Mighty Morphin Power Rangers - Love Is Series, Heather Ray [best beach reads TXT] 📗

hang. She didn't quite know how to put into words the need she felt to help him. To rush to his aid... as if he could ever need her help.

Billy waited patiently for Katherine to complete her sentence. When she didn't, he nodded in understanding, and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Kat," he began, as the pair began walking in the direction of the park, "you haven't really known Tommy too long."

"That's true," she responded, "Only a couple months."

Billy's lips curled into a weak smile. "So, you've only known Tommy as he is now. He's a brilliant leader. An accomplished warrior. He just gushes self-confidence, doesn't he?"

"Well, yes," Kat answered, fixing Billy with a confused look, "What are you trying to say?"

Billy sighed quietly. "The Tommy you know... well, the Tommy you think you know... doesn't exist."

Katherine blinked in astonishment at Billy's words. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, he's not like that. He's not invincible. I know sometimes he comes off as almost god-like. I can see the way you look at him with awe."

Billy smiled as Kat blushed slightly in response to that comment. "It's nothing to be ashamed of," he assured her, "He's quite impressive, as either the White or Red Ranger. I remember well when Rocky, Adam, and Aisha joined the team. They felt the same way that you probably do... that Tommy can't do wrong. That he has no weakness. That he's as strong as steel."

Billy bit his lip. "But he's not."

"Billy," Kat whispered, knitting her brow, "why are you telling me this?"

"Because you need to hear it," the wise ex-Ranger responded, "Tommy's going through something right now that's very, very major. I can see that you want to help him, and I figure that before you can, you need to know a little bit about him before

he was the exemplar of Ranger-dom."

"You mean the Green Ranger?" she inquired, nodding slightly, "Oh, I know about that. I know he once served Rita-"

"It's much more than that," Billy interrupted, "True, Tommy began his Ranger career on the wrong side, but that just marked the beginning... of his self-doubt."

Doubt. That was one word Katherine never associated with Tommy Oliver.

"He doubts in himself, much more than he lets on," Billy explained, "Over time, he learned to hide that doubt, and to a certain extent overcome it." He paused for a moment. "And a big contributor to his transformation is his relationship with Kimberly."

At the mention of her predecessor's name, Katherine tuned in even more intently to Billy's story.

"Kimberly is special to him. She's the one who never doubted him. The one who drew him out. Of course, all the original Rangers did their part in helping him adjust. But Kimberly is different. He looked to her like a radiant star. When they began dating, his confidence was bolstered by the mere fact that someone like her would care for him."

Katherine listened with great interest as Billy plainly recapped Tommy's earlier days. He mentioned the power losses, the disappointments, the evil spells, and everything in between. During their trek to the park, he went through them all.

And as tears built in her eyes, Katherine couldn't ignore the common thread throughout the tale. Whenever Tommy fell, Kimberly was always there to pick him up.

Kimberly was almost a guardian angel to Tommy. Someone cherished. Someone respected. Someone adored.

Someone... irreplaceable.

Their relationship was far more than just puppy love... at least as far as Tommy was concerned. It was the core of his self-image. During the months as the Green Ranger, Tommy transformed from a caterpillar to a butterfly. He endured so much, but Kimberly was at his side.

Katherine couldn't live up to that.

She shivered slightly as she felt Billy's hand rest on her shoulders. "I'm sorry I had to tell you all this," he said gently, "I... I hope I didn't hurt you, or belittle what you want to do for him. But I thought it was best to lay the truth bare before you begin to help him."

Katherine managed to prevent herself from crying, although tears glistened in her eyes. "But... I don't think I can help him..."

Billy grinned reassuringly. "Well, you're certainly going to try, aren't you? After all, someone has to help him. At times like this, when he wants to be alone... it's always the case that this is when he needs someone. He may seem like the man of steel when he wins, but when he loses..."

Katherine held her breath, as the lake finally came into view. And standing beside the shore, absently tossing pebbles into the still waters, was Tommy.

He looked so fragile and alone. So broken.

"When he loses," she whispered, "when he loses something important to him... he shatters."

"And we have to help him pick up the pieces," Billy concluded, giving Katherine a gentle push in Tommy's direction. She cast her eyes back at him hesitantly. "Go ahead," he pressed, taking a seat at a nearby bench, "It's what you came for... isn't it?"

Taking a breath to steel herself, Katherine strode slowly towards Tommy.

She was shaken by Billy's story. She was afraid of how severely Tommy had been hurt. She was afraid that, no matter how much she loved him, she would never be able to help him heal as Kimberly had.

But she wouldn't let that stop her. Nothing would stop her from being there for him... when it counted the most.

Chapter Four

Let me fill your heart with joy and laughter
Togetherness
Well it's all I'm after
Just call my name
And I'll be there

She couldn't stand seeing him like this. He seemed so broken and small... so fragile. It was as if life had dealt him a blow that he couldn't stand up against.

He had never seemed so... hollow. Now, seeing him so fragile and exposed, Katherine had to accept the fact that perhaps Tommy wasn't the indomitable hero she always perceived him to be. He was just another teenager, with the same weaknesses as anyone else. The difference was that Tommy could usually push passed the pain to accomplish his goal.

This time, however... he'd need help. Under normal circumstances, all the help he needed was the faith his friends put in him. But now, something in Katherine's soul made her feel that Tommy needed her help specifically.

Perhaps she could ease the pain a little.

"Tommy?" she whispered cautiously, standing a few feet from the engrossed Red Ranger, "Are you okay?"

Tommy startled at the sudden voice, turning around in an urgent motion as if he was moving on the defensive. Kat backed away a bit, watching his eyes carefully. He seemed confused, as if he had woken from a dream. Perhaps he was having a hard time facing the reality of the letter he had received.

"Yeah," he said half-heartedly, forcing his dismal countenance into a reassuring smile.

Katherine's worried expression collapsed into a dissatisfied frown at her leader's lie. "Everyone's really worried about you," she offered.

"I'm sorry," Tommy sighed defeatedly, turning from his companion to the clear waters of the lake, "but I just don't get it. I mean, Kimberly never mentioned anything like this to me before." His voice caught in his throat as he added grimly, "Until now."

Katherine bit her lower lip, her practiced self-control maintaining her reserved expression. The last thing she wanted to do was make him feel less comfortable by shedding tears. "I... I wish there was something I could say to make you feel better, but I know there isn't."

"Thanks anyway."

"Will you call one of us?" Katherine pressed.

"Yeah, sure," Tommy answered absently, turning once again to the lake, "No problem."

"You take care," Kat said sternly.

"Yeah," Tommy muttered, not even saying goodbye as the Pink Ranger slowly walked away from the lake, casting one final glance at him.

Taking a deep breath, Katherine walked towards the park benches near the lake, hugging herself in a desperate attempt to keep the coldness that enveloped the Red Ranger from entering her own heart.

She felt so guilty... so very guilty. She couldn't help but feel her love for Tommy was a sin. She loved a man she couldn't have, which necessarily meant that, on occasion, she wished she could be with him.

She couldn't deny it, no matter how wretched it made her feel. She had wished for this to happen.

In the darker, more selfish recesses of her consciousness, Katherine had wished that Tommy and Kimberly would break up.

The guilt threatened to swallow her whole as she walked away from the lake. Yes, she had wanted a chance to be with Tommy. But she never, ever expected it to happen so suddenly.

And after gazing into his hollow eyes, she wished with all her might that this never had happened. If it were in her power to restore Tommy and Kimberly's relationship, she would do it in an eyeblink.

She couldn't stand to see her friend in such agony.

As the faint breeze carried her flaxen locks around her eyes, she continued to walk towards an occupied bench, where Billy was waiting.

"Hey," she greeted, touching his shoulder as she passed. He quickly rose to his feet, and fell into step beside her.

"Any luck?" Billy inquired, shoving his hands into his jeans' pockets. Although he asked the question, it was clear that Billy knew the answer.

"He's really in bad shape," Katherine reported, shaking her head in remorse.

"This calls for drastic measures," Billy decided, a sly smile spreading onto his face, "We're going to have to do something to cheer him up."

"What?" Kat asked, curiosity building at her friend's knowing expression. "Do you have something in mind?"

"I think I just might," he responded, his pace quickening. Curiosity fueling her weak body, Kat raced to catch up.

"What is it?" she demanded.

"It's gonna take some effort," he answered, "and I'll need your help."

"You got it," she said without the slightest hesitation. She felt her spirits lift slightly at the thought that maybe... just maybe... she'd be able to help Tommy cope with his loss.

She was determined to do anything under the sun to contribute to his recovery from heartbreak... and there was no selfish desire