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�Day two interview of the Power Rangers,� Fred said as the tape began and Madeline just looked at him. It was the first time that he felt tempted to describe them to let everyone who heard this be able to look out into the crowd and find the rangers, as he was sure they would be invited to the long listening of the ranger investigation in case anything was changed from their original interview.

He would have never picked any of them as rangers. Madeline looked like a college student and she was not someone to imagine even in the military. Her brown hair reached her shoulders and her eyes always shown with excitement. She was on the short side and was not the skinniest in the world, but you could tell she was athletic and bright, which was all that mattered here.

Maddox was definitely in shape, but didn�t look strict or hardened by the life that they had lived. There were some in the group that did, but that person was still in the military. His black hair was definitely longer than anyone would allow it to be in the military, but it suited him well. Anyone could see how protective he was of Madeline, but they couldn�t be sure if that was just because they had been rangers or because there was more to their story.

Sam, however, was a different story. He was stiff and his clothing was ironed to perfection. His hair could have been a multitude of colors, but it was sandy blond in all reality. His eyes were cold and it did not take a genius to figure out that he was not extremely well accepted by the others. However, they did stand him and that said something about their upbringing.

BethAnn�s current hair color was red, although none of them were sure what the natural color was. She never kept it the same for too long. She was of a small build and had ferocity in her eyes that no one seemed to want to meet head on if they could possibly help it.

Garrett was different from the other guys. He was slight of build and all his muscle was toned, but not very defined. He had long blonde hair and a very gentle expression, unlike all the others. He seemed to be the most at ease with what was happening, although none of them were extremely comfortable with it.

�Okay, now, let�s go with Tommy and Kim�s day, then we�ll go to our day with Jason and Rocky,� Madeline said as Maddox smiled over at her. Their night had been rough last night, but they had gotten everything figured out and how it was to be best handled.

�What�s wrong?� Tommy asked as Kim rubbed her chest against him and groaned. She had not been this sore in a very long time and had hoped that she would never be this way again after her last tour of duty as a ranger. She had never planned on having a C-section though and that was definitely worse than most things she had ever experienced.

�Pass me the breast pump,� Kim said as Tommy gave her a sympathetic look and he reached over for the pump.

�Can I help you?� Tommy asked as she sat up slowly and just shook her head no. She was in too much pain for him to be able to help right now. Her body was reluctant to admit that it was no longer pregnant, except for the milk that was flowing into her breasts and causing another degree of discomfort.

�I don�t want to leave him alone, Tommy,� Kim whispered as he sat up behind her and gently caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. He could feel her tears and knew well enough where it stemmed from. He was fighting with the same emotions and many more that Kim had not even reached yet. He had had time to think about some things and those things left him in a worried state that he had not been in for years. It was one thing when something came after them as rangers, but it was a completely different matter when they came after them just because they were a convenient target.

�They�ll let you stay with him as long as you need to Kim,� Tommy said as Kim looked over at him. He knew that they�d make her go home at night and she didn�t want to do that. It had taken everything to get her to sleep last night and she was exhausted then. He knew when she gained her strength back, it would be incredibly hard to convince her that she couldn�t stay with her child.

�They kicked me out last night Tommy, so I doubt that I�ll really get to stay as long as I want when I�m up to it,� Kim said as Tommy gave her a sympathetic look. He could see the pain, but he could still rejoice in the fact that their child was surviving with only minimal help. That was something that he had to be happy for, considering how bad things could be right now. �Do you have to go today?�

�No, Jason and Rocky are taking care of everything until you come home and we�ve gotten things settled down with Chris,� Tommy said as Kim nodded. That, however, did not comfort her. She knew this would mean more nights alone while he tried to catch up with what he missed. It was an endless cycle, but she did not see the end of it any time soon. They had been brought in to prepare a team and there was a lot riding on Tommy�s performance. If he didn�t do this just right, they were going to face hell later on.

�And after that?� Kim asked looking back at him. She knew exactly what the answer would be, but she did not want to hear that from him right now. She was not sure if she would be able to deal with it.

�I don�t know Kim. It all depends on what has to be done. You know I don�t like having to choose,� Tommy said as Kim just shook her head, but didn�t say anything for the moment.

�But you have always had to Tommy, one way or another. I just wish that they�d never found us, never asked you to do this because our baby wouldn�t be in the NICU, he�d still be right here,� Kim said, pointing to her flattened stomach as Tommy just stared at her. He had not expected this sort of reaction, but the blame was starting to shift and he had to expect it some. It was really no one�s fault, but Kim had to find someone to blame with all the pain that she was feeling and he was the only person anywhere near him.

�Kim, come here,� Tommy said as he pulled her back and she just shook against him. She wanted to hit him, get out all of her frustrations, but she was not mad at him. She was mad at herself more than anyone else.

�Tommy, I�m sorry. I...I�m just upset. It wasn�t...you...couldn�t have...why would he do that?� Kim yelled as he turned her around and he allowed her to beat the living crap out of him. He knew that she needed to get her emotions out in the open and he was the best person to beat up on. He would not fight back and he knew that if she did not release this, then things were going to get much worse.

�I wish I knew,� Tommy said as she sobbed against him. There were so many things he wanted to do right now, but he knew that he had to trust his teammates to take care of it. He knew that he couldn�t right now. His child and his wife needed him much more than the rangers that he was training.

�Dr. Oliver,� Dr. Sealnon said as he entered the room and Tommy looked up from Kim for a moment. �May I speak with you? Alone?�

�Go Tommy, I�ll be fine,� Kim said as she released him and he slowly pulled away from her. He was concerned about what was going on here. He had not expected to have to talk to Dr. Sealnon again until they left the hospital. �Go before I change my mind, Tommy.�

�Let�s make this quick,� Tommy said as Dr. Sealnon nodded in agreement. He certainly did not want to drag this conversation out anymore than he could help. He knew that Kim needed Tommy more than anyone else right now, but he had to get some things straightened out before he could sleep easily at night.

�I didn�t ask what happened yesterday, but I need to know Tommy. The reason she was set up with me was because of my past jobs. So tell me, what attacked her and will it come after your son here,� Dr. Sealnon demanded as they walked to his office.

�Halindon,� Tommy said as Dr. Sealnon nodded, he had expected to hear those words come out of Tommy�s mouth from the moment that he brought her in. �I can�t say what else he�ll do, but if he is stupid enough to even attempt to take my son away. I�ll kill him myself.�

�But you�re not supposed to fight,� Dr. Sealnon said with a smile as Tommy just shook his head. They both knew that Tommy would rather be on the ranger team himself, but the government had insisted that he just sit back and observe, be their mentor. What good was that going to do now that he knew he would not be able to sit at the command center for more than fifteen minutes without being worried that something had happened to his son or his wife?

�He crossed the line when he hit my wife. Now it is time for me to kill his ass and I would have done more if the rangers hadn�t been there to stop me,� Tommy said as Dr. Sealnon nodded. He had never imagined this man sitting in the back seat and just taking what came to him.

�That�s what I felt, now let me warn you. Kim cannot fight for the next six weeks, at a minimum. I do not want her to come in here with an extremely pulled muscle because she�s moved too quickly back into training or worse, having to fight. Take her out of the equation as soon as possible, otherwise I will,� Dr. Sealnon said as Tommy nodded. He hadn�t been planning to let her do anything. Now he surely would not let her do absolutely anything. He couldn�t risk it and he would just have to get the point across to Kim, quickly. �You�re sure that you�ll be able to handle her.�

�She�s my wife, I should be able to get the point across to her,� Tommy said as Dr. Sealnon nodded. He knew that Tommy was probably the only person that would be able to get anything across to Kimberly, as even he had learned about her famous stubbornness in the last few months.

�Okay, just go back to her,� Dr. Sealnon said as Tommy nodded and he turned to go out of the room. He was sure that he had stayed longer than he needed to, as Kim still too unstable to truly be left alone.

�Kim...� Tommy said as he opened the door and looked in on her. He was not sure if he should tell her everything right away or if he should wait for a little while, but he didn�t have a chance to decide that as he was greeted by the nurse.

�She has already walked down to the NICU,� Abigail said as Tommy looked at her and just shook his head.

�You let her go by herself?� Tommy asked as Abigail shook her head no and Tommy gave her a concerned look.

�One of your friends came by and she went with them,� Abigail said as Tommy shook his head. Their friends would have called before they just showed up, especially considering how everything had happened yesterday.

�No...� Tommy muttered as he released the door and ran towards the NICU afraid that it was an imposter and that he was going to have to go rescue his wife in only a matter of minutes.

�Tommy, what�s wrong?� Kim asked as he barged into the NICU and saw Kim sitting there with Kat, who was giving Tommy a concerned look.

�I just...I just thought that...don�t worry about it you�re safe,� Tommy said as he squatted down and wrapped both of his arms around her as he let out a long sigh. He had so much on him right now and he just wanted for things to be straightened out quickly.

�How�ve you been Tommy?� Kat asked as he looked up at her and he just shook his head. Hadn�t his episode just proved how he was doing with all of this stuff? He was more paranoid than he had been in years and there was nothing that he could do about it. He was on the ropes and he knew that he could not deal with the idea of Kim or Chris being taken away from him right now and he would do everything to insure that that did not happen.

�I�ve been better Kat, but we�ll make it,� Tommy said as Kim continued playing with Chris�s small hand as he gripped onto her finger as tight as he could and Tommy could tell that she was fighting her tears. �You okay, sweetie?�

�You know that I�m just...I don�t want to be taken away from him so soon,� Kim whispered as Kat took a step away and Tommy then looked up at her.

�Did you need something Kat?� Tommy asked as Kat smiled over at them. She didn�t want to break them from their moment because they really needed each other. She didn�t know what she would do if her ranger life ever caused something to happen to her while she was pregnant. She had some worries, but it was not about whether or not a monster would come after her. She knew that if that had been the case, she would have begged Billy to take her to Aquitar for the nine months to insure her safety. The two of them were built of stronger stuff than what most people thought.

�Actually they sent me here to see if you needed something. I�ve got today off work and Rocky and Jason are trying to figure out what needs to be done over the next few weeks,� Kat said as Tommy looked over at Kim, begging her to forgive him for what he was about to do and she merely nodded.

�Do you have a notepad?� Tommy asked as Kat nodded and handed him a notebook, so that he could jot down what Jason and Rocky needed to accomplish in his absence.

�He looks good,� Kat said as she sat down next to Kimberly and Kim looked over at her. They had removed some of the tubes and were considering letting him out of the incubator so that Kim could hold him for the first time, but they still said that would be several days off.

�Thanks,� Kim whispered as she continued to rub his hand and Katherine just put her arm around Kim.

�There is nothing you could have done Kim,� Katherine said as Kim looked over at her and nodded. She knew that it was not her fault, but it was still hard to not blame herself when her son was in an incubator and hooked up to more machines than she ever wanted to see her child hooked up to.

�It still doesn�t make me feel any better,� Kim said as Katherine nodded. She knew that Kim was not going to be able to recover from this until she had her baby in her arms and was able to take him home.

�I think that this is all I have for them,� Tommy said as he passed the pad of paper over to Katherine and Kim looked at him with wide eyes. She could not believe that he had scribbled out a full page of things that needed to be done in under five minutes, but it was obvious that he had been planning this for awhile.

�I�ll take it to them on my way to get some groceries. Call me if you need anything,� Kat said as she turned to leave them and saw the look in their eyes. �I mean it, call me if you need something.�

�We will, Kat,� Kim said as Tommy nodded his head in agreement as they watched her leave and Tommy then looked back over at Kimberly.

�He looks better this morning, Kim,� Tommy whispered as Kim nodded her head yes, but the fact was she still knew he was not out of the woods yet. They had been lucky so far, but they did not know how much longer they would be this lucky.

�Tommy, I just want him to come home with me today. I don�t want to leave him, what if...what if Halindon comes after him?� Kim asked, whispering the last part as Tommy gave her a sympathetic look and he held her close.

�If he does that, he won�t have to worry about the rangers killing him. I�ll do it myself,� Tommy threatened as Kim looked over at him and saw the earnest hate in his eyes.

�Tommy, it�s not your job anymore and I can�t stand the thought of losing you because you go and do something stupid,� Kim said as Tommy just looked over at her, completely surprised that she was objecting to this at all. He had thought that she would want to strangle the man with her own bare hands if he so much as laid a hand on Chris.

�Kimberly, how many times have I already almost died for you?� Tommy whispered to her as she looked down at him, completely confused as to where he was going with this. �I would do the same for my child and I know that you would do the same thing as well, so don�t tell me that I can�t do that if he tries to take our child. You�ll be doing the same thing, Kim.�

�Tommy, please, I can�t stand the thought of losing both of you at the same time,� Kim said as he saw the concern in her eyes and he nodded to keep her from saying anything else about it.

�Come here,� Tommy whispered as he pulled her into his arms and she closed her eyes as her face filled with pain. �I�m so proud of you.�

�What do you have to be proud of?� Kim asked him in return as he gave her a very weak smile and she broke down in tears.

�Because you�ve been so strong and I don�t know how you�ve done it. I haven�t been here as much as I should. I�m going to try to help you Kim, I�m going to try to do less,� Tommy said as she looked at him and he cradled her in his arms and she just sat there silently.

�I know you have to do this Tommy,� Kim muttered as he looked down at her and realized that she was forcing herself to say that to him. She didn�t really believe it, but she knew that he needed some reassurances right now.

�I�ll talk to them soon, don�t worry about it Kim,� Tommy said as she looked over at him. She was not asking that of him, this job was important, they both knew that. That was why they had sacrificed so much to help this team get started, he couldn�t just give up on it now.

�Tommy, if you cut back what you�re doing the rangers will have no help,� Kim said as he looked into her eyes, unbelieving.

�And if I don�t what else will I lose?� Tommy asked as Kim greeted his gaze with hesitance. She knew that he was going to see what she really wanted when he looked at her and she didn�t want him to see it. �They will learn from Jason and Rocky until we can go back. I�m staying with you as long as you need me.�

�Tommy, it�s not your choice, they�ll want you back tomorrow,� Kim said as Tommy merely shook his head. He knew what they would want but he also knew that he could not neglect his family. He did not like the idea of his child barely knowing who he was. �What are you going to do? Tell them to take a flying leap from the top of the Megazord?�

�Sounds like a good idea,� Tommy muttered as his cell phone went off and he looked down at it and then walked out of the room. �Hello...�

�Tommy, sorry to do this but the rangers won�t be back until this afternoon. I hate to ask this but can I come by and go over some stuff with you?� Jason asked as Tommy looked down at his watch. Kat had only left a few minutes ago.

�You teleported Kat there?� Tommy asked, accusingly, as Jason cringed on the other end. He did not want to upset Tommy anymore than he already was, they all knew that to could be dangerous.

�Billy did, but just calm down for a moment. Billy is agreeing with that. Look we don�t want to keep you for too long, but I have questions about this long list that you scribbled out,� Jason said as Tommy nodded. He had expected that they would have some questions about it when they read through it and realized what he was asking of them.

�Come on, I�ll just break it to her,� Tommy said as he turned around and went to tell Kim.

�They need to talk to you,� Kim said simply as Tommy merely nodded and she smiled. �They can come in and sit down.�

�I don�t want to bother you,� Tommy said as Kim looked over at the door and then Tommy looked back.

�Tommy, I�ll find out anyway I might as well find out now. It�s not like much worse can happen to me,� Kim said as he managed to nod and then signaled for Jason to come in.

�I didn�t want to talk with you Kim,� Jason said as she looked up at him.

�He�ll tell me anyway Jason, I might as well hear it now,� Kim said, calmly, as Tommy looked over at Jason who just shook his head. If Tommy was not fighting it, then neither would he, he didn�t see the use spending his energy on a fight that he would not win.

�Okay, the kids took it pretty good yesterday, but I still think Madeline might kill Sam if we ever give her the chance,� Jason said as Kim laughed. �I take it you don�t blame her.�

�Now I can go after him, the bastard,� Kim said as Tommy just shook his head. He still had to have a long talk with her about her limits.

�I think we can do everything asked, but we need to work out a schedule for the dojo. They�ll accept you being gone for a little while, but after awhile you�ll lose business. Rocky and I can rotate days for the next couple of weeks, but then we�ll have to go back to work,� Jason said as Tommy nodded his head. He had never wanted to ask all of this from his friends. The fact was, he now didn�t have a choice. He had to have help because they had to keep everything a float.

�What about the rangers?� Kim whispered, leaning her head in and Jason and Tommy exchanged a glance.

�Andros,� Jason said, simply, as Kim nodded. She had thought it might come to that. �He knows about everything and he wants to have a big group pow wow as soon as we can. He understands it might still be a couple of weeks, but he has some things to talk about.�

�Yeah, just like I have some things we�re going to have to figure out,� Tommy said, pointedly, as Jason nodded while Kim gave him a wary look.

�We�re going to have to stay at the Command Center, aren�t we?� Kim said, tightly, as Tommy nodded his head yes and she sighed. She did not want to do that. She wanted her child to have a normal room and crib, not a place with high security and screeching alarm systems. �Then why the hell did we even buy a house?�

�Because I never thought it would get this bad. I thought we�d be safe, because we�re not in uniform anymore,� Tommy said as a nurse passed them by and they looked back at her for a brief moment.

�I don�t want the two of you to fight over this, but you do have to do something Kim, otherwise it�s not going to be pretty,� Jason said as Kim nodded while Jason looked at his paper. �Okay, second thing I have is how much time do we need to bring Billy in for. I know if we bring him in too often then he becomes a PANEL member and he didn�t want that.�

�I�m going to have to see exactly what we need his help with before I can say when we�ll have to bring him in. We may have to ask him to become a member of the PANEL,� Tommy said as Kim began to object. �Kim don�t. I don�t want to break my promise to him, but we�ve got to do what we have to do to make this work.�

�It�s not right to do that Tommy. He has a kid on the way and he has to keep his job and...� Kim said as Tommy held up his hand. He didn�t need a lecture. He already knew about all of that and he was sure he would catch hell from Kat if he even suggested that Billy become a full-time member, but there were things that he couldn�t do now and that meant that more people had to chip in and take up the slack.

�I know Kim, but these are the facts. Hell, if we hadn�t gotten pregnant we would have done a lot more without any of them helping us,� Tommy said as Kim�s eyes flashed pink and both Jason and Tommy scooted away, knowing what was coming. They all had a small, or in Kim and Tommy�s case a large, connection to their old powers and every once in awhile they reared up in the least expected situations.

�Thomas Christopher Oliver don�t you dare say that to me!� Kim yelled as Dr. Sealnon peeped in to see her standing above Tommy, as he cowered away.

�Mrs. Oliver, sit down,� Dr. Sealnon said, rather sternly, as she glared at him and then stomped out of the room as Tommy let out a long sigh. He knew he was in the dog house and doubted that he would ever be able to get out of it. �You didn�t do a good job of convincing her not to do anything.�

�I haven�t been able to talk to her about that,� Tommy said as Dr. Sealnon nodded. He knew the man had more on his shoulders than he should, but they still had to make sure Kim didn�t over stress her body that was the last thing that he needed right now.

�And you were a dumb ass just a moment ago,� Jason pointed out as Tommy glared at him. �Tommy your wife just had your child and you�re coming across as a son of a bitch right now.�

�I�ve had way too much on my mind lately,� Tommy said with frustration as Kim walked back in and sat down next to Tommy.

�Finish it Tommy,� Kim said as Jason looked over and saw that she was still furious, but there was nothing that she could do about it.

�Okay guys, what I also need is for you to go over this information sometime. I�ve put together everything that we did so you can see it. I�ve got to get back to work, but call me when all of this mess is over,� Jason said as he handed Tommy a stack of papers and he just shook his head as he filed through it before looking over at Kim.

�This is going to take the rest of the day,� Tommy said as Kim just looked at him.

�Call the person that is over you because I can�t do this Tommy, I need you here for me,� Kim said as he looked at her and nodded. He had already made a couple of stupid decisions today. He did not want to make anymore today if he could help it.

�I�m sorry, Kim,� Tommy said as he grabbed his phone and walked from the room.

�It�s going to be a long couple of weeks sweetie,� Kim whispered as she put her hand back into the incubator. She knew that Tommy had so much to do and she knew he didn�t have a choice. She just hoped that everything would be all right.

�That is all you have?� Fred asked as Madeline nodded. He wanted to hear more of the story, but he didn�t think it wise to press them.

�Well, we�re supposed to talk about our ranger work, not Kim and Tommy�s problems,� Maddox said as Madeline nodded. There was nothing else that she could do. They had much more ranger related stuff to deal with so it was time to go to their meeting, but that would be well after lunch.

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