it, but she felt that she needed to do this for him. "I'll try, but I make no guarantees that I'll be able to make it. I know that I'll probably be sick."

"That's fine, I just want to be able to talk to you away from everyone else," Tommy said as Kim managed a smile as she stood up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm going to take a bath so that I can go in there relaxed," Kim said as Tommy nodded and then turned to leave the room.

"Is she actually going to?" Jason asked as Tommy nodded his head yes. "You know you can't bull crap around anymore. You have to tell her the truth of the matter or she is going to be suspicious."

"I know and it's what I have to do. If I lose her I want her to know everything because…if she doesn't what's the use of me feeling like this?" Tommy said as Jason nodded. He knew that Tommy had been up most of last night thinking about that very thing. He would not let this happen if he could help it. They had been through far too much already.

"Glad you thought it all out," Jason said as Tommy walked with him toward the kitchen and Marie spotted both of them.

"Did you actually get any rest?" Marie asked as Tommy nodded his head yes as he walked over to cupboard and pulled out some crackers and a sprite. "Her breakfast?"

"Yeah, I'll be back to eat in a little while," Tommy said as Jason looked over to his mother.

"How do you think he is, Jason?" Marie asked as Jason shrugged his shoulders. He could not read Tommy's thoughts right now. He seemed to be shutting himself off from everyone else and he knew that he should be worried about him because if Kim didn't make it, Tommy might not be able to either.

"He is shutting himself down mom, he's scared of what will happen to her and I don't blame him. She still has a long road ahead of her," Jason said as Marie nodded. She had seen some of the changes, but thought that it would not be a permanent change of Tommy's. She had thought that he would be able to pull himself together, but it was obvious to her that that was not happening anymore.

"So, what's for breakfast?" Tommy asked as Jason and Marie went silent, knowing Tommy probably heard all of it, but didn't want to bring it up. He knew he'd have to answer it all one day, but today was not that day. He just wanted to get through what he had to get through and then he would think about trying to explain his actions to everyone else. "How bad does she usually take it?"

"Today probably won't be a good day. She was too sick yesterday," Jason said as Tommy nodded.

"You didn't have to tell me about that," Tommy said as Marie placed a plate in front of him. "I don't know if I can eat all of this."

"You will need all of this, it's going to be a very long day," Marie said as Kim walked into the room and sat down at the table. "How are you today?"

"I feel a little bit better, but I just want to get this round of chemo over with. Dr. Mendez said that he was going to see if I'm qualified for the transplant after that," Kim said as Tommy looked over at her. "You okay?"

"I'm just thinking, Kim," Tommy said as she nodded and he went back to eating. He did not want too much hope to arise in his heart because he had finally settled into the harsh facts of what was happening to her.

"What happened to your cheek?" Marie asked as Tommy looked up guiltily and Kim gave him a reassuring smile. "What was that look for?"

"It's nothing," Kim lied as Jason and Tommy stole glances at each other and that was enough to let Marie know that there was much more to this story than meets the eye.

"Jason Lee Scott, you had better start talking young man," Marie said with a tone of seriousness that scared Jason more than anything else.

"Mom…it's really something that we can't talk about," Jason said as Marie just shook her head. She did not believe that her son could not tell her the truth about what had happened to Kimberly yesterday. It did not seem like this was something that would even be a problem, but it was now obvious that she was going to have to pull this out of him.

"I already know that you are a Power Ranger, Jason, you might as well spill the beans as to what happened to her yesterday before I take each one of you and interrogate you separately," Marie said as Aaron walked in and gave his wife a hug. He could tell that she was definitely in a very bad mood, but he no clue why that had happened. He had thought that she would not have a single reason to have that happen today.

"What have I missed?" Aaron asked as the three teens looked at the floor, hoping that that would save them from the pain and guilt that was coming their way.

"Our son is going to tell us how Kimberly wound up with a black eye," Marie said as Aaron looked over at them and then looked between Tommy and Kimberly. He could see that there was something between the two of them, but he didn't think that it was a secret of this magnitude.

"You know that it's a lost cause," Aaron said as Marie looked over at him in defiance and he just took a step away, he did not want to risk bodily harm.

"It's not a lost cause. Her health is poor enough already, something like this could push her over the edge," Marie said as Kim looked up and Tommy grabbed her hand in reassurance.

"I got this black eye from him," Kim said, gesturing towards Tommy. "I knew that I was the only one that could bring him back, I didn't have a choice about it."

"About what?" Marie asked as Tommy pulled Kim away from the kitchen, as he had noticed that they were running late.

"If I didn't allow him to hurt me, he'd still be evil and wreaking havoc all around the world," Kim said as Marie stood there in stunned silence and Jason just looked at the ground, hoping that this would all go away. He could only hope that he would wake up and this would not be happening, that it would only be a very bizarre dream like so many others.

"Evil?" Marie managed to mutter as she sat down in her seat and Jason barely nodded. "How many times has this happened?"

"To Tommy, a couple, the rest of us have only had it happen once, if it has happened at all," Jason muttered as Marie just stared at him in awe. "You really don't need to know about my ranger life, it's enough that you have figured it out on your own."

"I think that you are right," Aaron said as Jason stood to go grab his book bag and then head to school. "Marie, the kids have enough on them without you pestering them. I think that it is best to just leave it at the fact that you know and not really push anything else."

"Yeah, otherwise I'll keep finding out things like this that I don't want to know," Marie said as Aaron wrapped his arms around her.

"These kids are wonderful kids, Marie. You just have to trust that they know what they are doing," Aaron said as Marie barely nodded and then began cleaning the kitchen as Aaron started gathering his briefcase. They both had the distinct feeling that this was going to be a very long day.

* * *

"You okay?" Kim asked as Tommy settled down in the driver's seat and he looked over at her. "With what Jason's mom said?"

"Yeah, I'm fine with it," Tommy said, distractedly as he back out of the driveway.

"No, you're not," Kim whispered as she placed her hand on his knee. "You can always talk to me, Tommy, no matter how sick I am or whatever you think, you can always talk to me."

"I just always thought we did a good job, that no one would figure it out," Tommy said as he drove along and Kim smiled over at him.

"We never thought the day would come when you'd willingly give up your powers, but it has. Tommy, I wouldn't be surprised if all of our parents know, at least on some level, exactly what we do. They'd have to for us to never get in trouble for all of the things that we have done," Kim said as Tommy just smiled over at her. She did have a point and he knew it. He had just never really thought about any of this before now.

"Yeah, but can we really trust them to keep this a secret?" Tommy asked as Kim looked over at him and he felt the irritability coming off of her.

"Trust me, Tommy," Kim said as he barely nodded.

"You want to go see Zordon today?" Tommy asked as Kim barely nodded her head yes and he saw the distant look in her eyes. "You're going to get better."

"I want to, but…" Kim said as she looked out the window and silently covered her face. "It's just rough, Tommy. My life has been turned upside down and every time I think that I'm getting better, I just get worse news. I don't want to die, but I can't keep living like this, it's not a real life."

"What is worth fighting for?" Tommy asked as Kim looked over at him, surprised that he would go that far.

"Lots of things, freedom, fairness, to protect others…" Kim trailed off as they stopped at a stop light and Tommy turned to face her and she saw the frustration in his eyes. She was skirting around what he was really asking her and he could not take that right now. He needed a straight answer from her if he was going to be able to do what he had planned.

"That is not what I'm talking about and you know it. What will make you fight to live?" Tommy asked as Kim looked away from him and the light turned green, but he ignored it. He wanted her to answer him, he needed her to answer him. "You want me to talk to you, but you won't tell me whatever it is that will make it worth going through all of this?"

"Damn it, Tommy, I can't because telling you that is not going to help you move on when I'm gone," Kim said, rather angrily as she turned to him. "The only thing worth living for is you and right now I don't really know what I can possibly do to make this better. They won't give me the transplant and unless a miracle happens, I won't survive to see the new year. I want you to be able to live without me, Tommy."

"But I can't," Tommy whispered as the faint sound of a car horn registered and he finally looked up at the light and drove on towards the hospital. "I can't live without you, I've tried and I was a mess the entire time. I just want you, even if I can't have you for a very long time."

"I was afraid of this," Kim said muttered as they pulled up to the hospital and Tommy parked his jeep.

"You were afraid that I would care too much?" Tommy asked as Kim barely nodded and he reached over and squeezed her hand. "Well, I do and there is nothing that you can do to change how I feel about you. Kim, I…I…"

"You don't have to say anything else Tommy, we'll talk about it tonight," Kim said as she opened her door and gingerly got out of it, which made Tommy remind himself to get his mother's car this afternoon. He knew that she would be too tired to get into his jeep, unless he carried her, although he would not mind that at all.

* * *

"Hello, Kim," Dr. Mendez said as Kim walked into the treatment facility and he gave her a concerned look. "Yesterday was rough, wasn't it?"

"A little bit," Kim said as she sat down and held out her arm. She knew the procedure all too well by now and just hoped for the best.

"I'm not sure if you will be able to take it, I hope that you'll be strong enough," Dr. Mendez said as Kim looked down at the ground. "Do you want me to push it anyway?"

"I want to get better," Kim said as Dr. Mendez glanced over at Tommy who closed his eyes in an attempt to push back everything he was feeling. "I finally have a reason to live."

"You've had a reason to live this whole time," Dr. Mendez said as Kim silently shook her head no. "Why not? You have a family, friends, him…"

"She didn't have me for a long time," Tommy said as Kim looked at the floor. She did not want to talk about that right now if she could help it.

"That now makes sense," Dr. Mendez said as he took her blood as Tommy reached over for her hand. "Hopefully you'll be up to it. I'll be back in a little while."

"You've got me now," Tommy said as Kim looked up at him, still slightly skeptical. "I promise that you will not have to worry about that again."

"I'm glad for that," Kim said as Tommy looked down at her. "I missed you so much. I never thought that this would happen, that you'd…"

"I came to my senses, even if it took me far too long," Tommy said as Kim barely nodded. She had to agree that he had only realized this recently, but at least he did realize it. "You are the best person for me, Kim."

"How did you figure that one out?" Kim asked, sarcastically, as Tommy looked up at her and saw her smile. For a moment he had thought that she was serious and he had not known how he would explain himself.

"You do not need to know that," Tommy said as Kim laughed at him and he started laughing as well as Dr. Mendez walked back in.

"This is what I like to see," Dr. Mendez said as Kim looked over at him and her smile faded. "But I'm the one who is the bad guy here. You are on the line for letting you do this today, so if you don't think that you can take it…"

"I think that I'll be fine," Kim said as Dr. Mendez barely nodded and he waved for her to follow him and she grabbed Tommy's hand. "How about you?"

"I just want to stay with you, I'm sure that today is going to be hard enough as is," Tommy said as he put his arm around her and she leaned against him.

"I usually don't get sick until after I have the first two bags. Then I just have to force myself through the third one," Kim said as Tommy gave her a concerned look and she tried to give him a reassuring smile, but she couldn't manage it.

"Today is a more powerful batch," Dr. Mendez said as Kim looked over at him and he gave her a sympathetic look. "Then we'll give you the rest of the week and the weekend to rest."

"Okay," Kim muttered as she sat down and Tommy watched as she closed her eyes and tried not to let her face contort with pain, but he saw it anyway.  
"Well I'll leave the two of you to that and the nurse will be in to change out the bags when this one runs out. If you start feeling nauseated send him to find someone," Dr. Mendez said as Kim nodded her recognition and just tried to relax. "Watch her."

"I will," Tommy said as Dr. Mendez placed a hand on his shoulder and then left. "Kim you up to talking?"

"For the moment," Kim managed as he grabbed her hand and she looked over at him. "Tommy can you tell me what you were trying to say earlier?"

"I don't really want to here," Tommy said as Kim looked at him and he reached up for her face. "Kim, I want to help you…I want to know that you'll be happy and there is only one thing that I can think of Kim."

"What is it Tommy?" Kim asked as she saw the nervous look on his face. "Is this why you are so desperate to talk to me?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry but can you wait until this evening?" Tommy asked as she barely nodded and tried to get comfortable in her chair.

"Can you just?" Kim started tentatively as he reached over and picked her up before sitting down in her chair with her in his lap. "Thank you Tommy."

"You never have to thank me Kimberly," Tommy said as he watched her drift off and he tried to keep himself composed, but felt the tears coming before he could stop them.

"Kim has you wrapped around her little finger doesn't she?" Dr. Mendez asked as Tommy was playing with her hair as the silent tears fell down his cheeks.

"How am I going to tell her that I want to marry her?" Tommy whispered as Dr. Mendez looked over at him.

"That'll be the best news she has heard in awhile," Dr. Mendez said as he passed Tommy a piece of paper.

"What's this?" Tommy asked as Dr. Mendez sat down in the chair that Tommy had vacated.

"It's her numbers and I want to explain them to you," Dr. Mendez said as Tommy stared at the piece of paper before nodding. "The cancerous cells have decreased, but I'm afraid to do a bone marrow transplant. Everything that I have looked at lately does not make me happy."

"That's not something that I want to hear," Tommy said as Kim blinked her eyes open and Tommy went back to stroking her hair. He knew that she did not need to hear any of this.

"She needs more than I can get at the moment. If you know any way to help her, you need to let me know," Dr. Mendez said giving him a penetrating gaze. Tommy was not exactly sure what to think of it, but he had a feeling that this was going to be something that disturbed him.

"Do you know something about us that no one else does?" Tommy asked as Dr. Mendez smiled and passed him a coin.

"She dropped it last time she was here. I could always turn you in, but I think it would just be better for you to help her if you can," Dr. Mendez said as Tommy looked at him. "Have you even asked about it?"

"We're no longer rangers, I don't feel right asking for this sort of help," Tommy said as Dr. Mendez nodded his head.

"I'm afraid that she won't live without outside help," Dr. Mendez said as Tommy managed to nod. "I don't want to see this happen if you can help it."

"We're going to…a place where she could get some help. I'll see what they can do," Tommy said as Dr. Mendez nodded.

"Here is my number, call me when you find something out," Dr. Mendez said as Tommy barely nodded and the nurse walked in with the second bag. "I'll see you when she is done with everything."

"Hey, wake up," Tommy gently nudged her and she looked up at him. He could see the bags under her eyes and felt the pain it was for her to move. "They're putting on the second bag."

"Okay," Kim whispered as she placed her head back on his shoulder and she fell back into her slumber.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" the nurse asked as Tommy shrugged his shoulders. There was always a chance. "Do you teach karate at the Juice Bar?"

"I have a few times," Tommy said as she smiled.

"You're Tommy, my son just loves your classes, seems to think that you're a hero of some sort," the nurse said as Tommy smiled. He had missed that so much, but he knew that he needed to be with Kim now. "I'm Karen by the way, is this your girlfriend?"

"Hopefully my wife soon," Tommy said as she looked up at him with curiosity. She could tell that he was young, but she could also tell that he was hopelessly in love with her. "She deserves to be happy, even if it is only for a little while."

"Do you really care that much?" Karen asked as Tommy nodded and she smiled. "She's been waiting for you for awhile, I guess you may be the thing she needs to get better."

"How did you know?" Tommy asked as Karen sighed.

"The other guy that has come in with her made it blatantly clear that he was just there until someone much more important came," Karen said as Tommy nodded. "This should take the next hour, so try to sleep if you can."

"I will," Tommy said as he rested his head on top of hers and closed his eyes. He just hoped that it would all work out.


	9. Chapter 9

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, with Tommy carrying Kim out to his jeep at mid-afternoon. She was completely wiped out from the treatment and he could tell that tomorrow was going to be a very hard day for her, whether he liked that or not. He had made a promise to Jason that he would be at school tomorrow, but he didn't know if he could do that now, knowing exactly how much she was going to need him.

As he set his course for the Command Center, he thought of everything else that had happened at that place. The many tears that she had shed over him while she waited for him to wake up, the worriedness he had felt for her when she had been taken away from him. He had never thought to ask Zordon for help with this, he just didn't feel that it was right. But Dr. Mendez knew, he knew that they had been rangers and he knew that there had to be some sort of technology that would help them, if Tommy would only ask. He didn't know if he could put Kimberly's body through anything else today, but he wanted to ask Zordon. He knew that he desperately needed to try every avenue that he could find.

"Tommy…" Kimberly muttered as her eyes sleepily blinked open. Everything seemed slightly out of focus right now, but she knew that it would wear off in time, considering that she had just woken up.

"What is, Beautiful?" Tommy asked as he gently cupped her face and she leaned into his touch.

"I don't know if I can take seeing Zordon. Can you just take me home so that I can get some rest? I want to keep my promise to you," Kim said, weakly, as Tommy looked over at her and noticed exactly how tired she was.

"All right, I'll take you back," Tommy said as he turned down a side street and headed towards the other side of town, knowing that although he was going to drop Kim off, he was still going to go talk to Zordon. He figure that he would be able to steal a few minutes away just for that purpose.

"Thank you Tommy," Kim whispered as her eyes closed in tiredness and she fell back asleep as the hum of the engine lulled her back to sleep.

* * *

"Tommy, what are you doing here?" Billy asked as Tommy stepped into the Command Center and looked over at the one person that might be able to help Kim.

"I've come to ask you for help," Tommy said as Billy gave him a confused look. He did not see how he would be any help with what Tommy had planned today.

"I don't see how I can…that's something that you have to do on your own," Billy said as Tommy just shook his head. He should have known better than to think Jason would keep his mouth shut.

"Not with that; with Kim's treatment. Dr. Mendez found her power coin the other day and instead of turning us in, all he wants to know is if you can help," Tommy said, desperately, as Billy let out a long sigh.

"I thought it might eventually occur to you to ask, but I don't think I can. The Aquitarians have never dealt with anything like this. Zordon does not have any answers and I am not willing to experiment on my friend," Billy said as Tommy plopped down in a chair and covered his face with his hands. "You have to be able to let go and let her know that you'll find a way to live without her. That is why she came here, Tommy."

"It's impossible, I love her too much," Tommy said as Billy looked over at him. "There will never be anyone else like her."

"You can't compare, Tommy. You need to just look at life in a different way, a way that will allow you to be happy, even with all of the difficulties that it brings," Billy said as Tommy looked back at him.

"Do you think it will even do her any good for me to propose?" Tommy asked as Billy nodded his head yes. They all knew it would do her a world of good.

"You just have to know it won't be for long, but that does not mean that you love her any less and she will appreciate it. Tommy, you are the only person…" Billy said as a siren went off and Billy ran to the screen. The look as he turned back let Tommy know he would not like what was said next.

"Don't tell me that she has been…" Tommy trailed off as Billy barely nodded his head, as rays of light landed and Zordon appeared. "Give me my damn morpher."

"Tommy, you're not thinking clearly," Zordon said as Tommy glared up at him and Jason handed him his morpher. He was not risking bodily harm by disobeying that order.

"No Zordon, I'll be damned if I can't help her," Tommy said as the others looked at him as Jason silently placed his hand on Kat's shoulder and shook his head no. He did not need Kat to be injured in Tommy's rage.

"They are asking for you Tommy, there is no reason to give that to them when she will fight for you," Zordon said as Tommy just shook his head in disgust.

"Let me take her place, let me Zordon. The only reason this is happening is because of me. She doesn't deserve this to happen to her!" Tommy yelled as Zordon looked around at the others. They all seemed to be agreeing with him.

"Tommy, give them an opportunity…" Zordon trailed off as Tommy got as close to Zordon as he could.

"To do what? Kill her? Zordon, I'm already going to lose her, I don't want it to be any sooner than I can help," Tommy said in an icy tone as Zordon looked down at him in wonder.

"We can get you in, but there is no guarantee they'll let her go," Zordon said as Tommy nodded. He knew all the risks of going in there, but he had to risk it.

"At least I'll be there with her," Tommy said as Zordon knew that everything had been solved in his mind, he was done arguing the point.

"May the power protect you," Zordon said as Tommy was teleported away and Kat turned to face Jason, who wrapped her in a strong hug.

"They can't face this," Kat said as Jason tried to keep himself in check, he could see this turning out badly as well, but he couldn't allow himself to think that. He just couldn't.

"Tommy may be her only chance. We've got to give him a chance to do all of this," Jason whispered as Kat barely nodded. He did not think it best to force anything else out of her.

* * *

"Leave me alone!" Kim yelled as Mondo pulled at her clothing and she tried to push him away, but was too weak. The chemotherapy had taken all of her strength out of her and there was no way that she would be able to fight him. She just had to hope that they did not do anything too bad to her.

"Your precious Tommy is on his way, now I can make him pay," Mondo said as Kim shook her head. She had faith that the rangers would keep him far away.

"Leave her alone," the red ranger muttered as Mondo looked back at him and Kim looked over at him. She could tell by his build that it was Tommy, but she knew that Mondo was confused. He obviously expected Tommy to come without any sort of powers.

"You didn't send Tommy," Mondo said as Tommy stepped out from behind the red ranger and Kim stared, this could not be happening. She then noticed that the red ranger was holding something in his hand.

"I'm here, what more do you want from me?" Tommy asked as Kim watched him closely. She was sure it was not Tommy, but she still needed to act like it.

"Tommy no!" Kim yelled as Mondo looked back at her, now sure that it was Tommy as he grabbed his arms and Tommy gave her a piercing look.

"She goes free, let her go," Tommy demanded as the red ranger took Kim's hand and Mondo barely nodded at they teleported out.

"Now I have you all to myself," Mondo said as Tommy smiled.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Tommy said as he disintegrated and Mondo looked around for the source, but unbeknownst to him it had left along with Kimberly.


	10. Chapter 10

"Are you okay?" the red ranger whispered as he sat her down on the floor and she reached for the clips of his helmet. She had to make sure that she was right and that Tommy was the one that brought her back and that she had not left him in Mondo's hands. She didn't know if she could live with herself if she had handed him over to Mondo again. "Kim…"

"Why did you come for me?" Kim whispered as she pulled off his helmet and let out a sigh of relief as his hair fell down around his shoulders.

"Because I love you," Tommy said as she looked at his face, studying every minute action. She was waiting for something to let on that he was lying, but she could not find a thing. The only thing that she could see was his obvious worry for her and there was something else, something new. "Thanks for the weapon Billy."

"Never thought we'd have a reason to use it, but I'm glad I finally got it to work," Billy said as Tommy wrapped his arms around her and let the tears flow freely. He had been so worried that he would never be able to feel this again, that she would be gone forever.

"Kimberly, you are in grave danger here," Zordon said as she didn't take her eyes off Tommy and he looked at her and could see that she had not heard Zordon at all. She was too concerned with making sure that he was fine; she didn't care what anyone else was saying right now.

"Beautiful, look at me," Tommy whispered as she looked at him with the recognition that she had heard what he said. "Kim, Zordon says you are in danger here."

"I'm with you, I'll be fine," Kim said as his hands shook as he pulled her forward and kissed her forehead, before pulling her into a strong hug.

"I can't keep you safe anymore," Tommy said as the others took a step away and he felt her trying to look up at him.

"You're the only one I trust, don't pull away from me now," Kim said as she reached up and made him look at her. "Tommy, please, I'd do whatever I could to keep you safe. Don't do this, not now, not when I have just started to feel some hope."

"But if…Kim I don't think there is anything that we can do. It's not my choice here. You've got to be kept out of this," Tommy said as she just shook her head.

"I choose you a long time ago, Tommy. It is far too late for me to just turn away from you. I knew what I was getting into when I started dating you, I know what it is like to be a ranger and have all that responsibility, but I can't lose you now," Kim said as Zordon and Alpha exchanged glances before powering Tommy down and teleporting them away.

* * *

"I guess Zordon wants me to do what I planned," Tommy said with a smile as he looked around the area of the park that that had landed in.

"What do you have planned?" Kim asked as he gave her a hug.

"Be patient with me, I need to be able to get this out and it's going to take me awhile," Tommy said as Kim nodded, never having seen him act this nervous before. "I don't know where to start."

"I think the beginning would be a good idea," Kim said as Tommy looked over at her and saw a patient smile on her face.

"Kim, I know that last year I made a mistake and before I did that I had gotten something for you. Kim, I want you to know I'm not doing this because I feel bad for you, but because I love you," Tommy said pausing as Kim nodded her head, although she was extremely confused as to why he was doing this now. "Kim I never thought about anyone but you, I was just stupid. I thought you'd hurt me, so I hurt you first. Kim I want to give you the one thing you deserve from me, the one thing that means more to me than anything else."

"What's that?" Kim asked as he pulled her up and she looked up at him.

"My heart," Tommy said as he dropped to one knee and she stared at him in shock.

"Tommy?" Kim questioned as she could only stare at him.

"Will you make me the happiest man alive and be my wife?" Tommy asked as he placed the ring on her finger and she could only stare at him. "Kim…"

"I…I…you know I might not…" Kim trailed off as he nodded and she reached down to grab his hands as she tried to hold in her tears. "I will Tommy."

"Kim…" Tommy trailed off as he stood up and threw his arms around her. "Do you want to go home?"

"I'd like too…but if you want to stay here for a little while, we can," Kim said as he looked down at his wrist and saw the communicator sitting there.

"Let's get you home, you need some rest after today," Tommy said as he pressed his communicator and Zordon's voice answered.

"We'll send you home Tommy and congratulations," Zordon said as Kim smiled at him and they then landed in her room.

"I'm going to take a bath Tommy, try to get something to eat and call your parents," Kim said as he gave her a kiss on the cheek and barely nodded.

"We'll figure it out Kim," Tommy said as he let her go and watched her walk away.

* * *

"Tommy…don't scare me like that!" Marie yelled as she walked in and grabbed her chest from the shock. "When did you get here?"

"A few seconds ago, she's taking a bath," Tommy said as Marie looked at him very carefully and then shook her head.

"I'm glad you went through with it Tommy," Marie said as he gave her a confused look. "Jason told all of us what you were planning, I'm glad you didn't get cold feet. She needs you Tommy, only you."

"Tommy," Kim muttered as Marie looked at him.

"Go check on her," Marie said as he looked over at her and she nodded that it was fine. "She wants you to take care of her; it's time that you do."

"Kim," Tommy said peaking into the bathroom and she looked back at him and motioned for him to come inside. "What's wrong?"

"I'm dizzy," Kim whispered as he reached over and she clutched to him. "Can you help me?"

"Sure, what do you need help with?" Tommy asked as she looked up at him.

"My hands…they're shaking too much…I can't hold myself up…and I just need some help," Kim said as Tommy sat her down on the edge of the tub and turned on the water.

"How hot?" Tommy asked as she placed her hand under the stream of water and nodded that that was fine.

"Tommy I hate to ask this, but…" Kim began as she looked down at her shirt and jeans and then over at him. She physically couldn't pull it off and she hated to ask this of him.

"It's okay," Tommy whispered giving her a kiss on the cheek and then gently pulling at her shirt and she lifted her arms with difficulty and he took in her body. She had always been a small girl, but he had never been able to see her bones the way that they were now and he also saw various sized bruises. He then picked her up and unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans and then pulled that off as well. "Can you get the rest?"

"Not the bra," Kim whispered as he looked at her and he then reached around and undid it quickly and she smiled at him. "Thank you."

"You do not have to thank me," Tommy said as he gently squeezed her hand and she looked up at him. "Take your bath, I'll be in the kitchen, so call if you need anything."

"Okay," Kim muttered as he turned to leave the bathroom, knowing that she still wanted her privacy, actually more accurately she needed her privacy.

"How are you doing Tommy?" Marie asked as Tommy let out a sigh. He was not exactly sure how he was right now, but he knew that things looked better right now.

"All right, I guess, I'm just not sure where things will go from here. If she doesn't get better, I won't love her any less, but it'll just be rough," Tommy said as Marie nodded. She could not help but agree with him completely.

"Right now all she needs is you, she needs to know that you'll never leave her," Marie said as Tommy barely nodded. He loved this girl, there was nothing else that he could even compare it to and he was sure that his life would end if hers did. "But she also needs to know something else. She needs to know that you will be able to survive without her."

"I don't think that I can," Tommy said as Marie let out a sigh. She had been afraid of hearing that.

"She needs to know that you can go on without her, even if you'll love her for the rest of her life, she needs to know that you will be able to find someone else, Tommy," Marie said as Tommy just sipped on the sprite. That was something that he had not really thought about and it was something he was uncomfortable with. What would he do without her?


	11. Chapter 11

The weeks passed and the treatments continued, but nothing seemed to help as Kim's health only continued to deteriorate. They had set a tentative date to get married, but Tommy feared she wouldn't make it that long. He had all but quit school, as he did the required work, but hardly ever went to school anymore, expect to take a test every once in awhile. The fact that Mondo had seemed to lessen his interest in him did make him feel better, but he knew even that was temporary. Mondo would eventually realize that he had been the ranger to rescue Kimberly and he did not know what would happen then. He couldn't risk anything happening to her, but he knew that there was always that small chance and it haunted him.

"Hello, Tommy," Dr. Mendez said as he walked into the chemotherapy room and Tommy looked up from the homework that he was doing long enough to acknowledge the doctor. "I have some news for you."

"What's that?" Tommy asked looking over at Dr. Mendez as Kim slept in 'her' chair and Tommy sighed. He had been praying for something good, something that would make all of this better, but there was nothing that could do that right now, unless she was getting better.

"We're going to do the transplant," Dr. Mendez said as Tommy spit out his drink and began coughing as he tried to regain his composure. He was sure that he had heard him wrong. For the last month, all that they had been saying was that they would not be able to do the transplant, she was not healthy enough. "She's responded well the last month and her numbers are stable enough. Now, her brother will be coming in next week, so we can run tests. If everything looks good, we'll begin the process sometime the week after that."

"But what exactly does that mean?" Tommy asked as Dr. Mendez looked over at him and then looked down at the ground.

"We will have to eliminate all of her bone marrow, by giving her extremely high doses of chemotherapy and then we will give her a transfusion of healthy bone marrow, but during this time she will have to be in an isolation unit, in order to prevent infection while she is regaining her immune system," Dr. Mendez said as Tommy looked down at the ground. He knew it meant that he would be separated from her and the thought alone killed him. But he wanted her to live, he needed her to live. "And I have to be honest with you Tommy, this is not a surefire cure. She might still have complications and there is a small chance that she could die of infection, but that is why the isolation is necessary."

"So I'll be able to look at her through a glass window," Tommy said as Dr. Mendez shook his head no. "You just said I can't be with her."

"Actually, you can. She is allowed one person to be with her and if she chooses you and you are willing, then you will both be placed in that room," Dr. Mendez said as Tommy nodded that he understood. "I'm going to talk with her about all of this tomorrow, I just wanted to give you the heads-up. You're going to have to get your arrangements settled with school as soon as you can."

"Dr. Mendez, I didn't think that this was possible," Tommy said as he wiped his eyes as he cried tears of joy. He had never been so relieved in his life, to know that Kim might have a chance to actually make it through this.

"It is, but that has more to do with you than anything that we have done. She found a reason to fight, Tommy, don't sell yourself short. She is just as much in love with you as you are with her. You are her reason to keep going," Dr. Mendez said as Tommy barely nodded. He knew some of it, but he had never had it put so bluntly, especially from someone who did not truly know them. "She should be done within the hour, take her somewhere where the two of you can talk…I don't care if you spill the beans, Tommy."

"Thanks, I don't think I could keep that secret from her now," Tommy said as Dr. Mendez nodded. He was sure that it would mean more to her for it to come from Tommy than it would for it to come from him, in a sterile hospital room.

"Have a good day, Tommy," Dr. Mendez said as he exited the room and Tommy placed his math book down on the table sitting next to him and he let out a long sigh. He could not believe that this was happening to them right now. He had all but given up hope, although he was trying to convince Kim that nothing would happen to her. He just was grateful that everything might turn out all right.

* * *

"You seem happy," Kim said as they walked out to his car and he smiled over at her. He was ecstatic, but he was not sure that he needed to tell her everything here. He wanted to wait and talk to her this evening, while she sat at the Juice Bar, enjoying their friends.

"I am…I've got a surprise for you this evening," Tommy said as Kim just shook her head. It seemed to her that he had a surprise for her every other day, but it kept her spirits up and that was something that she would always be indebted to him for.

"Well, as long as that means I can still go to the Juice Bar, I think that I'll be all right with it," Kim said as Tommy nodded his head and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Come on, school is about out…we can go home and get you something more comfortable," Tommy said as Kim shook her head no.

"I'm fine in what I'm in Tommy, I should be comfortable enough, considering the fact that I have been sitting in a chair for the last four hours," Kim said as Tommy nodded his head in concession and then smiled. He didn't know if he would be able to contain himself, but he wanted to wait until they were alone tonight. He thought that she might have enough energy to actually be excited about it then. "I haven't seen you smile like that in awhile."

"I haven't had a reason to be this happy in awhile," Tommy said as Kim gave him an odd glance. "Just let it be a surprise, all right?"

"Okay," Kim said with a weak smile and he reached over for her hand. He had never expected this to be how their engagement began, but he still loved her, more than anyone knew and he knew that this was what he needed to do. He knew that this was the place where he belonged. He did not belong doing anything else right now, except love and take care of her.

* * *

"Why are we coming out here?" Kim asked as Tommy led her out to the lake and he sat her down on one of the rocks, before sitting down next to her.

"It's just a nice place Kim…now I have some news for you," Tommy said as Kim looked over at him, realizing that he had brought her here to talk about what he had eluded to earlier.

"What's that?" Kim asked, curiously looking up at him as he smiled down at her.

"They can do the transplant," Tommy said as Kim stared at him, in complete and utter shock before she threw both of her arms around him. "Glad that made you happy."

"I love you Tommy…I love you…" Kim whispered as she buried her face in his hair and he just rocked her back and forth in his arms. "I've actually got a chance…"

"I know, Dr. Mendez will explain more to you the next time that you go in," Tommy said as Kim smiled and then kissed him, which surprised him some. She had not had much energy lately to do anything more than give him a tired hug and an automatic peck on the lips. This was much more this time and he was glad to see that she had some of her strength back. "I love you too."

"You know what this means?" Kim asked, pulling back from him for a moment and he nodded his head. "There's just one thing Tommy…"

"What's that?" Tommy asked as her eyes met his and she looked away from him, trying to gather her thoughts.

"We may never be able to have kids…there's a chance that the chemo…" Kim managed to choke out as he tried to not show how much that hurt him, but he loved her any way. It did not matter if they could never have a child, they could have each other.

"Kim, don't…let's just get you well first," Tommy said as he gave her a kiss on the cheek and she smiled down at him.

"Tommy, you have no idea…" Kim trailed off as she gave him a kiss and he felt everything that she was unable to say to him coming out through this. He loved her and he knew that if anyone could make it through this it would be her. She had survived so much already and it was only right that she get a chance to really have a full life.


	12. Chapter 12

"Here's to the last day with bone marrow!" Jason said as Kim smiled. They were all celebrating her transplant and their last chance to be together for several weeks. All of them were having a hard time believing that everything had turned around in such a short amount of time. A few weeks ago they had been sure that Kim wouldn't make it to see Christmas and now they knew there was a good chance that she would be home, with all of them by Christmas and better than she had been in almost two years.

"Thanks, Jase," Kim said as she gave him a hug and then turned around to face the others. "Thank you all for doing this."

"It's not a problem Kim, we'll always be here for you," Kat said as she barely nodded. They all could tell that something was bothering her, they just weren't sure what it was. "What's wrong?"

"Tommy…where is he?" Kim asked as Jason and Billy exchanged a glance. "Guys, where is he?"

"He had to take care of some things Kim…he'll be here in a little bit," Jason said as Kim barely nodded. She was on pins and needles right now and she really needed him. She knew that he'd be there tomorrow and for the next several weeks, but it was eating at her that he was not here right now.

"Okay," Kim said as she sat down and the other rangers quickly exchanged glances. They could tell that she needed him there, but they were not going to tell her what he was up to. She'd kill them if she found out about it all.

* * *

"Zordon, are you sure that this will work?" Tommy asked as it had recently been brought to his attention that Mondo could still track him at every move and he did not want to deal with that over the next few weeks. He had to be able to devote himself to her and not worry about some monster capturing him somewhere in between.

"I'm sure Tommy, the question is, do you truly wish to rid yourself of your powers?" Zordon asked as Tommy barely nodded. "Once you have done this there is no going back."

"I need to do this. Zordon I can't have anything else on my mind except her for the next few weeks," Tommy said as Zordon nodded.

"If you are sure, then I am sure as well," Zordon said as Tommy laid down on the cot and Alpha connected him to a machine in order to begin the short, but rather harsh treatment.

* * *

"Kimmie…" Rocky said sitting down next to her and she looked up at him and just shook her head. "He has a good reason, you just have to trust us on this one."

"Why wouldn't he tell me?" Kim asked as Rocky looked around at the others.

"He just wants to make things easier on you, everything will be perfectly fine, Kim," Rocky said as Tommy walked in the front door and saw the look on Kim's face and he immediately cringed.

"Hey," Tommy said as he sat down next to her and she looked up at him, rather confused and very pissed at him. "Kim…please, just trust me when I say that I had to do this."

"I do," Kim said, tiredly, as she leaned against him and he started rubbing her side. She looked so weak to him and he knew that tomorrow was going to be rough on her, but at least he would be able to be there. After many long talks with their families it had been decided that Tommy would stay with her. She wanted no one else to be there with her and in order for her to get well, they thought she should get that at the very least.

"Come on," Tommy said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her up away from the others. "Kim, I didn't want to worry you about what was going to happen this evening."

"What do you mean?" Kim asked as he walked her outside and they sat down in the grass.

"Zordon and Alpha drained my remaining powers today. A couple of weeks ago we found out that Mondo could still track me and they went to work trying to get it to where I wouldn't have to worry about that," Tommy said as Kim looked over at him and just shook her head.

"I can't believe you," Kim muttered as he tilted his head to try to get a glance at her eyes. "Tommy, how could you have even thought…"

"Kim, if I didn't do this then there was a chance that he'd be able to get to me while you're in recovery…I couldn't do that to you," Tommy said as Kim looked up at him and then threw both her arms around him.

"Sometimes you worry me so much Tommy," Kim said as Tommy held her close to him and just rubbed her back. "How are you taking this?"

"I'm okay…I know that this is how you are going to get better," Tommy said as she smiled up at him and then gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too," Kim whispered as she leaned against him. She was so tired and she just wished that he would take her away from all of this, but he couldn't. She was going to have to go to the hospital tomorrow and go through the transplant and only after that could he truly help her.

"What do you want to do?" Tommy asked as Kim looked up at him. She was not sure if she wanted to answer the question that he was asking. She was so tired and all she wanted was sleep, but she knew her friends wanted to be supportive and make her feel somewhat better. "I take that as sleep."

"Yeah, sorry I'm just exhausted," Kim said as Tommy barely nodded and then pulled her up with him, before picking her up and carrying her inside.

"Hey guys," Tommy said as they looked over at him and saw that Kim was already starting to nod off. "I'll be right back."

"All right, Tommy," Kat said as Jason wrapped her up in a hug and she laughed as he picked her up. "You're certainly in a good mood."

"You're right I am…Kim's going to get better, two of my best friends are happy again, and I've got myself a good girlfriend," Jason said with a smile as Kat looked back at him.

"Don't the two of you start getting all mushy on us," Rocky said as Jason looked over at him and he just shook his head. Leave to Rocky to say something like that at a time like this.

"Hey guys," Tommy said as they looked over at him. "Well, I'm a cured man…at least of my ranger powers."

"How'd she take that?" Jason asked as Tommy looked down at the floor.

"She took it pretty well, at least she didn't yell at me for it, but I don't think that she's too happy about it," Tommy said as the others nodded. They had known that Kim would not be too happy, but everything would be all right, one way or another. "I just couldn't risk it and I hope she understands."

"I'm sure that she does Tommy, she's just had a rough couple of weeks," Jason said as Tommy nodded his head. He knew that better than anyone else, but he had to try to keep himself composed. It would not do her any good to see him upset about all of this.

"So, how are you?" Tanya asked as Tommy looked away from them.

"I'm still worried, it's not going to be a quick fix and if things don't go good…" Tommy trailed off as they all looked at him.

"Tommy, don't worry about it, she'll be fine…you just have to believe it," Adam said as Tommy barely nodded.

"I know, but it's still going to be rough," Tommy said as they all nodded their heads. Tommy was taking on something that most teenagers would never have to deal with and this was just one more thing to add to his list.


	13. Chapter 13

"Tommy, it was as successful as to be expected," Dr. Mendez said as he walked out into the isolation room and Tommy barely nodded. He had not expected to hear much more about her condition than that. "Have you scrubbed down everything already?"

"Yeah, I have," Tommy said as Dr. Mendez nodded and then looked him over.

"You have even taken care of your clothing?" Dr. Mendez asked as Tommy nodded.

"Yes, all of it was washed right over there this morning when I got here and I took your advice and just didn't bring any shoes," Tommy said as Dr. Mendez nodded.

"She'll be out in a few minutes, but she's going to be very weak Tommy. You've taken all those antibiotics I gave you?" Dr. Mendez asked as Tommy nodded his head yes. They had wiped out about any sort of illness that he could possibly have over the last several weeks. "Okay then, I'm going to leave you to it."

"Thanks," Tommy said as he sat down in one of the chairs and started fiddling with his hair, nervous about what was to come. As much as he had tried to prepare, he was sure that this was going to be hard on him to say the least. He had never seen Kimberly as weak, but she was going to be right now and he was going to have to just do what he felt in his gut was best, which was definitely different from what others thought she would need.

"Mr. Oliver," Karen said as she wheeled Kimberly into the room and Tommy looked up from his chair. "How are you today?"

"I'm all right, Ms. Carlton," Tommy said as Karen shook her head. The poor boy was going through something that most grown men could not take without having a severe breakdown. The love of his life was alive, but they all knew that it was going to be a very long road to recovery.

"Kenny has been missing you at the youth center. He says that Jason isn't nearly as fun," Karen said as Tommy smiled. He honestly couldn't wait to get back there as well, but right now he couldn't.

"I'll pass that on to him," Tommy said as Karen looked at him with wide eyes. "He's one of my good friends."

"Oops," Karen said as Tommy just shook his head.

"No, I need this, I need something to take my mind off of it all," Tommy said as Karen nodded and Kimberly started to wake from her sleep.

"I'm going to go now, Tommy, but if you need anything, there is a call button right over there," Karen said, pointing to the red button on the wall and Tommy nodded his head in recognition before pulling his chair closer to Kimberly's bed.

There were dark purple, almost black circles under her eyes. Her body was completely exhausted and he expected that she would sleep most of the night what with everything that she had been through so far. This morning she had gone into surgery at the crack of dawn and her brother had done the same. While Kevin was fine and up and walking after only a few hours, Kim's operation had been slightly more complex. The doctor's wanted to try to not hurt her any more, considering what her body had already been through. They, however, had been more invasive than planned and therefore Kimberly had been sedated more heavily than planned.

"You are so much stronger than I could ever be," Tommy whispered brushing back her hair and giving her a gently kiss on the temple before reaching for her hand and settling his own there.

* * *

"Damn it, she's still my child Eric," Melody Dumas said as she looked over at her former husband.

"Melody, I know, but it's time that we let her live her life. She chose that she didn't want you or me with her. She chose Tommy, for whatever reason, she chose him. We all agreed to this two weeks ago, why are you so worried now?" Eric Hart asked as Melody looked away from him.

"She could die, Eric," Melody said as Eric looked down at the ground. "You don't care that we can't be with her and she could die?"

"It's not that Melody, it's more or less the fact that I know she loves that boy and no matter what we do he is the one that she is going to turn to now, not us. She's growing up and it's probably faster than you want," Eric said as Charlie and Daren walked over with four cups of coffee. They had been here together all morning and although it was not their daughter, she might as well be. Tommy would not leave her side unless a monster abducted him, but they had been assured that that couldn't happen. They didn't know how Tommy guaranteed it, but they were not questioning him right now.

"She's seventeen, I she doesn't know what love is," Melody said as Charlie passed her a cup of coffee.

"I thought the same thing and then I saw the two of them together, I saw the way that he can make her feel better in a moment. Mrs. Dumas, I know that it is hard to believe but I have seen my son care for her in ways that he would never care for anyone else," Charlie said as Melody looked over at her. "I know it hurts that she chose him, but he learned his lesson."

"I'm sure," Melody said as Charlie let out a sigh. "Why are you here anyway?"

"Melody, there is no need to be rude," Eric said as Charlie and Daren exchanged a glance.

"We're here because we care about Kimberly and we also care about our son. They are both going to need to know that we all still care about them while they are isolated from the world," Charlie said as Melody just shook her head.

"When this started, I thought that she would just go through chemo and get better, now that all of this has happened, I'm not sure what to think," Melody said as Charlie nodded. "I mean she might never be able to have children and that has to have some affect on him. Has he even thought about it?"

"I'm sure that she has brought it up to him," Charlie said as Melody looked over at her. "The two of them are just happy to know that she has a chance now. Two months ago, they were looking at a speed wedding just so that they would be able to have one before she died. Now, they are starting to think about something after graduation…if any one deserves to have a chance, it is the two of them."

"You sound like you know something that I don't," Melody said as Charlie let out a sigh. Yeah, she knew that the both of them had been rangers, but she did not think that Kim would appreciate that being revealed to her parents right now.

"I've just been around them more lately, that's all," Charlie said as Daren looked over at her and barely nodded his head in agreement. They couldn't go spilling their secret here, in the middle of a hospital. They had the feeling that the day would come when Kim and Tommy admitted it to everyone, but that time was certainly not now.

"Mr. Hart, Mrs. Dumas?" Dr. Mendez said as he stepped out into the waiting room and saw four adults sitting there in conversation. He had no clue which ones were Kim's parents, but he was hoping that they would respond to their names.

"Yes," Eric and Melody said in unison as they turned towards the doctor.

"She's come through the surgery just fine, she's just very weak right now and we had to sedate her more heavily than I would have liked, but she will probably be grateful for the extra sleep. We're going to see how things go for the next couple of weeks and see where her numbers are then. After that we'll decide about everything else. To be honest I think that it will be at least a month before she can leave, but it all depends on how fast her body recovers," Dr. Mendez said as they nodded. "She's still sleeping right now, but if you want to go take a look at her, you can."

"I think we just need to get some rest and we'll come see her in the morning," Eric said as Melody looked over at him and then nodded. She had not been planning on staying in Angel Grove more than a couple of days, but now she was reconsidering everything that she had ever thought about before.

"Do the two of you want to come to our house for supper? I'm sure that the hotels around here can't be much like home," Charlie said as Melody and Eric nodded that they would appreciate it. After almost a full day at the hospital, they needed a break from the bland scenery of people they didn't know. They could only hope that everything would get better, it not, they were not sure what they would do.


	14. Chapter 14

"Tommy," Kim muttered as she looked down and felt a weight on her stomach and saw Tommy lying there. She didn't want to wake him, but she desperately needed to go to the bathroom and knew that she did not have the strength to move him on her own. She barely had the strength to shake his shoulder, but she had no choice in the matter. "Tommy, wake up."

"Five more minutes," Tommy whispered as Kim smiled down at him. Leave it to him to forget where he was and think his mom was trying to wake him up for school. His hair half covered his face as he rolled away from her and she laughed.

"Tommy…come on," Kim begged as Tommy forced himself to sit up and he looked up at her. That was when the recognition hit and he reached up and gave her a hug. He was surprised to see her awake, he had thought that she would sleep through the night without any problems. "You feel good, but I need to go to the bathroom."

"Can you?" Tommy asked as she shook her head no. Her legs were too weak to support her right now and Tommy could see that in her eyes as he scooped her up and carried her over to the bathroom. This was why he was here and he was glad to know that he could help.

"I love you, Tommy," Kim whispered as he placed her on her feet and then turned to walk back out. He knew his place here, he knew that she still needed some privacy from him. There would be a day very soon when he wouldn't have to do this anymore, but he had no choice about it right now.

"I love you too, yell when you need me," Tommy said as she barely nodded as he went to stand right outside the door.

"He's too good for me," Kim muttered to herself as she managed her business and then looked over at the door. She was not sure how to react to this anymore. She was not sure where they stood. They were in an odd place between just being boyfriend and girlfriend and getting married. He was the one person that she could trust to be there for her and make sure that she would be all right. She knew that her parents didn't understand this, but his did. His knew just how hard it was for her to do things without him and just how much him just being there comforted her. "Tommy!"

"Yeah," Tommy said as he peaked back in and she had already forced herself to stand, but he could tell her legs were likely to give at any moment. "Got you, come on, I'll take you back to bed."

"Can you be my pillow?" Kim asked as Tommy smiled down at her. He was sure that the doctors wouldn't really appreciate it, but this was what she needed and that so happened to be something that he wanted as well. He had gotten used to sleep with her next to him every night and it was much harder now for him to do that without her there.

"Yeah, I can," Tommy said as he placed her in the hospital bed and then crawled in next to her and she snuggled herself closer to him and he saw her eyes close as she quickly went back to sleep. "Sleep Beautiful, sleep good."

* * *

"Mr. Oliver!" Karen exclaimed as Tommy shot up from the bed the next morning as he heard his named practically being shrieked. "What on earth are you thinking?"

"That this is the only way that she was going to sleep after waking up last night," Tommy explained as he looked down at Kim, who had miraculously not awoken when she was slung off his chest.

"Haven't your parents given you any sort of boundaries?" Karen asked as Tommy shook his head no. The only thing that they had said to him was that he was to take care of her and in his mind that meant doing whatever was necessary to make sure she was all right.

"It's not like she's in any condition for us to…" Tommy trailed off as Karen blushed. Even as a grown woman, she didn't like the idea of hearing that sort of confession. They were teenagers and although she fully expected that they had experimented, she did not want to hear about it and she had just opened that subject right up.

"I didn't expect her to wake up last night," Karen said as Tommy nodded his head in agreement. He had thought the same thing, but he had been happy to see her awake last night. It let him know that she was getting over the sedation medication all right. "How was she?"

"She didn't seem like she was doing too bad, it's just that she was really weak. She couldn't exactly stand on her own," Tommy said as Karen nodded. She had expected that, she had seen that from so many patients before.

"I need to check her vitals, but then I'll let you get back to sleep," Karen said as Tommy nodded before Karen walked around the bed to Kim's side. The poor girl had more bruises than any girl her age should have, but there was nothing that she could do about it. This disease was rough on everyone that it affected and she hated that it usually affected the young, that had so much more to live for.

"Thank you, so much, for last night," Eric said as Charlie looked over at him.

"It was the least that we could do for you," Charlie said as they all walked down the halls towards Kimberly's room. It was a special sort of room and if any of them wanted to go in, they would have to scrub down and put on masks. Of course her parents wanted to see her, but they were not sure if they were going to go inside just yet.

"Her room should be somewhere nearby," Melody murmured as they walked past the rooms with large windows that contained others that had to stay away from the rest of the world. "Eric, do you really think we made the right decision by letting that boy stay with her?"

"Melody, she made the choice on her own. We are her parents, but we are not much more to her right now, you just have to remember that. She's going to get married soon and everything will work out just fine," Eric said as Melody stopped dead in her tracks and the others looked over at her, wondering why she had even stopped.

"Why is he sleeping with her?" Melody almost screeched as Eric looked over at the room and then down at Melody.

"I'm sure that she has a hard time sleeping without him there now," Eric said as Charlie and Daren took a step back. They did not want to get in the line of fire if they could help it, but there was always a chance that this would all be blamed on them, very soon.

"They've been sleeping in the same bed!" Melody yelled as she wheeled on Charlie and Tommy woke up from the commotion that he could hear outside.

"She has a hard time sleeping, even if she's tired. He's been helping her get to sleep lately," Charlie explained as Tommy looked towards the window and couldn't help but glare at their parents.

"You should have never…" Melody started as Tommy rapped on the window and they all looked towards him and he motioned over to the intercom, so that he could talk to them.

"Could you please keep it down, I just got her back to sleep," Tommy said as Melody just glared at him and she silently dared him to continue talking.

"You should not be getting her back to sleep young man, you have a bed, right over there," Melody said as she pointed towards the empty bed and Tommy looked over at his parent's hoping that they could explain this, so that he would not have to.

"I tried Tommy, it didn't work," Charlie said as Tommy nodded his head and then pressed the button on his side to begin talking again.

"I've been helping her get to sleep for the last few weeks and I know that you probably don't like the idea of her sleeping in the same bed with me, but I can promise you that we have done nothing more than sleep," Tommy said as Melody just stood there, in complete and utter confusion. She did not like the idea of doing any of this, but there was nothing that she could do about it. Her daughter had chosen this boy to stay with her instead of someone else.

"Fine, when will she be up?" Melody asked as Tommy just shrugged his shoulders.

"She's still sleeping off the sedation, I'd give her a couple more hours, at the least before she wakes up again," Tommy said as Melody nodded and then grabbed Eric and dragged him out of Tommy's view. "Not going so good, huh?"

"They're just taking it hard that she did not choose them to stay with her, but they'll be fine. They know how much you care about her Tommy, they'll understand eventually," Charlie said as Tommy just nodded his head in agreement. "Go on back to her, I'm sure that she needs you more than any of us do right now."

"Thanks Mom," Tommy said as Charlie just smiled. It had taken her awhile to get used to the idea that Tommy was really growing up, but he was and he was taking on some things that most people never had to deal with in their lifetime. To say that she was proud of her son was an understatement, she was eternally grateful that he was her son and she was so proud of the man that he had become.


	15. Chapter 15

Kimberly's recovery went remarkably well as her numbers continued to improve with each day. She continued to get her strength back every day and with Tommy's help, the doctors were sure that she would be leaving their facility within the month, until one Monday morning.

"Kim, Kim wake up honey," Tommy said as he gently shook her shoulder. She, however, did not even respond in the slightest. He then rested his hand against her forehead and felt the fever that had started. He quickly walked over to the intercom to page for the nurse. He had been warned that this very thing might happen, but he had hoped that she would avoid it. She had come so far and he knew that this would set her back weeks, if not all the way back to day one.

"Yes," Karen said, as she was not supposed to check on Kim for another hour and was surprised to get a page from Tommy.

"She's not waking up and she's got a fever, Karen," Tommy said as Karen leapt up from her desk. She had thought that Kim would not go through this, but she had been wrong. As she headed down the hall, she paged Dr. Mendez to let him know that he was going to have to come in early. They had fully expected something like this to happen in the first few days that she was recovering, but not now.

"Do you know how long she's had the fever?" Karen asked as Tommy shook his head no. He was used to her sleeping on his chest and he had not noticed any change in her body temperature last night. "The last check on here was a three a.m. So this could have been for a couple of hours?"

"I guess," Tommy said as he took a step back to allow Karen to do her work and she quickly went to checking all of Kim's vitals. Everything seemed perfectly normal except for the fever and that was something that concerned her. It meant that there was some sort of infection and they were going to have to do blood work, at the very least.

"I'm going to take this to testing, if she wakes up, I want you to page me immediately," Karen directed as Tommy nodded his head yes and then sat down next to her bed and closed his eyes. He was not sure if he should call anyone right now and he honestly felt that he had absolutely no one to turn to. None of their friends understood what he was going through to sit by her side everyday and just hope that nothing went wrong. Her parents were constantly in and out, which honestly worried him more than anything else, but he didn't tell them that. He felt that it was not his place to make them feel like they should not come see their own daughter.

"Come on, Kim," Tommy whispered as he leaned closer to her and gently stroked back her hair. They had come too far for something to happen now and for him to lose her. He was just not sure if he could handle it at all.

"Dr. Mendez, what are you doing here?" Melody asked as she saw Dr. Mendez hurrying through the doors of the ward and he paused for a moment when he heard his name being called.

"Ms. Dumas, is it?" Dr. Mendez asked as Melody nodded her head yes.

"They are not allowing me to see my daughter, why is that?" Melody asked as Dr. Mendez looked between her and her former husband.

"We are not allowing you to do that at the time, because we are afraid that she has now caught a virus from someone," Dr. Mendez said as politely as he could and then he headed further in. He needed to actually get in and examine her in order to determine what it was that was causing the fever.

"Who?" Melody yelled down the hall as Eric gently pulled her over to her seat. "Who could it have been?"

"Your step-daughter had the flu last week and my step-son had the chicken pox, it could have been either of us," Eric said as Melody stared at him. She could not believe that he was casting fault on the two of them, the two people that loved her the most in the world.

"I would never do anything like that Eric," Melody said as he looked over at her and sighed.

"I know, but we both, inadvertently did just that when we came to visit last week," Eric said as Melody could only stare at him. "I guess we just forgot about it all since she's been doing so good."

"I did not forget Eric, I have absolutely no clue what you are talking about," Melody said as Eric just shook his head. He knew that she did not want to admit that they might be at fault, but the truth was they were. Tommy had not been anywhere in the last several weeks and all her other friends just stood on the other side of the glass because they were around so many other people each day.

"Fine, you go ahead and be that way and see where we get when he comes back out here and asks what we've been around during the last few weeks," Eric said as Melody glared over at him. She could not believe that he was fine with blaming this on themselves and not Tommy, who should really be the one to take the blame.

"Has the blood work come back yet?" Dr. Mendez asked as he walked by Karen's desk.

"No, but it should be here in the next few minutes. I'll bring it to you as soon as they get it to me," Karen said as Dr. Mendez nodded his head that he had heard her.

"Who have her visitors been?" Dr. Mendez asked as Karen pulled out the log book as he walked over to the sink and began scrubbing down his arms.

"The only visitors that she has had are her parents. Her friends stay outside the window and they talk through the intercom," Karen said as Dr. Mendez barely nodded. He hated to tell her parents that they had probably caused this, but the fact was that they had. Tommy had had no contact with anyone but hospital staff and her parents, so it was unlikely that he had any virus.

"We need to find out whatever it is that she has been infected with and start antibiotics as soon as possible," Dr. Mendez said as Karen nodded. "Go talk to the parents and see if anyone that they know has been sick; if so we may be able to narrow it down some. I need to go in and check on her myself."

"Yes, sir, I'll get right on that," Karen said as she stood from her desk and walked out of the ward with a pencil and a pad of paper in tow. She could only hope that Kim's parents had not been foolish enough to come in and visit her after being in contact with someone that was infected with some sort of virus. They knew that her immune system was low, but there was always a chance that they had forgotten about it on some level.

In his years as a physician he had seen more than his fair share of relapses. He had chosen to be an oncologist, but there were days when he wondered why he did it and this was one of those days. It was different with the elderly, who usually accepted their fate after fighting the disease for so many years. The young were the ones that he had the hardest time dealing with and Kimberly was no different. He had heard the stories of her abilities, outside of the ranger world that he had accidentally discovered, and he wanted her to be able to get some of that life back. That was why he had pushed so hard for the transplant and he had been just as hopeful as everyone else that she would be released from the hospital in the next week or so, now he knew it would be at least another month and that was something he didn't like to see.

"Tommy, how are you?" Dr. Mendez asked as he walked into the room and Tommy looked up at him for a moment. He had expected the boy to take it hard, but he was taking it much harder than he thought that he would. The look in his eyes was enough to make him wish that he could just take the disease away, but he couldn't and he could only hope that this infection was minor. "We'll get her through this."

"I know," Tommy whispered as he stood up and walked over to the side of the room to give Dr. Mendez as much room as he needed. As he did his checks, he noted that her fever was dangerously high and looked at the iv's that Karen had started before he got there. He agreed with it all and knew that it would just take time to get the fever back down. The antibiotics would begin working soon enough and should wipe out any sort of virus that was in her system, but this was definitely a setback. Her immune system was being taken back to where it had been when she had the transplant. He could only hope that this round of antibiotics would do it and they would not have to worry about it anymore.


	16. Chapter 16

"Tommy…" Kim whispered two days later as she woke up from her fever induced coma. Dr. Mendez had said that this was normal, but it still worried Tommy. He absolutely hated just watching her lie in bed when he knew that she was not sleeping. The fact was she had been infected with the flu and although the strain was easily treated by antibiotics, neither of them were jumping for joy. She had been out for much longer than the doctors honestly thought she would be, not that they had told Tommy that.

"Hey…" Tommy whispered back to her as he brushed back her hair and gently wiped her forehead with the cloth that he had been holding onto for the last several hours. He was barely awake himself, as he had only gotten about two hours of sleep over the last few days and it had mostly been accidental. It took him a moment to realize that she was awake and another to remember that he needed to page Karen when she woke up. "Hold on just a second sweetie, I have to page Karen."  
"Why?" Kim asked as she turned her head to follow him as he walked across the room and he smiled back at her.

"You've been in and out of consciousness for the last two days," Tommy said as Kim stared at him, confused as to why that had happened. For all she knew she had just woken up in the middle of the night and he had accidentally fallen asleep in the chair instead of in bed with her. "You had a mild case of the flu, but it was enough to knock you out."

"I'm so sorry that you had to go through that," Kim croaked as her throat was parched. "Is there any water around here?"

"Yeah, but if you can hold out for about two minutes and let Karen do her checks, I'm sure she'd appreciate it," Tommy said as he sat down next to her and she looked over at him.

"You're too good to me Tommy," Kim whispered as she closed her eyes, exhausted from what her body had been fighting for the last two days.

"No, I think it's the other way around. I don't deserve someone like you after what I did," Tommy said as Kim just shook her head. She hated that he still could not really forgive himself for what he had done. She forgave him, now he just needed to forgive himself.

"You were scared and so was I. I know that neither of us meant the things that we said back then, you just have to trust me when I say that I have forgiven you. How could I not?" Kim asked as Tommy stared over at her and she gave him a weak smile. He was so cute when he was confused, but she really did not have the energy to make things clear to him. "You mean more to me than anyone else in my life…what other reason did I have to come back to Angel Grove?"

"Your friends, family," Tommy said as Kim just shook her head no. If he had thought that was the reason, then she needed to tell him some of the things that she had never told him.

"I came back for you. I wanted to know that you would come to my funeral if I died, that you wouldn't just forget me," Kim said as Tommy's eyes widened and Karen walked in.

"You, little missy, have scared me to death for the last two days," Karen mock scolded as Kim just looked up at her and shrugged. "The antibiotics have done their job and you are awake. You have a slight fever, but it's nothing to worry about. I think that Dr. Mendez is going to keep you on the antibiotics for another day or so and then we'll go from there."

"Thanks," Kim said as Karen merely nodded and then walked out of the room. She could tell that the two teenagers needed time together. Things had been put into perspective for Tommy lately and he needed to talk to her about everything that he had felt for the last few days. "What were you going to say?"

"I could never have just forgotten you Kim," Tommy whispered as she reached over and cupped his cheek with her palm.

"I know that now, but I was scared that I'd go and you'd only find out about it after the funeral and it made me feel better to know that you'd be there. It made me feel more at rest about all of it," Kim said as Tommy just shook his head. He was fighting tears and he knew that Kim could tell it, but she hoped that he understood why she was telling him this.

"How can you talk about it?" Tommy asked as Kim looked over at him.

"Because until I had you at my side, I didn't have much hope; they told me that I would die within the year and I actually believed them. Now I have a chance and that's because I found a reason to live," Kim said as she placed a finger over his lips. "You don't think that you were that, but you were. I love you and I needed to know that you felt the same."

"I…I don't know what to say," Tommy whispered as she reached for his hand and he looked up at her.

"You don't have to say anything, you've proven more than you'll ever have to say," Kim said as she scooted over in her bed and Tommy looked down at her. "You look like you need some sleep, Tommy."

"You know that your parents are going to kill us when we get out of here," Tommy whispered as he crawled into bed next to her and she rested herself against him. He quickly went to sleep, knowing that she was all right and she was not far behind him, drifting off into the land where the only thing that could bother them was their dreams. That day, however, there were no bad dreams that they could remember. There were only happy memories that made each of them remember just how thankful they were for the person lying next to them.


	17. Chapter 17

"Guys, be quiet, she'll hear you," Jason whispered as they heard a car door slam in the driveway. They had been warned that she was still weak, but they didn't really care. They wanted to be able to welcome her home properly and Tommy had reluctantly agreed to it, after a lot of prompting and begging, he had agreed.

"It's nice to be home," Kim whispered as she looked up at him and then gave him a hug. "It's awful quiet."

"Sometimes even my parents like peace and quiet," Tommy said as he opened the front door and then ushered her inside. He knew what their friends were doing and he had thought of taking her somewhere else first, just to make them wait, but she was too tired and he knew that they needed to be careful for the next few months.

"Surprise!" they all yelled as Kim took a step back and just stared at all of them. She then turned around to face Tommy and he could only shrug his shoulders. He really could not have done anything to stop it and she deserved it.

"Can I have a hug?" Jason asked as Kim barely nodded as he wrapped her up in a bear hug as she cried tears of joy. She had missed him, actually she had missed all of them while she had been cooped up in the hospital. "I have one more surprise for you."

"What's that?" Kim asked as Rocky, Billy, and Adam took a couple of steps to the side to reveal Trini, Aisha, and Zack. Tommy had not even known that they were coming and the shock on both of their faces soon faded as Trini and Aisha almost tackled Kim to the ground. "How did you…"

"I kinda, sorta asked them to come," Jason said as Kim stared over at him.

"It's close to the end of term at the Peace Conference and we were leaving in June anyway. They were all right with sending us off a couple of weeks early," Zack said as he walked over and gave her a hug as well.

"And I just thought it was about time that I came back home," Aisha said as Kim smiled over at her. "So, how are you, really?"

"I've been worse," Kim said as Tommy walked up behind her and placed his arms around her. They had all known that things had changed between the two of them some, but they were surprised to see him be so openly affectionate. Sure there had been hugs and kisses in the past, but this just seemed so different. "I'm just tired all the time, but that'll eventually go away."

"Go sit, and we'll get you some food," Aisha said as Kim looked back at Tommy, who barely nodded. He understood that she could not eat very much right now. Her body just couldn't take it and she knew that they would load her plate up with everything they could find.

"I got it Aisha," Tommy said as he reached over and gave her a hug as well.

"What have you done to him?" Aisha whispered as Kim looked over at her and shrugged. She was not sure what she was talking about. Nothing had really changed between the two of them, except for their engagement. "Kim, he was never like that before."

"He's always been like this to me," Kim said as they all looked over at her and he just looked away. He did not want to hear any more of that conversation if he could help it. "How have things been with Mondo?"

"Not so bad, it's just rough without Tommy," Kat said as Jason nodded his head in agreement. He could not help but agree that that was the truth. Tommy had been able to control his powers much better than Jason could.

"I'm sure that he'll be back out there soon enough," Kim said as Kat just shook her head no. "What makes you think he won't?"

"You…he's not going to risk you," Kat said as Kim just shook her head.

"I'm getting better every day, it's just going to take some time and I'm sure that Zordon will have his communicator dialed in one day and call him back," Kim said as they all nodded. "I knew what I was getting into this time when I came back. You have to remember that I've been there before."

"That's hard to do sometimes," Tommy said as he passed her a plate and then sat down next to her.

"When's the wedding?" Trini asked as Aisha looked down at the two of them. She had not known that they were getting married. She had actually thought that that would be delayed for awhile longer.

"July," Kim said looking up at Tommy and he nodded his head in agreement. They had talked about it, but had yet to really tell anyone else.

"That's only three months from now," Trini said as Kim looked over at her.

"It's not like it's going to be a very big wedding, Trini. Friends and family," Kim said as Trini barely nodded. She could see why that was so important to the two of them, even if they knew that it was going to be a very long time before they were like any normal married couple.

"All right," Trini said as Tommy put his arm around Kim and she leaned into him without a second thought. She was exhausted and although she loved her friends for doing this, but she was going to have to go to bed soon. "You're not very talkative."

"Too tired," Kim yawned as Tommy pulled her closer and her head found its normal resting place as he smiled.

"Sleep," Tommy whispered as he gave her a kiss on the cheek and placed her plate on top of his own and finished off what she hadn't eaten. Her entire body was exhausted and although she was out of the hospital, he knew that they still had a long way to go before she was back to normal. The rangers watched as she drifted off to sleep against him and he shifted her body to where he was more comfortable.

"So how have you been, Tommy?" Tanya asked as he just shook his head.

"There were so many times that I thought that I had lost her. It's been rough, but she's here and I'm happy for that. Soon we'll be married and soon I won't have to worry about waking up one morning to find that she's not there," Tommy said as they all smiled. The truth of the letter had slowly gotten out to all of their friends and some of them had taken it better than others. Trini had not been ecstatic to find out that Kim had been alienated from half of her friends because Tommy didn't have the balls to admit that he sent a letter first, but that was over now.

"Do you know if she'll ever be able to have kids?" Trini asked as she could always remember Kim talking about being a mom when she was older and the fact was she might not be able to anymore.

"She'll find out in a couple of months. Dr. Mendez told me it was a fifty/fifty chance, so that's better than nothing," Tommy said as Trini nodded. They could all tell that this was something that Tommy didn't really want to talk about if he could help it. "I'm just glad that she's alive."

"Yeah, so are we," Trini said as Tommy looked down at Kim and smiled. "If you want we can go."

"No, stay, she wouldn't want all of you to go through all of this and only be here for five minutes. I'll take her back to my room, eventually," Tommy said as Jason smirked over at him. "Don't even say it."

"You mean your room, the two of yours room," Jason said as Tommy looked over at him.

"Yeah, I guess that's what I mean, but her parents are mad at me," Tommy said as they all looked over at him and he let out a sigh. "She has a hard time sleeping, so a lot of nights we wound up in the same bed. Mom and Dad don't care, but they do, so I'm sure that I'll have to deal with that eventually."

"They'll get over it," Jason said as Tommy nodded and just shook his head. When he had found out that she was sick, he had never thought that she would make such a full recovery. He honestly didn't like taking any credit for that, he didn't think that he had done that much, but obviously he had. She had found some hope in the one man that had loved her and had tossed her aside. It was something that he was not sure that he would ever be able to fully forgive himself for, but he would deal with it. She, obviously, had decided that he was well worth her time and effort and that he was worth forgiving. Now he just had to live up to her expectations for the rest of his life.


	18. Chapter 18

"You really like my hair?" Kim asked as Tommy smiled over at her. As it had started to grow back, it was extremely curly and it looked cute in his opinion, maybe it wasn't what she was used to but he liked it all the same.

"Yes, Kim, now can't we just enjoy this?" Tommy said as they sat down on a bench in the park. Tomorrow was their wedding day and although most of the others wanted to hold some sort of party for them, they had politely declined. They just wanted an afternoon when they could be away from the rest of the world.

Ever since she had gotten home from the hospital, it had been nothing but a non-stop stream of guests from her parents to her friends. They appreciated it, but it got old after awhile. They had not managed to get a single afternoon alone and that was the one thing that they most wanted. They had all agreed to give them this one afternoon and so far it had been well worth it.

"I got the results from Dr. Mendez last week," Kim said as Tommy looked over at her and she let out a sigh. She could see the faint hope in his eyes that he was able to keep out of the rest of his face, as he had promised that he would not care if they couldn't have kids together, they would adopt if it came to it. She, however, knew that he wanted children of his own, he wanted to watch her grow, and be able to cut the umbilical cord. She had dreamed of all of that too before this disease and she still had the same hope that resided inside of him as well.

"And what were they?" Tommy asked as she grabbed his hand and he looked down at the ground. He was scared to hear this news, that was why they had put off the tests for so long, but finally Dr. Mendez insisted that it must be done.

"I should be able to have kids," Kim said as Tommy looked over at her and could only stare. He had been sure that he was going to hear that there was no chance that she would be able to have children and that they would have to adopt. "It just might be harder than most people to conceive."

"We'll see about that," Tommy said as Kim just shook her head before giving him a kiss. "You want to walk around some more?"

"No, I'm a little bit wiped out," Kim said as Tommy barely nodded and let her rest her head against his chest. "You know that your jeep is going to get trashed tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, I know," Tommy said as he smiled. "But what else can you expect from the guys?"

"Yeah, you're right," Kim said as a cloud passed over the sun and they both then heard the familiar sound of a communicator chime. "You've got to be kidding me."

"It may be nothing Kim," Tommy said as he looked around before answering. "Yes Zordon."

"We are teleporting the two of you out of the park, there is an attack not far from you," Zordon said as Kim looked over at Tommy before he grabbed her hand and they both shimmered away.

"Crap," Tommy commented as he looked over at the viewing globe and saw the battle raging. The rangers were well outnumbered, but taking it fairly well as they had been dealt no major blows.

"Hey Zordon," Kim said smiling up at the being and he could not help but smile down at her as well. She was still the same girl that she had been before the disease took hold of her life and he was happy to see that.

"Hello Kimberly, how are you?" Zordon asked as she heard an explosion and looked back at the viewing globe. The rangers had been thrown in every direction and she could tell just by looking at Tommy the words that were about to come out of his mouth.

"Send me in," Tommy said as Kim folded her arms and glared at him. "I can't leave them out there Kim."

"And where are you going to get powers mister?" Kim asked as Tommy opened his mouth and then shut it. "That's what I thought."

"There are the white ranger powers," Zordon said as Kim spun around on him as Tommy gently placed his hand on her shoulder to keep her from saying anything she might regret.

"You tell me what you want me to do," Tommy said as Kim looked up at him and then looked back at the viewing globe, where Kat and Tanya had already de-morphed.

"Go," Kim said as Tommy gave her a kiss on the cheek and then took the crystal from Alpha before morphing and teleporting out.

"Looks like you guys could use some help," Tommy said squatting down to help Tanya and Kat up as they just stared at him. They could not believe the voice that they were hearing and they were sure that he was not doing this. If he was, Kim must not know about any of it.

"What are you…" Kat started at Tommy just shook his head and then began fighting the monster along with Jason, as Jason barely noted that another ranger had appeared. In a matter of minutes the monster was standing twenty stories above them and they could only stare up at it.

"Do I have a zord?" Tommy asked as they all looked over at him.

"I am afraid not, Tommy," Zordon said as he looked over at the others. "We never thought that the white zeo crystal would be used."

"Great, so do I just stand here and get trampled?" Tommy asked as he ran out of the way of the zords and watched as they fought above him.

"No, we'll teleport you back," Zordon said as Tommy found himself standing in the Command Center again and Kimberly just shook her head as she stared at the viewing globe. Within minutes the town was again safe from intergalactic beings and the other rangers began appearing around the Command Center.

"Do we really have a white ranger Zordon?" Adam asked as they had yet to turn around and see Tommy still in uniform, minus the helmet.

"Turn around Adam," Kim said as he turned around and the others soon did the same thing as Kat dropped her helmet and Jason covered his face.

"You have got to be the craziest person I know," Jason said as he gave Tommy a hug and a smile. "I thought we were dead out there."

"So did I," Tommy said as Kim nodded her head in agreement. They had both seen the battle going down hill quickly and they both were glad that Tommy could do something.

"Did this ruin your day?" Kat asked as Kim shook her head no.

"We've had a good day, it's no big deal that he's a ranger again," Kim said as they all stared over at her and saw exactly how much she didn't mean those words. She was not a very happy woman right now and they could all tell it. "We'll see all of you at the wedding."


	19. Chapter 19

On that hot day in July, friends and family gathered at the Baptist Church, which was on the corner of Third Street and McPearson Avenue, to witness a momentous occasion. Those that knew the bride and groom the best knew that their lives had never been simple and this last year had taken a toll on the both of them. But they were the happiest for them and they were the happiest knowing that they had both figured out exactly what they wanted in this life.

Kimberly Ann Hart stood at the back of the church, behind closed doors as she looked down at her wedding gown and then over at her father. He was taking this much better than her mother, it was almost as if he expected it to happen sooner rather than later. She, however, could not help but pull at a strand of her hair as he smiled over at her. He knew that this was not exactly how she had pictured herself looking on her wedding day, but she was beautiful to him and he knew, more importantly, that she was beautiful to the boy standing at the end of the aisle.

"You look beautiful, honey," Eric said as she smiled up at him and then threw her arms around him.

"Thanks Daddy," Kim said as he smiled down at her. There had been a time in his life when he thought that he would be waiting for this moment for a very long time, especially after she was diagnosed with the disease. However, it seemed that with the disease came one thing that he had not expected, a love that he doubted would ever be broken.

"Come on, we don't need to keep him waiting any longer," Eric said as the wedding march had begun, but Kim was still rooted to the spot outside the hall.

"Yeah," Kim said as she took in a deep breath and the two of them headed towards the altar as he looked up at the boy that was marrying his little girl. The look in his eyes was enough to let him know that she had made the right choice. He had always wanted to see that look of caring, compassion, and most importantly love in the man's eyes and he now did.

"Who gives the woman?" Pastor Owens asked as they came to the end of a short walk.

"Her mother and I do," Eric said as he gave her a hug and then a kiss on the cheek before giving Tommy her hand and walking over to his seat.

"Dearly beloved we have gathered here today to witness the marriage of this man and this woman. If there is anyone here that has reason that this union should not happen, speak now or forever hold your peace," Pastor Owens said as he looked around the church and then continued. He had honestly doubted that anyone would object, but he still had to make sure. "The vows, if you will."  
"I, Thomas Benjamin Oliver, am happy to know that I will wake up every morning with you at my side. I promise that I will never leave you again, that I will love you and care for you in all ways that I possibly can. I am worthless without you there beside me, I am only a shadow of a man and I want to spend the rest of my life being the man that you want me to be," Tommy said as Kim smiled up at him.

"I, Kimberly Ann Hart, am forever grateful to you. You have been my rock, the person that I can come to when things have turned ugly and life looks bleak. You have saved me, more times than you'll ever know and I wish to be able to repay you, to help you when life gets you down and to love you when you think no one else does. I want to wake up every morning knowing that I am in your arms and that nothing will harm me while you are there," Kim said as he reached up and wiped the tear away from her eye.

"The rings please," Pastor Owens said as Jason passed over a ring as well as Trini. "By the power vested in me, by the state of California and God, I proudly pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride."  
Tommy leaned down to kiss her and picked her up off the ground as their friends and family clapped. It was good to know that the two of them had found some happiness in their lives and that they would probably have many more years together, not mere months.

"I now present to you Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Benjamin Oliver," Pastor Owens said as they turned to the church and Tommy gently pulled her along. The ceremony had been short and sweet and that was what they wanted. They wanted to be able to spend as much time as they could with their family and friends. They were going up to his uncle's cabin for the next week after this and they were going to be left alone, no matter what.

"Tommy," Kim whispered as he just hugged her to him and picked her up off the floor. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," Tommy said as he kissed her again before their friends came up after them. "What do you want to do?"

"Pictures, cake, dance," Kim said as Trini cleared her throat and they both looked over at her, but Tommy did not place her back on the ground.

"She's perfectly capable of standing on her own," Trini pointed out as Tommy laughed, but still did not place her back on the ground as she was much more comfortable this way.

"It's fine this way, Trini," Kim said as she placed her head on his shoulder and they all smiled at them. "Now, let's get the pictures over with, so we can actually enjoy this."

"Are you expecting a speech?" Jason asked as he looked around at the crowd after being thrown in front of the microphone moments earlier and many people nodded their heads that they were indeed. "Well, I don't have one."  
"Come on, Jase!" Kim yelled as he looked down at her and she smiled up at him as she snaked her arms around Tommy.

"No, I can't give speeches," Jason said as Tommy laughed. He could think of some 'speeches' that Jason had given them over the last several years and he did not believe a word that he said.

"I get one every Friday!" Tommy called as Jason glared over at him and Kim laughed. She knew all too well of the speeches that Jason gave Tommy almost every weekend, which would now cease. He couldn't lecture Tommy about that anymore.

"I can't give you that speech anymore," Jason said as Kim laughed.

"You're the best man, it comes with the job," Tommy said as Jason held up a finger and looked down trying to collect his thoughts. Sadly enough the strongest drink served there was punch and he had absolutely no reason to give a rousing speech except when a monster was attacking the city.

"Well, I guess this is the last time I can give this particular speech," Jason said as he looked up as Kim and Tommy exchanged a glance. "And it is very simply, if either one of you is stupid enough to leave the other ever again, I will personally hunt you down. Other than that, many years of happiness and love to the two of you."

"That's it?" Tommy asked as Kim just shrugged her shoulders and clapped along with everyone else before the music started up again. "May I have this dance?"

"Actually I need to sit down for a little while, Tommy," Kim said as he nodded and walked with her over to a table and they sat down together. "Thanks."  
"You okay?" Tommy asked as Kim nodded her head yes and took a sip of the punch.

"I'm just tired, it's been a long couple of weeks and yesterday didn't exactly make things easier," Kim said as he nodded and reached over for her hand.

"We can leave whenever you want to," Tommy said as Kim smiled over at him. He knew that she would probably sleep the entire way to the cabin and might not be up to much of anything once they arrived there, but that was why they were taking a week away from the world, instead of just a couple of days.

"A little while longer, I don't think the boys have finished with your car just yet," Kim said as Tommy let out a groan and then sighed. "Come on, it's part of the fun, plus I'm sure you'll be able to get them back someday."

"In about five years, yeah," Tommy said as she just shook her head. "You really do look Beautiful today, Kim."

"Thanks," Kim whispered as he reached over and gave her a gentle kiss.

"You're welcome, I guess there was really no good in saying good-bye to you after all," Tommy said as he leaned in and kissed her again as their friends and family silently watched. Their lives had changed so much in the past few months, but they had learned the one thing that they both could not live without and that was each other.


End file.
