Post by Kim on Dec 21, 2008 19:58:34 GMT -5
Welcome Home
By: Pink-Green-White-4ever
Last Revised: December 17, 2008
Summary: Post Forever Red. The Red Rangers get a surprising visitor at the Nasada Space Port.
Rating: T for language
Disclaimer: I don’t own PR; wish I did, cause then LOTS would be different.
Author’s Notes: I know a lot of people have done this kind of story before, but this is being done as a birthday gift for my big brother. Hopefully this quenches his “dream” reunion desire (yeah, yeah, I know it won’t until we get AJJ and JDF back together on the show). Thanks to Rapunzl, Ang and Megs for the help with this one! ;P
--
The eight of them were just about to their respective vehicles when they finally noticed the shiny, silver Mustang convertible that was sitting a few feet away. Leaning against it was a petite brunette with her hair in a pony tail and a set of black wrap around sunglasses on. She wore a pair of flip flops, a pair of white Capri pants and a pink tank top, which barely covered the roundness of her pregnant belly. Standing next to her was a little girl in a nearly identical outfit, minus the sunglasses.
“Wow,” Cole murmured as the eight stopped. “WHO is THAT?”
“Not a clue,” Carter responded, though he had a feeling she was a former Ranger by the stance and look they were getting.
“Oh damn,” Jason winced, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.
Wes and Eric grinned, turning their gazes to Jason. “Your girl?” Eric teased.
“No.” The original Red Ranger shook his head and closed his eyes, drawing in a deep breath before he started toward her, the guys in tow.
“Well hell, is that who I think that is?” T.J. asked Jason, who just nodded.
“Hey Sis,” Jason greeted, and then bent to catch the little blur of white and pink that rushed at him. “Hi munchkin.”
The little girl threw her arms around him. “Unca Jase!” she babbled, wrapping her chubby little arms around his neck and snuggling close.
The elder woman continued to lean against her vehicle, her eyes still covered by the sunglasses, making the Red Rangers a little uneasy. “Don’t you ‘Hi Sis’ me,” the woman finally hissed, pushing away from the car. “Since you all are standing here in one piece, I guess Nasada wasn’t lying when they said you’d been successful.”
“Ma’am, we destroyed Serpentara,” Cole proudly announced, drawing the woman’s attention to him. Even with the sunglasses on, her look sent a chill down the rookie’s back, making him suddenly step back to hide behind Wes and Eric.
“Kimmie,” Jason spoke up.
“Don’t you ‘Kimmie’ me,” she grumbled. “Where the hell is he? Did you forget to remind him I was supposed to pick him up?”
Jason blushed while the others laughed. “I take it she’s talking about Tommy?” Wes asked.
Andros nodded. “That’s his wife,” the Red Space Ranger grinned.
“Wait!” Cole nearly shouted. “Tommy’s MARRIED? I didn’t think any of the former Rangers were married?”
T.J. patted him on the back. “Plenty of former Rangers are married, including Jason. Heck, most of the originals are married by now.” Looking like a fish out of water, Cole turned to stare at the woman.
“I may have inadvertently forgotten to remind him,” Jason told her.
“Right, so explain the ‘Kissing on Kimberly’ comment I just heard.”
“Ummm….”
A low growl sounded as she neared Jason, causing the others to take a few steps back in retreat. “Where’d he go?”
“That way,” Jason pointed in the opposite direction.
Shaking her head, the woman reached out and took her daughter. “Come on Bella, let’s go find Daddy,” she told her child. “Oh, and Jason, you'd better hope to God that Cole actually destroyed Serpentara with his rinky-dink bike, cause I don't want to have to round the girls up in another 10 years and come finish the job you started.” That said, she helped her daughter into her car before she sped away, leaving Jason to blow out a breath.
“Okay, who was that?” Cole asked again.
“That, Cole,” Jason said, turning to him. “Was the original Pink Ranger herself, Kimberly Hart-Oliver.”
--
Sighing, Tommy walked out the front gates of the Nasada Space Port and began walking along the road. It hadn’t occurred to him until he was away from the others that he had no transportation to get home since he’d been dropped off in the first place. Of course, the walk had afforded him his brooding time, where he could get the last couple of days worth of work straightened out in his head. Serpentara was gone, and so were the last generals of the Machine Empire. It was hard to wrap his head and heart around those facts. The last two pieces of Morphin and Zeo Ranger history that had never been fully taken care of were now gone, destroyed. And to think, Cole had done the big bad Zord in with his tiny little bike. The irony of that just ate at the legendary Ranger like no other. How many times had the Morphin team tried to take out Zedd’s stupid zord and failed? Too many to count, though somehow they’d always managed to come out on top against the dang thing. Shaking his head, he began walking toward town.
He wasn’t far past the space port when he heard the quiet hum of an approaching car. Rather than turning to see who it was, he kept walking. Finally, he noticed the car had slowed down and was now keeping pace with him. “Hey handsome, need a lift?” a sultry voice called out, causing Tommy to grin. Turning, he stopped and faced the car. His wife’s shiny silver mustang sat before him, with said wife sitting behind the wheel.
“DADDY!” Bella called out from the backseat where she was strapped into her car seat.
“Beautiful,” he murmured, leaning over the door. “What are you doing out here?”
Rolling her eyes, Kimberly flipped him off. “Jason forgot to tell you I’d pick you up. I was running a tiny bit late or I’d have been there before you got off the Megaship. By the way, you owe your brother an ass kicking.”
Shaking his head, Tommy opened the door and climbed in, leaning over to kiss his wife. “For?”
“I believe the comment was ‘I was the one who did all the work while he was at the juice bar kissing on Kimberly’,” Kim grinned just before their lips met a second time. “And I’ve forewarned the others, y’all had better hope Cole destroyed that thing, because I don’t want to have to round up the girls and finish what you started.”
Tommy glowered at Jason’s comment then flinched at Kim’s threat. Having to bring the female Rangers out of retirement would not be a pleasant experience, especially if he knew his wife and former female teammates well enough. The Red Rangers would never be able to live down not completing their mission when they’d been the ones to firmly suggest they be the only ones to go. “Duly noted,” he told her, and then turned in his seat as she pulled back onto the road. “Hey Gorgeous,” he smiled at his daughter, reaching back to take her hand.
“DADDY!” she squealed, grasping his fingers tightly.
“So, who’s ready to party?” Tommy asked, turning back around while Bella grabbed her toys and began chattering in the backseat.
“Kat should have everything just about ready, so long as the others remembered to actually go back to her and Jason’s house instead of out for drinks.”
Tommy snickered. “Maybe I should make a few phone calls?”
Kim smirked, her eyes on the road. “Maybe you should.” Even with her eyes on the road, she reached around her neck and took off the chain there, handing it to her husband. “You might wanna put that back on.”
Grinning, Tommy undid the chain and slipped the gold ring off it, before sliding the circlet onto his left hand and then putting the chain over his own neck.
--
True to form, when Kim pulled the car up into Kat and Jason’s driveway, music was blaring from the backyard and the street was lined with cars, most of which were fairly familiar. “Looks like the party’s already started,” Kim laughed as she and Tommy climbed out.
“Kat mentioned Aisha and Tanya were helping her,” Tommy commented, reaching into the backseat to help Bella from her car seat before picking her up. The trio headed into the back yard and stopped just inside the gate, laughing.
The Scotts’ back yard was decorated in red and white streamers, balloons, and other party favors. Rocky was standing with Billy, the pair directing Adam and Justin, who were hanging a large white sign with red lettering that said ‘Mission Accomplished’ from the roof of the house. “Rocko, how you feeling?” Tommy asked, approaching with Kim and Bella in tow.
The former Red and Blue Ranger sighed. His right arm and left leg were both in white casts with blue and red lettering all over them. “I’m feeling better,” Rocky grumbled. “I’d be better if Aisha would lay off a bit.”
Kim laughed. “She just doesn’t want you to get hurt again.”
Rocky shot her a look and pouted. “I already missed out on the mission, what more does she want?”
“Her husband, who is injured, to stay intact. Trust me Rocko, with as banged up as you are, it wouldn’t have been pleasant.”
“So is it done? That overgrown hunk of metal is finally kaput?” Aisha called out as she, Tanya and Katherine exited the house, platters of food in hand.
Tommy turned, noting that Adam and Justin had joined them. “It’s done, Sha.”
“I just wish Trini and Zack had been here to see it,” Billy murmured. The others sobered quickly. Zack was stuck in New York, unable to get away from his job as an intern choreographer on Broadway, and Trini had died the year before in a horrible car accident. For those who had served on the Morphin’ Team, who had fought against the machine known as Serpentara, it was a sobering reminder of everything that they had been through.
The group remained silent for a few moments before a familiar voice broke the silence. “Why so glum chums?” Jason called out. When he saw the looks on his friends’ faces, he knew. “Guys…”
“I thought this was supposed to be a party?” Eric quipped when the rest of the Red Rangers walked through the gate behind him.
It was Kim who smiled then, nodding. “It is! The Rangers won another battle today, a big one. I think it’s more than time to celebrate.” Cheers of assent went up with her words, as the group moved to eat.
Compliments were passed around to Katherine, Aisha and Tanya who had spent the majority of the morning preparing the feast. Memories of missions past were shared, questions about some of the more news worthy incidents were asked, and everyone laughed at the stupid stuff they’d all done. “Okay, so someone explain something to me,” Wes asked as he moved to grab another glass of iced tea.
“What is it Wes?” Jason responded, grinning.
“How the heck did Tommy ended up with Legendary status? It’s not like he was the original Red Ranger,” Wes teased, sitting back down between Cole and Eric.
Tommy blushed while the rest of the Morphin, Zeo and Turbo Rangers laughed. “You wanna take that one Bro, or should I?” Jason snickered.
“I’ll answer that,” Kat spoke up. “The reason Tommy is Mr. Legendary is because he’s had more identity crises then any Ranger ever – Green to White, White to Red, and Red to Red. We call him the Christmas Tree Ranger,” she teased, causing Tommy’s face to flush bright red.
“I see. So in order to become Mr. Legendary, I need to change costumes about four or five times huh? Is that how it works?” Wes laughed.
“It’s either Black or Blue for him next,” Rocky joked. “They’re the only two colors of the originals that he hasn’t been yet.”
Aisha jabbed Rocky in the ribs. “What about yellow?” The former Red and Blue Ranger glared at his wife.
“Personally, I think Tommy’d look killer in Pink, especially with that little skirt the Pink Rangers got the first couple of years,” Eric snickered. His comments brought hoots and hollers from the Red Rangers and snickering from his former teammates.
“Speaking of Pink Rangers,” Tommy changed the subject. “Jason, I believe I owe you an ass kicking for the ‘Kissing On Kimberly’ comment.”
Billy shook his head while Kim glared at the original Red Ranger. Aisha made a tsking sound while Rocky and Adam winced. Katherine stared at her husband like he’d grown an extra head, Tanya let out a sigh of sympathy for what was to come, while Justin was the only one to actually respond. “Man, Jase, you really know how to open mouth insert foot, don’t ya?”
Jason shot a glare in Justin’s direction, the younger boy smirking at him. “I meant no harm by it, but come on, you have to admit the majority of your time was spent trying to kiss Kim.”
“I take offense to that!” Kim growled. “He spent most of the first two years fighting to keep his powers and being scared shitless of me.”
Cole looked startled. “Scared? Of a Pink Ranger?” he asked Tommy in disbelief, never once realizing as he did both Kat and Kim were eyeing him.
“Cole, you don’t have a Pink on your team, do you?” Leo asked.
“No, unless you count Alyssa, who has a white suit with pink stripes, why?” Cole stupidly asked.
“Let’s put it this way,” Eric chewed his hamburger carefully, his eyes on Cole. “Yellow Rangers are usually the ones think of with explosive tempers. Take Taylor for instance However, Pink Rangers are the ones it takes FOREVER to upset, but when you do…”
“BOOM!” Rocky shouted. “They can castrate you with a look at ten paces!”
The guys winced while the girls broke out laughing. “But…..Pink Rangers seem so gentle.”
Wes’ face wrinkled up and he turned to look at Cole. “You met Jen, didn’t you? I know you met Jen, she can be gentle yes, but she is pure attitude. You can’t tell me you didn’t notice that?”
With a mouthful, Eric told Wes, “Eh, she’as too’sy flirtin wit’you.”
The Red Time Force Ranger gave his friend and teammate a look that had Eric shrugging and going back to his food. “The only other Pink I’ve met was Dana, and she seemed pretty nice, so maybe Jen’s the exception.”
“Uh, no,” Carter shook his head. “Dana is not to be trifled with, trust me.”
“Kendrix and Karone both had their days,” Leo put in, wincing at the memories of his two pink teammates.
Andros nodded. “I’m glad Ashley is pretty mild mannered, cause let me tell you, Cassie scares the hell out of me some days.”
“We got you guys beat,” Rocky grinned, shaking his head and gesturing to himself and his male teammates.
“How so?” Cole wanted to know.
“You never served with Kat, who while gentle and mild mannered is fierce as hell when pissed off,” Rocky started, smiling at Kat who was glaring his way and grinding her teeth.
Jason finished his successor’s thought, hoping to save his friend’s life by taking the spotlight off his wife. “Kim’s just scary, trust me on that. What you saw at NASADA was NOTHING compared to the scariness that is Kimberly when she’s angry.”
“That’s why my girl has the ‘President of the Loraina Bobbitt Fan Club’ t-shirt,” Aisha snickered, watching the boys blanch. “She don’t take no shit from no one.”
The guys all looked in Tommy’s direction. “And you married her why?” Eric asked in confusion.
“’Cause I’m his Beautiful,” Kim murmured before Tommy leaned down to kiss her softly. “And I’ve had him wrapped around my pinky since 1993. And I meant what I said at NASADA today. You guys had better hope to every higher power that you destroyed Serpentara, cause if I have to round up the girls and take it out, I’m gonna come after each and every one of you in your sleep, with the help of your female teammates.”
Aisha, Katherine and Tanya nodded in agreement while the Red Rangers shrank back away from them. “Damn, you women are scary,” Eric muttered.
“Comes from years of having to put up with power-enhanced, broken chromosome carrying male Rangers,” Aisha shot back.
“Now, now children, let’s all get along,” Jason broke up the argument before it could get started. “Raise your glasses, ‘cause I’d like to propose a toast.” Quietly, the Rangers grabbed their glasses and raised them. “To the guys in red spandex who went out and kicked Venjix’s rusty ass to kingdom come, I say congratulations. To the teams of spandex wearing heroes who’ve spent the majority of the last ten years kicking evil’s ass, I say way to go. To friendships that will last for the rest of our lives, to the loves we’ve all found, and to the next generation, may you continue on. And last, to the man who use to be a floating head in a large glass tube, thank you for giving a bunch of human teenagers the ability to save their world.”
“Here here!” the group responded, drinking in celebration.
