My Kimberly , My Tommy

Chapter 11: Dealing With Loss

The Garden

Kimberly stood over the little concrete angel. It had aged just a little in the years since it had been placed over the spot where the little box was buried; it's stony angelic face was stained from all the years of rain that had graced her garden like tears from above. This was sacred ground for her, there had been no remains to bury, but the little box with its symbolic contents were enough...

"Hey Beautiful, they're waiting for us."

Kim nodded, but didn't turn around. Feeling her sadness through their bond, he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. In the quiet, they thought back to that bittersweet moment when they'd buried this symbol of loss.

"We really have the best friends ever."

Kim nodded and then took a deep cleansing breath. "Okay, I'm ready."

They stood there for another moment before Tommy led Kimberly out of the garden and towards the crackling fire pit. Everyone was there; even Trent. Connor and Kira were away on their impromptu road trip and the younger kids were all in bed for the night. Autumn and Kyle were also there and looking pretty cozy in the light of the flickering flames.

He sat down in the big chaise lounge and then helped Kimberly sit down in front of him.

"So, I guess we're all ready for this next part of this story?" he asked asked as Kim watched them all.

When everyone nodded, Kim blew out a breath.

"By this time in our story, I was the longest serving ranger on the team and had given three whole years of my life fighting evil...and I was tired. I didn't want to admit it at the time, but losing the baby, though we hadn't known about her existence, was a blow to my heart and mind. As much as I loved being a ranger, I began to realize that my time in the spandex was ending."

~Flashback~

Kimberly stood at the tiny sink in the mobile home, washing the few dishes they had to their names. In their modest room, Tommy slumbered in their bed. It had been a long day of school followed by a difficult battle against King Mondo.

Kimberly put the last dish in the draining board and dried her hands on the kitchen towel. If she were honest with herself, she was feeling tired. The life of a ranger was never easy, but all these years spent protecting Earth from the forces of evil were weighing her down, not to mention the horrors she faced at the hands of those stupid bitches that had robbed her of something so precious...

Kim shoved those thoughts away and refocused her thoughts.

She was just done...

Sure, fighting alongside her mate and piloting the zords were great, but between that, going to school, and trying to move on with their lives, she felt as if she were becoming a zombie.

The truth was, that she just simply wanted be Kimberly Hart; the bride-to-be.

Pulling out a cold bottle of water from the mini fridge, she sat down at the little table and and took a long sip. With every passing moment, she was warming up to the idea of hanging up her morpher and spending every day working in the garden that held so much potential. The boys had so kindly broken up the dry ground and watered it for her and had even now the ground stood ready for her green thumb.

She was so ready to get started on it!

She could hear Tommy moving around in his sleep; She knew the instant he woke up.

"Kim, where are you?"

"In here, Handsome."

She heard the slide of fabric as he pulled some shorts on and then heard his footsteps as he walked toward the little dining area. He sat on the other side of the table and looked into her eyes.