Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Dino Thunder

Hope

Kira looked up at Zeltrax's ship, as it seemed to be in some sort of distress. She didn't know where Tommy Oliver was. The black ranger had gone into the ship to have it out with Zeltrax, whom he learned was a man known as Smitty that he thought lost when the research island exploded.

"No… Dr. O…!" Kira cried out as the ship exploded. She looked to the ground; somehow expecting him to be walking towards them unharmed but that didn't happen.

The young rangers ran towards the wreckage of Zeltrax's ship hoping to find some sign of Tommy being alive. If he was injured they could deal with it, they just wanted to see him alive.

Kira moved a bit of wreckage and found Tommy lying motionless on the ground, his dark eyes staring into nothingness. To her horror he was dead; she didn't want to believe it.

"Dr. O…" she shook his still frame but got no response. She then checked for a pulse and found nothing; his body was warm but his heart had stopped beating, and he no longer took in breath. He was gone. She began to sob, her head falling to his unmoving chest.

"No…"

Conner and Ethan converged on her.

"Kira…" Conner said. "What's wrong?"

Kira whirled on Conner.

"He's dead…" she choked out "Dr. Oliver is DEAD Conner, what do you think is wrong? He was the closest thing to a father I've ever known and he's DEAD!"

The boys embraced Kira as she sobbed.

Kira woke with a start.

It was a dream… she had only been dreaming. She and the other rangers were staying at Tommy Oliver's house due to the recent rainstorm making the only way to and from his home impassible. She sat in bed for several minutes trying to remember how to breathe properly. She looked down at her hands to find them trembling, she touched her face and found it wet with tears. That was way too real for Kira's liking.

Kira got out of bed, wrapped her blanket around her shoulders, and walked into the living room area, wiping tears from her eyes while trying to remind herself of the fact that Dr. Oliver didn't die when Zeltrax's ship exploded. He had gotten out alive.

She sat on the couch looking around the darkened room and wishing he would show his face. She just had to see that he was alive and well. It had been a couple of weeks since the incident and Kira didn't understand why it was still haunting her; that nightmare had recurred several times and she had a hard time going back to sleep after it visited her. It was 3 am, but something told her she wouldn't get back to sleep that night.

Tommy came downstairs, driven by an unknown force. It was as if something in him told him one of his rangers needed him. As soon as he entered to the living room, he heard Kira sniffle.

It was as if someone dropped a rock into his stomach.

"Kira…" he picked up his pace and quickly reached her. He was stunned when she threw herself into his arms.

"Kira… Kira what's wrong?" he asked, shocked by this reaction. He had no idea what brought this on and was desperate to find out. She calmed down after a few minutes, after which he got her to sit and drink some water.

She took a few sips as he sat there with her before speaking.

"I had this dream; I've been having it for days now… ever since Zeltrax's ship blew up." She sighed, "It's always the same as that day; up until you walk up to us…in the dream that doesn't happen." She sighed and takes a few more sips of the water "In the dream, I always end up finding you," she swallowed back her tears before continuing, "finding you dead in the wreckage."

Tommy felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach as Kira wiped tears from her eyes.

"Look at me. I'm right here. I didn't even get hurt that day, you know that." He told her gently.

"I know, but for one horrible moment I thought you were dead and…" Tommy's heart had shattered by this point; he knew Kira had needed him more than the other rangers. After her fateful trip back in time, he learned she never really had a father in her life and in her mind he was the closest person to a dad she had known. He embraced her again and she held onto him tightly. She had calmed down and quit crying for the most part; it was down to some sniffles and a minor case of the hiccups. He could tell her eyelids were growing heavy again. Now that she knew he was alive and fine, she was ready to go back to bed.

"Go on back to bed, Kira, I'll be here when you wake up."

"Okay, Dr. O." Kira replied.

Tommy walked with her to the room she slept.

"Kira, if you need me you know where I am." He said, giving her a quick hug before she went to lie down. He stayed by her door until she fell asleep. He couldn't move knowing she wasn't asleep he stayed a little longer just to make sure she didn't need him there anymore.

Afterward, he let out a sigh.

Tommy walked out onto the porch his mind reeling over that dream; he knew that he had become a valuable part of the lives of his rangers. He just had no idea he had become THAT important to them. He thought back to Zordon and wondered if he ever realized what he meant to them. He knew they had felt as if Zordon were another father to his team but he wondered if Zordon really knew that. He knew Zordon cared for all of the rangers he mentored, and Tommy now wondered how hard it had been for Zordon to send him and his teammates out time and time again to fight against the evils of Rita and Zedd. Had he ever wished he could protect them from harm; to go out there and fight by their side or in their place? Tommy felt he was fortunate to be able to physically interact with his rangers, to be able to hold Kira in his arms as she cried from her nightmare. To be able to give a pat on the back in celebration of victory, or a reassuring side hug, full hug or shoulder squeeze when defeat caused his rangers, his kids, to hang their heads. The thought of these four being as good as his own children brought Tommy up short, he had never thought of that but they were like his children. He figured Zordon had always felt the same about his team so long ago. Like they were his sons and daughters that went into combat day in and day out and sometimes came back hurt.

Tommy hadn't realized how long he had been outside until the first rays of sunlight started peeking over the horizon. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Tommy, how long have you been out here?" Hayley asked. She too had spent the night due to the storm.

Tommy sighed "Since about 3:15, why?"

"It's 6:30, so what kept you up this long?" she asked, sitting beside him and handing him a fresh cup of coffee.

"Thanks." Tommy took a sip of coffee before continuing to speak "I got up and started to the kitchen and saw Kira sitting in the living room crying."

"What happened?" Hayley asked her tone edged with concern. Kira was a strong girl and to hear of her crying was a shock to her.

"She had a nightmare…" Tommy was hesitant to speak of the dream Kira had.

"Tommy, you can talk to me. What was the dream about?"

"She dreamed…" he let out a long, drawn-out breath and took another sip of coffee before continuing, "She dreamed that I died when Zeltrax's ship exploded, and it really hit her hard."

Hayley sighed, "Tommy, you realize what this means?" she asked "They care about you, Kira more than the others, you know what she went through, her father leaving when she was little and now having you around, you've been like a dad to her." Hayley took a sip of her coffee and then continued, "The rangers went through thirty terrifying seconds of thinking that you were actually dead that day. I'd be surprised if it didn't haunt her more than the others. They all look up to you; they were all pretty freaked out that day."

Hayley sighed as she noticed Trent had left his sketchbook on the porch, Tommy noticed seconds later with a small smile.

"Proof they feel right at home." He shook his head with a small smile. "They feel comfortable leaving their things around."

Tommy picked up the sketchbook. He wasn't going to look through the images at first, but something told him to look. He flipped open the front-page and noticed a detailed drawing of Kira tuning her guitar, and that brought a smile to his face. He knew Trent cared deeply for Kira. He seemed to stop there.

"If you're going to look, go on two more pages." A voice said.

Tommy looked back to see Trent standing in the doorway.

"I should have known someone would look if I left it out; it's not a problem." Trent said moving to sit to Tommy's right.

Tommy quickly found the page in question and was shocked at what he found there: it was an image of him. He had apparently fallen asleep at the computer in the command center. This was an embarrassingly common event since Conner, Ethan, and Kira became rangers, but he felt the need to monitor the computers, to make sure everything worked at capacity to keep them safe, to bring his rangers, his children, home unharmed after every battle.

"I didn't realize that you slept down there until I came in one Saturday and saw that." Trent replied. "I sketched it from memory later that day."

Tommy was always impressed by the talents these rangers had: Trent's art, Kira's music, Conner's sports, and Ethan's computer skills. Trent had particularly impressed him, and he found that he was the one encouraging Trent when Anton dissuaded his stepson's artistic talent; Trent was extremely talented.

Soon the other rangers joined them on the porch as the sun had long since risen to announce a new day.

Tommy looked at the four teens, the sketchbook now lay closed in his lap, and he smiled, this was his family and he would do whatever he had to if it meant they were taken care of and he knew they could turn to him no matter what.

The End….