Hearts and Armor

Chapter 24: Return to Angle Grove

Part 24

Kimberly's return to Angel Grove the following day was down played, a solemn event that included only the current Rangers and those ex-Rangers around. Jason's family was there, as were Tommy's parents. Her own Father had flown in to offer her his support now that she was going back to where she truly wanted to be. The reunion was bittersweet.

Almost every one of her friends had known her mother and while the Rangers knew the noble instances of her death, none of their families did. It was only Tommy's steadfast presence and the arm around her waist for support that helped her get through it without breaking down. If anyone thought it was odd that Tommy was the one person with whom she sought support, no one said anything and Kimberly was too grateful not to question it - nor the fact that his parent's didn't object to her extended stay as their houseguest.

Since she'd fallen asleep in his arms - and awoken in them too - she'd found it difficult to sleep without his presence and his parents were kind enough not to comment on the fact they were often found in the morning curled together on the living room couch. Kimberly, walking through a daze, found nothing unusual about the arrangement. Thought she did absently make note of the fact that they were always fully clothed and in plain view - and she was often wrapped in a separate blanket - when his parents found them.

It wasn't until Wednesday - after the call to the funeral home and from her mother's Lawyer - that Kimberly made her way to Jason's home. His parents welcomed her in like the daughter they'd always treated her to be, and Jason enveloped her in a tight hug. There were sniffles and the odd tear, as Kimberly brought herself to the point of her visit. Jason's family had been like her surrogate family. They'd known her own mother better than anyone else. They didn't refuse her, instead shared a humbled moment of silence as Kimberly requested that Jason's mother organize the reception and ceremony for her own mother's burial.

To Jason, she asked if he and his father would be casket bearers. Tommy, Billy, her father and her mother's fiancé would be asked to round out the crew. Jason promised to get in touch with Billy, and Kimberly had already obtained Tommy and her own father's acceptance to the task. Her mother's fiancé, Pierre, was flying out for the weekend when the funeral was to be held and he'd agreed to help in any way he could.

The Machine Empires was strangely silent in those days following the event, and it was only after Kimberly learned from the Rangers that they'd severely damaged both Gasket and Archerina before they'd made their getaway, that she understood why. The evil duo were likely licking their wounds and repairing each other. While not frail in the human sense, they weren't invincible. Kimberly expected the attacks to resume, soon - likely before her mother's funeral - but with Tommy's help she'd already recovered much of her confidence.

She hadn't found the courage to put her feet back on the practice mat or the balance beam yet, but she felt time would help. Once the funeral was over and the constant ache in her chest passed, she'd feel more like practicing once again.

The funeral, thankfully, went off in quiet dignity. It wasn't a large crowd - mostly Kimberly's friends and those few who still remained of her mother's in Angel Grove - but it was a solemn crowd. Jason's mother had put together a reception that was more of a wake, with people sharing the good memories of Kimberly's mother rather than the circumstances of her death. It was more than Kimberly'd hoped for and in those few hours with people who shared her pain, Kimberly felt her own easing. Her mother would have been proud of the way people hadn't dwelt on the bad.

After the funeral, it was because of Tommy's solicitous attentions that she found herself dealing with the issues that prevented her slumber rather than avoiding them. He provoked her. Pushed her. made her rage and cry and speak about the very things she had no desire to speak about. And, at the end of it all, she always felt better. Oh, she'd rail at him at the time, saying awful things about how he'd never cared for her to treat her so harshly, but none of it seemed to affect him.