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�You know we�re about to talk about things you�ve never heard before,� Madeline said as they stood up from their lunch and the others looked at her.
�Yeah, this was the one meeting that we were thrown out of, wasn�t it?� Sam asked as Maddox and Madeline nodded. They had both experienced it only because of the fact that she was passed out for the first thirty minutes or so and then they just didn�t throw them out. It seemed that the rangers had never noticed that she had actually woken up during the entire fiasco. �You�re not going to clue us in?�
�Nope, we�re going to leave it as a surprise because this is the only part that I get to tell,� Maddox said as they had designated Madeline to be the story teller but she was not around to remember this particular exchange, so he had the responsibility to talk about it.
�You know, have any of you talked to them since we were forced to come here?� BethAnn asked as Maddox shook his head no. It had crossed his mind, but he definitely didn�t think it was a smart thing to do. He did not want to cause anymore trouble for them if he could help it.
�We were told not to, so I imagine that they know what�s going on, even if they don�t want them to. We haven�t been this secretive with them since we decided to pull a surprise party for Chris coming home,� Madeline said as Maddox nodded. There was nothing that they could do, as trying to contact them might just make things worse.
�I still have a bad feeling about all of this,� Maddox said as they walked back up to the building. �There has to be some way to tell them.�
�Do you honestly think that they don�t know? They probably scanned the earth just to see where we are and if they�d have to raise hell for what�s going on,� Madeline said as Sam and the others nodded. That sounded exactly like Tommy�s policy on all things out of the ordinary: investigate, kick ass, and then go home.
�Well, it�s time we hear about this,� Fred said as they walked in and they all managed a smile over at him. They could tell that he had fallen in love with the older rangers and their story, which was exactly what they hoped. It was hard for anyone to not be moved by what they had been through, they knew that they might have been unmoved at first, but after that first battle, they knew. They knew that the rangers worked their asses off for them to have a chance to do their job and that was something that they were thankful for everyday. If they hadn�t had the older rangers, there was no doubt in their minds that they would not have made it, at all.
�How is Kim doing?� Andros asked as Tommy just shook his head. He was sure that Andros was just trying to be a good friend, but he couldn�t bring himself to talk about how Kim felt. She had been distant from him and he was sure that was a direct result of the fact that she blamed herself for having Chris early, but he had desperately tried to point out to her that she could not help what had happened. She, however, was not listening to him about that.
�She�s doing better than I thought she would be, but she is still not her usual chipper self and I doubt she will get back to that until Chris is at home. I can�t help but agree with her, but I have to keep her spirits up, it�s just rough,� Tommy said as the door creaked open and he looked back in time to see his wife enter the room and he gave her a smile as she looked over and gave Madeline a concerned look.
�What happened?� Kim asked as she walked up to him and he reached up and gave her a hug.
�The vinons are stronger than we thought,� Tommy said as Kim just shook her head. That was not something that she wanted to hear if she could help it. She didn�t like thinking about what would happen to herself if she had to face them right now. �Maddox will watch after her for us.�
�Yeah, I know,� Kim murmured as he pulled her into his lap and she hesitantly relaxed against him as he gave her a concerned look. She had only ever done that before when they were starting over again and that had been four years ago now.
�How was this afternoon?� Tommy asked as she just shook her head and wiped her eyes as he pulled her close and sat there silently, giving her the little bit of reassurance that he had left in him. �He�s going to be fine, baby.�
�Yeah, I know,� Kim murmured again as the others all walked in as Tommy looked back at them and gave them a smile.
�Hey guys,� Tommy said as they all walked over to him and they began their normal customs for seeing each other after a good while away from the others.
�Tommy, it�s good to see you,� T.J. said as he shook Tommy�s hand, but noticed that Kim was barely even looking at them. They had been forewarned that she might not be her usual self, but this was not what any of them expected. They had expected her to be upset, but they also thought that she would surely talk to them. �Hey Kim.�
�Hey,� Kim whispered as Tommy looked at her with a concerned filled gaze and the others noticed that he looked worried. Kim usually did not let anything get her down for this long, but she hadn�t been the same since she had Chris.
�Can you give us a minute?� Tommy said as the others nodded as Kim gave him a very confused look and he gently rubbed her back as he looked up at her. �What�s wrong?�
�Nothing,� Kim said, just a bit too quickly as Tommy reached up and gave her a gentle kiss and he could feel the tears stream down her face.
�Tell me, please,� Tommy whispered as Kim looked down and just shook her head that she couldn�t. She didn�t know how she could tell him without wrecking his world. �I can�t help you feel better if you won�t tell me what�s going on.�
�There�s nothing to tell that you don�t already know. I�m upset because my child is in the NICU, I�m worried about what you�re going to do, I can�t help but think that Halindon will come after us again, I just can�t do this anymore Tommy,� Kim said as he wrapped her in a secure hug and she just rested against him as her head rested on his shoulder. �Just love me Tommy and trust me.�
�You know that I do Kim, but you�re not acting like yourself,� Tommy said as Kim looked up at him and she tried to keep her tears from falling. �Kimberly, baby...don�t. Don�t waste any more tears on this.�
�How can I not Tommy?� Kim asked, quietly, as Madeline let out an involuntary groan and they both looked over at where she was still lying motionless and saw in Maddox�s eyes that he thought this was complete and total bull shit.
�Just hold it together long enough for us to talk to them and then I will give you all of the things that you deserve,� Tommy said as Kim barely nodded and Tommy stood up and then placed her back in the chair. �I�ll be right back.�
�Tommy?� Rocky asked as he barely nodded. �Were you able?�
�We�ll see...come on. I�ve made a promise to her that will only keep her satisfied for a little while,� Tommy said as the others nodded.
�What do you have to say?� Kim asked as the others walked in and they gave her a confused look.
�The information I�ve gathered and whatever Tommy has brought us here for,� Andros said as Tommy looked over at his wife and she gave him a disdainful glare.
�What the hell Tommy?� Kimberly yelled as she stood up and began to charge towards him as Jason wrapped her up in a hug and held her back for a moment, as she was still too weak to beat him in one movement, but she did move past him after a swift knee to the crotch. �What the hell is going on that I don�t know about?�
�Kimberly, please,� Tommy said as she slapped him and he gently grabbed her arms and held her still. He knew that she had too much on her and it worried him to see her this close to completely snapping on him. �Listen to me! We have to talk about all of this! There is nothing that we can do until it is talked out!�
�You son of a bitch!� Kimberly yelled as she managed to get one hand free and slapped him again. �How could you Tommy?�
�I haven�t done anything Kimberly!� Tommy yelled as Jason pulled Kimberly back and held her as tightly as he could. None of them had ever seen the two of them fight like this before.
�You�re asking me to stay here, in this hell hole!� Kimberly yelled as Tommy reached out for her but Jason shook his head. He knew that Tommy didn�t want to get slapped a third time. �How the hell could you!�
�How can I not? I can�t lose you Kimberly!� Tommy yelled as he reached around Jason and pulled her to him and made her look him in the eyes. �I cannot lose you.�
�And you think I�ll let you go after him?� Kimberly yelled as Tommy looked away from her and the others gave him a questioning look. They never thought that Tommy would take it that far. �I�m not letting you kill yourself just because you want to finish Halindon off! Do you think that I can lose you? Do you think that you can pull this shit on me and get away with it?�
�Tommy, you can�t,� Andros said as they saw him close his eyes and he looked away from them.
�He made this personal when he went after my wife,� Tommy said as the others looked at him and Kim just shook her head.
�Tommy, you can�t,� Kimberly managed to say as she circled her arms around him and he felt her legs give way.
�I know,� Tommy whispered as Andros and the others took a few steps away. �I promise you that I won�t.�
�Thank you,� Kim whispered as he reached down and kissed her cheek. �Thank you Tommy.�
�Can we start talking or are the two of you going to blow up at each other again?� Andros asked, with a remarkable bit of calm as they looked at him. None of the others would have been able to look at them like that.
�We�ll go at each other again later,� Tommy said as Andros barely looked at them as he began pulling up computer programs and the visual simulator pulled out a topographical map which Andros stood over.
�I�ve been able to gather data on the power source that seems to be driving Halindon to attack the earth. It seems to be the same thing that Rita and Lord Zedd were truly after once upon a time, they just never were able to find it. Halindon knows much more and the location is directly under Angel Grove,� Andros said as Tommy looked over at him and Kim�s mouth dropped open. They could see the mass of the power source and they could not believe that they had never been told about it before.
�You�ve got to be kidding me,� Kim muttered as Tommy reached over for her arm and she just swatted his hand away. �Are you trying to make me have a nervous breakdown?�
�No, but I guess that we�re doing a good job,� Andros said as Kim raked her fingers through her hair and then stood up and left the room as Tommy started to stand up, but realized that she wanted some time alone, then he would be able to talk to her.
�Aren�t you going to go after her?� Jason asked as Tommy shook his head no and they just looked at him.
�She needs some time alone, I�ll talk to her as soon as all of this is over,� Tommy said as Trini passed Macy over to Jason and followed Kimberly out, as she knew that Tommy was right, she didn�t need him, but she did need someone to talk to. �So the energy source is what they have been after for all of these years?�
�Yeah, but it�s dangerous for us to try to remove it,� Andros said as Tommy barely nodded and they watched him for a moment.
�Is there any way that we could tap into it even more and make the rangers more invincible to where people will not wish to go against us,� Tommy suggested as Andros just shook his head no.
�I don�t think that it would be wise to try it, considering what might happen if they overload themselves. I think that they�d try to pull too much and wind up doing more harm than good. I�d trust one of us to do it, but that�s only because we�ve experienced different levels of powers and we know how and when to draw up more,� Andros said as Tommy barely nodded. He couldn�t fight him if he honestly thought that this was the best thing for the rangers and in an odd way he agreed with him as well. He knew that if these rangers got a chance at extra powers, they wouldn�t know how to control it, they weren�t even good at controlling what they had now.
�What about just destroying it, period,� T.J. said as Andros looked over at him and nodded his head that that was a possibility.
�The problem with that is that if we have something coming after the earth, it leaves the rangers without any powers and in order to get to the power source, we might risk trapping them there,� Andros said as Tommy just shook his head.
�We can�t risk that, I don�t think that I can ask that out of them with a clear conscience,� Tommy said as Andros nodded. He had been sure that Tommy would say something like that when it all came down to it. He had always been a rather fearless leader and after his experiences they all completely understood why he was that way. He had seen more than any of them and he was sure that this was not going to be extremely pleasant.
�But can you continue to do this to yourself?� Jason asked as Tommy looked over at him and Macy silently reached for Tommy who took her without a second thought.
�It�s never really been about me, Jason,� Tommy said as Jason looked over at him and they could all see just how much Tommy had sacrificed in his life in order to be able to save the world, however, all of them thought it was time that someone else took that over. They couldn�t do it anymore, it had already cost them one child and had come damn near close to costing them another.
�Yeah, but you have to take care of yourself now,� Rocky said as Tommy nodded that he completely agreed, although there were still some things on his list of things to do that included him actually doing them.
�Yeah,� Tommy said as he felt like a child being scolded for doing the right thing, but under the wrong circumstances.
�Hey, you�re not the only one who wants to go out there and deal with Halindon, but Tommy, none of us can anymore. We all know what happened to you the last time you were on a ranger team and, to be honest, that scares me enough to keep me away,� T.J. said as Tommy barely nodded. His successor had always been more level headed than he was, but he didn�t like to admit that. T.J. had never really run on emotions, while Tommy let his emotions overpower him more than once.
�Yeah, but they don�t keep coming after you, do they?� Tommy asked as T.J. looked away. He had a point there and it was a point that hit home. Tommy knew that if they were in his shoes they wouldn�t just sit back and let it happen. They would decide to fit and that was something that they all knew.
�We�ve got to trust the kids Tommy, otherwise, you might as well take their powers and give them back to their rightful owners,� Jason said as Tommy nodded. He could imagine telling Kim that she was going to have to be a ranger again and that reception was not going to be a pleasant one from what he could see.
�I�d be dead if I told Kim that,� Tommy said as the others smiled. They weren�t leaving him much of a choice, it was all a lot of shit that he was not sure he could be able to take.
�Yeah, because she�d have to take some too,� Aisha said as Maddox looked up from his post and over at Tommy, who was refusing to look over at him. They had not known that Kim had been one of the people to receive powers, but she had been.
�Yeah, don�t ever say that again,� Tommy said as they nodded. They knew that with Tommy being in here alone, they could say it. But they also could tell that he never really wanted to hear about any of this ever again if he could help it.
�Tommy, she won�t talk to me,� Trini said as Tommy looked at her in shock. She had never thought that Kim wouldn�t talk to her, but she had shut herself down and he didn�t think that they were going to be able to get to her. She and Tommy had been skating around a lot of issues lately and they had to actually talk to each other. Things were not going to get better if they continued on like this.
�I�ll go take care of it,� Tommy said as Trini grabbed his arm and she looked back at him.
�You have to talk to her Tommy,� Trini said as Tommy gave her a confused look. �I mean really talk to her, no more of this skating around how you really feel, because the last time the two of you were like this, you broke up.�
�Okay,� Tommy barely muttered, as Trini looked at him and he knew that she was dead serious. �Go home, I don�t need anyone else here.�
�I swear that I�ll kill you if you don�t help her Tommy,� Trini said as Tommy gave her a confused glance, but nodded. He didn�t know what Trini was seeing, but he could certainly imagine how Kimberly was acting because that was how he felt. He had never wanted to leave her in this condition, but he had thought that she was all right. At least that was how she acted with him, but he had gotten to the point that he knew that could hide things from him that no one else could, because she didn�t want to hurt him. However, he knew that right now was a very hard time, for the both of them and ignoring each other certainly was not helping them. It was hurting them more than anything else that they could imagine.