Always a Ranger - Part 37
Family Reunion
By Jeannine Trevizo
“Are you sure
you don’t want to change your mind and run off to Las Vegas?” Kim asked as she
sat nervously on the couch as Tommy paced the living room of their house.
They’d been
lucky the last few days; there had been very little activity with regards to
Mesogog, and when Tommy had woken up that morning… nearly afternoon, his
hangover had been pretty much like a bad headache more than anything else. He
credited it to the fact that he hadn’t mixed his liquor… much. The three Sex
with a Goat’s that the guys had bought him had done a number on him, resulting
in his singing performance the night before.
But now the
real reason for them to be tense was to appear any moment; they were waiting
for their families to arrive.
As Tommy
looked at his watch once again, he was struck by another stab of doubt, and
wondered if maybe Kim had a point. Then he shook his head, dispelling the
thought.
“No. I
promised myself that if I ever got you back that we’d get married properly. And
it’s just our families Kim. You’d think you were expecting axe wielding maniacs
or Mesogog’s flunkies to knock at that door any minute.”
“Maybe that’s
because it’s been eight years since my parents have been in the same room
together, and neither of them have always been happy about my choices,” she
reminded him, remembering Tommy’s first meeting with her dad at the parent’s
day in Angel Grove.
Plus there
was the other decision that they’d made that she was pretty sure was going to
cause problems…
Before he
could say anything else to counter her comment, the door bell rang. He hurried
to the door and opened it to see a pair of very familiar people.
“Mom, dad!”
Tommy said brightly, as he was caught up quickly in his parents’ arms.
“You look
good son,” James Oliver said, looking over his son.
“So, is Kim
here?” Jan asked, backing up as she tried to glance over her too tall son’s
shoulder.
Once her name
had been mentioned, Kimberly got up from the couch and moved over to stand at
Tommy’s elbow. She knew that what she’d done in breaking up with their son had
hurt the Oliver’s almost as much as it had hurt Tommy, and she could only hope
that they would be understanding now…
“Kimberly
dear, it’s so good to see you,” said Tommy’s father, reaching past his son and
holding his arms out to her.
Without
hesitation, Kim hugged the older man, finding herself feeling re-accepted
again. Right behind him, Jan was waiting her turn.
“We were so
glad to hear that you and Tommy were talking again,” Jan stated as she hugged
her, smiling at the woman who stood where the young girl who had first dated
her son had been. “And when he called to say you were back together and getting
married, well we were surprised, to say the least.”
“Sorry about
that,” Tommy said with a wince as he guided everyone to the sofa, sitting on
the arm hovering over Kim’s shoulder. “I kept reminding myself to call and tell
you that things had changed and that I was thinking about it…”
“Not to
worry. The point is that we’re happy for the both of you,” James Oliver
expressed with a smile in the direction of their future daughter in law. “By
the way, your Uncle John was sorry he couldn’t come, but he’s in Daytona this
week for a race that’s on the same day as the wedding. He sent his best
though.”
“That’s good.
I know Kim’s Uncle Steve wasn’t able to come either, but we’ll make do.”
“So, are we
waiting on Kim’s family before we leave for dinner?” Jan asked, looking from
Tommy to Kim.
“My mom and
step dad are on the way, supposedly. As to my dad and brother… they may not get
here until the day of the wedding,” Kim commented reluctantly.
Before the subject
could be addressed, there was a knock at the door with a specific beat that
made Tommy smile. Quickly he got up from where he was perched on the arm of the
sofa and hurried to the door. Yanking it open, he found his brother staring at
him and behind him the elderly Native American man, Sam Trueheart that had
raised him.
“David, Sam!”
Tommy cried out, pausing briefly to hug his brother whom he’d seen the night
before at his bachelor party.
As Tommy and
David had hugged, obviously happy to see one another, Jan and James Oliver
watched their son with his only real living blood relative and couldn’t help
the sad smiles that crossed their faces.
“Hey Tommy,”
said David, as he hugged his brother, and then moved so Sam could get by.
Tommy moved
to embrace Sam as the elderly gray haired man opened his arms him. He’d been
the one who’d helped him find his heritage as well as his brother, and if he
wanted to be honest, the ring that his future wife now wore as well.
“Sam, David,
come in, meet everyone,” stated Tommy, ushering the men inside and then moving
to Kim’s side. “Kim, this is my brother David, and his guardian Sam Trueheart.”
“If I didn’t
already know he was your brother, the resemblance would have made me wonder,”
Kim said with a smile as she offered her hand to the man who was her love’s
only living blood relative.
David smiled
at her, and took her hand to shake it. He looked to his brother and winked,
letting him know of his silent approval.
“Kimberly,”
spoke up Sam as he moved forward to taker her hand in both of his. His eyes
glanced from her to Tommy and back again. “You make one another happy. This is
a good thing. You must always remember that together you are more than you are
apart. It is truly a pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise,”
Kim replied, smiling at the older man.
“You both
know my parents,” Tommy reminded them, re-introducing the four.
There were
polite smiles and handshakes, but the fact remained that while Jan and James
Oliver were happy their son knew something of his birth parents, it was hard to
realize that this part of Tommy’s life wasn’t part of theirs.
“When do you
expect your family Kimberly?” David asked, enjoying the opportunity to get to
know finally the woman he knew his brother had always loved.
“Uh…”
Kim turned to
Tommy, her discomfort written on her face. There was a reason she wasn’t
looking forward to her families’ arrival, and it seemed that their delay was
going to cause more friction than she wanted to deal with. Looking at his
watch, Tommy tapped his foot nervously.
“We have
reservations in fifteen minutes. Do we wait?” Tommy asked Kim apprehensively.
“Maybe a few
more minutes. Mom and Pierre probably had to find their way from the airport…”
Kim started when the doorbell rang.
Tommy moved
to see who it was, and when the door swung open, he found his future mother in
law on the other side.
“Mom!”
exclaimed Kim, hurrying to the door and catching her mother in a hug.
“Sorry about
being so late, the plane was delayed,” Caroline told everyone, smiling at the
assembled people until her eyes fell on Tommy. “Hey there stranger.”
Moving away
from Kim, Caroline went to Tommy and smiled at him fondly before reaching out
and hugging him. When she released him, Tommy gave Kim a sideways look of
surprise. He hadn’t been expecting such an enthusiastic reception.
“Kim, some
introductions perhaps?” Caroline suddenly said, noticing several of the people
in the room staring at her and her husband with blank looks.
“I’m sorry,
everyone, this is my mother Caroline and Pierre Dumas, her husband. Mom, you
know Tommy’s parents Jan and James, and this is his brother David and David’s
guardian, Sam Trueheart,” Kim said, introducing her mom and step father around.
As Kim made
the introductions and everyone shook hands, the doorbell rang again, and Kim
turned with wide eyes. Tommy opened the door to reveal Kim’s father Richard,
and her brother Kenny.
“Dad, Kenny…
I thought you weren’t getting in until Saturday,” stated Kim in surprise,
hurrying over to hug them both.
“Ken was able
to get away earlier and I made some last minute adjustments to my schedule.
Besides, I figured it would be bad manners to show up the day of my daughter’s
wedding,” Rich Hart said, smiling at his little girl.
“Mr. Hart,
Kenny,” Tommy said, coming up to Kim’s side and putting an arm around her
shoulders as she backed up from her father’s embrace.
“Tommy, hey
good to see you,” Ken said, reaching over to shake Tommy’s hand. He’d liked
Kim’s boyfriend from Angel Grove, and when he’d heard the news about the
engagement, he figured that the guy really had been alright after all.
Kim’s father
also took Tommy’s hand, and then turned to his ex-wife and politely kissed her
cheek. Caroline took over the hostess duties, re-introducing him and her son to
Jan and James, as well as Tommy’s other family, David and Sam. They all briefly
shook hands, making pleasant small talk before Kim looked to Tommy and silently
let him know that leaving now would be a good idea.
“So, now that
everyone’s here, let’s go,” Tommy stated, and watched Kim breathe out a sigh of
relief and he opened the door up again.
Quickly Tommy
waved everyone out the door, and then ushered Kim out before locking up. Things
seemed to be okay, but he had an idea or two about what Kim was worried about
with her dad, some wedding details that they’d discussed but hadn’t mentioned
to anyone yet. Informing them all of those choices was going to be sticky, more
than likely. He sighed as they walked along the path and hoped that Kim wasn’t
right, and that they wouldn’t regret not going to Vegas after all.
-x-
They’d
survived dinner, with the only really disturbing incident being the near
argument that Kim’s father and Kim had gotten into over her decision to not
have him walk her down the aisle. She had feared he wouldn’t understand, and
the fact that he wanted to argue about it had thrown a chill over the
festivities, and Tommy and Kim had ended up saying goodbye to everyone at the
restaurant, needing to go home on their own and decompress.
When the next
day came, it was with more wedding details to attend to, plans with their
families and their friends, and it was starting to drive them both crazy.
First on
their agenda for the day was breakfast with Jason and Aisha that morning before
they split up to do more of the final wedding chores. Tommy and Jason had
picked David up at the hotel and then gone to get fitted for their tuxedoes
while Kim went to pick up her dress from the shop and help Aisha find one. Kira
and Caroline met them there to help out, Kira making sure to point out the
dress that she’d bought for herself by using some of the money she’d gotten
from that awful record producer who’d made that horrible video of her song. At
least she’d gotten paid for it…
Once the
dresses had been put in the trunk of Aisha’s rental car, the four of them had
gone to meet with the party rental company, caterer, florist and bakery one
last time to make sure everything was on track. From there, they stopped by a
party supply store to pick up some extra things to decorate the reception with,
and the materials for the favors that Kim had ended up waiting for everyone to
get into town and help with.
So when Tommy
arrived home after dropping Jason and David off at their hotels, he found Kim,
Kira, Aisha, and Caroline Hart in their kitchen, making favors. He walked in
smiling at Aisha and Kira before coming around to lay his hands on Kim’s
shoulders, kissing her on the top of her head.
“What did you
decide on, because these don’t look like pre-made chocolate boxes,” he asked
with an amused tone.
“We’re making
favor bags, with chocolates in them, thank you very much,” Kim replied with a
glance.
“It’s
actually very sweet,” Caroline said, handing one of the finished bags to Tommy.
He took it,
seeing the red foil hearts in the clear plastic, the top tied with pink and
black ribbons and a small white card attached. It had their names and the date
hand printed on it, a task he noticed Kim was taking on. He flipped the card
over to see clearly the images of a falcon and crane in flight in black ink.
Taken aback, he nearly dropped the package.
“Where… how…”
Tommy rambled before Aisha and Kira started laughing.
“Stamps,”
Aisha announced, holding up one of the rubber stamps that they’d found at the
craft store.
“I thought
that was a bit strange, but Kim said they were good luck,” said Caroline,
filling another bag with the heart chocolates as Kim gave Tommy a knowing
smile.
“They
definitely are Mrs. Dumas,” he remarked, his voice thick with emotion.
“We have more
to do, so why don’t you scoot and go do something useful,” Kim stated.
He nodded and
kissed her briefly before heading out.
-x-
It was later
that evening when the favors had been finished and everyone had headed out for
their own plans that Tommy and Kim finally were able to eat a quiet dinner
together before making a final check of the wedding preparations. After they’d
cleaned the kitchen, putting the dishes in the dishwasher and made out slightly
at the sink counter, Kim had made her way to sit at the computer desk. While
she reviewed and checked off tasks on the list, Tommy watched her intently,
laid out on the couch, sighing as he put his feet up on the coffee table.
“So, we have
everything in place, right?” Kim asked, using the computer program that Ethan
had given them to manage the wedding. “You got your tux while you were out with
Jason and David, and my dress is at the hotel with Aisha… wow, I think that
we’ve done everything.”
“Oh, we
stopped by and saw Hayley earlier at the Cyberspace and said she had everything
under control over there. She conned Billy, Trent, Conner and Ethan into
getting everything set up and is making sure that the caterer and musicians are
in and ready by the time we get there,” he told her.
“I don’t know
what we would have done without her, Ethan, or the rest of the team… or our
friends for that matter.”
“I would have
woken up without a headache a couple of days ago,” Tommy reminded her, and she
laughed.
“Still… hey,
you didn’t tell me… are we taking a honeymoon?” Kim said in a shocked voice,
realizing they’d never talked about it.
“I do have a
plan Beautiful… since I can’t really be gone too long with school already in
session and you needing to start your new job, I just thought that we could
maybe,” he started, and then got up from the couch and walked to stand beside
her at his desk and pulled out the side drawer, digging under the papers and
bills Kim was used to seeing there and pulled out a pair of tickets. “Go to
Hawaii for five days?”
“Tommy,
that’s… oh, you,” she said, her eyes misting as she got up and jumped into his
embrace.
“I take it
that’s a yes?”
“Always,” she
answered, and they both understood that it was for more than just the honeymoon
plans.
-x-
The
atmosphere at the rehearsal dinner was more like a small version of what they
hoped the reception would be like. People talking, laughing and having a good
time.
Tommy had
chosen the Deep Dive, where he and Jason had met for dinner not long after he’d
gotten the black ranger powers. It was there that Jason had told him not to let
Kim slip through his fingers, and he thought it was the perfect place to
celebrate his accomplishment of that goal.
Kira and
Aisha had sat together, the two getting to know one another better, while David
and Kim had talked over the chaos that was the fourteen people in the
semi-private back room that the restaurant used for parties. The subject of
Kim’s walking down the aisle alone came up again, this time brought up
accidentally by Aisha.
Richard Hart
watched his daughter brush off the question and shook his head. He had brought
this on himself. He and Ken had talked the night before about it, and he’d had
to face some hard truths. In the last six years, he really hadn’t been there
for his daughter. She had done everything on her own, her Pan Global
experience, college, coaching… and he was now upset about her choosing to walk
herself down the aisle? He had no right to ask her for that honor, and as it
was, he knew he ought to be happy that their relationship had survived enough
that she’d wanted them there.
Conversation
continued, everyone asking about honeymoon plans, and Kim was able to tell them
about Tommy’s surprise of the Hawaii tickets. There were lots of happy
congratulations and Aisha informed Kim that the water was just so blue that
they had to find time to actually leave the hotel and go swimming. Both Kim and
Tommy blushed at the implied suggestion that they wouldn’t leave the hotel, but
they both knew that their friends knew them well enough that they *should* think
that.
Once they
wrapped up the meal, the families and friends involved with the wedding piled
into the cars and drove to the church.
The site that
Tommy had presented to Kim as his suggestion on where to hold the wedding was a
simple little white wooden chapel, big enough for maybe one hundred people, and
more than large enough for the thirty friends and family that would be
attending. As they walked through the double doors, the charm of the small
church hit everyone. They passed the room near the front door Kim and the
bridal party would use to get her ready to walk down the aisle, and then
entered the church itself.
“Good evening
Tommy, Kim,” called out an older man, his hair receding and gray, with a full
mustache and beard over a large smile, dressed in a suit with his obvious
clerical collar. “These must be the rest of the wedding party. I’m Reverend
Miller. How about we get started, so you fine folks can go back to your lives?”
The reverend
started talking over who needed to do what, who followed who and the general
‘how to get married’ instructions. Kim and Tommy went through the motions as
directed, not really fully aware of their actions. All they could think of was
that in two days they’d be doing this for real. The minister glossed over the vows
and such, remarking that they’d be able to screw them up without any problem
the day of the wedding even with rehearsing, making everyone laugh.
When they
came to the kissing part of the ceremony, Tommy and Kim broke from their
trance, and kissed one another, somewhat less than politely, resulting in
another round of laughter.
“Well, I
guess they have *that* part down pat,” remarked the reverend, which only made
everyone laugh louder and Kim and Tommy blush and hold one another tighter.
-x-
After having
seen their families and friends back to their hotels from the church, and
dropping Kira off at home, Tommy and Kim lounged on their couch, Tommy idly
flipping channels with the remote with one hand while the other held Kim tucked
into his side, her head on his chest as they settled in for the night.
“You know,
it’s been quiet the last few days,” Kim asked with a hint of worry in her
voice, and Tommy knew what she meant immediately. “Do you think they’re
planning something? They wouldn’t attack the downtown or anything while we’re
having the wedding, and make us have to run out…”
“I don’t
think so Kim. I mean, if something does comes up during the wedding, Conner,
Trent and Ethan can sneak out, and we’ll join them after the fact. Besides,
with you and me being sort of secondary, we have that luxury now of not having
to be the first rangers into battle.”
“But you’d
want to be there first anyway, if you could,” she remarked with a grin, and he
sighed.
“Yeah, but so
would you,” he tossed back, knowing that since she’d gotten her dino powers
she’d been energized to go into battle just as much as he always was.
She rolled
her eyes but didn’t correct him, because she couldn’t.
“Are you
going to stay at a hotel tomorrow night?” Tommy blurted out as he flipped past
a romantic scene on the television.
“I hadn’t
given it much thought,” Kim said, looking to Tommy with a frown. “I think we’ve
spent enough time apart, wouldn’t you say?”
The thought
of years alone, going through the motions and not even speaking to Kim flashed
through Tommy’s mind. Then the year after Trini’s funeral when all he wanted to
do was tell her he still loved her, and the following year when they’d been in
love but almost trapped by obligations to their own lives… No, they’d spent *way*
too much time apart to add any more right now.
“Definitely.
So what are you going to do then? ”
“I’ll just
figure to leave early Saturday morning for the hotel and meet up with Aisha,
Kira and my mom and meet you at the altar.”
“Sounds like
a plan Beautiful.”
“Besides, you
can handle me being gone for a little while Saturday… I mean you’ve got me for
the next 48 hours straight,” she reminded him with a gentle nudge of her elbow
and a smile.
“I thought I
had you forever?”
“You do…”
He leaned
over and kissed her softly at first, and then more deeply, reassuring them both
that they really did have forever.
-End-
tbc…
A/N: Alright
everyone… we’re heading to the home stretch…
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